Life has been pretty busy lately. :) Lessons have been non-stop, which is awesome! We have had a bunch of new students start, a few kids and even more adults.
The horses are all going well and I do believe everyone except Gracie is being used on a pretty regular basis now! She was in two lessons this past week with stronger, more advanced riders and is going pretty well. She is still a bit unsettled on the ground about getting tacked up. Her walk and trot are still pretty good but that canter still needs so much balancing. Luckily she loves to jump and turns in to a whole different pony when you start that portion of the ride!
Buzz is doing 4 or 5 lessons a week and is jumping about 2'3 right now, still working on nice straight lines between fences! BUT he really seems to like it and is a pretty good/honest jumper.
Wrangler (Star) was in three lessons this week. His canter is improving drastically and he is beginning to canter courses at about 2'3. Now that he has front shoes on (and bell boots to keep him from removing the front shoes haha) he is a much more comfortable dude!
Oliver has gotten a lot more use the last few weeks! I have still been fiddling with bits for him and I think I finally (in the last 4 days) found the right one. He is cantering small courses and his flat work is really improving. I would like to see a little more try over fences with him, but he tends to just be a bit lazy with his back end still.
Callie had a couple lessons this week as well and is going really well. Boy does she love to jump!
Clementine is starting to tote around some more beginner-ish type riders who are learning to canter and do cross rails.
Splash, Bailey, Quigley, Chessie and Nikki are all doing their jobs as awesomely as always :) What good citizens they are!!
Show season is fast approaching! We are starting to plan out where we will be going off the farm for some shows. Hunters and Dressage type stuff and also hopefully some cross training shows (a dressage test and show jumping round scored together), I am also looking in to some jumper shows as well. So a little bit of everything, since we do a little bit of everything at KL! :)
A few people had asked about a list of show stuff and I have hand written a few lists but just as a go to I thought I would throw a quick list on here as well.
Show Gear:
-Show Jacket- three buttons, dark blue or grey is always in style no matter what changes in the fashion trends.
-Show shirt- light colors are always in but right now they have lots of bright colors too. Must be button up and have a stand up collar. It can be short or long sleeved. Link to an example
-BLACK gloves.
-Boots- Tall for anyone over 13 years old- black (they should fit snugly and come up to your knee) and for anyone under 13 paddock boots, brown or black)
-Riding pants that are beige or tan (light in color is always preferred, no blues or blacks etc) (jods with black boot straps for kids with paddock boots or breeches for anyone who needs to have tall boots on)Kids Jodpur example in a tan color.
-Garter straps--- for the kids under 13 in jod pants and paddock boots, you will need these! They need to be the SAME color as your boots. Link to an example
-Belt
-Hairnet to keep hair neatly OUT of the riders face.
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Sunburn!
I got my first face full of sunburn this weekend! That can only mean one thing, summer is right around the corner :) Right now I'll settle for Spring and some decent, stable weather!
I got to do a few lessons in the cross country field last weekend and I'm hoping for some more in the near future. It's a lot of fun to get outside the ring and teach out there. I myself LOVE to be out in the open rather then in the ring all of the time. The hill work is really great for building muscle on the horses as well!
Some of the newest updates.....
Patch had his very first ride. I have been doing some ground work with him and Jess volunteered to be the first rider! We lunged him at the walk and trot with her on him and he did great! Now we just have to find the time to keep getting on him so that he continues to improve and move forward to being a useful part of the farm.
I have been working with Oliver A LOT... from lunge line work to out in the cross country field as well as schooling over fences in the ring so that he can be a well rounded little dude. We want him to be useful! He was in a few lessons this week and is really doing well. The student who rode him today reported how much he had improved since she last rode him 3 weeks ago. I was very pleased to hear that! Everyone knows he is one of my favorites ;)
Star has been getting used regularly and is also really coming along. His jumping is improving drastically the last week or so. He still needs to learn to balance a bit better at the canter so he can slow up a bit.. but other then that I am really happy with his progress.
We are really beginning to use Callie a good bit and the more we use her, the more good things I have to say about her! She is a fantastic jumper and has come a LONG way with her flat work this past month. Her attitude about things just can't be beat. I have gotten a lot of comments about her improvement as well, always love to hear that!!
Gracie has been in a few lessons thus far and is coming along. Her walk-trot work is great. She gets a little rammy at the canter still starting out but then quickly settles in when you talk to her. She is jumping some small cross rail courses and is steadily improving. Next goal is to get her lunging as well so she has more possibilities in the future.
I have been hard at work pulling manes and clipping extra hair off of everyone I can find the time to get to! This past week I did manes on Bailey, Buzz, Nikki, Gracie, Callie and Oliver and got a few of them clipped as well. Its a never ending process! We had a mom donate her time to pull and braid over Stars mane today so he is now just as spiffy as everyone else ;) I still need to get to Clem and Splash this next week.
I got to do a few lessons in the cross country field last weekend and I'm hoping for some more in the near future. It's a lot of fun to get outside the ring and teach out there. I myself LOVE to be out in the open rather then in the ring all of the time. The hill work is really great for building muscle on the horses as well!
Some of the newest updates.....
Patch had his very first ride. I have been doing some ground work with him and Jess volunteered to be the first rider! We lunged him at the walk and trot with her on him and he did great! Now we just have to find the time to keep getting on him so that he continues to improve and move forward to being a useful part of the farm.
I have been working with Oliver A LOT... from lunge line work to out in the cross country field as well as schooling over fences in the ring so that he can be a well rounded little dude. We want him to be useful! He was in a few lessons this week and is really doing well. The student who rode him today reported how much he had improved since she last rode him 3 weeks ago. I was very pleased to hear that! Everyone knows he is one of my favorites ;)
Star has been getting used regularly and is also really coming along. His jumping is improving drastically the last week or so. He still needs to learn to balance a bit better at the canter so he can slow up a bit.. but other then that I am really happy with his progress.
We are really beginning to use Callie a good bit and the more we use her, the more good things I have to say about her! She is a fantastic jumper and has come a LONG way with her flat work this past month. Her attitude about things just can't be beat. I have gotten a lot of comments about her improvement as well, always love to hear that!!
Gracie has been in a few lessons thus far and is coming along. Her walk-trot work is great. She gets a little rammy at the canter still starting out but then quickly settles in when you talk to her. She is jumping some small cross rail courses and is steadily improving. Next goal is to get her lunging as well so she has more possibilities in the future.
I have been hard at work pulling manes and clipping extra hair off of everyone I can find the time to get to! This past week I did manes on Bailey, Buzz, Nikki, Gracie, Callie and Oliver and got a few of them clipped as well. Its a never ending process! We had a mom donate her time to pull and braid over Stars mane today so he is now just as spiffy as everyone else ;) I still need to get to Clem and Splash this next week.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)