Well, it could not have been more uneventful. I lunged Riley for 5 minutes and handed him over to the "crew" -- my trainer and a young woman (Christa) who breaks and rides horses for a local thoroughbred farm. For those of you who wonder that Christa rode in jeans only, note that she had an injury to her leg and she'd wrapped her calves in lieu of chaps. I think this team did a great job, and Riley was totally relaxed. Here is the "highlight video" -- just a few minutes for those familiar with the backing process:
If you want to see the blissfully boring footage in its entirety, here it is...
I'm told when the ground work and handling is thorough, backing is usually easy. This is something I would have guessed would be true but now I know how true it is.
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Yeah, it's true that if you do the groundwork and stuff leading up to the "backing", it's just another day.
ReplyDeleteI went soooo slowly with the groundwork on my young mare that when I finally got on her, her thought bubble was gigantic: "It's about time!" And off we went!
Sounds like you've done all the right stuff with Riley, congrats.
Congratulations! Riley is a pretty, pretty boy, and conducted himself like a gentleman. Lots of good prep work led up to that, I know . . .
ReplyDeleteCongrats! Now we need footage of you up there.
ReplyDeleteThat's very nice - boring is the best! You're right, it's all the preparation that led to this good result.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the big milestone!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd how did you manage to video with those tears of pride and joy in your eyes! I was tearing up myself just watching. I love seeing a well handled youngster take his first strides under saddle. It is such a special moment.
ReplyDeleteI agree totally. Backing my Tucker was no issue at all. Nor were Toby's first rides. I did do a lot of long lining first as well, so steering and working off the rein was no big deal either.
Now, mind you, just because Riley is reluctant to go forward now does not mean he will be that quiet all the time, but it certainly shows a wonderful attitude on his part. And, I like the fact that his ears were going back to pay attention to the rider on his back instead of just to his ground handler. That is a good sign that he was not ignoring his rider but trying to figure out what she wanted from him.
You should be bursting with happiness about this momentous event!! All I can see is the smile on your face the first time you are in that saddle on his back.
Congratulations! *VBWSmile!!*
That was beautiful work. And you can see the endless work leading up to it by the way he took it all in stride, so to speak.
ReplyDeleteI love to see a quiet confident uneventful beginning! Congratulations!
Jane
Congratulations! That is one of the most special milestones with a young horse and I'm glad it went so well for the entire team. Great work!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Riley and Stacey! What a big moment - and he was so wonderful. You're blessed to have such a great team of people helping you as well. You must be so very proud!
ReplyDeleteYes, I am proud of riley but not too surprised -- I would have been disappointed had he departed from his usual easygoing MO.
ReplyDeleteBut at the dressage barn where I keep Harv, people give me questioning looks when I say a hunter trainer is breaking my horse. It's funny how discipline-crazed we are, isn't a good trainer just a good trainer, esp when you're just breaking a baby?
Sure, when you start really riding for competition you may want the discipline experience -- but I opted for someone whose experience and judgement i trust and I think it paid off.
Awww, that was great.
ReplyDeleteThat looks great! It's totally true about groundwork making backing easy - when I got on Echo for the first time, she was like, "What were you making such a fuss about?!" It must seem like a totally logical step to the horse, however nerve-wracking it is for the rider.
ReplyDeleteLots of fun to look forward to now!
In a world that has too much exciting news, this was blissfully uneventful and yet very eventfull. Wonderful!
ReplyDeleteWhat fun! The only more exciting moment is the first time you get up there. Ace wasn't a baby, but he hadn't been ridden in over two years. We did lots of groundwork first, and by the time I got on him he, like AareneX's horse, was like, "it's about time."
ReplyDeleteGood training on the ground makes such a huge difference under saddle. When horses have developed manners, respect, and understanding, having you ask that from their back seems to be no big deal.
LMAO. . gotta love those warmbloods. That is quite possibly the calmest first rides I have ever seen. He looks calmer then a lot of the "trained" horses I have gotten up on. He is gorgeous. . .
ReplyDeleteSOOOO. .when are you going to hop up?
Well, my trainer was very specific about what I should do with him before next Tuesday's session. Her directives did not include futzing with mount and dismount. I'm tempted but it probably will be best to wait. Next Tuesday I'll show up in my full riding garb, though. I'd like to at least sit on him. My legs are a lot longer than Christa's!
ReplyDeleteI think I'll quit watching national news and just watch Riley News. ;-)
ReplyDeleteWONDERFUL, great stuff! I kept watching and watching yesterday for you to post, so excited to hear how it went! Glad all was well, can't wait to hear how YOUR ride goes!
ReplyDeleteps, what do you use to edit your vids?? Windows movie maker doesn't like the file my camera puts vids in and everything else either costs or sucks!
wow, so awesome! What a great first ride.
ReplyDeleteBritnieAnn,
ReplyDeleteI use a little camera called a Flip Mino. It's the size of a cellphone, easy to use (3-4 buttons), easy to upload (USB port flips out when you press a button), and it comes with its own video editing software -- nothing fancy but it works for most purposes. I'm TOTALLY sold on this, the Minos are only about 100 dollars and if the lighting is good the video and sound are great. Something to consider!