Goals and progress:. June and July.

[Kyra's Mom]

Thanks for the suggestions. Unfortunately, I need a cut-out over the tailbone which leaves out most padded underwear. Padding actually makes things worse by "pushing back". Hard is better. I had my old saddle tricked out pretty good. Unfortunately, it didn't fit the horse well anymore and it had foam panels and couldn't be adjusted plus it was just too big for me, even with the pads I used. It was a pretty good set up for avoiding butt pain though.

Then I slapped a seat saver over the top.

With my current saddle, I have a piece of a Thin Line pad with a triangle cut out of the back and a ThinLine seat saver over the top. That helps but I need to go find another white pad. It is a little thicker and keeps me away from the saddle better. I just don't have as much room in the seat of the current saddle. I did try the Prestige X-Breath. Really nice saddle and horse went nicely in it. However the demo was only a 17 inch. It actually has a cut out for the tailbone but in the smaller saddle, the cut out wasn't in the right place for me and I was right against the cantle which was really uncomfortable. Yep...it was too small. They only make a 17 and an 18 and I'm not sure that an inch more is enough? I wish they made and 18.5. I will see how the injections go. If things get a lot better, I might give that saddle a whirl.

I keep trying. You have got to give me an "A" for effort .

Susan

[Ponichiwa]

Ouch, Kyra's mom. You have my deepest sympathies.

Great news: Kiwi's progressed to walking under saddle. Hurray healing! We're getting lots of miles on wandering around the property. In a couple weeks I get to start thinking about putting her back on the bit. For now, though, my main goal is to halt the transition from pony to gourd-on-legs. She's so chubby when she can't exercise.

[Flight]

Definitely have to give you an A for effort Kyra's mum!!
It's unfortunate that surgery isn't a simple fix for you too.

[Rosie B]

Hi Guys

Checking in briefly. I've been following along with everyone's progress and am enjoying all the updates.

Bliss has had an easy July- we've had family visiting, we went on a week long camping trip, and now we're finishing our 6 month upstairs renovation. The end is in sight! I've still been able to work him at least once or twice a week, so although he's lost a bit of fitness he's not a complete marshmallow. He's going out for 3 months full training at the beginning of September, so I'm ok with him getting a little soft for now.

I on the other hand am very soft and look like I've swallowed a basketball. 30 weeks today! But still feeling great.

Here's a pic from one of our more recent sessions...

[demi]

I love this group of horses and riders! I read all the posts and check the thread almost every day.

I got in 5 days this week in spite of the Texas heat. I am still working on myself and don't have anything exciting to report. Well, except that I rode out some bucking yesterday. I almost didn't ride yesterday because the heat was wearing me down. But I went out to feed and it was a bit cooler. That got my energy going and apparently Emma's, too! I ended the ride with a really nice,expressive w-c transition that quickly turned into 5-6 healthy bucks. I was happy that i didn't have much trouble getting her head up and that she seemed to be listening to my voice telling her to stop that right now! I'm not worried (too much) about it. The canter was an issue with her before I bought her but I don't think yesterday's behavior was related. She has bucked with me related to canter work before, but I think at this point it's a similar behavior to the head flipping thing I went through with her. She is moving really well and soundly now and I think yesterday was just her testing me, like the head flipping. Plus, I have been really working on NOT hand riding her and she is adjusting to that change. I think this added to her feeling the need to test me. She got over the head flipping and I think the canter issue will pass as well.

Today's ride was good, although I cantered her on the longe to be safe. She wanted to buck in canter on the longe but settled right down when I scolded her. I will probably longe her for the canter work until she consistently canters without any attempt to buck. I will do the canter longe work after the ridden work. I do it with a halter over her bridle and attach the longe to the side of the halter. I put the reins so that it is just like I am riding on the buckle.

[Chisamba]

Kyra s mom, i hope you find a comfortable option for your riding!

Ponichiwa, hope his healing continues unabated.

Rosie, if you do not show us a pregnancy pic, it does not exist

Demi, hope your canter work progresses without unrequested airs above the ground.

I have been playing around trying to edit a bit of Kimbas most recent video.

https://youtu.be/MfiiBEk7j9k

[Flight]

Nice to hear you are doing well Rosie B! The time is going so quickly, you are 30 weeks already Bliss looks lovely as always.

Hope the bucking settles down for you Demi! That's something I hope my big young fellow never figures out how to do to me.

Really nice video Chisamba, Kimba is lovely to watch.

I had a good lesson with my young horse the other day, I wasn't sure when to start increasing the work and we worked that out which was very helpful.
I was hoping to take him to a competition on the weekend, and the weather might actually be ok for it. However, my ute has other ideas. I picked up a load of hay and on the way back it developed a very loud knocking noise somewhere in it's car guts. Not a healthy car at the moment! Living in a smallish country town, the mechanics are generally booked up for several weeks, so I'm expecting no comp for me.

