November: where not much really got done.
General winter goals are still:
1. quit nagging, and reinforce that aids Mean Something.
2. prompter transitions (should follow from #1)
3. continue addressing my canter issues, as weather and footing permits
4. off-side mounting
5. strengthen my lower leg for more stability. (posting with no stirrups? two-point?)
Worked on #1 and #2 periodically. Canter work has been spotty. Off-side mounting was generally a success. Lower leg.. still needs work, but that's okay, we're still (very much) in winter.
November specific goals:
- If riding in saddle, mount from right side. 90% of the time, accomplished!
- Try shortening stirrups in Eurolight and work in two-point, working up to a half-mile; aim to do this once weekly as weather permits. I worked in two-point for at least a few minutes most rides where pony-brain permitted. Stirrups did not need to be shortened.
- Continue not nagging and being mindful of what I'm asking. I remembered this and mostly stuck to it. Continued progress required, but it's something.
October stats, since I did not note them in my post:
approx 72 miles, including one 25-mile LD
9 rides tracked - quiet 10 days pre-LD, quiet week after, some moseying/shorter rides that were not "real work" and didn't get logged. Miles & number of rides limited by heat wave + LD.
November stats:
approx 49 miles
9 rides tracked, plus some moseying/shorter rides. Limited by early darkness, rain, mud, and fallen trees.
Near the beginning of the month, I began round-penning Confetti before most of our rides. She's not getting out as much as she'd like, and this is my compromise. She's not working up a major sweat, or working until she's submissive, she's just working until her brain is back in her head and the excess energy is gone. The energy needs to be let out somewhere when we cannot safely get a fast and/or long work on the trails.
Unplanned noteable accomplishments:
- lunging on a line in the arena at walk/trot and with a few canter steps. No bolting! Just a polite little tiny canter. I was very, very impressed.
- one day of solid arena work, w/t/c, not included in the mileage count
- reflocked dressage saddle, since I believe that was the cause of the new white marks on Fetti's back
Spurs update:
Tried spurs again on a solo ride. They were totally unhelpful and made absolutely no difference. Verdict: complete failure, no need to use them for a while as they are not helpful.
December goals, then:
- if riding in saddle, mount from right. This needs to stay as a goal until it feels comfortable!
- wet-weather work: forwards walk! lateral work! halting from seat!
- avoid getting bucked off*
*a year ago I separated my shoulder after a particularly nasty buck had me hit the ground hard. Highly not recommended. Thus, primary goal for any actual trail rides this month involve staying on the horse, or at least not getting seriously hurt.
Showing posts with label recap/goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recap/goals. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Friday, October 31, 2014
October recap, November goals, general doldrums
Let's face it: this time of year sucks. The time change hits this weekend. The days are getting shorter. Our ride season appears to be over for the year. It's raining on and off, just enough to get the trails muddy and round pens a terrible mess for a few days a week.
I've been riding, but with less enthusiasm and drive. We're not really working towards anything. Not having concrete goals is hard.. and not having riding partners is hard, too, so I need to work on self-motivating more.
Last winter, we tapered too much and I got myself hurt as a result. It's easy for me to quit riding much once the time change hits (next week :( ) and the rains come. More importantly, I feel like I'm then lacking in goals and what's the point? So, in the spirit of addressing that, some long-term goals for the winter:
1. quit nagging, and reinforce that aids Mean Something.
2. prompter transitions (should follow from #1)
3. continue addressing my canter issues, as weather and footing permits
4. off-side mounting
5. strengthen my lower leg for more stability. (posting with no stirrups? two-point?)
Thank you for all the comments and suggestions on my last post! It feels sometimes like I'm the only one with the crazy frustrating horse who just. won't. go, and it's incredibly reassuring to hear that I'm not alone in dealing with that. I don't think I have a specific goal for "forwards or else", but we'll continue to school that and hopefully get back to that being less of an issue.
 |
| Different pony, same darkness view :( |
Last winter, we tapered too much and I got myself hurt as a result. It's easy for me to quit riding much once the time change hits (next week :( ) and the rains come. More importantly, I feel like I'm then lacking in goals and what's the point? So, in the spirit of addressing that, some long-term goals for the winter:
1. quit nagging, and reinforce that aids Mean Something.
2. prompter transitions (should follow from #1)
3. continue addressing my canter issues, as weather and footing permits
4. off-side mounting
5. strengthen my lower leg for more stability. (posting with no stirrups? two-point?)
Thank you for all the comments and suggestions on my last post! It feels sometimes like I'm the only one with the crazy frustrating horse who just. won't. go, and it's incredibly reassuring to hear that I'm not alone in dealing with that. I don't think I have a specific goal for "forwards or else", but we'll continue to school that and hopefully get back to that being less of an issue.
October goals were:
- Continue to add canter as comfort allows, making sure it's a polite canter and not a running-away canter. Accomplished! That said, it appears that my lower leg is not strong enough and not stable. Tall boots + dressage saddle masks the issue and "fixes" my canter.. so I'm clearly the limiting factor here and need to address that.
- Rasp hooves weekly to make sure boots fit for our early October ride. Technically accomplished, even if the end result wasn't as intended, that wasn't a result of my hoof trimming!
- Acquire clippers. Clip 'Fetti's neck shortly prior to October ride. Accomplished! No regrets there.
- School 'standing still while mounting' more. One step is vaguely tolerable at this point. More than that, absolutely not. We have indeed been working on this. It still needs work.
November goals need to be a little bit more specific or else I'm never going to get anything done! So:
- If riding in saddle, mount from right side.
- Try shortening stirrups in Eurolight and work in two-point, working up to a half-mile; aim to do this once weekly as weather permits.
- Continue not nagging and being mindful of what I'm asking.
