April showers bring May flowers and June bugs. Our goals and progress thread

[StraightForward]

We are getting the April showers, but we certainly need it!

Self
Hit the gym at least 2x a week, and run outside 1x
Clean up that diet, go lower on carbs again and drop the 5-6# that crept on over winter.
Possibly sign on for DRT 2 (I have a week to decide)
Break in those shiny blue boots.

Annabelle
Keep cleaning up the second level work.
The canter HP is coming, so hopefully we'll have a nice one at the end of this two months.
Show First-3 and Second-1 in May and June. These will be our first recognized shows.
Take as many lessons as possible.
Do a little jumping once a week.

Tesla
She is officially six, and has probably over 200 rides at this point, so we are working towards adulting; less babying overall.
Haul out until she's a little more chill.
See if we can manage hauling out for a lesson.
Continue to improve the lateral work and obedience to forward aids.
Figure out the right bit/bridle combo. Just ordered a Micklem style, and have my eye on another bit to try, depending on results.

ETA: my regular instructor just announced that she is finally coming back next weekend. We'll be having a little bit of a bootcamp in May with weekly lessons from the new instructor too!

[exvet]

No April showers here just wildfires, ugh! The season has started early this year.

Me: Get my back more fit and particularly my right leg (left leg as one would expect is plenty strong). I'm finding that as I improve my lat strength (in the right way) I'm better able to control my right-hand issues (still weaker than my left side but better than before).

Brandon: I'll have a better idea of goals after today's lesson and next Saturday's schooling show. For now, I continue to work on his balance, especially at the canter and his acceptance of the bit. Tempo is also a big focus this time around.

Junior: what's new? Nothing, just continue to focus on purity & quality of the gaits and the flying change. I find that I really must, must, must not give up my position when I'm setting up and riding through the flying change so that will be a particular focus for me.

Ace: try to keep him in shape as it starts to heat up.

Oh and I got some 'possible' good news. There's a chance my daughter will be bringing the studly back home!!!! I hope this does come true for her and for me. I do miss him.

[heddylamar]

I'll just be happy if I get to ride these two months!! I kept Maia in MD (v. dropping her off with my mom too) because "of course I'll have time to ride"

I want to know what my past self was smoking because I desperately need that happy juice right now! Between new clients, getting the house ready to go on the market in two weeks, and then us — and Maia, and two guinea pigs — moving in 6 weeks, I just don't know where I'll find the time. And we're out of town for my grandmother's long-overdue memorial in two weeks (yes, we timed the house going on the market + open house with us being out of town).

We still don't have a rental in Texas yet either. But Maia has a barn, and if it works, Anz will be joining us there.

[StraightForward]

I think just getting moved to Texas, with humans, horses and piggies is a big enough goal.

[Moutaineer]

I think your horse goal might be to go out and feed carrots occasionally, and breathe deeply, Heddy! At least you have a barn lined up... the most important thing!

[Moutaineer]

Goals for the next two months... well man plans, God laughs, so maybe I'll call this my "wishlist!"

1. Get over my FC mental block. If I stay on message, he can do them with his eyes closed.

2. Work on the canter connection and throughness.

3. Work on mediums and extensions, trot and canter, developing better cadence and less frantic-ness (franticity? That should be a word!)

3. Get ourselves polished up to do a respectable 3.1 at the beginning of July.

4. Get out of the sandbox a bit.

We've spent the last few rides working on lateral stuff, shoulder in, renvers, half pass, which are coming together pretty well at the trot. I need the better canter to nail down the canter half pass.

[Kyras_Mom]

Yikes heddy...I think your plate is full. Just roll with it. If you get a ride...great.

My goals for the next two months...
Get Kyra some body work. That is scheduled for this Thursday. She still looked very so slightly off on the right front on the lunge line but I went ahead and rode her. There was something subtle, almost a slight hesitation on the right side but after one circle, she felt fine. She felt even better when I let her stretch.

Get myself back on track with my eating. I have had some neck and headache issues the last couple weeks and my resolve for eating better went out the window. Head and neck have felt better the last couple days so I hope it continues improving.

Hope our goofy weather settles down as does my horse. However, today she was as calm as could be. I forgot my whip and decided that lately, I haven't needed it. Today, she could have used a tap or two. We need to work on canter as that has been a hot mess lately with her tension. Today it wasn't bad but I had her back in the bit-less bridle to see if that might decrease her tension. I also threw on her Back On Track beanie. Who knows what helped if any of those things. I need to get her working more consistently. I would like to get back to some lessons but that will take more work on both our parts so we don't waste anyone's time.

If our weather ever levels out and isn't so windy and stormy, I would like to find a barn mate and their horse to serve as babysitter and start trying the trails.

Susan

[StraightForward]

Yeah the weather. I'm taking some time off this week, so hoping it evens out and I can take advantage of some extra ride time. Both girls were pretty good today. Some boarders took their horses (including the new large mini mare Tesla is entranced with) for a walk down the canal bank behind our arena and out around the crop fields. She thought this was quite exciting, so we got some good canter mileage in on the lunge line (and a few very impressive airborne maneuvers). I waited until they were almost back to get on, then let her watch until they were back on campus before commencing work. After that, she didn't turn an ear and pretty much went right to work. She was much better about responding to a small tap of the crop when she started thinking of sucking back; going into the bridle much better and I'm being more diligent about not throwing my reins at her. It was our second ride in the Fager titanium mullen "baby fulmer." She is taking more contact in this bit, but it also seems to encourage her into a fixed position. I did play a little with suppling her and putting her in some different postures and had some improvement, but I don't think it's "the one." I ordered the Bobby's version of a Micklem on Saturday, so when it arrives, I'll see how she feels about that with this bit and the Novocontact before venturing on to another bit. The next one I'm thinking of is the Fager Gustav baby fulmer, which is sweet iron, or a titanium single-jointed eggbutt.

Also upping the ante with Annabelle as far as coming together and staying together, and asking for more rapid transitions. Was looking forward to seeing the video evidence this morning, but the SoloShot had one of its days where it followed me, but just made a few empty files. I'm going to bring it along on Wednesday and hope it works to capture my lesson. It is just getting old and unreliable, but still works most of the time.

[Ponichiwa]

Sweating season is fully upon us here in TX; RIP my ability to wear the same clothes all day, inclusive of a quick walk during lunch.

Goals this time around:
Queso:
- Concerted medium canter practice 2x/week
- Half steps 1x/week
- Introduce multiple changes
- (Stretch) Show at the end of May? (and also turn that tail white again)-- probably 2nd level but potential for 3rd if all the stars align

Me:
- Lose 5lb
- 40min walk/ride/bike daily

[Lipsmackerpony88]

Goals: keep getting Lynx and I both stronger
Enter another schooling show
Get off property at least once.
Ride in the field.

[blob]

Me:
Eat healthier
Find time to exercise outside of riding at least 1x a week
Find time to ride even with work picking up

MM: (still in rehab mode)
Build up to 5 minute trot sets each direction with 1 minute walk break in between
Introduce small amounts of canter
Work on walk FP/HP zig-zags (no hesitation in change of direction)
Work on walk piris

RP:
Spend time trotting/cantering out of the arena
Cavellettis
Practice 1-3
Attend 2 clinics and get homework!
Make it to a show (schooling or recognized)

[Chisamba]

I am really determined to do better at riding the horse I have, not the one I want. I often have a plan when I ride. It's a goal right. It's appropriate to have a plan and goal for the day, the week, the month. Well I was horrible at explai I g that goal to Kimba yesterday, or maybe she just needed something very different from my grand plan. It took me thirty minutes, I mean thirty fucking stubborn shit head minutes of frustration before I just got smart enough to change the plan. What a difference. I started really listening to her responses and body placement. Instead of thinking of it as an evasion I started using it as a tell. What is she telling me. Less than five minutes later I had a better understanding. I needed to get her shoulders more free to move laterally. I did quite a lot of unconventional movement, instead of placing the hind quarter I started placing the shoulder. We completely lost the flying change. When I kept her shoulders in front of me and aligned with the rib cage and base of the neck she just didn't have the confidence to change in front. BUT BUT But... I eradicated the pacing, I got expressive and rhythmic half pass. I got better medium trot and trot shoulder in and half pass.

And I was taught a really significant lesson. All the horses in barn owe Kimba oats and praise because by horse she taught me a significant thing that gave every other horse a good ride.

See horses truly are the teachers. It's up to me to learn.

Oh as a side bar after riding my fifth horse I started stalls, got a bit of nasty reflux and vomited a strawberry smoothie. Only problem. Ate spinach salad for lunch, no strawberries no tomato. My BFF the ER doctor put me on. Pepcid and carafate and suggested I get worked up for a bleeding ulcer. Bloody heck. Oh well.

[piedmontfields]

Self: Keep tracking the damned calories; keep exercising. I dropped about 10-12 lbs over the last 2 months; I need to repeat that to get rid of pandemic/stress weight. Finalize new (single)job.

Mare: Keep up our pursuit of tack-walking queen title. Maintain good position and clear quiet aids (me), stand up on all 4 hours (her). Emi is recovering from a groin muscle tear. She is improving and getting stronger; I suspect we will be starting towards something like the beginning of new normal in a few months.

[Sue B]

Good Morning!
Yup, it's snowing sideways again!

May 3 202220220503_063448.jpg (63.73 KiB) Viewed 36938 times

[Sue B]

Chisamba, jingles for your possible bleeding ulcer!!!! Also, ride the horse you're on TODAY is the best instruction I ever got from a clinician. It really helped me turn the corner with my hyper-sensitive OTTB Lad and gave us a few really good years.

[Kyras_Mom]

Crazy, isn’t it Sue. We need the precipitation badly so I guess we will take it. We didn’t get any snow just buckets of rain.

I got an email that ALL 3 of our arenas are closed due to excessive water. That is probably OK. I went out yesterday and Kyra had a pretty big left hind leg. The same one that was big when she kicked the fence in December. She was weight bearing and it wasn’t hot but definitely a bit ouchy to palpation. My guess is that she kicked the fence again (3 inch steel rails) trying to impress her new neighbor on her left . I hope it isn’t some sequestrum or something gnarly like that. So we will be hand walking for a few days between the rain and the fat leg. She gets her body work on Thursday so it looks like a really slow week. It is supposed to be 70 Wednesday and Thursday so things should dry out fairly quickly.

Chisamba, take care of yourself. Yes, I need to remember to ride the horse I have today. I have been doing way too much but, but you aren’t like this.
Well, yes, some days she is so deal with what you have. Thanks for the reminder.

Susan

[Josette]

I am really determined to do better at riding the horse I have, not the one I want. I often have a plan when I ride. It's a goal right. It's appropriate to have a plan and goal for the day, the week, the month. Well I was horrible at explaining that goal to Kimba yesterday, or maybe she just needed something very different from my grand plan. It took me thirty minutes, I mean thirty fucking stubborn shit head minutes of frustration before I just got smart enough to change the plan.

And I was taught a really significant lesson. All the horses in barn owe Kimba oats and praise because by horse she taught me a significant thing that gave every other horse a good ride.

See horses truly are the teachers. It's up to me to learn.

I rarely post anymore as I've been buried in elder parent care issues - too much stress to even go there. But Chisamba - Thank you - I love reading your posts! I've had many rides as you described on my project pony but in the end I've learned a lot from him. We are casual now in our riding goals aimed for our physical fitness and mental well being and I need those mental wellness rides for me. Pony is now age 22 and I'm 65 but he is still a reactive forward ride - never boring or dull ride. Who needs a youngster when I have him.

Chisamba - take care of yourself and wishing you a speedy recovery.

piedmontfields - I've rehabbed my guy 3 times over the past several years for pasture injuries he did to himself in his large private turnout. He is a hooligan when he runs bucking with sliding stops - then I deal with the injury, vet bills and months of rehab. So you will have to bump me for that tack walking rehab queen title.

[Flight]

Chisamba, hope you're ok! Do you have any pain?
Just the flying changes stuff, I read your post from the last thread. I can't really offer advice with the tension, other than maybe positioning her so it's really easy for her to change and just keep doing them until she's not so worried?

I dont really have goals when I ride or much of a plan. I do tend to start out and then work on what feels needing to be worked on. Maybe that's why I have a slower progress than others? I do have to remind myself to touch on the hard stuff, otherwise I can just wander around in the nice feelings

I took Ding, the little black horse to our state champs for working eq. He found it all quite scary in the indoor at night, and then could not possibly jump over a haybale jump. So we got eliminated in that phase. But he came good for the speed round.
So general goals is to bring Norsey up and do comps with him this year for working eq, and just spend the rest of the year learning to do it all one handed with Ding.

Sue B, nice snow pic! It's starting to cool off here now and my horses are really furry. I have to decide whether to clip or not. We've had a lovely autumn though, it's stayed a nice temperature.

[Moutaineer]

Hi Josette, sending you good wishes in a stressful time.

Ugh, Chisamba! Take care of yourself!

We had a ton of rain overnight,, the barn had 4" of snow. We need the water and all that.

The demolition guys were at it in full force at the barn today when I got there for my lesson, ripping down old buildings and tearing out fencing with giant, loud equipment and loading all the debris into huge trucks. Discretion is the better part of valor, so I didn't ride the horse I had today!

We had a lesson in groundwork instead, which was eye-opening and useful. If he's ploughing through me with his left shoulder on the ground, no wonder he's doing it under saddle. Bending through the ribcage is a thing!

Its interesting. Until about 2 weeks ago, I would have said he was so much easier to ride to the left. So we've spent some quality time going to the right. Now he's much easier (straighter, more through) on the right lead. I'm not sure if the left has disintegrated a bit, or the right has leapfrogged past it. Back to more focus in the left, I guess!

[khall]

Some good goals posted! Mine for this go around

Joplin
Clarity in our work. She’s getting so many buttons now she gets a bit muddled. Trot work then canter work and if I go back to trot work she says but we must canter now! And she throws in piaffe during it all:). So I need to be clear medium trot aids canter aids piaffe aids. Right now we are exclusively riding in the hay field and it’s just lovely. Good footing long straight lines good for fitness.
I’m doing more in the canter work as well embracing chisamba’s they get better canter by doing it a good bit. Im adding in change of lead through trot and SI to C. Continue with CC and maybe add in canter HP? Definitely up our game medium C to collected C. She can canter on the spot for about 3 strides.

We are hauling to school again this month. Run through 1 at level tests and possibly 2 nd? Cedar clinic in June and she’s doing a piaffe lecture.

Try her bare back with pad
Gaila
5-16 see if there is a black dot
Piaffe in hand and US try her back in my Vinici
CC work play some bareback.

Me
Add in one more weight lifting day. Eat a bit better. Slid some lately

Henry
Working on Homeschool the dog with Susan Garrett. Fun to see him work out and offer what I want. He’s a smart cookie and highly treat motivated! Doggie daycare some

Weather here is getting hot and we are dry right now.

Arena still trying to get someone in to fix the dang thing. Having issues getting someone to do the work

[blob]

Gosh, Chisamba, hope you're feeling better.

Kyra's Mom, Sue B, Mountaineer and anyone else dealing with wild weather--hope you guys get a true spring soon without any winter teases.

Josette--good to see you/hear from you. Sending you thoughts.

After a bit of a quiet bubble, work is picking up again, so my riding time might get less predictable, less reliable, and well, just less in general. Thankfully my two seem to have mostly settled though MM is being a bit of a tyrant and is guarding the water from RP and today I noticed he had a lump on his neck that seems most likely to be a kick. I've never know MM to really beat up on another horse and RP tends to stay out of trouble so hopefully this won't be a repeat occurrence.

MM's rehabbing seems to be going fairly well. I'm grateful for all the places to ride outside the arena and i'm still learning all the nooks and routes at the new place, so she and i have been going on adventures to explore. I've also been putting in some trot, right now we're doing around 3 minutes of continuous trotting.

I ran through our 1-3 with RP yesterday and there is def still a lot to work on. We can do the LYs but sometimes he can get a bit choppy in his striding with them and tight in the back. The left lead canter work is also a delicate balance. I have to be careful with the loop and also conservative with the lengthening, in both cases he tries to swap leads. And of course our trot lengthenings still leave much to be desired. Now that he is settled more at the new place I need to start trotting up the hills and up the conditioning lane to build that strength. I'm also debating doing a preventative round of adequan for him this year.

[Chisamba]

Duplicate

[Chisamba]

Its interesting. Until about 2 weeks ago, I would have said he was so much easier to ride to the left. So we've spent some quality time going to the right. Now he's much easier (straighter, more through) on the right lead. I'm not sure if the left has disintegrated a bit, or the right has leapfrogged past it. Back to more focus in the left, I guess

I used to periodically notice this story of switching sides when riding. I did have a bit of an enlightening moment when. I wondered if my focus was on the wrong thing. If we are logical the left side is always attached to the right, and rising if a whole body thing, unlike writing with humans which is very unilateral.

Anyway my thought left me to very carefully working both sides equally and focusing on bilateral symmetry.. So stretching equally both ways, flexing equally both ways actually timing trot and canter work both ways, shoulder focus, equal time. Quarter focus equal time. I noticed silly things. In free walk the horse would drift in and chose to change direction and kind of happily lure me into warming up and cooling down much more in a particular direction. I started paying attention to student warm up. I realized they too would happily go around in one direction more than the other.

I even had a student say are we done. I asked did we do shoulder in to ten m circles to Travers to the left. Anyway since I have attempted to be very equal in both direction I have less switching and on some of my horses if even forgotten that have a weak side.

[khall]

I actually will target the shoulder that the horse wants to stay on not necessarily working them equally. I do have my horses swap but then with work they ride much more evenly. To the point I struggle to remember which was the shoulder they wanted to stay on.

Reading Klaus Balkenhol he wrote of needing to ride one side in slight counter flexion counter bending to help keep the horse straight I posted an article on my FB page about the thoracic sling that was very interesting

https://www.thirzahendriks.com/post/the ... Bpz0LuO4HI

[Lipsmackerpony88]

Khall- the article you linked sounds similar to the work of "The Traveling Horse Witch" on Facebook.

[StraightForward]

Well, I can already tick one goal off my list (maybe)! I hauled Tesla out yesterday and she was really good. 100% improvement over last fall and didn't even get too excited about the owners' mules. I'm going to keep taking her there now that they're open Monday nights. Yesterday the place was empty and it was a warm, windless day. We'll see what happens when we show up and people are barrel racing or whatever. Maybe at the end of the month we'll try a haul-out lesson. Canter continues to be a challenge, so I'm excited for lessons with my old instructor Sunday and Monday to see what pointers she can offer.

The wind is supposed to pick up today then temps drop and another storm system comes through. Usually I would be planting the tomatoes and peppers right now, so it's definitely a colder than normal spring.

[Moutaineer]

I understand what you mean Chisamba, and I think for me that placing the mental emphasis on working the more difficult side means that we do the work more evenly, and I dont get lulled into just incidentally and unintentionally switching back to the easier direction for the warm up/cool down, etc., which is SO easy to do!

[blob]

I tend to get hyper-focused on problems, so it's very easy for me to overcorrect. If there is a bad side I ride it a lot more and I have to remind myself to ride the other side too! If I have a lesson and my instructor tells me my legs are too far forward or my tempo is too quick it's almost a guarantee that next lesson he will have to tell me the opposite. Even though I know this about myself, i still struggle with making sure I don't swing from one way to the other.

[Ryeissa]

Khall- the article you linked sounds similar to the work of "The Traveling Horse Witch" on Facebook.

yes- she's not doing anything super special. Its just basic biomechnics. However, the thorasic sling work has been ESSENTIAL to my riding. She does a lot of really good thing but I wouldn't say its some secret or anything (not saying anyone here thinks that). Its good marketing too

[Lipsmackerpony88]

Good to know, her stuff is very expensive!!

[khall]

That is good to know rye. I had not heard of her before just recently. I’ll have to revisit her again

[Ryeissa]

That is good to know rye. I had not heard of her before just recently. I’ll have to revisit her again

yeah, its all very Mary Wanless type stuff. I've been in a biomechanics specific program since 2014. It might just depend on who you ride with and the network available. No need to spend extra for this program. she is a lot of money. I know people who love her- there is definitely a place for that kind of online support. I just don't like people thinking its something new and special. Its not. I could give the same lessons. I'm also a professional massage therapist for horses.

[khall]

I ride with Cedar who stems from Nuno Olivera training through JP Giacomini very much focus on correct biomechanics as did Mark Russell who I rode with for over 9 years. Very lateral work centric with focus on straightness and strengthening to engage the thoracic sling. Also study some with Jillian Kreinbring whose complete focus is biomechanics and understanding the equine body to help us in our training. I’ve both hosted her and have ridden with her after Mark’s death. Hosting again I hope next year.

Her biomechanics course is usdf credits. I’ve taken it twice and would do so again!

Cedar has a remarkable eye for getting a horse working correctly and knowing what exercises to help them do so. Very impressed with this young trainer and feel blessed to be able to learn from her after losing Mark.

Not very familiar with Mary Wanless but because the work that has been handed down from Master Olivera really resonates with me I seek those trainers out. Why I went to the Valenca’s in Portugal and would go back.

Interesting side note some of the California bridle horse trainers have discovered Master Olivera and are studying his training. I find that fascinating

[exvet]

It's good to know that there are younger generations of trainers that have the right focus in bringing a horse along in their training. I have to admit that I've had to go back in time and dust off some of my old resources and honestly I'm glad that I did. I pulled out my old DVD of Kyra Kyrklund training the flying changes, a very simple and basic 'lecture/video' but I guess that is what I need. I also pulled out some old articles from Karl Mikolka's highlighting his recommended preparation and exercises for training the FC. The combination of the two really helped me with my ride this morning. We did a lot of preparation (more Karl than Kyra) and then worked on FC on the 10 meter figure eight (keeping more of Kyra's work in mind) and we had clean changes with plenty of jump......a wee bit braced still but not too bad and definitely all in the right direction. I was especially pleased that there was no hesitation from Junior.

I had a nice ride on Brandon as well. So now it's time to clean the tack, pack the trailer and prepare for the 2.5 hour haul to the schooling show tomorrow. We're supposed to hit 100 degrees today with much of the same tomorrow so it will be good to 'flee' to the high country. My goal with Brandon is to simply get into the competition ring and not be eliminated. My goal with Junior remains as previously stated, score at least a 6 on one of my flying changes (and hopefully maintain our quality for the rest of the 2 tests I'm riding).

I have a couple of clinics coming up in the next two weeks, taking both boys. It will be nice to have some dressage scores and comments to take with me for us to use as a guide for the upcoming lessons.

[Kyras_Mom]

Kyra got her body work yesterday and was so happy. I just lunged her today as I had Mom in the car and she looked very even and relaxed. Hopefully, I can ride tomorrow but our weather is so schizo right now. Supposed to blow through a storm tonight and drop the temperature 20 degrees .

She has had that fat hind leg. The vet that did the spring stuff is supposed to be by to do some follow-up on a little mare with mild laminitis. The owner thought this week or next. Since she wasn’t lame, I thought I could add her to this visit. Well, he isn’t coming until the 20th. So, they suggested bute for a couple days. I did do one day and it took all the generalized swelling down but she still looks like she has a goose egg on the outside of her right leg (between fetlock and hock). However, the body worker worked on it and she had no reaction to her really working the leg. Today, generalized swelling still gone…just the goose egg which was cool and non-sensitive. I didn’t give any bute yesterday or today. I think I will work on it with a red laser and some work like the body worker showed me and if she still has a goose egg, have the vet X-ray when he comes on the 20th. Since she has conked it at least twice on the unyielding 3 inch steel pipe fence, I would like to make sure the splint bone is OK before we (hopefully) really get to work.

I am also going to do a trial of magnesium. I got to thinking that she is on alfalfa only and that is quite high in calcium and she may not be getting enough magnesium which could result in some of her tension and tightness. Cheap enough to give it a trial.

Susan

[Moutaineer]

Best of luck, exvet!

This week has been a bit nuts workwise and weatherwise. Today was a beautiful day and I played hookey from the office and went to the barn.

Today's construction project involved a huge hole about 10ft deep in front of the main barn doors. they'd hit rock, so were breaking it up by dropping a wrecking ball from a trackhoe mounted crane about 20ft tall into the hole, onto the rock... the entire barn was vibrating! Then there was the collecting and setting of the storm drain pipe, which necessitated said trackhoe crawling past the windows of the indoor arena, casting dinosaur shadows, then backfilling the whole lot with gravel--woosh!.

Potters (you know, the horse who leaps out of his skin if someone opens the bathroom door halfway down the aisle) didn't turn a hair. We had to work indoors because of the construction, and the wind was rattling all the windows, and all this stuff was going on outside, and he just got to work and got on with it.

Horses!

[Dqwannabe]

Wow, I'm reading your posts, I'm way behind and trying to catch up to at least get familiar with all your ponies' names... and I'm only registering a few of them. Ugh, sucks getting old, I can hardly remember my OWN name!

So, I've been out of the riding 'thing" for several years and I'm trying to dip my toes back in, get my rescue mare on a positive track and reading all your updates for inspiration. Unfortunately (for ME), you all are levels above me so I have to make my own "playing field" for at least the upcoming month. I'm reading April month-end status updates with weight loss and weight-lifting goals and I want so badly to add those to my personal goals as well. But, I'm struggling to get Razzy under saddle minimally twice a week so I need to be patient and be happy with the progress we've made. Personal fitness is HUGE and I do realize that, but getting my schedule and mindset into a regular training regimen is also important, especially for Razzy. I'm going to start here and work on getting some basics established for her and if I'm able to work on my personal fitness in the background it'll be icing on the cake. She's been amazing given that we've only been doing real work (under saddle  or lunging) twice a week. Plus at least two mani/pedi sessions a week because I don't want every "session" with her to be work. She drops her head and sighs while I condition her mane/tail. It helps me let go of a three hour commute plus a long, frustrating day sitting at a desk.
Anyway, I've been able to restart lessons just this week and the poor lesson pony tolerates my lack of ability to track right while I desperately try to remember to breathe and ask for inside leg, not lock up my shoulders and... not manage to get anywhere near the rail. Yesterday did not go well. I realize it's me, my body wants to track left. The harder I tried to relax, point my belly button where I wanted to go, etc, the worse we got. I was discouraged beyond what I'm able to express and I'm only thankful that poor, forgiving lesson pony had to tolerate me, not my greenie, reactive mare.
So, tonight I got back on Razzy with the sole goal of relaxing and having a positive "steering" experience and it went well. I could tell you all about Monday's frustrating lunging session with her but it no longer matters. She tried tonight. We both tried. I knew I wasn't where I needed to be to give her clear. well-timed aids and she was trying to understand what I was attempting to ask and in spite of her inherent reflex to fight vs flight, she TRIED to figure out what I wanted (simply a turn on the forehand - move the haunches away from my leg). These animals are amazing and I am truly humbled by what they tolerate from us! As much as we bumble around, they continue to make an effort to understand these crazy hooomans.
I've been walking on air for hours, lol. Anyway, I do have my own set of free weights and weight-loss goals and I shall spend this month setting up the gym in my fixer-upper in order to prepare for June. And I will continue with my lessons on forgiving lesson pony and accumulating positive under saddle hours with Razzy.
I'll set a single, tangible goal of taking Razzy to a show this month simply to  trailer there, get off and wander around, load back up and go home with as little stress as possible. It's all about my pony, lol. And I'll keep reading everybody's' posts to keep inspired! Next year maybe I'll have some interesting progress, but for now I'll live through y'all vicariously!!!

[StraightForward]

Hey DQ, you are being far too hard on yourself. Just working with your mare and getting a lesson in after a 3 hour commute is quite an accomplishment!

I did want to say, re: turning - I've also struggled with this. Both my girls are stiff to the right, and surprise, my body doesn't like to rotate to the right either. I've worked on it, and then the video evidence shows I'm just turning my head more and my torso is still stuck. In the DRT program, Nicola has us sitting on a yoga ball so the feet and knees are square, hands go straight ahead, clasped together "Charlie's Angels" style - then slowly rotate the torso left and right, being careful to watch whether your corresponding knee is moving back or forward, or staying still as you turn (both are good to practice, you just want to be aware of what is happening, and develop control to do either way). I've been able to recreate this turning feeling in the saddle and it's really improved our turns to the right.

