Sorry I didn't have time to post last week. I've been a little busy with school, and we just got back from a school canoe trip last Friday.
Last week's lesson (5/16/11) I was taught by the lady who owns the barn, so I was a little intimidated at first. But once we got started, I felt a little more comfortable. We first worked on bending (having the horse's body move in a curve around a turn, sort of), and then she taught me how to switch diagonals a different way than I normally do. When you post, you rise with one pair of legs (either front left and back right or front right and back left), and ideally you want to be rising out of the saddle when the front outside leg is moving forward (a little complicated, I know). Usually when I am on the wrong diagonal and need to switch, I sit for two beats and start to post again. This time though, I was taught to switch diagonals while standing up, so to speak. I tried it and after a while, I sort of got the hang of it. It was really cool to feel the difference, and not as bouncy!
Tonight I was back with my regular instructor, and we worked on leg flexibility and movement. It's very easy for me to tighten up when I ride, especially in the ankles and legs, so my instructor but a board under my foot and moved it around to help me loosen up - it sounds strange, but it really worked. After that, I felt much more connected and grounded. Then we started to work on walk canter transitions, which I only did a little last week. I was told to loosen up my legs (I did a lot of leg shaking out tonight) and then ask for a canter. It was frustrating at first, but after a bunch of tries I finally got it, and everything kind of clicked. Captain and I got a few perfect (or near to it) walk to canter transitions, and my instructor was very pleased. She even said at the end my lesson, "That's the first time I've ever seen you really ride!" I was very statisfied as well. Overall, it was a great lesson and I really learned a lot!
Monday, May 23, 2011
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Essay Update and Frolicking Horses
Well, I finished my essay. I cranked it out pretty fast yesterday, and then I went back and fixed it today. Basically I talk about how I started riding, Captain, my job (which I will elaborate on later in this post), and horseback riding in general. It's about three pages long (it's only supposed to be two - hopefully they won't care!) and it took me most of the afternoon yesterday. I'm just glad it's finished.
I've never mentioned this before, but every Sunday I work at the same barn I ride at. I'm in a Work-to-Ride program, so in exchange for working I only have to pay half price for my lessons each month. I feed all the horses on the farm (all of them get hay and some get grain), give them water if needed, let two paddocks out to pastures, and muck out two stalls. I start at 10:30 and usually finish between 11:30 and noon. It can be pretty tiring, especially when it's hot out and all the bugs are swarming, but I'm happy to do it to get a discount on my lessons!
Today was the third week in a row where I've gotten to let two paddocks out on grass. I couldn't for part of the winter because one horse destroyed all the fencing (and I think another reason but I'm not sure what that is), so I've just recently gotten to start opening the gates again. It's one of the best feelings in the world to open the gate and immediately see horses trotting or cantering out to run in the field. One horse was rolling his neck and bucking - he was so happy to be able to run around! It made me smile to see them having so much fun. Those kind of rewards are the most satisfying ones of all. :)
Happy Mother's Day!
I've never mentioned this before, but every Sunday I work at the same barn I ride at. I'm in a Work-to-Ride program, so in exchange for working I only have to pay half price for my lessons each month. I feed all the horses on the farm (all of them get hay and some get grain), give them water if needed, let two paddocks out to pastures, and muck out two stalls. I start at 10:30 and usually finish between 11:30 and noon. It can be pretty tiring, especially when it's hot out and all the bugs are swarming, but I'm happy to do it to get a discount on my lessons!
Today was the third week in a row where I've gotten to let two paddocks out on grass. I couldn't for part of the winter because one horse destroyed all the fencing (and I think another reason but I'm not sure what that is), so I've just recently gotten to start opening the gates again. It's one of the best feelings in the world to open the gate and immediately see horses trotting or cantering out to run in the field. One horse was rolling his neck and bucking - he was so happy to be able to run around! It made me smile to see them having so much fun. Those kind of rewards are the most satisfying ones of all. :)
Happy Mother's Day!
Saturday, May 7, 2011
End of School Essay
For the end of the year everyone in my grade at school has to write an essay. The essay is pretty open-ended, but you have to follow a few prompts. The prompts this year are basically 'How have you changed throughout your middle school years?' and 'What events/people have influenced those changes?' So you can write about anything you want as long as you talk about how you've grown since you were in elementary school.
