July 16, 2011 - Hot stuff!

Now that Rory is three, it's time to increase his work a bit.  I could ride him for longer each time, or ride more often but keep the sessions short.  At this point I'd rather keep the sessions short to prevent him from becoming fatigued and straining himself, or getting bored and soured by constant repetition.  The other axiom about fitness training is to increase intensity or time, but not both.  Since Rory is trotting more, and starting to canter the work intensity is increasing I don't want to increase the length of his work.

Today I started in the sand ring with a short longe session.  Rory was good, even when Totyo came down to the fence and trotted along.  Mounting review was short and sweet with Rory standing still while I mounted and dismounted.  I did have the dressage whip with me from the beginning making this the first time I've mounted while holding the whip.  Before taking Rory to the block I rubbed him over both sides with the end of the whip to remind him that it was nothing to worry about.

At first Rory was a little sticky about going forward, but not as much as the last ride.  Then he settled in nicely and trotted forward.  Every ride he's getting better about steering.  I decided to try asking him for a right lead canter today and he got it on the first try.  After a couple of right lead canters we changed direction and I asked him for the left lead.  Rory found that confusing and kept picking up the right lead.  We did manage two very short canters on the left lead.  Thinking about it afterwards I wondered if trotting a bit longer before attempting the other canter lead might work better.  I was still quite pleased with him today.  The transitions to canter were quite well balanced and easy for Rory, and it was only the second day we've cantered.  It was hot and he got a bit sweaty, but was still willing to try to do what I asked.

Back in the barn I stripped his tack off before taking him out to the washrack.  On the way out of the barn we paused by the tack room so I could get a bit of carrot and the sweatscraper.  Rory put his nose down to check out the kittens and spooked backwards, bumping into a shelf which spooked him even more.  I took him out to the washrack and the barn owner came over with the tractor to pick up the water cube.  Rory leaned over the washrack to get a very close look at the operation, and though I stood ready to pull his rope loose he wasn't the least bit afraid.  Silly boy.  He got rinsed, scraped off and then I took him to graze while he dried off enough to let the bug repellent stick.

July 14, 2011 - Whoo hoo!

I cantered Rory three times today!  Twice I actually asked for canter!  I had two friends out to watch, so one ran the camera and the other held Totyo in his paddock to prevent him running around and getting Rory excited - or repeating last week's episode.

This week we started in the sand ring and longed for a few minutes each way.  Rory was very good and managed a couple of short canters on the right rein.  In looking at the pictures of him on the longe the thing that struck me was the sheer height above the ground he is in the suspension phase of the trot when he's going forward well.  Rory is definitely not dragging his toes!

After the longeing I ran through the mounting exercises very quickly, mounting a couple of times from each side.  Rory was keeping his eyes on Joey for the most part, but pointed an ear back at me to let me know he was also paying attention to what I was doing.  He stood still and waited for me to ask him to walk on.  For the first couple of minutes Rory had a small hump in his back, but he let it go after a halt.  Then he got a bit sticky and kept slowing down and trying to halt.  I persisted and got a reasonable walk, but when I wanted him to trot things got worse.  I did get him to trot a couple of times, but he wouldn't sustain it and kept falling back into walk and trying to halt again.  I asked my friend with the camera to go back to the barn and grab my dressage whip for me.  I'd intended to bring it out, but forgotten.  While she was gone I did convince Rory to trot all the way around the ring, but it wasn't a very forward trot. 

Once I had the whip I showed it to Rory and rubbed his right side, touching neck shoulder, belly, flank, hindquarter and hind leg before switching it to the left side and repeating the process.  He was okay with it on the right, but stepped away once when it touched his flank on the left side, then settled and accepted it's presence.  With the introduction out of the way I asked him to walk on and backed up my leg with a very light tap of the whip on his hip.  Rory responded well and I was able to touch him and get him going forward again whenever he started to slow down.  I praised him and gave him little rubs when he went forward.

Whoa Rory!

