I have to remind him to bring his head down and round a little, using his back and butt to propel himself up the hill. Once we had a straight away in front of us, I asked for the canter. We cantered all of the uphills. We trotted a lot of the downhills. He was amazing.
At the base of the really big hill, the one that climbs a 1000 feet in about a half mile, we started at a canter. I was encouraging him verbally to keep going, but all of a sudden he came to a complete stop. He looked back over his shoulder and huffed at me. I turned him sideways on the hill and let him catch his breath, and then we turned back up hill. He was trying to giraffe on me going up the hill, so I widened my hands and asked him to use his back and butt. The boy caught on pretty quick, putting his head really low and I could feel the power of his hind end propelling us upward. Once he figured out that having his head lower than his shoulders allowed him to really push with his hind end, I was able to ride on the buckle while we were walking.
I saw a lot of deer, which Ashke watched with interest, but no fear. A couple of young bucks with the velvet still on their horns, and a bunch of does. I kept an eye out for the Moose that is in the neighborhood, but didn't see it. I saw a bunch of Redtail hawks, a peregrine falcon, several bunnies (who are no longer scary to Ashke, seeing as they come into his stall to snack on his hay), several meadowlarks and two duck families, complete with babies. But no moose.
I had a lot of pain in my back this week. I think riding with the camelbak is not going to work. It puts way to much stress on my lower back and the trotting we did tonight has made the pain flare. However, we did manage almost five miles in just about an hour, so I can't be disappointed. Ashke did great.
One of these days though, we will canter that entire hill.
Go Ashke! It's fantastic that you have a hill that steep to practice on that close to the barn! Our hill behind the barn is not going to cut it for training for our rides: nowhere near steep enough.
ReplyDeleteI hope your back feels better. I found this, which *might* work for horseback riding: http://www.gizmag.com/veleau-bicycle-mounted-hydration-system/18435/ It can be purchased here: http://www.showerspass.com/catalog/accessories/veleau-42 It shouldn't be too hard to rig this onto your saddle/saddlebags.
Wow, go Ashke!
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine a moose near TMR! That's amazing!
The moose wandered through Silver Quarter Acres, and then up on the mountain.
DeleteWay to go Ashke! I would have loved to have been there when he figured that out about lowering his head hehe. He's so smart! I've ridden hills that were so steep my horse stopped midway. So fun! He will get all the way up it soon I bet!
ReplyDeleteHell yeah. What an awesome ride!!
ReplyDeleteHave you looked into those lumbar water packs that ultra runners wear at all? I have the same issue with a camelbak. I have been pondering the lumbar water options, but have yet to bite the bullet.
After this weekend, in which there were no hydration packs of any kind, my back is killing me. I believe my real issue is the cantering, of which we have done limited amounts. I need to build up my strength in my lower back, and for Ashke to build up the strength in his back and butt. So, the nights when we arena ride, we are going back to the dressage exercises and working on the canter, with transitions. Hopefully, it will resolve itself fairly quickly.
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