# The Adventures of Hercules



## falling (Apr 13, 2014)

Oh just so you know, Hercules is the one with the stripe in the photos, and Daisy the teeny star.

Had a good ride today on my boy. I went to ride with the people down the road- one of their mares went crazzzyyy into heat upon seeing Hercules. He has that effect ;P He got a bit stirred up after the girl decided she wanted to canter and me and her mum had a little canter afterwards. They are both on thoroughbreds, but after that, it was Hercule who was jig-jogging. He was head flicking like crazy which worried me a little- likely allergies flaring up I'd say, combined with being excited. We then went back and did some flat schooling. I really need to push him into corners more he loves cutting into them. He was really coming down onto the bit and up over his back at the trot though which was fantastic. 

For such a big horse, he loves tiny circles in the canter. I also need to work at using my OUTSIDE hand to turn, because i always use my inside and it's pretty easy for him to ignore. 

All in all, it was a pretty good ride. Hopefully tomorrow we will be able to use the facilities up the road- a lovely arena, big flat grass, jump poles, x-country jumps etc... He always gets stirred up going there so I'm glad I rode today. I think i'll do some jumping as well as flat work to give him a bit more variation, but we shall see.


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## falling (Apr 13, 2014)

I've been busy!!! I moved into our new house, two, coming on three weeks now. It already feels like home and I'm having such a ball. It is on 890 hectares, so basically 2200 acres, of land. Not hours obviously, my SO is just a shephard here, but the owner is very kind and so I am allowed to ride wherever I want on it. For the first two weeks, I didn't have Hercules as we had no room to take him down on the first trip, but he arrived mostly safe and sound on Saturday afternoon. It took quite some effort to get him on the float (I wasn't there), which was a bit odd to me as usually he just walks straight on. 

Previous to him arriving, I have been lucky enough to ride the neighbours kids ponies. One is a Kaimanawa who is really slow and kind towards the daughter who rides, but very very quick when an adult is on him. Me and the girls mother went for a ride, and even though it would have been quite a distance, we covered it quickly as he just would not walk. It was a bit nerve wracking at times, but good fun. He isn't dirty at all, just likes to go fast. The other horse is an absolutely gorgeous welsh cob, dappled grey and pretty much my dream horse. She is very green, however, and is super nervy away from other horses. I am stoked to have my big man back.

He's settled in really nicely- he's being paddocked with the other two horses, and there has been very little fighting. He's massive compared to them, so even though they are somewhat in charge, they are hesitant to get into a battle. So far I've had three rides on him- Sunday, Monday, and today. 

Sunday was not such a nice day, very blustery and a bit cold. Despite him not being worked for a few weeks, I decided to be brave. He's still definitely not comfortable in his surroundings, and is super looky. He was not keen to move away from the other horses, but if he had to, he did not want to walk. That was okay for me, and we basically just cantered/trotted the entire way up to the lake. When he is cantering it is like he completely forgets about his friends and is happy to be moving. I unsaddled him and led him into the lake and he became a total hippo- wallowing in knee deep mud for as long as I'd let him! Needless to say he got a hose off when we got home. I was really proud of him, he was happy enough to walk home. 

Monday wasn't such a good ride so I won't talk much about that. It was nasty again (quite cold for summer) so I just wanted to stay in the flat paddock and do some arena work. He had no bend and was fixated 80% of the time on the fact his mates were just over there. So, we just did nice big canter circles right around this massive paddock until we lost some of that stupidness. We then had some trouble with gates, and did not end the ride particularly nicely, and I felt bad about that.

Today is a stunning day! Hot, but not unbearable, blue skies and only a tiny bit of wind. I decided we'd go out the back. For the first paddock or two he wasn't happy to walk forward and would only move forwards while looking ahead at the trot or canter. Once we'd gone up quite a bit of hill and he was puffing, he decided it'd be okay to walk. He was honestly super well behaved I was so impressed! Not really herdbound at all once we got past the initial bit, and he seemed to be really enjoying himself. When we got to the lake, I jumped off again and let him have a play in the water. He really did seem happy with himself and was not in a hurry to head home. 

