Riding Away: Carmen the Magnificent Edition

 Fortunately Carmen is not too annoyed for not telling you about her brilliant performance yet. I told her that I needed to go through all the video first.  

What is interesting about Carmen is how great a traveller she has become. She hesitated going in the barn yard first bit otherwise self-loaded and was happy in her new stall. Once she chewed everything out first. And that all translated into her rides. My lesson was shortly after we arrived. 

Initially I thought that the purpose of our lesson was to get off the outside rein. But I realized that was incorrect- it was to get on the outside rein. Hear me out- I can ( at least in theory) let go of the inside rein but that doesn’t mean that has contact on the outside. We could just be prancing around on 2 loose reins. 

Jane was very committed that I was to get her to take contact on the outside rein and then ask her to flex or bend to the inside. She explained that when Carmen’s head tilted it was because she wasn’t through to the outside. 

Honestly, it was exactly the precise lesson I needed. At first Carmen would simply bend to the outside. Turns out I had to use my leg to help her, but even if she didn’t bend, I was not allowed to take the inside until I had her on the outside. Up at the far end were sone stacks of hay.  I put on my outside rein and she went ‘ooh snacks!’ And grabbed a mouthful. I burst out laughing. 

Carmen: how come our ring doesn’t have a buffet?

As the lesson progressed I began to understand how important this work is. And Carmen began to understand about the outside rein as well. And she began reaching for the bit. 

Love this capture of Jane, us and the other clinic participants. It takes a

This work resulted in Carmen becoming soft and, well the only word I can think of is pliable. Or transitions became so fluid. Our canter was soft and balanced. You could barely hear her footfalls. 

Here’s a brief clip: 

We’d been doing shoulder in off and on through the lesson.  It always feels like it requires lots of support. At the end of the lesson we did ones that gave me goosebumps. They felt perfect. Unfortunately, my Pivo quit videoing by then so I have zero proof. But Jane thought they were good enough for us to end on. So there’s that. 

Carmen enjoyed her hose off and I turned them both out to enjoy some grass  in the barn Carmen was being admired by cute gelding  she accepted his admiration as her due but let him know she was tolerating his presence  when he left she was annoyed  ‘Hey, I wasn’t done being pissy with you!’ 

So much mare face

Julia rode Carmen the next day.  I realized that somewhere along the line she is becoming a schoolmaster. She was really good through the whole lesson and didn’t pull any stunts like she has in the past with her.  I was so proud of both of them.  

Riding Away (Baby Genius Edition)

 Last weekend Carmen, Quaid and I went to a dressage clinic with Coach Jane.  It was a 3 day clinic but we only did 2 of the days. I bathed both of them on Friday and packed up the truck and trailer. In the morning we left early, right after feeding (and morning coffee because that makes it better for everyone). It was zero trouble to load by myself. The clinic was about 45 minutes away an easy commute. When I arrived I had help to unload which was much appreciated. Carmen was a bit uncertain to come into the barn at first but then she decided she owned the place so it was all fine. Quaid followed along like the good boy he is. 

Quaid: well this is new
(sort of, he was  here last September)

 I rode both horses on Saturday and just Quaid on Sunday.  I'm going to break this up for both horses and thought it would be fun to start with the baby genius.  Quaid's first lesson was in the afternoon at 2:00.  I got him ready and walked him down by the ring to hang out before we went in.  As we got closer and he could hear Jane over the speaker the noise of Suzi & Tanya working in the ring he got very excited. Like tail over the back snorting like a dragon excited. Well, it might just be a lunge lesson.... I thought. 