I noted two new white splotches on Confetti's back. Baffling, but she tends to show them mainly when shedding each year. It finally clicked, however, when I felt the dressage saddle.. there are lumps in the flocking right there. Clearly, I need to get the saddle re-flocked. That's on the agenda for November, and has to happen for several reasons. It's my wet-weather saddle (fleece on the Specialized + rain = sad Fig). Pony is still working in dressage lessons semi-regularly. And.. I want to continue riding in it to work on my lower leg strength and cantering. On one hand, argh! But on the other hand, I'm so grateful that a cause showed itself quickly.
- Rasp hooves weekly to make sure boots fit for our early October ride. Technically accomplished, even if the end result wasn't as intended, that wasn't a result of my hoof trimming!
- Acquire clippers. Clip 'Fetti's neck shortly prior to October ride. Accomplished! No regrets there.
- School 'standing still while mounting' more. One step is vaguely tolerable at this point. More than that, absolutely not. We have indeed been working on this. It still needs work.
 |
| Totally unrelated: in which I established that I can use the halter with the add-on bridle & combination bit, though not very elegantly |
November goals need to be a little bit more specific or else I'm never going to get anything done! So:
- If riding in saddle, mount from right side.
- Try shortening stirrups in Eurolight and work in two-point, working up to a half-mile; aim to do this once weekly as weather permits.
- Continue not nagging and being mindful of what I'm asking.
I noted two new white splotches on Confetti's back. Baffling, but she tends to show them mainly when shedding each year. It finally clicked, however, when I felt the dressage saddle.. there are lumps in the flocking right there. Clearly, I need to get the saddle re-flocked. That's on the agenda for November, and has to happen for several reasons. It's my wet-weather saddle (fleece on the Specialized + rain = sad Fig). Pony is still working in dressage lessons semi-regularly. And.. I want to continue riding in it to work on my lower leg strength and cantering. On one hand, argh! But on the other hand, I'm so grateful that a cause showed itself quickly.
Saturday, October 4, 2014
September recap, October goals
Where did September go?!
September goals:
- Continue to add canter as comfort allows, making sure it's a polite canter and not a running-away canter. Mission accomplished!*
- Rasp hooves weekly to make sure boots fit for our early October ride. Kinda weekly? They are getting rasped, though.
- Acquire clippers. Clip 'Fetti's neck shortly prior to October ride. Clippers acquired and charged. I'll wash her neck this weekend and clip that same day, no sense ruining new clippers on a dirty horse.
- School 'standing still while mounting' more. Still working on that. It's been better, but not fixed.
Total mileage: 102.1. We're still comfortably averaging about 25 miles/week and that feels good for now. This month was a lot of shorter rides (6 rides under 3 miles) with two days of 15+ miles.
I've been pretty awful about progress-blogging lately, despite the fact that things keep happening. Good news: the non-horse stress is starting to die down some to a manageable level. That should leave me more able to put (more of) my head here.
*I mentioned earlier in the month about my cantering woes. I knew I wasn't feeling quite right in the Eurolight. Pinpointing exactly what was wrong proved difficult. It wasn't a matter of the saddle tipping forwards/backwards substantially, and trialing with a thinner pad was going to create more headache than I was willing to deal with. Shortening my stirrups a hole left my knees miserable within half a mile. Taking the caged stirrups off helped some, but didn't fix it. Finally, one day I had an epiphany: when I dropped my stirrups to walk around the barn, my feet were behind the stirrups. Hmm.. so I shifted the stirrups back an inch or two, and poof! Magic fix. Magic fix also left me incredibly muscle sore everywhere from suddenly riding correctly.
I do plan to re-try the caged stirrups after Quicksilver to see if they're workable with the new stirrup position, but I'm holding off on that for the moment.
We're getting a real, balanced canter these days. I no longer feel like she's running through me and balanced on her forehand. I probably never mentioned it on the blog, but we tried to school the canter on and off during our first year. It never felt fluid to me, I blamed myself, and I pretty much quit cantering after that. It's only in the past six months that I've gotten what I call a 'hunter' canter - balanced, fluid, light, not running - and that's been both bareback and under saddle. Sometime this past month, I mentioned that to one of my riding partners; she commented that her daughter (Fetti's previous rider) always felt strongly on the forehand and wondered if it was a pain issue. In hindsight, I doubt it was pain. I think Miss Fetti wasn't worked consistently and correctly enough to build the muscles for a solid canter. Taking the better part of two years off from cantering and focusing on balanced, correct carriage at the trot? Probably the best thing I ever did for her canter.
She still objects to cantering when I'm sitting wrong or putting her on her forehand. That's okay and clearly my problem rather than hers!
Other, un-noted accomplishments:
- Confetti has started to pee at the tie-rail after the ride, and a few times even on the trail. Cookies were had! She absolutely expects her cookie reward, but right now, I am totally okay with that.
- Met two unicycles on the trail. Totally unbothered.
- Stood very politely while a LOT of motorcycles roared by on the road not 30 feet away, even as we were unable to see any of said motorcycles and she wasn't particularly thrilled.
- Multiple bareback trail rides, one of which included a semi-racing Big Canter up a steep hill - and I found it fun and exhilarating rather than terrifying.
October goals:
- Quicksilver LD
- start working in the arena again periodically
- continue schooling 'stand while mounted'
- start schooling cleaner transitions on cue, not just on-anticipation
September goals:
- Continue to add canter as comfort allows, making sure it's a polite canter and not a running-away canter. Mission accomplished!*
- Rasp hooves weekly to make sure boots fit for our early October ride. Kinda weekly? They are getting rasped, though.
- Acquire clippers. Clip 'Fetti's neck shortly prior to October ride. Clippers acquired and charged. I'll wash her neck this weekend and clip that same day, no sense ruining new clippers on a dirty horse.
- School 'standing still while mounting' more. Still working on that. It's been better, but not fixed.
Total mileage: 102.1. We're still comfortably averaging about 25 miles/week and that feels good for now. This month was a lot of shorter rides (6 rides under 3 miles) with two days of 15+ miles.
