Judging

I know I'm digressing here from my training of Tallic, but I swear it's still relevant!
Over the last 3 or 4 years I've been asked to judge at some events, from the Woady Yaloak EFA Horse Trials (including Black Saturday, but that's a whole story in itself!), to pony club HT's, and recently the Palomino Dressage Day at Ballarat, and the Rokewood PC Beds series, where I finally judged a HRCAV test. These have all been as an 'un-official' judge, some of the sections I've judged have been Open, and some have been Un-official or Training. I must say, the sections that I've judged where there has been a grading system in order have definitely been easier to judge. I've also preferred the HRCAV test, they seem to have a fluidity to them that some of the other tests haven't (and don't get me started on the Pony Club tests where riders 'rise here, sit there' blah - what a nightmare for the judge!!)

Some of the things that have struck me from sitting at 'C' as opposed to 'on the horse' are:

• the rudeness of some riders who arrive late! What is with that? There's usually no apology and a certain arrogance that accompanies such behaviour. I will admit in taking great delight in being able to crucify one such rider who had his horse so badly over-bent throughout the test - thanks for making it so easy for me 'rude boy'!! I was even able to quote the level's requirements and that "horses being pulled into a frame and over-bent should be severely penalised" - poor horse.


• a nicely presented horse and rider combination is just that - nicely presented. I don't feel inclined to mark up, but I do appreciate the effort the rider has gone to. I think it's great when the club running the event offer something special for such effort, as was done at the BEDS comp I recently helped at. Obviously a lot of thought went into how to organise this award and it wasn't too hard for the judge and penciller to accomodate. (Cruiser and I once won an 'encouragement award' and I was really chuffed to win this. Sometimes when you're sitting at 'C' you see something that you'd like to commend/encourage/congratulate, even though they might not be likely to place on the day. This is one way to do so.)


• babbling to the judge...... it doesn't matter how nervous you are, try not to do this! Be polite, state your name etc then listen to the judge. They don't need to know what you ate for breakfast! And you really shouldn't be too personal with them, take your lead from them.


• "A, enter at working trot" - okay, this is it, time to start your test and make a first impression. So, breathe, make sure your line is right, and off you go. DON'T go in if you've somehow ended-up in the wrong place/horse just stumbled/broke stride or rhythm etc, do ANOTHER CIRCLE! Give yourself a fighting chance!


• Don't rush the salute - I swear some riders didn't even do a salute - what's with that! Hold a 4 second halt, drop your arm (it doesn't have to resemble something you'd offer the Queen), but make a decent effort of it! Then, get yourself sorted before you trot off. Yes, this does need to be practised, you cannot expect your horse to perform this properly if you never practise it. Halt, put the reins in one hand (and your whip if you have one), drop your head and arm, lift your head, put the reins back, breathe, then proceed....


• Ride the corners - I'm not expecting the lower levels to go deep into the corners, but everyone should ride them! They're an opportunity to get your horse together, they're there to balance and round, they're there for a change of direction, so DON'T JUST SIT THERE! It doesn't matter what level you're riding, be mindful of the corners. There's no excuse for throwing your horse around them unexpectantly - prepare!


• FORWARD - yep, the F word. One of the differences between a good score and a poorer one. A big difference between a test that is a pleasure to watch and one that is just 'so so'.


• Clear clean transitions - quite a lot of tests have a mark for just the transitions, might as well practise them hey. They should be forward, whether they are an up-ward or down-ward movement.


• L O N G R E I N W A L K is just this. It's not a stroll in the park, it's the chance to show the judge how well your horse performs this movement! It's amazing how many tense, jammed-up horses finally relax when asked to do this movemnt. Unfortunately most went back to being jammed into a frame as soon as the rider got to the other side, but it was nice to see them being able to move for this bit!! TEACH your horse to stretch its nose forward, TEACH it how to lengthen and loosen its walk, TEACH it how to lower from the poll then ALLOW IT TO DO SO. It's a co-efficient mark, make the most of it!


• HALTS - most tests have at least one halt in them, many have two or three. You do need to practise these. They need to be neat, they shouldn't be hurried and they shouldn't be messed with. I saw quite a few riders mess-up a halt, try to repair it, and make it worse. I know, it's a split-second decision, but, generally, the riders who tried to improve the halt usually made it worse. My advice on this one, you messed it up, get over it and move on. Try to make something else in that movement exceptional to make the judge have to give you back that point!! Do the training somewhere else.


• RESISTANCE - yucko. The head-tossing I saw in some of these tests - aaagh! What are you doing riding a dressage test if you and your horse are having this going on? Now, there's resistance, and there's RESISTANCE. The riders who are nagging and fighting their poor horse need to get some serious help. It shouldn't be happening, and we don't want to see it. If the judge feels compelled to get a rubber stamp made for you, you should be ashamed.


• NAGGING - oooops, how did that happen? Do you even realise you're doing it? At the last comp, Donna (my trusty penciller) and I witnessed several riders who were spurring their horses EVERY SINGLE STRIDE. Obviously something has gone wrong in the training. If you find yourself pushing every stride, find a trainer and instructor who can help you un-train it.


• JABBING - riders jabbing their horse continuously - SEE ABOVE


• FINAL CENTRE LINE - entails a fair bit doesn't it? At least one turn, maybe two, or possibly a 1/2 10m circle. Make sure you ride whichever one you're supposed to! No good throwing away marks doing 2 nice turns when they were supposed to be a 1/2 circle. Get your line straight - if you over-shot or under-shot the centre-line, fix it by the halt! You'll lose more marks if your halt isn't where it's supposed to be (same with making it at the correct marker, know your test!) The actual halt - prepare it, ride it and do a proper salute!!!!! Doesn't hurt to smile and give your pony a nice rub either (but gee I hate the horse slappers, rub, rub rub....)