After some good trot around, and changes of rein I started thinking about trying a canter.  Rory must have been reading my mind because he jumped into canter before I was anywhere near asking and just about bolted down the ring.  We were on the right rein, he picked up the left lead canter and with the pile of sand in the corner to our right I decided to pull him up rather than try a turn and risk him stumbling up the sand pile.  He stopped just short of the fence, then calmly turned and proceeded to walk and trot on request.  Since he'd chosen the left lead for his first canter I changed the rein, trotted around the ring and asked him to go forward in canter as we were headed back towards the barn.   Rory was a little uncertain of what I wanted, but he picked up the left lead canter!  It didn't last very long, but I praised him and gave him lots of rubs and a bit of carrot before heading off to try again.





Good boy!!


This time he picked up the canter about two thirds of the way down the long side and kept it (with a little encouragement) around the short side of the ring.  When he broke to trot I asked for a walk, then halt and jumped off to give him a handful of carrot chunks.  We'd reached our fifteen minutes at the end of the previous canter, but I did want to try again and when he was successful it was a great place to end the ride.  I am so pleased with him and just thrilled to have had our first canter under saddle go so well.  Rory quite well balanced at the canter.  I think his slowing down was largely due to being uncertain that he really was doing what I wanted.

Thanks to my friends for the pics and video, and for keeping Totyo occupied!

July 9, 2011 - Happy Birthday Rory!

Rory is three today!  It's a milestone in any horse's life.  It doesn't feel like we've been together for three years already, and I still tend to think of him as my "little" horse.

"Baby" Rory in July 2009

Three year old Rory in July 2011

Happy birthday "Little" man!

July 5, 2011 - In which Rory sends me to the tack shop

I need a new helmet.  Due to Rory,  but not quite in the way I expected.  The day started off okay. I brought Rory in and gave him a good grooming.  There were a lot of mosquito bite bumps on his left shoulder, but didn't seem to be itchy.  He was very well behaved on the cross ties, except for the irresistable lure of the cross tie.  I caught him with one in his mouth when I came back with the saddle.

Rory started bucking and didn't stop

I tacked up, put his boots on, and then his bridle.  We started inside with a bit of longeing.  Rory was very energetic and trotted off with a nice forward stride.  The first time I asked him to walk he didn't want to slow down and I had to reel him in to a smaller circle to convince him I was serious.  After that he listened even on the larger circle.  It was a different story when we changed direction.  Rory put his head down, humped his back and bronced around the circle.  I pushed him forward and he bounced even harder.  Not even a sharp "Get up!" Convinced him to stop.  If we hadn't already had some good work on the left rein I would have wondered if the saddle pad had a wrinkle or if the girth was pinching him.  As he bronced the back of the saddle was lifting progressively higher off his back, and it looked like it was sliding forward.  I got him to halt without too much trouble and asked my friend to hold Rory for a minute while I checked the saddle.  I'm using a folded towel over Rory's withers to widen his shoulders enough to make the saddle fit well enough to use.  I refolded the towel to make it a bit thicker, resettled the saddle and did up the girth.  Once I got him going on the longe again Rory was his usual willing self, even cantering a bit.

Rory spotted Toyto and bolted

We went out to the sand ring and I longed a bit more.  Rory tended to fall in on one part of the circle and I had to push him out a little harder than I do inside.  He was looking for his buddies who were out of sight in the shelter, but quickly settled and was listening to me nicely.  I changed direction and all was well until Rory suddenly leaped into canter, pulling me forward.  I tried to run to keep up with him but he went too fast and pulled me off balance.  I let go of the longeline and went ass over teakettle ending up with the back of my head crashing into the ground.  Fortunately I was wearing my helmet, something I don't always do for the longeing when it's hot. I'm glad I put it on today.  Modern helmets are designed with padding that crushes without springing back to slow the head as it comes to the ground, reducing the amount of bounce back, which reduces or eliminates the impact of the brain against the inside of the skull.  I had a stiff neck, shoulders and arms for a couple of days afterwards, but thanks to my helmet no headache.

Me going heels over head as Rory bolts towards Totyo

I rolled up onto my feet fairly quickly, before Rory reached the corner of the ring closest to Totyo.  I suspect that Rory saw Totyo walking out from behind the shelter and took off to go and see his friend.  Totyo squealed and bolted along the fence with Rory a split second behind when I had gotten partway over.  I ran towards the fence, raising my arms and holding the longe whip right up in front of his face.  There was a moment I thought Rory was going to run past me anyway, but he slammed the brakes on and spun away before running back to the corner.  Totyo turned back a moment later as well. When I got close Rory backed out of the gap and turned away from Totyo.   I was close enough to pick up the end of the longeline and bring Rory back to me. 

