Interesting ride today. While not great, it was pretty knowledgeable and I'm happy. We got off to a great start. Rode Ruby again and got Badal as a trainer. He took on 2 other riders who were only riding for 30 mins. Went to the main arena again. And for the first time ever, Ruby lead the group! :o I was the leader, woot! He taught us the differences between 60, 15 and 10 metre circles. And he told us the names of the 4 different walk types. Didn't teach us how to do those 4 walks though lol. We did a few rising and sitting trots. I improved my steering using not the reins, but body language! My balance certainly improved loads. I could just tilt to the side and Ruby turns! I tried using my eyes and thought silently where I wanted to go and Ruby actually followed. Damn! If you told me that I would be silently communicating with a horse back when I first started riding, I would've called you insane.
Oh oh! I can also mount Ruby from ground up EASILY now :D Last week, I had a whole lot of difficulties. Ruby is slightly taller than D'Alonzo and Siti Mas and with those two, I already had difficulties pulling myself up. Just that slight inch of difference in height was enough to make me give up and look for a stand XD Today, I didn't even really try pulling myself up. I just got up. Easily. Damnit, I'm getting good at this B) And best of all, it was not once, but twice. (Badal wanted to check something about Ruby, so I had to dismount and mount again) So proud of myself. This simple accomplishment is HUGE for me. Climbing a horse using a stand makes me feel embarrassed for some reason. It's as if I'm telling the horse that I'm not good enough to ride it.
So during that 30 mins, Badal concentrated on the other two riders. The comments I got were all 'Wrong diagonal' and 'Stay on the track'. More compliments that I can ride without as much supervision as I used to need. All in all, I handled myself and rode Ruby very well. Then the 30 mins were up and the other two riders dismounted. Ruby and I continued... that is, until the gate opened to let the other two riders out. Ruby charged to the gate (canter) XD Silly mare. That's another problem with group lessons, me thinks. Because the other horse is done in 30 mins, the horse I'm riding tends to think it's session is over too. That's when Ruby just flipped out like last week. My gosh, she can be really stubborn haha. Just like me! What a bitch :D
Badal didn't want me wasting too much time trying to get Ruby under control again, so he took us to the O-ring (that's what he called it). On the way there, I asked if Ruby was a one-rein horse. He confirmed it and I asked how to use one-rein. Yep, it's exactly like neck reining, except that apparently, I have to maintain full contact. The reins still had to be taut and in 'sort of' a straight line to my elbow (since my hand now has to be right above her withers). It was pretty weird. I asked if it was like neck rein and Badal got confused LOL! Oh dear. Guess I'll ask Mazlan or Zoffer next time. Looks like Badal didn't learn all the terms haha. He told me to 'push' the reins to the right is I wanted to go to the right and vice versa for left. I didn't control Ruby that way very well. I think due to my inexperience and my confusion. My confusion is that if theres still contact, wouldn't pushing the reins to the right pull on the left side of the bit and tell Ruby to go to the left instead? Weird. I really do want to ride her on my own to test this out. Having a trainer around isn't always the best way to experiment, since he'd be wondering what the hell you're doing and then give you all sorts of other directions (like 'Shorten the reins!') =/
Well anyway, I practised two-point again. He made me stay away from touching Ruby's neck, so I learned even more about balance. Standing in the stirrups without any other support was a bit wobbly lol. I got tired from the effort and we walked to calm down. I practised the one-rein here. I didn't really know if I did it correctly =/ The O-ring only had one direction, one track. And I'm now using my body language more. Along with the confusion I mentioned above, one-rein is gonna take me a while to learn.
Then we cantered. Badal taught me even more about balance here. He made me sit straight up, since I had the tendency to lean back so that I don't bounce so much. I definitely need more practice here. And I need to find out how one-rein works with canter LOL! We didn't canter much. I changed direction and we found out that Ruby is pretty naughty hehe. The gate to the O-ring is near one of the corners. When we turn that corner, the first thing a horse sees is the gate. So when cantering, Ruby has the habit of riding straight into the gate because she wanted to go back to her stall XD This was where Badal wanted to check if it was me or it was Ruby. After cantering on her a bit, he confirmed that it was silly Ruby. Another volunteer trainer came by and saw. He told me that it wasn't my fault and that Ruby is just either uncomfortable on that side or just wanna go back to the stables. He also said that if I managed to nudge her with my right heel while cantering round that corner and got her to stay on the inner side of the track, I'd be a very good rider. Hmm. Must try again. :D I'm finding it slightly difficult to use only one leg when cantering. Bad enough that I can't really nudge her with both legs, since they're kinda moving all over the place D:
Ruby also stumbled once mid-canter. I nearly got thrown again. Kept my seat and she recovered. Badal says it was because Ruby got confused with my steering. Maybe, maybe not. She could just have lost her balance. I dunno. We went back, untacked her and then Badal told me that perhaps Ruby is a bit angry/grumpy today because she didn't get to go grazing o.o Gosh, she has a temper too, just like me! We are way too much alike! >.< So I took a halter and lead rope then led her out to graze. That favourite patch of weeds mum and I found? It grew back with MORE weeds! XD Wow, they're fast growing grass. Ruby chomped like crazy. I didn't pay much attention to her chomping as I usually did, but paid attention to her body. I dunno, but suddenly I was interested in watching her muscles, her wound on her withers, her long neck, her hooves... wait a sec... is that blood on her fetlock? YIKES! She was freshly bleeding on her right hind fetlock. Poor thing must've hurt herself. She stumbled more than a couple of times while grazing too. She didn't lift her front legs as high as she should've. I hope her muscles are okay...
