Moving My Horse Past Scary Objects

I attended a clinic on Sunday and while watching one of the lessons I learned something I applied today.  The rider was working on how to react to a spook during training.   The clinician, Jaralyn Finn, recommended that the rider go forward when the horse was calm and when spooking to be a calm rider, not overreacting.  Specifically, she recommended that when the horse is reacting to something scary to not use your legs and to use half halts to regain their focus.

Today I used a version of it and it worked great!

Usually after my training rides, I cool out Golly by walking him around the yard.  There are a few "scary" spots that he doesn't like to pass and I use the cooling out time to desensitize him to them and gain some confidence.  Typically when he was balking at going past something I kept his head turned toward the scary object and used some strong aids (kick or whip) to move him past the object.

Today I tried a different tactic and used some half halts and rein aids to keep his head going forward and used very little leg aid and no whip aids.   Eventually if he started backing up then I gave very light leg aids and the second he moved forward at all I released the aid back to neutral.  In addition, as we approached the scary object and I felt him start tensing, I just remained neutral and loose.

The difference was noticeable.  He was more relaxed and confident and was able to go past some scary objects that usually caused me to use the whip to get him past it and then him to jig in response.

I have some more notes from the clinic that I will post later.  It was a great clinic with all types of riders and horses so I have a lot of takeaways that I plan on using.

My Horse Dresses Better than Me

I'm not known for my fashion sense.   I am the President of a small software company and it would probably put a better face on my role if I were a little more fashion forward.   Instead I am usually in jeans and I have been known to wear my barn boots to work, getting a strong reprimand from my administrative staff for the trail of what they think is mud (but probably has a mix of manure as well) in the office.

The chance of me EVER wearing anything that was seen on a red carpet is about nil.  Both because I just don't care that much about fashion and also I think its insane to spend that much money on clothing.

But when it comes to my horse... .well that is a different story.   He has to have good stuff.

Now don't get me wrong.  I am still immensely frugal when it comes to my horse and his tack.  I take good care of the stuff I have so it lasts and don't have crazy expensive stuff but it is important to me that he has well fitting and high quality tack.

So I find it hilarious that Golly's bridle showed up on the "red carpet" at Rolex this past weekend.

For those not familiar with 4 star eventing, the riders have to jog their horses in front of a panel before the event starts to ensure their horses are sound enough to endure the rigors of the event.  It is common practice that the riders dress up for the jog and like any big event, there is a "best dressed list".    Horse Junkies United  http://www.horsejunkiesunited.com/?p=57216 put out their list and there it was... Ballylaffin was wearing the same bridle Golly sports.

Ballylaffin in his bride:  Photo By Tracy Porter

Golly sporting his bridle

So while I will NEVER be in the same clothing as that seen on the red carpet... my horse is.  Not sure what that says about me but whatever it is... I'm good with it!

Spring is Coming! Trail Ride in the Woods

What a beautiful day!   Temperatures were above 60 today which is a wonderful treat for late winter in Maryland.   Makes you think that Spring is here but of course we all know that winter may still have some surprises for us so it was nice to get out and enjoy the day.

The whole group before we headed into the woods.
Since I took the picture, only Golly's ear is showing
but he wanted to be included!

Through the years I have collected quite a few horse friends.  Some I have met through horse clubs.  Some have been friends for so long I can't remember how we first became friends.  Some I have met via Facebook.   Some I met because I parked next to them and asked if I could ride with them.   I started an email list that I use to let them know when I am going to be riding to see if they would like to join me.   Sometimes I have one or two show up - today seven wonderful friends and their horse partners joined me!

I am a bit of a time fanatic.  When I say I will be ready at 1:00 pm, I am ready at 1:00 pm and expect other people who ride with me to be ready too.   When I send out the emails letting people know I will be riding I give them a "butt in the saddle" time so they can plan accordingly based on how long it takes them to tack up and get their horse ready.

I have such a limited time to ride because of work and family commitments that if my three hour time frame to ride is eaten up waiting for folks I get a bit annoyed.    Some might call it bitchy but its just how I am.  On the flip side I also respect other peoples time and am VERY rarely late.

Today was one of those times.

I had it all planned out.  I would get a load of hay from a neighboring farm and be able to leave so I would arrive at the park a half hour before the designated time.   Didn't work out that way.  I had reserved  hay to last us until the first cutting of the year but when I got up into the loft, the only bales left were the ones that were nearly broke or already broke open.   Not the easiest to load so by the time we got them in the truck, I was covered in hay and unloading them back at our barn took much longer than I anticipated since we needed to use wheelbarrows.  (On another note... I need to find some hay to last us until June ... but I digress.)

So by the time I got to the park it was three minutes before the designated time.   Luckily I had a sheet on Golly so the only in depth grooming required was his neck and head.   With some quick grooming I was ready just 2 minutes late and honestly I am not sure anyone noticed I was late except for me.

The ride itself was great.  A nice mix of people who got to know one another and their horses and I think some will ride together again even without my invite.

Golly acting as a hitching post on the trail
for his good friend Shiloh

I love when people look out for eachother on the trail and this group was wonderful.   When one rider needed to dismount, another one hopped off his horse to help the remount process.   Riders moved their horses around to help out riders whose horses needed to be in certain positions.     Riders waited for the laggers to get across the streams and bridges before heading up hills.   Just great courtesy and a pleasure to ride with these folks.

Drop that Inside Rein

I had my lesson on Wednesday and had the time to ride again today.  Typically the first ride after a lesson I try to replicate the lesson to some extent to see how much my horse and I retained.

Wednesday's lesson spent a lot of time using the outside rein to get flexibility, bend and length of the neck while letting the inside rein be passive, even loose.   I tried it again today and the results were sporadic and it proved to be more difficult without my instructor's guidance.

The basic concept is this (and I apologize to my instructor if I am getting this wrong... I am working through this one in my head and I may not have it all correct yet.  Can I put a disclaimer here that the writings here are the opinions of the writer only and do not necessary reflect the guidance of my instructor?!)....    You keep a connection on the outside rein and the inside remains loose.  With the outside rein you ask for the lowering of the poll by opening the rein while continuing to keep the connection.  During my lesson it worked great.   Open the hand... lowered poll... lovely flexion on the inside of the neck.... just right.