Back to work as if nothing had happened.

Joey watches as Rory walks around the ring.

My head was aching a bit, but not badly so I took Rory back out into the middle of the ring and longed him again starting on a much smaller circle.  Rory settled quickly and I pushed him out onto a larger circle.  He kept an eye on Totyo, but listened to me.  Totyo and their older buddy wandered over to the hay and started munching.  I wasn't sure if I would be able to keep enough of Rory's attention to ride safely, but decided to take it one step at a time and start with some mounting exercises. 

Rory stood still as I mounted and dismounted several times, so I picked up the reins and asked him to walk.  At first I kept a close eye on Totyo, but as Rory showed he was paying more attention to me I shifted more of my focus to him.  Totyo came partway over to the fence a couple of times, but found the process boring and went back to snooze beside his old buddy.  With Rory listening well I dared to ask for a little trot, and when Totyo showed little interest dared to trot for longer.  Rory was very good and when I made sure to separate the turning aid from the forward aid he steered really well.  I asked him to trot with a little more energy and he responded nicely and maintained the trot for several trips around the ring.

 After all the longeing and trotting in the sand Rory got tired before our fifteen minutes were up.  He tried to stop a couple of times, and I did have to push a little to get him to trot again.  I got him to trot most of the way around and asked him to walk before he tried to stop again, then called it quits for the day.



A very nice, calm trot.



July 1, 2011 - A good ride.

We started in the arena today.  I wanted to go outside, but there was another boarder riding in the sand ring.  Rory longed well.  He didn't pull as hard towards the open back door and managed a bit of canter on each rein.  He was full of energy and very forward today.  There was one head down bouncing fit for a full circle before I sharply told him to "Get up!" and off he went.  A few times he got a little distracted - he could see the horse in the sand ring outside, a chainsaw was in use outside, horses walked by the big doors three times.

When it came time to ride Rory walked off the first time I jumped onto the mounting block.  The next time he stood still then walked again when I put my foot in the stirrup.  I did a bit of on and off exercises just to remind him about standing still, then led him away from the block and back to it.  Second time up he walked off but halted easily.  I hopped off and backed him up and remounted. 

He was quite relaxed as we walked away from the block today.  Near the back door he got a little sticky, but we were able to go quite close without a big problem.  The chainsaw didn't really bother him after he'd thought about it for a moment.  He trotted easily when I asked, and tried a little harder to go out the back door as we went by, but I was ready for him.  The first couple of times past the back door he did break to the walk, but then I managed to keep him trotting.  On the right rein Rory trotted easily around the arena.

He was being very good, so I dismounted and picked up the little mounting block and took Rory out to the sand ring.  I did a quick mount/dismount reminder to stand still before mounting up and asking him to walk on.  Rory was happy to be outside and looked around as we walked around the ring.  A couple of times he was too intent on what he was looking at and ignoring my steering aids.  Once we trotted the steering got worse.  Rory was going places and I halted him a couple of times right before he got to the fence.  Although he pushed the trot forward he didn't hump his back or put his head down and shake it.  After a few minutes I tried to separate the turning and forward aids by closing my hand as I rose, and using my leg when I sat.  It wasn't immediately successful, but Rory very quickly started to respond and we managed a very rough figure eight to finish our ride.  He got lots of pats and praise.

June 23, 2011 - Making a break for it





Today's ride was a little exciting, but kind of fun too.  Rory was very good for the pre-ride longe which took less than ten minutes.  He did tend to look out the back door of the arena as he went towards it, and the circle started to get something of a corner in it's shape.  Rory managed a little canter on the right rein.



"You are NOT going out that door!"
Rory did keep his balance with a few quick sidesteps.







I mounted and dismounted two or three times on each side before picking up the reins and asking Rory to walk on.  The first time I picked up the reins he shifted his weight to take a step, but I reminded him about standing still before he moved a foot.  For the second time Rory started off with a humped back and snaking head.  He was a bit worse than last week, even getting to the point of trying to trot towards the back door.  I kept focused on what I was asking him to do and like last week, after a halt he suddenly relaxed and listened well.  It only took five minutes to get to that point today.

