Putting the 'Fun' in Fundamentals

 There are a lot of basics things that horses need to know in order to live in our world. And a lot of it can feel like work. 

My horses have it so tough

But it doesn't have to. 

I mean, I know that horse training requires focus, dedication and persistence. But working on these things allows us to do the fun things and be safe. 

At the September show (that seems so long ago!) Tanya, Julia and I were chatting and riding at Coveside came up. Longtime readers will recall that we have ridden there before. We realised that it's been a long time- October 2021 in fact.  Then at one of our joint helping sessions we got out our calendars and found a date that worked for all of us- October 24th. I emailed the owner and she was fine with us coming and,  fortunately, the weather cooperated and plans were finalised. 

I've been hacking Quaid out on our property this year and he's doing really well. It is a big ask though to trailer somewhere new and do it. It would also be his first time trailering somewhere and being tacked up off the trailer and getting down to it. I knew it was a big ask but I also felt like he was ready. 

all ready to go

Early morning Julia came and we groomed the horses and loaded them on the trailer. Both self-loaded without an issue. I sent a quick text to Tanya that we were leaving and we hit the road.  When we pulled in Tanya was right behind me and pulled up beside us. We unloaded the horses and tacked up chatting like a bunch of 12 year old girls. 

Quaid: I don't know what's going on 

Quaid was quite understandably a little worried and curious about his new adventure. Carmen looked around and knew exactly what was coming.  We mounted and headed off. Quaid was put between Suzi and Carmen so he'd feel safe. He felt quite tense but he listened really well. I worked really hard on staying relaxed in my seat and not holding him tight.  

Carmen: just relax kid, I've got this

The trails are beautiful at Coveside. They wander the whole property and go up and down hills.  I didn't get a lot of photos but I enjoyed the view and the company. There's something about riding through the countryside on horseback that just makes me so happy. 

There was one spot where there was a shed with stuff inside. Carmen spooked but then went by but Quaid refused. So we sent Suzi ahead. He was still worried and did not want to go by. Julia brought Carmen back  and she stood like a statue by the scary shed. I sat there and quietly urged him forward but did not push. After a few minutes he screwed up his courage and tiptoed by (he might have had his eyes shut). I was very proud of him. 

I'm laughing here because he gave a huge shake and 
I almost came off from it. 

We went up and down some fairly stop hills and he handled it really well. He didn't get too upset when I kept him to a walk. Quaid did really well on the bridges. I don't know how far we went but we were heading back to the barn and passed through the area where they have the temporary stalls during show season. There was a girl on the back of a pick up truck parked there and we stop to chat. I could feel that Quaid had had enough. We were an hour in and he handled everything I had asked of him. So I decided to dismount and walk him the rest of the way. He walked beside me happy to have me beside him. We arrived at the trailer and I took off his tack. Quaid was as sweaty as I've ever seen him. I know that he worked hard carrying me over the hills but it was also nerves. I think he would have walked right on the trailer if I dropped the lead line.  Instead we loaded them as usual and headed home. 

all smiles at the end

I forgot how much support a green horse needs when first being ridden on new trails. We were both really tired when we got home. It was a big ask of a young horse but he exceeded my expectations.  Carmen felt great and really enjoyed herself. Quaid will get there. 

I can't wait to do it again. 

The Rhythm is Gonna Get You

 Last Sunday it was Carmen's turn for a lesson and I was excited. Earlier in the week riding I had an epiphany. It was another breezy fall day but the sun was shining and it felt pretty warm. Carmen was being really good but every time we went through the corner where there are a lot of bushes with leaves blowing she was getting tense, counter bent and rushy. I did what I normally do- bend her, half-halt and ride on. After multiple times there it hit me about how her rhythm kept changing.  Now if you read this blog even casually you will know that Jane has been on me about her rhythm from day 1. I've even joked about it. So I don't know why on this particular ride it hit me as something, you know, I should work on. (My theory is that in the past I was more worried about her spinning and bolting but I don't anymore so that freed up more in my brain to think about more things than survival). 

Anyway. I decided to ignore everything but her cadence. To help myself I began to repeat over and over: this-is-the-rhythm. It really helped. So when she sped up or slowed down at the trot I just kept posting to that chant (thank goodness there's not anyone really near to me!). And funnily enough after our third time through Carmen gave a big sigh and totally relaxed. And we went on to have a great schooling session. I have this habit of texting Jane when I get these breakthroughs. And she's always positive about it: 

Which made me even more excited to have our lesson and work on this some more. And hoo-boy was it a great lesson. There was so much good stuff and so much covered that I could make this post way too long. So let me hit the highlights. 

