From Meh to Yay

Yesterday was meh.  The day started out pretty well.  Dawn and I had a nice ride in the early morning -  after her upset the day before, she was mellow and relaxed.  We did some very nice trot work, and also some canter - she's having difficulty holding the right lead and tends to want to come back to trot.  I suspect her left hind may be developing some arthritis - she'll be 16 this summer so that wouldn't be surprising.

But my rides in the afternoon yesterday weren't the greatest.  Red was anxious and bracing, and fussing about transitions from walk to trot.  He may have been a bit sore since he'd had a day off - he probably should do something almost every day, even if only some vigorous walking, because of his arthritis.  We ended up working for a while, and he did some good work but our connection was lacking.  Pie was a bit sluggish and his lack of bend was back.  We worked for a while at trot and canter, but the softness and connection wasn't really there.

All of this, of course, was because I wasn't riding well.  I was distracted - this happens to me sometimes when there's a lot of activity in the ring.  So I expect I wasn't mentally present the whole time to my horses, and they could feel the gaps in my direction and leadership.  And I was looking down at my horses' heads, particularly with Red, and the result of this was the energy was going down.  I was also pushing and shoving at Red, which made him even more resistant - there was even some head shaking.  Red's fussing and Pie's slowness and lack of bend were both caused by my bad riding.

I told them both they were very good horses for putting up with me.  As Scarlett said, tomorrow is another day.  Meh . . .

Today was much better.  It was beastly cold - the high was about 18F with wind chills hovering around zero all day.  I went in the late morning to check on Dawn, and sure enough there she was huddled by the gate.  I brought her in and she seemed very happy in her stall the rest of the day, even though she was alone in our end of the barn.  Pie and Red were perfectly happy outside.

My objective today was to be there - to be present for my horses.  All three horses got good groomings, and Dawn and Pie got the day off - one of my hips is sore from yesterday, because of all that bad riding and pushing I had done.

Red and I ended up having an excellent ride today.  It was very cold in the arena - about 22F.   I made sure to do a thorough 15-minute walk warm up, including some lateral work.  He was very with me, even when he startle/scooted when an outside door opened making a horrible scraping sound.  I worked on keeping my eyes up, posture open, and not pushing.  I asked for trot by bringing up the energy only, making sure he was soft but not keeping a tight contact - no leg aids or pushing with my seat.  I got a few steps of canter before he trotted, but I just brought him right back to walk and we tried again.  No problem - beautiful transitions and no bracing or resistance.  His trot work was very good - he was a bit stiff but worked out of it.  I didn't push him, but let him trot with the degree of forward he was comfortable with.  As he warmed up, his trot got better and better.  We did a number of quick walk/trot/walk/trot transitions - quick because we only spent a few strides in each gait - and he was great.  Also, after his trot loosened up, his walk was bigger and with more swing than it's had in a while.

I told him what a wonderful horse he was and put him away.  Meh to yay!  (Oh, and there were 58 rides in January - not too bad for our part of the world in January.)

Getting to Good

Dawn and I had a challenging work session today, but we made it through to good.  It was a good example to me of how important patience, persistence and having a clear, specific objective in mind makes a difference to getting to good.

I brought her in from the pasture - wading through the mud - and as I started out towards her - holding onto the fence to keep from falling in the mud - she headed for the water tank to take a drink.  I always take her for a drink before I bring her in, and I guess today she decided to take care of that part herself.

We went inside, I rinsed her legs off - she was muddy to the knees and hocks - and we groomed and saddled up.  I led her into the arena - all the doors were open due to the very warm weather - and we discovered that a horse in a paddock next to the barn, and visible from the arena, was running, bucking and sliding like a maniac, with his owner chasing him around and trying to catch him - this was a horse who had just come off stall rest after surgery for a fractured splint bone and wasn't supposed to be running like that.  Dawn finds other horses being upset, or acting crazed, very disturbing.  So she started to have a meltdown.  She did stay aware of me - she didn't mow me down, or rear, or bolt - all things she used to do in the past - but was circling me, very upset, blowing and with huge eyes.