Today not so much.  

When I opened the rein Golly bent his neck to the outside rather than lowering the poll.  The outside rein became loose.   I thought I maybe needed to push him into the rein so gave him a kick to do so.   I got some connection then and the poll lowered so it partially worked.  What was missing was the inside bend and flexibility of the neck.  I wanted to use my inside rein to get it but I know during my lesson I didn't need the inside rein so wanted to figure this out.   I gave him a tickle on the inside back leg and there it was!

Golly cleaning the pony's stall

Great... so I knew I needed to open the outside rein while keeping the connection by keeping the impulsion pushing into the rein but I also needed to make sure the inside hing leg was the one doing most of the pushing.  That works great if you have a whip on the inside to give the tickle but what happens when you switch directions?  For today I just switched the whip to the other side but during a test that will be a bit awkward looking.   Hopefully after a bit more practice at this, it won't require the tickle each time.

Honestly I am not even sure I have the cues correct on this so I'm looking forward to my next lesson so we can practice this a bit more with some guidance.

One fun thing happened during our ride that has nothing to do with inside rein or flexion.   A great song came on my iphone while I was riding and I started literally dancing in the saddle.  Golly flicked a few ears back trying to figure out what the heck THIS new cue was.  Then he moved from walk to trotting to the beat.   Wasn't what I was planning but I thought it was a great response!   What a fun it is to play with my friend Golly!

After our ride, I let Golly loose and he wandered around the barn checking out his barn mates' stalls to see what they had left behind.  He's such a funny boy -- he could run out the door and down the road if he wanted to but he prefers to hang out in the barn with me while I clean up.  More like a dog than a horse.

By the way, for those of you that read this blog on a regular basis I had no anxiety at all today when I rode.   Even when he shied and trotted off at the sound of some boogey man in the woods, I just sat the trot and moved on.  The confidence is coming back.

Cavalletti Clinic with Judy Whyte

Attended a cavaletti clinic today with Judy Whyte.  Luckily it was held in a local indoor as it snowed the entire day.  And it was COLD!!  The forecast said it would be in the mid 40's but it never broke 33 and with the snow it stayed cloudy too.

I was the last rider at 1:15 pm but came around 9:30 to watch some of the other riders and learn from their lessons.  It was a good group of riders ....  a range of riders from Intro to schooling second level and mounts that ranged from OTTBs to even a mule that my friend is training in dressage.

Walking Poles

For my lesson we started with walking the "walking poles" to help loosen their back and get them used to covering poles.   For some of the horses this was a bit of change for them and they had to give the poles a quick sniff before they traversed them.   Golly didn't think much of them but didn't give me much impulsion over them either.   More of an amble.

Elevator Poles

We then spent some time trotting and walking without poles.   Golly was pushing his inside shoulder in as usual but Judy was encouraging me to not use too much rein and to keep me legs loose.   I was a bit confused on how to fix it if my legs had to be loose and my hands had to be free as well. I stopped to ask and the answer was that I needed to send him forward into the rein.  My arms were too tight and restricting him.  My knees were also restricting him so I wasn't getting the freedom of movement.  Basically it came down to the dressage pyramid.  Get the freedom of movement first and then it would be easier to control where the shoulders were.

Next we went over what she called the "elevator poles" at the walk - two poles with a raised pole in the middle.    Golly hit the middle pole so hard the first time I thought he knocked it clear but it stayed put.   Judy  reassured me that he wasn't the only horse to give it a good knock today.   The second time around he seemed to understand and picked his feet up a bit more.

After a bit, Judy asked us to trot the "trotting poles" that were approximately 4 1/2 feet apart.   She instructed us to make sure the horse was straight coming into the poles -- head in front of chest, straight down the middle of the poles.   As we turned toward the poles, Golly knew he was going over them and I could feel the tempo increase.   It felt very similar to how he feels when he is heading toward a jump -- like there is a strong magnet pulling him to the other side.   As we approached, I tightened my reins thinking he may try to jump them rather than trot them.  He briskly moved across them (without jumping) -- lots of impulsion and lift from below.   I didn't do the same and got a bit left behind.   As I finished, myself and the auditors all laughed because as Judy exclaimed, "you didn't trust your horse!"  She was right.  

He did everything he was supposed to do over cavaletti -- create impulsion and lift from behind. I had to trust that he would do it right and be there for him.

Trotting Poles

The second time he had a little less impulsion, probably because he didn't trust that I would go with him.  The third time around we were a team and both of us sailed over with lightness and the feel of a sailboat skimming over a lake.  Yeah!

Over subsequent poles, I started to nag him over the poles.  Judy reminded me that I needed to open my knees and allow him to go over.  If he was already doing it well, it wasn't my job to tell him to give me more. It was my job to keep up with him and stay out of his way.

Near the end of the clinic, Judy raised the first, middle and last pole a few inches to get the horses to lift even more.  It worked.  Really got the feeling of lightness, push and movement.  Now to translate that feeling to the times when we aren't trotting poles.

Overall a great clinic.   We had a great group of riders and auditors so even when I wasn't riding I had a nice group of people to talk with.   Judy is a very engaged instructor and even though she was teaching two of us at once, we kept busy the entire time.   She is going to be giving another clinic in a month on Getting Back to the Basics -- looking forward to it!

Choose Your Battles

As the oldest of three girls, my parents were a bit tougher on me than my sisters.   Like most families, the rules started out a bit more stringent and then as the years and siblings progressed, the rules became more relaxed.  I suspect we just wore my parents out and they didn't have the energy to enforce the rules with the same vigor with my younger sisters.

I can't remember the exact situation but I remember asking my Mom to come down hard on my sisters for something they had done.  After all, she would have gotten after ME for it, why not them?  After she reminded me that SHE was the Mom and I was not, she gave me a philosophy that I use with my kids to this day.  She told me, "Choose your Battles".

The general concept of the philosophy is this -- there are many battles to choose with your children.  For the most part most are not worth fighting.  Things like hair length, some clothing choices or the various ways a teenager exerts their independence from their parents are just not worth fighting.  You are only going to win so many battles with your children so save the effort for the ones that matter.   A happy, healthy, and productive adult is the goal and spoil of the war -- save your battles for what will you get you to that goal.

