No, really:
We had a BLAST today at the Tyrone Farm Hunter Pace. It was unseasonably warm, about 80 degrees and humid. The horses have both grown in a really nice starter winter coat already so they were hot right off the bat. I had kept the truck and trailer hooked up overnight to make this mornings departure as quick and easy as possible. Both horses loaded without any fuss whatsoever, which set the tone for the rest of the day. They both unloaded well at the pace and we quickly got tacked up and set out. The ride was ten miles long but it felt much longer than that because the footing SUCKED. The ground was very saturated and we were walking on dirt trails, which quickly became deep and sucking mud. It was very strenuous on the horses so we walked more than anything. There were a few spots that were dry enough to have a brisk canter, and we also tried a lot of the jumps! Lucy was such a pro today over jumps that were much different than the ones we've been doing in the ring. We did coops, a ton of logs, a little coffin jump, a box jump, a stone wall, planks, a step, etc. I was VERY impressed with her!
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| horses loaded up and ready to go. I think Lucy was a bit anxious to get moving :) |
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| the first field we walked through. beautiful, huh? |
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| approach to a pile of logs. she was very excited about this jump. |
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| "airplane ears" hehehehe ;) |
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we had just finished the courseand walked back to the trailer when Claire
snapped this photo of Lucy and I. we were both dripping with sweat,
covered in mud, and exhausted; but we were also happy! |
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on the way out, I got the truck stuck in the mud! seriously, though, the field
they had us all park in was like a swamp! |
Video!
What a beautiful day!
ReplyDeleteThat video looked like so much fun!!
ReplyDeleteThat looks like awesome fun! Seems like Lucy is loooooving her job nowadays! I bet you're feeling great about it all!
ReplyDeleteI love the cantering through the woods part of the video...I've always wanted to do that but always forget my camera!
What do you attribute the positive change in Lucy to? I went back and looked...seems like this time last year you were super frustrated by her bucking and rearing...now look at her!?!? She's doing great and she's only five! Think it's just growing up or did you approach the whole training process a little differently?
ReplyDeleteHi Julie, I think a few things came together to equal a happier horse:
ReplyDelete-First and foremost, I treated her ulcers. Poor thing was probably in a lot of pain this time last year.
-I got her a new saddle last November that fits her beautifully
-I stopped focusing so much on ring work and we went out and explored the trails (which she has loved from day 1)
-I ride her much more openly...I don't really know how else to explain it. I don't try to package her up so much. She is a big horse with a big stride and I stopped trying to bottle her up.
-I took lessons from a dressage trainer to help us get more in sync.
-I moved her to a new barn where she has lots of grass turnout. She's out for about 12 hours a day on grass and she LOVES it.
-She grew up mentally quite a lot in the past year. She is more forgiving, more game for new things, more brave, and more mature all around.
I love your blog! I want to get my mare started on jumps but we have a few things to sort out first...seeing how successful you've been with your mare is so helpful! I can't wait for the day we can do a hunter pace. It looks like too much fun!
ReplyDeleteIt looks like an awesome place to ride if only the footing was better.
ReplyDeleteCan't beat a hunter pace on a beautiful day. Isn't great when we can finally start enjoying our horses stress free :)
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