Brittany's Product Recommendation Post

Antares Leather Conditioner
I am always on a mission to find the "perfect" leather products, and I think I may have finally found them. The Antares Leather Conditioner softens the most cardboard-like leather without leaving it slippery, shiny, or oily. It does wonders for reins!


Antares Hunter Bridle
This bridle is made with the same butter-soft leather that the saddles are created out of. Classic and elegant, this is the perfect bridle for schooling or showing.


Antares Classic Leather Girth
I love this girth for its leather quality and for the snappy blue-and-white elastic ;).


Antares Jump Stirrups
Up-to-date for the jumper ring and made to resist shock and tension, these stirrups are great for show and everyday.


Antares Stirrup Leathers
These are reinforced with nylon to prevent stretching. They match the Antares saddles and are made with the same great quality leather.


Beval Ltd. Open Front Boots
These are acceptable in both the jumper and equitation rings.


Newmarket Day Rug
This is a great 100%wool rug in the traditional goldenrod striping that I love. It looks rustic and classy while keeping your horse super warm.


Oster Variable Speed Horse Clippers
These clippers are perfect for body clipping. The speed can be adjusted to literally any you need and stand up to long hours of use.


Ariat Pro-Circuit Low Rise Side Zip Breeches
These breeches are perfect for show or schooling. They come in a variety of colours and I love the material!

The 20 meter Square

It's amazing how much riding that deeply into your corners can improve not only control but your horses flexibility. It employs the hindquarters and softens the horses body. Riding forward out of the corners helps the horse's straightness. I have really seen a big change in my rides just from using this little technique.

Goals

My plan with Flirt in the next month or so before Pomona is to build strength in her hindquarters so she can support herself in the collected canter, and get her jumping courses correctly.

I would like Sophie to be in shape and also have a controlled canter by the time we show. I would also like to introduce cavaletti.

Sophie, Raquel, Izzy

Wow, it sure has warmed up again. We were taking shelter from the rain last Saturday, and now the notorious Northern California weather is back up in the high 80s. I'm looking forward to winter - that is, some aspects of it. I personally don't mind the cold, just the rain that floods our arenas and creates a thick mud that somehow gets all over everything.

I rode Sophie again and she did fine. She was bending nicely and we didn't have any "Pony ADD" due to me keeping her busy with lots of circles, transitions, etc. I cantered her for the first time and she was acting as though she wanted to buck and play a bit, so I relaxed deep into the saddle and gave her a strong leg to move off of and we got some good, balanced strides. I don't expect her to be completely balanced at the canter, she is only around 3 years old, but we're working on it and as she gets a bit older she will become more balanced.

I want to work on with her turns on the forehand and haunches,
shoulder-ins and haunches-in..s, and leg yields.

Also, doing many canter departs will help her strength
and working on straightness at the walk and trot will help with control on the canter circle.

Other things that may help with strength is riding up and down hills,
riding over cavaletti
and longeing.

Notes to self:
Remember to ride a 20-meter "SQUARE" instead of circle, utilizing every corner to rebalance my horse.


Anyways. Raquel was a bit high today so I spent a lot of time on the trot, really making her work and trying to get her in shape. She was sweating quite a bit at the end of our ride. It may sound crazy to anyone whos ridden her but Raquel needs a lot of leg. She has to be kept in between the rider's hands and legs at all times otherwise she will try to establish her own pace. She is a fun ride, however and it is very much of a "give and take" relationship between us and our communication. I also had a chance to take her into the woods to cool her down, and she was perfect out on her own as expected.

I just longed Izzy in the round pen to get her "sticky feet" moving again. I would like to get her into better shape so she is easier for the kids to ride. I worked on voice commands and did a join-up session to gain respect as well. I think with a little more time I'll have Izzy respecting almost any rider that gets on her back. She's a perfectly decent horse.

Babies

I worked with both RC and Sadie (The two adorable grey youngn's) in the round pen today on voice commands. I think that this quality round pen time will help them to trust me more and therefore make them easier to catch in the pasture (ha ha!) although I am getting quite good at it. Just call me the baby wrangler.