I have used that philosophy raising my children and today during my lesson I realized I need to also use it in my riding.

Because my knee is still weak from my knee replacement, I cannot ride for more than about a half hour.  For this reason, my instructor is riding Golly for about a half hour before I get on for the last half of my lesson.  This has been great both because Golly is getting the benefit of responsive and quick riding and I am getting the benefit of watching the conversation and learning.

I noticed that she was able to get his inside hind leg stepping deep under and pushing.  However when she did get the deep pushing inside leg, his outside shoulder was pushing out more than it should have been.   She was getting the inside "bend' but seemed to be sacrificing the straightness of the outside.   This baffled me because she is too good of a rider to not notice the shoulder push.   After pondering it a bit I asked why. 

She confirmed what I was seeing -- with the increase in the correct bend on the inside he WAS pushing his shoulder out more than it should.  But it came down to the lesson my Mom had taught me many years ago.  There are so many battles you can fight at once and sometimes to achieve the end goal, you need to compromise.

It makes sense.  Golly is early in his dressage education.  (Although it doesn't seem like it since we have been working on this for a few years... but hey... dressage takes time!).  If he is trying hard and responding to the request for the inside bend and thrust from the inside back leg, it is likely that he may overwork it and push his outside shoulder out.  As long as its not too bad, its fair to compromise on this a bit.  Otherwise it could be confusing to a horse that is trying.  There is a fine line with this of course -- you don't want him to develop a bad habit that will be difficult to fix later.  But some compromise is good!

Think of it from his point of view.... "yeah... I got this bend down.... look at me! I'm awesome!   Hey, why are you asking me to straighten on the outside?  How am I supposed to do both?  Dang, this woman is NEVER satisfied.  I'm just going to quit trying."

You and I know he CAN actually do both but he doesn't know yet and may not have the muscling to do so perfectly. Let him have the chance to feel good about himself on his success and THEN move on to the next challenge.     Choose your battles!

First Riding Lesson after Knee Surgery

Had my first lesson today in months.   Usually my lessons are pretty tough due to my great instructor and I finish them feeling great about myself and my riding but my muscles screaming.  I knew that wasn't possible today because my leg muscles just aren't strong enough yet after my knee replacement.

I went to physical therapy yesterday and they feel I am getting close to discharge so want to "take it up a notch".  I think they took it up four notches!   Physical therapy is certainly humbling.  I don't like to quit but I was thinking hard about lowering the speed on the treadmill.   Instead I just kept counting down the minutes and hoped I would make it to the end.  I did.  Barely.

So I was a bit nervous about my first lesson back.  I wanted it to go well but was afraid that my endurance wouldn't be there.  I asked my instructor to ride him for the majority of the lesson and that I would get on for the last fifteen minutes or so.

Golly is out of shape and out of practice too so it was going to be tough on us both.  She worked on getting a good bend and suppleness while she was riding.  Lots of serpentines and getting suppleness in the neck and making the hind leg step under and push.

Watching my instructor ride today is a weird mix of pride in my horse who looks SO nice when she rides him (especially after not being ridden for so long) and jealousy that I can't get him that way.  Mostly though I am just glad we get the benefit of her instruction and watchful eye.

 After she rides Golly feels SOOO good.   Supple and light - responsive!   When I got on we focused on the same thing she did.  She asked me to think about stepping to the outside (even though I wasn't actually) while walking and trotting circles by keeping a firm rein on the outside and using the weight of my inside hip to create the bend.   I used the whip on the inside hind leg to make sure the hind leg was stepping and powering the movement.   She had to remind me multiple times to not use the leg and whip at the same time.  Keep the leg light when using the whip and use the whip like I mean it to get a response.  I tend to kick at the same time I use the whip so this will take some repetitive reminding on her part.

The temps this Sunday are supposed to be in the 70s.   Remarkable for a January day in Maryland!  Its just too tempting so I sent out an email to my friends and we are going to try a trail ride at our local park.   One friend has promised to help me get on using a picnic table since I can't get on from lower heights yet.  How I am getting off I don't know yet as right now I am using my very high mounting block to dismount.  I guess I will figure that out after I am on!

FINALLY rode!!!!

Yeah!  Yeah! Yeah!!!!  I finally got on Golly today.  It wasn't earth shattering or exciting -- which is EXACTLY what you want for your first ride back after surgery.  

So happy to be riding again

After our lunging session last week I expected him to be excited again but when I went to lunge him today he was dead quiet.  I could barely get a good working trot out of him.

So after a few minutes of lunging I decided to give it a try.   I pulled him over to my new extra tall mounting block and while my friend Dawn held him, I mounted using my right non-operated leg.   Mounting with my right leg was harder than I thought it would be.  After years of using my left leg to mount, my body is just trained to do it that way.  Now that I am putting thought into it though I am not sure why we ask our horses to be balanced on both sides and we always mount on side.   It just doesn't make sense -- it causes our left stirrup leather to stretch and has to cause our horses to be unbalanced.   Once my left leg is back to normal, I plan on mounting on both sides from now on.

My extra tall mounting block worked great.  Besides the fear of getting on a horse that had not been ridden in seven weeks, it was super easy to mount.

After dismounting on the high block

Golly was nice and relaxed and moved out at a slow amble.  He did feel like a wiggle worm though.   A shoulder out this way.  Correct and then a hip out the other way.  Correct and then the hip out the other side.  Wiggle left.  Wiggle right.  We have some work to do to remind him what straight means.  I am so proud of him though that he was so relaxed.  There are not many horses you can pull out after seven weeks off and they are close to boring.  Its why I love him and don't trade him in for a more exciting and talented model.

I even picked up a trot going both directions.   There was no pain in the leg but I can tell its weak and there is a "funny" feeling at the joint.  Kind of a wiggle left and right that I am sure is because the muscles have not fully healed to hold it in place.  I'm sure they will find their place again though.

Dismounting was a bit scary.  I just didn't know what it would feel like.  Dawn held Golly and I slid down to the new mounting block.  Again... besides the fear of the unknown it felt great.  Success!

