Lovely trail ride yesterday - only had to jump off twice!
JJ
planning a trailride and wondered if I would like to join them. Uh,
yeah!
They were even kind enough to go sooner than they had planned because
I was already at the barn. She had called my home, probably right
after I left...
So, I get on Comet first and walk around a bit. She's calm and
cool...they join us and off we all go. We went to another entrance to
Jacobsburg, Comet has never been that way...The first dismount was
along the way she's been before, but darnit! Someone cut down a bunch
of trees and stacked the wood right there next to the road. The
nerve! Addy (BO's mare) would not go forward, Liza wouldn't either
(If Addy won't do it, Liza won't do it <grin>) and Comet, who had
already taken the lead once to get everyone going wouldn't do it
either. We are on a road here, so rather than risk anything, I just
jumped off and led Ms. Comet. She was perfect for leading!
Fortunately, I can get back on from the ground, so, no problem.
Crossed a fairly busy street to get there, good visibilty though, so
pretty safe to cross...
Comet was lovely for most of the ride...I even passed a friend from my
former barn! It was bound to happen, she rides her gelding with
friends there a couple of times a week I think. The next time we had
other riders to pass by, Comet decided to have a mini-meltdown...there
was *no* room to manuver so, I just hopped off again. All the mares
were being a bit frisky, but my nerves just got the best of me...and
again, it was the right thing to do. Comet was cool once I stopped
bouncing her nerves right back at her! :-)
Got back on and we were cool the rest of the ride. It was longer than
intended, since I had *no* idea where we were and the BO and hubby
took a wrong turn. But it was a very nice ride and the gals seemed to
enjoy it too. We passed many other folks on foot and dogs too and
Comet was OK. I was doing better at be "OK" myself. I even passed my
neighbors - they live right across the street from me. Small world
eh?
They were walking and were tickled to finally "meet" Ms. Comet -
though by this time, we were heading home and Liza and Comet both
where doing the "I'm a TB, we don't walk" pace. <grin> Comet did
manange to stand for a few seconds so we didn't have to be totally
rude! :-)
For some reason, Liza and Comet both decided they would rather do a
nice little trot the entire way home. This is not allowed of course,
if I ask for a walk, she needs to walk...but it took some time, lots
of give and take before she finally realized that she could have a
nice long rein if she would just *walk*. She's not dumb, but she does
let her emotions get the best of her sometimes. Hmmm...sounds
familiar - I wonder why. ;-)
Anyway...we ended up riding for about 1 hr 45 min I think it was. No
cantering, but lots of long trot sessions, which was a *workout" for
Liza and Comet. Liza is 22 but not ridden very often at all. Comet,
at 28, is actually in *way* better shape than Liza. So, for Liza's
sake, and because all the mares started out ready to GO...we kept it
to just a walking/trotting ride. The hills were *excellent* exercise
for them all though. I'm really glad I decided to go another round of
hind shoes though. I was hoping to get to the park at least a couple
more times, so had my farrier put back on the hind shoes. I'll have
them pulled for winter when I'm sure I won't be making it down the to
park...it's a bit rocky in places and her shoes, with little tiny
"studs" really helps her on the roads.
When we got home, they were all pretty relaxed. In the park, we
passed people, some with dogs, some on bikes, and other riders. On
the road, we saw cars and trucks of course, and a few motorcycles,
which did spook Comet a little bit, but not bad. She just "scooted"
and that was it. Everyone we passed, for the most part, on the road
to the park, was very considerate of the horses. It's a nice area for
that.
The "gals" were soaked with sweat. It was really a warm day for this
time of year. It was near 60 and sunny...the previous day had a low
of *19*! Yikes! So, hairy beasts were cooled out and relaxed, but
still wet. There was no grooming that out all the way...so they got
turned out nekkid and Liza and Addy promptly rolled in the dirt,
making mud on their bodies! Comet has always managed to be the
cleanest of the bunch for some reason, but I'm off to the barn here
shortly, and I know I'll have "fun" getting her back to where she
usually is!
But it was a great ride and totally what we needed. Today is warm
too...and sunny...