I didn't walk her too much due to the fetlock wound. Let her chomp until she was no longer craving for grass, then took her back for a bath. Today's bath, I learned that you should actually scrub her hard. Badal called it 'massage' lol. I thought all that flinching and shuddering was that she didn't like it, but according to Badal, it's just that the horse hurts from the rider bumping into the saddle all the time. That made sense, so I watched him scrub her again, hard. She was flinching all over lol. Kept moving away from him. He wiped her down and then applied meds on her fetlock and withers. The wound on her withers is DEFINITELY smaller. I'm so happy. They were HUGE just a couple of weeks ago and now they look SO on the mend! Yay! ^_^ Soon, I'd be able to scrub her withers too!
Badal gave me oil to rub into Ruby's mane and tail. He says the oil helps encourage the hair to grow longer. She has a really pretty mane, which I combed very nicely. Then I rubbed the oil into her tail and combed that too. The story of how Ruby's tail got so short came out. Badal says her tail wasn't combed and untangled properly, so the hairs tangled at the tip of her tail, cutting off circulation and causing the hairs there to tear off :( I looked closer at the knob and it was quite scary. It was white, smooth and REALLY bald. Didn't look like anything would ever grow back on there. I'm gonna try though. Ruby has become my favourite horse and I'm gonna do my best to help fatten her, heal her wounds and get her tail back! Of course, I won't be able to do much, due to not going to the club often, but I can try my best everytime I'm there!
Oh! I also found out that Ruby is 11 years old! :D She's pretty young! Next question would be if she's an ex-racer hehe. I put her back in her stall, fed her carrots, went on my rounds and finished the rest on her. She is SO pampered on the treats! I also, for the first time ever, saw her bob her head when I approached! :o She's actually been pretty... unemotional like. Dad described her as a painting where the eyes just followed you. But today, she's just proved that she can be expressive too! I also came back to a messed up mane... >.< Bad Ruby! Must've rolled about. Silly horses. Always rolling about after a bath >.<
Sorry about the lack of videos. The camera is not functioning right anymore. The display goes black often. Don't know if we're ever gonna get it fixed or buy a new camera... Hopefully, we get a new cam and it'll be mine ._. I SO want that Panasonic dual screen cam! As soon as I can, I'll try to take more vids/pics.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Friday, March 15, 2013
Riding vs Exams
A dilemma that all riders who're still students face. What would you choose if you had exams very soon? Riding your favourite horse? Or studying for your exams?
I'm not a smart person, academically. I'm not an A student and I used to fail all my subjects except Science and English back in secondary/primary school. I'm no longer failing, but getting bad grades is not uncommon. So I should be studying, right?
I stressed over this decision. If I stayed home, I would be distracted and would keep thinking about Ruby and riding. I would be more stressed, agitated and anxious than I already am. It has been a rough month. As mentioned in my previous posts, I encouraged mum to continue with her lessons even if I'm not going so that she could catch up with me. Unfortunately, it's human nature to get jealous. So if I didn't ride, I'd have all sorts of negative emotions in me, resulting in a VERY dark and depressing cloud over my head.
But if I went riding, I would be spending 12 hours +away from my laptop where all my studying materials are. I would be wasting time. My exams are starting on the 25th. I haven't started studying. I only have a week to cram an entire semester. Can I do it? Probably. Will I remember what I crammed? Not so much. I wanted to take these two Saturdays off from riding so that I could give myself a headstart, maybe avoid not remembering what I crammed into a cram.
But would I be able to even concentrate on my studies if I didn't ride? I would definitely regret not seeing Ruby for so long. I would regret not taking the chance to ride some more. Riding has become an addiction for me... sort of. I don't seem to get enough of it. Only an hour a week and in just two days, I'm feeling nostalgic again. By the time the next Saturday arrives, I feel as if I hadn't ridden in a whole year. Sure, I've hurt myself, nearly gotten thrown off more than a couple of times, had a tough time trying to get my muscles working from a couch potato state, all sorts of problems. It hasn't stopped me from wanting to ride again.
I gave up torturing my brain. My friends told me to go ride too. I needed a way to de-stress. I needed something to help take my mind off exams. I definitely needed Ruby. I lost this battle of pleasure versus work. I called mum and told her to book my session. Guess I'll just zombie through my exams as I did last semester... Except, I'd be happier thanks to Ruby. I've decided that if I don't finish studying by next Saturday, I won't ride next Sat. I HAVE to at least finish studying 3 subjects... At least I only have 4 exams this sem and already have one Distinction at hand...
At least my addiction would be slightly soothed this week... And maybe, just maybe, my self-challenge can push me to study harder before next Saturday...
I'm not a smart person, academically. I'm not an A student and I used to fail all my subjects except Science and English back in secondary/primary school. I'm no longer failing, but getting bad grades is not uncommon. So I should be studying, right?
I stressed over this decision. If I stayed home, I would be distracted and would keep thinking about Ruby and riding. I would be more stressed, agitated and anxious than I already am. It has been a rough month. As mentioned in my previous posts, I encouraged mum to continue with her lessons even if I'm not going so that she could catch up with me. Unfortunately, it's human nature to get jealous. So if I didn't ride, I'd have all sorts of negative emotions in me, resulting in a VERY dark and depressing cloud over my head.
But if I went riding, I would be spending 12 hours +away from my laptop where all my studying materials are. I would be wasting time. My exams are starting on the 25th. I haven't started studying. I only have a week to cram an entire semester. Can I do it? Probably. Will I remember what I crammed? Not so much. I wanted to take these two Saturdays off from riding so that I could give myself a headstart, maybe avoid not remembering what I crammed into a cram.
But would I be able to even concentrate on my studies if I didn't ride? I would definitely regret not seeing Ruby for so long. I would regret not taking the chance to ride some more. Riding has become an addiction for me... sort of. I don't seem to get enough of it. Only an hour a week and in just two days, I'm feeling nostalgic again. By the time the next Saturday arrives, I feel as if I hadn't ridden in a whole year. Sure, I've hurt myself, nearly gotten thrown off more than a couple of times, had a tough time trying to get my muscles working from a couch potato state, all sorts of problems. It hasn't stopped me from wanting to ride again.