For most of today's ride, I found he worked better using just the reins on the halter, rather then on the bit. So the next ride I think I will just put him in the halter if we are hacking. I prefer that anyway, just so he can graze easily, and i don't know, I just like how free it makes me feel. I wasn't at all happy with my saddle either- it slipped back quite majorly despite the martingale, and what with it being a tensy bit too long for his stupid back, yeah, nah, I think I will go bareback while hacking too. 

I'm so excited for this year!! I'd love to buy a green horse for a project, but we shall see. Photos attached are of today.


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Congrats on the new house! That's so awesome.
Hercules is soooo cute.  Such a handsome boy.
That scenery is just breathtaking, I'm so jealous. I'm glad you had a good ride!!


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## falling (Apr 13, 2014)

Thanks! @PoptartShop He sure knows he's handsome. 

Gave Hercule the day off after the last ride, then rode him again yesterday. I was going to go for quite a big ride but it was very hot, and the boyfriend finished for the day early so I didn't want to be out too long. I went up to the lake again, and then went up the hillside till I was looking out over the lake. It was very beautiful. Hercule did super well and was only a tiny bit sticky. I really don't think he's getting on very well with the other horses- he was completely fine to leave them, and they him. When I let him back out, he stood and waited till I left before walking away to go find them, even though they were right on the other side of the paddock. It was really quite sweet. 

I think he's a bit arthritic in his hind legs. He finds it quite hard to go down the hills. He zigzagges even if there's only a slight decline and feels quite clunky. I just let him go at his own pace, where he wants to go. Other then that, he's in great health and fitter then I expected him to be. I was stoked I was able to ride bareback and in a halter as well, and had no problems staying on even while trotting and cantering. Until I get a saddle that doesn't slip (I'm looking at buying a T8 Thorowgood Compact) I'll ride bareback over the farm. It'll be good for both of us. 

It does make me a bit sad though. I really would like to have a green horse to bring on- originally I was going to be starting a midwifery course this year, but I've just been so unsure about it that i've decided to take a gap year, which means working, and money. First purchase will definitely be a float I think. I would really, really, really, love to get into endurance. I'm absentmindedly looking out for a cheap project horse type that I could grab, but really its only a dream. I'm a bit bummed because I don't think my boyfriend is going to be as supportive/into horses as I thought he was going to be- don't get me wrong. I'm super lucky that he rides and is good with horses and likes them, but he's more into the racing side of things, and less into the actual riding. He wasn't gone on one ride with me since we have been here  I get that he's a bit tired from working, but we have weekends!!! He just doesn't seem to be showing any interest. I'm going to ask him to ride Hercule while I'm away Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, hiking, but we shall see...


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## falling (Apr 13, 2014)

Had a really busy week and I'm feeling quite drained. Monday/Tuesday, I was hiking- our family did our usual 3 day walk in 2 days and it was HARD. My feet are covered in blisters and I'm quite lightheaded still. It was massively enjoyable and some of the views were just spectacular. Overall, I'm pretty happy with how well I handled it- I did no training, so I wasn't really fit at all. Self preservation clearly kicked in!!! 

Yesterday I went for a massive ride (I thought so anyway), over 15km in three hours, with a decent pace. We could've gone further, but I err on the side of caution when it comes to Hercules. I was really wishing we did go further by the end of it- he certainly didn't feel tired! I don't have all that much steering control in the halter and it really showed. My brakes were okay, but when he decided to canter towards his mate (who was just following/leading us without a rider), I really couldn't stop him. I wasn't even worried really but it was a bit annoying because he was going in the wrong direction. A few firm corrections later and he was much better. I really need to work on him being lighter to turn in it though, he's usually pretty easy until he just decides he can ignore me. He's a bit of a **** like that. I think I'll probably ride him in his bridle next time we are out, just because his one rein stops are established with a bit, but DEFINITELY not without one.


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Wow, beautiful ride it looks like!  That's so beautiful!


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## falling (Apr 13, 2014)

Man I'm awful at updating this! Honestly, not overly much has been happening. I was reading my old journal and I think it's hilarious just how far I've come in the last year or so. Hercules would have to be a raving lunatic for me to hop off him now- back then, I'd jump off if he spooked and got uptight. 

