Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Sore Fores
Barokko's forelegs still aren't back to normal after last week's racing up and down the hill in pasture. He's sound on the longe, but I can feel something not quite right about him. It's very faint, but I've learned to trust my gut on these things. So he's on walk only this week, and then I'll see how he looks and feels after that to determine whether I need to get the vet out.
Moving Day
Since July Barokko has been boarded at EGE, but Sunday morning I moved him back to MAK. I'm looking forward to having him close by all day when I'm at work, I can pop in and say hello, check up on him, take him for a walk etc. I've really missed being able to do that while he was at EGE.
It's a 13km ride, which in walk and some trot takes two hours. M rode him, and I biked along beside them. Barokko whinnied a lot on the ride, which he hasn't done in a while - it got the attention of all the horses we passed on the way ;)
We arrived at MAK just in time for lunch ;)
His stall is in the school stable, which means there's lots of activity in lesson times. He's very curious and gets bored if nothing is going on, so hopefully he'll enjoy the attention and buzz without getting stressed about it.
The move also means a feed change, so he's now on 3 kg of Dan Agro's Hesteguf (müsli feed with 30% oats) and 3 hay feedings. I also give him an extra meal of 500g Spiller's Slow Response Energy Mix and 2L lucerne/alfalfa every evening.
It's a 13km ride, which in walk and some trot takes two hours. M rode him, and I biked along beside them. Barokko whinnied a lot on the ride, which he hasn't done in a while - it got the attention of all the horses we passed on the way ;)
We arrived at MAK just in time for lunch ;)
His stall is in the school stable, which means there's lots of activity in lesson times. He's very curious and gets bored if nothing is going on, so hopefully he'll enjoy the attention and buzz without getting stressed about it.
The move also means a feed change, so he's now on 3 kg of Dan Agro's Hesteguf (müsli feed with 30% oats) and 3 hay feedings. I also give him an extra meal of 500g Spiller's Slow Response Energy Mix and 2L lucerne/alfalfa every evening.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Show Time!
Vedbæk Rideklub had a show this weekend, and Barokko and I had entered LC2 and LB2. I decided only to ride the LC2, as I didn't feel he was quite ready for the higher level yet. The "down-side" to a very recognizable horse is that people remember him from show to show, so I don't want to deliver a sub-par performance.
Vedbæk is 2,5 km away, so we rode there, took us 30 minutes exactly. The ride went really well, with just a bit of excitement when crossing a freeway!! He's good with traffic, but has never encountered quite this much, this fast before. He was good about it though, he signalled to me very clearly that he didn't like it very much, but stayed with me - gave me a few steps of passage, which felt AWESOME, but didn't run off or anything.
We got there in time for a good warm-up. After 3 days of light work he was pretty fresh, but very obedient to my aids.
The test arena was not the easiest arena to ride in, lots of things to look at. Also, it was a bit shorter than regulation size, which threw off my geometry in the shallow loops which turned out too small - annoying to loose points on geometry, I have to get better at adjusting to different sizes of arena, riding more by the letters than my feel for how the figures should be.
We finished with 65,22%, and second place, Barokko has earned his first ribbon :D
Scores ranged from 5 to 8:
Our 2 5's were for the halt/salute in the beginning (stepped a teeny bit sideways at the last moment) and the canter depart to the right (very tense, someone had just opened the door into the arena when we were riding right towards it so he was staring at them, couldn't quite get his focus back on me quickly enough).
6's for some trot work where he was a little tense, as well as the too small shallow loops. Also the walk on the diagonal got a 6 because I messed up :( Stopped him too much in the transition from trot, then too eager when I pushed him forward again, so the first 4-5 steps were bad - the rest of the diagonal was great, he stretched perfectly into the rein etc, his walk has improved so much in the time I've had him.
7's for our canter transitions (proud of that, we've been working hard on making good transitions), the rest of the trot work, and our final halt.
