I had a lesson booked with Quaid right after the saddle fit appointment. I was curious to see if if made a difference but also I was just happy to moving things ahead with him. It was booked for mid afternoon and it was a lovely day.
I'm not going to lie, it was a hard lesson. I worked my tail off. After it was done I thought it was awful. Or, more accurately, that I was awful. Then, when I watched the video I realised that the first half was really good, the middle really hard and the end good again. Which is why video is so useful because it's easy to believe something was terrible because it felt hard.
He usually halts square.
Jane started with getting me to ask him to step under but not take bigger strides in front. Or go faster. The idea is to have him step under and into a receiving hand. I could feel it working but it was hard. And he found it hard. I'm pretty sure Quaid was thinking 'but WHY can't I just fling my front legs or go faster. You are sooooo picky'.
Jane has also identified that Quaid is not so keen to step into the right rein. He wants to drop his shoulder and fall in. I'm pretty sure that this is my fault. I'm left handed and it tends to over power the right.
But I need to not just hold the right rein, and I need to half-halt. But it was going well. Like I could feel things coming together. Then Jane asked us to canter, starting with the right lead. While keeping a flexion to the right. With this the hamster totally fell off the wheel and things fell right apart.
He would canter a couple strides, switch behind, get pissed off and start balking on the front legs. I was to sit up and keep him going and not pull him to stop. Jane is pretty sure that because I always used to back off then that he thinks this is what gets him to rest. So even if we didn't canter I was to keep him trotting. So then this happened:
this is short clip of a much longer sequence. He's thrown his hips at the fence before. This time he managed to break it and then freak himself out. Jane was great, she just spoke in a soothing voice as she put the board back up and gave us time to get our breath back.
But after that he had a vendetta against the fence. It was like he was Inigo Montoya and it killed his father.
yay for being able to include a Princess Bride reference
We would trot a little, then ask for the canter. Even when I asked everything correctly it was a total shit show.
Quaid: "I hate the world"
I especially hate this fence!
Finally I started riding him in off the rail so he couldn't kick at it. It's really hard to ride with a soft seat, sitting up and a quiet hand when your horse is flinging themselves around. After we got a little canter we went back to the trot and walk and just worked on getting bend and breathing (for me anyway).
not hating the world so much
I was exhausted. I realised that Quaid had my number and when Jane wouldn't let the evasions work he ramped up. Jane also said that he needs to understand the right rein/flexion. So my homework was to keep working on it.
Since he had my number I needed to change it. I gave myself a talking to. Along the lines that I know how to ride and I can work through this. I do not have to be intimidated by 5 year old tantrums.
I gave him a day off on Saturday (I actually tested for my Orange belt in karate and passed. It was fun). On Sunday I lunged him in side reins so that he could have contact. There were a few bobbles but he settled in to WTC with them on. Horses definitely know when they are pulling on themselves vs a rider.
On Monday I worked a lot on him keeping the flexion through walkt-trot-walk transitions on both sides. We did lots of figures (serpentines, bending lines, 10 metre circles), leg yields etc. with the focus on forward. When I felt things were good with the bend and flexion I then cantered him on the left rein. It was easy. We did the whole ring doing circles, going straight, another circle. Brought him back, changed reins and asked for a right lead. He picked up the lead, gave a huge buck and switched leads. I kept him going down the long side and brought him back to trot before the corner. We regrouped and I asked again. He picked it right up and we did a circle. He tried to pull the right rein out of my hand and threw a mini tantrum when he couldn't. I kept the rein, asked for him to trot forward (and away from the fence), picked up the canter again and circled again. It was a bit wild and wooly but we did it. I left the canter and worked on other things.
On Tuesday it was very similar. Left canter was easy. the first time we picked up the right he gave a little buck, cantered a few strides, dropped to trot and got emotional. I just regrouped with him, asked again and we had 3-4 lovely canter circles. Again, I left it after that and we worked on other things.
