Cantered Lilly for the first time this spring..crazy how different she feels after all of her feet issues this winter. Still got those brakes though! 😍🥰
My next red mare project! 😅 Day 1 was a success! I was told she's been a wild pony for at least 8 years, and now has befriended Lilly because she likes to slide through fences 😂 So now it's my turn! #ChallengeAccepted #redmare #miniaturehorse #wrangler
This is a friend's horse, named Magic. Magic is used as a trick riding horse, and I was told he doesn't have much feel in his mouth. Not too much was known about his past, but he had been used for lessons at some point, when my friend bought him.
To my surprise, Magic actually had some buttons in there, it just took a little work and digging for him to remember.
Horses usually just need listening to, and consistency to get them where you want to go. #onestepatatime #horsemanship
Lilly's second day back outside after 3 months of stall rest, so of course I jump on bareback...what could go wrong? 😂🥰😇
Lilly is good at being a bridleless horse, but trick riding...not so interested 😂😂
Training is a lot of ugly moments until you get good ones, and then work to get those good moments more and more consistently.
I worked on lead changes a couple days ago, so this ride of course it took Lilly about 4 tries to get the correct lead going the correct direction 😅 But we got there!
Something I read one time that stuck with me, is that your horse shouldn't be in the same frame your entire session. You shouldn't have them constantly collected, but rather ask for collection for a while, then ask to relax or extend. Their muscles need breaks too.
It's kind of hard to tell because I don't ever have her pulled into a tight frame, but I am holding her back at first, then release her before stopping. I didn't push, just let her go at her own pace. It might not be super visible, but I could definitely feel a difference.
Also very thankful I installed super good brakes 😂😂 Couldn't help but smile after this ride.
It's been a minute since I've had a youngster to work with! Blu is working on establishing her basic handling skills, so today's objective was a complete, continuous circle to the left.
I heard a trainer once say moments of rest are just as important as the lesson you're trying to teach (or something like that), so I enjoyed allowing Blu to stop, and see her process what just happened.
I recently was given feedback that I don't use my legs when I ride. I honestly loved this feedback, because I've always been a quiet rider, and it has become something I pride myself on. I'm a very stoic person, and that transfers over to my riding..I don't want anyone to see the cue I'm giving my horse. I want the horse to feel my slightest cue possible.
So, here is my 5 year old racehorse, walk to canter, and canter to halt transitions, without a bridle.
This is her strong lead, and she wanted to ignore my left leg a little. There was a wash out, you'll see her trip a little (and try to play it off like she didn't 😂), but I let her figure that out on her own. I told her to get over, she didn't want to, so it was a moment of struggle. The next time around she listened better. Once I felt I had her brain again I sat deep, released my pressure and rewarded her with ending the work. 💜
Excited to start working with this pretty, 3 year old Tennessee Walker! The owners have already put in a lot of work in with her, so I'll be helping them bring her along in the next chapter in her training! 😀
"If you want to be good at something, you must first be willing to be bad at it".
I've taken a few trick riding lessons, and it's something I'd like to get better at. Something I think equestrians especially struggle with is not having the right tack, or the right facility, or the "right" this or that. We need to learn to use what we have. I've looked into trick saddles, the cheapest decent quality one I could find was $6,000. That's not anywhere in my budget in the next few years.
What I can do, though, is to take lessons, practice, regardless of what I have, and train my brain to tell my body what to do.
Doing this tonight on Lilly helped engage my core muscles, and my balance without tack. Tack is a tool, so it will be easier for me once I get to that next step.
Lilly surprised me a bit today..normally this is her slow direction, but when I asked for a trot she wanted to lope instead. At first I broke her back down since it isn't what I asked for, but she kept running out of it. So, eventually I just rolled with it, and it actually felt pretty nice! Normally when I ask for a canter she just likes to try and take off, but not so much today.
Someone put a crazy idea in my head of turning Lilly into a trick horse..so today I decided to see what she would do. I trust her a lot, but she's independent enough that I see her randomly bucking in the pattern 🤣 But she handled me flailing around very well!
Side note: 10/10 would not recommend practicing tricks in a barrel saddle 😅