I gave up torturing my brain. My friends told me to go ride too. I needed a way to de-stress. I needed something to help take my mind off exams. I definitely needed Ruby. I lost this battle of pleasure versus work. I called mum and told her to book my session. Guess I'll just zombie through my exams as I did last semester... Except, I'd be happier thanks to Ruby. I've decided that if I don't finish studying by next Saturday, I won't ride next Sat. I HAVE to at least finish studying 3 subjects... At least I only have 4 exams this sem and already have one Distinction at hand...
At least my addiction would be slightly soothed this week... And maybe, just maybe, my self-challenge can push me to study harder before next Saturday...
Monday, March 11, 2013
Foooooaaaaal!
So I finally got around to editing and uploading this video. This was after I fed Ruby all her carrots. I decided to hang around while waiting for mum to finish grazing Zidane. I didn't graze Ruby cause I was tired out and she needed to rest her wound anyway. There were a lot of times when I stepped away from B.B. and Mona because Mona bites. I didn't bother to smack her or anything like that due to her being a mother. I knew that it was more about her protective instinct than her trying to show dominance.
B.B., short for Black Beauty, is a really friendly little darling, hehe. I could pretty much stroke her everywhere. Touching her tail makes her flinch though, probably because she can't see behind her. Her mane is seriously soft, like down feathers or wool. And her tail, to quote the girl in pink (watch the vid), is like a feather duster haha.
I soon got tired and stopped taking vids. This was when B.B. decided to go under the bar LOL! Wish I was still filming! The filly got curious and went out of the stall. Mona got anxious and tried to follow by jumping over the bar. Unfortunately for her, she had no space, so her back legs couldn't go over the bar and she got stuck. I was looking somewhere else when this happened, so all this is guesswork. I only noticed when Mona clanged the bar from trying to jump over. I had to call a stablehand to help out XD
So that was how they both escaped. The moment the stablehand pushed the bar off and released Mona, they both zoomed off to a patch of grass near the gazebo where kids waited for their turn on the joyrides. I guess they don't get let out very often. Mona immediately started munching while B.B. pranced about with tail held high and all hehehe. Then the camera's memory got full and I couldn't take more vids :(
Mona continued munching away. I think her priority over food is higher than her foal lol. She couldn't be bothered about where B.B. went or if there were too many people near her. B.B. later came over to us and allowed us to pet and hug her. She's gonna be a great pony one day hehe. The kids waiting there all had fun. The filly looked as tiny as they were and wasn't so intimidating haha.
They were obviously ignorant though, because they started trying to feed B.B. with stalks of grass that they plucked up. She definitely tried eating! It was cute, watching her chew and chew and chew on the stalks of grass. I think one stalk actually disappeared into her mouth completely. She produced more green saliva than actually eating though. Was probably wondering what this new thing is that tastes a bit like mummy's milk, yet so different XD
It was nearing lunch time, so another stablehand came over, got hold of Mona's halter and led her back to the stables. B.B. leaped into a gallop, speeding off to the stables. That filly was so happy to stretch her legs! It was like watching Speedy Gonzales zoom around! Can't wait to see her take kids for joyrides one day xD
B.B., short for Black Beauty, is a really friendly little darling, hehe. I could pretty much stroke her everywhere. Touching her tail makes her flinch though, probably because she can't see behind her. Her mane is seriously soft, like down feathers or wool. And her tail, to quote the girl in pink (watch the vid), is like a feather duster haha.
I soon got tired and stopped taking vids. This was when B.B. decided to go under the bar LOL! Wish I was still filming! The filly got curious and went out of the stall. Mona got anxious and tried to follow by jumping over the bar. Unfortunately for her, she had no space, so her back legs couldn't go over the bar and she got stuck. I was looking somewhere else when this happened, so all this is guesswork. I only noticed when Mona clanged the bar from trying to jump over. I had to call a stablehand to help out XD
So that was how they both escaped. The moment the stablehand pushed the bar off and released Mona, they both zoomed off to a patch of grass near the gazebo where kids waited for their turn on the joyrides. I guess they don't get let out very often. Mona immediately started munching while B.B. pranced about with tail held high and all hehehe. Then the camera's memory got full and I couldn't take more vids :(
Mona continued munching away. I think her priority over food is higher than her foal lol. She couldn't be bothered about where B.B. went or if there were too many people near her. B.B. later came over to us and allowed us to pet and hug her. She's gonna be a great pony one day hehe. The kids waiting there all had fun. The filly looked as tiny as they were and wasn't so intimidating haha.
They were obviously ignorant though, because they started trying to feed B.B. with stalks of grass that they plucked up. She definitely tried eating! It was cute, watching her chew and chew and chew on the stalks of grass. I think one stalk actually disappeared into her mouth completely. She produced more green saliva than actually eating though. Was probably wondering what this new thing is that tastes a bit like mummy's milk, yet so different XD
It was nearing lunch time, so another stablehand came over, got hold of Mona's halter and led her back to the stables. B.B. leaped into a gallop, speeding off to the stables. That filly was so happy to stretch her legs! It was like watching Speedy Gonzales zoom around! Can't wait to see her take kids for joyrides one day xD
Sunday, March 10, 2013
No Pain, No Gain ~ Part 6
So I woke up this morning with my arms and shoulders aching. A horse is a horse, gentle or not, they have serious strength xD Ruby really tested my ability to pull on the reins. *winces from the soreness* At least my back doesn't hurt!
