Straight from today's tackoftheday.com website and too good not to share:
Top 10 Exercises to Become A Better Equestrian
10. Drop a heavy steel object on your foot. Don't pick it up right away. Shout, "Get off, Stupid, GET OFF!"
9. Leap out of a moving vehicle and practice "relaxing into the fall." Roll lithely into a ball and spring to your feet.
8. Learn to grab your checkbook out of your purse and write out a $200 check without even looking down.
7. Jog long distances carrying a halter and a carrot. Go ahead and tell the neighbors what you are doing - they might as well know now.
6. Affix a pair of reins to a moving freight train and practice pulling to a halt. Smile as if you are having fun.
5. Hone your fibbing skills: "See hon, moving hay bales is FUN!" and "No, really, I'm glad your lucky performance and multimillion dollar horse won the blue ribbon. I am just thankful that my hard work and actual ability won me second place."
4. Practice dialing your chiropractor's number with both arms paralyzed to the shoulder and one foot anchoring the lead rope of a frisky horse.
3. Borrow the US Army's slogan: Be All That You Can Be -- bitten, thrown, kicked, bucked, slimed, trampled, frozen...
2. Lie face down in a puddle of mud in your most expensive riding clothes and repeat to yourself, "This is a learning experience, this is a learning experience, this is ..."
1. THE NUMBER ONE EXERCISE TO BECOME A BETTER EQUESTRIAN: Marry money.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Zombie Chicken Award!
Coolness! I was bestowed with the Zombie Chicken Award by English Rider from her great blog, Where's My Effing Pony?. She gave me the award awhile ago and I hope she knows I'm not ungrateful as I'm only just picking it up now. Just too dang busy and can't keep it all together lately!The Blogger who receives this award believes in the Tao of the Zombie Chicken - excellence, grace and persistence in all situations, even in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. These amazing bloggers regularly produce content so remarkable that their readers would brave a raving pack of zombie chickens just to be able to read their inspiring words. As a recipient of this world-renowned award, you now have the task of passing it on to at least 5 other worthy bloggers. Do not risk the wrath of the zombie chickens by choosing unwisely or not choosing at all...
And with that, I send the Zombie Chicken award to:
FoxyPants
Tacky Tack of the Day
I Hate Your Horse
A Horse and a Half
Riding Aside
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
License to Chill or - I'd Lick This!
Ah, Daniel Craig, my ideal of hotness. I loved his portrayal of Bond in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. Well, it now seems Del Monte has created a limited edition of Mr. Craig in an ice pop form just in time for those hot summer days! Unfortunately it's only available to the lucky lolly lovers in the UK so if any of you have had the chance to try these pops, please share if they were as yummy as they look!For the full story - read here:
License to Chill
Saturday, May 30, 2009
The Lesson made an Impression
So, a week after Rugby's "boot camp" session in Natural Horsemanship training, he's still retaining it all very well! I'm impressed with how he is responding to me while I work with him on the exercises T.S. wanted me to work on. I've only been able to work with him on the line two times since last Saturday with the holiday and having a touch of some kind of stomach bug but each time left us with a successful session and me feeling more satisfied and empowered.
T.S. is coming back on June 8th to work with us again. I'm so looking forward to it and the feedback from him that I'm continuing to get this right.
I was going to take some pictures of him to share today but was tired by the time I finished up. I'll try again tomorrow.
T.S. is coming back on June 8th to work with us again. I'm so looking forward to it and the feedback from him that I'm continuing to get this right.
I was going to take some pictures of him to share today but was tired by the time I finished up. I'll try again tomorrow.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
The Training Session
T.S. arrived before 8:00am this past Saturday. We exchanged pleasentries and headed into the barn. I showed him the rope halter I bought and he said it would do just fine. We went to get Rugby and the stable grooms had already taken him out to turn out. So T.S. and I walked down to the paddocks to get him.
T.S. liked the looks of Rugby the moment he saw him. We had been talking on the way to the paddocks about the issues I was having and what he was going to work on with Rugby. Rugby walked right over to us and I haltered him with the rope halter. T.S. then hooked up his training line and we headed off to the polo arena.
