September and October Goals and Progress

[StraightForward]

Hi Red's Mom - we have almost twin horses, except mine is a mare.

She could not turn right when I got her. I've been doing work in hand with her, and then from the saddle, making sure she understands how to move her shoulders over and take weight on the right front, and it has helped tremendously. Under saddle, for a week or two, I was thinking more about keeping her body straight and doing incremental TOH to make right hand turns. That gave her the idea that she could turn right without diving into the turn. With the in-hand work, another thing that helped was doing small flexions, then asking her to walk forward. She didn't think she could maintain flexion and move her feet, so that was a little lightbulb moment for her, I think. Also, I didn't canter her until I could trot a 15m circle without losing her shoulders, and have lunged her quite a bit, following the Manolo Mendez method (more or less) which keeps the horse on a shorter line, with the handler moving around the circle with the horse. This allows you to ask for bend and keep the shoulders up, rather than allowing them to motorcycle around you on a 30' line.

[Flight]

My big, not so young horse now, took a while to stay balanced at the canter. I tended to just do big circles at first and lots of work in walk and trot to control the shoulders. Oh and lots of patience

[Sue B]

Red's Mom...My big red horse, Tio, is 6 (gulp) now and due to all kinds of things, he is still a major green bean. I do like sf when it comes to canter, in that most of that work has been done on a shorter lunge line with me doing a lot of walking. The other thing that helped, is that he LOVES to jump, so we do lots of cavelletti work where he can go through as a bounce line. We also do single low fences as a reward for trying hard. He never "motorcycles" but he bucks when he gets unbalanced; regardless, once he gets unbalanced, I ease him back to trot, rebalance and try again. By next spring, I think I will be able to simply do a balancing hh instead of dropping into trot. All I know is every success he has, gives him more confidence and makes him more willing to try harder the next time. Even this weekend, when he was sore in his right hind (I think he slipped and tweaked the right hip or maybe si joint), he wanted to be ridden. When I hopped on, he locked his back up so I just sat quietly and waited to see what he wanted to do. After a few minutes, he headed out in a nice swinging walk and proceeded to do a nice, easy workout with no cantering (although he really wanted to) and no jumping. He let me know when he was done by getting a little fussy in the contact and so I hopped off and led him out to the hay field for just a quick jaunt. Such a change from the 4yr old who seemed to think that all ridden work was too hard and no fun. Trust your instincts, you have good ones, and just ride over to the stable so he can hang out while other horses work.

Flight, I sometimes have those thoughts when I am riding Rudy, but I know that his main problem is that he over-thinks things and tries too hard. So if he's blowing through my aids, either he isn't feeling "right" (he and Tio knock each other around quite a bit) or I am not sitting well. If I can't fix whatever it is I'm doing wrong or I can't get the feel I want, I usually just give it up and go for a ride down the road. There are those days though when I make a fool of myself and yell at him or even "boot him a good one." We all do it--it's called being human. As long as we hold our feelings in check and don't abuse our precious mounts, I think we can be forgiven our lapses in judgement now and then. I know Rudy forgives me.

Btw, I can't tell you how I know Tio wanted to be ridden, any more than how I knew that yesterday he was not up for it. I just knew. Maybe it was the way he lunged that day, or the way he balked at leaving the arena after lunging, or the way he pulled me over to the mounting block...but he definitely wanted to go for a ride. Yesterday, he was content to hang out while Rudy worked. This morning he did the biggest, prettiest walk I've ever seen him do as he followed Rudy to the north pasture. I think he feels better now.

[Hot4Spots]

Just to let y'all know that Mr. Mark's knees seem to be doing all right after his faceplant a week ago Sunday. I'm ready to buy stock in Desitin (or Walgreen's for their generic version), I'm using so much of it. So far, so good. No issues with the front legs, all puffiness pretty much gone, and the hind suspensory, well, he FEELS okay when we do our (limited) trot work. Next vet appointment is 10.19, probably ultrasound then ($$$). Does anyone have any ideas on how to get Desitin off?!?!? He rubs his head (through the flymask) and has Desitin circles around his eyes, spots of it on his jaw, dripping down his cannons, etc. LOL

On the other hand, someone bashed my truck bumper in the Bay Area Rapid Transit parking lot a month or so ago. Didn't leave a note, of course. I debated whether I wanted to pay the deductible and finally decided I did, so took it in Monday. They found a bit more damage than the bumper, and I probably won't get truck back until next week. Got a rental car, and wouldn't you know it: I'm driving home from the barn last night, and some idiot comes over the center line and nearly hits me. I swerved, and little POS Hyundai dropped slightly off onto the shoulder and, of course, there's a bit of a dent. more like a crease. Sigh. Glad I paid the extra for the "no deductible" if something happens insurance. AAARRRGH!!!!

[piedmontfields]

Hots4spots, that is so aggravating! Please stay safe. I swear in the last few weeks I have seen a huge increase in people wearing casts and splints (besides me!!!) Maybe I am just noticing now, but others have commented the same (who are injury-free).

For Desitin removal, I'd try baby oil.

[DJR]

Red's mom - yes, I'm the one with the drafts & draft-x's. Although, I've branched out and now ride a WB-x, too (Panache, Argentinian WB x Dutch WB/Appendix, no draft!). Jet is Friesian/Percheron, my 3 yr old is Hano/Shire, and I used to ride a full Percheron (Dante) who finished as Reserve Champion at First Level provincially the year before I sold him!

