Mid May Weekend Plans

[Ample Prosecco]

@Red-1 thank you D is very good at coming to the mounting block and occasionally has tried to joining me on it but not so good at staying still (she finds this a difficult concept which we are currently working on) I think she was a race horse in a past life . Because she's my first since my teenage years it's really making me think about teaching the basics right in a different way.

Teaching a horse to stand still for mounting is well worth spending a bit of time on. I've started doing a few video clips in a series called 'Make the Easy Stuff Easy' - focused on confidence. People tell me they are scared to mount and I see them trying to get on their horses who won't stabd still and think 'no wonder!' Plus, as Red-1 says - it is also a way of checking that the horse is happy/willing to be ridden.

This clip is on mounting, if you are interested.

 

[Btomkins]

Good boy Ernie! 2nd show ever for him and first one this year, he did great considering he’s only 2 and was completely feral last year.

Middling placings due to a few hesitant baby moments and a reluctance to show himself off properly, but he behaved beautifully and was so calm and chilled all day including loading and travelling.

His confidence improved with every class so hopefully a few more shows and he’ll be a pro! Got to love an impulse Dragon Driving buy

Venue was nice and had a very chill atmosphere, will be going back.

(I have bought and have permission to use the watermarked photo)

 

[Maddie Moo]

Mine wasn’t as exciting as people out competing but I did some long reining today in the school - pony was very good, even when someone started their strimmer / brushcutter next door and it back fired

Still having some ‘fun’ with my Long Covid hands (where I randomly drop or let go of things with no prior warning) but managed to successfully keep hold of both lines today I’ve found it easier to have them trailing behind me so it’s thinner to hold. Not H&S at all but pony is generally very trustworthy and will deploy the emergency stop if I say stand (Very glad I taught that one when he was backed!).

 

[RachelFerd]

I didn't get to go eventing (again) because of Rockingham being cancelled, but I did slot in two showjumping lessons instead and both boys were very good... Went out hacking in the sunshine today. So a pretty chilled out weekend by my usual standards! Pic of the 6yo in his sunny lesson!

 

[HufflyPuffly]

Nothing exciting here as I’m fighting off a cold but Beryl did some grown up solo hacking .

 

[Ample Prosecco]

Another busy week for Lottie: 32km ride with sharer at 6mph. Then SJ. Another clear in the 85 national championship qualifier and third place. - 1 step closer to Aintree! 4 faults in the Novice - totally my fault as ever.

 

[j1ffy]

Chilli and I had great fun at the Working Equitation lesson. We wrestled our gate demons and managed to do it solo by the end, did our first intentional flying change through the barrels, and created a new vara (pole) demon as I managed to whack him on the bum with it . He's pretty tolerant of my clumsiness so hopefully we can get over that one!

 

[Red-1]

Extended weekend for BH - off to the local country park for general gadding about.

 

[Bernster]

Hmm, not quite as successful an outing yesterday compared to you guys! Went to Milton Keynes for a xc lesson. Last time Bertie was a bit wired for about 15 mins or so. I thought it was because his friend from camp was there and he was napping off towards him. But he was worse yesterday and there was no camp friend. Totally chilled to travel, tack up, walk down to the course and stand waiting for the ins. I started warming him up with another horse but that didn’t work. Cue spinning, napping, and bouncing on the spot. A tiny bit more rideable when we went away from the others and we did 20m circles around some jumps but he was pretty wired the whole lesson. It wasn’t a great session and it was a relief to finish frankly.

I‘m feeling a bit down about it and not sure what to do next. I’m pretty good at picking myself up though and building a plan to tackle it. We’ve got camp at Aston this week so we’ll see what happens then. It’s the same xc ins there too, plus my normal trainer is going, and it’s all on a surface, so I think he will be more settled.

The highs and lows of horses eh. He was absolutely perfect last weekend for sj.

ETA there were positives that I shouldn’t forget. Including that he is mega keen and will jump anything I point him at. He locks on to a fence and when he’s got a job to do he’s super. I think he might be one of those slightly feisty types that needs a specific warm up and routine for xc at least.

 

[millitiger]

@Bernster I've had some past pets like this so hopefully can give you hope!

They were generally nightmares xc schooling, unless you were jumping a course.
The stop/ start of a lesson, or even worse a group lesson, was too much excitement to contain! One memorable occasion I got 'stuck' on a xc course for over 40 mins, as I'd finished jumping but every time I tried to turn and walk back to the parking, my lovely horse turned inside out

However, they were all super at competitions and never did the nappy/ explosive thing there.
Also fine to school as long as I'd planned our route and jumps beforehand and set off like a course, stringing at least 12-15 jumps together to let them relax into it.

