Flow, Connection and Mirroring

Many good things are happening, many good things indeed.  It's hard to know where to start . . . and even though a number of these things may look and sound as though they have little to do with horses, in fact they have everything to do with horses.

One of the things I wanted to do as part of my plan for 2012 was to practice being fully present - to be mindful - as I think this is really important with horses, and with life as a whole.  One of the things I've been doing as part of this is taking a t'ai chi chih class at our local community college.  T'ai chi chih is a series of movements, and is derived from marial arts but is not itself a martial art.  T'ai chi chih is also very good for balance as the movements involve a lot of weight shifting from foot to foot and some movements have moments when one foot is lifted from the ground.

But as I'm progressing with the class, and trying to do the movements, I'm finding that t'ai chi chih is also about flow, breathing, softness and connected movement of the whole body from the core.  As I'm thinking about this and practicing it, it has a lot to do with my riding.  One of the things I've been struggling with in t'ai chi chih is the coordination of the shifting of balance - leg movements and hip turns - with the movements of my upper body, arms and hands.  If done properly, these movements come from the core as it turns and moves and the timing of the arm and hand movements flows with the shifts of balance and leg movements.  More on that in a moment . . .

There's also a very important concept that I think of as "mirroring" - this is one of the (many) things that I've learned from Mark Rashid.  The idea is that, if we're riding our horses with connection and flow, that we become one with the horse's body, and our actions/position of head, neck, back, arms and legs directly correspond to and influence the corresponding parts of the horse's body. The concept is also that, if we're carrying tension in a particular part of our body, or have a part of our body that's not connected and flowing with the rest of our body, the horse will "mirror" this and have corresponding tension and/or poor movement and flow in the corresponding part of the body.  I've seen this in a number of cases at Mark's clinics - he'll watch a rider and horse pair for several minutes and then ask a question like:  "Have you recently injured your right shoulder?" - he sees the tension/blocking in the horse's right shoulder and suspects that this is coming from the corresponding part of the rider's body.  In most cases, the rider will answer: "Yes, how did you know that?"

Most of my issues when riding come from my upper body - particularly my shoulders and neck.  If I'm tense, that's usually where it is.  I also have a tendency to clench my jaw and round my shoulders down, which pushes my elbows out to the side, breaking the straight connection between the horse's head, my hands, elbows and shoulders, and causing my chin to drop.  And, since my accident and the injury to my left shoulder and the left side of my torso, there's some stiffness there.  This tends to result in tension in my horses' jaws, necks and shoulders, and in particular the left shoulder.

Riding Dawn is great for figuring these things out, because she instantly picks up on any tension in my body and mirrors it back to me.  If she's starting to brace, rush or fall on the forehand, the source of this is almost always in my upper body.  Similarly, her tendency to not bend correctly when tracking right, and to want to drop in, is directly related to the stiffness and tension in my left shoulder and torso.

So here's what I need to do . . .  First, although I thing what's called an independent leg, seat and hands is very important - you need to be able to separately move each body part - I think for me a more important idea at this stage of my riding life is flow and connection.  If I'm riding a turn "with" the horse, the turn should come from my core and the movements of my legs and arms and head should all, however small the subtle those movements are, be connected to and flow from the core.  I guess what I'm saying is that I need to stop thinking of things as seat aids, leg aids, hand aids, where I look, etc., and instead feel and do them as a continuous, flowing whole.  And, using the concept of mirroring, I need to feel and let go of tension in my various body parts - unblock them - as I'm riding so Dawn can freely move the corresponding body parts.  And I need to feel my whole body going with and "being" the whole body of the horse in the corresponding mirrored parts - I need to feel as if I am the horse as it moves.

Dawn and I are going to be trying some things along these lines this afternoon . . .

EPM Update - Very Good News!

Those of you who have been following along for a while will know about Pie's and Drifter's encounter with the organisms which cause EPM in horses, and their symptoms, diagnosis with the new ELISA peptide antigen test, and their subsequent treatment with a new regimen that is in clinical trials.

Here's the whole saga, for those that are interested in the details of their symptoms, testing and treatment.

