A fresh start

February 5, 2011 Leave a comment

I believe that Winston Churchill is credited with the saying, “The outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man.”  Today was my first ride after a two week hiatus, and boy, it felt great.   It wasn’t an eventful or even particularly sophisticated ride.   But I am happy to report that my position is still solid, and I remember how to steer (with my inside leg and outside rein!)

I decided to capitalize on the time off by trying to erase the left-rein-hanging issues I’ve been having, hoping that the time off would also diminish learned responses from Maddie.   So, I made a very focused effort to stay.off.that.left.rein while also not giving away the right rein.   Going counterclockwise, I held that outside rein, kept my inside leg active, and made a point of giving the contact in the left rein continually.

Mads was clearly appreciative, stretching very nicely into contact.  I encouraged her, giving her rein and riding her in a lower frame (we both need to regain fitness), and we went around with nice contact, and more importantly, a marked lack of neck-bracing and rein-hanging.  Toward the end of the ride, I was really able to get her moving, adjusting her gait with half-halts, and alternately asking her for bigger and smaller strides.  Despite the time off, she did really well, bringing her back up and rounding very nicely.  I do love how sensitive this mare is, and wow, she really takes a half-halt well.

I’m looking forward to our ride tomorrow, and then am hoping to re-establish my routine this week, starting with a lesson on Monday.  However, the weather doesn’t look like it’s going to cooperate fully – we have another stretch of hellaciously cold weather coming mid-week.  My personal cut-off is 10 degrees – below that, I’m not interested in riding.  But those cold nights are good for groundwork, so we’ll likely have some un-mounted work on Tuesday.

 

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Winter daze

February 3, 2011 1 Comment

The horses have been stuck inside for several days now, due to the blizzard that managed to shut Chicago down earlier this week, and super-frigid temperatures today.  I think they’ll go outside tomorrow, which won’t be a minute too soon for Mads.  The big girl is bored.

I turned her out in the arena after taking her blanket off, thinking that a good roll would feel pretty good.  Mads instead strolled around the arena, even going into the corner that she sometimes spooks at (it’s full of jump poles, and birds like to sit among the poles, can’t really blame her,) sniffing the jumps, but she didn’t roll, and she didn’t run around like a nut.

After she toured the arena, she walked over to where I was perched on the mounting block.  She sniffed me head to toe, and lipped at my jacket.  Then she sighed, and walked a few steps away.  The mare was bored.

I dug around in a corner, and pulled out an exercise ball that Jag used to play with.  Mads has shown little interest in the ball when I’ve showed it to her previously.  However, I remembered that the only time that Jag was really motivated to play with toys was when he had been stuck inside for several days.  He wasn’t interested when he had enjoyed a day outside.

I dribbled the ball around the arena, soccer style.  Mads pricked her ears, and watched.  I scooted the ball toward her, eliciting a tail-in-the-air prancing response.  I kicked it a little closer to her. Curious, she sniffed.  And then, she bonked the ball with her nose, sending it back toward me just as I started this video:

I kicked it back toward her, and she started to nose it around in earnest, following it around the arena.   We repeated this a few times – she seemed to really enjoy the new experience, and I like seeing them scoot balls around, it gives them a great long-and-low stretch.

Maddie wasn’t as enthusiastic as Jag.  Now, there’s a horse that really likes his playtime.

And this one, playing with a jolly ball.  Clearly, he’s not head shy.

Tonight – and looking back at Jag’s funny videos – is a reminder to me how important it is to keep our Thoroughbreds mentally stimulated.  They are bright, inquisitive horses, and I could see the change in Maddie’s demeanor when I brought her in from her playtime.  Especially when they’re inside for a few days, changing up the routine is a good idea.