Golly was relaxed enough that after I got off, Dawn decided to hop on for a few spins around the ring.  Its been a long time since Dawn has ridden so I think he must have looked pretty relaxed for her to trust that it would go well with her too.  It did go well of course!


So a good first ride.  I know we have a long way to go to build the muscles back up and I noticed in the picture that Golly has lost his muscling as well.  We will get there though.

Dawn hops on too

My Handicap Mounting Block and Still not Riding...

I was hoping that by now I could post a picture and a pat myself on the back posting about my first ride back on Golly after my knee replacement.  I have to admit its a bit hard to write a blog about dressage riding when you haven't ridden for hmmm... let's see.... its been six weeks!  I can't remember the last time I went six weeks without riding.

I had a goal to ride by week four and worked hard to get there.   Like many riding goals though... you make them... you work hard to get there and sometimes it doesn't happen and you need to set new ones.  Injuries of either you or your horse, weather, time conflicts or you just simply set a goal too lofty. 

The Sunday after Christmas, I had it all set.   It was an unusually warm and sunny day which would help ensure a mellow horse.   A good friend had volunteered to get on first and then let me do the cool down.  My knee was feeling good and my doc had given me the all clear to do any low impact exercise with "common sense and moderation".  I was good to go.

Then a few hours before we had scheduled the ride, my knee got a sudden sharp pain that nearly knocked me to the floor.   Turns out it my physcial therapists feel it was probably nerves refiring but it was a clear sign to me that I just wasn't ready and I need to let my body heal a bit more.  Very dissapointing.  

I am good with goals that require you to work hard.  When my therapists told me that I would have to push past the pain and do my exercises every day multiple times per day, I made it happen.  No problem.   Now that they are telling me that I need to be patient and let my body heal, that's not so easy.   Patience is not my best virtue.

But I've invested a lot of time off, pain, and work into this knee.  I'm dedicated to doing it right.

On a positive note though... my husband made me what I am calling my "handicap mounting block" for Christmas.  Its 2 feet x 3 feet wide, 2 feet high and very sturdy.  I should be able to mount and dismount from it.  I can't wait to use it!  

Hopefully I will be on soon and will be writing about my first ride back but if not, I have some other posts that I have started that I would love to finish so either way... I'll be checking in soon.

Post Knee Replacement - Resisting the Temptation to Ride

Its now been 2 weeks and 4 days since having my knee replacement surgery.  I am walking without cane or crutches.   If you don't see the big red scar on my knee, you wouldn't know that I recently had surgery.  I am walking with just the slightest limp.   Physical therapy is still taking up about 6 hours a week of my life but I enjoy the time there and like seeing the progress.   At my Thursday appointment I could flex (bend my knee) to 132 degrees and extend (make it flat) to about 3 degrees.  I am seeing big improvements in my flexing but the extension is slow work for me.

I started driving at the 2 week mark and at the same time went back to feeding and caring for my horses.  Last week it was easy to resist the urge to ride because 1) I was in way too much pain to even contemplate swinging my leg across my horse and 2) I wasn't seeing, smelling and feeling his soft sweet muzzle.

Lately I have been contemplating how and when I will be back in the saddle.  I want to feel that gentle sway and warm back again.  The big wet sighing blow of the nostrils and relax of the back he does after a few circles around the ring.   The perked ears in front of me leading the way on a new adventure.  The smell of fresh air, horse sweat and leather.

This knee replacement was a big investment of pain, time, money, risk of infection, and the kindness of my family and friends who cared for me and my responsiblities though.  I can't willy nilly just decide I want to ride and risk that investment.

But I want to ride.

So here is the plan....

Christmas is coming and my super talented husband has agreed to make an extra sturdy wide and tall mounting block for my gift.  My instructor has agreed to ride him first and then let me do the cool down.  I think with her help mounting and dismounting onto a sturdy base and settling for just ambling on a relaxed happy horse should let me test the waters in a safe sensible manner.

Before the surgery I was told that it may be three months before I could get on and I'm afraid they may stick to that plan.   My post-op appointment is next Thursday and I'm hoping he is so impressed with my progress he agrees that I can move forward with MY plan. 

Cross your fingers for me!

Partial Knee Replacement Healing and Rehab

In recovery a few minutes before
they told me to walk.

While you may not consider my knee replacement a "horse" or "dressage" topic to me it is ... because it was the day I realized that I was not enjoying or able to ride my horse that I knew it was time to head under the knife. I tried to make it work by finding new ways to get on and off and taking pain meds but in the end it was just too painful to tack him up and ride and I was riding less and less.  It felt like a chisel was permanently installed in my kneecap.

<Warning up high in this blog entry… I put some pics of the knee as it is healing at the bottom.  If you are squeamish you may want to stop halfway through.>

I know many riders face this same decision so perhaps a log of how mine went might be helpful to someone.

My surgery was eight days ago last Monday. I arrived at the hospital at 8 am for pre-op, bloodwork and to confirm for the second time that week that I was not pregnant. (No chance of it but they didn't believe me.) The lack of fluids through the night made the IV difficult to place but by 10 am and with the help of the anesthesiologist; I had an IV and was bent over so they could place an epidural in my spine.  I remember bending over and the stick and that must have been when they knocked me out because the next thing I remember was waking slightly during the surgery to have them tell me that it was nearing the end of the surgery. 

I had an epidural so I could very lightly be put under (making it easier to come out of anesthesia).  I woke up a couple of times during surgery but it was like being VERY drunk.  I didn’t care in the least that I was in the OR. 

By 12:30 I was in the recovery room and by 2:30 I was walking with a walker to the bathroom.  I have to admit I was a little terrified when they asked me to walk and put weight on a leg they had just chopped but it turns out the pain meds were still working well and I did pretty well getting there. 

I had what is called a partial knee replacement which means that they replaced only the joint on the inside of my knee – the area of my knee with the majority of the arthritis and the cause of my pain.  The recovery is generally faster and there is much less blood loss.

By a little after 3 pm I was in the passenger seat of the car and heading home.  The surgery was a little over an hour away from our house and I rode all the way home with my eyes shut praying I wasn’t going to throw up.  (I didn’t but I had a bag ready.)