When our vet/chiropractor came out last week, she drew blood so they could be retested after their completion of treatment, and I'm delighted to say that their results indicate that the infections are fully cleared - the very low numbers are effectively zeros - for the meaning of these tests, see the link above:

Pie:

SAG 1 - 2
SAG 5 - 2
SAG 6 - 8

Drifter:

SAG 1 - 2
SAG 5 - 2
SAG 6 - 2

Both horses are now completely sound and happy to move at all gaits.  Pie has some residual muscle/skin soreness that probably represents nerve regeneration.

I couldn't be more delighted - EPM is a very serious and progressive illness and until recently it was very hard to diagnose and often wasn't caught until the horse was seriously unbalanced, with often permanent nerve damage.  The disease was also hard to treat, and the one approved treatment didn't help all horses and was extremely expensive.  I'm hoping that this new test and clinical trial will result in helping many more horses who have early stage EPM get diagnosed and treated and return to full soundness.

Transitions

I'm a big fan of using transitions in riding.  Those, plus figures such as circles, serpentines, spiral in/out and basic lateral work, are really a foundation for me in every thing I do.  I find them particularly helpful in working with a horse that knows how to soften through the jaw, neck and back and engage the core, but may have trouble maintaining softness consistently.  But the trick for me is that I have to ride the transitions in a way that promotes and doesn't inhibit the softness, and for me that means riding transitions with my breathing, feeling the rhythm of the new gait in my mind and body, keeping my eyes up and staying relaxed, rather than using either my hands or legs to cue (some horses may need a leg cue but I find if you can feel the rhythm in your body, and your horse has learned to read that, leg is rarely needed for upwards transitions).  I try to keep my contact as consistent and soft as possible (or even ride on a loose rein), and my legs relaxed so as not to block the motion.  And I think of all transitions, even to halt, as forward motions - it's all forward - so I try to keep the motion flowing and uphill - for me, the most important element in achieving that is not to block with my hands or by holding tension in my body or legs.

Dawn and I had a really nice work session today - it was our 15th ride at the new barn.  We had the entire indoor to ourselves (unusual at that time of day), and after lungeing briefly - she really didn't need to lunge as she told my by her relaxed trot and perfect (e.g. no leaps or hops) canter transitions, and her excellent responsiveness to my verbal commands.  It was much warmer today than yesterday - about 60F which is pretty warm for this time of year.  It was extremely windy though, and Dawn coped well with all the rattling and creaking the indoor arena was doing in the wind.

We did some very nice work at walk and trot, using cones and figures (cones are my friend), but she was working up a bit and starting to rush a bit at the trot, so we moved to doing lots of transitions.  We did lots and lots of walk/trot/walk work, and threw in some halts, some backing and some halt/trot work as well.  One thing I love about riding Dawn is that when she and I are in sync, she's incredibly sensitive to everything I do or think, and therefore incredibly responsive.  She's also great for me in that I have to pay attention every single second - there's no time off when you're riding Dawn. We did whole series of 3 strides at trot, 3 at walk, 3 of trot, and then different numbers of steps, with the only cue I gave her being my thinking the new rhythm (1-2, 1-2 then 1-2-3-4 for trot/walk and the reverse for walk/trot), breathing out on the transition and also slightly relaxing my back for the downwards transitions.  It was magical - she was right on it and transitioned the second I changed the rhythm in my mind.  And since I wasn't using my reins to cue, her contact and softness were maintained through the transitions and the transitions stayed uphill.

I was delighted with her and told her so - she's an incredible mare and I'm fortunate to have her to ride at this point in my horse life.

First Update on Pie and Drifter!

I just got my first update from Heather on Pie and Drifter - she gave them a day to settle in and did some groundwork with both of them yesterday in their small indoor arena, to get to know them better.  Although Pie was nervous in a new place at first, he settled well for grooming - she ground ties which is a practice I like - and then she did some basic work on the lunge line with him.  She said he's very sweet and really wants to please.  They did walk, trot and some canter work, as well as changes of direction - and this is the horse that didn't know how to lunge, although he'd done some round pen work before with the old man who started him.  She said that Pie is really smart and picks things up fast.

