So before i start saying GREEN GREEN GREEN i want to talk about these wind puffs or wind galls that he has. They have developed on his front legs as well. They are small and not visible on any of his legs, but by running your hand down you can feel the soft fluid buildup. Apparently there is nothing that can be done to stop them, horses who are outside will be better off because they aren't confined to stand overnight, which causes them to be more irritated. Some people i have read suggest you use witch hazel on them, some say you should sweat them with a bandage, others say you should put MSM in their feed, but basically everyone says they can drain them but it's only a temporary relief and they almost always come back. It is suggested that there be a drastic change in the workload of the horse with wind puffs. My coach has said that his are probably caused by his increased workload but she doesn't think i should change what i've been doing. [I ride 5-6 times a week, usually jumping once sometimes twice under 3' so far, the other rides are always flat and non-strenuous, and there is lots of walking hacks throughout the week.] She said many horses of hers developed them with age and that they do not cause lameness or alot of irritation to the horse, especially the small ones he has.
Secondly: Happy Birthday Boomer! On May 16th 2009 he turned 9 years old! It's so exciting seeing him grow up and become more and more beautifull with age. I've owned him for three years on May 28th, and i've been riding him since he was 5 years old! We've been together for a long time and i will own him until he is an old retired grandpa. :] Boomer was born on an island near where i live. I'm quite sure nothing happened to him for the first three years of his life except eating, sleeping and pooping. When he came to our farm he was three turning four. He was broke to ride, but had no further training. He belonged to my coach until his past owner bought him. She rode him and and showed for a while, then i started leasing him the next year.
:) The rest i've already told you many times.
I'm lucky to own such a gorgeous 9 year old boy.
And now GREEN. Boomer has finally been let out into his first grazing paddock! It's absolutley gorgeous back there. Grass up to my knees, and everywhere! I love it. There's a shady treed in area on one side of the paddock, a little stream running through with super-lush grass, it's just perfect. When they get fed all the barn manager has to do is call BREAKFAST and the herd comes running. All of the horses seem happier than ever, after months of so-so hay and freezing temperatures, i don't blame them.
I took my camera out to the barn the day before they got let out into their grazing field. Please disregard and don't judge the state of the paddock. We let the grass grow up to its full potential before letting them into the next one. If it means keeping them in a disgusting, muddy paddock a couple weeks longer to save them ruining the good paddock before it's ready, i say, good. The weather has been rain non-stop. Those horses would have torn up the young grass and been on hay bales all summer. None the less, the paddock in the photos is a bit of an embarassment!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Sunday, May 17, 2009
More Updates
The show didn't go as well as i'd hoped.
In Road Hack and Show Hack he would NOT pick up his lead. I literally went around the ring setting him up for it, asking, transitioning up and then down again when he picked up the wrong lead. He wouldn't switch them either. He was leaning like a madman against my inside leg the whole time we were cantering. I think he was overwhelmed and i was stressed because of his actions. In show hack the judge said this is a show hack horse. He would have placed higher if he'd gotten his leads! Damn. (Since it was a schooling show the judge gives you feedback. I did not agree with much of what the judge said and neither did my coach. One horse was on the wrong lead every time and placed 3rd overall... ?) I believe the judge did not like Boomer's knee action. We did amzingly in pleasure and hunter hack. I came forth in pleasure because i was the only one there who knew what the judge was looking for in a pleasure horse. I truly belive we should have placed higher, her comments were let go of the contact, yet i had no contact. The girl who placed second had her horse in a "frame" with his poll basically at eye level. Definitley not a pleasure horse. Ah well. Riding a big-ass Percheron is not about winning when you go into a hunter show. It's about learning and letting him get a feel for the ring. Our first time in a show ring in three summers. Pretty damn good feeling, even if we didn't place. I do love my horse, so much, he's a star in my eyes. My coach had a good pep talk with my after the show, she said listen we didn't buy him to be a hack horse. He's going to event and he will shine. Just wait, keep doing little shows to prepare yourselves. You'll see. I hope she's right!
He developed windpuffs literally in the show ring, when i came out they were hot and swollen. Definitly due to the footing in the indoor. Our outdoor rings are super soft and sandy whereas the indoor is packed after a long winter of riding. It must have been a shock to his legs. We treated them with some cool hosing and a linament wash. There isn't much to do about windpuffs, but you can deal with the heat and swelling which we did. I gave him Monday off and Tuesday they were still there but not causing him to be off or sore to the touch so i rode.
