The Horse Forum banner

Navigator's Progress

47K views 794 replies 16 participants last post by  NavigatorsMom 
#1 ·
I thought keeping a journal of what I work on with Nav would be a good way to track our progress and keep in mind that even if we have bad rides, we also have a lot of good going for us. So here we go!

Started our work today by lunging in sidereins. This is something I used to do more frequently last fall/winter, but stopped in the summer. I felt it really helped Navigator figure out how to carry himself so decided to start it up again as a supplement to our riding.

He did very well, reaching forward and pushing from behind. We didn't do too much because I didn't want to tire him out when I was going to ride. During the ride he was very attentive (aside from a small buck when he got excited about seeing the barn cat - he loves cats, silly horse!) and pretty soft, though he did get heavy at times. The main thing I'm working on with him is getting him to carry more weight on his hind end and not lean and pull into the bit.

We did some trot poles and he finally figured out how to place his feet, which was a nice small accomplishment. Afterward I had two very clear moments of trot during which he was definitely lifting his back and had his weight shifted back, and so we ended on that note. I was so happy with him though! It's always hard since we don't take lessons or have a trainer, so I have to do a lot of self-teaching and self-evaluation (when I can get someone to come out and record me). Things are a little slow going but at least they are going forward!

I think for next ride I will again do a bit with the sidereins, and then work on our turns on the haunches to shift his weight back.

Horse Liver Working animal Terrestrial animal Snout
 
See less See more
1
#258 ·
@PoptartShop, yes it is so much better when the weather is nice! Unfortunately around here it seems like it's "nice" for about a month and then all of a sudden it becomes super hot... have to make the most of it! :)

So, show entry is in and we're officially going next weekend!! Very excited and can't wait to see how we do. I'm just hoping to score around the same as last year (of course, different judge so I can't compare too much), and I'd like to get better marks on our circles since that's where we seemed to lose quite a bit of points last time, and we've been working on them so I am hopeful. Of course, just riding "normally" and staying on the horse/in once piece is always my go-to goal when taking Nav off property.

I think I will do a run through of each test tonight, and record them so I can review and figure out what to work on most in the week leading up to it.
 
#260 ·
Rode tonight and got the video of each test, may post it when it uploads just to get some other opinions on things to work on.

Based on my observations and what I felt during the ride, I think the main things I need to work on are:

1. Center lines - our center lines were horrible tonight! I think part of it is that my arena is small so I set the cones up for a small arena (20x40 meters). It's difficult to get that turn. I know the actual show arena will be full size, so I think next time I set up the cones I'll set them up a bit longer (not 60 meters unfortunately) so that we have a bit more space.

2. Stretchy trot circles - these are always hit or miss for us, he will typically start off with his head up but will take the reins down when he realizes I'm giving them to him. Tonight he did best with it on the third test, but I think that was partly due to us being most warmed up.

The other big thing is that I need to get a good amount of warm up time. I didn't do as much tonight to sort of simulate what a show situation might be like, but I'll definitely need more, he wasn't ready to stretch or really accept the bit for me until the second and third tests.

He goes around in a nice position some of the time (coming out of the canter he always seems pretty round) but he is so easily distracted that if he sees or hears something the head goes up and he's looking. What can I do to get him to stay focused?

We have a lot of good though, our transitions are pretty nice up and down, bending is decent, and most of the time our circles and other figures are pretty accurate. I think we will do well, just want to fix up a few things, and would like if he would frame up a little more.

Will post the video shortly.
 
#263 ·
Today's ride was mostly a trail day, to give Nav and myself a break from the arena. Took him down some roads and passed his old field - his buddies ran up and called to him and he sort of called back once but stayed pretty relaxed (rather than get tense, like I expected him to do). I feel bad about separating him from them, but he does need to be limited in his grass intake since he's heavy. Hopefully I'll be able to move him back with them mid-summer.

After a trail loop we did work in the arena just for a bit, mostly working on transitions from trot to canter and trying to keep lightness. He is doing better most of the time. I just wish he would frame up more of the time. I know that's not that big of a deal as long as he's working correctly. I guess he does still need to build up the stamina and muscle for that.

We also did a short trail in the woods behind the barn. It has a nice big hill so we use that for hill work. Then I brought him back and hosed him off since it was pretty hot today and he got sweaty.
 
