making strides

wow has it been a looong time since i have posted(feb 2012).alot has happened since then.so if any of you followers are still following..a big thank you too u:)
my horse is still getting moved back and forth between home and local stables.i have been in a higher end h/j stable,that didn't work..so came home again,then moved to a rescue that is known around my neck of the wood and after a couple months,that didn't work either..so was home again and now presently i had moved my horse to a ranch with a b&b.it is wonderful there,very quiet as it is up higher in the mountains,property owner is great and the horses too..my horse is well looked after.finally everything is going great.i have actually been riding doran quite consistently here and making strides in his training"finally".we even had our first canter this week and is the smoothest canter i have ever ridden.you know the horse AD terminology(has rocking horse canter).he is doing well for a first time.can only go one and a half times around before he and i crap out,but that will improve with fitness and time(me and him).just for fun we also just popped over a very small cross rail no bigger then a cavelleti. i was proud of him as he didn't even hesitate.and take into account this is also bareback.but i wasn't expecting him to persay. as he is a natural jumper and seems to love it.i was proud of him with all the progress he has done in a very short time.
we are going to leave jumping off for a while though, as i would like the flatwork to be more improved/solid as i think the jump training will come all that much easier and smoother,as most of you fellow h/j riders know.
as far as the flatwork goes he is still have some balance issues,especially around the arena corners.bulges his shoulder out when going around corners.i have tried lots of thing to correct it with all the training i have will allow.still haven't hit the right button yet and now contemplating going back to long lining and seeing if that works or just keep up trying/time correcting it undersaddle...what do you think?(comment with your thoughts and suggestions)
Doran is also celebrating his birthday today.is a may 22/2007 model and is given a gift of a day off.enjoy it well doran as its back to work this weekend.

thats it for now,stay tuned for more updated.trying to now be more consistent on blogging as things are finally progressing.

2nd blog

hello everyone again,

i would just like to inform you that i have created a second blog.it is not horse related(even  though some might,but in art form)
 will be about me and my art and becoming a better artist..sorta similar to my riding journey,but art instead of riding.
will be still doing the riding blog when i can.
just signed on this blog, so just one entry done.having some issues already about how to post pics on my blog(which was sorta the whole point).so i messaged customer service on blog about it,hopefully with have that worked out this week.depending on when they reply back on my inquiry
anyways if you would also like to follow my second love which is art go to
artandme.dinstudio.com

attention to new followers

hello to all my new followers.for some strange reason i could not pm you on my followers list,so i am using a blog post to do so.
when i have new followers i always like to send a message saying thank yous and enjoy messages.so basically that's what im doing

thank you for becoming a follower on my blog called "my riding journey" and hope you enjoy your stay and reader of my posts.

another new adventure for the both of us.

after a long time of not blogging,i finally have something to blog about.

i have had doran at home for quite a while and for a while has enjoyed it back home,but with not having much area to do much with him and no other horses in sight he is getting very bored and such.
i have decided to move him once again.it  will bring him some pasture/barn buddies to talk to,place to run and just be a horse.for me it will bring a place to actually ride and train him,have lessons and just a sense of being in the horse seen again.i'm not going to some big extravagant place,but anything is fine at this point,just to even enjoy riding and stuff again. as all my horsey followers know that takes a bit chunk out of the old pockets.yikes! its going to cost me 600.00 a month.but includes some training help and lessons
its a big difference in cost,compared to 200.00 max when he's at home.
but i think it will all be worth it.I HOPE.
this will be boarding him till my pasture and arena are put up here at home which won't be till summer/fall time.
 im sure i have blogged about before.
that is all the updating i have for right now.
here he is in his snowy paddock this winter

pictures of new halter from b-day

this one above i posted just, cuz i like the way he's posing/standing

first time in side reins

had doran in side reins for frst time on saturday.
he did better then i thought he would.he was feeling especially fresh in the cold weather and he defenately wasn't afraid to show it.so i was expecting a bit of a resistent nature when it came to putting them on,so when jen(my instructor) came i told her he was a bit of a jacka$$ today and would like to take it a bit slower as it was something new to him and the way he was acting.
i did do some free lunging and such to get him listening before she came as i hadn't done anything with him for a while,which could also mplay a role in his behavior.he's one of those horses that if you don't do any riding/training for a while and then do one day he is a bit of a handle full for a bit.
but he settled down after a while and was ready to go.started on a very loose side rein and was going well with out any roadblocks,so we hiked it up a couple holes,that went well to and this reapeated until we had a pretty good contact on the side reins.
he was somewhat confused at what to think about these side reins on him,but excepted them. he would collect then loose it,then cllect then loose it.his balance has something to do with that,but thats the reason we started him in them in the first place to teach/help him with it,without me on his back.
jen did most of the lunging and i just kept behind her and once in a while i would ask her simple questions and what she was trying to get him to do.
i have a lesson again tomorrow and that is if it doesn't rain any harder. good grieve i dislike cold rainy seasons doesn't make training very enjoyable..still looking for affordable winter board...but not getting very far in this economy."sigh"

the one sided horse lesson

as my topic says i have a young horse that has a hard time bending on the right rein.   .lesson went fairly well.. working on keeping a holding outside rein, to keep him from bulging his shoulder out and a give and release with my inside,but my outside as well to keep his head from looking to the outside of the circle, when he gives. my leg cues are less to be desired, as they have become a weak leg over time,so it takes alot of leg for me to keep him forward and bend around me...i did get a few strides here and there when i had it all together.
half way through the lesson i had jen(my instructor) get on him,as i am a visual type rider to not only school him a bit,but also to get an idea of what i need to be doing more or less of. she really had to get after him to get him  forward off the leg,which was no surprise to me...it got better after a while though..we ended on the lesson where he was soft on the aids and giving more on his off side
next lesson we have a plan to start him in some side reins on the lungeline to help him get the idea of what we are asking him to do. then convert that to under saddle.
got some riding homework to do over the next few days. weather permitting :(...rain,rain,rain for the rest of the week.