To develop the canter in my big guys as 4 yr olds, the important thing was to give them more room. I'm lucky enough to have a large outdoor sand ring that is 30m wide x 60m long, so we'd just motor around the longer short sides and not try to "fit" their big, gangly strides into a smaller space. I agree with others who recommended making sure the gait is forward, not stilted. I tried to contain Jet's canter a bit too much early on which only made him heavier and more bargy as he was developing fitness & balance in his younger years. All of my youngsters benefit from this more forward canter that is as much from the hind end as possible. It didn't take long after that to be able to teach them to sit a bit more (mostly through canter-trot and canter-walk transitions), and they'd then gradually build more balance at the canter & we could fit the canter into a smaller space after a few weeks.

I also agree with cross-training over jumps or at least cavaletti. Very helpful for young horses learning where all their legs/feet go. In fact, on my 3 yr olds, I often popped them over a low or medium cavaletti and if they cantered off, I just let them. It was a very natural way to introduce the trot-canter transition to them.

I also second the idea of developing SF at the canter. It also helps with balance, but first they must be forward in my experience.

Mostly, especially with Jet, it boils down to fitness (so I have to ride as consistently as possible), repetition, and some canter sets to increase his endurance/aerobic fitness.

Hots4spots - that SUCKS re: your truck, and then also re: your rental car! What bad luck!

[Red's Mom]

Wow! Thank you everyone for all of this good advice!!!! I feel so much better knowing this is just normal 4 year old stuff, and you have experienced it too. I need to read all of your responses again and write ideas down. I wish my arena was larger! I have wished that for quite awhile.

[Dresseur]

Miro is now walking 8 minutes a day in hand, trotting 2 long sides each direction. I cannot say how special he is - I know of many horses that would need pharmaceutical help to be sane enough to walk them after stall rest. I keep forgetting that he's 4. He's also grown - he's solidly 16hh, and at the moment, looks butt high

I trimmed him up yesterday - I'm being cautiously optimistic, so his tail and dock got trimmed, bridle path clipped, and I'm starting to take care of the mess that is his mane. I didn't want to invite bad behavior by making an antsy horse stand for extended grooming sessions, so I've been keeping things to a minimum and really just scrubbing the crap out of him with the mane brush and picking hooves/checking him over. He's one of those "the harder the better" and looking forward to those hard groomings has kept him very civil in the grooming bay. Yesterday with the extra salon time, he was back to his old tricks of making funny farting noises with his mouth - just making sure that I knew that he was bored!

In any case. After his walk, I jogged him in a circle to take video to check for soundness... the good news is that he's still sound - but he did take the opportunity to tell me that he is still just four, and that he's tired of stall rest .

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[Moutaineer]

Hard to tell if he's butt high in those pix, Dresseur

I'm glad he is largely behaving himself, stall rest is so hard, especially for the young ones (but you really might want to think about wearing a helmet for these activities if he's inclined to get light in the front end.) Laddie found trotting in hand to be really quite exciting, too. He's (so far) been really good under saddle about it. And I hear you about the grooming. I'm trying to get Laddie looking a bit more civilized now he is back under saddle, but it's apparently very boring.

Saddle fitter this afternoon--he's lost so much topline that I'm tipping forward, which isn't conducive to good behavior on his part, or my being able to stay on if there is bad behavior, or to the health of my poor SI joint which has been screaming at me recently.

Then tomorrow, a recheck by the vet. I'm really hoping he's going to clear us to trot round corners--our indoor ring is a bit short for long sides only rehab. You just get going when you have to wind down again. At least there's not space to get totally revved up...

[Dresseur]

Luckily he does not make a habit of it, and he always moves away first - he's very respectful of space. However, if he was walking on two legs and leaping around on a regular basis, I'd definitely have my helmet on, and possibly a crash vest!

Proof that he's not a savage

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[Hot4Spots]

Dresseur - Don't know if you frequent the COTH board, but I was going to comment that, "Oh you mean you're not teaching him Levade, like Nick Peronace?" (If that means nothing to you, it's a guy who promotes himself as a dressage trainer, and claims that as a kid he taught his Appaloosa "airs above the ground," illustrated by a picture of it rearing, as any excited horse might do.)

[Moutaineer]

Cleared for trotting round corners (happy dance...)

And I had my saddle flocking tweaked last night, rode afterwards and I wasn't having to correct my position every 15 seconds, and for the first time in months, was not in pain from my SI and hip in the night. Just that little bit makes so much difference!

[Ryeissa]

.

[Dresseur]

Hot4Spots, I'm familiar with NP
I keep expecting to see him at a show one day.

[demi]

The weather has been so nice here and Rocky is still being a cooperative partner. I rode 4 times last week and 4 times already this week, and will ride her again tomorrow for 5.

Monday and Tuesday this week we had a cold front that seemed to worry her. She was looking toward the East all day. Emma and our old gelding were acting normal. I decided to long rein her on those days instead of riding for safety. She worked well but remained tense and never worked out of it. By Wednesday she was back to normal.

