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Thursday, August 11, 2016

the little monster is growing on me

And by "little monster" I obviously mean the notorious Krimpet. And by "growing" ... well, she's not exactly getting any bigger haha. But I'm actually a little surprised by how much fun I'm having with her.

Which, well, I've been spending extra time (when possible) with her lately bc... uh... not long after my gushing post about our dressage lesson, she did her mother (my friend C) a real dirty. Naughty naughty pony. C isn't exactly one to give up easy, and she's eagerly plotting her return to the saddle (soon!). But in the meantime, Ms Krimpet and I have spent some quality time together.

she almost looks like a sweet lil thing from this angle haha
One ride was perfectly suited to entice herd-bound, easily distracted Krimpet towards naughtiness. I opted to school her in our medium-sized arena while a lesson of seven advanced students cantered and jumped around. It was very hard for Ms Thing bc she really just wanted to go where the other horses were. And she threw a little bit of sass into things like picking up the left lead. Not quiiiiiiite a buck - but definitely a threat in that direction.

Mostly tho she was pretty good. Never got really soft or straight-ish like she had in our dressage lesson. But never truly abysmally bad either. Plus we took the opportunity to pop over our first little cross rails together. I wasn't entirely sure which of us worked harder when it was all said and done, but it felt like a maybe some progress was made for the pony?

widdle ponykins!!!
I opted to hop on again earlier this week for another school - this time with only two other riders in the arena. That probably made it a bit easier for the pony to focus (she really is just a babyish 5 after all) and she actually really tried in the flat work!

She honest to god started testing out the contact and looking for the answer. Not always getting it right (she got a little bit dive-y when she figured out I wanted her reaching forward for the bit) but much of that is attributable to me. I was just pleased that she was participating and trying.

I shouldn't be surprised tho - she's a very smart pony and is perhaps unusual in her desire to really truly be a good girl (despite what her extreme naughtiness might imply). This is evidenced by the fact that I can somewhat mitigate my sins of timing by lots of positive praise. Saying "good girl" at the right time works nearly as well as a properly timed release (at least for now) - so I spend a lot of time talking to and verbally encouraging her. And she listens!

she can't decide whether she feels proud or like she might keel over and die haha
I did a bit of work on simple changes of lead across the diagonal bc it seems like a real sticking point for the pony is the canter depart. Which is odd bc she's actually pretty sensitive and will happily move forward when made to. So I figured the exercise might help sharpen her up a little bit to a regular canter aid.

And then, mostly for shits and giggles, I revisited the little cross rail exercise again. It's three fences set up more or less down the center line - so you can kinda just loop around them figure-8ing and changing directions and all that fun stuff. And whadya know, this little pony was on FIRE. Moving happily forward to the fences and nailing her lead changes either over the fence or through auto changes right after. Clever thing!

krimpet vs. cole. not exxxactly the same angles, but, uh, you probably get the picture haha
While the idea of jumping anything of size on this little thing makes me feel.... not exactly warm and fuzzy, I'm actually toying with the idea of trying her out in the xc field. Just little stuff. Logs on the ground and such. She needs work out in the open (there's a looong rap sheet where that's concerned) and I somehow suspect she could be a lot of fun once she learns the game.

Or maybe I'll end up eating dirt haha. Hard to tell!

It's funny bc she's basically the exact opposite of what I've been saying I need lately: a forward-thinking, full-sized horse that's gonna take me straight up and over some big fences like nbd. But she's accessible and kinda fun, and at the end of the day I need FUN more than anything else.

43 comments:

  1. Fun is important!!! Poor cute pony - she can't help being naughty. It's in the pony handbook - the cuter you are, the badder you have to be! And she's super cute.

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    1. haha and the tinier the pony, the bigger the dressage whip i carry! ;)

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  2. Fun is super important. She's adorable!

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  3. Fun is good even if it doesn't line up with what you want. She is pretty freaking cute despite her naughtiness.

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    1. yep - she might not be my dream horse but she's available, so that's almost the same thing, right? ha (also never take my advice on dating!)

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    2. I will remember that ;)
      But it's also much much much easier to like a horse that is an asshole than it is a guy.

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    3. HA true words, my friend. true words.

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  4. Sounds like you had fun, which is important!! But that comparison photos of her and Cole 😂

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    1. omg right?!? haha i knew i had to do that comparison the moment Cole started pawing in that wash stall. too cute!

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  5. She is just SO stinkin' cute! I just love bad ponies.

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  6. If you need to sit on a forward thinking full size horse, just come visit Austin. ;)

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    1. ha you might regret ever offering that - austin happens to be high on my list of favorite cities and i do travel often for work lol ;)

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    2. Henny is always available for (approved) blogger pony rides.

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  7. What a cutie! Your so lucky to have all these cool horses to try out! Best of luck in the open fields - at least the ground isn't all that far to fall if anything interesting happens. :)

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    1. i'm definitely grateful for friends who let me play with their ponies :) tho while yes, technically the ground *is* fairly close by on this pony, she has demonstrated impressive athleticism in giving lift to her involuntarily dismounted riders.... lol

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  8. She's so ridiculously cute. Glad to hear you're having a good time with her.

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    1. omg the most ridiculous of cuteness haha. she's really sweet too! (sorta)

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  9. how did you find an EVEN SMALLER horse to ride you sillybuns

    that being said, she is so adorable. just keep in your back pocket that ponies are EVIL.

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    1. "cute" "baby" "pony" and "mare" are ALL four letter words haha, this i know. still tho, look at that little face!!!

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    2. What does it say about me that I would like at least three of those words to describe my next horse? HA! #gluttonforpunishment

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    3. i mean, some ppl are into that kind of thing ;)

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  10. I occasionally lament not being a bit shorter so I could just train ponies for a living.

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    1. i never imagined myself saying this - but i can actually see the attraction!

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  11. I just cant get over her name, its so CUTE

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  12. The smaller the pony the closer to hell.

    with that said i love her

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  13. Who cares about naughty WHEN SO CUTE?!

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  14. She is really quite stunning! Can't help but smile over the sass

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    1. agreed - but mostly bc i've been spared most of her real sass so far. honestly not sure i could stick one of her bucks - she's REALLY athletic haha!

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  15. Yes! Fun is what it's all about. Whatever makes you happy.

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  16. At least she's ADORABLE! I bet that makes forgiving her naughtiness a little easier. Congrats on all your progress with her. It sounds like she's a rewarding combination of tricky and willing.

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  17. Her blaze is actually super neat.

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  18. I want to ride ponies! She is too cute

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  19. The little mares can make the best partners, but only if they decide to!

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