Worked out why Hercule was feeling so old/tired. I was feeding him epsom salts, under the assumption that they were normal salts, so I was way over dosing him! As soon as I took him off them, he was back to his usual silly self. He even threw a few silly little rears in while out riding in company to prove it. His flat work is really coming along nicely, and when I;m hacking with him, he is using his back most of the ride. Although back to acting like he reckons he's a thorougbred, I can definitely feel he's getting pretty old. Something in his hind end feels clunky- probably his hocks. He's still sound and happy though, but it is definitely time for him to slow down some more. I got invited to go on a hunt though so he might have one last big hurrah! We will probably only gate but who knows, depends on how the old guy is feeling. 

I've been working with my neighbours horse, and I am soooo excited with how she is coming along. Major case of separation anxiety- starts shaking when she is taken a few meters away by herself from another horse. The progression has been- working her in the paddock with Hercules tied up somewhere, and slowly working her further away from him, until she gets she just has to go away from him. Then, I took her for walks by herself, and jumped on for small amounts of the ride. Now, I have had three rides out on the farm by herself! The first one was short, and I had to hop off quite a bit to get her moving forward. The second, was fantastic! I was so impressed with her. Didn't hop off once except to do gates. The third would have been equally as good except that she got pretty sticky going past some other horses (a colt especially, the tease), and we had a whole lot of steers chase us, which meant I had to walk quite a bit. She really clicks onto things fast, and I think she's definitely trusting me now. She has literally like no spook, apart from when she is in some place new and worries herself to death. The secret to get her past the stickiness is to make her trot, I've found, until she is capable of walking in a straight line calmly. We have also had to work on standing to mount, as she was never taught this really. I don't like to mount from the ground (even though she is tiny) and she had never been taught anything other then that, so she was completely baffled by the idea of lining up beside an object and standing. By the third ride by herself she pretty much has it down now. 

I'm a little besotted with her. She's so cute, and friendly. She comes running to me in the paddock, neighing loudly. Mostly because I feed her a lot, but hey! She's super cuddly. She's also getting some lessons on being covered (a first), being washed (seems to hate water), and I miiight talk the owners into letting me pull her ridiculous mane, and make her look like a pretty show pony. The more i ride her, the more I want her. I feel like she'd be such a fantastic endurance horse, if she gets over the seperation anxiety. She is just such a little powerhouse and recovers so fast, not to mention her trot and walk are ridiculously ground-covering.


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## falling (Apr 13, 2014)

Gave Hercules about a week off since he felt really odd when I last rode him. I think he's just not going to handle being ridden extensively. On Friday, the neighbour's daughter had a little lesson on him, and he was super well behaved. My SO came and watched as he had finished work, and decided to hop on after her. Hercule actually looked great, rounding well at the walk and TROT, which really shows how he's improving. He even popped him over a few small jumps and said he felt fantastic. SO looked like he had a blast, which was nice to see. It's like he forgets how much he likes riding until he's actually riding. 

Prior to her going lame on Friday, I rode Spirit most days last week. We had a few disagreements about moving forwards occasionally, but she's getting really good. She's also not fussing about lining up and standing for me to hop on. She's really starting to trust me and turns her head to look at me in the saddle if she's feeling nervous. I'll give her a pat and a few words of praise and then nudge her on. She got massively freaked out by something at one point and just wouldn't move forwards. She was trotting on the spot, showing the whites of her eyes, flagging her tail, snorting, the whole lot. I believe it was the smell of donkeys. She has been past them a few times, but is certainly wary of them, and they weren't in their typical spot. On the Thursday before she came up lame, I did some flat work with her. Still crazy green about most things, but she was very well behaved. We are mainly working on a sensible canter depart from a canter cue, aka outside leg back, instead of just running into the canter. She manages to get a fright a few times when I slide my leg back and spooks forward into the canter, but by the end of the session we had one really nice canter depart from a slow trot into a canter. I really need to work on making sure I'm working on both rein because I've noticed I'm really silly and just stick primarily to one side. 

We also did some jumping which was good fun. At first she was like, why on earth do you want me to go towards the difficult path! but by the end, she was getting a bit excited and having her little ears pricked. We are just trotting into jumps so far, a tiny little grid. Overall, super happy with her progress so a bit bummed she is lame now and will need time off. 

I'm planning on going for a trek on Hercules today, but it might not happen as the weather is a bit yucky, and I have a lot of cleaning to do! I will try and remember to bring a camera for once.


