You get what you ask for…and what you accept

July 11, 2012 Leave a comment

We worked on bend tonight, and made some progress.

I’m finally getting my strength back to the point where I can start worrying about other things than not banging the saddle when I post or steadying my hands.  Gait quality has been better of late, but I’m still allowing Derby to go around with his nose poked out like a little hunter.  So staying round, through, bending and forward are very much on my mind these days.

Christy really zeroed in on a couple key issues tonight when it comes to bending and staying round and on the aids.  I’m either not asking for the response I want, or I’m accepting a “meh” response from the horse.   In other words (and this sure sounds familiar) I need to “fix it now.” Some key takeaways from tonight that I must remember:

  • Use the inside rein.  If he doesn’t respond to a softening of the inside rein, and continues to hang, get busy with the inside leg while insisting with the inside rein (e.g. a direct rein).  My desire to not hang on the inside rein has gone a bit too far.  I am allowed to use it.
  • When Derby feels “stuck” and braced against me, I need to mix it up.  Flex him, do serpentines and leg yields – anything to get that neck unbraced and softer.
  • Do as little as you can do but as much as you need to do to get the response you want – but be mindful.  If the horse doesn’t respond when I ask nicely, I have to next ask not-so-nicely.  Accepting no response results in a dull horse that’s dead to the aids.

This video from my lesson captures some of Christy’s advice to me.  By the end of the lesson I was getting much better and faster responses from Derby, and we really started to get it together.  This clip is still chock full of the uglies but I love it because it captures Christy’s advice, and shows that when I follow it, I get the responses that I want from the horse. Until, at least, I stop riding in the last seconds and collapse …

I had to work my butt off but by the end of the ride we managed to get ourselves together more consistently.  Overall, I’m happy with the progress recently, especially with the improvement in the horse’s gaits.  We had a really nice canter tonight that felt fresh and forward, and the trot work across the board has also improved.  I’m putting myself into almost-full training and am excited about my ride tomorrow.  Progress is so motivating. 🙂

 

 

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Redemption

June 17, 2012 1 Comment

Derby showing off his ribbons. He won a blue one, and a yellow one. Good boy, Derby!

We went out to our third show yesterday, with better results all around.  My riding improved, and there were no unscheduled dismounts.  Along the way, we picked up our second qualifying score for the IDCTA schooling show championships, so we’re now qualified at Intro.  Derby and I also won our first blue ribbon together.  It was a good day!

This artsy shot is courtesy of fellow rider (and now working student) Caitlin.

Upon arrival at Cross Winds Farm, I got Derby settled in then took him for a walk.  He was pretty chill at first, and enjoyed picking the clover growing near the rings.  When Boomer and Peaches (who were showing with us) came out with their riders to have a look around, he became a bit unhinged.  He reared and levitated and was doing his impression of a 1,000 lb kite.  I regretted not bringing a regular (or even a rope) halter with me, because I didn’t have a lot of control in the padded shipping halter.  Luckily, Derby didn’t yank the shank out of my hands, and he eventually settled down.

We had plenty of time before our ride, so I braided him, groomed him and then got on for our warm up.  The day threatened to grow warm, but it was still pretty cool and breezy when I mounted up.  We did a light warm up, and things were okay but not great.  He was a bit distracted (but not naughty at all) and I will admit right off the bat that I was feeling a bit defensive.  I really didn’t want to wind up in the dirt again! Life would be easier if I could just turn off my internal worrier.

The first test was okay.  Derby was obedient, but we weren’t dazzling.  He (and I) were both bit tense but I was able to get a decent free walk out of him and some decent moments of roundness.  We finished with 57% and change, good for third place.

I had almost 50 minutes until my next ride, and was thinking about getting off to rest a bit, but the Derby spooked twice in rapid succession in the warm up, so I put him to work. As we worked, I got and kept his attention, and things started feeling (and looking, according to Christy) pretty good.  In a nearby ring, the jumpers got going, and Derby was pretty interested in them, giving me a new challenge just when I thought we had everything worked out.  I doubled down on keeping him busy, and once again, got the horse to come back to me and relax.  In retrospect, both Derby and I would probably benefit from doing more work in our initial warm up.

