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Wednesday, July 8, 2015

drowned rats (and progressions)

Our lesson at OF this week wasn't much to write home about... tho here I am writing about it anyway so... uh, I guess it wasn't too bad? It was POURING out tho - so much rain omg. We really can't seem to escape it... tho at least OF has an indoor so for once we didn't have to buck up and ride in the rain.


soaked mare is soaked.
The horses didn't really seem to care one way or another, and both Isabel AND Wick were happily out grazing in the onslaught rather than chilling in the run-ins like civilized horses. Maybe they've grown so accustomed to the rain that they don't even notice any more?


she was NOT amused when i tried to towel off her face lol
Isabel had a fairly busy work week, actually - another one of those weeks where the stars align and we take a zillion lessons. Her flat work was great (as described yesterday) but the jumping was kinda meh - like the earlier lesson with Dan. Plus I think riding in the indoor backs her off a little bit. So it didn't really feel like she was taking me to the fences.


isabel is ambivalent about the lesson
So I compensated by over riding with my upper body (another nasty habit that needs attention) and we kinda whiffed it into the two-stride outside line a few times, and almost ATE the stacked cavalleti (visible in the pic above) once when I just stared straight at the ground instead of actually, ya know, doing anything.


no more lesson pics so enjoy this shot of Findley Taco capitalizing on the freshly cleaned blanket pile
Mostly trainer P just wanted me to keep on doing what I was doing (except for the busy upper body bit, she didn't like that!) and expect Isabel to make her own adjustments rather than try and do it for the horse. Isabel mostly got it done, but like I said - nothing really super inspiring.


nothing like clean laundry to inspire bliss in the kitties!
Really the coolest part of the lesson was watching B & Wick. B was fresh back from a tropical vacation (poor thing!) and hadn't been to the lesson in a little while and missed the last two events (Tranquility and Fair Hill). So she was super eager to get back into it, and Wick absolutely rose to the occasion. Man this horse has seriously figured it out and LOVES to jump. 


this was one of his first jumping lessons last winter
Honestly I wish we had gotten video bc they looked amazing. Hunting the fences, moving up nicely to them, adjusting his stride so that they hit the perfect distance every time, or making good decisions if things were a little iffy.


starting to figure it out, but still more comfortable trotting fences
I don't really have enough material to do a full progression post on Wick since I don't have anything current (updated: see gif below!). But these gifs are from the winter when B first started jump lessons with him. You can see that he has a lot of try and he's super honest, but the technique and education really weren't there yet. 

freeeeeeeeee jumping!

We free jumped him this spring and that went a long way towards helping him understand how to use his body. But really B has just done such an excellent job bringing him along. It'll be exciting to see where they go - very likely with a move up to BN on the horizon!

look how good he's doing!

20 comments:

  1. I can't get Twister to free jump! I'm jealous! Also, we are drown rats here too! My break from riding couldn't have come at a better time lol

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    1. haha isabel wouldn't play along either - she just galloped around like a moron. we started really slowly with Wick, with actual ground poles that only went up higher when he figured it out. luckily he figured it out pretty quickly - dancing on the end of the line and blasting off as soon as B would let him go through the chute. i think he had fun!

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  2. wooo wick!! cant wait for their next event.

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    1. haha seriously!! now we just need to find something that'll work :)

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  3. Wick looks fabulous! Can't wait to see him in action at an event!

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    1. meeee tooo!!! seems like this is a tough time to schedule stuff tho, as all the fun upcoming things are recogni$ed.... we'll see tho!

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  4. Haha! She looks so pissed in that one picture! Wick looks like a really cool horse!

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    1. omg she certainly never holds back with her expressions! and yea Wick is really really neat

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  5. Oh wow, lovely free jumping picture!
    I so agree with you on the indoor theory. Paloma always goes on 10ft stride inside and I jump ahead or get too micro managey knowing things don't feel right.... just not knowing what. lol.
    Is does not look pleased with her wetness.... haha

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    1. the indoor problem definitely seems to be a struggle - tho it might be just that particular indoor since it's so small (20x40m). oh well, mare's just gonna have to suck it up!

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  6. Not gonna lie--a little jealous of your rain. I miss rain.

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    1. yea i guess i shouldn't really complain too much about it... even if it does bring along a whole host of unwelcome fungus (ew)

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  7. Send us some of your rain! Wick looks great, what a huge change in him from the beginning. And yah I hear you on backing off in an indoor, the smaller the space, the more constricted both of my horses would get. Which made Rico really fun to ride in an actual dressage court because it felt huge in comparison to my small court at home!

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    1. haha i would share the rain if i could!! and that's an interesting point about how you could use training in the small space to your advantage

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  8. Oh dear, that's a very soggy horse. Love the cute kitty on top of the blankets. Glad you had a good lesson!

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    1. lol soggy is the perfect word for it!! we still had fun tho :)

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  9. aww, soaked mare reminds me of my doggie when she gets soaked - when her fur gets wet she appears to shrink!
    Wick is so cute. What wonderful progress in a wonderful horse!

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    1. lol right? tho even her shrunken appearance can't tame that imposing side eye!! and yea Wick is really the coolest - i'm so excited to see where they go!

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  10. I was a soaked rat yesterday. Darn rain

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    1. booo rain! i mean, i guess i'd rather have it than not, but really when is enough enough?

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