5/29

Time with Kris - worked on moving the fore and hind from the ground, then the hind in the saddle.  Also played with the send on the circle.  Then rode up the driveway and let her leave on the trail between Jena and Sue.  She went alone and felt for Rio to hit a threshold.

I had Starlet for the lesson.  Starlet struggled to find a neutral and she worked hard to eat grass.  She got better and her mouth feels improved and less hard.  She's getting quieter in the bit.  We'll keep working on it.  These quiet sessions are doing her good.

Gem, for the first time since I've owned him (5+ years), called for us as we left.  He stood at the end of the pasture and watched us leave.  He was the there the whole time until we returned.  I've never, ever seen him do that.  I wasn't sure I understood it, but I thought it was probably because he didn't want to be left behind.  He wasn't calling for the horses and he wasn't happy when we returned.  So I finished with Starlet and pulled Gem out, tacked him up and took him down the rode.  He was happy and didn't think about home a single time.  It was so interesting!!  He wanted to go out and do something!

5/24

Kris with her Billy Cook saddle.  Played with the send, also.

Rode Z for the lesson.

Played online with Z on the 45'.  Progress!

5/21

2 hours with Kris.  Went up the road.  Worked on figure 8 at the trot.  Played with moving the fore.  Then sideways from the saddle after leaving the property.  Rio struggled to move his hip to the left.  Hopped on him to help him figure it out.

Gem was a fantastic partner throughout the lesson!  so proud of him.  Did a 15 min dressage ride in teh arena afterwards.  Worked on light transitions and opening up the trot.  He did great.

walking and riding

with chrissy and kyle

cowboy, rain, z

walked 4 then rode 2 back

rode cowboy a bit

chrissy did great

kyle walked rain some (i think he and Rain were not getting along great)

lesson with kris in the morn

she and rio did 20 mins of passenger!!

great, great sideways

figure 8

mounting is improving

rode ellie - great ride

lots of trot and feeling her move out

rope hack, want to get back to the bit

she's ready for more

coaching and riding

Kris trimmed Rain today.

Tougher day with Rio and Kris - so much wind!

The arena was flapping, but the horses did ok.

Rode Ellie, also. She did great with the distractions but was not as partnered up as I'd like today.

What a GREAT day...

Finally, some horse time.

Taught Chrissy and Kris together on Z. Sideways, figure 8, then riding.

Then Ellie with the bit for the first time. She was a little bothered, but we worked through it.

C'mon Spring!!

Out go the LIGHTS!

Rode Ellie while I coached Kris and Rio today. Ellie was a great trainers mount. She's coming along very nicely.

For Kris and Rio, tracking their programs:

sideways #4

figure 8#2

passenger #1

In the middle of the lesson the lights went out. Luckily, everyone stayed calm. The generator ran out of gas! It was absolutely pitch dark, but it was great to see how calm we all stayed. It could have been a mess.

Kris trimmed Rain before she left.

Lessons and Playtime

Today was a great day. Had a coaching lesson with Kris and Rio. They are making huge progress with every session. Today was mounting session #2, Figure 8 session #1, and sideways session #3. The next lesson is slated for riding.

Had Gem with me to coach Kris. He had a serious need for attention today! I tried to play with him while I helped out Kris, but it was tough. He gave me some gorgeous COD's though and a couple at the canter. We also did some nice figure 8's at the trot on the 22'.

Then I played a little with Ellie and we rode around the indoor. Chrissy was there with Cowboy and Kendall had kids over, playing in the sand. It's just been so windy that the indoor has become a place for playtime for kids AND grown-ups! I worked on Ellie's forward when asked and worked on trot. Her feet got stuck a couple times and I wasn't sure if she was worried or just not feeling energetic. Either way, I took it slow and tried to build the communication.

Kris got Cowboy and Ellie trimmed.

Teaching with Z

Gave a lesson today with Z in the indoor. The wind was atrocious and the indoor arena was miraculous!!

Worked with Kris on circle game and sideways. Also, Rio now knows the "smile" trick - which Kris loves. Rio loves it too - he gets treats. We had some good laughs over it. Rio's sideways was beautiful. He's made some very nice changes! I played with Rio a bit on sideways and try to show Kris how soft it can be. Rio is such a nice horse - a great, willing mind.

