October 1, 2008
Whew, three days in a row for poor Nova!
Tonight we went out with Mom and Helga for a trail ride. Things started off great, Nova was all relaxed and walking along nicely. Right after we passed Stewie (I feel so bad for that poor lil' guy) I made a comment to Mom (once that could be considered mean, in a joking manner) and she gave me a look and started to trot after me. So, off Nova and I went at a trot, but he actually decided to break into a canter, so I let him continue that way. We didn't go very far before I pulled him up and waited for Mom and Helga to catch up. Then for whatever reason about a minute after that, he got all snotty with me and didn't want to walk... But of course he picks a bad spot to do that in. But, he didn't get away with it, we did a circle or two, and continued on. Once we crossed the range road he was still a bit 'up', but was doing okay (heh, just walking on Rhythm's heels) when I think Helga and Tika came trotting down into the ditch behind us, and Nova tried to kick. It wasn't a big kick, and yes he got into trouble... But I don't blame him all that much. Helga has a habit of letting Tika trot up behind horses (and Tika is the one who's known to kick and gets very witchy when she's near other horses). So while kicking is unexceptable, perhaps trying to kick Tika isn't nearly as bad...
So Mom, being my saviour, let us out in front, and Nova settled right down again. When we got to the mini's, we turned right and continued on partway through Spring Hills. There's a small field you can ride through that is just off the road that takes you back into the larger hay/grain fields behind (all have been cut already), so we decided to do that. Nova and I were last coming off the road into this small field, when all of a sudden he leaps ahead and has quite a large spook. Turn around, and here's the freakin' dog from across the road (who I had looked for, but didn't see) running up behind us. So, it was definitely a legitimate spook, and he handled it quite well. Meanwhile, I'm ready to about kill that dog (sorry, I love dogs, but this one in particular has caused more than a number of spooks from our horses - mostly because it doesn't stay in the yard all the time). Anyway, so we turn around and continue along, only to have Nova go about six feet sideways as he spooks from something else! Ahhhhhh! I think it was a cat in the trees. Once we're out in the field(s) he settles down and we walk along very nicely.
When we get out into the field we normally ride in, we decide to ride up the field, and back through the path in the trees. The entrance to the path from the far end starts with a decent downhill, so I made sure that Nova walked down it. He's not fond of downs, the poor guy. And we led for the entire path, and there are a lot of spooky things on this path! An old car in the bushes, fences, lots and lots of logs on the side of the path, the pond in the back with geese on it, etc. He was super brave!! Only stopped to eye a couple things, but mostly kept on moving. Maybe not super fast (because Rhythm was right up our butt - though, we know if she was first, she'd be doing way more start/stop than Nova was), but we were keeping a steady pace. I was very happy with how well he did! Not surprised of course, because he really is one brave guy, but still quite proud.
He was good the rest of the way back home, so nothing to really report.
He's getting Thursday off because we're supposed to be having a lesson on Friday, so he gets one day to recoup!
October 18, 2008
So, why the break in updates? Because Mr. Nova decided a couple weeks ago to make his hind leg swell right up! He chose to do this on the Thursday before our Friday lesson. How nice. So he got some time off, and by Monday the swelling was gone, but I chose to give him that day off as well just to be safe. And since then I've missed all the riding lessons and the weather has been a bit miserable to ride in.
But today we rode! And we were not without some excitement.
I could tell when I went to catch Nova and Rhythm that they were both feeling spunky today. Perhaps I should have lunged him, but that really wasn't the reason why he was the way he was today. Tacked up, rode off down the driveway, and he was feeling a bit frisky. We started off okay, but about halfway down to the arena he started trying to get joggy again. So I was 'riding' him and trying to get him to settle down. At one point he literally slammed on the breaks and threw his head in the air... And I wasn't asking him to do anything. Brat. Well, we make it to the arena without further incident, and while we were waiting for Diane I was riding him around. Helga was lunging Tika, and Mom was in the far end trotting Rhythm around. He was doing okay, but still was looking for something to spook from (like walking away from the side of the arena with some trees, he figured perhaps he should scoot away because something might come to eat him...).
The fun starts about a minute later. I had asked him to change directions and we were along the side of the arena facing the gate, when suddenly he stops and is looking. I see the lady who's place we take the horses over to so they can graze down her grass coming down the little hill towards the arena. Nova is looking, but doesn't seem too concerned about it... Until all of a sudden we're half rearing and wheeling around, and I'm clinging and trying to get his head turned so he doesn't take off down the arena. It works, and we only go maybe ten feet from where we were in total (fancy dance moves included). From what Mom says, Nova may not have been the first one to react, as she felt Rhythm react sideways, sort of saw Tika and Nova jumping. So perhaps he was thinking about it, and the other horses helped him make his decision. Either way, after it was over we went to the fence, looked at the bike, got a pet from Donna and continued on.
Diane comes and we start our lesson by trotting two whole rounds of the arena, one large circle in each end, changing across the diagonal, two rounds of the outside, and one large circle in each end. The first lap around Nova was fine, but the second one my (idiot) dog followed us around on the outside of the arena. I'm going with the fact that Nova HAD to know Shauni was right there the whole time, so when he did the large spook sideways when Shauni went over some dead leaves was slightly out of line. Stupid beasts. (I was not in the best frame of mind by then. I mean really... Did he have to act like a 3 year old today?? [Joking!]) Shauni got tied up, and off we continued.
We definitely weren't breaking any speed records on our laps, but he was moving at a fairly consistent pace, and wasn't trying to stop on me at all, so that was good. After that we did some big figure-8's using the whole arena, and some serpentines. I worked on asking Nova to keep a bend by keeping my inside rein on his neck and flexing my fingers to ask him to give a bit. Worked out okay and we had one really nice bend during our serpentines.
After that we hung out in the middle of the arena while Helga then Mom cantered around. And then it was our turn! The first time we got the wrong lead because he sped up, I got a bit out of sequence and he ended up bending to the outside and taking that lead. No problem, let him go for a few strides then asked him to trot, went around the circle and asked for it again - got the right one this time. We are working in just the third of the arena for this. Got about halfway around that and Nova decided that he should trot, so I added my leg, to which he took offence of and shot his butt in the air a bit. I got after him by doing a really tight circle, and we trotted off again and picked it up at the corner again. This time I really used my butt to keep him going - and had a breakthrough with myself at the same time. But encouraging with my seat, my legs stayed locked into his sides (not tight, but steady) and I was able to keep him going fairly easily with just my seat. It was amazing! Okay, anyway, we cantered about four or five laps that way before I asked him to stop, to which we had quite a nice downward transition. Turned around and started to go the other way. Got the lead the first time and we went around. Not sure why, but Helga was also going to canter Tika at the same time we were... Well, in one corner she had a bit of an issue with her a couple times, so I had to steer Nova clear of that (making our circles smaller than planned). We did okay, but I wasn't paying enough attention to where I was looking (bad Christine!) so we sort of did the head turned but still travelling straight at the fence until the last second move, a couple of times. After which he broke, so we just collected and picked up the canter again. He was quite quick on getting his leads today (after the first mishap), and I'm very proud of him for that! For only his 3rd or 4th canter, I can't complain.
And as a special treat today, there's a 35 second video montage of our cantering adventures! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZle1qgxVGE
Oh, and for the bonus special treat... The video I promised a couple months ago of me riding him bareback? That got uploaded today as well! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btRrnTnKYdo
October 20, 2008
Had another lesson today. Diane was going to ride Rhythm for Mom, so I ended up just leading both horses to and from the arena - easier than trying to pony one.
Did what appears to be our normal warmup lately - two laps around, two circles, change directions and repeat. Nova felt quite steady going around - although he usually does. No spooks today though! After our warmup, I was breathing harder than he was - but I was nice and warm!
We then went into working on our serpentines again, but instead of three, we did five or six. Nova decided to be really stubborn about turning to the right on the serpentines. Turns to the left were made nicely and smoothly, but to the right he decided he wanted nothing to do with them. So, after a bit of a reminder that we do indeed turn right when asked, we finished up okay. The second round of serpentines we started to make them smaller - aiming for quarterline to quarterline. Ours weren't perfect, but he was listening a bit better and we'd turn when I wanted us to turn, and I actually got a couple nice bends out of him. If I ride in the arena between lessons, I'm definitely going to work on our serpentines.
After that, it was canter time! Diane and Rhythm went first, then Helga and Tika, and then it was our turn - only to the left. We were in the far end of the arena today, and using about the same size area as we do on the other end - about a third. I started our trot on the far side away from the corner I was going to ask him to canter from, so we had a decent trot coming into the corner. Sat down, picked up my inside rein, added my outside leg, kissed and off we went! Dare I say he picks his leads up fater than Rhythm? Yes, I do dare! And he's so smooooooth too. I remembered to use my seat to keep him going, though he did pretty good today about not trying to stop. Diane also wanted me to just go with him, and not try to push him to keep going. We did about four laps or so and that was enough for him. Our downwards transitions were pretty darn good too. Not nearly as rough as Skye tends to be. After watching the other two go to the right, it was our turn. Pretty much a repeat of going to the left. Picked up his lead brilliantly and around we went. He's very consistent with his speed. I did have to try and get him not to lean to the inside by bringing my inside rein across his neck, and that seemed to do the trick. Man, he makes riding him so easy most of the time!
I know I do have to work on keeping my hands dooooown and not shortening my reins too much. Kind of the opposite from these high headed horses I've been riding for so long now. Diane said today that once he becomes more consistent with his canter we'll put him in an english saddle. Can't wait!
October 27, 2008
So, Diane had to cancel our riding lesson for today, but Helga called me up and asked if I wanted to go down anyway. Since it was relatively nice (especially compared to the weekend), I said sure, and went out to tack up. I have to admit that at first I was going to take Rhythm down, but of course, Nova is standing at the gate and Rhythm is on the other side of the pasture. So, okay, I'll take Booger instead.
He's been standing still again for mounting lately, so I hope that trend continues. As we start off down the driveway (like anytime I get on him after a break from riding) I realize how truly filled out and 'horse-like' he really is. We were going along fine until just past Helga's driveway when he kind of thought he didn't want to go much further. He never outright refused, but we had a couple stop/starts. Then of course, there's a board in the ditch that is just terrifying! And a big service truck that has to drive up the road. Nova had to be a bit of an idiot and spook at the truck - but nothing major and we continued on. Got down to the arena, I got off, opened the gate, went in, fixed his pad, remounted again, and we started walking along the outside. I was trying to ride 'properly' and had both hands on the reins - well, ugh! He thought that was terrible and kept fussing with his face and mouth (head up, head down, diving into contact, wiggling his head around, etc.) and kept wanting to trot. Once I spotted Helga walking down with Tika, I stopped and we just waited/watched them walk over to the arena. Figured it was better than fighting with him because he'd definitely be distracted. Then sat and had a bit of a chat with Helga while she prepped Tika for lunging.
I then took Nova to the far side of the arena to do some trot work. HOLY MOLY! I do not know what rocket boosters were put under my horse, but man did we have speed today! He also wanted to canter a bit too - "oh, you added leg! cannnnter!". I worked in the far half of the arena just going around the outside trying to get him to slow down and pay a bit of attention. He really wasn't that bad, he just wanted to go, go, go. I worked on getting a bit of a bend from him, and actually was getting some. To the left is definitely his preferred direction for bending, but I was even getting it to the right as well. And, I think he knows what inside rein and inside leg mean - move the heck to the outside of the circle! After working both ways for what seemed like forever, I brought him back down to a walk and we walked over to the other side to watch Helga lunge Tika while he caught his breath.
Since I'd forgot to bring my draw-reins, and Helga had hers I used them on Nova. Because we haven't been working on it lately I can tell he's getting more in the habit of bringing his head up which isn't what we want. Diane has been focusing on other things (mostly due to time contraints), so I decided to work on this with him today. (I trust myself not to totally ruin him with one unsupervised use.) Helga's are leather, and haven't been used much so they were quite kinked and stiff - it took me a little while to get them figured out. We started off with a fair bit of walking in both directions (on the gate end), getting him to level out his neck and give me some bend. He did pretty good, but of course had to figure out what the heck draw-reins meant again. Once we got it, we moved up into the trot. It was STILL fast! This never happens, as he's typically quite lazy. So after trying a bit to slow him down and settle, I just said 'what the heck' and we went big. He wanted to go big and fast, so that's what we did. Under control of course... Heh, well, under some control. When we walked again he kept trying to put his head waaaay down... Like peanut roller down. That's no good! So I'll mention it do Diane next time and ask for a definite way to fix that.
But the best part? After the little puffbreak we picked up the trot again. It was still quite big, but it felt AWESOME! He had his neck level and was going around with it just like that, not resisting the draw-reins at all, not leaning on them... Just holding himself right there. It was sort of an 'ah-ha' moment and I soooo wish I could have pictures/video of it. I even loosened off the draw-reins and started to ride him off the snaffle rein and he still held himself there! We were sure motoring around, but it felt sooo good! For the first time it was like having a powerhouse under me. (Good thing I've been riding speedy horses my whole life.)
With the draw-reins still loosened off I sat and asked for the canter, and bang, got it. He was still so go, go, go that he kind of didn't want to turn and finish the circle, so we ended up stopping, getting back on track and picking it up again in the corner. Did about three laps in that half of the arena at a quick pace before doing a nice transition back down to a trot then a walk. I then turned and we picked up the trot the other way, and again, no issues picking up the canter in the corner and around again we went, staying on course this time. After a few laps I once again brought him back down and halted him. Gave him big congrats for being so good, hopped off and removed the draw-reins before getting back on to walk around the arena on a loose rein to cool off. He had his head nice and level and walked around very relaxed. It just felt so good.
Because he was so good I got off and led him home - also so I could chat with Helga since she was walking as well. All I can say is that I'm really amazed at him! No idea where all that energy came from, but I'm not complaining!
October 31, 2008
Nova was looking a bit spunky today, so I borrowed Helga's lungeline and lunged him before mounting. He was doing good going around, then decided to be a bit of an idiot and take off away from me. And then pretended he forgot how to lunge. After a discussion and a walk back to our side of the arena we continued on and he was much better.
Mounted, and joined in at the trot. He was pretty well behaved and we worked on some circles and stuff. Worked on getting him to bend (especially to his stiffer side).
Spent a bit of time in the middle watching Diane canter Rhythm and then Helga canter Tika, before it was our turn. I think we did quite well to the left, and I worked on not having him get quite so forward with me. (He's usually not.) I think we got lost in the shuffle, because we never actually went around to the right.
We did work on halting, since I've noticed that they aren't as instant as they could be. It's not a pretty way, but it's effective. (And this is partly because he was running through my rein aids at the canter as well.) It's ask, and if he doesn't stop, immediately and not 'prettily' haul his little butt backwards. It took him a few times, but he did get it. Diane also mentioned to give him a little warning before I ask. So I'm trying to remember to close my fingers on the reins and then tell him whoa. It worked pretty darn good, I think. It's nice knowing my brakes are a bit more reliable. It's my fault for not working on this stuff sooner - it's a bad habit of ours not to work so much on stopping as we do on the rest.
September 30, 2010
September 8, 2008
I've been gone for a couple weeks (trip to Newfoundland), but I'm back and ready to make my boy work!
I've been dying to get back on Nova and go for another ride (I'm really excited to ride him because he's just so awesome). So tonight we went out again. He stood great as always to be tacked up and mounted.
We started off, and he did try to trot up the hill, but he settled down after I asked him to walk. Past the arena Nova eyeballed a garbage can, but walked right up to it on his own. Found it wasn't all that interesting and we turned and continued on down the road. We then met Stewie the mini donkey, and Nova was quite interested in him! He was sniffing him all over and quite curious, but was good when I asked him to continue on down the road.
When we got to the end of the dirt road we decided to go across the range road and into spring hills for the first time. We crossed the road fine, but he got a tiny bit nervous when he heard the cars pass behind us when we got to the other side. He just tried to jog ahead a couple times, but settled down no problem and we continued on. We went until we heard a horse call out, and Nova perked up a lot, so we decided to turn around (because ahead would have been a couple horses who would probably run up to the fence, possibly a dog in a kennel right beside the road, and then two mini's that would probably come up to the fence to say 'hi' - a bit too much stimulation for Nova... Or me, actually.) On the way back we heard someone leaving their yard in a car, so we stopped on the road to wait for them to leave - and they took longer than we thought, but Nova stood quite literally perfectly still. What's nice about him is that so far once he stops he stands very still and isn't antsy or fussy. We crossed back across the range road without a fuss, though there were no cars this time.
We then decided to go past the office instead of past Stewie. This turned out to be more exciting than we figured. The house just before the office has a dog that usually doesn't come up to the fence, but today decided to make a beeline straight down the driveway towards us. Thankfully they have a gate across the driveway. We heard him coming, so I stopped Nova and turned him to look at the dog, but even then he was still nervous of the dog. He didn't do anything other than freeze and take a step back onto the road (and thankfully the car at the stop sign waited until we continued on before coming). Then where ugly dog used to live is the young replacement dog, who of course today had to bark at us and come out to the end of the cable (but thankfully not fast). We went passed him without hassle, and Nova even stopped and turned his head to look at the dog after we made it passed safely.
One thing I know we're going to have to work on is Nova not throwing his head up when he decides to resist the bit and what I'm asking him to do. Part of that is definitely his green-ness and will go away with time, but I also don't want to let it become a habit. Diane will definitely help us with that.
But all in all, he was great! He's super willing to be ahead of the other horse when we're walking down the road - he's not nervous at all. And I can spend a lot of the ride on a relatively loose rein and let him just walk along (which probably isn't the 'best' thing, but it is working for us so far).
September 15, 2008
Woohoo! Another fantastic lesson today. Since it was in the afternoon, I had to take Nova down by himself. At first I thought I might try and ride him down, but it was windy today and once I had him ready to go he seemed a bit 'looky', so I decided to just lead him down. It was a bit stop and go until we got past our neighbours driveway and then he walked down willingly. He was happy to see our neigbour 's mare already at the arena when we got there.
After chatting for a few minutes with Diane when she arrived I hopped on - of course, he stood perfectly still! We walked around while Diane was helping Helga with some things, and he was listening pretty good. Diane had us riding in about a third of the arena today, partly because of the wind, and partly because it's nice to work in a smaller area sometimes. We then started trotting and along one side Nova was really veering off the rail and cutting the corner so we worked on trying to keep him as close to the rail as possible. We also started on doing large circles (but more medium considering the size of the area we were in) in each corner. The first few were a bit iffy, we'd come off the rail nicely but when we got to the mid point of the circle he'd start to veer out towards Tika who would be on the other side of the arena. After being firm with my leg and rein on his neck he shortly figured out what I wanted and was quite good. I'd say we had a few circles that were almost perfectly circular! It was amazing to feel him figure it out and start to come around nicely. (We of course did the trotting around, and the circles in both directions.)
I'm aware that some (okay, probably a lot) will not agree with what we did next, but that said, I do trust my trainer immensely. Because Nova was starting the habit of putting his head up in the air whenever he was asked to do something he was less than thrilled about - turning, whoaing, etc. Diane loves his look and wants him to keep a long and low topline (and not build the dreaded underneck muscle). So, we put draw reins on him today. We started with them quite loose so he could figure it out (head up=bad, head down=good), then started working at the trot again and very slowly started to shorten them a bit. It took awhile of doing that before he started to clue in - Diane kept commenting on how she could tell he was really thinking about what I wanted him to do. By the end of the lesson he was really getting it, he was starting to come down and hold it for a few strides. He was great at the walk - but he's usually quite good at the walk on his own about keeping his neck level.
Just wanted to add that he was quite good when we were going the opposite way from Helga and she didn't move Tika off the rail very much (and Tika was having a cranky day), so he's automatically move himself right off the track and onto the grass right beside the rail to avoid her. And only once did that cause him to break to a walk. Also, Helga was cantering around while we were trotting and it didn't even phase him! That's perfect, because the sooner he figures out that it doesn't matter what other horses are doing, the better.
