Last year, I got a bit swept away with Banner about showing and lessons and moving up and improving my riding. Which don't get me wrong, I love that we improved so much and accomplished so much last year! But unfortunately time seemed to run away from me last year, and my sweet Charms was put on the back burner. It was really no fault of his own, but I needed to work through some of my riding baggage and Banner helped me do that.
I would pull Charmer out for a few days every so often to lunge or ride, and don't get me wrong, he got groomed and I stuffed him full of cookies every day or two. He wasn't ignored by any means, but we just didn't get much of anything done under saddle in 2019. Despite the fact that I know he didn't care about getting time off, I still felt (and feel) immensely guilty about it. He is very talented and I felt like I just let that go to waste for a year.
Starting in 2020, I feel like I have adjusted to have some slightly better time management skills for everything in my life, and I'm prioritizing trying to get both of the horses going this year. Now unfortunately, it is still January, and that means questionable weather for the rest of this month and probably the next two months at least as well. But I've managed to take advantage of every nice day we have had (that I haven't been dying of the plague) to do something with at least one, if not both of the horses. And I love it!
I've pulled out Charmer for a couple of lunges in the last week. And let me tell you, I am always blown away by him. He has a naturally beautiful movement and look about him that always gives me all the heart eyes. After so much time off, the fact that he still looks so fancy to me is amazing as well.
At the beginning of last week, I pulled him out for what I would call his first "real" lunge of the year. I pulled out the surcingle (which was a workout to put on Mr. Chunky by the way) and while we spent most of the time not using side reins or anything, even just putting it on makes Charmer know that it is "work time". We spent this whole ride at just walk and trot, reminding him how to be a real horse and then we spent a few minutes each way at the end using one side rein on the outside and the lunge line as an inside rein to remind him that he knows what contact is. And he was an absolute rockstar for all of it!
We did our second lunge later in the week on Friday night. I felt horrible (yay for getting sick again), but I knew that it would be our last good day until probably this Thursday to get any work done with him. The weather forecast had us getting rain basically late Friday through Wednesday, which turns my poor arena into an absolute lake. Between already hating riding in the rain plus the fact that it tears up my footing, we basically won't do anything until this misery is behind us I think.
I actually tacked him up this time so he could readjust to all of that. When I sent him out on the lunge he had this beautiful marching walk with a great overstep. Warmed up like that for a bit and then I sent him off into a trot. And let me tell you it was the floaty-est trot I've ever seen from him. I of course didn't get that trot on video but I got some and even the bit I got I was very happy with! We played around in the canter a bit, and as I expected we had some fireworks, but he also gave me some beautiful strides as well. As his fitness improves I'm hoping the explosions will lessen and the beautiful moments will increase.
We played with all this same stuff the other direction and even though he was a bit tired we still got some absolutely incredible moments out of him. Poor guy was huffing and puffing a bit by the end of our 25 or so minute session, but that is to be expected when you are an out of shape wooly mammoth. As his fitness returns he should be less winded at the end of our sessions and I'm also considering clipping him if we are going to make work a regular appearance in his life again!
I couldn't be more happy with bringing him back and I'm excited and hopeful for our year together!
I would pull Charmer out for a few days every so often to lunge or ride, and don't get me wrong, he got groomed and I stuffed him full of cookies every day or two. He wasn't ignored by any means, but we just didn't get much of anything done under saddle in 2019. Despite the fact that I know he didn't care about getting time off, I still felt (and feel) immensely guilty about it. He is very talented and I felt like I just let that go to waste for a year.
Starting in 2020, I feel like I have adjusted to have some slightly better time management skills for everything in my life, and I'm prioritizing trying to get both of the horses going this year. Now unfortunately, it is still January, and that means questionable weather for the rest of this month and probably the next two months at least as well. But I've managed to take advantage of every nice day we have had (that I haven't been dying of the plague) to do something with at least one, if not both of the horses. And I love it!
I've pulled out Charmer for a couple of lunges in the last week. And let me tell you, I am always blown away by him. He has a naturally beautiful movement and look about him that always gives me all the heart eyes. After so much time off, the fact that he still looks so fancy to me is amazing as well.
At the beginning of last week, I pulled him out for what I would call his first "real" lunge of the year. I pulled out the surcingle (which was a workout to put on Mr. Chunky by the way) and while we spent most of the time not using side reins or anything, even just putting it on makes Charmer know that it is "work time". We spent this whole ride at just walk and trot, reminding him how to be a real horse and then we spent a few minutes each way at the end using one side rein on the outside and the lunge line as an inside rein to remind him that he knows what contact is. And he was an absolute rockstar for all of it!
We did our second lunge later in the week on Friday night. I felt horrible (yay for getting sick again), but I knew that it would be our last good day until probably this Thursday to get any work done with him. The weather forecast had us getting rain basically late Friday through Wednesday, which turns my poor arena into an absolute lake. Between already hating riding in the rain plus the fact that it tears up my footing, we basically won't do anything until this misery is behind us I think.
I actually tacked him up this time so he could readjust to all of that. When I sent him out on the lunge he had this beautiful marching walk with a great overstep. Warmed up like that for a bit and then I sent him off into a trot. And let me tell you it was the floaty-est trot I've ever seen from him. I of course didn't get that trot on video but I got some and even the bit I got I was very happy with! We played around in the canter a bit, and as I expected we had some fireworks, but he also gave me some beautiful strides as well. As his fitness improves I'm hoping the explosions will lessen and the beautiful moments will increase.
We played with all this same stuff the other direction and even though he was a bit tired we still got some absolutely incredible moments out of him. Poor guy was huffing and puffing a bit by the end of our 25 or so minute session, but that is to be expected when you are an out of shape wooly mammoth. As his fitness returns he should be less winded at the end of our sessions and I'm also considering clipping him if we are going to make work a regular appearance in his life again!
I couldn't be more happy with bringing him back and I'm excited and hopeful for our year together!
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