There's a grass ring outside the arena and I worked him there until we had a bit of a brain and he remembered that he was a horse not a kite (note: I never run a horse off its legs but sometimes you have to balance the focus with letting them move their feet).  Soon enough it was time for us to go in. By then he had settled a lot and we did a little work in the arena before I got on. I didn't set up my Pico for this lesson because I had left my phone in the barn and just didn't want to add that to my already busy brain. So there is no media for this lesson. 

so here's a cute photo of him and his bff Archie

The ride was very exciting for both of us but probably not for anyone else. He was super excited and very forward which is not how we are at home so we hadn't schooled the slowing down too much. Turns out that simply hauling on the reins is not the answer to that. Letting him go forward and using my voice, seat and outside rein is the way. Oh and relax things, don't be so tight. Breathing is also good.  But honestly he did so well. I could feel him working really hard to hold it together. But he did hold it together as did I and by the end we were walking and trotting and not looking like an octopus being ridden by a crab.  I hosed him off and put him and Carmen out into a small grass paddock to relax.  I'm pretty sure by then he mentally and physically tired and was over this idea of working for a living.  But I was happy to note that the stress hives did not appear. 

That evening we all had a potluck dinner with lots of great food, laughter and chatter. I drove home, leaving the horses at the barn and was sound asleep before 10:00. 

The next day our lesson was at 10:00 a.m. Quaid looked quite happy and he was eating everything.  I got him ready and walked him down to the ring to hang out again. He was a completely different horse. Still a bit excited but not overwhelmed. We stood outside the ring relaxing and he got to see Tanya and Suzi go around. He even had a pee while we waited, which made me laugh. This time I did set up the Pivo so there's media.  

In the interest of honesty, I'm going to share some media from the lesson. I know there's a lot I need to fix. My habit of tightening my arms and raising my hands took over. I realise that this from my own tension. When you're riding a green horse (and not a professional) it feels really vulnerable. I am reasonably sure I know what he's going to do but I'm not completely confident that he won't 'blow'. That and the fact that a green horse feels different every stride has made me ride more defensively. As an AA I will own that and simply say that I'm working on it. And probably will until I die or stop riding (whichever comes first). #ridingishard

Quaid was fascinated with the mirrors in a really adorable way. On Saturday he wanted to put his nose on the mirror and blow on his reflection. You could see him trying to figure out who this horse was. 

mounting while he checked himself out

The lesson was a continuation from Saturday with Jane being much more honed in on me using my aids correctly and not just calming me down (which makes me sound like I was a wreck on Saturday which I don't think I was, but in all honesty I don't remember a lot of the ride Saturday so....*shrug*). 

I did a lot better letting go of the inside rein and being comfortable asking him to walk forward. When he broke to trot I was to let him and ride him forward. If he got fast I need to slow my posting. Which, like I KNOW but totally forgot I knew. 

I love this, I'm giving and he's reaching

There were a couple steering failures. Once I tried to trot him across the diagonal away from the in-gate and he did not want to go that way. It caught me off guard because we trot across the diagonal all the time but we regrouped and carried on.  The video below is some of our good work. 

Jane had us going in a nice trot and then told me that when I was ready to ask for canter. Which he got excited and I got defensive and we had a total communication break down. 

Quaid: LET GO OF ME
Me: STOP CAREENING 

But do you know what was great? We had our. moment, went back to trot and he settled right down and forgave me. Here's a video if you want a giggle. It felt a lot more 'eeek' then it looked: 

Which honestly was my takeaway from watching the video. In the moment of riding it felt largely unbalanced and I felt like I was awful. When I watch it he's actually pretty steady and his focus is phenomenal.  Especially when I remember that he's just 4 and this is like our 46th ride. 

I told Jane that I didn't think I was feeling confident enough to canter this weekend. She told me not to worry and she was working with me. Which I knew. I know she wasn't trying to push me too far out of our comfort zone and I totally trust her. I'm glad we tried it. I was just giving feedback on how I'm feeling. 