Hope everyone else is doing well...JJ
Carl
> But it was a great ride and totally what we needed. Today is warm
> too...and sunny...
Great report!
Yesterday I was wearing my volunteer hat at Bucks Co HP for a
schooling trial. I was dressage ring steward and warm up ring steward
for three dressage rings by myself, which made for a very busy day.
Ring #3 and Ring #2 were close enough for me to pretty much see who
was in there, but the third ring on the top of the hill, not so much
so. Plus, some folks warmed up on the grass by the XC and then did the
dressage, so they were not down by the warm up ring at all. Most
people were really pleasant about my doing things on my onesys, but a
few people were quite put out that I could not tell them exactly how
the first ring was running. One woman said "well, call on your radio!"
and I said "yes, but it's just me. There is no one up there with a
radio. I can call myself and ask myself who is in the ring, but since
I am down here and don't know, I won't have a useful answer for me!"
<rolls eyes>
But mostly it was a lovely day, nice to be out all the day long, and
most people were very nice.
I came home and Carl wanted to ride, so I tossed the Western tack on
Belles and we did a dusk hack around the fields.
Eileen Morgan
The Mare's Nest
http://www.themaresnest.com
Judie
>
> But it was a great ride and totally what we needed. Today is warm
> too...and sunny...
>
> Hope everyone else is doing well...JJ
That sounded exhillirating! I bet it was beautiful to be out in the
fall colors.
I got off of Axl twice yesterday while riding in the arena. I had
ridden him Saturday for the first time in 2 weeks. He had started out
lazy but I got after him right away and he finished being very
energetic. Then Yesterday I set up some little jumps (2') because it
has been a while. He started out kind of lazy, I got after him and he
began to perk up. He perked up and up. We did trot canter transitions
and he had a bucking fit to the right. Little bucks but a bunch of
them. He settled down though and so I decided to trot the smallest
jump. That got him really excited and he bucked and then felt like he
was dancing on his toes so I got off and lunged him. He had a lot of
energy and threw a few bucks. i got back on and right away he still
felt edgy. He was still trotting on his toes and also bucking in place
and even did the all fours off the ground at a standstill. So I got
off of him and decided to free lunge him so that he could run with a
larger area. He did have a lot of energy still. He went for quite a
while and was a wet sweaty mess. When he seemed to have had enough, I
got back on. He still felt a little bouncy but after doing some trot
circles he became calm. So I trotted the small jump course and he was
a good boy. I did that 3 times giving him breaks in between. Then we
slow cantered the outside 2 jumps (one on either side) and he did a
nice slow collected canter up to them and after them he came right
back and settled and was a good boy.
I have my theories. I have started giving him the HA Complete that I
give Pixie and so he could be feeling good from that. I also have not
changed the feed and since he is not being ridden I fear he has gained
and it is making him jumpy. So I have started to reduce it. To be
honest, I probably feel a little loosey goosey although I tightened up
real good there toward the end. Pixie has totally spoiled me. She is
so smooth I don't even need to post really. Riding her in a western
saddle is just a matter of balancing with maybe a little leg at the
canter to help hold her together by taking back with the reins some
and encouraging her with a squeeze each stride so she can slow and
collect more in the turn to the right without breaking to a trot (her
weak side).
I really want to start taking lessons at least one day a week during
my lunch hour or something. There is a place not too far and I can
work late to make up the time. I know the trainer at that place - she
trained my first mare, Jade. She is very experienced and effective.
Hopefully, I will not lose too much ground over the winter.
Judie
Hunter Hampton
<judie.m...@gmail.com> wrote:
> That got him really excited and he bucked and then felt like he
>was dancing on his toes so I got off and lunged him.
I wondered if that made him think... hmmm... I bucked, she got off....
Say.............
Hunter
Judie
wrote:
> On Mon, 9 Nov 2009 09:07:13 -0800 (PST), Judie
>
> > That got him really excited and he bucked and then felt like he
> >was dancing on his toes so I got off and lunged him.
>
> I wondered if that made him think... hmmm... I bucked, she got off....
>
> Say.............
>
> Hunter
Well, yeah. My life was flashing before my eyes... what can I say?
