Lighting the Fire: 2026 Goals

 Today is the Chinese New Year and it is the year of the Fire Horse.  According to Chinese Astrologers it is the year to take action and start galloping. 

Winter is still present here but the sun has some warmth to it and the days are getting longer. You can feel that spring is coming.  

enjoying being naked

guess who's 2?! 

I'm getting itchy to be riding again. So it makes sense to work on my goals for the year.  

For Me: 

1. Be relevant 

I always find it interesting how certain messages seem to come from multiple channels.  I was listening to a podcast from Stacy Westfall that really resonated: She was talking about how riders can freeze or shrink when horses get ramped up. It comes from a desire to be calm but is often perceived by the horses as being abandoned. That we need to match their energy to help them know what to do. Then I saw a post on FB from Dr. Shelley Appleton. she was talking about how women are taught from a young age to shrink and not take up space. But this doesn't work with horses 

"Because horses do not interpret shrinking as kindness. They interpret it as irrelevance.

When you hesitate because you do not want to upset your horse, when you soften your request halfway through, when you step back the moment you feel uncertain or judged, your horse does not admire your sensitivity. Your horse simply concludes, “I’ll organise this.”

So it scans the environment. It drifts. It disconnects. Not because it is dominant or damaged, but because you diluted your own significance."

When Carmen was really acting up I would try to stay calm and took off all the aids. That just freed her up to make choices. Then last year when Quaid was struggling I tried to create a calm centre but in that I stopped giving him direction. So he fell back on instinct. 

All of which is a long rambling way to say my overarching goal is to stay present with my horses and be relevant.  

2. Work on my health and fitness: I aim to continue to work on my strength, flexibility and core.  

3.  Stretch myself a bit. I'm hoping to travel further to show this year.  

For Carmen: 

AI is fun even if the feet don't make sense

1. Improve her flexibility and suppleness. Carmen tends to lock her jaw and neck and then everything becomes tight. We ended last year really working on her flexion and I could feel it helping. 

2. improve her self-carriage: push from behind and through transitions. 

3. Improve our transitions: both between and within gaits. This could also be written as 'improve our half-halts because it's all connected. 

Those are all process goals, but I also have some outcome goals: 

1.  be able to do flying changes. We need this to leave second and get to third. 

2. do a freestyle. I keep playing with the idea but never move forward. I'm not sure what's holding me back but I really want to do one so if I write it out 

For Quaid: 

1. Improve Quaid's confidence at home and away

2. Learn to keep his focus on me despite his worries

3.  Establish and keep a forward rhythm 

Outcome goals: 

1. compete at training level 

2. learn to hack out 

For both horses: trailer out and do new things. So far I have Quaid signed up for a groundwork clinic away  and both for two clinics. Like I said above I'm working out a plan to do an additional show away in addition to the two we normally do. 

Winter is still here and I know it's not done with us yet. But it's fun to start thinking about this year and make plans. 

What plans do you have for this year? 

Holding Patterns

 I've not been active on this blog for the past month.  And that's because I'm hunkered in from winter. 

 For weeks the temperatures have been bitterly cold and made it difficult to spend extra time outside. We've had a few storms and even a power outage. But the last storm predicted took a turn and missed us completely. Other than the wind that blew previous snow around. 

looking for the perfect spot to roll in fresh snow

I was really happy to see January go and have been enjoying the more mild temperatures that have arrived this February. The horses too have been out soaking up the sun. 

My snow shoes have created a path for Cordelia
and I to have our daily walks. 

I probably should be using this time to advantage and create my goals for next year. Instead I am baking. 

ginger crinkles

And reading. And going to my various fitness classes so I don't turn into a total flabby blob.  The weather has turned mild (for February) and there's nothing on the horizon for weather (at least for now). It does make me dream of thawing and getting back in the saddle.  February for the past few years have been busy with horse  incidents (Quaid's hoof puncture, the truck catching fire while trailering) so I'm happy for the calm.  I have moments of envy of people with an indoor. And I know I could trailer there but I don't really want to trailer on snowy roads. 

So the holding pattern stays for a few more weeks. We do have a trip south planned for the end of March which is something to look forward to. 