At the end of the lesson Jane said that we need to remember that riding a youngster makes us feel and look less skilled then when we ride a schooled horse.  Riders need a ton of experience on backing horses to look balanced and fully competent (not that she was calling me incompetent. At least I don't think so, lol) Which is 100% true. It has been a real experience having a baby again. I doubt I'll do it again but don't think I regret Quaid. I absolutely do not. I'm loving this experience with him.  I can see the horse he's going to mature to be and it's amazing. I all ready feel safer on him than I did on Carmen even 2 years ago. He tries so hard and is a kind horse. It was good to take him away and see how he amped he can get and work thought it with him. I think it's good for him to keep getting these experiences so he has confidence in himself.  Like I said, this time he never showed any hives and never stopped eating. Which tells me he's less stressed by going places. 

Quaid holding court

No End in Sight

 Way back when I first started riding with Jane I made a comment in this blog along the lines of 'I know I'll plateau at some point but for now I'm enjoying the progress'. 

Jane told me after that I was not going to plateau, not on her watch. And she has not been wrong. I've been riding with her now since 2021 and I don't want it to end.  Honestly, it seems that every lesson I have I say 'that was the best gait or movement yet'.  According to Jane, if you continue to show up and do the work there is no plateau, there is only moving ahead. 

This weekend I have a 2 day clinic with Jane at Krista's place (about 40 minutes away) and both horses are going in it. I'm excited because: 

1. I'll be riding with friends

2. Having 2 days in a row helps move things ahead

3. Quaid will have lessons away. 

I had to write out my goals for the clinic for both horses and here's what I wrote: 

Carmen: Continue to work on forward, straightness and self-carriage.  Julia will be riding Carmen on Sunday but I'll have her on Saturday. 

Quaid: be able to work in anew location, straightness and rhythm, improve walk-trot transitions, canter work. 

two horses getting ready for work but 
with very different feelings about it

Of course, once you write down goals it's impossible to not think about them in the rides leading up to the clinic.  Quaid continues to impress me with his basic ridableness (new word but I like it. If it irritates you maybe ridability is a better word. Spellcheck doesn't recognise either one).  I can ride him with Carmen or alone and he's fine. It's not that he's not sensitive. He is, I would argue, as sensitive as Carmen. But his reaction differs. While Carmen tends to do the big spook/spin/bolt his are more a quick splay of the legs or small scoot and then back to work.  The other day Julia was riding Carmen and she had lots of feelings to express. Quaid reacted to none of it. Even when she did a big spook/bolt he barely flicked an ear. He does worry about going by her in the ring but that's just it- he worries and then does the thing.  At one point I said to Julia, would you like to trade horses and ride the easier one?  Which is hilarious given that she's 14 and he's 4. 

Today I put out 3 trot poles. I hand walked and trotted him over them then did them under saddle. I expected some tripping/stepping on the poles at the trot. Instead he looked at them and was very careful with his feet. We only did a few passes over them and I let it alone. 

Carmen with some feelings over walking into contact

now she's over it

Yesterday we went out hacking with Julia and Carmen after our work. He was great, following along. Today I wanted to see if he'd let me open the gate to leave. He was unsure and once the board fell and he scooted. But then we went back and, step by step, opened the gate and stood there waiting. I looked at Julia and said 'I should be in the dirt and he should be over there' . But Quaid likes to think his way through pressure which is great.  Then he led the entire hack out. I was super impressed. 

leading is a great way to get him 
to being able to be solo

I know that Quaid's progress is a result of his basic temperament and all the work I've done. Like I've said, he's quite sensitive and could be, I think, pushed into being a hot horse. Our canter work is our biggest issue right now. Partly a balance issue and partly me letting go. I definitely need some help with it before it becomes a thing.  We may not be able to work on that at the clinic but I will book a lesson soon at home to focus on that. 

Carmen is also the result of her temperament and the hard work I've done (with so much help thank god). Last week I actually took her out on a solo hack. I have done that at times but with a feeling of taking my life in my hands which is not fun. Now I have confidence in my riding ability and her understanding to not worry overmuch. 

When I first titled this blog 'Journey with a Dancing Horse' I didn't really understand how much of a journey this really is and how exciting it is to discover what's around the bend. 

