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Lovely Lunging… July 23, 2008

Posted by kimayars Uncategorized Digg! this story! Digg! this story. , 2comments

I got an iPhone today.  *snicker*

I was scheduled to ride this morning, but two things delayed me.  1) The iPhone arrived and 2) our new vet is concerned about some elevated liver enzymes in our 12-year-old dog.  After a few calls between the old vet and the new vet I think we have that all straightened out.

(Did I mention that I got my iPhone?)

So instead of a ride I lunged Tigger.  He was supurb-johnny-on-the-spot with his transitions.  The first few canter transitions he had to run into, but after that he picked them up quite nicely.  His right-lead canter is SO much worse than his left-lead.  I’ve got to work on fixing that.  His right side is just way stiffer than his left.

(Excuse me, I need to answer that. It’s my iPhone…)

There was also a first today in that Tigger met me at the gate today.  I don’t think he’s ever done that unless he’s expecting lunch. But then again, maybe that’s what he was looking for.  “Hope springs eternal” always comes to mind when I see him.  He’s definitely optimistic.

(Oh look, I got e-mail.  On my iPhone…)

Our next ride will be this Friday.  I’m looking foward to it as Sherene has taken down several boards in the arena to allow the horses to see out better. In theory this will hopefully reduce the amount of spooking we’ve been having lately.  Realistically it will probably land Sherene and I both in the hospital.

And yes, I am totally an iPhone whore now.  I’ve never had a phone with an unlimitted data plan before and it’s absolutely blowing my mind.  I need to put it down and go to bed…in a minute.

:-)

Spur Tag July 23, 2008

Posted by kimayars Uncategorized Digg! this story! Digg! this story. , 2comments

One of the blogs I read daily is Dressage Mom.  She recently “tagged” her readers asking them to put up pictures of their spurs.  This is REALLY easy for me: I don’t wear them.

If I wore spurs with Tigger, I’d probably end up in the next state.  A heavy leg bump is all I need right now to bring him to attention.  And let’s not even discuss the whip!  (I pick one up and he gets all twitchy.)

So as long as that’s working for me, we leave the spurs at home.

If you are a horsey-person and reading this blog, then consider yourself tagged!  All you need to do is post a picture of your spurs and link back to this post.

Look ‘Ma! No Adreneline! July 20, 2008

Posted by kimayars Arena Work (Horse) Digg! this story! Digg! this story. , 2comments

Adreneline is highly overrated for me.  I hate the shaky amped-up feeling you get from it. The only time I ever really appreciate it is after a fall off a horse and I need it to forget whatever body parts I’ve injured to get right up and mount up again.  So you can understand my elation when there was no adreneline rush whatsoever when I got on Tigger today.

For the first time since I fell off in March I was calm and relaxed while getting on. No knees were shaking. My heart wasn’t racing. I didn’t have the urge to puke.  It was good.  It took FOUR MONTHS to finally get over just one fall.  Good heavens.

But here is the funny thing: After the ride started he was the spookiest he’s been in a long time.  We had three significant shies and about two itty-bitty ones.  But instead of worrying about that, I had on my sh*t-eating grin singing “Zippity-Doo-Dah” because my heartrate didn’t spike to 180 during the mounting process.

Isn’t life funny?

So the ride went very well.  I worked on what I learned at the clinic on Friday and tried to tie that in with Paige’s lesson on Thursday.  At the foundation of all of this was the work I’ve been doing with my hands thanks to Cindy.  So in a nutshell, here’s what I worked on:

1.  Hands quiet, calm, and giving. (Cindy)
2.  Leg on when he inverts, even when he’s rushing. (Paige)
3.  Tempo and directional control no matter what.  (Henrik)

I’m so remedial I need three instructors.  :-)

Did I have a soft, round, gorgeous, ready-to-do-second-level-work horse because of this?  Heck no.  But what I had was a horse who is starting to trust me, who is becoming eerily obedient (I’m beginning to think he’s just lulling me into a false sense of security), and who seemed to enjoy himself.  As the above three things become more habit than conscious thought, I’ll move more into re-stablishing his frame. At this point I feel they are the base that I was missing.

I’m so jazzed about having a plan with Tigger.  He’s been so much fun to ride lately.  I can’t wait to do it again!

Killing Me Softly July 20, 2008

Posted by kimayars Run Digg! this story! Digg! this story. , 1 comment so far

I had a great run with Beth today. Not great in that it all felt good, but great in that I felt like I really pushed myself. The plan was to run out 2.5 miles and back. By the time we got to the entrance of our development I was totally pooped, yet we still had 0.2 miles to go. I waved her on and decided to call it a day even though I was short of my running goal. I did a quick calculation (actually I just looked at my Forerunner, but when you’re that tired doing anything feels like a calculation) and realized we ran a 9:47 pace in 4.8 miles.

Then I got this nagging little voice in my head. It said one word: WIMP

I started thinking. I’ve done so well on the run so far, an amazing slow last 0.2 miles was still going to make a good time for me. There was only one problem. The last bit would be up “Hemlock Hill” (I call it this because even though it runs along Forster Blvd, it ends at Hemlock and it’s about as fun as poison).

Screw it.

I turned the Forerunner on and ran up the hill and then some to get in the full 5 miles. Yay me!

So I’m sitting here being all stinky, sweaty, tingly, and tired, but happy that I pushed it that little bit. If I keep pushing those little bits then hopefully I’ll get my mileage back up.

On a side note, Beth commented that I ran faster when we ran later. I replied that I was only trying to keep up with her. She laughed and said, no, she was trying to keep up with me. So our blistering pace was a result of each of us trying to stay with the other. Too funny!

Here are our splits just for fun. Not bad for crossing two traffic lights, a roundabout, and a freeway off-ramp:

Mile 1 - 9:52
Mile 2 - 9:16
Mile 3 - 10:28 (stopped to walk while I caught my breath)
Mile 4 - 9:25
Mile 5 - 10:10 (this was the hill)

Overall, a good run!

Workout:

Lesson with Henrik July 18, 2008

Posted by kimayars Uncategorized Digg! this story! Digg! this story. , add a comment

Today I had my lesson with Henrik. It was interesting…

I will fully admit that he told me what I wanted to hear, but I was a little disappointed we hadn’t made more progress since my last lesson with him in March. Then again, I didn’t exactly ride much between now and then. :-)

What I was most proud of was how well Tigger travelled. He was a superstar. He was no more tense in the arena then he is at home. I was quite thrilled.

My lesson revolved around being the one who makes decisions about where we are going and what the tempo is. I tend to ride reactively on Tigger. It’s now time to ride proactively. I need to have a plan and execute. One of the things he said that sticks in my mind is, “He gets nervous when you leave the decisions up to him. Let’s take that burden away from him.” By the end of the ride Tigger was listening quite well to my changes in direction and tempo. My ultimate goal is a harmonious relationship with Tigger. I believe this is yet another step toward that goal.

I was also super proud of Sherene. She had a decent fall last week — the kind where your confidence is not quite the same afterward. To bounce back and ride her horse in a strange place so soon after the event is very brave. She had a good ride and it showed.

Not to mention it’s always fun to do a road trip with Sherene. :-)