2025 by the numbers

 

I know I've MIA. I've been struggling to find things to write about and feeling kind of 'meh' these days. Winter has settled in and has been particularly nasty so far. It's been cold and windy. And when it warms up it's rainy and windy. So, yeah. It's the time of year where the horse work goes up and the horse fun goes down. 

Willow has the right idea

But enough whining. I figured that it would feel good to review last year pony activities. 

For the past few years I've been a member of a FB group that has members set goals around riding and other activities. It's been a great group to celebrate rides and working towards my goals. For 2025 I set the goal of 100 rides for each horse and 150 workouts.  In looking back on that it inspired me to look at number data from last year. 

Saddle Time:

I got a lot of time in the saddle this year- I recorded 2018 rides compared to 205 in 2024.  . I had a geek moment and graphed 2024/25 data: 

2024 is blue and 2025 is green

As expected the majority of rides are April-October.  I know in the summer I rode almost every day.  

I miss this

Fitness: 

In addition I did 174 workouts. It really helped with riding and my overall health. In there I did about 100 karate classes.  It was a new thing for me and I started in January. I got my yellow and orange belts. And in December I successfully tested for my green belt.  I continue to really enjoy it. I'm hoping to get my black belt before I turn 65. 

Not counted in this are the many, many walks that Cordelia and I have taken this year. 

dogs don't care if it's cold and snowy

Learning; 

There was a bit of slow start to lessons last year, but in all I told 24 lessons and 3 clinics. Two of the clinics were with Jane and one with Johanna.  Every single ride I learned a little more, understood things a little deeper. I am also no where near done. I do remember a riding coach said to me (a long, long time ago) that by the time riders were in their 40's they were unable to really advance their skills. I'm happy to report that she was wrong. She also was not a good coach and the relationship did not last very long but that's a whole 'nother story. 

Shows: 

The horses and I competed in just two shows last year. Like, why did I write 'just'? That sounded really judgy. Let me fix it: I took both horses to two shows and it was fun, exhausting and we learned a lot. Carmen and I got a lot more grounded together and Quaid and I found some holes to fill. Carmen and I earned our silver pin for our scores which was nice. And we were 2nd level champs at our show in June. 

I also travelled to Quebec to help at the Eastern Dressage Championships. It was a lot of fun and a great experience. I met some great people and saw some lovely horses. 

Those are the things that I can count. There are also all the things that can't really be enumerated. Things like changes in confidence and skill. The fun times spent with friends and family. It was a really good year for me and it helps to look back. Especially on a day like there where the wind is trying to peel the skin from my face. 

How was your 2025? 

You Mean Like Every Stride? Carmen Lesson Recap

 I had a lesson on Carmen last Sunday. I was pretty sure it wasn't going to happen but then the weather warmed enough to thaw the ring and we could have it. Which makes a grand total of 3 rides this month. 

Cordelia appreciates all weather.  Here she is playing with a
frozen chunk of horse poo

I'm not bitter, you're bitter. 

Anyway, it was Carmen's turn and she was overjoyed. Which she showed by being stiff and spooky at the start. We were walking down the long side and she suddenly gave a huge spook and spun away. I could feel her thinking that she was going to build up a head of steam. I turned her into a small circle and said 'not today sweetheart'.   

Jane has been honing in on our getting her rhythmic and pushing from her hind end. Carmen is really good at plowing on her front end. I swear that each leg moves at a different rhythm. Which makes me want to hold her. While the holding is good for keeping a lid on things, it really doesn't help with the whole dressage thing.  

Jane had me riding her pushing her hind end in and then out. While half-halting and not holding. 

you put the haunches  in

and you put the haunches out

This helped to get her supple and listening without the big battle.  It works too. One thing that has really consolidated this year is being able to actually work on things without having to spend the majority of the lesson working through things. 

dramatic mare under dramatic sky

Jane focussed us on half-halts that move the weight back. It turns out that I need to half-halt with my seat and legs and then a little hand. I tend to use mostly hand and take my legs off. Which, of course, dumps her on the front. 