I've been pretty awful about progress-blogging lately, despite the fact that things keep happening. Good news: the non-horse stress is starting to die down some to a manageable level. That should leave me more able to put (more of) my head here.
*I mentioned earlier in the month about my cantering woes. I knew I wasn't feeling quite right in the Eurolight. Pinpointing exactly what was wrong proved difficult. It wasn't a matter of the saddle tipping forwards/backwards substantially, and trialing with a thinner pad was going to create more headache than I was willing to deal with. Shortening my stirrups a hole left my knees miserable within half a mile. Taking the caged stirrups off helped some, but didn't fix it. Finally, one day I had an epiphany: when I dropped my stirrups to walk around the barn, my feet were behind the stirrups. Hmm.. so I shifted the stirrups back an inch or two, and poof! Magic fix. Magic fix also left me incredibly muscle sore everywhere from suddenly riding correctly.
I do plan to re-try the caged stirrups after Quicksilver to see if they're workable with the new stirrup position, but I'm holding off on that for the moment.
We're getting a real, balanced canter these days. I no longer feel like she's running through me and balanced on her forehand. I probably never mentioned it on the blog, but we tried to school the canter on and off during our first year. It never felt fluid to me, I blamed myself, and I pretty much quit cantering after that. It's only in the past six months that I've gotten what I call a 'hunter' canter - balanced, fluid, light, not running - and that's been both bareback and under saddle. Sometime this past month, I mentioned that to one of my riding partners; she commented that her daughter (Fetti's previous rider) always felt strongly on the forehand and wondered if it was a pain issue. In hindsight, I doubt it was pain. I think Miss Fetti wasn't worked consistently and correctly enough to build the muscles for a solid canter. Taking the better part of two years off from cantering and focusing on balanced, correct carriage at the trot? Probably the best thing I ever did for her canter.
She still objects to cantering when I'm sitting wrong or putting her on her forehand. That's okay and clearly my problem rather than hers!
Other, un-noted accomplishments:
- Confetti has started to pee at the tie-rail after the ride, and a few times even on the trail. Cookies were had! She absolutely expects her cookie reward, but right now, I am totally okay with that.
- Met two unicycles on the trail. Totally unbothered.
- Stood very politely while a LOT of motorcycles roared by on the road not 30 feet away, even as we were unable to see any of said motorcycles and she wasn't particularly thrilled.
- Multiple bareback trail rides, one of which included a semi-racing Big Canter up a steep hill - and I found it fun and exhilarating rather than terrifying.
October goals:
- Quicksilver LD
- start working in the arena again periodically
- continue schooling 'stand while mounted'
- start schooling cleaner transitions on cue, not just on-anticipation
Thursday, September 11, 2014
August recap, September goals, various updates
August goals were:
- 15+ mile rides once or twice during the month - Fail. But: two back-to-back 10mile days, which for our purposes is pretty close to one 15+ mile ride. Oh wait - actually, success! We rode with Quicksilver for 4-5 miles, then 5ish miles there and home as well, so that's close to 15. That just didn't get completely logged.
- Get rid of hives - Check. Thankfully, she's shedding, and as her new coat comes in we're losing the visible spots.
- Continue speed work approx. once weekly - Check! Five rides at 5mph or over.
- Continue heat work (as much for me as for her) - Check? I think we did, anyway, but the past two months are all blurring together. If I elyte, I do better. I'm learning.
- Rebuild trail confidence; eliminate backing up as an evasion again. - This appears to be resolved, but I'm not convinced it won't flare back up again before resolving for a while.
Total mileage: approx 90. A bit lower than usual, but well within normal.
Bonus for a lesson in August, with a tiny bit of jumping!
September goals:
- Continue to add canter as comfort allows, making sure it's a polite canter and not a running-away canter.
- Rasp hooves weekly to make sure boots fit for our early October ride.
- Acquire clippers. Clip 'Fetti's neck shortly prior to October ride.
- School 'standing still while mounting' more. One step is vaguely tolerable at this point. More than that, absolutely not.
On saddles:
My Eurolight spent two weeks away getting fixed.
I was riding in the Thorowgood with some bareback work for good measure. Sweat patterns are still good. I am so, so lucky to have a second saddle that works for the silly horse and I. I'm not as secure, and having regular English stirrups and irons definitely impacts my leg comfort, but we did a moderately brisk 18-mile ride last week with no real problems.
On hydration:
Human: I bought a new Nathan Intensity pack and I love it. It's 2L rather than my previous 3L pack, but it barely bounces at all, even when cantering. I did not love the bite valve that came with, so I 'borrowed' the Camelbak's bite valve and tube from my boyfriend's Camelbak (oops, bad girlfriend!) for the time being, aka until I make it to REI for a new one for me. Then again, maybe I should give him the new one...
It also has a nifty little pocket in front I can store elyte tabs in, increasing the likelihood I'll remember to take them regularly.
Horse: On a whim, I bought a Himalayan salt block to hang in her stall maybe two months ago? Confetti has now gone through the entire thing. She's drinking substantially more - this was the mare that used to go through maaaaybe a third of the 'standard' water bucket, and now goes through half of a double-sized one in a day. No complaints here; I'm happy she's drinking.
Thorowgood:
Hex key acquired and worked nicely! We're now in the MW gullet, I believe, and I'm feeling more balanced that way. I don't have a wool pad to go underneath and frankly would be concerned about messing with the fit by adding mine, so standard English pads it is. That does mean that using the heart monitor is not a good option: the electrodes have trouble sticking to the English pads.
Despite it being a dressage saddle, I had another gal at the barn help me out and stick the knee blocks in a more AP-type position, supporting my calves rather than my thighs. I can't necessarily recommend it to anyone, but it is working much better for me now.
Tiny horse problems: my 22" Woolback girth reaches nearly to the bottom of the saddle on both sides. Yikes!
