Since today’s lesson was a private lesson, I dragged Elio along to take some pictures. Unfortunately, they show all too clearly that working on shortening Murphy made me concentrate too much on my hands, which resulted in me curving my back and looking down. Admittedly, all the shots are from fairly early on, since my photographer thought it was a good idea to take a few pictures at the start, film some movies in the middle and rest his frozen hands towards the end. Little evidence, thus, of the improvements that did take place, though the film clip I selected is a little better than the photos, at least.
I wasn’t able to find a replacement for the cancelled group lesson on Tuesday, so it was good that I had at least signed up for a private lesson for today, to keep my holidays from being entirely horse-free.
As usual when I have been away from the stable for couple of weeks, I worried that Murphy had managed to injure himself, and given that I don’t know if I will weigh in at 60 kg on Tuesday I really wanted to ride him today. Fortunately, he was quite fine and in a very good mood too, as he so often is when the stable is nice and quiet. I understand him, because there are few things more coys and comfortable than a stable in winter (well, okay, its still autumn here this year thanks to global warming :P) with just the horses and yourself around. The temptation to take extra time getting him ready was definitely present, but I had a set time to be ready for, so that wasn’t an option.
Last lesson of the year today. On Sunday, we visited a Christmas market in town, and I stopped by in a little shop to pick up a present for our instructor since the group had forgotten to discuss what to get last week. Olive oil with garlic and champagne balsamic vinegar sounded good to me, at least, and hopefully she’ll enjoy it too (I did taste the balsamic in the store, and it was divine). Wasn’t so easy to get it handed over, though, as she was running late. That also led to a bit of confusion about the horses; I was on Murphy first, but ended up on Pojken again, since he needed to be exercised and this was the only lesson he was supposed to take part in. I didn’t mind too much, though, since I hope to have Murphy for the extra lessons over Christmas.
Err, well, the extra lesson, that is. Turns out one was canceled since I was the only one signed up, leaving just the private lesson. But I’ll be trying to squeeze in another private lesson instead. Need my Murphy fix over the holidays. I did make sure to give him some extra treats today and wished him a Merry Christmas.
At first, I had meant to make this a part of my lesson post for last week. But then I thought it merited a post of its own, and of course that led to me forgetting about it entirely.
New horse today again. Little thing broad as a barn door called Pojken (‘The Boy’) since his real name is German (and just means ‘Yellow Boy’ or something like that anyhow). Real imaginative. ;) He is, we think, a Haflinger, with the lovely golden coat and white mane and tail. Though, today he was rather dirty, which is no surprise given the torrential downpour yesterday and the general wetness of the last few weeks. He’s apparently a former trail-ride horse and something like 18 or 19 years old. Given this, they’re not buying him (too old to insure) but if he works out they’ll be borrowing him until the summer. He has apparently bucked off some kids already, so I suppose they might not, though he behaves quite well with more experienced riders. But he certainly tried to test me some first in the stables, and was quite happy to try to walk over me to get to some food. Haflingers are strong-willed little tanks.
The exceedingly nasty weather had me thinking twice about riding today, but given that we do ride indoors, I figured I just had to drag myself off to the stables in spite of the fact that the cold and rain no doubt would make my throat even worse (it still feels like it has odd lumps in it ;P).
Once there, the rain had at least let up, or possibly stayed on the other side of the river, but the wind was still impressive. I knew I definitely didn’t want a skittish horse. But then again, I never do. Murphy would have been great today, but he got off easy this week and I got put on Gamir. Which isn’t bad at all, save for the tacking up part. He’s gotten a lot more irritable lately, and added biting to the kicking he always used to do. Unlike Murphy, its also hard to tell when he’ll do either, as he rarely gives you any warning by looking unhappy with you first. I manage the grooming fine enough, and the saddling too, but bridling him has gotten tricky because he will actually try to bite when you put the reins over his head and when you put the bit in his mouth. So, when he decided to be difficult about taking the bit today, I really didn’t feel like sticking my fingers into his mouth.
Its too bad, really, because he’s such a well-schooled and obedient horse to ride. He just really doesn’t like being groomed and tacked up, and he’s gotten worse over the years.
I think I have a cold coming on. My throat feels like its full of straw, or possibly hair. However, on Tuesdays I am never sick, even if I happen to actually be sick. Wouldn’t do to miss a riding lesson over some little cold, or any other sort of illness for that matter. I have actually found that I ride quite well on strong painkillers too, so even if I had needed some it wouldn’t have been a deterrent. They make me very relaxed. Didn’t need any painkillers today, though. Just lozenges. And once I was in the stables, the cold mysteriously went away, only to return later on the way back home. Funny how that works.
Of course, getting Murphy again may have had something to do with that. He was, again, quite easy to get ready, though the group before us had once again been late so I had to interrupt him while he still had some hay left and that was not appreciated. Some mint-flavoured horse treats were needed to make up for the disturbance and the hay that had to be left until after our class.
Jumping today. Before I got to the stables, I was pondering whether I wanted to get a chance to try out Nelson at jumping as well or whether I wanted Murphy. Fortunately, I didn’t have to decide myself, and I wasn’t too upset to find out I had been put on Murphy. ;)
Murphy, alas, wasn’t too happy to be disturbed while eating, as the group riding before us had been delayed and he had yet to finish his hay. But other than a few baleful glances warning me not to try and steal his food, he mostly played nice while I got him ready. He did, however, try his best to avoid the bridle for a bit, so he could eat some more. But eventually I got him sorted out, and fed him some minty horse candy to make up for the inconvenience. He seemed happy enough with that.
