Bets’ balance undersaddle and while lunging is showing improvement and she has been able to come on the bit for short amounts of time at the walk. We no longer need external aids to reinforce leg and she has a good understanding of voice commands while being lunged and free lunged. Bets has been introduced to ground poles and took to them quickly. She is learning half halts and how to steer off leg and seat aids.

As of October 1, 2012, Ace is now being leased by Erin O’Rourke. Erin has continued to work on flying lead changes and has been very successful thus far. She has also built Ace’s confidence over fences and he is completing bending lines, triples and more. Ace has jumped up to 3′ but is consistently jumping 2′-2”9″ jumps.

Bets is growing quickly! She is undersaddle walk/trot/canter. Her transitions and knowledge of leg and seat aids has improved tremendously; she now willingly goes forward without extra aids. Bets’ ground manners are also steadily improving as she handled extensively every day.

Ace in continuing to grow as he is consistently ridden in a few lessons and by several trainers. His confidence of fences is growing and he seems to enjoy it more and more! Ace has been working on flying lead changes and is quickly catching on. He continues to wait for his forever hoome but is loving his life at HKSR&R.

Bets is our friendly and loving new rescue! She is very curious and willing to please. Her good attitude is followed by a gorgeous, big strided trot. She has started under saddle and is beginning to understand aids and steering. Bets is very accepting of all tack and tries her best while being ridden. She should excel quickly once she grasps the meaning of leg and seat aids to go forward.

Ace continues to grow and learn as we wait for him to be adopted.  He has continued to work on his jumping and is beginning to figure everything out and build his confidence.  We are actively working to gain full control of his shoulders in order to help direct him better to and from the fences as well as on the flat.  He is still a camp favorite and very well behaved with the little kids that are also still learning.

Ace has continued to improve over the last month. He took part in advanced camp where he learned how to jump spooky cross country jumps and go swimming! He thoroughly enjoyed his time at the Ark. We have worked consistently on bending and balancing through transitions and in the corners by doing 20 meter circles and putting a major emphasis on upward and downward transitions. Ace’s jumping continues to improve and he is becoming more and more aware of how to use his body as he jumps and where to put his feet. Ace has also begun to do more and more lessons and is really stupping up to the plate and acting like an old pro! We have begun attempting flying lead changes with him by setting up a ground pole which allows for him to more easily swap his lead. Although this is a work in progress, he seems to be beginning to understand more of what we are asking him to do. This just proves, one more time, how willing he is to learn and how much he trusts and enjoys everything we are asking him to do.

Ace has really stepped up to the plate this month, not only in his training but also with the amount of different people that have been able to ride him! He has done everything from 2’6 grid work to letting kids walk and trot on him and even let them ride him bareback! He continues to show how willing he is and how big of a heart he has, never saying no to anyone. He has been working extensively in becoming more balanced in both directions and lifting himself up off his forehand and moving more uphill, which will aide him in his jumping. We are very impressed with the fact that he can walk out onto the cross country field and jumps of some solid jumps and then walk into the outdoor arena and jump over a course!

Ace has begun to participate in a few lessons during the week. Most of them have been adult lessons with Christie Olsen. He did one lesson with a younger student which was not quite as smooth but did end well. He was a little on the fast side for her however there was a lot of commotion in the arena so once he was moved to the indoor he calmed down. The hunter show in April was very successful! He placed first and second in the two classes entered and the judge LOVED him. She asked for him to compete at another show she was judging in Summerfield due to her admiration for him (May 19th). Amanda Tilchin will be riding him again.
He has been fairly stable this month in rather inconsistent training (due to weather mostly as well as people moving out of college/exams). More focus has been put on his downward transitions and accepting the bit without use of draw reins. He seems to be very heavy on the riders hands now which could be from the use of draw reins or him trying to find a way to balance himself. Overall, though, the positive comments have been overwhelming. Ace has had three potential adopters look at him however we have yet to find the perfect match.

Ace continues to show improvement in his responsiveness and balance. One of our board members, Dana, has visibly noticed his change in balance while lunging and free lunging him; he even offered a couple of flying lead changes on his own! Ace has begun to work in draw reins every once in a while to help him learn to use and develop his back muscles. His responsiveness to verbal and other aids has been better as well. Several times he has worked in one of the fields at Hidden K Stables as preparation for his hunter show debut April 21 at TTC. Walks down the road have become a consistent part of his work outs as a cool down to continue to expose him to everything. He is very eager and well behaved in and out of the ring. We continue to work on his ability to bend tracking left which is a little more difficult that tracking right.

Ace has been working consistently in walk, trot and catner. His up and down transitions have become much smoother as he better understands the cues he is being given. Ace has also begun to stop bulging to the inside when he is asked to move forward. He has three very consistent, even tempo gaits and is willing to just keep going. Ace’s mouth is beginning to soften as he accepts the bit more and has even begun to come round a few times! He is giving into and listening to his riders leg aides, making it easier to steer him anywhere around the ring. He is very willing to learn and really enjoys what he is being asked to du. He has recently begun to enjoy long cool outs inthe fields around Hidden K Stables.

Ace’s undersaddle work has immensely improved as well as his stable manners. He willingly sttod on crossties while Horsemaster students learned how to properly polo wrap front and hind legs (all at the same time!). As the weather turns more to summer heat, he thorougly enjoys being hosed and sponged down after long rides. With new trainers added to his schedule, we are eager to see more improvement in all aspects of his training.

Ace has had a great month so far! Lizzie, one of our new co-trainers, has ridden him a lot and they seem to work well together. We believe that he will be a fantastic hunter horse. He has great movement for hunters. On Feb 1st, Lizzie took Ace over his first jump under saddle. She said it was very awkward but he was very willing. Lizzie primarily has been working on the walk and trot this month and have been working on going in straight lines. He has been doing very well with this! They have also worked on circles which seem pretty hard for Ace at first but he has progressed so much!

Ace had a little time off during the holidays. He was worked a little by our head trainer and rode and lunged a few times by some of our volunteers. When he came back to work the first of January, he was a little unbalanced but no more than he was before. He has improved significantly at the walk and trot under saddle and at the walk/trot/canter on the lunge line. Our trainer has also noticed he does not want to move forward when he is on the left bend. That might be something that the vet will need to check out in the future since it is only in that direction. Other than that, Ace has shown great improvement in the past two months. He has learned to leg, learning how to balance himself with a rider on his back and has even learned to jump! We hope he will be a great dressage/jumper/eventing horse!