#264 ·
So bad news, the weather forecast is calling for lots of rain Thursday through Saturday, so the dressage club is strongly considering moving the show to the 29th because lots of rain plus trailers parking in fields equals torn up fields... This wouldn't normally be a problem but the 29th is the same date as the spring concert for the band I'm in! So if it does get moved I won't be able to take Nav to this one and will have to wait until the next.

Anyway, today I went out to ride and decided to change things up a bit so I took my A/P saddle and we did a little bit of jump work! It was a fun change of pace and Nav seemed to enjoy it. He's a decent jumper for as little as I jump him, and it might be fun to do it more often. We only did a tiny vertical today, I think max was 2'6" and we only did that once. But I rarely jump without a spotter on the ground, today was not the norm.



He's looking really good weight-wise lately and I'd like to move him back with the other geldings soon, but I know if he goes back into that field he'll gain weight super fast... so in the weight watcher's field he will stay for now.


One thing that I'm looking for advice on, I have found more than once that he has a lot of little fly bites and crusty blood on the outside of his sheath. I washed it off and then applied a lot of Swat fly repellent cream/gel stuff on it and on the insides of his legs to hopefully keep the flies off, but is there anything better or different that I should be trying?
 
#265 ·
He really is looking great! :D And such a shiny coat, too. Glad you had fun doing some jumping. It sucks about the rain & that it'd fall on the same day as the spring concert. Fingers crossed it doesn't have to change! But even so, more time to practice for the next one, right? :)
 
#266 ·
Well, the show got rescheduled! :( So no show this weekend. It is probably actually a good thing because my thesis defense is on Monday :eek_color: and I should use the weekend to prepare for that! Next show is later in May and I might be able to go to that one, so more time to practice I guess!
@PoptartShop, yeah he was looking extra shiny because I had just hosed him off! He's still got some winter coat left, so I'm trying to get him all shed out and super shiny!
 
#267 ·
Finally made it out to the barn again, I think the last time I posted about it was the last time I rode so about a week!

First off some non-horse news - I passed my thesis project defense yesterday!! So I'm really happy and excited about that, that just happened yesterday :) All that I have left now are my written and oral comps which will take some time but shouldn't be excessively difficult. I can start the written section tonight or tomorrow and just have to return them to my committee by Sunday morning, and then Monday morning I have the oral section. After that I am done!!

Today I just wanted to do an easy ride and work on our trot so that's what we did. Nav was really good and very responsive to my cues, and we had a lot of nice trot. I have been reading up on how to do an extended trot and so we tried a little bit of that but we weren't great at it! He mostly wanted to speed up, which I suppose is the normal response when he's learning. But we'll keep working on it. I would like to maybe do a first level test at the final dressage show this year, and lengthenings are a component of those so figured we could start working on it now.

Anyway, the ride was good and we also did a trail ride. The flies and bugs were AWFUL today and I'll have to maybe look into a new fly spray for this summer.
 
#268 ·
So once again I'll start with non-horse news - on Monday I passed my written and oral comps so am now officially a Master of Music Education! So happy!! That's what I've been up to and busy with lately. :)

Anyway, I went out Monday afternoon and just did a short bareback ride. It has been raining like crazy so everything was a muddy pit, but I wanted to get a little riding in since the day was so nice. Nav was super fresh and it was windy so that had him on edge too but aside from a buck when we went into canter he was pretty good if a bit fast.
He's looking so shiny! I've been trying to hose him off after rides when he gets really sweaty since I heard that that can help with bleaching. You can really tell where his winter coat is still hanging on because it's so reddish brown compared to his new coat!


Tuesday I went out and did a real ride, during which we worked mostly on transitions and getting him responsive to my leg. He is so much better than he was a couple months ago when we couldn't bend! Not that our bend is perfect but he is good most of the time and only needs correcting occasionally now. And our canter is getting really nice! I also trimmed his front feet that day.


Today I went out and planned to ride but after trimming his back feet I was sore and tired and not in the mood, so I just did a little lunging with side reins instead. He is starting to move nicely and his transitions on the line were really nice - typically he isn't as responsive as he could be and will continue to trot along when I ask him to walk but he was really responsive today. :)
He was a little sleepy after his lunge workout ;)


Now that I'm done I'm hoping to do a lot more riding! And maybe go to a show later this month.
 