Kris rode Z for a few circles and got to feel Z's big trot. Z was especially annoyed today with all things - maybe her cycle?

Helping out Rio and his human

A good session with Rio and Kris! Zarah is great as my "teacher's mount", too. Kris is still working through trust issues with Rio, but it's time to push the envelope a little. We rode around the front a little bit and worked on Rio getting relaxed. We were right by the barn, but still farther than ever before. Rio was certainly on edge, but I had Kris ride patterns and the 2 of them settled in. We've got to do much more of this type of session.

Gallopin!!

Fun day! Picked up Deb (in her truck and trailer) with Z and did a FAST 7.5 miles at Hidden Mesa. Then, got home and gave a lesson to Kris and Rio.

Deb and I galloped a few times and Z was stretched out and racing her heart out! Fun! I cut my finger pretty bad just before we tacked up at the trailhead, so I had a make-shift pressure bandage made of vet-wrap and an old mitten. I was not going to miss the chance to ride, darn it!

Kris and Rio worked on circle game and sideways with porcupine game. We also played with the smile trick a bit. Fun lesson in the indoor arena! This was a tough day for Kris, however. She was struggling with her trust in Rio more than usual. I'm sure the next lesson will be different as she really pushed her bubble today.

Kris also trimmed Rio.

A HUGE day for Kris and Rio

... while Kholo was my "coaches mount". During the session with Kholo and while coaching Kris, I worked on bending and more vertical flexion.

With Kris and Rio, we started with saddling, in the barn aisle. Rio was quite reactive and decided to buckle his knees and go down. I had put the Barefoot treeless on him and I guess it felt more rigid than the Bob Marshall. I also may have started with the cinch too tight. I loosened it and he was able to walk off.

I played with him on the ground for a bit, then Kris did. He got used to the saddle after about 10 minutes and got his thinking brain back. He has some serious baggage with saddles, poor guy.

I had Kris do a passenger lesson at the trot and this was so good for both of them. Rio and kris both relaxed into this and I saw some great changes occur. I introduced the idea of bending Rio to get a softer feel from him (snakey bends, sort of). This helped Rio engage his back and lower his head. Afterwards, we went outside the arena and rode in the grassy area by the barn. This was Kris' first time riding Rio outside the arena and it was huge!! She and her horse have made such positive changes and I'm ecstatic to see the progression.

Sharptail with Kyle

Took off with Kyle and my 2 mares for a great day on the trail! The weather was absolutely perfect and the trail was all ours. We got started and Sharptail's tough climbing was tough for Rain right away. Rain isn't in great shape right now, so Sharptail was challenging. Kyle and I switched horses for a bit so I could feel Rain and see what she needed. I think she was seeking a way to stop and Kyle wasn't sure how to handle it. This was the very first time I've let anyone ride Z on the trail. Once in a while, I'll let someone mount her to understand a feel or to lead them around. But never have I let someone ride her on their own like this. Still, Kyle has a great seat and I thought he'd be ok.

And at first, he was. We walked and trotted along and he was find with my mare. He wanted to canter, so we talked about how to transition her up and back down. He was ready to give it a try. Well, Z wouldn't stop for him. And they cantered off. And Kyle had to just hang on and ride it out. Shoot!

I stayed slow with Rain, hoping that Z would realize she'd left us. She eventually stopped and Kyle hopped off. They probably went about 1/2 mile! He was a little shaken, but handled it quite well. We laughed it off and I apologized profusely. I never expected Z to do that. He definitely gained a new appreciation for my endurance horse.

We went about 10 miles in total and it was (all-in-all) a fantastic ride. We sang, we moved out, we talked about life. I love riding with my kids.

Afterwards, we stopped for ice cream. It doesn't get better! :-)

I met Kris at home after for a session with Rio. The family wanted to play some tennis, so I was feeling pressure to hurry the session along. However, it worked out perfectly! It was windy, but I really was hoping to get Kris to hop on her horse. I taught her yo-yo from the ground, sideways and when she seemed ready, she hopped on bareback for some time to play with transitions. Rio was awesome. He was sensitive and yet relaxed. She was able to work on transition down and up with only her seat. We started with her just riding him as I asked him to play circle game with me and it evolved into her leading the game and adding transitions. Nice to see them develop!