Last Sunday we took the dogs down to the beach for our usual walk along the coast. Sorry all of you stuck in the icy grip of winter, but it was absolutely gorgeous and about 72 degrees.We could hear music as we came around the little building in the picture (which is a surfing museum), which isn't that unusual. When we turned the corner we see a bunch of people dancing while hula-hooping, if you enlarge the picture and look closely you will see a guy holding juggling pins as well. He says to us: FREE HULA HOOP JAM!! Come and join us. Or, you can borrow one of these bikes for a spin!!
I'm guessing that the lady on the far right is a brave tourist who decided to join the locals. About 50 yards away there was a bongo drum circle forming, also a normal occurance in our quirky and wonderful little beach community.
I'm grateful for all the wonderful advice and comments on my last post. My ride after the aforementioned runaway was quiet and uneventful. We have done a lot of work on using the inside circle to slow her down, it just didn't work well when she was galloping and there was nowhere for her to turn other than into a jump. Unfortunately, a few days later she lost a brand-new shoe and I haven't been able to even lunge her since then. Her farrier is in Guatemala tending to his dying mother and our backup farrier has been unavailable all week. Oh well, it rained on and off and I was completely swamped with work all week. I'm looking forward to getting back on her and cantering in a circle for the next few months.
Hula hoops, huh! Been a while since I tried one of those. The thought makes my body ache. LOL
ReplyDeleteI know it's hard to use a one rein stop with jumps all around. That's probably a good reason to stay on your circle until you have supervision or have really figured your horse out. I know those circles can get pretty darn boring but they can really "save" your confidence from such events.
With the young horses I am riding, I spend a lot of time in a circle at the lope or canter. I don't go off that circle until I am sure they have a clear understanding and are totally respectful of my aids. Not only do I want to avoid getting hurt but I don't want my horse learning any bad habits. Things can go south in a split second and I'm just not taking any chances. Since that circle helps control the speed of the horse, I am really teaching my horse what is expected and re-enforcing that compliance. Remembering it is about the horse might make it easier to stay put in that circle for a while.
Yep, my back is stiff enuff from just 3 straightaway miles on the TM yesterday - let alone any Hula-hooping!
ReplyDeleteGot in a good 2.5 hrs on Mr B yesterday, but ya always have to pay attention...We loped a few hundred yards & I could sense he was getting ready to do SOMETHING - charge off into the underbrush, run us into a tree??? as my weight was shifting around - need a shorter girth! but before my applecart tipped over, my friends in the lead slowed back down to a trot... So I could give Baraq a good pat on the neck & get back to enjoying my ride.
Wow, that weather sounds great!! Last week during our stint of beautiful sunshine, our beach weather was around 70 degrees too. Amazing, but then again oftentimes in February we do tend to get a sort of "false spring" and then wham! back to winter for another month or 2. Here's hoping spring is just around the corner!!
ReplyDeleteHula hoop jam! How fun is that! Jealous of that weather...we had snow again this week up in Oregon.
ReplyDeleteI love horses. lately I have been going with a friend to help her walk her horse as it is too old to ride now. Luckily the bushfires didn't reach the paddocks where they keep their horses.
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