Also, I used to picture Andrew Nicholson in my head- whatever is happening under you, you are the swan on the water, uber relaxed and going where you want to go!

 

[LEC]

Jumped my first 1.10m in 4 years - haven’t really been training at that height at all but the horse has been going well and is back being helpful and rideable with 24/7 turnout and regumate. Had 2 down and turned a circle as wasn’t happy how we were coming to an oxer so really pleased as both fences were making up too much distance. She has to learn to back herself up a bit and she tends to throw her head on a half halt so I tend to keep coming as it’s better for longer term and now my jumps are out on grass I can put some time into some grids to get her better at doing that. She jumped a super round in the 1m before and made it feel super easy so a big mental hurdle for me in jumping round the 1.10m and we can only improve.

 

[blood_magik]

We had mixed results yesterday.

Jack was an absolute pain to load - I had allowed 15 minutes as he’s tricky in general but yesterday was another level…. 25 minutes of him galloping about like an idiot (in the indoor so no issue of him hurting himself) before he decided he was ready to go up the ramp

We made it through both tests but got hammered for tension in the first as he spent most of it screaming for his friend
Worst score to date and the first time he hasn’t placed since we started doing BD last year.

The second went a bit better but was still nowhere near where he should have been score-wise as he was knackered by that point. A mediocre 64.76 and 3rd o/a for that one so we still need one more qualifying score for regionals.

The only positive is that he loaded like a lamb in between tests and to go home

Think I’m going to go down the make it boring route as I’m not 100% sure what it is about loading that sets him off. It used to be getting his tail bandage on but yesterday he was okay until we were at the bottom of the ramp. Failing that, I think it’s time to call in a behaviourist as he can’t just not go anywhere for the rest of his life

Any suggestions welcome as I’ve not had one this stubborn before…

A pic of the saboteur looking like butter wouldn’t melt

 

[Bernster]

Thx v much millitiger! It is good to know I’m not alone . Group lessons have their advantages but I did find the stop start stressful yesterday. The longer I waited, the sicker I felt and then Bertie would bound off with way too much energy and we’d fire off towards a fence. Not fun. And def no swan like tendencies on display then! He’s seen every kind of fence that I’m likely to jump with him so it’s more a case of us becoming more of a partnership. I’ll have a think about how best to achieve that and try to avoid winding him up, and group lessons may not be the answer to that, at least for a little while!

ETA I went to watch someone I know do the badminton grassroots 100. She got to the warm up 10 mins beforehand, went straight into canter, jumped a few fences and then straight to the start box. Her horse is a xc machine but can be tricky so I found that interesting as she’d clearly worked out how to manage him at an event.

 

[millitiger]

Successful BD outing yesterday 67% and 69% so all qualified for Areas or Regionals now, depending what route I want to take.

The rest of the week is a rain dance as would love a few good showers before Broadway on the weekend... crazy we want rain but some places in the UK still too wet to run!

 

[The Xmas Furry]

ETA I went to watch someone I know do the badminton grassroots 100. She got to the warm up 10 mins beforehand, went straight into canter, jumped a few fences and then straight to the start box. Her horse is a xc machine but can be tricky so I found that interesting as she’d clearly worked out how to manage him at an event.

This is exactly what I do with B at any sj comp, not jumping at such a height, but she doesnt need or want lots of steady warm up. Tho I might spend several minutes in walk round the box park 1st to get ourselves together.
If I do steady and longer warm up, then dragons appear and she's then a bit of a gymnast too!
B definitely knows the difference between group training and comp (taken ages to get her to where she is now for group warm up in an arena).

This weekend for the 1st time, we actually had a pleasant group warm up on the xc course, tho I still kept it shorter than the others.

 

[j1ffy]

Aaarrghhh and now Chilli’s lame again. His field has gone rock hard and is rutted around the gateway, I suspect he’s had a run around and aggravated his oedemas. Hopefully just a blip…he can stay in for a couple of days then hopefully go out in a flatter field…

 

[Red-1]

Country park ride was fab. Practiced splitting up from his pal and working at a distance. Popped a drop into water and had a picnic. What's not to like?

 

[Red-1]

A short video of BH, learning that he has to do the same work on grass as he does in an arena...

https://www.tiktok.com/video/7236244527898529050

He did still hang just slightly when passing his friend, but we will be working on that. They had just done an hour and a half hacking together, so understandable.

 

[nikkimariet]

Spicy hack Saturday AM. He was ready for a canter! Max how dry it’s got so quickly!

Then a super spicy competition Sun for a new PB at straight PSG 67.5% and a pretty smart 68.1% music PSG.




A few weeks of fun for us both now!