Fri Jan 20, 2006
Yep, another Ladies' Riding Lesson last night at the barn!! We had a bigger crowd this time, it's getting funner and funner! 4 QHs, a Paint, and Quzqo!
There's this new boarder with a HUGE black and white pinto Draft cross, about the same size and attitude as the Shire/Paint cross. That woman is annoying the hell out of me AND my horse; she gets on that 18hh monster, and proceeds to BOMB AROUND the arena at either a fast trot, canter, or hand gallop! Git outta de way!! The thing breaths loud when it's running, the ground vibrates from its hooves...sounds like a steam locomotive coming after ya! I was riding Quzqo at a trot along the rail and that fool thing came pounding up behind us, Quzqo paused in mid-stride to KICK at the thing, BWAHAHAA! He missed, but I thought it was funny and I hoped the rider would make an effort to keep away in the future...she didn't. So it's now a constant challenge to try to stay on the opposite side of the arena at all times, *sigh*. One disadvantage to riding a short horse...that feeling of being run over!
Anyhoo, last night's lesson involved bending and circles, one of the exercises we do is a "drill team" with half the class riding one direction, the other half riding the opposite, and trying to get the horses to keep up with their "partner" across the way and to cross perfectly at the ends. It was a nightmare last time because I was paired with a lady on a young QH that walked very fast compared to Quzqo's foot-dragging shuffle, but at the trot, her QH would jog daintily and Quzqo would float around at twice the speed, LOL. But tonight we were paired with my friend with her Paint mare, and they managed to get in sync with us pretty well!
Learned a bit, including the importance of maintaining a look of "arrogance" in the show ring to show the judge that you're in control and on top of the situation no matter what, LOL! I wonder if that'll work at a model horse show...Happy to say I got that down pat...it's easy to look arrogant while astride a gorgeous Horse of the Pharoahs, ha, right!
Course you'll recall last class we had the big Back-up issue. Well, he started that goofiness last night as well, BUT since I'd been working with him over the past 2 weeks, and Coos is a smart little cookie, by the end of the lesson I actually got him to back up a couple of steps WITH HIS HEAD DOWN! He's getting there...I'd say this $20/lesson business is just what we needed to get unstuck.
Just had his normal Dee-ring snaffle, no noseband. Even got him backing up with barely any leg pressure. He can do it!
I'd say everybody in the class is an experienced horsewomen, but everyone's got basically green horses. So it's no pressure to do perfect...one horse can lope a cute little circle, but another one can do a lovely floaty trot, while another can back like a pro. We learn from watching each other. Nice!
LOL...before the class, I was leading Himself out to the arena, paused to snug up the girth...the little nutburger immediately raised his left foreleg and held it! He thought we were going to do clicker training!! He wanted a treat!! LOL!!! One of the other ladies was alarmed and wanted to know what was wrong with him! Why's he doing that? Is he lame???? BWAHAHAA! No, just a goober! So I showed her how I've trained him to raise that leg when you tap the cannon bone...which came REAL handy later when I was picking out his feets. I think I'll teach him to raise the right foreleg too. Saw a guy on RFD-TV teaching a mule to pick up its feets, so, why not.
Hey, Quzqo is SHEDDING! Hooray! Spring is coming!!!
I'm curious to see how much of what we learned last night has stuck with him tomorrow.
Oh, and remember the young girl whose mare died last week? Apparently she's been test-driving the trainer's horse, that she got from my Farrier...a BIG ole' bulldoggy chestnut Paint (minimal overo). That's nice, he's a great horse and does okay at the shows too. Only thing that can fill a horse-sized hole in your heart is another horse, that's for sure.
Yep, another Ladies' Riding Lesson last night at the barn!! We had a bigger crowd this time, it's getting funner and funner! 4 QHs, a Paint, and Quzqo!
There's this new boarder with a HUGE black and white pinto Draft cross, about the same size and attitude as the Shire/Paint cross. That woman is annoying the hell out of me AND my horse; she gets on that 18hh monster, and proceeds to BOMB AROUND the arena at either a fast trot, canter, or hand gallop! Git outta de way!! The thing breaths loud when it's running, the ground vibrates from its hooves...sounds like a steam locomotive coming after ya! I was riding Quzqo at a trot along the rail and that fool thing came pounding up behind us, Quzqo paused in mid-stride to KICK at the thing, BWAHAHAA! He missed, but I thought it was funny and I hoped the rider would make an effort to keep away in the future...she didn't. So it's now a constant challenge to try to stay on the opposite side of the arena at all times, *sigh*. One disadvantage to riding a short horse...that feeling of being run over!
Anyhoo, last night's lesson involved bending and circles, one of the exercises we do is a "drill team" with half the class riding one direction, the other half riding the opposite, and trying to get the horses to keep up with their "partner" across the way and to cross perfectly at the ends. It was a nightmare last time because I was paired with a lady on a young QH that walked very fast compared to Quzqo's foot-dragging shuffle, but at the trot, her QH would jog daintily and Quzqo would float around at twice the speed, LOL. But tonight we were paired with my friend with her Paint mare, and they managed to get in sync with us pretty well!
Learned a bit, including the importance of maintaining a look of "arrogance" in the show ring to show the judge that you're in control and on top of the situation no matter what, LOL! I wonder if that'll work at a model horse show...Happy to say I got that down pat...it's easy to look arrogant while astride a gorgeous Horse of the Pharoahs, ha, right!
Course you'll recall last class we had the big Back-up issue. Well, he started that goofiness last night as well, BUT since I'd been working with him over the past 2 weeks, and Coos is a smart little cookie, by the end of the lesson I actually got him to back up a couple of steps WITH HIS HEAD DOWN! He's getting there...I'd say this $20/lesson business is just what we needed to get unstuck.
Just had his normal Dee-ring snaffle, no noseband. Even got him backing up with barely any leg pressure. He can do it!
I'd say everybody in the class is an experienced horsewomen, but everyone's got basically green horses. So it's no pressure to do perfect...one horse can lope a cute little circle, but another one can do a lovely floaty trot, while another can back like a pro. We learn from watching each other. Nice!
LOL...before the class, I was leading Himself out to the arena, paused to snug up the girth...the little nutburger immediately raised his left foreleg and held it! He thought we were going to do clicker training!! He wanted a treat!! LOL!!! One of the other ladies was alarmed and wanted to know what was wrong with him! Why's he doing that? Is he lame???? BWAHAHAA! No, just a goober! So I showed her how I've trained him to raise that leg when you tap the cannon bone...which came REAL handy later when I was picking out his feets. I think I'll teach him to raise the right foreleg too. Saw a guy on RFD-TV teaching a mule to pick up its feets, so, why not.
Hey, Quzqo is SHEDDING! Hooray! Spring is coming!!!
I'm curious to see how much of what we learned last night has stuck with him tomorrow.
Oh, and remember the young girl whose mare died last week? Apparently she's been test-driving the trainer's horse, that she got from my Farrier...a BIG ole' bulldoggy chestnut Paint (minimal overo). That's nice, he's a great horse and does okay at the shows too. Only thing that can fill a horse-sized hole in your heart is another horse, that's for sure.
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