Tess gets back to work (after my broken arm)

[Belbe]

Akay, this is my preety lil mare Tess (thoroughbred-Lusitano cross). I've been off riding for 3 months cos of a broken arm. Just started again. These are the first sessions below. I still won't jump or canter cos she's very very very excited that I'm finally riding her again! you should've seen her when I put the saddle on for the first time! she moved around like an arab, all proud, almost flying! she even bucked and jumped, something she never does! and then I finish lungeing and put my aunt on her (for a lesson). her head imediately droped to the floor and her eyes looked disapointed to death! LOLOL! poor baby! So last week I risked it and jumped on. She was sooooo happy! But then a lil disapointed again that i wouldn't let her run...

I bought her a year ago. She was real stiff all over, hocks, back, upright neck and sticking out nose. I tried to get her to go long and low, no luck. I tried an elastic training aid for 2 days but saw no point. Then when she started mastering halt-canter-halt transitions I saw the trick! as soon as i got a couple of good such transitions I'd ask for trot afterwards and was instantly rewarded with supple hocks and topline. She woudn't hold it for long, but it was a start.
As for ridden work goes, I have a lousy balance and sitting trot so don be surprised to see the lil good we managed on the ground, disapear under saddle, LOL!

Note: she haaaaates walking, so whener you see a transition to walk you'll see us arguing. It's loads easier to simply ask trot or canter from the halt.

Tess Nov2009 Part I.mpg

Tess Nov2009 Part II.mpg

Tess quick Workout (encore 1)

This is just us playing

Tess quick Workout (encore 2)

[Belbe]

here's a bunch of pictures from last sunday's short tryout. I'll be fumbling with uploading the video tomorow I hope.

Her first try at the bending poles was great! she loved it! it's so much fun to ride a horse that's enjoying himself even more than we are! LOL! I showed her the poles and then was basically using my weight to help her turn sharper, she was offering most of the rest.
My cousin's horse is afraid of the poles and she was dying to try them at a canter so I let her have a go on Tess since I can't (arm is still missing bone). She didn't change the lead at first so was a bit lost. On the way back she understood wa she had to do and it was real fun to watch those flying changes. I think one or 2 more lessons and she won't skip a single pole  (plus it was great to see her round that neck of her own accord! I spent more than half a year watching that stiff neck in front of my nose, it was a discouraging sight! I'm so happy I could help her out of it on my own! It's a real pain not having anyone to help u out)

[shoveltrash]

i am incredibly jealous of your schooling area!!!!  oh to be able to 'free school' like that.......something i REALLY miss.
you have a *thing* for buckskin Iberian horses eh?
Tess has some truly powerful "sits" in her canter-to-halt transitions .  and the little rearing-ups are so cute!!!
VERY impressed with the pole-bending
so glad you are back at it, but when will your arm be 100% again? (missing bone???)

[Belbe]

in march! i had 2 serious fractures. one of them had to get a plaque and screws cos some of the bone was so badly crushed they had to thrown it in garbage can, LOL!
Buckskins? i wish! chopin is a fake! he's turning white! dammit! i hate white! they're always either black or yellowish... terrible terrible color 
it's funny though! i didn't pick any of them. One I said: the first male that is born this year is mine. the mare was bought cos I needed a teacher anc cos noone else had the patience to deal with such a sensitive horse.

yeah! it's so great to have the school to yourself! ofcourse the ground is terrible, no roof and the horses are in mud. plus no instructor. (see why we have it all to ourselves?   )

[shoveltrash]

yikes!   i know exactly what you're talking about, i do orthopedic surgery regularly (surgical nurse by trade).  be CAREFUL for goodness sake!

i had not idea Chopin was greying.  hey, not so bad, my Nico is turning white faster than i'd like.....ah well .  i plan on investing in lots of spot-cleaning products .

he ground is terrible, no roof and the horses are in mud. plus no instructor. (see why we have it all to ourselves?

the price you pay for freedom to free school
where ARE you btw? (sorry, dumb american can't recognize the language! )

[Belbe]

  I am i am!!! that's why no funny stuff! just plain boring walk and slow trot! plus i just conditioned my whole saddle again so it grips real well to my bum! (it's all doubled in grippy calfskin)  

I'm in Azores. U know, the exact middle of the North atlantic ocean. U'll see some dots there, that's our islands.   wanna come visit???

