MAKE YOUR OWN KIND OF MUSIC

UPDATE ON THE HORSES

FRANK

Pic.: Frankie in the evening sun

I couldn't be more happy with him today. The last two sessions I kept him almost entirely in walk or returned him to walk as soon as I could when he spooked. I wanted him to react to me quicker and pay attention to my voice more immediately so when I sit on him I have something to help me control him when he is worried. I also wanted him to move slower with more balance.
He was really good on Friday but I had him in side reins which make him much more controllable.
So today, I decided to work him without anything, just a bridle and he was foot perfect. Even when he spooked it was into trot only and came back to walk after half a round the most. I did 20 minutes in walk and 5 minutes in trot. The latter was excellent, rhythmic and slow, exactly what I aimed for. You can watch it and judge it yourself:

Frankie on the lunge - 10th May

Frankie a few days earlier (still rushing and you can see he isn't as relaxed as on the video above)

If you want to compare it to the Fast & Worried from 3 weeks ago CLICK HERE and scroll down the post.

KINGSLEY

Kingsley is having DMSO for his splint. Here is one of the many articles on it that I found online: Information on Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO) Treatments for Horses. There seem to be two camps on DMSO, some swear by it, others say it's useless and didn't help their horses at all. We shall see. I walked him in-hand today and he was sound in walk. He also enjoyed a thorough groom and just a generally seems to be loving a life of a giant guinea pig. Mowing grass, being pampered and pooing are his activities right now.

VENUS

Pic.: Venus today: "What are you doing there with that camera?"

I put a bridle on her for the first time today with a straight bar nathe bit. She wasn't too impressed but wasn't too fussy either. The lungeing was less hectic than last time but she was still certainly very much in control so no videos as yet. Craig gave me a few pointers as to how to make her more focused on me but I didn't make a very good job of it. I should have let him show me exactly how to do it but didn't want to drag him away from his horse. Either way I finally managed to stop being worried about Venus's back end double barrelling into me and front end dancing around me and made some use of the techniques Craig explained to me. Despite me not being quick enough with my body language she finally settled, started paying more attention to me and walked and trotted in a decent manner. I then did a bit of in-hand walking over poles which she found impossible to go over at first but after numerous circling around them and seeing me going over, she followed without a fuss.
I'm certainly learning a lot from this mare!

AND A FEW THOUGHTS FROM THE WEEKEND JUST GONE...

Saturday was a not too great a day on which I got knocked over my feet by a car on my way to work! It sounds dramatic but it really wasn't that bad and anyone who ever had a good few falls of a horse will know what I mean. It was a bit of a freak accident with all parties being all right in the end. Just in case this has knocked any common sense into me I did have myself checked over and spent the rest of the day napping at home. All good now.

Evenings seem to be the best time for me to write, the later the better. During a day my mind is just too busy and occupied with everything that's going on around.
In fact, all the Academy Programmes were written either very late in the evening or during the nights. I finished the final drafts of all 4 main programmes yesterday but I'm sure there will still be lots of little bits and pieces to change, add or take out - the work I enjoy the least.
I'm not entirely happy with all the content as I have a feeling I missed something out or didn't say it like I wanted it to be but I know my never-quite-satisfied nature by now and I let go. If you're a perfectionist you just have to learn to start things without trying to make sure absolutely everything is right as you would never start anything.

Back to Sunday life, today was a lovely day despite the weather refusing to be on our side. I'm seriously blown away by the improvement shown in some of my riders and although it would be easy to say it's down to my amazing teaching ;) the truth is they simply try their best and really do make an effort and that effort makes an unbelievable difference. In the world where a lot of people expect great results with little input, those who do work with you make this job absolutely the best.

Sometimes I watch them ride and think I wish we had horses that actually move properly and let the riders learn what they need to know, feel and experience to be better. On days like today though, I watch them and I think they are probably already experiencing, feeling and improving more than many who have better horse power.

As I video my riders a lot I've started to re-watch the recordings this time listening to what I was saying and then observing the effect it had on the rider. Many times I say things that are unnecessary and create too much clatter so hopefully some self-evaluation, however primitive, will give me some ideas as to how to make my teaching better.

In my twenties I didn't pay as much attention to the future as I suddenly do now and it's hard to say if it's better or worse. Too much dwelling on tomorrow doesn't do much to the enjoyment of today, yet there is some pleasure to be had from knowing we are walking in the right direction.
Following one's dream is a wonderfully hard work...

But you've got to...