Springtime Funtime

The last few weeks have been full of mini adventures with the horses :) For mother's day my mom and I did a mini photo shoot with her and her Friesian x Mustang mare, Lena, which was a huge blast! I also hopped on Lena that day and was her first official passenger! She did so good and took it all in stride. As the summer continues I'm hoping to help my mother start her more under saddle and get her more solid so she can become my mom's next trail/dressage partner :)

Last weekend Cheyenne and I had a great break through under saddle! Or, mote accurately, I had a break through ;) She was great online, and was calm, cool, and connected. However when I swung into the saddle her energy spiked, she came alive, and our connection flew right out the window. I'm still not sure if it was my energy coming up unknowingly, or if by accident I have conditioned her to bring her life up under saddle and to expect a faster pace. I started with some figure eights around the cones to get her more focused on my aids which (kind of) worked, then decided to play Follow the Rail and ask for a walk/trot transition every 15 strides. Our down transitions were extremely rough and I felt like I had to be very firm with my reins to get a response. Obviously this still wasn't engaging her mentally, so we started having an up, down, or backing transition every four strides. Bam! Instant success! She started paying attention to my aids, and by the end of the ride I could ask her to move down from a canter to a trot with just my seat aids :) I have learned it's necessary to take the ideas behind the patterns I've been given and start thinking for myself and start tweaking the patterns to find something that works for the horse I'm on in the situation I'm in; there is no cookie-cutter solition. Chey was SO relaxed and responsive by the end of our ride, and I couldn't have been more proud of her :) I was even able to canter on a completely loose rein and steer with just my seat/leg aids 80% of the time :) Progress!

Yesterday my back was hurting pretty badly, so we just had a day to hang out together, be mellow, and enjoy the sunshine :) Honestly I feel like we have the best time when we just sit around and do nothing lol. 

I hope everyone is having a fabulous holiday weekend! Have fun, and don't forget to go play with your ponies!

Fired-Up Friday!

It's Fired-Up Friday, and I have some awesome inspirational videos for you all! Motivation comes in so many forms, and as much fun as the 7 games can be, variety is the spice of life :) 

Also, here is a great article on equine leg protection from The Chronicle of the Horse. The reason behind some horse boots have always baffled me (seriously, what is up with those fluffy dressage boots?!) so I started looking for some better answers than what I was getting talking to other riders. I'm excited for a rating system, and some boots to come out in the future with improved support!

Here we go!

Teach your horse to give you pony kisses!

An absolutely gorgeous, beyond inspiring performance by Clemence Faivre and her horse Gothan

Here are some great stretches from the great people at Evention TV

And, for the grand finale, I introduce to you Mr Frederic Pignon,  a guy who truly knows what it means to play with his horses! He's an ever-smiling Frenchman who, even when a horse gets away from him, keeps his cool. I love seeing an accomplished horseman give a performance and everything doesn't go to plan. It shows that no matter who you are, you are still working with a creature with a mind of their own, but if you keep a positive and playful attitude, there is no such thing as a "bad" play session :)

I hope these videos and article gave you something to think about and some new ideas to take with you next time you see your four-legged fuzzy friend! Happy Friday!

Clemence Faivre - photo from classhorse.tv