Clinic Schedule Sunday

Sunday
8:30	Amelia	Stephanie	Jennifer
10:00	Jasmine	Lindsay	Karen/Izzy
11:15	Clare	Katelin	Brittany	Katlyn/Boones
12:45	Lunch
1:15	Tracey/Koolio	Karen/Coregel
2:15	Jessie	Joan/Fox
3:30	Michelle	Carolyn	Amber
5:00	End

Clinic Schedule update Friday& Saturday

Let me know if more changes would make your life easier!

Friday:

8:30	Michelle/Warrior	Karen/Izzy
9:30	Amelia/Riley	Stephanie/Wolfgang
10:30	Lindsay/Missy
11:15	Joan/Fox	Carolyn/Beckham
12:15	Lunch
12:45	Jessie/Rocket	Tracey/Koolio
1:45	Emma/Java	Karen/Coregel
2:45	Clare/Percy	Katlyn/Boones
3:45	Brittany/Leragon	Jennifer
	Finished

Saturday:
 

9:00	Clare/Percy	Katelin/Justice	Brittany/Leragon
10:30	Karen/Izzy
11:30	Tracey/Koolio	Jasmine?
12:30	Lunch
1:00	Carolyn/Beckham	Katlyn/Boones	Jennifer
2:30	Emma/Java	Amelia/Riley	Stephanie/Wolfgang	Joan/Fox
4:00	Katelin/Perris	Michelle/Warrior	Amber/Kokanee

Apparently coming up with a clinic schedule is challenging...

Not sure why it is so hard, but I seem to be struggling with a clinic schedule!

I do have Friday sorted out, but let me know if you have an issue with the time allotted.

8:30	Michelle/Warrior	Karen/Izzy
9:30	Amelia/Riley	Stephanie/Wolfgang
10:30	Lindsay/Missy
11:15	Jessie/Rocket	Tracey/Koolio
12:15	Lunch
12:45	Clare/Percy	Joan
1:45	Carolyn/Beckham	Emma/Java
2:45	Karen/Coregel	Katlyn/Boones
3:45	Brittany/Leragon	Jennifer

Yikes is it ever windy out! The wind is coming from the perfect direction to make the door fart and be very howly. Perfect opportunity to see if my "head down" conditioning with Izzy is working to make her more brave, and it seems to be helping...her hind end only gave out once :) Yesterday I jumped her for the first time: just a little cross pole on a circle at canter...she was great! Now I just need to find a jumping saddle for her super wide shoulders...

Clinic is approaching quickly: I hope to post at least Friday rides times by this weekend, so let me know if you have any additional time requests. There are still spots on the weekend, and possibly one or two on Friday if you know anyone else who may be interested!

Also, will likely be using the blanket stall for stabling for the clinic, so will be spending time next week to clean it out. If you want me to take any of your blankets in to Horse & Rider (Sherwood Park) for cleaning and/or repairs let me know as I will be taking a load in next week! Remaining "in use" blankets will be hung at the barn entrance, with "out of season" blankets put upstairs for the weekend.

Karen

This week in lessons

This week in lessons we will be working on hands/arm position.

To help with arm strength and dexterity, you will all have to start by shoveling snow for at least 5 minutes...or raking the edge of the arena. Let's call it the Hillside Fitness program!

Kidding.

Sort of.

Rob actually did a good job of clearing snow from the driveway and parking lot.

But I am serious about working on arm and hand position, both on the flat and over fences.

I will have an "off horse" exercise for those who tend to straighten their arms,  to show how doing this blocks the energy and ability to give to the horse, and creates resistance in the horse.

We are then going to work on the horse to create awareness and muscle memory for the range of movement we should allow our hands/arms to have (maintaining straight line elbow/wrist/bit). We are also going to work on developing consistent contact in the gaits that you have an independent seat (meaning your hands can act independently of your body so you aren't going to be unfairly poking your horse in the mouth by having contact).

Once you are able to have a consistent contact, your horse will take more comfort in the bit, as the bit will be steadier, and the horse will have a more consistent line of communication. The losey goosey reins are more jabby/bumpy to the horse, and sensitive horses will react to that type of contact by getting nervous.

To help get this consistent contact for jumping, we will be doing jumps on an arc, as well as a skinny jump. For both jumping and flat there will be a bit of a stearing exercise to help instill the need for contact and proper hand/arm usage.

Karen

Horse show on the weekend...

It was an exciting start to the show season at Amberlea!