We did a strategic retreat.  I put her in her stall to chill and eat hay for a while while I did some chores.  She called to me with her anxious whinney from time to time, but kept eating hay.  A while later, we returned to the ring - she was still worried and upset - and we did some lungeing.   She was still worried and not very happy about having to lunge.  My objective was simple and very specific - I wanted her to to do canter departures from trot nicely on my voice command, and canter nicely until I asked her to stop, on both leads, without bucking or kicking out.  I wasn't interested in her running in circles or tiring her out  - I just wanted to get the connection back. Easier said than done . . .

It took a while to get there.  Dawn is a very emotional horse - a diva if you will - she's incredibly responsive and cares a lot about whether she's connected to you, but she can be very reactive.  I've learned that horse express their emotions - anger, frustration, fear, anxiety and pain - through their bodies - there's a direct and immediate connection - it's not at all a case of "my horse is out to get me" at all - horses don't plan or scheme - but rather "I'm upset/worried/scared/anxious about x, so I'm acting up by throwing my body around".

Dealing with Dawn's tendency to get emotional under stress has been a big challenge for me - she can be plenty scary/big when she's upset - it's important to keep myself safe, and her moves can be big, but if I can be patient, quiet and calm but also persistent, we get to good.

Today it took a while to get there - there was a lot of bucking and kicking out towards me - I made sure the circles were large enough to ensure my safety - she was expressing her anxiety at the upset she'd experienced and her frustration with me, and she kept stopping and turning in to express her uncertainty.  But I just quietly kept asking for what I wanted and ignoring the rest.  And before too long, we had nice quiet canter departures on my voice command in each direction.  You could almost hear her sigh and let go of the anxiety.  I had her canter only a few strides after a good, quiet departure, then asked her to stop, which she was glad to do.

And we were at good.  I mounted up, and we had a good short walk/trot ride with lots of really nice forward and relaxation - there was lots of loose rein trotting where she was stretching down.  The security of feeling better again, and sure of our connection again, seemed to make a big difference to her.

Dawn has been a real challenge for me, but I'm very fortunate to have her - she's make a huge difference to my horsemanship.

Fourth Blog Anniversary, and Nose Rests Are a Good Sign

It's hard to believe that today is the fourth anniversary of when I started this blog.  Lots of posts since then, and a huge number of changes in my horse life and riding.  The death of my old horse Noble, retiring several horses to Tennessee, learning to work with Dawn, and finding two new horses - Pie and Red - and dealing with various medical and training issues - a lot has happened.  My very bad fall in June of 2011, and having to deal with that and really change how I rode, was a real turning point, leading to some big changes and improvements in me that my horses have benefitted from.  I'm riding every chance I get, and have set up my life to make that possible.  Riding, and improving my riding and what I have to offer to my horses, is a real priority now.  I'm almost 60, and although I won't be able to ride forever, I intend to ride every time I can between now and whenever that is - every ride is precious.

* * * * * *
Back to regular horse news - it was a wonderful three-horse day - any day I can ride and have fun with my horses is a good day.  And today it was like I was at a private barn, all my own - all three rides I had the arena to myself, and was the only person to ride in it by the time I was done - the arena is dragged twice a day.

Dawn and I had an excellent ride this morning.  Before the ride, she did a lot of nose resting while I was grooming.  She would press her nose into my chest while I stroked her face and neck.  It was a very good sign - she was feeling connected with me - my connection with her comes and goes although she always tries hard in our rides.  I love it when she does nose resting - you can't ask her to do it, she has to offer it to you - I always feel honored by her wanting that closeness.  Our ride couldn't have been better - she was very forward but responsive in all three gaits and bending well.  Her softness was very good, although she did fuss with her head from time to time - there may be some new dental issues brewing.

Red has been working very well, and today was no exception.  We did a thorough 15-minute walk warm up, then moved to trot.  He fusses a bit on the first upwards transition, so we worked on reducing his anxiety and bracing with some circles, only going to trot when he was relaxed.  We did almost 20 minutes of trotting today and most of it was very good - lots of impulsion.  There were a few moments where he was stiff, but he was willing to work.  We also did some canter on both leads, and ended up with some very nice walk/trot/walk transitions and some relaxed rein trotting.

Pie has been doing really good work.  Yesterday, we did a session with a lot of forward trot work.  The weather outside yesterday was very strange - rain, sleet and snow.  At one point yesterday, it started to heavily sleet - it sounding in the indoor as if it were hailing.  Pie was considerably alarmed, so I dismounted and stood with him for a few minutes, reassuring him until he relaxed and we went back to work.  Some snow had also blown in under one of the arena doors, and at first he was a bit concerned about that, but we just kept working closer to the worry spot and soon he was fine.

Today Pie and I had an even better ride - lots of forward trot with good impulsion and bend, and a substantial amount of canter work.  The arena doors were open, since it was unusually warm today, and Pie was nervous at one end but we just kept on working and he settled very well.  His bending and softness at the canter continue to improve, and we ended with some very nice repeated trot/canter/trot work on both leads - his transitions continue to improve.

All three horses were told many times how good they were, both verbally and with stroking.  Every one is tucked back in stalls and we're all feeling happy about things.

Pie Says He's Fixed My Right Bend

Pie continued to work with me yesteday on fixing my right bend, and I expect he was pretty satisfied with the progress I made - he must have been mighty frustrated/annoyed with me.  The ride before that he worked with me on my right bend at walk and trot.  My job, he told me, was to keep my eyes up - way up - which meant my chin and head were up and my posture much improved with my shoulders and legs open and not blocking.  No blocking/pushing with leg or pulling/fussing with my hands.  We were to ride to where I was looking, with forward, and in corners and bends, all I was supposed to do was subtly "ride to the outside" as I described in my last post.

We did this work again yesterday, starting in walk and trot.  Pie's gaits were very forward and he had great impulsion since his front end wasn't blocked.  Then the true test - canter.  Right lead canter has been a real struggle for us - lots of falling in, inversion of head and neck and wrong bend by Pie, and lots of fussing, pushing and pulling by me.  Very ugly.

Yesterday our canter work was just about perfect - on both leads - the right lead was just as wonderful as the left lead.  Pie was forward but not rushing, maintained perfect bend in both directions, including on circles and deep into the corners, and was able to offer quite a bit of softness on a very nice soft contact.  We did a fair number of wonderful canter laps in both directions, then I stopped him, got off and put him away, even though we'd only worked for about 20 minutes.

You could just about see him saying "I told you so. . ."  Now, if we ever start having trouble with our bend again, I'll know where the problem is - me - funny how that's usually the case if I'm having an issue with one of my horses . . .

Repeat: I Will Not Look at My Horse's Head . . .

It was still very cold today, with a wind chill of -10F this morning and a high temperature in the teens.  I didn't ride Dawn today, but did bring her in at around 10 a.m. - she was warm under her fleece and blanket, but was hunkered down with her butt to the wind and looked pretty miserable.  She seemed happy to be in, and stayed in for the rest of the day.  We did do a bit of lungeing so she could stretch her legs.

Pie and I have been having trouble with our bend, or lack thereof.  I've met some long-necked and long-bodied horses that were like noodles - very bendy, or even over bendy.  Pie, who is quite long in the neck and back, is actually quite stiff and reluctant to bend.  He's also a horse who can brace and lean, resulting in blocked movement if I use too much leg or hand.  Our small circle work has made a big difference, but he still tends to fall in when tracking right at the trot or canter.  A large part of this is me - my right bend requires a lot more thought and effort on my part than bending left.

