A Great Day...

   Today I'm so happy with my horsey! We did a pure thirty minutes of bareback trot! I decided to ride him bareback in the round pen. Sicne the round pen is circular, and not super big Udex can't step as largely as he'd like to, or decide to take off. Overall, it doesn't make it any easier.. just a little bit safer. As I don't ride with a helmet and have no support of a saddle I'd like to play it extra safe. (-; I used a halter as a bridle, and two lead ropes as reins.. and no bareback pad. It was true butt-on-back today. (Hah-hah.)
    Although we didn't do canter (I'm not ready for that.. yet) our trot was so succesful. I've finally mastered keeping my hands very quiet while sitting on him without a saddle! Yeah!!! I'm thrilled about that! They aren't perfect yet, but my hands certainly don't flop all over the place, jab him in the face, or look bad! Even with the saddle quiet hands can be a big task.. So the fact that I've managed to also steady my hands while riding bareback makes me a very proud rider!
   On top of my newfound quiet bareback hands, I'm also discovering more and more of my seat. Sitting him bareback is an entire different feeling than what I'm used to. He's very sharp and has big powerful strides. Even with the comfort of a saddle he's not the smoothest ride. Either way, it's not an excuse for not being able to sit him pretty. Anyhow, with every ride,(especially today), my seat gets better.. resulting in my stamina increasing and it taking less effor for an enjoyable ride on my horse. (-: As I said before, today I was able to do around 30 minutes of trot without feeling like I was going to flop off his back or murder his mouth. I think that within five more rides or so I'll be able to start introducing canter to our workout! I just have to learn to sit his extended trot first! Sometimes coming out of canter he decides to get a bit frisky and extend his trot. Normally when I'm riding with a saddle and bridle I can prevent that from happening, or sit it. Like I said before, he's an entire different feeling without a saddle. Once I've got that frisky trot down... Hellooooo canter!
  Another thing I'm proud of... We're working on bareback and bridleless... Kind of. Since Udex and I aren't used to going tackless I left the ropes on his halter, but let them rest on his neck and rode around for 10 minutes without any connection to his head. At times he did want to rush and if he wouldn't respond to my voice, then I'd give a little tug on the rope. I rode a bit without any hands, but majority was holding onto his mane. I'm trying to train him so that a tug on the mane means stop.. Towards the end it got a bit better, but he's still oblivios to what that means. Riding tackless isn't something that can be learned in just a few rides.. it takes a lot of trust, time and effort. Udex and I are nowhere near ready to go %100 tackless anytime soon.. but we are doing our best to learn it! I can't wait for the day that I'll be able to ride my horse with absolutely nothing! I hope we'll get it down sometime this summer!

  Overall today was a super day! I'm so proud of myself for sticking with my goal to ride my horse bareback, and I'm so proud of my horse for being such a star and putting up with me. (-; Everytime I see a picture of him, or see him in person, I can't help but think how lucky I am to have such a beautiful horse.. I dont know what I'd do, or who I'd be without him.

Ik hou van jou, Udex.

"Rollkur opponents care for horses. Rollkur proponents care more for success."

Doing Good

  Nothing exciting has happened over the past few weeks. Everything continues to go on at a normal pace. I've still been riding Udex bareback; which is going okay. I must say, I can't wait until my saddle arrives. Bareback is nice... It's just something that's too much work to do with Udex. Don't get me wrong; I love riding without a saddle... But oh how I miss the occasional accomplishing ride where I'm able to sit my horse quiet without bouncing all over the place.