Eurolight repairs and discoveries:
I had new billets put on my saddle along with replacing the crupper ring. Either the old billets stretched, or the new ones are shorter. They're easily four inches shorter. This puts my 22" Woolback girth on holes 2 & 3. I sense a new girth in our future.
Also, I snugged up the breastcollar some when I put the saddle on. I'm not sure how it looked good before, but it seems to look fine now.
My trainer had mentioned that the Eurolight doesn't allow you to really get your knees against the horse. I hadn't understood that then. I do now. I suspect I could resolve that somewhat by using a thinner pad, and may experiment with putting the dressage pads back on to see if the sweat patterns are still good (or not).
Cantering:
Our canter work feels vastly improved. There are still times I'm up in a bastard two-point position. However, there are now a near-equal amount of times when I'm just calmly sitting and staying with her motion. I'm not entirely sure what's changed. The real test will be trying it in the Eurolight to see if I can keep that feeling.
Verdict: no, not really. My lower leg stability is not there in the Eurolight (probably related to my knees flaring out, see previous point!), and it is in the dressage saddle with knee blocks. I can hold the canter for a few strides and have it feel correct, but not the lengths we were getting in the Thorowgood. At this point, I think I will probably continue to work on those handful of strides, but make a point to pull out the Thorowgood weekly-or-so for canter sets.
Two-point and running martingales, or, I am very used to these Haflingers:
I've pondered for a while how folks would actually end up with horses hitting them in the head. I mean, I have to be falling forwards to hit her neck! It finally clicked: it seems like normal horses have a higher headset, Arabs/Saddlebred types in particular. Fetti and the other Haffies default to a flatter headset. Alternatively, I'm just not seeing the high-headed Haffie photos and low-headed other horse photos?
In any case, two-point is awfully hard in non-jumping length stirrups and with the mane three inches lower than I want to grab.
- 15+ mile rides once or twice during the month - Fail. But: two back-to-back 10mile days, which for our purposes is pretty close to one 15+ mile ride. Oh wait - actually, success! We rode with Quicksilver for 4-5 miles, then 5ish miles there and home as well, so that's close to 15. That just didn't get completely logged.
- Get rid of hives - Check. Thankfully, she's shedding, and as her new coat comes in we're losing the visible spots.
- Continue speed work approx. once weekly - Check! Five rides at 5mph or over.
- Continue heat work (as much for me as for her) - Check? I think we did, anyway, but the past two months are all blurring together. If I elyte, I do better. I'm learning.
- Rebuild trail confidence; eliminate backing up as an evasion again. - This appears to be resolved, but I'm not convinced it won't flare back up again before resolving for a while.
Total mileage: approx 90. A bit lower than usual, but well within normal.
Bonus for a lesson in August, with a tiny bit of jumping!
September goals:
- Continue to add canter as comfort allows, making sure it's a polite canter and not a running-away canter.
- Rasp hooves weekly to make sure boots fit for our early October ride.
- Acquire clippers. Clip 'Fetti's neck shortly prior to October ride.
- School 'standing still while mounting' more. One step is vaguely tolerable at this point. More than that, absolutely not.
On saddles:
My Eurolight spent two weeks away getting fixed.
I was riding in the Thorowgood with some bareback work for good measure. Sweat patterns are still good. I am so, so lucky to have a second saddle that works for the silly horse and I. I'm not as secure, and having regular English stirrups and irons definitely impacts my leg comfort, but we did a moderately brisk 18-mile ride last week with no real problems. On hydration:
Human: I bought a new Nathan Intensity pack and I love it. It's 2L rather than my previous 3L pack, but it barely bounces at all, even when cantering. I did not love the bite valve that came with, so I 'borrowed' the Camelbak's bite valve and tube from my boyfriend's Camelbak (oops, bad girlfriend!) for the time being, aka until I make it to REI for a new one for me. Then again, maybe I should give him the new one...
It also has a nifty little pocket in front I can store elyte tabs in, increasing the likelihood I'll remember to take them regularly.
Horse: On a whim, I bought a Himalayan salt block to hang in her stall maybe two months ago? Confetti has now gone through the entire thing. She's drinking substantially more - this was the mare that used to go through maaaaybe a third of the 'standard' water bucket, and now goes through half of a double-sized one in a day. No complaints here; I'm happy she's drinking.
Thorowgood:
Hex key acquired and worked nicely! We're now in the MW gullet, I believe, and I'm feeling more balanced that way. I don't have a wool pad to go underneath and frankly would be concerned about messing with the fit by adding mine, so standard English pads it is. That does mean that using the heart monitor is not a good option: the electrodes have trouble sticking to the English pads.
Despite it being a dressage saddle, I had another gal at the barn help me out and stick the knee blocks in a more AP-type position, supporting my calves rather than my thighs. I can't necessarily recommend it to anyone, but it is working much better for me now.
Tiny horse problems: my 22" Woolback girth reaches nearly to the bottom of the saddle on both sides. Yikes!
 |
| If you embiggen, knee block placement is almost visible, sort of. |
Eurolight repairs and discoveries:
I had new billets put on my saddle along with replacing the crupper ring. Either the old billets stretched, or the new ones are shorter. They're easily four inches shorter. This puts my 22" Woolback girth on holes 2 & 3. I sense a new girth in our future.
Also, I snugged up the breastcollar some when I put the saddle on. I'm not sure how it looked good before, but it seems to look fine now.
My trainer had mentioned that the Eurolight doesn't allow you to really get your knees against the horse. I hadn't understood that then. I do now. I suspect I could resolve that somewhat by using a thinner pad, and may experiment with putting the dressage pads back on to see if the sweat patterns are still good (or not).
 |
| Saddle looks awfully plain without a pink saddlebag, but I just wanted to RIDE. Also, the stirrup was on backwards. That did get fixed. |
Cantering:
Our canter work feels vastly improved. There are still times I'm up in a bastard two-point position. However, there are now a near-equal amount of times when I'm just calmly sitting and staying with her motion. I'm not entirely sure what's changed. The real test will be trying it in the Eurolight to see if I can keep that feeling.