I hopped on Raquel today. This is my third ride on her, and she did very well. She is very light, uphill, and sensitive. All the things that I like in a horse. I would like to loosen her up on her right side first thing each ride because she is very stiff there, and she is also very out of shape. She hasn't been worked consistently because of her feet but I'm just going to take things nice and slow but she is going to be a great horse. The leg-to-hand (with emphasis on the leg) is important with her to keep her from going BTV, and also to keep her from skating her hind end off the outside of the track. Trot to canter transition is a bit rushed..Her canter, while a bit quick, has improved in balance and quality.

I put Flirty on sidereins in the round pen and worked on pace, bending, and bit acceptance. She was getting the idea of the latter so I think I will continue to use this method to supplement our undersaddle work. Her fungus isn't as bad right now. I scrape as much of the necrotic tissue off as I can with my fingernail before our rides, apply fungicide, and after I scrape it again, wash it with Betadine, and apply fungicide. Hopefully it'll beat it once and for all!

Flirt, Raquel, Gigi, Sophie

Flirt did very well today. Her approach to jumping is signifigantly more controlled than when we began working with her issue of rushing the jumps in August. I think more time and 'miles' will help wrap this up. Her simple changes are nice and controlled and her canter is slow. I didn't do too much today, just some verticals and a simple grid consisting of a cross-rail, a small vertical, and a large oxer. (X---I--- --- ---II) I'll introduce more complicated excersizes and small courses this week and coming month [October]. Her and I have a lesson on this Saturday afternoon so I am hoping to better refine my skills and hers at that time.

I just longed Raquel in the round pen today and she continues to be a pleasure to work with. While trotting around, she was showing classic signals of wanting to "join up", a phrase coined by horseman Monty Roberts. Lowering her head, licking and chewing, and her inside ear fixated on me let me know as if that Raquel was saying "I am an herbivore. I am no threat to you, and you are now the leader of my herd." I asked her to walk and she turned into the center of the round pen, then followed me to the gate so that I may halter her. Ah, Join-Up is a beautiful thing.

We brought Gigi out of the pouring rain last Saturday and we are now trying to put some weight on her so she is in a stall with a run. She will eventually be sold. I groomed her for the first time and she was a little antsy at first as expected, but later settled in like a pro and I was very impressed. She is still in the awkward baby stage but I think she will grow up and fill out to be a fine pony. Now I've just got to get that mane under control! When we first brought her up from the pasture she literally had dreadlocks. I call her my "Rasta Pony". Now that's been worked through but her mane is still hideously long.

Goal for this month: Get all manes thinned and shortened.

I rode Sophie today for the very first time. I wasn't nervous but I did keep in mind that she is a very young horse so not only would I have to be consistent, but I would have to be a very active rider as well. I longed her a bit first in the round pen for good measure. She was a bit goosey with the saddle pad but otherwise took everything in stride, even stood still at the mounting block! She is a very sensitive pony with a soft mouth and is very straightforward to ride. She has an overall acceptance of the bit which pleases me and seems to be happy undersaddle. I kept her mind active by doing lots of bending excersizes, circles, loops, halts, etc, but I didn't push past walk/trot today. Overall, a decent day. What a good girl. Although I am a little biased because she is my favourite..

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

I woke up this morning and the sky had a dark, omnious look. I hoped for the best because I was scheduled to teach a lesson, but apparently hope wasn't enough. No more than an hour after I arrive at the barn does it start pouring rain! Ahh! So my lovely Saturday morning student and I brought in some horses and groomed them up and put them in nice, warm stalls. Then we called it a day.

For those of you who don't know already, photography is somewhat of a side-hobby for me. It's something I love dearly but usually only pick up when I am truly inspired. My latest subjects are the foals! They have a playful curiosity about them that I just had to capture, so I took my handy-dandy Nikon D50 out into the pasture this week and gave it a try. This is what I came up with.