This week in lessons

This week in lessons we are going to continue to work on getting good corners. Combined with getting the good corners will be trying to get the flying changes in the corners using raised poles and small jumps in the corners to assist.

Getting lead changes in this way should be pretty simple: keep the horse straight, look in the new direction, and outside leg back on tack off over the pole/jump. You need to have some contact so that the horse doesn't just get quick as that will just result in the horse swapping the front lead and not behind. This is the same reason you have to hold the outside rein and keep the horse straight through the body. To do a good flying change the horse needs to have some bounce in its step as well, so the leg into the hand is needed for this reason as well.

We are also going to be doing some work without stirrups at the walk and trot to work on developing a more stable leg and better seat. For jumping, the lower leg needs to be quite stable, and needs to stay in the same spot regardless of what the hands or body is doing.

Karen

Harvest show update

This years Harvest horse show at Amberlea was perhaps the best attended I have been to: the show barn was pretty much full, and the rings were going all day long. Thankfully the weather was decent, with the show not getting the rain we got at the barn on Sunday.

With all those horses, the parking lot was FULL of trailers, with people finding other places to park...yet people still decided to stop and unload their horses and tack at the barn entrance (keeping in mind there is no other way to get to the parking lot). If everyone did that, it would have taken over 6 hours to get everyone in and unloaded! I noticed that the rider's that unloaded at the entrance were all dressage riders...perhaps used to less populous shows? Or just a false feeling of self importance?

We managed to be lucky and our arrivals and departures were not blocked by these annoying people (Shawn stayed at the show, but I hauled Izzy back and forth).

Shawn and Laureen did awesome. Shawn seems to finally have learned to relax at shows, and Laureen has learned to keep riding under the eyes of the judge ;) Laureen was first in her first level test, and second and third at Training level, ending 1 percent away from being reserve champion of that division! Next step is to improve the leg yielding so that Shawn can get to First Level test two. It was useful I think that Laureen was able to watch some of those tests to see how other riders accomplish that leg yield...often by starting early, but the best ones were done by just preparing the horse correctly, and staying focused on the target.

Izzy and I had a less stellar show. Poor Izzy just does not like indoor arenas! For schooling she was quite concerned about the decorations in front of the judges box (hedge, red wagon, hedgehog, logs and dog), and of the poop bucket. By the time we showed she had accepted the red wagon, and the poop bucket was gone, but the open concession was more than she could handle...in particular the scraping of chairs! She did try, but I just could not get her to relax and use her back, so impossible to perform at that level. Although my scores were 10% worse than the last show despite moving forward in her training, I have to concede that she was much better in the arena than she was in the spring, so hopefully we can continue to see improvement.

(Shawn on the other hoof didn't bat an ear when there was a dog fight in the stands while she was showing...interestingly the person with the dogs was also someone that blocks the entrance unloading...)

So this winter I will be working on getting her more obedient and focused on ME rather than everything else. I have some ideas...and of course I am sure these ideas will carry over to lessons, so be prepared!

Karen

Fall!

Last Saturday was our last jumping show of the season, with Java, Riley and Gody competing in the hunters. It was great weather and all the horses & riders did very well, for a nice finish to the year! Next weekend Laureen and I will be showing dressage to finish up the show year.

This week in lessons, we will have to resign ourselves to riding inside for jumping...just getting too dark and cool at night. Being indoors again means getting used to a smaller space again, so we will be working on riding correct and deep corners, while maintaining a nice, even rhythm.

Now that fall is here, fly sheets and fly masks can be put away for the winter, and rain sheets & winter blankets can come out of storage...maybe if we are ready for winter it will stay away longer!

Karen

Blasts from the past

I found these pictures on our network...recognize anyone? The first photo is Dexter when he was just under a year old. We used to have a couple stalls set up in the barn I now use to park the Mule. Warmblood babies aren't typically cute...and Dexter was no exception!

 

 

This is Rocket soon after we first bought him! He is three years old in this photo. He actually has a semblance of mane! This photo and the next were taken at a barn I used to teach out of...but poor Rocket got so badly eaten by mosquitos we brought him home soon after.