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## falling (Apr 13, 2014)

Reviving this thread with an introduction of the horsey love of my life Romeo. Romeo is about 15.2hh. He is a TB x, was bred for polo, but likely failed because he's pretty lazy and terrified of horses coming towards him. Hes six years old and I've had him for a year. 

I've still got Hercules but hes largely retired now, only used as a spare horse and when I want to let Romeo 'rome' over the farm off the lead. He's getting a cataract in one eye now- so old!!! 

Anyway, a little catch up on my life. We have moved farms and towns to my old home town which has been amazing. With buying Romeo and my home town being so horsey I have been able to really get into competing. It's so awesome to be able to go to a horse show and know so many people. 

Me and Romeo have slowly been going up the heights. This time last year we weren't even jumping, and about a month ago we jumped a 90cm round with only one pole down (rider error). We are currently a bit out of action waiting for a new saddle to arrive (remind me to never buy from overseas!!!!) but have a few shows to look forward to soon. 

Our other fluffy baby, our cat, has just cost us nearly 2k in vet bills so finances are really tight. Hoping once new saddle arrives I'll be able to sneak in a few dressage lessons. Although we have been mostly competing in jumping, I really enjoy riding dressage on romey... Mainly because he makes it easy! 

Anyway attached are a few photos of the pretty chomey boy.


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## falling (Apr 13, 2014)

Friday was a misty, wet day, but I decided to get out while it wasnt actively raining. Since Romeo is still without fitting saddle and hes way too sensitive to ride in one that doesn't fit, I rode Hercules bareback and let Rome free roam around the farm. The day before we longreined around the farm. It was hard to keep up, his walk is amazing when he actually walks out. 

Had a few issues when he was roaming where he wasn't following because he wanted to gorge himself on grass. Once we got off the tracks and into the paddocks he was having too much fun bucking and galloping around to stop to eat. Letting him free roam is great exercise and such good fun to watch- such a beautiful mover.


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## falling (Apr 13, 2014)

Its soooo good being on holiday, I can basically ride all day. The best thing about living where I do is I have made some awesome horsey friends who are always ready for an adventure (and who also have awesome places to ride). 

On Sunday I rode Romeo to the beach and led Hercule off him. Romeo was very relaxed and well behaved and we have fun cantering down the beach, jumping a few logs, bareback in a halter. On the way home I let him off to free roam. Variety is the spice of life. 

On Monday, I put both boys on the float and went into town and met one of my horsey friends at the arena. I got there just as she was finishing up, but I ended up telling her to have a ride on Romey. Hes very different to her horses and she really enjoyed feeling his big movement and how easy he is to ride "properly." All you have do is put your leg on and keep your hand still and he comes through into the contact. 

We then loaded up again and met at the main town beach and had an amazing ride. We walked for miles along the beach, went past diggers and trucks taking away sand. I even had my first proper gallop on Romeo with Hercule cruising behind us. He feels so "thoroughbredy" compared to what he use to- just really stretches out when he canters and gallops like its effortless. He could have kept galloping for a long time, but I pulled him up pretty quickly because Hercule is old and I wanted to make sure my friend was fine on her 4 year old. He came back down to a walk easily. 

Yesterday was a treat! I first floated into town to join up with my friend Sarah 1 from yesterday to see if Romeo would go in her truck, so we could save on fuel. I'm so glad hes getting in so much floating practise. It makes everything so easy knowing he will just walk up into the float. 

We found hes clearly been in a truck before as he walked straight up the ramp and turned his bum to wait for us to clip him in. He seemed a lot more comfortable on the truck then he does on the float- although he loads and generally travels well on the float, he is still quite nervous about it, especially unloading. On the truck I could just see he was relaxed and happy. Obviously I need to invest in an angle loader!!! 

It was about a 40 minute drive to our other friends (sarah 2) place but boy was it worth it. We caught up with another friend Jenny too. I was very brave and took no saddle (much to sarah 1s amusement!!! Crazy young people apparently) and I am pleased to report Romeo was perfectly well behaved. Hes really getting into a groove with his hacking now; right up the front by a long shot the whole way out, and then loses steam and interest and is happy to drop back to the back on the way home. His walk felt amazing. He was really eating up the dirt, huge long swinging steps. The other three horses are good walkers too, but Romeo was on an exploration mission and we had to stop a few times to let them catch up. He was also super not spooky even though he was forward- I honestly could not fault his behaviour all day. 