8's for both canter circles :D The one thing that has really made a big difference in the quality of his canter is lots and lots of canter and gallop work on trails. He's become so strong and uphill in the canter, it's SO COOL to sit on :D
7's on the collectives, except 6's for Submission (tense in several spots) and Rider (my hands become unsteady when he becomes tense).
Vedbæk is 2,5 km away, so we rode there, took us 30 minutes exactly. The ride went really well, with just a bit of excitement when crossing a freeway!! He's good with traffic, but has never encountered quite this much, this fast before. He was good about it though, he signalled to me very clearly that he didn't like it very much, but stayed with me - gave me a few steps of passage, which felt AWESOME, but didn't run off or anything.
We got there in time for a good warm-up. After 3 days of light work he was pretty fresh, but very obedient to my aids.
The test arena was not the easiest arena to ride in, lots of things to look at. Also, it was a bit shorter than regulation size, which threw off my geometry in the shallow loops which turned out too small - annoying to loose points on geometry, I have to get better at adjusting to different sizes of arena, riding more by the letters than my feel for how the figures should be.
We finished with 65,22%, and second place, Barokko has earned his first ribbon :D
Scores ranged from 5 to 8:
Our 2 5's were for the halt/salute in the beginning (stepped a teeny bit sideways at the last moment) and the canter depart to the right (very tense, someone had just opened the door into the arena when we were riding right towards it so he was staring at them, couldn't quite get his focus back on me quickly enough).
6's for some trot work where he was a little tense, as well as the too small shallow loops. Also the walk on the diagonal got a 6 because I messed up :( Stopped him too much in the transition from trot, then too eager when I pushed him forward again, so the first 4-5 steps were bad - the rest of the diagonal was great, he stretched perfectly into the rein etc, his walk has improved so much in the time I've had him.
7's for our canter transitions (proud of that, we've been working hard on making good transitions), the rest of the trot work, and our final halt.
8's for both canter circles :D The one thing that has really made a big difference in the quality of his canter is lots and lots of canter and gallop work on trails. He's become so strong and uphill in the canter, it's SO COOL to sit on :D
7's on the collectives, except 6's for Submission (tense in several spots) and Rider (my hands become unsteady when he becomes tense).
Friday, October 26, 2007
The Guessing Game
When I got to the barn this morning, Barokko was standing by the gate for once, Normally he's at the top of the hill in the mornings. When I came into the pasture he came straight over to me, and leaned his head into my arms - while it was very endearing, it wasn't his normal behavior, so a bit puzzling.
I led him into the stable to groom and tack up. He seemed very tired, head down, not as interested in his surroundings as he usually is. I checked everything I could think of for pain or signs of illness, but couldn't find anything.
I decided to ride, and see what happened - maybe he was just tired. He seemed willing enough, but it was as tho his body wasn't really cooperating with his mind - a wierd combination of being fresh in the head and lazy in the body.
I kept the training set pretty short, just loosened him up a bit.
Turned him back out, and again he stayed by the gate - usually he trots away to get to the grass and the other horses... hmmm... I went into the stable to put his gear away, and then came back out to check on him - still standing at the gate, and when he saw me, he whinnied several times at me, clearly trying to signal something, but what?!?!?!
I went to his stall to see if anything there looked out of place. Seemed OK, only thing I noticed was that his water bucket was empty. I filled it and brought it out to him in the pasture, figured it was worth a try.
He drank and drank and drank and drank - I filled up the bucket 4 more times before he had had his fill - that's over 40 L in one go!!! No wonder he wasn't himself, poor guy was dehydrated!
Barokko is in one of 6 stalls watered in buckets, all the others have automatic waterers. Apparently, the barn staff had forgotten to water them >:(
Horses teach me all the time - if they seem off, they ARE off. It's up to us to figure out WHAT the problem is, they can only tell us THAT it is.
I led him into the stable to groom and tack up. He seemed very tired, head down, not as interested in his surroundings as he usually is. I checked everything I could think of for pain or signs of illness, but couldn't find anything.