In thinking about Pie's movement, my conclusion is that I've been blocking the free movement of his front end, and therefore his ability to engage, lift and bend.  Compensating for this with my hands just makes things worse. One of my biggest riding faults, and one that tends to drive the energy down and therefore block free movement by the horse, is looking down.  I've been know to even look at the ground, and pretty regularly have my horse's ears in my sights.  All of this results in poor posture - it reinforces my tendency to slump and having my chin down puts the weight of my head more on the horse's forehand.  It has lots of other effects, too - it means I lose my focus on where I want to go, and have closed shoulders which adversely affects my hand position.  And the more things aren't quite right, the more I stare at his head, and the more I fuss with my hands because I can see that his head and neck position are messed up - he often inverts his neck, or alternately falls behind the bit, both of which put him on the forehand, and he tends to try to place his shoulder to the inside and head to the outside.  This can't be fixed with hands, but has to come from the whole horse.

In addition, since Pie is built slightly downhill, all this extra "loading" of focus and body weight on his front end makes it all that much harder for him to carry himself properly.  No wonder the poor guy can't bend.  Dawn used to have a similar problem tracking right, since she's also a bit downhill and my riding faults were affecting her too.  She's a little more bendable than Pie, which helps, and I've been working with her on some things (really working on me) that have helped her a lot.  It's about time I used these same tools to fix me when riding Pie - remember that "ride all your horses the same" challenge?  This is a good example of that.

So today Pie and I had an excellent ride, because I kept my focus on riding correctly, the way I've been riding Dawn (more on Red in a minute).  This involves a couple of things.  The most important one is to keep my chin up and my eyes focussed where I am going and fairly high up - I look at the place where the walls meet the arena ceiling - this seems too high but it's a necessary overcompensation for my bad posture - the result is that I'm actually close to straight.  And I requested forward from Pie at all times - instead of pushing for more forward I used a secondary cue using a dressage whip - while giving him an opportunity to move unblocked by me.  He was really carrying himself well and I could feel him using his hind end to push instead of pulling from the front end.  As a result, his trot had a lot more elevation and impulsion.

I also didn't shim my saddle - I've been doing this to compensate for Pie's downhill build.  Pie's actually filled out quite a bit since I got the saddle, and it now fits him through the shoulders and withers, where before it was slightly too wide in front.  This also required me to sit up and straight, and I found he didn't feel downhill at all - fancy that!  And I changed Pie's bit back to the raised Rockin' S snaffle (it's the one at the bottom of the linked page) that we used at the clinic last June - he did a lot of mouthing for a bit but settle to it well - he softens very nicely in it without going behind the vertical and doesn't tend to brace against it.  It meant my contact could be live, but very soft.

Then, in addition to keeping my focus up and out (with all the good postural results), hands connected but soft, and making sure we had forward at every step - this meant I had good quality gaits and a good "feel" between me and Pie - I worked on our bending by "carrying" myself to the outside while keeping my focus up and around the turn.  This involves mentally, and very minimally physically, going to the outside myself and using the connection/feel with the horse to ask him to go with me.  This involves thinking my hands and shoulders to the outside, while keeping my body bent around the corner, and thinking stepping over and to the outside with my own legs.  This is mostly a mental/feel thing, with the only physical movement being a very slight movement of my hands to the outside and a slight weighting of the outside stirrup - if it's working the horse goes with me so there's no physical disconnect between me and the horse - I move mentally to the outside and the horse goes right with me.

Worked like a charm, even to the right.  Pie seemed pretty happy about the whole thing, perhaps because he could move better and I wasn't pushing and pulling on him and making him crabby.

Red and I also had a very good ride.  He's a horse who came to me with excessive bendiness - he was like a noodle with no connection between the head and neck and the rest of the horse, possibly due to excessive lateral flexion work.  It took Heather and me quite a while to get him connected from back to front again, and that's now working very well.  Red also has the advantage of being built fairly uphill, and is naturally very forward, so my posture and focus defects didn't affect him as badly as they did Pie.  But he moves even better than usual if I apply my Dawn and Pie corrections of my riding to my rides with him.

