Friesian Stallion Training Journal

[epona]

Good Luck with the Show Trish!   Hope all goes well.  and of course you should do jumpies with LB - You cant waste all those facilities now can you!!! :lol:   Hey, if I can do it I KNOW you can!

Vicky x

[shoveltrash]

been rethinking the jumping thing.....i'm wondering if he isn't quite mature enough for it?  Friesians typically mature late, and i worry about concussion.
i just don't know!
(easy to come up with excuses though  :lol: )

i rode longer than i should have today, being the day before a show.
LB's audience of mares provided a BIG distraction (they now know to station themselves at the corner, and stand there squatting and peeing....UGH! ).
so - we had periods of absolutely HILARIOUSLY animated trot work, interspersed with the old "i'm so tired, just don't want to keep going" trot   .
the animated trot is a trip!!!  i swear he can get a full extra two feet of "air" in his suspension when trying to IMPRESS.
oh to harness that.

due to his sometime lack of focus, we got some wrong leads at canter in both directions (probably ME being tense/off too).  but the work altogether was good.  'got some really really nice lateral work at walk - leg yielding, AND got a bit of half pass (thanks Heather for "enlightening" me on the half pass thread!!! ).  amazing what the horse can DO when the RIDER is *right.*

now - if i can just get effective enough at sitting trot, we can progress to doing lots more lateral work at TROT.

i spent nearly all day at the yard!  getting to know some of the people there - who are all very very nice.  a lot of eventers....almost all of whom "hate dressage!"  :lol:
(i got asked out to dinner by a FARRIER too   )
yikes

thanks for 'good luck' wishes Vicky!  

[epona]

(i got asked out to dinner by a FARRIER too  )

Your mission - if you choose to accept - is..............
Go to dinner with the said Farrier and convert him to the benefits of Barefoot - you will have a nice barefoot trimmer on hand at any given time!!!

Another money saving tip from vicky  :lol:  :lol:

Seriously - Why shouldnt he ask you out???  You're hardly paper bag material now are you!!!

Piccies from the clinic please, pretty please!!!

[Dark Cloud]

Go Trish , I second Vicky. If he's a nice fella and you think you'd have fun why the hell not? You could make a new friend. Live it up woman and have a great time at the comp.

[pintopiaffe]

Oh, Trish.  It's so REASSURING to read your posts.

I know that's probably disheartening, considering the tone of mine lately... :lol:  

No, seriously...

It's the stuff we stallion owner/rider/trainers deal with.

Yep.

Keep on keepin' on woman.  You're my role model.

 

[ParisDiamond]

He he, go out with him, and make sure he pays     I like your style woman.  If he's a half good farrier he may be able to help you check balance and stuff, then you can enlighten him on the finer points of a barefoot trim in return.

I wouldn't worry about concussion, with feet as healthy as Iverzon's his own natural shock absorbers will deal with it and if you're only starting with tiny things in an arena, there's little to deal with anyway.  I bet he gives his feet harder work than this when he's playing in the field  

I checked Indie's digital cushions yesterday (haven't done that for a while), they're a lot more dense than they were, which I put down to the increasing workload (including jumping/galloping on hard ground) which I've been doing lately.

Tell us about the date.....may need another thread.....
xxx

[Flashback]

i got asked out to dinner by a FARRIER too

dont knock a free meal!  :lol:  and you never know, you just might enjoy yourself a bit!!!!!!!!  :lol:  :lol:  

[Cloud_cirrus]

Yeah, go out for dinner with him, you may just enjoy yourself and you get lots of bonus points if you can convert him to barefoot!!

Good luck with the show.

 

[FromUSA]

Like my good friend says....A girl has got to eat!  

I have to admit that I have used this motto and gone out with a few guys that I otherwise would not have. While I have yet to find that perfect match I have ended up with some good friends.  And being on the good side of a farrier isn't a bad thing.  You never know!

Lots of good luck at the show!  Remember....It is FUN!  

[shoveltrash]

you guys are HILARIOUS!!! :lol:
this is a horse training journal - not "how to meet a man in 5 days!"
(too funny)

the farrier is an old friend, who i hadn't seen in a long time.  NOT really my "type."  but i will take the free meal! plus he has offered to help me with hoof balancing/trimming.  and he is very entertaining, very sweet, VERY funny.