We had to pick up my son from school on the way.  As he approached the car, “Mom, what is wrong with YOU?”  

“I just had surgery… I don’t feel well.”

“Oh… well you look like you are dying.”

Thanks.  You can always count on teenage sons for the truth.

The first couple of days were not fun.  I had physical therapy the first day and they spend most of it trying to see how far they can bend your knee.   I was sure the stitches barely holding my swollen knee together were going to burst in the therapists face.  I couldn’t believe he wasn’t ducking.

Each day gets better though.  You have a decent day and decide that sure… you can go to work for a couple of hours.  I mean all I do is sit -- its not like I work construction.  What’s the difference between sitting there and sitting at home?   I tried going for two hours on Tuesday and paid for it all night.  No sleep because the pain meds just couldn’t keep up.

I haven’t seen my horse since the night before the surgery.  I hope he remembers me.  I am hoping that next week I can start driving again and can stop relying on wonderful friends who are currently caring for my horses.   Until I wean myself off the pain meds I can’t drive.  Right now I am down to a little less than half the dose I was on the first week so I am getting there.

The good news is that although my knee hurts its completely different than the hurt before the surgery.  Instead of getting worse every day … its getting better every day.  I have high hopes that I will be riding soon and will be doing it pain free.   The goal is to be able to bend my knee at least 120 degrees and extend it completely flat at 0 degrees.    At my therapy session yesterday I was at 108 degrees flexion and 2 degrees extension.

I can’t wait to  post the entry about my first ride after surgery.  The sooner the better.

The picture to the left is the day after surgery.  The word "Yes" I had to write

on there to make sure they replaced the correct knee.  The knee to the right

is a week after surgery.  The bruising didn't start showing up until

about day three.

 

 

Grooming for a Cold Winter Show

Golly prior to grooming

Tomorrow is the PVDA Chapter Challenge.  While its technically a schooling show its kind of a big deal as for most people its the culmination of the show season and we compete as teams.  Because of that everyone is braided and wearing their "show best".

Broom Brush

Of course this weekend is cloudy with a high of about 50 degrees and a blustery wind.   Not the best weather for a show bath.

So these are the steps I take to groom Golly when a bath isn't possible.   I'm sure there are better methods (and I'd love hear them in the comments section) but this is what I've found works the best.

The picture at the top is what his coat looked like when I started -- I had my work cut out for me!

Rubber Curry

After Using Rubber Curry

First I use a brush that reminds me of a rough broom to brush off the big dirt.  Then I take a rubber curry and spend lots of elbow grease to pull the dirt from down deep.   After this step he looks worse that before but its necessary to get the good glow we are looking for.  Here's a pic of what it looks like after the curry step.   It looks like there is a fine coating of dust all at the tips of the hair.

I then use the broom brush again and that's when he finally starts looking like a show horse.  Yes, there is hope!     Depending on how dirty he is I may repeat the entire series of steps (broom brush, curry, broom brush) until he is looking decent.

After Curry and Broom Brush

This is when I have to use some water.  I take a small towel and dip it in water and wring it out WELL!  Its important the towel is just barely damp -- not dripping wet -- or your horse will be wet and cold.  Its great if you have warm water to do this but if you run a no frills operation like mine you will be dipping in cold water.  It really doesn't make much difference to the horse because you are using so little water and you aren't trying to get him wet.  In fact, if you get him wet you are doing something wrong and your horse will be very cold.

Using the towel I rub it in a circular motion in any spots that still look dusty.  Usually this is in the spots that "stick out" such as hip bones or hock joints.  Or in the spot I called the "tickle spot" where his hair grows the opposite direction just under his loin.  (I have no idea what that is called -- anyone know?)  Use some elbow grease and rub well!  

Be sure you rinse your towel frequently and wring well again so you aren't just mixing mud on your horse.   

After I've hit all the dusty spots, I lightly rub his entire body with a clean damp towel to get any remaining dust.

After I think I have most of the dirt, I sometimes use a little Show Sheen (or whatever conditioning product you like) sprayed into the towel and rubbed in like I did the water. 

Be VERY careful not to get the Show Sheen anywhere near the saddle area though as you are essentially polishing your horse and your saddle will slip and slide.  Can you imagine your saddle slipping completely around your horse during your test?!

I then let Golly dry completely tied in the cross ties while I work on his mane or clean stalls.  It doesn't take long as he is only slightly damp.  You can take a dry towel and rub it in deeply to get any remaining moisture out and hasten the drying time.

Once he is dry I use a polishing brush like this one to get the final polish on him.   The final touch is to put a sheet or blanket on him (depending on the temperature), put him out to pasture and pray he stays somewhat clean!

Its not a perfect method but it does get a decent show glow on him and keeps him warm and dry in the colder show months.

Tomorrow is the big show.  Hopefully I will have some good things to report both about our ride and our Charles County team.

I'd love to hear YOUR tips on grooming in the winter.

Post Hurricane

The horses ended up staying in the stalls from 4 pm yesterday until almost 8 am this morning.   When I put them in last night they were shivering which is unusual but I think the high winds drove the water past their protective hair barriers.   After a few minutes of munching hay though the shivering stopped.

When I got there this morning they were happy to see me as they had devoured the huge piles of hay I had left for them.   The byproduct of their eating was evident as well because the stalls were a mess.  Definately filled the wheelbarrow!

I went back and forth on whether to leave them out considering the shivering from last night but figured it would be fine since the rain was back to its normal vertical path without the high winds.

Golly went straight to the pile of hay in the run in and was suprisingly calm going out even though he had been locked up for fourteen hours.   He had no interest in going out in the rain.

 Pony (yes... we call her Pony.  Her name is really Sunny but Pony just fits her better), on the other hand ran straight to the oak tree.  I hadn't realized she was eating acorns but she obviously likes them which concerns me since a plethora of them can cause some intestinal issues and even death if they eat too many.  

Its hard to tell in this picture through the rain but she is happily munching acorns in the rain.    You can see in the distance the big tree that came down on the fence.  Luckily I left the gate open and most the tree fell through space rather than crushing the metal gate.

