"move your seatbones 3/4ths of an inch to the left......no your other left"

Fun Fact of The Day

Its official..... India is sacred.

Well to the Native Americans anyway, apparently she'd be an awesome war horse. Although you'd never know it when she's attacked by an evil sinister plastic bag.....
But she has what they call Shields, one is the spot on her chest because it covers the whole chest area. The other is the two matching spots on both flanks. They are supposed to protect the horse from enemies. The other interesting spot is the one where the rider sits, its supposed to not let the rider fall off. The only two marks of a sacred horse she's missing is the medicine hat and a bear claw. However its apparently really lucky to have as many as she does!

So from now on you may all refer to India as a "Sacred Native War Dutch Sport Pony" or "India, sacred bane of plastic bags"

;)

Junebug~

So Bootcamp went VERY! well. I got to ride five horses a day for three days. And I got a lesson on India and Roubles each day and then mini lessons on all the other horses. First I rode Roubles, then India, Revelle, Sage, and ended on Eclipse.
The best way to describe Roubles is a dragon. He's 16.3 hands and he's not a small 16.3 hands he's big and masculine. And he has an attitude as big as him, and did I mention he's six? But when you get yourself right and him right he's so much fun to ride! My rides on him were a little hairy because I wasn't psychically strong enough to keep him together like David does. However I will become strong enough to ride him it will just take a lot of practice so that when he pulls one of his stunts my body wont collapse. But anyways I got on him to learn about finessing my flying change aid, because I was all over the place and on him if you don't stay straight with your body and plugged in and working like a dog there ain't no way in hell that horse is gonna change his damn legs. So after many failed attempts at changes I finally figured out that the change happens on the exhale.
But before you ask for a flying change first you have to learn "H or Die" which is you pick a letter and you either reach that letter on the other lead or you die... and by die I mean the horse is halted and you start over. The next thing was straightness. I learned this trip that I ride every single horse like a banana, so getting myself "on" enough to get them straight was really hard and it took a lot of brain space, but I think I've pretty much got the idea now.
Now back to the exhale, what I was doing at first was trying to change the bend and kind of flail around to get the change but David taught me that its like you collect and hold your breath before the change and then when you want the change you think change and only move your seatbones and exhale. The exhale relaxs you just enough to allow the change to happen.

India also learned about changes with David! She did her six clean changes with David riding. But the exciting part was that he only asked for six changes period, so all of her changes were clean!! I wish so bad that I had thought about taking a video...

Now I have to get better with changes....

Blindingly White

Since when is Indie this white? 

I didn't do anything to her.....

Be Still~~

I just realized that I havent updated everyone on Indie in forever... whoops


So Indie has been an absolute angel lately! We are rapidly closing in on third level. I just have so much trouble with changes and the dreaded half-pass. Half-pass is the bane of my existence.... I try to ask for it and my body goes all wonky and then indias all like "I cant half-pass under these conditions!" and then half-pass doesnt happen. But we're leaving tomorrow for super awesome bootcamp with Francie and David. I really want to work on half-pass and changes. The reality is i'll probably get over there and magically not be able to shoulder-in anymore, just because someones watching. On the brightside though i'll come back with one awesome shoulder-in! However....the day I master half-pass you will not address me as merideth anymore. I will be "Merideth, Bane of Half-Pass" or something like that.....

The other cool thing is she's almost got changes! They aren't clean but shes got the basic jist of it. I change my seatbones, she changes her front legs. Still working on the hind legs. I'm just scared that I will ruin her changes if I do too many un-clean ones. So I've been waiting to get to bootcamp until I actually seriously start working on them. She also almost did piaffe today.....but dont ask me to do it again! I shamelessly admit it was a fluke XD but still! it almost happened! I was asking for collected trot and someone behind me smacked their horses and india spooked but instead of jumping or darting forward she tucked her butt and almost piaffed, silly pony!

She's so darn adorable.... I dont remember giving her permission to be so cute <3

Dressage Horses have fun too ;)

A Cactus in a Valley.

Riding horses is not about ribbons, or beating the

 clock, or money. It was never about those things.

Its about two beings of this earth learning to move

and breath as one entirely new being. The rider

becomes the brain and nervous system while the

horse is the heart and muscles. But in being so

close to each other they take different aspects

from the other. From us the horse learns new

ways to move. But from the horse we learn to love 

"Wow but when your not funny....."

Okay i'm pretty sure everyone has already seen this but I live in a media bubble.... oops
So I only saw it for the first time today and just had to share...

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

First off I don't think this "colbert" guy is funny to begin with. I've seen his previous shows and none of them were funny... He's obnoxious, just like conan.  I just can not fathom why people think he's funny......because he's not. He reminds me of a third grader who makes fun of other people to try and be popular. I don't find anything about making fun of other people funny. It's not like he attacked one person either, he made fun of an entire sport and its not like this sport was bikini mud wrestling. This is Dressage we're talking about.

