10 days to go...
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| Photo by Steve Heller |
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| Photo by Steve Heller |
Boy 90 days sure does fly by. I can't believe I just spent my 80th day with Marley. I have come to the realization, WE ARE NOT READY!! I'm getting really nervous. Between the weather and the EHV-1 outbreak, Marley has never seen a cow, never been in an indoor arena, and has only hauled off the property once. Aside from these not so minor details, I feel like we are not where we should be in terms of our required maneuvers. I know that we can only do our best, but it's really intimidating going up against trainers who have worked with tons of these horses and have a much better idea of what to expect than I do. I am so proud of Marley and how far he has come in these last couple of months, but I know I'm biased and I just hope it's good enough to get us through the competition with some dignity.
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| Photo by Steve Heller |
Ok, so other than my anxiety about coming to the end of this thing, Marley did really well today. I tried to remember all that Sean showed us yesterday on the ground to help with Marley's balance and responsiveness, and I think I did pretty well for my first go at it. Marley was really cued in on my body posture and I even was able to back him up without any lead line pressure, but by simply lifting my shoulders and chest towards him. We also worked on some lateral work on the ground, and I see that he is improving in this area.
Round pen work with Marley to start of the session
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| Photo by Steve Heller |
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| Photo by Steve Heller |
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| Photo by Steve Heller |
When I rode Marley I worked on lots of circles and disengaging is front end and then his hindquarters. He stayed really soft and was responding well, but I had to constantly remind myself to relax my legs and stretch them down. At the trot I struggled with the longer stirrups, so I dropped the reins and tried to focus only on me and following Marley's rhythm. He has a really bouncy trot, and once this competition is over and I bring him home (see I'm thinking positively) I am going to put a lot of hours in working without stirrups to gain better core strength. I think this will really help us develop a more fluid, soft sitting trot.
Loose rein turn on the haunches
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| Photo by Steve Heller |
Oh yeah, and I also rode around bareback for a little while. I don't really think there is anything more rewarding than comfortably riding bareback on a horse that less than 3 months ago was wild.
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| Photo by Steve Heller |
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| Photo by Steve Heller |
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| Photo by Steve Heller |
I didn't ride for too long as Marley was responding really well and I didn't want to push him since this was our first day implementing some of the new techniques we learned. Our good friend Steve came out to take photos today, and since he has never ridden a horse, we figured a wild mustang would be a good first place to start. Marley was such a good boy and stood quietly for Steve to get on, and even posed for some pictures. If I didn't know any better, I would think that Marley loves the camera, because he always seems to ham it up as soon as you point one at him.
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| Steve riding Marley, his first time on a horse! |
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| Marley's looking pretty worried about this... Oh wait, that's him falling asleep. |
Mike took Marley for a spin too, and it was great to see how much more relaxed they both were this time around. Mike remembered everything I had taught him from his lesson the other day, and they looked great together walking around confidently and quietly.
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| Photo by Steve Heller |
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| Photo by Steve Heller |
Marley being cute. As usual.
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| Photo by Steve Heller |
Don't be discouraged with what you two have accomplished. You have a horse 80 days out of the wild sweet and trusting enough to allow a newbie rider to get on and ride. That's AMAZING!
ReplyDeleteI think some of the people worry too much about scoring well, and winning prize money. Some realize that along the way, they have found something more valuable. (Many of the folks who do win money, end up spending it to buy their horses back)
My message to you is this.. If you love your horse and want to bring him home. Go to the event, do what you can do, show the world how special he is, but have a good time. Don't compromise what you have built, think you are failing him somehow, or not good enough to train a fabulous horse! The true beauty of these horses is inside them, it's what they will do for you because it's you who asked and not because you knew some secret trick.
And be forewarned, horses like yours... the ones started with patience and love, with a ton of trust & try, often sell for more then the flashy sit & spin types, because plenty of people value quite highly what you have built with him.
Wow! That last pictures needs to be framed. So pretty, I think it catures his playful personality. I am surprised at how well the arena dried out. That could be because I was just reading yesterday about what a muddy mess everything was. I'm all caught up now. :-) What a great blog, I am really glad you have shared your experience. It's a gift.
ReplyDeleteYou have done such a damn good job and have had fun to boot! What an adventure and what a wonderful horse - he is yours and WILL come home with YOU. Best of luck and just go knock 'em dead! Stick to YOUR game and don't worry too much about all the cow work stuff - Eventing is way cooler - remember it's an Olympic sport!
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