Ultimately - he had to work harder and then I got back on and he
behaved so who knows. I am thinking he may need a younger rider
though.
Judie
Jane Saranac
"Carl" <ca...@silverstein.com> wrote in message
news:4af1b2f7-0421-4bf8...@f16g2000yqm.googlegroups.com...
>I came home and Carl wanted to ride, so I tossed the Western tack on
>Belles and we did a dusk hack around the fields.
>Eileen Morgan
>The Mare's Nest
>http://www.themaresnest.com
Neat.
I recently met someone you might know from the PA horseworld or eventing
world... Mark Susol? Seemed like a nice guy. Do you know him? In addition
to being a trainer he does side work shipping and he is the one picked up
Atticus for me in MD (did a fine job). I've also seen him at Horse World
Expo, he presents there -- and it also turns out he runs the infamous
Ultimate Dressage forum/bulletin board that Sharon is always quoting from.
The horse world is small so I thought you might know him.
Jane Saranac
"JJ" <jeffe...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:51b054de-02c7-418c...@k26g2000vbp.googlegroups.com...
>
> But it was a great ride and totally what we needed. Today is warm
> too...and sunny...
>
> Hope everyone else is doing well...JJ
What a great report! I'm so glad you had such a wonderful ride. That's a
long time under saddle, kind of like a hunter pace... I am so looking
forward to being able to do that kind of stuff with Atticus.
JJ
> Great report!
Thanks, it was a really great ride! I swear, we have to meet up at
some point at Jacobsburg for a ride! :-)
<snippage>
> <rolls eyes>
Some people - couldn't you just send yourself a call and then run up
there to get it!? ;-)
> But mostly it was a lovely day, nice to be out all the day long, and
> most people were very nice.
Good.
> I came home and Carl wanted to ride, so I tossed the Western tack on
> Belles and we did a dusk hack around the fields.
Sounds lovely.
Hope Baby is doing well! JJ
JJ
>
> Neat.
>
> I recently met someone you might know from the PA horseworld or eventing
> world... Mark Susol? Seemed like a nice guy. Do you know him? In addition
> to being a trainer he does side work shipping and he is the one picked up
> Atticus for me in MD (did a fine job). I've also seen him at Horse World
> Expo, he presents there -- and it also turns out he runs the infamous
> Ultimate Dressage forum/bulletin board that Sharon is always quoting from.
> The horse world is small so I thought you might know him.
Hi Jane,
I don't know him, but Eileen might? And I have a couple of friends
who probably do as well...It *is* still a very small world
though. :-) JJ
JJ
Hi Judie,
> That sounded exhillirating! I bet it was beautiful to be out in the
> fall colors.
It was a nice ride, but most of the leaves are long gone now. It was
still a very pretty ride though. If we'd gone two or three weeks
sooner, it really would have been colorful!
> I got off of Axl twice yesterday while riding in the arena. I had
> ridden him Saturday for the first time in 2 weeks. He had started out
> lazy but I got after him right away and he finished being very
> energetic. Then Yesterday I set up some little jumps (2') because it
> has been a while. He started out kind of lazy, I got after him and he
> began to perk up. He perked up and up. We did trot canter transitions
> and he had a bucking fit to the right. Little bucks but a bunch of
> them. He settled down though and so I decided to trot the smallest
> jump. That got him really excited and he bucked and then felt like he
> was dancing on his toes so I got off and lunged him. He had a lot of
> energy and threw a few bucks. i got back on and right away he still
> felt edgy. He was still trotting on his toes and also bucking in place
> and even did the all fours off the ground at a standstill. So I got
> off of him and decided to free lunge him so that he could run with a
> larger area. He did have a lot of energy still. He went for quite a
> while and was a wet sweaty mess. When he seemed to have had enough, I
> got back on. He still felt a little bouncy but after doing some trot
> circles he became calm. So I trotted the small jump course and he was
> a good boy. I did that 3 times giving him breaks in between. Then we
> slow cantered the outside 2 jumps (one on either side) and he did a
> nice slow collected canter up to them and after them he came right
> back and settled and was a good boy.