[Chisamba]

Flight, sorry about your transport problems i hope it's not a major disaster.

[kande50]

Plus, I have been really working on NOT hand riding her and she is adjusting to that change. I think this added to her feeling the need to test me. She got over the head flipping and I think the canter issue will pass as well.

The bucking would concern me because I think it indicates either mental or physical stress, so unless I had a pretty good idea why my horse felt the need to buck (something along the lines of holding a bit too much while pressuring him to canter so he thought maybe a "bigger" canter was what he needed to produce) I'd be worried about it. If I couldn't come up with a possible explanation other than that I was giving him more freedom with my hands than I had previously, then I would wonder if perhaps he'd been uncomfortable all along and now he just felt freer to express that discomfort?

Considering Emma's previous head flipping issue I'd want to consider the possibility that she might have neck or back issues, or was at one time trained harshly and remembered discomfort that now stresses her?

OTOH, good on you for riding through it, as that's no small accomplishment as we're approaching that point in our lives where we're not quite so confident that we'll bounce right back if we come off!

Today's ride was good, although I cantered her on the longe to be safe. She wanted to buck in canter on the longe but settled right down when I scolded her. I will probably longe her for the canter work until she consistently canters without any attempt to buck. I will do the canter longe work after the ridden work. I do it with a halter over her bridle and attach the longe to the side of the halter. I put the reins so that it is just like I am riding on the buckle.

That's how I lunge too, because I don't want my horses running into the bit if they spook at something.

[Chisamba]

Horses sometimes just have an opinion. Mares will buck at the leg a bit when they are not quite on heat yet. I ride a lot of mares so my still seat light leg theory of training is preeminently to accomodate hormonal change so that riding can be consisted through all times and seasons.

[Ryeissa]

delete

[khall]

I had a long update and it poofed the other day and have not had time to rewrite it until today. We had hay on the ground and had to get it up, our help had car trouble so it was just family, 3 of us who were picking up the hay and stacking it. Lots of work! Got it finished yesterday and now are praying our hay building will actually be installed this week. Cross your fingers! We have no other places to stack hay at this point.

My big guy Rip is going well US, asking using very little and getting it very easily. Nice HP today, just good riding, asking questions that he is answering easily. Keeping it short because of the heat. Was extremely proud of him the other day with in hand work, have been doing trot, halt, RB, trot for a bit now and that is very engaging. I usually do have to have a bit of a discussion first RB or so to remind him not to dump in the front but once that is through then it is light and easy. So I decided to try engaged active walk to half steps to active walk and he did it with ease!!! I did have to remind him lightly with the whip to stay active coming back to the walk but once he understood not a problem. I did the exercise a few times and then back to the barn for the big guy, did not even ride him that day I was so happy with him. I am not exaggerating that working him in hand especially asking for activation and energy could be more than exciting as he would throw himself and legs around. (this with a 1400lb + 16.2hh punk horse) It took him quite awhile to settle with this work and quit being a twit about it and now it is just so easy I am amazed.

My young mare is stepping up as well. I love how her engagement has changed, love watching how she is going now. I had been having trouble last year and over the winter with her springing shoes every cycle, now that she is more up not had her spring a shoe since. Very relieved. I also had a mental workout with her the other day, she was being lunged right next to the RP with a horse that was ripping and tearing and she ignored the other mare focusing on me WTC both directions without a hitch. Then working in hand the other mare left, leaving us working by ourselves a first for her. She was initially distracted and called but gentle reminder and she came back to me and we had a lovely active ride for the day.

My biggest progress is that I have found someone that I hopefully will enjoy riding with. She is in FL, rode with Bettina Drummond for 10 yrs and has been to Portugal to ride with a trainer there who sounds just awesome. He also rode with Nuno Olivera. Heading down next month for a weekend, looking forward to riding with her. Closer than Mark was, and I don't have to go through ATL to get to her farm.

Kyra's mom, ouch!! I hope you can find a pain free solution so you can ride.

Ponichiwa glad you are back on your pony, stay cool!

Chisamba nice work on your girls, sounds like good solid progress all the way around.

Rosie glad you checked in was wondering how you were doing. Good luck with your labor and delivery, Bliss looks good.

Demi sounds like you have a good plan going. As for bucking into canter I have found some will do that until they get back into the swing of cantering US again. My older mare still does it and for me it is a sign she is behind the aids/leg so I go back and activate her either in the walk if W-C or trot with some SI when T-C, get her accepting the forward aids better then she will quit. As long as they aren't out and out broncing with me I tend not to get bent out of shape over it.

Mountaineer, glad you stayed on top and could ride the wild pony through that test! Riding through harder tests can definitely be a good way to see how we are progressing. Something I am not that good about doing :\.