Verdict: no, not really. My lower leg stability is not there in the Eurolight (probably related to my knees flaring out, see previous point!), and it is in the dressage saddle with knee blocks. I can hold the canter for a few strides and have it feel correct, but not the lengths we were getting in the Thorowgood. At this point, I think I will probably continue to work on those handful of strides, but make a point to pull out the Thorowgood weekly-or-so for canter sets.
Two-point and running martingales, or, I am very used to these Haflingers:
I've pondered for a while how folks would actually end up with horses hitting them in the head. I mean, I have to be falling forwards to hit her neck! It finally clicked: it seems like normal horses have a higher headset, Arabs/Saddlebred types in particular. Fetti and the other Haffies default to a flatter headset. Alternatively, I'm just not seeing the high-headed Haffie photos and low-headed other horse photos?
In any case, two-point is awfully hard in non-jumping length stirrups and with the mane three inches lower than I want to grab.
We're four weeks out from our next ride. Yikes! Expect some ride-prep (or lack thereof) posts soon.
Friday, August 1, 2014
July recap, August goals
July was an improvement over June!
I never did get around to setting goals. It was a month of putting one foot in front of the other and just getting through.
- We entered and completed Fireworks 25 midway through the month. Aside from the whole forgetting-girth part, it was awesome. Confetti did brilliantly. I could not have asked for a better, more confidence-building ride.
- Confetti is not lame.
That about covers all of the hopes at the beginning of the month!
She does have hives. I'm confident the cause is a different type of wood pellets I tried, as the hives showed up within days of adding them and she's never had allergic reactions to anything before. The hives are focused mainly on her left hindquarters/leg, with some on her belly: right where she lies down. I started her on Benadryl yesterday after a week of no visible changes. They're not getting any worse since I stripped the stall, but they're also not getting any better. She's itchy, and actively trying to scratch there when no one is looking. She's cranky towards her neighbors because she itches (and has a few scrapes to show for it. Mares!). I am comfortable riding her and she's happy to get out.. so that's something.
July was a higher-mileage month than usual. I think this can partly be attributed to the numbers being too high - our 18 mile ride yesterday showed up as 22, and I know it's not that far. Our total comes to something around 120 miles, including our 25. If you consider that the 18 was mostly walking and only qualifies as work due to the time spent.. that puts us right about 100.
August goals:
- 15+ mile rides once or twice during the month
- Get rid of hives
- Continue speed work approx. once weekly
- Continue heat work (as much for me as for her)
- Rebuild trail confidence; eliminate backing up as an evasion again.
Aside from the whole hives thing, I'm really happy with where we are right now and don't feel anything but her confidence needs much work. (I am so done with the whole 'back up because I'm terrified' 'make the other horse go first' nonsense. So done. It's occasionally valid, but currently 95% an act.) Overtraining is going to be more of a concern than under-conditioning. We've logged the miles and now I need to trust my horse.
I never did get around to setting goals. It was a month of putting one foot in front of the other and just getting through.
- We entered and completed Fireworks 25 midway through the month. Aside from the whole forgetting-girth part, it was awesome. Confetti did brilliantly. I could not have asked for a better, more confidence-building ride.
- Confetti is not lame.
That about covers all of the hopes at the beginning of the month!
She does have hives. I'm confident the cause is a different type of wood pellets I tried, as the hives showed up within days of adding them and she's never had allergic reactions to anything before. The hives are focused mainly on her left hindquarters/leg, with some on her belly: right where she lies down. I started her on Benadryl yesterday after a week of no visible changes. They're not getting any worse since I stripped the stall, but they're also not getting any better. She's itchy, and actively trying to scratch there when no one is looking. She's cranky towards her neighbors because she itches (and has a few scrapes to show for it. Mares!). I am comfortable riding her and she's happy to get out.. so that's something.
July was a higher-mileage month than usual. I think this can partly be attributed to the numbers being too high - our 18 mile ride yesterday showed up as 22, and I know it's not that far. Our total comes to something around 120 miles, including our 25. If you consider that the 18 was mostly walking and only qualifies as work due to the time spent.. that puts us right about 100.
August goals:
- 15+ mile rides once or twice during the month
- Get rid of hives
- Continue speed work approx. once weekly
- Continue heat work (as much for me as for her)
- Rebuild trail confidence; eliminate backing up as an evasion again.
Aside from the whole hives thing, I'm really happy with where we are right now and don't feel anything but her confidence needs much work. (I am so done with the whole 'back up because I'm terrified' 'make the other horse go first' nonsense. So done. It's occasionally valid, but currently 95% an act.) Overtraining is going to be more of a concern than under-conditioning. We've logged the miles and now I need to trust my horse.
Monday, June 30, 2014
June recap, hello July
Have I mentioned already that I am so over June already?
week #1: no ride Sunday, probably because she earned a break after the previous week. 7.7 miles total, NQR Saturday with kick marks, snarky and obnoxious all weekweek #2: 9 miles Sunday [feeling juuuust fine], 7 miles total in the rest of the week - but NQR on Thursday, too. Off feed & mildly colicky on Saturday.
week #3: Off feed (but not colicky!) through Wednesday. Rode Tuesday slowly anyway. 15.4 miles total this week with Thursday her first day back in real work.
week #4: 20 miles this week, rode through Thursday so a full week of rides for once! Lame Saturday & Sunday.
So.. sum total of mileage.. is about 59 miles. Four different lameness/NQR episodes in four weeks.
week #1: no ride Sunday, probably because she earned a break after the previous week. 7.7 miles total, NQR Saturday with kick marks, snarky and obnoxious all weekweek #2: 9 miles Sunday [feeling juuuust fine], 7 miles total in the rest of the week - but NQR on Thursday, too. Off feed & mildly colicky on Saturday.
week #3: Off feed (but not colicky!) through Wednesday. Rode Tuesday slowly anyway. 15.4 miles total this week with Thursday her first day back in real work.
week #4: 20 miles this week, rode through Thursday so a full week of rides for once! Lame Saturday & Sunday.
