I really want to be a dressage rider. My horse has other ideas. What am I supposed to do? Maybe eventually he'd be a decent dressage horse, but it's not worth giving up his happiness and personality to make him into a dressage robot. I have no idea what to do.
Option One: Make Shaker into a dressage horse no matter what -
Bad idea. He's told me he really doesn't want to be a dressage horse. I should listen to him
Option Two: Play eventers -
Honestly, I'm afraid to jump. The idea of doing cross country terrifies me. I also doubt Shaker's ability to make it through even a starter level course without dying. Also starter would be where we'd max out no matter what.
Option Three: Play jumpers -
I hate the H/J world, and don't want to go back. I want ride times. I also want to have a sound pony well into his 20s, if not 30s. Pounding his legs into the ground to make him a jumper is not very appealing.
Option Four: Be a trail pony -
Both of us love trails, but I'll be bored out of my mind if that's all I do, especially with the very limited trails at this barn.
Option Five: Just hack around in the hackamore -
Pony likes this option best. After years of having lesson kids and Parelli people yank on his mouth, he's kind of sick of bits. He's happiest when ridden without a bit. He likes his ridiculous hackamore. He's made it clear it is the only thing to go on his face.
Option Six: Sell or lease him -
I need my pony. This option is off the table. Just want to cover all my options.
Options Four and Five will result in the happiest pony. Above all, that's my goal. Hopefully in the new year I can take some dressage lessons on a real dressage horse, and maybe even part lease one.
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
Thursday, December 15, 2016
December 10 Questions
I've been meaning to start blogging again, and this month's 10 Questions from Viva Carlos seemed like a nice way to start.
Does your horse need shoes? I really don't know. My horse has had shoes the whole time I've owned him, but he'd probably be fine barefoot. He got his feet done this morning, and I asked the farrier to have him barefoot if possible, but to put shoes back on if not. Haven't heard from the farrier and also haven't gone to see my horse today, so I have no idea.
What do you think of the barefoot vs shoes debate? Do what's best for your horse.
Favorite season for riding? Spring. Time to get back to the trails, and in the past, time to start jumping again. Couldn't have jumps in the indoor at the old barn, so we took winters off from jumping.
How many shows do you think you’ve gone to? I've lost count, but somewhere between 10 and 20. I average 1-2 a year. Hopefully that will change now that I've got my own horse.
Do you consider yourself a good rider? Yes and no. I can ride a lot of horses and stick a lot of stuff, but when it comes to looking pretty or doing any particular discipline, not so much.
How experienced do you think someone needs to be to own a horse? A lot of people that do probably shouldn't, but it's not really any of my business.
Have you ever gotten into a fight with your trainer? Not really, but I'm sure it'll happen someday.
Describe your dream horse. I already had both my dream horses and lost them. Didn't own them, but still. One was a chestnut quarter horse that was super speedy, but also super anxious. The other was a goofy, somewhat crazy chestnut Arab. Miss both of them so much, and I'd do anything to get either one of them back.
Does anyone in your family ride? No.
If you could ride any horse in the world, which one would it be? why? I don't know if he's even still in this world, but I'd do anything to ride Harry again. I'd also do anything just to be around Amigo again, even if I didn't get to ride him, but that's not happening.
Does your horse need shoes? I really don't know. My horse has had shoes the whole time I've owned him, but he'd probably be fine barefoot. He got his feet done this morning, and I asked the farrier to have him barefoot if possible, but to put shoes back on if not. Haven't heard from the farrier and also haven't gone to see my horse today, so I have no idea.
What do you think of the barefoot vs shoes debate? Do what's best for your horse.
Favorite season for riding? Spring. Time to get back to the trails, and in the past, time to start jumping again. Couldn't have jumps in the indoor at the old barn, so we took winters off from jumping.
How many shows do you think you’ve gone to? I've lost count, but somewhere between 10 and 20. I average 1-2 a year. Hopefully that will change now that I've got my own horse.
Do you consider yourself a good rider? Yes and no. I can ride a lot of horses and stick a lot of stuff, but when it comes to looking pretty or doing any particular discipline, not so much.
How experienced do you think someone needs to be to own a horse? A lot of people that do probably shouldn't, but it's not really any of my business.
Have you ever gotten into a fight with your trainer? Not really, but I'm sure it'll happen someday.
Describe your dream horse. I already had both my dream horses and lost them. Didn't own them, but still. One was a chestnut quarter horse that was super speedy, but also super anxious. The other was a goofy, somewhat crazy chestnut Arab. Miss both of them so much, and I'd do anything to get either one of them back.
Does anyone in your family ride? No.
If you could ride any horse in the world, which one would it be? why? I don't know if he's even still in this world, but I'd do anything to ride Harry again. I'd also do anything just to be around Amigo again, even if I didn't get to ride him, but that's not happening.
Saturday, November 5, 2016
Pony works on dressaging
Saturday (How to find a lost pony)
Got to the barn to discover there was no pony in the pasture. Pony lives in the pasture full time and should have been there. Walk around pasture for 30 min. Find hole in fence. Cry. Go find barn staff. Go look for pony more. Find pony.