The only downside was that towards the end he started to get a bit distracted and started to call for the horses left at home. There was a couple of times he slammed on the breaks to call, but usually he would go again with some encouragement. The one time I got really after him (thumping quite heavily with my legs) and he wasn't moving forward, so he got the saddle tie to the rump which got us back in motion! After that, we were fine. And hey, I didn't need my dressage whip at all, so that's a nice change.
I was very proud of him today. He had a lot to focus on and did very well!
September 16, 2008
Trail ride day. Diane mentioned that she wouldn't mind if I got out and rode Nova between our lessons (I figure just because the more undersaddle time he has, the better). So we went again last night. Silly horse still ran right up to the gate to get caught!
For the first time ever he tried to move off when I went to mount him, but did stand after I got him stopped. Definitely will be stopping that little habit right away! We started off quite bravely, as always. Even pushed past Rhythm when she stopped halfway down the driveway to reconsider this idea of a ride (she has sore feet). So because of Rhythm's tender toes we decided to go down the lakefront again.
We bravely led down the path that held the scary monster man last time, and he only paused right when we came out of the trees on to the lakefront to survey the situation before continuing. I felt he was more relaxed out there this time - still a bit gawky at the lake, but not nervous like last time. He did try to jog a bit, but soon settled down. So we did some big circles in each direction on our way along, and he was good. Didn't try to resist or pretend he forgot how to do them. We even went around a gazebo for a circle while Mom went to a circle the other way - it's great he's not clingy! She also trotted past us and Nova wasn't upset at all (that would have been a different story if she'd gone a lot further ahead, of course). He did spook once when some ducks took off from the water just behind us, but as usual, settled right back down again. On our way back we trotted (while Mom stayed back and walked), and actually did one large circle at the trot each way - and he was good! Have to say it's the biggest trot I've gotten out of him yet! We then went back down the path and across the road, past the arena then home. I turned Nova to go towards the road and he did decide to throw his rump in the air a bit for some fun, so we did some really fun head-to-my-knee circles and then continued on. He wasn't being bad (well, yes he was, but not in a mean way) as much as having fun, so I didn't get very big and grumpy at him. If he tries it again I definitely won't be so nice!
I do want to say though that I noticed a difference on not only his steering, but about the head-flinging too. All the whoa's I asked him to do were not greeted with his nose straight up and out, but instead with his head more down. And a few times I'm pretty sure I felt him reaching down for contact - which is awesome!!! I can honestly say I don't think he threw his head up once last night. He of course, did bring his neck and head up for the trot, but that I don't mind for now.
What'ta good boy!!
September 18, 2008
Of course, another fantastic trail ride tonight!
We decided to take Nova someplace new tonight, and of course, he was wonderful. We went past the arena, and Stewie the mini donkey, then across the range road (we crossed and then had to wait for Mom because Rhythm was walking pretty slow) then into Spring Hills. He did spook a tiny bit when a truck passed us, but it was just a scoot ahead - he will need some work on vehicles passing, but that will come later. We went further than we had the other time, and thankfully no horses ran up to the fence, and the dog wasn't in his pen so there was nothing scary to pass. We did stop to talk to the people who own the mini horses (they weren't out tonight) and he was a little impatient (especially when their pretty mare came over to the fence) but wasn't too bad.
After that we went through the path into the field behind Spring Hills. And Nova led!! I was so proud of him, because he has never been on this path, and from what I found prior to riding him was that he wasn't fond of the bush. He was pretty alert, but not really spooky. Just before we went through the tall brush into the field, he stopped and was looking, and at first I thought it was because he could see the large field behind the bush, but in fact it was one of our neighbours riding! So we turned around and let her come through and he got to hang out while we chatted for a few minutes. He stood much better this time. After that we went out into the field, and after eyeballing the canola (I think) that was cut and laying in the field he walked along the edge with no problems! Wasn't concerned that there was this wide open field on one side and solid brush on the other. He doesn't have much power for going up hills yet, but I hope that will come in time! He also did good when we turned around to come back and walked down the slight hills.
Nothing exciting happened on the way back, as he was great. I have noticed that he walks a lot slower when he's behind than he does when he's leading (exactly like Rhythm does!). He was quite relaxed that I rode a lot of the way home on the buckle and let him amble along the side of the road.
I can really see the improvement in his steering and stopping even from just last week! He's much more responsive to turning and even just moving out onto the road to avoid a tree branch and then back onto the grass. We should probably work on our stops, as he's not 'quick' about that, but I'm happy he does stop and doesn't fling his head in the air anymore!
Supposed to be having a lesson tomorrow - we'll see if I get out of my hair appointment in time!
September 19, 2008
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes, that is how excited I am, and how much I love Nova!
Because of my hair appointment I was running late (but not running late, because I was still ahead of when Diane was expecting me) so I wasted no time once I got home brushing and tacking up Nova. But then, because I wasn't really late, I decided today would be a good day (as he was pretty relaxed looking) to try and ride him down to the arena! I kind of thought we'd get to our neighbour's driveway and then he'd freeze, call, and generally decide this was not a good idea. That didn't happen though! We didn't break any speed records, but we walked quietly the whole way down to the arena. He didn't even stop once to give me any hassle!!! We're not ready for a solo trail ride just yet, but I think I can start riding him down to our lessons by myself.
Because of forgotten keys, we had to 'break into' the arena today, and Nova willingly walked over the board on the bottom of the fence into the arena. We walked around a bit while Diane was working with Helga, but soon started to trot. He seemed a bit lazy today - he could honestly be tired and a bit sore since he was ridden three times already this week - so we weren't moving around very fast. He got a bit stubborn about turning right at the beginning, sort of an "I'm tired and would rather not turn, thanks anyway" but after a couple corrections and more prepared riding on my part we got going. I do swear though that he knew I didn't bring the dressage whip with me! (I haven't used it in the last couple weeks at all, but I think he knew anyway!) Thankfully there were straps on the back of the saddle which can be used in a pinch if he's being stubborn.
Anyway, as we were going around Diane suggested that we try to get him to lope/canter, so I went another round, then asked him to canter and he actually got it! And on the correct (right) lead too! The first time we did about 5+ strides and I asked him to trot (with tons of praise), but the second time I got it we continued it around for about two laps (we were in a third of the arena again) and he was great! Did try to break once or twice but a kiss and a squeeze kept him going. I was soooooooooo proud of him!! After a puff break, which was more for me than it was for him, we turned and went left. I think this will be his more sticky side (or could be because he was that much more tired) because it took a few times around to get it. But when we did, he got the correct lead again and we did about 3/4 of a lap before he quit. So, we did it once more and he got the lead again, and we did an entire lap before I asked him to come back to a trot. He was SO GOOD!! He wasn't racing around like a lunatic, and he went around and was listening to my aids (as in he continued around the circle and didn't bulge or resist).
So we got to hang out for a bit while Diane hopped on Tika, and I just kept telling him how good he was! After Diane was done with Tika, I asked if she wanted to hop up on Nova (it helps for her to see what I'm dealing with). So she put the draw reins on and hopped up. It was so cool to watch him go around! Especially when he started to figure out to drop his head and lift his back. I kept thinking, "THERE'S my english baby!" After Diane worked with him, and by the end he was walking really nicely on just the snaffle rein, I hopped up and tried not to ruin what she'd just worked on. It was so cool to feel him come down and start to search around for the contact.
After this fantastic day, he's definitely going to get the weekend off!! I think he deserves it!
September 26, 2008
So, no riding lessons this week. Monday we thought we had one, but Diane cancelled and we didn't get the message. I took Nova down but only lunged him because it was quite brisk and VERY windy out. He had some fun running and bucking on the lungeline though. He probably would have been okay because he was calm on the way down and while we were there (except for when I was lunging), but I chickened out on actually getting up on him.
So instead of a lesson, we went for a family ride. *GASP* This never ever, ever happens! It is probably the second time (maybe) Dad has been on his horse all year. Okay, anyway, it wasn't too cold out, but still a little breezy and definitely a little cool... Which everyone knows is the perfect recipe for fresh horses... And Nova was no exception! Now, before you think that he was a total lunatic... He was far from that! He just, for the first time, decided he wanted to jog! Ugh! There were a few factors that could have caused this: the weather, Skye and Dad joining us for the first time, Rhythm and Skye not being sore and therefore walking much faster than previous times, the fact that he hasn't been ridden in a week, and mostly what I think it was - we were covering the same ground he's been on a few times before. Not that the other things didn't come into play...
But I noticed when we reached Spring Hills and turned and went a new way his pace dropped off, him wanting to jog/trot pretty much stopped, and he settled down. He got a bit nervous when there was a dog in a pen that was hidden by the trees barking at us, mostly because we'd gotten behind Skye and Rhythm so he got a bit scared and broke into a trot. This time I let him trot to catch up because he was a bit nervous and I didn't need him to get really scared. No harm done I feel, because it was a nice controlled trot.
He was very good for the entire new part of the ride. He spooked a tiny bit when this big while dog ran over the hill in his yard and down into the ditch on the other side of the road (one of the silent and deadly types). But it's okay, because Rhythm spooked first! I decided we shouldn't attempt riding back along the range road because that might get him more upset than necessary, so we came back through the Village. Dad wanted to see if he'd spook if I held out my arms and put a baseball hat in them and flopped it around. So I took his and did just that on both sides... Nova could have cared less (until I made it make noise when I was flopping it around, he wasn't fond of that - so I'll work on that another day).
I laughed at the switch that happened the minute we joined up with the road he already knows, because he went from relaxed and calm to more 'up' again. Maybe because he recognized that road as the road to go home on... I don't know. Mom wanted to detour over on the path along the lake to go spy on the new house being built in Spring Lake Ranch, so off we went. Nova was good, and we officially stepped over our first real log! Okay, so it was laying on the ground, and not really all that impressive... But still! We ended up leading on the way back through the trail and he was really motoring along!
I'd like to think that Dad was a little impressed with how well he was - and he saw him on a 'bad day'... Which was really only walking really fast and trying to jog. If those are Nova's bad days, I think I'll really get along well with him!
September 29, 2008
I had another lesson with Diane today (and it was so warm out we were back to t-shirts!) which was very successful, I think.
Nova stood great for mounting, so I'm hopeful that his 'walk away' thing was just a very short phase! I then rode him down to the arena, and we meandered down there like old pro's!
After walking around the arena for a few minutes, we started to trot, and Diane had me try to get Nova to have a bit more 'umph' in his trot. He wasn't even tracking up (which is something I know he can do) and just sort of putzing along. But of course, that meant more work for me than it did for him. I really wish I was riding him english, because it's easier for me to post, keep my leg on, and generally just ride! But that said, I don't blame him for being a bit lazy since it was so warm out, and he's already working in his winter woolies. We did a change across the diagonal, and I think we were pretty straight through the whole thing! We're also starting to work on getting him to bend in the direction of travel (ie. NOT gawk to the outside of the arena as we're going around). His stiff direction is do the right as he definitely tries to look to the outside when we're going around.
After a short break, we went out to canter! He appeared to be a bit more resistent this time, and I honestly think it was because of the heat. But we still did get some canter out of him. He did pick up the wrong lead twice going to the right - but because he's very consistent on the lungeline, it's probably me that's throwing him onto the wrong lead. Diane let us out of the part of the arena we've been working in so we could use the whole arena (we did this for the trot too since Nova was so under control... [to which I had a bit of a chuckle, because I think he could handle the whole arena if he can handle the trail riding we've been doing]). To the right we got almost all the way around before he broke, which was okay. And to the left after we got him going we made it all the way around until I asked him to stop (and I'd lost a stirrup, but that almost made it easier for me).
After that we got a bit of a puff break again before Diane put the draw reins on - since his muscles were warmed up. She then went to help Helga with some turns on the forehand, and Nova and I were left to walk around. It's really neat to ride him with the draw reins on because they're so long, so you're not cranking his head in, but rather telling him to lower it and stretch out his topline. He does pretty good in them now, and we even moved up into a sitting trot and jogged (and I mean really jogged - it was perfect to sit to!) around the small area working on keeping his head low, and bending in the right direction. Helga complimented us on how well we looked going around which felt so nice because it felt fantastic to me!
That was the end of the lesson, but Helga and I decided to ride down the lakefront since the weather was so nice. Well, Nova was a little pooped out, so it was a very relaxing ride for the most part! I literally was holding the buckle on the reins the entire time. There is one part I know we're going to have to work on, because he's just being so silly about it. There is a set of tracks running across the lakefront towards the boat lanch, where it is mostly just packed grass, but there are a few dirt patches from where the tires are... This is about the scariest thing ever for Nova! He snorts at it, and eyes it, and really has no desire to cross it. Now, move him two feet over to where the dirt patches aren't, and he's fine. I did get him to more or less cross it (both times) where I wanted him to. But the next time we go down the lakefront, I'm really going to work on getting him to walk across it with no problems - every other horse we have doesn't even blink at it. And it's really kind of amusing when you think about it. And even though we were seriously just meandering along, we were still walking faster than Helga and Tika. I couldn't believe it.
On our way back, just before we enter the bush again to head for the road, three loud bangs (literally sounded like gunshots) went off. The first one, neither horse flinched (I did more than he did), the second, Tika was not happy about and sort of 'took off' a bit and then the third one both horses sort of took off. Not a bolt, because I did easily stop Nova, but he was sure getting the heck out of that place! Those were the only three we heard (thankfully!). The rest of the ride was uneventful, as we went to the arena so Helga could grab her stuff, and then walked home.
September 30, 2008
Another super sunny and hot day out today! And I couldn't not go for a ride, so I called Mom up at work, and by the time she got home Nova and Rhythm were tacked up and ready to roll.
Feeling brave today, I decided we should head out on the trail through the bush that has been punched out between the end of our road and the next range road over. It's not a bad trail, but none of our horses seem overly fond of it. We started off following Rhythm through it, but at about halfway we ended up passing her and led through the rest. The trail is actually between the one developed subdivison, and Spring Lake Ranch, which is going to be developed who-knows-when. It goes through the trees and since it's been bushed out a bit (to actually create the path) there are a lot of logs on the side of the trail. Nova, I've found, is not all that fond of logs along the trail (across the trail would probably be fine, though). We just had a couple stops, eyeballs, snorts, and then walked past them without a problem. After going up one hill, there is the back of someone's property that has fenced right to the end - complete with their two huge Newfie's! Prior to this the dogs couldn't come back as far, so poor Nova is standing there with these dogs in their pen probably about 10 feet off where the path goes. He wasn't too sure about that, but after stopping and looking, we squeezed between the trees and continued on. Of course, not more than 10 steps futher is a lovely junk pile left from someone - old tires, car parts, etc. All piled along the side of the path nicely, but still pretty spooky! So we get past that and go down a hill past a huge culvert that is out of the ground (yes, there's lots of stuff back there that will hopefully be cleaned up sometime), when on the other side comes running a german shepherd in his pen (we knew he was there), but I think between Nova being so alert about everything, and possibly the sun in his eyes he didn't see the dog until it got right to the fence. Both horses did very nice 180s to get the heck outta there, but stopped within a couple strides. After turning and looking at the dog and making sure Nova knew is was just a dog inside his fence, we proceeded up the really steep hill. Now, I've been up some pretty steep stuff, and I'd say this hill is something like you'd find in the mountains. Nova did so well! It felt to me like he was actually using his butt to help push us up the hill (Mom said that from behind it looked like he was indeed using his rump - good boy). There was another dog at the top of the hill in the same fence as the GSD, but he didn't spook the horses. After we topped the hill we came out onto the side road and I could feel Nova almost instantly relax.
I was very proud of him for facing all those really scary things. And he behaved no worse than Rhythm, since she spooked about as badly as Nova did at the dog.
The rest of the ride was pretty relaxing (read: boring) as he just walked along with his head down along the side of the road. We went through a subdivision on the other side of the range road, then crossed back and came through Willow Peak (the one we'd ridden behind on our way out). He did eye the huge metal dragon statues that this guy has built in his yard.
I had a great ride - we had some excitement, but most of it was ridden on a loose rein and just chatting away with Mom. Have I said lately how much I love Nova? Because, I REALLY love him!
I've been gone for a couple weeks (trip to Newfoundland), but I'm back and ready to make my boy work!
I've been dying to get back on Nova and go for another ride (I'm really excited to ride him because he's just so awesome). So tonight we went out again. He stood great as always to be tacked up and mounted.
We started off, and he did try to trot up the hill, but he settled down after I asked him to walk. Past the arena Nova eyeballed a garbage can, but walked right up to it on his own. Found it wasn't all that interesting and we turned and continued on down the road. We then met Stewie the mini donkey, and Nova was quite interested in him! He was sniffing him all over and quite curious, but was good when I asked him to continue on down the road.
When we got to the end of the dirt road we decided to go across the range road and into spring hills for the first time. We crossed the road fine, but he got a tiny bit nervous when he heard the cars pass behind us when we got to the other side. He just tried to jog ahead a couple times, but settled down no problem and we continued on. We went until we heard a horse call out, and Nova perked up a lot, so we decided to turn around (because ahead would have been a couple horses who would probably run up to the fence, possibly a dog in a kennel right beside the road, and then two mini's that would probably come up to the fence to say 'hi' - a bit too much stimulation for Nova... Or me, actually.) On the way back we heard someone leaving their yard in a car, so we stopped on the road to wait for them to leave - and they took longer than we thought, but Nova stood quite literally perfectly still. What's nice about him is that so far once he stops he stands very still and isn't antsy or fussy. We crossed back across the range road without a fuss, though there were no cars this time.
We then decided to go past the office instead of past Stewie. This turned out to be more exciting than we figured. The house just before the office has a dog that usually doesn't come up to the fence, but today decided to make a beeline straight down the driveway towards us. Thankfully they have a gate across the driveway. We heard him coming, so I stopped Nova and turned him to look at the dog, but even then he was still nervous of the dog. He didn't do anything other than freeze and take a step back onto the road (and thankfully the car at the stop sign waited until we continued on before coming). Then where ugly dog used to live is the young replacement dog, who of course today had to bark at us and come out to the end of the cable (but thankfully not fast). We went passed him without hassle, and Nova even stopped and turned his head to look at the dog after we made it passed safely.
One thing I know we're going to have to work on is Nova not throwing his head up when he decides to resist the bit and what I'm asking him to do. Part of that is definitely his green-ness and will go away with time, but I also don't want to let it become a habit. Diane will definitely help us with that.
But all in all, he was great! He's super willing to be ahead of the other horse when we're walking down the road - he's not nervous at all. And I can spend a lot of the ride on a relatively loose rein and let him just walk along (which probably isn't the 'best' thing, but it is working for us so far).
September 15, 2008
Woohoo! Another fantastic lesson today. Since it was in the afternoon, I had to take Nova down by himself. At first I thought I might try and ride him down, but it was windy today and once I had him ready to go he seemed a bit 'looky', so I decided to just lead him down. It was a bit stop and go until we got past our neighbours driveway and then he walked down willingly. He was happy to see our neigbour 's mare already at the arena when we got there.
After chatting for a few minutes with Diane when she arrived I hopped on - of course, he stood perfectly still! We walked around while Diane was helping Helga with some things, and he was listening pretty good. Diane had us riding in about a third of the arena today, partly because of the wind, and partly because it's nice to work in a smaller area sometimes. We then started trotting and along one side Nova was really veering off the rail and cutting the corner so we worked on trying to keep him as close to the rail as possible. We also started on doing large circles (but more medium considering the size of the area we were in) in each corner. The first few were a bit iffy, we'd come off the rail nicely but when we got to the mid point of the circle he'd start to veer out towards Tika who would be on the other side of the arena. After being firm with my leg and rein on his neck he shortly figured out what I wanted and was quite good. I'd say we had a few circles that were almost perfectly circular! It was amazing to feel him figure it out and start to come around nicely. (We of course did the trotting around, and the circles in both directions.)
