#legs are still a huge weakness for me but nothing that cant be solved

[turnedpalefromlackofsun]

[pearlyfuckingdolores]

101 reasons why im not going to eat for 20 days:

1. I am fat. I am just so fat and ugly. 

2. when im skinny I will be able to wear WHATEVER I want 

3. I cant leave my bed when I am this fat, I will finally be able to go out and enjoy myself in the summer. 

4. my birthday is coming up and if im not skinnier than I was last year then im going to kms

5. finally people will be able to lift me up without me weighing a tonne

6. I will have more defined cheek bones

7. I will be able to walk in front of people without them looking at me and thinking how fat I am

8. I will look like I don't eat

9. everything will be okay when im happy 

10. I cant be fat and happy, that dosent exists 

11. I will look so good in mini skirts and little dresses 

12. people wont be calling me ‘healthy’ looking 

13. I will look scarily skinny if I don't eat

14. eating only makes me sad so why the fuck would I ever eat? 

15. ill drop so much weight so fat, and everyone will wonder how I done it so fkn well 

16. I wont feel ugly under my skin

17. it will motivate me to go longer without eating 

18. I will be happy 

19. I will be able to leave my bed and go into school everyday without having to worry about how fat I look

20. people will think I finally look skinny, I wont be the fat girl anymore 

21. my vison will be blurry when I stand and I will be faint all the time, I love that feeling 

22. I will always be weak and have no energy, I love feeling like this coz it means im doing something right 

23. I will finally be HUNGRY. im never hungry now coz I always eat like a fat pig, hunger is a sign of success.

24. I will finally be at my first goal weight 

25. my goal for my birthday is 45kg 

26. I wont be sad 

27. I will be closer to looking like my thinspo 

28. I will be able to wear a bikini

29. I will have a much bigger thigh gap

30. my stomach wont look all fat and disgusting 

31. my thighs wont look fat when I sit down (and they wont look fat when I stand either but yh) 

32. all my clothes will be baggy on me

33. I will feel motivated to loose more weight 

34. my fingers will be boney and slim

35. I will be able to wear rings on my slim fingers without them looking like fucking sausages 

36. my arms will be boney and skinny 

37. you will finally be able to see my rib cage 

38. collar bones showing 

39. hips bones showing 

40. I will have a teeny tiny stomach and waist

41. I wont be the chunk friend anymore 

42. I will be the skinniest out of all of my friends 

43. I will feel confident and beautiful 

44. everything about me will be small 

45. my face will be more defined, no more double chin ! 

46. I will look skinny in everything I wear

47. at the end of the day I will still look skinny 

48. I wont be a sweaty pig anymore 

49. I wont feel fat hanging off me 

50. I will be able to stick my hand through my thighs without it touching them

51. I will look like a model 

52. everything about me will be perfect, I need perfection ! 

53. I will feel so cleansed and fresh after the fast

54. april is a binge free month so im going to really be sticking to this diet 

55. if other people can do it, then why the fuck cant I?

56. I want to be the best at not eating, I want to win 

57. I don't want to feel like a beached whale 

58. I will be able to wear baggy clothes and oversized jumpers without it making me look even bigger, it will look cuuute 

59. I wont have the urge to binge anymore 

60. it will just make me more and more determined to get to my goal 

61. I will finally reach my first goal weight maybe even better it if I do 20 days with no food and I will finally be out of this binge purge cycle that im In 

62. I will be able to wear all the cute dresses I brought for summer 

63. I will be able to wear crop tops and bralettes without my fat body hanging out 

64. I wont want to die anymore

65. I wont cry myself to sleep at night 

66. I wont feel uncomfortable in my own body 

67. I wont feel trapped 

68. I will be able to go out everday in my summer holidays and be enjoy myself, whereas if I eat I will spend every day crying in my bed about how fat I am and nothing will get solved 

69. PROM PROM PROM PROM PROM PROM !!!!!! I need to be 40kg for fucking prom

70. im just going to end up ODing if I don't get to my goal weight coz this just sint fun anymore 

71. I will be able to wear the cute jackets I brought myself 

72. starvation is success 

73. I wont look fat in pictures 

74. I want to be a model, I cant be a model if I look like this 

75. beauty might take pain but im strong and I have determination. I will get what I want and I wont let anything stop me 

76. im not going to let fat beat me. im going to beat obesity. 

77. if not now then when? 

78. if I don't stop eating now, im just going to keep piling on the pounds and its only going to make it harder and harder for me to get to my goal weight.