I decided to ride, and see what happened - maybe he was just tired. He seemed willing enough, but it was as tho his body wasn't really cooperating with his mind - a wierd combination of being fresh in the head and lazy in the body.
I kept the training set pretty short, just loosened him up a bit.
Turned him back out, and again he stayed by the gate - usually he trots away to get to the grass and the other horses... hmmm... I went into the stable to put his gear away, and then came back out to check on him - still standing at the gate, and when he saw me, he whinnied several times at me, clearly trying to signal something, but what?!?!?!
I went to his stall to see if anything there looked out of place. Seemed OK, only thing I noticed was that his water bucket was empty. I filled it and brought it out to him in the pasture, figured it was worth a try.
He drank and drank and drank and drank - I filled up the bucket 4 more times before he had had his fill - that's over 40 L in one go!!! No wonder he wasn't himself, poor guy was dehydrated!
Barokko is in one of 6 stalls watered in buckets, all the others have automatic waterers. Apparently, the barn staff had forgotten to water them >:(
Horses teach me all the time - if they seem off, they ARE off. It's up to us to figure out WHAT the problem is, they can only tell us THAT it is.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Cold morning ride
Fronts still a bit swollen, but completely sound, so hopped on for a light dressage training set. We rode in the outdoor arena, crisp morning air, sun shining bright, beautiful setting!
No collecting work today, kept it nice and easy, working on the basics. Flowing transitions W-T-W, W-H-W, T-H-T. Canter work in a light forward seat, keeping him long and low, steady tempo and rhythm.
No collecting work today, kept it nice and easy, working on the basics. Flowing transitions W-T-W, W-H-W, T-H-T. Canter work in a light forward seat, keeping him long and low, steady tempo and rhythm.
Play Hard, Work... Less??
When I came out to the barn yesterday, I saw that Barokko's rug was torn in two places, and very dirty. Underneath the rug, one of the tears in the rug cerresponeded to obvious bite marks that had actually just broken the skin (through a winter turn-out rug, ouch)!! Then I looked down, and noticed that both front fetlocks were slightly swollen.
I induced that he must have spent the day playing hard, running up and down the fairly steep incline in the pasture. Right enough, turns out the school ponies had jumped over the fence from their pasture into the gelding pasture, and had wrecked havoc.
I decided to work him lightly on the longe instead of riding. He's obedient on the longe, but not used to being worked with side-reins. If I can get him to trust them and lean into them more, I'd like to include longing as a regular part of his training on non-riding days, but so far it's just get-used-to-it training.
After walking him I worked him 5 minutes on each rein without the sidereins, to warm him up and get his attention thru lots of transitions. Then I added the sidereins, let him work with them in walk a few minutes, and then just a few rounds each way in trot and canter. He's gotten pretty good at leaning into the reins in walk, and stretches well over the topline there. But in trot and canter he tries to avoid them, shortening and lifting his neck = hollowed back.
I induced that he must have spent the day playing hard, running up and down the fairly steep incline in the pasture. Right enough, turns out the school ponies had jumped over the fence from their pasture into the gelding pasture, and had wrecked havoc.
I decided to work him lightly on the longe instead of riding. He's obedient on the longe, but not used to being worked with side-reins. If I can get him to trust them and lean into them more, I'd like to include longing as a regular part of his training on non-riding days, but so far it's just get-used-to-it training.
After walking him I worked him 5 minutes on each rein without the sidereins, to warm him up and get his attention thru lots of transitions. Then I added the sidereins, let him work with them in walk a few minutes, and then just a few rounds each way in trot and canter. He's gotten pretty good at leaning into the reins in walk, and stretches well over the topline there. But in trot and canter he tries to avoid them, shortening and lifting his neck = hollowed back.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Specialization
I work as an instructor at a riding school, teaching private and group lessons to both kids and adults. My main interest as a rider is dressage, but I aim to teach my students to become well-rounded riders first, and then they can chose a discipline.