Showing some better energy in the trot (you can see that he’s pushing a bit more with his hind legs when compared to the other trot photo.) Photo by Suzie Ridenour. (Thanks Suzie!)

A decent halt, despite the dang fly. Photo courtesy of Suzie Ridenour (http://suzanner.zenfolio.com/).

We were finally called for our second test, and I worked my half-halts after greeting the judge as I headed for A.  Derby was feeling great!  Then, as stupid luck would have it, just as we were doing our final circle and heading in, a giant B-1 bomber of a horse fly started buzzing Derby.  Up popped his head just as we entered.  Crap!   Needless to say, our first centerline and halt weren’t great.  But we got right to task and had a much better ride in our second test.   The energy and connection and consistency were all improved.  Our trot diagonal was solid and our circles felt pretty good.  Christy was grinning like a skunk and on our way out told me that we looked better in the ring than we had in long time, even at home.

I hopped off Derby and back to the barn we went.  He was definitely pooped and his saddle pad was dripping.  After untacking him, I peeled my show clothes off and then gave him a quick currying, fresh water and hay, and then stuffed him with cookies before running out to watch some of the others ride so he could have a well-deserved nap.  After the lunch break, I went to the office to pick up my test, and was delighted to learn that we had won the class with a score of 60.6%, which is just enough to qualify for the schooling show championships.

The judge echoed what I hear from Christy almost every day – that I have to get that hind end engaged and improve my connection.  I will be focusing on that in coming weeks.

We don’t have any shows planned in the near term, but I’m very happy that it’s not even (technically) summer yet and I’ve been out 3 times and have my qualifying scores.  I would still very much like to get out at Training this year, but to get there I’m going to have to really work hard on getting Derby forward into the contact (which really means that I need to ride confidently).  And I have to keep working on improving my seat.  Always that.   So, a lot lies ahead, but we are off to a decent start.

I’m itching to ride today, but Derby’s getting the day off.  He worked hard yesterday so I’m going to let him chill and roll in the mud (it finally rained last night.) Work begins anew on Monday!

We were both happy to be done with the last test! Photo courtesy of Suzie Ridenour.

Photo note:  My friend Suzie Ridenour took some of the pictures you see above.  She’s a professional photographer and graciously allowed me to use some shots here on the blog.  She does some amazing work, ranging from nature shots to portraits.  View her work here: Suzie Ridenour Photography. Enjoy!

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Lemonade

June 8, 2012 3 Comments

Good man.

 

It’s been a while since I posted, and I don’t have too much that’s new to report.  Right after the show, my husband and I went away for a few days. Some of the teenagers at the barn rode Derby while I was away – and he got some real work in with them.

Unfortunately, my unscheduled dismount at the show left me with a pulled groin muscle and a very sore sprained ankle – I think my foot hung in the stirrup a bit on my way down, rolling my foot over and injuring the ankle.  It’s better but not healed.  I have to be careful when I ride not to aggravate it.

I’ve had a couple lessons that were pretty ‘eh’ – it’s hard to ride well when things hurt!  And last weekend me made an attempt at a trail ride, but I threw in the towel when Derby refused to go by through a gap in a fence that is right next to a culvert.  He wasn’t being bad about it, and a rider with more intestinal fortitude would have kicked him through it, but that day, that rider wasn’t me.  I hate to give in but I didn’t have a whip with me (mistake) and, as previously mentioned, I’m not at 100%.

Last night the ankle was really bugging me, so Christy had me drop my stirrups. Needless to say, posting without stirrups isn’t something I do enough of and I didn’t last too long – those muscles are weak, and I’m feeling it today!  We also did some sitting trot work that was pretty fun.  I was able to get Derby to round for just a moment, enabling me to experience what sitting on a back that’s up feels like.  It’s much better than sitting on one that’s hollow.  But the no-stirrups work was great and informative.  I love how Christy can make lemonade when I hand her a lemon.