I did come off however! We were walking up to a ditch and he felt like he was just going to step over it, so I wasnt prepared for a huge, nonchalant leap! Usually horses gather themselves but he honestly just walked and then popped over it. I went over sideways, saw the ground coming up, and thought, no way!!! I managed to hook my leg over his back for just long enough to right myself and land on my feet. Thank God for strong legs. 

I got to meet sarah 2s kitten and he was so gorgeous and cute and just a little ball of fluffy naughtiness. After we finished our awesome ride, we had a cup of tea, a chat, and a slice of pumpkin pie. I've never had pumpkin pie before but **** it is delicious! We have booked in another hack for next week, probably at jennys neighbours property. We also talked about doing a big overnight ride- the property we were riding on, Sarah 2s, is massive. There is a lodge in the middle of the bush, all tracked, and we think it would be at least a 3 hour ride to there. I'm hoping I can convince them to do it soon! They think we should wait till summer but I don't see why! 

Today I think I'll let Romeo have a roaming day, do his feet, and maybe work on building some jumps. Got some news about my saddle and hopefully I'll have it early next week at the latest! 

Photos are all out of wack and there are a few more I'd like to post but it wont let me!!! Photos of the beach or romeo loose are of my place, photos of hills, romeos ears and of other horses and dogs (we had 6 with us!) Are from yesterday


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## falling (Apr 13, 2014)

More photos! One with the big pine and horses tied to float was our trip to the town beach. Sorry for the picture implosion I just like taking pictures


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## falling (Apr 13, 2014)

My horsey must be getting very fit! 

Thursday:

Decided I wanted to do some jumping now my saddle has arrived. For the life of me, I cannot get this horse to jump from the right spot. I don't know if it's something I am doing, or something he is doing.

I set up a grid; tall, narrow crossbar that we jump from trot, canter onto a wider, still fairly low (under 3 foot, around 80cm) oxer, then a small upright (70 ish cm). Nothing to worry about height wise. First few attempts we got wonky into the crossbar, then popped the oxer and upright despite wonkiness with no issues. As he got more settled, he started to chip, or jump awkwardly, or knock rails. This is not a very forward horse. I struggle to get him moving forward enough when schooling. At shows, he has just enough 'zap' to actually try and jump. I just can't work out if I should just give up on the whole jumping idea or not. Sometimes he really surprises me and gives me a great feel: but only ever when we are out. I might try to take him schooling a bit more over summer as well as shows and see if we can make better progress. 

I do have to admit, looking back on our progress jumping wise, it doesn't seem too bad. Last year this time we were doing cross rails on the ground or hadn't started jumping at all. Now we are doing rounds of 90 comfortably, sometimes getting higher (like when we did the hunt sports and jumped a MASSIVE brush fence). 

But then I finish jumping for the day and decide to end with some flat schooling and it just feels sooooo good. On the bit, uphill, forward off my leg, bending and supple, putting his all into it. He's the only horse I've ever ridden that really LIKES dressage. Maybe I just need to stick to that. I'm not sure. I think I'll persevere a while longer and see where we go.


To be continued...


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## falling (Apr 13, 2014)

Friday: On Friday Sarah 1 came out for a ride at my place, and I used it as an opportunity to do a more intrepid route, since I know her well and her pony. 

We didn't get off to a very good start: she started out in the lead with her fairly green 4 year old, who decided she wasn't toooo keen. Romeo decided he'd rather stay home, too, and pretended to spook at everything he could. He soon got past it, although I had to be pretty firm when he almost jumped off the side of a bridge spooking at a sign he'd been past 100 times! 

It's a big step climb up a paddock of milled pines: last time we went up it, it was fairly tricky, as the ground was still soft and the ditches carved in the track had to be jumped. It meant that on several occasions the horses were jumping across the ditches on a very steep track and then landing in fairly deep ground. No one was injured and no one panicked so all was well. 

This time, the track was much more solid thankfully. The ditches are still present, but can be walked through. It is still a seriously steep climb. My saddle was slipping back a bit, and so my breastplate was taking the brunt of my weight. When Romeo had to do another jump across a ditch, it snapped. I dismounted and walked the rest of the way up the hill. My friends horse is young and green, but very sensible, and handled it all well. 










