Ready for lesson #2

Well fortunately the weather held up for a weeks worth of hard work right after our first lesson. Romeo is a quick learner... much quicker then I am!!! Rhythm is coming along well for both of us and Romeo is starting search for contact. It's so much fun to see just how much we have improved in the last 6 months. I am hoping that we can get another lesson real soon, although the next week looks like a nasty, no-riding, week:-/ Also roomie and I have some major spring projects planned that we have to get started on soon which will take away from our riding time.

Romeo's first lesson

Thursday evening roomie and I loaded up Romeo, Ria, and Jo and drove south for 2 hours. Roomie is good friends with trainer M so we stay at her house that night. Friday morning we all got up and fed the farm and had a leisurely morning talking about horses of course, lol.

Mid-morning roomie saddled up miss priss for the first lesson of the day. We had the video camera, but only 30 min of tape... for 3 lessons:-/ So we had to be very selective with taping the lessons. I taped the first part of the lesson and the last part. M is great at stopping and waiting for the camera to start rolling before launching into an explanation of an exercise. Since we really had no time frame the lessons went on till horse and rider were both tired... M is A-Mazing!!!! Roomie and Ria had a fantastic lesson, roomie was told that Ria is no longer a green horse (i've been telling her that) and she needs to stop riding her like one. Time to step up and have more expectations from her.

Next up were Romeo and I..... my first "official" lesson in a looooong time and Romeo's first ever lesson:-o I was a little nervous. I had no idea what to expect from him. He really is a calm traveler, and I can def tell he is starting to grow up a bit. At times he even acts like a steady QH and not like some crazy Thoroughbred (which he is not!) But he is 90% of the time hot under saddle. I got him saddled and let M know i was going to go lunge him for a bit before the lesson. Roomie and M made there way out to the arena shortly after and M took over.

I have only had a few lunging lessons and so I have never been extremely confident with it, so I was grateful for the advice. I too was told to treat my horse different;y. I've been treating him more like a baby but since he is almost 7 I need to realize that he is ready for hard work. M gave me some great exercises to turn this into a pivotal part of our training. 30 minutes later he was hot and sweaty and ready for riding... have I mentioned that it is was January and 60 degrees out?? Today is the first of February and freezing!! Arkansas has crazy weather!!

So I got on and it's amazing what that 30 min of lunging did... it was like riding a different horse. He was focused and ready to work. We didn't work on much, but the little things that we did work on have helped us tremendously. She gave me some great tips on encouraging correct flexion and listening to the leg aids. She worked on my position which with the inconsistent riding I had slipped into some old habits. Although some bad habits came back some are, hopefully, gone for good. She said I had great hands... wait, what??? Me, good hands??? Roomie and I had to pause and laugh, after all that is what a previous trainer said was horrible and "un-fixable".... I like to prove people wrong, lol!! She also said I had a great seat with good follow. Our walk work was really good.

The latter part of the lesson we did some trot work, now hands aren't quite as good as they are at the walk but they are getting there. Still have trouble consistently posting through the hands and out the knee. We worked on rhythm and more rhythm and more rhythm. Lol, the first layer of the dressage foundation. Towards the end M said, "quiet your brain!" That was it... it clicked and we slowed down, finally settling into a decent rhythm. Roomie said the trot at the end of the lesson was amazing and I got lots of great comments from M on his wonderful movement. Who says QH can't have great movement??? (lol I did before meeting Romeo)

2 hours later and both horse and rider dripping in sweat we headed back to the barn. Then we went to lunch and back for the last lesson. Roomie and Jo had an alright lesson. Jo acted up for most of it so she was pretty frustrated with him. M worked on her position a whole lot in both lessons so she still got a lot out of it.

The good news is that the last 4 days have been perfect riding weather so lesson on Friday followed by rides Sat, Sun and Mon. Romeo and I are doing fantastic!!!! Although I think we will need another lesson soon. He learns so quickly and I know so little about what to do next. With the new lunging exercises we usually end up working for at least an hour and a half. It feels great to accomplish so much in such a short amount of time. I think we will def be ready for a show come June. Maybe even a training level test at the end of the season:-)

Bad news is winter is back.... it has poured all day and the temperature is currently dropping fast:-/ Looks like no riding for the rest of the week.

So true... so funny

Since the last two weeks have been snowy, yucky, frozen, muddy, and wet there has been a lot of sit around the house and mope evenings. We actually got on Ria and JB the other night, for about 15 min and just walked around, nothing exciting but boy did it feel great to get in the saddle!!! Afterwards we went inside and roomie's sister came over and we enjoyed a Black Stallion marathon:-) watched the first and second back to back. So much fun!! None of us had seen them in quite awhile. Brought back so many good childhood memories!!!

