Theme of this month's riding is Get This Damn Canter!

I've been the proud riding partner of Golly for five years now.   We've come pretty far in that time ...  We were a horse and rider who had never heard of dressage, a horse that had never trotted under saddle, couldn't steer at ALL, and was so unbalanced that he felt like he was going to fall over when we went to the left.   Now he is a good partner who enjoys his work.  He is fairly balanced and steers with just nuances of my leg.  He has gotten scores in the 70's in Intro tests and even when I was sick and fearful of puking over his neck at our last test, he plugged through and took care of me enough to get a score in the 60's.

But he still can't canter.

Yup... I know it seems ridiculous.  I've seen other people with green horses and they are cantering around merrily now.   We are a great partnership and he is doing good dressage work.  So what's so hard about this damn canter? 

It's not like I haven't cantered.  I cantered my last horse all the time.  We even cantered in the woods on small narrow trails (maybe not always the best thing... my knees had some pretty close calls).  I've cantered other people's horses.  No problem. I've even been told by reputable instructors that canter is my best gait.

But because Golly is my main ride, its been some time now since I have cantered regularly so I need some practice too.

There are a number of reasons we are five years into this and we still don't canter.  He never had a natural canter.  When other horses were galloping across the field, you could find Golly trotting VERY fast behind them.  Then when we started working on it in schooling sessions, he would explode into massive bucks.   That was when I could get him to do it.  Most of the time we got super fast trots that would jar your brains out.

Eventually he had some unexplained lameness that wouldn't go away. I gave him some time off.  Still lame.   Eventually I had his hocks injected and it was a miracle cure.  That was two years ago and he has been fine since.   My vet believe that his hocks were in the beginning stages before they fused and it was causing him some pain.  Once the injections wore off, they were already fused so we were good to go.

Then I started having my major knee pain and my legs didn't have the strength to push him into the canter.  (And believe me ... it took a lot of push.)    I had surgery last fall and my legs are starting to have the strength to push him where I need.   Of course, now its been so long since I've cantered and since the last canters I had with Golly were lets say... explosive.... I'm a little chicken.

My instructor working very hard to get and keep the canter

But I want to do this and frankly its embarrassing that we are still doing Intro tests.   Its so embarrassing that I didn't do any tests last year except for the one I did as a team.  Plus we get good enough scores that we shouldn't be doing that level anyway.   BUT... we can't canter so that keeps us out of the Training level tests.

So... I've set my mind to it.  Its the theme of at least most of our lessons and schooling rides until we get this. For my last lesson, my instructor rode him most of the ride and got a good half hour of cantering in.  It wasn't beautiful and she worked her tail off.  But they cantered.  

I lunged him at the canter two days later.  And then during our schooling ride yesterday he was relaxed and happy and trotting so nice, I asked for a canter with a gentle aid and I got it!!!   Granted it was the wrong lead but at least he responded and since it was on a straight line I didn't worry too much about the wrong lead.

I plan on visiting a friend's farm soon to ride one of their lesson horses at the canter to remind myself we can do it and my instructor will be working hard again this week to get that canter moving.  I can tell you that when we go down the centerline after our first test with a canter... you will see both tears and a big goofy grin on my face.

I'll let you know how it goes...

Am I Too Heavy to Ride my Horse?

In March a study was released by the Journal of Veterinary Behaviour that stated that most riders are too heavy for their horses.  The study didn't actually determine what the optimum weight was but instead determined that less than 5% of British riders weighed less than 10% of their horse's weight.   The article didn't indicate how 10% was determined to be the optimum however.   (http://news.sky.com/story/1069122/overweight-riders-putting-horses-at-risk)

There was a lot of controversy over the article as this meant that the majority of riders were too heavy for their horses.  For example, an average horse with a weight of 1000 pounds would need a rider of 100 pounds or less.  There are a few of riders who maybe meet that criteria, but not many.

A few weeks later an article came out that said it was "rubbish".  (http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/8494208/Horse-study-load-of-rubbish-say-vets)    This article as well though did not back up their claim that it was "rubbish" with any facts besides the fact that many riders don't fit the criteria and that the handful of vets in the article had not treated a horse for lameness due to a heavy rider.  

I did a little digging around and found this article that actually refers to a scientific study to determine the optimum weight.   (http://www.horsesciencenews.com/horseback-riding/how-much-weight-can-a-horse-carry.php)  In the study the researchers studied eight horses carrying weights from 15-30% of their body weight.  Granted, it was not that large of a study with only eight horses but it was at least scientific and it also happened to agree with a recommendation put out in 1920 by the US Calvary Manuals of Horse Management.    With this recommendation, the same 1000 pound horse should carry no more than 200 pounds.  The study also found that horses with wider loins had less soreness.

As a plus size rider myself, this issue is something I have considered carefully.   Golly was selected partially because of his size.  I was looking for a horse that was large enough to carry a plus size rider around without being too high from the ground (the higher the fall, the more it hurts when you hit!).

I don't have a scale large enough to weigh Golly and I am not sure I am brave enough to publish my weight internationally, but I am about 17% of his total weight.  That puts me well above the 10% but below the 20%.

So am I too heavy for him?

I'd like to think that I am fine.  There are lots of other studies that show that the balance of the rider and fit of the saddle are more important than the actual weight of the rider.  Take a look at the picture below by Kris Garrett and you can see the 250 pound balanced rider leaves much less hot spots than a 150 pound unbalanced rider.

Photo by Kris Garrett

At the same time, I expect a lot from Golly. I make sure he is at his optimum weight because I know he moves better then.   Because I think I am a decent balanced rider, I don't think I am "hurting" him.  However, it would be ridiculous for me to think that I can ride as well as I would at optimum weight.