I've tried to apply the same principle to Barokko. Although I bought him specifically to become my show horse in dressage, I have made it a priority to ensure that he first become a well-rounded horse.
He trail rides perfectly, whether you want a relaxing ride on a long rein, or a good gallop across the fields, he's up for it. He's good in traffic, used to crossing and riding along roads, going over and under bridges etc. He's comfortable over small jumps, can go around an easy course, and is brave (but still careful) over natural obstacles in the woods (logs, banks, going into water etc). His build limits his potential over jumps, otherwise he'd be an awesome hunt horse or, even better, eventer! I might actually one day do a teeny tiny low level event on him ;)
In between all that other training, I've also found time for a bit of dressage ;)
I've tried to apply the same principle to Barokko. Although I bought him specifically to become my show horse in dressage, I have made it a priority to ensure that he first become a well-rounded horse.
He trail rides perfectly, whether you want a relaxing ride on a long rein, or a good gallop across the fields, he's up for it. He's good in traffic, used to crossing and riding along roads, going over and under bridges etc. He's comfortable over small jumps, can go around an easy course, and is brave (but still careful) over natural obstacles in the woods (logs, banks, going into water etc). His build limits his potential over jumps, otherwise he'd be an awesome hunt horse or, even better, eventer! I might actually one day do a teeny tiny low level event on him ;)
In between all that other training, I've also found time for a bit of dressage ;)
Lazy Saturday
Got up early, got a ride to halfway to work this morning, but I missed the bus I was supposed to catch there, so ended up walking the rest of the way. But the weather was really nice, clear and chilly, and I decided to be in a good mood about it :)
Afterward I grabbed my bike and hurried up to see Barokko. I was tired after work, and had planned beforehand to let today be his day off this week. But once I got there, brought him in from pasture, fed him, groomed him, and redid his braids, I was suddenly totally motivated for dressage. So I tacked him up, and off we went.
Glad I did, I had a terrific ride. I had a wonderful sense of harmony with him in this ride. It was almost meditative, it felt like we were in a world of our own, I just felt his hoof beats, steady and rhythmical in all three gaits, everything felt like it was easy and just came together, and he seemed to be enjoying himself as much as I was, it was really really awesome.
Afterward I grabbed my bike and hurried up to see Barokko. I was tired after work, and had planned beforehand to let today be his day off this week. But once I got there, brought him in from pasture, fed him, groomed him, and redid his braids, I was suddenly totally motivated for dressage. So I tacked him up, and off we went.
Glad I did, I had a terrific ride. I had a wonderful sense of harmony with him in this ride. It was almost meditative, it felt like we were in a world of our own, I just felt his hoof beats, steady and rhythmical in all three gaits, everything felt like it was easy and just came together, and he seemed to be enjoying himself as much as I was, it was really really awesome.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Brrrrr...
Weather's changed the past few days, it's really coooold!
Wed evening I had a lesson, started out running thru the things we worked on last lesson "yup... good... yeah, that works... uh-huh... OK, I think we're ready for some new things!"
Worked on walk pirouettes for the first time, which he quickly understood, will be practicing those some more. He understands the aids to move his fore-/hindquarters, so asking for the pirouette wasn't completely out of the blue, but it's just cool to feel that the previous training I've put in him actually works when I then move on to the next level - working with a young-un is fun :D
We also worked on collection in trot, a few steps at a time so he didn't tire, just introducing him to the concept.
Played with leg yields in trot.
Thurs J had a jumping lesson. U ran a little late, so we went outside to warm up, and I coached them up and down a small bank jump by the outdoor arena - "be prepared for him to jump big" "yeah, yeah I know --- uh OK THAT was big!" ;)
In the lesson thay jumped a series of single jumps, and then finally put them together as a course. Barokko still uses a lot of energy on every jump, so he tires pretty quick - a course of 9 jumps 80-90cm high is quite demanding for him, and he was visibly tired afterward.
