2- A picture of your horse. My family owns three, but Red is mine in paper, plus I'm the one that fools with him, so I'll only post a picture of Redman. :)
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| There he is, in all of his majestic glory. |
Day 3- A picture of your best riding. Uhhh......I'm pretty consistent in my riding, while I've improved drastically in the past few months, I don't really think I have a picture of my best riding. I'll just post this one because it was a great ride and Red did fantastic..Plus I got the chance to help out with another rider who came out to help with a horse at the farm and I felt really confident doing it, even as the other horse bucked at Red. ;)
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| This isn't me actually "riding" more like sitting, but I had just stopped for a picture and I like my posture. I have soft hands, which while that may be less important with a hack than it would be for a bit, it does mean something, my heels are down, my back is straight, the only thing I dislike is that my hand is on the horn, but that's just because we were sitting around, I don't make a habit of keeping them on there and holding on unless we're galloping up a hill. ;) |
Here's one more of me actually riding that I really love:
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| Once again, soft hands, heels aren't as down as they should be but they are in a good position, posture is good considering we were going up a steeper hill and I was turning him so he'd be walking in soft grass and not concrete driveway, Red is nice and intent on me, following my directions. |
One more. :D
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| Soft hands, good foot position, straight back. :D |
Tune back in tomorrow for the next challenge! Not sure when I'll get that up because we're going to be cleaning all day then heading to a rodeo..Sigh..Maybe next year Red and I will be in it. ;) This is one of the rodeos I'd love to take part in once we're ready.
good luck on your challenge. I made it to about day 18 before I got busy with other stuff and gave it up! LOL
ReplyDeleteHahaha! Thanks! I'll probably do the same, sadly.
DeleteVery hard to ride heels down bareback. Stressful on knees and ankles and really, who cares unless you are in the show ring. True bareback riding is about balance and moving with the horse, not what the heck your heels are doing.
ReplyDeleteI agree!! A lot of people are really stuck up about the whole heels down thing, but I'm a strict trail rider at the moment and I normally ride with my feet in all different types of positions, however I tried to keep the heels down because people are jerks just after a lady on Pinterest told me I abused my horse, I'd get bucked off and my horse was a "poor" horse, needless to say I responded somewhat snarkily, told her off for being rude about my horse and blocked her butt. LOL
DeleteI hate that people make you feel bad! That isn't right at all. I am big about preaching Heels Down to the people I train because when your heels are down it puts your butt in the right position, which helps your back stay straight, which helps your arms stay soft. I believe it really does start with the heels. If your heels are up it tends to tilt your whole body forward, which can put your horse on the forehand, which can cause tripping. That is my philosophy and what I train my students to do (I am not a pro instructor, I have just trained 5-8 people to ride, some show and some don't). I would never disparage someone who didn't have their heels down in a picture though! That is just dumb! If your not their trainer, you shouldn't be telling them how to ride, unless they ask for a critique! You and Red do an awesome job and for what your doing right no (trails and just enjoying each other) it doesn't really matter!
ReplyDeleteThank you! :) Having your heels down does help and is important, I agree. Plus, it helps me keep balance, which is one of the main things I need to work on before Red and I move on to anything other than trails, but that lady made me really mad. It was literally one picture, and we were in the middle of stopping while Red was trying to trot off, so obviously my biggest worry at that exact moment wasn't to keep my heels down, but to stop my horse that was acting up.
DeleteI think your a very good rider!
ReplyDelete