Im Not Good at Sharing

Well, in some ways. I have no problem loaning things out as long as they come back in good condition and on time. I have no problem hauling with/for someone. I dont mind taking extra time to ride your horse, watch you longe it to find lameness, or any other thing you may need. But I am not good at sharing the arena.

I dont mind riding with other people. It just drives me nuts that the facility that I pay for boarding with is so busy and full of lessons all the time that when I want to ride and work on something specific I cant because the arena is overcrowded and taken over by lessons. With crappy weather on the very near horizon, I already have a glimpse of what winter training/riding is going to be like.

Yesterday it was a gloomy cloudy day out with rain the previous ride making the outdoor arena unserviceable again. Entering the arena there was one lesson and two other riders. I want to stress that I dont mind sharing the arena, it just bothers me that I cant work on things I need to work on (ie lead changes, circles, poles, etc) because I have to be paying attention to whats going on with the lesson. One minute the lesson is on the rail, than a circle, than the rail again, or changing directions. Its hard to work my horse when he and I are distracted by having to get out of the way.

Im sorry for the complaint. Yesterday was just a stark reminder of what winter has in store. It doenst help that Im at the barn at one of the busiest times of the day - every one is off work or out of school and wanting to ride.

But the ride went well. While Milo was distracted by the happenings in the arena, he still did a good job. Worked on our transitions more, rode the square, had him picking up his shoulder more through turns. I had wanted to work on roll back and lead changes but with the lessons going on it wasnt going to work. Did a little work on our turnarounds, need to revisit them as Milo is trying to turn rearward not with forward motion. He starts well on the inside hind, but about a turn later he switches to the outside. I drive him forward and back into a circle when he does but I think with a little more work it should come back.

Lastely, I have ot give myself some kudos. I have been a lot more mindful about my seat and sitting for upright and have been doing better :)

Frisky Horses

Here is the Pacific Northwest we experienced a dramatic change in weather in the course of one day. Monday was 75 degrees and sunny, Tuesday was about 55-60 degrees, cloudy, and raining. Hard on the people (I have a cold now, thank you stupid weather), and hard on the horses too. I found it rather funny however, people at the barn I board at were all freaking out trying to find their horses' winter blankets and turnout sheets. Really? People dont seem to understand that horses adapt their coats based on daylight, not heat.

But anyways, I had heard that most of the horses at the facility were really frisky, probably due to the weather change. Milo was no excpetion to this. And we rode in the indoor arena because well, it was raining and the outdoor was wet. Milo typically works more focused in the outdoor arena - we are usually alone, the arena is larger, and I think he is claustrophobic and scared of the dark. But I welcome any change to further training and by george we pay for the facility and its covered arena and we are going to use it! :)

I felt it was probably a good day to longe him before hand, but with too many people in the arena that idea didnt pan out. So I got on him and flexed him, disengaged his hind quarters, and basically worked on simple things Milo knows, to try and get him mind tuned in with me and not the hubub going on in the arena (and the scary back corner of the arena).

My issue when Milo isnt using his "smart" brain, is I think about collecting him and making him work hard. I have learned however that it doesnt get his mind focused on me. He may collect up, but his ears are still pricked to everything else but me. So yesterday I had been reading about an excersise called "riding the square" which I have worked on before. Lately Milo has been a little lazy and has been dropping his shoulder, so I thought it would be a simple excersise to warm him up with and loosen up his shoulders too. It was great. I walked him on a loose rein and worked on riding those 90 degree haunch turns (not at a halt, at a walk), than worked it at a trot. About ten minutes into this excersise, Milo dropped his head, rounded his back and sighed (on a loose rein!). It was a great excersise. It also really helped he (and I) to ride between my legs. It was great. The arena cleared out (briefly) so I loped him both ways on a loose rein and tried to get tighter turns (not expecting a 90 degree turn however, but a nice turn on his haunches and raising his shoulders). It was a great excersise to warm him up with and get him loose and using his body.

Then two lessons came in and a fellow boarder, but we were all about to work on the rail pretty nicely. I mostly worked the bulk of the ride on his trot/jog to lope and lope to trot/jog transitions staying balanced and round. He did great, a few times where there was people coming in and out, but overall he kept his focus really well and worked off his hind end nicely.

While I still want to work more on the flying change, Milo was not in the frame of mind to work on anything new, nor was there even space in the arena. Which was fine. We got to work on other important things and ended with a great ride.

Best horse ever.