We cooled him off with a walk around the barn, but he was still a bit warm when we got back, so we put him in the walker while we packed up our stuff - but Barokko didn't want to be in the walker, once J and I were out of sight he jumped out!!
Today I did some dressage training in the woods. He was very fresh, lots of GO! But steady on the bit, carried himself well over the back, and I decided to sneek in a bit of collection -> PASSAGE!!!! Woo-hoo! THAT was cool :) He could only carry himself for a few steps, but they were awesome :P
Wed evening I had a lesson, started out running thru the things we worked on last lesson "yup... good... yeah, that works... uh-huh... OK, I think we're ready for some new things!"
Worked on walk pirouettes for the first time, which he quickly understood, will be practicing those some more. He understands the aids to move his fore-/hindquarters, so asking for the pirouette wasn't completely out of the blue, but it's just cool to feel that the previous training I've put in him actually works when I then move on to the next level - working with a young-un is fun :D
We also worked on collection in trot, a few steps at a time so he didn't tire, just introducing him to the concept.
Played with leg yields in trot.
Thurs J had a jumping lesson. U ran a little late, so we went outside to warm up, and I coached them up and down a small bank jump by the outdoor arena - "be prepared for him to jump big" "yeah, yeah I know --- uh OK THAT was big!" ;)
In the lesson thay jumped a series of single jumps, and then finally put them together as a course. Barokko still uses a lot of energy on every jump, so he tires pretty quick - a course of 9 jumps 80-90cm high is quite demanding for him, and he was visibly tired afterward.
We cooled him off with a walk around the barn, but he was still a bit warm when we got back, so we put him in the walker while we packed up our stuff - but Barokko didn't want to be in the walker, once J and I were out of sight he jumped out!!
Today I did some dressage training in the woods. He was very fresh, lots of GO! But steady on the bit, carried himself well over the back, and I decided to sneek in a bit of collection -> PASSAGE!!!! Woo-hoo! THAT was cool :) He could only carry himself for a few steps, but they were awesome :P
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Dressage training
M had a good trail ride Sunday, they went explororating and found a good new 1 1/2 hour route with lots of good paths for cantering (or galloping!!).
Monday was his day off, so he had a lazy day out in pasture with the guys.
Today - back to work!
Nicely forward in the walk, I used the jumps set up in the arena (the pony-girls were clearing them up while I warmed up) to practice steering off my seat, riding zig-zag between the jumps, walking over poles on the ground etc. When I picked up the reins I used the jumps to practice turns on the haunches/forehand around the standards.
I started my trot warm-up in rising trot, asked him to stretch forward-down-out into the rein while riding large cricles and serpentines, every now and then trotting over a pole on the ground. Barokko's Friesian half gives him a tendency to carry his head very high and short, so FDO is much harder to acheive in the warm-up with this guy than the other horses I ride, but we're slowly getting better at it.
I added a bunch of walk-trot-walk transitions, working on flowing transitions without tension. I asked for transitions both on circles and on straight lines. Once the W-T-W transitions were going well, I began asking for halts from both walk and trot. A good halt is really hard to get! We're at the point where if I ask for a straight halt he'll tense and throw his head up. If I ask for a halt where he stays through, he'll step sideways at the last second and stand crooked. I can get one or the other, but not both yet ;)
I cantered once around each direction just to loosen up his joints, and then gave him a short break on a long rein to clear his head before we moved on.
Sitting trot work, worked on some smaller circles (10-12m), keeping bend without loosing rythm. Tempo changes in trot, rising for the lengthenings to help him keep the same rythm. Changes of bend on 12-15m figure-8's.
Canter-trot-canter transitions on a 20m circle, tempo changes in canter on the circle and straight lines. Focus on my seat in canter, I have an annoying habit of letting myself tilt ever so slightly IFV in the canter that I'm working on correcting - re:seat work, I LOVE my new saddle (Albion Legend K2)! I'm not fighting the tack like I was in the old one (Stübben Scandica DL), so am more able to actually acheive the seat and position changes I'm working on improving. Barokko moves well in it also, his musculature has also begun changing since I got the new saddle (he'd become significantly more developed on the left side than the right, and now seems to be evening out again).