T.S. began working with Rugby and from the beginning I could tell my horse was very aware of the different energy being directed at him through T.S. At first, Rugby tried to do the things he would to avoid having to focus and work, such as being distracted by the other horses on their way to turn out, trying to simply ignore T.S.'s requests for a response. But T.S.'s consistent persistence began to get Rugby's attention. It wasn't a simple or short process and they were both working very hard but as I watched, I could see that Rugby was GETTING IT!
As T.S. had explained, he was going to work to increase Rugby's awareness of the cues to move parts of his body - specifically the shoulder or haunch. When he asked he expected a response. No response meant a more direct request. If there was still no response, the request was followed by a "tag" or a flick from the whip. Even a small response was rewarded by a release but continued lack of response got him seriously "tagged". At one point when T.S. slowed down the training to give Rugby a chance to take in what he'd been taught, T.S. turned to me and said, "I'm amazed you even got to ride him at all. This horse is not just green, he's not even broke!"
Into the second hour, he would respond faster to T.S.'s cues and stay focused on him for longer periods of time without letting himself be distracted by other stimuli. At one point, there was another horse being lunged in the same arena and T.S. walked Rugby over to where this horse was bucking and leaping around. Rugby just stood still and worked with T.S. on the softening of the neck exercises! His attention was on what T.S. was going to ask next and not on the actions of the other horse!
The transformation over the course of 2 hours was incredible. As I said in my previous post, my horse went from uneducated slacker to willing student. Even when T.S. handed me the line to show me the basic exercises, my horse was focused on me and what we were going to do next. A different horse walked out of that arena that day and I hope with T.S.'s continued guidance we continue to progress back to work in the saddle. As T.S. told me when we finished and I was putting Rugby back in his paddock, "your horse should progress well. I usually wind up working with the rank and nasty ones that need to be retrained. They always take longer to work with than a horse who just has never been taught at all".
I can't thank T.S. enough, for restoring some of my "nerve" and giving me the help to move this partnership forward. His teaching is clear and easy to understand and I feel so motivated knowing that with all I know, I have found something new to learn!
T.S. liked the looks of Rugby the moment he saw him. We had been talking on the way to the paddocks about the issues I was having and what he was going to work on with Rugby. Rugby walked right over to us and I haltered him with the rope halter. T.S. then hooked up his training line and we headed off to the polo arena.
T.S. began working with Rugby and from the beginning I could tell my horse was very aware of the different energy being directed at him through T.S. At first, Rugby tried to do the things he would to avoid having to focus and work, such as being distracted by the other horses on their way to turn out, trying to simply ignore T.S.'s requests for a response. But T.S.'s consistent persistence began to get Rugby's attention. It wasn't a simple or short process and they were both working very hard but as I watched, I could see that Rugby was GETTING IT!
As T.S. had explained, he was going to work to increase Rugby's awareness of the cues to move parts of his body - specifically the shoulder or haunch. When he asked he expected a response. No response meant a more direct request. If there was still no response, the request was followed by a "tag" or a flick from the whip. Even a small response was rewarded by a release but continued lack of response got him seriously "tagged". At one point when T.S. slowed down the training to give Rugby a chance to take in what he'd been taught, T.S. turned to me and said, "I'm amazed you even got to ride him at all. This horse is not just green, he's not even broke!"
Into the second hour, he would respond faster to T.S.'s cues and stay focused on him for longer periods of time without letting himself be distracted by other stimuli. At one point, there was another horse being lunged in the same arena and T.S. walked Rugby over to where this horse was bucking and leaping around. Rugby just stood still and worked with T.S. on the softening of the neck exercises! His attention was on what T.S. was going to ask next and not on the actions of the other horse!
The transformation over the course of 2 hours was incredible. As I said in my previous post, my horse went from uneducated slacker to willing student. Even when T.S. handed me the line to show me the basic exercises, my horse was focused on me and what we were going to do next. A different horse walked out of that arena that day and I hope with T.S.'s continued guidance we continue to progress back to work in the saddle. As T.S. told me when we finished and I was putting Rugby back in his paddock, "your horse should progress well. I usually wind up working with the rank and nasty ones that need to be retrained. They always take longer to work with than a horse who just has never been taught at all".