We’re entered in another schooling show next weekend.  It’s another unfamiliar venue, which is great practice for us.  Despite the tumble two weeks ago, we are making progress.  The key, when we’re away at home, isn’t to try to get Derby to relax.  It’s to take charge and really ride him.  When he is convinced that the human is in charge, he’s fine.  It’s convincing him that’s the challenge.

 

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Silencing the Voices

May 23, 2012 1 Comment

Working our free walk.

Derby has had the unenviable task recently of carting around an extra burden.  In addition to me, the poor creature has been saddled with an entire chorus of gremlins.  They live in my head and lately, every single one of them has shown up for my rides.  This was especially evident over the weekend, as I was over-thinking to the point where I would literally try to do three things at once in the saddle, and I would wind up literally screwed up – twisted and hunched and convoluted in the saddle to such an extent that Derby really should have just dumped my butt in  the sand.

This persisted into a lesson in which I didn’t ride well.  Watching the video, I cringed.  Some of the same tension – in the rider, not the horse – that I experienced at the show was clearly evident in this video.

Simply put, I was trying too hard, and ignoring some key basics, like balance, and checking in on your equine partner.  PARTNER. Not vehicle.  Looking back those videos, I was having a one-sided conversation with Derby.  And I was doing all the talking.  He responded as any rational being would – he clamped his mouth shut, and did his best to ignore all the blather.  Can’t blame him, not one iota.

So I resolved to banish the voices, and instead of trying so hard, to tune into the horse, and really feel him.  Feel his mouth, his neck, his back, his hind legs.  Feel all those things he uses to communicate with me, that I was ignoring of late.

It won’t surprise you to hear that everything improved.  Gait quality, roundness.  It’s coming back, but I have to really make a point of silencing the voices in my head, and listening to the horse instead.

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Fine adjustments

May 17, 2012 Leave a comment

He has good reason to look confused.

My slow crawl back to respectability continues.  In my lesson last night, my endurance improved enough to do more trot work, and it was pretty decent trot work.  With Christy’s coaching, we were able to produce a nicely connected and round trot that had a little swing to it -and we were able to hold it consistently.

To get me there, Christy had me warm up by inviting Derby to stretch out and down.  Once I got there, she had me apply “back to front” aids – correcting my position and closing my legs to keep him forward, while continuing to ask Derby to stretch into the bit.  I needed a barrage of constant reminders, which to the innocent bystander may have sounded like harassment but honestly, until habits form, I appreciate the stream of commands from the center of the ring (“Check your posture! Tuck your butt, stretch and forward!”)

The “tuck your butt” suggestion is shorthand that Christy and I have developed that helps me process what she’s asking for so I can respond more quickly.   We’ve found that coaching commands that carry a visual association really help correct myself more quickly.  When I hear ‘butt tuck’ I respond by doing a few things – I elongate my spine, open my hips and check to make sure my seatbones aren’t pointed backward.   I have the bad habit of wanting to schooch back in my saddle, with my posterior almost on the cantle.  The “butt tuck” is also a reminder to me to put myself on my seatbones in the middle of the saddle.  When I hear Christy say that, it elicits a cascade of actions.

The best part of the ride was the fact that I could feel that the contact on the reins was alive and communicative.  That’s such a good feeling – you have the horse’s attention, he’s working over his back and maneuverable, and you can actually feel the inside hind leg in the reins.  Which sounds ridiculous, but for those who have actually felt that ….you know what I’m talking about.

We also picked apart a problem that evidenced itself with real clarity in the show ring a couple weeks ago, when we veered off course a bit during the sort free walk from F to E, winding up left of the target, almost at V.  In reviewing the video, Christy noticed that I had collapsed to the right, effectively pushing the horse to the left.   I started to experience that last night when we changed direction at the walk, and veered away from my intended path.  I tried to re-balance myself, but it wasn’t until Christy walked behind us and diagnosed what was going on that we could really fix what was going on.

