tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31257856.post1052682152308355834..comments2024-02-29T09:31:25.294-05:00Comments on camera-obscura: softnessbilliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18187141867284800597noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31257856.post-84280399959994263372008-05-01T17:20:00.000-05:002008-05-01T17:20:00.000-05:00Thank you, Sue. I try to capture the highlights bu...Thank you, Sue. I try to capture the highlights but as you know, there is SO much that happens when she's here and especially when you're here as well - between all the lessons, it's truly like a clinic.billiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18187141867284800597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31257856.post-58616558038513549742008-05-01T16:00:00.000-05:002008-05-01T16:00:00.000-05:00Billie,As usual, you captured the day perfectly. M...Billie,<BR/>As usual, you captured the day perfectly. Marlis is such a wonderful teacher and Cody a great horse. What a privledge it is to be able to learn from the two of them (and from you and Kate as well). Even just sitting and watching, I absorb so much. If I had more time, I'd become a Marlis "groupie". :-)<BR/>Sue<BR/>SueEnchanted Forresthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03421056368131423368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31257856.post-27766616323630367652008-04-27T17:44:00.000-05:002008-04-27T17:44:00.000-05:00We're fortunate to have found Marlis AND that she'...We're fortunate to have found Marlis AND that she's willing to travel to us so regularly with her busy clinic schedule.<BR/><BR/>I've never yet mounted Keil Bay without the mounting block! I can get on Cody or Salina w/o it but rarely do.<BR/><BR/>I often do this funky thing while brushing my teeth - I hike one foot up onto the bathroom counter and hold it there for two of the four Sonicare cycles, then switch to the other foot for the last two. All in an effort to practice that foot in the stirrup position and stretch those muscles out. <BR/><BR/>It's helped with the stretching part but I still can't get that "bounce" back.billiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18187141867284800597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31257856.post-34281548349509986872008-04-27T17:27:00.000-05:002008-04-27T17:27:00.000-05:00You're both making me feel better. I always worry ...You're both making me feel better. I always worry out on the trail that I won't be able to get back on. Silk is very patient with me, and I do think that it's easier on the horse if you mount with a block - how's that for a rationalization? Billie, you are so lucky to have Marlis as a teacher - I really enjoy learning vicariously from what she tells you.Victoria Cummingshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17267314663679137147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31257856.post-81423576386379966302008-04-26T23:17:00.000-05:002008-04-26T23:17:00.000-05:00I don't think you're wrong to expect any horse to ...I don't think you're wrong to expect any horse to be capable of learning to stand still during mounting! <BR/><BR/>Keil Bay knows my fussiness and like Erik, he will stand there forever and wait for me to get myself organized.<BR/><BR/>Do not even ASK me if I can mount from the right! It's like trying to do something upside down and backward. <BR/><BR/>There was a hilarious newspaper columnist for a local paper a few years back who wrote about her trials and tribulations learning dressage as an older woman. She had a HUGE horse who was quite spooky, and one of her columns had to do with hacking him over to another farm one weekend morning for a lesson. She had wrapped his legs in preparation for the lesson, but was afraid the whole way over that he would spook, one or more of the bandages would get loose, and she would have to get off to fix them. The big dilemma was that if she got off she'd never be able to get back on!billiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18187141867284800597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31257856.post-77612780628386008492008-04-26T19:20:00.000-05:002008-04-26T19:20:00.000-05:00I have the exact same issue at the mounting block....I have the exact same issue at the mounting block. All the planets have to be in alignment before I will get on, this drives my daughter crazy. I usually get a comment like , just get on the horse isn't going to stand here all day and wait for you to be just right. Well if my horse Erik could be trained to stand still for me, I feel so can every other horse. Apparently I am wrong in this thinking, and will have to get a lot fitter and more agile like I used to be.Grey Horse Mattershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05837575441967937196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31257856.post-20443932469686294112008-04-26T19:13:00.000-05:002008-04-26T19:13:00.000-05:00Cody's issue at the mounting block is that he very...Cody's issue at the mounting block is that he very calmly takes one step away with his hindquarters when you step up to the top step. I've been dealing with it by mounting in the corner of the arena where he doesn't have room to step away. Marlis took the mounting block into the middle and proceeded to fix it in a few simple steps.<BR/><BR/>I'll see if she has time to come visit us here and explain. I've seen her deal with this issue in clinics and it seems so simple when she does it. <BR/><BR/>Part of my problem is I have my own issue with the mounting block - I need it to be in the exact right position so that when I step into the stirrup my other leg is very secure until I choose to swing it up and over. I don't know what happened to that little "bounce" I used to have when younger that enabled mounting from the ground - but it seems to have disappeared!billiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18187141867284800597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31257856.post-78438585843883464872008-04-26T18:50:00.000-05:002008-04-26T18:50:00.000-05:00In my mind there is nothing better than the feelin...In my mind there is nothing better than the feeling of connection and softness while riding a horse. It is definitely something to work toward and try to get that feeling consistently,but it's not as easy as it sounds. I wish there was a magic formula and maybe there is, but I haven't found it yet. I am keeping my hopes up that I will. Marlis sounds like a wonderful coach. I would love to know how she got Cody to behave at the mounting block. Dusty seems to do the same thing, once your foot is in the stirrup, off she goes and no matter what I have tried, short of having someone hold her and give her treats while I mount, she will not stand still.<BR/>It's good to hear the little birds are doing well.Grey Horse Mattershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05837575441967937196noreply@blogger.com