After the canter work I did some leg yields in walk and trot, in walk he's getting to be very stable, still seems a bit unsure of what to do with his legs in trot ;)
Then back to rising trot, a couple minutes of figure-8's in different sizes, again asking for FDO, stretching the topline. And the cooled him off at the walk. After a couple of minutes of walking he began pulling toward the arena door, stopping every time we got close etc. I kept him walking, figuring he was impatient to get back to the stall because it was feeding time - but as soon as we got into the stable and I put him in cross ties he let out a huge sigh, and peed and peed and peed all over the aisle. Poor guy, he needs to develop a specific "I need to pee" signal (our old horse Coco had that - he'd stop up and very demonstratively stomp the ground with his right fore if he needed to go - very useful!)...
Monday was his day off, so he had a lazy day out in pasture with the guys.
Today - back to work!
Nicely forward in the walk, I used the jumps set up in the arena (the pony-girls were clearing them up while I warmed up) to practice steering off my seat, riding zig-zag between the jumps, walking over poles on the ground etc. When I picked up the reins I used the jumps to practice turns on the haunches/forehand around the standards.
I started my trot warm-up in rising trot, asked him to stretch forward-down-out into the rein while riding large cricles and serpentines, every now and then trotting over a pole on the ground. Barokko's Friesian half gives him a tendency to carry his head very high and short, so FDO is much harder to acheive in the warm-up with this guy than the other horses I ride, but we're slowly getting better at it.
I added a bunch of walk-trot-walk transitions, working on flowing transitions without tension. I asked for transitions both on circles and on straight lines. Once the W-T-W transitions were going well, I began asking for halts from both walk and trot. A good halt is really hard to get! We're at the point where if I ask for a straight halt he'll tense and throw his head up. If I ask for a halt where he stays through, he'll step sideways at the last second and stand crooked. I can get one or the other, but not both yet ;)
I cantered once around each direction just to loosen up his joints, and then gave him a short break on a long rein to clear his head before we moved on.
Sitting trot work, worked on some smaller circles (10-12m), keeping bend without loosing rythm. Tempo changes in trot, rising for the lengthenings to help him keep the same rythm. Changes of bend on 12-15m figure-8's.
Canter-trot-canter transitions on a 20m circle, tempo changes in canter on the circle and straight lines. Focus on my seat in canter, I have an annoying habit of letting myself tilt ever so slightly IFV in the canter that I'm working on correcting - re:seat work, I LOVE my new saddle (Albion Legend K2)! I'm not fighting the tack like I was in the old one (Stübben Scandica DL), so am more able to actually acheive the seat and position changes I'm working on improving. Barokko moves well in it also, his musculature has also begun changing since I got the new saddle (he'd become significantly more developed on the left side than the right, and now seems to be evening out again).
After the canter work I did some leg yields in walk and trot, in walk he's getting to be very stable, still seems a bit unsure of what to do with his legs in trot ;)
Then back to rising trot, a couple minutes of figure-8's in different sizes, again asking for FDO, stretching the topline. And the cooled him off at the walk. After a couple of minutes of walking he began pulling toward the arena door, stopping every time we got close etc. I kept him walking, figuring he was impatient to get back to the stall because it was feeding time - but as soon as we got into the stable and I put him in cross ties he let out a huge sigh, and peed and peed and peed all over the aisle. Poor guy, he needs to develop a specific "I need to pee" signal (our old horse Coco had that - he'd stop up and very demonstratively stomp the ground with his right fore if he needed to go - very useful!)...
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Collected canter - and a log!