#269 ·
Congratulations on the Masters!!!!!
that is a huge accomplishment. my son will finish his, in Linguistics, in mid May. it took him 1.5 years. he has been at the University of Hawaii. ( he actually doesn't like Hawaii that much. he is one of the geeks who like small dark, cave like places with books and internet). He wants a PhD, either in Linguistics , so he can become a professor, or in Library Science; working on the systems for cateloging linguistic info.

anyway . . . . nuff about me. Nav looks fat and sassy, . . or . . just sassy. he looks very healthy. I admire that you ride bareback and canter, even with joy bucks. I am a sissy about that.
awaiting your next video.
 
#270 ·
Thank you @tinyliny! And congratulations to your son too, it is all so exciting! :)

Yes, Nav has been feeling sassy lately... almost went out to bareback again this afternoon but had other commitments that I had forgotten about and had to do instead.

Riding has been good lately, Nav is doing much better.

Yesterday we worked mostly on transitions between halt and trot, and some canter work. We tried out canter poles but I think spacing was off, it felt like he was really reaching to make it through them and it felt like he was a little forehand heavy. We also spent some time working on how to properly pick up the canter to the right. Nav decided that he was going to just run into it, so we did quite a few walk halt transitions to get him focused on me, and then we were able to end on a good note with a nice trot to canter transition.

There is a show coming up in two-ish weeks, and I hope I can go. Need to get back in touch with the person who said she could haul me.

And, here's a fun little time lapse I took of grooming and tack up yesterday. Kind of cool!
 
#271 ·
Today was a fun ride! I decided to take Nav out on a trail and work him in one of the off fields instead of the arena. He was super excited about being out and about, and seeing his old pasture mates in the field across the road from us didn't help with his focus! Started off in the back of the pasture and did some sloping hill work. Mostly just walking up and down. I also had him back up a slope twice and it was hard for him! Definitely something to work on slowly.

After that we did some trot work, about 12-15 minutes total probably, with a couple halt transitions to keep him focused on me and not rushing toward the fence to see his buddies. He was fast and hollow at first, but he settled down when I kept him changing directions at random. We had some pretty nice trot at the end!

Since he was hot I let him walk over to the pond to have some water and then he started to get a little too excited...



So funny! He never seems to like going into the water but today he walked right in and just kept splashing! After about a minute splashing with his right leg he stopped and switched to the left! I didn't let him go too long as I didn't want him to decide to roll.

We took the bike path back to the barn to cool down. It was just a good, fun ride. I think I will try to take him out and work him in the field more regularly, I feel like it's good for his mind to be somewhere other than the arena.
 
#273 ·
Goodbye Rhetoric

Going to take a little bit of a break from my progress with Nav (since I've had family in for graduation and haven't had time to get to the barn) to write a little bit about one of my barn's horses, Rhetoric, who passed away this morning.



Rhetoric was (I believe) an appendix qh, fleabitten gray and blind in his right eye. He was one of my mentor's horses, and the smoothest and nicest dressage horse to ride on the farm. He was over thirty, and I am not sure if he passed away naturally, due to illness (I know he colicked recently but came back from it, to everyone's surprise), or if the vet was out to put him to sleep. My mentor texted me to let me know, and I didn't feel like it was a conversation to have over text, so I may ask her when I see her.



Rhetoric was an interesting horse. He was definitely not for beginners, but he was safe for someone with a decent amount of riding ability. My best friend would often ride him when she came to visit, and aside from one freak accident he was always very well behaved and kind for her. However, to really get him moving and working and showing off his dressage skills and super smooth gaits, you had to know how to ride well. I am sad to say the times I rode him I was not quite good enough to really get him working, I feel like I could have done much better with him now based on how I've been progressing lately. Still, he was a good horse and I feel lucky to have had a chance to ride him and learn from him.





He could be a bit of a cranky old man, but pretty trustworthy. I always felt safe taking him out on trails or for short rides while Nav was lame, because even though he was not worked regularly, after a nice warm up he would begin to show signs of the young horse he once was. He was not spooky and didn't have any vices that I can remember.



He was in a herd with Nav, and while it may not have been true, I always felt that he and Nav shared a bit of a bond due to their eye issues (he being blind in one eye and Nav having a blind spot scar in one eye). He was sweet on the ground and I could always count on him being ready for pets.