So why am I writing this on my blog about horses, you may ask. It's because (surprise, surprise) I've decided to write my essay on how horseback riding has changed me and made me a different person than I was when I was younger. I was really excited to start writing because this is something that I'm passionate about talking and writing about, but now that it's the weekend and this essay is due on Monday (yikes!) I'm feeling some pressure and I don't know where to start.
There's so many ways I've changed because of horseback riding, but it's so hard to put it in words! I plan to start writing my essay today, so when I've actually gotten somewhere with it, I'll try and post an update, probably when I'm finished. Hopefully the awesome music of Mumford & Sons will inspire me to write something revolutionary. :) Wish me luck!
So why am I writing this on my blog about horses, you may ask. It's because (surprise, surprise) I've decided to write my essay on how horseback riding has changed me and made me a different person than I was when I was younger. I was really excited to start writing because this is something that I'm passionate about talking and writing about, but now that it's the weekend and this essay is due on Monday (yikes!) I'm feeling some pressure and I don't know where to start.
There's so many ways I've changed because of horseback riding, but it's so hard to put it in words! I plan to start writing my essay today, so when I've actually gotten somewhere with it, I'll try and post an update, probably when I'm finished. Hopefully the awesome music of Mumford & Sons will inspire me to write something revolutionary. :) Wish me luck!
Monday, May 2, 2011
After the Dressage Show and Lesson 5/2/11
Well, Saturday turned out great, even though I had some concerns. I got a first place blue ribbon (much to my surprise and satisfaction) and earned a total of 152 points (about 66%) out of 230. After my test I found myself thinking that I could have done more tests, but I think the one was stressful enough, so next year I'll probably do all the tests in one division.
My worries were pretty much not needed at all (and I knew they wouldn't be). Captain was perfect, giving me a good canter and trot the whole time, even though he was a little grumpy about getting his girth tightened. I was surprised and grateful to him that he wasn't sluggish, because I had figured he would be since so many kids had ridden him earlier that day.
There was a downside to that though. My lesson tonight was good and fun as usual, but tonight was fairly challenging after Saturday, because I think all that work Captain did for the show finally caught up to him. It was really difficult and frustrating sometimes to get him to trot fast, very hard to get him to canter, and even harder to keep him in that canter. Even his walk was really slow. But I don't blame him. He's old, and it was pretty warm out tonight. Also he spooked at something twice, so I guess his mind wasn't really focused. But I still love him all the same, of course.
So tonight my instructor had me work a lot on turning, which sounds simple, but it's really not. You can't just pull on the reins and get him to turn correctly. I mean, I guess you could, but without a proper turn from your 'center,' you won't have a good connection with your horse that will be beneficial later on. So a lot of the time I spent working on turning from my center without any reins at all - I had to drop them around Captain's neck and completely rely on my seat and legs to turn him, which could be difficult and frustrating at times. But I think I'm getting better (well, I hope I am) and I'll continue to work on that.
My worries were pretty much not needed at all (and I knew they wouldn't be). Captain was perfect, giving me a good canter and trot the whole time, even though he was a little grumpy about getting his girth tightened. I was surprised and grateful to him that he wasn't sluggish, because I had figured he would be since so many kids had ridden him earlier that day.
There was a downside to that though. My lesson tonight was good and fun as usual, but tonight was fairly challenging after Saturday, because I think all that work Captain did for the show finally caught up to him. It was really difficult and frustrating sometimes to get him to trot fast, very hard to get him to canter, and even harder to keep him in that canter. Even his walk was really slow. But I don't blame him. He's old, and it was pretty warm out tonight. Also he spooked at something twice, so I guess his mind wasn't really focused. But I still love him all the same, of course.
So tonight my instructor had me work a lot on turning, which sounds simple, but it's really not. You can't just pull on the reins and get him to turn correctly. I mean, I guess you could, but without a proper turn from your 'center,' you won't have a good connection with your horse that will be beneficial later on. So a lot of the time I spent working on turning from my center without any reins at all - I had to drop them around Captain's neck and completely rely on my seat and legs to turn him, which could be difficult and frustrating at times. But I think I'm getting better (well, I hope I am) and I'll continue to work on that.
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