Jumping lesson Tuesday was FABULOUS. We did all of the hunter jumps which were set up and filled wtih flowers and gates from the show. He was sooo so good and I was good! I was confident and happy for some reason. We did combinations of lines, courses, popped over everything a couple times. He isn't coming into the jumps straight, we need to work on cantering in the ring and going straight. My coach said i need to translate the gorgeous to-die-for canter we have on a 20-m circle into cantering through a course. I totally agree. Everything was better than last week, my position was better, his movement was better, we were in sync and loving life! The jumps were 2'3 -2'6... my coach said she liked seeing me do things between the jumps, adjusting, thinking, working him... and soon when we put the height up everything will fall into place.
I rode the next day and his windpuffs were swollen and sore again, but still, he was not off so i walked and trotted and gave him a linament wash and let him graze for an hour and consume as much "green" as possible. We're getting them ready to move into their grazing paddock so letting him graze is a daily routine.
My ride yesterday was excellent as well. It was flat , he was working with me instead of against me as he does sometimes when we're alone, he moved beautifully, we had a nice big canter around the ring, we explored different areas of the ring. It was a great ride. My position felt okay, better than it usually does when i'm on my own just riding for fun.
I'm off now for another ride!
In Road Hack and Show Hack he would NOT pick up his lead. I literally went around the ring setting him up for it, asking, transitioning up and then down again when he picked up the wrong lead. He wouldn't switch them either. He was leaning like a madman against my inside leg the whole time we were cantering. I think he was overwhelmed and i was stressed because of his actions. In show hack the judge said this is a show hack horse. He would have placed higher if he'd gotten his leads! Damn. (Since it was a schooling show the judge gives you feedback. I did not agree with much of what the judge said and neither did my coach. One horse was on the wrong lead every time and placed 3rd overall... ?) I believe the judge did not like Boomer's knee action. We did amzingly in pleasure and hunter hack. I came forth in pleasure because i was the only one there who knew what the judge was looking for in a pleasure horse. I truly belive we should have placed higher, her comments were let go of the contact, yet i had no contact. The girl who placed second had her horse in a "frame" with his poll basically at eye level. Definitley not a pleasure horse. Ah well. Riding a big-ass Percheron is not about winning when you go into a hunter show. It's about learning and letting him get a feel for the ring. Our first time in a show ring in three summers. Pretty damn good feeling, even if we didn't place. I do love my horse, so much, he's a star in my eyes. My coach had a good pep talk with my after the show, she said listen we didn't buy him to be a hack horse. He's going to event and he will shine. Just wait, keep doing little shows to prepare yourselves. You'll see. I hope she's right!
He developed windpuffs literally in the show ring, when i came out they were hot and swollen. Definitly due to the footing in the indoor. Our outdoor rings are super soft and sandy whereas the indoor is packed after a long winter of riding. It must have been a shock to his legs. We treated them with some cool hosing and a linament wash. There isn't much to do about windpuffs, but you can deal with the heat and swelling which we did. I gave him Monday off and Tuesday they were still there but not causing him to be off or sore to the touch so i rode.
Jumping lesson Tuesday was FABULOUS. We did all of the hunter jumps which were set up and filled wtih flowers and gates from the show. He was sooo so good and I was good! I was confident and happy for some reason. We did combinations of lines, courses, popped over everything a couple times. He isn't coming into the jumps straight, we need to work on cantering in the ring and going straight. My coach said i need to translate the gorgeous to-die-for canter we have on a 20-m circle into cantering through a course. I totally agree. Everything was better than last week, my position was better, his movement was better, we were in sync and loving life! The jumps were 2'3 -2'6... my coach said she liked seeing me do things between the jumps, adjusting, thinking, working him... and soon when we put the height up everything will fall into place.
I rode the next day and his windpuffs were swollen and sore again, but still, he was not off so i walked and trotted and gave him a linament wash and let him graze for an hour and consume as much "green" as possible. We're getting them ready to move into their grazing paddock so letting him graze is a daily routine.
My ride yesterday was excellent as well. It was flat , he was working with me instead of against me as he does sometimes when we're alone, he moved beautifully, we had a nice big canter around the ring, we explored different areas of the ring. It was a great ride. My position felt okay, better than it usually does when i'm on my own just riding for fun.