I'm aware that some (okay, probably a lot) will not agree with what we did next, but that said, I do trust my trainer immensely. Because Nova was starting the habit of putting his head up in the air whenever he was asked to do something he was less than thrilled about - turning, whoaing, etc. Diane loves his look and wants him to keep a long and low topline (and not build the dreaded underneck muscle). So, we put draw reins on him today. We started with them quite loose so he could figure it out (head up=bad, head down=good), then started working at the trot again and very slowly started to shorten them a bit. It took awhile of doing that before he started to clue in - Diane kept commenting on how she could tell he was really thinking about what I wanted him to do. By the end of the lesson he was really getting it, he was starting to come down and hold it for a few strides. He was great at the walk - but he's usually quite good at the walk on his own about keeping his neck level.
Just wanted to add that he was quite good when we were going the opposite way from Helga and she didn't move Tika off the rail very much (and Tika was having a cranky day), so he's automatically move himself right off the track and onto the grass right beside the rail to avoid her. And only once did that cause him to break to a walk. Also, Helga was cantering around while we were trotting and it didn't even phase him! That's perfect, because the sooner he figures out that it doesn't matter what other horses are doing, the better.
The only downside was that towards the end he started to get a bit distracted and started to call for the horses left at home. There was a couple of times he slammed on the breaks to call, but usually he would go again with some encouragement. The one time I got really after him (thumping quite heavily with my legs) and he wasn't moving forward, so he got the saddle tie to the rump which got us back in motion! After that, we were fine. And hey, I didn't need my dressage whip at all, so that's a nice change.
I was very proud of him today. He had a lot to focus on and did very well!
September 16, 2008
Trail ride day. Diane mentioned that she wouldn't mind if I got out and rode Nova between our lessons (I figure just because the more undersaddle time he has, the better). So we went again last night. Silly horse still ran right up to the gate to get caught!
For the first time ever he tried to move off when I went to mount him, but did stand after I got him stopped. Definitely will be stopping that little habit right away! We started off quite bravely, as always. Even pushed past Rhythm when she stopped halfway down the driveway to reconsider this idea of a ride (she has sore feet). So because of Rhythm's tender toes we decided to go down the lakefront again.
We bravely led down the path that held the scary monster man last time, and he only paused right when we came out of the trees on to the lakefront to survey the situation before continuing. I felt he was more relaxed out there this time - still a bit gawky at the lake, but not nervous like last time. He did try to jog a bit, but soon settled down. So we did some big circles in each direction on our way along, and he was good. Didn't try to resist or pretend he forgot how to do them. We even went around a gazebo for a circle while Mom went to a circle the other way - it's great he's not clingy! She also trotted past us and Nova wasn't upset at all (that would have been a different story if she'd gone a lot further ahead, of course). He did spook once when some ducks took off from the water just behind us, but as usual, settled right back down again. On our way back we trotted (while Mom stayed back and walked), and actually did one large circle at the trot each way - and he was good! Have to say it's the biggest trot I've gotten out of him yet! We then went back down the path and across the road, past the arena then home. I turned Nova to go towards the road and he did decide to throw his rump in the air a bit for some fun, so we did some really fun head-to-my-knee circles and then continued on. He wasn't being bad (well, yes he was, but not in a mean way) as much as having fun, so I didn't get very big and grumpy at him. If he tries it again I definitely won't be so nice!
I do want to say though that I noticed a difference on not only his steering, but about the head-flinging too. All the whoa's I asked him to do were not greeted with his nose straight up and out, but instead with his head more down. And a few times I'm pretty sure I felt him reaching down for contact - which is awesome!!! I can honestly say I don't think he threw his head up once last night. He of course, did bring his neck and head up for the trot, but that I don't mind for now.
What'ta good boy!!
September 18, 2008
Of course, another fantastic trail ride tonight!
We decided to take Nova someplace new tonight, and of course, he was wonderful. We went past the arena, and Stewie the mini donkey, then across the range road (we crossed and then had to wait for Mom because Rhythm was walking pretty slow) then into Spring Hills. He did spook a tiny bit when a truck passed us, but it was just a scoot ahead - he will need some work on vehicles passing, but that will come later. We went further than we had the other time, and thankfully no horses ran up to the fence, and the dog wasn't in his pen so there was nothing scary to pass. We did stop to talk to the people who own the mini horses (they weren't out tonight) and he was a little impatient (especially when their pretty mare came over to the fence) but wasn't too bad.
After that we went through the path into the field behind Spring Hills. And Nova led!! I was so proud of him, because he has never been on this path, and from what I found prior to riding him was that he wasn't fond of the bush. He was pretty alert, but not really spooky. Just before we went through the tall brush into the field, he stopped and was looking, and at first I thought it was because he could see the large field behind the bush, but in fact it was one of our neighbours riding! So we turned around and let her come through and he got to hang out while we chatted for a few minutes. He stood much better this time. After that we went out into the field, and after eyeballing the canola (I think) that was cut and laying in the field he walked along the edge with no problems! Wasn't concerned that there was this wide open field on one side and solid brush on the other. He doesn't have much power for going up hills yet, but I hope that will come in time! He also did good when we turned around to come back and walked down the slight hills.
Nothing exciting happened on the way back, as he was great. I have noticed that he walks a lot slower when he's behind than he does when he's leading (exactly like Rhythm does!). He was quite relaxed that I rode a lot of the way home on the buckle and let him amble along the side of the road.
I can really see the improvement in his steering and stopping even from just last week! He's much more responsive to turning and even just moving out onto the road to avoid a tree branch and then back onto the grass. We should probably work on our stops, as he's not 'quick' about that, but I'm happy he does stop and doesn't fling his head in the air anymore!
Supposed to be having a lesson tomorrow - we'll see if I get out of my hair appointment in time!
September 19, 2008
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes, that is how excited I am, and how much I love Nova!
Because of my hair appointment I was running late (but not running late, because I was still ahead of when Diane was expecting me) so I wasted no time once I got home brushing and tacking up Nova. But then, because I wasn't really late, I decided today would be a good day (as he was pretty relaxed looking) to try and ride him down to the arena! I kind of thought we'd get to our neighbour's driveway and then he'd freeze, call, and generally decide this was not a good idea. That didn't happen though! We didn't break any speed records, but we walked quietly the whole way down to the arena. He didn't even stop once to give me any hassle!!! We're not ready for a solo trail ride just yet, but I think I can start riding him down to our lessons by myself.
Because of forgotten keys, we had to 'break into' the arena today, and Nova willingly walked over the board on the bottom of the fence into the arena. We walked around a bit while Diane was working with Helga, but soon started to trot. He seemed a bit lazy today - he could honestly be tired and a bit sore since he was ridden three times already this week - so we weren't moving around very fast. He got a bit stubborn about turning right at the beginning, sort of an "I'm tired and would rather not turn, thanks anyway" but after a couple corrections and more prepared riding on my part we got going. I do swear though that he knew I didn't bring the dressage whip with me! (I haven't used it in the last couple weeks at all, but I think he knew anyway!) Thankfully there were straps on the back of the saddle which can be used in a pinch if he's being stubborn.
Anyway, as we were going around Diane suggested that we try to get him to lope/canter, so I went another round, then asked him to canter and he actually got it! And on the correct (right) lead too! The first time we did about 5+ strides and I asked him to trot (with tons of praise), but the second time I got it we continued it around for about two laps (we were in a third of the arena again) and he was great! Did try to break once or twice but a kiss and a squeeze kept him going. I was soooooooooo proud of him!! After a puff break, which was more for me than it was for him, we turned and went left. I think this will be his more sticky side (or could be because he was that much more tired) because it took a few times around to get it. But when we did, he got the correct lead again and we did about 3/4 of a lap before he quit. So, we did it once more and he got the lead again, and we did an entire lap before I asked him to come back to a trot. He was SO GOOD!! He wasn't racing around like a lunatic, and he went around and was listening to my aids (as in he continued around the circle and didn't bulge or resist).
So we got to hang out for a bit while Diane hopped on Tika, and I just kept telling him how good he was! After Diane was done with Tika, I asked if she wanted to hop up on Nova (it helps for her to see what I'm dealing with). So she put the draw reins on and hopped up. It was so cool to watch him go around! Especially when he started to figure out to drop his head and lift his back. I kept thinking, "THERE'S my english baby!" After Diane worked with him, and by the end he was walking really nicely on just the snaffle rein, I hopped up and tried not to ruin what she'd just worked on. It was so cool to feel him come down and start to search around for the contact.
After this fantastic day, he's definitely going to get the weekend off!! I think he deserves it!
September 26, 2008
So, no riding lessons this week. Monday we thought we had one, but Diane cancelled and we didn't get the message. I took Nova down but only lunged him because it was quite brisk and VERY windy out. He had some fun running and bucking on the lungeline though. He probably would have been okay because he was calm on the way down and while we were there (except for when I was lunging), but I chickened out on actually getting up on him.
So instead of a lesson, we went for a family ride. *GASP* This never ever, ever happens! It is probably the second time (maybe) Dad has been on his horse all year. Okay, anyway, it wasn't too cold out, but still a little breezy and definitely a little cool... Which everyone knows is the perfect recipe for fresh horses... And Nova was no exception! Now, before you think that he was a total lunatic... He was far from that! He just, for the first time, decided he wanted to jog! Ugh! There were a few factors that could have caused this: the weather, Skye and Dad joining us for the first time, Rhythm and Skye not being sore and therefore walking much faster than previous times, the fact that he hasn't been ridden in a week, and mostly what I think it was - we were covering the same ground he's been on a few times before. Not that the other things didn't come into play...
But I noticed when we reached Spring Hills and turned and went a new way his pace dropped off, him wanting to jog/trot pretty much stopped, and he settled down. He got a bit nervous when there was a dog in a pen that was hidden by the trees barking at us, mostly because we'd gotten behind Skye and Rhythm so he got a bit scared and broke into a trot. This time I let him trot to catch up because he was a bit nervous and I didn't need him to get really scared. No harm done I feel, because it was a nice controlled trot.
He was very good for the entire new part of the ride. He spooked a tiny bit when this big while dog ran over the hill in his yard and down into the ditch on the other side of the road (one of the silent and deadly types). But it's okay, because Rhythm spooked first! I decided we shouldn't attempt riding back along the range road because that might get him more upset than necessary, so we came back through the Village. Dad wanted to see if he'd spook if I held out my arms and put a baseball hat in them and flopped it around. So I took his and did just that on both sides... Nova could have cared less (until I made it make noise when I was flopping it around, he wasn't fond of that - so I'll work on that another day).
I laughed at the switch that happened the minute we joined up with the road he already knows, because he went from relaxed and calm to more 'up' again. Maybe because he recognized that road as the road to go home on... I don't know. Mom wanted to detour over on the path along the lake to go spy on the new house being built in Spring Lake Ranch, so off we went. Nova was good, and we officially stepped over our first real log! Okay, so it was laying on the ground, and not really all that impressive... But still! We ended up leading on the way back through the trail and he was really motoring along!
I'd like to think that Dad was a little impressed with how well he was - and he saw him on a 'bad day'... Which was really only walking really fast and trying to jog. If those are Nova's bad days, I think I'll really get along well with him!
September 29, 2008
I had another lesson with Diane today (and it was so warm out we were back to t-shirts!) which was very successful, I think.
Nova stood great for mounting, so I'm hopeful that his 'walk away' thing was just a very short phase! I then rode him down to the arena, and we meandered down there like old pro's!
After walking around the arena for a few minutes, we started to trot, and Diane had me try to get Nova to have a bit more 'umph' in his trot. He wasn't even tracking up (which is something I know he can do) and just sort of putzing along. But of course, that meant more work for me than it did for him. I really wish I was riding him english, because it's easier for me to post, keep my leg on, and generally just ride! But that said, I don't blame him for being a bit lazy since it was so warm out, and he's already working in his winter woolies. We did a change across the diagonal, and I think we were pretty straight through the whole thing! We're also starting to work on getting him to bend in the direction of travel (ie. NOT gawk to the outside of the arena as we're going around). His stiff direction is do the right as he definitely tries to look to the outside when we're going around.
After a short break, we went out to canter! He appeared to be a bit more resistent this time, and I honestly think it was because of the heat. But we still did get some canter out of him. He did pick up the wrong lead twice going to the right - but because he's very consistent on the lungeline, it's probably me that's throwing him onto the wrong lead. Diane let us out of the part of the arena we've been working in so we could use the whole arena (we did this for the trot too since Nova was so under control... [to which I had a bit of a chuckle, because I think he could handle the whole arena if he can handle the trail riding we've been doing]). To the right we got almost all the way around before he broke, which was okay. And to the left after we got him going we made it all the way around until I asked him to stop (and I'd lost a stirrup, but that almost made it easier for me).
After that we got a bit of a puff break again before Diane put the draw reins on - since his muscles were warmed up. She then went to help Helga with some turns on the forehand, and Nova and I were left to walk around. It's really neat to ride him with the draw reins on because they're so long, so you're not cranking his head in, but rather telling him to lower it and stretch out his topline. He does pretty good in them now, and we even moved up into a sitting trot and jogged (and I mean really jogged - it was perfect to sit to!) around the small area working on keeping his head low, and bending in the right direction. Helga complimented us on how well we looked going around which felt so nice because it felt fantastic to me!
That was the end of the lesson, but Helga and I decided to ride down the lakefront since the weather was so nice. Well, Nova was a little pooped out, so it was a very relaxing ride for the most part! I literally was holding the buckle on the reins the entire time. There is one part I know we're going to have to work on, because he's just being so silly about it. There is a set of tracks running across the lakefront towards the boat lanch, where it is mostly just packed grass, but there are a few dirt patches from where the tires are... This is about the scariest thing ever for Nova! He snorts at it, and eyes it, and really has no desire to cross it. Now, move him two feet over to where the dirt patches aren't, and he's fine. I did get him to more or less cross it (both times) where I wanted him to. But the next time we go down the lakefront, I'm really going to work on getting him to walk across it with no problems - every other horse we have doesn't even blink at it. And it's really kind of amusing when you think about it. And even though we were seriously just meandering along, we were still walking faster than Helga and Tika. I couldn't believe it.
On our way back, just before we enter the bush again to head for the road, three loud bangs (literally sounded like gunshots) went off. The first one, neither horse flinched (I did more than he did), the second, Tika was not happy about and sort of 'took off' a bit and then the third one both horses sort of took off. Not a bolt, because I did easily stop Nova, but he was sure getting the heck out of that place! Those were the only three we heard (thankfully!). The rest of the ride was uneventful, as we went to the arena so Helga could grab her stuff, and then walked home.
September 30, 2008
Another super sunny and hot day out today! And I couldn't not go for a ride, so I called Mom up at work, and by the time she got home Nova and Rhythm were tacked up and ready to roll.
Feeling brave today, I decided we should head out on the trail through the bush that has been punched out between the end of our road and the next range road over. It's not a bad trail, but none of our horses seem overly fond of it. We started off following Rhythm through it, but at about halfway we ended up passing her and led through the rest. The trail is actually between the one developed subdivison, and Spring Lake Ranch, which is going to be developed who-knows-when. It goes through the trees and since it's been bushed out a bit (to actually create the path) there are a lot of logs on the side of the trail. Nova, I've found, is not all that fond of logs along the trail (across the trail would probably be fine, though). We just had a couple stops, eyeballs, snorts, and then walked past them without a problem. After going up one hill, there is the back of someone's property that has fenced right to the end - complete with their two huge Newfie's! Prior to this the dogs couldn't come back as far, so poor Nova is standing there with these dogs in their pen probably about 10 feet off where the path goes. He wasn't too sure about that, but after stopping and looking, we squeezed between the trees and continued on. Of course, not more than 10 steps futher is a lovely junk pile left from someone - old tires, car parts, etc. All piled along the side of the path nicely, but still pretty spooky! So we get past that and go down a hill past a huge culvert that is out of the ground (yes, there's lots of stuff back there that will hopefully be cleaned up sometime), when on the other side comes running a german shepherd in his pen (we knew he was there), but I think between Nova being so alert about everything, and possibly the sun in his eyes he didn't see the dog until it got right to the fence. Both horses did very nice 180s to get the heck outta there, but stopped within a couple strides. After turning and looking at the dog and making sure Nova knew is was just a dog inside his fence, we proceeded up the really steep hill. Now, I've been up some pretty steep stuff, and I'd say this hill is something like you'd find in the mountains. Nova did so well! It felt to me like he was actually using his butt to help push us up the hill (Mom said that from behind it looked like he was indeed using his rump - good boy). There was another dog at the top of the hill in the same fence as the GSD, but he didn't spook the horses. After we topped the hill we came out onto the side road and I could feel Nova almost instantly relax.
I was very proud of him for facing all those really scary things. And he behaved no worse than Rhythm, since she spooked about as badly as Nova did at the dog.
The rest of the ride was pretty relaxing (read: boring) as he just walked along with his head down along the side of the road. We went through a subdivision on the other side of the range road, then crossed back and came through Willow Peak (the one we'd ridden behind on our way out). He did eye the huge metal dragon statues that this guy has built in his yard.
I had a great ride - we had some excitement, but most of it was ridden on a loose rein and just chatting away with Mom. Have I said lately how much I love Nova? Because, I REALLY love him!
August 15, 2008
Well, I said there would be a long break... I was right! Nova has been at home for a little while, but I've been focusing on Skye lately instead of Nova. He did get his feet trimmed, but I was unable to be there - but have been told that he was good.
So, after the loooong break, I felt like an easier lesson (aka less sweating) for myself today, so took Nova. Yep, hasn't been worked with in 1 1/2months, and I took him to a lesson!
He tacked up just fine, and actually didn't give my new hind boots any thought (no crazy 'what the heck is on my legs' walk). Becuase a younger girl was riding Kaila, I just led Nova down to the arena, so I could keep an eye on the girl. Once we got to the arena I did lunge him a bit before getting on. As I had predicted, he did have a couple bucks in him. Nothing more than a little good spirits, and he settled down wonderfully. (Heck, it was too hot to be bad! 32 degrees.)
I had Diane just stand by him when I went to get on, but as usual, he was perfect. Stood quite nicely while Diane gave some other instructions to the girl, and willingly moved off when I asked him to. We practiced doing circles between the pylons, first on one circle, then on a figure eight. He was a bit stubborn about his steering at the start but soon remembered and was much better. I did get after him with the whip once on his shoulder because he was ignoring my aids. He sure smartened up after that. Diane actually tightened up the noseband a bit - and that was a huge help. He definitely wasn't chewing near as much after, so he was concentrating better.
We then trotted around the whole entire arena a couple times to the right, changed across the diagonal, did a large circle in one end, then walked, then did two laps around the ring the other way, changed across the diagonal, did a large circle in the end again, and then walked. Diane was super impressed with him! It felt pretty good too, as he was going along quite steady (not trying to break to a walk), and wasn't fussing about his head at all. I did make sure to give him the reins a bit and not fuss with him.
We then hung out and watched Helga do some work, then we walked around the ring weaving between pylons (spaced quite far apart), and he was listening nicely and was very relaxed. During that time we kept catching up to Helga's horse, so we were stopping to wait. His 'whoas' are getting better too. And not once did I have to use my crop to get him to move off!!!
I was very happy with him tonight, and Diane was very happy with us too. I think she's excited to work with us, as he's coming along so nicely (and with such inconsistent work!).
August 22, 2008
I wanted to take Nova to the arena and ride him today but due to a saddle pad exchange incident (long story) I didn't get that done today. Hopefully tomorrow! But I did go out and work with him a bit. It's been such a long time - between focusing on Skye, or Nova not being at home.
After letting him graze on the lawn for a bit and giving him a quick brushing I decided I was going to ride him bareback today. I also tried out a new bit for him (just a thinner [non happy mouth] D-ring with a non-pinch joint in the middle) because Diane thought that maybe the happy mouth was a bit too thick for him which might be why he was chewing so much. He was still chewing the bit today as well, but it was a bit less (and if I'd done up the noseband as tight as Diane had it for the last lesson, he probably would have hardly chewed). I think he's just a really chewy guy. But it is definitely getting better, and I bet with consistent work we'll get him so he won't chew.