  I don't know if I wrote about Firebolt yet. Firebolt is a beautiful little pony mare. To be honest I'm not sure of the exact term for her color, I guess a brownish roan? Anyways, Udex and Firebolt are a little "thing" around the barn now. Since firebolt has laminits, she won't able to go out with the rest of the herd for at least a few more months. Udex and Firebolt have stalls next to each other, and seem to have gotten along just fine. Stephanie had built Udex a little run outside so he wouldn't have to be stuck in his stall all day.. Well, since Udex seemed to have a little crush on Firebolt, she put Firebolt with Udex in the run. Since then they've become best friends. Udex gets very possesive over his little pony. When I take Udex out of the run firebolt will call out to him, and at all times he has to have his eye on her. It's so adorable to see such a massive horse protecting such a petite little pony.
  In the town that we will be moving to there is a mini Udex. A mini pony with white legs in the back, front right leg white, and front left leg brown. He has a pretty white blaze as well. We have to drive by the mini Udex (We've started calling him Mu, for Mini Udex.) and stare at him. He's very adorable and I might just have to steal him... (; Of course I'd never steal someones horse, but now I do have a new goal in life: To find a mini Udex of my own. Like it or not Udex, you'll have to make friends with the mini you. Either way, Mu is the most adorable pony I've ever seen and I'm awfully jealous of his people.
  Other then that there isn't really anything more to write about. The weather is very warm staying at around 80-90. Today he got hosed down.. and enjoyed it. Other then the heat, Udex has been adapting to this new land very well. It's really dry so I have to apply hoof oil diaily to keep his hooves from cracking more then they have already. It's also very dusty. I can brush Udex for hours and still have dust. This is going to be a warm, dry, dusty Wyoming summer.. (:

This picture is out of place, but I thought I'd
share it anyways. This is Udex having fun playing
with the jumps. He chooses to jump on a regular
basis.

"Rollkur opponents care for horses. Rollkur proponents care more for success."

This bareback thing is a lot harder than it looks...

  Oh how I miss my saddle. I want that comfy, soft, leather thing made by the gods on my horses back and underneath of me again. Unfortunately for me, 1) It won't get here until at least another month and a half. and 2) I promised myself I'd conquer my horse bareback over the summer.



  Riding bareback is anything but easy, especially with Udex. He is so bony, has massive withers, and has such powerful steps. I don't feel like I'm going to fall when I ride him without a saddle- it's just that he is so, so, so uncomfortable. Even with a saddle on his back he's not the most smooth ride.. taking away the comfortable feeling of a saddle and sitting directly on Udex's back gives you an unreal feeling- And I don't mean that in a good way. If you don't know what you're doing in trot you will spring right off his bony back. It's easier to do rising trot bareback with him versus sitting trot. His steps naturally give you a little something to help yourself rise while trotting. While that extra "something" works with you during rising trot, it really can manage to work against you during sitting trot! Udex has a funky canter due to rollkur; he moves like like a rocking horse. However, I find his canter really nice to sit compared to his walk and trot. It's so easy to count his stride and find a nice way to sit to the rhythm.

Udex and I cantering.

  A few days ago I rode Udex in one of the outdoor arenas. Apparently wind (especially 35mph wind!) makes the horses hyper and crazy. First I let Udex play to get some energy out. He thought he was a thoroughbred. He ran his little lungs out and elongated his stride! He was like lightning! After about ten minutes of racing with the wind I thought there would be no way he would want to run while I was riding. Since Udex happens to be Udex, I of course was very wrong. The entire way to from his stall to the arena he was prancing. He knew he was going to ride and was just as excited as I was! The first bit of the ride was great- He was walking obediently with his head down. During trot he was rushing and just wanted to go. If he'd have tried to pull that stunt while I was riding him in the saddle I would have easily been able to set him in his place and correct that behavior.. However because of the fact I was bareback, I had to focus more on staying on his back rather than getting him at the perfect pace and in a nice frame. The canter wasn't any better. The first few strides were okay, and then Udex decided to take off. Sitting him at a fast canter isn't hard- I actually find it fun. The hard part is the transition that comes after the canter. I find that extremely difficult to sit without the support from the saddle. As Udex took off I was trying hard to both sit without loosing balance, and to stop him. That's not easy to do- especially when your bareback pad is slipping back taking you with it with every stride. Udex made a sudden stop at one of the fences- by the time he stopped I was sitting on his withers! Once again- if I had my saddle this is something that would have never gotten out of hand.

At least the walk was okay.

 As disappointed as I am to admit it- Mr. Udex got away with his speedy trot and canter. Bareback is so difficult because you not only have to focus on what you'd normally do... but you also have to work harder to stay on your horses back! Well, okay maybe for other people bareback comes a bit more natural, but for me it's something that needs a lot of work! I hope that by the end of summer I'll be able to ride Udex just as good without saddle as I could with! (:

"Rollkur opponents care for horses. Rollkur proponents care more for success."