our show.  oh our show   .
LB was DEAD TIRED, SLUGGISH, DEAD TO MY LEG, DEAD TO THE WHIP even!  only our 2nd time ever doing the w/t/c Training level tests, hard enough just for that reason alone.  what a challenge.
upside:  on the first test we got good marks (6s/7s), balanced out by two 5s (our free walk was barely moving, and our first X/halt/salute was crooked).  both canter deparst were correct & nice!  comments were "capable horse, needs to be more in front of your leg"  
yeah i KNOW  <_<

our figures were accurate, transitions nice, bend was good, and he managed to stay round, in nice frame despite our lack of impulsion.  it was just so S-L-O-W/sluggish.  still got third place out of nine horses though.
the second test???
good LORD.  i could just barely keep him going, even at TROT  :( .  i thought he was going to DIE  :lol: .  was is it with him????
judge wrote "spurs?" on my test.....hinting.  S also mentioned them, altho she hates using spurs at lower levels.  but LB TOTALLY ignored my whip.  totally.

i think i need to back track, and focus on basics of 'move off the leg' - re-sensitize him to my leg.  i DID go out & buy some spurs (any excuse for a shopping trip to the local tack store!), and a replacement whip 'cause i lost mine at the show......
i may just TRY re-sensitizing exercises, using simple transitions, and backing up with spurs instead of the whip (which he obviously thinks nothing of).   the problem is, he's not as bad at HOME.  we've had this problem before at shows......
next time (Oct 14th), he will stay in overnight in his stall before the show -- just to try for effect.

LAZY HORSE.  i was embarrassed   .  "all eyes" on the Friesian stallion, who looked like an old plug     .
to give him credit, i have ridden every day this week, and he is still getting used to his new home.  no other reasons i can see - no soreness, no nothing.

one last note:  for a 4 1/2 year old stallion, he was almost PERFECTLY MANNERED at the show   .  a few nickers here and there, but just wonderful around all the other horses!!!  
 

[shoveltrash]

ps - my short holiday is over  :( .  tomorrow night i start my new 12 hour night shift, 7pm to 7am  :unsure: .  i am dreading it!  'may not be on here for several days......certainly will NOT be riding!    

[Danni]

Ah lass, look at the positive from the whole thing, he was brilliantly behaved in company, testament to your training.  Well done!!!

Not sure what to say regarding LB's sluggishness, especially away from home Personally (although I'm not half as well educated as most peeps on the board) I'd go for lots of direct transitions if he is ready for it.  Why not give the spurs a go, in a lesson with S?  Don't have to tell you it's better than constant nagging on his sides.  How is he on the ground?  Like, when you ask him to move over in the stable?  

Very puzzling though, he's had the very best start to his education from you so it's not like he's spent years as a riding school plod having people's legs flapping at him.

How have you been getting on trying 'sucking up' his back with your seat?  I suppose if he doesn't really wish to trot it'll be a non-starter  

And at least the judge recognised he's a big and capable lad, and can do it.  Just remember they have their own personalities and sometimes they say "I don't wanna!" just like I wake up feeling, most days :lol:

[epona]

Well I still think its a WELL DONE TRISH!!!   Maybe the last few days have taken the edge off him but 3rd out of 9 even on a below par performance is very impressive - just imagine what you will get when hes on fire!

Also good manners at a show is everything to be proud of.  I saw some interesting behaviour from some of the stallions at the friesian inspection and it made me in awe of you and your training.  One stallion there, took such a fancy to his own reflection that he, shall we say, got very visibly excited and tried to mount the lorry :blink:     The fact you can take LB out and about with no behaviour problems speaks volumes to how effective you are as a trainer

Vicky x

[Jolene]

Maybe he's just a little fatigued?  4 1/2 he's still growing and filling out and changing constantly, maybe riding steadily for a week after him not used to that much, plus the stress/excitement of moving and all the horses just got him knackered out.  EXCELLENT that he was so well-mannered though!  He'll probably be spunky again after a little rest with you starting the new shift.  I used to do 7-7 on the day shift and it was alright, but had to do three nights of it and they were...interesting.  Good luck!

[pintopiaffe]

I'd much rather have too-sluggish a STALLION than the opposite.  Feed can be adjusted, confinement attained... you can always FIND energy... but the opposite  

Are you permanant mids?  They didn't kill me as much as rotating does.  It took me quite a while to settle (melatonin & benadryl were my friends  -_-  ) but once I was, I was fine.  In bed by 8am, up by 2pm, playing ponies in the afternoon before work.  Stayed up until at least 3 or 4 a.m on nights off, just went to bed 'early' didn't try to rearrange my sleep.   I know you've worked mids before, so you know the routine--no 'late' coffee or tea or soda etc.  But wondering if this is a steady thing or rotating hell still.  3 on 3 off? 4 on 4 off?  I guess I missed this whole discussion.  :P

Hang in there.  I spent most of my riding life wishing for a 'forward' horse.  Now I've got them, and 'quiet' and 'lazy' seem more attractive.   :blink: