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.....
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.
First of all, thank you everyone for your kind words and best wishes about Guinness. He's healing well and no longer needs his pain meds. When he first was home I worried about his pooping (or lack thereof). I knew that his intestines were likely empty but I didn't want him to get constipated so I started him on some pumpkin puree. That certainly did the trick.
Enjoying the sunshine
Cordelia is trying to step in and help.
Cordelia: I'm helping! Me: sigh
After a week of warm weather the temperatures dropped to more typical September temperatures. The first day was cool and the wind was snapping. I looked at the two horses cavorting and snorting in the field and decided that a trip to the gym was probably the better choice. Since then they have definitely been peppy. Carmen has been pretty spicy but it doesn't last. I don't know if it's because of how I handle it or because she's 14 and it's soooo much work to be sassy.
I had a date with my daughter to see a play in the city and I wanted to have a short ride. But just as I went outside the power company showed up to fix a light on our property. I have a rule that if I don't have time to deal with an issue I won't put us in the situation of having to deal. So I decided to do a groundwork/liberty session. Carmen was right with me and I probably could have ridden but it's fun to do this too. I feel that our half-halts are improving. We'll see what Jane thinks.
Carmen enjoys it too
Even Quaid is feeling the cooler weather and it's putting a bit of pep in his step. He's being pretty good. With Jane being out of commission Tanya and I got together to coach each other. We call this our TnT Training Sessions (TNTTS for short). It's very helpful- she comes and coaches me and then I go to her place and coach her. This time I rode Quaid because I wanted her eyes on us. She was able to remind me that pulling my outside rein away from his neck was really counterproductive to my goal of getting him to move out to the rail. But we had some lovely transitions and canter departs. I've been trying to make cantering less of a thing and doing it earlier in the ride. And also not letting him just fall out of it but instead trot forward. He started to believe that after canter he was done. And truly this is my fault. The nice thing about horse training is that there is no end to the new errors you can make. Julia rode him the other day and I as all 'damn, he's got some nice gaits'.
She also had some struggles at the end with him going to the right turning away from the in-gate. Which was interesting. He's so honest so something is bugging him about this. I still think it's about turning away from the gate but we'll see.
In other news, I got my hay delivered a couple days ago. I already had my small squares and I'm still feeding last years hay so I wasn't in a hurry. This year instead of rounds we're trying large (3 string) squares. The quality of the hay is really nice and I'm hopeful it will be less dusty than the rounds.
We are well into September and the days are getting shorter. In the past week we have had hot days but the weather is not transitioning to more typical weather. Although it's still really dry and I wouldn't mind some rain.
it's been a banner year for dragonflies
I took it easy on riding right after the show. It gave us all a time to decompress and me time to reflect on my takeaways. I am really pleased with how well both horses did at the show and I like how it helped draw attention to what is solid and what is not, lol.
For Quaid, when he gets excited/worried/nervous he has trouble rating himself and does not appreciate me telling him what to do. The judge said that my hand was too tight making him protest. And I'm not going to argue about that, because I am sure that it was. But I think that the biggest issue was me turning him away from the in gate when he was trying to rush there. And when Quaid is upset he kicks out. This is harder to replicate at home because he doesn't get upset too often. I've been having Julia lead on hacks so I can work on slowing him down and keeping him back from Carmen. This is definitely helping. And again, when he really wants to catch up and I say 'no' he protests. The other day I was working on our canter. To the left it was lovely but to the right he wanted to buck going in. I lifted my hand to stop his head from dropping and he kicked out. I kicked him back and growled at him and the next time he picked up an easy canter. I did a circle, stopped him and called it a day. However, this is our biggest issue and it rarely comes up. Most of the time he's happy to go around and work. I've been setting up poles and cones for us to play with and he enjoys them.
working on ground tying
For Carmen I realised how much I let her blow off my half-halts. So I've been working on those at all three gaits. The canter is still hit or miss. She'd much rather dump on the forehand and lean on the rein then lift herself. But it's getting better.
Carmen pursuing her life goals
What I need is a lesson on both of them but Jane has been ill so I don't know when it will happen.
There has been some drama with Guinness. Last weekend he began to vomit and not eating. At first I wasn't too worried but he got worse and couldn't even hold down water. I called my vet who said that they cannot take any emergencies right now so I had to call the emergency clinic in the city. I took him in and by this time I was pretty sure it was a tumour or anaplasmosis. The vet did a physical and he snapped at her when she palpated his hind end. I've had Guinness since he was a puppy and he's never snapped at anyone, even when I took porcupine quills out of him. They did an ultrasound and I was braced to hear that he had a tumour but they saw a 'foreign object' in his small intestine. I was shocked because, while he does chew up toys I hadn't known him to eat a piece. I was also incredibly relieved because that was fixable. Anyway, they operated that day and it was a good thing because it was close to rupturing his intestine.