Well, I haven't ridden a dressage test in a couple of years now, but I can honestly say that my stint sitting at C instead of on the horse's back has certainly been informative and educational. Hopefull writing these things down will help me with my training as well as with my future tests.

Catch-up

Wow, i have been slack with the blogging haven't i? i just read my last entry and realised a fair bit has happened since then.

• Took Tal to the June mid-week rally and shared a poles lesson with Nicole (Jeff instructing). I hadn't worked him for a week, but that didn't seem to worry me, not sure why i think i should get a good ride on a green-broke horse without actually working him?!


• Ian Milne decided to see how Tallic would react if he cantered Mickey past us. i'm glad i wasn't on, because the reaction was a spin and some passage. I swear there must be arab in that bloodline somewhere - put the tail away Tal! (I don't think Ian even looked back to see what the reaction was, so not sure what the point of all that was, bloody stirrer)


• got Tallic reasonably settled and went to mount. He didn't stay still, so not happy about that. Will do some mounting work. Walked around ok, fairly well-behaved, we were doing loops and changes of rein and bend, good activity.


• Trot work - hmmm, not quite sure when he started mis-behaving, but was doing the don't go and don't turn stuff. bit naughty/disobedient and even throwing in the occassional buck (some bigger than others, enough to make me growl at him etc)


• Jeff reckons he gets bored easily, otherwise interpretable as 'tunes out' or 'has left the building', so, lots of changes of direction required, need to turn him before he's decided he's not going that way. my timing needs work, but he doesn't give much of a warning.


• Bit of a feral session really, probably the naughtiest he's been, but also the most pressure he's been under.


• when leaving, i could hear a helicopter coming and tallic became very tense and went to do a run-off. i decided to go back into the sj arena. once there i was able to just stand and scratch his withers as it passed overhead (thougth the damned thing was gonna land in the grounds - bloody idiots). Joe stood with Jeff and was fantastic.

Arranged with Jeff to get lessons at home and have him ride him for me and see what's going on.

Next chapter.....

Too long between blogs???

Oooooops, I've been slack again haven't I? I'll have to do my best to fill in the gaps.
I missed the second mid-week rally due to the crappy weather. Nicole and I decided we weren't interested in getting soaked, even if the lessons are really good value!
Also missed the May rally, partly due to the poor weather forecast, but also because I really wasn't in the mood for riding because dad had been admitted to hospital due to his pesky brain tumours. I think I need to be in pretty good emotional and physical state to venture out on a young horse.
Nicole and I had also taken the horses to see Don Hoffmann again the day before. It was Tallic's 3rd visit, so he would've been able to be ridden, but it was Joe's 2nd turn and he was meant to have a few days off. At least I wasn't letting Nicole down by not going, even if I had mis-led her thinking she'd be able to ride him.
The visit to the horse chiro was an interesting one. Tal did pretty well with his loading and picking up Joe, but there was no sign of Don when we arrived. Turned out he was running pretty late (one rude woman had brought him 5 horses to work on when she'd booked-in one!), so it was an almost 2 hour wait for him to arrive. We decided to walk the horses down to the arena and do some ground work rather than just leave them tied to the float. They were both a bit silly about it all; there's a bit to see there, bit of a spooky arena really, and horses running around. Lots of jumps for them to look at and work around too, and both boys thought the cypress trees were yummy. tal's breath smelt pretty good after a few chomps!

When we finally got home, many hours later, Tallic was trying to get off the float, shoving his arse backwards into the breeching doors. So glad I don't have to rely on chains! He got plenty of slaps on the rump, but he didn't particularly seem to care. When I got home he was doing the same thing. I decided to make him load and un-load multiple times. I have been getting someone to stand in the float with him so I can shut him in, which I know is cheating, but I thought it would be ok until he got used to the whole floating thing. Anyway, I was able to put him in and out of the float by myself, so that was really good.

hmmmm, since then?? Well, I can recall riding him in the arena while Nicole was riding in the ry, and Jenny was there. Back track a little bit...I'd been lunging him in side-reins a bit, getting him going forward properly and doing nice transitions into trot, not grumpy resentful ones. Back to the riding, he was doing ok, but still getting stuck and not going forward or turning when he wanted to stop or get to Joe. Pretty typical young horse behaviour I suppose, but not very productive or obedient!!!! I discovered that when he is refusing to turn, if I put the whip onto the offending shoulder, he went back onto the track and got on with business - so friggin obvious when i stopped to think about it, that's what he'd been taught to do - derrrrrrr. I'm a bit thick sometimes, but it is all a bit new to me, been a looooong time since i've had to train a completely green horse. He also needs a damned good kicking when he stops and bucks/pigroots. It helps if I'm ready for it and he doesn't actually get to stop, I think my timing is getting better and his obedience is improving. We just need to do more of it all.

In this last week I've managed to ride him Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Sunday Nicole and Joe were here and I started by lunging him in the arena (I'd shortened the side-reins and had the proper lunge whip as Jenny had suggested previously). He hadn't been worked for a while, so I thought it'd be a good idea to lunge over the poles in the area I wanted to ride him. He was pretty spooky at the neighbour's end, due to the friggin crazy mutt that likes to jump out or nowhere and rush them at the fenceline. Greg was working on a car there, and his re-appearing had Tallic a bit worried. Anyway, at one point he too off on me and got all the way down the other end before going onto the grass and falling down on his haunches. At least that made him stop, I'd been just about to lose him. Silly bugger. I did a bit more work then decided to ride him. Nicole and I rode at the other end, and I managed to ride circles around and away from Joe without too much resistance, so not a bad result in the end.

I then hopped off him and gave Nicole a mini-lesson, she's still finding she gets stuck when she doesn't have someone to tell her what to do. It was the best session they've ever done!! I think Don has helped Joe heaps, he's really softened and seems able to stretch out and move so much better.