Today we repeated the work again. This time when I asked him for right lead I made sure I asked really softly out of a forward trot. He rolled right into it and cantered a few circles. This time I stopped and dismounted. I was so proud of both of us.
Tomorrow we head off property for a clinic (riding friday and Sunday). I'm going to (to quote Jane) ride the horse I have and see where we are. I get that he gets unnerved away from home. I'm going to do my best to be the calm in the eye of the storm. That is my goal. If we canter that would be great but I'm okay if we don't.
Cordelia: forget the horses. Just stay and snuggle with me
With the show done and dusted it was time to get back to work. I have been focussed on riding Quaid forward from the beginning. It's been interesting because I realise how much I was letting him mosey and then slow down when he was worried. The problem with that is it gives him time to think and do things that I don't like (like spin or balk). Riding him forward and in a steady rhythm makes that far less likely to happen. If I want forward away from home then I need forward firmly established at home.
I've been paying attention to keeping my elbows from bouncing and a soft seat. A couple rides he's been really spooky about a certain spot in the ring. The bending and riding him forward is working a treat. It's helping my confidence too because every time we work through it successfully I feel more like I know what I'm doing.
In fairness to Quaid, in one ride he was acting up about a corner and then when I rode him through a neighbourhood cat leapt up hissing!
I could feel his soul leave his body.
Cat: hissssss! how dare you interrupt my hunt! I will end you!
Quaid: AARGHHHH! *leaps sideways*
Me: WTF?!
Quaid: I TOLD YOU there was a predator there.
Me: it was just a harmless house cat.
Quaid: harmless? HARMLESS?!It was a cougar. My mom warned me about those out in the prairie.
Me:there are no cougars here on the east coast (immediately a number of FB users chime in with the story of their brother's cousin's friend's run in with one in 2020)
Me: anyway..... that was just a 10 pound cat.
Cordelia snoozing outside the ring noticing nothing: zzzzzzzzz
I feel like I'm digressing off of the main topic here. Sorry.
One of the things on my list when I got home was to have his saddle checked. Now I know it's not the sole answer but I felt like it might be contributing. The fitter came out today and he's definitely changed his shape. She had to swap out the gullet for a larger one and adjust the stuffing. As soon as I sat in the saddle I could feel the change. I didn't feel like I was fighting for my position. I did a little ride to make sure it was fine and then got off.
I'm glad that I removed any discomfort that he might have been feeling. That leaves it open to tackle the training part. Tomorrow I have a lesson and we'll see if it makes any difference. Even if it doesn't, it still needed to be done. We may have 99 problems but saddle fit ain't one (anymore).
Now that I've done the recap of the shows for both horses I wanted to share my learnings from the weekend. One of the reasons that I enjoy showing is that it helps me to figure out what is solid and what is not. I don't know that I would know that Quaid has trouble traveling and working in new places if I hadn't showed him.
halt at C, right before our rein back. Look at those relaxed and listening ears
keep her stepping under and into a recieving hand- not so much on day one but definitely on day 2.
straightness and rhythm- Usually I struggle for her to not throw her haunches in on the long side, especially at the canter. I made sure I rode her straight and, other than a few bobbles (that I corrected). And, while she might have been a bit behind the leg on Saturday, her rhythm stayed pretty steady.
warm up to get her supple and on the aids- thank you Jane! We had some of our best warm ups. I felt her with me from beginning to end and, other than the spooking at P on Sunday she still stayed with me. What was nice was that even with the spooking we just got back on track.
there was a time when she would not go by that window without losing it. I've had previous blog posts at how this window resulted in her being 'that' horse in the warm up
Carmen has become a great horse to take places and do the thing. More than one person told me how they loved my 'sweet mare'. To which I smiled and said isn't she lovely? The comments from the judge were about her being willing and how we were a lovely pair (except for the spooking lol).
