So I've been confidently riding Denali now for a month or so. I still get nervous when she tenses up, but she hasn't taken me for any long scary gallops around the arena in a few months, so she gets the benefit of the doubt. Last week she thought I was going to make her walk over a tarp and she bunny hopped away from it. Quite funny, but not scary.
Since she's been in training she has become so light on aids. Good for her, bad for me. I CAN NOT keep my hands quiet to save my life. I feel like I can either keep my legs in the right position, or keep my hands quiet, but not both. I have that horse on and off the rail so much it looks like she's drunk. I keep my hands still and then my leg brushes her and she moves over. I keep my legs still and then my hands move and she can't figure out what I'm asking. UGH. I suck. I have a video camera, but I can't even set it up because I know I'll get sick watching. So. How do I fix this? Is this a keep riding and I'll get better or a go work out and that will help? Another lady rode Denali last week and they looked AMAZING! She said she loved riding Denali, which was nice to hear. She's a great horse, just gets a little feisty sometimes.
She needs to get new shoes today. I wish I could keep her bare foot, but she has such pancake feet that her she can't walk without it hurting. I'll probably have the shoes pulled for the winter (I did last year at least) but that's another area of worry. I know a lot of natural barefoot trimmers who do amazing things BUT 1. They're 50+ miles away and 2. I'd need to have it done every three weeks or so until her feet improved (at least that's what I was told.) Maybe I'll take pictures today of her feet for judgment.
2 comments:
Be patient. The more you work on it and the more lessons you take, the more naturally it will come. One thing that really helps me to keep my hands steady is to remember to "carry my hands". So, I keep my elbows bending as I post, but I don't use the reins at all to hold my hands steady or balance with.
Another quick helper is to use a neck strap, which is just like it sounds: a strap that goes around the horse's neck. It can be an old stirrup leather, a piece of twine, whatever. Just hook your little finger through that and let it keep your hands steady. It's also really handy if your horse does anything silly. That way you can hang on without grabbing her mouth. I used one on Izzy for months when we first started and I still miss it sometimes.
SB- That's a BRILLIANT IDEA! She has one on right now that is part of her running martingale. I can just loosen the martingale a little bit, and then use that! We had a good ride today, but I still need more work!! Thanks!!!
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