Putting 2020 in Hindsight: November-December Goals and Progress

[Aleuronx]

Thanks for the experience and jingles Kyra's Mom. While I'm certainly not a breeder I do prefer mares in general as it gives that option if say due to injury a sport career is not possible. She has some nice bloodlines so if I can preserve her I will.

That snow looks so beautiful in the video! Aleuronx, is that a Shiba?

Yes!! Aril is a Shiba Inu, she turns 3 years old in February. She is a saucy lil' redheaded thing and we love her to bits.

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Sorry, not sorry for the dog photo bomb in this thread.

[MsM]

Ugh! My horse got tangled up in the electric fence! Tore a large portion down breaking insulators etc, and got some wrapped around a hind leg. So back to the barn last night checking the burn on that leg and consulting with the vet. Then helping the BO try to recreate the fence by cell phone light.

The good news is that he is sound this morning and seems to have escaped serious damage (madly knocking wood). The bad news is that this is not the first time he has taken down the fence playing with his over-the-fence buddy. He seems to rear up to play and sticks a foot through before he realizes it. Now I am looking at buying some no-climb fencing to be topped by a hot wire. Zoo animals are more easily contained!

[khall]

M can you put a second line of hot wire 5-7 ft from the shared fence line? I’ve done this before using just step in posts and hot tape.

[Chisamba]

M can you put a second line of hot wire 5-7 ft from the shared fence line? I’ve done this before using just step in posts and hot tape.

I agree

[MsM]

Yeah, thought of that, but difficult to do that right now as the fence attaches to the open side of the turnout shed (they have separate sides) and we have a foot of snow on top of frozen ground. The good news is that the other boarder agreed to trying to let them be together and take that portion of the fence down. So far they are playing nice today....

[khall]

Well the pivo has been absconded with. My DH heard me say it was my X mas gift to myself and decided to hide it from me until Christmas. Our weather after tomorrow is supposed to turn atrocious anyway and I had planned on no riding to prep for the holidays W Th and F. DS was supposed to come in tomorrow after taking covid test but called today that his friend he was hanging out with last week is getting sick. They both will be taking tests. Please jingle they are ok

DS friend is covid positive. DS is getting tested tomorrow:(.

[StraightForward]

Well, Khall, that is a dirty trick with the Pivo - I would be Peeve-oed!

I got mine back from barnmate and it is sitting here. I was able to ride outside and film with the SoloShot the other day, but I'll probably test out the Pivo this week and try to use it to film my lessons this weekend if my instructor is actually able to dodge through the Covid maze and get up here.

The past two rides, I've been insisting that A maintain a better posture in the down transitions, and today I was paid back with an almost clean C/W transition. I think I've also gotten closer to figuring out my wonky shoulders. It feels weird and takes concentration to maintain the correct position, but at least my video from this week confirmed that I was staying correct most of the time, rather than thinking I was straight and having the video show my delusion.

[Moutaineer]

A session with our trainer today, getting some help with exercises and homework to do to get Laddie back in shape appropriately.

The long and the short of it is no cantering for a few weeks, so as to protect that coffin joint, work in a relatively small trot, focus on getting his hind end truly underneath him, very careful transition work not letting him dump on his forehand in the down transitions and making sure he's really pushing from behind in the upward transitions. Nothing revolutionary, but lots of focus on bringing his weight off that front end.

Sorry, Khall. I hope your son is OK. This Christmas isn't turning out as planned for many people. Lets hope we are finally seeing some light at the end of the tunnel and next year will be less dire.

[chantal]

Another gymnastics session, we got him forward at the trot and responding immediately. So good! And so energetic down the line of gymnastics. He's so happy playing, 'cept for the first time seeing the oxer. He may have wanted to sneak under it, don't know, but decided to go over it, in typical Mikey over-jumping fashion. It was a total slo-mo moment and I laughed so hard on the other side. Sheesh.

[chantal]

And one more pic, boing boing boing!!

[Lipsmackerpony88]

@Khall oh my gosh that had me laughing about your husband hiding your Pivo! At least you get it back soon

[Lipsmackerpony88]

Another gymnastics session, we got him forward at the trot and responding immediately. So good! And so energetic down the line of gymnastics. He's so happy playing, 'cept for the first time seeing the oxer. He may have wanted to sneak under it, don't know, but decided to go over it, in typical Mikey over-jumping fashion. It was a total slo-mo moment and I laughed so hard on the other side. Sheesh.

Chantal, lovely photos! You guys seem like you have so much fun. Are you an eventer or do you just cross train? You should see my post in cross training, I'm thinking in dabbling in some jumping lessons but also don't want my Dressage to affected (like position.) You have a lovely position though! What fun!

[chantal]

Thank you Lipsmackerpony88. I've been a dressage rider for 30 years or so. I'm cross-training for health and fun. I was a pony clubber and a jumper when I was a teen. I rode other peoples' horses for 30 years and found this guy about 2 1/2 years ago. I had that much time to figure out what I wanted and how I want to try to do it. I don't want him to get bored with riding circles in the dirt and I think it's so good for development so we play. It works really well with dressage. If his destiny is to do something else, then I may have to find an eventer to buy him. I want him to be happy. He seems to have fun with it

I do struggle a little with position so I can understand, but I think the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. I'll check out your post.

[Aleuronx]

Can I just start off by saying I love my Vet? Just got off the phone to go over all the bloodwork results and boy am I glad we took a backed out whole vision approach.

Hormone panel: all normal, testosterone maybe slightly low considering she was ovulating but nothing super concerning.
Selenium levels: normal range
Vitamin E: Just pipped into the normal range on the low side, would like to see that a bit higher in general.
Lyme Titer: OspC antibodies, which are associated with acute infection, were just barely over the limit. The OspF antibodies, which are associated with chronic infection, were VERY high like 1250 considered over the limit and Kora was testing in the 3000's. Yikes.

Current plan of attack is continue with Regumate, start her on a Vitamin E supplement to tip levels up and Minocycline for 30 days to treat the Lyme infection. We will retest at the end of 30 days and see where we are at. We discussed IV oxytetracycline (because I'm a crazy person) to kick her off with and Vet agreed that while we could it's probably not necessary and the oral minocycline should do the trick over time. Might take longer than 30 days of treatment but we will start there.

Planning on holding off on scoping/ulcer treatment avenue until we get these confluence of red flags properly resolved. Trying to be smart and targeted at the things to throw money at. Lyme infection could very much explain the discomfort/pain to touch which the cycling just exacerbated. Have I mentioned that I love my Vet?

With the holiday and shipping madness we might not get started on the Minocycline until next week but goodness it's great to have a plan. Thanks for all the jingling, I'm glad to have things to point at and resolve!! Not always a given with horses.

[chantal]

Good new Aleuronx. So awesome to have a vet you love. Onward and upward! Adding my jingles for continued resolution.

[Aleuronx]

Thanks chantal, it really means so much. I cannot wait to get back to some boing boing pics like yours soon. What a good lad!

[Sue B]

Jingling for Aleuronx and Kora as well as Khall and her DS. Hoping Moutaineer's Laddie continues to improve and that MsM's horse learns to stay away from hotwires.

Dealing with mom troubles, migraines, storms and a near catastrophic slip in the shower, nonetheless I did manage to ride a couple of days so far. Tio was a bit too much like a fire-breathing dragon to actually ride on Saturday, but we did wander around in-hand all tacked up and even found a relatively safe spot to lunge. The arena was too wet to ride in on Saturday, even walking was not so good. Sunday I did ride him and he was wonderful, go figure. Saturday, I did a 2 mile trot set on Rudy and then used the soft roads to school a little bit. Sunday, the arena was good for w/t so schooled in there and then went to the neighbor's pasture and did like one circle of canter each direction. I really want to try one of Kyra's suggestions in the canter, but that will have to wait for better weather. I'm still pretty sore from the shower incident but I truly believe riding kept me from really getting stoved up.

I hope you all find happiness and joy this holiday season with and without your horses.