Sounds like a good end to the ride! It's nice when they are a little
frisky...If it means they feel good. A friend of mine reminded me
once how nice it was that I had a (at the time) 27 yr old mare that
still feel good enough to be silly from time to time! So, I thank my
blessings every time Comet is even remotely silly. :-D
> I have my theories. I have started giving him the HA Complete that I
> give Pixie and so he could be feeling good from that. I also have not
> changed the feed and since he is not being ridden I fear he has gained
> and it is making him jumpy. So I have started to reduce it. To be
> honest, I probably feel a little loosey goosey although I tightened up
> real good there toward the end. Pixie has totally spoiled me. She is
> so smooth I don't even need to post really. Riding her in a western
> saddle is just a matter of balancing with maybe a little leg at the
> canter to help hold her together by taking back with the reins some
> and encouraging her with a squeeze each stride so she can slow and
> collect more in the turn to the right without breaking to a trot (her
> weak side).
Sounds like your Pixie is doing really well too. I'm glad to hear it!
> I really want to start taking lessons at least one day a week during
> my lunch hour or something. There is a place not too far and I can
> work late to make up the time. I know the trainer at that place - she
> trained my first mare, Jade. She is very experienced and effective.
> Hopefully, I will not lose too much ground over the winter.
That sounds good. But you'd not be riding *your* critters there? I
hope to not loose too much over the winter either. More for Comet
than me. It's hard to keep her work consistent with no indoor
anymore...I could ride my friend's horse (Fleck - I've posted about
her - Comet old friend from our last barn)...she already asked me if I
could some during the winter.
Take care, JJ
JJ
>
> What a great report! I'm so glad you had such a wonderful ride. That's a
> long time under saddle, kind of like a hunter pace... I am so looking
> forward to being able to do that kind of stuff with Atticus.
It was longer than we intended. And Comet was pretty tired
yesterday...I rode today and she felt fine today, but she's off of her
feed a little bit. No fever...and felt fine. So, we'll see if she
gets back to eating today/tonight.
Thx! JJ
Judie
> > I really want to start taking lessons at least one day a week during
> > my lunch hour or something. There is a place not too far and I can
> > work late to make up the time. I know the trainer at that place - she
> > trained my first mare, Jade. She is very experienced and effective.
> > Hopefully, I will not lose too much ground over the winter.
>
> That sounds good. But you'd not be riding *your* critters there? I
> hope to not loose too much over the winter either. More for Comet
> than me. It's hard to keep her work consistent with no indoor
> anymore...I could ride my friend's horse (Fleck - I've posted about
> her - Comet old friend from our last barn)...she already asked me if I
> could some during the winter.
>
Do you have lights? But it must be cold at night huh? Riding your
friends horse will be good for you - is this horse at a different
place with an indoor or something? I just feel like riding on the
weekends is not enough plus it would be good to get some instruction.
I am letting Axl and Pixie grow their coats so asking them to work
hard in a lesson if the day is nice might cause over heating too.
Here's the deal. When I bought Pixie I had to redo my horse budget and
so boarding Axl during the winter so that I could ride is not an
option like it was last year. I don't have lights here - DH is
supposed to put some up for my B-Day which was Oct 3rd. But it doesn't
look like it's going to be happening soon. And I don't have a covered
arena so if we have a rainy winter then I won't be able to ride in the
arena on the weekends either. I don't have all weather footing so it
has to be fairly dried out which can take a while because it seems
like the ground will stay dewey and moist all the time now. It's
actually really nice right now - no dust - as long as the rain stays
away. But we don't want a drought either. It is "El Nino" I heard and
that will mean a wet winter for us and the South and the South East.
But it should be warm for the North - I think that is how it went.
So that is why I am considering taking a lesson during the week during
the day somewhere near my work and just make up the time after work as
needed. We have some flexibility but not a lot. I feed the horses so I
need to be home from work at a reasonable time so they don't get
upset.
They are out in pasture and will run around if there is something
exciting going on. Sometimes I put them in the arena to let them roll
and play. They can exercise themselves although for the most part they
just seem to stand around in their favorite spots.
Judie