I spend a lot of time, effort and money to make sure we are the best team we can be.  Good vet and farrier care, properly fitting tack, a good trainer to help us on our journey.  I stretch before I ride.  I cross train myself and Golly so we are more fit both mentally and aerobically for our dressage tests.  I read and study so I can be a better rider.   Being at an optimum weight should also be part of that package.

But yet I am overweight.  Why?

The short answer is that I like food and I have life responsibilities that prevent me from exercising as much as I would like.  But like most things... its just an excuse.   If I want to be the best rider I can be, my weight needs to be part of that package.

So two things I want to put out there for my fellow fluffy riders -- 1) make sure you have a horse that can support your weight and 2) be honest that your weight does make a difference in how you ride.  Its okay to decide that you are willing to compromise on being better so you can stay at your current weight but be honest about it.  I know that if I had less belly at least a few things would improve  - I could mount easier, my knees wouldn't hurt as much (and probably my horse's knees too), certainly show clothes would look better (I mean honestly ... white dressage pants don't look good on skinny people, much less ones my size), and I would have more flexibility.   Granted, I think that even at my current weight I am probably more in shape and flexible than some of my skinnier friends but that doesn't mean that I can't strive to be even better.

So that's my take on the very hot topic of weight and horses.

April 9 Lesson Notes

Just a couple of quick notes from today's lesson...

Very nice lesson this morning before I went to work.  Weather is finally breaking and deciding to allow Spring to happen so the temps were in the 60's even at 8 am.

My instructor rode Golly first this lesson and got to experience some of the resistance and distraction that I had during my last schooling ride.  She was able to get him on the aids and paying attention a bit faster than I was though but admitted that he made even her tired getting him there!

When I got on he was much more relaxed and paying attention.  I think the most important thing I took away from today's lesson is that you can ask for a lowering of the head with your outside rein at the same time as you are asking for bend with your inside rein and inside draping leg.  I had to get quicker and the SECOND he wasn't bent and limber, open the outside rein to get the head lower while at the same time ask for the bend on the inside.  Its a lot to figure out but I think we started to get it at the end of the lesson.

Couple of other items I took away were:

* remember to go with him when I ask for more energy
* do "nothing" when he is getting it
* act quickly when he is not
* expect connection and correctness... don't compromise

Show Clinic is this Sunday -- looking forward to it.

The Instructor in My Ear

Life is starting to settle a little after the death of my father-in-law and the submission of big proposal.   I was able to slip out of work a little early today so I could ride before it got dark. 

It wasn't our best ride.

Because of time constraints and not being able to fit schooling rides in, our last couple of rides have been lessons.   Lesson rides are always better than the schooling ones.   My instructor just catches the itty bitty nuances that I am too slow to catch and we get somewhere better and faster.  So this ride just felt not as sharp and productive without her guidance.

Going to the left it wasn't bad but going to the right, his outside jaw was locked.  I jiggled and loosened and tightened and spoke to him ... but it was still tight.   Each time we hit the far side of the ring, he broke out in a trot and wouldn't go back to the walk until I broke out the aggresive aids.  The new sexy mare at the farm is in heat and was just down the hill out of his sight so I think that had something to do with the speeding up on the far side.   Or he was just being a pain.

Despite the unauthorized trotting and the tight jaw, his back was still fairly loose though ... so it wasn't all bad.

The good part of this ride though is that I kept hearing my instructor in my ear.   At one point when I was fighting him in a trot circle.... jaw still tight, shoulder jutting out.... I heard her ... "stop climbing up his shoulder".   And yup... sure enough I was forgetting to sit back and was instead pushing his motion and climbing up his shoulder.  With her words in my ear, I sat up taller, opened my hips and sat back.  Shazam!   Instantly he was moving out better and straighter.   The feeling of winds pushing our sails (another one of her mantras) was back.

Its one of the reasons I write this blog.  Its a way of documenting the feeling I get when I take my lessons so its easier to recreate during our schooling rides.   I can't always have my instructor at my rides but its nice to know I can hear her even when she's not there....   oh shoot... that makes me sound like I'm nuts.. hopefully you understand!

Priorities

A few weeks ago I posted about the struggle I have in finding time to ride.  Readers had some great ideas about how to find the time -- one of the best was that I need to put it on my calendar and make it a priority.   If the time was set aside and marked as riding, the rest of the calendar appointments would find time around the riding appointment.  For a few weeks it has been working fairly well.  I have been able to ride for the most part at least twice a week.

This is a major accomplishment for someone with a full time job, three kids with their own commitments, various volunteer commitments and the struggle of finding daylight in late winter.

But sometimes you just have to stop and put aside not just the riding but all the other commitments in your life for what is really important.  For me that is my family and today it was more obvious than ever how important that was and how riding and everything else needs to take a back seat.

My father in law passed away this morning and everything else just stopped.   Spending time with my husband and my family was most important and everything else just didn't matter.  Work appointments and any other plans I had for the day that seemed so important yesterday just weren't important anymore.

My father in law was a man who always put his family first.   Nothing made him happier than spending time with his family and they always were first in his list of priorities.  He coached each of his kid's baseball teams, mentored many other children, and umpired baseball long past the time when his body was telling him that he needed to quit and rest.  When my middle son was a baby, we were living with him and I can hardly remember ever putting my son to bed because Paw Paw loved to snuggle with him in the evening until they both passed out.   Even in his last days when he struggled to find the strength to talk, images of his grandchildren brought life back to his eyes.   Family was always first for him.

The best gift he ever gave me was raising a son who is a wonderful husband to me and a giving father to my children.  For that I will always be grateful.  Thanks Paw Paw.

So priorities... sure my horses are important to me and I love to ride and I will continue to try to make them a priority.  But on a day like today...   it reminds me of what the real priorities will and always be... and how blessed I am to have such a great family.

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.