First: Ring. Ring has stonedust down, and.. would have drains in if it hadn't rained and stormed so hard over the past few days we needed to be on genny for 36 hours. Oy. Thank god for propane power!!But, drains should be going in over the next couple days, then retaining wall, then... rest of stondust, compactor, and SAND!! And we're done!! Voila!! Ring!! But in the meantime, this is why we need drains.. and Logan's boots needed 2 days on the dryer to be wearable again... Bahahah!!
-- Insert pic here.. when Google gets its shit together--
Second: Paddocks! So, As I told you, paddocks were graded, seeded, and ponies taken off. I am now done with the sacrifice fencing, so each pony has their own little space- hopefully this will lead to less separation anxiety over the long term. I also installed gates to each space, gates from each space to the grassy space, and one connecting so I can get a wheelbarrow through. Phew! Grass is GROWING!!! it looks so green and fuzzy, although it is still fairly thin and clearly baby grass. But this is so exciting!! And then a tree fell down on my exterior fence during the storm. A big tree. A WHOPPER of a tree, infact. So.. There's that. Took out a fence post, popped a bunch of corner insulators.. Womp womp. Out came the chain saws, excavator, etc., and.. I guess it's cleared up? I hope? I had to leave halfway through for...
-- insert pics.. bah --
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| What IS this?? Just a concrete bridge hanging out in my yard. No biggie! |
Third: EFF clinic!!! <-- See how exclamation points just keep multiplying? Like rabbits! It went way better than I had expected, considering we probably had our worst ride ever the day before. Granted, it was high winds, leaves blowing, trees flapping, and all that, but.. Get over it dude. You're an event horse. So, we hopped on. And.. we spooked, we bucked, we crow-hopped and threatened to rear. We scooted forward, sideways, and even BACK at some points. It was... very interesting. So, we kept it W-T (when not canter forward from attacking bushes/leaves) on a 20m circle, and ended on a good note of transition within gaits. Funny thing I noticed- so, he'd react to something (anything), then without me really even reacting (because let's face it, nothign he throws at me is new and is usually way kinder than ANYTHING Sher throws at me- crow-hopping? She launches 4 ft into the air like she's trying out for the Lippy show. Over and over. Whaaaatevvvvssss. Carry on, baby horse. You so bad.), he PRE-acts with a buck or head toss or launch because he expects me to get after him. *shakes head* And here's the thing. You might be thinking- what an asshole, beat him and get going! So, his nervous tic is head tossing and grinding on the bit, right? Literally, he was doing that the whole time. Until about 15 minutes before I ended it. And worst just after he spooked, but before he Pre-acted. It's my new word, "pre-acting," because.. He is reacting to what he -thinks- I'm going to do. So, once he figured out I wasn't going to compound his already fearful moment, we got in about 15 minutes of really good solid, easy, back to basics, work, and I called it.
Anyway. So, I let Eliza know we'd had a rough day, since she's met me once and Andi never, and we were supposed to be doing a low jumping lesson at a new place. lmao. Good thing he's a pro Novice horse, huh? bahah
And... He was a gem. We got out length/shorten transitions at the canter flawlessly to the left, going from 7 strides to 6 to 8, then back to 6. We had some issues to the right because of his weaknesses, and I'm out of shape and just not as familiar with him, so once I figured out he needed more help to the right, he was also great in that direction. Then we did some gymnastic work, working from trotting ground poles to trot in canter out 1 stride, bounce, to a vertical. Landed off each lead, and.. he was great. Soft, responsive, quiet. I was the limiting factor at first- used to riding fairly defensively, I was not keeping with him, but once I got my game face on, it went super. And there are videos to prove it.. ooh la la. Thank you Savannah for being my camera lady!! And great job Sue, on your baby horse!! Georgie is sooooo cute!!! Also, thanks to Chelsea for hosting, and EFF for being a great teacher!
-- Oh, come on, Google--
And.. One last picture from our lesson 2 weeks ago with Jess halliday. Who is feeling better and kicking ass, and I am so excited that she's sticking around this winter because I have a RING and I will be riding!! Woot!
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