[chantal]

Thanks chantal, it really means so much. I cannot wait to get back to some boing boing pics like yours soon. What a good lad!

Kora is a beautiful mover, hoping you two will be boinging around soon! You two make a beautiful pair.

Hoping everyone's horses behave, heal and allow you to move forward with your goals and fun.

[piedmontfields]

Jingling for health for all humans and beloved animals!

Shockingly, we are 4 weeks into stall rest (plus daily hand grazing for sanity). Emi is mostly being a gem. Occasionally, she acts feral and impossible to catch in her stall---then she becomes the good unicorn again. Swelling in down, but we are a few more weeks from re-imaging. Fingers crossed that I can get her at least to a proper retirement!

[Moutaineer]

Still jingling hard for Emi, Piedmont. Sending you both a virtual Christmas hug.

Sue B, you be careful! Our new house has a lethal shower floor that scares me to death. I need to find a way of remediating it before one of us gets hurt.

Glad you have some answers on Kora, and a forward path. Fingers crossed that it all resolves well!

Chantal, that is such a lovely horse! You two look super!

My re-treed saddle finally came back from the repair shop (Josh Seigel, Seigel Saddlery in MA--nice job, very easy to deal with and reasonable cost--took a while but he had to order a new tree from England and Covid was a big delay issue.) My barn manager is also a fitter and she worked on it for me today. She's done a lovely job and Laddie felt amazing. Happy me!

[Flight]

Aleuronx, Aril is beautiful! Lovely pics. I saw them in Japan and thought I'd love a Shiba as our next dog. I've been following the Shiba Inu page on FB and it's hilarious, but I'm now not sure a Shiba is the right dog for us I've currently got pomeranians, and they are sassy fur bombs but I think a Shiba is the next level of sass!
Fingers crossed you are resolving Kora's issues too. Same for Emi, Piedmontfields.

Jumps are looking bigger Chantal. I need to do some more too, but I've moved the jumps to do the mowing and too lazy to put them back each time.

Great that Laddie is improving Moutaineer and you are riding.

I said I was going to video an inter 1 test this round, and I have but it's shit. So I'm not sharing! Got a few more days so I'll try again before the 31st

[Aleuronx]

They are next level dogs for sure!! I spent many years wearing my DH down to get a dog, he's more of a cat person, so said lets get a more cat like dog. Shibas are absolutely every bit of a primitive breed and have to be treated as such. They can be challenging but also greatly rewarding, I'd recommend them to mare people. I extensively searched for the right breeder and did a TON of work socializing when she was a pup so she loves people and does well with handling which can be atypical for the breed.

This is an accurate depiction of her personality.

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Vitamin E shipped lightening fast overnight (wow Chewy.com!) so I have that to start supplementing today. The Minocycline will be picked up Monday due to the holiday, so we're just in holding pattern till then.

Mountaineer isn't it grand when a saddle fix comes together and you feel like riding on a cloud again? I've used Seigel Saddlery for a repair before and he does top notch work.

[blob]

Aleuronx, I'll be really interested to see how the minocycline works for you. Keep us posted.

great to see everyone's updates and sending jingles for all those that need healing.

I've been trying to bring in more cross training with MM. I'm trying to commit to one day a week on the ground--lunging, long lining, etc. And one day over fences/poles.

I'm aiming for an end of Feb show with RP, so time to start practicing some more test riding. Our centerlines, I know, definitely need some work. He is schooling first level reasonably well, so I need to decide what I'll show. I will definitely do the t-3 and then need to decide if I want to add in 1-1 or 1-3. Our leg yields are not amazing, which makes the case for 1-1. But our canter loop is quite nice, which makes the case for 1-3. Either way, we have time to figure it out. This show does the national dressage pony cup classes, so that will be nice to do with RP. We have our permanent pony card in hand now.

[StraightForward]

What a pretty dog! A college friend was a big fan of Shibas and said the exact same thing about them being more cat like.

I think I've finally cracked the nut on Tesla lunging. It involves double lunging and using a hog sorting stick. But.boy did her canter get lovely and uphill when she got with the program! On the downside, she is requiring a refresher on trailer loading, so doing that daily through the weekend.

Looking forward the a couple lessons those weekend to close out the year.

[Chisamba]

my pole challenge for the weekend.

[Sue B]

Chisamba, that's awesome!

Merry Christmas all!

[khall]

Love! Chisamba!!

Lovely Christmas on the farm with DH DS and my mom. Bitter cold and windy but warm and fun in the house.

[exvet]

We had a beautiful Christmas. It started out raining lightly (something we appreciate here in the desert). We then went for a 5 mile 'run' up and down a popular mountain hike. By the time we were done the weather had really improved, nice and sunny and NOT hot. So, we hit my goal of getting Brandon off property and on the trails before the end of the year. Unfortunately the pictures of Brandon aren't great but if anything they do show how 'chill' he was about it all. LOL, my son texted me that he looked like he was sleeping.





When we were done. I rode Junior and seemed to have had a pretty good ride just focusing on, you know it, straightness. We did a lot of counter canter and transitions, working on keeping his left hind in the game. I'll know Sunday if we've crept a little more towards our goals with him as well.

Hope everyone had a safe, fun, and peaceful holiday. I also hope Santa brought some healing gifts to those mending and recuperating.

[chantal]

I love Brandon, what a cutie!! Straightness, yup yup. Our issue is the right hind. Such good stuff! I still love Brandon...

[exvet]

Thanks Chantal. We went out to the preserve today and though Brandon's stamina really just isn't there, he was a good boy dealing with joggers, bikers, dogs and horses. I think we rode a total of 3 miles. We repeated more of the same from yesterday with Junior. I have a lesson tomorrow. I hope it goes better than the last one; but, at least I know for sure where the holes are that need work.

[chantal]

Thanks Chantal. We went out to the preserve today and though Brandon's stamina really just isn't there, he was a good boy dealing with joggers, bikers, dogs and horses. I think we rode a total of 3 miles. We repeated more of the same from yesterday with Junior. I have a lesson tomorrow. I hope it goes better than the last one; but, at least I know for sure where the holes are that need work.

You know the strength will come. The fact that was he was a good boy is everything. Soooooo good!

[khall]

That’s awesome exvet! Brandon is going to be a fun one for you. Are you able to go trail riding directly from your farm?

Today is Joplin’s first trail ride/walk. I have to haul out to do so. There is a farm about 30 minutes from my place that has beautiful trails to ride on. They charge a nominal fee but we will be the only ones on the farm. So excited!

[exvet]

Congrats on Joplin's first trail ride/walk and thank you khall. Yes, we ride straight out the driveway to the preserve or the tonto national forest. There are endless trails here and about 100 miles of them are restricted from motorized vehicles. We went out today with my daughter riding Junior, me riding Brandon and my SO riding Ace. We went about 4 miles. It was great and Brandon did even better. He's not bothered by cars passing him or really anything that I've found yet.

Junior did double duty today. About 2 hours after our trail ride I hauled him one hour to take a lesson. It went much better today than the last one. I might have my daughter trail ride him more often before my lessons. He signed right up and tried hard though he certainly wasn't giving anything away for free. Still, we were able to maintain our straightness better and improved our transitions down quite a bit. He's no longer curling and shortening himself way up like he was before I started going back to this instructed, nor is he climbing like he was. I'm going to ride through the second level test 3 next weekend and have it scored (thankfully I ride with a judge). Then we'll see what I have to focus on for the show.

Another thing that is helping me (been reading the thread on favorite books) is using exercises from an older book that Betsy Steiner put out a while back. I can't say it's my favorite book per se but I remembered it when you were describing what you do with Cedar to address straightness and fixing the shoulder by controlling the hind end. She has some good and helpful exercises in there that seem to be useful for what we're dealing with now.

[khall]

That’s exciting exvet! I’ve audited Betsy Steiner but not read any of her books.

I have to say Joplin is going to make me a better rider. She quite readily allows me to control her shoulders with my thigh. She’s a much more sophisticated ride than what her training is at. She’s an old soul.

