Teddy Log: #129 - Allergies and Teddy training

Teddy Log: #129 - Allergies and Teddy training: Ok, it's official, I'm allergic to horses. Unbelievable!

I have done the tests and on top of my dust mite allergy, which I already kn...

#129 - Allergies and Teddy training

Ok, it's official, I'm allergic to horses. Unbelievable!

I have done the tests and on top of my dust mite allergy, which I already knew about, horse was the only other thing that came up. I was sure it would be due to a type of grass but I was wrong. Never mind, Teddy isn't going anywhere and I will have as many needles as it takes to fix this. So far it's a needle a fortnight for a total of 8 shots, then I hope to go on a maintenance schedule - if it all goes well, which I'm confident it will. It better be as I want the rest of my life to be around horses!

I've been working Teddy more and things are going OK. I tried the German way of mounting for the first time with Teddy and he objected. Verging on rearing really, so I take it that he would like to stick to the English style LOL!

He actually was getting a bit lazy or stubborn in the last ride where for the first time I had to ask him to go forward. I never thought I would see the day. I got some keepers for the FM bit and put the nose band back on the bridle and he had no problem with that but as for head tossing - it made no difference. At least I can be sure now that the bit is sitting correctly in his mouth and not causing him any issues. Our last ride was spent trying to relax him and then trot consistently for me. He's still a very fast trotter but I work well with it now, just need to smooth this out. Now the weather has improved you would think it was full steam ahead, but I am away for work again next week for seven days. The sun better be shining when I return!

Teddy Log: #128 - England Vs Germany

Teddy Log: #128 - England Vs Germany: "For Christmas Steve gave me some dressage lessons with another instructor named Amber and I finally had my first lesson on Friday morning ..."

#128 - England Vs Germany

For Christmas Steve gave me some dressage lessons with another instructor named Amber and I finally had my first lesson on Friday morning before work.

I've been taking lessons with Kim since January so it was good to get a different perspective, particularly as I'm not too familiar with the differences between the English style of dressage, which Kim teaches, and the Germany style, which Amber teaches.

When I finally found the property I was quite surprised at the differences out of the saddle. To start with Amber had me walk a 16.2 hh thoroughbred out of a gate big enough for people only. It wasn't a farm gate and the horse just fit through. At Kim's even though the horse named Dick is very quiet Kim is very safety conscious so that would never happen. Next Amber had me take the horse to a veranda and tie it with hay twine beside a ride-on lawn mower, so there was room enough just for the horse to stand and a little space in the back. The space was so small that when the horse pooed it literally pooed on Amber's arm! Then she asked me to remove the rugs which I did while she was off doing something else and she had me drop them (it was wearing three!) all on the ground in the only space available - behind the horse's back legs. I brushed the horse and she asked me to saddle up. While I did this she went away to put some music on! This would never happen at Kim's as she has her horse in the centre of a stable with both sides of the horse's head-collar secured from either side, the rugs have a rack, the horses have their own brushes, no sharing like with Amber, and Kim watches everything you do and suggests the best way to do it. At no stage did Amber check what I had done or ask me to put my helmet on. What was of most surprise was that I had to ask to pick the horses hooves! I was waiting for her to ask me to do it but she didn't. Seriously, what if there was a stone in there and then I rode the horse around for an hour until it was bruised and sore? Then while I was cleaning the horses hooves, who at this staged was fully mounted, I see in the corner of my eye Amber walk past me. I look up, Amber has walked off and just left the reins over the horses head, completely loose! I was starting to worry about her at this stage.

Then we went into the arena and I got a completely different view of Amber. She was excellent at explaining what she wanted, how to go about things and the reasons why and was just as engaged as Kim is. I also discovered a new way of mounting (German style) and the subtle variations on technique, some of which I thought were better than with English dressage.