79. its so close to summer now, I need to loose the weight before it gets too late 

80. im so fucking sad being like this, living inside this fat body just feels so fucking painful and id rather be dead. but if I do something about it then I wont have to feel like this. 

81. I will be able to fit into size 0 

82. I wont be able to grab all my fat into my hands, it wont exist coz ill be skin and bone 

83. no body likes me when I look like this. I look like a oaf, chunky lumpy and fucking huge 

84. I want to be able to wear skimpy clothes and not have to cover myself up in trackies forever 

85. if I don't fix the problem now, then its never going to get fixed 

86. im scared if I don't get really skinny really soon then ana might leave me and if she does I wont have the motivation to loose weight quick enough 

87. I will be the thinspo, instead of the fat girl looking it 

88. I wont have to keep doing this, crying myself in my room on my own coz im too fat to go out and be seen by anyone 

89. no more bloating 

90. I have wanted to be skinny for my whole life, but iv only wanted that calorie packed food for 5 mins. so why eat it? 

91. I will be able to wear leggings and anything fitted without it making my body looking fat and ugly 

92. skinny girls are pretty 

93. I will be able to fit my hands round my legs and arms 

94. I will feel amazing in my new body 

95. when I see people who I haven't seen in a while they will be so shocked at how much weight iv lost 

96. the satisfaction of getting on the scales and seeing how much weight iv lost 

97. I will be the best ana if I can fast for 20 days 

98. it will be my longest fast yet and I will feel so proud 

99. each pound that goes down is my happiness going up

100. I don't want anything more for myself that to be skinny 

101. EVERYTHING WILL BE PERFECT IF I HAVE CONTROL AND BE STRONG - RESIST OR REGRET 

[hoetron]

okay christ i got tagged in htis massive tag game by @mothable but i love a good ol challenge lets do this buckfucks

RULES: ANSWER THESE 88, THEN TAG SOME PEOPLE

BASICS:

a. NAME AND PRONOUNS: Rae, she/her

b. AGE (and birthday!): 13, Aug 28th :3c im a fucking fetus ny’all

c. SEXUALITY: am i bi? am i lesbian? am i just craving existential death 24/7? i dont fucking know a thing my guy

d. GENDER: cis female hooooh

e. COUNTRY: AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE OI OI OI

f. FAVORITE AESTHETIC: pastel colours and really nice fashion i guess..??? (also smoking is kind of aesthetic eyes emoji eyes emoji)

TRIGGERS/MENTAL ILLNESSES: i’m not actually sure :x

THE LAST:

1. DRINK: salt water hah normal water is for the WEAK (dont drink salt water please im begging y

2. PHONE CALL: my brother asking what kind of pizza i wanted

3. TEXT MESSAGE: “:3c” im such a fufcking furry...fuckck,,,,

4. SONG YOU LISTENED TO: Daydream warriors by Aquors listen nyall im reconnecting with my hidden buried weebass side of me okay im crying

5. THE TIME YOU CRIED: i dont actually remember? probably like last year unless you count me having tears from laughing too hard as cryng then thats yesterday during the meme aka now called lightning mcqueen server

HAVE YOU:

6. DATED SOMEONE TWICE: nahh

7. KISSED SOMEONE AND REGRETTED IT: dont think ive ever kissed someone thats not my family before im #Pure

8. BEEN CHEATED ON: nope lmao

9. LOST SOMEONE SPECIAL: my grandfather i guess? but he died when i was really young so at that time i didnt really undersyand the feeling of loss and mourn so ksdjfk but we had some goodass memories together

10. BEEN DEPRESSED: they ask you how you are and you just have to say that you’re fine when you’re not really fine but you just cant get into it because they would never understa

11. GOTTEN DRUNK AND THROWN UP: im severely underaged please

TOP 3 FAVORITE COLORS

12. red

13. yellow

14. either black or lavendar,,

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU:

15. MADE NEW FRIENDS: yis

16. FALLEN OUT OF LOVE: ya,,

17. LAUGHED UNTIL YOU CRIED: okay im known as the most giggly person in class i laugh so easily that i easily have tears over everything

18. FOUND OUT SOMEONE WAS TALKING ABOUT YOU: nahh dont think i wanna know if its like in a bad way :x

19. MET SOMEONE WHO CHANGED YOU: aw y e s

20. FOUND OUT WHO YOUR FRIENDS ARE: ya :,) (Thanks em, lily, mae and imogen for making this year truly greater than last year and for being the best friends i could ever ask for)