Guiness post surgery
The next day I called and they said that they'd like him to go home but they can't get him to eat. I was not surprised because he never takes treats from the vet during his regular checks. I drove in to prove that he would eat for me and then they let me take him home.
Guinness: stop taking photos and START THE CAR before they change their mind.
He's been eating well since he got home. He's sore and on heavy pain meds but doing well. I got them to show me the piece they took. It was black and says 'kong' on it so it was definitely a toy but I have no memory of it. It must be an old one. He's leaving his incision alone but I put a cone on him at night and when I go out just in case. He's not a fan.
G: okay on 3 start pulling C: mom says it's for your own good G: traitor
I suppose that given I just spent the equivalent of a used car (albeit an old used car), it's probably good I can't have lessons right now.....
I have to be careful that I don't let my excitement over Quaid's first show overshadow how well Carmen did. After all she's been around longer and deserves some air time as well.
The first thing that really impressed me this weekend was how calm, cool and collected she was for the unloading, being in her stall and all the excitement. The barn is shaped like a big T and she was in the stall that was right at the juncture. This allowed her to see everyone. Hilariously, she used this position to nicker to everyone in order to get fed. Samantha was laughing at her because every time she went into her tack stall Carmen kept talking to her.
This photo cracks me up. Suzi was desperate to say hi but Carmen was just too cool
Historically, Carmen has been stand-offish with people she doesn't know. If a stranger approaches her she will withdraw into the stall until they go away. So imagine my shock when I was sitting in the aisle and a family with young girls (approximately 3 & 5 years) walked by and they were smitten by her.
Mommy! Look at this one. She's so pretty! I just love her! That was not a surprise. What was shocking was that she allowed them to approach and kiss her nose. And she even whuffled their hair! She looked pretty pleased with herself.
Me: I feel like I don't even know you!
Carmen: I have depths.
On Friday I had booked us a warm up slot in the show ring and it was about 90 minutes after Quaid's. I hopped on and rode her in and we just, well, went to work. It was a really good session and I was pretty pleased with both of us. There was none of the typical 'will she work here, is there a problem there,' session. Not that we were perfect but it was a great session.
blurry screenshot
On Saturday a lot of my focus had to be on Quaid and helping him deal with all his emotions over being imprisoned in a stall all day and horses coming and going. But Carmen didn't seem to mind at all. She did call for him a bit when I was riding him but it was pretty low key.
Julia and I tacked her up and I hopped on to begin on our warm up. Carmen was forward. Like, who is this horse, forward. Usually in the warm up ring she's tight and I have to push her. Instead I had the opposite issue but, not gonna lie, I was really enjoying how flowing she felt. In no time at all it was time to go in. We were waiting for the bell when we came down by A and she gave a big spook (the lattice was gone from one side and she was pretty sure it was a cave with a monster). Right then the judge rang the bell. We regrouped and we started our test.
This is where the forward worked for me in terms of her trot work but bit me on the ass in our canter because in our first lengthen it became clear that I did not have a half-halt in the canter. Like at all. Which had us careening around the corner while I gave a sigh of relief that we made it.
But overall I was pleased with our effort.
The scores were pretty much what I expected. We had 60.43% with a comment that made me giggle: "An enthusiastic lads! Sometimes that energy needs to be better channelled over her back with more throughness'. Ya think? I have experience with pushing Carmen forward and stopping her from running off. This new forward Carmen needs some getting used to.
I had about 20 minutes for our next one so I went into the warm up ring we schooled half-halts. They were running a bit ahead of schedule and asked if I wanted to go early but I decided to use my time and go when I was scheduled. I needed all of it because Carmen was still quite energetic even though were hitting the 45 minute mark of pretty steady work.
I made sure this time that I schooled a few half-halts while we waited for the judge to ring the bell. It paid off- except for our transitions after the counter canter work. She totally blew those off. But the test felt pretty reflective of where we are in our training. Our score went up to 62.18%. The comment was nice: "A lovely mare! Work for more engagement in collection with clearer ability to carry behind. Capable pair." I honestly want to get 'capable pair' on a t-shirt but it will probably be misconstrued.
I was quite tired at the end but still really happy with Carmen and myself.
On Sunday I decided to start my warm up sooner to make sure that I could channel her energy. It definitely worked and our test felt really good. We even got a few 7s on our canter work and an 8 on our final halt.
Our score was much better than Saturday with a 64.29%.
So in between our tests I worked on keeping her supple and responsive. Then it was time to do our last test. I was ready (for the test and to be done). I made sure that I didn't fall into old habits of being grabby and tight. When we were done I was really happy with our test. It felt so good. Our score was 64.23 and another favourite comment "A very sweet mare." I love that she saw Carmen's sweetness because it's not always evident.