Very successful trail training today. Handled some mucky spots. Not fond of puddles and ok with scaring deer out from their beds. Lead her out and got up on her. She’s showing her good brain. I’ve place with 20 miles of trails to ride. No where near the 100 that exvet has available but this is a private farm.

[demi]

I’m enjoying the updates and pictures.

I wish I had some good progress to report but no. Still, I am enjoying the long slow journey more than ever. I have read the favorite book thread, too, and have been reading the older books like Podjasky (I know, i know, sp) Wynmalen, Watjen and am now on “Principles of Dressage” by Kurt Albrecht. After reading these old guys, as well as having my T-3 test judged by a good judge, I realize that I have shortened Rocky’s reins too much. I succumbed to the pressure of the voice in my head screaming at me to shorten the reins, and while it allowed me to do more “dressage”, I was getting far too much curling and head tilting. I struggled the last two months with getting the right lead on a shorter rein, and now I have it consistently but I also have a horse that is bracing against the bit. I knew it wasn’t feeling right but I wanted to progress and told myself I just had to “work through it”.

The judge commented that we were a “capable pair” and even gave Rocky a 7 on gaits. She said do LOTS of half halts to help her find balance. I think we are capable of a much better T-3 test and I am not going to worry about advancing up the levels, rather I am going to simply work on the principles. Rocky and I both hate the feeling of her bracing against my hands. Her back gets tight and my hands bounce! I’m not going to do that anymore. I’ve found the lenght of rein where she doesn’t brace and will continue to strengthen her (with transitions via half-halts) until I can shorten the reins WITHOUT her bracing. It will take a lot longer than I would like, but so be it. I will in the meantime, enjoy the feel that I can get when she is forward, in front of my legs, and not braced in anyway. I am still videoing to stay honest.

I love this from Albrecht: “It is the feeling of unison , between himself and his horse, which constitutes, for the thinking rider, the deep pleasure of riding.”

[exvet]

Demi I wouldn't beat yourself up on the shortening the reins piece. Though due to some of the focus from my previous instructor I had compressed Junior too much and failed to keep control of his left hind and thus his right shoulder, in my most recent lessons I'm still being told to take my reins shorter LOL. I think the challenge and key is that we still need to have the power coming into our hands (contact, real contact). Junior is built to brace so it's not a use of the under neck or a clenching of the jaw that we want (of course). It's still cycling that energy over the back and 'back' into the hands with a raised wither. I find that despite moments of having it all correct, it's my failing to keep the energy forward enough in a STRAIGHT frame that has resulted in our set back. I used to ride with a German trainer (and judge) who was really into forward and after my lesson yesterday I know that I need to get Junior hot off my leg again and to get that response without dropping him in front OR letting him roll over (drop) the right shoulder, ie, keep him straight. So 'that' is going to be our focus for the next week (and longer). I'm still working on advancing up the levels because I know if we can work this through, third level and clean changes will be there.............so.............I guess my point is your assessment and 'new' focus is likely going to advance you up the levels faster than if you just worried about the movements that are in first level which you obviously already know.

[Chisamba]

I an frequently criticized for riding with too long a rein. I have completely stopped caring. If I cannot get and uphill balance or a half halt on a longer rein, I am not riding back to front enough. feck modern dressage for the short rein short cut to collection. ok rant over.

in my do the opposite mantra, if I feel I need to shorten my reins I ask the horse to accept the half halt on the same length rein either by straightening or by being more equal into contact. or stepping more from behind without speeding up.

[Josette]

I an frequently criticized for riding with too long a rein. I have completely stopped caring. If I cannot get and uphill balance or a half halt on a longer rein, I am not riding back to front enough. feck modern dressage for the short rein short cut to collection.

Applause icon please - thank you for this post!