Now that I'm offering Red the opportunity to canter after our walk warm up, all his balkiness/fussiness has disappeared completely, and all of a sudden he's a lot less interested in having to canter first now that he knows he can.  Sometimes breaking a pattern of resistance can be best done by sidestepping it rather than forcing it.  I expect pretty soon initial walk/trot transitions will be no problem at all - it's no longer a source of worry for him.  We did a good amount of trotting today - he had moments of stiffness but by the end his trot was very engaged and forward (some of that could have been my not looking at his head . . .).  We did some canter work - a little on the right lead, which is hard for him, and a bit more on the left lead, as well as some canter/trot/canter transitions.  It's so much fun to be be able to really ride him again!

Another really fine day with horses - mostly because I worked on me - my horses say they're glad of that!

Back in the Saddle

The temperature made it up to 18F today, with some wind, but it seemed like a big improvement over the last several days.  I was able to ride all three horses - the temperature in the indoor was about 22F in the morning when Dawn and I were working, and made it up to around 26F in the afternoon when I rode Pie and Red.

All three horses had a day off due to the cold yesterday, and Dawn had spent most of the day in her stall yesterday, at her request - she did manage to get out today, as well as the boys.  Despite the cold and day off, all three horses were very, very good.

I lunged Dawn for a bit before I rode, but she was responsive and well-behaved from the beginning.  Her canter work on the lunge was very good, with no bucking or squealing and only the slightest bit of head tossing.  She told me she didn't really need the lungeing by asking to turn in, so we stopped pretty quickly.  We had a very nice ride, mostly at trot, and she was quite relaxed and stretching down, although very forward.  We did only a little canter to keep the excitement to a minimum - Dawn's a horse who tends to rev up at the higher gaits rather than settle.  I told her what a good girl she was and turned her back out.

Pie was up first in the afternoon.  He started out quite forward, and did some nice trot work and then we did a fair amount of cantering - he sustains the canter well now on both leads, although our bending to the right is still an issue that we need to work on.  After that we did some more trot work, including some very nice tight serpentines.

Red was really excellent.  He stood perfectly on a loose rein for mounting - this is something we work on every day and it's really starting to gel.  He was very forward at the walk and warmed up well.  We then went immediately to left lead canter - there was no balking or resistance and we moved right to trot work after that.  He started out a bit stiff at trot to start, but warmed up and started moving much better. We mixed up the trot and canter work, and ended with a lap of right lead canter, and a bit of more collected trot work.  He was just wonderful - very soft and relaxed, and got much praise from me.

Tomorrow it's supposed to be about as cold, and then we're warming up into the 20sF, with 30s and even 40s coming next week.  Looking forward to that!

Even Colder

The temperature today made it up to about 8F (-13C) with a wind chill of -5F (-21 C) - the low last night was -4F (-20 C).  I kept my three horses in for a bit this morning, and then put all three out - Dawn was double blanketed.  Within two hours, Dawn was at the gate, hunkered down, and glad to come back into the barn even if it meant being by herself.  I checked on the boys a couple of times during the day, and both times Pie gave me the "I'm outta here" treatment - the first time he was at the water trough drinking and sucking his tongue, with Red keeping watch from the hill.  Pie looked at me for a moment, then turned and sashayed off - at this point the wind chill was about -10F (-23C).  The second time Red was on the hay bale, and Pie was playing a vigorous game of bite-face with another gelding - he looked at me but had no interest in coming in.  Apparently those boys don't get cold too easily - but that makes some sense as they're both from cold climates - Pie was born in Montana and lived north of Minneapolis, and Red is from Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

It was pretty darn cold when I got to the barn, and the arena wasn't much warmer than 20F (-7C).  I did some grooming and walked Dawn a bit, then called it a day.  No one seemed to mind - even Red wasn't demanding to come out of his stall - I expect all that wind and cold is tiring.  Tomorrow things are supposed to be slightly warmer, and we'll be riding again . . .