I tend to carry my head tilted to the right.  At the walk, Christy had me sit on my seatbones, and lift my shoulders up up up, stretching and straightening my spine.  She then had me tip my head to the left, until it was straight.   Our walk improved.  However, we were still getting hung up at the trot going right.  Christy had us work both directions, watching intently.

“OK, I know what you’re doing,” she said after a few minutes.   I was leading with the wrong shoulder – twisting in the saddle. Essentially, I was almost in position to bend the other direction.    I straightened my posture once again, got balanced on my seatbones, and rolled my shoulders back, paying attention to the right shoulder (the one that wants to creep and roll forward.) Instantly, I could trot a circle without feeling like I had to work for it.

It’s amazing how these seemingly small changes and imbalances can have such a profound effect on the horse. I’m glad that we can take the time to fix these things, rather than trying to kick the hapless horse “through it.”

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Dear Muscles: I’m Sorry.

May 14, 2012 Leave a comment

This picture of my retiree, Jag (far right) has nothing to do with tonight’s post. I visited him and his two amigos last weekend, They were all mugging for treats. Sweet boys.

The last two weeks have been a strange and frustrating oddessy.  It started when I dropped my stirrups a hole, and had to remodel my seat (and muscles).  I had the great idea to help myself along by doubling down on the workouts, thinking that I’d suffer a bit but get over the hump faster.

I was wrong.  Very wrong.

About a week before the show, I staggered into the barn for a lesson, which turned out to be a total waste of time, due to the fact that I had pretty much exhausted myself earlier that day.  I apologized to Christy and told her I’d do my tougher workouts on non-lesson days.  She said that was a good idea, but also suggested that I back off a bit in general.

I decided to listen to her, and stopped all strenuous cardio work, because my legs just weren’t recovering.  My muscles – especially my riding muscles, felt exhausted all the time.  They were weak, and burning. When I rode, I had very little endurance.  It was ugly.

The show itself, as I mentioned was physically exhausting.  I have some new insight into my rides from Christy that I’ll share soon, but one key thing she noticed in the video of the rides is that I was double bouncing when I posted.   And that problem persisted a couple days after we got home.

While things have improved a bit this week (the double bouncing has been banished) I still haven’t been riding well.  Saturday was total mess, as a friend stopped by to meet Derby, and he was super fresh and looky, and I just didn’t have the wherewithal to deal with it.  Sunday started out the same way, so I put him on the longe. There was a lot going on that day – kids running all over blowing bubbles and riding Big Wheels, tractors and weedwhackers all over the place – you get the idea .  Derby starte off running like an idiot, but I was soon able to get him listening.  We did all sorts of transitions – walk, trot, canter, walk, halt, etc. and Derby really dialed in. He was listening well and even stayed focused during some pretty loud noises outside.

We joined Christy & Liam and Donna & Boomer outside, and to my delight, even though he was presented with some totally new sights (kids on swingset, the aforementioned toddler on the Big Wheel) he was as good as gold.

A few days ago, we talked about what was going on.  My legs still felt terrible and the endurance and strength just weren’t there. So I put more protein and more carbs back into my diet.  I took it easy for a few more days.  I added a multivitamin that is also supposed to boost energy.  I’ve loaded up on potassium rich foods.  I’ve changed up my schedule eating what amounts to my dinner at around 4 pm.

And finally, today, I felt better.

And finally, today, I was capable of a decent ride.

I’m so damn relieved.

I was finally able to carry myself, and Derby appreciated it, responding to my inside leg, softening and rounding.  As the lesson went on, my muscles started to fatigue but they weren’t shutting down, there was no burn.  It was a definite step forward.   And the quality of our ride really improved.  Nice transitions, a little nice canter.  And most important, a good connection.  Christy had me think about feeling his mouth in the context of the contact asking me at various points what I thought, and what I felt, and challenging me to remember what it feels like when there’s contact but the mouth is silent, because the horse is braced against the bit. “You hate that feeling,” she said. “Remember it. You hate that.  You don’t have control when he’s like that.”

