You know, it's sessions like this evening's when you start to realize just how far PNH has brought you. I want people to say "wow, she's gotten BETTER!" when I'm in Madison this year, and the way my horse is doing, I might just get my wish.
I went out and had a little play session with miss Princess, and man, was she FANTASTIC. Princess is innately a mild to moderate Left-Brain Introvert, and while she's never been really a challenging horse exactly, getting high level maneuvers out of a horse that isn't thrilled with moving in general can be difficult. You know you're doing something right when high level things are just miraculously offered, and that's exactly what I was getting this evening.
Haltered Prin up and decided to warm up at liberty (Ice FINALLY melted off that stupid round pen) to see if some of her amazing online would carry over, since my dear little (erm...well) horse has been offering close range circling and some other stuff. Sure as anything, got my 4 laps of close range in each direction, complete with change of direction, got some like...beyond amazing backing by the tail/ Zone 5 driving, and trot towards me sideways at liberty, etc. I hopped on and we rode briefly, but regardless of session length, my horse was just DANCING. Earlier this fall, we hit a wall with canter half-pass lead changes, and today, you'd have never known it. Princess was springing into her half-pass lead changes, collecting up bareback in a halter, and doing TINY little canter circles. While the final doesn't seem like a big deal, it always blows my mind, because Princess is a large horse with a large stride, and when she offers to collect and make her stride small, you know she's in there, thinking and trying her heart and mind out. I NEED to video some of this stuff. I really need to!
My goal for "wow" is getting closer and closer, cannot wait for Madison!
Savvy out!
Photo by Margaret Chant and edited by Jessica Metropulos
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3 comments:
Yay Franny - look at you! I miss Prin, she's still the love of my life. Maybe I should get Ellie going and sell her and buy Lucy. : ) what a cute group we would make.
ps i want to go to the Midwest horse fair on the 19th, but I have a clinic to go to on 20th.
Love ya!
Thanks for the comment Jen :)
I'll actually be 17 at tour. I'm a September baby, so I turn 18 then.
I've been doing PNH for 9 years this year. It's been a real trip, I started out my first 4 years with my friend's morgan gelding, got to late L2 with him, and then got Princess, my paint horse (who is now like 4 tasks from being done with L3)
I couldn't begin to count the number of times I've fallen off. I'm a bit of a daredevil, so that's a big part of it, I generally will get on horses that no one else wants to ride, and sometimes, (rarely now, more when I first started) I felt the consequences of that. I've found, however, that whatever way you fall, your instinct generally is to ROLL AWAY, and that has saved my butt many times. I would recommend, however (this helped me a lot) is taking some martial arts/tumbling lessons, no joke. They show you EXACTLY how to drop in a way that's going to hurt your body least.
Of course, use your savvy and don't get on a horse that doesn't look rideable. Those spooky situations are sometimes unavoidable though. Good luck, please feel free to ask any other questions I might have missed. Thanks :)
oooh i love martial arts, lets do it! I took a class once and no kidding I was sore for a WEEK. it was amazing!
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