Receiving our instructions from Dotty

 Rhythm of course. Carmen and I managed to keep it for most of the lesson and most of the time when Jane reminded me I had already recognised it.  I need to keep the feel on the bit to help her steady and ride her to the contact. Carmen tends to shorten her neck and stride and go faster with her legs. Of course I need to be steady in the contact to  encourage her to reach for it. But I tend to then get too open with my hand so she can just fall on the forehand. 

this is our first trot work and so much to love, but 
see how she's thinking of curling behind?

Jane talked a lot about getting her open in her trapezius muscle. I had to stop and ask her to explain it to me because I wasn't sure. She explained how it is a fan shaped muscle and has too parts in the neck and in the back just behind the wither (https://www.rodnikkel.com/content/saddle-tree-blog-from-shop-and-desk/the-trapezius-muscle/. Horses that have a dip in front of the wither do not have a well developed trapezius. And if it is not open they cannot lift their back. Carmen has a habit of retracting her neck and she does, indeed, have a small dip right in front of the wither. We spent a lot of time getting her to stretch it out. 

Jane explaining the trapezius 

If I understand what she said, Carmen needs to stretch into the contact so she can lift up her back and engage in self-carriage (I'm sure Jane will let me know next week if I'm right on this).  And a horse cannot relax and stretch out this muscle without a steady rhythm.  

Now this is lovely - reaching for the bit and 
pushing from behind

could she be rounder? Yes. Is she stretching
to a quiet contact? Also yes. I'll take it

My hands are so much better than even a couple months ago. I'm doing much better in keeping them down and not having my shoulders up around my ears. It was a lot of work but Carmen was great through 99% of it. There was one spook she did when Quaid came barreling up the field but if you watch the video you can see that she really was deciding to go with it. 

It felt like it took us a bit to come down from this and for me to relax my hands down again but really it was not that long and we were back to the exercise of 10 m circle to shoulder in. Then SI to half-pass. 

Shoulder in, haunches in are all getting so much lighter and easier. 

shoulder in

half-pass

Every time it gets better and better. I love how much 'ground' we covered in this lesson. My hands, my awareness of her rhythm, getting her to seek contact rather than me pulling back to get it. When I compare where we were this time last year it's not even close. It feels like we're so much better balanced and together. It's rare that I feel that we're not communicating. Even when she questions me it's not a pure rejection 95% of the time.  

love this screenshot from when I was setting up the Pivo. 
Carmen: look at my halo

Coming Together: Baby Genius Lesson Recap

 On Saturday we finally were able to have a lesson. The last lesson I had was August 23rd and then we had the show. Since then, for a variety of reasons, we've been unable to schedule one.  I had always planned for my next lesson to be on Quaid and I decided to stick with that plan. 

In our rides I've been really trying to focus on forward, rhythm and relaxation. And trying to stay sitting up and stop leaning forward.  The weather the past few days has not been great. It appears that Mother Nature has remembered that it's autumn and she needed to catch up. It's been really windy and on Saturday we had a frigging wind warning for later in the day. I'd been working him in the wind to help him get used to everything flying around and he's been dealing well with it. But I was not looking forward to riding in the morning while at the same time I was determined that I was not canceling. The base wind was 35 km/hr with gusts in excess of 50. 

you can see his tail blowing here

I planned for a little longer for groundwork and that was a good call. We were able to get our communication established before I got on. At the walk Jane had me keep my hands low, and I swear that I've been working on it but his neck feels so far away that my arms have to be almost straight to be where she wants them. I even (gasp) argued with Jane about it but she pointed out that my elbows still had a bend and now the bit and arm were aligned. So I sucked it up and tried.  

and I can see that my hands are indeed too high here. 
*sigh* riding is hard

We practiced flexions because I was letting him look outside too much. But also don't hold the inside because that makes him curl. All of this sounds like we were a mess but we were not.  In fact we were pretty steady and Jane even commented that we had improved since she saw us last. As you'd expect with a green horse we'd be steady and then it would fall apart and then we'd get it back. Jane had us practice leg yield at the trot which we really hadn't worked on. But it was surprisingly okay. I tend to push too hard with my inside leg. 

he's trying so hard here

Here's a clip that is pretty reflective of our work: the good and the work-in-progress. 

