because May and Riley have both been hot heads the last two days! I pulled Riley up yesterday and gave him a good workout in the arena. From the second I got on I could tell he was hyper. He started walking off while I went to get on and he neeeever does that. Never. So we stopped and I dismounted and told him to stand and re mounted. Problem solved. He had a very active walk while we warmed up and than when we started trotting he had the most springy forward trot ever! It was very nice and had a lot of impulsion which isn't normal for him. He always tries hard but you usually reaaaally have to use a lot of leg to get him truly engaging his hindquarters like he is supposed to. I certainly wouldn't go as far as to say he was collected but he was definitely forward and his transitions were lovely. We did a lot of trotting in circles and figure eights and than in the canter I asked for a few nice stops on his hind end. He always stops good but not always on his butt. A lot of times he will use his hindquarters some in a stop but not be fully engaged. He doesn't slam down on his forehand but Id still like him to use that big ole butt of his more! lol We even did a few really nice cantering rollbacks off the fence so I stopped him there on a good note and walked him out. He was reaaally sweaty. Its been 80 degrees here and HUMID but he is already getting his winter coat in. I hosed him and sweat scraped him and than walked him dry before feeding him. As soon as I turned him out he rolled and rolled and rolled right in the mud...*sigh* Thanks Buddy, love you too! And just for fun here is a pic from almost 2 years ago of me and Riley. It was my high school graduation picture we put on the invitations! lol Back when I still had bangs and was about 30 pounds heavier haha!
I rode May early this morning after feeding everyone. Boy was she a wild woman! Hot headed and temper mental as ever! Like I said it has been humid but also raining a fair amount this week so I have not been able to ride them quite as consistently as Id like. I think that and the weather itself being so unpredictable has had them a little revved up. She was really tense when I got on her so we walked a while until she relaxed some and than started trotting. You really have to warm her up good before you start schooling anything or else she is just hot headed and un cooperative. Her and Riley can be quite opposites sometimes. Riley does great riding about 5 days a week and taking a day or two off and than two always before a race. May on the other hand you have to work her almost every day and than one day off before a show or she gets anxious and really hot. You have to take the edge off of her for her to focus. She is a pretty supple mare and works off her hind end very nice. I don't fool much with her head. She keeps it pretty level, not too high or too low and as I said before just because their head is lowered doesn't mean they are collected or on the bit. Also she is very sensitive in her mouth...well everywhere really! You have to be very soft with your cues or else she is a rocket. She sometimes reminds me of a coiled spring ready to just launch away at any minute. The nice thing is if you can channel that energy and get her focused than she is quite the machine! A true equine athlete and she loves to work. I do a lot of 'off pattern' work with my horses. Yes, barrel racing is our forte but that doesn't mean that's all we do. I rarely practice a horse after it is patterned for a couple of reasons. First off I don't want one of those horses that you see at a race that stands tied to the trailer the entire time pawing and anxious and all worked up until the person gets on it ten minutes before their run, beats it all the way into the chute and snatches it around the pattern than beats it all the way out and jerks it to stop just to get off and tie the horse back up. Uhmmm no thanks. I refuse to ever let it come to that. My horses are never sour about their job and if they ever decided they didn't want to do it anymore, fine. Its not all about racing for me. Its about my horses. Also I think about their future soundness. Barrel racing is very physically demanding for a horse so even when I do practice I do some slow patterns to reinforce basics and than maybe one or two actual runs. Both Riley and May are on monthly Adequen injections to help protect their joints and all three of my horses get an MSM supp in their feed. I'm also VERY picky about arena footing and if an arena is crappy, I wont go.
After I walked May out I hosed her down and let her cool out. She's pretty chunky right now but she will slim down and get in shape quickly as the weather gets better and I can ride more. Of course her and Riley being short and stocky are always gonna look 'thicker' and more muscled than Moose who is tall and lean but right now they have prego looking hay bellies! lol Especially May. Can you say EASY keeper?! Oh well tonight is supposed to be the last night of rain for the week. I know we need the rain but its sooo frustrating when I want to ride and the arena is a swimming pool! Hopefully it will dry out a lot tonight so I can ride in it tomorrow morn...Here is a pic of May from today. I know the halter is huuuge on her. Its Moose's. I turned him out and she came up so I just slipped it on her to bring her up. oh and no her right hind tendon isn't swollen or bowed...the picture just made it look funny. Isn't she adorable though? :-)
Today I also went with a friend of mine to look at, and ride, a 6 year old, over 18hh Percheron gelding. Holy CRAP! He was HUGE...and I loved him! The lady has two mares that I worked with for her when she first got them and she wanted me to see how this horse rode before she considered getting him. He was really nice actually. A little bit green and out of practice(he hadnt been ridden in 6 months) but as far as being pretty safe he was a "point and go" trail riding kinda guy! Really a gentle giant and riding him was like...wow. His trot was big but his canter was gi-nor-mous! What a stride and what an incredible, powerful animal. Here is a pic of me on him. I look like a little kid! I am really looking forward to working with this beasty in the next few weeks.
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