Dont Fight Fire WIth Fire!

First I will talk about my dear Moosey who is doing so well. I cant believe how I lucked out on this horse. I have never had an OTT anything that was this soft and responsive. He's such a laid back guy(most of the time) and tries really hard to please. Yesterday I did a "lesson" with him and he did excellent. It was a little windy outside so at first so we did a lot of long trotting just to warm him up and burn all his extra energy. After he was focused I asked him to get on the bit and stretch long and low. The more steady and consistent my hands are the more consistent he is. After a while he was keeping his head low and was very relaxed. He was even drooling a good bit LOL We went both ways practicing this. He definetly does it better to the left but does well both ways considering how short a time I have been working on it. English has taught me a lot so far and I am really enjoying it. My friend who was teaching me took a video of me and Moose trotting and going over a small jump and than cantering. If I can figure out how to get it off Facebook I will upload it. If not anyone is welcome to friend me and watch it :) Just keep in mind BOTH of us are green to English (Well moose is green to anything but racing ha ha) so I know I look terrible. I'm learning and trying hard.
After plenty of trotting we worked on his canter. First to the left since that is easiest for him. He went right into his canter easily and at first he braced and I held him in a soft but firm full halt until he dropped his nose and quit bracing and after that he went along fine. He gets a little panicky when you first canter him and wants to run off but it doesn't take long at all for him to relax and soften. When we went to the right it took a few times but we finally got his right lead. He is getting better and better about it. We worked a little on downward transitions and keeping him from "falling apart" as we went from canter to trot to whoa! Again, excuse my terminology, or lack thereof ha ha I'm learning!
At the end of the lesson we started trotting over some ground poles to get him picking his feet up. He did well with that and we eventually progressed to a tiny cross rail. The first time he just plowed through it but after that he jumped nicely. I worked a lot on my two point. Im soooo not good at holding it long but I'm gonna work hard at it. I was also able to use my friends dressage saddle instead of that reaaaally flat jumping saddle I used to have to. That helped a lot but also will take some getting used to.
Now im sure by now your wondering what in the world the title had to do with all this? Ill explain...as best as I can anyway. It was kind of like a revelation for me in the English riding world. The horse seems so dependent on the rider and that light contact, in a good way. Moose has started looking for the contact if I slack my reins too much (baaad Western habit) All too many times I see riders who when their horse starts acting up or getting heavy, they start snatching the reins or pulling the poor horses face off. Trying to get them to submit to the pressure by force. Like fighting fire with fire. The horse just pulls more and panics and stops thinking and becomes tense. Sometimes they even rear or flip in evasion to the pain....but if you have one pulling or tense and you soften your hands and you, yourself relax, and do half halts and become "playful" with your reins. They soften and relax and become almost like putty in your hands. Fighting fire with water. I know this is old news and everyone is probably like "okkk and your point it?!".  My point it all along I have known this and subconsciously applied it to my riding but when doing the English with Moose and having that constant light contact has just amplified it for me and really shown just what a difference it makes. Maybe I am making sense? Maybe not LOL but either way it makes sense to me and it works :D

As for Miss May and Riley Boy they are doing well. I have been just exercising Riley as usual. One day I tacked him up English and took him over a few very small jumps and he really enjoyed it. He has been really fresh lately and hyper but in a good way. I think changing it up a little has been refreshing for him. Cant wait for the next race!

May on the other hand is doing well but I have been really working on slowing her down with my seat. She get so hyper and forward and wants to just half listen to my body commands. You really have to negotiate stuff with her ha ha. She is a good girl but keeps ya humble! :) The last five times I have ridden her we haven't even gone over a trot! We would stay at a walk until she relaxed than slow trot and than do long trotting. Every time she would accelerate and try to run off I would do check the rein lightly and bring her into a circle and than WHOA. We did this until she started staying consistent in her pace. I have also been working on moving them off of my legs at a slow and fast trot and a little bit with the ground poles. With May we also did lots of Whoa-ing (seat, voice, reins) and backing to keep her on her hind end. She is starting to respond better which is great. I want my horses to rate for the barrel when I sit up and deep in the saddle. I refuse to pull their mouth off and than crank them around the turn. It takes more work doing it this way but it is so worth it and the benefits are obvious in the form of a happy horse who enjoys their job!