I still haven't bit the bullet and entered the first show of the year. Thursday I jumped Annabelle and she didn't refuse or knock any jumps down, but she was also having one of those days where she wouldn't look at the jumps until she got really close, then scrambled over (with the combo she would take a nice jump over the 2nd jump). Yesterday she seemed a little tired and was really tough in the bridle. The bridle part might be that I tried using the caveson from her double bridle instead of her anatomic drop type noseband. Ride before that was lackluster as well though. On a more positive note, the arena got worked and the long court set up, so I was able to run through First-3 and Second-1 and it seems that learning tests is coming a little easier and it didn't seem that we'd be out of our depth at 2-1 when A is having a better day. Lessons this week were rescheduled due to sick children and bad weather, so hopefully A will perk up after a couple days off and be ready for our bootcamp next week.

Tesla's new bridle arrived yesterday and fit well once I put on a bigger browband. If anyone wants to try a Micklem style, this Bobby's version is IMO quite a bit nicer for the price. It even came with some nice rubber reins, which wasn't mentioned in the description, and since the bridle is WB, the reins are 60", which is a nice touch. The first ride in it seemed promising, but I'm still interested in trying the Fager Gustav with it. I think she appreciated a lighter bit, but the mullen seemed to encourage her to just set her jaw and get kind of stiff. Her canter to the right was super hectic, but at least she was giving it an honest try. We also tried to do a version of Training-3 without the canter parts and after the excitement of cantering, well I've never known a serpentine could be so dramatic, but she was definitely on a mission. Someday we'll get to a place of accessing calm energy.

[Ryeissa]

Thanks for the bridle pic- its much nicer looking than the Micklem in my opinion. this V shape doesn't seem to be as large as the micklem and is more attractive. JMHO, that has nothing to do with function but just my opinion

[Lipsmackerpony88]

Good luck Exvet! I can't wait for the show report and hopefully some videos

Susan, I hope Kyra's leg is okay. Horses!!

Mountaineer, good boy Potters! He does remind me a little bit of Lynx mentally from your description. Last week when we were having extreme winds I had a lesson in the indoor and even though it was rattling a bit and so cold he was absolutely perfect. Been a few days later the trainer rode him inside and he was spooky about these blocks that have been in there, forever lol. Sometimes there is no rhyme or reason!

DQwannabe, I so can relate to your post! I too tend to want to twist my body to one side. Among a million other position problems lol. I have Elher Danlos syndrome And I'm actually wondering if I have some mild scoliosis. I was told that once years ago it's a child but my parents dismissed it... Now I really wonder lol. Have been doing feldenkrais and that seems to help a little though to be honest in my latest video I was not super happy with my position... We just have to keep chipping away! And remember that it's all about fun and trying our best

SF, well I really like the look of that bridle. Just from the picture it definitely looks nicer than the Micklem leather wise. I will have to keep that one on my radar.

I was supposed to have lots of fun this weekend with a derby party, riding tomorrow and a mother's day dinner, but my daughter is sick and I'm starting to feel like I'm getting sick too... Bummer!

[Moutaineer]

DQ, trust us, we all share or have shared, and will share in the future, the same struggles. The beauty of these threads is it gives us not only a place to track our progress, however glacial, over a quite long period of time, but also a supportive community in which to share our experiences and learn from each other.

[Moutaineer]

Aaand, another thing, DQ (Sorry, this turned into a novel!)

About "trying to relax." (Which i think is something of an oxymoron.)

Have you analyzed whats causing your tension?

Are you concerned about falling off and hurting yourself? Are you worried about "not doing right" by your horse? Are you worried about what others are thinking of you? All of the above?

Once you've worked out what the issue is, you can start to take control of it.

I'm anxious about falling off and hurting myself.

Why? Because I'm feeling vulnerable because I'm recovering from a couple of (non riding related) injuries.

What am I doing about it? Making sure I stay within my capabilities and consciously making decisions that prioritize my safety. I know I'm a decent rider with a solid seat. I know my horse is spooky, but not dangerously so, and I have the skills to ride through whatever hes likely to throw at me in the circumstances I have consciously allowed us to be in.

If I get anxious, I get off. We lunge, do some groundwork, do something different to melt the anxiety. I dont feel the need to try and ride through it, especially not on this particular horse as he feeds off it.

We are making some really solid progress, at last. Am I riding at the level I "should" be at if none of this had happened? No, I'm not. I'm really fortunate to have an upper level schoolmaster and I'm "wasting" his talent. Oh well I dont think he cares.