...and turn...

Trotting past the door.

We moved on to trot, and the first time we went towards the far end of the arena Rory took over and headed for the door.  I was determined that he was not going to get out today and got him stopped with his feet just barely inside.  The next time he tried harder and got his front feet just outside, but I wouldn't let him go any further out and backed him a step or two before turning in again.  After that I kept him further away from the door, but it took two more tries on the left rein before he managed to trot past with only a couple of walk steps.  We changed direction and he trotted past the door (well to the inside) twice on the right rein.

Rory trotted out the door, but he didn't get very far.

Since he'd been good, and he was so determined to get out of the arena I decided to ride out and in the back door.  Rory got a bit excited as we headed directly for the opening, but did listen when I insisted he stop and stand quietly inside for a few moments before going out.  He wasn't keen on going back inside, but didn't put up much of an arguement.  The next time we approached the door he got ahead of me and broke into a quick trot.  I managed to stop him, though we ended up going sideways and I was a bit worried that he might slip on the wet ground.  It rained last night and things were a bit slick in places.  Oddly enough Rory was heading off away from his paddock.  He didn't want to head back towards the arena, but once we got moving he walked right in without hesitation.  We went out and back in once more and Rory was very well behaved.  Then out for the last time and walked back to the barn.

Walking back inside without a fuss - Good boy!

Walking calmly outside again.

Rory eyes the puddles as I tell him he can walk between them.

June 17, 2011 - Who's running this show?

After Sunday's excitement I decided to start in the arena today, thinking I could ride him out and around the sand ring if all went well.  Rory was very good for the initial longeing.  He did keep looking out the back door and tried to go out once.  The view out the front door was also interesting, but he wasn't trying to make an exit at that end of the arena.  We did a little walk, trot, and even a little canter on the right rein.  I didn't ask him for the canter, but he did a very calm transition to an easy canter so I encouraged him to keep it for part of the circle.

Fussing with the bit

He's gotten very good about standing quietly for mounting so I have been doing less of the mounting exercises before getting to the ridden work.  Today I did a partial mount, leaning over his back and patting his other side before getting down again.  I got on and off from each side a few times as well.  Rory wanted to get moving and started walking as I picked up the reins the first time.  He halted reluctantly, and I hopped off and took him back to the mounting block.  That time he stood and waited for me to ask him to walk on.

Oops!  Rory made it outside and didn't want to come back in!

At first Rory had a hump in his back, and kept pulling on the reins twisting his head around, up, down and sideways.   Very early on he dropped his head down in a bucking attitude, but without lifting his hindquarters off the ground.  He halted reluctantly, and got stuck in one spot twice.  I ignored the snaking head as much as possible, focused on where we were going, and praised him as much as I could when he did cooperate.  Very suddenly after almost ten minutes, he walked out of a halt calmly, relaxed and quiet on the bit.  After checking that he really was relaxed through some changes of rein and another halt I asked him for a bit of trot. 

Back inside and Rory just wants to go back out.

Rory was willing to go forward and he had a lot of energy coming through his back making me think he was going to run off, but I trusted him and let him go forward as I concentrated on where we were headed.  He gave me a good trot, relaxing into it, but when we got near the back door he veered towards it and we halted just barely inside as I insisted he turn and stay inside the arena.  The next time he managed to take that last step and get outside.  I didn't let him get very far, turning him back right away, and we had a discussion about where we were going next.  Rory didn't want to go back inside, but I kept his nose pointed into the arena and kept asking him to walk forward.  It was a pretty minor disagreement.  Apart from a few wiggles, backing up and refusing to step forward Rory really didn't do anything.  Once we did get back inside Rory tried balking again, but I persisted and he walked on.

Starting the early turn to trot past the back door.