Roomie found this and I just had to share.....

News Flash

Urgent Notice:

Potential Danger of Horse Hair

This is a public service announcement....

In a press release today, the National Institute of Health has announced the discovery of potentially dangerous substance in the hair of horses. This substance, called "amobacter equui" has been linked to the following symptoms in females:

Reluctance to cook, clean or do housework.

Reluctance to wear make-up, good clothes, or heels.

Reluctance to spend money on home or car repairs until after "baby has new boots, pad, blanket, tack, grain, hay & supplements".

"Amobacter equui" usually results in long hours away from home and exhaustion which may lead to loss of physical contact with people (especially husbands). 

"Amobacter equui" is thought to be addictive, driving the need for additional sources- this may lead to a "herd mentality" or like the potato chip commercial , "you can't have just one".

Beware! If you come in contact with a female human infected by this substances, be prepared to talk about horses for hours.

Surgeon General Warning: Horses can be expensive, addictive, and may impair the ability to use common sense.

Is it summer yet???

Ok so I am really not a summer time person, maybe I would be if I lived somewhere where the temp stayed below 90 and had zero humidity. However, for the first time I am experiencing some serious winter-time blues.

I can think of a few reasons as to why I am having the blues.

First off, having your babies in your backyard makes a HUGE difference. You can't forget about them when your the one in charge of feeding twice a day, There is something about those big eyes, floppy ears and soft noses that just make your heart melt every time :) Oh and that sweet nicker I get every time my bestie see's me headed her way with a steamy bucket of beat pulp.... simply irresistible!!!

Second is that at the present time, which could change any day, I actually have most evenings free, and it is downright depressing that the ground is far too wet to even think about riding.

Third, the view from the kitchen sink is the arena, (insert happy sigh and pause just to relish in the moment). I am seriously about to go and get blinds for the window because every time I look out it I get so sad because all it is right now is a muddy mess.

Fourth reason for the blues is that I have a horsey roommate, and she has been torturing me with all these riding videos. I think the videos would be great if I could actually get out there and put them to practice!!! But right now all I'm doing is saying, hey I need to try that, and oh that is a great exercise for my young horse, seriously..... it's quite depressing.

So as of today I am ready for daylight savings to get here so that when I get home from work it is still light outside. I am also tired of feeding enormous amounts of beat pulp just to keep the weight on, and spending money on hay, so I think it's time for the grass to grow. And as you can tell I am so over the wet ground, I mean the snow has been pretty and all but this is Arkansas and we've already had 2 snowfalls.... what???? Snow doesn't usually come, if at all, in February. I really hope this doesn't mean that riding is out of the question for anther month.......ugh :-|

The horses of the Flying Solo

So I was reading a blog and found one way to keep the arena rid-able this winter.

I showed it to my roomie and she laughed, "It looks like a giant mid-night slip and slid."

Hahahaha..... it so does!!!

I now think it is time, actually overdue for me to introduce you to the horses of the Flying Solo.

So let's begin.... First off is JB. He is the resident schoolmaster. This guy actually broke his hip and is on his way to complete recovery. When I first came to live here, JB had a pretty noticeable limp in that left hip, (understandable) , but was cleared for riding. Since I needed some serious help with my riding position this guy stepped up to the plate and now with consistent riding the guy is moving great!! His 2011 goal is to continue to improve his gaits and since he has been doing so well we think he might actually get back to some light jumping again!!!

Next up is Gator.... and boy do these pics fit him perfectly!!! He is the official barn clown, dramatic, into everything, mischievous as they come, and the youngest on the place. He is definitely the odd ball out here. AQHA and built like a tank, not all dressage horse material, and I can't see him getting his big butt off the ground to jump. Roomie bought him for reining??? Isn't that some sport the requires that weird saddle with a horn on it?? Hmmmm..... good luck with that roomie!!

Now for the Flying Solo future star... meet Jo. He is the roomie's prize possession ... and pics do not do this guy justice. He is half Andy (both of us adore the amazing breed and dream of owning riding a PRE someday). He is will be showing training level but is training level one. A complete ham and loves people, but watch out cuz this guy has a mind of his own and knows he is the fav (of roomie that is).

(pause for trumpets blaring royal music) This is Ria, and she is a princess, well she actually thinks she is a queen and has Jo and Gator convinced that she is. This is really not a great pic of her but it was the only one I could fine (working on getting some pics of these guys that might do them justice). She is 3/4 Andy and the cutest thing you will ever meet. She is still a youngin' but doing wonderfully in her schooling. 

The last one that belongs to my roomie has no pics... :-/ but he was the oldest resident until my lovely mare came along. He has lots of aches and pains so he is officially retired and lives in the big pasture teaching my young one a thing or two about respecting his elders, lol.