The Economy of Riding

 If you clicked on this thinking I was going to give you some wonderful wisdom about making horses and this sport affordable, you are going to be severely disappointed.  And while there are some things that save money it really is all relative and, let's face it, horses are incompatible with a life filled with fine wine, food and travel unless you have a small fortune of your own.  And you probably shouldn't control it because it will just result in more expensive horses and equine related purchases. ...

no regrets though

So, yeah, I got off on a little tangent there. Sorry. 

Anyway, this is more about riding in this heat and making training sessions short and economical in terms of training.  With the heat and humidity resulting in high temperatures I'm finding I can usually one get one ride in and for only about 30 minutes. 

Cordelia waiting for me to fill the pool

It's made me more focussed and spending much less time fussing. Instead I get on and we get on with it.  Of course Quaid still requires a few minutes of groundwork. Or I do. But whatever.  Knowing that we have limited time means that I can pick a few things to work on and so I need to prioritise. With Quaid I'm keeping the focus on forward, straight and our walk/trot transition. It is improving but it takes some concentration. He has a habit now of lifting his front and hopping into the trot rather than pushing. He does it when lunging so it's not just me causing it.  I need to make sure we have a marching walk and then ask him to pick up the trot. If he tries to do it fast he'll launch so I let him have the time to sort out his feet and not get after him to respond quicker.  The nice thing is that when I correct him he figures it out.   

Today I noticed that he was getting distracted and even spooked. I realised that I was not occupying his interest enough so I needed to be asking more. As soon as I did that he flipped his focus back to me and we carried on with a good ride. Quaid minds the heat more than Carmen. And the deer flies really bother him.  As soon as they start swarming I try to finish up pretty quickly so I'm not torturing him. I haven't put his fly sheet on because it's so hot. 

With Carmen I've been focussing on her responding to my half-halts. A lot of the time she'll completely blow them off and lean on the bit. As soon as Jane dialled in on this for us I realised how much I was letting her decide if she wanted to rebalance or not. So now I'm not and she's not always happy with me even though she's a lot more balanced.  Funnily enough, since I've been working on her rebalancing our canter-walk transitions have improved tremendously. 

After our rides I hose her off and let her graze while I put her tack away. When she's ready to go back in the field and I'm not done she'll come in and find me. 

Carmen: I have to do everything around here!

Carmen doesn't mind the heat as much as Quaid does so we sometimes finish hot and sweaty.  Which is why I typically have only ridden one of them. Today I rode both because it was cloudy. By the time I was done with Carmen I had to peel off my breeches. 

I've been enjoying the short, focussed rides a lot. No more endless walking and seeing if Carmen feels ready to trot. We walk, and then get on with it. I think she likes it better too, but it's Carmen so I'm reading between the lines here.  

How have you been dealing with the heat? 

Too Hot to Trot

 

Carmen: oh my god woman have you not looked at the forecast? There's a heat warning out. Why are we even standing here. 

Me: well it's not really hot yet and I figure we could get some work in. 

Carmen:  *sigh*

Me: Remember you're a desert horse

Carmen: Virginia? I don't remember any deserts there.....

Me: I meant your heritage and, for the record,  your mom was from Spain. 

Carmen: Well  I'm a Canadian now, used to cold winters and mild seasons. Not a humidex of 39! 

Me:  And we don't have to work hard, there's no need to be spicy. Just sayin'

Carmen: I swear you don't even know me.....

*Editors note: Carmen was fine, with a couple little tests. We were able to get our work done and cool off. 

**Carmen's note: I'm always fine. I just didn't feel like making her work too hard, she seemed awfully warm and I didn't want her to have heat stroke. You're welcome. 

Summer Vibes

 First of all, thank you to everyone who reached out and commented with encouragement, support and empathy. I really appreciated it. 

This morning the vet clinic I had reached out to called me. They are working hard on a plan to support the horse owners in our area. The woman I talked to was professional and kind. She said that they are looking at setting 1-2 days a month to come to our area for routine care/calls. She outlined the emergency procedure and generally made me feel a lot better. They also have a great set up for hauling in so I might do that. The big worry is that if there's a major emergency and the horse can't be trailered because of how far away they are but I won't borrow that trouble.  It feels like a huge burden has been lifted.  I'm hoping that we will see equine services in our area again. 