So.. sum total of mileage.. is about 59 miles. Four different lameness/NQR episodes in four weeks.
June goals:
- weekly canter work in dressage tack - once? but I did get a good canter-work in with the Specialized, so that's something. twice!
- get out to Wilder once, if doable in the first two weeks (18-22 miles) - deemed not doable
- one speed work weekly (possibly in dressage tack?) - twice total? (see above canter works)
- downhill trotting through some of the Fireworks trail - haha, nope
If I were superstitious, I'd blame it on Mercury being in retrograde (June 7-July 2). Instead, the idea that June is almost over is a very comforting one. It's been one mishap after another after another.
Sunday is final decision day. If she's sound and happy and moving well, we'll go for Fireworks. If she's not, we'll skip. (Why haven't I called it already? Several reasons. Most injuries this month have been minor and self-resolved quickly. She's not generally an accident-prone horse. Conditioning is done. She'll be booted on all 4 feet for the trail.)
It really sucks to miss the one yearly ride that I know I can find a ride to - or worst case, walk her over and call it good. No trailer means I'm otherwise at the mercy of local riders and friends. But I'm not willing to ask for a big effort if she's not feeling 100%.
July goals have been postponed until next weekend..
Thursday, June 5, 2014
May recap, June goals
NATRC ride: done! Relatively successful on all counts.
Additional 15-mile day: check, two long days in a row even!
Canter work: check! Not as much as I'd hoped, but we're working on it.
I'm finding that my canter seat is better in the dressage saddle and tall boots, so last Thursday we did that and worked on cantering where we could. It's not clear to me what exactly the differences are; I think I ride more 'properly' in tall boots since that was drilled in to me for so long. My theory right now is that I should aim to do one ride weekly in dressage gear to work on my canter issues, with the hopes that it will eventually transfer to endurance tack.
Total May mileage: 117.6. For all that it felt like a lazy, not-doing-anything month.. we still managed to get some solid rides in there.
We're still settling in at around 25 miles weekly. It works for us - we did *7* miles the week after Mt Diablo, and some weeks are closer to 30. I'd love to back off her physical workload. I know that theoretically I'm probably overtraining. Unfortunately, if I do that.. and I did in December.. I have a very amped-up horse who gets obnoxious, spooky, and naughty.
(The first week of December, we did one ride of 7 miles. The second week, we did two rides totalling 8 miles. The third week she bucked me off.)
Total May mileage: 117.6. For all that it felt like a lazy, not-doing-anything month.. we still managed to get some solid rides in there.
We're still settling in at around 25 miles weekly. It works for us - we did *7* miles the week after Mt Diablo, and some weeks are closer to 30. I'd love to back off her physical workload. I know that theoretically I'm probably overtraining. Unfortunately, if I do that.. and I did in December.. I have a very amped-up horse who gets obnoxious, spooky, and naughty.
(The first week of December, we did one ride of 7 miles. The second week, we did two rides totalling 8 miles. The third week she bucked me off.)
June goals:
- weekly canter work in dressage tack
- get out to Wilder once, if doable in the first two weeks (18-22 miles)
- one speed work weekly (possibly in dressage tack?)
- downhill trotting through some of the Fireworks trail
Friday, May 2, 2014
April recap, May goals
April recap:
- Ride more. Ask harder questions. Due to car troubles at the beginning of the month and an out-of-state vacation at the end of the month.. total fail.
- Focus on increasing distance rather than increasing speed. Two 8-10 mile rides, one 13 mile ride. Nothing very extraordinary to see here.
- Work on within-gait changes of speed. Hm. Worked on it a bit. Needs more focus and more work.
- Weather and time permitting, at least one 15+ mile day, whether all at once or split between two rides. As long as we're trotting a good chunk of it, speed is not important. Check! One 19-mile day, one 10-mile day.
Total April mileage: 82.52 with me. Two trainer rides while I was gone, one dressage ride while I was gone.
May goals:
- complete NATRC ride at Mount Diablo tomorrow(!) with minimal drama or panic and plenty of horse left (bonus points if I have energy left at the end and she's rateable the whole way).
- Again, at least one (other) 15+ mile day, split or not.
- Start adding canter work to build stamina/fix my position, but only on the way out or round pen/arena work.
- Ride more. Ask harder questions. Due to car troubles at the beginning of the month and an out-of-state vacation at the end of the month.. total fail.
- Focus on increasing distance rather than increasing speed. Two 8-10 mile rides, one 13 mile ride. Nothing very extraordinary to see here.
- Work on within-gait changes of speed. Hm. Worked on it a bit. Needs more focus and more work.
- Weather and time permitting, at least one 15+ mile day, whether all at once or split between two rides. As long as we're trotting a good chunk of it, speed is not important. Check! One 19-mile day, one 10-mile day.
Total April mileage: 82.52 with me. Two trainer rides while I was gone, one dressage ride while I was gone.
May goals:
- complete NATRC ride at Mount Diablo tomorrow(!) with minimal drama or panic and plenty of horse left (bonus points if I have energy left at the end and she's rateable the whole way).
- Again, at least one (other) 15+ mile day, split or not.
- Start adding canter work to build stamina/fix my position, but only on the way out or round pen/arena work.
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
March recap and April goals
There have been some really good rides lately. I've started at least four separate posts, gone for late rides, come home late and then I'm too tired to blog them out. On the whole, she's been pretty awesome.
This past weekend was a local ACTHA event. I try not to fry 'Fetti's brain by asking her to do all the obstacles, but I thought volunteer-riding it would be an excellent experience for her. Rating speed, bunch of horses, home terrain. It doesn't sound so bad!