During the week I rode Tallic in the round yard (T and W) after doing some AEBC style ground work. I didn't want to have to lunge him, I just wanted a short session. The stupid mutt was next door, that's why I opted for staying in the ry. We worked on smooth snappy transitions, preferably without him trying to bite me (little spoilt shit - by the way, Don announced to me he was spoilt, think he might be right! how did I manage to muck that up so grandly - geeeesh) Rode him after about 10 mins (I really do have to work on my fitness, I was pretty tired from the running). Had a couple of bouts of pigrooting when I asked him to go forward, but I growled at him and did some repeated short sharp kicks, seems to work. He surprised me with one where he was actually trotting and did it, that was new!

Thursday Nicole and I rode together again. Did ground work in the arena, even though mad-mutt-Major was there, I just stayed up the other end while brave Joe used the whole space! Mary came home not long after I'd got on, so I hopped off and had a little chat and checked out her cute puppy, then got back on to do some trot work (Nicole made me!) I'm really pleased I did, we need to just keep doing this stuff.

Gave Nicole a lesson after this, and they were pure superstars! Best work ever, looked like a level 3 combination at some points - look out world!

Oh yeah, Tallic is still teething, so I think some of his munching (on reins, lunge reins, whips and me) could well be to do with that.

boundary riders unite!

Nicole and I had another go at 'boundary riding' again today! Joe has been treated by Don Hoffman and can't do arena work at the moment, so it was a good opportunity for the two of us to have a little paddock ride.
I did a bit of 'join up' with Tallic in the yard before catching him today, I'm trying to work on our relationship, I'm quite fed up with him being narky at me. I feel like he resents my presence, and for a horse that is waited on hand and foot, he can just cut the crap!! I'm guessing he just sees me as a feed and comfort source, and the sooner I'm out of his way, the sooner he can get on with what he wants to do. Well, that's going to stop. He copped a slap on the mouth for trying to take a chunk out of me earlier, and he doesn't seem to resent that, so I'm starting to realise I just have to be a bit more assertive and demanding of him. A bit like getting him on the float and the riding I did at rc yesterday, less defensive and more assertive.

• I think he is finally realising that being brushed in the chest and girth area is no longer going to hurt him. There's probably a bit of history and memory to get over, but he's a smart cookie, he should figure it out!


• Didn't bother doing any ground work before getting on him today, just walked across the paddock a bit with Joe, backed him, forwarded him and prepared to get on. We'll need to practise that so he doesn't wander off, but not too bad.


• Sat there for a moment then went for a walk.


• Concentrated on keeping the contact correct, keeping my elbows and just riding him like a 'growed-up' - and it works!!!!! I'm trying to make sure I keep my right shoulder and right hip back too, I'm sure I've somehow developed an un-eveness there that is going to take some working on. Nicole reminded me a couple of times about elbows, so that was very handy! I was closing my fingers properly on the reins too, something else I've been failing to do since having him broken-in. For some reason I've been riding with my elbows out and my fingers open - geeesh, thank goodness I'm sorting that out sooner rather than later.


• Anyhoo, we walked for a little while then did some trot work, basically trotting up and across the incline (can hardly call them hills can we?), then walking, maybe going across the diagonal and trotting again.


• I think we rode for about 45mins like this, and it went really fast. Both horses were well behaved and focussed - a big success! Tallic was keeping a lovely frame most of the time, and correcting very easily, so nice and soft. Might be overbending a bit at the trot (at times) so I'll have to start pushing him out a bit more. Did do sitting trot some of the time to maintain his softness and roundness. His contact has improved out of sight!

Another successful day at riding club!

Photo credit to Pete Foley - again - thanks!

Well, what can I say, if I keep celebrating my riding club rallies with champagne, I might become an alcoholic!! So, none of that this time, I'll just have to get used to things going well (I HOPE).
No Nicole and Joe as co-pilots today; being Easter Sunday Nicole decided to stay home with the family, so Tal and I ventured out all by ourselves for the very first time. (Tal has been out on his own, but I haven't!)

• He loaded beautifully this morning. Darren stood in the float for me to 'play catch', and on he walked - what a champ! We had a good trip in and I un-loaded him by myself as well. (I might add that I hooked the float on by myself again too, but Darren took it out of the shed. It was as I approached Napoleons that it occurred to me that I had not removed the jockey-wheel and I was a bit worried that Darren might not have checked-out my handiwork before driving off - aaagh. So, I pulled over as soon as possible, but of course he'd removed it - PHEW! I won't be doing THAT ever again!!)



• Tallic tied-up to the float nicely and I was able to go and have a quick 'nervous one' before I had to quickly get saddled-up and into my poles lesson. Jill turned-up on her boy in time to hang-out while I bridled him and led him into the SJ arena. It's been so nice having such support and she again offered to 'block him in' if needed - luckily it wasn't.



• I did a bit of ground-work (after Marianne, the instructor has ascertained my plans for the lesson, which included her assisting my mounting when the time came). Mounting wasn't quite as easy as it should be, he was quite fidgety and he did a few laps around the blok that Marianne had grabbed for me. We'll have to work on that.



• So, off we went, joined in with the others, and as they were ready to trot before I'd actually gotten on, we just did a couple of laps including over the poles grid and we were ready for a trot. I started and the others followed.



• He's pretty good on the right rein, but his left rein was woeful. Marianne offered some great instruction to help me here, and we all stopped for a little while to discuss position and we did some turns on the forehand to demonstrate the moving of the horse around a slightly raised inside rein and moving the quarters across with the inside leg. Tallic and I did a great job!! This did in fact set us up for better left bend and it improved a lot more when I started doing sitting trot. The main thing is for me to remember to ride properly, ie: bent elbows by my sides, bum underneath me, and if I ask him to turn, he has to bloody well turn! I have to keep the pressure on until I get what I asked for and then ride forward again. Once I started doing that, his acceptance of the bridle improved immediately and I got out of the pull and grab situation I had found myself involved in. I KNEW what was going on wasn't good, but I think I was in a bit of a tense frame of mind and I'm SO out of practise that I just wasn't using my head to ride.