I had Mom come out to either a) take pictures of this wonderful occasion, or b) call the ambulance! OF COURSE it was option A! Nova didn't even blink as I did my 'flying leap and scramble' to get on him. Stood like a rock (and didn't even lift his head with a 'what the heck' look). We waited for a few seconds then I asked him to move off - and he did so very willingly! I do have to admit he's a little boney, but not too bad. We walked around the yard for a couple minutes (in between the scary collapsed tent and the flatdeck trailer) without issue, then he stood wonderfully for like 5-10 minutes for a photo shoot, then walked around again some more. He was perfect!
Mom got a video clip of us walking around the yard, but I'm having issues uploading it. When it does happen, I will put the link in this post or a future one.
You'll have to forgive my attire.
I'm off on another holiday for the next week, but once I get back I'm going to be focusing on him (for lessons and just more rides in general), so there should be a lot of updates! I'm really excited to be able to work with him.
August 23, 2008
My horse is a superstar!
Today is my last day before my trip to NL for a week, so I really wanted to get on Nova and go for a ride. Even more so because I finally got my new saddle pad - and wanted to see just how totally spiffy he would look with it on.
He tacked up without a problem. Was a little hesitant about the bit, and that could just be because he hasn't been bridled consistently for awhile or that it's not the happy mouth anymore. Either way, he took it without a problem. We snapped some pictures, and then I mounted (using the 'mounting block' this time for practice). But once up I realized that the bit had turned in his mouth and the bridle was twisted... Whoops. So, hopped off and took his bridle off and put it back on - again with no issues. Got back on again and we were good to go!
He was quite energetic today (definitely no need for my 'go stick'!) and we were outwalking Kaila for most of it (which isn't hard to do... but still...). We actually led all the way to the entrance of the path to the lakefront and Nova didn't even care. He was more concerned about trying to trot than about being way out front. Being brave today, I suggested we venture out onto the lakefront for the first time with Nova. He egarly went onto the path and walked all the way to the lakefront without any hesitation!! This was a big surprise for me because he's always seemed like he didn't like being in the bush before and today he was totally cool. Once on the lakefront he was actually quite good. Still a tad bit joggy when we first got out there but settled down after a minute and we were walking along quite nicely.
He then saw a canoe up on some sawhorses that he thought was a bit scary, so of course we had to go up to investigate it. I was so proud with how well he walked up there. We did stop a couple of times and he eyed it a little, but he was still pretty confident (and Kaila wasn't close to us for support even). Of course, he smelled the canoe, then had a poo... Typical horse. And I'm happy he didn't even pretend to be scared of it as we were walking away.
We went a bit further up the lakefront before turning around (time constraints more than anything), and we even walked past the bunch of people walking along the lakefront, and the people in the gazebo (who I don't think he even saw...) without a care!
On our way back we ventured into the bush again, this time doing a tiny loop in the trees (the long way around vs. the short way to the road) and Nova was quite good. We started off behind Kaila, walking over a couple of logs on the trail, but then passed her and were leading for part of the way. When we got back to the part we came in on, Mom took the lead so she could get a picture of us coming through the trees towards her. So I haulted Nova and we were waiting for Mom to get the camera ready around the bend (and out of sight) - Nova was totally cool with it.... UNTIL...
This idiot comes walking (along the path) but out of the trees behind us totally SILENTLY!! I had no idea he was coming, so was totally shocked when Nova did a jump, partial rear, almost bolt, wheel around move. Once we turned enough and he saw that it was a person, he relaxed and actually walked up to the guy. I mentioned that Nova was inexperienced and the guy said that I should 'be careful'... Well, we were fine until he came along!! I realize I should have told the guy that next time he should make some noise if he comes up behind a horse (but we think this was the guy from the new subdivision and we're not fond of him, so it wouldn't have made any difference). The guy then went past us, and Nova did another spook like the first one, but nothing was behind us again. So I walked him up the path a bit so we could see Kaila, and even by that time he was relaxed again (definitely not upset about what had happened just a minute earlier).
We then walked out onto the road, through the field and past the arena before turning to head for home. He was doing great until we came to the hill just before our place... Ugh that's a big hill! Poor guy, all his momentum just dropped off. I think he wants to be a flat-land horse... We did make it home though!
All through the ride Nova was super responsive to my legs when I asked him to walk on. It was usually just a little squeeze and he would immediately walk off. Probably because he was hyper today (for Nova...). Our whoa's were less than perfect, but we did get stopped every time. Turning was also pretty good - no better no worse than usual.
I was VERY proud of how well he behaved today! He is a lot braver than I ever thought he would be (especially for a barely started 3 yr old). And the best part was that he settled down immediately after being scared (pretty badly, if I do say so), which is so wonerful! Makes it a lot easier for me to ride him, knowing that he won't get so upset for a long time after anything happens.
Well, I said there would be a long break... I was right! Nova has been at home for a little while, but I've been focusing on Skye lately instead of Nova. He did get his feet trimmed, but I was unable to be there - but have been told that he was good.
So, after the loooong break, I felt like an easier lesson (aka less sweating) for myself today, so took Nova. Yep, hasn't been worked with in 1 1/2months, and I took him to a lesson!
He tacked up just fine, and actually didn't give my new hind boots any thought (no crazy 'what the heck is on my legs' walk). Becuase a younger girl was riding Kaila, I just led Nova down to the arena, so I could keep an eye on the girl. Once we got to the arena I did lunge him a bit before getting on. As I had predicted, he did have a couple bucks in him. Nothing more than a little good spirits, and he settled down wonderfully. (Heck, it was too hot to be bad! 32 degrees.)
I had Diane just stand by him when I went to get on, but as usual, he was perfect. Stood quite nicely while Diane gave some other instructions to the girl, and willingly moved off when I asked him to. We practiced doing circles between the pylons, first on one circle, then on a figure eight. He was a bit stubborn about his steering at the start but soon remembered and was much better. I did get after him with the whip once on his shoulder because he was ignoring my aids. He sure smartened up after that. Diane actually tightened up the noseband a bit - and that was a huge help. He definitely wasn't chewing near as much after, so he was concentrating better.
We then trotted around the whole entire arena a couple times to the right, changed across the diagonal, did a large circle in one end, then walked, then did two laps around the ring the other way, changed across the diagonal, did a large circle in the end again, and then walked. Diane was super impressed with him! It felt pretty good too, as he was going along quite steady (not trying to break to a walk), and wasn't fussing about his head at all. I did make sure to give him the reins a bit and not fuss with him.
We then hung out and watched Helga do some work, then we walked around the ring weaving between pylons (spaced quite far apart), and he was listening nicely and was very relaxed. During that time we kept catching up to Helga's horse, so we were stopping to wait. His 'whoas' are getting better too. And not once did I have to use my crop to get him to move off!!!
I was very happy with him tonight, and Diane was very happy with us too. I think she's excited to work with us, as he's coming along so nicely (and with such inconsistent work!).
August 22, 2008
I wanted to take Nova to the arena and ride him today but due to a saddle pad exchange incident (long story) I didn't get that done today. Hopefully tomorrow! But I did go out and work with him a bit. It's been such a long time - between focusing on Skye, or Nova not being at home.
After letting him graze on the lawn for a bit and giving him a quick brushing I decided I was going to ride him bareback today. I also tried out a new bit for him (just a thinner [non happy mouth] D-ring with a non-pinch joint in the middle) because Diane thought that maybe the happy mouth was a bit too thick for him which might be why he was chewing so much. He was still chewing the bit today as well, but it was a bit less (and if I'd done up the noseband as tight as Diane had it for the last lesson, he probably would have hardly chewed). I think he's just a really chewy guy. But it is definitely getting better, and I bet with consistent work we'll get him so he won't chew.
I had Mom come out to either a) take pictures of this wonderful occasion, or b) call the ambulance! OF COURSE it was option A! Nova didn't even blink as I did my 'flying leap and scramble' to get on him. Stood like a rock (and didn't even lift his head with a 'what the heck' look). We waited for a few seconds then I asked him to move off - and he did so very willingly! I do have to admit he's a little boney, but not too bad. We walked around the yard for a couple minutes (in between the scary collapsed tent and the flatdeck trailer) without issue, then he stood wonderfully for like 5-10 minutes for a photo shoot, then walked around again some more. He was perfect!
Mom got a video clip of us walking around the yard, but I'm having issues uploading it. When it does happen, I will put the link in this post or a future one.
You'll have to forgive my attire.
I'm off on another holiday for the next week, but once I get back I'm going to be focusing on him (for lessons and just more rides in general), so there should be a lot of updates! I'm really excited to be able to work with him.
August 23, 2008
My horse is a superstar!
Today is my last day before my trip to NL for a week, so I really wanted to get on Nova and go for a ride. Even more so because I finally got my new saddle pad - and wanted to see just how totally spiffy he would look with it on.
He tacked up without a problem. Was a little hesitant about the bit, and that could just be because he hasn't been bridled consistently for awhile or that it's not the happy mouth anymore. Either way, he took it without a problem. We snapped some pictures, and then I mounted (using the 'mounting block' this time for practice). But once up I realized that the bit had turned in his mouth and the bridle was twisted... Whoops. So, hopped off and took his bridle off and put it back on - again with no issues. Got back on again and we were good to go!
He was quite energetic today (definitely no need for my 'go stick'!) and we were outwalking Kaila for most of it (which isn't hard to do... but still...). We actually led all the way to the entrance of the path to the lakefront and Nova didn't even care. He was more concerned about trying to trot than about being way out front. Being brave today, I suggested we venture out onto the lakefront for the first time with Nova. He egarly went onto the path and walked all the way to the lakefront without any hesitation!! This was a big surprise for me because he's always seemed like he didn't like being in the bush before and today he was totally cool. Once on the lakefront he was actually quite good. Still a tad bit joggy when we first got out there but settled down after a minute and we were walking along quite nicely.
He then saw a canoe up on some sawhorses that he thought was a bit scary, so of course we had to go up to investigate it. I was so proud with how well he walked up there. We did stop a couple of times and he eyed it a little, but he was still pretty confident (and Kaila wasn't close to us for support even). Of course, he smelled the canoe, then had a poo... Typical horse. And I'm happy he didn't even pretend to be scared of it as we were walking away.
We went a bit further up the lakefront before turning around (time constraints more than anything), and we even walked past the bunch of people walking along the lakefront, and the people in the gazebo (who I don't think he even saw...) without a care!
On our way back we ventured into the bush again, this time doing a tiny loop in the trees (the long way around vs. the short way to the road) and Nova was quite good. We started off behind Kaila, walking over a couple of logs on the trail, but then passed her and were leading for part of the way. When we got back to the part we came in on, Mom took the lead so she could get a picture of us coming through the trees towards her. So I haulted Nova and we were waiting for Mom to get the camera ready around the bend (and out of sight) - Nova was totally cool with it.... UNTIL...
This idiot comes walking (along the path) but out of the trees behind us totally SILENTLY!! I had no idea he was coming, so was totally shocked when Nova did a jump, partial rear, almost bolt, wheel around move. Once we turned enough and he saw that it was a person, he relaxed and actually walked up to the guy. I mentioned that Nova was inexperienced and the guy said that I should 'be careful'... Well, we were fine until he came along!! I realize I should have told the guy that next time he should make some noise if he comes up behind a horse (but we think this was the guy from the new subdivision and we're not fond of him, so it wouldn't have made any difference). The guy then went past us, and Nova did another spook like the first one, but nothing was behind us again. So I walked him up the path a bit so we could see Kaila, and even by that time he was relaxed again (definitely not upset about what had happened just a minute earlier).
We then walked out onto the road, through the field and past the arena before turning to head for home. He was doing great until we came to the hill just before our place... Ugh that's a big hill! Poor guy, all his momentum just dropped off. I think he wants to be a flat-land horse... We did make it home though!
All through the ride Nova was super responsive to my legs when I asked him to walk on. It was usually just a little squeeze and he would immediately walk off. Probably because he was hyper today (for Nova...). Our whoa's were less than perfect, but we did get stopped every time. Turning was also pretty good - no better no worse than usual.
I was VERY proud of how well he behaved today! He is a lot braver than I ever thought he would be (especially for a barely started 3 yr old). And the best part was that he settled down immediately after being scared (pretty badly, if I do say so), which is so wonerful! Makes it a lot easier for me to ride him, knowing that he won't get so upset for a long time after anything happens.
June 20, 2008
It's been bit a dry spell, it seems! Nova got some time off to be a pasture ornament/mower at friend's of ours place. He did come back home on the weekend, but between the arena being full of people and it raining pretty much every night, I haven't worked with him.
This afternoon I wanted to wash Nova's tail out, because it is pretty dandruffy (haha, that's so not a word!). I first tried with the hose, but he's not fond of the water at all, and there was no way he was going to stand for me to wash his tail with just me there. So I resorted to using a bucket, which worked okay. He stood quite well for it, and I had no problems washing it. Because of the bucket, I didn't wash his mane... I'll save that for a day when I have help holding him.
Tonight was also a riding lesson night. And after giving him his time off, I was itching to get on and ride him again. He stood well for saddling - moved a bit when I went to do up the cinch. So I'll keep an eye on that, so he doesn't get in the habit of moving. When we were at the arena he bridled very well, and also stood perfectly still for mounting. We started off walking behind Rhythm, but after a lap we were actually leading, and he was doing so good! At least he didn't forget anything. In fact, he was actually almost 'spunky'.
For most of the lesson I worked on trotting with him. HE WAS GREAT!! Previous, we used to trot about five strides and then he'd have to stop. Well, this time we were trotting around three sides of half of the arena. We didn't do much trotting across the middle because if the other horses were at the other end he wanted to veer over to see them. At the walk, he was perfect about going across there. I think we could have trotted all the way around if the other horses were in our end of the arena. I actually did it about 8-10 times in each direction. After the first few rocky tries we got our groove on and he was picking up the trot quite nicely and holding it (and seemed pretty relaxed about it too). I even could get him to keep going when he wanted to stop and visit with Matthew and my dad. We even had a few times when I went to ask him to walk that he slowed down to a walk without trying to resist the bit (must mean I had my act together for those ones!). I still had the whip in my hand, but only needed it a couple of times (he started to get sticky about walking past one spot in the middle of the arena).
For not having been ridden for a month, he was a superstar!! He was so well behaved and relaxed, that I think he even surprised Diane (trainer) with how well he did. I bet she was expecting a lot less from us after I told her he hadn't been ridden in weeks.
June 21, 2008
Since Nova is going over to grass tomorrow (so there will be another dry spell), I decided I should probably get one more ride in on him before he goes.
Well, I first planned on taking him down to the arena and practicing trotting (having Mom hang out in the middle so we could go around her); which then lead to how sore my heels were from my boots from yesterday, so maybe I could ride him down; which then lead to if he's good, why don't we skip the arena and just go on a trail ride (down the road). The last idea won, and I'm so glad we did!
Again he was perfect for saddling, bridling, and mounting. And even as we started down the driveway he didn't get the least bit excited about being ridden down vs being lead. And that was his attitude for the whole ride. Except for our couple steering 'mishaps' (a couple times he forgot what turning was all about), you would have never known it was his second trail ride. We didn't go far, and stuck to the non-scary part(s) of the road, but even still, he was just relaxed, moseying along the ditch. The one time we went down off the road (actually towards the arena on the way back - so we could walk along past it) he tried to trot, but I got him walking again after a stride or two and he then walked down the little hill nicely. But when we were just about at our driveway he decided to trot down the ditch (and I wasn't paying enough attention, so he did get 'away with it'), so I'll keep more of an eye on him for next time.
We also got passed by a motorcycle (who was very polite and went past us slowly), and Nova just looked at it, and wasn't scared of it at all.
I was verrrrrrry proud of how relaxed he was during the whole ride.
June 27, 2008
Okay, so no dry spell quite yet. We didn't end up taking them over.
Instead of a lesson today, since our trainer was busy, we decided to go for a ride instead. Obviously, I took Nova.
Today we extended on our previous ride (I got brave!), and went the whole loop around the office (instead of the half we did the other day). I decided to go the other way around, just in case he got excited because the other half is not as busy. I got really lucky again, and nothing really happened to get him excited. Where ugly dog used to live they now have a new one - also attached to a cable. Thankfully his people were outside, so by the time he did run out, we were far enough past him that Nova just turned and looked back at him. We had a very large water-truck drive passed us, and he didn't even blink at it. And other than that, there was no excitement what-so-ever. Even Stewie the mini donkey wasn't out. I'm glad that the ride was so boring! And even happier that Nova was so darn relaxed. He might actually make a trail horse yet!
June 30, 2008
Diane managed to squeak in a lesson for us today... Of course, 2pm in the blazing sun and almost 30 degree weather! So because of that, she kept the lesson really easy.
After our two trail rides, I of course, had to ride Nova down to the lesson. Darn it though, we beat Diane so she didn't get to see! But we did tell her about our trail rides (yeah, I bet she still thinks we're crazy).
Nova was really good in the lesson. With the heat, I figured my normally lazy guy would be extra lazy, but he really wasn't! We walked around for a minute, then picked up the trot. We were 'following' Mom around about 3/4 of the arena, and Diane said that if I felt that that was too big an area for Nova, to let her know. Heck! He could've cared less! We did a few rounds, then changed across the diagonal, then did another round or two before walking again. Then Diane had us do some really big figure-8's in that part of the arena. Ours were, of course, less than stellar. But we did get them done (as in, he did turn the direction I wanted him too, and we mostly kept a trot). We then hung out in the middle of the arena (and I worked on my sun-burn) while Diane worked with Mom a bit. Then it was our turn to go to the small part of the arena and work on some walk/trot transitions. We did pretty well (now that I know he's going to keep trotting, and have a bit more faith in him at the trot, they're easier) - and I find that I can really use my seat and a cluck to push him into it. The downwards ones need some work (some can be great, some not so great). And that was the end of the lesson for us. He wasn't hardly sweating at all, the lucky boy.
I did ride him back home, of course, and he was, as always, just fine.
(And now there will be for sure a dry spell, as they were hauled over to grass. Nova loaded and unloaded well!)
It's been bit a dry spell, it seems! Nova got some time off to be a pasture ornament/mower at friend's of ours place. He did come back home on the weekend, but between the arena being full of people and it raining pretty much every night, I haven't worked with him.
This afternoon I wanted to wash Nova's tail out, because it is pretty dandruffy (haha, that's so not a word!). I first tried with the hose, but he's not fond of the water at all, and there was no way he was going to stand for me to wash his tail with just me there. So I resorted to using a bucket, which worked okay. He stood quite well for it, and I had no problems washing it. Because of the bucket, I didn't wash his mane... I'll save that for a day when I have help holding him.
Tonight was also a riding lesson night. And after giving him his time off, I was itching to get on and ride him again. He stood well for saddling - moved a bit when I went to do up the cinch. So I'll keep an eye on that, so he doesn't get in the habit of moving. When we were at the arena he bridled very well, and also stood perfectly still for mounting. We started off walking behind Rhythm, but after a lap we were actually leading, and he was doing so good! At least he didn't forget anything. In fact, he was actually almost 'spunky'.
For most of the lesson I worked on trotting with him. HE WAS GREAT!! Previous, we used to trot about five strides and then he'd have to stop. Well, this time we were trotting around three sides of half of the arena. We didn't do much trotting across the middle because if the other horses were at the other end he wanted to veer over to see them. At the walk, he was perfect about going across there. I think we could have trotted all the way around if the other horses were in our end of the arena. I actually did it about 8-10 times in each direction. After the first few rocky tries we got our groove on and he was picking up the trot quite nicely and holding it (and seemed pretty relaxed about it too). I even could get him to keep going when he wanted to stop and visit with Matthew and my dad. We even had a few times when I went to ask him to walk that he slowed down to a walk without trying to resist the bit (must mean I had my act together for those ones!). I still had the whip in my hand, but only needed it a couple of times (he started to get sticky about walking past one spot in the middle of the arena).
For not having been ridden for a month, he was a superstar!! He was so well behaved and relaxed, that I think he even surprised Diane (trainer) with how well he did. I bet she was expecting a lot less from us after I told her he hadn't been ridden in weeks.
June 21, 2008
Since Nova is going over to grass tomorrow (so there will be another dry spell), I decided I should probably get one more ride in on him before he goes.