I have lesson scheduled for Monday. I am really looking forward to it even though I am a little nervous. I got way out of shape over the last several years and even when I was working with a personal trainer, it didn’t help much in my riding. Starting to ride Rocky again has been the best thing for me. I am still not in good shape, but when I started “doing dressage” with her again I could barely trot. Now, 6 weeks later I can trot for 20 minutes.

The biggest thing I need to keep in mind with lessons is not to get ahead of myself. Rocky is quick, strong, and athletic. I hope to get in better shape, but my reflexes are never going to be what they used to be and I tend to forget that when things are going well. If Rocky doesn’t completely understand what is being asked of her she can get explosive.

[StraightForward]

Hey, we did a thing! Just Intro A and B at a little event derby, which was just the right speed for us. I still managed to flub up Intro A of all things by doing free walk where it's supposed to be trot across the diagonal to change reins. We got a lot of rain last night, and the only place to warm up was a grass field that was super frosty and wet, so we didn't really get much warmup at all, except for some tentative trotting on the lunge line before I decided I'd better crawl on.

Good info learned for next time:
She gets sticky and rubber-necked in the ring. Make sure she is very IFL before test
Jacket needs to be shortened if I'm going to wear silicone full seats while posting. Tails sticking to butt and getting wedged under the seat is distracting.
Don't practice a test that you "sort of" know beforehand. I think my off-course error was because I'd practiced it that way earlier this week before I had the test fully memorized. Motor memory is a strong force in the universe.
When there's a hard rain and 5 pm, and it's 28F the next morning, allow extra time because your truck will be covered in a sheet of ice.



Posting this one because I like how her neck muscling looks:

[Rosie B]

Yay AnnaBanana!

She looks beautiful. Sounds like a successful outing.

We had lesson 1 of a 2 day clinic today. It was great. More later but here are a couple pics. I know my hands are too far back in the second one.

Edited to post my new favourite pic instead of the other ones. lol.

[Rosie B]

A few more. Sorry I can't resist posting these.

[Chisamba]

The leaves have been disappointing this year, but we did so our fall trail ride hillwork. I am the only one who brought my phone, so i am not in any of the photos, but here are a couple i thought pretty. Surprising how scared some riders find the hills to be.



and Acacia, Kimba's sister, being ridden by my friend.



I wish i had taken one from between Kimba's ears, looking down the hill.

[khall]

Chisamba lovely pictures. Is it still warm up there, is that why the leaves are not turning? It is still too early here for fall leaves.

I too had a ride out in the field yesterday. Lovely cooler day with good cloud cover made for a fun ride. I have one rolling field but nothing like the steepness of Chisamba's! Still good for a work out for Rip though. Had it illustrated to me again why piaffe/half steps are good for building strength and collection ability, not just a movement. As most of you know the riding on Rip over the summer and even into this fall due to our extreme heat and humidity has been limited, but I have been working in hand a good bit with a focus on piaffe/half steps. Going down that road with Gaila now too (who BTW was just bothered by the bugs and a long nose Cashel quiet ride mask too care of her issue). So I was working on just long trots varying the neck position and also working on keeping Rip active behind at the walk to be able to step into half steps or piaffe. I then threw in a bit of canter, some WCW on straight line changing leads then moved on to some CC. Rip's CC has always been a bit of a struggle for him, to keep the engagement and balance of the movement. He is a big horse with a big stride and struggled because of it. Yesterday was a different story CC wise. We just did some small serpentines along the fence line and it was by far the most balanced, engaged CC I have ridden with Rip. It was so easy compared to what we had done in the past. IMO that strength building of the piaffe/half steps really helped him here. So plan is to play with it a bit more, work more on WCW and then try changes.

Rosie, Hope your clinic is going well! LOVE the first pic of Bliss, that shows real engagement and lift.

I have a clinic coming up next month, along with all of the parent stuff my DH and I are doing with our DS who is a senior. And I have a total of 3 foster dogs now, one an unexpected foundling. I also almost lost my GSDx to heat stroke. Vets have determined she is struggling with the heat because of her compromised cardio pulmonary system due to heart worm disease. She is in the beginning stages of treatment, doxycycline for a month.

The foundling now named Zoey 5 month old pittie girl https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... =3&theater

Lady who I almost lost https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... =3&theater

and Koda the wild child who is finishing up his heart worm treatment
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... =3&theater

[Tuddy]

Wow! Everyone has been busy!

I have just been doing the groundwork stuff with Yonka this past bit. I haven't been feeling well to do much else and the weather was a little iffy and cold.

I took him to a Trail Challenge fun day on Saturday. I just did the obstacles from the ground instead of in the saddle, and I was so dern proud of that little guy. There 15 horses in the arena, plus all the obstacles, so it was pretty congested, and even though he was nervous, he was took it all in and handled it amazingly! The other participants were absolutely supportive and encouraging as well.

I worked him on getting him over ground poles, over bridges and then over the stairs. Once he figured out that the sound of his big feet were the cause of the banging noises on the wood of the bridges and stairs, he was okay with it all. We did work on walking between 2 barrels as well. The first couple of times he bolted through them, but after he realized they weren't going to kill him, and that they weren't full of food (which I think was the real disappointment ), he walked between them like a pro. I didn't work on any of the noodle stuff as he was busy enough as it was, and I didn't want to blow his brain. I am going to see if I can attach the video I had taken and posted on my Instagram, but below is a picture of him on the stairs.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BaPnmJQjkYd/

Slow and steady with this guy, and I am enjoying it all too!