I felt a bit better about the acorns when she only stayed out their a few minutes and was quickly back with Golly under the run in.  Definately need to keep an eye on her acorn consumption though.

Glad the hurricane wasn't nearly as bad as predicted.  I hope your family, pets and horses included, did fine too.

Hurricane Prep

As Hurricane Sandy descends on our area, I am trying to decide the best way to protect my horses.   If you read the "official" advice given, its best to leave your horses outside in an open field with little debris.  With 75+ hour winds projected I think it is impossible to prevent debris coming across their field.  I am worried about the debris hurting them.

On the flip side, high winds have a decent probablility of bringing a barn down with them trapped inside.

The dilemna.  

I think I am going to do a mix of both.  They are outside now but I think after dark I will put them in the barn for the night with the thought that during the night they can't see the debris coming across the field towards them.  In the morning, high winds or not, they will go back out.

At least they are on high ground so I don't have to worry about flooding.   Just in case of electricity outage I have filled buckets, soaked a pile of alfalfa pellets and filled the BIG water trough.

What have you decided to do with your horses?

Bubbles on My Saddle

This post is reaching out for some help.  A few weeks ago I noticed there were some small bubbles on my saddle.  It almost looks like small pimples under the top layer of leather.   I've never seen this before and I'm not sure how to combat it.   I love my sadddle -- a Black Country dressage - it fits Golly exactly right.  I definately want to be sure it lasts as long as possible. 

I did a good cleaning and conditioning on it last week but I'm not sure that is the best move.  If there is moisture under the leather causing this, conditioning may just hold that moisture in further.  Here's a look....

 

So what your thoughts?  Have you ever seen something like this and how did you combat it?

 

On a positive note... I want to share how much I LOVE my bridle.  In April I bought a new bridle as my existing one was literally falling apart in places.   I held off as long as I could because I wanted to get a good one and heck... those are expensive!   I found a great company called Five Star Tack (http://www.fivestartack.com) when they made donations to CANTER Mid Atlantic.   Their tack is both high quality and unique.

 

Golly has a wide forehead and requires a wide browband.  A regular horse size is a bit too small and the oversize is too big.   He's a tough fit.

 

The great thing about Five Star Tack is that they work with you to find the perfect fit.   After an in depth conversation with them they suggested the regular size should work.   When I mentioned that I liked the star browband, she swapped that browband out with another bridle and essentially created a custom bridle for me.  Even better ..... when the bridle came in and the browband was too small, she swapped out a larger one for it.    That's great customer service!

 

I love the celtic cross, the leather is supple, its nicely padded and all the hardware works great.  Its nice to purchase something and really love it.  Here is Golly in his bridle after our ride this morning.  Isn't he handsome?

 

 

Canter... Simple, Right?

From what I know the horse has three natural gaits -- walk, trot and canter.   I base this assumption on the fact that MOST horses will perform those three gaits naturally while in the field with their friends.   In Golly's case he would tell you "woah" is a gait too since its his favorite but I digress.

In the first couple years I had Golly I never saw him canter in the field.   His pasture mates could be galloping across the field and there Golly would be.... trotting as fast as he could behind them.  For him, canter was not a natural gait.  So its something we have put a lot of effort into and because of this I've put a lot of thought into it as well.    We have a long ways to go before we have a "good" canter but so far here are some things we've learned.

Check Your Horse out Medically First
When we first started to attempt the canter we got explosive bucks during the transition.   I just thought he was being a pain and kept at it.  Eventually he developed some light lameness.  I gave him some time off but it did not improve.   After a vet evaluation we decided to inject his hocks and that was the magic trick.    At first he still bucked some in the transition but they gradually decreased.  I think at first he was just anticipating the pain and once he knew it was no longer there, he started to accept the canter more.

If your horse is acting outside his normal character, it may be a medical issue and not a character issue. 

Value of Lunging
Don't underestimate the value of lunging for a horse having trouble picking up the canter.   Both "regular" lunging and free lunging (lunging at liberty in a smaller ring without a lunge line) allow the horse to find his own balance without having to worry about a rider's balance and weight.  Frequent transitions while lunging is very beneficial as the transitions are usually where they are having the most issue.  Mix it up though -- do quick transitions and then let him travel a circle or two without a transition.

Tips & Tricks
For every person you ask you will get a different answer on how to do a canter depart.   Beyond the "how to" which I will leave either for another post (once I completely figure it out) or to others, here are some things that have helped me.

Preparation:  For a horse like Golly that is more on the lazy side, I found that preparing his mind and body in the trot is important.  I spend a decent amount of time making sure the trot depart is with the lightest aid possible.   I don't want to be kicking him into a the trot depart but rather "allowing" it to happen by opening my hips and thinking trot.  My instructor describes it as a "puff of air" pushing him forward. I imagine a sail filling with air and pushing a light sailboat down a river. 

Once the trot departs are working well, the canter depart works the same way.  Think a bigger puff of air and again... allow the canter to happen via opening your hips rather than kicking him into it.

Think the side pass:  Another thing that has helped is that right before the canter depart I think a side pass to the outside rail.  I don't actually do a side pass but I do bend Golly slightly to the inside and get the feeling of a side pass before I ask for the canter.  Its a split second type of feeling.  Kind of like a half halt would be...  it preps him for the canter but is not actually part of the aid for it.

I hope some of what we learned helps you.   I'd love to hear some of your tips for cantering in the comments section and see if we can apply them to our training.  

Tenacity

As the blood ran from my finger and dripped on my newly polished show boots, I thought to myself that the gods were against me from making it into the show ring that day.

The day had started out okay.   Although a dressage rider typically, I am between two levels, so I decided to attend a local hunter show so my horse would remember show rings were not scary.   My classes were in the afternoon so I was able to leisurely hook up my trailer and head to the show grounds.  My only issue was that I had recently torn the cartilage in my knee so getting on my horse was a bit tricky – but I knew I could get some help so I wasn’t too worried.  So hobbling on my crutches, I signed up for my two classes and headed back to the trailer.  

After pulling my trusty horse Golly out of the trailer, I gave him his final beauty treatments and saddled him up.  It was then that I realized I had forgotten my stock tie.   This wouldn’t be a big deal except that with the temperatures hitting the 90’s for the first time that year I had decided to just wear a plain sleeveless t-shirt under my jacket so the stock tie was essential to hide the casual attire.  