Was going to train dressage today, but F lured me out on a trail ride instead. Barokko is thriving in the cooler weather, lots of energy! I was able to use it constructively, we got a lot of good canter departs, and also 2 intervals with some super nice collected canter, of a quality we still have a hard time acheiving in the arena, awesome to feel that it's in there somewhere :)
We found a couple of little logs on the way, and since the footing was good we decided to hop over them. Barokko immediately realized what we were up to, pulled eagerly toward both jumps, judged the distance perfectly, basculed nicely without the huge over-jump he's had a tendency toward earlier. Cool :D
We found a couple of little logs on the way, and since the footing was good we decided to hop over them. Barokko immediately realized what we were up to, pulled eagerly toward both jumps, judged the distance perfectly, basculed nicely without the huge over-jump he's had a tendency toward earlier. Cool :D
Friday, October 12, 2007
Friday morning
Like most Fridays I had a lesson this morning - and like most Fridays I ended up leaving home a little too late, so I was exhausted from biking hard to get there, stressed about grooming and tacking up, and had too short a warm up, so I didn't get the most out of my lesson. You'd think I'd learn once I'd done that the first time, but for some reason it just keeps happening Friday after Friday... Luckily I'm better at getting to work on time :/
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Not so easy...
J's jumping lesson was canceled today, so I gave her a "learn to ride Barokko" lesson, instead. It's harder than it looks. I've made a lot of progress with him in the time I've had him, but watching her ride was almost like seeing him as he was six months ago! Interesting that the progress I make doesn't transfer very well to other riders...
Afterward we went for a trail ride with him and P. P was injured this summer, and has been re-habbed, so she's just now beginning to be back to normal. We've been cantering for a while, but today was the first gallop since her injury.
Barokko may not be built for speed, but he sure does thrive on it! I often throw in a gallop on our trail rides, it's obvious that he absolutely loves it, and he's completely under control throughout, which makes it a lot of fun for the rider, too! P was a little harder to stop ;)
Afterward we went for a trail ride with him and P. P was injured this summer, and has been re-habbed, so she's just now beginning to be back to normal. We've been cantering for a while, but today was the first gallop since her injury.
Barokko may not be built for speed, but he sure does thrive on it! I often throw in a gallop on our trail rides, it's obvious that he absolutely loves it, and he's completely under control throughout, which makes it a lot of fun for the rider, too! P was a little harder to stop ;)
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Canter departs
Been working on canter departs lately, he's much more stable in them now, so decided to take them "on the road." After warming up I found a long path with good footing, and off we went, depart-canter-transition, depart-canter-transition, again and again. Every depart was correct, he was stable, round, attentive. Finished with a good gallop, and then cooled him off and turned him out. Only rode for 35 minutes in total, but it was super efficient, and FUN :)
Bad news - someone chewed on his forelock :( It's over 4 inches shorter now, good thing there was lots of it to begin with, sigh. Maybe I'll need to start braiding his forelock also, like I do with his mane...
Bad news - someone chewed on his forelock :( It's over 4 inches shorter now, good thing there was lots of it to begin with, sigh. Maybe I'll need to start braiding his forelock also, like I do with his mane...
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Herd dynamics & dressage training
Last night was really cold, so Barokko wore his brand new WeatherBeeta Landa Freestyle rug for the first time. When I got to the barn this morning he was warm and dry underneath, without being hot, perfect. It also happens to have the hugest tailflap in the world ;) I don't have to worry about his tail getting rubbed in this rug, that's for sure!
Barokko has Mondays off just hanging out with the other boys in the pasture, so Tuesdays I usually spend a little extra time grooming him. He's been really good about not rolling in the pond (in the middle of the pasture) lately, maybe it's getting to be too cold. That makes my grooming job a little easier ;)
Today the two gelding pastures (pony and horse) were combined, so the herd size doubled in one go. The two groups were familiar with each other already, as they've been on neighboring pastures until now, but there was quite a lot of posturing going on out there today, as they all had to figure out where they stood in this new large group.
