Here's a video for you vultures ;)

Yep me and indie!! you can mute the video, it won't hurt my feelings :)
I however would just like to point out that India was a bit tired before i got on, because she had decided to run around in the pasture like a neurotic show jumper and her pasture antics were not going to hamper my plans for riding.

Ok i'm going to shut up and let you watch the video.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I Was Sickly :(

I'm so sorry guys, i was sick for about two weeks and just didn't ride at all, and by the way that's a really bad picture but it's the only one my friend took that wasn't on the other side of the arena (which is huge by the way, picture doesn't do it justice) making us look like little flys over there.

After i got better though we started progressing leaps and bounds!! :D
We started working on more serious lengthenings and......drum roll please........haunches-in.
Its at the same time one of the the most difficult movements and one of the easiest movements i've ever ridden. It takes so much work to get her correct with her haunches in towards the inside, but once i get it its like we've been doing it our whole lives. Of course one side is easier than the other, but that's to be expected.
We also started working on sitting down and really elavating her front end, before she was almost level with some moments of downhill. No more will downhill ever be acceptable, it's uphill all the way!! :D

And shoulder-in has been confirmed!! yeah!! so i have about 1/4th of second level....and about 2/3rds of first level (darn lengthenings!!)

AND!! i have unofficially been offered a working student position at the big fancy dressage barn down the lane!!! The trainer i'll be getting lessons from is a Grand Prix rider who is fantabulous!!
I'm also now riding another ladies horse, named Austa. Who is a second level drop out, she was injured and kind of has selective listening abilities and her owner, bless her heart only walks and really doesn't know how to ride dressage yet, she's getting there though. So Austa needs some tuning up.

Cantersss.........THEN WALK!!!

i had a lesson today with awesome trainer (that should be her official name) who is going to be giving clinics at my barn :D once a month and guess who's the ideal demo rider......oh yeah!!
although that might be because awesome trainer is also my madre....but whateva
and we might be putting on a dressage show some time (i personally think we should name it after India.....but that's my thought). I'm really excited this would be the first dressage show ever at a mainly western/hunter jumper barn......this should be interesting
so back to the lesson it was in the indoor arena because it was raining cats and dogs outside. and India was really good during warm up and if horses could speak it would have sounded like this "yes ma'am........yes ma'am.........ummm not a chance... *WHOMP*.....yes ma'am"
yeah...she needs some tough love every once in while.
then my lesson got started and it was quick-rapid-fire-drill-Sergent-trainer, each command came two seconds after the last one. and it sounded like this shoulder-in...half-halt... walk...trot...shoulder-in...lengthen...what!!! did i hear that right?? Yep India did her first baby lengthening today!!! Yeah!!! and if i might add, she did really well. It only took us three tries to get it right.
then we moved on to canter work, and did a couple walk canters then back down to trot. Then trainer announces (loudly i might add) that we are going to be working on canter-walks, the epitome of awesomeness. This one took longer than the lengthenings did about 6 tries before we got two really amazing ones. she was cantering then boom we're walking. i am so happy!!!
ever since the last mary clinic when i saw ms. A do one, its been my ultimate goal to do a canter-walk...and i just did one!!! i'm so excited!!!.......can you tell??

my expectations are low ok?? that way i'm never dissapointed, but this one was high...at least for me anyway......YEAH!!!!

Really short post :)

so i have finally narrowed down some names for Indies show name.

first: Taa Halona= seed of good fortune in Navajo (i think)

second: Nova Mika= smart raccoon chases butterfly's in Cherokee

third: Soyala= winter solstice in a native American language that escapes me at the moment

It would be super great if you guys could tell me which you like better, because i just can't decide :)

so please bear with my indecisiveness, i'll probably decide eventually :D

Witchy Pony

OK so on Saturday Bad Pony cocked an attitude, and basically went "SCREW YOU!!!"
what she was doing was flipping her head up then getting stiff to the point where i couldn't steer. My hand was behind my saddle and her neck hadn't even turned toward the direction she needed to go to avoid hitting said hard metal fence (i would know, I've been run into it on numerous occasions).
Seeing as it was getting dangerous i asked my trainer to get on, and she couldn't steer her either, that's when you know it's really bad. By this time she was literally running into the wall , so awesome trainer went and got some twine and we made some Vienna Reins.
Or sliding side reins, i have provided you guys with a model complete with indie colored horse.

