Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!

Who has the most fanciest fluffiest floatiest AWESOMEST horse EVER?!?!? I do, I do!!!!

I'm so lucky.... My horse's summer off was probably the best thing for both of us. We're back to being a team, he feels great, we've forgotten bad habits, and ... oh yeah, not to mention.. he is making a comeback! I'm so lucky...

Can you tell I had a great ride?! :)

Fleck and I met Kelli and Arwyn again at Ashland (where the magic keeps happening) and had a great trail ride. We probably hacked around for about an hour. Just cruising through the woods. We even went past the waterfall. It was great. Then we headed to the XC field because Kelli wanted to play. I had my dressage saddle on so I put Fleck to work in the field thinking we could do some hillwork/dressage. But he was SOOOOO good!! I was focusing on long and low and soft and supple and holy crap if it didn't work!!! I'm sure he was showing off some for Arwyn, but still. He was LOVELY!!! It was awesome. Even Kelli was saying how great he looked. And it felt amazing!!!

I love my pony.....

Dressage Day: Back to work!

Well Poo... no more fun magical trail riding today with a swim at the end. Today... back to work!! Today was dressage day. But it was it's own magical fun too. I mean that! It was a great ride.

The weather is PERFECT this week... blue skies, fluffy clouds, slight breeze, and a HIGH of 82!!! I had to roll the windows up a hair on the way to High Point.

We had an awesome ride. I'm finally finally learning to RIDE!!! Not just do what I'm told, but feel what's going on and start to fix it. I'm not always attempting to fix it the right way, but I'm at least trying. And sometimes it's right. Go me!! And Fleck says "Thank you, Mom!... ahhhh". Plus my new saddle makes it easier for my body to be correct.

We worked on getting Fleck to bend around my inside leg again. And again.. I had to get him straight first. Cindy explained it like a wheelbarrow. And I knew it.. but this helped cement it in my brain. Which is the most difficult part of riding for me. So when he's throwing his barrel against my leg and leaning in... I need to slightly counterflex to get him straight and back up onto that outside shoulder too. THEN I can ask for the bend again by using my inside leg and asking him to bend around it.. at the middle set of ribs. The other way to help is to almost ask for renvers (or haunches out... in other words, butt to the rail...cause apparently my brain thinks haunches out.. is out into the inside of the ring.. cause that makes sense??! ). But I can't think of it as just pushing his butt out.. cause I've done that and it doesn't work.. I really have to think of renvers (or is it travers?? Good grief....) and geting him bent properly which gets him straight. Again, I need to focus on having his neck coming straight out of his withers, not just bend at the neck and not through the wither. Oh, but back to the wheelbarrow. If the wheelbarrow is falling over, tipping to the left.. and I yank the left handle/rein and pull it back.. I'm going to tip it more! But if I use the right handle/rein to straighten it, I can then turn it and create the flexion. :)

Then we worked on the canter. Cindy had a neat exercise.. It was trotting.. then 6 or 8 meter volte in, focuing on riding BOTH SIDES of Fleck... meaning I need to allow my inside shoulder to turn and allow my outside shoulder and hand to follow. Then I cut my circle a little short and leg yield back to the rail. This really gets Fleck into the outside rein, but also straight. Then ask for the canter. Then we would spiral in and out with the canter.

It was oh so helpful! Fleck's canter got really bouncy and he was using that butt! And the trot after was oh so lovely. It was great... Lots of good work today :)


I really think having the summer "off" was so good for us.

Tomorrow... is a day for Dan! It won't really be a day off for Fleck as keeping Dan in line isn't easy, but at least it won't be hard work. And.. he got an awesome massage from Amanda tonight to make up for all his hard work recently.

The Magic of Ashland!

Today was another grand day!!! I'm so grateful that Ashland farm allows us to play in that beautiful playground. Its a wonderful place, a magical place.....

 

So magical.. that Fleck turned into a Unicorn!!

We met our friends Missy and her gorgeous black Arabian Zhar and started off. We had a lovely hand gallop through the open fields and some nice leisurely trail riding. Then we hit a patch of trail in the woods and had a nice canter down the wandering path. And suddenly our way was led by a big horned owl! It was amazing! We went past the pavillion, which always seems like a magical place to me... and it didn't disappoint. We hit it just as the sun was sinking and creating my favorite time of day... sideways sun! It was beautiful.

We then went to the lake and had a nice wade. Fleck still won't swim despite my repeated attempts to get him in farther. But he was having fun blowing bubbles! I don't know why, but he loves putting his whole nose in and splashing around. We finally decided to leave and I turned Fleck out. He walked up a little closer to shore and then stopped to paw again. He likes to splash so I didn't think too much of it. Although in my brain, I was thinking "he's kinda acting like he wants to roll... but Fleck doesn't roll"... Then suddenly he was buckling his knees. Still I'm thinking "really??? Fleck doesn't roll!". Splash... down we went. Goober!!! I guess I did want to get wet, but jeesh! So then we got up and got back on and carried on our way.

 

 

This was Fleck saying "Hey Zhar... check this out....watch what I'm about to do to Mom"!

Success!!! muhauhauaaaa 

We ended our ride back at Halfshire Farm where Zhar lives and the sun was so pretty we had to take a quick photo shoot in the field. Then we had a quick romp around a few fences still set up. I was quite proud that we hopped on over the swedish oxer with no problems. That tends to get us.