I'm off now for another ride!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Several Rides and Lessons Later
Since i last posted Boomer and i have had many rides together. So as not to bore you, i'll give you the rundown of our overall progress and some good rides. He has been generally fairly well behaved. Our lessons have been a test of my patience, determination, muscle strength and ability to ride. He tests me. In the lesson if he believes he can get away with mischief.... he'll try until i show him that i am ready to fight with him, and win. The fights aren't psychical or violent, mind you, merely mental. I'm a taurus, naturally stubborn, and he is a percheron cross. We tend to butt heads when we both have something in mind we want to do. It's the only time Boomer and I don't get along; when we work on expanding and learning really technical, advanced flat work. As my coach says "You love him! He knows that, and he uses it against you." She wants me to be slightly more a more agresssive rider. (Again, not phsyically ARGH! agressiveness, but mentally dominating and agressivley using the correct aids with the correct amount of pressure to be in control.)
Boomer & my coach had a training session last Sunday. A training session for those who are unfamiliar with the term, is when my coach rides my horse for an intense 45 min -1 hour session every couple of weeks to tune up and assess how he's doing. If he responds beautifully to something i haven't been able to get him to do, we try to isolate what she is doing and i'm not. It gives me a great starting point for my rides. It's so hard because Boomer and i are struggling with alot of things i NAILED last summer and didn't even have to think about. Having 8 months off has really thrown me for a loop and made me quite negative about my own riding abilities. Watching my coach ride him really made me realise i need to work alot harder and apply my knowledge because the two of them took my breath away! He really is beautiful, talented horse.
A couple things that stood out to me that she could do with him and i either can't, or want to improve on:
-They worked some shoulder in's at the walk to get him all loosey goosey through his shoulders and neck. I found shoulder in's made him really responsive to her leg aids. I can do a shoulder in, but don't usually apply them in every ride. My coach said that she rode mostly with her legs in that ride, and instead of alot of calf msucle like i tend to use, she engages the back and inner thigh. He seemed to be very agreeable to this type of muscle and i've been really working on changing the muscle groups i'm using. I need to take all of the tension and gripping out of my calf and apply my butt & thigh muscles.
-She isolates her muscles and uses them. She would say, here i am only using my right butt cheek. Then i would observe what effect this muscle had on their movement. Isolating and using each leg muscle independantly is a really important technique to master in order to improve one's riding.
-Transitions transitions transitions! Gorgeous, he stayed in a beautiful frame, floated in and out of canter without any resistance or hesitation. It was amazing to see him be able to not only hold himself in a frame, but also hold the rythmn and impulsion of his stride w/t/c. Very impressive and something i definatley want to learn how to do! With us transitions are super awkward. It's all me, i know that. Actually most things are all me, which is disappointing. He's in great shape and ready to rock and i'm just not quite there yet. Anyways, today when i go out to the barn i'm going to focus on transitions.
Our first show is this sunday! It's an in-house schooling show, hunter/jumper. We are doing just the Hack Division. Hack consists of four classes; show hack, road hack, pleasure hack and hunter hack. Hack classes are usually at hunter shows. Whats important about a hack class is engaging with the different elements of each class, instead of riding your horse one way for the whole hour you're in the ring. Three years ago when Boomer and i showed we aced the pleasure hack and road hack. This year i'm hoping we do well in these classes (he's calm, quiet disposition is always awesome for those two divisions) but that we will also place in the show and hunter hack classes. Now that i have him working out of the hand and activley using his hindquarters i'm hopeful that we will do well all-round. This is a link to a basic and useful definition of each hack class if you're ever interested in competing. It's good to review each class before entering the show so you can show off the specific qualities which the judge will be looking for.
We are not jumping in this show, which is a huge disappointment for me. Our first time out jumping on Tuesday went horrendously. I was nervous, gripping, tight through my back and shoulders and just not riding well at all. We were schooling over a 2'6 line. It was embarassing and i wish no one had been watching. Boomer was ready to jump but my hesitiation was causing him to get flustered and upset. He tried to throw me after landing most of the jumps. I keept spurring him somewhat accidentally while trying to stay on as he bucked, which just made him more upset. It was really frusterating for me because my seat isn't all there yet, and my first time jumping he lands and starts not only bucking but THROWING his head down and trying to get me off. I know you may be thinking he had a sore back, which was my initial thoughts as well but the more times we jumped (especially after i removed those damn spurs) the more confident i got. The more confident i got the more i held my core and went into a proper position. Anyways, he was a star the last 3x we did the line. I was feeling better and so was he. Still, i feel really negative about the ride. My coach wasn't pleased with my position and was annoyed with my nervousness but she did say 1) you stayed on 2) it's your first time jumping and 3) although you weren't all there he really shouldn't have been bucking. he was merely taking advantage of the situation. SO her advice would be to keep jumping as much as possible until we're comfortable jumping together again. I need to start feeling my position and really feeling good about it or there won't be any showing this summer done by us!