21. KISSED SOMEONE ON YOUR FACEBOOK LIST: facebook is dead to me

GENERAL

22. HOW MANY OF YOUR FACEBOOK FRIENDS DO YOU KNOW IN REAL LIFE: serious facebook is dead to me i roasted above the flames of negligence (also because i have like two facebook accounts one using my pesonal email and the other using my more general email , the one using my more general email keeps recommending to me my OWN personal account and its personally so hilarious)

23. DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS: a cat called lucky! (i love him even though im p sure he hates me)

24. DO YOU WANT TO CHANGE YOUR NAME: i guess my irl name uhhh im 50-50 with it? but granted on the internet i waaay prefer using the name Rae over my irl one because its short and simple and nice-

25. WHAT DID YOU DO FOR YOU LAST BIRTHDAY: just want to a chinese resturant with my fam and my uncle because we’re simple that way and like. back then i didnt had that much friends so uh l m a o (but vidhi gave me a nerf gun so that was Really Cool and i love her)

26. WHAT TIME DID YOU WAKE UP TODAY: 9 oclocK BECAUSE A HOUSING AGENT WAS COMING OVER (but then i fell back to sleep and woke up at 12 so lmao)

27. WHAT WERE YOU DOING AT MIDNIGHT LAST NIGHT: watching a video on why ‘anime art isnt technically allowed in art school’ because i was just curious and then drawing 

28. NAME SOMETHING YOU CAN’T WAIT FOR: VOLTRON LEGENDARY FUCKNG DEFENDERS SEASON 3 SHIT BABES IM REA LLY FUCKING PREPARED AND NEAR END OF MONTH AVCON BECAUSE EYES EMOJI

29. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SAW YOUR MOM: an hour ago lmao shes like just outside my room 

30. WHAT IS ONE THING YOU WISH YOU COULD CHANGE IN YOUR LIFE: sighs my shyness and social anxiety and awkwardness (all three of those are counted in a pack right? the pack of “socially inept” people)

31. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW: daydream warriors... by aquors..... (listen im RECONNECTING with my weeb side like said above im actually weeping)

32. HAVE YOU EVER TALKED TO A PERSON NAMED TOM: uh idk mate

33. SOMETHING THAT IS GETTING ON YOUR NERVES: i havent brushed my teeth yet but im lazy to move my legs lmao

LOST QUESTIONS

34. MOLE(S): um quite a lot like a few small ones on my arm and like one on my face below my right eye and theres one underneath my boob i think lmao tmi and the rest i cant be bothered to find

35. MARK(S): a kind of burnt scar mark on my left shoulder from like 6/7 years ago when i got too close to someone smoking and their cigarette burnt me oh and a scar on my knee from the time i fell off my bike while playing bike catching in the neighbourhood with a couple of other friends like 4 years ago?

36. CHILDHOOD DREAM: vet (now im eh about that tho im probably just going to pursue some art career)

37. HAIR COLOR: brown eyy

38. LONG OR SHORT HAIR: long

39. DO YOU HAVE A CRUSH ON SOMEONE: yeah. hopefully its dying down now especially since the person is straight (its hard when she sits next to you in class and you guys are sort of friends now and u somehow feel really satisfied when you make her laugh :,) shit )

40. WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF: im generally kind with people regardless of whether or not i dont like them or i dont know them well or i know them i guess? (at least in my group of friends im probably the most willing to socialise with others) and uhhhh i guess i can make people laugh? im a huge fucking loser meme nyall

41. PIERCINGS: none and personally dont really want to 

42. BLOODTYPE: shit  i think it was either a B or an O i cant remember (i think its B tho)

43. NICKNAME(S): maggie, migi, bela, bob, bobbo

44. RELATIONSHIP STATUS: single pringle 

45. ZODIAC: virgo

46. PRONOUNS: she/her (lmao yay for repeated question)

47. FAVORITE TV SHOW: fuckngin,,, voltron,,, (probably going to stay my favourite for a long while tho)

48. TATTOOS: none atm (unless you count waterbase tattos then yes stick all the water based tattos on me) but like when im Much Older maybe? just a really small tattoo tho not anything big that covers an entire limb

49. RIGHT OR LEFT HAND: right

50. SURGERY: had a surgery on my foot forgot which side when i was in kindergarten because the skin was *censored for tmi* and yah stitching up your skin fucking hurt babes

