mare love and mondays

have i told you lately that i LOVE my mare?

great ride tonight- i think she prefers to work in the evenings, which is strange given her off the track-ness.

after about 5 minutes of "conversation" about standing still at the mounting block, she decided to stand and off we went. i was feeling extra brave and didn't even lunge her first, but she has seemed considerably more quiet since i re-designed her summer season diet due to the grass coming in, good hay, and therefore i cut her off of the crack alfalfa pellets since her weight and condition are right on par for her level of exercise and this time of year.

after a good 15 minutes of walk work which is sometimes monotonous, but always useful for both of us, her neck was relaxed, she was powering from behind and she was light in my hands and consistently listening, which is sometimes our biggest obstacle. she actually has a pretty nice natural walk, big and swinging, and if i can keep her from fixating on something in the distance and giraffe-necking on me, its really beautiful to ride and watch. i think people in general don't spend enough time working at the walk, there's really a lot of foundation work that can be accomplished there that helps elsewhere, but that's another blog post all together...

after a few changes of direction and bend, we picked up the trot and i tried to pick a spot for the upward transition where everything was "right" so i could maintain it into the trot. voila- she was stellar again. thought our trot transition was neat and clean, the first 50 meters of trot are still too quick and the steps too short (in my opinion). this is something we are working on constantly. she settles right back into a nicer trot after those initial 50 meters or so, and as soon as i slow my post and half halt a few hundred times, she comes back to me and to a working rhythm. her trot is really improving and although by no means perfect, it's amazing to me to see her stride length increase and her back and hind really start to push. i get excited over little things- and that's why i bought a project horse! she was also still very soft in the bridle today at the trot, and i think we would have probably gotten 8's at the walk and 7's or better at the trot if we had been judged. yay! we changed our bend and direction with very little inconsistency of gait and her lovely neck and nose stayed put without me losing her attention! she did take a peek as her boyfriend entered the ring, but only for a second! after a great few minutes of light trot work and one little leg yield- she got big pats and a break and we (me and two other friends in the ring) decided to take them out for a quick hack on our "trails", which are really big mowed paths in the tall grass on the hilly property up the driveway. she seems to LOVE getting out of the ring and is a pretty fearless little leader so far when hacking in company- so i love to end a good ride with something she enjoys- not to mention its great for conditioning!

secretly, on the inside, i am still a 13 year old pony clubber, and that, coupled with my desire to compete her in some field hunter trials, sparked a recent "gate opening" session, where she as usual, impressed me and did exactly what i asked, as soon as she made me ask clearly. she teaches me as much as i teach her, so since we were going out to hack, i wanted to see if she remembered our gate opening from the other day. we did it on the 2nd try! although i did take my hand off the gate once which won't fly in the field trials, we will absolutely have it down by then. and may i please say that opening a gate from atop a 16.3 horse is a long reach? gah.
i LOVE that our little bit of lateral work and turns on the forehand are totally paying off though when trying the do things like open gates. see? dressage DOES have a purpose! :)

our hack was great and she does have brakes when in company and even when i ask her to canter that bay butt right up a hill or trot down! i cannot WAIT to get to feel her gallop full out- which i am looking forward to doing soon when we school at chatt hills. i don't have a place with safe/flat enough footing at our barn. the three of use enjoyed the sunset from atop a hill on horseback, with the scent of confederate jasmine and honeysuckle permeating the air. what a way to end the day.

life without horses must be hideously mundane. good night!