I love this screen shot from my lesson last weekend

Last week we got our small square bales in. It was a lovely day and it was fairly easy. I usually get a mix of square and round bales. This year I'm doing a mix of small and large squares. I'm hoping that this will be easier for storage and less dust. 

Cordelia approves of the hay

Ed and I also went strawberry picking the next day. I love strawberries and we are currently feasting on strawberry shortcake, putting strawberries in yogurt and I want to back some things with them. I made jam and will freeze some berries in baggies to add to my breakfast over the winter. 

summer deliciousness

I've been riding both horses fairly regularly. With the summer heat settling in I have to get it done in the morning. But I don't mind. Quaid and I growing in confidence and it's a lot of fun. We have some great conversations.  He developed this hop into his trot transition which was making me uncomfortable and trying to figure out how to fix it.  As with moth things, there's not one answer. He needs to be forward thinking and a little flexed to the inside.  The last two rides I've been working on correcting it. When he'd hop, I'd say 'no' and bring him back, reset and ask again. When he'd simply trot without the hop I'd praise and reward. I can really see him thinking it through. He's so cool in how he tries. Today was pretty hot so he enjoyed a good hosing after. 

He's filling out nicely

The deer flies are awful this year and driving him a little crazy. I finally caved and bought him a fly sheet. I hope this will help him. But man he looks hilarious. 

Serious Mrs. Roper vibes here

The flysheet was a bargain and is a cheetah pattern. The fly boots are hot pink because he usually comes in with just 1 and the hot pink is easy to find in the field. Carmen's expression when she saw him was hilarious.  I don't have a fly sheet for Carmen. The flies bother her but not too bad and I don't like how hot they can get in them. The longer I have horses the less I'm inclined towards blankets and sheets in general.  (but I do use them when I think it's necessary). 

I've signed both horses into a clinic at the end of the month. I'm looking forward to riding them both.  Based on last year's experience it should be a lot of fun. 

How's your summer going? 

Dangerous Times

 I've been hesitant to even think about this, let alone write about it. 

Two weeks ago we received notification from the vet clinic we've used since we moved to the area in 1996: 

As you may know, we are experiencing veterinary staffing shortages. Unfortunately, we do not have enough Equine or Livestock Veterinarians to continue these services this fall. This has been a hard decision for us, however, effective August 1st we will be discontinuing livestock services (both clinic and farm calls for cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens, goats), as well as temporarily suspending equine services effective August 16th, 2024.

This means that as of August 16th, I will not have any vet for my two horses. This is incredibly frightening to me. So much so that when Ed tried to talk to me about it I told him I couldn't. I have reached out to the clinic they said might be able to provide coverage. I have yet to hear back. 

There is a crisis in equine medical care and it's bad. It is estimated that 4.9% of private practice vets practice equine medicine (https://horsesport.com/horse-news/conference-addresses-critical-vet-shortage-canada/).  There are lots of reasons: cost of education, limited enrolment possibilities, demanding and rude clients and an impossible to maintain work-life balance.  

I believe that the other factor is the current trend of private vet practices being bought out by large corporations (https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/veterinarians-corporate-consolidation-1.7207186). My clinic used to be privately owned. Now it belongs to Vet Strategy which is 70% owned by a large conglomerate in Boston. 

Pets are now big business. I have my doubts that a large business in the U.S. cares whether my horses have access to care and this worries me. Most vets and technicians do not enter this profession to make money. They enter because they love animals and want to make their lives better.  But the reality of trying to operate a practice on your own (or with partners) must be daunting. And I believe that while having someone run the practice makes it easier for vets, not being able to guide the practice in a way you want must just add to the pressure (this is just my opinion and observations, I have no direct evidence of this). 

