Pictures Producing 5/6yr olds

[TheMule]

How funny Layla is too, her tendon healed really well so she decided to slice her leg open on the electric fence , also healing well, but one thing after another. Think Layla has done 5 events none this year though.

Blooming horses!

 

[Caol Ila]

You can see the write up of my Joe lesson on AE's Joe thread. FB friends (some of you are) can see a brief slow-mo'd up video my friend took of it.

Yesterday, we pushed the boundaries of Hermosa's off-roading skills. We took her on a more technical trail where she had to step over legs, pop up a little step created by a bank and a fallen tree, and manage a short but steep traverse. She did everything perfectly except for the traverse. Didn't seem to know what to do with the downhill hind foot, so it slipped a few times. At least she didn't panic about it. Fin does that trail feeling totally planted. I told OH to take a video from behind next time we do it, because I'd like to see what he does with his downhill hind to stop it from slipping. He must shift most of his weight to the uphill one (the way you do when traversing a slope on skis) and maybe brings the downhill one slightly in front of it?

We went into a field that sometimes has free range cows. I was hoping it didn't. It did. I yelped when I found myself face to face with a little Highland cow. Hermosa, however, didn't give a sh1t. Neither did the cow.

 

[Caol Ila]

Hermosa had her first pole clinic today. I wasn't that thrilled with how she went. We've done our own thing over poles, nae bother, but this was the first time we have worked in a group in a clinic type setting (at my yard... no travel).

She didn't do anything crazy, but wasn't as attentive and steerable as she normally is. She found the stop-start part of it really hard. Normally I'd school for 40 minutes or whatever, and she would warm up and get better and better as we worked on whatever we were working on. But here, we'd do a thing, then stand around while a couple other people did the thing, then start again. The re-engagement part was difficult and sticky (she's pretty good at standing around, though). We couldn't get into a groove.

There were horses and riders of varying experiences in our wee group. That made it quite difficult to work to everyone's level. You had someone on basically a schoolmaster who did whatever he was pointed at, a kid on a riding school pony because hers is on sick leave and school pony is also very experienced (though kid is not), and me. I would have liked time to work through an excercise...First, to figure out where the hell I'm going because I am very, very useless at direction. Second/third.... to ride her more forward with more prep for turns/transitions now that I know where I'm going. Third (fourth, fifth)... to work out where the gaps are in our comms system (which mind from Joe Midgely thread, I'm learning too!) and see what I can do about it. But when I rode a pole configuration twice, at most, before the poles were moved, and I was asked to do something else, I never got past step one/two. So horse never improved. But rider on schoolmaster can get it right the first/second time and would have been bored if we hadn't moved on to a different exercise. Yeah, I dunno. They were putting groups together by vague horse size/stride length (which makes your pole distances easier) but perhaps by horse/rider experience level wouldn't be daft, either.

 

[Boughtabay]

the joys of youngsters - yesterday I rode my green 6yo on grass at home in preparation for a fun dressage show this evening and he was a little demon! Launching himself in the air while we ran through the in hand test, & standing upright when I got onboard because a sheep looked at him funny I guess? (It was actually because they kept popping out of the hedge at random times ) … tonight he went to a new place, rode between the white boards on grass and didn’t put a foot out of place! Ok, the score was the worst I’ve ever had but the point was to get him out to see things, so objective complete what a 24hrs … sums up the babies though I think

 

[SEL]

Hermosa had her first pole clinic today. I wasn't that thrilled with how she went. We've done our own thing over poles, nae bother, but this was the first time we have worked in a group in a clinic type setting (at my yard... no travel).

She didn't do anything crazy, but wasn't as attentive and steerable as she normally is. She found the stop-start part of it really hard. Normally I'd school for 40 minutes or whatever, and she would warm up and get better and better as we worked on whatever we were working on. But here, we'd do a thing, then stand around while a couple other people did the thing, then start again. The re-engagement part was difficult and sticky (she's pretty good at standing around, though). We couldn't get into a groove.