51. HAIR DYED A DIFFERENT COLOR: nahhh i dont think id dye my hair tho who knows

52. SPORT: im probably going to retake up basketball again eyes emoji eyes emoji

53. VACATION: ooMMF nothing planned so far

54. PAIR OF TRAINERS: like uhhh what kind of sneakers?? just normal canvas sneakers i guess????? im, what.

MORE GENERAL

55. EATING: OXYGEn

56. DRINKING: IN OXYGEN

57. I’M ABOUT TO: complete this fucking 88  questions then chat on discord and scroll tumblr and tell myself “hey finish up your art!” but then 5 hours later im still scrolling tumblr. oh and im watching wonder woman later so :3c

58. WAITING FOR: nothing atm i guess?

59. WANT: my family’s financial situation to be solved and so that money isnt going to be a huge bother anymore...

60. GET MARRIED: sounds nice but probably only marriage idk the idea of kids doesnt really sound v appealing atm

61. CAREER: artist! (i wanna either work in a game development team or an animation studio eyes emoji ) 

62. HUGS OR KISSES: HUGS

63. LIPS OR EYES: lips erally nice to draw really nice to look at

64. SHORTER OR TALLER: buhhh im short so i guess taller would be nice (tall people have such nice legs too im frankly a little jealous)

65. OLDER OR YOUNGER: what is this in regards to

66. NICE ARMS OR NICE STOMACH: arms so that dO YOU SEE THESE GUNS

67. SENSITIVE OR LOUD: shrug emoji idk man

68. HOOK UP OR RELATIONSHIP: relationship

69. TROUBLEMAKER OR HESITANT: troublemaker pardnyars in crime amirite

HAVE YOUR EVER:

70. KISSED A STRANGER: no

71. DRANK HARD LIQUOR: nope 

72. LOST GLASSES/CONTACT LENSES: yeah p sure i had to go through a whole day of school half blind once without my glasses

73. TURNED SOMEONE DOWN: nah..

74. SEX ON THE FIRST DATE: nO IM 1 3 

75. BROKEN SOMEONE’S HEART: dont think so?

76. HAD YOUR HEART BROKEN: nah babes

77. BEEN ARRESTED: nah

78. CRIED WHEN SOMEONE DIED: somehow when someone dies i decide to laugh instead of breaking down in tears i guess laugh away the pain?

79. FALLEN FOR A FRIEND: ...shit its a bad idea babes dont do it

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:

80. YOURSELF: shrug emoji

81. MIRACLES: sometimes? sometimes no?

82. LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT: even bigger shrug emoji

83. SANTA CLAUS: nah lmao listen i caught my father and mother wheeling in bicycles for my sister and i when i was like what 8? usually i just played along because hey i was a child

84. KISS ON THE FIRST DATE: ehh depends i guess

85. ANGELS: not really lmao

OTHER

86. CURRENT BEST FRIENDS NAME(S): Emily, Mae Shuen and Lily

87. EYECOLOR: dark brown?

88. FAVORITE MOVIE: this changes all the time

only tagging uhhh @pluminkdot (KASJD I FORGOT IF YOU HAD A MAIN REBLOG ACC IM SORRY RACH), @jaspereffect , @blabrabs / @spaceboomerang (it isnt letting me tag ur main boomers skldfjksd) and uh im too lazy for the rest

[evakaname]

For OC ask meme: I have a character named Kasimir. He has a well kept head of hair, and a seductive smirk. He works in the art of seduction and has a vast knowledge on bodies. (Tbh he would probably be the best sex-ed teacher.) He also is a bit snobby with his tastes, high class clothes and shoes and wine. As aware as he is of himself, he knows when not to flirt, and when to be serious. And he's secretly a huge nerd.

I actually got an ask for this and irealized that shit, i didnt think this through, cuz i never wrote any story,not even drabbles and my english is not so good either… But this seemed sofun and still does, and u actually sent an ask :333 so lets do this :D

 Im gonnaassume a few things here as convenient, like what kind of „nerd” for example, but ihope i treated your character well enough!!! Lets see if i have any WRITINGSKILLS omg. Thank you for the ask :)

Soren walked out of Skyhold’s tavern with anexcited spring in his steps, barely glancing up from his new „treasure” in hishand, when the sight he caught made him stop in his track. There was a strangerin the courtyard, a face he didn’t see before, and he kept a close eye on hispeople and possible threats.

