Mico
When I rode Clover on Monday night, she didn't feel quite right. She never really stretched into the contact, and my usual winter chill stiffness reacted even worse with her holding herself. My friend watched us trot around, and confirmed that Clover wasn't tracking up behind. It felt worse in the right hind. I quit and walked her out on a long rein, and gave her the rest of the week off to see if that would help.
Christine invited me to ride her young Haflinger, Mico, tonight She's been offering to let me ride him for a while, actually. I've been pretty shy about riding other peoples' horses, I'm so used to riding Clover, and I know I have a hard time getting on a new horse and figuring it out. But, I know I need to get on different horses to continue “educating my seat.”
Mico is well-put together, for all his small stature, he's balanced and a large mover. He is a bit of a pill, and it seemed like he was testing me. You have to ride him with a sense of humor; getting into arguments with him is pointless. He gives back what he gets. Christine said that you need to convince him that what you want him to do is his idea, and he'll go along with you.
It wasn't pretty, but I after a while was able to relax a little, enough to at least get him on the aids a bit. He really gets you to ride with tactful, accurate and well-timed aids. It was good to see the holes in my riding. One of my New Year's resolutions is to apply the half-halt more appropriately, riding horses like my friend's once in a while will get me at the very least thinking about it more.
Part of me feels like giving up on dressage, but the smart part of me knows that this was a good learning experience. The more I ride, the more I realize I know nothing. But, I always feel good after riding, even a cold or bad ride. I have to say, for all the record-breaking cold we've had this January, I'm doing pretty good getting out and riding a couple of times a week—especially compared to the last couple of winters. Having access to an indoor does make a difference. I'm getting spoiled, I used to be so hard-core, about not needing to ride in an indoor, but now I'm thinking it's nice to get a jump on the season.
When we got back, Clover was a little standoffish. She wouldn't leave the run-in stall to go eat the hay we'd put out until I physically pushed her out. She munched on some hay with a pissy look on her face, until I went over and started patting her, then she perked up some. I walked away and she followed, ears up, so I fussed over her some more. I've never seen her be so demonstrative, she must've been put out that we took the boys and left her for the evening. Poor thing.
Christine invited me to ride her young Haflinger, Mico, tonight She's been offering to let me ride him for a while, actually. I've been pretty shy about riding other peoples' horses, I'm so used to riding Clover, and I know I have a hard time getting on a new horse and figuring it out. But, I know I need to get on different horses to continue “educating my seat.”
Mico is well-put together, for all his small stature, he's balanced and a large mover. He is a bit of a pill, and it seemed like he was testing me. You have to ride him with a sense of humor; getting into arguments with him is pointless. He gives back what he gets. Christine said that you need to convince him that what you want him to do is his idea, and he'll go along with you.
It wasn't pretty, but I after a while was able to relax a little, enough to at least get him on the aids a bit. He really gets you to ride with tactful, accurate and well-timed aids. It was good to see the holes in my riding. One of my New Year's resolutions is to apply the half-halt more appropriately, riding horses like my friend's once in a while will get me at the very least thinking about it more.
Part of me feels like giving up on dressage, but the smart part of me knows that this was a good learning experience. The more I ride, the more I realize I know nothing. But, I always feel good after riding, even a cold or bad ride. I have to say, for all the record-breaking cold we've had this January, I'm doing pretty good getting out and riding a couple of times a week—especially compared to the last couple of winters. Having access to an indoor does make a difference. I'm getting spoiled, I used to be so hard-core, about not needing to ride in an indoor, but now I'm thinking it's nice to get a jump on the season.
When we got back, Clover was a little standoffish. She wouldn't leave the run-in stall to go eat the hay we'd put out until I physically pushed her out. She munched on some hay with a pissy look on her face, until I went over and started patting her, then she perked up some. I walked away and she followed, ears up, so I fussed over her some more. I've never seen her be so demonstrative, she must've been put out that we took the boys and left her for the evening. Poor thing.
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