Small successes

What a lovely thread. I'm glad it's been resurrected :)
Nice success on share horse last week - finished our schooling session with 4 flying changes one after another down the long side of the school. Haven't even managed that in a lesson!
Success on madam - she clonked herself jumping out of her stable a few weeks back so we've been taking it easy but managed to get a lesson in with my fabulous instructor last weekend and worked on softening her up and straightening her out, she gave me such a good feel at the end!
 
In flatwork lesson the other day Mr H relaxed and softened in his trot for a good couple of circles / lap of the school which is a bit of a record!
We have also been doing walk to canter in lesson and we have been practicing out hacking over the holiday and he is getting much better striking off on his weaker rein even in a straight line on the bridlepath
 
I hacked Blue out today with a young Arab whose preferred gait is the high-speed sideways spook. The first few times he spooked, she tried to go with him. The fourth time, she took a close look at what had spooked him (a football in a hedge), snorted, and I could practically feel her disgust at his antics. After that, she had a lovely solid plod round, even when he bounced off her bum because he'd seen a LEAF.

And then, coming back on to the yard, she was quite happy to plod past the beeping, reversing JCB waving bales of haylage around.

And she did all this with hi-viz leg wraps on. When I first got her, you couldn't even touch her legs, never mind wrap something around them.

I love this little mare so much.
 
Today we went out and had a go at a long arena prelim test which was a first for both son and pony.

It was a big deal in that we hadn’t been out since September and if he (son) doesn’t do something (anything!) for a little while he gets really nervous about it. The last test we did was quest regionals and they had a bit of a boob as he got the wrong leg for the second canter and didn’t change so plummeted down the placings which was a shame as the rest of it was lovely. I was worried as we don’t have a long arena and he really ‘gets’ a test by riding it so did wonder if we would have a pilot error.

But they did really well and came first with 69.2%. So a really positive outing. Just need to get back into a rhythm of competing regularly again now!
 
Forgot to add yesterday, we went for a 2 hour hack round the local country park on our own and he was a bit tense but otherwise very very good! I haven't taken him too far on his own so I was really pleased.

Did the same hack today but with another horse and he was even better (but that may be because I was more relaxed as I know he prefers company!) And we met the biggest lorry I'd ever seen which spooked the other horse but he just walked past, what a star.

Also clipped him today which after the huge toddler style tantrum he had at first he allowed us to do very quietly and he now looks smart with an Irish clip and hopefully not too sweaty, he came back a bit sweaty under his girth today so was a good job he was done really!
 
Ooo I missed this thread.
My rising 3yo really impressed me on Sunday.
He is a ferel, hyper-reactive drama llama who lives in a big herd of young stock and has had little done with him.

On Sunday he had to come in, away from his herd, on his own. He led with very little encouragement needed and only approx 200m and was gobsmackingly grown up about it. Took us all by surprise. Had the sedation all primed but didn’t need it!

Same can’t be said of my attempt to groom him the next day. Launching & bronking initially at any touch of his back and flanks. Good luck to whoever sits on it first. It won’t be me 😂
 
Another one from me! Had a lesson and despite being a spooky little twit we managed to crack a few strides of canter in a proper outline. His trot has improved enormously and he's really swinging in his walk, starting to come together now. Need to remember he's only 5 though, the last thing I want to do is get overexcited and find we hit an unpleasant brick wall!
 
Another tiny success - we trotted in a straight line on the left rein! Woohoo! Okay, it was achieved by resting my crop on her left shoulder, but she was straight and stayed on the track. We can work from that.
 
How did I miss this thread! Amber has been to some arena eventing clinics recently and we have jumped a couple of 100cm lines. Including a table to a skinny. 2019 is the Year Of Thinking Positively!!! So I did not ask to do a smaller jump like I normally would but did what others in my 90/100 group were doing. I was BEAMING afterwards. Love my horse so, so much.
 
Updating as I haven't been doing much recently, these are some photos from an 80 course I did right at the beginning of Jan, I'm pleased with how put together we look 😅 and that I was brave enough to do an 80 course!
The yellow jump had flames on the fillers and he stopped the first time so my small success is that instead of panicking and it throwing me off the rest of my course stride (as I used to) I turned him round, jumped it the second time and carried on as normal, yay!

