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“Leafed” September 30, 2008

Posted by kimayars Uncategorized Digg! this story! Digg! this story. , 4comments

I love making up new words. Today I made up “Leafed”:

Leafed (verb) - To be smacked in the head with a really large maple leaf occluding vision.

Tigger was “leafed” today.

I didn’t have a lesson today, but was determined to ride anyway.  The weather was good although a bit gusty.  I did barn work then tacked Tigger up.  It was then I noticed I was sweating.  It almost felt like it was warmer. Significantly warmer.  Naw, just my imagination.  I lead Tigger to the arena.

One small note about Tigger:  I would not describe him as confident or secure.  Things move and he jumps.  Touch his side with your leg and he jumps.  Hiccup and he jumps. 

The wind picked up.

I led him to the mounting block and prepared myself for some fidgeting.  I knew as soon as I was in the saddle he would move off and skitter away. After all, that was his pattern when there was a lot of activity. The wind was making the trees around us look as if they were alive.

I carefully set myself down in the saddle.  “Good boy,” I crooned as I picked up my right stirrup.  I braced myself for a bolt.  Nothing.  I petted him some more. I started to relax.  I then leaned over to get a better look at his face. His eyes were closed.  Phooey.  He was dozing.  Obviously not the frightened animal I had prepared myself for.

It took three rather large bumps of the leg to get him to walk off.  After a few laps in the arena I went ahead and asked for canter to get some juices flowing.  I have never asked for canter so early in a ride.  He went into canter obediently, but not much else changed.  As I brought him down to trot,  the “leafing” happened.  A huge maple leave blew smack-dab into Tigger’s face and STUCK between his eyes.  I tensed, ready for the freak-out.  Instead he kept going, leaf plastered to his forehead.  I could see the leaf clearly jutting out from all sides of his head. I brought him down to walk, and then a halt.  He lowered his head and the leaf fell to the ground. Then he ate it.

That was pretty much the end of our ride.  He was pretty sweaty by then (it had climbed to 85 degrees by 11am and Tigs is getting his winter coat in).  I opted to finish by trying to execute a turn on the haunches. Too bad I couldn’t remember the aid set.  It was pretty much a train wreck.  I’ll have to ask my trainer about that.

So I am excited that I followed through and rode my horse on a day I didn’t have to.  Hopefully as the weather cools his energy level will increase and I’ll have more horse to work with.  Good heavens, I never thought I’d say that!

Going for a Walk September 28, 2008

Posted by kimayars Arena Work (Horse) Digg! this story! Digg! this story. , add a comment

I took Tigger for a walk today, just to throw him out of his comfort zone a wee bit.  Shazam was left at home (Sherene was working with him) and Tigs and I took a stroll down the road out of sight from the barn.

The goal was to push him a bit, but let him know that I would take care of him and that he still needed to look to me.  At first he rushed a bit, so we used lots of half-halts and backs to place him where I wanted him.  It didn’t take him long to figure out what his job was. After that, he was awesome. We were able to do inside turns, outside turns, and transitions with very little crowding or rushing.  Tigger’s an “in your pocket” kind of horse which can be hard on the toes when he wants to jump in your lap.

It’s little things like this that I really enjoy doing with my horse.  It shows me that he does trust me somewhat, which in turn makes me more confident to push the boudaries and explore more things with him. Tomorrow, we ride!

Where’d the “Go” Go? September 25, 2008

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

My friend Sherene and I joke about “the pendulum”.  Let’s say that you collapse right when you ride. So you work really hard to get straight. Then one day you realize that you collapse left. Your pendulum has just swung the other way.  Fixing your “sided-ness” is a lot like a pendulum swinging back and forth. The goal is to zero in on perfect.

Today Tigger swung the other way in the impulsion department.  Normally, on a breezy cool day like today, he’s antsy.  He wants to go.  He is tense.  He’s forward.  Today, not so much.  He actually fell out of trot to walk three times.  Very unlike him. So unlike him, I started imagining that he was lame or sick.  But no.  I’ve been working so hard on slowing him down that he is now too slow.  Life is cruel.

After we had a small discussion about listening to my leg the lesson went pretty well.  I’m still stiff from Monday which amplifies my crookedness, so we focused on that and getting me balanced in the saddle.  It wasn’t too bad as the saddle never shifted, but Tigger is a sensitive guy and being just a little off really affects him. 

Paige also said my legs looked way better today.  My butt muscle exercises must be paying off (these are the clamshells mentioned in the post previous to this one).  Dare I hope that I may be able to lower my stirrups a hole soon?  One can dream…

Tigger also had the best canter transition to date.  Going to the right, he just glided into it instead of launching into the stratosphere.  Granted we have no lift, but his balance is so much better. We can now canter a full 20m circle without dropping out.  I was super proud of him.

The only down-side was I got my ass kicked.  Controlling Tigger’s tempo is hard work.  There are a lot of muscles engaged when trying to steady him.  You have to be firm, but supple.  Solid, yet soft. Supporting, yet giving.  All of that equals one sweaty ride for both of us.

Running? I don’t think so… September 24, 2008

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

I did get to the gym this morning but I’m still quite sore from running on Monday.  Couple that with lots of dynamic tissue (jiggling fat) and running was just uncomfortable.  Instead I cranked the treadmill incline to “5″ (what DOES that mean?) and walked at a brisk pace.  I was pleasantly surprised that my heartrate stayed up.

I finished the workout with more ITB exercises.  What I do is grab the BoSu ball and stand on it with one foot until fatigue sets in.  Luckily, this doesn’t take long.  Then I flip the BoSu so the round side is down, and balance with one foot.  The stabilization my body tries to do strengthens the lateral muscles in my legs.  Just by doing these simple things keeps my knees healthy and pain free. Gotta love physical therapists.  The last thing I do is lay on my side with my knees bent and do little “clam shells” with my knees while keeping my upward-facing hip directed forward a bit.  Not only does this also help my knees but it also strengthens pathetic little butt muscle that I have been tormenting during riding Tigger.

Krisiti’s husband is going out of town for a week beginning Saturday. Do I have enough motivation to continue while she’s on hiatus? We’ll see…

I get to ride Tigger tomorrow! Yay!

Workout:

Pony Massage September 24, 2008

Posted by kimayars Uncategorized Digg! this story! Digg! this story. , 4comments

Tigger got a massage today.  It’s funny how I will carve nearly 3 hours out of my schedule for Tigger to have a massage, yet not for myself.  Hmph.

I must say Tigger did really enjoy his massage.  If you are in Western Washington (the state, that is) and are looking for an equine bodyworker, shoot me a line.  She’s good.

I have to take oldest daughter to her allergy appointment (peanut allergies suck) and then go to work, so no riding tomorrow.  I have my lesson on Thursday though. I can’t wait for that.

Another gym date with Kristi at the butt-crack of dawn.  I’m not sure what I’m going to do yet.  I’m sure yawning will be on the agenda.  :-)