I’m eager to get back out there tomorrow.  We’re aiming at another schooling show – and some redemption – at the end of the month!

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Planetary alignment? Whatever. I’ll take it.

May 3, 2012 Leave a comment

If you noticed a shift of the Earth’s axis around 7:30 pm (CST) this evening, don’t be alarmed. I have an explanation. The shift you felt was a direct effect of the alignment of the planets that occurred at about the same time. In addition to the axial tilt you may have noticed, the alignment of the planets also caused Derby and I to have a very nice ride tonight.

At this point, the planetary alignment theory makes good sense, because there is no way around it, I’ve been riding like absolute shite for the last week. Actually, Christy and I kicked some theories around while grazing our horses afterward, but first, let me tell you how the evening went down.

I prodded Derby’s back and didn’t love what I saw. While he wasn’t super-sore, his back was reactive. I hemmed and hawed, and then decided to tack him up. They were in today due to thunderstorms, and if I didn’t decide to ride, we’d have a longe session instead.

I told Christy what was going on, and what worried me. I was prepared mentally to deal with the balking and backing I was starting to experience. Dealing with those behaviors is actually something I have some experience with, and Derby isn’t a scary customer. But I get uncomfortable very quickly when the horse is off. I refuse to punish a horse that is resisting due to pain. To do so is not only rotten horsemanship, it’s patently unfair.

So I leveled with Christy, telling her that he was a bit sore, and voicing my trepidation. We talked through it, and I decided to get on, and see what we had. If he wasn’t feeling good, I’d hop off.

After we walked for a few minutes, I started bending Derby on a shallow serpentine. “That looks good,” said Christy, and it felt good, too – Derby was moving easily. We picked up a trot, and after the obligatory clearing of the pipes, we did a couple laps at a snappier pace, and all was looking good. So we cut the the chase and rode the tests.

And we rode them well. Derby was round, steady, and really reaching for the contact. I went through Intro A in silence, as Christy was stunned into speechlessness. We were both thrilled. I hopped to and started Intro B. That one rode even better. Derby stayed round, was very responsive off my legs, and continued to seek the contact.

We were an entirely different horse and rider.

Now, don’t take this the wrong way when I say that it was easy. I was able to maintain myself comfortably and balanced in my new position without having to think about it. As a result, I rode much more forwardly and stayed balanced. I was able to take my foot off the virtual brake that my unsteadiness caused.

God, what a relief tonight was. I was wondering what in Heaven’s name was happening to us. We’re back on the path to respectability. And Training Level.

 

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Reinstalling Go.

May 2, 2012 5 Comments

Got cookies? Yes, I see you do.

The chief culprit to my recent difficulties seems to be back soreness, so Derby has had the last few days off.  I got on last night, and we had a much better ride.  We’re clawing our way back but he’s still a bit resistant, and my riding needs to improve.  However, I do have some hope that we won’t embarrass ourselves too badly this weekend.

While the soreness was causing the resistance, Christy observed that I also have problems with my “go” button.  As in it needs to be reinstalled.   Derby does not motor along at a consistent pace – he stalls out and slows down, and this is my fault.   Maintaining pace is a primary responsibility of the horse.   So I paid attention last night and issued corrections (in the form of a good old Pony Club kick) when Derby stalled out.   He got the picture quickly and did a much better job holding his pace, requiring fewer reminders from me.

This problem isn’t solved by any short stretch – I also need to get and keep him in front of my leg when we halt because he’s actually starting backing on me which, as Christy puts it, is a serious offense and doesn’t lead to anything good.  Last night he was doing this and I booted him forward.  He leapt into a canter, and we stayed there for a while (it’s important to not shut them down when they offer a forward response, even if it is more enthusiastic than what was requested.)  And after that, we seemed (for the moment at least) to be over the backing nonsense.