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[DJR]

Just a quick check-in to say that the Stephen Clarke clinic was SO wonderful. I rode with him 5 yrs ago when Jet was still at Training Level. Now he's Third Level, and SC had so many kind things to say about him, and he really liked him and the work we've been doing. "All correct", as he said! Music to my ears!!!

And, my daughter and I won two tickets for the Carl Hester symposium this coming weekend (2 days) - SO AMAZING!!! My daughter loved the SC clinic and kept going on and on about wanting to win the raffle for the CH clinic. She's only 10 and LOVES dressage clinics!!! I can't wait to tell her tonight that we're going.

I'll write more about the SC clinic once I get caught up, probably in a separate post.

[Tuddy]

And, my daughter and I won two tickets for the Carl Hester symposium this coming weekend (2 days) - SO AMAZING!!! My daughter loved the SC clinic and kept going on and on about wanting to win the raffle for the CH clinic. She's only 10 and LOVES dressage clinics!!! I can't wait to tell her tonight that we're going.

Have fun! A bunch of my friends are going to this. They bought a VIP table before even having enough bodies to fill the chairs, but they did find buyers for the rest of the table and I think are more excited about meeting new friends!

Enjoy!!!!

[demi]

I found a trainer!

I had my first lesson today and I was so happy with it. I haven’t had Rocky off the property for several years and coupled with a cold front blowing in yesterday, I was not able to get her to relax. I was far from relaxed myself. I arrived almost an hour early and hand walked her in the arena. I walked her around the property, let her graze a bit, and even double longed her in the round pen. I finally got on her and trainer said just take my time and let her know when I was ready. That went a long way to helping me relax. Trainer was on her GP horse just walking around quietly. When I was ready to start she had me continue walking on a 20m circle and LY in and back out on the circle. She said a lot of riders don’t truly understand how to ride the horse on the outside rein. She had me doing LY on the circle, haunches in on the circle, and riding a square where I moved her shoulders to make the turns, all the time telling exactly when to HH on the outside rein, telling me how to straighten her on the circle, and telling me when I started to lose the straightness. I started to understand where she was taking us. She had me ease her into a trot for just a few strides, and then back to walk. Within 20 minutes, Rocky really started to relax, I started to relax, and she had us going at a very nice, swinging through the back trot. It felt so nice. So steady.

I’m going back next week and I can see myself working with her on a weekly basis. DH might go with me next week so I can get some pics. He’s a PITA to take pics here at home but he behaves himself when I take him off the property

[Moutaineer]

Good news, Demi. There are good trainers out there!

We get new indoor ring footing tomorrow... (in theory. I'll believe it when I see it.)

Laddie is trotting round corners beautifully. Happy to be moving, pushing from behind a bit, using his back, just feels good and strong. 6 weeks to our next check-up...

[piedmontfields]

Love the updates, everyone. My news is that I've hopped back on. My wrist is healing well (although it will take time). Dismounting is the hardest part of riding, but I have a good, obedient mare. If I had an impolite or very strong in the hand horse I would not be riding.

Getting back on my horse after a month of her being ridden by an eventing student (who has a good seat and intentions, but is not classically oriented) was sobering. My horse felt very crooked (as in training level crooked) and jiggy/behind the leg. So back to basics we go. It was a lot better after one ride and even nicer on the second ride. So she is not at all "broken"---it is just a reminder to me about what I know/expect and how horses respond. I do forget that I know anything!

The student did a clinic with an IRE based trainer and I got a few photos:

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I found a trainer! ... She had me doing LY on the circle, haunches in on the circle, and riding a square where I moved her shoulders to make the turns, all the time telling exactly when to HH on the outside rein, telling me how to straighten her on the circle, and telling me when I started to lose the straightness..

Sounds like a match with potential! We spent time on these sorts of exercises in our warm-up yesterday. It really works!

[Red's Mom]

SF, Our horses do look very similar. Red has a wider blaze. Congrats on getting out and about!
RosieB, you and your horse look great at the clinic! What beautiful long legs she has! What kind of horse is she?
Chisamba, I love to trail ride, but my new horse is kind of scary on trails. He is getting better, but when I first got him, he couldn't maintain a walk going down hill. He would lose balance and fall into canter. I was thrown from a horse badly on trail a few years ago, and at 59 I am not as brave as i used to be on trail. Those are some cool photos, and that hill looks pretty steep. My trails in places are steeper, but mostly my trails are narrow, and rutted with rocks and ravines. I live in the Santa Monica Mtns. It is very dry and arid right now, not green at all.
Tuddy, i watched the stairs video! i need to do that with Red! I have 2 ponies that can do all that stuff with the ease of goats, but my big gangly TB? Hmmm...
DJR, I am envious of your clinic experiences! You ride with the best!
Doesn't look like I will be meeting my October goal of riding a good Intro 3 test. I have a driving show at the end of this month, and went to a driven dressage clinic last Sunday with my pony. My Red boy is getting the short end of the stick! It has been really hot, and I have work all week! I am a retired teacher who substitute teaches. Idid get Red out for some round pen work last night, and a hand walk on the trails.