Worth it! 










Saturday:

I was very lucky to get invited out to a friends place on Saturday. It was a fairly big drive, just over an hour, but good mileage for Romeo. I knew he was going to be very well behaved as he had already had two fairly big days! He loaded up great and stood calmly in the float. Then we were on our way. 










The weather has been incredible. Clear blue, and so warm for middle of winter. Unfortunately I hadn't thought about how cold it was going to be since I was going inland and higher- it had been -3 that morning! The hills were still frosty when we arrived. 

It was absolutely stunning country to ride over. There was seven of us, and it was just a nice size. 


























There was river crosses and some seriously steep country, and Romeo handled it all extremely well, walked out front, went in the middle, went behind. He was on the buckle for most of the ride... 









The only time he lost it a little was when he was going through the bush block. He hasn't been through bush much and it does make him nervous. Add to that the fact I had to hold him up as the lady behind us didn't want to go too fast, and it got him a little unsettled. We did some awesome piaffe! He stayed with me really well even if he was cantering on the spot, he respected my hands and kept to the pace I asked, but just couldn't walk. 










Once we were out of the bush it was back to smooth sailing apart from one instance of side passing as he tried to avoid a horse coming towards him. He really doesn't like horses coming towards him fast. 


















After getting back, I washed him off, tied his haynet up, and went inside for a cuppa and a sandwich. Couldn't think of a better day. He was nice and quiet as I loaded him up home and traveled really well... Until we got to the last 10 km. He must sense he's almost home and get really excited. 

Sunday: 
On Sunday I had organised a little admin meeting for our adult riding club so we went for a little beach ride at my place. I wanted to give Romeo a little break so had him off the lead, exploring, while I rode Hercules. 

Hercules was very well behaved apart from one initial bronc down the hill! Silly boy. 

It was another stunning day. Romeo was quite mischievous, and everyone had a great time watching him go off 'exploring.' I've never met a horse with so much personality. He will go completely separately to all the other horses, before whipping around and coming back to us, usually in his best flashy trot. 

He got treated to being fed corn chips and hanging out with us while we had a little picnic. It was a lovely, low drama day. 

These two are not my photos: 



















But this one is 









Hercule was so happy to be out and about. 

To be continued as I exceeded the image count... Again..


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## falling (Apr 13, 2014)

Monday: 
Romeo managed to get a fairly good workout in on Sunday, despite being off the lead, but I had already committed to another ride at my place on the Monday. I also wanted to explore our bush block. Romeo got pulled back out of the paddock, all sleepy and content. He was extremely well behaved and was entirely on the buckle most of the times, and right at the back. Poor boy was pretty knackered. He did manage to perk up in the bush! It just shows he's not super comfortable in it, so definitely something we can work on. 




































Tuesday: Romeo needed a few days off after yesterday, as with his little willing attitude, he'd just go till he dropped. I did get offered another place to ride (!!! how lucky am I!) and who am I to say no? Thankfully, she had a spare horse, a huge, fluffy Clydesdale cross. He was a perfect gentleman who knew his job and also knew I was just along for the ride, and he could make sensible decisions. What a character. I don't have any photos unfortunate because I had momentarily lost my phone, but I'll be out there again for sure as we were practically neighbors!

That's it for now! We are likely to have a few days of bad weather, but next week is looking perfect, so hoping to get out some more.


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## falling (Apr 13, 2014)

Can anyone see the pictures?


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## Elsie (Nov 14, 2018)

I am thoroughly enjoying your riding tales. Love the pictures too . The last 3 posts don't seem to have pictures in.


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## falling (Apr 13, 2014)

It sucks that I can't edit my post and put the photos in but this will have to do. These photos are from Friday (one with the lone grey horse are at my place) and Saturday (no sea views, more horses).


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## falling (Apr 13, 2014)

Sorry for all the posts  just like having all the pictures so I can come back and remember. These photos are from my ride on Friday with Sarah, the group ride on Saturday, and the ride through the bush on Monday, all at my place. 