We trotted again and I tried to keep him trotting past the back door.  The first time we were too close and he walked when I insisted he stay inside and keep going.  The next time I turned him early to cross the arena and although he drifted towards the door he did keep trotting.  We trotted past once more, a little closer but still leaving lots of room for drifting and Rory kept going without much effort.  I praised him and took him down to the back door again at the walk.  Rory was all ready to march off outside, but halted when I insisted.  We stood for a moment, then I asked him to walk out through the door.  After walking a little figure eight I turned him back to the arena and he walked forward and put his first foot in without hesitation, then changed his mind and backed out.  Our discussion about going back inside was much shorter that time.  I quit there as I'd been riding a bit longer than fifteen minutes at that point.  I would have liked to have gone in and out of the arena until he wasn't hesitating, but Rory had listened to me and our time was up.

Drifting towards the door, but we're far enough
away that Rory can keep trotting as we go by.

I count today's ride as a success because Rory was pretty determined to get what he wanted, but discovered that I was more determined.  When I start a horse I try to avoid getting into an arguement for as long as possible so the horse gets into the habit of doing as I ask.  That doesn't mean I back off if the horse does refuse to do what I ask - that would teach the horse that he could refuse to do something, but I try to avoid asking for things that I think the horse might be unwilling to do.  The more times the horse agrees to do what he's asked, the less effort he will put into refusing when he finally decides not to cooperate.  I think most of Rory's attitude came because he found the arena boring, especially now that he's been outside a couple of times.

June 12, 2011 - A little oops

It's been really hot and humid this week so I didn't do anything with Rory until today.  I decided to work outside in the sand ring.  Rory was looking around a bit, but was listening well enough.  We started on the longeline as usual and he was okay going left.  He did tend to fall in on the side of the circle near the middle of the ring, but went out again.  After I changed direction he cut in at that point of the circle even more.  I pushed him out a little harder and he jumped away sharply and kicked out, managing to get his inside hind leg over the longeline.  I held on for a moment testing to see if Rory would respond to a little tug, then let go rather than get him worried about the line. 

Rory ran down to the far corner of the ring and stopped near where there was a horse beign hand grazed on the grass.  I started over, but Rory realized the horse wasn't one of his buddies and he took off along the fenceline between the sand ring and his paddock.  He ran back and forth a couple of times, ignoring my attempts to slow or turn him, then he started off around the whole ring.  Every time he ran over the back of the sand pile in the far corner he paused for a moment, so I let him run, walked over and blocked him the next time he came round.  His buddies were up in the shelter out of sight and Rory was upset about not finding them.  It took a while for him to calm down and relax again.  I worked him on a shorter line with more transitions and he listened well even when his buddies did wander out for a bite of hay.  The footing in the ring is fairly deep and I don't want to overdo it with Rory so I decided not to ride today.

June 5, 2011 - Outside ride

I decided to work with Rory outside in the sand ring today.  He was a little distracted by the sights, and pulled out on the circles, at times quite hard.  I stopped him and snapped the longeline to both the halter ring and the inside bit ring to get a little extra attention.  Afterwards Rory was much better and he cantered a few times too.  I ended up longeing a little longer than usual, so I cut my ride a bit shorter.

Rory was good.  He trotted a bit, but was a little reluctant to trot for very long.  I thought maybe the extra longeing tired him out a bit.  He did listen to my aids and went forward when asked.  I got lucky and Rory's buddies stayed in the shelter while I was riding.  The tractor was at work, but Rory was completely unconcerned as it went back and forth.

June 4, 2011 - Grass!!

Totyo and Rory

 It's been a very wet spring, but after some dry days and the strong wind the barn owner decided it was dry enough to set up the temporary grass paddock.  Rory's group got to go out for half an hour this morning.  I love pictures of horses against the green and took a bunch.

 Rory was keen to graze, but he was also curious about the new view.  He grabbed a mouthful of grass, looked around as he chewed, then went for another mouthful.

Before the vet arrived I managed to give Rory a good grooming and pull his mane.  I thought it was a bit too thin when I was finished, but a quick test braid showed it was about right.  I'm just not used to his mane being so thin.  The new washrack was almost done, and Rory got to be the first horse to use it.  I had to scrub his heel where he'd caught himself on something.  He wiggled a bit while I was getting the hose, but stood nicely while I scrubbed and rinsed.  There was also a touch of mud fever on his white heels and I scrubbed those scabs clean and put some zinc ointment on them.

June 2, 2011 - To boldly go...