Missy played rodeo horse on Saturday, but then was quite good on Sunday for her classes, and Lindsay came home with their first ribbon (3rd)! Missy was talkative in the barn, but pretty good one in the ring.

Magnus was not pleased to be at a show, and tried his very best to let Clare know, but was tired/settled enough for their classes that they both survived, although perhaps a little slow to get good scores.

Izzy saw danger everywhere and it is clear I have a lot of work to do before our next show! Our only good scores where for our leg yields...for everything else she was way too tight and jumpy. In our last class she felt like she was starting to relax...but then someone coughed and she almost fell over.

On a definate plus side though, all three horses loaded reasonibly well, the weather was decent, and lots was learned!

Lessons this week

In lessons this week we will be working on the flying lead changes again...as long as the horses aren't too peppy to handle it!

We will start by reviewing the basic aids we used two weeks ago (refer to blog from two weeks ago if you need to!), and then we will be using that same premise to ask for the lead changes after a jump.

On the flat, we will be asking for our canter depart on the quarter line rather than along the wall or in a corner, to ensure that we are properly setting our horses up for the correct lead. To set your horse up correctly, you want to make sure you have them slightly bent/positioned around an active inside leg at the girth, you want them lighter off the inside rein (give and take with fingers NOT arms to create this lightness in conjunction with active leg), while reaching into a following outside rein. Then outside leg comes back as the horse is about to step down with its outside hind leg so that it strikes off on the correct lead.

It can help to time the aids if you post on the correct diagonal if trotting. If sitting (trot or walk), you want to ask for the canter as you feel your outside hip dropping.

Karen

Funny and interesting...and a little scary!

The 2012 Supreme Extreme Mustang Make Over, youth edition.

Apprently we need to dress more appropriately to train...

So it's for a writing class I am taking...

For my writing class I had to write an essay and then publish it online somewhere. Something about childhood, but since my head injury and medication I can only remember snippits from my childhood, and I am not sure how much of it is real memory vs thinking I remember...does that make sense? I do however remember the feeling of sitting staring at the presents under the Christmas tree and trying to guess what they contained.

So here it is:

Bright & Shiny

Children are often told that they can achieve anything they put their mind to, and be anything they want to be. They are set up to believe that life is a clean slate full of promise and reward, so they should set their sights high and dream big! Parents don’t want to be the ones to explain to their child that they are too tall to be a jockey, too sensitive to be a surgeon, or too near sighted to be a helicopter pilot. Parents want their kids to be protected from reality as long as possible...putting off the inevitable collision with the real world.  

Like many, I can remember sitting around the Christmas tree as a child, imagining what dreams the gifts contained. Brightly wrapped parcels with hidden name tags, containing anything the imagination could conjure. My wish list stuck in my head as I tried to consider which items could fit in which parcels. The lights from the tree would shine and blink and make everything seems magical. Sitting beside that tree, looking down at the gifts would fill me with hope and elation.

I wasn’t silly enough to actually think that the item that topped my Christmas list could actually fit in one of those parcels, as ponies can be hard to wrap, but there was the hope that one year a box might contain a halter or brush that belonged to a pony waiting for me at the barn. If not a real pony for Christmas, than perhaps one of the plastic Breyer ponies that eventually lined my bedroom shelves and taunted my imagination. Christmas was set up as magical time, and even now as an adult, thinking about the excitement of looking under the Christmas tree brings back those feels of hope and expectation.

By the time Christmas would come, I would have assigned dreams to those boxes of mystery such that my expectations would be high! Of course year after year, those boxes were found to contain sweaters, games and books. All sensible gifts, that under normal circumstances would have been much appreciated, but as Christmas was a time of magical wishes, those normal, sensible gifts were little more than a let-down. They were a reminder of the reality that a family with four kids that lives in the city, just isn’t that likely to have a pony.

So eventually the pony slid down my wish list to become only a line at the bottom. Left there perhaps as a selfish reminder to my parents of the let down of not having been able to give me a pony. The top of the list was filled my more sensible and practical gifts: things that my parents may actually be able to procure.

Working within the parameters of reality didn’t lessen my enjoyment of Christmas or the magic of wondering what was in the parcels, rather it increased it, as the gifts could meet my expectations, and I was more likely to be right about what was within the magically boxes. I imagine it also made Christmas easier for my parents who no longer had to guess what I wanted other than the pony!