• We were working on his better rein again, and the others were starting to put together a bit of a jumping round, so we were basically going around and staying out of the way. I began using the jumps to ride around, kind of doing big serpentines to change bend/flexion and rein. Because I'd started sitting trot, and keeping my elbows, and softening as he did etc, the changing of rein was working quite well.



• There were a few times that Tal put the brakes on and pig-rooted, but I got him going again and then brought him down for a little break. I'm pretty sure he is doing this when he is tired, so my timing is very important.



• He wasn't perfect in this lesson, but the good news is that we coped with and handled things ok. He had a few little baulks at the new grey pony stallion, but nothing out of control or too scary (even for chicken me!), and he had a few funny jumps and canters over some poles, but again, we got through it. I probably need to relax and not be too hard on him if he does this. I've got to remember that he's not Cruiser and he's not going to take off bucking when this happens.

All in all, another successful day out. This was the biggest ride I've given him since the day I collected him from the AEBC. He stood beautifully at the float over the lunch break, and I took him for a little walk over to the SJ arena with Donna and Angel for a munch on some grass. Donna helped me load him, not perfect, but not too bad either. Good trip home which included a stop at the servo for gas. I left him on the float for little while when we got home because he's in a bit of a rush to get out when we arrive, but he did ok. Yay us!

PS I chose not to do an afternoon lesson because I felt neither of us are fit enough and I wanted to have a positive day out.

Back to Don

Nicole and Glenn were so impressed by what Don had said and done with Tallic that they decided that Joe deserved a treatment too.
After finally ascertaining that Don was going to be in Ballarat again, I booked in with the Doodts for Tal and Joe to go and see him. So, off the boys went, together again....
Joe got to go straight in when we arrived, and I was very happy to see Tallic so well behaved and cool about standing at the float by himself. There wasn't a 3 ring circus going on this time, so quite dull for him really. (That changed when one of Corri's daughters came flying up the driveway on a gorgeous grey horse!)
Joe's treatment went fairly similarly to Tal's, Don picked the lot! He didn't get anywhere near as many needles as Tal, and Nicole must have something I don't cos it only cost her $60 bucks.......but then it was our turn.
Tal was just having his adjustment this time, no needles, and it all went swimmingly.
Off home again, job well done.

solo in the paddock

Nicole couldn't come and join me in my paddock ride today (as we'd planned), but i was a good girl and went for a ride anyway. I managed to time it so that Darren was available to 'supervise'. (He had his lunch and cuppa while i rode and even managed to take photos)

Tallic was a bit stirred-up, there was a bit of wind, and he really doesn't like wind. Things weren't going too bad until the pony next door decided it was time for a bit of a romp and a gallop, and then Tal decided it was all too much and had a little 'take off' on me. I was pleased it was over in a few strides and back under control, but i called it quits soon after.

the champagne's flowing..............

to my devoted followers, well, ok, Louise, apologies for not having blogged for a whole month. in short, a negative 'tirade' at the end of a riding session/lesson left me feeling less than good, and i'm afraid i'm a little prone to feeling worthless and depressed on such occassions and things went to a little bit of a stand-still while i re-evaluated some things. But, the champagne bottle that's been sitting in my fridge waiting for something to celebrate, came out tonight!! In short, here is why:

• float loaded the little man all by myself this morning - woooohoooooo! (and i put the float on the car all on my lonesome, and got it right - yay)



• he was fantastic standing in the float at nicole's house while we put her gear in the car and Joe on the float (another tick in the box!)



• travelled well and stood nicely when we got to riding club (hadn't mentioned it was a riding club outing had i, oh well, you know now). unloaded like a bought one - go tal!



• tied up to the float with our new bungy rope (a motor cycle inner tube with a clip, purchased at our club comp down at elcho park 2 weeks ago). gave him his hay bag and left him to it. nicole got ready and went to her lesson, i went to the club rooms for a pee and a cup of tea, and watched him from there. he did need a couple of taps with the whip for pawing the ground, but, other than that, he was very good!



• checked on him occassionally, but he basically stood there very well (i had initially left his float boots on so he didn't rip his legs open pawing at the mud guard. when i took them off, i decided that had been a good move, cos the biting flies were being a pain)



• during lunch break, wayne's horse went for a gallop around the fields, but it was Joe who flung his bucket off the float and was beside himself! i wonder if he thought the bay horse going for a run was tallic??



• after lunch, nicole and joe had their flat lesson, so i decided to take tallic for a walk session in the fenced off grass area. it's about a 2 acre space. there was a lesson being conducted in there, so we worked mainly up around 3/4's of it. donna was working her 3yo pally in the round yard. we did lots of stops and goes, he really does pull me along a lot in the halter, but i discovered that tapping him on the chest with the whip makes him stop it. did some sideways stuff when he was worrying about things, and of course back ups.



• Jill Foley was leaving the area when we were going near the gate, and needed a hand out. we ended up chatting and decided to take the horses for a walk around the outside of the show jumping arena. Jill's new boy is an absoluted darling and worth his weight in gold. and so, might i add, iare Joe and Woody, who we met up with coming out of their lessons. so, we all went for a walk around the cross country course together! poor me was the only one on foot and i had the fastest walking horse - figures!! they were all really good and i was amazed at how well they all coped with looking at the new whangfangled cross country jumps. we couldn't even work out the line you'd take to get thru one lot of them we found ourselves in the middle of - we all agreed we didn't need to know, cos none of use would be doing them!



