August 3, 2009
I've been really busy lately and haven't posted about the last few lessons (they have gone well!), so to make up for it I have have pictures and will have a video clip up soon!

The last couple lessons we've been working Nova in draw reins to help him work on keeping his head down. They have been working well - as in he's keeping his head down and not leaning down on them and instead working on carrying himself. We started off this lesson the same way. The warm up was pretty much the usual - laps around the entire arena, then circles in both ways in the ends. We also added in trotting over some poles as well. Then of course, came the canter. We went left first and he picked it up well and moved nicely for me, listening well. I then asked him from the walk a couple of times, and he did well. A couple of trot strides before picking up the lead nicely. Diane then had me go out and trot him around for awhile because he gets himself so worked up about cantering the other direction right away that he basically goes pogo-stick (more up and down trot than nice forward rhythm) and stops listening. So, I worked him in both directions until he settled down. Diane then had me ask him to canter from the posting trot, and it worked like a charm and he gave me the right lead beautifully. He did well, though he's not quite as balanced as he is to the left. But he's definitely come a looooooooooong way in his canter since we first started!

Then after a quick break, we started to work over the jumps. (We of course took the draw reins off for this.) I can honestly say he was much better this time than the last time we worked this. The other time he was just too wound up to listen and was trying to ditch out on the jump if he was even given the slightest opportunity. This time he felt a LOT more relaxed and was listening to me. It was a great feeling. We started off trotting some x-rails, and he went over those well. He was even picking his feet up over them. We worked on singles, and going over poles on one jump and then over the x-rail on the next. Diane then started to make the x-rails into 18" verticals. Again he was listening. We only had one refusal, and Diane said that I sort of dropped him before the jump (I didn't feel like I did, but she's the expert!). I have found that I really do have to ride him right up to the base of the jump and not give him too much release or he will stop/duck out. We did have two really good lines though, and I'm proud of us for that! I did a terrible job explaining what we did, but I do have a video clip that I will put up that will do a much better job.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua9Zo0sWGok

August 12, 2009
It was a good lesson today. (So have the other ones I've been too busy to post about.)

We didn't jump today, but have been the last couple times. Diane even had us doing an entire course, and it went well. I just have to remember to 'make him wait' for the jump, because if I just let him go, he will go long and fast. Other than that, Diane is very pleased with our progress and so am I.

Anyway, today we put the draw reins back on him - just to help him work better. (We haven't been using them since the last lesson I posted about.) At first he was not pleased, and did his pogo-stick trot for me during the warm-up. I really wished I'd brought my whip down to back up my leg with him because he wasn't listening to it as well as he could have been - as a 'go forward you dork' cue. But, we worked it out and he started to move nicely. He still lifts his head anytime I ask for a right bend, so he's not completely comfortable with that yet, though he will give me a nice one after he bring his head back down. (I have been doing some carrot (crunchie) stretches to the right, and he does those just fine, but I'll keep working with them. Maybe see about a chiro visit this fall/winter sometime.)

We then moved on to the canter, and canter we did! I was very happy about this because he never missed his right lead (did his left twice - but he gave me a right lead, so I can't complain too badly), and by the end, we were cantering 20-30 ft circles that actually looked like circles, were balanced, and his canter was sooooo nice! Diane wanted us working off the rail today and sort of picking up the leads away from a corner. We went to the right first, and he definitely didn't completely settle down into it like he did later on, but he was listening and kept a nice steady pace as we went around the arena. Got excited, as I expected about cantering to the left, but it wasn't as bad as it's been before, and we cantered left nicely as well.

Then Diane had us come in and ride circles off of the wall. Nova did really well at this, even though he's never 'really' been asked to do this. Like I said above, he was good at getting his leads (and fantastic transitions), and we got a really nice canter out of him both ways. It feels sooooo good when he gets it right! I'm also starting to ask him more to go from a canter to a walk, not just to a trot. I was doing that before because I didn't want to haul on his face too much, and he really listens to a verbal 'annnnd trot' and comes down on his own nicely. So now I'm upping the anty so to speak and starting to ask him to take only a couple trot strides before walking. I'm sure he'll get it no problem shortly.

Very good morning, all in all. I am very happy that I've been able to take 2-3 lessons on him almost every week - it's definitely been a big help! And he's really going to enjoy his vacation that starts in another week.

August 12, 2009
It was a good lesson today. (So have the other ones I've been too busy to post about.)

We didn't jump today, but have been the last couple times. Diane even had us doing an entire course, and it went well. I just have to remember to 'make him wait' for the jump, because if I just let him go, he will go long and fast. Other than that, Diane is very pleased with our progress and so am I.