Barokko's gotten to be really good friends with W, a 7 yr old red gelding that came into the herd a couple of weeks ago. Neither horse is very dominant on his own, but together they're quite a pair. They stuck close to each other when checking out the newcomers, apparently trying to establish a higher position in the hierarky together than either horse would have been able to alone. Super interesting to watch!
Oh yeah, and we rode a little today, too :P
Dressage training, I worked a lot on my own postition in canter departs, as I have a tendency to tilt slightly forward. Barokko's getting much more stable in the departs, haven't had a wrong lead in many rides now, and he's able to keep more steady contact, so we're beginning to work a little more with the canter, rather than "just cantering." Fun!
We're also working on halts, he's easy to stop, not so easy to keep balanced in the halt. Right now I'm leg yielding him slightly into the halt, which helps to activate his hind legs to keep them under him.
Re legyields, they're looking pretty good at the walk now, and he's beginning to understand that "hey this is the same thing I wlaready know how to do" in trot. But, rider mistake, I've been a little too consistent in only riding up the centerline when I want to practice leg yields, so now it's really hard to go straight! Oops... So today, no leg yields, but lots of centerlines!
Barokko has Mondays off just hanging out with the other boys in the pasture, so Tuesdays I usually spend a little extra time grooming him. He's been really good about not rolling in the pond (in the middle of the pasture) lately, maybe it's getting to be too cold. That makes my grooming job a little easier ;)
Today the two gelding pastures (pony and horse) were combined, so the herd size doubled in one go. The two groups were familiar with each other already, as they've been on neighboring pastures until now, but there was quite a lot of posturing going on out there today, as they all had to figure out where they stood in this new large group.
Barokko's gotten to be really good friends with W, a 7 yr old red gelding that came into the herd a couple of weeks ago. Neither horse is very dominant on his own, but together they're quite a pair. They stuck close to each other when checking out the newcomers, apparently trying to establish a higher position in the hierarky together than either horse would have been able to alone. Super interesting to watch!
Oh yeah, and we rode a little today, too :P
Dressage training, I worked a lot on my own postition in canter departs, as I have a tendency to tilt slightly forward. Barokko's getting much more stable in the departs, haven't had a wrong lead in many rides now, and he's able to keep more steady contact, so we're beginning to work a little more with the canter, rather than "just cantering." Fun!
We're also working on halts, he's easy to stop, not so easy to keep balanced in the halt. Right now I'm leg yielding him slightly into the halt, which helps to activate his hind legs to keep them under him.
Re legyields, they're looking pretty good at the walk now, and he's beginning to understand that "hey this is the same thing I wlaready know how to do" in trot. But, rider mistake, I've been a little too consistent in only riding up the centerline when I want to practice leg yields, so now it's really hard to go straight! Oops... So today, no leg yields, but lots of centerlines!
Welcome to Barokko's diary!
I've kept a hard copy diary for Barokko since I bought him, and thought it would be fun to post the diary online, too. Only problem with posting the diary on a blog is that you don't get to see all of the little drawings :)
I've had Barokko since January 2007. My primary interest is dressage, but we also do a lot of trail riding and once a week a little jumping. Barokko's been to one show so far, where we rode LC1 and LC2 (Training level). Our scores were 62.92% and 63.91%, and earned us 2nd place in both classes. He also did a 70 cm clear round pony class at the same show, with 0 faults.
Besides myself, there are 2 other riders who regularly ride Barokko - M who trail rides him every Sunday, and J who jumps him every Thursday. Dressage is off limits to everyone but me (and occasionally my trainer).
I've had Barokko since January 2007. My primary interest is dressage, but we also do a lot of trail riding and once a week a little jumping. Barokko's been to one show so far, where we rode LC1 and LC2 (Training level). Our scores were 62.92% and 63.91%, and earned us 2nd place in both classes. He also did a 70 cm clear round pony class at the same show, with 0 faults.
Besides myself, there are 2 other riders who regularly ride Barokko - M who trail rides him every Sunday, and J who jumps him every Thursday. Dressage is off limits to everyone but me (and occasionally my trainer).
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