• the most amazing part is i then decided i was going to ride my boy! i saddled-up (took a swig of drink and some rescue remedy while i was at it) and me and my entourage went to the grass arena. i cannot begin to say how grateful i am to have such a wonderful group of friends acting as my massive hand holders (they offered to 'block him in' if he needed it!!) having people to talk to, support for me and my horse, was just what we needed. jill's husband even carried the mounting block into the paddock for me, and then took pictures (which i CAN'T WAIT to get and add in here!!!!!!)



• we did spend about 5 mins with me trying to squash the bot fly that was buzzing around. turned out there was 2 of them (i only got one, but it was time to get on with it). sue trainor was on the sidelines offering to be a person on the ground for me if i wanted it. i decided i'd be fine without, but again, i'm so grateful for the offer.



• i got on, and off we went (me and my buddies on a paddock trail ride - LOL) and he was a superstar. only thing i can say he did wrong the whole time was a sort of pigroot, which i think was him trying to get rid of a fly (they were TERRRRIBLE, even with repllent on). nicole went and gave some visitors a pat of Joe (tallic was a bit 'looky', but didn't do anything wrong). i did some test stops occassionally (which gave the quarter/stock horses a chance to catchy up (tal's got a good walk on him!) and he was fine with Audrey and Woody having a trot to catch up with us. tal was in the lead most of the time, and we spent time walking with Jasper (and Jill). IT WAS FABTABULOUS!

I have come home from my second time at rc with tallic a VERY happy camper. I'm so grateful for friends and riding club members who understand that it's worth taking the time to get a young horse accustomed to such a busy, and what could and can be, overwhelming environment.

i'm very proud of myself and my darling boy for what we achieved today. many might think it's a very small achievement, but to me, my friends and my family, it's HUGE.

small steps, big progress........

thanks guys!

Don Hoffman

In mid March, 2011, I made one of the best decisions I've made yet for Lutallic. I organised to take him to see Don Hoffman over in Invermay at Corrine Doodt's house.
Nicole co-pilotted for me which I really appreciated, and Dale and Darren took off for a weekend at Johanna Beach.
When we arrived, there was a bit of a surprise in store for us - dogs, a cat (with a death wish), children and quite a few horses and people. Okay, deep breath......
He came off the float very nicely, had a bit of a look around, and allowed me to tie him up with his new bungey cord to the float. I had to keep the whip handy to prevent him digging holes in corri's drive way, and let the people around know that he was 4yo, newly broken-in and inexperienced. (That was so they kept their toddler out from under his feet, they were a bit blase until then! and seeing him being a bit skittish woke them up too) I felt a bit silly about warning them that he was just a 4 year old when I found out that the lovely palomino they were holding, who looked so quiet he could have been tranquilized!!! was also 4. Well, that's 1/4 horses for you huh!
Anyway, it was our turn eventually and the tying up to the float was good practise for him with all that was going on, and off we went into the stable block. Having been broken-in in a place where stable blocks with horses coming and going etc has definitely been a good thing. He was a bit concerned about the bloke who started poking him in his chest and shoulder etc (which apparently really hurt), but he wasn't too badly behaved.
Don diagnosed that Tal has injured his near side shoulder at some time, and has had the injury at least half his life. It is only just now (6 weeks later) that I've recalled that I used to look at his shoulder muscle and wonder why it looked like it did -DOH! Oh well, better late than never.
The off side hip that I was actually worried about was in fact compromised because of the shoulder (diagonal of course. Might also explain why he gives me grief when I pick up that hoof, cos he has to put the weight onto the sore front leg).
Don showed us how certain muscles didn't bounce the way they should, including those under where the saddle goes, and how after he put the injection into the rump muscle, all of a sudden there is beautiful boing in those muscles how it should be.
Tallic's near side chest muscle was so tight that Don had trouble getting the injection into the muscle, the needle went in fine, but the liquid just didn't wanna go. Bloody hell, that is tight.
I told Don that he was either a mind reader or knew what he was doing, because I had a list of 'symptoms' written down in my back pocket, and he'd told me all of them (except the n/s leg crossing over/swinging in).
We had strict instructions of no arena work for at least 3 weeks (he explained how the torn muscle would start to repair and the effects that the progress would have on him in 12 day stages (I think that's how it goes) and what to look out for. If he went girthy in 3 weeks, don't ride him. It's a bit hard to tell with Tal when he 'goes girthy' cos he always has been!)
So, I went home $110 poorer, feeling that I had let him down and should've done something years ago, but, overall, happy that I finally had done something which I had faith in to fix him.
Oooops, I forgot to mention that he gave Tal a chiropractic type adjustment as well. Lots of interesting positions and crunchings going on there. The coolest is when he gets the horse to arch his back like a cat. whoa

bridle and lunge session

After having Mond to Wed off due to being wormed on Monday and injuring his hind legs in the gate playing with PJ, i decided i'd better do a lunge session.

tallic has been a bit difficult to bridle, moving his head away and even trying to go backwards to avoid the bridle. about time we fixed this!

• right hand over the poll, lower the head; kept doing this until happy
• bring the bridle up to the nose with the left hand (this is all from the near side). he'd lift his head, move it sideways, anthing to avoid the bridle
• back to lowering he head, then bring the bridle up and down the nose until he accepted it without lifting or shifting
• had to do quite a few repetitions of all of these mavouvres until i was happy to put the bridle on. repeated this step 3 times, then did it up and ready to go

Lunge session was done with the side reins at the girth level where norman wanted them. i started on the 9th hole, but decided that i liked them a little looser.