Well, I first planned on taking him down to the arena and practicing trotting (having Mom hang out in the middle so we could go around her); which then lead to how sore my heels were from my boots from yesterday, so maybe I could ride him down; which then lead to if he's good, why don't we skip the arena and just go on a trail ride (down the road). The last idea won, and I'm so glad we did!
Again he was perfect for saddling, bridling, and mounting. And even as we started down the driveway he didn't get the least bit excited about being ridden down vs being lead. And that was his attitude for the whole ride. Except for our couple steering 'mishaps' (a couple times he forgot what turning was all about), you would have never known it was his second trail ride. We didn't go far, and stuck to the non-scary part(s) of the road, but even still, he was just relaxed, moseying along the ditch. The one time we went down off the road (actually towards the arena on the way back - so we could walk along past it) he tried to trot, but I got him walking again after a stride or two and he then walked down the little hill nicely. But when we were just about at our driveway he decided to trot down the ditch (and I wasn't paying enough attention, so he did get 'away with it'), so I'll keep more of an eye on him for next time.
We also got passed by a motorcycle (who was very polite and went past us slowly), and Nova just looked at it, and wasn't scared of it at all.
I was verrrrrrry proud of how relaxed he was during the whole ride.
June 27, 2008
Okay, so no dry spell quite yet. We didn't end up taking them over.
Instead of a lesson today, since our trainer was busy, we decided to go for a ride instead. Obviously, I took Nova.
Today we extended on our previous ride (I got brave!), and went the whole loop around the office (instead of the half we did the other day). I decided to go the other way around, just in case he got excited because the other half is not as busy. I got really lucky again, and nothing really happened to get him excited. Where ugly dog used to live they now have a new one - also attached to a cable. Thankfully his people were outside, so by the time he did run out, we were far enough past him that Nova just turned and looked back at him. We had a very large water-truck drive passed us, and he didn't even blink at it. And other than that, there was no excitement what-so-ever. Even Stewie the mini donkey wasn't out. I'm glad that the ride was so boring! And even happier that Nova was so darn relaxed. He might actually make a trail horse yet!
June 30, 2008
Diane managed to squeak in a lesson for us today... Of course, 2pm in the blazing sun and almost 30 degree weather! So because of that, she kept the lesson really easy.
After our two trail rides, I of course, had to ride Nova down to the lesson. Darn it though, we beat Diane so she didn't get to see! But we did tell her about our trail rides (yeah, I bet she still thinks we're crazy).
Nova was really good in the lesson. With the heat, I figured my normally lazy guy would be extra lazy, but he really wasn't! We walked around for a minute, then picked up the trot. We were 'following' Mom around about 3/4 of the arena, and Diane said that if I felt that that was too big an area for Nova, to let her know. Heck! He could've cared less! We did a few rounds, then changed across the diagonal, then did another round or two before walking again. Then Diane had us do some really big figure-8's in that part of the arena. Ours were, of course, less than stellar. But we did get them done (as in, he did turn the direction I wanted him too, and we mostly kept a trot). We then hung out in the middle of the arena (and I worked on my sun-burn) while Diane worked with Mom a bit. Then it was our turn to go to the small part of the arena and work on some walk/trot transitions. We did pretty well (now that I know he's going to keep trotting, and have a bit more faith in him at the trot, they're easier) - and I find that I can really use my seat and a cluck to push him into it. The downwards ones need some work (some can be great, some not so great). And that was the end of the lesson for us. He wasn't hardly sweating at all, the lucky boy.
I did ride him back home, of course, and he was, as always, just fine.
(And now there will be for sure a dry spell, as they were hauled over to grass. Nova loaded and unloaded well!)
May 2, 2008
So, Nova had his very first lesson with Diane today. I lunged him a bit first, just to make sure he wasn't feeling broncy (haha, as if!). He started off listening really well, but got a bit excited after the first canter, but I got his attention again and we finished up the lunging on a good note. He wasn't paying a ton of attention to Rhythm, which was nice.
I then put on the sidepull and mounted. He stood perfectly while I adjusted my stirrups and wiggled around a bit. From there... I can say that he's a fantastic follower. He didn't really clue in (or was really playing the lazy card) that bumping and clucking meant to walk ahead. When Diane would jog ahead to make him listen to me (ie. I'm asking him to turn, instead of him following Diane in the turn) he actually felt like he wanted to jog ahead to catch up with her. I do have to say I was a little bit disappointed that he didn't really 'learn' more today, but I'm also very happy that he was relaxed with everything that was going on.
A couple short clips:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gTezc2HbIA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0G9pJ5wT_w
May 11, 2008
Today was another fantastic day with Nova! I first thought about maybe just having Mom ground drive him, which she did, but instead, I actually got on and rode him again.
Instead of using the sidepull, I decided that he has to get used to the bit, so wore that. He was easy to bridle as I just did the 'hold and wait' until he decided to take it. It worked out well, and he took the bit without a problem after thinking about it for a minute. Mom then ground drove him around the yard again, and after his 'I don't wanna walk ahead' start (like usual) he settled into it and was really good. Mom complimented him again saying that he's picked it up really fast. Even jokingly said that we could hook him up to the cart he was that good.
I decided that since he was behaving so well I'd get on and work with him. I used the western saddle this time, and he didn't even blink when I went to throw that on him (instead of the tiny english saddle). He stood good to be mounted (I just had Matthew stand at his head, but not holding him). We then followed Matthew around the yard. I needed his help to give a tug on the halter a couple times when Nova got 'stuck' and didn't want to walk forward. But he was much better at walking ahead when I asked. Then Mom offered to hop on Rhythm bareback and see if Nova would follow her. So, we actually went down the driveway, around the circle, and up to our neighbours driveway before heading back up. We did well up until we were going up the hill to our neighbours - a car passed us and he spooked a little. I knew he was going to do that (I could feel him getting tense), but he only jumped ahead a stride or two. Next time I'll make sure to turn him so he can see the vehicle coming. And then not 30 seconds after that, our neigbours dog decided to run through the pasture to the fence. Nova spooked again, but actually stopped when I pulled on the reins (it helped that Rhythm's butt was right infront of us). We waited a minute, then turned and walked back down to our driveway. He got a bit stubborn right before the driveway (stopped and didn't want to go anymore), but I got him going and up we went. He was really awesome!
May 12, 2008
Today was another highly successful day with Nova. Though, no surprise there. They pretty much all are!
We decided that we'd take him down to the arena and ride him. He stood very nicely for me to tack him up. I didn't even need anyone there to hold his head while I put my western saddle on. He doesn't usually move when I go to do this, but I do like to have someone there sometimes to stop him if he does, so it doesn't become a habit. And when I went to bridle him, he only had to think for a few seconds before he opened his mouth and took the bit. Progress!!
He led down to the arena fine, and was plenty interested when we arrived and our neighbour was down riding one of her morgans. Nova thought the mare was pretty cute. And our neighbour (we took Nova to her place to be gelded) was very surprised at how big he is. Thankfully when I led him around the arena for a couple minutes he wasn't very distracted by the mare. I mounted him all by myself this time as well (though I did have him facing Matthew who was sitting on the fence), but he stood like a statue for that. When I asked him to move out he did so really well. And we actually had a couple of minutes where he didn't even try to stop on me. But alas, he was doing so well, I asked him to whoa... And then, well, walking became a wee bit of a challenge. We did have a couple times when he didn't want to walk forward at all (over by his 'sticky area', ie. Matthew on the fence) but I had Mom grab the halter and he'd easily follow Rhythm. I think I might try my dressage whip the next time because he knows what I want, he's just being a bit stubborn, so if I back up my walk ahead cue with something that he understands and doesn't like, perhaps he'll be more inclined to listen to the first cue.
Anyway, right before I finished with him I managed to get a bit of a trot out of him. Only four or five strides before I asked him to halt, but he did well. It wasn't enough of a trot to tell if he's going to be really smooth or not. I then had him walk ahead, stop, and back up a few steps before dismounting.
I was really pleased with how well he behaved. He definitely isn't one to get overly excited about much, which is really nice.
May 16, 2008
Tonight was Nova's second lesson with Diane. We were a bit rushed tacking up for the lesson (supper took longer than planned), but Nova was a champ. I didn't bother to tie him up, and instead just brushed him and tacked him up while he was eating grass. He didn't even blink when I put the pads and the saddle on. I'm very happy he isn't trying to move around - I hate when they get that habit.
Mom ponied him off of Rhythm to the arena for me, and he did okay. He lagged behind a bit, but soon remembered how to walk a bit faster to keep up with her. Once we got to the arena I bridled him, and he was perfect. Pretty much took the bit instantly! Yessss! After leading him around for a moment I mounted again by myself with no one by his head. He stood like a rock! He doesn't even get unbalanced while I'm getting up, which actually surprises me a bit considering he's all legs and skinny.
Right when I was about to start walking with him our neighbour came into view leading her mare down, and Nova got pretty excited about that. To the point of forgetting I was up there for a minute. I had to have Mom ride over and grab his halter and lead us away from the gate so our neighbour could come in. After standing for a minute to regain our composure we started to walk around. He did pretty well following (but not right behind, we had a few horse lengths between us) Mom and Rhythm. I could feel that he was listening to me and not totally following Rhythm. He even did really well about ignoring Tika (neighbour's mare) who was being lunged in the other end and was trotting or cantering around. But of course after a bit he decided he'd had enough of this 'riding business' and hit the brakes. Diane came up and gave him a little swat on the butt once to get us going, but when he did it again I had Mom ride over and grab my dressage whip.
He's figured out that my legs don't hurt/aren't effective enough to make him move when he doesn't want too. So once I got the whip, I would ask him to walk on, and when he refused I would ask again and then gave him the tiniest tap with the whip. It was just a very tiny tap, but it worked like a charm and after a bit of a flinch he walked off. I did have to use it a few more times, but every time was just a very light tap and off he was moving. I even noticed that a few times he'd go to stop and I'd add my leg and he'd keep walking.
ETA: I just remembered that during one of my taps with the whip he decided to break into a trot. I let him go a few strides before asking him to slow back down to a walk. It seems like his trot is going to be fairly smooth.
Not only were we walking, but we were also turning circles! Diane had a huge (think entire arena) figure-8 type pattern set out with plyons and I worked on getting him to walk between the plyons. Mostly on the far end of the arena to stay away from Tika being lunged, but towards the end we were walking around the outside of her end and even doing smaller 'circles' in the middle of the figure-8. I noticed that towards the end some of our smaller circles actually had somewhat of a circle shape to them. Or at least part of a nice circle. We didn't always make it between the pylons, which was definitely a steering issue on my part. I do have to remember to keep my eyes up and watching where I'm going, as well as remembering to not drop my hands when asking for a circle.
All in all, I was SUPER proud of the progress we made tonight!! By the end he was even chewing on the bit less - yay. My boy is sure smart when he wants to be!
No pics or video from the lesson, my photographer(s) were either riding or were late arriving. I'm definitely going to try and get some from either next week or our next lesson.
May 19, 2008
After two days off I decided today was nice and sunny and perfect for another ride. As I was tacking up Nova (again he was loose and just munching on grass) Mom and I were commenting on how well behaved he was for it all. I guess it means that we haven't made being tacked up/ridden a bad thing for him, which I'm very happy about. Now, it a little while he might clue in a bit more and start to anticipate what the saddle means.
I led him down to the arena again, and I am happy to say that he is leading a lot better than he was last fall/winter. The jogging ahead is gone and he is a lot more respectful. I do have to work about getting him to walk just a few more inches away from me so he's not crowding, though.
Today, instead of of putting the bridle over his halter, I took his halter off and just put the bridle on (complete with noseband this time). Bridled like a champ, so I think I can say that our bridling issues have officially been solved. And again he stood perfectly still for me to mount. I also noticed that he never stumbles sideways or seems off balance when I go to get on (and I'm not 'preparing' him before I mount). This is pretty impressive, I think. I'm making a point of standing for a minute or two before walking off so as to make sure he never gets in the habit of taking off right when I get on. This is pretty easy though, since he's never in a hurry to get moving!
Today was a pretty successful ride. We walked all around the arena, then did some large circles and some smaller circles, walked past the gate/Matthew area without stopping, etc. I even walked up the centerline and quarterlines with him... We were very far from straight! It's like trying to control a soggy spaghetti noodle. But I suppose considering how very few rides he has on him it wasn't too bad. I did have to use the whip a couple of times because he got stubborn about going forward, but I was still pleased with how much more responsive to my leg he was. We even trotted a few times. He's only comfortable with about 6-10 strides before he breaks back down to a walk, and I'm okay with that. The first time I started to post his trot he did the slight speed up ("what the heck??") but then slowed down and a then stopped after a few more strides.
After our ride in the arena I decided that he was good enough that he could pack my butt home. It's totally different when you step outside of the arena on a greenie. One, he has a bit more motivation (grass and going home) and two... No fences to stop you! He was really good though. Stood nicely while Mom battled with Rhythm, so I let him eat a bit of grass before he became frustrated. When we first started off it seemed like he was going to be a bit spunky, but he actually settled into a semi-decent walk (read: definitely faster than the pitiful one in the arena) and we followed Rhythm home. He didn't seem too impressed with going up the huge hill and then our driveway, though. He did break into a trot a couple times coming down the hill to the end of our driveway, but was easy to get back to a walk.
After untacking, giving him his goodies, and brushing him down I had some pictures taken of him. Here's the best one of the bunch, I figure.
So, Nova had his very first lesson with Diane today. I lunged him a bit first, just to make sure he wasn't feeling broncy (haha, as if!). He started off listening really well, but got a bit excited after the first canter, but I got his attention again and we finished up the lunging on a good note. He wasn't paying a ton of attention to Rhythm, which was nice.
I then put on the sidepull and mounted. He stood perfectly while I adjusted my stirrups and wiggled around a bit. From there... I can say that he's a fantastic follower. He didn't really clue in (or was really playing the lazy card) that bumping and clucking meant to walk ahead. When Diane would jog ahead to make him listen to me (ie. I'm asking him to turn, instead of him following Diane in the turn) he actually felt like he wanted to jog ahead to catch up with her. I do have to say I was a little bit disappointed that he didn't really 'learn' more today, but I'm also very happy that he was relaxed with everything that was going on.
A couple short clips:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gTezc2HbIA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0G9pJ5wT_w
May 11, 2008
Today was another fantastic day with Nova! I first thought about maybe just having Mom ground drive him, which she did, but instead, I actually got on and rode him again.
Instead of using the sidepull, I decided that he has to get used to the bit, so wore that. He was easy to bridle as I just did the 'hold and wait' until he decided to take it. It worked out well, and he took the bit without a problem after thinking about it for a minute. Mom then ground drove him around the yard again, and after his 'I don't wanna walk ahead' start (like usual) he settled into it and was really good. Mom complimented him again saying that he's picked it up really fast. Even jokingly said that we could hook him up to the cart he was that good.
I decided that since he was behaving so well I'd get on and work with him. I used the western saddle this time, and he didn't even blink when I went to throw that on him (instead of the tiny english saddle). He stood good to be mounted (I just had Matthew stand at his head, but not holding him). We then followed Matthew around the yard. I needed his help to give a tug on the halter a couple times when Nova got 'stuck' and didn't want to walk forward. But he was much better at walking ahead when I asked. Then Mom offered to hop on Rhythm bareback and see if Nova would follow her. So, we actually went down the driveway, around the circle, and up to our neighbours driveway before heading back up. We did well up until we were going up the hill to our neighbours - a car passed us and he spooked a little. I knew he was going to do that (I could feel him getting tense), but he only jumped ahead a stride or two. Next time I'll make sure to turn him so he can see the vehicle coming. And then not 30 seconds after that, our neigbours dog decided to run through the pasture to the fence. Nova spooked again, but actually stopped when I pulled on the reins (it helped that Rhythm's butt was right infront of us). We waited a minute, then turned and walked back down to our driveway. He got a bit stubborn right before the driveway (stopped and didn't want to go anymore), but I got him going and up we went. He was really awesome!
May 12, 2008
Today was another highly successful day with Nova. Though, no surprise there. They pretty much all are!
We decided that we'd take him down to the arena and ride him. He stood very nicely for me to tack him up. I didn't even need anyone there to hold his head while I put my western saddle on. He doesn't usually move when I go to do this, but I do like to have someone there sometimes to stop him if he does, so it doesn't become a habit. And when I went to bridle him, he only had to think for a few seconds before he opened his mouth and took the bit. Progress!!
He led down to the arena fine, and was plenty interested when we arrived and our neighbour was down riding one of her morgans. Nova thought the mare was pretty cute. And our neighbour (we took Nova to her place to be gelded) was very surprised at how big he is. Thankfully when I led him around the arena for a couple minutes he wasn't very distracted by the mare. I mounted him all by myself this time as well (though I did have him facing Matthew who was sitting on the fence), but he stood like a statue for that. When I asked him to move out he did so really well. And we actually had a couple of minutes where he didn't even try to stop on me. But alas, he was doing so well, I asked him to whoa... And then, well, walking became a wee bit of a challenge. We did have a couple times when he didn't want to walk forward at all (over by his 'sticky area', ie. Matthew on the fence) but I had Mom grab the halter and he'd easily follow Rhythm. I think I might try my dressage whip the next time because he knows what I want, he's just being a bit stubborn, so if I back up my walk ahead cue with something that he understands and doesn't like, perhaps he'll be more inclined to listen to the first cue.
Anyway, right before I finished with him I managed to get a bit of a trot out of him. Only four or five strides before I asked him to halt, but he did well. It wasn't enough of a trot to tell if he's going to be really smooth or not. I then had him walk ahead, stop, and back up a few steps before dismounting.
I was really pleased with how well he behaved. He definitely isn't one to get overly excited about much, which is really nice.
May 16, 2008
Tonight was Nova's second lesson with Diane. We were a bit rushed tacking up for the lesson (supper took longer than planned), but Nova was a champ. I didn't bother to tie him up, and instead just brushed him and tacked him up while he was eating grass. He didn't even blink when I put the pads and the saddle on. I'm very happy he isn't trying to move around - I hate when they get that habit.
Mom ponied him off of Rhythm to the arena for me, and he did okay. He lagged behind a bit, but soon remembered how to walk a bit faster to keep up with her. Once we got to the arena I bridled him, and he was perfect. Pretty much took the bit instantly! Yessss! After leading him around for a moment I mounted again by myself with no one by his head. He stood like a rock! He doesn't even get unbalanced while I'm getting up, which actually surprises me a bit considering he's all legs and skinny.
Right when I was about to start walking with him our neighbour came into view leading her mare down, and Nova got pretty excited about that. To the point of forgetting I was up there for a minute. I had to have Mom ride over and grab his halter and lead us away from the gate so our neighbour could come in. After standing for a minute to regain our composure we started to walk around. He did pretty well following (but not right behind, we had a few horse lengths between us) Mom and Rhythm. I could feel that he was listening to me and not totally following Rhythm. He even did really well about ignoring Tika (neighbour's mare) who was being lunged in the other end and was trotting or cantering around. But of course after a bit he decided he'd had enough of this 'riding business' and hit the brakes. Diane came up and gave him a little swat on the butt once to get us going, but when he did it again I had Mom ride over and grab my dressage whip.
He's figured out that my legs don't hurt/aren't effective enough to make him move when he doesn't want too. So once I got the whip, I would ask him to walk on, and when he refused I would ask again and then gave him the tiniest tap with the whip. It was just a very tiny tap, but it worked like a charm and after a bit of a flinch he walked off. I did have to use it a few more times, but every time was just a very light tap and off he was moving. I even noticed that a few times he'd go to stop and I'd add my leg and he'd keep walking.
ETA: I just remembered that during one of my taps with the whip he decided to break into a trot. I let him go a few strides before asking him to slow back down to a walk. It seems like his trot is going to be fairly smooth.