There were horses and riders of varying experiences in our wee group. That made it quite difficult to work to everyone's level. You had someone on basically a schoolmaster who did whatever he was pointed at, a kid on a riding school pony because hers is on sick leave and school pony is also very experienced (though kid is not), and me. I would have liked time to work through an excercise...First, to figure out where the hell I'm going because I am very, very useless at direction. Second/third.... to ride her more forward with more prep for turns/transitions now that I know where I'm going. Third (fourth, fifth)... to work out where the gaps are in our comms system (which mind from Joe Midgely thread, I'm learning too!) and see what I can do about it. But when I rode a pole configuration twice, at most, before the poles were moved, and I was asked to do something else, I never got past step one/two. So horse never improved. But rider on schoolmaster can get it right the first/second time and would have been bored if we hadn't moved on to a different exercise. Yeah, I dunno. They were putting groups together by vague horse size/stride length (which makes your pole distances easier) but perhaps by horse/rider experience level wouldn't be daft, either.

I think you have to try and take the positives away when they're young - she worked in a group, she stood quietly in the breaks etc. It sounds more like you were unhappy with the structure of the clinic and that can happen with any horse at any age.

I did one a few weeks back and I thought the instructor read the group well enough, but one rider said afterwards she thought it was dull. Her pony was rushing and fidgeting so personally I thought she could have worked on that rather than more and more complex pole patterns, but her expectations were definitely complex pole patterns

 

[Caol Ila]

Today, Hermosa and I went into the school while long-suffering OH did the stables. Sporadic heavy showers were happening, and neither one of us fancied getting caught in one far from home. At least in the school, you can ride until you're fed up with being wet and then just stop.

Hermosa discovered impulsion. I did some walk work, which was all copacetic, and then asked for trot. She went forward into it and stayed forward for our entire session. No stickiness or feeling stuffy and behind the leg. Who is this horse? I like this horse. I hope it sticks around.

 

[maya2008]

Well I now have a 6yo and a 5yo - how did that happen?

6yo son’s pony has decided that life with son is stressful, and life with daughter is easier. So he’s been teaching daughter to jump courses on her own, and canter into jumps, and sit a spook or two. Son still likes to steal him back for peaceful long flappy rein hacks.

5yo is getting stronger and doing more. Was only backed this year so nothing exciting yet. Been to a dressage test for a look around, trotted over some cross poles. Mostly hacked.

 

[SO1]

Bertie is 5. I took these photo of him yesterday I think he may grow a bit bigger as he looks bum high.

 

[shortstuff99]

The Baby (un) Spanish Bean went for her first jump outing on Saturday and was just ace!

Her third ever outing, her third time ever jumping and she acted like an old pro, I am so proud of her

I call her the un Spanish as she is so chilled she is horizontal and loves jumping rather than dressage .

Little clip below. Please bare in mind I haven't jumped properly since 2009 so I now jump wimpy heights and ride like a potato

 

[Caol Ila]

Hermosa is very chilled and pretty horizontal about most things. I have a Highland and a PRE but just in the wrong bodies.

 

[SEL]

He now thinks he's a front runner for the GB show jumping team. Haven't the heart to tell him a lead rein pony with a teeny tiny child did a better job!! First time jumping a course and as you can see we made sure there was plenty of room!!

I don't know about anyone else but I do laugh when youngsters do something new and get all cocky afterwards. The Appy was quietly confident after she'd achieved something but this one has been a cocky little monster all week since his show jumping debut

 

[Caol Ila]

Hermosa discovered the C word yesterday. We were hacking with a friend on her cob, and we did some trotting. Cob has that fast road race trot, and Hermosa, being a PRE, does not. We were scurrying along behind them, she just hopped into the next gear and did about four canter strides. She was calm and sensible abou it, though a bit buzzy afterwards, like "I did a new thing!"

She did it again during another trot section. She was a lot calmer afterwards the second time.