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Snowbound

February 1, 2011 1 Comment

The last couple weeks have been frustrating, to say the least.  I was away on a business trip, and upon my return I was absolutely decked by a one-two bronchitis-sinusitis punch.  So, it’s been better than a week and a half since I crawled aboard a horse.  And now, a blizzard, complete with high winds and white-out conditions.  I’m not going anywhere for a few days.   My next opportunity to ride will be Saturday.

I did go out to the barn last night to see Mads, who I was really starting to miss. I groomed her thoroughly, and wow, she’s really starting to shed.  It must have felt good, because she’s normally pretty squirmy when I groom her, but she stood quietly through several curryings, and then four separate brushings, from hard to dandy to soft to goat hair.  She loves the goat hair face brush, and liked being groomed all over with it – a lot.

We hung out quietly, me scratching her ears and poll, her pushing her head against my chest asking for more.   Treats were administered, more scritches applied to itchy spots.  She got a big bucket of “mare mush” (hot beet pulp and alfalfa cubes) and I tucked her in.   I would have preferred to ride, but I’m still coughing spastically at the least exertion.  So we just hung out, and worked on the friendship.  She was OK with that.

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Multi-tasking

January 22, 2011 2 Comments

I was back in the saddle today, after a four day hiatus due to a business trip and subzero weather.  As I noted in my last post, I need to re-establish forward, and get Mads back in front of my leg.  At the same time, I need to work on fixing the crookedness that is causing me to hang on that left rein.

Except, maybe I shouldn’t work on the two at the same time.  Today’s ride was a bit ugly, because what I got was some nice forward work — and ugly resistance, as Mads braced her neck and popped her right shoulder out.   I did a couple laps to the left,  softening and releasing my left rein, and she softened nicely into my outside rein.  Which I made a point of holding.

But when we went back to doing circles and figure-8s, I had trouble with the steering (!) and, over all, she was resistant to the left. However, the quality of our work improved when we did serpentines.  So, if I get to ride tomorrow (which is iffy) I’m thinking that more work in serpentines would be good – at least as we warm up.  And, I think it’s time to put the spurs back on, now that my leg position is better.  I need to add emphasis to my leg aids.  However, I need to keep insisting upon responsiveness too.  The last thing I want is a horse that is dead to the leg.

The good news is that Mads was nicely forward, though we still don’t have the quality trot we were generating before the holidays.

This nice trot is still eluding us, but we're working toward it.

In addition to the hanging issues, and the forward issues, I’m dumping Maddie onto her forehand.  So, half-halts need to be a bigger part of my repertoire.  I’m good about half-halting as we head into a corner, or asking her for a shorter, “smaller” gait on the short side, but I am not using them enough at other times, to engage her back end and invite her to lift her shoulders, producing the pretty, uphill gait pictured above.

So I need to get better at multi-tasking in the saddle.  This is always hard for me when I’m not fully proficient with a skill. Feeling what’s going on underneath me, and responding in the moment — and appropriately — is hard.  But that’s dressage.

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Learning is a process.

January 17, 2011 7 Comments

I'm a big fan of my new leg postion. It's a lot more secure, and things like this aren't as scary!

I took my good weekend rides into a lesson tonight, telling Christy that I had figured out where my trouble with the right rein is originating – I’m popping my right shoulder forward – so even though my hand is not.giving.rein, well, my shoulder is.   Here, from tonight, in all its spectacular ugliness, is my issue du jour.

Where to start? Note the right hand (and shoulder) are far forward, and there is loop in the right rein. The outside rein. Nice.

So I focused a lot on keeping my shoulders square, pushing my left hip a bit forward (feedback from the Equitrainer a couple months ago) and not letting my right shoulder come forward. Obviously, I have a lot of progress to make in this respect.  I mentioned to Christy that I felt like I was constantly breaking and fixing my postion, and she assured me that there would always be something like this to work on – it may eventually be more subtle (I sure hope so) but, as she said, if it was easy, we’d all be riding Grand Prix.