Stress is still affecting me and my poor stomach. Gonna have lots of pain this week :(
The wound from last week is healed, I'm glad to say. I still rode with a pad yesterday though lol. And I'm glad I did. Would've hurt myself again when Ruby nearly threw me off yesterday. I don't get the whole idea of having a raised pommel -_- Since it could hurt me, and I'm female, wouldn't all the trainers, who are males, be irked by those kinds of saddles? Makes me wanna bring along a thick woollen blanket to put on top of the saddle >.<
So it seems that my muscles are finally getting worked out. I like *thumbsup*
Stress is still affecting me and my poor stomach. Gonna have lots of pain this week :(
The wound from last week is healed, I'm glad to say. I still rode with a pad yesterday though lol. And I'm glad I did. Would've hurt myself again when Ruby nearly threw me off yesterday. I don't get the whole idea of having a raised pommel -_- Since it could hurt me, and I'm female, wouldn't all the trainers, who are males, be irked by those kinds of saddles? Makes me wanna bring along a thick woollen blanket to put on top of the saddle >.<
So it seems that my muscles are finally getting worked out. I like *thumbsup*
Saturday, March 09, 2013
Sixteenth Lesson ~ Runaway Ruby!
Unfortunately, today was my last ride for the month. Next week (11th) is my last week of classes in school. So next Saturday, I have to study for my exams instead :( Because of the way my exams were scheduled, my last exam is on the 1st of April. If I manage to finish studying before 30th March, maybe I could ride on the 30th. Who knows. Well, at least I had fun today!
We rode into the main arena again. This time, my trainer was Zoffer. First time! I guess he's an okay trainer. He had to train 4 riders at once though, and he might've been a bit distracted sometimes, but wow! He can definitely handle a big group! XD We did the usual warming up, rising trot and sitting trot. Ruby, once again, kept wanting to trot instead of walk >.<
Today, we learned to steer the horse with body language instead of the reins! It was pretty cool! Zoffer told us to tilt our shoulders and sort of look at him standing in the middle of the circle we used when we wanted to turn. I'm not very sure if I got it right though, since Ruby preferred to follow instead of lead, so it was easier for me. I'm still not too sure if it's easy for me to control Ruby because she accepts me or because she likes following. She's a weird mare.
Half an hour later, one rider went back, leaving the 3 of us. This was when all hell broke loose. That's the only way to put it XD The horses suddenly refused to go in the direction we wanted them to go. And no, the rider who went back was NOT the leader. Although she DID take the lead horse back to the stables. One of the riders was riding Mr. T. and he was in front. His rider couldn't control him well though, so when the 4th rider went back, they exchanged horses and that rider rode Daisy instead. I don't know what happened hehe. It was just chaos. Daisy and Ruby kept going back to the gate and just plain didn't want to ride anymore. 3rd rider (Farah) was riding Space U and he wasn't as excited. Then 1st rider gave up riding and went back rofl. Zoffer exchanged horses with Farah, so Farah rode Daisy and Zoffer got on Space U. Since all was chaos and the horses refused to go canter, Zoffer had to lead us lol.
We finally got some cantering done. That was the first time Ruby went on a fast canter phew! :o I was far from prepared and got left behind XD. Unfortunately, dad didn't take any videos, claiming to be tired, so you can't get to watch me nearly lie flat on Ruby's rump when she cantered hehe. Then Zoffer stopped because he wanted to see the two of us canter... And well, Ruby and Daisy just stopped too... And went back to being silly mares, going all over the place XD They both went straight back to the gate. Another trainer was there, so he tried to help us pull the mares back to our circles. Ruby circled around him again and it was a long while before he could pull them, yikes! They seriously acted crazy! >.< Finally got them back to the circles but they were still going all over the place.
And then Ruby took me by surprise. She suddenly charged off towards the fence near the gate that was facing the canteen. Even my brain was shocked, because I can barely remember what happened D: Usually, the horses, all of them, would do a fast trot into the fence and suddenly stop short. And this is usually enough to throw off quite a few riders, apparently. But Ruby, oh no. She CANTERED FAST into the fence, slammed to a stop and my butt left the saddle by a tiny bit. I managed to stay on though o.o That was all I remember. The sudden canter and the sudden stop. Know what happened that was funny though? When Ruby reached the fence, the entire canteen went "WHOAAAAAA!" XD It was a moment to cherish. What made me smile though, was my being able to stay on Ruby. It was a huge mistake on my part (and little did I know that it was more than a huge mistake, read on!) and it was like a victory for me to have been able to not fall off. Would've been painful as hell if I were to fall off over the fence... ouch...
Zoffer then decided that the mares were getting overexcited, so we had to force them to walk around the whole arena to cool them down. At the end of my first round with Ruby, she went into a trot then jumped right into a canter when I was still trying to get her to slow back down to a walk. Once again, becoming a runaway horse omg! She cantered straight at Zoffer haha. He had to wave his arms around to get her to stop. Good thing I was a bit more prepared though. And I didn't stop her canter because Zoffer told me to just let go and relax. After that, I couldn't get her to continue walking XD She just went for the gate and stayed there lol. Farah came back and Daisy too went straight for the gate, so Zoffer decided to just go back. Silly mares! Zoffer was so afraid that they might run off again while we were still on them, so he made us dismount. I think I'm getting better at recovering from shocks and strange happenings. Cause when I got down, my legs weren't wobbly! Yay!
Led Ruby back to the stables and gave her a bath. She was still acting silly though. As if she was grumpy or something. Refused to lift her left hind hoof for me to clean, threw her head up whenever I tried to pull her forward a bit more so that the extremely short hose could reach her rump, kept kicking her hind legs at flies, being very irritated overall. I ignored her and continued scrubbing, made sure she was clean, scraped off all the water then went to ask for meds to put on her withers. Took a comb too. I decided to comb her mane first cause it was all tangled up and I didn't want meds in her mane as well.
