New Years Weekend!

After about a week of messy weather, things are looking up for a clear weekend right now.  Haven't seen the news , but I can see clear skies.  Hopefully I'll be able to ride all 4 days!  Stay tuned!

Annie...12/24/10

It has been awhile since I was able to ride, so I am going to start talking in hours and not days.  Since Thanksgiving there have been a couple of projects around here that have consumed all hours of daylight available.  We have completed residing the barn and I helped Cully a little in tearing down another building.  But today…I rode.  I plan on riding, weather permitting, all through the weekend and next.

Today I reviewed, with Annie, some of the things we did at the clinic with Dad.  Sit back, squeeze with your cheeks and a light tap with a carrot stick (handling a stick and riding does get your hands tied up a little, but it is a good skill to learn) for forward movement.  Once we were moving, with the sit back and squeeze good, I started asking her to turn into the fence.  Once this was going alright I started asking for the break at the poll.  All this she handled pretty well but I am still riding her in a natural bosal (fancy name for a good rope halter with a mecate tied in it).  By next weekend we are going to look at putting a ring snaffle in her mouth for awhile and see how that goes.  All in she probably has 15-20 hours on her, spottily!  In all training consistency is the key.  If I’m not consistent, there is no way she is going to improve.  So the goal going forward is to ride her 4-6 hours every weekend until the time changes.