In the end I felt that Carmen and I had done really well. And, oh yeah, we came second in every class. Which was nice too.
As you know, Quaid, Carmen, me and Julia all headed to the show last weekend. Quaid was entered in the Intro A and B which are walk-trot tests in the small (20x40 dressage ring). It felt like a natural progression for us since he's been travelling to the shows with Carmen since last year. In June I rode him in the warm up ring and the show ring.
We arrived in good time we put the horses in their stalls. We were in different ones then last year and I asked for them to be separated. It was Carmen, Suzi, tack stall, Quaid, Darius.
Quaid: this is all a bit much. I feel tortured
I had booked a 30 minute slot in the show ring. My plan was to ride him in the warm up arena and then go into the ring, just like at a show. The show venue is right beside the highway which has been undergoing renovations for years. When we went into the warm up ring the construction crew started backing up the heavy equipment to put it away. Quaid took one look at the digger going by the far door and freaked out.
Quaid: do you blame me? It was a big monster just looking to grab a young and tasty snack! And I'm pretty sure that I'm really tasty.
Me: no I don't blame you at all. Let's figure it out together.
I did some ground work and then got on. All we did was walk because I could feel him vibrating. After a bit we went into the show ring. There were other horses there and he gave a big sigh of relief. One of my goals for this show was to not freeze when I ride him. Instead to be proactive and help him to deal. And I have to say I did. It was a bit intimidating. We were in the ring with more advanced riders on bigger horses. But given that we were walk-trot pretty much everyone was more advanced. And I have to say they were very understanding and didn't get really annoyed when we got in the way either because of steering failure or because I wasn't paying enough attention. Julia took some clips of us and most of them showed us going around doing our thing. He had one baby moment in the clip below. But it felt like we dealt with it and moved on.
I felt really good about how we were doing and stopped soon after. He was pretty tired by then- mostly mentally. But for a horse that was back in February he coped with trailering in, new stall and being ridden really well.
I had expected our ride times to be really early because it's more typical for the show to start with the lowest levels and work upwards. But there were so many people in training level that the show committee decided to have all the training level classes in the morning and the rest in the afternoon. This made my ride times around between 1 and 2 both days. That gave a lot of time for us to get ready without rushing.
Saturday morning I fed both of them and checked them over. Both slept well. Quaid had a cut on his lip that was bleeding. I still don't know how he got it but I think it was by trying to reach his neighbour. I cleaned it as best I could but it was still pretty raw. I asked Jane and she told me to show it to the Steward. I did that and the steward advised me to put some vaseline on it and as long as it didn't bleed again I was good to go. Phew.
I took Carmen out to check her over for stains and Quaid got upset. Now when he gets upset he kicks out. He's done it before. This time we heard a crash and when Julia check on him she came out with his water bucket which he shattered. Sigh.
Quaid: none of this is my fault. If I had stayed home I'd be fine.
Me: you would not have liked being alone.
Quaid: I meant ALL of use stay home.
Me: not gonna happen. It's all part of growing up.
Quaid: growing up sucks.
Me: tell me about it. At least you're not paying bills.
Fortunately there's a feed store really close so I ran there and bought an expensive rubber water bucket. After all it's cheaper than going through plastic ones and it's only money, right?
I had given Quaid a half-tube of omeprazole on Thursday and Friday as a preventative measure. I looked at how tense he seemed and just gave him a full tube. I did that again on Sunday and I think it really helped. We walked both horses out to graze. He was great about walking along the parking lot and by the parked trailers. At the grass he just dropped his head and grazed. I could see him settling.
When it was time for our warm up we got him ready and took him out. Despite my goal of not freezing I could myself getting all worried about not upsetting him and freezing. Fortunately Jane was there and got us working and going forward. Quaid was shaking his head and that made me lighten up all my aids. Jane told me to knock it off (nicely) and to ride him forward into a steady contact. I was also to not let him set the pace but use my legs and my posting to help him stay in a trot rhythm. Strangely enough that worked. There were a couple times when he would balk and then shake his head and back up. This was a new one for me but Jane had me ride forward and did not let me back off.
Trying hard and having fun
Before I knew it, it was time to go in the ring. I had Julia walk beside us because the entry can be a bit overwhelming. We walked into the lower part and it was game time. I had a lot of feelings about this. It had been my dream with Steele but never happened. Carmen took a long time for me to be able to ride her in a show and last year when I thought I might lose him or he might never be sound. It's not like all of that was in the front of my brain but it was there. The judge rang the bell, I took a deep breath and rode in. Tanya read my test for me. I did have it memorised and, let's face it it's not long. But having her voice there helped me to free up some brain to ride the horse I had. It felt like a lot. But honestly he was so good. He had a lot of questions for me but listened to my answers and was a really good boy (even when he called out):
He handled everything, including the clapping and seeing people in random spots. Our score for this test was a mix of 6's, 6.5s and 7's for a final score of 66.25. I was thrilled with that. We scored 7 on our final halt which as great because we only started schooling centre line halts a few weeks ago. The judge noted that he lost forward momentum when he was calling out. I was for sure riding him too carefully but I forgive myself for that because this is all so new for us.
