She looked absolutely FANTASTIC on the lunge today. She was free moving and seemed to be in a darn good mood.
It was windy and cold again, so after her warm up we headed to the indoor arena for our 3rd ride there.
I was smart enough to bring the camera this time. I unfortunately wasn't smart enough to bring more batteries, so the 2nd video I thought I was taking didn't work out so hot. I did get this though.
I'm showing this to you for a few reasons.
For one, a laugh. Watching me mount up is pretty hilarious.
I didn't realize I looked so ridiculous. I mean, I knew if she were just a fraction of a hand taller I wouldn't be able to get up there, but this is just silly. I will be using the mounting block in subsequent videos.
Mostly I want to post this as an example of riding I consider to be pretty sub-par. It's obvious how nervous the horse is.
She's fidgety and playing constantly with the bit. Her body is stiff and over-reactive.
In turn, I'm being way too heavy handed.
We both look pretty uncomfortable.
You can see that at the far end of the arena, she's constantly either trying to break stride or rush out of there. There are also a bunch of sticky moments where bending either is happening too much or not enough.
Of course, you know the background for this ride already if you've read my posts on day 1 and day 2.
I like the part where she spooks right in front of the camera.
You can also hear the wind howling and her buddy screaming in the background.
Still--this is a vast improvement on her last ride in the indoor arena--ride #2. Unfortunately this arena is too small to get any really good work in. For a horse as big as she is, it's a challenge. Her canter felt a lot more hair-raising than it looks in the video, but having said that, it still looks pretty bad.
After this we braved the wind and had some really nice canter transitions outside. Again, my draped rein, nicely collected horse was back.
I noticed something today, too. She can be straight as an arrow in the canter. For a few strides anyway. We had some really nice moments of her being lifted, straight and supporting her weight and mine without much help from me.
I'll try to figure out how to get a video out there sometime, so you can see me getting blown off my horse.
Obviously she's a lot happier working in the environment she's comfortable in. Isn't that true of all of us?
Great video! Though I didn't see where she spooked. That could be because I ride an Ay-rab and was looking for the "Holy Crap" kind of spook. And your sub-par riding is still lovely and quiet. :) If you want to see a train wreck, I'll try and post a video of me and the Princess fussing our way across the arena.
ReplyDeleteAlso, WOW the howling wind!! It sounds like a horse whinnying frantically sometimes. That you can ride AT ALL in that is fantastic!
Honestly, and I take pride in not being a fair weather rider (ha, ha), it is SO not fun riding in that wind outside. Inside is really pleasant if you can just put the noise out of your mind. You know those little wool ear plugs they make for horses? I actually considered those for Chev after that first day in the arena. The wind was probably three times louder that day.
ReplyDeleteI remember all too well from my childhood the kind of spooks you're talking about. Thank goodness Chev mostly spooks in place!
I would love to see a video. I think it's always helpful to be able to see others riding, and I don't get that enough. Most of the people out here don't ride during the winter. :)
p.s. the itty bitty spook happens right at 4:00.
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