[exvet]

I guess length of rein to me has far more to do with making sure I'm not throwing the horse away and am giving it a place to land (in the bridle). It's recreating the same feel of bascule, forward and power that I had when oh so many years ago I would ride cross country. I have been for far too many years in dressage for fear of being accused of riding front to back, failing to provide the guidance and redirection of energy by allowing my elbows to drift too far forward or asking the horse to move forward and having nothing to step into. In the end it's different strokes for different folks and I could care less if others try to accuse me of riding front to back. So to repeat, proper rein length to me is creating the proper feel not pulling out a ruler or more importantly NOT pulling back the reins (and thus compressing the front). This is why forward is most important to ask, have and most recently for me, not to forget while focusing on other aspects of riding like straightness.

I ride a breed that you absolutely cannot ride front to back and go anywhere.......Riding back to front even with imperfection gets you gait scores of 7 and suppleness of at least a 6 while riding front to back gets you gait scores of 5 or 6 and suppleness of 5 or less. If I had a gifted horse the story might be different but what I ride keeps me challenged and honest as well as magnifying my weaknesses as a rider.

[StraightForward]

This is all timely discussion for me as well!

I had my last two lessons of the year this weekend, so I think I can call it a wrap for this year.

A lot of it was about organizing the front end so the back end can carry and do its job. I also think I've gotten a little too caught up in avoiding riding front to back at my own peril. My instructor has worked with plenty of stock horse types, and reminded me yesterday that I really need the shoulder control on Annabelle so that she can begin to lower her hind end and carry the shoulders more up. To that end, we did 180 degree passade, and then (attempting) to canter out, baby walk HP and then changing the bend and cantering out, and trot SI/corner/canter. We also started riding some pony trot with lots of transitions to almost walk and then more forward, small stretches without lengthening the rein.

Tesla is starting to double-lunge halfway decently. I haven't been on her for a week or two. I think I'm going to continue to focus on the lunging and try to get her cantering decently both directions before trying to do much riding. Not quite what I had envisioned for her at this point, but it is forward progress, and she seems to be a little more on board with the whole "doing work" thing, so I'll take it. Hopefully canter will be a little more accessible and organized when we try again from the saddle in a couple months.

[demi]

Thanks for the insight Exvet and Chisamba. I think I know what you are saying about Jr’s conformation and I really appreciated that you sought different help when the other trainer was insisting that you push him when you knew better. I’ve seen enough of your videos to know that you ride from back to front. In your beginning trot lengthenings, you got responses that proved to me you had power coming from behind.

And Chisamba, I agree about modern dressage and the short rein short cut. I can see tension in a lot of modern dresssage show horses and I don’t like to watch it.

In several notes to myself after reviewing recent rides, I have written “need more forward” “need more canter”. I am doing both in addition to letting my reins out a little. Rocky is built to lower her withers (especially at speed) so it is difficult to get her forward enough and keep her “up” enough at the same time. I think when she braces, it is in the back, and not exactly in the shortened reins, which is why I get the curling and tilting. Her neck isn’t totally rigid. Anyway, she starts our rides out really nicely and doesn’t start bracing until after 15-20 of work. I am going to interpret that to mean she is fully capable of carrying herself the way I want, but just needs more strength to progress from there.

I have some good still shots of the tilt on the right lead with short reins that I’ll try to post.

SF, you posted while I was writing this, I think a lot while I am posting so it takes a while for me to post! Anyway, interesting about your last lesson and stock horses.....

[StraightForward]

Demi - this was the first time she worked us in pony trot. Basically it was active, but a much smaller trot going down almost to a jog and then back forward again; lots of transitions within the gait and LY from quarterline and out from a volte in the pony trot. The past week or two I've had some issues with Annabelle getting a little fixed in her jaw and losing some suppleness. She felt that this was from riding a little too quick/forward for our current stage, now that we usually have a go button. She explained that with both trot and canter, she wanted to start getting her to be a little quicker in the air with her hinds, but understanding that she can keep a foot on the ground a little bit longer to allow time for the joints to fold and carry. There was a LOT, I'm glad I'm writing it down here before I forget.

[khall]

SF I like to use the short but active trot in my WBs and will use it on Joplin who wants to power through. I feel it is a great way to build carrying strength and promotes balance. I will use it on Rip before asking for medium trot and great before canter transition.

