Feather Line: I love you!
You know when something new things come out and you are sure it is a complete and utter waste of money and you don't need it, and then you are usually proved wrong?
That was my attitude towards the Feather Line when it first came out. I saw Pete Rodda play with his horse at the Summit a couple years ago and my first impression was it was for extremely advanced levels.
I grudgingly tried a Feather Line for the first time at camp with Kara in the summer of 2011. The first impression was everything.
It was a revelation. An epiphany.
You almost never realize you are doing something wrong until someone points it out to you. The Feather Line was that 'someone.' I never realized just how 'loud' I was being when I played with Sharlie and Casper. With the help of that line, I made some pretty amazing progress on myself during the duration of camp.
[Look for the "Back To The Herd" camp blog posts in June 2011 to read more.]
Since camp I have been begging, bargaining and saving to buy a pair of Feather lines. I planned to buy someat Conyers at the end of February but thank you SANTA CLAUS I got a pair for Christmas!
Quick, find some clips that are strong enough to endure a run-away horse! We don't have any? Well I'll just use these instead!
Wait for the rain to stop! Waiting for the rain to stop...3 days later...
Alright Sharlie, let's see what you got!
She flew on that line. She danced. There weas a few ugly expressions when I asked something wrong, or if I asked too strongly, or if I just asked too much. We played for about half an hour which is about when she realized I had no treats.
That ended pretty quickly. *laughs*
NOW onto troubles of the BIT! (Focusing on Casper)
As all of you know- or most of you at least- Casper and I have been going through the very slow but very educational process of starting. It has been an interesting journey so far and we have recently reached another wall to break through (One of several)
Riding with a bridle
This, of course, isn't an immediate concern. But it was an important beginning of a step to share.
The other day I rode Casper in a bridle for the first time since he had been with me. I was usnure how I would react, let alone how he would react!
He was tese. (DUH). He tried to eat a couple times but after I corrected him he stopped. His walk was fast and choppy for the most part, until the last minute or so of our ride. He calmed down, so stupid me, asked him to trot instead of rewarding him by getting off.
He shot forward and I tensed before trying to pull him to a stop. It didn't work and he just went faster attempting to dislodge me more. I panicked and thought "This is how I die. Death by trot."
Luckily there was a fence post in front of us so I just aimed him for that and he stopped.
I immediadtly jumped off and just walked him around to calm him down. When we had both recovered from the shock, we went back to the field.
Fun little experience, no?
That tis all for now!
Julia
You know when something new things come out and you are sure it is a complete and utter waste of money and you don't need it, and then you are usually proved wrong?
That was my attitude towards the Feather Line when it first came out. I saw Pete Rodda play with his horse at the Summit a couple years ago and my first impression was it was for extremely advanced levels.
I grudgingly tried a Feather Line for the first time at camp with Kara in the summer of 2011. The first impression was everything.
It was a revelation. An epiphany.
You almost never realize you are doing something wrong until someone points it out to you. The Feather Line was that 'someone.' I never realized just how 'loud' I was being when I played with Sharlie and Casper. With the help of that line, I made some pretty amazing progress on myself during the duration of camp.
[Look for the "Back To The Herd" camp blog posts in June 2011 to read more.]
Since camp I have been begging, bargaining and saving to buy a pair of Feather lines. I planned to buy someat Conyers at the end of February but thank you SANTA CLAUS I got a pair for Christmas!
Quick, find some clips that are strong enough to endure a run-away horse! We don't have any? Well I'll just use these instead!
Wait for the rain to stop! Waiting for the rain to stop...3 days later...
Alright Sharlie, let's see what you got!
She flew on that line. She danced. There weas a few ugly expressions when I asked something wrong, or if I asked too strongly, or if I just asked too much. We played for about half an hour which is about when she realized I had no treats.
That ended pretty quickly. *laughs*
NOW onto troubles of the BIT! (Focusing on Casper)
As all of you know- or most of you at least- Casper and I have been going through the very slow but very educational process of starting. It has been an interesting journey so far and we have recently reached another wall to break through (One of several)
Riding with a bridle
This, of course, isn't an immediate concern. But it was an important beginning of a step to share.
The other day I rode Casper in a bridle for the first time since he had been with me. I was usnure how I would react, let alone how he would react!
He was tese. (DUH). He tried to eat a couple times but after I corrected him he stopped. His walk was fast and choppy for the most part, until the last minute or so of our ride. He calmed down, so stupid me, asked him to trot instead of rewarding him by getting off.
He shot forward and I tensed before trying to pull him to a stop. It didn't work and he just went faster attempting to dislodge me more. I panicked and thought "This is how I die. Death by trot."
Luckily there was a fence post in front of us so I just aimed him for that and he stopped.
I immediadtly jumped off and just walked him around to calm him down. When we had both recovered from the shock, we went back to the field.
Fun little experience, no?
That tis all for now!
Julia
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