So, backing issues not withstanding, we’re heading back in the right direction.  5 more days.  Awesome.

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What’s wrong?

April 27, 2012 Leave a comment

So we’re T-minus 7 days until our first show, and my last two rides on Derby have not been good at all.  He’s been very resistant, not wanting to bend, and not wanting to go forward.

Christy has had me work on the response to my leg, both in terms of lateral response to calf pressure, and forward response.  Both are marginally better but still not fantastic, though with a lot of work last night, I was doing trot/canter/trot transitions on a circle pretty easily – meaning that I didn’t have to ask emphatically, and that Derby’s response was swift.

However, the real resistance is to rounding.  He’s going around braced against the reins, with the muscles on the underside of his neck bulging.  He will round and soften momentarily when I really get busy with my inside leg, but then he pops right back into bracing.

Christy and I discussed this resistance at length after my lesson.  I had gone over his back before and after, and there was no soreness either before and after the ride.  So what’s going on? Derby is generally a pretty uncomplicated horse, and is pretty willing. I recalled how we had a terrible ride last weekend when I tried a thicker pad that combined fleece and memory foam.  I had no go button and lots of resistance.  I went back to my usual fleece half pad, and had two nice rides on Monday and Tuesday.  I’m going to remove the fleece pad for my ride on Saturday, and will go with just a saddle pad.

Hopefully this simple equipment change will solve the issue!

 

 

 

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Don’t get through it. Perform it.

April 23, 2012 2 Comments

A nice moment. One of several, for a change.

Day by day, things are getting a bit easier with the new, longer leathers and subsequent position changes.  I’m still a long way from being solid and strong in the saddle but I can feel improvement daily.   In today’s lesson, we made a show-ring quality trot a priority.  Sounds easy, but for me, at the moment, it’s not.   Putting the horse together, while maintaining a decent forward gait in a seat that still feels a bit precarious isn’t easy and the relative lack of stability gives me some heebie jeebies now and then.

Wake up, Derby. We need to work hard on quality next, but my seat is coming along.

The ride started out a little “eh.”  I will freely admit that I’ve not been riding as forwardly as I should, due to the above mentioned issues with the new position.  I have been doing some canter work though, and I needed it tonight, to get my pokey pony into gear.

In reality, though, the pokiness wasn’t entirely Derby’s doing.  When I straighten up, open up my hip angles and drape my calves along his sides, he goes forward nicely,  I’ve been reverting to trying to drive with my foot hovering on the brake.

Once we got warmed up, we ran through Intro A.  The results were uninspiring.   “Don’t just get through it,” Christy insisted.  “Perform it.”

A-ha.  That gave me a new (and badly needed) perspective.  I was just going through the movements, and it showed. I rode it again, this time with some purpose.  It got better, especially as I paid attention to riding from my seat and legs, and staying out of Derby’s mouth, quieting my hands.

Free walk. This is coming along.

We then went through Intro B.  Finally, things were clicking into gear. As I rode Derby more forwardly, Christy observed that he really started to carry himself.  It felt great, and in addition to some nice roundness and contact, I also had his back up and his back end under me.  I love that feeling – when you have the horse packaged up, they feel so together, responsive and maneuverable.

Overall, I’m finally able to produce some decent gait quality and keep it for more than just a fleeting instant.  I hope we keep progressing!

Tomorrow I need to send in my first show entry.  It’s a schooling show up at Silverwood, and I’m going to ride Intro A and B.  I was hoping to ride C but as you can see from the canter picture above, we aren’t ready to take that into the show ring.  First things first – I have to re-establish the basics before I can even think of doing more.  We’re not ready to really perform the canter in public … yet.  For now, I’ll have to content myself with how pretty the late afternoon sun makes everything look, especially our new periwinkle duds.  🙂

A friend complimented me on matching the clouds. Yep. Meant to do that.

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