Cantering a large circle

Phebes

It is ridiculous that having been riding a couple of years I've never really made a concerted effort to attempt this.  The last clinic Phebes went to the trainer got her to do it, and had me do one solitary lap because Phebes had been working a few hours and was frazzled out!  That has been months ago.  Since that time she had got better and being calm at that gait going in a straight line, or wavy line, because "trail" is what we do, and have always done.   Since Journey's arrival Phebes hasn't been getting much ride time.  Maybe a five mile rock-n-rollin' ride once a week, and last night she did an air borne thing that I didn't know was possible on horse back! 

It looked a a little like this only her head was down.

 Just visualize a bronc, arched back, head going down, all four legs up, not touching the earth no-how, no-way.  As much as I'm an adrenaline junky, the entire ride was pretty ummm....at times, out of control.  Phebes needs more saddle time or she is going to revert back to a monster.

I've often wondered how people have houses, kids, jobs, and keep a horse fit for competition.  Really!   It must be attention deficit or something, seems I cannot get anything in focus, have serious problems completing things, my office looks like I'm a paper hoarder, I'm just ...how did some nice person put it?  OH YEAH...high strung, that's it.  I know people do it all, and I admire that.  In my thirties I worked 40 hours in a really high stress job, I attended college, the house was reasonably clean, the dishes were done, I canned and froze food for winter consumption,  had 300 varieties of iris plants at one point, and saved money (yes! saved!!!).  Plop twenty years on and I'm one heck of a planner, but can't seem to bring things to fruition.  Such is life. 

So!  Sometimes it is the little things.  I saddled my beautiful Phebes today and did a lot of walking,  trotting small circles with a nice bend (of sorts), backing up, backing an "L", side passing, half-passing (not pretty but doing it).  Two things we attempted didn't turn out too well.

• Side passing over a log (log under horse's belly the whole distance).   She mis-interprets my cue and backs up  EVERY SINGLE TIME.
• Canter a large oval.    Crap, nobody told me how ridiculously HARD this is.  We were zigging, and zagging, Phebes was giving stink eye, and I just couldn't figure out what was so difficult about such an easy thing?

So, I decided to take one thing at a time and since the acrobatics yesterday happened during a gait transition to the canter I decided I would pick that one.  I got off and let her stand there a bit while I looked around what I call my arena which in fact is nothing more than an over grazed grass lot.  The footing is hard, there are weeds around the perimeter, and an electric fence on three sides, woven on the other.  Hmmm...why can't she make the circle?  What am I doing?  *ding ding ding ding* It isn't what I'm doing.  It is what I'm not doing.  I was concentrating so hard on the riding the gait that I was not concentrating at all on the path.  Phebes followed along behind me (actually I was dragging her by the reins) while I put orange cones on one end, and our poles on one side.  Some kind of zone needed to be established, and it also opened up the area where she would normally be working around these objects.  I drink half a bottle of water because my tongue is about hanging out, give the rest to Phebes, stuff it in the water holder.  Climb back up, and walk to the far end.  Cue her to the canter, boom! She is great going from zero to canter, and we are chugging down the straight side, and I use some inside leg and inside rein and we drift out to the narrow end and come around to the other long side, shoot down the straight stretch, leg and rein and we complete the patttern.   It wasn't perfect, but was the first time we've made it all the way around with all kinds of weirdness.  Lesson over.  I felt very gratified.  You could have pinned a blue ribbon on my chest.  The direction though was clockwise and we need to be able to go both directions.  So that is our goal.  To canter a nice oval, clock-wise, and counter-clockwise, no ziggin' or zaggin', with softness and bend. 

 Journey

Poor little Journey.  If she hasn't had a time in the short term that she has been here.  Her back is a mess.  It looks just like hives, and is sore to the touch.  She is such a good natured little mare.  She had several days off, and I'd rode her at the walk over the weekend, and she seemed alright.  Had switched out pads, and if anything she was worse this time than before.  I'm not going to put that saddle on her again, but I'm not sure what exactly is happening.  It will clear up over a few days, but really inflamed and aggravated right now.  So since she has come here she has crashed down a steel gate, skinned both rear cannon bones, went lame on the rear, and now has the "back scurvy." 

(in case anyone wonders I keep my pads pretty clean)

The royal spotted one is again on vacation.

~E.G.