Then while I was working out all the knots, the same trainer who tried pulling Ruby and Daisy back to the cicles, came with a cloth and some greenish black pastey stuff. He and a stablehand looked at the wound for a while. I watched him wipe the wound with the cloth. Strangely, Ruby flinched. She didn't usually flinch when we put meds on her wounds... Then I found out why. The wound was brighter red than usual. Fresh blood with skin flakes peeling off around the wound. While the trainer applied the meds, he told me that the wound got rubbed and burst open. That was why she acted so bitchy in the arena. I must've bumped on the saddle too hard, poor girl. So I caused her pain without knowing it and she tried to throw me off for that. Sorry Ruby! :(
There is good news though. I DID notice that her wound is smaller. Previously, it was big and surrounded by horse hair. Today, I saw skin around the smaller wound. Which means it is definitely healing. And since I won't be riding for the next 2-3 weeks, she can go ahead and rest :) Hopefully, by the time I ride again, her wound is gone or became a very thick scab. The wound on her forehead is also gone. I had to search for it and found a hard scab. No more flies eating her wound on her forehead yay! The one on her hip looks more like a scar now. She's on the right track. I really really hope I didn't cause her wound on her withers to get worse. That would be sad and bad :(
I think the meds might have a cooling effect. I took her back to her stall and she seemed to have cooled down. Fed her carrots, went on my rounds, back to her to feed her the rest. Ruby wasn't the only one in pain this morning though. My gastritis problems are back due to stress from my assignments. This week was hell for me. I learned more than riding today. The gastritis problems I had when I worked for 3 months before college wasn't due to me not eating. I started eating like a pig when I started working. And this week, I realised that it really isn't due to hunger, but due to stress. Even my parents are seeing that I've been going through hell. To say the least, I was as grumpy as Ruby throughout the week. So after finding out that I rubbed her wound open, I definitely related to her grumpiness lol.
Due to my gastritis, dad told me to eat a carrot to absorb all the acidic juice. Now, I hate vegetables. I REALLY hate them. But I went ahead and chewed on one. A miracle happened. No, the pain didn't go off, but I suddenly found out why horses love carrots. XD It was an interesting taste. I realised then that all this while, I've been eating cooked vege. For a few years now, my parents and I have been going to a german restaurant for their set lunches. Tastes fucking good. And guess what? I LOVE their lettuce salad... First time ever. But again, it was raw. It wasn't cooked. The carrots were raw too. So I learned that I DO like vege. As long as they're raw. Hehe! I started taking a few more pieces. Ate them alongside feeding Ruby. So the both of us went *crunch crunch crunch* It was pretty cute :D
Too bad she doesn't know how to take treats from people's mouths though. That was so funny and cute. I tried giving her the last piece of carrot from my mouth and she DID try taking it, but it dropped out, oops! Hehe. So even through all that grumpy bitching, pain and random riding, I had a lot of fun. And I hope Ruby had fun too. She wasn't angry or anything or her ears would've been flat on her neck, right? A bad week turned out alright! I'm gonna miss riding so much :( It's gonna be tough, not riding for so long. YES I'M ADDICTED TO A SPORT D:
We rode into the main arena again. This time, my trainer was Zoffer. First time! I guess he's an okay trainer. He had to train 4 riders at once though, and he might've been a bit distracted sometimes, but wow! He can definitely handle a big group! XD We did the usual warming up, rising trot and sitting trot. Ruby, once again, kept wanting to trot instead of walk >.<
Today, we learned to steer the horse with body language instead of the reins! It was pretty cool! Zoffer told us to tilt our shoulders and sort of look at him standing in the middle of the circle we used when we wanted to turn. I'm not very sure if I got it right though, since Ruby preferred to follow instead of lead, so it was easier for me. I'm still not too sure if it's easy for me to control Ruby because she accepts me or because she likes following. She's a weird mare.
Half an hour later, one rider went back, leaving the 3 of us. This was when all hell broke loose. That's the only way to put it XD The horses suddenly refused to go in the direction we wanted them to go. And no, the rider who went back was NOT the leader. Although she DID take the lead horse back to the stables. One of the riders was riding Mr. T. and he was in front. His rider couldn't control him well though, so when the 4th rider went back, they exchanged horses and that rider rode Daisy instead. I don't know what happened hehe. It was just chaos. Daisy and Ruby kept going back to the gate and just plain didn't want to ride anymore. 3rd rider (Farah) was riding Space U and he wasn't as excited. Then 1st rider gave up riding and went back rofl. Zoffer exchanged horses with Farah, so Farah rode Daisy and Zoffer got on Space U. Since all was chaos and the horses refused to go canter, Zoffer had to lead us lol.
We finally got some cantering done. That was the first time Ruby went on a fast canter phew! :o I was far from prepared and got left behind XD. Unfortunately, dad didn't take any videos, claiming to be tired, so you can't get to watch me nearly lie flat on Ruby's rump when she cantered hehe. Then Zoffer stopped because he wanted to see the two of us canter... And well, Ruby and Daisy just stopped too... And went back to being silly mares, going all over the place XD They both went straight back to the gate. Another trainer was there, so he tried to help us pull the mares back to our circles. Ruby circled around him again and it was a long while before he could pull them, yikes! They seriously acted crazy! >.< Finally got them back to the circles but they were still going all over the place.
And then Ruby took me by surprise. She suddenly charged off towards the fence near the gate that was facing the canteen. Even my brain was shocked, because I can barely remember what happened D: Usually, the horses, all of them, would do a fast trot into the fence and suddenly stop short. And this is usually enough to throw off quite a few riders, apparently. But Ruby, oh no. She CANTERED FAST into the fence, slammed to a stop and my butt left the saddle by a tiny bit. I managed to stay on though o.o That was all I remember. The sudden canter and the sudden stop. Know what happened that was funny though? When Ruby reached the fence, the entire canteen went "WHOAAAAAA!" XD It was a moment to cherish. What made me smile though, was my being able to stay on Ruby. It was a huge mistake on my part (and little did I know that it was more than a huge mistake, read on!) and it was like a victory for me to have been able to not fall off. Would've been painful as hell if I were to fall off over the fence... ouch...