Sunday
Shaker escaped again. He's now temporarily in stall until the fence is fixed. We went on the trail with a friend. Shaker was very well behaved and it was fun.
Monday
Pony was good. Don't remember much else.
Thursday
Shaker was evil. No turnout + day off = evil pony. Start to think invention of ponies was a bad idea.
Friday
Shaker seemed a bit stiff, so we didn't do much. Much better behaved. Managed to stay in the arena.
Saturday
We had our second dressage lesson. Shaker was really good. We did an exercise with 3 loop serpentines and had our best canter transitions ever going to the left.
Got to the barn to discover there was no pony in the pasture. Pony lives in the pasture full time and should have been there. Walk around pasture for 30 min. Find hole in fence. Cry. Go find barn staff. Go look for pony more. Find pony.
Sunday
Shaker escaped again. He's now temporarily in stall until the fence is fixed. We went on the trail with a friend. Shaker was very well behaved and it was fun.
Monday
Pony was good. Don't remember much else.
Thursday
Shaker was evil. No turnout + day off = evil pony. Start to think invention of ponies was a bad idea.
Friday
Shaker seemed a bit stiff, so we didn't do much. Much better behaved. Managed to stay in the arena.
Saturday
We had our second dressage lesson. Shaker was really good. We did an exercise with 3 loop serpentines and had our best canter transitions ever going to the left.
Friday, October 28, 2016
Didn't Mean to Disappear so Long
That was unintended. Didn't mean to be gone so long, but it's been a busy month. Long boring recap post ahead.
About a month ago, I started taking dressage lesson. I had four on a lovely OTTB mare, then moved Shaker to the dressage barn. I've had one lesson with him there so far.
Saturday
Last Saturday, Shaker moved to the new barn. He lives out in the pasture now, and I'm responsible for giving him his grain every day. It's a bit of a pain at times, but it saves a ton of money, and makes it affordable for him to be out there.
He got on the trailer immediately with no fuss, which I was extremely happy about. He hadn't been in a trailer in many years, and he'd only been off the property twice in that time. He trailered well, and was just a little bit looky when he got off. We only had one minor spook on the way to his new pasture.
Once in the pasture, he and the other horses chased each other around a bit, then settled in to eat. I left him alone for a bit while I went to buy a bucket and something to store grain in. When I got back, I took him up to the barn to eat. He is a very messy eater.
Sunday
When I went to get him from the pasture, he came trotting up to me. He was a little spooky on the way back up, acting like he'd never seen a pony before. We had a nice ride, though he was pretty distracted in the new arena. Didn't do much since he was still getting used to the arena.
Monday
Monday he decided he wanted to leave the arena. There's 7 different openings and no gates. Picked up a dressage whip and suddenly he decided to cooperate. Was a bit spooky with the longer whip, but he figured it out ok.
Tuesday
He behaved better. Borrowed a dressage whip from a friend just to get him used to it.
Wednesday
About a month ago, I started taking dressage lesson. I had four on a lovely OTTB mare, then moved Shaker to the dressage barn. I've had one lesson with him there so far.
Saturday
Last Saturday, Shaker moved to the new barn. He lives out in the pasture now, and I'm responsible for giving him his grain every day. It's a bit of a pain at times, but it saves a ton of money, and makes it affordable for him to be out there.
He got on the trailer immediately with no fuss, which I was extremely happy about. He hadn't been in a trailer in many years, and he'd only been off the property twice in that time. He trailered well, and was just a little bit looky when he got off. We only had one minor spook on the way to his new pasture.
Once in the pasture, he and the other horses chased each other around a bit, then settled in to eat. I left him alone for a bit while I went to buy a bucket and something to store grain in. When I got back, I took him up to the barn to eat. He is a very messy eater.
Sunday
When I went to get him from the pasture, he came trotting up to me. He was a little spooky on the way back up, acting like he'd never seen a pony before. We had a nice ride, though he was pretty distracted in the new arena. Didn't do much since he was still getting used to the arena.
Monday
Monday he decided he wanted to leave the arena. There's 7 different openings and no gates. Picked up a dressage whip and suddenly he decided to cooperate. Was a bit spooky with the longer whip, but he figured it out ok.
Tuesday
He behaved better. Borrowed a dressage whip from a friend just to get him used to it.
Wednesday
First lesson with dressage trainer. She really liked him, and thinks he's a really cute mover. I thought he needed to work on bending, but she disagreed, and said he needed to work on straightness. We tried, and he seemed to really be getting it. He started to go more forward, and even started to seek contact. I'm really excited to see how he improves over time.
Friday, September 30, 2016
Introduction
I'm Jay and this blog is to chronicle my pony's transition from lesson horse to dressage horse.
I've been leasing Shaker for a year, and finally bought him a couple weeks ago. We were originally aiming to event, but he's not the best jumper, and even BN is beyond his capabilities. Instead, we're going to do dressage.
He's got a lot of issues that come from being a lesson horse for 3 years, but we're working on them, and he's getting better. He didn't learn his right lead until he was 16, so that's still a struggle.
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