I arrived with cut up apples and carrots and put them in his feed holder. The horses were in for the day because of crummy weather so they were all interested in a piece of the apple/carrot action. We shared but Toby got the most.
I cleaned him up and took him into the indoor arena to try to capture some freedom shots. The problem is that he just wants to be around me and I had nobody to help. So I'm out in the arena with my camera up to my face trying to click away while shaking a whip that has a plastic bag at the end of it. Toby would charge down to one end turn quickly then come back straight towards me to see what I was doing with this big piece of equipment next to my face.
He was looking pretty good!
Just look at the shoulder extension in this trot!
And this photo of him turning towards me really shows excellent shoulder and hip movement. It's my favorite shot.
After his romp in the indoor arena, I tacked him up and rode him for a little while. We need to strengthen his back and hind end so I am asking him to stretch out and down with his neck and head which raises his back and engages his hind end. At this point I'm working on just getting his neck stretched out as far as I can. We are also doing many walk/trot transitions keeping him in a rounded position throughout. He did great! Once we get better strength in these areas we will start to ask him to bring his head up a little so he's not looking so much like a "pea pusher" when we trot around the arena. It's all about working in stages.
After his ride in which he received tons of praise for being a good guy, I undressed him, put his blanket back on and gave him a birthday flake of hay, some more carrots and an apple. He was pretty pleased with himself.
Happy Birthday Old Man!
Looking good Big Guy! In that one shot (your favorite) he actually looks like he's posing for you LOL
ReplyDeleteGlad Toby had a nice birthday. My Casey turns 8 on the 17th. I was planning on making him a "pony cake" for his celebration and get my hubby to bring out the good camera so we can get some really nice pictures of him. Now I've got to go find or create a recipe for a pony cake!
ReplyDeleteIndeed, Happy Birthday to The Man! ;o) I have a technical question about your camera. It takes such GREAT pictures. Would you share make, model, etc.? I have a Canon Powershot that I use at work and it takes "okay" pictures for the advertorials I write for the paper, but I'm looking to upgrade for dog-and-pony pix--and would appreciate some advice.
ReplyDeleteA very handsome horse and shed out, too. Huey is "getting there," and he will once again be gorgeous, but until then. Ack.
Thanks for the compliments on my photos. I started out with a Canon Rebel XTi but as I became more and more proficient in shooting photos I improved my equipment and spent a bundle. I shoot with a Canon 40D and the lens (which is what really makes the shot) is a 70-200 IS f2.8 L lens. The lens cost a small fortune...
ReplyDeleteActually, I unintentionally insulted you with my comment that your CAMERA takes good pictures. YOU take them WITH the camera and the lenses. My apologies ;o)
ReplyDeleteI am a Canon fan, too, though as I said I just have a punky camera for the little bit of photography I do for the paper. My editor is a Nikon fan, and she has two cameras that, the bodies alone cost several thousand dollars.
Anyway, YOU took some gorgeous pictures with your camera and lenses. And thanks for the information on your photographic equipment.