Zoffer then decided that the mares were getting overexcited, so we had to force them to walk around the whole arena to cool them down. At the end of my first round with Ruby, she went into a trot then jumped right into a canter when I was still trying to get her to slow back down to a walk. Once again, becoming a runaway horse omg! She cantered straight at Zoffer haha. He had to wave his arms around to get her to stop. Good thing I was a bit more prepared though. And I didn't stop her canter because Zoffer told me to just let go and relax. After that, I couldn't get her to continue walking XD She just went for the gate and stayed there lol. Farah came back and Daisy too went straight for the gate, so Zoffer decided to just go back. Silly mares! Zoffer was so afraid that they might run off again while we were still on them, so he made us dismount. I think I'm getting better at recovering from shocks and strange happenings. Cause when I got down, my legs weren't wobbly! Yay!
Led Ruby back to the stables and gave her a bath. She was still acting silly though. As if she was grumpy or something. Refused to lift her left hind hoof for me to clean, threw her head up whenever I tried to pull her forward a bit more so that the extremely short hose could reach her rump, kept kicking her hind legs at flies, being very irritated overall. I ignored her and continued scrubbing, made sure she was clean, scraped off all the water then went to ask for meds to put on her withers. Took a comb too. I decided to comb her mane first cause it was all tangled up and I didn't want meds in her mane as well.
Then while I was working out all the knots, the same trainer who tried pulling Ruby and Daisy back to the cicles, came with a cloth and some greenish black pastey stuff. He and a stablehand looked at the wound for a while. I watched him wipe the wound with the cloth. Strangely, Ruby flinched. She didn't usually flinch when we put meds on her wounds... Then I found out why. The wound was brighter red than usual. Fresh blood with skin flakes peeling off around the wound. While the trainer applied the meds, he told me that the wound got rubbed and burst open. That was why she acted so bitchy in the arena. I must've bumped on the saddle too hard, poor girl. So I caused her pain without knowing it and she tried to throw me off for that. Sorry Ruby! :(
There is good news though. I DID notice that her wound is smaller. Previously, it was big and surrounded by horse hair. Today, I saw skin around the smaller wound. Which means it is definitely healing. And since I won't be riding for the next 2-3 weeks, she can go ahead and rest :) Hopefully, by the time I ride again, her wound is gone or became a very thick scab. The wound on her forehead is also gone. I had to search for it and found a hard scab. No more flies eating her wound on her forehead yay! The one on her hip looks more like a scar now. She's on the right track. I really really hope I didn't cause her wound on her withers to get worse. That would be sad and bad :(
I think the meds might have a cooling effect. I took her back to her stall and she seemed to have cooled down. Fed her carrots, went on my rounds, back to her to feed her the rest. Ruby wasn't the only one in pain this morning though. My gastritis problems are back due to stress from my assignments. This week was hell for me. I learned more than riding today. The gastritis problems I had when I worked for 3 months before college wasn't due to me not eating. I started eating like a pig when I started working. And this week, I realised that it really isn't due to hunger, but due to stress. Even my parents are seeing that I've been going through hell. To say the least, I was as grumpy as Ruby throughout the week. So after finding out that I rubbed her wound open, I definitely related to her grumpiness lol.
Due to my gastritis, dad told me to eat a carrot to absorb all the acidic juice. Now, I hate vegetables. I REALLY hate them. But I went ahead and chewed on one. A miracle happened. No, the pain didn't go off, but I suddenly found out why horses love carrots. XD It was an interesting taste. I realised then that all this while, I've been eating cooked vege. For a few years now, my parents and I have been going to a german restaurant for their set lunches. Tastes fucking good. And guess what? I LOVE their lettuce salad... First time ever. But again, it was raw. It wasn't cooked. The carrots were raw too. So I learned that I DO like vege. As long as they're raw. Hehe! I started taking a few more pieces. Ate them alongside feeding Ruby. So the both of us went *crunch crunch crunch* It was pretty cute :D
Too bad she doesn't know how to take treats from people's mouths though. That was so funny and cute. I tried giving her the last piece of carrot from my mouth and she DID try taking it, but it dropped out, oops! Hehe. So even through all that grumpy bitching, pain and random riding, I had a lot of fun. And I hope Ruby had fun too. She wasn't angry or anything or her ears would've been flat on her neck, right? A bad week turned out alright! I'm gonna miss riding so much :( It's gonna be tough, not riding for so long. YES I'M ADDICTED TO A SPORT D:
Sunday, March 03, 2013
Not The Pain I Wanna Gain...
Warning: Descriptions might be graphic. If you don't like discussing the body, stop reading.
So the cut turned into a red swollen lump. Whenever water touches it, the sharp sting starts again. It stings worse when it's not water that touches it... Yes, going to the toilet is a pain. Literally. Mum and dad are saying to wear a pad everytime I ride... It's gonna be so uncomfortable... :( I should also pay attention to the saddles that hurt me. Maybe next time, I could request to have the saddle changed if I knew which ones just wasn't for me...
*sigh*
So the cut turned into a red swollen lump. Whenever water touches it, the sharp sting starts again. It stings worse when it's not water that touches it... Yes, going to the toilet is a pain. Literally. Mum and dad are saying to wear a pad everytime I ride... It's gonna be so uncomfortable... :( I should also pay attention to the saddles that hurt me. Maybe next time, I could request to have the saddle changed if I knew which ones just wasn't for me...
*sigh*
Saturday, March 02, 2013
Fifteenth Lesson ~ Getting To Know Ruby
It was a meh ride. I got Ruby again, which is great. But once again, they scheduled mum and me together with the same trainer and Mazlan decided to teach mum. So I got dumped with another trainer and his riders. This is the funny part. Two trainers with 3 sets of riders. Two of the riders are sisters, I suppose. They were in the same timeframe or session slot (whatever you wanna call it) with one of the trainers. So about 30 mins into our lesson, they went back to the stables. The other rider was also 1 hour, so I joined her and her trainer. It is quite irritating to be in a group lesson where the group isn't your level or people you know. Like, I wouldn't have minded riding with mum, eventhough she only just had her 2nd lesson, because I would've been allowed to do whatever the heck I wanted (aka, canter). With this alien mix of riders, I couldn't just canter off. I had to 'follow the leader' throughout my session. Read on...