Flight too funny about Ding! Love the pic of you with your young horse chasing him off. I used to ride in the pasture with the herd, I would have them following all over the field when I rode my mare the matriarch of the pasture. I would look back to find 2-3 horses in a line behind us, one way to exercise them all! Hope Ding gets better soon with his lameness, glad you have the youngster to ride.

Dresseur, what a nice guy you have, glad the move went well.

Piedmont a big on piri canter!! I hear you on the heat, it is horrid here along with the humidity. Dew point of 78 here today. Air you can wear.

Rye, saw your video of Riot at the canter, silly boy!! Good job riding it through and getting back into work. He is looking good.

On to Aug/Sept and hoping for much cooler weather soon. I feel like I can progress just a tiny bit, but nothing big because I am having to keep it so short.

[StraightForward]

Pickle (turning 3 next week) -
One trip in the trailer each week
Allow me to spray her all over with the hose and clip her bridle path
Ground drive in side reins and begin lateral work
Go to a local show and show in hand without drama

Well, we only managed one or two trailer outings with my travel schedule and trying to keep up with the garden, etc. We did hit a schooling show and showed in halter with minimal drama. Tried to get out today, but my trailer was blocked in by a car. Will try for next weekend anyway.

Pickle is starting to get the idea of lateral work in hand. Sort of a mix of shoulders out/renvers. I've been slow to introduce the side reins to the point that they will help create the needed bend/flexion, but that is coming alone. Today she did great at picking up canter on the lunge both directions. I don't lunge much at all, but when I did, she'd been wanting to rush into the canter, so this is a big step. She's accepting clippers on her bridle path now, and I can bathe her in the wash rack, and she's very chill about being bridled and girthed. Best of all, she has not had any temper tantrums for several weeks, so it seems her mental maturity is coming along!

Overall, she's made a lot of progress, even though it feels like we're just working on the same things. Looking forward to the next two months!

[demi]

Striaghtforward, nice that you went back and copied your original plan for comparison to how you ended June and july. I have to remember to do that when we get to the end of the Aug/ Sept thread. You must be very pleased! I look forward to some pictures in the future!

[Kyra's Mom]

SF, yeah for the Pickle. Kyra certainly went through the terrible 2's and dramatic 3's. After long enough, the brain kicks in. I need to get over and watch you work her. I have been doing a lot of long reining too. Finally getting a semblance of half pass and we can get some good turn on the haunches. Kyra acted today like the temps were in the 50's (read lots of exuberant energy) but then it felt pretty heavenly compared to the last week.

Happy riding (or ground work) all.

Susan

[piedmontfields]

Thanks to everyone for sharing their journeys. This is such a weird hobby that it is nice to exchange notes with others who are passionate about the process! I love the video and photo updates, too.

[Mareless]

I've been afraid to say it for fear of jinxing myself, but I think my horse is finally sound! Haven't ridden him very much in the past two weeks because of the heat and humidity (4x in 2 weeks), but he's off the bute and is working sound at all three gaits so far. He did get a little ouchie right after having his shoes reset, but that lasted just a few days.

[Ryeissa]

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[demi]

...Demi sounds like you have a good plan going. As for bucking into canter I have found some will do that until they get back into the swing of cantering US again. My older mare still does it and for me it is a sign she is behind the aids/leg so I go back and activate her either in the walk if W-C or trot with some SI when T-C, get her accepting the forward aids better then she will quit. As long as they aren't out and out broncing with me I tend not to get bent out of shape over it. ...

Thanks for this comment. I had to think about it, but being behind the leg is probably a part of what was happening with my mare. She has a lot of natural energy but I fall into a bad habit of unconsciously blocking her forward energy ( I am SO working on fixing this habit!) so she gets confused when I ask her to go forward and hold her back at the same time, and then she's behind the leg.

Good luck riding with your new trainer in Florida this month! She sounds promising!

[kande50]

She has a lot of natural energy but I fall into a bad habit of unconsciously blocking her forward energy ( I am SO working on fixing this habit!) so she gets confused when I ask her to go forward and hold her back at the same time, and then she's behind the leg.

I have video of the first time I picked up the reins and asked Sting to canter, and it confused him so much that his tail went straight up in the air. The pressure was all mental because I hadn't even taken all the slack out of the reins but had just shortened them a bit, and the canter cue is a clicker trained voice cue so it wasn't as if I was putting any physical pressure on him. But the mental pressure of the conflicting cues was apparently, considerable, because I've never seen his tail go vertical before.

In some ways I think it's a lot easier to just teach them to keep going forward and work into the pressure from the bit, because then if they get confused they'll just brace and push into the bit. But if we want them lighter on the aids then it becomes a much more delicate balancing act--which also tends to free them up to go *up* if they feel like they have to move but are blocked from going forward.