[Rosie B]

Wow there are lots of things here worth a YAY!

Chisamba - what beautiful scenery to ride through!!
khall - sounds like you're on the right track with Rip!! Good luck with the changes!
Tuddy - that looks like fun! Yonka is so cute. The expression on his face is priceless.
DJR - YAY!!! That is all wonderful. Let us know how the Carl Hester symposium goes. That would be a wonderful experience.
demi - that sounds like a great lesson! I can't wait to see some pics!
Mountaineer - YAY! Go Laddie!!
Piedmont - YAY!! That seems so fast! Hopefully you are fully healed and pain free in short order.
Red's mom - Thank-you! He's a Hanoverian by Belissimo M. Good luck getting more time to work with Red.

The clinic was great. The clinician saw a big difference in him since May. The first day we did a lot of lateral work, focusing on honest connection and push from behind throughout. We also did a bit of collected canter work and some counter canter. The second day we went right back to the basics with transitions within and between gaits while improving the connection and gait quality. It was a nice balance to be able to get help with both the movements and the basics. She will be back next spring and I can't wait!

My next clinic (hopefully) will be in November with Cindy Ishoy. Fingers crossed that all works out.

[Red's Mom]

Piedmontfields, that student looks like a pretty good rider, and your horse looks fantastic. Glad your hand is good enough for you to get back on! I wish I could find someone to help me ride Red. Do you pay the student to ride? I had hoped to "half lease" my gelding with 2 requirements, that the person ride in a lesson 1x per week, and commit to riding 2x per week. Of course they had to have some experience. The only cost would be paying for the lesson. So basically, a free lease. I posted an ad on Craigslist, and only got people that didn't fit for one reason or another. I would have loved this when I was horseless!

[piedmontfields]

Piedmontfields, that student looks like a pretty good rider, and your horse looks fantastic.

You are very kind! She is a good rider---just less used to dressage riding where you sit on your butt and use seat/leg (over spur). I am grateful that she could help me out. I think it was good for me to let go a bit and get help this past month, as my mare is just plain happier when she is kept in some work. My challenge is finding someone who is a fairly quiet rider and has a good seat (so that they don't get dropped when my mare does an unexpected zig or zag--which does happen occasionally). Your offer on your gelding would have been awesome to me when I was horseless. It is a challenge to find a good match.

[Flight]

SF your horse is so shiny and sounds like you did well given you had a tricky warm up etc. I always do EOC's so I just accept that it happens now
Rosie B, you guys just look increasingly elegant every time you post pics! Beautiful!
Chisamba - yes pretty photos. I love autumn colours.
Khall- your links don't work for me but lucky dogs that you foster them.
Tuddy - cool vid! Yonka did well.
DJR - that's great to get that kind of confirmation by Stephen Clarke. Nice!
Demi -yay for a good trainer! Makes such a difference when find one that you like.
Piedmontfields- yay for riding and nice photos of your horse, even if the rider didn't quite have her going as you liked - still looks really good.

I was hoping to start at advanced (4th?? level) at the start of next month, as there was a 5.1 being offered (easiest test of that level) but I'm back at work that day after having time off with my knee.

My instructor rode my big horse the other day and wow, got his hindlegs back from behind his tail and much more together. Felt so different! Measured him and he's 17.2 1/2. I was hoping he wouldn't grow over 17hh. He's lovely but a lot of horse to ride.

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[Sue B]

Great follow-ups everyone. Love the fall pictures chisamba, SF you're Anna is gorgeous, Tuddy looks like you are having fun, and pf your mare looks lovely, etc etc.

Red'smom, have you posted a notice at Mill Creek--I would think someone there would jump at the chance to lease Red that way.

It was such a beautiful, balmy evening yesterday that I did a "play day" with the lads. Rudy got to do medium and extended trots up a gentle grade and then got to go for a good gallop around the hay field. Man can that boy move! I didn't let him all the way out because the vole holes make me nervous, but he definitely had fun "blowin' out the pipes" so to speak. Tio got to play over low jumps once he got warmed up. I only trot to them and let him canter off afterwards if he wishes. We did all sorts of combination lines and circles, and he stayed very balanced and responsive. He did spook himself once by cantering through some dry leaves, and he dropped his head between his knees to do some serious bucking. All it took was a "QUIT" growl to get him back under control though. We ended on a really big canter around the arena that felt just sooo powerful but still controlled. He even managed to rebalance himself through the corners. It was too strong for me to sit, so I just kinda stayed in a half-seat and let him roll.

Otherwise, I've been getting in 2-4 rides per week lately and just doin' the dressage thing. I did notice that when Rudy gets a little tired he tend to drop down into walk from canter instead of staying up in front--this used to be an issue in t-w and t-h but no longer. He'll also swing his hind quarters to the inside when he doesn't want to sit for the w-c so I am being careful to address that before it becomes a habit--makes a huge difference in canter quality overall and should make fc's easier. I somehow misplaced my whip last week so I have been alternating rides with and without spurs. I think I may have been getting too dependent on the whip instead of being clear with my leg and seat aides. At any rate, he seems to be going quite well right now.

[Red's Mom]

Sue, I'm glad all is going well with your horses. I haven't posted at Mill Creek, but the trainer from Mill Creek that has come to my facility and that I have ridden with at Mill Creek, was looking for someone that she thought might be a good fit. The one person she thought might work already half leases a school horse at Mill Creek, and if she told her about Red, it would be a conflict of interest. I'm not sure they would let me advertise there, but they might.

