Meet the Horses

I have 5 horses that I ride everyday and there are a few others that I warm-up or cool-down for Heike.
Charlie II : 3 yr old gelding. Han. Bay. He is schooling most everything from First Level. We mainly work on transitions and little bits of sitting trot. He is super comfortable and has a great mind, not to mention adorable.
Harry Potter: 6 yr old gelding. Han. Big Blood Bay. He is the sweetest horse but a little nervous of other horses. He is schooling 3rd level. But I really work on the basics with him, transitions, straightness, and maintaining a constant connection from inside leg to outside rein. I really have to think about bending throughout the entire body rather than flexion of the pole. It sounds easy but not so much in practice. He is so comfortable to ride, which is great because I can concentrate on my position and am able to make adjustments.
Fien Cera: 6 yr old mare. Han. Dark Bay. She is schooling 2nd/3rd level. I mainly work on getting her to take quicker, more active steps from behind. She has a wonderful trot. I work on maintaining the rhythm of her canter and do some transitions within the gait in canter that are from my seat rather than my reins. This is not so easy for me sometimes.
Coriano: 8 yr old gelding. Han. Beautiful Gray. He has a big swinging trot and an uphill canter. He is awesome to ride. He is teaching me way more than I am teaching him right now. His trot is sometimes difficult for me to sit so I really work on keeping my seat independent from my hands and using my seat to make transitions. In the canter we work on transitions within the gait and walk-canter-walk transitions. He can almost canter on the spot. He is super easy to collect but I always have to think of making his neck longer and little bit deeper to ensure he is working through his back.
Actuado a.k.a Shatze: 10 yr old gelding. Han. Chestnut. Shatze is German for “darling.” The nickname fits him perfectly. He is a sweetheart of a horse and he can give you such a sweet look that you can’t possibly be mad at him. Heike competed him through the Grand Prix. So, naturally I thought “YES” finally a GP horse to ride and practice all the movements!! HAHA!! Not the case. I have barely graduated from the walk yet! Making him work through his back into a longer deeper frame is almost impossible for me, but we are working on it and it’s getting much better! He is so laterally supple that keeping him straight also poses a great challenge. Working from behind up, through both seat bones, to both reins equally is usually my train of thought. He walks for a 10 so containing his movement at the walk is hard enough for right now! I’ll keep you posted…

These are horses are all of incredible quality and are teaching me so much! I have really had to change my leg position quite a bit. I need to keep my lower leg closer to the girth. My leg is certainly more effective there, but has made me feel a little unbalanced especially in the posting trot.

The first two weeks were awesome having Heike and Mayke helping me with each horse, but the last week has been nice with both of them out of town. I really needed the last few days to play with the changes to my position, and get to know the horses a bit better. Having such great training on a daily basis is invaluable but it is always nice to have time alone to figure things out!

More to come on my lesson with Mr. Myners! Thanks for reading…