dancing horses

dancing horses

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

On the Muscle

I consider myself a dedicated rider. This means that I obsess am diligent about training and making sure that I work on the things that have been taught to me. It is important that Carmen and I practice and that we are fit.

It's been a few years since I had a horse to train and show so I have been really putting a lot of time into it.  My thoughts have been along the lines of 'yay, training, riding, showing is fun! Let's do more!'

As a result Carmen is becoming very fit. To the point that a day off leads to all sorts of energy.
I had a lesson booked for today and it has been really really hot and humid. I know that my southern readers will laugh at me but once it gets into the 90s with humidity we all melt. I wasn't going to cancel today. We have a show this weekend and it's going to be hot so I figured it would be good to see how we do. 
I also had this idea that it would take some of the starch out of Miss Energizer Bunny. 

I was wrong. Essentially Carmen's perspective could be summed up with this: 
I am a horse of southern climes. The soul of the desert runs through my veins and I cannot be conquered by this heat.' 

On the plus side she was going to the bridle pretty much the whole ride. The tricky part was channeling that energy in a positive and not-bolting sort of way. Which is where Shanea is so awesome. She can talk me through and gives me confidence to let the hell go. 

The biggest improvement is in our canter work. She is so much straighter and our transitions are sharper- both up and down. It's so easy for her when she's mentally there. Here it looks like we're about to do a flying change but I'm just asking her to come back with my seat in preparation for a trot transition at X. 


She's understanding the work and, when focussed, it's so easy. Our lesson have been on the fine tuning of our rides. 


When I compare us with this time last year, her topline is clearly better. I'm pretty sure I'm riding better as well. 

from July 30, 2017


from today- we might actually be able to do this dressage thing

For the first time in a long time I had to ask for a few breaks. We rode through one of our tests and it went pretty well. By the time we were done I was sopping wet. Shanea looked at Carmen and said ''she's not even breathing hard!' And she wasn't. There was still a ton of gas in that tank. Mine, however was totally empty. I don't think I need to worry too much about her this weekend. 

After I hosed her off (something she really enjoyed) I went into the house and went right to the laundry room. I took off my clothes and threw them in the washing machine. They made a splat as they landed in the washer- they were sopping wet. 

I'm looking forward to the show this weekend. I am camping on the grounds with a few friends and that will be a new experience. 

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32 comments:

  1. Sounds like some very sweaty clothes! Good work. Gives a new meaning to wet saddle blankets.

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    1. Oh my god- it was like peeling off a bathing suit!

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    2. 😂 And her canter looks dreamy!

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  2. The struggle is real. I understand riding a very fit desert horse that can’t be ridden down.

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  3. She looks fabulous! But, like you, I melt in this weather! But, I'm currently jealous of anyone with sun! We're dealing with some crazy rain unlike anything I've ever seen...

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    1. yeah- that is no fun either. The weather is becoming more and more unpredictable.

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  4. I feel the pain! Trying to get out of soaking wet spandex is never nice. Your video is awesome, I love how her tail just hangs there happily. Does she ever swish it? Someday you'll have to try Working Eq because you have the horse for it!

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    1. She doesnt' swish it a lot but it's so heavy maybe that is why, lol. I really really want to do working equitation- it's on my list.

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    2. OK gonna go attach attachments to my horse's tail when I gently touch his side to move over so he doesn't swish. *lol* That would be a great "training aid" in dressage - hair extensions. Wait, is this a thing with QH western pleasure already? OMG I really have no idea but it might be true. Tell me I'm wrong!

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  5. Looking good. I hate riding in hot humid weather (which we’ve had all week here) so Rosie had the week off.

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    1. Our riding season is so short I just can't give up a week! Although it would likely be more sensible to do fun things like hacking out.

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  6. That first trot gif really shows how much power you are holding on to! Dreamy trot <3

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    1. There is so much power. It's hard to appreciate until you are sitting on it!

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  7. Your dedication is so inspiring! I didn't ride last night because it was too hot. I went to the air conditioned gym instead - unlike Carmen, I was not born for the desert. (LOL autocorrect changed that to dessert, which is even less correct, I was definitely born to eat dessert :) )

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    1. I hate not riding because of weather (unless is pouring rain). Sometimes I hope for rain so I can not ride and not feel guilty! And I was made for the dessert too!

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  8. Ah. Her canter looks so good. I give up riding when it's the hot. I skipped riding for a week when it got hot.

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    1. Yeah, but your hot and my hot are very different. In your hot I would just die.

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  9. She looks fantastic - what a difference in a year! And I feel ya on the wet clothes - every evening I come in and peel off sweaty clothes all the way down. I sweat constantly so even though it hasn't been too hot, I can't escape it! I keep my closet door shut to keep the dog out though and made the mistake of leaving sweaty riding clothes in the laundry basket... YIKES. Smelled like a middle school boys' locker room in there. NEVER AGAIN.

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    1. I was surpirsed at how much difference there was! And there's nothing worse than the 'sweaty clothes' smell.

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  10. haha that splat sound is so visceral!

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  11. Hey, T, if you "really really" want something, (as you said) you've got it. No doubt. Just point Carmen at it, she'll do it for you.

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  12. She really is looking super fit right now. Look how muscled she looks in this year's photo! And how lofty that trot is!

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  13. I feel this on a deep spiritual level. I'm always working on my fitness, but there's nothing like riding a truly fit horse to humble me in that department!

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  14. Man, she is developing into just the PRETTIEST mare. I love her. :)

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  15. gosh she is just getting so FANCY!! i hope you have a great weekend :D

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  16. Love the progression in the photos! Great job :)

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  17. So behind on this post but DAMN does she look SO AMAZING. She's so freaking FIT and strong and, yeah, basically your title captures it perfectly - on the muscle!

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