As I rode, we also paid attention to transitions. I’ve been so focused on my leg position and other issues, I’ve allowed the mare to become very sloppy – I have to work harder to get her off my leg, and make her round onto the bit.  She’s fallen behind my leg, which doesn’t help.  It’s hard to do much when your horse isn’t even tracking up. Christy pointed out to me that I was having to ask the mare repeatedly for upward transitions, so I dispensed with my wishy-washy-ness and started using my whip.

I would love to say we went around like this all night, but I would be lying. Besides, you've already seen the two previous pictures.

Fact is, it’s hard to ride well when your horse isn’t responsive.   It’s hard to stay balanced, and keep the horse round and soft, if at the same time you have to kick the critter into an upward transition.  And I recall how easy my first few rides on Maddie were – Christy had put 90 days of training on her, and the mare was ultra light and responsive.  I’ve made her dull, and I need to fix this.

We made some progress tonight, getting what we call “big trot” which really just means a decent working trot, with the horse tracking up and a nice rhythmic tempo. It feels good to be riding that trot again, though I’m still not getting the gait in which I can really feel the mare pushing with the big engine in her hindquarters.   But we aren’t too far away from it.  And I need to make that nice “big” trot my habit.  That’s the trot that ultimately is easiest to work from – which is precisely why it’s called “working trot.”  It’s an essential piece of the foundation.

Toward the end of the ride, Christy assured me it didn’t look as bad as it felt (at least the last few patterns.  The first part of the lesson wasn’t pretty, I don’t care what she says!)  I’m looking forward to the point in the near future when I have re-installed the responsiveness buttons, and have fixed that dratted shoulder!

 

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Moment by moment

January 16, 2011 3 Comments

Cantering to the right

The last few days have been illuminating, starting on Thursday.  I didn’t ride on Thursday- work was catching up with me, and I had zero energy – so I gave my lesson to one of Christy’s other students, and she rode Maddie.  It has been a long time since I’ve seen Mads go and it was fun to watch – and revealing.    Mads went beautifully for H. and she didn’t hang on the left rein whatsoever.  That provided more conclusive proof that the issues with the left rein are operator error – and not the big mare’s fault.

So when I rode Saturday, I was resolved to practice what Christy had me work on during our most recent lesson – giving the left rein when bending or circling to the right, while being sure to hold that right (outside) rein.   I worked at it – somewhat fruitlessly – giving the inside rein, while trying to keep my hands even and avoid letting the right rein get longer – but my efforts didn’t produce the quality bending I was hoping to generate.

But then it happened.  I caught myself shifting my right shoulder forward – effectively giving the right rein away.  Eureka!  So now I know what my next personal project is – fixing my shoulder alignment.  A review of some recent videos provided additional confirmation. But at least I know what the underlying cause of my difficulties, so I can take aim at fixing the issue.

Today Steph and I headed out to the barn early, to beat the rush because we both wanted to work on some things with minimal distractions.  I wanted to work on making my transitions more crisp, and (of course) the rein balance info.  We warmed up stretching and bending, and I really focused on keeping my right shoulder back, even with my left, rather than letting it creep forward.  I did catch myself a couple times, but overall, I was pretty happy with the way things were going.

Mads gives me a nice "little trot," reducing the length of her stride, and bringing her back up, in response to my half halt

I took my nice bending and started to work on transitions, shifting from walk to trot to walk again, asking for a prompt response from the mare, while also keeping her round.  As we worked, I found I found I had a nicely forward horse and so I asked for the canter, and got a a decent upward transition.

It’s easy to look good on Mads – she has the nicest, most rhythmic canter and it’s fun to ride.  We haven’t worked much in this gait, and I need to work on swinging my hips, staying with (and influencing the gait.)  That’s on the list of things to do.

Mada has the nicest uphill canter. Now I just need to do a better job of riding it!

