When you ride how much time do you spend on warming up?
10 minutes, give or take. I spend about 5 minutes walking on a long rein, then do circles and start asking for a frame (slowly) and then do a few flexion things (circles, serpentines, etc) doing walk/trot transitions, then get on to work.
How much time do you spend riding?
Right now Maia can't handle more than a half-hour, but when I'm in full swing it will be about an hour, with breaks.
How much time do you spend on cooling down?
As much time as she needs to get her breathing back to normal and literally cool off; at least 5 minutes, but her body tells me when she's done.
What kinds of things are you working on?
Flexion! Mostly to the inside right now, getting her to work through her back. I want to introduce stretching and counterbending soon, and another goal is to canter in a frame.
Do you lunge before you ride?
With the horses I'm training (not Maia), yes. With Maia, no.
How often do you have training sessions (where you are working on specific things)?
I try and work Maia 3 times a week, my barn is an hour away, I can't get out more often
I work Tana while I'm out there, and I work Shadow once a week.
Do you work on the same things each time you ride or is it varied?
Since I'm just working on the basics with Maia, it's the same thing. Once I get her doing more, it will be varied.
How often do you ride just for pleasure?
A few times a month.. when I was boarding Maia closer, it was more often, but now it's mostly work. My clients horses are mostly business, they get worked - it's what they pay for.