 

And here is a blurry photo of me teaching Rocky to jump! This would have been a few months after we bought him, so he would have been 9 or 10. He was/is a naturally at jumping.

 

These are the three horses Rob and I have had the longest and who were here when we build the barn! The others have come to us more recently.

The Sun Sets at 8pm

I managed to still teach all the lessons outside last week...thanks to the misfortune of others and some slightly more crowded than usual earlier lessons, but I think those days are done...

5:30 & 6:30 lessons can be outside for one more week and then I am putting the jumps away for the winter. 7:30 lessons could hack outside, but then will have to go in for jumping.

What will we do this week? More canter poles. I am really liking the canter poles. It has really helped steady some of the horses (and riders...) who want to let their horse go too much before and after jumps, and it has also helped open up the canters of the more laid back horses such as Rocket and Shawn. This will be built on with the addition of a small grid, as well as using canter poles to help riders line up correctly to diagonal jumps!

Remember that this Saturday is the Delaney Vet services open house. I have posted the schedule of talks on the bulletin board in the barn for anyone who wishes to attend.

Karen

Money Making idea!

So I had it in my head I wanted to try showing Izzy Western Pleasure as well as dressage next year...and then I looked up how much Arabian show bridles and romal reins cost....THEN Michelle put the idea of not just doing western pleasure, but SIDESADDLE western pleasure with the logical theory that my uneven strength wouldn't matter as much. Made sense to me...but not so much to Rob (buying a headache rack for the blue truck made sense...but not a sidesaddle...he has the silliest priorities). Of course western sidesaddles aren't exactly common, and I am not exactly a common size, so I need to start saving some money...so I came up with an idea!

A HILLSIDE STABLE SWEAR JAR! But instead of swears, it will be tailored to better money making "fines".

This is my idea for fines:

-  Everyone will be fined for the improper use of "did good". "Did good" can be used to applaud charitable activities but not for remembering their course or getting the right number of strides. This on its own may pay off a saddle...

- Fines for dirty tack...it still counts if you are riding a lesson horse, which will also encourage people to show up earlier for lessons and clean the lesson tack!

- People under age 21 will be fined for extraneous uses of the word "like".

- People over the age of 21 will be fined for going off course...double fines for those who are going after others who did the correct course.

- Beth will be fined for apologizing. She may need a raise at work to cover this.

-Joan can pay her way out of jumping oxers. As an aside, courses will start being made of only oxers.

- Anyone else who gets pregnant will be fined. Seriously. It's like an epidemic around here!

So bring your loonies & toonies...oh heck, most of you should likely bring a cheque book....

Karen

This week in lessons

The first week back into Fall lessons! I would like to spend this week going over who wants to ride then as I have some new students waiting to start, and want to see where best to fit them in.

I think it is too dark now to teach 7:30 lessons outside, but we might still be able to do the flat part of lessons outside and then come in to jump if people are interested in doing that.

I would like to continue to work on trot and canter rhythm on the flat and jumping, as well as using placement poles to help encourage horses to take off and land in an even arc with forward momentum for jumping.

Karen

Soccer game success!

 

Saturday was perfect weather for our first ever soccer game! I have no idea who won...team bay scored against themselves in the first round, and then pushed the ball out of bounds in the second. Team Black seemed afraid to get into a scrimmage. I am thinking it may have been Team Blue with Stephanie and Amelia! Team Chestnut won the runner up game...Gody really liked getting in the way of the ball, and Shawn surprised me my being willing to get right into the crowd.

 

Next we did an individual challenge...Wolfgang won with Michelle, Percy was second with Laureen, Shawn was third with Roberta, and Izzy was forth with Margie.

 

Neither Izzy nor Riley were thrilled with the crowds, so events like this is a good preparation for showing...although perhaps Margie would have liked some warning about Izzy's fear of noises...

 

Beth rode Flicka who it turns out matches Percy perfectly...I think the first 10 minutes was the geldings all eyeing her! Flicka seemed confused by the game and wanted to herd and cut the ball rather than push it...she is a cow horse at heart!

 

Thanks to everyone who came and to Rob who bar-b-q'ed!