[Gwen]

Seems like a good month so far guys!

Callie is up to 10 minutes of trot, I’m a bit anxious because she never really looked lame before, so the fact that she doesn’t look lame now doesn’t give me a lot of comfort. In general her attitude is ok? But it’s hard to tell with her and she also isn’t doing real work yet.

We have been living on the trails, other than trotting on the track or in the indoor, and she is really great with another horse, and ok on her own but a lot more worried. I’m learning that she looks at the world from a place of insecurity which hadn’t been apparent when she was in her “safe space” aka the indoor. Even when she’s quiet on a loose rein she’s looking and anticipating that something will jump out at her. I contrast that with my friend’s horse, who seems to look at the world with interest and curiosity, but also with confidence, and doesn’t assume there are lions behind every tree. Some days I’m fine with it, some days it’s exhausting.

We trailered out for a ride with my friend yesterday, and did our trot work in a field, which was fun:

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I had a few other photos from the day but they are all too big.

Went to the Carl Hester Symposium in Maine which was fantastic. I really enjoyed it, and it briefly rekindled my interest in dressage.

I’m having a bit of a crisis of faith - i went back to Iceland in September, and I’m so obsessed with Icelandic horses I’m seriously thinking of changing disciplines and getting one. I’ve been speaking to Icelandic people and trainers in this country, and they have a really active, if small, organization, and their competitions/training focus is similar to dressage in that the goal is purity and improvement of the gaits, (but even more than that everyone just wants to have FUN) which should provide some challenge and interest beyond trail riding. But I have to get Callie sound and figure out a situation for her, as three horses (two riding, one retired) isn’t in the cards right now.

[demi]

Nice update, Gwen. You and Calllie make such an attractive pair...I understand about just wanting to have fun, but somewhere in my head, I think that you would have a lot of fun doing dressage with Callie. I am just going to mention what I am going through at the moment, for what it may be worth. I love to ride. I related to something you said about the mules (I think) that you used to just sit on out in the pasture as a child. I was similar, in that as a toddler, my grandma used to put me on a horse that was eating hay in a manger as a way of babysitting me. Grandma said I would scream and cry when she tried to take me off. I love to be on a horse and I think you do too. So now, at 64, I have a half Arab mare (that looks a lot like Callie!) that has a lot more “horsepower” than I am comfortable with. I know from experience, that she is not the kind of horse that the average dressage trainer will understand, or appreciate. I am an amateur but have just enough experience to have been able to take her from a 30 day under saddle three year old to a ten year old that has some respect for her mama. But I want more than that because she (Rocky) is a nice little mover (like your Callie) and she is capable of more. The key seems to be in finding the right trainer. I have a number of experienced, credentialed trainers in my area but my situation needed more than that. I kept it in the back of my mind (that I needed the right trainer) and FINALLY I think I have found the right situation.

Back to you and Callie: I was very impressed with the lesson you took from the BNT (Laura Graves, I think!?). She had you and Callie going nicely in spite of the electric atmosphere. I really felt she understood both you and your horse. And if you can find that level of instruction again, you may find that you and Callie both enjoy dressage, very much...

I say this because the trainer I just found had the same effect on Rocky and me. I got seriously hurt 3 years ago on another horse and have lost my confidence. When I went for my first lesson with this new trainer just last Monday, I was terribly nervous and Rocky keyed off my nervousness. The trainer however, keyed into both me and Rocky and by the end of the lesson, we were going in a way the felt like heaven...

I remember when I was in the hospital after getting hurt, that the difference in the level of nursing care was dramatic from the intensive care nurses to just regular hospital care nurses. The ICU nurses were indeed special. And THAT IS what trainers are like. There are the very special ones, and then the ones that are just good, not special. Some horse and rider pairs need intensive care.

I have another lesson this Monday and I will post about it. I suspect I have found an intensive care trainer. i think in your area that you may be able to find such a trainer. But I am just saying this stuff....if you decide to get an Icelanic pony and go that route, all the best to you. I just know you’ll do right by Callie one way or the other.

[Gwen]

Thank you demi, such a kind and thoughtful post! I think I’m just in a bit of a funk, I’m really enjoying taking it easy with the trail riding, and I can imagine having fun again with dressage. I just want to find the thing that Callie enjoys too, and worry that the one thing she enjoys most is to be left alone. I think I’m just being overly pessimistic. In my ideal world I’d have Callie to play with dressage on, and an Icelandic to play on the trails with! I’m trying to take it one (beautiful, perfect fall!) day at a time, and am not going to make any real decisions until the spring.

[StraightForward]

Gwen, maybe the downtime from dressage is a blessing in disguise, and Callie will learn to relax on trails more? I was pretty down when Annabelle hurt herself twice in a row this summer, but it also pushed me to do more in-hand work, which improved her and taught me a lot. Silver linings and all that.

Incidentally, there was a German woman at the Jillian Kreinbring workshop who is training Icelandics in Oregon/Washington. She was really lovely and passionate about the breed and doing right by the horses. I think her name was Freya?