Anyway, today we put the draw reins back on him - just to help him work better. (We haven't been using them since the last lesson I posted about.) At first he was not pleased, and did his pogo-stick trot for me during the warm-up. I really wished I'd brought my whip down to back up my leg with him because he wasn't listening to it as well as he could have been - as a 'go forward you dork' cue. But, we worked it out and he started to move nicely. He still lifts his head anytime I ask for a right bend, so he's not completely comfortable with that yet, though he will give me a nice one after he bring his head back down. (I have been doing some carrot (crunchie) stretches to the right, and he does those just fine, but I'll keep working with them. Maybe see about a chiro visit this fall/winter sometime.)

We then moved on to the canter, and canter we did! I was very happy about this because he never missed his right lead (did his left twice - but he gave me a right lead, so I can't complain too badly), and by the end, we were cantering 20-30 ft circles that actually looked like circles, were balanced, and his canter was sooooo nice! Diane wanted us working off the rail today and sort of picking up the leads away from a corner. We went to the right first, and he definitely didn't completely settle down into it like he did later on, but he was listening and kept a nice steady pace as we went around the arena. Got excited, as I expected about cantering to the left, but it wasn't as bad as it's been before, and we cantered left nicely as well.

Then Diane had us come in and ride circles off of the wall. Nova did really well at this, even though he's never 'really' been asked to do this. Like I said above, he was good at getting his leads (and fantastic transitions), and we got a really nice canter out of him both ways. It feels sooooo good when he gets it right! I'm also starting to ask him more to go from a canter to a walk, not just to a trot. I was doing that before because I didn't want to haul on his face too much, and he really listens to a verbal 'annnnd trot' and comes down on his own nicely. So now I'm upping the anty so to speak and starting to ask him to take only a couple trot strides before walking. I'm sure he'll get it no problem shortly.

Very good morning, all in all. I am very happy that I've been able to take 2-3 lessons on him almost every week - it's definitely been a big help! And he's really going to enjoy his vacation that starts in another week.

I think he looks very dashing in yellow.

Anyway, Nova is now on semi-permenant holidays for the next while because I'm going to be away for my practicum. There is a show in October I might see if I can come down for and literally drag him out of the pasture and take him to. I might be able to take him out a few more times before the snow flies, but they don't really count too much. I think he's going to enjoy this break, and I certainly know he really earned it this summer! I've very proud with what we've managed to accomplish, and as I've said before - he's a keeper!


August 29, 2009
Yes, yes - Nova is on vacation... Mostly. He got pulled out of the pasture for a trail ride today though! Poor guy, making him sweat on his holidays.

So I got the call on Friday that Mom and Julie were heading out to Drayton Valley for some riding on Saturday - of course I wanted to go, so I ended up getting home at 10pm!

Nova loaded well, travelled well, and unloaded, looked around, and was like, "Huh." about the whole thing. He's so seasoned now, haha! Though he had to give me the hairy eyeball about the saddlepad. He's been starting to do that of late, so I will be sacking him out with it sometime soon-ish. But, he stood nicely after that. I mounted up first, and he stayed nice and relaxed... Which lasted until we were about 20 feet down the trail. He was leading, and was alert but not nervous... Until Rhythm who was behind us decided that the scary picnic table at the side of the trail was 'horse-eating' and tried to make a new path through the bush! He got a bit jumpy and was super alert after that! But, we kept going and he was pretty okay and settled down.

We came to one of numerous bridges we were going to have to cross, and we let Julie and Trapper go first - and he didn't even blink at it, so that helped Nova go across right behind him a lot nicer. Actually, by the third bridge he walked right over it without blinking! I have pictures of the bridges, and I will say that I'm pretty impressed.

There were areas where there was quite a lot of mud/wet ground. Of course, Nova was not very impressed, but he went through it like he did in the mountains. If he has no choice, he goes through it without any fuss.

Before lunch the horses were all settled down, and Nova was in the middle with quite a big gap between himself and Trapper, and he didn't even get upset. I think I might have figured out part of his issue with that - Rhythm was a little ways behind us at that point, and he was fine. But he got upset when Rhythm would come up close behind us, and would throw a little hissy fit. Hmmm... Something to ponder.

He was good after lunch, and was leading for a ways until we got to the river. That was not so fun. He absolutely refused to go down the bank towards the river (this river was nothing compared to what he did in the mountains). He got very lucky though because Rhythm ended up accidently going first (Mom didn't encourage it), so he got to not be first. I was pretty ticked at that, but oh well. He didn't want to lead across the river either, so I just let him follow Trapper across, and he was totally fine with that.

We went back to leading, and unfortunately not long after that there was a part of the path with two muddy spots on them. (They were small, and he shouldn't have even blinked at them considering what he'd done that morning already.) Well, he stopped dead and there was no blinkin' way he was going to go forward first. So, because he got away with it at the river, there was no way he was going to get away with it here. I won't go into details, but I had to get pretty serious about it before he decided that he could go first.

Thankfully the rest of the ride was pretty uneventful, and we ended on a good note - he didn't pull anything else for the rest of the ride. So true to form, he was really good and really bad, but overall it was a pretty nice day.