 

(we only walked into the field for a quick photo shoot, then back out the path we came in on! These are the hay fields)

So a quick rinse off, a little graze, ice boots on his knees, and back home we headed... basking in the glow of the magical day!

GREAT DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What an absolute lovely day today!!! It was a gorgeous Fall day.... nice cool breeze, no humidity, only about 85, gorgeous blue sky with a few fluffy white clouds... Just GORGEOUS!!!

And what better way to spend a day like today than on a horse!!

Fleck and I met some friends and went out to play at Ashland. We got on and headed out to the cross country field for some jumping. Holy toledo!!! Fleck said that he was off "gallop restriction"! I planned to spend a good ten minutes walking him, then some trotting and cantering and then start jumping. Well... we walked to the XC field and then walked about 3 minutes before Fleck suddenly jumped up and down about 6 times and then just took off. Like flat out bolted with me. It wasn't vicous... it was "I'm DONE with this not having fun crap...we are galloping and we are galloping NOW"! The little turd was going so freakin' fast.... I don't think he's EVER gone that fast!! It was so fast that I started to get a little worried and I don't think he could turn real well his little legs were going so fast! I finally pulled him up and tried to trot a little and he took off with me again. I think we did about three mach 50 bolts before he finally settled enough to "warm up". Ha!! I'm soooo glad he felt that good but sooooo worried about his poor knees.

So we then did a real warm up... sorta! Hee hee... I can't help it.. I wanted to get on with it too. That's why we're such a good match. So we did some warm up and then started jumping. And he felt great!!! We jumped pretty much everything out there.. the corner both ways, the water drops, the log in and out of the water, the trakenher (which jumped Amazingly well for us!), the ditch and wall (novice sized but still) and the big coops and such. He even did the big prelim down bank. And he was oh so smart about it! He came down to the trot and went softly off it. Yay!!! Save those knees buddy! We had a blast!! And our friends were awesome too. We all had a great day.

Then we went back to the trailers and took off boots (ours and ponies) and saddles and hopped back on bareback to go to the lake. We had a great time splashing around. I still can't get Fleck to swim yet, but... he went out much deeper. We're just going to run out of hot weather potentially... But we still had fun. Then we went for a little trail ride and headed home.

 

All in all, a marvelous time with wonderful friends. Everyone was so thrilled with their horses... the weather was gorgeous, and the horses were also having the time of their lives. It was just a perfect day!

Jumping Bean!!!

So... we're back to work officially I guess now :) Although, still.... I'm still making our mantra "Day by day".... I am making plans for the future but not going to stick to them if the need to change them arises. I think it's a good plan. And Fleck agrees!!! Although apparently he thinks we need to be a little less wishy washy and a little more "go-ey". :)

Anyways... we had an adult pony club lesson this weekend. Luckily for me it was with Beth, my regular jump coach. I ended up with a private lesson because the other girl I was riding with had to cancel. It was nice. We were the last of the Over the Hilltoppers and then there was a lunch break and then the Hilltoppers went. So.... Fleck got to show off :) He had the OTHers still around and then the Hilltoppers were all getting close to getting ready and were around, so... Fleck was in hog heaven. He likes being ooohed and aaahed over. And I will admit... I like it too! Not me... and certainly I was riding like a drunken monkey.. But I like to show Fleck off... I LOVE when people tell me how awesome he is. I know it, he knows it, but it's nice when others see it too.

Anyways, we had a good ride. Beth really got us working and changed things up as I needed them to be. So it was a very successful ride. We worked on getting back into prelim mode and speed, getting him rocked back, and keeping his shoulders through the turns and riding forward through the turns!!!! We also worked on my position and FINALLY my hands are starting to improve. :) Now to work on my leg. It's always something.

 

 

We did some fun roll backs and some bent lines. It was good stuff and Fleck was so happy to be jumping again. I was pleasantly surprised later to find out that they were very much set to training height and perhaps one or two even prelim height. I was thinking they looked sorta big and impressive but figured they were probably really only novice height. So it was nice to see my eye (or courage) hadn't shrunk that much. Yay!

Onward we go!! :) Still enjoying every second we get to have again. :)

Ahhhhh, life is good!

Ahhhh......

Pretty much....

 

 

Let's Roll!

So... we're BACK baby!!! At least for now... Baby steps, but... yay for jumping cross country again!!  We've done a jump lesson with Beth and then a cross country school at Ashland. Fleck was very happy to be back in work. As was I! So then we decided to go to Pine Top. Someone must have told Fleck because when I woke up that morning and went out to feed... this is what I was greeted with. hee hee... Fleck says "Let's roll... I"m ready"!

 

So anyways... we went to Pine Top and had fun. Fleck was a good bit and was so glad to be back out there. We didn't do much... mostly novice stuff, but it was still great to be back out there.

When we were done Sunny (who was being hand walked because he was in trouble for dumping Peri) got a little excited and got loose. I hopped off Fleck and grabbed him. I gave Sunny back to Beth and he pulled back again so he got in trouble. Fleck took this as an opportunity and ... REARED UP!!! What?!?! I looked up at him and said "um, excuse me... Who do you think YOU are"!? He came back down to Earth... and then I said "You don't do that"!. And then he shook his head NOOOO, no I don't. Hee hee... It was hilarious. He was having so much fun he just couldn't help himself.

So... not exactly a great day as Peri came off and ended up with a concussion and we didn't do a ton, but... A FANTASTIC day cause Fleck and I were back out there playing. And we had fun. So... day by day... But I'm loving each day!