• tallic was forward and swinging
• he went off the commands well, and i was able to basically stay in the middle and keep him going without having to chase him up much at all
• did a reasonable canter to the right, although above the bit

short and sweet session of only about 15mins.

when we returned to the corral to take the gear off, he lifted his head when removing the bridle, so, it went back on. 3 repetitions again. he has to have it removed as nicely as it should go on!

GOOD session

legs less swollen the next morning

our first day at riding club!!

well, after four long years, it finally happened - Tallic went to riding club!
i had a pretty bad night's sleep; i went to the toilet a gazillion times this morning; i couldn't eat all my breakfast; i felt sick...............but, tallic went to riding club today!
and, although i packed everything and more, all we did today was tie up at the float and walk around, but, that's ok. we both coped.

it was raining this morning (and during the night), so my 6.30am wake up call wasn't really necessary. i didn't want to try loading tallic onto the float while it was raining, in case he wasn't co-operative. i didn't want the ramp getting slippery and risk him losing his confidence or getting hurt.

• left it until as late as possible, then took up nicole's suggestion and went around and collected her and Joe, came back here and popped tallic straight on. there are times when it is wise to cheat!!
• horses travelled well. unloaded tallic first this time (at kingston we unloaded joe first), and tallic was fine
• held him for a minute or so, then tied him to the float. rugs off, booties on, and we went over to the show jump arena (more or less) with joe. did a few stops and starts etc as we went
• we walked around the show jump arena while nicole and jill had their poles lesson. tried to keep tallic obedient by stopping, reining back, standing, going forward etc. if his stops or rein backs weren't crisp enough i used the whip on his legs (or chest to get a stop)
• i stopped him on one side and practised his rear and front end yields as well
• the first trot we tried was a little too forward!! did managed to settle him and eventually even trot over a set of poles (after we'd walked them a few times)
• also walked him thru a set of poles that had blocks set up (see photos)
• the instructor, marianne crawford, offered that we could saddle up and come and walk around in the next lesson, but after he had a bit of a spook at a horse walking around, i decided not to push my luck, and took him back to the float
• tallic stayed tied-up at the float with his haybag and water while we went to the club rooms for the lunch break. i was able to watch him from there, and he spent most of the time standing at the back of the float. very good boy.
• when joe went for his next lesson, leaving tallic behind, he wasn't too happy! had to untie him, and christine took his canvas off for me, then we went walkies.
• tallic did rear a few times when things got a bit much for him, but i basically walked him around the grounds, doing lots of stops, back ups and go agains.
• eventually meandered down to the second arena (joe was in the first one), again with lots of transitions. he really wasn't ready for a riding lesson!!
• wended our way back up to the float, where he was a bit p'd off, kicking out and carrying on a bit (he wanted joe back), but eventually settled down
• floaties on both horses, stuff packed up, got on the back of the float to put the tarp up, and i thought tallic was going to jump on in! he's really funny the way he's quite happy to stand underneath me while i'm on the ramp step folding up the tarp.
• decided to bite the bullet and load him first. nicole went in the front to grab him, and i opened the other breeching door so i could walk in a bit with him. all went well, he walked in, but, unfortunately he came back out before i had the breeching door shut properly. dam! whip on the ass to go forward again, and put the pin in the right spot so the door would shut properly this time. nicole walked up the side with him this time, and he walked in really nicely. this time all went well - he was in! soon had joe in with him and we were heading home!
• unloaded joe at his place, tallic had a few goes at pushing on the breeching door, but stood well. took him home. had a few more goes backwards, then when he was standing well, darren helped me unload him. nice and slow, good boy

** As at Kingston, tallic peed with his 'wee wee' still tucked up - weird. today, he peed 3 times.

so, that was our first day at riding club. i'm glad i didn't ride him, we're really not ready. who knows, maybe we won't be next time either, but that's okay.

i'm pleased to say that some of the other new combinations also had a good outing. donna's new horse, who she's had for 3 weeks, and is 3yo, spent a well behaved day; sue's young boy had his first lesson and was really good; and jill's new horse was just wonderful. so nice to see.

a HUGE thank you to Jill's husband Pete for taking these lovely photos of my boy on his first day at the victoria park grounds. i really love the smooching one!

another session in the round yard

Same team present, started with some ground work in the arena. pretty good responsess shown. moved into the round yard to start lunging in side reins. went around well, tightened them up a bit more. canter still terrible (he has trouble picking up the left lead and falls out of it easily. also usuall bucks into it - i think that's how he gets the lead!)

• got on him and he walked off a little better than the other days
• tried to do the 'bump bump' with the legs to get the faster walk as demonstrated by Elsa
• also tried to make sure i wasn't tense in my body, particularly my seat which might restrict him
• trot transitions better than other days
• got him going past his 'sticking points' better than previous few rides
• coming into a contact at times, and when he did, the forward was better
• norm decided that i was to bring him in off the circle when i was going to go down to walk from trot (so that he didn't associated stopping with being on the circle)
• when i tried to change the rein thru the circle he wanted to walk, but i pushed him on using a sitting trot and tap tap and managed the change ok
• when i took him in off the track to circle smaller he didn't want to move over and stay in. he ignores the right rein. i need to have the whip in the outside hand (left) to tap on the shoulder and push it across

quite happy with how today's session went; feel like things are on the improve

gotta get him fitter and used to the contact

tried on the new Anky bridle - it fits!! thought i was going to buy him something with some silver or gold bling, and ended-up with a black and white - go figure! but, it's got some nice features, it's fine where all the others are bulky, padded headpiece and slight shaping for ears, lovely stitching and good quality leather

side reins and a lesson in the round yard

Norm was able to come over to give me a hand today, and nicole and joe came over for a ride too. (we tried a dressage saddle on joe first, but she didn't like the bits where the stirrups go, they dug in, back to faithful ol blue!!)
anyhooo, norm wanted to see me lunge tallic, so:

