Monday Funtime

So my lesson on Monday was great! He was easy to bring in from the field since he was right next to the gate and he heard the crinkle of the peppermint. So I brought him in and went to get tacked up. He was such a good boy just standing there. He finally had his blanket on so he wasn't as dirty as he usually was when he didn't have his blanket. So his poo stains on his legs were fading which is good since we have to do our Christmas photo soon. 

We warmed up with simple posting trot and some of the exercises that I learned from Ryan Minor. I had him at a trot or a walk, and I would stand up in my stirrups as Hercules would move to the gait he was going at. We did some cantering in circles and a simple lead change in the middle of the ring. I mainly focused on doing a lot of serpentines with him to help his bend and also to get his mind focused on me rather than on the horses coming in. He was good until the middle of our lesson when he started to whinny to the others.

During the lesson, he was a bit wound up since everyone was coming in for dinner. We worked on extending the trot down the long sides and slowing a collecting the trot on the short sides. Hercules did not really like this exercise but we had to get him to listen. We did a lot of halt-back up-trot sequences at different parts of the ring so that he knew that I wanted to stop. He did start to calm down, but he was a bit to mellow when we were jumping. He would just trot over them rather than jump them. Since it is winter, he is bound to be more spunky since he does not like winter very much. I will just have to start working him harder when warming up. Mess around with his brain a bit. 

Our Moment

Guys… I gave in. I could not help it. This perfume smells so lovely and beautiful. I love it! It's just the roll on perfume so I keep it in my purse. I love it. I can't stop saying that. How many other directioner's have this perfume? If you have the perfume and are a fan off the boys like me, follow or comment! I would to know some more directioners! I love the boys just as much as you do. They are so inspirational and they have grown into such handsome gentlemen. It's cute when I look back and see how young they were before they were the gents they are today. So inspirational. My favorite is Niall. He's so handsome and adorable. I'd love to meet him one day in my life. That would be a dream come true.

It's 39 Degrees!

Oh my goodness gracious you guys! It's about 35 degrees outside, I nearly froze this morning walking my dog! Good thing I put her winter coat on or she would have froze, but she looked very cute in her Newmarket coat. 

I hope I ride in the indoor arena tomorrow if it's going to be 39 degrees. I do not want my instructor to be sitting outside in the freezing weather with the biting wind that makes it feel colder. I am definitely bringing my bit warmer for Hercules' bit so his mouth is not shocked by the cold metal, and I am pulling out my Ariat jacket to wear over my Newmarket because it is definitely that time of year to bring out the heavy jackets. I think I am going to bring my Mountain Horse Boots in from the garage and then wear them in the lesson. I am not fond of ice block feet with normal leather tall boots. I prefer to be warm. 

I am, as of now sitting all bundled up in a blanket on my recliner with Mud who is keeping me warm as well. I just made tonights desert, Apple and Blackberry Crumble. Mhm mmm good! If you read my blog, please go follow my Instagram. The link to it is in the Links Page up at the top. You'll see more photos of Hercules and Mudlynn! :)

Anyways, I just got back from the library at one of the joint campus' of the community college I go to, and man it is HUGE. I think it's about the length of a football field. They had so many books I was in heaven! I love reading, I need to read more books. Do you guys have any book suggestions? I was at that library because I was working with my group members on our psychology project which is on Lycanthropy. It is actually a very interesting subject. We had three aspects on it; historical, psychological and the mainstream which was like entertainment. It's amazing how the entertainment world has manipulated it because in some films or tv shows, the werewolf is either more animal like or human like. I found it very interesting as I am very into any type of film that has some sort of supernatural aspect in it. 

Well guys, I am signing off! I will have maybe just a few head shots of Hercules tomorrow from my phone as my mom is just going to drop me off and do a bit of shopping! Bye Guys!

Monday Funtime

To start off, I am so sorry I didn't blog last night, I was exhausted from my ride and was out late with my mum at the auto shop cause our car had a minor booboo.

I have decided to call my Monday posts "Monday Funtime" because something unexpected always happens with Hercules in my lessons. 

So, yesterday we had two things happen; my funtime on Hercules and also my instructors horse was put down. I did end up riding in my lesson because my instructor wanted to keep moving and not get swallowed up in grief I guess. I mean, in the beginning she was a bit zoned out because of it all. We didn't do much jumping because of one little event plus I was getting tired. So, Kitchie (my instructor) wanted to try teaching a flying lead change over a pole. As we are trying to do the flying lead change; keep in mind it's dinner time and Hercules can see all the others going in; as we are doing to the lead change, he goes all bucking bronco with me on him. I lost one stirrup yet I still stayed on. My instructor commented saying I had a good stick and I think it means seat, but if I am wrong let me know! Anyways, after that fiasco, it took me half and hour to calm him down. And we did do some jumping but it was just a cross rail, I was too worn out for doing a course! After Hercules' fun moment of dreaming to be a bronco, my thighs were killing me!

Also, we tried on my Christmas halter to see if it fit him and with a few adjustments, it did! Can't wait for when we take Christmas card photos with Mom! He and I will so dapper! 

Here's a sneak peak of the halter!

Brr it's getting cold!

Brrr... It's cold outside. I am surprised it hasn't even snowed yet. Apparently the ground is still too warm for any kind of snow to stick to it. Rhode Island (my hometown) has snow already! I am so jealous. Well, it is definitely time to break out my Mountain Horse winter tall boots and my new Ariat jacket for riding. Man, I even broke out MudLynn's Newmarket blanket for our walks so that she doesn't get cold. She is a spoiled little doggie. All she really needs now is an equestrian themed collar from Up Country Inc. and she will then be a full equestria-dog. 

I wonder how cold it will be on Monday during my lesson... We shall see... I have to remember to take my Christmas halter and lead rope to make sure it fits Hercules well. I think it will because it's an Arabian sized halter but it can be adjusted to fit. I really hope that it does fit, but if it doesn't, I will be devastated. My mom and I bought that halter I think two years ago at Equine Affaire. We saw it the year before we bought it and decided to get it because it was going to be our last Equine Affaire for a while since we moved to Virginia. Oh how I miss Equine Affaire. I looked at the demonstrators, clinics and speakers online and really wished I could have gone. But I couldn't so I made do with pictures and videos that my friends posted. 

Well, ta-ta my beauties!

Interesting Date

It's 11/12/13. A date like 11/11/11 and 12/12/12. Next year it will be 12/13/14. Amazing huh?

Early Day!

Happy Veterans Day!!

Anyway's, I had an earlier lesson today because my instructor wanted to do it earlier. I warmed Hercules up in the indoor while waiting for my instructor. He was pretty good today on the flat. Later on, Kitchie came out of the office and we went outside to the arena. They took the dressage ring out so now there are jumps on both sides. There were only 5; two on the outside and one on the inside. We didn't jump the middle jump but we made it into trotting poles. Hercules was really good at extending his stride over the poles. If he was 14.2 instead of 14.3, he would have been worth a lot of money. I just found out that he is part Welsh Pony and part Thoroughbred. We are getting better at jumping, I am starting to be able to sense when he is going to refuse the jump. Also we are getting better at landing with the correct leads because I am starting to shift my weight to the outside and lightly half halt with the inside rein. I did almost fall off again today but i grabbed his neck so I was literally hanging on for dear life on his neck. But overall, we are definitely improving in our leads when landing from a jump. BYE GUYS!!