But that wasn’t what made him stay still. It was the fact that thisstranger was currently talking to a visibly flustered Cullen, who even had aslight pink to his cheeks. ‘Huh. Now that’s interesting.’ The commander gotquite used to flirty lines and tease lately, to the great disappointment of himand some of their close friends. Which meant this stranger was quite somesmooth talker and likely a master of flirting.

The scene was highly amusing, allsorts of teases popped up in Soren’s head already, but then his grin droppedlike a bird struck with an arrow.

This man… the well made hair, theclothes, the fancy taste, the way he held himself, his movements, the flirtysmirk, the obviously skilled smooth talk, the playful glint in his eyes… 

‘Oh,NO.’

The picture this painted just SCREAMEDthat Dorian would get along with this man so devastatingly well, that it hungthe shadow of his doom on the sky. ‘No, nono!’ He trusted his love to not get tempted to stray, but certainly not topass an opportunity of teasing him (he probably deserved it, being much thesame, but that was beside the point). This was like giving a Dreadnought to apirate. A spark of fire he enjoyed like a madman, but fusing it into a barrage offoreign cannonfire… No. This wont happen. He has to deal with this man rightaway, out of schedule, before he has a chance of meeting Dorian.

Cullen somehow excused himself, stridingaway with stiff steps that already formed a glorious tease in Soren’s head tostart with when he corners Cullen later. Maybe he should stand byjust until Cassandra comes out of the smithy, must be any time now��

But then somebody else did, heading tothe infirmary, too busy arranging the needles to notice the stranger having hiseyes on her, clearly waiting for her to get closer with a playful smile.

‘Oh little Lia. She did NOT need to dealwith a playboy, he just saved her a few weeks ago from-’…. without anothersecond of contemplation, he strode to -the intruder in his nest- the new visitorand cleared his throat. The stranger immediately snapped his eyes from Lia toacknowledge him. He blinked and the readied playful smilequickly transformed into an outrageously seductive smirk to make even Dorianrun for his money, then topped it with a greeting to match it.

„Well, well. Had i known the inquisition’sbase was packed this full of rare gems i’d have visited sooner.”

„Good morning to you too. Well, there is areason people call this place a dragon’s den.” he nipped back with a smirk, hisridiculous amount of pride and joy in his people completely shrugging off theobvious flirty implication. …and the fact that that unofficial title mostlyreferred to his mother-dragon tendencies over the lots of people he hoardstogether under his wings…. 

„Oh where have i left my manners… probably at the inner gates, with that hot magechecking thoroughly for weapons with that sharp eyed huge guard who needs a goodchance to relax later. Anyways. My name is Kasimir, it isa great pleasure meet you, Inquisitor.

Ah, so he knew who he was already. Of coursehe did. Visitors were often informed enough to tell him from other redheadelves even in casual clothes, especially the smart-ass ones who wont gounprepared out of sheer pride alone.

As he suspected, this didntdeter Kasimir from blatantly flirting with him. Great. This „concern” might takelonger to eliminate from Skyhold if it’s too sticky. He shifted his weight tohis other leg, a pale shadow of a readying stance, old nervous/impatient habit.Which he immediately regretted, as Kasimir’s eyes flashed over him, givinghim the gut feeling that this man could read the slightest movements of hisbody all too well. Which made him itch for cloak and shadows, literally foronce. But sadly that art cant solve all of his problems. Like this one. Atleast not in a preferable way.

„I do believe there is a specific reasonto thank this visit to, Kasimir. Should we take this someplaceofficial?”    ‘Yes, discretely solve it fastand efficient, out of possible sight of Dorian, with cold diplomacy… ‘

„Oh i would take it anywhere you prefer… to..  - his words and momentumabruptly faded as his attention snapped to the item in Soren’s hand, lookingcompletely zoned in for a moment. As plotting habit, Soren started to play with whatever was in his hands, currently his new little „treasure”,turning it between his fingers. It caught a glint from the sun and apparentlyKasimir’s attention too. He collected himself remarkably fast, but not fastenough for Soren’s trained eyes to miss the second of open expression. Thesecond of… recognition, of profound interest and awe, awe only a true admirerof such things possessed. Could it be…

„You actually know what this is?”

„Um, yes, yes of course, its a simpleartifact anybody could know about” he answered, seemingly a little frustrated overhis own slip up and stumbling.