Quaid:
riding forward on a circle
ride him forward- still a work in progress. I can do it with Jane 'riding' me (lol) but on my own when I feel him tense up I stop pushing him in the hopes that it will prevent a blow up. I clearly need far more on this. That said, I did ride him forward in the warm ups and, in my last test, I pushed him and didn't let him decide where we were going. On our last test on Sunday he did not want to turn up the centre line (away from the ingate) I sat up and kicked him forward. I also did not settle for him halting before X but pushed him up because at this point it was not about the test, it was about the schooling.
be proactive and give him clear direction - I think I did better this time but there's still a lot of room for improvement.
use the warm up to get him focused and relaxed- I did but I also chickened out about cantering so I need to sort that.
make sure I have him in the outside rein- definitely better. Maybe too much (especially with my left rein). But I definitely had it in my brain and it helped with us being more accurate in our test geometry.
if things go wrong, regroup and carry on- I'm happy with how I did this with both horses but especially Quaid. Things would go bad but I was able to regroup and keep going. You can't always control what the horse does but you can control your reactions.
Me:
stay out of my head and remember that I actually do know how to ride. Repeat my mantras. I had momentary lapses of confidence. Especially with Quaid but I'm happy with how I did with this. I am a classic overthinker and can get lost in my head. I managed to not do this (at least while mounted, lol). In the warm up with Quaid on Friday I was so close to getting off but thanks to Jane I rode through. She told me that she would not have asked me to stay on if she thought I couldn't do it. I knew if I could get you to listen and follow me you would be fine. And you were.
sit up and keep my seat in the saddle. - Yay me. I did not curl up and ride defensively. When I watch my videos I sat up for the majority of the time. And when I did lean forward I fixed it.
keep the outside rein, for the love of god. - yup. Although I still can do more, especially with Carmen to get her truly through.
Breathe during the tests- Yes! I did. I made sure that breathed out as we were going around which helped keep me oxygenated.
have fun - I for sure had fun. The group at these shows are a great bunch of people. This year the organisers held a pizza reception on Saturday and it was lovely to sit and chat with everyone. I always get to spend time with Paula too which is fun.
Other thoughts:
One win for this show with Quaid was that I was able to get half-decent trot work with him. Which was a real struggle in June. I am questioning if the saddle fit is playing a role. I know that there is a definite training component but I wonder if the saddle is behind some of the recent canter issues. Either way, I've arranged for the fitter to come out next week so I can at least rule it out. He was fitted in may but he has definitely changed in shape over the past few months.
when did he get so chonky?
back in April
Assuming that the saddle is adjusted (or fine), there is still a training issue I need to figure out. It will require me to travel any more and also put on my big girl panties and ride him through his issues. Given that Carmen was way more scary this should be doable. I think that because he was so easy going at home I didn't realise that he didn't understand that him following direction was a non-negotiable. He was good because he was good. Not that he understood that he had to be good.
Bottom line is that it is just miles and experience and, if I handle it properly, he'll figure it out. There was a lot he was really good about this show:
Carmen leaving. He would call but there wasn't too much kicking
he ate his grain and hay and drank his water
when I'd take him out to graze he was relaxed and happy.
he loaded and unloaded easily
please insert cookie
Like I said above, Carmen has become a great traveller. She chills in her stall and is pretty relaxed when being ridden. Now I need to ask for more. It's not enough that she go and be relaxed. Now we need to show what she's capable of. I really enjoy riding her these days and never worry about being lawn darted. I mean, she's Carmen so it's not like she doesn't challenge me but she's safe and fun. Which is cool when I used to think that it was a good ride if she only bolted a few times.
I can't believe it's September already! The timing of the show is great for gearing up my goals for the fall. And it's without the pressure of being 'ready' for a show so that helps a lot. I'm really hoping that the drought ends soon so we can look at hacking out more.
Carmen would like you all to know that she also was at the show and that the little twerp does not get to hog all the attention. (Sorry Quaid, Carmen made me type that).
Carnen and I showed second level and, while it seems like we have been at this level forever, we at least were showing tests 2 & 3 (instead of 1 & 2). That is because we were finally able to do a counter canter serpentine. I was looking forward to riding the new test and having fun with her.