I was out of town for work this week, but I squeezed in a ride before leaving on Monday, then hauled up to the indoor this afternoon right after getting home. Annabelle was much more chilled off property this time. She just has such a great brain that if she can keep herself in once piece, she is going to make great progress over the winter. Next weekend I'm hoping to haul out to a local riding club facility that has a trail challenge course Saturday; they're offering a 3-hour open access to the course, replete with extra spooky Halloween decorations. Sunday will hopefully be a dressage lesson. I feel like I have her understanding my aids enough now that we can try a trail ride in the near future too. Next week I have a new used saddle coming on trial for her. Next month the winter jumping show series starts, so I'll be trying to pop over a few x-rails in the meantime to get ready.

Pickle is transitioning over to being a "real" riding horse and starting to go in a dressage saddle. The trainer said she would be ponying her out this month, then having someone pony her on Pickle, and hopefully be able to ride out off leash soon. I'm working on finding someone local to help me with transitioning her back, though it will probably not be until early spring. She is looking good and turning into a tank of a horse; I think she's going to be a very solid 16.2 if not more. I was hoping she'd stop at 16.1, but she's a moose, albeit an elegant one.

[Sue B]

Excellent post, Demi. You hit the nail on the head me thinks. Gwen, I love your Callie (maybe she reminds me of my Rudy) but I can understand why the Icelandics are so attractive to you. That's why I "always" try to have at least 2 horses--1 to do dressage on and 1 to play with. Playing over jumps on Tio has been so much fun and it helps me focus on Rudy's advancing dressage more effectively. Also, while Tio is still a little dodgy out of the arena, Rudy is a rock star out there. They really balance each other out so nicely. Maybe you can find a second horse to balance out Callie.

SF, it looks like your horse luck may have changed for the better, eh? If winter isn't too awful, maybe I can convince my friend to haul the horses your way for a couple of the jumping shows. I think that would be great fun on my goof ball Tio and it certainly would be excellent prep for the event derbies next year. Remember to text me next time you visit Pickles!

[StraightForward]

Sue, I have learned to always be waiting for the other shoe to drop, so I'm not getting too optimistic just yet. It would be great if you could come out for the North Wind jumping shows. The low classes don't start until after 1:00, so it wouldn't be too bad to haul in and back for the day. I'm off work the week of November 6, so that's when I'm planning my next pilgrimage to Jerome; will let you know.

For anyone who is interested, Thomas and Shana Ritter have been putting out some free new videos and have a 6-week Facebook popup group going right now. I've been getting some useful nuggets out of it. I've had his biomechanics book for a few years, but it was a bit over my head before. With their discussions, things are starting to make sense. For instance, Annabelle isn't advanced enough to use stirrup-stepping at trot or canter, but I started experimenting with it for W/H transitions and she picked up on the meaning and is getting better, more square halts. They are interactive in the Facebook group, though unfortunately their live sessions tend to be right in the middle of my work day due to the time zones.

[Dresseur]

So, a bit of news and then into the latest revelations
Gala and I ended up 4th overall for the USDF All Breeds awards for the 4th level MFS, and 23rd overall for 4th level MFS. It was a nice surprise, I didn't even know that we were eligible.

In terms of training, Andrea has been wracking her brains trying to figure out where I'm not quite getting the job done with Gala. Things have been going very well, but she keeps pushing for higher and higher quality. Keep her straight in the changes was a game-changer, but I have her jammed against the hand in the changes, which is not ok. Andrea can do the changes incredibly softly, and can of course change the canter throughout the changes. On the other hand, I set up, get the first one and then pray. . Ok, maybe it's slightly better than that, but throughout the lines - I start holding, and at the end of the line, I have way more horse in my hand then I should. However, when I go to the pirouettes, everything is soft, light, responsive - basically, everything I want in the rest of the work.

So, what Andrea surmised is that I don't have her off my leg. I have her off the leg in an appropriate manner for a 1st-3rd level horse (which is what I'm used to riding), but it's not at all appropriate for a GP level horse. To show me the difference, Andrea had me work a series of leg yields while I warmed her up long and low. Every time I put my leg on, Gala stiffened and raised her head - it was incredibly eye opening to me to see just how much she was holding in her body. So, when I put my leg back, she moved over - but Andrea wanted her rocketing off my leg and staying soft (that is probably a poor choice of words - there was no running and loss of balance, but at the slightest touch, Gala was expected to move over with alacrity and not push back against me for that half second. When I got that feel, she instantly connected and she felt so malleable, it was such a different feel. So, in the pirouettes, where I KNOW that I need that outside hind to sweep under, I get the response, in the regular work, not so much. We moved into the canter with the same expectations - leg yield and when I asked, she had to move. Again, a very, very different feel.

When we picked her up, I had to keep the feel, so Andrea asked to test in a step or two of walk pirouette and I was shocked at how many times Gala tuned me out. But, the proof was in the pudding, the changes were soft, light, and expressive and I was able to change the canter within the lines. But, now I have to relearn how I'm riding the changes again - I can't keep pushing them through like I am, because when Gala is working like this, it's a soft aid. As a result, I was able to run through the entirety of the I-1 test with zero mistakes - a first for me!! So, I'm excited.