However I think the USDF response was nothing short of amazing

Show Names

Before you can pack your bags, before you can hitch up the trailer, before you can send your entries in for a show. You first have to navigate the perilous world of Show Names....

Show Names are the first impression a judge has of your horse. So for instance if you enter the ring accompanied by "and now entering the ring is Sally Spoilsherhorse riding My Dad's a Pleasure" The judge will probably not expect great things, and will probably be asking your dad some interesting questions.....
By the way 'My Dad's a Pleasure' is the name my friends horse came with. It was immediately changed.....

In the dressage world Show Names are usually short and sound more like actual names compared with lets say the hunter ring or western ring where names are generally longer and sound more like titles. For example 'Just for Fun' or 'Haute Couture' are typical of the Hunter/Jumper rings.

While western names are slightly different because the dam or sire's name is usually included in the name like 'Doc Olena' whose dam was 'Poco Lena' and sire was "Doc Bar'. In the western world names are generally simpler than say hunter/jumper or dressage names, you will see lots of horses with names like 'dash for cash'. They also use more abbreviations like 'Dash ta Fame'

Dressage names are generally shorter and sound more like actual names like "Doña Linda" or 'Revelle'. However not all names sound like names like 'Paragon' or 'Wizard' But when they are given to a horse they can become more like a "real" name.

But a show name should be carefully chosen because some associations make you pay big bucks to change a horse's name especially their registered name. So try to avoid these mistakes..... please?

The Too Long Name:
i.e. the announcer should be able to say your horses name without taking multiple breaths.
Names like 'Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow' or 'Abbeyliex Maid of Diamonds' are too long. I don't care how pretty they are.... its too long. Also don't try and cheat to get away with a long name by "forgetting" about your space bar like this name 'MissJBrunningforcash' NO!

The Obviously Named by a Male Names:
'My Dad's a Pleasure', 'BetterfromBehind', 'Bodacious Ta Ta's', and 'Shags Graceful' 
Do I need to say out loud why these are terrible?.......


The I Thought it was a Good Idea to let My Niece Name the Horse Names:
As much joy as it will bring your niece it is still a bad idea...' Ginger Ruffle Ginger Horse' and 'Flamingo Bingo' 

The Cringe Worthy Names:
These are names that make respectable show announcers cringe behind the microphone.
'Grey Bloody Buttocks', 'Nigger', 'Death Breath' sired by 'Dog Breath', and 'Fog Duckin'

The I Should have Bought the Bay Names:
These are people who either don't think much of their horses or clearly wish they had bought the other horse they were looking at....
'Ugly Eddie Z', 'Almost Alpo', and 'Son of a Bitch'

Dont make These Mistakes, Pick nice names.....

New Directions

Well as some of you know I did not exactly take england by storm..... We were delayed in Minneapolis and when they rebooked my flight I was not given a return ticket. Well no one informed me of that (poop on you Delta!) and when I got to customs and said "Hi! i'm staying for five months!" they immediately pulled me over and interrogated me, because unbeknownst to me they had already called Delta to see if I had a return ticket and when they said no the customs officer automatically thought I was trying to illegally immigrate. Well they let me stay for a week in London, but when we went back to Heathrow to leave they informed me for the first time that I had no return ticket. So all in all..... Delta, You suck.

So back in America I have not been wasting my time while waiting for a Visa and clearance into England. I have started giving lessons within my mom's teaching business and I have also been training two new horses, one of which is a broodmare that I'm convinced was abused at some point. Normal horses dont almost go over backwards when the rider is handed a whip. The other is a Welsh section D. And he is adorable but he is a very worried little horse! Everything with him is very slow and he needs lots of reassuring. Funny thing about him though is he likes to power through the aids and race off at trot but if you scratch his neck he will automatically slow down and put his head down. We were joking today that its his magical dressage button!  

Mary Clinic Short Video

Well I do like shiny things....

First off I am in LOVE with this shadbelly. want want want!

Now the boots are something that I personally would love to see in freestyles, like dressage under the stars. In a normal competion? I think not. I feel like they would attract too much attention. Attention that could be on your horse.

The horse is always the star.

Dont forget that tack/apparel making people. Dont forget that.
I mean have you seen how dressage horses are treated? They are treated like kings. I want to come back as a dressage horse in my next life, and be ridden by Heather Blitz ;)

Heather Blitz and Paragon

Its so beautiful...... *tear rolls down face*

Double Bridlin..... hopfully this video works :P

Double Bridles and "Oh Shits" All Around....

Well India has found her element... and its NOT her snaffle. On monday was the first day I really seriously rode her in the double. She likes it better than her snaffle.....
I didn't even know that was possible....
India has been very fussy about contact with the bit for as long as i've been riding her, and I started riding her when she was three. The second I picked up the reins she got round and immediately lifted her shoulders and engaged her core. My mouth was on the ground. She's NEVER done that. And after warming up I never wanted to use the snaffle again, but of course that would be ridiculous I have to keep using the snaffle. Since she loves the double so much I don't want to ruin her on it. But DAMN! i want to use the double everyday! She's just so wonderful in the double!
Damn you snaffle bridle....