• i put the side reins on straight away, and started on hole 7
• got him going nice and forward
• learnt to have a little play on the lunge rein to get him facing/flexing to the inside - gotta chase him up when i do it, and then he connects to the bit beautifully and steps thru - LOOKS BEAUTIFUL when he does this!!
• went a bit tighter again with the side reins (can't actually remember how tight - whoops)
• took the s/reins off and put the riding reins on and had a ride
• walking too slowly when we start - hopeless! where did our forward go?
• did get him a bit better, norm stood in the ring with the lunge whip to 'encourage him'
• got him going better and then went for the trot
• transition not too bad, but he did the piggy stopping thing every time he went near joe who was in the arena
• tapped and pushed etc, discovered he pigroots less if i flex him as i tap (when he does the resistance)!!
• kept riding him thru the BS and norm helped with the whip behind as needed
• stopped when we got him going forward and not being piggy and stopping near joe

had used penetrene liniment before working him

tried the isabell saddle on him with the 60cm girth and discovered it's too short. put the 75cm girth on, and it's actually not too bad. will wait to see what size would be best before i go ahead and order one from sharon. decided to get a red gullet to put into the isabell, it's sitting a little low at front. wouldn't mind working him in this saddle and see if it's any different

lunging in side reins

After our woeful efforts in the lesson/ride last week, it was decided i should lunge tallic to get him going forward. in an attempt to also get him used to accepting a contact, i was to use side reins. he'd never been lunged in side reins before, but i was ready to give it a go!

• i began by lunging him off the bridle, (also a first, i used to lunge off the halter or lunge cavesson). i'm putting the rein thru the bit to the other side and attaching on the inside.
• after a few circles each way i put the side reins on, nice and long (hole 5)
• seemed to go well, so hitched them up 2 more holes (hole 7), went around both ways
• had a little go at a canter or 2
• quit while we were ahead!!

Tallic managed to come onto a contact in the walk, but not for very many moments at the trot

He was overtracking really well, but i'm not sure how much his off-side hind leg is still crossing over. decided to put some penetrene liniment on him afterwards over his rump.

hmph - not happy frank

well, i've stayed motivated and arranged to have a lesson on tallic this morning. also arranged to try norm's judy dierks bridle on him, as i'm having so much trouble finding a bridle (it didn't suit him, noseband is way too big)
i supposed i already knew there was a pretty big chance tallic wasn't going to be forward and obedient in the saddle today, due to the fact that he didn't have another horse going around with him for company (pj was in the round yard). and, sure enough, he wasn't forward or coming off my leg aids as he should be. ground work was ok, but not startling.

• norm straight away noticed that i didn't have a good connection with him, so the main objective was to keep a slightly outward flexion, or at least feel, to keep him straight (we all know that straightness is the key to SO MUCH)
• the go button just wasn't really there, even halting and backing up seemed to achieve little
• i tried just using the tap tap tap method, which worked to an extent, but not when he decided to be a right pig
• tallic was stopping in places and just not going forward. pushing, kicking and tapping got me quite large pigroots
• had even more trouble in the trot work on the right rein, where he kept trying to leave the arena and was completely ignoring my steering attempts. putting the whip in my left hand and tapping on the shoulder was a good idea; when it was in my right hand i was using it to tap the hq's across (that often resulted in stopping and pigrooting - little sod!)
• even going around on the left rein he decided there were 2 spots where he would just stop. i decided to be very non-cronfontational and just put the reins in one hand, and go tap tap tap until he decided to move forward again. this is something i've learnt from our float loading sessions - getting bigger with him doesn't seem to be a great idea, so i tried to copy what i'd be doing on the ground. i really don't want him rearing on me again. so now i'm not sure whether i'm being too wussy with him, or whether the annoying tap tap might be the right way to go. i suppose i'm trying to think what elsa would do with him in this situation. they don't seem to make a big fuss about anything down at the AEBC, just keep on tapping, so maybe that is right?? at least that way he's not pigrooting etc and he does decide to go forward. it did eventually work with me getting him to trot past the points where he'd been stopping

well, i'm feeling sick about all this. so much for animals making you calm and happy. maybe should've stuck with budgies as rosemary says!!

a good ride!

Nicole and I are managing to stay focussed, despite the heat. we played a short game of tennis after dropping the kids at school (yep, she won! but i have learnt a really cool way of putting her off her stroke, i just mention her next riding lesson and she falls apart!!) anyway..... then we came home all set for a ride.
i really want to get a bit of a pattern going for tallic, let him know that his life of work has begun! so, even if it's only a short session, i reckon we're better off doing something than letting too much time lapse between work-outs. afterall, that's how it was for him at the 'breakers', and i think he needs the repetition to get some stuff/rules established.
well, the float's away (back in the shed where it belongs), so my ground work is in the arena now, although, of course, it starts from the moment i go out to him.