Credit: lightrays photography FB_IMG_1549788656110.jpgFB_IMG_1549788659725.jpg
 
Ambers Echo said:
My small success is that I have been riding Amber without stirrups in trot and canter to try and improve my seat, and yesterday I felt much more secure than I have done before. Added bonus I can still walk today!
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That's just reminded me, my new years resolution was to ride at least once a week without stirrups...I've done it once...since the beginning of Jan 😅
 
Can’t believe it ... my sharp little 3yo has been sent to boarding school to try and get him under the thumb (!!), I’ve been desperately trying not to interfere or ask for to frequent updates. He’s been there 4 weeks, I saw him 2 weeks ago and he was just starting on the long lines.

I’d kind of assumed, given I know him pretty well, she was still trying to get on.

Then I get this. Flying solo in trot.
So exciting 😍
 

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At this point in winter with Denzel stabled and without a saddler allowed on the yard so reduced work and no move in sight (bloody flu!) a small success is making it through any given day with less than 15 swear words or without him breaking anything (me included). It's nice to read this thread back and see all the new exciting updates and remember why I do this!

Keep trucking everyone!!
 
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Had a bit of a setback with numpty WB since moving yards but today she went out having solo and was a good girl 😁

Only a short loop but feels like progress. Hopefully we're on an upward trajectory now 🤞
 
Some lovely updates and lots to be proud of (whether it's getting to the end of the day without anything being broken or the first solo trot - which btw the rider has the longest legs ever :eek: )

We started flying changes in our lesson last week. And when I took her out in the wind on Saturday, she bogged off with me initially but our brakes worked and actually she settled really well and did some amazing trot work on the track.
Not bad for the pony who Liphook wrote off (touches wood frantically)
(The bogging off was my fault not setting us up for success - weather was foul and she was tense. I thought a gentle canter might relieve the tension but didn't continue the thought pattern that I was more likely to get more than a gentle canter and I genuinely think she was a bit freaked out. Lesson learnt!)
 
Hacked my ex racer I've had eight weeks now up to a friend's for coffee, left him in a stable while we chatted then rode home. He was a very good boy, nervous but quiet and well behaved apart from being a bit joggy. This is a big milestone for me as it was a regular part of my week which disappeared when I sold my trusty cob. I'm so pleased to have it back!

Plus it was spring here today!!
 
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I hacked Blue alone yesterday, and managed to get her past a terrifying bit of road that was on a bend so she couldn't see ahead, with a traffic cone on the left, a flapping strip of plastic on the right, and a field full of horses calling to her.

Today, on the first after-work hack of the year, she nannied a baby Arab and strode straight past the scary bit without flapping an ear. (She then needed the Arab to give her a lead across a scary bit of track where you can hear the water running underneath, but she was absolutely fine coming back over it.)

I love this little cob to bits. I even managed to get my first ever ears-out-hacking photo!

Hacking.JPG
 
Bump!
My dappy orange horse went hacking in the sunshine and was less nutty than last time... proud of her :) still having some explosions in the school but I think the hacking is starting to help us to believe in each other again after a bit of a low point last month. Baby steps :)
 
After barely riding since early Jan (school was being redone, I only share 2 weekdays and couldn’t be there in daylight to hack, then was on holiday for 10 days), I was at the yard in daylight and rode! The new surface is lovely and he was a poppet. Now if I can get fitter and remember how to use my legs, we’ll be getting somewhere 😂4D4F488A-3ADC-452C-BF61-96E262343939.jpeg
 
Hacked my ginger nutcase out alone this morning, and he was pretty fab! He lacks so much confidence, so we had a couple of scoot-forward moments when things like bicycles appeared behind us, but he was so steady and sensible, even when we had to get out of the way of a bin lorry!! Love him :)
 
Took mine to the local country park the other day, on the way back there's a blind corner on the road and a few loud motorbikes came round...this is ok, he thought, just have a look but they kept on coming...and kept on coming...and kept on coming!! There were hundreds and i have to say they were so good to slow down and also warn the rest of the riders to slow down. Buzz was amazing, he got more and more giraffe like but he just goggled until we got to our turn off!
Pleased he's increasing his confidence with hacking and traffic and with me to tell him it's ok :)
 
Small success for today...my OH (who before he met me had never even touched a horse) said "we should take Buzz to this local park, there's a big steep hill that'd be really good for fittening work" he's getting well trained! 😅
 
I hacked badger out yesterday and he stayed in front and happy 90% of the way. We only had one spook, and it was at someone’s house, not the huge lorry or the bikes or the speeding cars!
 
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