Ah well… a quick phone call to my husband solved the problem.   He would run it by the show grounds on his way to another errand.  Day saved!  Or so I thought….

With one problem solved I turned to getting dressed as much as I could while waiting for the stock tie.  I usually have problems getting the zipper up on my boots.   I was pleasantly surprised when they quickly zipped up and didn’t even feel tight!  My glee quickly ended though when I realized the zipper was split wide open to the back!  Not only was the zipper shot, the zip was all the way to the top so I couldn’t get the boot off without somehow jimmying the zipper back down to the bottom.   

That’s when I got the dumb idea to try to use safety pins to hold the back of the boot closed.  While maneuvering the pin into the zipper, I stabbed my finger and must have hit a nice vein.  Blood shot out from the finger and splattered on my shiny black boots.  Safety pins did not seem to be the answer.  After cleaning the blood from my boots, I pried them off my legs and then just sat on the edge of the trailer laughing at my predicament.  Surely I was not meant to enter this show.  I should just go home and consider it “one of those days”.

Nope – my hard head prevailed.   Barefoot and with my crutches I hobbled over to my neighboring trailer, and asked “Hey, you don’t happen to have any black duct tape, do you?”  Looking up from his sandwich with a look of “hey weirdo”… he responded, “Nope.. no duct tape.”

Hobbling to the trailer on the other side, I asked again, “Hey, you don’t happen to have any black duct tape?”   Success!  While it was not much they had probably just enough to patch my boots back together.   Shoving my foot back into the boot I eagerly starting taping up the back only to find that duct tape does not stick to newly greased boots.  Another setback.

My friendly neighbors, noticing that I was taping up my boots – or at least failing at taping up my boots – came to my rescue again.  “Hey, I think I have an extra pair of boots if you want borrow them.”   Thankful, but not hopeful, I returned, “That would be great but my one calf is huge due to a horse kick so I need a 17” calf.  No chance of you having that!”

“Hah,  you would be surprised.  My calves are even bigger and I had these custom altered – they may work.”  Digging back behind a pile of long unused tack, she pulls out a moldy pair of boots.  “They are dirty but if you are willing to clean them you can give them a try.”

Still not hopeful I headed back to my trailer only to realize that they are going to require boot pulls which I don’t  have.  But I DO have two hoof picks which handily hook into the loops and ease the boots onto my calves.  They fit like they were built for me!   Yes!

Two seconds later my hopes are dashed again as I stand up and realize the sole of the boot is not at all attached to the boot.  But wait!   I still have some duct tape.   A few quick additions of duct tape and I have a nearly custom pair of boots.   Ten minutes later with some saddle soap, which I just happened to have in the trailer, and elbow grease they actually look pretty good! 

I’d love to say that I sailed into the sunset with champion ribbons but that would too good of an ending.  However, I did get into my classes and placed a respectable fourth out of ten horses.  Not bad for a short warmup and shoot.. I didn’t even think I’d make it into the class!  Crutches, missing apparel, split boots, borrowed boots, repaired boots.   I had hit them all.

Later when I got home I realized that it was tenacity that got me through the day.  I could have given up at any point in the day but each time a stumbling block arose I found some way around it.

Much of horse training requires tenacity.   I don’t have the fanciest horse.  I am fairly certain he was an Amish cart horse in his first life.  He was not built to be light on his feet or to dance under a rider.  Despite this I decided to turn him into a dressage horse.  Probably not the best move but with a full-time job and three active kids I needed a horse that I could ride safely whether I rode him every day or two weeks passed.   He fit the bill.

My instructor repeatedly told me that I needed a new horse if I was going to get anywhere with dressage.  This horse was not going to get me there.  I knew however that my horse was going to keep me safe and I just kept plugging at it.  Four years into this dressage experiment, my instructor is singing a different tune.  We both agree he is still not built to do the job I chose for him.  However, he is a pleasant steady horse that understands his job and tries hard and more amateur riders need a good safe horse like him.

Dressage is meant to be a life long pursuit of the pyramid of training.   Its not meant to be a quick rise to the top.   It requires tenacity of both horse and rider.    Steadily plug away at the obstacles put in front of you – whether they are confirmation or equipment obstacles – or whatever personal obstacles you have – keep plugging – tenacity will get you there. 

Putting Together a Quadrille Team

I was recently part of a quadrille team and thought that some of the things we learned when putting it together would be helpful to someone else attempting the same. 

Quadrilles are lots of fun both to do and to watch.   They are essentially four riders syncronizing their riding to music and performng a set pattern.     The most important element is the syncronization and accuracy of your pattern so having a steady tempo and riders who can "watch" out for one another and temper the pace of their horse to match the others is crucial.

Choosing your Team
Its great if you can find four horses who are similar in color and size.    If not, having pairs is helpful -- for example, two greys and two bays.   Or two ponies and two horses.     Even more important is that the horses have similar paces.  

This is not necessarily about choosing the best "movers" unless you have FOUR good movers.  If you have one horse with extravagent lovely gaits and three with average gaits, its not going to work.  If you have one horse who really moves out, that rider is going to spend a lot of effort shutting that horse down to match the others.   What you need are four similiarly moving horses that are steady decent movers.

Its also important to find horses that like to work with others.   Quadrille relies on the horses getting CLOSE and some dressage horses like to be more solitaire than quadrille requires.

Very close to the debut of our quadrille team at a show, one of our team members broke her arm.   We decided to substitute her with a very qualified rider who had a lovely horse.   While the mare was a great dressage horse, she did not like working with other horses and the show was a disaster.  Well, maybe not a disaster because honestly we all had a great time laughing at ourselves.  Even the judge was laughing.   You could tell we had most of the moves down but the horses just did not want to be with eachother.  At one point, my horse did a spin that could qualify for a roping competition and at the end, the mare was so fed up with the situation she bucked across the arena like a dolphin.  Take a look... we don't mind you laughing at all!

