As I've been driving around on the mail route it's been unescapable to notice how beautiful people's gardens are around here. Artistic, lush, poetry of herbery- I have been envy with green!
So I decided to put some hope into my Gardens of Despair. Some positive thinking. Well, as postive as you can be commiting genocide among the weeds.
And it was making me feel good.
Until about 11 this morning. I started getting a back/hip spasm. It was quiet at first, so I ignored it. It got louder, so I took some ibus.
I thought it best to sit down for a while for a tour the grand interwebs. Looking through the UDBB, I found a wonderous video of a demonstration of canter position. A HUGE lightbulb went off. "So THIS is what Meghan has been trying to get me to do for the past eon!" I was pretty excited to get into the saddle to try it out.
In the meantime the spasm became even grumpier. I gently stretched. I gently hula hooped.
Ow frikken ow ow OW!
I decided to get my loudest polo wraps out for Ian, figuring that they would blind me from the pain. :) No way I wasn't going to ride. Taxi cab checkered polos it was.
As a side note, have you ever realized how hard it is to remove one horse from the pasture when a very determined to escape for greener grasses mini is around? 10 minutes later and a walk with Ian down the road to retrieve said pony, (HIS pony, I might add) I was limping even more.
While tacking up I wrap his legs as I sit on a stool. Fully aware that as much as he was looking like an 80,000 euro horse what with his shining coat and vibrant posture, I was looking much like a decrepit, broken and beaten underling of a human.
Still, no way I wasn't going to ride.
10 strides down the road as we're heading to our crop circle, Ian spooks. Oh lord did it hurt! I let the tension go by releasing it as an interminable string of foul language that wilted every plant within hearing distance. Hope the neighbors didn't hear!
Ian didn't blink an eye. Guess he's become desensitized to it!
We get to the crop circle and we suddenly have company. *sigh* There's a deer standing in the pasture. Typically he's good about the deer, but I figure today is the day he won't be (that positive thinking again, eh?!). He hadn't noticed the deer yet so I quickly face him away from it and start to sing loudly- "Go away, stupid thing...GO AWAY!" Maybe a Lady Gaga tune would have been a better choice because when we turned back the deer hadn't moved a hoof. *sigh*
I decided to try to ignore the deer and put Ian to work. Of course, he barely noticed when it flagged and bounced into the woods.
The workout hurt like a sumbiotch. But it was worth every minute of it. He was stellar, the position I've been working on so hard in canter was SOLID. The video had helped me "see" it better and be more solid in maintaining it.
I am THRILLED! Ian got a pound of cookies, and I'm drinking from a wine glass so large it can hold half a bottle. Life is GOOD!
Post script- the wine is making the pain go away....
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Close encounters of the moose kind.
One would think that my city mouse horse would have turned into a country mouse horse after all these years.
*sigh* The turkeys he can almost bear to look at. Deer are a slightly more welcomed species- we once cantered down the road while a deer ran in the field beside us. It was an exciting moment, but not too exciting.
Ah, but the moose. I often wonder what words Ian would use to describe them. Would he say "ALIENS! Ugly HORSE ALIENS! They've come to eat my BRAINNNNNNS"!
*sigh* I try to reassure him that they are not aliens. That they are unlikely to subsist on horse brainnnnns, as horse brainnnnns are about the size of a brazil nut and one would need to eat a lot of them to feel full.
In any event, the mere sight of an Alces Alces turns poor Ian in to a quivering mess with an audible heartbeat and even louder nose clearing snorts. Which brings me precisely to a moment shortly into our warmup last night.
I saw it first and hoped beyond all hope that it was to be a pivotal moment in Ian history. He caught sight of it out of the corner of his eye...turned an ear...turned his head for a better look and...well...pivotal would be an apt description but not the one I was hoping for!
Tired from a long day at work I decided that perhaps this was a good time to do some in-hand work. Ian levitated through transitions- pronged through his lateral work, obediently lowered his head on command, and rocked the Parelli yo yo like someone stuck in the snowbank with their car. All while keeping full attention on the moose. Didn't someone once tell me that horses can't multitask? Liar.
Finally the moose went away and we got some good work done. Until, of course, I planned the grand finale of the ride. You know, the one thing you want to accomplish so that you can praise the horse profusely right before dismounting to cool them out? Just as I begin to prep Ian for the movement, the moose walks back into view.
*sigh* Once again it reduces Ian to a blithering ungulate.
I decide that we need to rid ourselves of the moose. We outnumber it. Due to too many cookies on my behalf, we outweigh it. I dismount and decide that we should drive it from the pasture. Ian isn't so sure. It's a young bull, not a cow with calves, so I figure we'll be OK.
Doubt and fear in his white rimmed eyes, Ian stays just a tad behind me. I crest a small hill to see the moose, running at equal speed towards us. For a moment everything flashes to slow motion as I question my decision making and visualize my stupidity on the front page of the Caledonian. And then I surge us onward. (Ian, with his brazil nut quality language continues with ZOMG! ZOMG!!!)
The moose stops. Spins. And bolts to the woods. We continue until we hit woods edge and then stop to listen to the moose crashing through the brush.
Ian swells with pride and gives his best "I showed him who's boss, didn't I!"
*sigh*
The grand finale proceeded with fanfare, and thankfully without fireworks.
*sigh* The turkeys he can almost bear to look at. Deer are a slightly more welcomed species- we once cantered down the road while a deer ran in the field beside us. It was an exciting moment, but not too exciting.
Ah, but the moose. I often wonder what words Ian would use to describe them. Would he say "ALIENS! Ugly HORSE ALIENS! They've come to eat my BRAINNNNNNS"!
