Good ride today

Well I did learn something.....the web halters really are "creek halters" (as in the only thing that should be done with them is toss them in the creek) I tried using my web halter and boy was it easy for her to pull and ignore and drag me around the arena....

Back to the rope halter tommorrow!

We had a good work today, walk, trot and canter with contact on both reins, she was softer on two reins then she's ever been and the lateral flexion is much much better. We did a LOT of left lead canter today and she did pretty good, tried to break a few times but the gas pedal is getting there at long last.

Am bidding on a month of training at Rooker's on the Ablack horse auctions....go check em out there are tons of great items and it benefits our breed!

www.ablackhorse.com

Belle after her bath today:

I really wish I'd had the camera on me!!

Joe and I went to the barn on a BEAUTIFUL Sunday morning....low humidity, in the 70s, just perfect riding weather! Joe spent a good amount of time grooming Belle, I attended to her mane and tail as that is my specialty (read I don't yank her mane out lol)...we tacked her up and went to the indoor to start...(3 days off and a major weather change...I didn't want to take any chances as weekends are Joe's riding time lol)

Joe did some Longing for respect stage one with her and she did well....he needs to practice his cues for disengaging the hindquarter a little more but really he is doing so awesome!

I've been giving him riding lessons once or twice a weekend for the past month, month and a half and he's developed a very nice posting trot, can do a one rein stop effectively and is getting more balanced in his seat. So today was the biggie....after about 15 minutes of trotting on a loose rein I asked him if he would like to try the canter?

Joe said yes and he did REALLY outstandingly well! At first of course he felt fast and out of control but I showed him how he could instantly shut Belle down with a one rein stop anytime he felt unbalanced and that helped boost his confidence!

To finish our lesson we went outside were Dr. Shannon and Lori were riding in the sunny outdoor arena. I was the only one NOT on a horse but that was ok LOL...!

So after that Bee got a nice hose off and back out to the fatty pen, where she now lives with ummm the plumper members of the Saddle Creek gang! lol.

All in all a GREAT day and my husband is very very excited about horseback riding now lol


Robin

Sleazy Hot..

It's been so nasty the last two days that Belle has had time off. I am going to the barn tommorrow so will have detailed updates then!

Because of that I added some more photos from our little fake photo shoot at the farm! Enjoy :)


Happy Trails, Robin

Urgh...very bad..haven't blogged in awhile!

Ok..no excuses except I have been one lazy lady!!

Things are going very well with our girl! We've been at Saddle Creek Farm for a year now, hard to believe! And I must say the horse I thought needed a stalled life has surprised me.....she is sooo happy as a 24/7 outdoors horse it is really really cool! Even in the winter with MI's snow and ice she wasn't cranky or mad about it!

Although I think she and the 19 year old Standardbred gelding Buddy aren't really getting along too famously lately....the last three days she has picked up boo boo after boo boo! Egads!
Ah well I am sure they'll sort it out!

Riding is going very well, especially since I really recommited to using Clinton Anderson's techniques! I never used to feel comfortable at the canter, never never until this week, when I finally did a Cruising lesson at the canter! Now I'm becoming a cantering fool, much to Belle's chagrin! Lazy horses would just so love their owner's to never think about moving forward LOL.

Today I would have worked longer but a huge and nasty thunderstorm blew up and I am a real chicken about thunderstorms! I managed to get Belle all set and back with her buddies before it hit...yikes! So tommorrow I will go again to ride so we can move forward in our training.

Another couple of days in the indoor and I'll be ready to ride outdoors. I've got her flexing pretty good right now and before I got off she was instantly shutting down to a stop when I sat in the saddle and said "Whoa" Also moving off a squeeze instead of waiting for the cluck to walk...I can't wait till she does that at trot and canter too!

We ARE finally ramping up plans to breed Belle next year, I know I know, high time, right? But we are concientious and careful owners and only when we were certain it was feasible would we go through doing that. Can't wait to be a nervous grandma for Baby Belle in 2009..won't that be a trip? lol.



Happy trails!


Robin in MI