It was rainy and cold last week, now the Santa Ana winds are back and the temperature is now back into the upper 70s/low 80s and feels like a blast furnace. What's up with that?
Last night I went up to the stable to ride Max and when I got there, I was greeted by a Santa Ana wind and it must have been at least 75 degrees. Max was definately not happy since he's got his winter coat.
I did my usual warm-up exercises and proceeded to do some exercises that are designed to keep the hands quiet on the reins and force one to use their legs to move the horse around. Basically, you hold the reins loosely, hands rotated so the thumbs are facing each other. You get real sore after doing this for a few minutes. Also, in my case I need to keep my left had from wandering accross the horse's back from left to right- this completely sends the wrong signal through the bit.
After making my hands and wrists sore, I then did then proceeded to make my calves and legs sore by practicing riding without stirrups and the two-point seat. The whole purpose of these exercises is to make for more quiet hands while encouraging more leg use. It's slowly coming to me...:-)
Even with the winds, Max was pretty cooperative (after I'd warmed him up. But it was not really optimal for either of us- it was just a bit too warm for night.
Hopefull the weather will turn cold again- it's been pretty strange this year with all the unseasonably warm weather and even major brush fires (in Malibu) this late in the year. Global warming? Who knows?
Last night I went up to the stable to ride Max and when I got there, I was greeted by a Santa Ana wind and it must have been at least 75 degrees. Max was definately not happy since he's got his winter coat.
I did my usual warm-up exercises and proceeded to do some exercises that are designed to keep the hands quiet on the reins and force one to use their legs to move the horse around. Basically, you hold the reins loosely, hands rotated so the thumbs are facing each other. You get real sore after doing this for a few minutes. Also, in my case I need to keep my left had from wandering accross the horse's back from left to right- this completely sends the wrong signal through the bit.
After making my hands and wrists sore, I then did then proceeded to make my calves and legs sore by practicing riding without stirrups and the two-point seat. The whole purpose of these exercises is to make for more quiet hands while encouraging more leg use. It's slowly coming to me...:-)
Even with the winds, Max was pretty cooperative (after I'd warmed him up. But it was not really optimal for either of us- it was just a bit too warm for night.
Hopefull the weather will turn cold again- it's been pretty strange this year with all the unseasonably warm weather and even major brush fires (in Malibu) this late in the year. Global warming? Who knows?
No comments:
Post a Comment