Moose's lesson and Rileys birthday

Moose and I had our first "jumping" session last night! It was sooooo much fun! He did so good and I am so proud of him!!! <3 We started off as usual warming him up at a good trot. I just posted and let him work out all his energy. Didn't ask him to do anything. He always eventually calms down and comes back into my hand. He's a complete train wreck if I don't let him burn the energy first. Lol. Once I started asking him to relax and go "long and low" and he did just fine. We worked on getting him to stretch all the way down at a walk and than level at a trot. He's learning so fast and going so well. He is starting to build muscle and become stronger and more consistent with his head and contact. A lot of it has to do with me. Sometimes I still get stuck with "Western" hands and my reins too long. We are learning together! At the canter he did really well also. A couple of times he would brace and want to run off but I would just hold him at a full halt and than immediate release when he softened. I had to bump him a lot with my calves to keep his hind end under him but he was trying hard. He still gives me trouble about picking up his right lead but we always eventually get it. I just have to really pick his shoulder up and ask him with precise timing. Being OTTB he is so used to just loping on his left lead I guess. Either way, he is getting it.
At the end we finally did some jumping and he did AWESOME! I was so excited! I did terrible though. It was a tiny cross rail. We walked him over it a few times, than would walk up to it THEN pick up to a trot over it because he would get too hot. He really enjoyed it and at first was a little clumsy stepping all over it but towards the end was really hunting it and jumping well. He has a powerful take off that even such a small jump made me a little off balance. I REALLY have to work on my position and balance off the jumps like standing in the saddle or "2 point" I believe it is called. The jumping saddle I have is verrry flat and makes it more difficult for me so my trainer is bringing her dressage\jumping all around saddle next time for me to try. She got on him and took him over a few jumps and with her he looked amazing. She said he really seems to enjoy it and she thinks he is gonna make a great dressage\jumping prospect. Only time will tell but I hope she's right. He is definitely a lot more relaxed and happy doing this than when we started attempting barrel racing haha

As for May and Riley they are doing well! I wanted to post the other day but never got the chance so HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY TO RILEY! He turned 13 (on Jan 19) and I cant believe it. Every other birthday was great but this one was a little bittersweet. Finally "in his teens"....like your kid graduating high school LOL Either way he got lots of love and horsey cake. It was his XTN feed with molasses frosting on top and carrots for candles. He really seemed to enjoy it :) I have been exercising them as usual to get ready for the Feb 12 race. There is a benefit race next weekend which I hope we get to attend but we will see. Might have to work :\ but that's life! Hope all is well in everyone else's equine world, and thanks for reading!

All is well and a Photo to make up for Friday!

As the title says all is going pretty good right now. There isn't too much to talk about. I didn't get to take a lesson on Moose this week which sucked but I had to spend my money wisely and Riley was do for shoes. So he got a new pair of his light aluminum racing shoes :) He is soooo high maintenance! He has to have his new shoes or his shoes set every 4 weeks or he will pull one. His feet grow very fast but I'm just thankful he is sound and will do what it takes to keep it that way. May and Moose on the other hand are barefoot and get trimmed every 5-6 weeks.
So, we never got to do the lesson but yesterday I got to do an English lesson with one of my friends. I take lessons with two trainers. One I pay for the lessons (on Moose) the other I work her horses for her in return. It was a lot of fun and I'm really really loving the English. Western will always be my forte I think but I wouldn't mind doing English and maybe even, as I've said, competing with Moose. I like how close you feel to the horse in the English saddle. You can feel a lot in a Western saddle too, of course, if your a good rider and know what your feeling for, but in the English saddle you just feel a lot closer and everything almost feels amplified. Am I making sense...?! Probably not LOL but that's OK. Regardless, I am enjoying it greatly!
Moose is doing fantastic! Every time I ride him he does a little bit better. I still can't believe how far he has come. He is keeping his head "long and low" longer every time we ride and starting to 'search' for the contact. Plus his mouth is sooo soft. His canter is getting better too. When I first started cantering him it was rough and short strided. It was almost like he would pace on his back end as his legs stayed so close together. Like he was hopping, trying to push forward faster, its hard to explain. Now as he starts to relax he is engaging his hind end better and his canter has smoothed greatly and looks a lot nicer too. He is also riding better with other horses in the arena as long as they don't get too close. That still freaks him out. Sill Moosey.
Riley and May are doing great as well. I have been exercising them at least every other day. I try to switch it up a lot so they don't get bored. One day I might do lots and lots of slow and fast trotting and than the next, warm up good and than do more big, slow canter circles and work on picking up their shoulder and moving them in and out of the circle.  Sometimes we just go on trails and let them relax and sometimes we even ride up the road to the gas station and get drinks :D I think the variety is very good for them and part of the reason they don't get burned out.

