Second Ride & New Arrival!

Well yesterday i had another ride on Minke, i decided not lunge her before i rode her as i could see rain coming and wanted to get a quick ride in before it hit. She was fine with me just hoping straight on, but i definitely noticed she was not as relaxed as she had been when i was lunging her first although she was a bit rushy and inconsistent at first she soon settled and i managed to get a bit of nice work, then finished doing some long and low getting hr to stretch and lengthen her stride slightly - she got the hang of the whole long and low concept really well which was pleasing.

Then at around 6:30 i got a phone call from Woodville Transport (who get a big thumbs up from me for their excellent service!) to say that my new pony would be at my house in half an hour - it was a very nice surprise, as i wasn't expecting her until today (30.04.08) She arrived in the dark poor wee thing, and was a bit nervy which was to be expected so i put her in a smaller paddock with a heap of Hay and left her to settle in a bit. The picture is of her on arrival, she is a bit light in condition, and is a hairy mammoth LOL but she is a very pretty wee thing, and i definetly think she may have a future in showing. She is only small i would say 13.2-14hh so I'm going to look a bit silly on her - so don't laugh LOL! I'm going to get my Neighbour to take some pics of us having a play around this morning then i will post them on here this afternoon!

Yay Riding Time!

Firstly, i wish to apologise for the lack of pictures today - as the camera has run out of battery!

Well i lunged her again with the side reins on today, she went even better then my previous day lunging her and went much much more consistent and really accepted the contact well today, she was following through from behind and tracking up very well. After lunging her for about 8 Min's each side i decided i would lean over and see how she responded, she took it all like an old hand so i hoped on board. I couldn't believe the difference in size she felt from when i last sat on her last year. I had much more neck in front of me, and she was much wider. Before i proceded to walk on, i flexed her both left then right and gave her a scratch on her face to show her that "mum" was on board. Then we were off..She was very good walked halted etc on both reins, so i popped her into a trot and she was such a good girl, she was very balanced for a green horse and after a few transitions and serpentine's i decided to finish it on a good note.

Tomorrow i hope to ride her again, and get mum to hopefully take some pictures. I'm very pleased with how she is accepting everything once again, and her change of attitude towards being ridden after her break.

: )

Starting this blog : )

Ok, so thought i would give this whole blog thing a go, whilst i am bringing on my young mare, i plan to update this with her progress so i can reflect on how she has come along.

Ok, so where to start.. Minke is a four year old, Tb cross mare from war paint stud, i bought her just over a year ago, and rode her for a few months before turning her out untill just last week. It was essential to turn her out, as she still had alot of maturing and growing to do, and she has come back into work like a whole different horse, not only has she filled out, her movment has changed and her stride has gotten much bigger. She is only a park hack standing at just 15.1hh but is rather wide so im sure my legs will wrap around her and i wont look too big. She is stunning, being black with four long white stockings and a blaze.

I bought her back in last Tuesday - she got a bath, had her mane pulled, bridle path and tail trimmed and is now looking like the showy horse she is. I briefly lunged her Thursday, but didnt want to do to much as she needed her hooves done, Saturday she got front shoes on, her hooves had gone slightly pigeon toed and out of shape, but after one shoeing her hooves are straight and tidy again, she unfortunatly has the typical TB hooves, Anyway, I lunged her again today (sunday) and she went very well again, it amazes me how much her paces have changed after being turned out, she is much more sure of herself, and not nearly as un-balanced as she was prior to having her break.

So that is where we are at now, tomorow i will Lunge her again with the side reins, then hop on and go for a toodle, fingers crossed she accepts the rider again like she has everything else.

Here is a picture of her last Tuesday after her bath.. : )