Choosing your Pattern
Many times there is already a chosen test or pattern for the show and the easiest thing is to use that established test.  For example, the PVDA uses the United States Dressage Federation tests.  There is a test for Basic (walk/trot), Training, and First through Grand Prix.  You can also come up with your own to match your selected music.  If you decide to design your own, using the movements in the USDF tests in a different order to match your music is a good starting point.

Starting Practice
We spent WAY too many practices learning the test.  Its much harder to learn the test with four riders on horseback -- not only are you learning the test but the riders are distracted by the horses getting used to one another.   For at least the first practice, I suggest leaving the horses at home.   Set up a very small dressage ring (to scale but about a tenth the size) and walk out the test on foot.   A good way of creating a small one is using sidewalk chalk on a driveway.    Then walk it out on foot.   Trot when your horses would be trotting.  Canter when your horses would canter.  You'll feel silly but 1) its much faster to learn it this way and 2) its fun!

Once you have the test down cold, THEN start practicing on horseback.  Once you are mounted, have a person on the ground to let you know if you are lined up correctly and where you are making mistakes.  Its doesn't have to be a person schooled in dressage.  At this point its not about proper bend or collection.  Its about being EXACTLY opposite one another or lined up EXACTLY behind one another when you should.  The more accurate you can get this the better.  When you come down a line behind one another, the judge should only see the front horse if you are doing it correctly.

Choosing your Music
Choosing music is hard -- mainly because there are so many choices.  I started by listening to cd after cd trying to imagine how the horses would look "dancing" to the music.   What I should have done was narrow my choices first by the length of the song.  Sure you can edit the music to be whatever length and tempo you like but if you are like most people this is beyond your capabilities and frankly there is enough good music to choose from that will meet your needs so why work so hard?

However, if you have someone with good computer ediitng skills, the best route would be to meld three different songs -- one for each gait.

So start by choosing which genre you like.  You are going to listen to this music a LOT so you better like it.  If you hate classical music, don't choose it.   If rock is your thing, find a good rock song.   Everyone will give you a different opinion on whether the song should have lyrics or be just instrumental -- decide what's best for your group.

Another important element is the Beat Per Minute (BPM).    You can use a metronome to measure how often your horses foot hits the ground per minute to determine this.   Take the average of all the horses in the group.  Hopefully all four have similar BPMs.

Since most of the test is done at the trot, you should start there.   Let's say that your trot is 76 beats per minute.  You need to find a song that matches that beat.  As an example, the Training level test is 5 minutes and 50 seconds.   If you can find one that is close to 5 minutes 50 seconds you may be able to start there if you want to stick with one song -- especially if it has some slower sections you can use for walk.

A great resourcs is Mike Matson's website --  http://www.equimusic.com.  You can put in the beats per  minute and get a full list of songs.    He also does a great clinic where he brings out his music and plays it for your horse until you get just the right song.   He then burns a cd for you to take home.

Once you have the trot selected, then you need to select a walk and canter that is in the same genre.

Try them out with your horse.  You may find that one song or genre really gets your horse going -- you will be surprised at how much they respond to the music.

Practice and have a Backup
Our team practiced from early Spring until November at least a couple times each month.   It takes a while to get the basics down and then you start perfecting all the little elements.  Its a good idea to have five team members in the event that a horse or rider is injured on the day of competition....  which is of course a high probablity when you are working with horses.    Swap that alternate in each time someone can't make practice and on the days when all four primary members can make it, use the alternate team member as your eyes on the ground so they are as familiar with the test as the primary riders.

Accuracy is the key to a good quadrille.  Perfect circles.   Turning at exactly the same time.  Horses lined up so precisely that the judge can only see the horse closest to them.  Being exactly opposite one another when doing mirroring elements.  Little things like saluting the exact same way and at the exact same time makes a difference.   You can usually wear outfits a bit outside the norm for a quadrille so it may be fun to have costumes that match your music or matching colorful shirts.

Despite our injuries and swapping of horses at the last minute, the practice paid off.  We were the 1st place winners at the Chapter Challenge that year.  A video of the final product is below.   

Quadrille is lots of fun and is a great way to ride together with other members of your riding clubs.  Its particularly good for kids who like the comaradarie of riding together.  Hope our experience helps make your journey in quadrille a little easier!

When Are you Going to Learn to Ride?

"When are you going to learn to ride?"  I can't count the number of times I have heard that phrase when I tell my non-horsie friends that I take riding lessons.  In their eyes, there is an ending.  Some time that eventually you "get it" and have accomplished your goal of being a rider.  And really... how hard could it be to plop your butt on the horse and amble around?

I always respond that even Olympic riders continue to take lessons.   Whether you are an equestrian or a gymnast, there is always room for improvement and coaching.  And I am NOWHERE near an Olympic rider so I need even more coaching!

One of my favorite dressage riders is Steffen Peters.   He truly dances with his horses.   They move as one, playing off eachother.  When I watch him ride I'm not sure who is leading the dance -- it appears to be a cooperative effort -- as if the horse and rider make the same decisions.  Even better is when Steffen and his horse ride to music.

Steffen Peters is a three time Olympian and bronze medalist.   At that level, you can safely say that he has "made it" to the big leagues and in the eyes of my non-horsie friends has probably learned to ride.  No need for lessons here, right?  Wrong.

Steffen Peters continues to take lessons and has coaches to help him.  His wife Shannon is his frequent "eye on the ground" in addition to outside coaches.  He also trains with a personal trainer off his horse three times a week for core and cardiovascular training.

I study dressage.  I read books. I watch clinics.   I take notes.  I write this blog to help me clarify my thoughts.  Despite my study, I still don't know even a smidgin of what I want to learn about dressage and even the things I DO know I don't always practice.

I know that I should have a straight line from shoulder to hip to heel and strive to keep that outline but its hard to tell if you really have it right.   Its something I struggle with and there have been multiple situations where my instructor tells me my heel is too far forward on the horse.  I swear it FEELS like my foot is exactly where it should be but that's what a bad habit is.... repeating something that is incorrect even though you know better.  Without those eyes on the ground to tell you the reality, you will continue to repeat it and the habit will become even more ingrained.

So yes... non-horsie friends... I still need my lessons.  And when will I learn to ride?  Probably never but I hope I am improving.