Boomer & my coach had a training session last Sunday. A training session for those who are unfamiliar with the term, is when my coach rides my horse for an intense 45 min -1 hour session every couple of weeks to tune up and assess how he's doing. If he responds beautifully to something i haven't been able to get him to do, we try to isolate what she is doing and i'm not. It gives me a great starting point for my rides. It's so hard because Boomer and i are struggling with alot of things i NAILED last summer and didn't even have to think about. Having 8 months off has really thrown me for a loop and made me quite negative about my own riding abilities. Watching my coach ride him really made me realise i need to work alot harder and apply my knowledge because the two of them took my breath away! He really is beautiful, talented horse.
A couple things that stood out to me that she could do with him and i either can't, or want to improve on:
-They worked some shoulder in's at the walk to get him all loosey goosey through his shoulders and neck. I found shoulder in's made him really responsive to her leg aids. I can do a shoulder in, but don't usually apply them in every ride. My coach said that she rode mostly with her legs in that ride, and instead of alot of calf msucle like i tend to use, she engages the back and inner thigh. He seemed to be very agreeable to this type of muscle and i've been really working on changing the muscle groups i'm using. I need to take all of the tension and gripping out of my calf and apply my butt & thigh muscles.
-She isolates her muscles and uses them. She would say, here i am only using my right butt cheek. Then i would observe what effect this muscle had on their movement. Isolating and using each leg muscle independantly is a really important technique to master in order to improve one's riding.
-Transitions transitions transitions! Gorgeous, he stayed in a beautiful frame, floated in and out of canter without any resistance or hesitation. It was amazing to see him be able to not only hold himself in a frame, but also hold the rythmn and impulsion of his stride w/t/c. Very impressive and something i definatley want to learn how to do! With us transitions are super awkward. It's all me, i know that. Actually most things are all me, which is disappointing. He's in great shape and ready to rock and i'm just not quite there yet. Anyways, today when i go out to the barn i'm going to focus on transitions.
Our first show is this sunday! It's an in-house schooling show, hunter/jumper. We are doing just the Hack Division. Hack consists of four classes; show hack, road hack, pleasure hack and hunter hack. Hack classes are usually at hunter shows. Whats important about a hack class is engaging with the different elements of each class, instead of riding your horse one way for the whole hour you're in the ring. Three years ago when Boomer and i showed we aced the pleasure hack and road hack. This year i'm hoping we do well in these classes (he's calm, quiet disposition is always awesome for those two divisions) but that we will also place in the show and hunter hack classes. Now that i have him working out of the hand and activley using his hindquarters i'm hopeful that we will do well all-round. This is a link to a basic and useful definition of each hack class if you're ever interested in competing. It's good to review each class before entering the show so you can show off the specific qualities which the judge will be looking for.
We are not jumping in this show, which is a huge disappointment for me. Our first time out jumping on Tuesday went horrendously. I was nervous, gripping, tight through my back and shoulders and just not riding well at all. We were schooling over a 2'6 line. It was embarassing and i wish no one had been watching. Boomer was ready to jump but my hesitiation was causing him to get flustered and upset. He tried to throw me after landing most of the jumps. I keept spurring him somewhat accidentally while trying to stay on as he bucked, which just made him more upset. It was really frusterating for me because my seat isn't all there yet, and my first time jumping he lands and starts not only bucking but THROWING his head down and trying to get me off. I know you may be thinking he had a sore back, which was my initial thoughts as well but the more times we jumped (especially after i removed those damn spurs) the more confident i got. The more confident i got the more i held my core and went into a proper position. Anyways, he was a star the last 3x we did the line. I was feeling better and so was he. Still, i feel really negative about the ride. My coach wasn't pleased with my position and was annoyed with my nervousness but she did say 1) you stayed on 2) it's your first time jumping and 3) although you weren't all there he really shouldn't have been bucking. he was merely taking advantage of the situation. SO her advice would be to keep jumping as much as possible until we're comfortable jumping together again. I need to start feeling my position and really feeling good about it or there won't be any showing this summer done by us!
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