We also had a long conversation about keeping track of the hind ends and connecting the horse through the work. Andrea has been happy with how I'm leaving the horses, but she is now after me to start creating more throughness. It finally dawned on me that the reason she does SO many transitions is because she's putting power in, but keeping the respect to the aids and half halts through the transitions. She told me, you can't have power without respect. This came full circle when I was riding Herbie and Caz and she told me that she has them pushed together a bit more (not from the hand, but from behind with an active hind leg. As I worked through the transitions and hh and asked for more behind, the horses got lighter and lighter, more comfortable and more connected and they rode shorter. Both are quite long through the back and the revelation for me was that even if a horse is long, it doesn't have to ride long.

[Flight]

Dresseur, it sounds like what my instructor keeps trying me to get. The horse giving to the aids, immediate reaction but not stiffening or pushing back the slightest bit. It's a feel thing, once you feel it you start to get it, but hard to explain. It's amazing when I get it on my horse and I'm guessing I'm only half there.
Also the way he rode my big horse - sounds the same as Herbie and Caz!! I felt the same thing - big horse but he doesn't have to feel all long and comparatively strung out. Cool!!

[piedmontfields]

It is so helpful to hear you all reflect on your training/learning process. Thank you!

The reactive, but fluid quality of the desired response makes a lot of sense. Thank you for writing it out!

[mari]

One of my goals was to keep my horse jumping fit, so he could compete at the post derby show with my jumping coach.

He did both classes very sweetly, but had a pole in each. I think I love showing just because of the photos...

How on earth do I get these images to show again? I used the "Img" tag, and then pasted the image link that Google Photos generated for me, but no luck...

[demi]

NIce pics of Odin!! We have the most beautiful horses on this thread!

[demi]

I had my second lesson on Rocky yesterday. We added leg yielding. I really really like this trainer. No pictures yet, but I read that Flight got her Soloshot3 !!! so when the preorders are all filled I will order one. I think it will be very helpful to video my lessons and then watch them again when I get home. I remember reading somewhere that the learning curve is very strong immediately after one learns something and then starts dropping off sharply. So being able to review within an hour or two may be especially beneficial.

In the last 5 weeks I’ve ridden 5Xtimes a week (except for one week which was only 4X). I feel stronger, although I haven’t been going to the gym. I’ve been doing some stretches but mostly it’s the riding that is making me stronger. Rocky is going nicely for me and she works well when we work with the trainer. I have another lesson next Monday and plan to continue weekly.

[Chisamba]

Well my opinion is that from first to third is the easy step. Fourth to PSG is a giant leap, and PSG to GP is a chasm.

I'll never forget I was riding my third level horse prepping for fourth and my trainer was saying more! More! And I stopped and asked I thought we were doing pretty well. She said you are doing great but don't you want to show PSG. It was an epiphany that I have continued to carry with me. You ride differently the higher you fix your glance.

It's difficult sometimes for me as a trainer to ride the horse for my client. Some clients want a horse that can take a joke, and I want a horse to feel like it's goal is FEI levels. Lol.

[Chisamba]

Gwen, I used to hunter pace with a lay who had an Icelandic. He was super fun out on trails.

Some horses do not enjoy trails and never will. Trying to enjoy yourself on trails while riding horse that prefers the safety of a sandbox, can be unpleasant. One thing most trail riders Icelandic riders and endurance riders do is give their trust to the horse. It's opposite of dressage which is micromanagement.

[Imperini]

So many lovely pictures again! Sadly I can't seem to see the new Odie pictures.

So nice that you've found a good fit that works for both you and your horse demi. It's such a good feeling after having a great lesson.

Always enjoy reading about your progress Dresseur and even though you're miles ahead of where I am there are still so often helpful bits in there that everyone can learn from.

My recent aim was to ride with a lot more variety. At least once a week I've been just riding out in the field and never even setting foot in the arena, or often starting out in the field and then going to the arena, and playing with trot poles and even popping over some cross rails. This has been really enjoyable for myself and I believe for Paloma as well as evidenced by the additional oomph she seems to find. I could be happy riding in an arena every ride because I like routine and the great big outside world is scary (I am a spooky human) but just getting out there and doing something different has shown me that other things can be fun too even if they require a bit more bravery on my part.

Yesterday due to an abrupt weather change she was a little more "up" than usual so I did more transitions than I would normally do and the improvement from that made me realize that once I think I'm including enough transitions in our work I should probably add a few more. She was very looky and tense to start but by the end of the ride she was completely focused on me and I could comfortably sit what was actually a much more forward trot than she usually offers. This also tells me that if I can't comfortably sit her trot even when she's moving out well then it's likely I don't really have her working properly.

She's getting a two week break after this week so I can go on my first real vacation in years. It will be the longest amount of time she's had off since I got her (a year ago at the end of next month! ) but I suspect she's not going to mind too much except maybe the lack of treat delivery service.

[demi]

So many lovely pictures again! Sadly I can't seem to see the new Odie pictures.

I was able to view Odie’s pics on my touch screen by touching and holding the little box that says “image” and then a little menu comes up, and then i selected “open image”.

[Imperini]

So many lovely pictures again! Sadly I can't seem to see the new Odie pictures.

I was able to view Odie’s pics on my touch screen by touching and holding the little box that says “image” and then a little menu comes up, and then i selected “open image”.

Aha, there's his lovely spotted self! I thought that Image was just text but there is a link there. Thank you