Saturday 22nd February
Not much left of February and it's been hard to get out and do anything with the herd, the weather has been atrocious most of it, we've had snow flurries, tons of rain, wind and on/off sunshine...normal Scottish weather then really BUT it makes being consistent with the horses really hard to impossible ;(
Whenever it's dry Mark and I get out to the field and try to do something with the horses. Today was no different....it was a bit drizzly in the morning but we got out, did some poo picking and then played/rode horses.
What I've found so far is that they're really unfit (no surprise there really) so doing more than 15 mins play or riding is about their (and my) limit. Hopefully over Spring/March, when they get back to the big field with that lovely big hill, they will slowly get fitter and we can then start on getting back to where we were in November...that applies to me too ;)
So, for now, here's some pics from today's fun:
Not much left of February and it's been hard to get out and do anything with the herd, the weather has been atrocious most of it, we've had snow flurries, tons of rain, wind and on/off sunshine...normal Scottish weather then really BUT it makes being consistent with the horses really hard to impossible ;(
Whenever it's dry Mark and I get out to the field and try to do something with the horses. Today was no different....it was a bit drizzly in the morning but we got out, did some poo picking and then played/rode horses.
What I've found so far is that they're really unfit (no surprise there really) so doing more than 15 mins play or riding is about their (and my) limit. Hopefully over Spring/March, when they get back to the big field with that lovely big hill, they will slowly get fitter and we can then start on getting back to where we were in November...that applies to me too ;)
So, for now, here's some pics from today's fun:
Sunday 16th February
Weather has been holding off play/riding so far this year BUT today was a lovely day, bit of sunshine, not too chilly and the ground not too hard or squishy with mud SO Mark and I go out to play/ride the horses.
Mark started off by playing at liberty with Holly, they were very connected and did some nice moves including sideways away and towards, S2M in w/t/bkup/halt, trotting over poles and walking over the jump without knocking it down. Then he put her new Karen Rohlf Bitless Bridle on and rode her with the bareback pad on. She is very attuned to body weight/leg aids so this bridle is really nice for her to wear, makes a change from using the rope halter or hackamores and puts a rein on either side of her face so that Mark can now begin to be more refined with his horsemanship ;)
Next Mark played and rode Stormy. Now he's not been ridden since last year but Mark did some fabulous liberty work with him to get connected first, Stormy wanted to play his own games but Mark just persisted in what he was doing and Stormy appreciated that and connected with him nicely. The riding went well, bareback pad and sidepull bridle being used and more refinement for Mark to help the riding along better. Stormy prefers to be hugged with legs and hands/reins so that he knows what we're asking. As I go along I usually ask him for more freestyle but to start with he really understands good, light aids and it works well ;)
So, now it was my turn. I started with a groom and quick play with dear Tara and then I put on her new 'paniers' or 'back packs' that I hope to use this year. It will get me walking more, get Tara out without her always having to carry me but also can put it on any of the horses if going out for a ride whilst also leading another horse. She wasn't bothered at all by the packs and I forsee a good walking year ahead ;)
Last, but by no means least, was Solly's turn. He'd been waiting so patiently by the arena fence for his turn to have some fun, he was so good. So, first some liberty and online play including all the games to some degree. I kept it light and didn't ask too much from him (ie. no canter or too much trot....but more specifics of refined lightness). He did very well and so I put his pad and saddle on, worked the girth for a while and then put the Karen Rohlf Bitless Bridle on. Now KR's bridle is basically a very nice sidepull, beautiful soft padded leather and no browband, can be twisted and turned with one rein and the headstall does not go near the eyes so it's very well made and thought out. Mark will be mostly using it for Holly but I wanted to see how Solly went in it too.
Well he went fine, because all our horses are trained through thought/energy/weight/leg aids before using the reins so it really doesn't matter so much about the bridle on the head BUT I have found that some work better than others for individual horses. I do prefer the Dr Cook's on Solly, for the fact that I feel he likes the 'head holding' feeling it has on him, he seems to prefer the direct contact with being touched and held and this makes sense as I feel he goes quite internal and RBint when being ridden. The KR is great and I had no bother turning, stopping or jumping him in it but will keep to the Dr Cooks' for Mr Solly for now ;)
Here's some pics from the lovely day....