Oh yes, anybody could know about it. Butvery few actually CARED to. It was a small, weak, unimpressive good for nothingobject for common folks and mages alike, who didn’t even bother to look twice atsuch useless jokes of magical trinkets, not even made anymore for early practicingof crafting arts. It would suffice as a small toy maybe, if u would give yourchildren magical artifacts that could burn, that is. Grown up children however…For SOREN however it was just as fascinating as any other things even remotelyrelated to magic. It had a pretty sparkle if poked just right. A SPARKLE. OfMAGIC. It was absolutely beautiful.

„You know,” he started cautiously „I havea private library in the basement just perfect for any business talks and such,with big shelves, chests and tables full of  ’simple artifacts anybody could or could notknow about’, and then some.”

„A private hearing, how could i turn downsuch a tempting offer from a man likeyou” Kasimir half-heartedly flirted, just for the heck of it, now clearlyhaving his mind on different kind of interests, eying the small object in Soren’shad.

‘THEREit is. Bullseye.’ Soren brightened too as Kasimir seemed to light up a bit at this offer, a childishexcitement matching his own shining through that perfectly put together front.Maybe just for Soren’s trained eyes and high empathy though, but that didntmatter. What mattered is that he found somebody who GETS IT. Besides Dagna. Shewas awesome, but too busy and focused on the more, ehm, deadly and enchantedand so on to appreciate the smaller things and arts with him too.  Dorian, well, Dorian was always there tolisten to him excitedly ramble, with an amused curl to his sweet lips and akind light in his eyes, readily answering his countless questions and offeringhis opinion on ones nobody could possibly answer. He indulges him always and heDOES love magic too, but he doesn’t share his fascination in all bits and piecesand strange artifacts as deep as a true comrade in interest would.

He might have found a new „playmate”, onethat Dorian would surely be flustered by, for all the uncommon reasons. A brotherin fascination, on HIS side, instead of a powerful Dorian sidekick in tease. ButDorian might step up his –unnecessary but not unwelcome- flirting and smoothtalk just to secure his number one place in the sport here, as if he had to. Butthat’s good fire. That’s friendly fire. That’s most welcome.

Huh. What an unexpected turn. It may be HEwho makes a friend he gets along with too well to the expense of Dorian… andsome concerned people. Like Cullen. Or the ones wary of his strange hobby andunusual pranks including a drop of magic here and there. Like Sera.

Soren smirked like an imp all the way tohis „library” with Kasimir in tow, getting those curious and worriedglances from his people who knew him too well already.

Oh he was going to love this.

(ok this totally ran out of control and away with me! Is writing always like THIS??? How do you people CONTROL IT ??????????????????????????????????????Ehm, i mean, this was fun. Thank you for the ask again :D i hope you liked it :) 

TO MY UNINTERESTED FOLLOWERS: Im sorry for the long ass post taking your dash space that u dont care about, i had to delete the keep reading line cuz it fucked up on mobile and didnt show any more text!

[nobuckingway]

Both Orla & I have run into problems jumping both Dante & Coco in the past. We’re definitely making progress but we never stop learning when it comes to these two horses. And we can definitely say without a doubt that our confidence has been tested on a number of occasions when it came to putting these horses over a jump!

So have a read below and let us know what you think of our Jumping Edition. Let us know if you have any tips or tricks we could test out, considering the two horses are so freakishly opposite, it makes for a very interesting read with a lot of variety! 

Dante

Dante have become quite a freak show to jump the last few months. Jumping a course of fences on him started to become such a pain because of all the problems he began picking up. Learning from past experiences, I stopped before the problems became permanent problems & instead worked on getting rid of them! Just last week Myself and Dante got back into jumping courses & the change in him was huge. The difference 3 weeks of focused work does to him is phenomenal, his jumping techniques have improved, along with his overall attitude, read below & find out my techniques! 

Rushing Fences & Running with The Contact

Dear god, Dante used to demolish fences he still does just not as bad as he did before! He is still so unbalanced that any slight drop into a fence from me & he practically falls to pieces. Dante has started Rushing into pretty much everything, a problem caused more than likely because he is weak and doesn’t have the muscle to hold himself together & the fact that I cant support him enough into fences!  So with a few weeks of trotting poles, and transition work we began jumping again. This rushing problem crept up on us again, my hands would be ripped off me when it came to jumping single fences with him. I had dealt with a lot of behavioural issues with him recently, and I feel like his jumping was kind of ignored. 

It was such a horrible experience. Imagine yourself on your horse, approaching a fence, then 3-4 strides away literally them cocking their jaw up so high that you have zero control. Sitting there was all I could do. It was not pleasant. 

