Tues 1st June
Very hot day today but we got a lovely breeze around 4pm so went out and did some ‘pole’ work with Bella before the horses dinner time.
I’ve placed the poles and use them as if they were a jump course. We can go over them in walk or trot or we can also circle around some, fig 8 around some or weave around them. Bella is very good with patterns, she loves knowing what’s coming and appreciates consistency. The poles can give her this but also it gives us the opportunity to delve into using variety and for her to trust in my focus to change direction or pattern and for her to follow,. This is hard for her but it’s a lesson we need to push into every now and then until variety is something she can happily work with.
Next time we work with the poles I will try just working one way first (ie. just to the left…left turns, circles etc) that will give her the consistency she likes with a bit the variety of moving to different poles. Once she has that down well we can then work to the right and once that is good, maybe another day, we’ll work on both together again 😉
Thurs 3rd June
Very hot day again but it got cooler after 4pm so Mark and I took Bella and Stormy out for a short, fun hack out 😉
Fri 4th June
Still very hot at the moment so not much going on…managed a nice grooming session and then a short bareback plod around with Bella.
Sun 6th June
Still very hot up here in Scotland so just a lovely groom, put some fly spray on and have a wee online then liberty play session 😉
Distance play…2, then 4 feet on the pedestal.
Then at Liberty….one foot on the small pedestal.
A small yeehaa but draw back to me nicely…then 4 feet on the pedestal at liberty 😉
S2M walk then trot and finished with a lovely big HUG 🙂
Mon 7th June
A day of milder, cooler weather with a lovely breeze. Trimmed her front feet then had a short ride around the poles again. This time we just did either turns only one way between stopping for a treat at the cone, this way she had more understanding of what we were doing and it stopped her being confused. She did very well and between the pole turn/circles we had a lovely bright canter up the hillock and then finished with some really lovely small full turns, on a loose rein, to both left and right with me hardly touching the reins 😉
Tues 8th June
SO today I trimmed Bella’s back feet and Mark did Stormy too so they’re all up to date with that now 😉 I then had a short, sweet ride on Bella in the big field area. It was a lovely ride and we got quite harmonious on our turns and energy transitions and a fab way to the start of some time off for her as I’m off down South to visit my brother and family tomorrow 😉
Sat 26th June
Back home a few days ago but this is my first day back in the saddle. We started off with a wee play then saddle up and mosey around the track with Mark and Stormy 😉 Really lovely to be back with my big girl AND we use her headcollar which I have now fixed up with nice D rings to make it into a neat Bitless bridle 😉
Feet on ped
online jumping
Pole fun….sidepass along it, sidepass/sidle over it…
Sidepass along it and then some nice energy over trot poles
Through/halt/backup through the narrow gap
Walk down a wee hill and then canter/trot back up the other side 😉
Lovely energetic trot then work on one handed sidepassing along the pole
Big trot
4 feet on ped and nice transitions
Work on a wee jump and trot poles along the fenceline
She does a fab jump and lovely canter depart afterwards which was a fab way to end the session 🙂
Headcollar made into Bitless Bridle with me sewing on some ‘D’ rings..much better and neater than using bit leathers 😉
Lovely ride with the big girl and enjoyed having Mark and Stormy with us 😉
Sun 27th June
Too hot to do ANYTHING with the neddies today SO exercised them to run up the field hill for their dinner 😉
Mon 28th June
It’s been so hot during the day and not comfortable for Bella or me to ride out in SO today I went out early and got a ride in. There were a few horse flies around but we managed to do RtR, P2P’s, walk, trot, canter, fig 8’s, sidepass and a jump 😉 Feels great to have ridden today, beaten the hot afternoon sun and the rest of the day to chill out 😉
Tues 29th June
Another early morning ride with Bella and then she goes back to snoozing in the shelter with Stormy 😉
* Shelley – HorseSavvy