Events

Mondays
Jumping Fun Classes at Canterbrooke, (Ames)

Tuesdays
Riding Communication Classes at The Paddock (Truro) .

May 8-9
Clinic at Catalpa Corner

April 10 and 11
Clinic at Catalpa Corner.

June 4-6
Clinic and Schooling Show Catalpa Corner
(Iowa City)

Need a website? We can help! Info

Waiver form

"Only way that horses will win is to sit there and spend time with them. Show 'em that you're trying to help 'em. Love 'em. Talk to 'em. Get to know 'em. Now that's what you gotta do. You love 'em and they'll love you, too. People might call me crazy, but that's the way it is."

-Eddie Sweat, groom for Riva Ridge and Secretariat

Training Log for Takoda Hickman

7/3/09 Takoda went home. When fall approaches we will do some coop schooling.

6/30/09 Hack out on the trail to warm up, then some jumping through the grid in the arena. He is ready to begin work on small coops.

6/29/09 Some lateral work and then some gridwork, which he did quite nicely. He is coming along.

6/24/09 Warm up around the track in all gaits where he did quite well. Then on to the grid, over which he twisted the first time, but came around nicely for the second. Good man and done for the day.

6/23/09 Another warm day, so we did a long walk warmup with a lot of lateral work. Then on to a short bit of trot and on to canter departs, which went well. Next on to jumping through the grid, which was a little crooked at first, but got better, and by the end was nicely straight.

6/22/09 Very warm out, so stayed indoors out of the sun. Warmed up with some trot work and some lateral work, which he did quite nicely. Then on to gridwork, where he thought he should go crooked and rush. I mentioned that slowing down and staying straight was preferred, and he concurred that it was actually easier too. Very good.

6/18/09 Trail hack to warm up and then through the one stride grid with placing rails at about 2'. He rushed through it the first time, but got better and better as we went along. He was very proud of himself. He got a rinse in the wash rack (wash racks are scary!) and a nice roll in the mud for a happy pony.

6/17/09 Trail hack to warm up, then some canter work and then on to jumping through a grid of a 9' placing pole to a 2' vertical. He wanted to rush and do dramatic things, but came around nicely to simply getting over it, straight and quiet. Much praise.

6/16/09 Trail hack to warm up and then a jump school in the arena. He is getting more confident.

6/11/09 Hack to warm up and then much work on canter and canter departs in a figure 8. He was a little confused at first because I had been asking for, say, three right leads and then three left leads in prior days. Today, since he is getting more confident I was asking, albeit slowly and methodically, right, some trotting, then left. He warmed to the task nicely. Much praise.

6/10/09 Hack to warm up and then a lot of canter transition work. Those and the canter itself are getting better and better. We are at about 95% correct leads with a relaxed strike off. Excellent.

6/9/09 2 mile slow track hack with Cindy up, mostly for Geordi's benefit, but Takoda and Cindy had a good time, too. Then I worked him in the indoor on catner transitions and jumping. I set up a cross rail with the sides at 3" so that he could get used to looking at that height and so that he would be encouraged to be accurate. He started out not wanting to keep the canter when turning to the jump ( I had set it right in the middle so that a 15 m half circle was required to turn to it), but he got more comfortable with that after a bit. I am working on him jumping out of stride and it is coming right along.

6/8/09 Trail hack to warm up, then much work on canter transitions, which he is really getting now. Canter is starting to square up too, though he does still offer to budge against the reins now and then. Still, very good.

6/5/09 Cindy rode him while he played babysitter on a very sedate trail ride with me and Geordi the offtrack tb. Takoda was fabulous to loan his zen to the other gelding and as a result they both had a good outing and Cindy had a great time. Then I worked Takoda in the arena on letting go in his ribcage in general and coming through in canter. Canter departs are coming along nicely and the canter is getting more balanced, which is a foundation of jumping. Yay.

6/4/09 Rode in the indoor with a lot of work on canter transitions, coming forward to the bit in trot and lots of reps over the 18" jump, letting him make distance mistakes where he couldn't get hurt, and let him relax and figure out a rhythm. He did very well.

6/1/09 Walk and trot warm up and then some work on canter departs, which were much improved today. He is starting to let go in his ribcage which makes things a lot easier. He is also lightening up and being more relaxed in his body in general. Yay. Lots of repetitions over small obstacles today, until it was boring for him and he could do it in rhythm. Very good.

5/28/09 After a walk warmup, we worked on sidepassing and leg yielding and maintaining rhythm and developing relaxation, especially in his neck which is hard as a rock. He did soften appreciably, at which point a knot in his lower neck on the left side became apparent. Hmmmm... Then on to canter work, which much work on yielding in his rib cage during canter depart and during canter itself and he got better and better. On to jumping a cross rail and then a small vertical, keeping the same rhythm and staying straight and quiet. He likes to throw his shoulders around and be dramatic on the other side of the fence. Quietly halting 5 strides beyond and petting him is convincing him that shoulder tossing is not really necessary. Very good.

5/26/09 After walk warmup, worked on sidepassing and leg yielding. He is a real tryer and gets frustrated with himself if he guesses wrong. I am asking him to slow down and simply listen to the cue rather than flinging around and guessing, which he is coming around to. We had effective but quick sidepassing in both directions and a nice start to leg yield. Then went on to canter work, where we had a fair number of wrong leads, but he always came around and is getting better. Then on to trotting and cantering a cross rail, asking him to stop in a straight line a few strides beyond it. He loses the rhythm coming up to the fences and pretty much dives at it, then loses his balance on the other side. This is not unusual, and is easy to fix at this height. He's improved already. Smart boy. Much praise.

5/20/09 Lots of trot work today, with improvement in rhythm and connection. It comes and goes, of course, but the times that he is in rhythm and connected are becoming more frequent. Canter work is much easier the right, but coming along. We did some work on sidepassing, during which he got somewhat anxious and got a little light on the front end. Once he understood what I was asking for, the drama was over. "Oh, ok, is that all you want?" All good. He's really a kind, willing horse.

5/19/09 Tacked up and mounted up. Had a little discussion about mounting block protocol, which he picked up quickly. Then on to a lot of walk work, where I asked him to yield to the bit and relax in his back, which to some extent he did fairly quickly. He likes to neck rein, which is great for hunting and I will try to do as much as I can in that, but some will have to be direct reining. In trot, he wants to keep changing the rhythm, but improved on that too. Canter was better under saddle than it was yesterday on the longe. However, he is quite good at putting his left shoulder left, which is a body movement that we need to have more ability to influence before jumping. We walked over the pole on the ground and he was completely unfazed, of course, since you had already done that!

5/18/09 Thorough grooming where we got to know each other. He is really quite overweight. Since this is his first summer with you and he is such an easy keeper, we may have to keep an eye on him to avoid any potential metabolic issues. He should come around with work. After grooming I tacked up and longed him. He definitely knows voice aids. He would allow his handler to carry him while longeing, but this is not a huge issue. However, he is very tight in his neck and back, which really is an issue. Stiff, tight horses are not able to carry themselves easily and react to their rider's requests due to all the tension. His walk is good, his trot is very nice, especially when he stretches forward and down and lifts his back, but his canter, at least on the longe is very tight.

5/14/09 He arrived with Diane, and other than a minor moment in the cross ties where he thought turning around might be a good plan, he was quite relaxed. We turned him out in the pasture and there was a remarkable lack of drama. Excellent.

Field Day Horses Powered by: