Loyalties

1. if my teacher thinks i'm wrecking the ponies, what is going to happen when students start riding them?

2. i get it that the kid doesn't want to come and meet my ponies out of loyalty to her horse at her riding centre.
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i never like sharing my horse.
isn't there a famous quote about no secret as intimate as that between a rider and horse?
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Jill went to pat the nosy bay who was sticking his nose over the stall door. When she did, he spooked and stepped back.

Was it her raincoat scaring him? Or, had she misread his interest??

As she stood patiently, with a hand out in his stall now, she thought he looked sad. In his eyes. Then she remembered that she'd heard the story of the divorced, childless woman who gave him all her love and attention. And who died of unkown reasons, while out riding him several months ago. He'd come back the barn alone and his life had never been the same since...

Eventually, she was able to pat his face a little. She told him some sweet things and hoped that she could offer him a little more attention as things progressed around that place.

Breakthrough

He was easy to catch in the paddock. He peed in the stall while Jill collected the tack, but then was still antsy in the cross ties, so she knew he was feeling his increased grain ration...

and Jill decided not to go out on the roads all by herself right away. She put on the spurs and started on dressage work. He was moving well, but kept spooking. Even after a half hour of hard work, including long canters to work off the excess beans, she couldn't really grab his mind, despite the fact that his body was engaged.

She decided to take him out and really burn the energy.

They trotted up Kennedy road to the bridge (1.5km) and then back. Really forward moving, with a steady tempo up and down the hills in trot. It had just rained so the gravel was really soft.

Then they went back into the arena for more work. His canter work in there was good and they did tree sets of canter walk, walk canter each rein and then called it a day.

What A Naughty Girl!

So the pretty little bay that Jill thought was 100% student worthy, was in a difficult mood today. First she was kicking when Jill did up her girth. And then, she got right down on her knees in the cross ties when Jill was doing her feet.

Jill appreciated that Mrs. Owner offerred to come in the arena if she felt she should have company, which the rider declined. Mr. Owner didn't ask, he just came right in. He even offerred to get on first, but Jill hopped right up. She probably should have lunged first, and next time, she would.

The pony really needed to be sent forward. She was thinking about crow hopping, but she did not get away with it. Shortly after Mr. Owner left the arena again, surmizing, "she sure is feeling her oats. but you're okay now right?"

The canters were okay, so the ride was pretty short. But she still sweated a lot, and was a pain in the cross ties til she finally was dry enough to turn out.

Jill thought it was a good thing she was advertising for youth horse trainers not riding students!

Working with and without Faith

Now that Jill was spending time with a new breed, she wondered if her old pony friend Frisco (who ditched so many students spooking at things in winter) was part New Forest. It was something about the way the whites of their eyes would show. Such very expressive eyes, and faces. She looked forward to reading the history of the breed in the book she had out of the library.

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Faye was one of those curious, determined ponies that was always challenging paddock fencing (and getting caught up in it), and would also usually escape from wearing her halter, if it was left on her for too long. So, you'd have to remember her as the black one in the herd with the pulled mane and no halter. Her mom was the other dark one, but fatter and with the long flowing locks.
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What a fast canterer! And Jill learned she needed a lesson in telling the foot fall pattern during strike off, because this pony tended to pick up the wrong lead going left. It took Jill a minute to figure out if it was right or not and then til third try to strike correctly during the first canter on the left rein and til second try the next canter left. So Fast too. Ride the rhythm not the speed with this one too? She needed lots of the same kind of work as the bay.

Where were the new little horse trainers in training going to come from?

Jill really appreciated their manners. Faye knew she was supposed to stand square when you halted her and would fix up, if you thought about it. And, it was like that in the barn too. They stood still in the centre of the aisle. For as long as you needed to dilly dally around in the barn around them.

None of them liked their girth being done up. Some day, Jill would investigate saddle fitting.
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Jill said "I like his glasses and I like his clothes and I like his skin and his voice and his confidence and his breathing and his rhythm. But for some reason I never let him hold the pony while I was tacking up by the car."

She wondered if it would ever be possible to live on a horse farm with high speed internet.

Going Solo

Jill wasn't sure if there was anyone on the property or not, but she went and caught Precious anyway. From the sweet little bay's willingness, Jill thought that they sometimes caught her with a treat in hand. It was funny to see that she was quite a boss in the herd, but so obedient to a human.

The dark chestnut stallion was very active. And, vocal. And, observant. Jill thought he seemed in need of attention, and liked the size of him too. She hoped eventually he'd turn into one of her projects...

The walked all the way to the barn nicely together. She didn't even try to eat grass while she was being led. What a good pony!

Jill took her for a walk in the arena, before they went into the barn. She was amazed at how line friendly that New Forest friend was. She would trot the first step Jill took into a run. And, she would halt instantly, square, in synch with Jill's stop step. They worked on backing up, which wasn't good the first time, but was perfect by the third try.

A smart, eager to please pony. A forward moving little thing too, once you got on her.

Her canter needed lots of work. The transitions are green and she is not balanced through the corners and goes to fast and is almost always about to break. Jill rode a few canter circles and even lunged a bit on a canter circle to the left to address it. Just one in a series of training efforts.

Jill wanted to get fit.
She needed the ponies to get fit too.

The poor girl sweated in her winter coat, even though it was such a short and easy work out.

And, she winnied the whole time. And, by the end of about an hour together she was starting to get really agitated and Jill hurried to just throw her out in the paddock with her friends.

Training Log

Jill rode for exactly half an hour, in the copper snaffle, in the arena this morning before work. He was great -- it was worth the hauling-her-butt-out-of-bed-to-hurry-around-like-a-fool effort.

Stone was easy to catch (and messed up his stall instead of the hall before she groomed him). Good boy!

They just did dressage work -- lots of longer canters, some counter canters, and lots and lots of down transitions. He was very good. She knew they were definitely improving! Jill could hardly wait for her next dressage school with her coach so as to get more feedback on what to practice.

He looks a little nerdy with his short bangs. His feet are very dry and the right front looks crooked and too long. But, no thrush, and not a single cough.
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