Drifter was initially "all fired up" in the new environment, and it took a bit of groundwork to get him to settle down and stand for grooming.  After that they did some more groundwork, and as Heather said, once he "gave me his brain" (instead of worrying and feeling like he had to be in control to stay safe - this is where his challenging behavior comes from as underneath he's actually quite sweet), he did great.

I'm expecting more updates soon - but I'm delighted that the training has begun!

The Joy is Back, and Dawn Gives Me "the Look"

Now that Dawn is settling in to the new barn, and Pie and Drifter have been moved to the trainers' place, and I'm getting to ride Dawn almost every day, I've noticed that the joy is back - I look forward to going to the barn, and spending time with Dawn and riding her.  Dawn is still very feisty and opinionated and a challenge for me to ride effectively - she needs my help to relax and settle, or at least my not doing things that amp her up.  We've got a ways to go with her relaxation, but she's still new at the barn and getting used to things, and it's plenty cold as well - the indoor is unheated and often open to the outside. I was pleased with how she handled her spooking at the people in the viewing room yesterday, and seeing a trainer using a lunge whip while lungeing a student on a pony.  I'm really enjoying riding her, and horses are getting back to being a pleasure in my life again.

And Dawn did one of her very special Dawn things yesterday. Dawn is actually my younger daughter's horse, but my daughter's been away at college for three years now and I think Dawn and I are starting to feel that we belong to one another.  Here's a lovely photo of how close my daughter and Dawn are - this was taken on a visit my daughter made last summer:

We've come a long way from 2009 when Dawn kicked me in the jaw (almost completely my fault) and I was very worried about being able to work with and ride her.  Dawn's doing some of her special things with me that she used to do with my daughter, and I feel honored by her.  Some of you may remember this older photo of Dawn doing the "nose rest":

Dawn had already started doing this from time to time at the old barn, but now does it almost every day.  It happens when I'm grooming her - she'll move her head so her nose is pressed into my chest or resting on my shoulder, and I put my arm under her chin and she lets her neck relax and puts the weight of her head on me.  Her eyes get soft and ears relax - it's like she's looking into me - and she'll stay there for a long time.  Sometimes, when her head is on my shoulder I breathe in her nose and put my face next to her muzzle - who could resist this muzzle?

It's a really lovely time for both of us and I think strengthens our bond.

But yesterday, she did something I've seen her do with my daughter, but that she's never done with me before.  When we were riding, and watching the pony being lunged and then when we were standing after her spook so she could observe the people moving around and waving to her from the viewing room, she gave me what I call "the look".  We're standing there - I'm sitting in the saddle and she's on a loose rein - and she slightly turned and tilted her head so the eye on that side is looking back at me - she looked right into my face.  Then she did the same thing on the other side with the other eye.  It's a "????" look - as in "is this all right?", "are we all right with this?"  I stroked her on the neck and assured her it was.  I was very honored that she felt like asking my opinion when she was concerned about something, and seemed willing to take some reassurance from me.  It was a very special day for us.

Dawn Copes and the Boys Go to College

Today Dawn had to cope with a number of new things during our ride.  A trainer was doing a lesson with a walk/trot student on a pony on the lunge line, using a lunge whip to keep the pony moving.  Dawn was paying a lot of attention to the lunge whip - she's pretty nervous about them due to some really bad prior "training". It was a good chance for her to observe and see that lunge whips don't have to be frightening.

Then it started sleeting - we're supposed to get a good amount of snow tonight.  The sleet was very loud on the roof of the indoor, but after a few minutes of nervousness, Dawn settled well to work.  Then, as we were going along the long side of the arena next to the viewing room - which is set fairly high up behind glass - several kids came running up the stairs into the viewing room and suddenly popped into view just as we were going by.  Dawn shied hard away from them but I stayed with her just fine.  We went back to stand near the viewing room and observe - the kids waved to her from inside - she bravely stuck her nose way up and touched the glass - and a while later they came out and into the doorway to the arena to say hi to her and pet her - they were sorry to have spooked her and said how beautiful she is.  It was a very good session - we got some good work done and she got the opportunity to watch and see some things she was worried about.  I was very proud of her.  She started today on her Ultimate Finish - just a small amount which she ate with relish - and I'll be adding more over the next several days.  This should help her weight - I observed her in turnout today while I was parking the trailer, and although she was eating at a round bale with one of the alpha mares for a while, the rest of the time she was having to move from bale to bale - she's using a lot of calories just moving around.