I was really happy with our short canter, and the downward transition was nice too.  I kept her at a trot after that canter, mixing up the pattern, because Mads sometimes does start to anticipate the canter, taking it upon herself to offer it freely at every subsequent upward transition.   So I redoubled the transitions, throwing in some halts, too.  As much as she wanted to hop ahead, Mads was very responsive to the half halt, and I liked the quality of the little trot she gave me, though I did have to work hard with my core to hold her there.

It was a satisfying ride, laying groundwork for the next set of skills I need to improve.

(Special shout out to Steph, thanks for taking all the video!)

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Issue du Jour: Rein Imbalance

January 10, 2011 5 Comments

The "after" picture - better leg position, with my whole leg rolled inward, and toes foreward.

Finally.  I finally had a decent ride, and lasted for almost the full lesson.  It’s about time. Best of all, looking at some video of the ride, I can see that the work on my postion has really paid off.  My leg looks a lot better, and if feels a lot better.   My leg is hanging more correctly from the hip, and draping around the horse.   It’s not 100% perfect – I still curl heel up and my toes out when I apply leg.  So, while I know I need to continue to work on lengthening and stretching my legs, I also know that I’m headed in the right direction.

The "before" picture: toes out, hips open, and little leg contact with the horse.

Great.  Now, on to the issue du jour – the imbalance in my rein pressure. I think that Christy cracked this nut tonight when she commented that mine isn’t just a left rein issue – I’m imbalanced in the right rein too.  I hold the left rein and give the right – I let my right hand creep forward.  This probably explains why Mads and I circle beautifully to the right – as I’m inclined naturally to hold the left rein and soften the right.  Now, I need to achieve the same feel and balance in the other direction.  We worked on softening the inside rein, while holding the outside. Christy chipped away at it, and by the end of the ride things were clicking.

Dressage isn’t about leaps forward. It’s an exercise in increments.

 

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Love Rules.

January 9, 2011 4 Comments

Jag. He's still my number one boy.

Like everyone else, I’m thinking about my resolutions for the new year.  However, when it comes to riding, I’ve not yet managed to pin down exactly what I’d like to accomplish, so I”m going to reflect on what the last twelve months taught me.

Looking back, 2010 was a strange year.  One year and ten days ago, I was laying in my bed,  slightly concussed, spectacularly bruised, coughing up arena dirt, and thinking that I’d have to go get my left hand looked at  – it was monstrously swollen and very sore. (It was in fact broken, I would spend the next six weeks in a cast.)

That was also my last ride on Jag, who we later learned had recurring kissing spines and was no longer sound for riding.   As unfortunate as that incident was, it taught me a couple of very important lessons.

1) Listen to the horse, and listen to your gut. That ill-fated ride was on a very cold day – too cold to really work.  So I got on, just planning to walk and stretch.    I was working on asking Jag to bend to to the right, and he was resisting.  I continued to pick, asking for serpentines and circles.  He just didn’t want to give me correct bend.  Now, we had some questions about whether or not this was some sort of new, testing behavior, or if it was a pain issue.   I had a sneaking suspicion it was the latter – chiefly because Jag had always been the most uncomplicated of horses – pleasant and willing under saddle.   The only times in the past he had been unwilling was when he hurt.   But I didn’t listen to my gut, or my good horse.  I kept picking at that right bend, thinking that because we were working at a gentle walk, it wasn’t too taxing for the horse.  Boy, did I get that wrong, and I paid the price.  I unwittingly goaded Jag into a rage, and when he finally had enough, he took off at top speed and dumped me unceremoniously on the mounting block.

So here’s what I took away from this experience: Keep an eye out for new behavior.  Horses are not deep thinkers. They don’t while away hours in their stalls, thinking up new behaviors to tick you off.  If a new, negative behavior crops up, there are two reasons.  1) The horse has a physical issue, and he is communicating this to you; or 2) You have trained this new behavior, either through ignorance or incompetence, and it’s your own damn fault.   Either way, you need to pay attention. Listen to the horse. And if you have a nice, honest, willing horse, behavioral anomalies are big red flags.  Ignore them at your own risk.