In the meantime I have to figure out what to do. I will continue to reach out to other clinics.  Last year my local vets saved Quaid's life. If I have an emergency what do I do? What about ongoing vaccines? I am comfortable to give my horses needles but I can't float their teeth. And I can't buy vaccines without a vet prescription in Canada;  unless I figure out how to get to the states and get them. Which I 100% will do if I have to. 

Do I buy a shotgun and learn how to shoot my horses in case I have to euthanise? I've even considered selling and moving away to where I can get a vet. Do I keep moving then? 

the communication from my vet clinic said: 

 

We understand that there will be feelings of support and understanding as well as disappointment. We understand that some may be interested in contacting us to express their feedback. We encourage you to contact us at (email) so that we can best direct your concerns as well as leave our phone lines open for emergencies. We would like to remind you that verbal abuse or harassment of any kind will not be tolerated or elicit a response. It is our intent to resume Equine Services as soon as staffing permits, however we will not be resuming Livestock services.

I have sent two emails asking for clarity on the vaccine issue. I have yet to hear back. 

It is hard to not fall into despair over this situation.  I honestly don't know what to do or where to turn.  All I'm left with is to hope that equine services will resume at the clinic or that someone take me on or someone else will fill the void here. 

And hope is a lousy strategy. 

Lesson Recap: Elevation

 I had a lesson on Saturday and, spoiler alert,  it was really good.  Carmen was just coming off a heat so I knew it would be better. Now that she and I are working calmly it's a lot easier for me to identify patterns that affect behaviour. I will say that it's pretty clear that she's less willing to ' do the thing' (or anything really that doesn't involve rubbing her tail and eating) when she's in heat. Sometime I consider using medication but I've decided that we can figure this out without messing with her hormones (she is on chaste berry but nothing else). 

Our lesson was early and it was a truly lovely morning. The focus continues to be on helping Carmen and I to be in more self carriage. It is no longer sufficient that we are not careening about, now we have to elevate our game.  This requires me to be consistent in my aid, reins and expectations. It is hard work, for both of us. Like a really hard pilates class. Although I am grateful for my pilates classes because it's making this easier for me to do. 

I have to share this sequence of photos from the video. We were walking around, something spooked her and then we went right back to work. This is really good for us. 

falalala

oops!

false alarm

I have to say that when I rewatch the video I can see a marked improvement in Carmen's gaits. She is tracking up and staying much steadier than even from 2 months ago.  We even did a serpentine counter canter and it was pretty balanced. 

Jane is having us work on shoulder in on the circle. I would swear that I'm doing it but when I look at the video we are not. But we're trying. Carmen is funny- when she's uncertain (or unwilling) she will tighten everything up and then leg yield around the circle. Jane, I'm sure was getting frustrated with us. I did say at one point 'I don't know what we're doing but I'm pretty sure it's not what you want'.  Not that she gets mad, I just know that if she were riding it would be sorted while I flail about. (Instructing is not for the faint of heart). 

square halts at least

Canter is coming too

We changed direction and she became even stiffer doing some sort of leg yield crab walk thing.  I could definitely feel it be wrong. I can feel what she's doing I said, then I muttered 'now I fucking do something about it'. Jane laughed. I put on my leg and tapped Carmen with the whip. She needed to go forward and then bend. And she did. We came around again. Oh I took off my outside leg, no wonder she went sideways! I know, Jane said (a little smugly but that was fair). 

The goal, as Jane explained, is to take the weight off her front legs by half-halting into the transition. It also means riding her forward without going faster. This way she'll step more under with her hind legs. 

so much lighter

This mare is not easy. I doubt she'll ever be easy and I don't think I could have done this last year, she requires a level of fitness that Jane says wouldn't be necessary with a more sanguine horse. But she's taught me so much and made me elevate my game. When I worry that maybe this is too hard I look at the videos and see how this training is helping her to be balanced and soft which will only help her stay sound. 

It really is a lot of fun even though it's hard.