Not only were we walking, but we were also turning circles! Diane had a huge (think entire arena) figure-8 type pattern set out with plyons and I worked on getting him to walk between the plyons. Mostly on the far end of the arena to stay away from Tika being lunged, but towards the end we were walking around the outside of her end and even doing smaller 'circles' in the middle of the figure-8. I noticed that towards the end some of our smaller circles actually had somewhat of a circle shape to them. Or at least part of a nice circle. We didn't always make it between the pylons, which was definitely a steering issue on my part. I do have to remember to keep my eyes up and watching where I'm going, as well as remembering to not drop my hands when asking for a circle.
All in all, I was SUPER proud of the progress we made tonight!! By the end he was even chewing on the bit less - yay. My boy is sure smart when he wants to be!
No pics or video from the lesson, my photographer(s) were either riding or were late arriving. I'm definitely going to try and get some from either next week or our next lesson.
May 19, 2008
After two days off I decided today was nice and sunny and perfect for another ride. As I was tacking up Nova (again he was loose and just munching on grass) Mom and I were commenting on how well behaved he was for it all. I guess it means that we haven't made being tacked up/ridden a bad thing for him, which I'm very happy about. Now, it a little while he might clue in a bit more and start to anticipate what the saddle means.
I led him down to the arena again, and I am happy to say that he is leading a lot better than he was last fall/winter. The jogging ahead is gone and he is a lot more respectful. I do have to work about getting him to walk just a few more inches away from me so he's not crowding, though.
Today, instead of of putting the bridle over his halter, I took his halter off and just put the bridle on (complete with noseband this time). Bridled like a champ, so I think I can say that our bridling issues have officially been solved. And again he stood perfectly still for me to mount. I also noticed that he never stumbles sideways or seems off balance when I go to get on (and I'm not 'preparing' him before I mount). This is pretty impressive, I think. I'm making a point of standing for a minute or two before walking off so as to make sure he never gets in the habit of taking off right when I get on. This is pretty easy though, since he's never in a hurry to get moving!
Today was a pretty successful ride. We walked all around the arena, then did some large circles and some smaller circles, walked past the gate/Matthew area without stopping, etc. I even walked up the centerline and quarterlines with him... We were very far from straight! It's like trying to control a soggy spaghetti noodle. But I suppose considering how very few rides he has on him it wasn't too bad. I did have to use the whip a couple of times because he got stubborn about going forward, but I was still pleased with how much more responsive to my leg he was. We even trotted a few times. He's only comfortable with about 6-10 strides before he breaks back down to a walk, and I'm okay with that. The first time I started to post his trot he did the slight speed up ("what the heck??") but then slowed down and a then stopped after a few more strides.
After our ride in the arena I decided that he was good enough that he could pack my butt home. It's totally different when you step outside of the arena on a greenie. One, he has a bit more motivation (grass and going home) and two... No fences to stop you! He was really good though. Stood nicely while Mom battled with Rhythm, so I let him eat a bit of grass before he became frustrated. When we first started off it seemed like he was going to be a bit spunky, but he actually settled into a semi-decent walk (read: definitely faster than the pitiful one in the arena) and we followed Rhythm home. He didn't seem too impressed with going up the huge hill and then our driveway, though. He did break into a trot a couple times coming down the hill to the end of our driveway, but was easy to get back to a walk.
After untacking, giving him his goodies, and brushing him down I had some pictures taken of him. Here's the best one of the bunch, I figure.
April 10, 2008
After a shopping trip last week, Nova now has a new cotton sheet, bridle, and a happy mouth bit. I want to work on our bridling issues, but will save that for the weekend when I have all day.
But onto the important stuff. Nova was FANTASTIC today!!! I was so, so, so proud of him. I decided because the weather was quite nice out that I would take him to the arena and lunge him. Unlike usual, I didn't bring anyone with him (no distractions that way), and he actually walked down very nicely. No jogging, bumping into me, etc. Once we got there and I got him trotting around I thought I might have a hard time because he didn't seem too energetic. But thankfully he did really well - he didn't put any 'extra' effort into moving today, but that's okay with me. We did some nice relaxed trotting to the left, walked, changed directions, walked, trotted, changed directions again, walked, short trot, nice canter for a round, trot a round, canter another round, stop (I went over and gave him a treat), then sent him out the other way for a trot then canter (he did pick up the wrong lead twice, but was easy to bring down to a trot, then back up to a canter where he picked it up correctly). I let him canter more to the right as it's his 'bad' side, though he still seems quite balanced cantering around. He just listened to me perfectly today, and was very relaxed going around (I had absolutely no trouble getting him to come down to a walk - usually a sticking point for us).
He also behaved himself on the way back as well, and enjoyed the beet pulp that I had waiting for him.
Today was a very rewarding day, because it's nice to know that I do know how to teach a horse to lunge! And it was just such an absolute pleasure to work with him today. Now, hopefully his feet will be trimmed next week and I can do some real work with him.
April 13, 2008
After asking for, and receiving some, suggestions for bridling Nova I decided today was the day to try them out. It was absolutely gorgeous out (+20 and sunny), but almost too much, I felt like I was going to die!
Anyway, I'd got the suggestion for using molasses on the bit, so I tried that... Well, more molasses ended up on my hands than ended up in his mouth. Ewww, what a sticky mess that was. Anyway, I attempted to tickle his tongue with my thumb/fingers to get him to open his mouth - same response as usual... Nothing. He doesn't seem to care about that. And actually, because he had his poll at about shoulder height on me, I just decided to wait him out. He was basically standing there like a stubborn little boy - not fighting me (by moving around), and just keeping his teeth firmly closed. So, we waited. It probably took almost 10 minutes before he finally gave in and opened his mouth and took the bit. I left him standing there with it on while I rinsed off my hands. Then went and took it off - to stop the head throwing, bit holding problem, I gave him a cookie to munch on as I carefully slipped the bridle off. It worked really well, as he only lifted his head up a bit, and held onto the bit for a few extra seconds.
And of course, I didn't just do it once, I did it one more time, and he did take the bit after a minute or two, and also dropped it the same as the time before. And amazingly, both of those times he even stopped chewing after a minute. But I decided I wanted pictures with just his bridle on (halter had been on under the bridle the first two times), so back on went the bridle. I even pulled him away from his beet pulp to do this. He was great to bridle the third time! Only backed up a couple steps, then opened his mouth and took the bit. All three times he kept his head quite low for me, so it was easy to slip the bridle off - I hope he'll keep that up! Er... Down!
Anyway, it's like he knew that we wanted pictures, because he would not stop chewing for a second! Ugh. But that's okay, because that's not the issue we were working on. All in all I was very, very, pleased with him today! I definitely think that the happy mouth is helping, because there isn't any hard metal against his teeth. So yay, my $50 bit is working! Thank goodness!
April 27, 2008
Thank heavens the snow is starting to disappear again... Finally!
Today was a big day for Nova - and he was a superstar! I ran to the barn and got my trainer's side-pull for us to use on Nova. I had the idea last week to try it because she said she uses it on the babies she starts, and because he's still a bit fussy with the bit. This way he's not concentrating on chewing on the annoying thing in his mouth, and instead is concentrating on what he's being asked to do.
So we put the surcingle, the side-pull, and then Mom's driving reins, and off she went to ground drive him again. At the start he was a bit confused (or perhaps, stubborn) and didn't really move forward. Instead he'd just turn his bum around trying to get out of her way. So I walked by his head a minute to get him going a bit (but only for a short time, as he was following me and not listening to Mom). She then got him going a bit, so I ran inside to get the camera, and when I came out they were walking all over the yard! Mom was very proud of him, and I think he did better than she expected him to do. She also said that when she did everything right, so did he, but sometimes she didn't, so she can't blame him for that.
After that successful part, I decided to get on. He was being very level-headed today (he is normally, but today he was a bit more lazy than usual). So on went my saddle and NEW girth. (Bought it at the Mane Event the day before!) I'm so happy that he never cares about being tacked up - and that's a relatively new thing for him still. I mounted from the ground (I will practice from the mounting block soon too, but for now he can also learn that having the saddle yanked on and me bouncing up from the ground isn't a bad thing), and he didn't do anything. Sat for a moment, then had Mom lead us around the yard. Same thing as with the ground driving - he pays attention to the person on the ground, not the person doing the steering.
So after a minute I had Mom unclip us. Nova was not nervous at all about me being up there. The steering was a bit iffy, partly because he really didn't want to move (I think he prefers standing around with me on him better than this whole concept of moving). He was turning circles for me (the left better than the right [his bad side]), and for a greenie who doesn't know much of anything, he was listening.
(And you will notice what Nova thinks of this whole 'riding' business!)
Towards the end he decided that after I'd whoa'd him, he didn't really want to walk again. I continued to nudge him, but Mom walked behind him and encouraged him with the lead rope a bit (just bumping him with it) - this is because he was just being stubborn about it. He was completely relaxed and unconcerned about what I was asking him to do. And he knew what I wanted, since I'd asked him to do it earlier in 'the ride'. Anyway, I got him going, did another circle, stopped him, then got him to walk over to the tack room to finish the ride.
All in all, I was VERY proud of him! We didn't leave the yard because the circle had a bunch of cars on it (yep, right on the road... Because the guy building the 66 houses beside our place doesn't have that road paved, so they leave the cars parked right in the middle of the road), and the arena was still a bit wet. The weather looks good for the next few days, so I'm hoping to get him down there once or twice this week.
April 29, 2008
The weather was fantastic again today, so since my headache finally went away. So today was a lunging day.
The walk down to the arena was uneventful. Nova gave a little whinny to our neighbour's mares who were across the road in a different pasture. After a bit of looking he continued on quite nicely.
Once we got down to business he was very, very spunky considering it was quite warm out. He pretty much wanted to get out and trot and canter, so I let him. After spooking at the 'mud' (aka the damp area of the arena) and being a goof he did settle down a bit. After a few minutes of trotting and cantering he settled down and listened.
Since he was feeling pretty spunky we decided to lunge him over the barrels to see if he'd jump. We had done this once last summer, and he was good then too. At first we took the pole (unfortunately there was only one long enough) and had it resting on the barrel and the other end on the ground. He hopped over it nicely and dare I say somewhat enthusiastically? He could have tried to run around it, but instead aimed nicely for it and hopped over. Since I couldn't make a x-rail I just put the pole up on the barrels and had him go over in both directions. He did well the first few times, but towards the end (partially because he was a bit tired, methinks) he started to stop before the jump, but with very little encouragement he would pop over it. So I got one more good jump, then dropped the pole to the ground and had him trot over it once more (just to make sure he felt comfortable at the end).
Here's a video clip of him jumping: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sfazRcaNDw
And here's a clip of him going over the ground pole the last time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAcxK_k8F_o
After a shopping trip last week, Nova now has a new cotton sheet, bridle, and a happy mouth bit. I want to work on our bridling issues, but will save that for the weekend when I have all day.
But onto the important stuff. Nova was FANTASTIC today!!! I was so, so, so proud of him. I decided because the weather was quite nice out that I would take him to the arena and lunge him. Unlike usual, I didn't bring anyone with him (no distractions that way), and he actually walked down very nicely. No jogging, bumping into me, etc. Once we got there and I got him trotting around I thought I might have a hard time because he didn't seem too energetic. But thankfully he did really well - he didn't put any 'extra' effort into moving today, but that's okay with me. We did some nice relaxed trotting to the left, walked, changed directions, walked, trotted, changed directions again, walked, short trot, nice canter for a round, trot a round, canter another round, stop (I went over and gave him a treat), then sent him out the other way for a trot then canter (he did pick up the wrong lead twice, but was easy to bring down to a trot, then back up to a canter where he picked it up correctly). I let him canter more to the right as it's his 'bad' side, though he still seems quite balanced cantering around. He just listened to me perfectly today, and was very relaxed going around (I had absolutely no trouble getting him to come down to a walk - usually a sticking point for us).
He also behaved himself on the way back as well, and enjoyed the beet pulp that I had waiting for him.
Today was a very rewarding day, because it's nice to know that I do know how to teach a horse to lunge! And it was just such an absolute pleasure to work with him today. Now, hopefully his feet will be trimmed next week and I can do some real work with him.
April 13, 2008
After asking for, and receiving some, suggestions for bridling Nova I decided today was the day to try them out. It was absolutely gorgeous out (+20 and sunny), but almost too much, I felt like I was going to die!
Anyway, I'd got the suggestion for using molasses on the bit, so I tried that... Well, more molasses ended up on my hands than ended up in his mouth. Ewww, what a sticky mess that was. Anyway, I attempted to tickle his tongue with my thumb/fingers to get him to open his mouth - same response as usual... Nothing. He doesn't seem to care about that. And actually, because he had his poll at about shoulder height on me, I just decided to wait him out. He was basically standing there like a stubborn little boy - not fighting me (by moving around), and just keeping his teeth firmly closed. So, we waited. It probably took almost 10 minutes before he finally gave in and opened his mouth and took the bit. I left him standing there with it on while I rinsed off my hands. Then went and took it off - to stop the head throwing, bit holding problem, I gave him a cookie to munch on as I carefully slipped the bridle off. It worked really well, as he only lifted his head up a bit, and held onto the bit for a few extra seconds.
And of course, I didn't just do it once, I did it one more time, and he did take the bit after a minute or two, and also dropped it the same as the time before. And amazingly, both of those times he even stopped chewing after a minute. But I decided I wanted pictures with just his bridle on (halter had been on under the bridle the first two times), so back on went the bridle. I even pulled him away from his beet pulp to do this. He was great to bridle the third time! Only backed up a couple steps, then opened his mouth and took the bit. All three times he kept his head quite low for me, so it was easy to slip the bridle off - I hope he'll keep that up! Er... Down!
Anyway, it's like he knew that we wanted pictures, because he would not stop chewing for a second! Ugh. But that's okay, because that's not the issue we were working on. All in all I was very, very, pleased with him today! I definitely think that the happy mouth is helping, because there isn't any hard metal against his teeth. So yay, my $50 bit is working! Thank goodness!
April 27, 2008
Thank heavens the snow is starting to disappear again... Finally!
Today was a big day for Nova - and he was a superstar! I ran to the barn and got my trainer's side-pull for us to use on Nova. I had the idea last week to try it because she said she uses it on the babies she starts, and because he's still a bit fussy with the bit. This way he's not concentrating on chewing on the annoying thing in his mouth, and instead is concentrating on what he's being asked to do.
So we put the surcingle, the side-pull, and then Mom's driving reins, and off she went to ground drive him again. At the start he was a bit confused (or perhaps, stubborn) and didn't really move forward. Instead he'd just turn his bum around trying to get out of her way. So I walked by his head a minute to get him going a bit (but only for a short time, as he was following me and not listening to Mom). She then got him going a bit, so I ran inside to get the camera, and when I came out they were walking all over the yard! Mom was very proud of him, and I think he did better than she expected him to do. She also said that when she did everything right, so did he, but sometimes she didn't, so she can't blame him for that.
After that successful part, I decided to get on. He was being very level-headed today (he is normally, but today he was a bit more lazy than usual). So on went my saddle and NEW girth. (Bought it at the Mane Event the day before!) I'm so happy that he never cares about being tacked up - and that's a relatively new thing for him still. I mounted from the ground (I will practice from the mounting block soon too, but for now he can also learn that having the saddle yanked on and me bouncing up from the ground isn't a bad thing), and he didn't do anything. Sat for a moment, then had Mom lead us around the yard. Same thing as with the ground driving - he pays attention to the person on the ground, not the person doing the steering.
So after a minute I had Mom unclip us. Nova was not nervous at all about me being up there. The steering was a bit iffy, partly because he really didn't want to move (I think he prefers standing around with me on him better than this whole concept of moving). He was turning circles for me (the left better than the right [his bad side]), and for a greenie who doesn't know much of anything, he was listening.
(And you will notice what Nova thinks of this whole 'riding' business!)
Towards the end he decided that after I'd whoa'd him, he didn't really want to walk again. I continued to nudge him, but Mom walked behind him and encouraged him with the lead rope a bit (just bumping him with it) - this is because he was just being stubborn about it. He was completely relaxed and unconcerned about what I was asking him to do. And he knew what I wanted, since I'd asked him to do it earlier in 'the ride'. Anyway, I got him going, did another circle, stopped him, then got him to walk over to the tack room to finish the ride.
All in all, I was VERY proud of him! We didn't leave the yard because the circle had a bunch of cars on it (yep, right on the road... Because the guy building the 66 houses beside our place doesn't have that road paved, so they leave the cars parked right in the middle of the road), and the arena was still a bit wet. The weather looks good for the next few days, so I'm hoping to get him down there once or twice this week.
April 29, 2008
The weather was fantastic again today, so since my headache finally went away. So today was a lunging day.
The walk down to the arena was uneventful. Nova gave a little whinny to our neighbour's mares who were across the road in a different pasture. After a bit of looking he continued on quite nicely.
Once we got down to business he was very, very spunky considering it was quite warm out. He pretty much wanted to get out and trot and canter, so I let him. After spooking at the 'mud' (aka the damp area of the arena) and being a goof he did settle down a bit. After a few minutes of trotting and cantering he settled down and listened.
Since he was feeling pretty spunky we decided to lunge him over the barrels to see if he'd jump. We had done this once last summer, and he was good then too. At first we took the pole (unfortunately there was only one long enough) and had it resting on the barrel and the other end on the ground. He hopped over it nicely and dare I say somewhat enthusiastically? He could have tried to run around it, but instead aimed nicely for it and hopped over. Since I couldn't make a x-rail I just put the pole up on the barrels and had him go over in both directions. He did well the first few times, but towards the end (partially because he was a bit tired, methinks) he started to stop before the jump, but with very little encouragement he would pop over it. So I got one more good jump, then dropped the pole to the ground and had him trot over it once more (just to make sure he felt comfortable at the end).
Here's a video clip of him jumping: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sfazRcaNDw
And here's a clip of him going over the ground pole the last time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAcxK_k8F_o
March 5, 2008
Not a training day, but I have an amusing anecdote to share.
I went down earlier than usual to feed the horses, and apparently it was early enough that Nova figured it was me coming down to catch him for his goodies, and not to feed him supper. I guess daylight = goodies, and dark = dinner...
So he ran up, I opened and came through the gate, gave him a treat, and then didn't even think about it, but just put the chain over the board instead of latching the gate again (figuring he'd follow me down for supper). But alas, that was not the case. He decided he really wanted his goodies, and the entire time I was putting out hay I could see him playing with the gate. He got it open once, but it swung back at him and he backed up... But just as I was finished and starting to come back up, woosh, open goes the gate, and out goes Nova. And he then proceeds to run and buck up to the tack room, then when I get up there, run over to me all proud of himself. I couldn't help but laugh - and yes, he did get his treats. I did tell him that he's really lucky he's cute, because otherwise he would have been in big trouble.
Dad said that I'd better watch out because he might become a Houdini... I figure I'm safe since so far he's managed to open an unlatched gate... When he starts to unlatch them himself, I'll be more concerned! (And next time, I'll latch the gate after I go through. Lesson learned.)
March 7, 2008
Not every day can be a good day... But every day can end on a good note! That was today.
Nova was being spunky in the pasture before he came to be caught (used the quad on the service road to the subdivision behind our place as an excuse to run and buck and try to get Skye to play), so I decided to lunge him a bit at the dead end to get a tiny bit of spunk out. He was doing okay - the circles were a tiny bit lopsided (because of a bit of ice), but he was listening okay. But when I switched directions he took exception to the puddle (long and narrow) along the side of the road. So, okay, I figured we'd work on the puddle crossing (even though to lunge he had to go beside it, not over or through it) and then go back to lunging. That did not go as planned. He basically stood on one side and refused to come across to the other. And because I had the web halter on I had no leverage. So I ended up putting him around it and then coming at it from the other side (towards our fence, which I thought might help). After a minute or so, he gave in and came across. Good! So did it once more from that side before trying the other direction again... To which he promptly decided not to go across it again. And then he had the nerve to drink out of it! Well, it's obvious he wasn't scared of it in the least. So, I got a bit ticked and started to tap him on the hind legs with the whip... Well of course, he overreacts to that and tries to go sideways through the tree instead of hopping over the puddle.