I can't thank T.S. enough, for restoring some of my "nerve" and giving me the help to move this partnership forward. His teaching is clear and easy to understand and I feel so motivated knowing that with all I know, I have found something new to learn!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
The Training Session was AMAZING
I am sorry to keep anyone following my journey with Rugby waiting to hear how the training session with T.S. went on Saturday. It was a crazy-busy weekend! As soon as the training session was done, I had to teach a lesson and then run home, shower, pack and head off with the family to our weekend vacation plans! There was no computer access where we were staying so I couldn't update the blog. We returned home yesterday afternoon and I was planting flowers in our front yard since rain is in the forecast and the flowers have been waiting for too long to go from flat to garden!
All I can say is it was the most amazing thing watching T.S. work with Rugby. In two hours my horse went from uneducated slacker to willing student. I will post more details later as I am at work but I was just blown away by the change in my horse.
All I can say is it was the most amazing thing watching T.S. work with Rugby. In two hours my horse went from uneducated slacker to willing student. I will post more details later as I am at work but I was just blown away by the change in my horse.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Tomorrow is NH day!
I am so looking forward to tomorrow morning's training session with T.S. :)
My boys had their riding lessons last night. Afterward I was chatting with my long time trainer, "the Master" as you know him from reading previous posts. I opened up and explained everything that happened with Rugby and what I'm going through about being hesitant to ride him again.
He told me he completely understood how I was feeling about all this. He's going to be 50 this year and has bad back problems. He said that it's harder to just get up on green horses now and ride because he simply can't afford to get hurt. He tries to steer his customers toward more trained horses because he's better able to physically continue to help them with their goals, the greenies are too unpredictable. He agreed that having the NH trainer come to try and sort things out was a good idea.
He said that if any of his students wanted a green horse and thought to make something of it, I would have been the one he most felt could do the job but he told me very seriously, "if you do not feel comfortable or safe to get back on him and ride - do not do it. If you have to move him on to someone else, then sell him. At our age, and with our experience we have nothing to prove to anyone, now we do what's right for us".
He's right. And I appreciate the understanding especially from him. He knew me and trained me back in the day when I rode the rank stuff as well as the good stuff. He knows what I am capable of because he's seen it. He also wanted me to understand I've earned the "right" to choose not to deal with it if I don't want to, now. He supports my wanting to try again and try an approach that I haven't before.
I like Rugby, I really do and when it's "right" he's just the best. I want in the saddle what I seem to have on the cross ties when grooming, that relaxed, friendly communication. Let's see what T.S. can bring to this partnership.
My boys had their riding lessons last night. Afterward I was chatting with my long time trainer, "the Master" as you know him from reading previous posts. I opened up and explained everything that happened with Rugby and what I'm going through about being hesitant to ride him again.
He told me he completely understood how I was feeling about all this. He's going to be 50 this year and has bad back problems. He said that it's harder to just get up on green horses now and ride because he simply can't afford to get hurt. He tries to steer his customers toward more trained horses because he's better able to physically continue to help them with their goals, the greenies are too unpredictable. He agreed that having the NH trainer come to try and sort things out was a good idea.
He said that if any of his students wanted a green horse and thought to make something of it, I would have been the one he most felt could do the job but he told me very seriously, "if you do not feel comfortable or safe to get back on him and ride - do not do it. If you have to move him on to someone else, then sell him. At our age, and with our experience we have nothing to prove to anyone, now we do what's right for us".
He's right. And I appreciate the understanding especially from him. He knew me and trained me back in the day when I rode the rank stuff as well as the good stuff. He knows what I am capable of because he's seen it. He also wanted me to understand I've earned the "right" to choose not to deal with it if I don't want to, now. He supports my wanting to try again and try an approach that I haven't before.
I like Rugby, I really do and when it's "right" he's just the best. I want in the saddle what I seem to have on the cross ties when grooming, that relaxed, friendly communication. Let's see what T.S. can bring to this partnership.
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