We had a couple of very hot days this week and then a really windy system blew in to clear out the humidity.  Today wasn't quite as windy as yesterday, but it was still blowing very strongly today.  I wasn't sure if I'd get any decent work out of Rory, much less if I'd be able to ride, but I decided to take it one step at a time.

Looking out the door

I groomed, tacked up and went out to the arena to longe.  The big back door was open again, adding yet another distraction.  The wind was strong, but fairly steady and the arena wasn't too noisy.  Rory was a bit distracted at first, and a couple of times was so intent on looking out the big door that his feet almost followed his nose out the door.  He was listening to me well, and responded to my cues to go forward and come back in the trot.  I noticed today that Rory tracks up without any effort on his part, and when I ask him to go forward his hind foot easily lands more than two hoof lengths in front of the front hoof's print.  After ten minutes I decided that Rory was attentive enough for me to try riding.  I skipped the canter today since he had enough trouble going past the doors at trot.

A relaxed trot

I mounted from the right today and Rory was a little less steady.  He seemed eager to get on with the ridden work.  I'm glad he's comfortable enough with the mounting to be a little bored, but I took the extra time to dismount and remount to reinforce the concept that he must stand still for mounting.  Once we got going Rory was good.  Again he was a little distracted by what he could see through the big doors, but we managed to trot and turn reasonably well.  Rory was quite calm and I dared to take him outside.

And out we go into the wide world

We went out the big back door then stopped and Rory had a look around.  I didn't rush him and he wasn't nervous, just wanted to look at everything.  When he was ready we walked along to the corner and stopped for a look at the new sights that had been hidden by the arena.  The horses in the ring looked at him and I waited until they'd come as close as they wanted to and lost interest in Rory.  I didn't want to risk them watching him walk halfway along the arena and then running over to see him - I thought that might be a bit much to ask Rory to accept on his first day outside.  We walked down the side of the arena, halted again, then went into the arena again through the other big door.  Rory wanted to trot as if he intended to go straight through and out the back door again, but I just had him do a half circle and come back out again.  We walked back to the barn and Rory was very relaxed and comfortable.  He did tend to drift towards my friend (who took photos and kept an eye on us today) when she was ahead of him, but responded easily to my corrections.  I was really proud of him and how good he was on his first walk outside.

Looking around with interest

Then off we go...

... back to the barn.

May 28, 2011 - A very little attitude

Today's ride was significantly less succesful in some ways. Good in others.  The longeing went all right.  He did get distracted a few times by the activity outside the arena.  One of the other boarders returned from a hack, another was hand grazing, and the BO's son had a couple of friends over.  Rory put his head down, shook it and bounced a couple of times, but I sent him forward and he settled quickly.  I had put a plank down for him to trot over and he had a little trouble with it because it wasn't up against the wall where I usually put poles.  I ended up pushing it over to the wall.

I did some mounting practice on his right side to start.  From a training point of view it's good to work all exercises from both sides of the horse so he is comfortable with activity on both sides, but also it's better for the horse if we regularly mount from both sides.  Years ago I read that always mounting from the left pulls the horse's spine and withers out of alignment.  Switching back and forth helps to keep the horse more comfortable, as does mounting from a block.  I started alternating sides when mounting and don't feel quite so uncoordinated on the right any more - at least not when I mount from a block.

When I first got him to trot Rory put his head down and shook it back and forth and humped his back.  I brought him back to walk and continued. Another time he went forward, and faster and faster so I again brought him back to walk. Then he didn't want to trot and only managed very short jogs.  One time he got his back up and head down and I did a very small serpentine to defuse him. It was too many different aids too close together and he got worried and even more uptight so I quickly abandoned the serpentine and asked for a halt instead. In fairness there were a lot of distractions today and he did do what I asked.  We had a number of halts for him to look and think which left less time for riding exercises. The little shots of attitude were probably also a good thing because he still had to do what I wanted.   I was disappointed that we didn't get to build on his good trot work from our last ride, but a ride like that does serve as a reminder that he is just a baby and has a lot to learn.

I always have a good think after a not-so-good ride to try and figure out what went wrong and what I could have done differently, and then I make a plan for the next ride from there. It's just part of my MO. With Rory it's important to do because he is just learning, and I'm riding for such a very short period of time. His little attitude moments made me laugh more than anything else.  I could think of half a dozen things that I could have done better, and a couple of things that I might have been doing unconciously that I shouldn't have been doing.  But now I really want to get back on him and fix my mistakes. And I've got to wait until Tuesday at the earliest!!!

