Ah yes, my last lesson before Quantum closes for Christmas break, just like every year I wanted to make it a great one! The arena and its patio area were all decked out for Christmas, tree, lights, and all. The barn was even in the festive spirit, and each horse had their own stocking for Santa's elves to fill with goodies! I had just rolled through the gate a few minutes ago, and was spending time with Shane before our lesson. He seemed a bit grumpier than usual, and I figured the cold weather must be getting to him (cold for Florida, that is). He was tossing his head a lot and moved skittishly as I tried to stroke his muzzle.
Since Shane looked like he needed some quiet time, I went down the barn aisle to see the other horses. They were all munching away happily on hay in their stalls after being out in the pasture all morning. Since they were distracted by yummy food, I couldn't really get their attention, so I just peacefully watched each one munch away and took in the atmosphere. The horses in the main barn now are: Luther (Rocky Mountain Gaited Horse),
Tie (Morgan), Shane, Pep (Quarter Horse), Ganelon (Selle Francais), Mo (Dutch Warmblood x Paint Horse), and Ariel (stay tuned for info on her). After I was done greeting them all, it was time to put my helmet on and go to the arena for my lesson.
The lift wasn't working that day, so my instructor Ashley and one other staff member had to lift me onto Shane's back themselves. Once I was in place, my stirrups were adjusted so I was comfortable, and then we started the warm up. As we were warming up, Ashley noticed that Shane was not wearing a bridle, which meant that I couldn;t ride him independently because he has a tendency to put his head down a lot,which would throw me off balance. I was frustrated at this, because it stripped away at the sense of freedom I feel when riding. I want to be left alone so that I can have full control of the horse and practice what I am learning by myself. Nevertheless, I didn't let this impact my riding and we had a super fun lesson!
We started off with some bending through the ground poles and 20 meter circles to relax Shane's hips and get him more supple. Then, Ashley wanted to teach Shane and I how to leg yield! A leg yield is where you get a horse to move sideways without turning their head or body, so it looks like they're crossing their legs over. Leg yields are used to perform the half pass at a trot in dressage tests (see below). I had done it before, but not with Shane. What made learning this fun was that he and I were learning together because Shane hadn't done them before due to his western training.
To start, Ashley tapped Shane's shoulder gently with the whip and simulated the leg pressure for me so Shane could understand what was going on. Then, once we thought he understood, she let me tsp his shoulder to move him over on my own, because I don't have use of my legs. Ashley reminded me that it was better for Shane to take small and correct steps in the right direction as opposed to big incorrect ones. When I did it on my own, after many attempts, we managed to take three small steps correctly! I was so proud of Shane for doing well, especially since he had just learned it! Check out the video below to see us in action! The two important things to remember before doing a leg yield are that the horse is straight and that they are moving forward well in either the walk or trot, then you're good to go!
After my lesson I got to meet a new horse! Her name is Ariel and she used to take people on trail rides in the ocean. She came to Quantum after the practice of ocean trail rides was banned in Florida. Ariel is a cross between a Gypsy Vanner and Shire. I got to pet her and brush her mane, and I thought she was super sweet and loving, but a bit shy which is understandable. Ariel is still in training right now, but I hope she is added to the program soon! Here's some pictures and videos of us together.
That's all for this riding lesson story!
Until next time,
Bry