After last weeks amazing ride on Murphy, I had a strong feeling things wouldn’t go quite so well today, regardless of who I’d be riding. To some degree, I almost hoped I wouldn’t get Murphy, since I’d put more pressure on myself then. As it happened, he wasn’t on the list for our group, so I ended up with Nelson instead. He’s now been bought and insured, which means he gets to be turned out with the other horses. As a result, he was missing bits of coat here and there. Apparently he’s rather cocky, and has had a few run-ins with the more dominant horses in the herd. He’s quite sweet in the stable though, albeit very quick to beg for treats. He’s one I’ll make sure to always feed in his trough instead of out of my hand.
A few weeks ago, I had what I thought was a pretty hard-to-top lesson on Murphy. Today, I had one that in some ways was even more amazing. Not sure whether to thank Pilates (been trying to do that 2-3 times a week of late), the dog training books I’ve recently read (since we now have a 10 weeks old boxer puppy that is a little on the lively side) or just a higher power of some sort. Either way, things clicked in a weird and wonderful way, though I am not entirely sure what it was that I did that worked so well. I suppose that from now on I will have to take it as a good sign when Murphy is a bit grouchy in the stables; I can stand having my elbow bitten for rides like this. Though he did get a bit close to my nose once, too, and I’d rather avoid that one. He was also a bit contrary down in the arena, with a great interest in biting people and not standing still for being mounted.
Today I got to make a new acquaintance. As we signed in, and our horses were assigned to us, our instructor asked me if I’d mind trying Nelson today. For a moment, I blanked. Nelson who? Was it the big grey they’d been borrowing for a while? No, that was Winston ... so, who? Ooh, the cute white pony! Once I remembered that, I quickly said that I certainly would not mind that one bit. Always happy to add a new pony to my riding repertoire, after all.
So, other than being white (pretty much all white), what’s Nelson like? Well, it seems likely that he’s got some Knabstrub in him, since there are faint spots on his skin. His coat, however, looks almost completely white, and its so thick (there must be some polar bear in him too) that it hides those spots pretty darn well. He’s quite squarely and sturdily built (just what I like), and he’s got a very roman nose and looks like he’s got a bit of an attitude. He was pretty sweet to brush and tack up, however, though he’s a bit mouthy (in a soft, non-bitey way) and a little pushy in a way that suggests spoiled pony to me. When I walked him down to the arena, he pretty much walked with his nose in my hand all the way, sniffing it for candy.
Given how well the dressage went two weeks ago, I wouldn’t have minded some more of that today. However, jumping was on the menu this week, and this time I also ended up with Gamir instead of Murphy. I guess my instructor remembered what she said about making sure to put me on some other horses for a while (at least, I hope that was it, and that the reason wasn’t that Murphy was injured—he looked fine, though), and when that results in me getting Gamir for a jumping lesson I suppose I can’t complain too much. Except about one thing: these days, he’s worse to tack up than Murphy, who really is just testing who is dominant. Gamir, on the other hand, really doesn’t like the process. Not only does he kick when brushed and saddled, he tries to bite when you get closer to his head. Which tends to be necessary for putting a bridle on, for example. So far, he hasn’t actually made contact, though, so it might just be very realistic-looking threats.
Today, Elio and I went to see Levade Noble Horse Gala, now on its third year. The focus of this year’s show was a little different from the previous two, as it included fewer pure horse performances and more traditional circus acts. The reason for this was that Robert Bronett, the creator of the show, designed this one as a celebration of the 70-year anniversary of one the most prominent of the Swedish circuses, Circus Scott, which is run by the Bronett family. In addition to incorporating more acrobats, trapeze artists and so on, both alone and together with the horses, the show also included Robert Bronett telling interesting anecdotes and stories about Circus Scott and the development of the circus in general. Such as how they came to smuggle a hippo (!) into Sweden.
Theory was on the menu today, and this time it consisted of our riding instructor demonstrating some of the things we’ve practiced these last two weeks by having us watch her ride Spitfire. I helped get him ready, and since I haven’t ridden him myself it was my first experience working with him. He really is a terrible sweety, like everyone has said. He loves company, and when I led him down to the arena, he was constantly snuggling his head against my side. At first I thought it was just due to him having located my candy pocket, but I was told he always does that. He just snugged, really, without pushing or nipping or being intrusive. Very sweet. Too bad he’s a touch too tall and, from the looks of it, pretty big-gaited too.
Our task for today was to keep an eye out for how he tried to avoid work by doing various things, like throwing his hindquarters out to one side or not keeping his inner shoulder in. I do wish I got to watch others ride more often, so I could develop more of an eye for what is right and what is wrong, because it can be really useful to analyse things from the ground now and then. For example, watching the canter transitions closely gave me a very good idea of what it is that happens when Murphy goes well and when he doesn’t go so well.
I am still pondering trying to squeeze in a private lesson this week, to follow up on this display and last weeks lesson, but with the Levade show on Thursday it might be tight. Unless I can get driven down there on Friday morning.
I had thought I would probably be continuing on Sammy today, even though it isn’t that common for him to be available for our group, but instead I was back on Murphy. I almost felt a little disappointed, since last week had gone quite well, and I was concerned that my so-so riding of the previous weeks would kick back in. Murphy certainly seemed to be in quite a mood today, showing me a lot of his teeth while I was getting him ready. He also swished his tail a lot (including hitting me in the face as I was picking his back hooves), and I am not quite sure what it was that was bothering him. Might have been the new neighbour, Nelson, or maybe he was just in a peevish mode. He had apparently been in a fight earlier, when Campino tried to steal his girlfriend, Inca. Campino ended up giving him a cut on his cheek, but Murphy chased him off quite thoroughly.