And now to the "Oh Shit" part...
My mom bred her mare Rosetta to Rambo, those two made Roxanna. Roxanna is, to put it nicely a piece of work. A gorgeous beautiful talented piece of work. That scared my mom so bad she won't ride her anymore, at the time I couldn't ride her either. So she was sent to Georgia to be trained/sold. That was three years ago, she still hasn't been sold. This year we sent her to Florida to be sold. Zippity Do Da. So today my mom told me that if she hasn't been sold by the time I get back from England I have the option to keep her. But I can only keep her if her current trainer thinks I'll be able to handle her. The part that has me hyperventilating is that this mare is training Grand Prix, and showing Prix St. George/Intermediare. Multiple trainers are convinced she will be competitive at Grand Prix, with no problem. We could NEVER afford a horse as nice as this one. This is basically my one chance to get a really really nice horse that isn't still in a uterus.
So please pray to whichever god you worship that she won't be sold before october.....

The Countdown....three....two....one.

Dear readers, all hell is about to break loose. Please stay with me. In the meantime enjoy these pictures my bestest friend took of me and pny! :D

Bipolar Pony

So Pony's mysterious illnesss/fatigue has randomly gone away with no help from the vet.

However.

She now has the opposite problem..she's all like.....
"HOLYCANNOLIBATMANSQUIRRELONCRACK!!!!!"

I'm convinced she's actually bipolar...

Crazy Busy Craziness...

So Life is absolutely insane right now....
School. Mom. Brother. School. Riding. School. Vet. School. Bills to Pay. and last but not least....School.

But pony oony pastaroni has been an angel lately!
Her collected canter feels like floating on a cloud...floating on a fucking cloud.
She can now stay collected and actually complete a circular less-than-10-meters circle and it feels wonderful!!
Canter pirouettes will not be a problem for her at all... Extended trot, that however will be a problem...
We are training third level and can barely get a medium trot...its sad. I actually have videos of us trying to get a medium trot with my trainers voice in the background saying "thats just depressing...well atleast its only two scores"

But anyway in other news India is very tired....all the time. At first I was all like "well she has been working really hard i'll just give her a couple days off" but she was just as tired as before. She doesn't look sick, she isn't sore i massaged her entire spine/neck/poll/hocks/...face, and she looks fine on the ground. But under saddle she has NO energy. She's not droppingtothegroundrightnow! tired but she just has no energy, so the vet-icles is coming to look at her on wednesday.
I'll keep ya'll posted.

Me and Pony :D

TADA!! Bitx2

Well It Came In!! and it fits!!! the only issue i've had is the bits....

We bought a bridoon that looks more like a snaffle, and i can't decide if the bridoon is super huge or if india's mouth is just really tiny....which is a viable possibility, she is quite dainty and lady-like.

And the other issue was directly related to me being a No0b. I put the curb chain on over the bridoon instead of behind it, Duh!! So that got fixed right after this picture.

 

I didn't really ride her in it i just got on bareback and let her doodle around and get used to multiple bits. She did fine, and as i'm a pretty proficient bareback rider we even did a little dinky western pleasure canter and trot.

 
Now....to oil the shit out of it....

Lesson with boobhead ;)

Progressions and Overexcitement.

Well new year, fresh start..... you know...all that jazz.

BUT!!

More important is the progress me and fancy pants have been making as of late.
I've really been cracking down on the fact that she cannot flip a shit everytime we do a transition. That just can't happen, so we've been doing canter-trot transitions till the cows come home. And i might be getting a little too excited about them...
And by that i mean everytime we did a really good one there might or might not have been squealing and dancing.....maybe.
Which garnered lots of attention from the poor western riders around the barn, actually i take that back.
Which garnered lots of attention from the poor western all the poor riders around the barn. No one could figure out what i was so excited about. Because i mean i'm doing second level dressage edging into third level and i'm flipping out because my horse went from canter to trot!!

But when you really think about it, its true! it is funny that we get so excited over such small victories. But dressage is all about humility and if you can't squeal and dance over a canter-trot transition then Dammit!! Dressage would be the worst sport ever!!
I relish my squealing dancing time...

The other big news is the search for Indie's fancy smancy new double bridle :)
I think i've picked it out too, its the Padded Crown Swedish Weymouth Bridle from Dressage Extensions, at first i was scared to look there because they do kind of have a reputation for being very expensive, however i was pleasantly surprised to find that they had some of the cheaper weymouth bridles.  And my favorite part of this bridle is it has lots of padding on the crown piece and not the browband. I mean... what?!?! padding on the browband?? Most browbands don't even touch the horse's head, and these bridle makers are sooo excited that the browband is padded? i just don't understand. Someone please enlighten me...