[demi]

I just wrote a long post and lost it.

I tried the baby trot today thinking it might be just the ticket. Many years ago, I saw CdK have my friend use it on her horse and it was like a lightbulb moment for his balance. Didnt work so well with Rocky today. She went behind my leg and I had a very hard time getting half halts to go through. Finally, I just sent her quite forward, trot and canter, and was able to get her in front of my leg again. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but I am also wondering if baby trot allowed her to "call the shots". She is pony-like in some ways. I am attaching a recent vid to show how she tries to manipulate me It was at the end of a ride and she was ready to quit. As we approched the gate end of the arena she tried to take the reins out of my hands so I made her do a 10m circle and halt "up". It was kind of nice so I gave her a treat . The all on her on she does a nice TOF to head us back to the gate. I make her TOF back which she does half way, reluctantly, and then puts both front feet on the railroad tie. Then she does a nice back, all her own idea. Finally, after another, stronger attempt to take the reins out of my hands, she submits like a little girl who knows when it's best to go along with mom.

https://youtu.be/vrhPM_KRkf0

[blob]

Great discussion and posts. I agree that the short rein is not the end all be all. But I have a tendency to let reins just gently slippppppp out of my hand and get longer and longer. So I am forever working on short reins, which is really more "keep the reins at the length you intend to keep them."


In other news, MM had her xrays done today. Thankfully her joints are in great shape--the vet was really impressed and pleased with them. She said she doesn't suspect I should have to worry about any kind of joint support/maintenance for awhile. So, we can check that off the list. The bodyworker comes out Jan 7th, so it'll be interesting to see what she notices from a muscle perspective. It's a new body worker, so I'll be curious to see what she feels/sees without any context/prior history.

[StraightForward]

Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but I am also wondering if baby trot allowed her to "call the shots".

That could be it. I had to really focus and think about directing each stride much more than in working trot, and we didn't go more than 1/4 of a circle without some type of transition, so A had to really listen. I do get the sense that Rocky is a little more cheeky than A though.

I want to try again and get some video, but A had a weird swelling on the bridge of her nose tonight, so don't know what is going on, or if it will go away soon. Plus the footing in our indoor was obliterated with all the riders. They were working on the tractor last night, so hopefully it will get groomed soon. A might be getting January off from riding if the footing doesn't improve.

[Moutaineer]

I think its quite funny that we all end up working on the same things at the same time

I mentioned last week that my trainer had me working in a small trot, too. Laddie and I would concurr that its really hard work both mentally and physically to maintain correctly for any period of time, and that many good quality uphill transitions seem to the key to getting and keeping it in front of your leg and getting it "real" rather than a mincy little trot with the hind end dragging along behind.

However, several days of serious but short sessions with it as the sole focus are making a difference to how quickly we can both come to the table with a result. We shall soldier on.

[demi]

Ok, I think I need to try baby trot some more. Thanks for the discussion! I went out yesterday and spent half the ride working on it but I’ll change my approach to just giving it short but serious sessions till we figure it out. I think I just expected it to be easy and so I wasn’t as focused as I needed to be. I couldn’t video yesterday because it was drizzling all day and it’s predicted to rain for the next several days. I will try to get it on vid when I can.

[Lipsmackerpony88]

I've never tried the "baby trot." Interesting discussion and food for thought here.

Blob, that's great news about MM! Glad she's in good shape joint wise. It will be interesting to see what the bodyworker finds. I hope she gets a good report!

[Sue B]

I love pony trot for both my horses but for different reasons. With Rudy, it helps me to get him focused when he's tense and thinking about other things. I think it works in part because I have to concentrate on his steps too, so I can't think about what might be distracting him or creating tension. However it works, I can gain or regain connection within a few minutes using pony trot followed by many transitions up and down within the trot etc, etc.
With Tio, pony trot comes after warmup. This helps counteract his tendency to rush when he thinks he's put enough effort out for the day. A circle or two of pony trot both directions re-establishes forward and engagement of his hind end.

When pony trot is good in either horse, I can step right into canter or directly into halt.