Wednesday, June 29, 2011
6/29/11
Never ever has this horse wanted anything to do with getting his feet wet. He fell on the "never gonna happen" side of the spectrum. However, in our trail rides lately he has expressed more interest in the water, particularly the ponds that we walk beside. Willingly walking up toward the water's edge and sniffing. He won't dare touch the water though. Today on our trail ride was a different story. We were celebrating the acquisition of additional acreage onto our farm and were riding along the edge of the new back field (or Backfield as my mom and step dad are calling it). There were a couple of puddles and I figured I'd aim him at them and see what happened....much to my surprise-nothing! He walked right through and didn't even realize he was in water until about the 10th step!! :) Enjoy the video I shot of our 2nd pass through the puddle! :)
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Videos! :)
Here is a video of Lego cantering and Lego trotting poles that my mom so graciously took of us this weekend!
Video 1: Lego Cantering.
The first part is from today, and the second part (which looks wayyyyy darker than it actually was!) is from Saturday. Enjoy!
Video 1: Lego Cantering.
The first part is from today, and the second part (which looks wayyyyy darker than it actually was!) is from Saturday. Enjoy!
Video 2: Lego trotting over poles. :)
Christmas List Started! :)
One of these awesome saddle pads is DEFINITELY on my Christmas List!! OTTB Designs will also donate a portion of the sales to your favorite equine charity-how awesome!!!
http://www.ottbdesigns.com/home
http://www.ottbdesigns.com/home
Friday, June 24, 2011
Learning How To See What An OTTB Can Be | The Chronicle of the Horse
Learning How To See What An OTTB Can Be | The Chronicle of the Horse
I thought I'd share a great post from "The Chronicle of the Horse". Enjoy!! :)
I thought I'd share a great post from "The Chronicle of the Horse". Enjoy!! :)
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
6/22/11
Lego: I rode Lego today and boy was it warm!!! It was SO humid today! I moved our ground poles up to the "riding area" and placed one of them oh so carefully on a two little hills so the middle part of the pole was about three inches above the ground. The other pole was a canter stride in front of it. I warmed him up and trotted around both directions for about 12-13 minutes. He was doing really well on figure 8's and circles. I gave him a little walk break and then picked up a trot going to the left again. I was hoping to really get him to move off of my inside leg to really set him up to get the correct lead. It definitely helped and we were able to get the correct lead and canter a few laps and circles. He has such a great canter :)
I then figured I could reverse directions and do the same thing, only adding in the poles. Not the brightest idea I've ever had. This horse LOVES to canter...and go fast....and be speedy.
We changed direction and trotted towards the poles. He has been doing SO well with trotting over them but he was a bit excited about cantering so he jumped the first one and then jumped the other one and cantered away. No big deal, he did great and transitioned back down beautifully. This is where we fell apart a bit. The next time I picked up a trot he was already a bit crazy. he tucked his head down and was was doing the "i am about two seconds away from exploding" jig. I tried to circle and work him through it, but......it didn't' help that much. We went over the poles and he took giant leaps over them as if they were just obstacles in the way of him getting to go fast. And he was fast. But fortunately he listens and I just circled and asked him for a transition which he gave me...eventually.
Oh OTTB's how we love the antics.
He was sooo amped up after that that I decided not to give in to his little meltdown and just walked him out. We worked hard though...WALKING over the poles and turning circles and NOT breaking into a trot. Once he was a little more calm I walked him over the first pole, then asked for a trot over the second. He trotted it and then cantered away, but it was a good canter so I praised him thoroughly and then cooled him out.
Overall it was a good ride, but definitely the most challenging so far. :)
Goal: raised poles, canter a little more-setting up better for lead success
Time: 50 minutes
I then figured I could reverse directions and do the same thing, only adding in the poles. Not the brightest idea I've ever had. This horse LOVES to canter...and go fast....and be speedy.
We changed direction and trotted towards the poles. He has been doing SO well with trotting over them but he was a bit excited about cantering so he jumped the first one and then jumped the other one and cantered away. No big deal, he did great and transitioned back down beautifully. This is where we fell apart a bit. The next time I picked up a trot he was already a bit crazy. he tucked his head down and was was doing the "i am about two seconds away from exploding" jig. I tried to circle and work him through it, but......it didn't' help that much. We went over the poles and he took giant leaps over them as if they were just obstacles in the way of him getting to go fast. And he was fast. But fortunately he listens and I just circled and asked him for a transition which he gave me...eventually.
Oh OTTB's how we love the antics.
He was sooo amped up after that that I decided not to give in to his little meltdown and just walked him out. We worked hard though...WALKING over the poles and turning circles and NOT breaking into a trot. Once he was a little more calm I walked him over the first pole, then asked for a trot over the second. He trotted it and then cantered away, but it was a good canter so I praised him thoroughly and then cooled him out.
Overall it was a good ride, but definitely the most challenging so far. :)
Goal: raised poles, canter a little more-setting up better for lead success
Time: 50 minutes
Monday, June 20, 2011
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