We headed out in the rain Saturday morning early for a pre-ride. Five miles of brisk trot to meet up with folks. She was clearly a bit amped, but I figured we'd be going slow enough she'd be fine. Instead, she was borderline explosive, needing to keep alternating walk/tinyjog to keep up with the gaited horses in front of us, then stand awhile while the humans chatted. She threw a few bucks. I had chosen to ride in my synthetic Thorowgood in the interest of not soaking my good saddle; I decided, after several bucks, that I would be just fine hiking with her for a while. Even walking, she was pretty amped still. We made it through the six mile ride relatively incident-free. She was still lacking in brainpower. Then we headed home alone. I knew she needed a good run. I knew she couldn't have that run in the round pen (tried that, too muddy) or the round pen or arena at home (same problem). So.. off we went to the fire road.
In hindsight, I regret not turning on tracking for this ride. I grabbed the front of my dressage saddle and let her really go up the fire road - full-blown gallop. We walked for thirty seconds or so while she caught her breath, maybe not that long. Off again. Stopped for a few pats by passing hikers. Off again - still at a full gallop. Walked past a bike and flew up the last section of the hill. Lessons learned: I can stick bucks and gallop in the dressage saddle. We weren't done, though, much to my dismay. Headed through the sand wash at the top, a slight downhill.. I let her trot rather than risk another hissy fit. Trot turned to canter, canter turned to gallop, gallop got mixed with bucks. Both stirrups gone, wet reins, visions of flying over her head.. in the wet sand.. by myself. One-rein stop is the usual option - but I didn't think I could stick the turning. I hollered at her, hauled back on the reins, stopped her and immediately bailed to walk the next four miles. I love my horse but man, that sucked. I did get back on to walk sedately the last mile home. It was cold, rainy, and very wet, and I was tired of walking.
Sunday, we were given a trailer ride over. 'Fetti called a bit when we arrived, but was otherwise well-behaved. I tacked up, eventually hopped on, and we had an excellent, sedate six-mile walk on a loose rein. Inner calm and channeling our Western Pleasure dreams made for a wonderful ride. The trails were pretty slick, so when we rode home, I stuck to our sedate walk. I stayed on all ten miles and we slid down a bunch of steep hills. The pony was excellent. She earned her carrots! (Come to think of it.. I actually forgot to give her the carrots and they are still in the tack room. Oops!)
Key lessons:
- Pony cannot go from 'brisk endurance mode' to 'sedate, lazy trail horse' very easily.
- Turnout. Turnout. Turnout.
- Four days of minimal work leaves me with a firecracker horse. Can I learn this lesson yet?
So, March.
Total tracked mileage on Fetti: 65.79. Add 22 more for the weekend (or so), but mostly not Real Work. Wet, slow month for us.
Goals were -
Weather permitting, one 8+ mile ride weekly, aiming for 12-15 twice in March if possible. Hm. I think we had two days with total (ridden) mileage over 10, but only just. (Not counted: the past weekend's two days with mileage over 10 both days, but one day of solid walking and one day with over half of it hiking.) Various factors contributed; weather was a big one. We'll try this again in April.
- continue experimenting with Myler combination bit. Success! I'm fairly happy with it. I do need to be mindful to use both bits and not hold her too much with the stronger one, else it will lose its effectiveness as well.
- focus on riding balanced even when fighting her for forwards. I don't think I fought for much forwards this month. I will give myself points for balanced riding and being more conscious of my bareback seat (not slouching to absorb the motion).
- work on Confetti's confidence when taking 9 out for a solo ride. I don't think this happened, mainly because I lacked motivation to work her on 9 in the mud.
April goals:
- Ride more. Ask harder questions.
- Focus on increasing distance rather than increasing speed.
- Work on within-gait changes of speed
- Weather and time permitting, at least one 15+ mile day, whether all at once or split between two rides. As long as we're trotting a good chunk of it, speed is not important.
I have photos and videos, but I am so very fried by non-horse life the past few days that it will have to wait til later this week!
This past weekend was a local ACTHA event. I try not to fry 'Fetti's brain by asking her to do all the obstacles, but I thought volunteer-riding it would be an excellent experience for her. Rating speed, bunch of horses, home terrain. It doesn't sound so bad!
We headed out in the rain Saturday morning early for a pre-ride. Five miles of brisk trot to meet up with folks. She was clearly a bit amped, but I figured we'd be going slow enough she'd be fine. Instead, she was borderline explosive, needing to keep alternating walk/tinyjog to keep up with the gaited horses in front of us, then stand awhile while the humans chatted. She threw a few bucks. I had chosen to ride in my synthetic Thorowgood in the interest of not soaking my good saddle; I decided, after several bucks, that I would be just fine hiking with her for a while. Even walking, she was pretty amped still. We made it through the six mile ride relatively incident-free. She was still lacking in brainpower. Then we headed home alone. I knew she needed a good run. I knew she couldn't have that run in the round pen (tried that, too muddy) or the round pen or arena at home (same problem). So.. off we went to the fire road.
In hindsight, I regret not turning on tracking for this ride. I grabbed the front of my dressage saddle and let her really go up the fire road - full-blown gallop. We walked for thirty seconds or so while she caught her breath, maybe not that long. Off again. Stopped for a few pats by passing hikers. Off again - still at a full gallop. Walked past a bike and flew up the last section of the hill. Lessons learned: I can stick bucks and gallop in the dressage saddle. We weren't done, though, much to my dismay. Headed through the sand wash at the top, a slight downhill.. I let her trot rather than risk another hissy fit. Trot turned to canter, canter turned to gallop, gallop got mixed with bucks. Both stirrups gone, wet reins, visions of flying over her head.. in the wet sand.. by myself. One-rein stop is the usual option - but I didn't think I could stick the turning. I hollered at her, hauled back on the reins, stopped her and immediately bailed to walk the next four miles. I love my horse but man, that sucked. I did get back on to walk sedately the last mile home. It was cold, rainy, and very wet, and I was tired of walking.
