July 9 & 10 2011

We had a very good weekend together. I rode Cooper both days.

On Saturday we were both so relaxed. Rode indoors practicing what I had learned during our lesson on Tuesday. 

We were working on the outside supporting rein doing figure 8's at a trot. Yay!! Yes back to trotting again but need to really work on that steering. I also have to work on my leg position, it's hard to try work, but will get there someday.

We also worked on whoa and back…

July 2/11

Finally got back in the saddle. I rode around at a walk only for about 15 minutes and got off. I was tense but things went well, just me being worried. Another boarder got on Cooper after and gave him a little workout. They did great together, an experienced rider makes him look so good.

July 5/11

We have finally started taking training lessons together with Gail Haynes at Five Star Ranch where I board. At first I was very nervous and tense and almost…

Friday May 13 2011 Had my first fall off of Cooper today, rider error. It was pouring rain as we rode in the indoor arena. A black cat ran by, I don't know if there was another noise, it all happened so fast.

I was trying to do shoulder over at 9 o'clock position and pulled too hard at the same time that he spooked. He went one way, I went the other way off his right side. I held onto the reins too, green rider thing, and almost pulled him right down on top of me by doing so.

I…

Going to another Lyons Symposium, this time with John on April 15-17 2011. I saw Josh last year at Five Star Ranch.

I have also signed up for a Lyons certified instructor riders clinic with Cooper on April 22-24 2011, I just hope my rotator injury is better by then!!

I moved Cooper April 1 2011 to the barn where I will be taking the riders clinic, now I will be right there to get help with him.

I rode Cooper April 7 after over 3 1/2 months of not riding him because of an…

I finally got the reins fixed on my Spirit bridle so I could use them without getting distracted.  Since Debbie is off showing at the NC State Fair this week I did not get a lesson, I could not even go out on Wednesday to ride since everybody was leaving early, right when I ride.  So Friday I cheerfully got out to the stable, my son was with me so he could do most of the work!  I got to trim Mia's hooves and for once she was not too kicky with her hind legs.  So we…

Is it just me -or is a big part of the work-a-day horse world seized up in a flop sweat about money? Stress and worry seem to hang in the air. Horse sales are down. Hay production is down. Show…

I have just watch the documentary on Buck Brannaman and will be writing a full review shortly.   In the meantime, I came across an article that included these these five tips that are well worth considering for every rider.

1. Don’t intimidate.  You may temporarily intimidate a horse into good performance, but intimidation ultimately leads to fear, which is paralyzing.

2. Loosen the reins.

3.…

Although I have broached this subject superficially in a past blog, I would like to address the last two key points in more detail, as they are important in determining the proper saddle fit especially for women – which is 85% of Schleese’s market – and makes us the only female saddle specialist in the world!…

Nothing like the horses...

So, we clipped, full body clip, mind you, the big old girl.  She's 16.2hh of half clyde, so this was rather a large job.  She's 24, and we have blood work being done for Cushings.  She looks 5 years younger and shiny as the baby.  She was a bit resistant on Friday, so I had the brain fart to change her bit.  She's had the same bit for the last decade, so it might be time.  Specifically, as horses age, their incisors tend to slant more forward, which…

Since I finally found a tack repair guy willing to make the reins of my Spirit bridle shorter I could not use my Spirit bridle this week.  Deprived of my new tack I sat looking at all my other bitless options and I remembered the sort of dead feeling contact with them.  I decided to see if I was right with my hypothesis that the feel of the Spirit bridle was so much like that of a bit that I would have no problems switching back to a bit.  So I sat looking at my…

There is so much debate currently about methods of training: German vs. French, classical vs. competitive, natural horsemanship vs. anything with an English saddle. It can get adversarial.

Most people agree that finesse is better than force in horse training, but we seem to have a hard time agreeing upon a definition of what those words actually look like in technique. That starts the debate…