May 25, 2011 - Posting to two beats



Totally comfortable with me on his back.


Today I asked Rory to canter a few times each way on the longe line.  He did leap into the canter and toss a buck in once, but most of the transitions were pretty quiet.  He still finds the arena a little small to keep his balance at the canter so I don't ask him to go all the way around a circle.  We should have been outside in the big ring (half again as wide as the arena) but it's been a very wet spring here and the dry ring days haven't been the same as my Rory riding days.

When it was time to ride I cut the mounting exercises down to just three or four times up and down before walking on.  We walked a bit to start and I went to the point to point exercise almost immediatly.  He's getting better at going straight to somewhere.  The first couple of times he trotted Rory was a little hesitant and did a short little trot step.  I asked him to trot the long side, walk the corners and short side, then trot across the diagonal, walk the next corners and short side, and then trot up the other long side.  As he trotted more times Rory went forward with a little more confidence and longer step, and went round the corner in trot.  My observer today even mentioned how he was going into a better trot each time.  He was trotting more forward, but I could feel that he was still far from a reasonable working trot.  It's exciting to think about what his gaits will be like when he develops more strength and confidence. 

No I don't have a real contact on the reins yet - yielding his jaw
and bending through his neck was part of the steering training.

When he first trotted I went into a sort of half seat to just stay out of his way while he worked out his balance.  Later I started to post the trot, and though he did turn his ears back to me Rory didn't mind.  My other horse stopped dead with a "what are you doing up there?" reaction the first time I posted his trot.  I asked Rory for a bit more forward in his trot, and to go a bit further before walking, and by the end he managed to trot about one and a half times around the arena.  After that trot I halted him and gave him some carrot and lots of pats.  Rory had swung his hindquarters way over to the right when he stopped so we did a few more walk and halt transitions as I paid attention to keeping him straight in the halt.  By the second halt he was straight without effort. 

I really didn't want to quit at the end of our fifteen minutes, but I behaved and dismounted.    I had it in my mind to ride Rory around outside for a few minutes today, but as it turned out I was enjoying the trot, and Rory was really getting better at trotting with a rider and we ran out of time.

Rory and Totyo enjoying some hand pulled grass.

May 22, 2011 - High energy

There was a lot of activity around the barn today.  Rory was a little up with the distraction, but was listening to me.  I asked for canter on the longeline again today.  Rory had a little trouble understanding what I wanted, but he did go to canter more easily each time. On the right rein we had a little too much energy in one transition and Rory leaped into canter, kicked out and bolted, pulling the longeline out of my hand.  He ran out the big door of the arena and went round to the back of his paddock and stopped.  When I got out there he was trying to figure out how to reach the grass while wearing side reins.  Back in the arena he tried to repeat the bolt out the door every time he turned back towards it on the circle.  He settled in about two minutes, and cantered calmly within five minutes.  I was really happy that he settled back into work so easily.

Cantering brought up Rory's energy

I rode for almost fifteen minutes.  When we first started walking around Rory was still on edge a little bit and I didn't think we'd be trotting today.  I did the point to point exercise - choosing a point, riding straight to it, then choosing another point.  Rory wobbled on the lines to start and then steadied for the second half of each line.  When we went past the big door he would drift towards it, but did turn away or go past as I kept asking for the turn and forward.  As we went along he paid more attention to me, and I decided to try a trot hoping the extra energy would make it easier for him.  He remembered the lesson from last week and went to trot with just my leg and voice aids.  We did a couple of short trots and then a couple of longer ones.  Again the camera missed the best trot - this time due to running out of memory.

May 18, 2011 Doing the two step!

Today was the fifth day I got on Rory.  There was a little wind again, but not as much as on Sunday and Rory was less concerned about going down to the far end of the arena.  He looked a couple of times, once when the sun got far enough over to light the canvas door, and the other time when the canvas bulged in the breeze.  I asked him to canter on the longe a couple of times on the right rein, and he did quite well, managing about two thirds of a circle the second time.

