MEGAN: With Tina’s two horses in the barn, the first order of business was hay, water and grain for all three horses under my care. After they were all taken care of, I turned the three ponies out in the back pasture- quite nearly getting myself killed. I had to do all three of them myself, so I took Rio and Deli out together and came back for Loui. As I was walking him in the gate, he took off, knocking me to the ground and striking me on the inside of the left shinbone. Terrified, I caught him and made him walk through the gate politely a few times, just to be certain that he understood that behavior similar to that is unacceptable. After sweeping out the hallway, I had the rare chance to chat with Mica for a few minutes while she was grazing Eubie, a new horse who she is riding. She is such a wonderful rider and person, and I love begin able to talk to her about riding and life, though there is not often time for chatting. Simba’s stall came next, which was disgusting as usual, then Colecto’s (Tina’s Grand Prix stallion). He is so sweet, and just wants to play with me the whole time I attempt to clean his stall. After handwalking Simba, I cleaned my tack for my ride later that afternoon in the clinic and did some laundry before helping Emma and Rachel tack up Colecto. Emma, in place of having a lesson, was able to do walk, trot, and canter on Colecto with flying changes! Watching such a talented, powerful stallion go from Tina Konyot (under whom he is simply electric) to little eleven year old Emma who is like a fly on his back was wonderful. If only all international-quality Grand Prix horses were this laid back and sweet, not only in their personality on the ground, but also under saddle. He is the horse in the picture above with me- so sweet, and loves to cuddle! Emma and I showered Colecto after untacking him, and then I worked on getting everything ready for the fundraiser- which is TOMORROW!!!! *deep breath* Anyway, after printing out close to 80 bid sheets, I went over to the Hunter Barn and started braiding and tacking up Mr. Simba. He looked lovely when I was done, and Emma got a great picture which I will attempt to post… We’ll see how far my technological skills will carry me! I had a super ride with Tina- Rachel and I rode together, and she made some very helpful comments:
- Elbows in (don’t look like a pelican)
- Prepare and bend through the corner (Lendon and Maryal, you can claim this one too!)
- Sit back, especially in the canter
- Hold the reins (like there is $100 in each hand)
- In the half pass, don’t ask for too much bend until he is really moving over. Otherwise, it just gets in the way. Bend can be added as the movement develops.
- Sit a little to the outside in the shoulder-in
My tendency is that when Simba sucks back, I lean forward and throw my reins at him. This is totally ineffective and does nothing productive for either of us. He was going beautifully by then end of the lesson (though started a bit stiff- he probably needed another hand walk in the middle of the day). After a quick walk through the woods with Rachel, I untacked Simba and gave him a shower, mostly to scrub off his socks. After we grazed for a few minutes I put him back and changed into nice clothes for Church. Mica drove me, and I barely made it to Mass on time. After a lovely hour of peace, I walked home and did a hard/easy workout, showered, and frantically began to prepare for the fundraiser (after spending 45 minutes making dinner for 2 out of 3 people who had already eaten- mac and cheese is supposed to be easy!). We were up for an extra hour, but still didn’t finish. So, I will be up early in the morning!
SIMBA: There is this great big gray horse living next to me, and I really like talking to him. When Mom cleans my stall, I get to chat with him through the bars of my stall. He certainly likes to talk loudly, though. Anyway, he said that his Mom is a really good teacher, and that she would help my Mom. She certainly made a lot of good changes to Mom’s position, and she felt much more balanced and was using her core when she rode yesterday. She does need to use more half halts when she rides, though. Her aids would be more effective if she gave half halts within every movement, instead of just for preparation. Oh, well. One thing at a time I suppose. Hint for Mom: Use more half halts. Over and out.
- Elbows in (don’t look like a pelican)
- Prepare and bend through the corner (Lendon and Maryal, you can claim this one too!)
- Sit back, especially in the canter
- Hold the reins (like there is $100 in each hand)
- In the half pass, don’t ask for too much bend until he is really moving over. Otherwise, it just gets in the way. Bend can be added as the movement develops.
- Sit a little to the outside in the shoulder-in
My tendency is that when Simba sucks back, I lean forward and throw my reins at him. This is totally ineffective and does nothing productive for either of us. He was going beautifully by then end of the lesson (though started a bit stiff- he probably needed another hand walk in the middle of the day). After a quick walk through the woods with Rachel, I untacked Simba and gave him a shower, mostly to scrub off his socks. After we grazed for a few minutes I put him back and changed into nice clothes for Church. Mica drove me, and I barely made it to Mass on time. After a lovely hour of peace, I walked home and did a hard/easy workout, showered, and frantically began to prepare for the fundraiser (after spending 45 minutes making dinner for 2 out of 3 people who had already eaten- mac and cheese is supposed to be easy!). We were up for an extra hour, but still didn’t finish. So, I will be up early in the morning!
SIMBA: There is this great big gray horse living next to me, and I really like talking to him. When Mom cleans my stall, I get to chat with him through the bars of my stall. He certainly likes to talk loudly, though. Anyway, he said that his Mom is a really good teacher, and that she would help my Mom. She certainly made a lot of good changes to Mom’s position, and she felt much more balanced and was using her core when she rode yesterday. She does need to use more half halts when she rides, though. Her aids would be more effective if she gave half halts within every movement, instead of just for preparation. Oh, well. One thing at a time I suppose. Hint for Mom: Use more half halts. Over and out.
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