This morning I moved my trailer over to the new barn, before the rain and snow came in.  It felt very odd this afternoon to not stop by the old barn to take care of the boys - for those of you who have kids who have moved away from home, or who have gone to college, it's the same feeling - like the nest is empty and the birds are flown.  But they're likely not gone for good - in fact I now have another stall at the new barn, in the same small barn area where Dawn is, starting April 5 - this means Drifter and Pie both have a place to come back to.  This takes a lot of worries away - now I just need to wait to hear from Heather about how they're doing and when I should start going up there to take lessons with them.

March is a time of hope and expectation . . .

March Arrives and New Beginnings

Leaving a barn where you've been for over 10 years is just like leaving a job, or other major life change, in terms of stress.  Although I wish everyone there well, I'm happy to be done with that chapter of my horse life. I'm glad I was able to move Dawn to the new barn more than two weeks ago - I got that part of the change over with before the rest, so it wasn't as overwhelming.  Today the boys - Pie and Drifter - made the trip up to Wisconsin to start their month of training.  I spent the morning cleaning my stuff out of the tack room and barn, and loading the trailer with all that (and with three horses there's plenty) as well as hay for transition - they'll be staying on their balancer pellets while they're there.  Then at about noon, I loaded them up and off we set.  I was very pleased with how well Drifter loaded - it's been several months since we've practiced loading.  It took less than a minute - he did back out once but came right back on and stood for me when I asked so I could close the partition, although he was clearly nervous.  Pie loaded as he always does, which is perfectly.  I have a four horse slant load, so Drifter was in the first slot, which is separated from the second slot by a stud barrier going all the way to the floor - I didn't want to take any chances of him getting into it with Pie.  Pie was in the third slot.  Both boys had hay nets to occupy them.

The trip was about 2 hours, mostly on the interstate - about 80 miles in total - and everything went smoothly and both boys traveled well - a much more pleasant trip than the much shorter ride with Dawn.  I should have taken pictures but didn't - they were very cute on arrival as we got ready to unload with their heads sticking out the windows.  They'll be outside 24/7 except in very inclement weather, and Pie's paddock adjoins that of two other geldings - he immediately went up and introduced himself and really seemed to be enjoying the interaction - he's missed socializing with other horses a lot.

Heather will be working with them over the next week or 10 days to see where they are and what they need, and then she'll update me and we'll make plans for me to come up and work with her and them on a regular basis.  She'll take into account that Pie still seems to be recovering from his bout with EPM - although his balance and gaits are normal, he's got some muscle and skin soreness and may not be able to use his left hind as effectively as he should yet.  We'll have his chiropractor visit to do more work on him in about two weeks.

After I got home, I made a quick trip over to visit Dawn and give her a grooming.  It's hard to believe, but we actually managed 11 rides in February - it's amazing what an indoor will do for your ability to ride in the winter! Dawn's weight isn't picking up as quickly as I'd like, so I'm going to be starting her on some supplemental feed - probably beet pulp, rice bran or Ultimate Finish.  Her weight is between a 3 and 4 on the scale - all of her ribs are visible and she doesn't have much subcutaneous fat.  I'm making sure she's blanketed well for turnout to make up for the lack of body fat.  She has access to good-quality grass hay outside - although I think she's too active and busy to eat much - and also gets plentiful hay in the afternoon and evening in her stall.  She's already getting supplemental flaxseed, so I'll increase that as well.  I know she'll plump right up in June when the horses go out to pasture, but she needs more weight now, particularly since she's getting worked most days now.

I'm tired, but very happy - things are in motion and all three horses will be getting what they need right now, which wasn't possible before.  I'm glad to have the boys' move over with, as I hate driving the trailer - I've driven thousands of miles, including two round trips to Colorado (about 20 hours of driving each way), but I'll never enjoy driving a large horse trailer.  Fortunately, all went very well on this trip. I see a lot of good horse time in my future, and true spring will be here before we know it . . .