Our ride on Friday was really good and I was quite happy with how relaxed and focussed she was in the ring. There were zero spooks at any flowers, banners or invisible gremlins.
Our rides on Saturday were at 3:00 and 3:30. I was a bit tired by the afternoon and I did not want any emotions from my morning ride on Quaid to interfere.
square halt.
When I rode both tests I thought they were really good. And honestly they weren't bad but I was a bit disappointed in my scores. Fortunately, a friend videoed both rides and in looking at them I could see that the judging was actually quite fair. Because to be honest, Carmen was definitely behind the leg. I had mistaken quiet for good. And it's not like they were horrible. They were not. And 3 years ago I would have been thrilled. But they lack oomph. Carmen was giving me exactly what I asked for.
Test 2-2: Our score was 62.05. Our travers and turn on the haunches were our weak points for sure. As were our medium trots and canters. But our canters were straight instead of her haunches to the inside and our simple changes received 6.5s and 7s. Our counter canters netted us a 6.5 and 7 as well. They felt nice and controlled and not wild. Carmen listened to my half-halts. The final comments were: "lovely pair. Would like to see more thoroughness and engagement to support balance.
Of course I didn't know any of this before I rode my next test so I rode it much the same. And, while there wasn't really time to dismount and check my test before I had to ride my next one I find it a double edged sword. In the past it's caused me to ride harder but not better. So my preference is to ride and then, when I have time to digest the tests, look at them. Anyway, our score for the first time riding 2-3 was 60.95 which was not terrible. It was a mix of 6/6.5 and 7s with 4s for the turn on the haunches and our travers left. Again, when I was done the ride I was really happy by how it went. We rode the counter canter serpentine without breaking or flying around and our free walk actually got a 7. The judge's comment "willing horse. Would like to see more engagement and balance throughout.
Overall, it was a good day for Carmen even with the lacklustre scores. There was zero drama and she gave me exactly what I asked for. How could I complain?
I did talk to Jane about it and she definitely had a plan for us on Sunday. In our warm up she was riding me hard to half-halt and ride her hind end under. I was not allowed to hold and I needed to keep my seat soft. And, by god, I was to ride her forward into a receiving hand. She helped me to understand the angle needed for haunches in (spoiler alert, it was way more than I thought). It was great.
And it showed in our test. There was a lot more energy and 'throughness'. Our scores were better this time and my final score would have been a lot higher but Carmen suddenly decided that P was suspicious and so she started reacting to it. Sigh. It is the price I pay with the increased energy, she becomes more reactive. What is good is how we regroup and carry on as opposed to melting down completely. Our ToH netted us a 6 and 7 as opposed to 5 & 6. Our canter lengthen going by P was modest because she didn't want to go and then gave a spook, resulting in a 4. Our final score of 62.82 did not change much compared to Saturday but it was definitely better in parts and more forward. The judge's comment was " well matched pair. Some tension and spooking today. Would like to see more relaxation". Me too.
So there was one more test to go and then I could relax start to pack up to go home. This test was the best of the 4 (with one notable exception that I'll explain). I came in with the goal of riding forward and staying balanced. And we did. Our SI/HIs were all 7's. Our ToH got a 6.5 and 7, again way better than a 4! While our trot lengthens had the usual 6 and 'cover more ground' comment one of my canter lengthens got an honest to god 7 with the comment 'Bold!'. And it was I sat up, had the outside rein and said 'LET'S GO!'. And our transition back to a collected canter also go a 7. The other canter lengthen went from a 6 to 4 because of the spooking. And our counter canter serpentine was problematic because of Carmen's thoughts about P. In the first one she did a lovely flying change. Alas, it was not correct. In the second she broke twice. But what was good was that I simply regrouped, fixed the canter and carried on. I didn't lose my marbles over it.
Our final score was 63. 81 so 3 percentage points higher than Saturday. With the comment "fairly consistent trot tour. would like to see more balance in canter."