After we walked out for our steward check and he was clearly over all of this. I briefly thought of scratching but instead did a little walking around in the warm up and tried to take deep breaths. I felt a lot better after we 'survived' the first one. It wasn't long before we were going in again. This time I think he was sure we should be done. But I took a breath and rode him in. You can see that he's behind the leg and really not that keen to go forward. We had some lovely 7s for our entrance and turn but you can see on the centre circle he's not so keen. The first one earned us a 3 but the wheels came off completely on the second circle. He was quite resistant. But I was pleased that I didn't get upset. I gave a little laugh, gave the rein and asked him to go forward. I was okay with him just walking until we got ourselves together and we trotted out of the circle and finished.
The second circle earned us a 1 and the comment 'very naughty'. Which, honestly, made me laugh.
Quaid: What part of no don't you understand? Me: the part where you say 'no'.
Finishing on a good note, the tail adding a little flair
I was sure I had a bad score and was pleasantly surprised that it was a 54.06%. The judge noted some 'unfortunate tension today'. And she was right but I was not even remotely upset. I was proud that we worked through it and it wasn't by muscling but by just being patient with him. He's young, it's his first show. I wasn't expecting him to be perfect.
In the end we garnered a first and second place ribbon which made me very happy.
Quaid: show my fans how great I did! CHEESE
That night he was a lot more relaxed. Largely due to being mentally and physically tired. Sunday morning he was a lot more settled but I gave him another full tube of ulcer meds just to be safe. After breakfast he went for his walk and didn't care a whit about traffic or kids or dogs. He even had a roll on the grass.
Carmen: save some grass for me Quaid: snooze you lose!
I was really excited for the Sunday tests. I continued to be really happy with his performance on Saturday and knew that today would be even better because of our experience.
Before long we were tacked up and in the warm up. I remembered what Jane had said and I was riding a lot more proactively. When he tried to balk a bit I sat up and put my leg on and went forward. Jane was there to help again and she even noted that I was being his 'rock' rather than waiting to see what he would do and then react. Our warm up was going really well. Motorcycles were flying by on the highway and he didn't care at all. Then the first level horses came in and one of them was a gray.
Quaid: CARMEN! IT'S CARMEN. SOMEONE IS STEALING HER! HEY CARMEN!
Me: it's not Carmen. I know it's a gray horse but it's not her.
Quaid: It's NOT Carmen? OMG is it wearing her skin? WHAT IS EVEN HAPPENING RIGHT NOW?
Me: sigh. please calm down
Quaid: HOW CAN I CALM DOWN WHEN NOT-CARMEN IS HERE?
I rode him for a bit but decided that we'd be better off going out to wait for our test with was a few minutes away. It is worth noting that Jane had to go and so she didn't have a chance to correct this decision. Julia was with us but he was still agitated and when it was time to go in the ring he didn't want to go and even gave a half rear. But Julia was great and led him in. He saw the horse before us and was still quite agitated.
I gave a deep breath and it was time for our test. And, spoiler alert, it was great. I rode him forward, when he got a little excited I held the bucking strap. But I was thrilled with it.
Our scores were a lot of 7's with a few 6's and 6.5s. Our final score was 68.13. I was so happy with him. The judge said that it was a fluid test, which was exactly how it felt.
We went back to the warm up to wait the 10-15 minutes for our next test. Not-Carmen was still there and Quaid got quite excited again. Jane told me to bend and soften, bend and soften. I was pretty sure that wasn't going to work. Turns out it did and he immediately relaxed. Huh. Go figure.
Soon it was time for our last test. He walked in quietly and we felt pretty good, although not super energetic. This resulted in him dropping his head and nose a bit. This is definitely a strength issue. I probably rode him a little slow and was a bit restrictive but over all it went well. We had issues again on the centre circle on the right rein. The judge said she thinks I held too much with my left. Which was definitely a factor. I have studied my video and have some thoughts too but am saving them for another post because this is getting long. Either way, we finished our test. By now Quaid had garnered a little fan club and they cheered and clapped us out. Which he took as his due.
In the end we scored 59.38%. I was thrilled with that. Both tests went up on the second day.
another first and second place ribbon. He's so over showing at this point
I was really happy that we went and did the thing. It's always a worry that you might overtake a youngster. while I definitely pushed a boundary he took it all in stride. I was so proud of him. And me.