When we left the arena I was still on the horse and she decided to take us for a little walk so I followed Amber around. There was a Shetland pony in a dam that apparently isn't usually there and this caused the horse I was riding great surprise so he became hyper alert and tensed up. I have ridden long enough to know when a horse is about to be unpredictable so I shortened the reins just a touch in case something happened and I just relaxed knowing this would help the horse relax. I was kind of amused when Amber tried to act like everything was find but subtly reached for the horses mouth and kept a tight hold! She clearly didn't want me to know that she had concerns.

So after the lesson I can say the bottom line is Amber is an excellent instructor and I look forward to my next lesson with her. She certainly knows her stuff in the saddle, However, if I had a child or an inexperience person going for a lesson I wouldn't recommend her due to safety concerns. A bit too laid back with dogs running around. All horse people know how new things can so easily startle a horse, .

I'd love to be able to combine the two disciplines of English and German to get the perfect fit for myself. I can see great aspects in both. When I get the float (which I have put a deposit on!) I will also be taking Teddy to ARC for a lesson with a different instructor once a month. Then I can take the best bits from all to get the best result for me and Teddy.

#127 - the best lesson ever! Because it was on Teddy!

It felt like Christmas for me today! My first lesson on Teddy and it was at home in our front paddock. I learned so much about myself and Teddy that we have already improved out of sight. I couldn't be happier.

It appears the head tossing is all about Teddy being a tense/nervous horse. I know he is a uptight boy but now I know how to reassure him while riding. As I suspected I was contributing to the problem with my methods but now I have some strategies to work on to get us through this, at least to a better degree than we are now. I don't expect miracles and that we will be trail riding off into the sunset any time soon, or even ever! But I know we will get better and better.

It will be slow steps but they're all steps in the right direction.

We didn't canter today, but we spent over half our time just getting him comfortable at a walk so he didn't head toss and then we worked him in trot. I was mainly trotting around in a circle and would do as many as I could without restricting him but keeping the reins in the correct position at the same time. I'm a bit grabby and I'll be working on fixing that. I am a fair way from perfecting this but I can see what a marked difference it is making already.

After the lesson Kim rode him and kept him more consistent at a trot then I could but he was in the same place in his head. I did notice a few moments where he was completely at ease and then for reasons only Teddy would know he tensed up again. When I say tense up I don't mean he misbehaved or I felt like he was going to bolt off or anything. It's just an aura he has about him that projects as "I'm not totally comfortable about this." By the time I got off him he had taken about a 180 turn toward the positive. Then when Kim rode him he probably dropped back to 90 at the very start before getting back to 180 again at the end. Just the difference in rider was enough to cause him tension.

I was very proud of Teddy today and hope that we can continue with lessons together as much as possible. He earnt his nudie run today!

Go Team Teddy!

#126 - When it all comes together!

What a great ride I had today - everything was coming together and it felt fantastic!

It was an unusually mild day for this time of year so I worked up quite a sweat perfecting steering with my seat at a rising trot and cantering lead changes. It was quite hard getting everything that I needed to do correct and in sync, and with the horse named Dick having a preferred cantering lead, going in the opposite direction was difficult. It was reassuring to know that in this direction he will fall out of step 99 times out of 100 and be like that for anyone.

The most challenging bit for me was feeling with my body what the horses legs are doing at a canter. Where he puts his feet and when are things that I need to know about.

My Sunshine Paddock training of "lean back and hold on" hasn't helped me a bit LOL! Imaging my surprise when a few months back I went into my first canter under Kim's instruction and I wasn't allowed to lean back at all! And forget about watching the horse, I'm not allowed to even look at him! I started off feeling I was like Jason McLean on Pirate - flapping my arms at the side as I cantered along - well I really wasn't that bad to be exact. If the average person saw me they probably wouldn't have thought twice about it, but I quickly learned that my elbows aren't allowed to leave the side of my body and it was quite an adjustment.

But now I'm transitioning well, I'm straight in all manner of speaking (yep I even head tilt on a horse!), I keep the horse straight, and best of all, I'm comfortable doing it.

I'm not up to that with Teddy but I know we will get there! I cant wait!