But when I got it, I could really feel her shift back and get soft. The trick is to do it every few strides. It was (at least if I'm understanding it correctly) half-halt, soften, half-halt, soften. At no point was I to take my legs off and get grabby.  It required me to pay attention to every stride and feel where she was and adapt my aids to keep her with me. Too strong and it shortens everything (and not in a collected way). Too soft and she can string out and lose her rhythm. 

holding her just shortens her neck

better

Everything got better and better. It was nice to feel that Carmen could be 'hot' and still be working with me. 

I love this

In the end both Carmen and I were tired. But in a good way, not in a phew that was a battle way.  I still find her fun to ride. Even when she's complicated. And given that she's 15, I suspect she'll always be complicated, lol. 

How's your December going? 

Finding Balance: Quaid Lesson Recap

 It's been a while since my post. I've had a few ideas but didn't actually write them. I'm a bad blogger.  November has been the Novemberest November in a long time. So much rain or cold. I actually gave up on keeping the horses naked this year and put on blankets. Carmen is happy with this development but Quaid doesn't think he needs it. My problem is that there's been so much rain. Even on days that haven't called for it and they end up wet and cold. 

But on Sunday I was able to have the long awaited lesson on Quaid. We started back to some light work once he was almost done with his antibiotics.  He's shown zero complications from his most recent anaplasmosis infection.   Our rides have been sporadic (see November comment above) but Jane understands and she's really good with working with what we present to her.  I just replaced my ancient and failing iPhone 12 with 17 pro and I have to say I love the quality of the video and screen grabs. It also doesn't die half-way through my lesson which is a huge plus. This means I had video for the whole ride! 

*almost* square at the halt. 

Jane right away got after me to not keeping a steady contact and not using my legs effectively. I've fallen into the habit of 'nudge, nudge, nudge rather than squeezing him. I don't even know I do it.  Jane was really after me to stop kicking him!  And stop throwing the rein. Keep it steady, ask for straightness and squeeze with my legs to go forward. 

Quaid had some feelings about this. He was generally happy about the kicking going away but had zero idea of what to do with me squeezing. And why wasn't I giving him free rein through transitions?  Jane was after me to soften but not throw away the contact. Because then he falls on to his front legs and doesn't carry behind. 

my handss are uneven here but not looking too bad

In watching the video of the lesson after I realised that I had been really focussed on riding him forward but not recognising when it was simply fast and falling on his front end.  But on the good side, I didn't have to push him too much for energy. Now it's about balancing it. 

see me kicking here? It's very light but still annoying I'm sure

As to be expected with young horses finding their balance he was would be above the vertical, behind the vertical and perfect. Above was find, behind was not because he was evading contact. The answer, as always, was to half-half and squeeze to get to follow the bit. Also to keep my outside rein steady. 

sometimes I held too much and he was not happy. 
But, can we appreciate my seat in this? lol 
We had our moment, landed, and carried on. 

We did a lot of sitting trot. Far more than I have done on him. It was much easier to sit this time.  We practiced transitions with keeping steady contact and they really improved as the lesson progressed.  

Overall, Quaid was really really good (picture above notwithstanding) but he had a couple moments where he locked his neck and tried to fling his hind end around. Fortunately, it was really short lived and the answer was to bend him, give him a sec and let him find his way back rather than escalate. 

a little BTV but still really nice

I loved how the mini-meltdowns were just blips and we could carry on rather than causing the whole lesson to fall into chaos.  

mini melt down. No fences were harmed lol

The progress from the first part of the lesson to the end was marked. 

First part of lesson:

Near the end: 

 He's going to have a lovely lengthen one day. By the end of the lesson I could feel him getting tired so we quickly found a good spot and called it quits. It was one of our best lessons yet.  I love how mature he's looking and he's really filled out.

I always have a little sadness when the riding time dwindles with the approach of winter.  Rides will get fewer and farther between. But that doesn't mean we can't keep moving forward. 

Cordelia eating for her end of ride treat. 

Skin Deep

 Way back in 2018 I entered Carmen in a show and we ended up scratching because I could not control her spooking.  I was feeling quite down about it and when I went in to pick up my test sheets one of the office volunteers looked at me and said 'you just need to ride her with confidence and she would have been fine'.  Given that I'm still remembering that off hand comment shows how much it rankled. 

more on this photo in a sec

The problem is that that statement is very true and terribly false. I think we can fall into the myth of if the horse really loved me they would be fine all the time.   Which is as silly as saying 'if my husband really loved me he would never be annoying or cranky etc.  . You can't be around horses for long and not realise that your own energy and intention has an impact. The horse also has their own feelings and instincts.  

