Lunge Jumping

Monday was Pony Club night, my favourite evening activity of the week! This week we were looking at how to correctly cool or sponge down a horse, I loved it cause we got to do it on Vettie who is Fiona's horse. We also got to check him over for cuts and Jaimie-Leigh noticed that there was a cut. When we had done this we decided that it was going to be time to feed the horses. Everyone good their own horse or horses and had to feed them, we had to make sure that we did it in the same order that they would normally get it as horses love routine. We started looking at the 10 feeding rules, which are something that I did not know, I knew some of them once I heard Fiona saying them but they were not in the front of my mind. We all kept getting really distracted so we only got to look at the first 3 of them. Next week we are going to look at all of them! 

When we had finished this we got the choice that we could either ride the horses or lunge them, then Fiona said lunge jump them, this is something that I have never done and I loved the idea of doing so we decided to do this this week, then the riding another week as it is the simple things that we need to practice to do the bronze level, it's really easy things like walk, halt, get on and off. Things like that. We gave the horses a quick brush over and checked their feet and then put their bridles on so that we could lunge them. It was interesting because we also got to see little Rocky (shetland pony) do this and I have to say it was one of the cutest things that I have ever seen!! Wish I had got some pictures, maybe I will do next time. When I first started trying it with Gatsby I couldn't get him to do it on one rein (going to the left, which I think is also the rein I struggle with when I am actually riding. So we decided that we would switch reins. Wow it made such a difference, I could get an eye on the jump and position him in the right place, and get him over the jump, in both the trot and the canter, this was something that I really wasn't expecting to do but I could do! I loved it and I think Gatsby enjoyed it, the thing I like about Gatsby, is the fact that he is so forgiving I could make a mistake and he would forgive me and just try honestly. 

Fiona also told me that I need to trust my gut instinct because I know more than I think I know, the first time was when Fiona was asking about colours and asked what colour Rosie is everyone answered chestnut which was right but only part of the answer, she then asked what with, what colour was her mane and tail. Straight away I thought she had a flaxen mane and tale and I thought that was wrong and that it couldn't possibly be right but I was. Next it was when she was asking about what colour Vettie is, initially I thought of saying brown but then I realised he was a bay because he has black points. The final time that I realised that I knew more than I thought I knew was when we were putting the jumps up for little rocky, she asked what a cross rail is and we could all do it, she then asked what the other type of jump is that's a vertical, but she used another name that I can't think of, and I asked if it was when the pole was going straight across, she said yes and then told me to change the jump so it looked right so I did. She told me that I need to believe more in myself because a lot of the time what I am saying is right. It surprised me how much I actually knew, that I had read at different times and I think I had just remembered. 

Pony Club was then over, because we ran out of time, the two hours just fly by so quickly so we put the horses back in and ended it there. Next Time it'll just be Elaine that is there and we will be looking more at the feeding rules. I can't wait! 

Until Next Time 

A Girl With A Dream