The path to the outdoor was finally solid so we all (5 of us) got to go for a ride outside! Oh I love being able to ride outside!!! I lunged Lucas for a bit then walked/ side-passed/ two tracked for about 10 minutes, did some trot work (much easier to have a decent trot outside even when not wearing spurs) and then cantered about 3 times around the ring (the most cantering I've done since I brought Lucas home in December).
We only cantered to the right, our good way, but he was swapping hind leads on the lunge line going to the left so I didn't want to push it. He was such a good boy, even with the horses that were turned out acting foolish.
I'm paying for the ride now, but it was worth it to get to ride outside with the birds singing and the sun shinning. I didnt ride long but that is 2 rides this week! Hopefully I can get another one in this week and (crossing fingers) have a lesson on Saturday. I wanted to take lessons earlier this year but it didn't seem like a good use of money when I was too sick to ride more than 15 min. So we'll try it next weekend, hopefully the weather cooperates.
Showing posts with label outside. Show all posts
Showing posts with label outside. Show all posts
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Super star!
Well I took Lucas out into the outdoor for the first time on Saturday afternoon. We went out with Tanker (a 5 yo filly who he is in LOVE with) and one of the 3yo colts he was turnout buddies with last year. They've all been out in the outdoor to lunge but this was the first time we've gotten on.
Lucas got stuck as usual when I was pushing him around on his haunches but I was able to bump him though it without much fuss or fight. Other than that he was excellent! We did some good trot work and some bending and working on our change of direction and making it smother for both of us (something that I have to work hard on as I have one leg stronger than the other). Then we did some transition work, and then we finaly got to work on some true canter work!
Can I just say one thing... I love Lucas' canter!
The indoor is almost too tight to really get him out in the full stride that he needs. So we end up working more on the exercises that will make him a stronger canter without doing much cantering. Now that we are out in the outdoor I can really encourage him to use his body to its full advantage. He'll fight and fuss in the indoor but we both 'click' so well when we have the space. So it was nice to bump him up into a true canter and feel him really reach under himself! I hope to get a video next week of us working to post so you can see how hes doing.
In other news my BF came up this weekend for a local horse association meeting. We had enought time after the meeting for her to come see Lucas and we were going to try her Wenger training saddle on as she was going to lend it to us for a month until we got the first show over with. (She is laid up due to surgery on her knee, doing much better but not riding again for a bit!)
Anyways this is the saddle that I used on Lucas for a bit last winter (when my friend first got hurt) that fit him perfectly. Today it was much too tight! Thank god I didn't buy one! So were back to using D's saddle for a bit (which still fits Lucas!) His English saddle still fits, and I did get an adjustable saddle, but my BF thinks the same that I do, that we will be into another wider gullet by the time show season hits.
When you think that when he first came you could almost see his ribs, and now we are almost into a wide tree saddle.... And although she was the person that thought he was going to be too fat this year, she was truly impressed with how he looked, and that he was carrying the weight in all of the right areas this year where as last year it mostly settled on his belly. Could he be a bit fitter? Sure, but she agreed that we really don't want him too fit! I would be lunging him forever!
Lucas got stuck as usual when I was pushing him around on his haunches but I was able to bump him though it without much fuss or fight. Other than that he was excellent! We did some good trot work and some bending and working on our change of direction and making it smother for both of us (something that I have to work hard on as I have one leg stronger than the other). Then we did some transition work, and then we finaly got to work on some true canter work!
Can I just say one thing... I love Lucas' canter!
The indoor is almost too tight to really get him out in the full stride that he needs. So we end up working more on the exercises that will make him a stronger canter without doing much cantering. Now that we are out in the outdoor I can really encourage him to use his body to its full advantage. He'll fight and fuss in the indoor but we both 'click' so well when we have the space. So it was nice to bump him up into a true canter and feel him really reach under himself! I hope to get a video next week of us working to post so you can see how hes doing.
In other news my BF came up this weekend for a local horse association meeting. We had enought time after the meeting for her to come see Lucas and we were going to try her Wenger training saddle on as she was going to lend it to us for a month until we got the first show over with. (She is laid up due to surgery on her knee, doing much better but not riding again for a bit!)
Anyways this is the saddle that I used on Lucas for a bit last winter (when my friend first got hurt) that fit him perfectly. Today it was much too tight! Thank god I didn't buy one! So were back to using D's saddle for a bit (which still fits Lucas!) His English saddle still fits, and I did get an adjustable saddle, but my BF thinks the same that I do, that we will be into another wider gullet by the time show season hits.
When you think that when he first came you could almost see his ribs, and now we are almost into a wide tree saddle.... And although she was the person that thought he was going to be too fat this year, she was truly impressed with how he looked, and that he was carrying the weight in all of the right areas this year where as last year it mostly settled on his belly. Could he be a bit fitter? Sure, but she agreed that we really don't want him too fit! I would be lunging him forever!
Sunday, April 10, 2011
First time outside! (well this year)
We finally got out to the outdoor today! I know that on a bunch of blogs that I read alot of you were outside a while ago, but we still have snow banks here! Lucas was great though, walked up with some of the other horses (we went up in a group to give the younger horses confidence) and it was like he was only out of the outdoor for a week, not almost 6 months. In fact all of the horses were good. Our outdoor runs alongside some of the turnout pens, so we were even expecting the young group of horses turned out there to want to play around (they wouldn't have seen horses up there last summer). But I guess there were enough older horses around that they didn't even kick up a fuss.
It was 15 degrees C here today so everyone's winter blankets were off, Lucas is back in his summer clothes for the summer! Well hes wearing his turnout with a sheet underneath it, but I think he's as happy as I am that we can finally start putting the winter stuff away.
It was 15 degrees C here today so everyone's winter blankets were off, Lucas is back in his summer clothes for the summer! Well hes wearing his turnout with a sheet underneath it, but I think he's as happy as I am that we can finally start putting the winter stuff away.
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