[winnieandben]

Really interesting, thanks for posting 

Looks like too much running around for me 

[shoveltrash]

This is SO refreshing!   I am a new fan of yours. Cant understand a thing you do,but I luv this.   So much fun to watch this after all the perfecting of the circles.

Lippa!

i agree though, i IS *refreshing*
and i bet you are in GREAT shape!

the Azores.............a potential vacation spot?

[Belbe]

Really interesting, thanks for posting 

Looks like too much running around for me 

haha! it's my warmup! i don really dig getting cramps when i try to disloge my right hip (it keeps griping of it's own accord and I used to blame the poor mare for being crocked and shoving the saddle to the left  )

[Belbe]

last week's videos as promissed
this was our first ride after the 3month break. If you're prone to motion sickness don't watch. I have to teach my cousin what "stand still with the camera" means.  

(please excuse my clown-foot passive leg, i got that terrible habbit from when Tess was hypersensitive and am fighting to loose it now that's she's grown out of it.  . Also noticing now that i see the video how crocked my back is... the drawbacks of not having an instructor...   )

Part I

Tess 28Dez2009.mpg

Part II

Tess 28Dez2009 Part II

Part III (my lil cousin had a go)

Tess 28Dez2009 Part III

[Belbe]

sample of her second fave trick: canter-halt-canter. she's sumwat clumsy at it sinse i recovered my arm but we'll keep workin to sharpen it up  as this was what made her start using her hinds in the first place, so, it's very dear to me as well  

Tess 02Jan2010.m2ts

[whisper's mum]

haha! it's my warmup! i don really dig getting cramps when i try to disloge my right hip (it keeps griping of it's own accord and I used to blame the poor mare for being crocked and shoving the saddle to the left  )

  That's it! I take saddles right and I am sitting in the middle - instructors have checked - but my left foot sticks out hugely more than the right ... it's my left hip!!!!! Thank you! 

[Belbe]

you're quite welcome wisper's mum! it took me a long time to figure this out on my own! but now i find it easy to identify. U simply stop in the midde of some trot work or whatever and let yourself stay in the same position you where before you halted. then feel the way your leg moulds to the horse's body. where it makes contact. Think(feel) this seperately and you'll see the difference. In my case i can feel my entire left leg embrace the horse from the groin right down to the end of the calf. on the right side i only feel contact in 2 spots. both groin and knee don't colapse againt the horse as they should.
Another cool trick is to sit square with your seatbones near the edge of a kitchen chair (those u don't sink in) and cross your legs like men do (just the foot has support on the oposite leg. Do it with both legs. In my case the right knee stick up much higher than when i lift the left leg, cos my muscles are much stronger and less flexible on the right keeping it from relaxing and giving in to gravity.

[Belbe]

Attempting the Piaffe! tadaaaaaa! LOL! ok, i got a couple of steps, not bad i think!  
(ooops! i just saw thos really high hands! dang... videos are so unforgiving...  )

My old coach says she taught her the aids and she understands what they mean but she wasn't strong enough so she didn't work on it.
I decided to attempt Phillipe Karl's idea: go from rein-back to trot and see what happened. Strangely enough, I had to use a whip for the first time since i bought her not for the trot but for the reinback!   although she's an Einstein (horsewise), the only word she thinks of when ridden is FORWARD!!! back is really NOT her thing! and i can't really pull on the reins with a curb bit, poor thing, so whip it had to be. (2 tiktiks did the job)

she got a lil confused in the middle there, probably cos it's been years sinse anyone asked her that and levade and reinback have similar aids.

a few shots of her collecting (wow! can't believe that's my endurance horsie!  )





and a vid of our lil attempt

Tess 17Jan2010 Part I.m2ts

[ukica]

sweet still photos.  what type of saddle is that out of interest?

I will leave the other comments to someone who knows more about this type of training.