Sunday, we were given a trailer ride over. 'Fetti called a bit when we arrived, but was otherwise well-behaved. I tacked up, eventually hopped on, and we had an excellent, sedate six-mile walk on a loose rein. Inner calm and channeling our Western Pleasure dreams made for a wonderful ride. The trails were pretty slick, so when we rode home, I stuck to our sedate walk. I stayed on all ten miles and we slid down a bunch of steep hills. The pony was excellent. She earned her carrots! (Come to think of it.. I actually forgot to give her the carrots and they are still in the tack room. Oops!)
Key lessons:
- Pony cannot go from 'brisk endurance mode' to 'sedate, lazy trail horse' very easily.
- Turnout. Turnout. Turnout.
- Four days of minimal work leaves me with a firecracker horse. Can I learn this lesson yet?
So, March.
Total tracked mileage on Fetti: 65.79. Add 22 more for the weekend (or so), but mostly not Real Work. Wet, slow month for us.
Goals were -
Weather permitting, one 8+ mile ride weekly, aiming for 12-15 twice in March if possible. Hm. I think we had two days with total (ridden) mileage over 10, but only just. (Not counted: the past weekend's two days with mileage over 10 both days, but one day of solid walking and one day with over half of it hiking.) Various factors contributed; weather was a big one. We'll try this again in April.
- continue experimenting with Myler combination bit. Success! I'm fairly happy with it. I do need to be mindful to use both bits and not hold her too much with the stronger one, else it will lose its effectiveness as well.
- focus on riding balanced even when fighting her for forwards. I don't think I fought for much forwards this month. I will give myself points for balanced riding and being more conscious of my bareback seat (not slouching to absorb the motion).
- work on Confetti's confidence when taking 9 out for a solo ride. I don't think this happened, mainly because I lacked motivation to work her on 9 in the mud.
April goals:
- Ride more. Ask harder questions.
- Focus on increasing distance rather than increasing speed.
- Work on within-gait changes of speed
- Weather and time permitting, at least one 15+ mile day, whether all at once or split between two rides. As long as we're trotting a good chunk of it, speed is not important.
I have photos and videos, but I am so very fried by non-horse life the past few days that it will have to wait til later this week!
Monday, March 3, 2014
February recap; March goals
February:
Weekly mileage is down, as expected, due to some much-needed RAIN coming our way twice this month! Two fast rides (6.7mph), but mostly around 4-5mph.
March:
- Weather permitting, one 8+ mile ride weekly, aiming for 12-15 twice in March if possible.
- continue experimenting with Myler combination bit
- focus on riding balanced even when fighting her for forwards
- work on Confetti's confidence when taking 9 out for a solo ride
What was I saying about the rain? Oh, right.. we're getting it now. Not enough to flood the barn, but quite a bit of rain.
My goal for Tuesday was a brisk ride before the rain kicked in the next day, knowing this would probably be our last shot with the dam down. As luck would have it, my Pony Club friend was willing to head on out, so we did a moderately-fast ride out to the deck (3 miles, 33 minutes, hills!) and a slower ride home (45 minutes - on par with my semi-normal) so the horses could cool off. Normally her gelding goes even faster, but he's a bit out of shape and settled for a sedate canter/brisk trot rather than a gallop/fast canter on most of the hills.
I bought a Myler combination bit and new snap-on headstall to go with. I was reasonably confident my halter-bridle wouldn't have sufficiently short bit attachments; that was correct. It's frustrating feeling that I'm constantly pulling on Confetti; I don't want to be hauling on her to get half-halts when she's forwards. The combination leaves me ever-so-cautiously optimistic that we may have found a compromise.
At one point, this WAS a running braid. Oh, pony.
I do think I had the rawhide noseband too low in this picture. More fiddling required.
Also: the bit came without a chinstrap. Hooray for hoarding tendencies, where I had a pink curb chain that fits nicely!
Weekly mileage is down, as expected, due to some much-needed RAIN coming our way twice this month! Two fast rides (6.7mph), but mostly around 4-5mph.
March:
- Weather permitting, one 8+ mile ride weekly, aiming for 12-15 twice in March if possible.
- continue experimenting with Myler combination bit
- focus on riding balanced even when fighting her for forwards
- work on Confetti's confidence when taking 9 out for a solo ride
What was I saying about the rain? Oh, right.. we're getting it now. Not enough to flood the barn, but quite a bit of rain.
My goal for Tuesday was a brisk ride before the rain kicked in the next day, knowing this would probably be our last shot with the dam down. As luck would have it, my Pony Club friend was willing to head on out, so we did a moderately-fast ride out to the deck (3 miles, 33 minutes, hills!) and a slower ride home (45 minutes - on par with my semi-normal) so the horses could cool off. Normally her gelding goes even faster, but he's a bit out of shape and settled for a sedate canter/brisk trot rather than a gallop/fast canter on most of the hills.
I bought a Myler combination bit and new snap-on headstall to go with. I was reasonably confident my halter-bridle wouldn't have sufficiently short bit attachments; that was correct. It's frustrating feeling that I'm constantly pulling on Confetti; I don't want to be hauling on her to get half-halts when she's forwards. The combination leaves me ever-so-cautiously optimistic that we may have found a compromise.
At one point, this WAS a running braid. Oh, pony.I do think I had the rawhide noseband too low in this picture. More fiddling required.
Also: the bit came without a chinstrap. Hooray for hoarding tendencies, where I had a pink curb chain that fits nicely!
Since Tuesday, this is what most of our rides have consisted of. Bareback meanderings around the barn. Good news: I can sit her trot bareback now!
Expecting similar this week, but we'll see if I luck out and the rain lets up enough to let the trails dry for a ride.
Expecting similar this week, but we'll see if I luck out and the rain lets up enough to let the trails dry for a ride.
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