I was happy with Sunday and was pleased when I collected my score sheets to see improvements in the moves. The spooking is something that Carmen and I continue to work on. It is so much better but when she gets amped she gets more reactive so that is something we will work on. What I love is how willing she is and how safe she feels (yes even with the spooks). She understands her job and while she sometimes wants to negotiate some of her job description she does her best. What is cool is that she knows as well that she's been magnificent and seems to be quite proud of herself.
Last weekend I took both horses to a two day dressage show. It was a really good weekend. Full of friends and ponies and so much learning. Not all went according to plan (does it ever?) but that doesn't mean that it was a failure.
I had booked an hour slot to ride each of them in the show ring. At $5 per 30 minute slot it's a great deal. I decided to ride Quaid first because that one had only one other rider in the ring with me, where the other slot had 3/4 other horses. It turned out that we had it all to ourselves. At first he was super tense and very resistant. He was okay to walk but anything else was a flat no. I was ready to get off because he was almost rearing on me. Fortunately, Jane showed up and coached us through. What she wanted me to do was bend him a lot to the right because when his neck and shoulders were straight he could pull all sorts of shenanigans. It was bend and ride him forward. It felt like we were flying around but really, when we weren't. It was a good session and helped me to understand some things (not everything as you'll see. OOH, foreshadowing!). Jane grabbed a short video because she wanted me to see it. It's very hard to coach and film at the same time but she did well:
I honestly felt good about how we went and frustrated that this is still a problem: him not wanting to work in new places. And yes, I understand that this is not logical and he's five but I try to be super honest on this blog.
My ride on Carmen in the ring was great. She was tuned in and tried her hardest. I was really thrilled with her.
My rides on Saturday for Quaid were at 8:55 and 9:51. My plan was to start riding him at 8 to walk and warm up and then rest in between. Our warm up was good. Once again I was not pushing him forward enough. I know that at some point Jane is gonna lose it at having to say, yet again, push his hind legs up, ride him forward, he can't pull any manoeuvres if he's going forward. Fortunately, that day was not Saturday. All this to say that our warm up was really really good. Except I didn't canter before it was time to go in. whomp whomp. But, I thought, he's listening and forward and when he's like that at home the canter is easy.
When I watch the video I can see that I need to ride him more forward. I'm being too careful and trying to contain him. But I am, at least putting my leg on and our halt was lovely. You're supposed to walk a few steps and pick up the trot. I walked too many but I was trying to get him balanced and made the choice.
Our trot was tight but it was at the first canter ask that the wheels came off. Anyway here it is in all it's glory:
I gave up asking for the first canter and carried on. Which, fyi, netted me my first ever zero in a dressage test. If, while you're watching this video you want to yell at your screen 'for the love of god ride him forward' , I hear you. All I can say is that I had a lot of thoughts in my head and Quaid had a lot of feelings and I was doing the best I could in that moment. We actually got like 3 strides of canter in the second attempt. And I managed a square halt at the end.
Not surprisingly, my score was a dismal 45.77. This is, I think, my first below 50 score. Our scores ranged from 0 (two of those!) to a 7. The judge's comment was "unfortunate tension today. Keep working at building confidence and harmony'.
Of course at that point I didn't know my score, just that it was awful. I made the decision to scratch our second test because at this point I knew I was just giving him a crappy experience in the ring and I needed to change. Jane didn't even argue. So, yeah, it was a good call. I know she would have supported me if I chose to ride the second test but I needed to do some thinking.
I made a plan and discussed it with Jane and she was fine with it. I went to the show secretary and asked her if I could drop down to Intro A and B on Sunday. if the answer was no, I was going to ride one of my Training level tests but not canter. I felt that I needed for us to have a successful school in the ring. She and I discussed it and she asked the judge. By her report the judge thought that it was a great idea because she was worried about my safety in the ring. For the record, I wasn't worried about that. She agreed to come in a bit early Sunday so that I could ride Intro A before the official start time and then do B 20 minutes later.
