| Ride | Date | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Monday 1/6/12 | (I don't think I like this format, so I will probably change this page.) Today I decided I am going to take Kahlua for a ride on the irrigation canal. It's a bit scary since I don't have health insurance, and I've never ridden her solo, and have no idea how she does on a canal bank like that. But first, we had to get past the saddling and mounting nightmare. Started out about 4:30 p.m. Considering it gets dark early, I didn't have much time. Stopped at the freezer for a quick shot or two of whiskey for some liquid courage. Got her out of the pasture, tied her up, brushed her out, put her pad and blanket on her, and grabbed her saddle. Placed the saddle on her where it needed to be, and reached under her for the cinch -- keeping an eye out for teeth. None came. No reaction. Awesome. Cinched her up while she sucked in her breath, then took her for a walk around my driveway area. Tied her back up, finished cinching her up, bridled her, and looked around for a place to mount. Simple. Walked right over to the garden area, which is on the way to the canal bank, but it has the railroad ties laying there. So I pulled her right up to the railroad ties, put the reins over her head, stuck my foot in the stirrup and it was easy peasy. No saddle slippage. No pinned ears. No muss no fuss. And off we went. She walked. Which was nice. She is usually chomping at the bit to go faster, but she paced herself nicely, looked around, trotted a couple of times, but went back to a walk with a gentle reminder. Went down to Dean and Brooke's, used the street to turn around and came back. Got to Diana's driveway, and turned her around again. She didn't like that idea. Turned her back toward my house, and again turned her towards Dean and Brooke's, gave her a convincing nudge with my heels, and she was fine with it. Once she relaxed, I turned her back around, and homeward bound we were. I was very happy with it. I am looking forward to all of them being this simple. ;-) | |
| Friday 1/6/12 | Today wasn't about riding. I just wanted to mess with the saddle and mounting and dismounting and figuring out why everything is sliding. So I went out and put her halter on, and tied her up to the tree near my truck that had my saddle sitting on it. Brushed her all out nice and pretty which took a while since she's a roller. The minute I threw the pad on her, the dancing started. I ignored it. I put the blanket on her and she danced a little more, so I whoa'd her and got her to knock it off. I placed the saddle on her, and when I went to reach through to grab and connect the cinch, she turn and nibbled -- with the intention of nibbling on me. I quick-released the lead rope and backed her up and made it a negative experience for her. Put the saddle back on her, and while she watched me the whole time, didn't make the lip move again. She did have all of her breath all sucked up though, so I took her for a walk. Got up on the ditch bank, and she was doing well. She started to crowd me, so I backed her up again and reminded her that it's not ok to do that. And decided a good walk was in order. So we practiced stopping and starting without crowding me. I stop, she stops ... behind me. Not to the side of me, not next to me, not in front of me, but behind me. If she's not paying attention, she'd better be. When I walk forward, she lets me out a few steps and then starts walking. When I stop, she stops. I shouldn't have to "whoa" her or throw my hands up in the air. And she did well, for the most part. A couple of reminders and we were okay. Brought her back down to the driveway, tightened up her cinch and attempted a mount. She danced around on me. Backed her up again, and then all was well. Threw my foot in the saddle and jumped up, and the saddle slid. Did it again, same thing. Brought her out into the pasture on uneven ground where I am a just a little bit higher and it makes quite a difference. There is still a little bit of sliding, but nothing I can't fix once I'm in the saddle. I only had her halter on with the lead rope, so I didn't ride her. I dismounted and mounted her several times noting what was happening with the saddle. And we sat still. Not allowed to paw the ground. Not allowed to roll. Or walk off. Just stand there. And she did that well. However, ever time I stood up in the stirrups, she pinned her ears back and looked at me. Not sure what that's about. Something might not be comfortable. Need to have DC check what I'm doing. Quite a bit of improvement with leading. Got a couple more ideas to correct the nipping. Keeping an eye out for a good trailer. That would help getting back and forth for lessons. | |
| Tuesday 1/3/12 | First ride since I hurt my back. I was basically just going to mess with the tack and figure out the best way to fit the pad, blanket and saddle to minimize slippage, etc. Everything seemed to just fall into place, so I threw on her bridle and went into the pasture to see if I could mount her without everything slipping. We had a bit of a "meeting" about mounting near the little stump out there. Once I pulled her away from that, she stood just fine. And I was able to hop right on her, and in fact, hesitated before throwing my right leg over to see if anything was going to start sliding. Nothing did. And once I sat down, she just stood still. Good girl. We walked around the little arena, both directions, doing circles and I started noticing a bit of the bitchies. She wasn't quite so forward today. She'd stop, and when I would squeeze me legs just even a little bit, she'd dance a bit, and the ears would come back, so I'd drive her into circles. I was a bit intimidated being that I was alone and hesitant with my back, so I didn't push it too hard. But also didn't let her get away with anything. I'd walk her near the gate, and she'd stop, as if to tell me to get off. So then there would be a small battle, but I'd win. Then she'd walk over to where her halter was hanging up, and she'd stop. Small battle would ensue, and I'd win. All in all, though, she did well. Was content to walk for the most part. Figured out how to put a tracker on my phone. I don't know how accurate it is though. 1.3 miles. | |
| Saturday 12/3/11 | Had a lot less fumbling getting tacked up, still had quite a bit of slipping with the saddle during mounting, but that will work itself out when everything gets broken in. She walked out to the arena this time -- obviously understanding there was work ahead of her. But I was glad she walked. We got into the arena ... and with nothing in front of her, she walked. And walked and walked some more. Great progress. We stood still. No pawing. No attempting to roll. A few times, she had nothing in front of her and she wanted to trot, so into a circle we went, and she would give up much sooner than she did previously. I was very very happy with the way she worked. Another very important (to me) thing we are working on is leading. She has been allowed to lead with her shoulder next to the person. I am very uncomfortable with her up there. She is learning to respect my space, and I am learning how to properly correct her -- with a focus on being fair in my correction, having it be firm enough so as to be clear the first time so I don't end up nagging. I have to admit, though, I am a bit intimidated correcting her when I am on the ground. But I'm learning. | |
| Tuesday 11/29/11 | New saddle, new pad, new blanket, new rider, new bridle, etc. Yikes. Took me a bit to figure it out, and it's tough getting the brand new latigo tight enough to handle my fat ass getting into the saddle. Finally figured it out, though. Rode down to the arena. She definitely wants to go ... a lot. Put open space in front of her, and she goes. That's the first thing we're going to work on is getting her to walk. I was stopping her every time she got into a trot. What I am finding out, though, is that a better training method is to make her work when she does that. Make her circle. Don't stop her. Wait until she stops herself. And this method is teaching me a ton. Balance. Big time. Going from a trot into tight circles brings out every little weakness in the way I am sitting in the saddle, how my feet are in the stirrups, whether or not my latigo is tight enough, whether I am leaning to far forward, etc. All at once. She also had a three-beat stop. I'd "whoa" her and she would take three steps. We're getting her to stop quicker. If I don't put her into circles when she goes into the trot, I lead her right into the corner of the arena, and "whoa" her where she doesn't have room for 3 steps. And when she is just standing, she gets bored, and will either start heading off pretty quick, or if I don't let her do that, she's pawing at the ground and threatening to roll on me. So those are the things we needed to work on. We rode for about an hour and, despite the bit of spoiled brattiness I was finding in her, I really enjoyed riding her. And yes, I was a bit sore but none the worse for wear. |
Kahlua's Training
On this page, I am going to attempt to record the times I ride and what we've worked on. It will be listed most recent on top.
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