Yesterday I managed to squeeze in a dressage lesson with my coach. I haven't had one in ages, so it was awesome to get back to it. I love how complimentary she always is about my handsome boy, and how gentle she is on both of us. The main things I need to work on are: making sure my shoulders are tilting towards the direction I want to go without collapsing in, making sure my hands are level (outside hand often lifts) and keeping my hand closed (I often let rein slip through my second finger). We did a lot of work on the canter and we were both drenched in sweat by the end of it. She wants him in a shorter frame, and it's really tricky for both of us. I tend to let him get pretty long in the walk, trot, and canter (she often says I'm always riding him extended) and it's exhausting trying to keep him shorter. Eventually we will get there, but we need to be doing a lot more canter work in this shorter frame. She always tells me "stop letting him run away!!!" but in reality I'm doing so, so, sooooo much pushing to keep him going forward. There's a little low key show next weekend that we might go in, but not sure whether we want to do the 'showy' class, or the 'musterer' class. The musterers one includes 'best walk' and 'cowboy challenge' elements, which would be fun, but Romey is really more of a showy type... Apart from his front legs. My coach remarked to me it's a shame he's not straight in action because he'd be a champion hack. 

Today we braved the showers and cold wind to do a fitness hack. We went down to the beach (massive, stormy seas today!) and then had to go half way back home because the river was up too high to cross, and too murky for me to see if there were any logs in it. I tried to keep him trotting most of the way as he is ready to start getting a little fitter and build up now we have a good base of walking. He didn't get very puffed- not like yesterday. Holding a frame is very tiring for both of us. I just rode him in a rope halter today and it was a nice change that he seemed to enjoy. It is amazing to me how sensitive he can be- sometimes all I need to do is tighten my stomach to half halt. Sometimes I just have to think slow down and he does. And other times, like when there's a nice straight of grass on the way home, it takes significantly more asking. I do think it's a good test for both of us and it's nice to focus on him reading my body without using my hands. It also helps me think about being balanced with him. I'm hoping to do a few endurance rides with him this season, so doing more of these faster rides is a must.


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## Elsie (Nov 14, 2018)

Awesome views. Soooo jealous. Nice that you can let your boys roam with you when you ride out. And nicer too to have a group of riders to go on adventures with.


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## falling (Apr 13, 2014)

Thanks Elsie. It is so nice having an abundance of people to ride with- really helps with motivation. 

The weather is yuck. It is meant to clear next week which is good. I'm meant to go for a good ride on Tuesday at a friends place, and on Wednesday I'm accompanying the same friend up the coast to pick up a new youngster. 

Today, I just did some flat work while the rain briefly held off. There was a new exercise I wanted to try out to improve out trot canter transition and vice versa. You do three strides of canter and then bring them down to the trot, let them trot a few steps, and then repeat. It gets them sitting on their hind end and also thinking. It worked awesomely! Highly recommend. On our good side, we got amazing softness. Like best ever. Floaty, lovely trot, effortless canter transition, and coming back down into that floaty, stretchy trot with a squeeze of my stomach muscles. 

On the other rein we had less success. I found that we are really getting hardly any TRUE bend on that side. Several times I started to get frustrated. I checked my position. Inside leg on? Yes. Body turning? Yes. Hands even? Noooo. So often when I got frustrated I found my outside hand was lifting and pulling!!!!! How would that create inside bend??? I started pressing my hands into his neck to ensure this stopped, and it got better. Still, I often found he was "faking its bending through his neck while bulging out through the shoulder. This exercise really highlighted it as he picked up the wrong lead several times despite the "bend" in his neck as it wasnt throughout his body. I did get some nice moments and ended on a good note- a nice soft upward and downward canter transition. 

Horses are getting new and extra feed as the cold has started to set in and I've found romey is losing a bit of condition with the travelling he is doing. This happened in summer too. Along with the spency conditioning feed they're now on cooked whole barley which they are loooooving.


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## falling (Apr 13, 2014)

Man I'm terrible at updating this! 

We are well into the competition season now, yay. 

We didn't start off too well with Romeo developing a splint, just as we started to get his canter organized. I think it stemmed from me giving into peer pressure and getting him shod- he probably could have used a couple of weeks of hacking to get him used to the increased concussion. Hindsight is great. 

Thankfully it was just a little splint and he was only out for a week or so. He's going great now- we just had a dressage champs competition over the weekend. Dressage is such an emotional rollercoaster! 