A little aside her to say that Judges often get a bad rap for being mean, or biased or whatever. And I know that some of them probably are like that. But my experience (bar one several years ago) is that they want riders to have successful rides and try really hard to be fair. And show secretaries are responsible for keeping the show flowing and on time but they also want people to have a good experience.
All this meant that I had to get up at 5 a.m. to be ready to ride my first test at 7:20. Honest to god, this alone is enough to motivate me to move up levels. I started my warm up alone in the warm up ring and that was good for me. It allowed me to get my head level and think about moving him out and forward. Then Jane came and redefined 'forward' for me. One thing that Quaid has a tendency to do is to get tight, flail his front legs faster then his hinds which are out behind. It's been a real learning curve for me to get his front to slow up a bit and his hind under without holding and kicking. But all that aside it was a really good warm up and I felt ready when we went in.
I had Tanya read for me because I hadn't memorised those tests. As you can see he's tight but I'm doing better ar riding him forward than I did on Saturday. At our first trot circle at A he broke to canter and I was like seriously? In the video you can see him also thinking about exiting at A and when I stop him he kicked out. Our ride across the diagonal was pretty much free-form and squiggly but I kept him between my legs and we straightened out before the end.
At our second trot circle he broke again but this was more of a spook and not wanting to go to the corner. I put my leg on and asked him to trot quietly. It all worked out and I was happy. Here's the video:
I rode a lot better in this one. And yes, I know, I can still go more forward. It's a process, lol. Our scores ranged from 4-7 (no zeros, yay!). Our final score was 60.31 and the judge's comment was nice "Unfortunate tension today, Rider handled it well". I got a 7 for my position which was nice.
We walked back into the warm up and did some walk and trot until it was our turn to go again. Quaid was kind of done by now but I was not and so in we went. This time I did much better job of sending him forward. He became wiggly down the centre line and I just kept contact and leg and sorted him out. Our circle at E was actually pretty good and you can see how nice he looks when he steps under. I even gave him some rein at our free walk.
He wanted to scoot at the corner at M but I was like nope and put my leg on and rode him straight. I think if I hadn't there'd have been a lot more drama. You can see at the middle circle that he's thinking of doing all sorts of things. When I went to turn up the centre line he didn't want to and I, finally, had enough, and gave him a boot and growled at him. He halted early and I made him walk to X and then halt. So we ended okay.
Our final score was 58.75 and the comment was 'some bottled up energy today. Keep working at creating steadiness and harmony." Yup.
I was glad that I had dropped down. I think it was just what we needed. I have a lot that I learned with Quaid this weekend but that will be a separate post as I need to sort out my thoughts. I also know that Jane has some too. It feels to me that he really needs to learn to listen and work even when he's not feeling it. Which is part of growing up. And I definitely need to move him out.
Let me finish by saying that I am not upset, frustrated or angry about how the show went with him. None of this is malicious and fortunately, none of my goals had to do with ribbon colour. Not that I didn't have moments of feeling uncertain or flustered. I sure did. But they were just that, moments. Also, if, on watching these videos you feel the need to pick me all apart or @ me, don't. I share these because I've always been honest in this blog about the good, the bad and the ugly. I'm an AA doing her best and trying to improve.
At one point I joked that he was for sale for $10. This started a (joking) bidding war all weekend which ended at $60 and a pack of gum. But in the end I kept him. I still love this horse and I know we have a great future.
This week has been busy with a mix of schooling and getting organised for the show. It seemed like yesterday that it was weeks away. But time marches on and all of sudden ride times are getting emailed.
It's been an interesting week with Quaid. He's been a little challenging earlier this week. On Sunday he was fixated on Carmen and what she was doing out in the field. For the record Carmen was just moseying around living her best life and couldn't have cared less about Quaid. At one point we were cantering a circle and he was counter bent. I asked him to bend to the inside and he got pissy and kicked out. I probably held the aid too long but anyway he hooked his leg over the bottom tape and pulled it out. Which freaked him out. I got him stopped but had to dismount to put it back. I was irritated and felt like I shouldn't ride but didn't want to stop. So I popped him on the lunge and worked him until his focus was totally on me. Then I got back on and worked him at WTC until he was soft and tuned in. It felt like a breakthrough.
pony can trot nice when he wants to
Then I rode him Tuesday and he was really up. The work was going really well until he threw a few spooks, one of which almost got me off. I realised that I wasn't being consistent with my outside rein. He as also being really reactive about going to a certain spot of the ring. So I had to work on riding him forward, keeping my outside rein and having the expectation that he can definitely go to that spot without freaking out. It was good work and we ended on a good note.