Mark started off by playing at liberty with Holly, they were very connected and did some nice moves including sideways away and towards, S2M in w/t/bkup/halt, trotting over poles and walking over the jump without knocking it down. Then he put her new Karen Rohlf Bitless Bridle on and rode her with the bareback pad on. She is very attuned to body weight/leg aids so this bridle is really nice for her to wear, makes a change from using the rope halter or hackamores and puts a rein on either side of her face so that Mark can now begin to be more refined with his horsemanship ;)
Next Mark played and rode Stormy. Now he's not been ridden since last year but Mark did some fabulous liberty work with him to get connected first, Stormy wanted to play his own games but Mark just persisted in what he was doing and Stormy appreciated that and connected with him nicely. The riding went well, bareback pad and sidepull bridle being used and more refinement for Mark to help the riding along better. Stormy prefers to be hugged with legs and hands/reins so that he knows what we're asking. As I go along I usually ask him for more freestyle but to start with he really understands good, light aids and it works well ;)
So, now it was my turn. I started with a groom and quick play with dear Tara and then I put on her new 'paniers' or 'back packs' that I hope to use this year. It will get me walking more, get Tara out without her always having to carry me but also can put it on any of the horses if going out for a ride whilst also leading another horse. She wasn't bothered at all by the packs and I forsee a good walking year ahead ;)
Last, but by no means least, was Solly's turn. He'd been waiting so patiently by the arena fence for his turn to have some fun, he was so good. So, first some liberty and online play including all the games to some degree. I kept it light and didn't ask too much from him (ie. no canter or too much trot....but more specifics of refined lightness). He did very well and so I put his pad and saddle on, worked the girth for a while and then put the Karen Rohlf Bitless Bridle on. Now KR's bridle is basically a very nice sidepull, beautiful soft padded leather and no browband, can be twisted and turned with one rein and the headstall does not go near the eyes so it's very well made and thought out. Mark will be mostly using it for Holly but I wanted to see how Solly went in it too.
Well he went fine, because all our horses are trained through thought/energy/weight/leg aids before using the reins so it really doesn't matter so much about the bridle on the head BUT I have found that some work better than others for individual horses. I do prefer the Dr Cook's on Solly, for the fact that I feel he likes the 'head holding' feeling it has on him, he seems to prefer the direct contact with being touched and held and this makes sense as I feel he goes quite internal and RBint when being ridden. The KR is great and I had no bother turning, stopping or jumping him in it but will keep to the Dr Cooks' for Mr Solly for now ;)
Here's some pics from the lovely day....
Sunday 9th Feb
Well it's been a while since doing ANYTHING really with the horses due to the terrible weather we've been having. Not only on/off snow but on/off rain and on/off wind which has made doing anything apart from feeding and poo picking out of the question.
But today we have DRY and almost sunny day so Mark and I go out to PLAY with the horses. They are now down in the new 'Winter Grazing' field again as our home paddocks are very wet and muddy.
I had put together some Liberty Challenges for my students on my FaceBook 'Horse Liberty' page and so Mark and I did the challenge ourselves. I did it at liberty with Solly, ridden bareback and bridleless with Tara, online with Stormy and Mark did a lovely liberty round with Holly.
Here is the list of tasks and a picture I put together to help see what it might look like...I ended up not doing it quite in this shape as I didn't want to move my jump ;)
Liberty Challenge 1 - (horse on your right, all in walk, can trot up to jump)
1) Walk a circle together with horse to the right
2) Walk a circle together with horse to the left
3) Halt for 5 seconds
4) Walk through a narrow corridor (2 poles)
5) Weave together with horse around 4 cones
6) 1 or 2 feet in hulahoop (your choice which foot/feet)
7) Small jump together (either jump with horse or walk outside of jump)
8) Walk over a tarp
9) Walk over a pole (without horse hitting it)
10) Halt and back horse up to pole with back feet ;)
Here are my and Mark's video's of the LC1:
Me and Solly
Me and Tara
Mark and Holly