I struggled on the first day to get him bending correctly, and he had some tension. Nothing really went wrong, per say, but he was consistently bending to the outside and our transitions showed tension. One judge gave us a 61% for our second test, which isn't too bad, but the other gave us a 57% (ouch!!) so the overall score was less then 60 (59 from memory). I really just wanted to be in the 60s!! We had had a good few weeks off dressage, because I'd been on practicum and also preoccupied with jumping. 

The following day, I was exhausted and a bit down in the dumps. The first test that morning I rode horribly. The judge comments were- rider sitting to the right, rider leaning forward, rider.. etc. and romeo worked really downhill and lacked implosion thanks to my crap riding. I thought the bend was better, but apparently not. 

I gave myself a kick up the butt about it, and our next test came soon enough. He felt great- I rode a little firmer, really focused on getting him off my inside leg. It made me realise I had been going easy on him; "poor romey, doesnt know how to move off my inside leg!!" Well folks, he definitely did once I made it clear he had to! He warned up beautifully, that perfect mix of supple yet forward, swinging in his trot and really coming forward into my hand. 

I was soooo confident and just 100% enjoying him working that I forgot my test. Twice. Right when he was going like a dream and I was riding like an actual rider. I was so annoyed with myself, but also still so proud of us both. I hoped our mark would reflect that feeling... And it did! 60.3%!! So if I hadn't forgotten my test, we would've had 66%!!!!! That probably would have been enough to get us a placing. Oh my romey. What a sweet boy. The lesson for me, like my coach often says, is that I can really ask more of Romeo now. I can ride him a lot shorter, push him into my hands, and YES he can bend around my leg. One of my comments was "horse ridden kindly " and my coach always gets after me for slipping my reins and just in general allowing too much leeway. He can do more then I think- he's not a green 5 year old any longer. I need to set higher expectations for us both. Shorten that outside rein and push push push with the inside till he listens.

All in all, it was a great weekend for our learning. I need to remember that competitions aren't all about winning, but instead are invaluable opportunities to see our gaps and practise in an environment that brings out our strengths and weaknesses. 

In other news, we have stepped up to jumping 1m which is very exciting. Strangely enough, my partner has been giving me jumping lessons, and that combined with jumping more often then when theres a competition every month or so, has really made the jumping thing click. We were getting these really weird jumps and close spots and chipping before our new regime started, where he was getting as close as possible and then stag leaping. I was riding like an absolute muppet, literally chasing him into these short spots, or just not riding at all and praying he'd jump. Bless his soul, he always did. 

At the last competition, we did our first metre round, and it rode so nicely! We got good distances 9/10, only one stag leap, and only one rail down. I dont even think the rail was his fault- someone in the crowd decided it would be a good idea to play with and drop the chain fence right in front of the jump. He of course had a little look and backed off the jump, I growled and he jumped, but did his nervous stag leap and took a rail. Otherwise, it really felt like we were capable. It didnt feel like he was struggling at all with the height. Very encouraging. 

We have a jumping competition this weekend and also the next, so hopefully it goes as well as that one did! I have to figure out how to balance jumping, hacking, and dressage- I need all three in my life.


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## falling (Apr 13, 2014)

Oo I forgot to say, another point has been added to the ranks!!! We bought him unhandled and unbroken about a month ago, and he is going great. Hes really small- hoping hes a big pony, rather then a very small horse, as it would make him more syllable. Hes a lovely dark bay with three little ankle socks and a few white hairs on his forehead. Hes half morgan and half coasty horse- very attractive little guy with plenty of 'look at me.' He adores his food which has made everything easier. At the moment, hes brush able almost everywhere, just a bit touchy under his tummy, front feet are being picked up, I'm chopping off his massive feral mane, he can be tied up, hes able to be rehaltered, catchable in the field (we leave the halter on- I know, not the best idea, but better then having to run him into a yard every time), and is starting to go on led adventures. His name is Duke, but I'm still not 100% that it suits him. 

Hoping that now I've finished up with my study for the year I'll be able to handle him twice daily and we can start backing him next week. My partner is going to look hilarious on him- hes really short and fine, and my SO is over 6 foot with long legs!!!! 

Yesterday he got to go off the lead on an adventure because I trusted him enough to be catchable. He was really well behaved and loved galloping everywhere and having a good munch. He was really good about going through gates- he would find them, stand in front of them, and often be the first horse through, like he'd done it all before! Very smart cookie.


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