I will shamefully admit it, I did get very upset with him because he knew what I wanted but didn't want to do it. So I ended up pulling him away from the puddle and we went back to lunging again - but let me say, he was definitely listening to me. And he did a nice powerwalk around me. After a couple good turns and some halts, I led him up to the house (and I could definitely tell he was paying a lot of attention to me), took the lunge line off, and put on the stud chain. I do not like to use the stud chain, but by this point, I don't feel that changing to the rope halter would have been very effective. So, back down we go, and it only took a couple minutes and he was walking through and across the puddle with me (both directions) without a fuss. I'd like to add that I did not have a battle with him with the chain, so he was not abused in any way. Just figured out that he couldn't get away with it, and leaning against the chain was uncomfy so walking across the puddle was a lot easier. So I walked up the hill to the neighbours driveway and came back. By which time I was a lot more relaxed and pleased that we did accomplish something.
And he did get his goodies while I brushed out his mane and tail again. Also picked up his feet, and he was good. Probably knew that 'mum' was not going to put up with anything from him!
So, while I'm not so happy about myself and my bit of temper, he did not get away with being bad, and in fact, I think he has a new respect for me - we'll see if it carries over, but I did feel the complete attentiveness to me while I was leading him. If I could have safely tied him up and walked away for a few mintues I would have, but instead I changed what we were doing (to something he can do) and then came back to the problem. And like the first sentence said, not every day is good, but they should all end on a good note. And for that I'm pleased.
March 9, 2008
When I didn't get to work with Nova yesterday, I decided that baring any horrible weather, I would go out and work him today. And today dawned (one hour earlier) bright and sunny.
He came right up for me to catch, but of course... he'd laid in poo! I'm very glad he's a brown horse! So he got his goodies while I quickly brushed him. After I decided to put the bridle on him again, but this time underneath the halter. That went better than the previous attempt, and I know now that his problem is that he doesn't really open his mouth wide enough to take the bit. So, I'll have to work on making him 'open wide' and that should solve the problem. Or most of it.
I noticed right off that he was chewing it less today than the other day. Still a fair amount on our way down to the arena, but he would take a short break. Once at the arena, I realized my mistake in how deep the snow was. A lot deeper (okay... only a foot or less... But hard on top and difficult to break through) than I'd planned on. Ah well, more of a workout for Nova! Hahaha... Not so much. More of a workout for me! We started off to the right, because that is his bad direction (so I've found), and well... Yep, it was definitely his bad side. Kaila was loose in the arena and every time he'd come to where she was (we're in the middle, she's on the rail) he would slam on the breaks and act like he didn't know what to do. Ugh. But after moving pretty much the whole way down the arena he managed to listen to me and we stopped. And for the first time, he was breathing hard! So was I, though.
So, back to where we started, and after another minute to catch our breath, we went left. And he was PERFECT! While it's not the best, today I probably only had him do 4 or 5 laps that way because he went out and walked nicely, picked up his trot at my cluck, actually cantered (correct lead!), and then went back to a trot, walk, and halt all brilliantly. I was so proud, so I called it a day and we came back home. (I think maybe next time I'll start left for a few rounds, go right, then finish off to the left again. That way I can work both sides a bit more evenly, but still finish off on a really good note.) And while he was working he wasn't chewing on the bit, and between the directions he was breathing too hard to chew.
He walked back beside me quite nicely (and in fact he walked down there quite politely too). Only had to get after him a time or two for trying to jog ahead. He also was not really chewing on the bit at all. For most of the walk back he was ignoring it. And to reinforce the puddle lesson from the other day, I led him around the circle and across the puddle - no hesitation from him. Yay.
But just as we were turning to go back into the driveway, our neighbours little dog ran (silent as a deadly missile) through their pasture and Nova caught him out of the corner of his eye. OMG WHAT IS THAT?! Jump, wheel, snort. So, okay, we walk across the road so he can actually see what it is, and after a snort over that, he realizes that Kaila has gone up the driveway and he's facing this monster by himself. Oh dear! Head goes straight up, nostrils flare, tail goes up - instant Saddlebred mode. After we stood there for a minute, I got his attentioon, and we turned and walked nicely up the driveway.
When I took off the bridle he did quite well too. Didn't flip his head, and let go of the bit okay. (I really try to make sure that it doesn't bang their teeth, but sometimes they make that a bit difficult.)
So a good day, and I know what I have to work on next time.
March 11, 2008
Today was just a hang out and relax type day for Nova and I. The second he saw me walk into the tackroom he headed up to the gate, and was waiting for me when I got down there. (It makes me proud!) Brought him up and gave him his goodies, and while he was eating those I dragged out my tote with my stuff in it to look through and see what I am going to sell at the tack sale. The goof leaped about five feet sideways when I had it half out of the tackroom. I went and brought him back to his tub (which was right beside the door), then pulled it out all the way. And he jumped about four feet sideways and eyeballed it. So, I made him walk up and sniff it. The minute he sniffed it he was okay, so I opened it and he sniffed the lid and the blankets inside. Then went back to his treats.
After he was done his treats and I went into the tack room to grab some cubes to occupy him with, he wandered over and was sniffing the tote all on his own. Apparently it wasn't so scary anymore. Goof. While he was eating the cubes I put the lycra shoulder guard on him for fun. He could have cared less.
After I cleaned up my mess, I decided to try and put my english bridle on him today. The sooner we pratice with it, the better it will be for our show season debut. He took the bit with less fuss than the other day, so each day is getting better. Now that I know he doesn't like to open his mouth very wide, I just make sure to wiggle my finger in his mouth more to make him open. Today though, he tried dropping his head down by the ground in order to get away from the bit - his mistake! I am short! I can go down no problem. But shhh, don't tell him that! Anyway, he kept his head down by my knees while I slipped it over his ears - I wish he'd keep that habit up, it would be nice.
I adjusted it up to fit (his head is smaller than Skye's, but no surprise there), and then we went for a walk around the yard. He chewed on it a bit, but was definitely better than he's been before. We're getting there, slowly! I tried to get him to trot beside me, but the first time he just lagged behind me (and since pulling on the bridle is counter-effective I just went and got my dressage whip). He knows what the whip means, and I just had to flick it at his belly the next time I asked for a trot and he was right there beside me. We trotted a couple more times across the yard, and he did well.
At the end I was standing by his shoulder and then gave a gentle pull on the left rein, and after a moment he turned his head to the left. Then, I tugged on the right rein, and he turned his head to the right. I did it once more each direction, and he gave his head to the pressure with no fight. I grinned and joked to myself that he now has steering! He's good to go.
After the job well done, I took him to the front to graze on what little 'you-can-see-a-hint-of-green' grass was there. He seemed to enjoy it. And after a few minutes, I put him back.
March 13, 2008
Lucky Booger - another relaxing day. Nothing really to talk about, as he came up, he ate, I brushed, and brushed, and brushed, he ate some more, I combed his mane and tail, picked his feet (he was good, except for one hind he was a tiny bit fussy with - wouldn't relax it), led him across the puddle in our yard, let him eat grass, and put him back. Weeee.
I tried out my new... shedding brush? Shedding blade? Whatever it is... Wow! It works really good! He's still not shedding as much as the other two, but hopefully soon.
March 25, 2008
We didn't do much today, other than having some beet pulp, and then a trip down to the arena for a romp. I'm happy that the snow is slooooowly melting in there, and in a couple/three weeks we should be able to do some work in there.
Nova and Skye had a good run in the arena, in fact he got pretty darn excited and was running back and forth all on his own. He also walked there and back pretty nicely, only getting ahead of me a couple of times (didn't help I was trying to lead him and carry the huge lunge whip too).
March 26, 2008
Happy birthday to me!
Instead of just giving Nova his goodies and a brushing today, I decided to actually do some work. I had Matthew here to help me, so I tacked him up and got on. He stood pretty good for the tacking up - could have cared less about the saddle pad and saddle, but wasn't fond of the girth too much. Unfortunately I had Cowboy Magic on my hands, and the billets are still really new, so it took me a few times to actually get it done up.
I walked him around the yard with the saddle on, then dropped the stirrups and banged them against his sides a bit. He flinched, of course, but didn't move away from them. I then had Matthew hold him, and after a moment to realize that 'holy moly, he really is a HORSE now!' I mounted. He stood quite well, and I leaned over him for a minute before settling down on him. His ears flicked back and forth a few times before he relaxed and we went for a walk around the yard. He was doing so well that I had Matthew take us down the driveway and then around the dead end circle a couple of times, then back up into the yard. He was good, and his couple small 'scoots' were normal reactions and weren't any worse than if I hadn't been on. I then had Matthew run in and get the camera for some pictures. After the pics, I asked Nova to walk forward a few steps towards the tack room/Nova, which he did. Perhaps he's slowly getting it! (I will definitely be working on that with him when I 'start' him in the arena. Along with a good whoa button!)
March 30, 2008
Another 'big day' for Nova!
First we dewormed him - and instead of putting it in his feed, we used the tube and actually did it by mouth. He did quite well, and didn't do his giraffe impression like I expected.
Then, because Mom wanted to put the harness on Rhythm and ground drive her a bit, we decided to do the same with Nova after. He didn't even blink when we put the harness on (and only tucked his hiney a bit when Mom put the cruper under his tail). We walked and did a bit of trot in hand to make sure he was relaxed. We did try to put the bridle (with blinders) on him, but it's waaaaaay to big, and too difficult to adjust, so we put my english on him instead. He's still not being awesome to bridle, but I think we're getting a little better every time (and yeah, it still seems that he isn't opening his mouth wide enough for the bit to slip in easily).
I should have adjusted the english bridle up a bit as it was a tad loose in his mouth, and will do that next time for sure. (I also didn't realize that Mom would do so much actual steering with him) After a couple circles in the yard (me leading on a loose lead rope, Mom behind him 'steering') we went down the driveway to the dead end. There we did lots of circles in both directions, and in the end I actually stopped walking with them, and they did a bit by themselves. As Mom put it, she was letting him get his own way a bit (ie. letting him turn in the easier direction to get where she wanted to go), but she was turning him, and when he'd stop she would get him going again (bumping the rein against his haunches). Of course, as with every time you teach them something new, it's not always totally pretty (the slamming on the breaks and the head in the air, before he goes, 'oh, okay' and turning and going on), but he did really well!
We were all proud of him, and of course - pictures!!!
(Oh, please excuse his really long feet, as the farrier is out of town and unfortunately they are due for a trim. And no, the noseband is not done up, I just tucked it into his halter to it wouldn't flop around.)
Not a training day, but I have an amusing anecdote to share.
I went down earlier than usual to feed the horses, and apparently it was early enough that Nova figured it was me coming down to catch him for his goodies, and not to feed him supper. I guess daylight = goodies, and dark = dinner...
So he ran up, I opened and came through the gate, gave him a treat, and then didn't even think about it, but just put the chain over the board instead of latching the gate again (figuring he'd follow me down for supper). But alas, that was not the case. He decided he really wanted his goodies, and the entire time I was putting out hay I could see him playing with the gate. He got it open once, but it swung back at him and he backed up... But just as I was finished and starting to come back up, woosh, open goes the gate, and out goes Nova. And he then proceeds to run and buck up to the tack room, then when I get up there, run over to me all proud of himself. I couldn't help but laugh - and yes, he did get his treats. I did tell him that he's really lucky he's cute, because otherwise he would have been in big trouble.
Dad said that I'd better watch out because he might become a Houdini... I figure I'm safe since so far he's managed to open an unlatched gate... When he starts to unlatch them himself, I'll be more concerned! (And next time, I'll latch the gate after I go through. Lesson learned.)
March 7, 2008
Not every day can be a good day... But every day can end on a good note! That was today.
Nova was being spunky in the pasture before he came to be caught (used the quad on the service road to the subdivision behind our place as an excuse to run and buck and try to get Skye to play), so I decided to lunge him a bit at the dead end to get a tiny bit of spunk out. He was doing okay - the circles were a tiny bit lopsided (because of a bit of ice), but he was listening okay. But when I switched directions he took exception to the puddle (long and narrow) along the side of the road. So, okay, I figured we'd work on the puddle crossing (even though to lunge he had to go beside it, not over or through it) and then go back to lunging. That did not go as planned. He basically stood on one side and refused to come across to the other. And because I had the web halter on I had no leverage. So I ended up putting him around it and then coming at it from the other side (towards our fence, which I thought might help). After a minute or so, he gave in and came across. Good! So did it once more from that side before trying the other direction again... To which he promptly decided not to go across it again. And then he had the nerve to drink out of it! Well, it's obvious he wasn't scared of it in the least. So, I got a bit ticked and started to tap him on the hind legs with the whip... Well of course, he overreacts to that and tries to go sideways through the tree instead of hopping over the puddle.
I will shamefully admit it, I did get very upset with him because he knew what I wanted but didn't want to do it. So I ended up pulling him away from the puddle and we went back to lunging again - but let me say, he was definitely listening to me. And he did a nice powerwalk around me. After a couple good turns and some halts, I led him up to the house (and I could definitely tell he was paying a lot of attention to me), took the lunge line off, and put on the stud chain. I do not like to use the stud chain, but by this point, I don't feel that changing to the rope halter would have been very effective. So, back down we go, and it only took a couple minutes and he was walking through and across the puddle with me (both directions) without a fuss. I'd like to add that I did not have a battle with him with the chain, so he was not abused in any way. Just figured out that he couldn't get away with it, and leaning against the chain was uncomfy so walking across the puddle was a lot easier. So I walked up the hill to the neighbours driveway and came back. By which time I was a lot more relaxed and pleased that we did accomplish something.
And he did get his goodies while I brushed out his mane and tail again. Also picked up his feet, and he was good. Probably knew that 'mum' was not going to put up with anything from him!
So, while I'm not so happy about myself and my bit of temper, he did not get away with being bad, and in fact, I think he has a new respect for me - we'll see if it carries over, but I did feel the complete attentiveness to me while I was leading him. If I could have safely tied him up and walked away for a few mintues I would have, but instead I changed what we were doing (to something he can do) and then came back to the problem. And like the first sentence said, not every day is good, but they should all end on a good note. And for that I'm pleased.
March 9, 2008
When I didn't get to work with Nova yesterday, I decided that baring any horrible weather, I would go out and work him today. And today dawned (one hour earlier) bright and sunny.
He came right up for me to catch, but of course... he'd laid in poo! I'm very glad he's a brown horse! So he got his goodies while I quickly brushed him. After I decided to put the bridle on him again, but this time underneath the halter. That went better than the previous attempt, and I know now that his problem is that he doesn't really open his mouth wide enough to take the bit. So, I'll have to work on making him 'open wide' and that should solve the problem. Or most of it.
I noticed right off that he was chewing it less today than the other day. Still a fair amount on our way down to the arena, but he would take a short break. Once at the arena, I realized my mistake in how deep the snow was. A lot deeper (okay... only a foot or less... But hard on top and difficult to break through) than I'd planned on. Ah well, more of a workout for Nova! Hahaha... Not so much. More of a workout for me! We started off to the right, because that is his bad direction (so I've found), and well... Yep, it was definitely his bad side. Kaila was loose in the arena and every time he'd come to where she was (we're in the middle, she's on the rail) he would slam on the breaks and act like he didn't know what to do. Ugh. But after moving pretty much the whole way down the arena he managed to listen to me and we stopped. And for the first time, he was breathing hard! So was I, though.
So, back to where we started, and after another minute to catch our breath, we went left. And he was PERFECT! While it's not the best, today I probably only had him do 4 or 5 laps that way because he went out and walked nicely, picked up his trot at my cluck, actually cantered (correct lead!), and then went back to a trot, walk, and halt all brilliantly. I was so proud, so I called it a day and we came back home. (I think maybe next time I'll start left for a few rounds, go right, then finish off to the left again. That way I can work both sides a bit more evenly, but still finish off on a really good note.) And while he was working he wasn't chewing on the bit, and between the directions he was breathing too hard to chew.
He walked back beside me quite nicely (and in fact he walked down there quite politely too). Only had to get after him a time or two for trying to jog ahead. He also was not really chewing on the bit at all. For most of the walk back he was ignoring it. And to reinforce the puddle lesson from the other day, I led him around the circle and across the puddle - no hesitation from him. Yay.
But just as we were turning to go back into the driveway, our neighbours little dog ran (silent as a deadly missile) through their pasture and Nova caught him out of the corner of his eye. OMG WHAT IS THAT?! Jump, wheel, snort. So, okay, we walk across the road so he can actually see what it is, and after a snort over that, he realizes that Kaila has gone up the driveway and he's facing this monster by himself. Oh dear! Head goes straight up, nostrils flare, tail goes up - instant Saddlebred mode. After we stood there for a minute, I got his attentioon, and we turned and walked nicely up the driveway.
When I took off the bridle he did quite well too. Didn't flip his head, and let go of the bit okay. (I really try to make sure that it doesn't bang their teeth, but sometimes they make that a bit difficult.)
So a good day, and I know what I have to work on next time.
March 11, 2008
Today was just a hang out and relax type day for Nova and I. The second he saw me walk into the tackroom he headed up to the gate, and was waiting for me when I got down there. (It makes me proud!) Brought him up and gave him his goodies, and while he was eating those I dragged out my tote with my stuff in it to look through and see what I am going to sell at the tack sale. The goof leaped about five feet sideways when I had it half out of the tackroom. I went and brought him back to his tub (which was right beside the door), then pulled it out all the way. And he jumped about four feet sideways and eyeballed it. So, I made him walk up and sniff it. The minute he sniffed it he was okay, so I opened it and he sniffed the lid and the blankets inside. Then went back to his treats.
After he was done his treats and I went into the tack room to grab some cubes to occupy him with, he wandered over and was sniffing the tote all on his own. Apparently it wasn't so scary anymore. Goof. While he was eating the cubes I put the lycra shoulder guard on him for fun. He could have cared less.
After I cleaned up my mess, I decided to try and put my english bridle on him today. The sooner we pratice with it, the better it will be for our show season debut. He took the bit with less fuss than the other day, so each day is getting better. Now that I know he doesn't like to open his mouth very wide, I just make sure to wiggle my finger in his mouth more to make him open. Today though, he tried dropping his head down by the ground in order to get away from the bit - his mistake! I am short! I can go down no problem. But shhh, don't tell him that! Anyway, he kept his head down by my knees while I slipped it over his ears - I wish he'd keep that habit up, it would be nice.
I adjusted it up to fit (his head is smaller than Skye's, but no surprise there), and then we went for a walk around the yard. He chewed on it a bit, but was definitely better than he's been before. We're getting there, slowly! I tried to get him to trot beside me, but the first time he just lagged behind me (and since pulling on the bridle is counter-effective I just went and got my dressage whip). He knows what the whip means, and I just had to flick it at his belly the next time I asked for a trot and he was right there beside me. We trotted a couple more times across the yard, and he did well.
At the end I was standing by his shoulder and then gave a gentle pull on the left rein, and after a moment he turned his head to the left. Then, I tugged on the right rein, and he turned his head to the right. I did it once more each direction, and he gave his head to the pressure with no fight. I grinned and joked to myself that he now has steering! He's good to go.
After the job well done, I took him to the front to graze on what little 'you-can-see-a-hint-of-green' grass was there. He seemed to enjoy it. And after a few minutes, I put him back.
March 13, 2008
Lucky Booger - another relaxing day. Nothing really to talk about, as he came up, he ate, I brushed, and brushed, and brushed, he ate some more, I combed his mane and tail, picked his feet (he was good, except for one hind he was a tiny bit fussy with - wouldn't relax it), led him across the puddle in our yard, let him eat grass, and put him back. Weeee.
I tried out my new... shedding brush? Shedding blade? Whatever it is... Wow! It works really good! He's still not shedding as much as the other two, but hopefully soon.
March 25, 2008
We didn't do much today, other than having some beet pulp, and then a trip down to the arena for a romp. I'm happy that the snow is slooooowly melting in there, and in a couple/three weeks we should be able to do some work in there.
Nova and Skye had a good run in the arena, in fact he got pretty darn excited and was running back and forth all on his own. He also walked there and back pretty nicely, only getting ahead of me a couple of times (didn't help I was trying to lead him and carry the huge lunge whip too).