How I solved the issue:

Exercise 1 – Jumping on a tight circle. Giving Dante little opportunity to rush or charge towards the fence. Keeping the circle tight ensured that he began to listen to me. He also had to start getting himself out of trouble when it came to his approach. Getting to close to the fence would only make him learn, likewise if he ever ran into the fence completely.  As he improved with this exercise, we made the circle bigger, and increased it in and out to whatever suited his performance

Exercise 2 – Some people may not agree with this technique but it worked for Dante, well the penny eventually dropped in Dante’s head after 4/5 attempts. We set up a fence with a canter pole either side. As I approached the fence I would then ask Dante to come to a hault before the first placing pole preparing for the hault transition no sooner than 4/5 strides away. The aim was for him to realise rushing wasn’t the answer, slow and steady was what we wanted. This exercise was difficult to begin with, one or two tantrums also thrown in the mix but he eventually realised what I was asking him to do and began to slow down on approach to the fence. 

Exercise 3 – Well this isn’t an exercise but more like a trick I figured out to slow him down, that I though be best to share with you all so you could give it a try. Talk to your horse, let them know your there. Dante is such a needy horse, I think he forgets I am riding him at times, recently I discovered that if I scratch him half way up him neck and literally tell him ‘woahh’ him slows down tremendously! I honestly thought it was a fluke the first time until at every corner before I approached a fence I would do it and he would come back to me! So give it a go with your horse! see if it makes a difference, Dante gets flustered easily its almost like he forgets where he is and what he’s doing, I guess the reassurance that I’m there is all he needs at times! 

Careless Jumping, not lifting his Legs

Dante Is a big horse with a lot of scope, but to be honest that is not an excuse for him to jump big fences all the time. He gets very careless and sloppy from time to time, knocking poles and often dragging them along with him. He definitely does not respect a small jump, stepping over some occasionally, but if I was to jump big fences with the way he carries on it could land us in a lot of trouble. 

I have put open boots on Dante, literally 3 thin leather straps is all that protects his front legs, in hope that him knocking poles will hurt him & make him want to lift him legs, but no, nothing phased him at all. He is one hardy horse I tell you! But we did come to one conclusion, one exercise that seemed to do the trick!

 Exercise 1 – Jumping out in the field. Taking Dante out of the arena, a place he was never fond off to begin with. Cross country fences were the answer to all our troubles. He literally needed to lift his legs up over the fence or he would literally stumble and fall over himself. If he started to jump them carelessly he soon found out the consequences. As horrible as it sounds it works. Hitting an XC fences is not like hitting a pole in the arena, cross country fences don’t just fall to the ground or roll away, they don’t move. The improvement I am seeing in his jumping is huge, I often finish a session in the field after doing arena work if his jumping is careless in the arena.

Exercise 2 – Grid work, and loads of it. Making sure to incorporate a lot of bounces. This is a great exercise not only for them to lift them legs, but it rounds there jump up and helps them jump from their hind which is what you want them to be doing. 

Less hands, More Seat & Leg

I my as well just get rid of my reins all together!! The more I interfere with Dante’s mouth, the more he tries to fight back with me. This may be the result in his running with the contact problem and with him cocking the jaw. Most problems come from the rider and unfortunately this one did come from me, But I am fixing it!

Riding with a soft contact is freakin scary, holding onto my reins tightly was what I done when he had a tantrum, reared or took off, so it was a safety net of mine. Getting rid of it wasn’t just going to happen after one or two lessons. For the last 3-4 weeks I have been constantly at myself whilst riding soften the contact, and the difference I am seeing is insane. 

Pushing Dante into my hands from my leg has become a lot easier, bearing in mind he is still building up the muscle to be able to carry himself correctly but at the minute I am not too worried about that as he has a lot more growing and muscle gaining to do. 

If you have confidence issues with this, or if you are scared shitless like I was, it literally felt like I was giving him the freedom to run free, I found doing grid work a nice transition into ‘less hands’. Not only does doing grid work help your horses jumping technique, but it also gets them to think for themselves. They have to find their feet whilst doing a grid with that leg guidance from you of course, if you interfere with your hands during a grid,  you will soon learn its easier to give the horse his head!

Coco

I recently wrote a post about mine and Coco’s journey into the world of jumping. I briefly discussed the various issues that I faced but I never really went into much detail of how I actually dealt with the problems and how I managed to keep my own confidence to be able to push through it.