The second left canter was really good and nicely balanced. After that canter we let him have a rest and then did a little work on the right rein and then called in. I really like his turn on the forehand- I've been schooling it in hand and under saddle asking for a single step at a time. Jane liked it and said that my work with Carmen has paid off in that I don't let him go fast like I used to let her. 

Our right canter has historically been a bit wild and wooly but it's coming. And it just goes to show how correct work and alignment make all the difference. 

I was so impressed with how well he handled everything. The trees were moving, the wind was wild, leaves were blowing around and he just tried his little heart out for me. At times he would startle and then just come right back. It was a lot for a young horse to handle and he just trusted me that it was all okay. Can we stop and appreciate that the weather was cold and windy and Jane was all 'you should canter' and I was all 'that sounds great!'  and Quaid was all 'well alrighty then'. 

Jane told me that she was really happy with the work we've been doing: "so proud of the work you have done with him in the past month. It was really good work. He'll be very solid at training level next year, schooling towards first." 

I know that he's a bit behind the vertical but there's so much to love about this moment in time. You can really see the horse he's becoming. 

I am not sure how much longer I can 
call him 'baby' genius.....

The Magic Bullet: Bit Changes

I've always been a person who are constantly changing tack to find the magic bullet that will make everything easier. But I also know that sometimes what you have is just not going to work. 

I first introduced Quaid to bits when he was a 2 year old. Since then I'd been struggling to find one he liked.  The first one I tried was a Happy Mouth Mullen: 

I believed that they were gentle and that horses tend to like them. It was clear that Quaid hated it. I gave it a few trials because the bit was new and I know it can take a while for them to adjust but all he did was chomp and chew and it was getting worn. 

I then looked in my cupboard and dug out my Stubben Golden wing broken snaffle. He was much quieter with it but over time it was clear that he still was not happy with it. 

Stubben Golden Wing

Here's a video from one of our early rides. You can see him champing away at it. 

I used this for a long time with him and through it all he champed and chewed and rattled it. Not all the time but enough. In looking at it it seemed that the mouth piece was a too thick for him.  So then I dug out a thinner broken snaffle and he was pretty good with it. 

But I still was not convinced that it was good for him. Again the thickness and the lozenge seemed to bug him. 

When he went for training I saw that Mike and Nikki used a thin, plain snaffle bit and he seemed to like that really well. I always worry about the nutcracker part of those snaffles though but I filed that information away. 

Clearly my internet searches triggered my social media pages because tack, and more specifically, bits started appearing on my feed. I'm going to be honest and I struggle with paying a huge amount of money for a bit. For example the NS Turtletop bit retails for $430 here!  At that price I expect it to muck out stalls during its down time. 

I then had an ad for Agadors come across my feed. I was intrigued, the bits were inexpensive, they were a Canadian company and shipping was free over 60$. I ended up buying the 'Calm Ride' bit: 

It was said to be good for horses with sensitive tongues and other oral issues. They also had a generous return policy and the bit itself was pretty cheap (under 60$). It was apparent that Quaid liked it right away. His mouth was calmer and when I picked up the reins rather than yawn or pull he would soften.  I used it in the Johanna clinic and he was quite good:

Here's my mistake though- I didn't realize that this bit was illegal for dressage shows. I had read the rules and looked at the pictures and thought it was fine. The problem was the copper rollers in the middle. Equine Canada says that you can only have 1 roller in the middle, not multiple. I get it because they need to draw a line somewhere but I was bummed. I even wrote to a steward to make sure but in the end I had to return it. I looked to see if I could exchange it but all the ones similar had more than one roller in the middle.  Fortunately, the company gave me a full refund and they told me that they were working on a 'dressage legal' bit. 

I went back to the old broken snaffle but within a month the company was advertising a new 'dressage' bit.: 

see the single roller?

 I ordered it immediately. The blue is a sweet iron that will slowly rust out. I'm not keen on the colour change but that is very much a first world problem. Because Quaid is really really liking this bit. 

see how it's starting to change colour? 

It fits him well and I find it to be really stable in his mouth: 

And for under $60 these are great bits. I was really happy with the customer service as well. If you are looking for a bit I'd advise you to check them out, they have a real variety of mouthpieces and styles. 

looking handsome and so grown up