I’m glad I learned this lesson.  It came in handy at my first show with Mads, when she pinned her ears and was downright nasty when I went to tack her up for the last class.  A quick inspection revealed to me that she was back sore.  The deep footing and a too-wide gullet had taken their toll.  We scratched the class.  And I shudder to think about what the outcome would be had I pushed it.

2.  Love rules all. If you love your horse, and do right by your horse, everything will be okay.  I know this sounds simplistic.  But this is actually the more important of the four lessons, and I told you a few paragraphs previously how lesson #1 saved my butt.   I was devastated when my vet broke the news that it was time to retire Jag.  I had always planned on giving him a nice retirement, but was hoping to have years of fun in the saddle first.   I started to look for places to board him, and resigned myself to a lot less riding.

In the spring, after his kissing spines were under control and he was back to being a happy, pleasant horse,  Jag went to Wyngate Equestrian, a beautiful barn 30 minutes north of Woodstock (and my current barn).

A bleached-blond Jag basks in the summer sun.

With the help of the talented and caring woman who runs Wyngate, Jag successfully transitioned to living barefoot, and out on grass.  He had a blissful summer and is extremely contented today. I visited him weekly, and soon learned to relish my time with the big guy, grooming, feeding treats, walking around the property, finding delicacies on which to browse.  It turns out that giving a much-loved horse a well deserved and luxurious retirement is very gratifying.

Things have a way of working out.  I made a slow return to the saddle, starting on my friend Kim’s marvelous boy Frankie,  progressing eventually to Maddie, with whom I’ve clicked.  Maddie has made me work hard, and learn a lot (especially about maxim #1.2, training a horse new (and unwelcome) behaviors.)  (More on that later.)

In addition to these two lessons learned courtesy of Jag, two other things I learned last year truly resonated with me.

3. Practice discomfort. George Morris talked a lot about overcoming fear in the clinic I audited in November.  His sage advice? “You have to practice what is not comfortable. If you’re not comfortable going fast, you practice fast. Practice your discomfort.”   He’s absolutely right.  I won’t improve if I don’t push the envelope.  However, GM is not encouraging us to go forth and be stupid.  Which is a good segue into lesson #3.

4. Get the basics DOWN, and perfectly (or as close to it as you can.)  Dressage is built on a progression of skills that require a rider (and horse) to have solid fundamentals to perform well and get good scores.  And while I’ve spent more time working at the trot than I care to think about, the fact is, this deliberate approach has set me up well for Training level, which showcases trot work.    And there are other benefits.  As I master new skills in the trot -from half halts to bending to shoulders-in and leg yields – and learn to feel what correct execution feels like, I can take that education with me to different gaits.   And as I learn, I only become more solid and confident, and wake up one day ready to try something new, because I’ve given myself sufficient strength and confidence to take that next step.  (Special thanks to Christy, who is the architect of this lesson.)

So I’ll take these lessons into 2011, which I guess means that I, Sarah, do hereby resolve to remember and apply the lessons I learned in 2010, and use them to guide my progress in this coming year.

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It gets worse, it gets better (?)

January 7, 2011 4 Comments

I don’t know about you, but when I tackle a home organization or cleaning project, things generally get worse before they get better.  When I go to re-organize my office, or switch from summer clothes to winter duds in my closet, I invariably end up first destroying the space I’m tackling, and then putting it back together.

I think I’m doing the same to my riding !

Things were better tonight, but still not back to normal. Physically, I was much more comfortable – I wasn’t as stiff and sore (I skipped working out today) but I did stay on for 45 minutes, and got some work done.  The muscle endurance is still not there. I’m going to give the legs  another day of rest tomorrow, and just do some easy cardio and a core workout.  I’m more than a bit bothered by the fact that I can’t trot round for a few minutes without my legs burning.   This too shall pass, I’m sure.