Bunny-Hopping to avoid jumping

So we’ve all heard about Coco’s bunny-hopping problems but what can you actually do when your horse is already thinking about avoiding jumping before they’ve even started their approach? These are a few things I tried with Coco.

Exercise 1 – Cut the Approach Short

Sometimes giving your horse less time to think before the jump is the simplest answer. Shave two or three strides off your approach by coming in at a tighter turn, opening your inside hand to give them space while keeping a strong outside leg to push them around and into the fence. This one worked for a while with Coco until she started figuring out what I was doing and began anticipating the turn.

Exercise 2 – Stop them dead and push them on

Sometimes I couldn’t even get Coco to turn into the approach before she started bunny-hopping out. So when it became impossible I would stop her dead in her tracks, face her towards the fence and pushing her up into canter and straight into the jump. There were times when she literally went from halt to canter from 5 strides out and jumped perfectly. It was crazy how well this worked.

Exercise 3 – Chase them into it

This wouldn’t be everyones favourite tactic but sometimes you have to be tough. There were times when I had gotten so fed up with Coco’s attitude that all I wanted was to get her over that fence. As she started to run out, I would push her right into the base of the fence and give her a smack on the outside shoulder when she ignored my outside leg. There were times when I did this and when I brought her back around to jump the fence again, she wouldn’t even think twice. And then there were other times when no matter what, every time was just a struggle so it really depends on what stage you and your horse is at.

When it comes to this type of behaviour, some horses can be just trying it on whereas other horses are doing it for valid reasons. In Coco’s case, she needed a new saddle so it’s always good to rule out anything like this before jumping straight to the ‘behaviour problem’ solutions.

Picking the Wrong Stride

Finding the right stride has been a persistent problem I’ve had throughout my years of horse riding. It’s not so much an issue when you’re on a horse who has been schooled well enough to find its own strides but when you’re teaching a young horse it’s really something you need to be able to do. My problem isn’t that I can’t see a stride, it’s that I struggle to adjust a stride correctly when I know I’m not going to meet the fence right. I never know whether I’m better off holding and asking for the short stride or pushing to ask for the long stride. So I end up panicking, putting my leg on and leaving my horse to figure it out for themselves which isn’t exactly ideal!

    When it came to Coco the first step was figuring out what was the best way to jump her. Was she a better jumper when she was left alone to figure herself out? Did she need to be pushed on and revved up? Or did she need to be held right up to the fence? If you’re struggling when it comes to jumping your horse, it’s definitely worth trying all methods and comparing how well they jumped each time. In Coco’s case, she needs to be held the whole way to the fence.

Once I figured that out then I had a better idea of what type of rhythm I needed to set before starting my approach. As I have mentioned in previous posts, the age old tactic of simply counting your strides, 1-2-3-4, is definitely the best way to set up your rhythm. And you can put it into practice with a simple canter pole exercise. Set out some canter poles 4 strides apart and count every stride before, during and after the poles.

  Once you’ve nailed your four strides, try asking for 5 strides by shortening your horse up. Once you’ve done that successfully, try asking for 3 strides by stretching your horse out. By doing this you can really get a feel for the different paces and lengths of strides your horse has, making it much easier for you to feel your rhythm and adjust your stride as required when approaching a fence.

  Dealing with my own Confidence

Between myself and Darielle, I am definitely not the ballsiest of the two of us. I fear the worst and end up in shock when it doesn’t happen. So when it came to jumping I knew I had to find a way of ignoring that fear and just push through it. I found that the best way to do this was to fake the confidence (until it became real) and trust in my own abilities. I know this is so much easier said than done but there’s a lot to be said for that whole ‘mind over matter’ thing. When it comes to horses, things can always go wrong and that’s something we know from the get-go. We have to remember that we know our own abilities so it’s just a matter of trusting in those abilities. Once you can do that, your confidence will come naturally. 

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Hopefully you enjoyed reading our confidence post on jumping and even more importantly we hope you found it helpful! We all struggle with confidence issues every now and again so we hope it helps to know that you’re definitely not alone.

Please be sure to leave a comment! We’ve really enjoyed the feedback we’ve received on our last few posts and it’s always great hearing everyone else’s stories 🙂

#NeighNSlay

Orla & Darielle

  Sustaining Our Confidence – Jumping Both Orla & I have run into problems jumping both Dante & Coco in the past. We're definitely making progress but we never stop learning when it comes to these two horses.