Recently, a lot of blogs I follow have been sharing stories about successes and failures. We all worry that we're not helping our horses. Maybe we're going too slow. Or too fast. Or overfacing them. Or not asking enough.  

Or, or, or.  We can get lost in the ors.  

There is zero question that this year saw me have a huge boost of confidence with Carmen and, in all honesty, a drop in confidence with Quaid.  And how can that be if I'm me? I think it has to do with my own self-confidence and their feelings, which include trust in me. 

Confidence can come from a belief that it will all go fine because it always goes fine or from having skills and knowledge. 

My confidence with Carmen is strong because I've worked really hard to improve my understanding and my skill set. 99% of the time I have the answer to her questions. Jane tells me that my aids are getting clearer and my seat is improving, all of which directly impacts my confidence.  I have the physical fitness sand riding skills which translates into me feeling comfortable. The other day I was riding and she gave a big spook. And my seat never moved, nor did my hands. And we just carried on. It wasn't that long ago where I would have been unbalanced. I would have recovered and carried on but this time no recovery was needed so it literally looked like a leap sideways and then forward.    

Carmen has a ton more trust in me these days. See that photo above? I've owned Carmen (or bene her servant) since February 2015. In all that time she has refused to come near the electric fence. Irish and Quaid come right up to it when I'm walking because I often have treats in my pocket. Carmen would look but never come within 10 feet. I stopped trying to entice her years ago. This summer she started coming up to the fence for her treat (see photo above).  Or a pat on the nose. If something goes wrong she comes to me to fix it.  Like a few weeks ago when a loose pony came to visit. When Carmen saw me she came running up to me 'you have to fix this! She shouldn't be here!' Meanwhile Quaid was all 'hai new friend!' and sad when we caught her and returned her. 

screen grab from my lesson to break up the wall of text

I think that an attitude of 'it will all be fine' can get us so far. But at some point, if. we don't have the knowledge or skills to back it up, things will fall apart. It's only skin deep. With Quaid everything went so well at first I didn't realise that they could go bad. So when they did I was not prepared with how to deal. Since then I've taken. step back and worked on rebuilding. And it's going well. How well? Not sure yet. But he's feeling better so I'm planning to  start  working him lightly this week.  

He's feeling bored

For me,  riding is a balance of relationship and skill set. Sometimes we need to focus on one more than the other.  I really need both to enjoy my horses to the fullest. I know that not everyone is this way and I am not judging them at all. 

 Lack of confidence is not a failure. It's information.  Rather than pretending it's all fine (something I've been really good at!), we should stop and think about the why. What is going wrong? Or what do we fear is going to happen? And what do we need to feel better about it? Sometimes just seeing someone else succeed on your horse when you're struggling is enough to feel confident that we can do it. Other times we need to take a step back. Or do something challenging. There is no growth without discomfort. 

Straight Shot

 Thank you everyone for your comments and well-wishes for Quaid. Within a few days of starting on his antibiotics his appetite returned and he's back to his normal self. 

happily grazing

You wouldn't know anything was wrong at all, except that I keep shoving a syringe in his mouth twice a day.  Quaid will not eat meds in his feed no matter how I disguise it. And I've tried everything to make it palatable (even in a syringe): apple sauce, molasses, sugar, maple syrup, etc. All it does it make us a sticky mess so I now just dissolve the antibiotic in a small bolus of warm water and squirt it to the back of his troat. 

prepping the drugs

I find that dosing syringes can be really hard to press the plunger at times so I use a little oil on the plunger  end first and it slides no problem. 

locked and loaded, lol

Quaid is really good about me administering his drugs. He clearly doesn't like it and yet he still accepts that I'm doing it. I'm not sure where Carmen and I'd be by now. I don't even need a halter.  I try to do it fast and matter of factly and not make a big deal out of it. I find that usually makes things worse.  

One thing I've really learned with Quaid is drug administration. And how to take a temperature. Poor guy. He's had to have a course of medication every year since he turned two. Hopefully at some point this won't happen anymore.