Mads was hanging on the left rein something fierce, likely because I was doing the same. Christy had me work on turning left with a loopy left rein, meaning I had to be really active with my inside leg, and control the turn with my outside rein.  Obviously, I have not corrected the imbalance identified when I did the Eqisense analysis, and learned that I was placing a ton of pressure in that left rein, even though they felt even to me.   Here’s the analysis feedback screen showing vastly uneven pressure in the reins, though I would have sworn to you on a stack of Bibles, hand to God, that I was holding them evenly.

It took a while before the light bulb flicked on in both my head, and Maddie’s.  We waddled drunkenly around, narrowly missing walls.   Things improved when I used my outside leg as a correction, to prevent the mare from turning right.  And I used the inside rein slightly, to keep her looking left.

Christy had me release contact in the left rein after I softened Mads to the left, and got the desired response: a good left bend, with nice contact into the outside rein.  I presume dropping the rein had two purposes, or maybe even three. First, it was an immediate and clear reward to Maddie when she did the right thing.   Secondly, it removed the mare’s ability to hang on that rein.  And finally, it started to reinforce the habit and feel of lighter contact for me in that left rein.

We ended the ride by shuffling around at a halting trot with no stirrups.  I’m riding hesitantly without my stirrups, because I’m afraid of getting going, and having them bang into Maddie’s sides, and evoking a spirited response.  I’m going to either relinquish them entirely next week (though, for the record, Christy has promised to give them back to me) or at least loop them over the pommel – if the edges of my cheese-grater pads won’t hurt horse or rider.

Family is visiting this weekend.  I’m taking a two-day hiatus, and hope to be back in the saddle on Sunday.

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A small hurdle, hurdled.

January 5, 2011 4 Comments

Tonight I flat out felt like hell in the saddle.  I’ve been working out, trying to un-do the fitness collapse my two weeks off and a bout of the flu brought.  Today, despite the fact I had a lesson, I did an awful cardio-step workout that kills my legs. Tonight was no exception.  My muscles were tired and sore.

I mounted up and we got to work – but immediately, Christy spotted something weird.  I was curling my leg back, towards Maddie’s flank, as we trotted around in two point, warming up.  She alerted me to the problem, and I tried to fix it, but it wasn’t happening.  I started to post, and that didn’t help either.

We dropped to a walk, and I kicked free of the stirrups and let my legs hang a minute, then started rotating my ankles and stretching.  Ahh.  That felt good.  After a few minutes, I put my feet back in the stirrups, and Christy gave her seal of approval.  Off we went again.

For about 15 seconds.

Clearly, things weren’t working for me tonight.  I started curling my leg again, and things still felt awful.  I dropped the stirrups again.

And then, because one of my resolutions is to just shut up and ride, I said to Christy, “Hey, I want to try something.”  I nudged Mads into a trot.  While I was too busy staying focused on the horse, I think I did hear Christy’s jaw audibly drop and hit the ground.  She’s been trying to get me to drop the stirrups for, oh, months …. maybe even years.  Mads has a trot I can ride without stirrups.   I never contemplated dropping the stirrups on Jag, who had a trot that felt like a pogo stick, it was so bouncy.

Granted, we weren’t doing much of a trot.  But we did four or five little shuffle-y circles around Christy, and called it a night.

I really want to ride more and better without stirrups.  It’s the only way to develop a truly independent seat.   And it’s sound practice and makes one a safer rider.  In particular, I’d like to be able to drop and pick up my stirrups – or adjust them when they slip – with ease.   Tonight was the first step.

So it was kind of a stupid ride tonight, but in the end, I had an important win.

Tomorrow we’ll give another lesson a shot. I’m going to do some yoga and pilates, and gobble a couple Advil before heading to the barn.  Hopefully I’ll put things together tomorrow night!

 

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