Basically what they do is when her head is down she feels nothing, they could be on or off makes no difference, but when she flips her head up she gives herself a jerk in the mouth. She figured it out really quickly and i had control back!!
On Sunday when i rode her (still in vienna reins) she was a perfect angel, and we even went outside!! It's been so muddy here was no point in even going outside.
So the show in Sept. is tempararily back on!!
I'm still waiting to see what she feels like closer to time, i really don't want to go then have no control. that. would. suck.

The Give

So i have been seeing a lot of debates about getting the horse into a frame. First of all i HATE that word with a passion. That is what gets people into trouble, because it implys that the horse puts their head in one spot and never moves from that spot no matter what. It is impossible to do that while riding dressage, the horse has to move their head, it's essential.
What i was taught was to do the give, which is thousands of minute adjustments.
The give is by John Lyons, in his book Lyons on horses (hehe lions on horses :)
First you apply steady pressure on one rein. keep the pressure the same, don't increase or decrease. When the horse gives to the pressure, you should see a loop in the reins. Release the pressure IMMEDATLY, that part is really important, it has to be the second they give to pressure. Keep increasing how far they have to turn their head to release the pressure, do this until they give and almost touch your knee.
Now you can start the down part of the give. Put as much pressure as you did in the beginning on the inside rein and put a little less pressure on the outside rein.
In this situation the horse has two options A: hold on to the bit and not let go and keep the annoying pressure in his mouth or B: put his head down.The reason they have to put their head down is because the inside rein says give and the outside says don't turn your head, the only option is down. Some horses when they first start this go up, if they do just keep the pressure until they go down, then release all the pressure immediatly.

Don't expect them to keep it there in the sweet spot as we call it at my barn, really great riders might do the give or some form of it thousands of times in a ride, it's so small you don't see it. Thats where the myth of the frame came about, people saw the horses head seemingly not moving and assumed that the rider had taught the horse not to move his head.
This is also where Rolkur came from people struggling to get something that doesn't exist, so they just started pulling their horse's mouth. If your horse has a "frame" it's wrong

Totally Estactic!!!

Indie is such a good girl, she has been listening to me so well. And for the first time i let someone else besides the the three people i trust on her. Now it's not that i don't trust the human, it's the horse i'm worried about. Like last time, she took off and refused to stop. Not. A. Pretty. Day.

I let the resisdent western/dressage convertee who just started taking lessons from my trainer, on indie to feel what a dressage horse is supposed to feel like (she rides an exworking cowhorse/dressage horse convertee, that is as stiff as a board)

I got on Cocoa while she was on Indie, and tried to get her to give and relax and stretch, it was like she had swallowed a broomstick. We made some progress and then switched horses.

Indie was good for me too, and we kinda tweaked with her canter transitions, to get them more clear cut.

And we have officially (thats right its official) been told we can do training level with our eyes shut and first level with a little more difficulty, yea!!......can we do second yet?? Apparently not judging by trainers face when i asked.

I swear i need to get her one of those hats that says "the trainer has spoken"

It fits her perfectly

This same day i also got to ride Austa, a second level drop out, who has absolutly no muscle mass what so ever (or as K says "flabby Mcflabbers") But she was a cool ride, she remembers leg yield, and sorta kinda shoulder-in, she even cantered a little. Cantering was a big deal,because when i say no muscle mass what so ever, i mean theres none, i was feeling her when i groomed her, nothing. Absolutly nothing. It's like fat and bones, and thats it.

Big collective ewwws followed that discovery