Even though I learned the lesson of realistic expectations as a child at Christmas, it didn’t stop me from taking courses in University that would lead me to a job that I would not have wanted to do, nor did it stop me from trying to play with the wealthy in the world of horses, spending money that likely could have been better spent elsewhere. Despite lessons showing otherwise, the concept of “anything is possible” is so ingrained at a young age, that it is hard to shake and move beyond. Life has to keep correcting and reminding us of reality, often with emotionally trying consequences.

I blame parents, teachers and TV specials for the encouragement of this lie. I don’t think they do so because they want to see children fall flat or be crushed when reality sets in, but rather because they want to believe that anything is possible for the child for as long as they possibly can maintain that charade. The problem is that children grow up feeling let down or like failures along the way, as they realize that there are some things that just aren’t possible. Perhaps even worse: the child that reaches adulthood with no understanding of the reality of limitations, and meets the world overwhelmed by possibilities and pressure, along with the fear of failure. Is it really any wonder that some kids end up being career students and live at home for years into adulthood?

I still get excited by bright shiny packages with my name on them; I just no longer expect for a pony to be inside, and I am happier for it.

Vaccination time again!

I have posted a chart in the barn for owners to check off which vaccinations they would like their horse to receive this year. If you don't remember, and just want to repeat last year, there is a check box for that too!

Please remember that E/W/T is required. I would also strongly recommend flu/rhino as well this year, as it does provide some protection against the Equine Herpes Virus (EHV-1), which has mutated to create a neurological form that can cause severe issues including death.

Horses usually contract EHV as young horses, but can carry the virus in their system to become ill again when under stress (such as long trips or shows). The virus can mutate to form the neurological form which is extremely contagious and easily transmitted. This means that show horses, and horses that travel are at higher risk, but that in theory, even a closed herd can be affected by EHV-1.

Strangles vaccine is also recommended, but Westnile is up to individual owners.

Vaccinations will be done beginning of April, and mid April (depending on our vet's recommendation we will vaccinate for some things one day, then the rest a separate day to limit the risks of reactions). Any boosters needed will be booked as required.

Owners are welcome to vaccinate their own horse, but please keep in mind that should your horse have a reaction to the vaccine, or get sick despite the vaccine, the maker of the vaccine will take some liability for treating your horse ONLY if the vaccine was administered by a vet.

Karen

Ah, pre-spring at the barn

Things are starting to melt, lending to a lovely odour of melting horse poop and a stream across the parking lot that you really don't want to walk in.

The horses are shedding and apparently nutty. Such fun!

For lessons this week we will be working a little on counter canter. It is important to work on counter canter along side flying changes, as we want the horse to listen to our aids, and not try to guess which lead we want. This is important for a few reasons: counter counter may be asked for in an equitation test or a dressage test, counter canter builds fitness, and also because being able to control which lead your horse is on can really help in bending lines so your horse isn't flopping around from one lead to the other.

For this week we will just keep it simple and ask the horse to do a gentle shallow serpentine at canter without changing leads. Next week we will up the challenge and ask them to pick up the counter canter on the long side and carry it through the corner! We will test the control in a bending line by not allowing the horse to change leads.

Obviously this will be easier on the horses that failed last week, but most horses did show a willingness to do flying changes when set up for them!

It is important to note that counter canter does not equal cantering on the wrong lead. You need the horse slightly bend towards their leading side, but with a fairly straight neck. This means a stronger than usual canter aid needs to be maintained so the hip stays OUT. The biggest mistake is if you lose control of the shoulder and the horse gets crooked through the neck/wither. It is very important to maintain the outside rein to keep the neck pretty straight, with just slight bend in.

For jumping we will do a straight forward course, with poles place to help with the lead changes after the jumps to see if last week's exercise can carry forward to a full course.

No challenge this week.

Karen

Slight change of plans...

So it seems many people are otherwise engaged tomorrow, so it won't be much of a barn party...but, this gave me another idea: we will still discuss goals and showing this year, and still chat, give out the challenge awards and get together, but we will do it while cleaning tack! Yippy!

This might become a monthly thing for the spring/summer, with different activities. This month tack cleaning, next month perhaps braiding? Trailer loading? Bandaging? Maybe a horse soccer game once we can get outside?

We will also continue with a once a month barn challenge: This month's winners were:
Ball challenge: 1st Emma/Java, 2nd Stephanie/Wolfgang , 3rd Shawn/Roberta. For the obstacle course challenge we had two successful horse/rider combinations: Amber and Kokanee, and Laureen and Percy. Can't say those are the two horses I would have guessed to be the most successful, but there you have it!

Hope to see at least a few of you tomorrow!

Karen