So as you can see (hear? read? lol) it's all good and I am thankful! Now a picture as promised. It was from just the other day when I went out to get Riley and both him and May were laying down. May got up so I went and laid with Riley and got this quick pic.

January 8, Barrel Race Recap and Moosey Update!

OK so I didn't get pictures....My best friend whose dad was supposed to bring his camera, didn't end up getting to come. Another friend took some pictures and said he would email them to me but hasn't yet...So as soon as I get those I will upload them.
I also had some pics of Moose I had taken on my phone that I wanted to upload but my phone finally bit it and I had to get a new one. I lost ALL my pictures, videos, and contacts :( Still its not the end of the world and at least I got a new phone quickly and it didn't put too big of a dent in my wallet!
Moose did great at his last lesson. I was so proud of him. He is coming along very nicely. It had been a  pretty bumpy start but its really starting to smooth out. I figured it would take much longer, and we do have a long way to go, but he is learning fast and I'm thrilled with the progress. A couple of days after the lesson I even took him in the arena and worked him while a lot of other people were riding in there (which as I have said before usually unsettles him and makes him VERY anxious ands flighty) and he acted wonderful! I let him trot out all his energy on a loose rein and after a while he came back into my hands and was looking for the contact. He is learning to follow my hands and remain "long and low" a little bit longer every time I ask. He is also starting to build up his top line which of course makes it easier for him to collect.  I know I'm getting way ahead of myself but I'm already thinking about perhaps showing him in the future in just little local shows for the fun of it and for experience for both of us. Other than barrel racing, the only other events I have competed in are competitive trail. All in all I'm pretty excited :)

Now for the barrel race. It went fairly well. It wasn't as fantastic as the previous show where Riley clocked a 14.7 but they both ran consistent and clean which is most important to me. I fell in the crack on Riley between the 1D and 2D and on May between 3 and 4D but that's OK. You cant place every show and the infamous "crack" gets us all from time to time. Sometimes pretty frequently! LOL Riley ran a 15.6 in Adult and a 15.5 in Open while May ran a 16.5 in Adult and 16.4 in Open. I was very proud of both of them. They never refuse and always go in and try hard and for that I'm always grateful! :)
I guess that is all for now! I will try to have pictures up later this week and maybe get a chance to do the second Photo Friday like I keep promising! Thanks for staying tuned and I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Yes I know I haven't posted in like....forever! Its been crazy here at the barn...but in a good way. I have finally decided what I want to do with Moose. I had been trying to schedule a lesson on him with a friend of mine but it kept getting rained out. We finally set one and were able to do it and Moose did GREAT! It was so nice to have someone point out all the things I was doing wrong so me and Moose could work together better. I did the lesson English just for the fun of it. I had originally just wanted to see how he did. He really seemed to enjoy it and by the end of the lesson he was stretching long and low into the bridle at a walk and even a little at a trot. I could feel him really searching for the contact but staying light. He also started using his hind end a lot better as well and his short, nervous, choppy stride became a nice, relaxed, swinging stride. When we first started his back feet were landing directly behind where his front picked up but by the end of the lesson they were landing in front of his front feet! I took a second lesson on him a week later and he did great again. My trainer told me that she thought he had a lot of potential which made me very excited. At the beginning of the lessons I always just have to let him trot his energy out but once he gets out all the extra energy out he begins to focus and really tries hard. He keep his jaw soft and relaxed and is really getting over being so tense. My trainer, who we will call PR, said the more we work him like this and get him used to the routine, the more he will relax. He is also learning to relax at when he is tied up. He shakes his head and flips his lip and tongue when he gets anxious and even kicks in place. He has never kicked at me or anyone but just stands there and kicks when he is nervous. Almost like the equivalent of another horse pawing. Next lesson I will be sure to get pics so I can put them on here.

On the other side of things Riley and May are doing well. I have been exercising them regularly to try to get them in the best shape I can for the 2011 show season. They have stayed strong and sound and I'm very excited for the first race of the year next weekend! I'm hoping Riley can go in again and clock another 14! Hopefully this time though, I will keep up with him.  ;)
I will try to post again sometime soon. I haven't even been able to do my Photo Fridays as it's been so busy but I promise that will change. If there is anything, anyone else wants to hear about or know just let me know in the comments. I'm all ears!

Hope all of you have a blessed 2011 and may all your dreams and wishes come true! :)