• tal was looking rather 'down trodden' and even depressed when i went out to him and boo in the stable this morning. i actually was wondering if he was crook. head down and sad looking. earlier on i thought he just looked tired, but i popped his halter on and left him standing with boo, didn't tie him up until i got the saddle, and he just looked so quiet. i don't think he copes well with the heat. he had a gobful of mineral lick on him too which made him look weird!!
• tied him up to put the saddle on. i got snapped at a couple of times, even though i do the girth up so nicely for him. ungrateful horse! carried the bridle out, decided to do some ground work in the halter and lead
• went out to the arena paddock, nicole and joe arrived, so we did the gate twice (good practise for our yields)
• took him over to the noisy neighbour's side of the arena, ready for the spacco dog to come flying out at us. thought i'd rather deal with it on the ground first this time (considering the little sod made tallic take off last time i rode him there) he didn't show until later when i was on - friggin typical hey!
• tallic was SO MUCH more forward and responsive today. had him trotting from tap tap on his side, i pretty much circled him so i didn't wear myself out running this time (unlike yesterday - i was pooped). i could lengthen his stride and quicken it at the walk, and then up to trot - NICE.
• had a go at pushing his quarters out by tapping on his flank, seemed to work. not so good on the shoulder (this is at walk and trot). managed not to crash into joe and cole, and he was fine working with him in the arena (seems to prefer it actually)
• bridle on, girth up another hole (i def. need a shorter girth, i've only got one hole to go, and that's on the all purpose saddle - dam - but, it does mean his weight is good.) speaking of which, i've added sunflower seeds and a bit of soy to his meagre ration now he's in work. his coat is rather dull since the rain scald, poor baby
• got him to go sideways to the round yard for me to get on, but when i had my foot and weight in the stirrup, he walked off sideways, not handy! decided to get on the 'normal' way, first time with no block/rail and no-one holding the stirrup leather. much better! stood well.
• ride was good! walking was more forward and responsive, steering wasn't even too bad!
• managed to quicken pace and also lengthen stride (i think, am having lesson tomorrow so norm can tell me!!)
• trotted - yay - no humpty dumpty, no rearing, just trotting (and only an occassional head shake into it - much better attitude) did several transitions, went full arena and some circles
• didn't need to tap tap very often, mostly responded off correct leg aids
• practised some indirect turns in corners where he was falling in
• practised some shoulder and hind quarter turns around corners

overall, very happy with the session!

still treating tal's face for rain scald and back pasterns for mud fever

washed PJ so i could put his summer rug on and keep some of the march flies away (thought they were going to carry tallic away when we started! have been covering him with musca-ban. i love the way he is quite happy for me to wave the whip over his hind quarters while i'm riding him around! i got bitten thru my jods - rotten mongrels

A walk in the round yard

I decided to have a quiet ride in the round yard today after giving Nicole her lesson. Joe was tied-up on the outside again. I saddled Tallic up in the corral this time, lots of fly repellent on so that the nasty march flies didn't get us, and no blue coloured anythings!!

• did some ground work in the halter. remembered to use the whip to rub him, making sure he stood still unless told otherwise. forwards and backwards, shoulder and hip yields. he was quite soft and resonsive all directions.
• did some trot work with him; he's still grumping and pulling faces in the trot. the only time he didn't pull faces was when he stretched his head and neck forward and down. brakes were good though.
• put the bridle on and hopped on. he had one go at stepping backwards, possibly because of rein pressure?? then stood nicely.
• just walked around today. he was very lazy and reluctant to go forward properly. i remembered to use my voice and praise any good responses. i didn't nag with my legs or push too hard, used the whip to go 'tap tap' when necessary.
• overall, okay response. found he started to move off a little better when i kept halting him and backing him up (he does that SO WELL!)
• next time i might try adding in some forhand and rear yields. might also put some poles out to walk over, and perhaps in the arena instead of the round yard.

float loading

did some more float loading (in the paddock)

• have been taking the passenger side breeching door out so that i can walk up that side
• tallic finds it easier if i walk up with him, but he can then reverse without me which isn't so good. it's hard to keep the tapping going when you're in that position. i either have to brace myself and hope to hold him, and bring him forward again with just the halter pressure, or, if that fails, get out and chase him forward with tap taps!
• had a good change in his attitude today, it was like he went all soft and gooey. got to the stage where he actually put himself in the float with me standing on the ramp. he definitely liked me telling him how clever he was, and giving his rump a good rub!
• he did a good job of going back and forwards on halter pressure and with 'walk on' and 'back'. sometimes used the whip to tap him forwards when he started to back out.

Back in the saddle:)

• started off by tying tallic up to the float (which is still in the paddock due to the house reno's) whilst giving nicole a lesson on joe (who did very well today: steadier/more stable leg position, concnetrated on keeping her hands together and bend at the elbow. got that left canter lead happening by doing lots of serpentines across the arena, lots of change in bend/direction and keeping her hands together, partic. at point of canter deaprt)
• did some float loading to follow-on from yesterday. not quite as good to start with. need to concentrate on making sure he is straight and correctly aligned for entry. took the passenger breeching door out to give me better access. improvements when: talking to him; on float with him; backwards forwards repetition got lightness.
• got tallic to go backwards and forwards within the float today. if he goes out of his own accord, tried to keep the pressure on, i stay in float and hold til he comes forward off pressure
• learnt that light tap taps work well, but will beef them up if he's running backwards or being rude
• tied him up to the float again and went and got his saddle etc. learning to stand at float ok. nicole said he had one go at pulling back, then gave up. paws ground occassionally.
• saddles up well, went over to round yard for some ground work. tied him up in there and got my riding gear.
• had a practise of walking and trotting with bridle. made sure his 'stops' were good. fwd was good, but cranky at trot (march flies are terrible!!)
• nicole held my opposite stirrup and i mounted him. walked off well, stopped well.
• trot - well, what can i say - cranky pants decided to test my bronc riding abilities didn't he!! we started with some humpty dumpty work, and followed it up with a rear!!! i think poor nicole might have gained some grey hairs today - sorry! darren saw it from the office, but wasn't fussed because i seemed not fussed, and, tallic didn't continue with this crappy behaviour, we went forward on onward:)
• NEED TO REMEMBER NOT TO KEEP SQUEEZING HARDER IF HE DOESN'T GO FWD! I NEED TO GO 'TAP TAP' INSTEAD. i think tallic gets grumpy when i squeeze, i must remember to use light aids, and if i don't get the desired response, tap with the whip.
• tallic responds to use of voice, so he got growled at when rearing and bucking, but told 'good boy' when responding appropriately
• did a few laps each way with some walk trot transisitions. stopped on good note. he HATES march flies etc, but will let me wave the whip over his butt - how cute!!