Overdue Ellen Clinic post

We had Ellen here a few weeks ago and had a great clinic as usual. I rode Amigo, Verite and miss MP had her first lesson back!

With Amigo, it was clear than I am the problem in this relationship. Too nagging with my seat, not clear enough with my reprimands, and way too slow. So he's kind of bullying me around. Not fun since he's so big and strong and athletic. But with Ellen's help we got going and had two great lessons and have since decided he needs to back back to bootcamp with his trusty bootcamp general, Katey!

With Verite, we worked on her responding better from behind and learning to sit when she meets bit pressure. Its coming quicker for her in the trot than it is in the canter. You can watch her here and here.

And then there was miss Mp's first ride back. I've been very careful with her since her injury, so I haven't wanted to do anything with her that might be too much. But our timing for a lesson was just right because it turns out she needed to do a little more to get going right and get up in front of my leg and use herself behind. The end result? Well, here she is schooling the PSG trot work two weeks later: http://www.youtube.com/user/streabess#p/u/3/BmgGtF0KuRs

We're off to Steffen Peters for training next week which I'm sure we'll have lots of Video & photos from to post.

Rebel without a cause

Yes, its true. Amigo the rebel turned into a rebel without a cause. We're going along nicely on Sat, a nice forward trot that was well balanced and perfectly ready to transition into the canter. Up Amigo goes into the canter, perfectly balanced as usual. And then his perfect balance rolls into a small crow-hop and then a little buck, and so I (the fed up mother) get ready for a rodeo session so I promptly "send him on" to get him out of this potential bucking spree. How does he react? Stops dead like a dirty bronc horse and shoots straight up onto his hind legs. Being that I'm in "buck" position not "rear" position, I get launched off to the side and land comfortably in our fluffy Somerset footing. And then the rebel's tough exterior cracks as he looks down at me with shock and terror, for he did not know that the two legged creatures that ride him can come off. If horses could cry, he would have been. And since that moment, it seems my perfect angel has returned.

Line in the sand

Why can't all rides be good? I mean really, isn't riding supposed to be fun? I know, I know, "its the journey not the destination," the "hard days that make the good days so good." If you think about it, riding is like any long-term relationship or family. We learn more about each other through disagreements and then understanding and compromise. But there are also times when you have to draw the line in the sand.

Poor Amigo, the rebellious teenager, has been neglected on the back burner for a few weeks now. I get him out for a ride on Tuesday and he proceeds to question me about everything: "why can't I yank you out of the saddle?" "why can't I buck in the corner?" "why do I have to respond when you ask?" "what if I don't want to canter?" So like a good mother I try and keep my cool, calmly redirect his energy, until I finally snap and tell him to "knock it the f-off!" And guess what? Sometimes that works. It worked on Tuesday. I know it won't always work. But I learned that just because I feel guilty about neglecting him I can't compromise on his behavior or work ethic.

So we had a bad ride, so what? He's only 4. Tonight is a new night and he'll get ridden for the next four days so hopefully by Monday I'll have my "yes mam" 1500 lb, 17hh kid back. And if I don't Ellen will be here next weekend to supervise.

Luckily I have the princess (Veritie) and the queen (MP) to ride. They are at least civilized when we argue.