Today, I learned why I had difficulties controlling Ruby when in the main arena. She's a follower. When in a big area, she loves following other horses and seems to dislike leading. My entire lesson was done in the main arena today. For a while, I DID wonder why I was put to the back of the 'horse procession'. Then the other rider, being lower levelled than me, had difficulties controlling her horse, so asked if I could go ahead, since I was having such an easy time. I tried but Ruby refused lol. Trainer too said that Ruby doesn't like leading. Silly Ruby lol.
Now, while I figured out that the other riders were lower levelled, I did not realise that they haven't learned canter yet. They were still learning how to rise to the trot omg. This is after the two 30min riders went back. I knew those two weren't able to canter yet, but I got confused as to why we didn't start cantering once they were gone... Then halfway through, we stopped so that the trainer could tell the other rider how to correct her rising when the diagonal is wrong O.O Wtf... she doesn't even know to sit twice to get back the correct leads?! That was the basics of what I was taught when I first learned rising trot... Omg. The moment he taught her how to sit twice, I knew. I was going to be doing rising trot for the rest of my lesson. We did a few sitting trots, but so few that by the end of the lesson, my legs were wobbly and I wasn't very pleased. We did rising trot way too much. This trainer sucks.
I wasn't the only one not pleased. Dad got SERIOUSLY pissed when he saw that all I was doing was 'follow the leader'. (Hence, no vids today) I learned nothing except that the other rider was not my level, that rising trot fucking hurts when overdone and that the saddle I was using was DEFINITELY not for me. I was probably not very balanced in my rising trots either. But trainer ignored me except when telling me to sit twice every now and again. I wasn't his rider, amirite? Well, go ahead, ignore me! Only tells me that you think I'm too good for you... BAH! I did try correcting myself though. Kept my heels down as much as possible. Kept contacts pretty well. Controlled Ruby SO easily it's laughable when compared to the other rider (she kept going off track). I would've had a better time if I were self-riding and if Ruby didn't insist on following. Maybe I should request to be dumped with the Korean girls instead of some stranger. At least I *kinda* know the Koreans. We're such regulars at the club lol. And they're only slightly above my level. So I'll be able to keep up with them easily.
We went back, trainer says theres no need to bathe Ruby, so I immediately took her out to graze. Found a HUGE patch of weeds, where she enjoyed herself. Today, I had a smart idea. Put my bottle, the bag of carrots and my handheld fan in a sling bag. Carry it around :D I could drink anytime I wanted and I had a fan. I can feed carrots and pet at the same time now because the bag of carrots are in the bag slung over my shoulder ^_^ Went grazing and I had the fan turned on the whole time. Malaysia is fucking hot :( I was worried that Ruby would be scared of the fan, but she wasn't even bothered lol. She was more concerned with the vast amount of flies attacking her legs, wounds and rump -_- No need a bath, my foot!
When we went back to the stables again, I took her to the bathing area and asked one of the senior stablehands if I could give her a short shower to get rid of the flies. He says to give her a full bath *thumbsup* I scrubbed her down thoroughly, all the way to her hooves, got wet plenty myself, then scraped off most of the water. Went to find a comb and meds for her wound on the withers. Came back and found flies back again. This time, not all over her, but on her wounds. Shooed them, sprayed iodine and poured some kind of white medicinal powder. Patted them so that they became thick and stuck there and ended up getting some on my finger :D But that's okay, because I also found a small but deep wound on her forehead O.O It wasn't there last week! I wiped off the meds that got on my finger (can't be spraying iodine in her face!) into the wound and it was enough to cover it. Damn, those flies must've eaten her flesh :( Poor Ruby. I found yet another wound on the point of her hip, applied there too. The one good thing about those flies? They led me straight to her wounds, especially the tiny ones. Gosh, I hope the meds I applied to her forehead dries up and becomes bright yellow and the stablehands see that wound. I don't think they noticed it or they would've done something about it. I knew I saw fly veils hanging around! Maybe I should've attached one to her before going off...
The flies in that area is getting out of hand, I'd say. I've never seen Ruby get attacked by flies so badly before. In fact, most of the time, you never see flies around her. She gave off the feeling of being very clean. Any suggestions about what I can do? Should I go to the manager and tell him that he needs to fog the area? Sure, flies are normal in every stable, but they're harmful to both horse and human and when they get out of hand, you really need to do something about it. If I see that forehead wound still surrounded by flies next time I see Ruby, I'm making it a big fuss to the stablehands :(
One things for sure, Ruby is a greedy pig hehe. Whenever I feed her carrots, she'd gobble like crazy! And want more! And she KNOWS I'll give her more until I have no more carrots, that silly horse. XD Oh she's wubable. Theres also one other thing about her. Dad says that while I was giving her a bath, he noticed her watching me VERY closely. I walked to the left, her head followed me to the left. To the right, her head went to the right. As if she was keeping an eye on me, watching my every movement o.o Kinda scary when typed out, but wow. Damn smart and alert, that one.
Warning: Descriptions might be graphic. If you don't like discussing the body, stop reading.
So, I kinda hurt myself again. As I said earlier, the saddle was not for me. I'm not sure if it's because it's just the shape of the saddle or if it's because I'm not deep-seating. Or at least... that's what Zoffer said. That I don't have the deep seat. Well, what happened was that I found the front of the saddle, where the rise was, to be extremely sharp. And high. Everytime I rose to the trot, I'd slam into it. Everytime I sat after the rise, I'd slam into it again. It's not on purpose either, I'm just doing what I do in all other rising trots. But for some reason, this one really hurt me. When I went home, I found a cut. Guess where? On my hood. Yep. It hurts. Sharp hurt. Yes, people, wince with me. :( Right now, I have no idea if I can ride next Saturday. We've already booked, but if it's not healed by Thursday, as the previous cut did, then we'd have to cancel my ride. I WILL go to the club though. If only to spend time with Ruby <3
Today, I learned why I had difficulties controlling Ruby when in the main arena. She's a follower. When in a big area, she loves following other horses and seems to dislike leading. My entire lesson was done in the main arena today. For a while, I DID wonder why I was put to the back of the 'horse procession'. Then the other rider, being lower levelled than me, had difficulties controlling her horse, so asked if I could go ahead, since I was having such an easy time. I tried but Ruby refused lol. Trainer too said that Ruby doesn't like leading. Silly Ruby lol.