I'm also fortunate to now be in a nice barn with a bunch of serious riders with way fancy horses who are supportive and kind, but frankly are sufficiently immersed in their own issues that they don't have the bandwidth to judge anyone else!

I also bought silicon full seats that keep my butt welded to the saddle under nearly all circumstances

[Chisamba]

So instead of going across the diagonal for flying charges with Saiph I just work around the indoor on the second track and ask when she feels ready. If she is stiff in her back she does a buck change, if she is free, she changes freely. Progress is being made.

Caliburn was a firecracker today, and offered some lovely piaffe and passage. It wasn't asked for, lol but he showed he has the. Potential.

[StraightForward]

I also bought silicon full seats that keep my butt welded to the saddle under nearly all circumstances

Ha! In my last lesson, we'd finished and were walking on a loose rein and Annabelle suddenly spooked sideways. I declared "I will never apologize for my silicone breeches!" Instructor agreed.

[exvet]

Mission accomplished! Despite 40 mph wind, we managed to get Brandon through 2 tests which he won and scored well into the 60's. There were flapping tents, blowing trash, loose horses, etc and though we got a couple 'tense' comments (to which I laughed) he did pretty darn good. He got all of his canter departs right on the money, never left the arena, screamed a couple of times but all the while doing what I was asking. He didn't even spook when the wind was so strong that it was flapping the byte in the reins all over his neck. There was no way to control it. So I'm pretty proud of the brat. I had a trainer walk up to me and ask me if he was mine and was he for sale. I told her, "No!' but she asked for my contact information just in case I change my mind

Junior also stepped up to the plate. I had a brain freeze in third 1 and skipped a transition so we only scored a 63 but we did much better in Third 2 and scored a 66. We also managed to get a 6.5 on our left to right change - woo hoo! I'm afraid my right to left changes need a bit more work. Still given the wind and all, I was very pleased with Junior too.

The boys were very happy to get back home where it was warmer (only 90 by the time we got to our barn) but not quite so windy. I hope to upload some video this week and will post when I do.

[Lipsmackerpony88]

Well done Exvet!!

[Kyras_Mom]

Good job exvet. Kyra would have been toast with the wind. I don’t even think it is the blowing flapping stuff but just that the wind distorts all the sounds and her alert level goes to DEFCON 1.

I did manage to get a ride in between thunderstorms. It was OK. I am still flummoxed as to where her nice canter went. She was marginally better today but she was still tense and quite heavy in the hand. The magnesium is on the way and I am hoping that eases some of that tension. I guess, considering the weather, she was pretty good. I think I will just put canter on hold for a bit and work lots of trot. I don’t think it helps her to perpetuate the crappy canter.

The barn has been inundated with rain in the last week so she has been stall bound again. I have been trying to get there every day to get her out and get her moving. She does get turnout but it is dry-lot (or mud lot) and she mostly stands at the gate waiting for someone to come get her . She does seems to love her stall. Weird horse.

Nice bridle SF. I couldn’t get either size Micklem to fit Kyra right. I wonder if the Bobby’s is any different?

Edited to add…yeah…monsoon-ish storms and Sunday…all arenas closed. We really need the precip but gosh, when we get our 0.25-0.5 inches in a few minutes instead of over a day or two. Yesterday, I think there were at least 3 gully washers . It is supposed to snow tonight and Kyra’s blanket is back on. I did get her out today and I find it boring just hand walking so I set up my lunge line as a long rein and ground drove her around the property. I feel that at least has some training value. Snuck in a few reps of half steps, some backing and some leg yield. Then I put her on her Sure Foot pads and used my red laser on her goose egg. She seemed to enjoy that and stayed on the pads a good 10 minutes. Usually 5 minutes is about her limit. Some day I will be able to ride consistently…I hope.

Susan

[Aleuronx]

Just getting my goals in now as I was away for a onsite work meeting with a client last week. I have some big goals as I've decided to just have fun this year and get out there at something easy in First level. Hoping that's achievable!

Kora had her first alternogest injection and it went swimmingly. No post injection soreness or discomfort at all, success! We are ramping down the Regumate this week and she should be off it completely by Friday.

Section Goals:
Incorporate me fitness; long sunday hikes w/Aril, pick up weight training again, SQUATS!!
Get thee to the trainer: 4-5 lessons if possible
Nail Regional qualification @1st level so rest of the year can be fun (and less $15 a pop for tests!): 3 opportunities for the 2 scores needed in what I've signed up for in June
Keep up with trot pole Sunday

[Ponichiwa]

Guys guys guys guys guys

Yesterday I took my first stab at multiple changes along the rail after a nice big medium canter. And Queso got "5-tempis" -- 3 clean changes, on the aids, uphill (and maybe too much so), without drama.

Over the moon with the fabulousness that is The Melty Cheese.

[Sue B]

Ponichiwa...