Of course it is sad when any horse passes. But this is probably the horse I've had the most experience with since Dolly (other than Nav) so it is a weird feeling for me. He wasn't mine in the same way as Dolly or Nav, but it will be strange going to the barn and knowing he isn't there. He will certainly be missed around the farm.
 
#274 ·
Today's ride was... interesting. Our show is on Saturday (!!!) and I feel pretty good about everything. Nav was a little tense and looky during our run throughs which was unusual, but he settled down and by our third test he was doing pretty nicely, not too tense, not looky, but getting a little heavy. I expect similar behavior on Saturday, and plan on riding him in the arena during the lunch break so he can see everything and not be totally caught off guard during our first test.

So I decided to take him around a couple more times, get a couple nice and light canter transitions and then stop. He continued to be heavy and pull on down transitions, so I decided to try the little "trick" that is often suggested to "drop" the reins when he bears down. So I did, I let the reins go down to the buckle. But, instead of tripping up and stopping and realizing that it was bad of him to pull down, he got off of balance and then started going faster and faster. I tried to gather up the reins and get him to stop, but I couldn't feel the saddle under my seat and when I looked over I realized...



My saddle had slipped completely onto Nav's side! I don't know how I didn't come off during that crazy run, but when I realized what was happening and that I couldn't right the saddle, I got my feet out of the stirrups and came off. Thankfully Nav stopped on his own when I realized how far off I was... it was a good reminder to check my girth throughout the ride! And funny enough, after the third test run through I told my boyfriend who was there with me that I felt like his saddle was slipping a bit. Yeah, it definitely was!

So with the show on Saturday, my plan is to watch my video of tonight's ride and see what still needs work, and then work on those things a little bit tomorrow. I don't plan on running the tests anymore until Saturday. The goal is to score similarly to what we did last year's show, since I know we didn't get any farther than that with all of our setbacks last summer/fall. Excited! May post the practice videos later.
 
#275 ·
The plan today was to go ride this evening but at the moment it's heavy raining and thunder storming. :( I don't know when it will clear up, but likely the arena will be too muddy to do a good ride, I'm especially hesitant to canter in mud after an accident I had a few years ago. I may go out and lunge him if the rain clears up later.

Apparently it's up in the air if the show will even happen tomorrow, since there's a pretty high chance of rain all morning. Blah.

On the plus side, I've been comparing videos of Nav from yesterday to some from last year and he seems to be moving at least as well as he was then, maybe even a little better! So that is encouraging. :)
 
#277 ·
Thank you Raina, yes he was a very loved horse.

Well, bad news, the show was canceled due to bad weather. It had rained most of the day Friday and then was storming like crazy overnight and into Saturday morning. I was up and half ready before I was notified of the cancellation, so I ended up staying up from 6 a.m. on... and then I was quite frustrated because from about 8 a.m. on the weather was fine and it ended up being a cloudy, nice day.

No word yet on when the show will be rescheduled, but hopefully I'll be able to go. Today it's nice and cool, so I'm planning to go for a ride later this afternoon and try out a new black pad (that I got to replace my beautiful Back on Track pad that got mauled by my washing machine, R.I.P.).
 
#278 ·
Tonight's ride was ok. Nav and I weren't quite clicking for some reason, and we were having one of those nights where a certain corner is scary even though we go past it every time we ride, and he was bothered by one of the dogs hanging around. But we had some good moments.

Mostly worked on trot-halts and getting him off the forehand. It's hard to do, and it's been frustrating me, but I think he's getting better with it. I wasn't in the ideal mindset for riding or doing a lot of work so we kept it to a short 30 minute ride.

The video is just a couple minutes of our trot-halts, with a little canter at the end and a random spook at . I was also trying to use a bit shorter reins and more consistent contact. I tend to let the reins go too long. You can see that he likes to go around with his head up and pull, but he gets better as we go and starts to move with his head down. I guess it will just take time before he's able to hold that for more than a few strides.



We also tried out the new saddle pad. I think it looks nice, though the shiny trim is a little much - it was on clearance though, which is right in my budget! And since we just do schooling shows it will work. I'm not planning to ride in it again until the show so that it stays clean.
Nav modeling it.
 
#280 ·
Thank you @seabiscuit91 ! They can be so funny about things that are spooky, haha!

