Spooking a Horse and Riding with a "Mental" Crop

Today I figured I'd combine both blog topics into one.  I had my lesson on Divine on Friday and rode Willy on Sunday but I've been so busy...and subsequently tired at my new job (that I love by the way!) that I never got around to blogging...sorry!

I rode after Ushi, another student of Laurie's.  I've enjoyed the times I've met her and really hope to get to see her more, she's a fun person.  I think I may even suggest us, Ushi and I and maybe even Laurie if she can...go on a trail ride together.  Of course Willy is at Meridian and Garrett in Peyton and I don't have a trailer to take him anywhere but I do have the permission to take him on a trail ride nearby or to trailer him somewhere....I just need to figure out those logistics with Laurie and Ushi if they are ever interested....but I digress...that's a little bit premature since I haven't even mentioned my desire for a get together on Sunday.  Anyhow....

I rode Divine after Ushi.  We worked on serpentines.  Immediately after starting to ride Divine I realize how much more sensitive she is to my seat.  She may be a lesson horse but not to the extent that Willy is so she hasn't exactly built up that "tolerance" level....which is good.  She remains sensitive and is a great horse to learn on.  You know right away when you do something wrong or right.  With Willy I could be using my seat correctly but he's so used to lots of beginner riders, kids etc. that he has learned to be less sensitive, at least that's my take on their differences.  I did pretty well on the serpentines with Divine...it's a bit foggy now since it's been a week!  Laurie then suggested I work on the trot and two-point.  So out comes the lunge line. 

I've begun to really like this tool!  I get to ride a regular pace without worrying about many aids and can just work on the feel of my seat.  We were working on balance.  For the most part I feel I did well and began to relax my legs and not pinch as much in my knees, a bad habit I have!  There were some people sending off fireworks in the distance and one set really shocked me...I jumped and scared the bee-gee-bus out of Divine who jolted into a quick trot for a few steps, nearly unseating me, before realizing that I was being a silly, spooky human!  I felt so bad!  She was fine, I was the spooky one!  LOL.

On Sunday I rode Willy and had a mental image of a crop in my mind, something Laurie had suggested at my last lesson.  Willy can be a bit slow pokie; I mean he is twenty after all, so I was really using my legs and attitude to keep him trotting circles in the ring.  It worked pretty well, I haven't yet brought my crop with me riding, I never liked using it anyways....working on this "mental" crop thing sounds like a good deal for horse and rider! 

After doing a little work on serpentines and trotting circles at a consistent speed with Willy I walked him out around the big arena and went to visit Lorraine who was working with her Friesian mare on BACKING out of her shed.  Her two mares are very pretty and it's been fun to see her on Sundays lunging or playing with them.  I like walking around the riding ring since it's close to a trail ride feel.  I don't know where I can ride in this area so I've pretty much stayed on the property.  Susan was walking around the property....looking for her cell phone again!  I rode up to her and talked to her about trails.  She gave me some descriptions of one area I could ride to, it made sense but I figured I'd just do a ride around the neighborhood first before having to ride into "town" and cross an intersection at highway 24.  I want to take Willy out nearby first and see how he responds to me before getting into a situation where there is a bit more car traffic.

Note to self: I think I will pay more for boarding a horse that is very close to trails such as in the Black Forest or some other trail friendly place.  Granted I plan to have a truck and trailer before I buy a horse so it shouldn't be an issue.  It seems worth it to have trails within easy walking distance of the stable, especially since I will have to work "future horse" many times a week during endurance trail riding season to get the horse and ME into shape for meets!  Anyhow, I had a pretty uneventful ride on Willy.  He's a sweet horse, I'm glad I decided to lease him but I have the desire to ride during the week as well; though I get off at 6pm....I may have to look into leasing another horse with more available time to ride....we shall see!

Tomorrow I have my lesson on Divine, I'll try to be more thorough in writing up my blog on that!  Toodles!