Now, while I figured out that the other riders were lower levelled, I did not realise that they haven't learned canter yet. They were still learning how to rise to the trot omg. This is after the two 30min riders went back. I knew those two weren't able to canter yet, but I got confused as to why we didn't start cantering once they were gone... Then halfway through, we stopped so that the trainer could tell the other rider how to correct her rising when the diagonal is wrong O.O Wtf... she doesn't even know to sit twice to get back the correct leads?! That was the basics of what I was taught when I first learned rising trot... Omg. The moment he taught her how to sit twice, I knew. I was going to be doing rising trot for the rest of my lesson. We did a few sitting trots, but so few that by the end of the lesson, my legs were wobbly and I wasn't very pleased. We did rising trot way too much. This trainer sucks.
I wasn't the only one not pleased. Dad got SERIOUSLY pissed when he saw that all I was doing was 'follow the leader'. (Hence, no vids today) I learned nothing except that the other rider was not my level, that rising trot fucking hurts when overdone and that the saddle I was using was DEFINITELY not for me. I was probably not very balanced in my rising trots either. But trainer ignored me except when telling me to sit twice every now and again. I wasn't his rider, amirite? Well, go ahead, ignore me! Only tells me that you think I'm too good for you... BAH! I did try correcting myself though. Kept my heels down as much as possible. Kept contacts pretty well. Controlled Ruby SO easily it's laughable when compared to the other rider (she kept going off track). I would've had a better time if I were self-riding and if Ruby didn't insist on following. Maybe I should request to be dumped with the Korean girls instead of some stranger. At least I *kinda* know the Koreans. We're such regulars at the club lol. And they're only slightly above my level. So I'll be able to keep up with them easily.
We went back, trainer says theres no need to bathe Ruby, so I immediately took her out to graze. Found a HUGE patch of weeds, where she enjoyed herself. Today, I had a smart idea. Put my bottle, the bag of carrots and my handheld fan in a sling bag. Carry it around :D I could drink anytime I wanted and I had a fan. I can feed carrots and pet at the same time now because the bag of carrots are in the bag slung over my shoulder ^_^ Went grazing and I had the fan turned on the whole time. Malaysia is fucking hot :( I was worried that Ruby would be scared of the fan, but she wasn't even bothered lol. She was more concerned with the vast amount of flies attacking her legs, wounds and rump -_- No need a bath, my foot!
When we went back to the stables again, I took her to the bathing area and asked one of the senior stablehands if I could give her a short shower to get rid of the flies. He says to give her a full bath *thumbsup* I scrubbed her down thoroughly, all the way to her hooves, got wet plenty myself, then scraped off most of the water. Went to find a comb and meds for her wound on the withers. Came back and found flies back again. This time, not all over her, but on her wounds. Shooed them, sprayed iodine and poured some kind of white medicinal powder. Patted them so that they became thick and stuck there and ended up getting some on my finger :D But that's okay, because I also found a small but deep wound on her forehead O.O It wasn't there last week! I wiped off the meds that got on my finger (can't be spraying iodine in her face!) into the wound and it was enough to cover it. Damn, those flies must've eaten her flesh :( Poor Ruby. I found yet another wound on the point of her hip, applied there too. The one good thing about those flies? They led me straight to her wounds, especially the tiny ones. Gosh, I hope the meds I applied to her forehead dries up and becomes bright yellow and the stablehands see that wound. I don't think they noticed it or they would've done something about it. I knew I saw fly veils hanging around! Maybe I should've attached one to her before going off...
The flies in that area is getting out of hand, I'd say. I've never seen Ruby get attacked by flies so badly before. In fact, most of the time, you never see flies around her. She gave off the feeling of being very clean. Any suggestions about what I can do? Should I go to the manager and tell him that he needs to fog the area? Sure, flies are normal in every stable, but they're harmful to both horse and human and when they get out of hand, you really need to do something about it. If I see that forehead wound still surrounded by flies next time I see Ruby, I'm making it a big fuss to the stablehands :(
One things for sure, Ruby is a greedy pig hehe. Whenever I feed her carrots, she'd gobble like crazy! And want more! And she KNOWS I'll give her more until I have no more carrots, that silly horse. XD Oh she's wubable. Theres also one other thing about her. Dad says that while I was giving her a bath, he noticed her watching me VERY closely. I walked to the left, her head followed me to the left. To the right, her head went to the right. As if she was keeping an eye on me, watching my every movement o.o Kinda scary when typed out, but wow. Damn smart and alert, that one.
Warning: Descriptions might be graphic. If you don't like discussing the body, stop reading.
So, I kinda hurt myself again. As I said earlier, the saddle was not for me. I'm not sure if it's because it's just the shape of the saddle or if it's because I'm not deep-seating. Or at least... that's what Zoffer said. That I don't have the deep seat. Well, what happened was that I found the front of the saddle, where the rise was, to be extremely sharp. And high. Everytime I rose to the trot, I'd slam into it. Everytime I sat after the rise, I'd slam into it again. It's not on purpose either, I'm just doing what I do in all other rising trots. But for some reason, this one really hurt me. When I went home, I found a cut. Guess where? On my hood. Yep. It hurts. Sharp hurt. Yes, people, wince with me. :( Right now, I have no idea if I can ride next Saturday. We've already booked, but if it's not healed by Thursday, as the previous cut did, then we'd have to cancel my ride. I WILL go to the club though. If only to spend time with Ruby <3