March 26, 2008
Happy birthday to me!
Instead of just giving Nova his goodies and a brushing today, I decided to actually do some work. I had Matthew here to help me, so I tacked him up and got on. He stood pretty good for the tacking up - could have cared less about the saddle pad and saddle, but wasn't fond of the girth too much. Unfortunately I had Cowboy Magic on my hands, and the billets are still really new, so it took me a few times to actually get it done up.
I walked him around the yard with the saddle on, then dropped the stirrups and banged them against his sides a bit. He flinched, of course, but didn't move away from them. I then had Matthew hold him, and after a moment to realize that 'holy moly, he really is a HORSE now!' I mounted. He stood quite well, and I leaned over him for a minute before settling down on him. His ears flicked back and forth a few times before he relaxed and we went for a walk around the yard. He was doing so well that I had Matthew take us down the driveway and then around the dead end circle a couple of times, then back up into the yard. He was good, and his couple small 'scoots' were normal reactions and weren't any worse than if I hadn't been on. I then had Matthew run in and get the camera for some pictures. After the pics, I asked Nova to walk forward a few steps towards the tack room/Nova, which he did. Perhaps he's slowly getting it! (I will definitely be working on that with him when I 'start' him in the arena. Along with a good whoa button!)
March 30, 2008
Another 'big day' for Nova!
First we dewormed him - and instead of putting it in his feed, we used the tube and actually did it by mouth. He did quite well, and didn't do his giraffe impression like I expected.
Then, because Mom wanted to put the harness on Rhythm and ground drive her a bit, we decided to do the same with Nova after. He didn't even blink when we put the harness on (and only tucked his hiney a bit when Mom put the cruper under his tail). We walked and did a bit of trot in hand to make sure he was relaxed. We did try to put the bridle (with blinders) on him, but it's waaaaaay to big, and too difficult to adjust, so we put my english on him instead. He's still not being awesome to bridle, but I think we're getting a little better every time (and yeah, it still seems that he isn't opening his mouth wide enough for the bit to slip in easily).
I should have adjusted the english bridle up a bit as it was a tad loose in his mouth, and will do that next time for sure. (I also didn't realize that Mom would do so much actual steering with him) After a couple circles in the yard (me leading on a loose lead rope, Mom behind him 'steering') we went down the driveway to the dead end. There we did lots of circles in both directions, and in the end I actually stopped walking with them, and they did a bit by themselves. As Mom put it, she was letting him get his own way a bit (ie. letting him turn in the easier direction to get where she wanted to go), but she was turning him, and when he'd stop she would get him going again (bumping the rein against his haunches). Of course, as with every time you teach them something new, it's not always totally pretty (the slamming on the breaks and the head in the air, before he goes, 'oh, okay' and turning and going on), but he did really well!
We were all proud of him, and of course - pictures!!!
(Oh, please excuse his really long feet, as the farrier is out of town and unfortunately they are due for a trim. And no, the noseband is not done up, I just tucked it into his halter to it wouldn't flop around.)
February 29, 2008
Well, it's been over a month since my last post, but that's because nothing much has happened. Between the horrendeous temperatures for a couple weeks, and then taking a trip, I haven't had time to work with Nova. Not that he minds, I'm sure!
So today was (what I hope) day number 1 of my start to spring work/handling schedule with him. I really want to start spending some time with him and hopefully get him ready for some shows this year (halter classes first, then possibly an undersaddle class [that would be the best senario]).
When I went out to call them in today, they were all hanging out in the back, and Nova walked over to me all by himself. Awwwh, he remembered that I'm good for goodies! (Haha) So brought him up, brushed him (forgot to pick his feet out, ooops), and bridled him. He was not fond of taking the bit, so I do have to work on that (possibly putting something sweet on it for him). And of course he chewed on it.
Tacked up Kaila, and then went and grabbed Nova and off we went. He started off as he typically does... Trying to jog ahead, and throwing his head up and did attempt to bite my boot a time or two. But thankfully, he did settle down, and did relatively well for the majority of the ride. We had those magical moments where he walked along perfectly with his head by my knee, nice and relaxed (while still chewing on the bit).
He did chew the bit for the majority of the ride, but by the end had pretty much given up - thankfully!! When we reached the end of the driveway I reached over and took off his bridle, because he'd been really good about not chewing it for a few minutes.
After the ride I tied him up to hang out while I untacked Kaila, then brought him over and gave him his goodies. While he was eating I brushed out his mane and tail (with Cowboy Magic - love that stuff), and then put his tail in a tailbag. Which I hope stays on for longer than just today - I hate the ones with the snaps!
And lastly I did a bit of trotting on lead across the yard with him. He does really well with that, so I don't have to do much work with him. It's more the getting him to stand the way I want him too, which is the problem.
Well, it's been over a month since my last post, but that's because nothing much has happened. Between the horrendeous temperatures for a couple weeks, and then taking a trip, I haven't had time to work with Nova. Not that he minds, I'm sure!
So today was (what I hope) day number 1 of my start to spring work/handling schedule with him. I really want to start spending some time with him and hopefully get him ready for some shows this year (halter classes first, then possibly an undersaddle class [that would be the best senario]).
When I went out to call them in today, they were all hanging out in the back, and Nova walked over to me all by himself. Awwwh, he remembered that I'm good for goodies! (Haha) So brought him up, brushed him (forgot to pick his feet out, ooops), and bridled him. He was not fond of taking the bit, so I do have to work on that (possibly putting something sweet on it for him). And of course he chewed on it.
Tacked up Kaila, and then went and grabbed Nova and off we went. He started off as he typically does... Trying to jog ahead, and throwing his head up and did attempt to bite my boot a time or two. But thankfully, he did settle down, and did relatively well for the majority of the ride. We had those magical moments where he walked along perfectly with his head by my knee, nice and relaxed (while still chewing on the bit).
He did chew the bit for the majority of the ride, but by the end had pretty much given up - thankfully!! When we reached the end of the driveway I reached over and took off his bridle, because he'd been really good about not chewing it for a few minutes.
After the ride I tied him up to hang out while I untacked Kaila, then brought him over and gave him his goodies. While he was eating I brushed out his mane and tail (with Cowboy Magic - love that stuff), and then put his tail in a tailbag. Which I hope stays on for longer than just today - I hate the ones with the snaps!
And lastly I did a bit of trotting on lead across the yard with him. He does really well with that, so I don't have to do much work with him. It's more the getting him to stand the way I want him too, which is the problem.
January 3, 2008
We started it off today with a bang... Or should I say a tarp? Yeah, the tarp is more accurate. On a different forum it was mentioned about desensitizing youngsters to many different things - and what better to do with Nova when it's cold and frozen out? So today was the first day: the tarp.
If you recall, back in September of '06 I took Nova to a clinic, where he had to walk over a blue tarp with branches on it. Which he only looked at briefly before trusting me to go across. Well, today was no different. He walked right up, eyed it, pawed at it, and then delicately walked across. Well... That was boring. The second time across he paused and gave me some passive resistance (pawing at it), but with encouragement he moved easily across it. We proceeded with that a few more times before moving on.
I then picked up a section of the tarp off the ground, and let him sniff it, and I wiggled it around, dragged it across the ground (beside and infront of him) while we walked... During which, he was not scared, merely just curious.
So, trying my luck, I then put part of the tarp up beside his neck and rubbed him, then put it over his withers and held it. He did move around, but did soon settle down and let me do it again on the other side. Matthew then folded up the tarp for me, and I did the same thing again, and he was more relaxed. He was still not totally, but he also wasn't trying to escape it either. To finish, I put the tarp back on the ground and had him walk over it one last time.
I'd like to have him more relaxed with it all, so I will be doing this again with him. Maybe soon I can have pictures of him with the tarp over him like a tent. Just maybe. (:
And proof that he does indeed let you touch him with a tarp!
January 13, 2008
The weather was gorgeous today! So of course, we had to go for a ride. And Nova got ponied again today.
He did quite good - as usual! Started off quite spunky and didn't want to walk beside Kaila (kept trying to jog ahead). But also as usual, after 5-10 minutes he did settle down and walked nicely.
In Spring Hills today (the mini's didn't come to say 'hi', darn) Mom took him and ponied him off of Rhythm for a little ways. And they went for a nice trot (which is a first for Nova, as Kaila doesn't trot anymore). After he figured out that he was supposed to go with Rhythm (and not drag behind) he trotted out nicely with her (alas, I had to watch from a distance because of Kaila). After the trot I expected him to be a bit worked up, but instead he actually started to drag behind a bit. Not horribly, and if Rhythm walked behind him he'd jog back up beside Kaila.
On our way back through the Village we decided to play it risky and went past the skating arena where people were shooting pucks. I wasn't too worried, because Kaila could care less about the noise of the pucks hitting the boards, so I figured Nova would do alright. And, I was right! He hardly got nervous (did get a bit chargey, but not bad) but settled down almost as soon as we were past.
After we were back I tied him up, brushed him down (found a few itchy spots) but didn't have to do much because he was hardly sweaty at all. I also picked up his feet. He only fussed a bit with one hind leg, and otherwise was pretty good.
January 14, 2008
Two big days in a row for Nova! Woooo.
Bright and early this morning (okay... after 9am) we had our wonderful horse chiropractor (Dr. Rod) come out and work on the horses. Nova got his first adjustment, and I was happy with how well he behaved. Though, after my TB mare, Dawn, it doesn't take much to please me. When Dr. Rod was checking him out to see what appeared to be out, he did move around a little, but I think most of that was confusion as to why Dr. Rod was pushing on his neck. When we put him beside the stool to adjust his lower back he stood pretty well, only moving his hiney away a couple times (pretty good considering this was the first time anyone's hovered over him and pushed around on his back). He also does appear to be scared in any from that, because he proceeded to follow us around the pasture as we worked on the other two. Poking his head over Rhythm's back to sniff Dr. Rod's fingers, and also being VERY curious over his stool. Of course, he had to paw at it once and attempt to tangle his foot in it and then spooked... But then came right back over and sniffed it again. Such a goof.
And in the afternoon the farrier came out to do their feet. Nova was first one up and behaved quite nicely. Wasn't fussy about his feet at all, except one front one when Rod was trying to rasp it (for which he got a light bonk on the nose which smartened him up). After that he stood wonderfully and I think I can say he was the best he's ever been. Of course, as you know, it's not like he was a monster before! And today Rod complimented Nova's feet by saying that they are very healthy and perfectly shaped! Yay!
January 23, 2008
I'm almost ashamed to post this, as my normally wonderfully little guy had a really bad day today! Can we say... TERRIBLE TWO'S? Ugh.
First, I didn't post this because I sort of forgot, but late last week we went for a short bareback ride, and Mom ponied Nova instead of me. And he was horrible for her. I had just put it down to her being a different handler and the fact that it was dark out (the other two horses are used to going out in the dark and are relaxed). Anyway, Mom said he kept trying to bite Kaila and shove her over into the ditch (which I admit, he tries to do sometimes with me if he can get far enough ahead), and he would not settle down to walk for most of the ride.
So, now fast forward to today, when it was again nice out (and not windy), and I decided to take the two of them for a ride. It started off interesting, with Nova attempting to take off when we reached the end of the driveway, but I managed to hold on to him and a moment later we were back on our way. He settled down and we walked nicely for oh... 3 minutes before he once again tried to take off like a bullet away from me (thankfully he waited until after the cop car had passed) and we repeated what had happened at the end of the driveway. He got pretty excited and I had to get a bit forceful to get him to walk, but after a few minutes he did once again settle down. And he then walked like an absolute champ for... 5 minutes this time before he got excited again, but not as bad as before. A few minutes after that he once again bolted and this time managed to get the lead rope away from me. Thankfully he didn't take off, really, and just trotted down the road a ways (yay for not very busy roads) and because I was on the old girl I had to do stealth mode and just wait him out. Finally caught him again a minute later, but he would not behave, and I ended up actually getting off Kaila to deal with him.
I was quite ticked at him by this point, because he was being unreasonably bad for no reason, so yes, I'll admit it, he got the leadrope across his hiney a couple of times. But! So you all don't think I'm horrible, it did the trick because he then walked very nicely beside me the entire way home. Since I was bareback I could not get back on, so was stuck leading him home. He did walk very nicely beside me, no pulling and no jogging (maybe the death glare I was giving him clued him in on how mad I was at him). (And I love Kaila, because I left the reins over her neck, and she walked herself home. At one point she got ahead of us a bit, but still walked along the edge of the road right into the yard. Yay for good old girls!)
When we got home, I used the mounting block and got back on Kaila and ponied Nova around the yard for a minute... Of course, he was perfect. Ugh! Next time I go out, I'll be taking a saddle and using a rope halter.
So, he got to stand tied to the hitching rail for the next hour, in which he did just fantastic. I cannot complain, because he stood just wonderfully. After that Matthew arrived, and we grabbed Rhythm, the lunge whip, and a video camera and went down to the arena. On the way there, Nova walked beside me very nicely. The two of them got to enjoy a nice romp (and roll) in the fluffy snow and good footing in the arena. I think he had some fun, he even bucked! After 15 minutes or so, we headed back home and he finally got to go back into the pasture!
Whew! That was a long one. But I just have to say that while he did behave uncharacteristically bad for him, we did end on a very positive note! He just had a little too much energy to burn today, I think.
We started it off today with a bang... Or should I say a tarp? Yeah, the tarp is more accurate. On a different forum it was mentioned about desensitizing youngsters to many different things - and what better to do with Nova when it's cold and frozen out? So today was the first day: the tarp.
If you recall, back in September of '06 I took Nova to a clinic, where he had to walk over a blue tarp with branches on it. Which he only looked at briefly before trusting me to go across. Well, today was no different. He walked right up, eyed it, pawed at it, and then delicately walked across. Well... That was boring. The second time across he paused and gave me some passive resistance (pawing at it), but with encouragement he moved easily across it. We proceeded with that a few more times before moving on.
I then picked up a section of the tarp off the ground, and let him sniff it, and I wiggled it around, dragged it across the ground (beside and infront of him) while we walked... During which, he was not scared, merely just curious.
So, trying my luck, I then put part of the tarp up beside his neck and rubbed him, then put it over his withers and held it. He did move around, but did soon settle down and let me do it again on the other side. Matthew then folded up the tarp for me, and I did the same thing again, and he was more relaxed. He was still not totally, but he also wasn't trying to escape it either. To finish, I put the tarp back on the ground and had him walk over it one last time.
I'd like to have him more relaxed with it all, so I will be doing this again with him. Maybe soon I can have pictures of him with the tarp over him like a tent. Just maybe. (:
And proof that he does indeed let you touch him with a tarp!
January 13, 2008
The weather was gorgeous today! So of course, we had to go for a ride. And Nova got ponied again today.
He did quite good - as usual! Started off quite spunky and didn't want to walk beside Kaila (kept trying to jog ahead). But also as usual, after 5-10 minutes he did settle down and walked nicely.
In Spring Hills today (the mini's didn't come to say 'hi', darn) Mom took him and ponied him off of Rhythm for a little ways. And they went for a nice trot (which is a first for Nova, as Kaila doesn't trot anymore). After he figured out that he was supposed to go with Rhythm (and not drag behind) he trotted out nicely with her (alas, I had to watch from a distance because of Kaila). After the trot I expected him to be a bit worked up, but instead he actually started to drag behind a bit. Not horribly, and if Rhythm walked behind him he'd jog back up beside Kaila.
On our way back through the Village we decided to play it risky and went past the skating arena where people were shooting pucks. I wasn't too worried, because Kaila could care less about the noise of the pucks hitting the boards, so I figured Nova would do alright. And, I was right! He hardly got nervous (did get a bit chargey, but not bad) but settled down almost as soon as we were past.
After we were back I tied him up, brushed him down (found a few itchy spots) but didn't have to do much because he was hardly sweaty at all. I also picked up his feet. He only fussed a bit with one hind leg, and otherwise was pretty good.
January 14, 2008
Two big days in a row for Nova! Woooo.
Bright and early this morning (okay... after 9am) we had our wonderful horse chiropractor (Dr. Rod) come out and work on the horses. Nova got his first adjustment, and I was happy with how well he behaved. Though, after my TB mare, Dawn, it doesn't take much to please me. When Dr. Rod was checking him out to see what appeared to be out, he did move around a little, but I think most of that was confusion as to why Dr. Rod was pushing on his neck. When we put him beside the stool to adjust his lower back he stood pretty well, only moving his hiney away a couple times (pretty good considering this was the first time anyone's hovered over him and pushed around on his back). He also does appear to be scared in any from that, because he proceeded to follow us around the pasture as we worked on the other two. Poking his head over Rhythm's back to sniff Dr. Rod's fingers, and also being VERY curious over his stool. Of course, he had to paw at it once and attempt to tangle his foot in it and then spooked... But then came right back over and sniffed it again. Such a goof.
And in the afternoon the farrier came out to do their feet. Nova was first one up and behaved quite nicely. Wasn't fussy about his feet at all, except one front one when Rod was trying to rasp it (for which he got a light bonk on the nose which smartened him up). After that he stood wonderfully and I think I can say he was the best he's ever been. Of course, as you know, it's not like he was a monster before! And today Rod complimented Nova's feet by saying that they are very healthy and perfectly shaped! Yay!
January 23, 2008
I'm almost ashamed to post this, as my normally wonderfully little guy had a really bad day today! Can we say... TERRIBLE TWO'S? Ugh.
First, I didn't post this because I sort of forgot, but late last week we went for a short bareback ride, and Mom ponied Nova instead of me. And he was horrible for her. I had just put it down to her being a different handler and the fact that it was dark out (the other two horses are used to going out in the dark and are relaxed). Anyway, Mom said he kept trying to bite Kaila and shove her over into the ditch (which I admit, he tries to do sometimes with me if he can get far enough ahead), and he would not settle down to walk for most of the ride.
So, now fast forward to today, when it was again nice out (and not windy), and I decided to take the two of them for a ride. It started off interesting, with Nova attempting to take off when we reached the end of the driveway, but I managed to hold on to him and a moment later we were back on our way. He settled down and we walked nicely for oh... 3 minutes before he once again tried to take off like a bullet away from me (thankfully he waited until after the cop car had passed) and we repeated what had happened at the end of the driveway. He got pretty excited and I had to get a bit forceful to get him to walk, but after a few minutes he did once again settle down. And he then walked like an absolute champ for... 5 minutes this time before he got excited again, but not as bad as before. A few minutes after that he once again bolted and this time managed to get the lead rope away from me. Thankfully he didn't take off, really, and just trotted down the road a ways (yay for not very busy roads) and because I was on the old girl I had to do stealth mode and just wait him out. Finally caught him again a minute later, but he would not behave, and I ended up actually getting off Kaila to deal with him.
I was quite ticked at him by this point, because he was being unreasonably bad for no reason, so yes, I'll admit it, he got the leadrope across his hiney a couple of times. But! So you all don't think I'm horrible, it did the trick because he then walked very nicely beside me the entire way home. Since I was bareback I could not get back on, so was stuck leading him home. He did walk very nicely beside me, no pulling and no jogging (maybe the death glare I was giving him clued him in on how mad I was at him). (And I love Kaila, because I left the reins over her neck, and she walked herself home. At one point she got ahead of us a bit, but still walked along the edge of the road right into the yard. Yay for good old girls!)
When we got home, I used the mounting block and got back on Kaila and ponied Nova around the yard for a minute... Of course, he was perfect. Ugh! Next time I go out, I'll be taking a saddle and using a rope halter.
So, he got to stand tied to the hitching rail for the next hour, in which he did just fantastic. I cannot complain, because he stood just wonderfully. After that Matthew arrived, and we grabbed Rhythm, the lunge whip, and a video camera and went down to the arena. On the way there, Nova walked beside me very nicely. The two of them got to enjoy a nice romp (and roll) in the fluffy snow and good footing in the arena. I think he had some fun, he even bucked! After 15 minutes or so, we headed back home and he finally got to go back into the pasture!
Whew! That was a long one. But I just have to say that while he did behave uncharacteristically bad for him, we did end on a very positive note! He just had a little too much energy to burn today, I think.
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