Of course you already know my two but what mom skips a perfect opportunity to brag on her children?? So here is my bestie. And for the record... she doesn't think she is a queen.... she knows she is a queen. Hence the reason for keeping her and Ria in separate pastures, no need to bust the young girls heart ;-)

And last, but certainly not the least.... my Romeo. Love these ridiculous pictures of him, lol. He actually likes the braids and is great at keeping them in. I know come show season that... sigh... the long blond locks will need (may not happen) shorten :-( And the last one just makes me laugh, the darn animal is almost impossible to get decent pictures of because he is such a nosy guy, loves to be right next to me all the time, not that I'm complaining, plus it shows off his muddy coat that he is soooo proud of!!

So there you have it, the horses of the Flying Solo!!

Winter blues

Well it is officially winter here in Arkansas.

That doesn't necessarily mean it is cold.... but wet. Very, very, very wet. I mean the you-have-to-have-scuba-gear-just-to-feed-your-horses kind of wet.

The pasture is a lake.

The arena... well... what arena?? It's more like a big, huge, and expensive mud hole.

So, sadly this means no riding. I've been averaging about one ride per week)-:

My lovely young horse is not getting much attention and he sure is sad about it. We put up a round pen so I try to get out and work him a few times a week on ground manners. But the past two weeks have been to wet to even do that.

My roommate is dating a guy who has been an athletic trainer before and came in last night with an slightly disturbing announcement. We are starting a new daily routine, working out. I just stared at her.... looked around to see if someone else was there, because I know she is not talking to me... lol. The only working out I do is riding.... sigh... not anymore.

I know its a good thing.... but I don't really have any motivation to work out. Roomie said to look at it as training so that when February comes I'll be in great riding shape. Then she added so that I can ride Romeo training level in the March show... hahaha.... me and Romeo show training level??? I'm not even sure we can do intro at the March show. I told her I was aiming for May. Now JB and I could do training level in March. Romeo and I are still working on flexing and rhythm. We still have a long way to go, especially if we are unable to ride very much over the next 2-3 months.

So, tomorrow begins the 30 day challenge. She knows the only way to get me to do this is to appeal to my competitive side. 

It's not a huge challenge... we only have to do something for 20 minutes. It can be riding, walking, or an exercise video. The goal is to make it a point to exercise everyday, then come January we will get more specific. My guess is trainer man is making us a workout schedule./-:

I love winter and cold weather but I am ready for it to not be so wet. Although I will take wet over horridly-hot-as-hell weather any day!

Yes I am still riding, just not writing lately

Sooooo.... I have been a terrible blogger over here. Not so terrible on my other blog but non-existent over here.

Sorry!!

So much to tell...... so little time.

I have been riding my roomies horse JB for the last month. Pretty much stopped riding mine. A much needed break and training time.

My roommate is an excellent teacher and JB is a terrific school master. He has been helping me develop my seat which was terrible. Also working on my hard hands learning not to ride with them.

It's amazing what happens when you have a good teacher... one is seeks to find the source of the problem not just fix all the results of that problem. I have taken lessons forever and it has very much puzzled me why my seat was so bad and how come I was riding so terribly. After weeks of teaching me and many conversations roomie and I have come to some conclusions.

First is that the trainer I have been riding with since I was little had evolved a whole lot in the lst few years (years I have not been taking lessons). When I was taking lessons as child they were a jumper barn turning dressage so the type of seat they were teaching was much different.

2nd is that unfortunately the trainers I have had always addressed my hard hands but never my seat. They did several adjustments with my leg placement to try to "fix" my hands when all this time it has been a seat issue. Thankfully my roommate has different training and is very "seat aware" she knew the first place to go was to my seat. And guess what??? I know have quieter hands and quieter legs!!! Who knew!!!!

What frustrates me is that it has taken this long to find someone who was knowledgeable and willing to find the route of the issue.

I have always had the drive to ride and compete in the sport of dressage but have always been written off as a hard rider... no natural ability.... there's no way she can learn this.

It hurts to here that these things that were said because I am a very teachable person who has always taken riding and caring for my horses seriously.

My roommate is also confused by these things because it hasn't been very long since she started teaching me.... and folks she has spent 2 evenings in that last 2 months giving me pointers (not lessons). She will tell you and tells me often that my improvement is outstanding!!! I take what she says and think on it and work on it till I get my brain and my body to do it.

My seat is sooooooo much better and I feel so much more secure on a horse. I have seen such an improvement in the way my own 2 horses respond too.

I can't wait to see where Romeo and I are come spring and can't wait to get in that show ring and prove to everyone that I have what it takes... and a stinking awesome horse to boot!!!!!