*sigh* I try to reassure him that they are not aliens. That they are unlikely to subsist on horse brainnnnns, as horse brainnnnns are about the size of a brazil nut and one would need to eat a lot of them to feel full.
In any event, the mere sight of an Alces Alces turns poor Ian in to a quivering mess with an audible heartbeat and even louder nose clearing snorts. Which brings me precisely to a moment shortly into our warmup last night.
I saw it first and hoped beyond all hope that it was to be a pivotal moment in Ian history. He caught sight of it out of the corner of his eye...turned an ear...turned his head for a better look and...well...pivotal would be an apt description but not the one I was hoping for!
Tired from a long day at work I decided that perhaps this was a good time to do some in-hand work. Ian levitated through transitions- pronged through his lateral work, obediently lowered his head on command, and rocked the Parelli yo yo like someone stuck in the snowbank with their car. All while keeping full attention on the moose. Didn't someone once tell me that horses can't multitask? Liar.
Finally the moose went away and we got some good work done. Until, of course, I planned the grand finale of the ride. You know, the one thing you want to accomplish so that you can praise the horse profusely right before dismounting to cool them out? Just as I begin to prep Ian for the movement, the moose walks back into view.
*sigh* Once again it reduces Ian to a blithering ungulate.
I decide that we need to rid ourselves of the moose. We outnumber it. Due to too many cookies on my behalf, we outweigh it. I dismount and decide that we should drive it from the pasture. Ian isn't so sure. It's a young bull, not a cow with calves, so I figure we'll be OK.
Doubt and fear in his white rimmed eyes, Ian stays just a tad behind me. I crest a small hill to see the moose, running at equal speed towards us. For a moment everything flashes to slow motion as I question my decision making and visualize my stupidity on the front page of the Caledonian. And then I surge us onward. (Ian, with his brazil nut quality language continues with ZOMG! ZOMG!!!)
The moose stops. Spins. And bolts to the woods. We continue until we hit woods edge and then stop to listen to the moose crashing through the brush.
Ian swells with pride and gives his best "I showed him who's boss, didn't I!"
*sigh*
The grand finale proceeded with fanfare, and thankfully without fireworks.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Good video series on crookedness!
Check it out! The first few are slow and often repetitive, it gets better as they go along.
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=RidingAcademy#p/u/11/IZNG7RIbGU0
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=RidingAcademy#p/u/11/IZNG7RIbGU0
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Eventing Leg Injury Video
I'm still watching this, but so far I'm loving some of the lameness statistics...
http://useventing.com/blog/?p=7481
http://useventing.com/blog/?p=7481
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Monday, November 02, 2009
Hello Self-Righteous Vigilante!
(This comes as a response to the recent report that Patrik Kittel was threatened over the Blue Tongue video.)
If you haven't noticed, we're trying to have a society here. So that means, contrary to your belief, that you can't go about enforcing your personal laws on other people. If you're going to be angry about the Blue Tongue, then please direct your angst towards the governing body of international dressage competition, the FEI. Leave Patrik Kittel alone. Leave his horses alone.
While you're at it, take some of that angst and apply it to yourself. Learn how to ride. (better) Dissect your faults and see them as others would see them. Chances are that there's someone out there who thinks your riding/horse husbandry suck and if they could they'd take your horses away from you too.
Fight the FEI, fight the rulings. Motivate the FEI to enforce the rules.
Then STFU and ride.
If you haven't noticed, we're trying to have a society here. So that means, contrary to your belief, that you can't go about enforcing your personal laws on other people. If you're going to be angry about the Blue Tongue, then please direct your angst towards the governing body of international dressage competition, the FEI. Leave Patrik Kittel alone. Leave his horses alone.
While you're at it, take some of that angst and apply it to yourself. Learn how to ride. (better) Dissect your faults and see them as others would see them. Chances are that there's someone out there who thinks your riding/horse husbandry suck and if they could they'd take your horses away from you too.
Fight the FEI, fight the rulings. Motivate the FEI to enforce the rules.
Then STFU and ride.
Friday, October 30, 2009
The TAP
Intriguing to say the least! Here is Australian jockey Paul Williamson, who lives and works in Japan.
http://www.hybrid-horseman.com/
His specialty: Rogues and young horse starts. His method: The TAP.
Even he doesn't know what the TAP is. Originally it was thought to be an endorphin release. Some speculate that it's a vasovagal response. No matter- in the hands of the experienced horseman I can see situations where being able to do a TAP would very much come in handy.
TAP FAQ
http://www.hybrid-horseman.com/tapfaq.html
You can check out his technique on his movie page:
http://www.hybrid-horseman.com/movies.html
A sense of humor that appeals greatly to this damn Yankee and great taste in music make these vids educational and entertaining.
Love the mention of "Pat"
http://www.hooftube.com/video/469/swing-up
http://www.hybrid-horseman.com/
His specialty: Rogues and young horse starts. His method: The TAP.
Even he doesn't know what the TAP is. Originally it was thought to be an endorphin release. Some speculate that it's a vasovagal response. No matter- in the hands of the experienced horseman I can see situations where being able to do a TAP would very much come in handy.
TAP FAQ
http://www.hybrid-horseman.com/tapfaq.html
You can check out his technique on his movie page:
http://www.hybrid-horseman.com/movies.html
A sense of humor that appeals greatly to this damn Yankee and great taste in music make these vids educational and entertaining.
Love the mention of "Pat"
http://www.hooftube.com/video/469/swing-up
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