We Went to the Moon

     I hate myself for not getting pictures or videos, so I apologize in advance.

     Malachi and I decided to jump yesterday. He wasn't so happy when I threw on the ol' close contact, but I put a bump pad underneath for good measure. On our walk down to the ring, he spotted those jumps and stopped dead. I felt kind of bad for the poor guy because he is really big and his coat is pretty thick despite the weather's heat but I promised I would only jump him a couple of jumps.

     As our warm-up went along he got really anxious because he knew he was getting closer to the time where he'd have to go over one of those scary crosspoles. After some reassuring, he walked up to them and knocked them over, defiantly. Typical Malachi. I could tell he was ready to tackle them.

     The first jump was a tiny pink crossrail, and I wouldn't call it a jump if it wasn't to Malachi because he did indeed jump this one. He's beginning to get the hang of trotting these things. Out of natural instinct he wants to canter the last stride or two, but I held him back and he eventually got used to jumping them from the trot. I am very proud of him for being brave. He does these cute little victory bucks, and canters around all collected and excited.

     So I said what the heck and set the jump up to a tiny vertical. He trotted it alright the first couple of times, and I went ahead and let him canter the last couple of strides so he could build confidence. At random, I picked up a big canter and we went at it all the way. He got really excited somewhere around five strides away, taking those normal five strides in two! I swear he jumped this tiny little vertical at least three feet! I would have never imagined he'd want to go this high. Somehow in the midst of this I was able to grab mane or something and stay in the saddle! My mom described his enormous take off to be at least a horse length AWAY from a long take off spot. She said he tucked his back, and threw his legs to his cheekbones. Mission accomplished! Now I know this horse can jump!

What to do with the Cold

Malabutt in his iPhone photo shoot.

     Malachi is getting friskier now that the weather's beginning to feel like fall. I love it. I like the frisky new horse. I think the best thing about the cold is the endless energy that channels through their legs. It just makes me wish I had some trails to ride while I'm off on this fabulous three day weekend.
     The last time I rode him, he was a crazy person. He was leaping up and down in a constant frenzy for canter, so knowing me I gave him what he wanted and he took it. We would gallop a couple strides before he'd decide he didn't want to run anymore and slam on breaks, nearly throwing me over his ears. I didn't care about what he got away with, he was just a goofball doing what goofballs do best - being goofy. Besides, it's good for me to ride those crazy big-horse spooks anyway, it sets a nice relaxed seat on my part. Sometimes the guy just needs to be a retard for a day.
     That day I pulled out my mom's quick-snapping phone for some pictures for the blog. I thought you guys would like to see what he's usually up to out in the paddock. It's really nothing very interesting, just him and his big round bale. He was also with his little buddy Hurry. You've got the smallest horse, and the biggest horse as best friends. They are so cute when they play! Usually Malachi will just headbutt him, but Hurry with rebound with tiny bites and rears, and OH, they are so so cute!
     I did some messing around with my little Shetland girl, Sugar. I brushed her mane, tail, forelock, and I even painted her pony nails!

Fun in Freedom

     Last Friday I was out at the barn again. Kenda picked me up from home since my parents were working and I had to catch up on some sleep. This is why I love planning days on Friday, riding is always the perfect way to kick off a good weekend. I chose Malachi first off and he was really hyped up. I'm guessing it was the cold front that really made him excited but I also think he was relieved to finally get out again. I could tell he was a tad nervous when I dissapeared into the tack room to grab the unknown saddle. I think he's content with learning to jump, but I know he loves the quieter more connectable discipline of dressage most. He was super focused that day.

     We started out like we normally do, there were some quarter-line jumps on long side by B that he kept eying, but after some encouragement he was calm. Malachi likes his day planned out. I lengthened my stirrups a hole so I could work on my lower leg swinging. When I trot, Malachi takes lots and lots of leg to keep him at an even pace, to keep him on the bit, and to make sure he's steering correctly. The longer my stirrups are, the more my legs tend to swing as I struggle to balance. He is very hard for balancing in the saddle because he's got such a giant stride. I've tried those leg blocks, and even those make it harder for me to use my calves. This is only bad when I'm posting. We're fine in the sitting trot which is coming along nicely.

     Friday I introduced the leg-yielding in trot and it did not take long before this horse was confident and even in his strides. He was supple and working with the bit rather than against it. This was a huge step in the right direction for him - for the both of us.

     Sunday I rode him again in the dressage saddle and he was even better than Friday. I was told to "work his ass off," by Kenda because he escaped from the property Saturday night. He ate an entire bale of peanut hay and half a bag of grain NOT including all of the dipped beet pulp and alfalfa pellets. He destroyed part of the fence line and when he was caught the round pen boards suffered considerably. So I did as I was told even though he was great. We worked pretty heavily in the canter. His left lead was fantastic, my seat was solid and his pace was perfect. He was better than usual going right. Malachi did pick the lead up wrong at first, but he recovered himself and pushed through the circle. I couldn't really get myself established because he was running rather than cantering, but it was all well after he did complete a correct twenty meter circle. I was proud of him so I got off and gave the boy a good hose and a dozen treats.

     The best part of this weekend was the serenity of autumn. It made our rides more consistent and joyful because of the coolness of the air. I believe that the weather makes him feel as if he can enjoy his rides more because he won't be overheated. I'd love to show him soon with his great progress and hopefully win a couple more blues.