When it came time to mount up I shortened the pre-mounting exercises.  I only leaned over him once before swinging my leg over.  I had decided to use the stirrups today and took the spare leather that tied the irons together under his belly off before starting with the mounting routine.  Rory considered walking off the first time I mounted up, but stayed still.  The first time I picked up the off side stirrups I thought he might take the wiggling around as a go forward aid, but he waited.

Rory was a little slow in his walk again today, but went forward when I asked.  After a few turns and halts I asked him to walk forward more actively.  He was a little uncertain, but then walked with more activity.  I decided to see if he would trot and tried with a little leg and voice.  Twice he almost made it to trot, but wasn't sure I meant it so I asked my friend who was keeping an eye on us to stand in the middle with the longe whip.  With a little encouragement Rory made it to trot.  He got a little quick and I asked him to walk after a few steps.  We ended up stopping in the corner as coming back to a walk took too much concentration for him to manage to turn the corner.  The camera shut off due to low battery power just as he came to a stop in the corner after that first trot so I didn't get the other trots on video.  We walked round the arena and then tried for the trot again as we headed back towards the far end. It took a bit more encouragement to get him to trot again, but he managed it. The next time he made the transition more easily but fell back to walk after only a few steps.  I praised the transition to trot and we tried again.  We trotted four times, and the last one he was much more comfortable making the transition up with very little help from my friend.  I quit after that trot, hopped off, gave him a bunch of carrot chunks and lots of pats.

My friend said she'd be around tomorrow if I wanted to ride Rory again.  I explained that I'd love to, but he's still growing and I don't want to stress his body too much so I'm going to try and ride every third day, but no closer together than every second day for now.  By spreading the rides out, if he's a little sore or strained anywhere his body has time to recover and heal.  Mild stresses with time to recover prompt the body to build strength where it's needed.  Adding stress before the body has time to recover can increase the stress to the point of damage, and the horse can start to move incorrectly in order to protect himself.  Given a few weeks of riding for ten to fifteen minutes twice a week Rory will develop the body strength to handle more work.  We have time.  I don't need to rush things with Rory.

May 15, 2011 - Arena rattles, Day Four under saddle

I was really looking forward to riding Rory again today.  The back door in the arena was closed and it was a bit windy.  The arena was creaking a bit, and the door was banging in the tracks as well.  Rory found it distracting and he didn't want to go down to that end of the arena when I was longeing.  He had more energy today, and he was bouncing and shaking his head when he started to trot.  I just kept pushing him forward until he settled down.  We moved the circle as far down the arena as Rory would go, then I brought him back to walk, shortened the longeline, led him up to the door and asked him to touch it.  Rory touched it easily, but didn't really want to stand still near by.  Once back on the longe circle Rory walked past the door a couple of times, then was willing to trot past.  After changing direction I had him walk past the door a couple of times, then trotted.  I did ask him to canter a couple of times, but didn't want to do too much in case he got wound up before I got on.

Today I started with the reins and skipped the lead rope tied to the halter.  I did the usual run through of the pre-mounting exercises.  Rory was very good and stood calmly.  When I did ask him to walk on he was less forward than last time and I needed to use my leg aids more to keep him walking.  There was some activity outside the arena that we could hear which combined with the noisy arena to divide Rory's attention.  He never totally ignored me, and the one time he needed to stop and listen for a moment I let him stand until his attention came back to me.  As with the longeing Rory didn't want to go down to the far end of the arena so we circled a few times and changed direction before I asked him to go a bit further down the arena.  Rory wasn't sure and he slowed down and wobbled side to side as he tried to turn away, but he went.  I didn't try to go all the way at first, just asked him to go a bit further than he had.  We did get most of the way down using a serpentine approach and Rory didn't get ready to bolt.  I was really pleased with his willing attitude and trust in me.  He got lots of pats and carrots.  

The halts were greatly improved today too.  Instead of using both reins together I used one at a time just long enough to get him to tip his head slightly towards the rein, then switched to the other rein.  By the end of the ride he was stopping very easily.  I'm sure the less forward walk helped.

After I put Rory back out I brought Totyo into the arena and started teaching him about boundaries and handler space.  He was a little distracted by Rory whinnying and running outside, but overall was pretty good for an almost three year old who hasn't had much handling.