Haven't ridden since then, but yesterday I did a little lesson with a girl that my mentor has been working with. She is young and very nervous about riding since she's had a couple of accidents, but she really likes the horses. I tried to incorporate some music into the lesson, and it did seem to help her calm down (I had her create a mini musical freestyle using just walk and halts) but she was very tense overall. The big issue with her is that she is very dependent on the reins and leaned forward everytime I had her halt, which is a bit worrying. I had her on the lead rope and had her hold the mane only and use her seat, legs and voice to halt the horse, but it was hard for her, and didn't work very well since the horse mainly stopped when I stopped. I think it would work better on the lunge line, but she wasn't ready for that at all. This is a habit for her at this point and my mentor is concerned that she'll have a very hard time getting past that. We discussed taking her reins away, or making her do some stirrupless work but she would be terrified. I won't be working with her every time, just now and then and incorporating some music into it, but it will be a long road. It was fun teaching though, and I can definitely tell that I am a better teacher now than I was 7 years ago (last time I taught horse lessons).



After her lesson was over I brought Nav up and had planned to ride but decided to trim his hooves instead since they were due and since it had just rained his feet were softer. Of course, I did the stupid thing and trimmed all four feet at once. My back was killing me the rest of the afternoon/evening, and this morning my left knee (which is my bad knee to begin with, it's always sore after I've been sitting or had it bent) hurt so badly that I couldn't bend it at all for a few minutes while I was still in bed. I have to believe that that had to do with the trimming yesterday, but it is concerning. I am taking it easy today, keeping my leg elevated and alternating heat and ice. Hopefully it will feel better and I can ride again soon. I really need to figure out a better way to trim him so I don't strain my back and legs so much. It can't be good for me long term.
 
#281 ·
I don't know if I mentioned this before but the show has been rescheduled for June 3! I hope it won't get canceled again, I'm ready to do it!

I rode today and it was alright. Temps were mid 80s but it was wayyy to humid, Nav and I both were dripping with sweat by the end of a 40 minute ride. It was not our best ride either. I did a good long warm up with lots of lateral work and turns on the forehand. We also did some turns on the haunches which were not great but did seem to get him to set back a bit. Then I did run throughs of each test. Nav was totally looky at one end of the arena, so he went around that side with head high, ears perked and some bad bend. I'm frustrated because if he's like that at home how can he be any better at a new place like the show?

He was overall just super heavy in my hands today too, especially at the canter. He just bore down and took off, especially any time we had long stretches of canter. But even the circles were not very balanced or lifted, he was super flat and on the forehand. Ended by trying to do some trot canter transitions, with just like 3-5 strides of canter so that he wouldn't have time to get heavy but even that wasn't great. Hoping that he'll just be decent at the show. I need to really work on getting him softer though.
 
#282 ·
Another ride tonight. Morning after the last ride I woke up with intense knee stiffness and pain when I bent it. I usually get a stiff/sore knee after sitting with it bent for too long (mainly when driving long distances) but this was worse than anything I've experienced. I haven't ridden since then to give it a rest, spent a lot of time icing it. So tonight will be a test, we will see how my knee is doing tomorrow after riding tonight for about 40 minutes.

Anyway, tonight's ride was similar to last one, lots of trot halts and trying to get Nav lighter in the front. We also brought the trot poles out again which Nav wasn't sure of, haha! But he did lighten up a bit, though canter was still a little heavy. I was really focused on sitting back, using my seat and core for halts and it really seemed to help, we actually had a couple of square halts where I really felt Nav lifting in the front through his shoulders! Of course when I started to get a video we lost some of that, but still some good. (there is music, so beware if that's not your thing :)


I also did a lot of trot canter transitions, with just a few strides of canter before he had time to get too heavy. This produced some really nice, light left lead canter, which was odd since that has been his bad lead. And of course right lead was the heavy and fast one tonight - can't have both going nicely at the same time it seems! It doesn't look too fast (though you can see he's fast trotting a couple of times) but it felt fast and heavy and I had to sit so deep and really stop the motion to get him to transition down. When we started going right he saw/heard someone walking near the barn and was a bit worried about that, I should have gotten his attention better. Also at about 2.20 I asked him for some turn on the haunches work. He actually took one step for me on my first ask and I should have let him walk off instead of asking for another because he got confused and a bit frustrated. So you can see how we worked through that, and he did give me a couple good steps before we moved on.


Overall a decent ride. I'm excited about the show on Saturday!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top