Today was really fun! I mostly worked with a girl named V and her miniature school pony, Moose.

We did the first five games of the seven games. The games we did were Friendly game, Porcupine game, Driving game, Yo-Yo game, and the Circling game!

After V and I did some of the seven games, V hopped on Moose. V was great on Moose, she trotted bareback while doing some stretches! Here are the seatwork exercises V did on Moose:

1. Right arm circle

2. Left arm circle

3. Both arm circle

4. Kick down left

5. Kick down right

6. Kick down both

7. Pet the pony’s neck with your left hand

8. Pet the pony’s neck with your right hand

V did those stretches over and over and  by the end of the lesson she was a pro!

When it was time to put the ponies away, Emma, Zoey, and V and I braided Moose’s mane and tail. When we put him away, I bet his stall-mate, Mellow, was jealous because Moose looked so beautiful.

A few hours later Emma, Zoey and I played a wolf game where Emma was a whole wolf, Zoey was half-dog half-wolf, and I was a wolf that could turn into a ghost!

Emma, Zoey, and I are pooped from all that good, hard work that we did earlier.

Thanks  for reading,

Maddie

8. Pet the pony’s neck with your right hand

Featuring Sundae wearing a Western saddle for the first time, Naya’s (6) first lesson on Thistle, and cute photos of Sundae being a ham.

Sundae did great packing the Western saddle around. I had a feeling he might like it better than an English because it is very secure. Temple Grandin writes about the calming effect, for both her and the cattle, of squeeze chutes, and I thought Sundae might like the squeezing effecting of the Western. It was a hit. He walked and trotted nicely around the round pen and the arena, both on the longe and at liberty. It really helped him find a nice, rhythmic pace. We were very cautious about putting the back cinch on him as Sec A Welsh have a tendency to buck, but we set Sundae up for success and I think the back cinch was nice for him. Kept the saddle from bouncing as he trotted and distributed the cinching of the saddle some. Sundae looked very cute when he trotted out wearing it. I was so pleased to him migrating with confidence.

Naya, age 6, took her second lesson. We got to be in the outdoor arena! Finally some good weather! I got some great photos of Naya and Thistle against the blue sky. Les used TAGteach to help Naya learn about rein positions. Oh, how many steps there are just in getting one’s hands organized for a back up! TAGteach was a great help in breaking things down into small pieces. Naya also did seatwork on the longe at a walk and is really getting the hang of all her seat synchronization “tricks.” She can do arm circles, kick downs, kick ups, laying back, twists, petting down the neck, and, of course, the famous, “Frog on a Rocket.” Don’t Thistle and Naya look amazing with the clouds and sky behind them? Naya got to take 3 lessons in a row this week and she is really looking confident sitting on Thistle

At the end of the day I spent a couple minutes hamming it up with Sundae. He LOVES the camera probably as much as Ilo. He was nuzzling it and staring at it, making sure I got him from every angle, lol.

Today was Morgan, Katelynn, and Lauren’s second lesson. As part of our program, kids come out for a minimum of 3 hours a week. We’ve found kids don’t improve with less time that that. We theorize that kids need more than one hour a week because working with horses is like learning a new language, you need to be immersed to become fluent. So for the cost of just one lesson, our kids get 3 hours of horse time per week – 1 hour-long lesson and a 2 hour self-directed session on the weekend. Morgan, Katelynn, and Lauren are going into their third week of the program and they have improved so much! Taylor was sick today, so had to miss out.

Morgan’s seat is 5x better than it was just a month ago. She’s looking awesome! She now has a long leg and length through her torso. What a huge difference!

Katelynn and QuickDraw sidepassed a pole while riding for the first time. It was amazing to see Katelynn put the aids together to make it happen – blocking a little in front so Q didn’t walk over the pole, then forequarters/hindquarters on the outside rein. We don’t use much leg in our lateral movements because we don’t need it – just a little reminder here and there if we want quicker movement sideways.

Lauren added some work without hands to her seatwork repertoire. Work without hands is really cool because it is a big perceived risk but is actually even easier than riding with holding on to the pommel because you can sit correctly. It’s always fun to see the kids faces when they realize they can let go!

Gina has been working with Blue Man on the basics. He is rocking at sideways and jumping the barrels. He looked like a pro today! I took him for awhile to feel him out and he jumped a single barrel on the wall from a walk first time I asked. Later Gina worked with Blue Man on Hippity Hop, which prepares the horse for riding. You lay on the horse like a surfboard and paddle (ie., rub the girth area) and slide backwards off the rump. We do Hippity Hop before sitting in the horse in straddle because it is easier to get off if they get scared and because it is even tougher for their nerves than sitting on then. So, you know if they can handle Hippity Hop, that they’re ready to ride. Hippity Hop is tough for the humans, too, though, because it does require a lot of upper body strength and coordination, especially when you’re working with a 12h pony! I jumped in at the end and laid on Blue a few times to help get him over the hump. I ended by sitting on him in straddle for the first time. Soon as we have some decent weather he’ll start his riding career!