Today, butter wouldn't melt in his mouth. Everything was yes ma'am, no ma'am but in a good, tuned in way. I've added two new mantras to my collection:
I sit up when I ride
I ride with an outside rein
Carmen continues to be nearly perfect. I had a lesson on Saturday and it was so good. Even though, through a miscommunication, I got on her way too early and ended up riding her for 90 minutes. Fortunately she's fit. It really neat riding her and feeling things click together. It's requiring me to up my riding and be more refined with my aids. I'm loving it.
I'm having so much fun
Which brings me to the show. I'm showing Carmen 2nd level 2 & 3 and Quaid training 1 & 2. It's easy to get caught up in the whole show thing and lose sight of what's important. So I've thought about my goals for the show:
Carmen:
keep her stepping under and into a recieving hand
straightness and rhythm
warm up to get her supple and on the aids
Quaid:
ride him forward
be proactive and give him clear direction
use the warm up to get him focused and relaxed
make sure I have him in the outside rein
if things go wrong, regroup and carry on
Me:
stay out of my head and remember that I actually do know how to ride. Repeat my mantras
sit up and keep my seat in the saddle.
keep the outside rein, for the love of god.
Breathe during the tests
have fun
So if I meet all of these then the showing part should be a piece of cake, lol.
In my last post about Quaid I was writing about how I've started to 'test' him on things. Really, the idea is to expose him to things that are unexpected and/or worrying and showing him how to work through it.
It started with me not following the same routine every time I ride but mixing it up. From there I moved on to adding some strange things around the ring. I pulled don the principles I learned with the TRT Method. The idea is to introduce small things and show the horse how to be relaxed around them. It's not about throwing all the things at once (flooding). This just results in a horse that shuts down and that is not safe on any level. Because at some point there will always be something scary enough to pierce through the shell.
I brought up an old horse blanket and threw it over the railing. The first time I put it there he was really snorty about it. I started with lunging and ground work. The idea was to get him to focus on me and to learn that the blanket is just there and, even when if flaps in the wind, we have the tools to deal.
this is suspicious
Once he seemed okay I mounted and began my ride. My goal was to keep him focussed on my asks and for me to completely ignore the blanket. It was fine if he acknowledged it but I wasn't going to make it a thing. I learned that the hard way with Carmen. She would worry about something, then I would worry about it too because of how she'd react. Then we were both really worried about it and, surprisingly, it became even more of a thing.
It really didn't take long for him to be fine with it. Then every so many days I'd move it. It was interesting, because the first time I moved it he went right past it without a blink but on the other side of the ring he was really worried. I simply used the 10 metre circle, nose-follows-the-toes exercises Jane taught us. In minutes he was like, okay, I'm fine.
I love this because he has complete freedom to leave but chooses to stay.
The first time I rode Carmen she looked at it and was like oh, this again. (I did this a lot with her) and totally ignored it.
Then last week I had a lesson with Jane. We moved the blanket to hang over the cavalettis outside the ring so her dog, Dottie, could have shade. Dottie, of course, totally ignored it. But so did Quaid. It was a great lesson. Jane really honed in on my elbows and pushing him to step under without flailing the front legs.
Here's some of our trot work. I was really happy with how much better we're getting:
My leaning is getting better. So, yay. He did give one spook (not at the blanket) and we just regrouped and carried on. Again it was not made to be a thing, just a blip and we carried on. We did a lot of canter. With me sitting up more I am so much more balanced at the canter even when he's not. I did struggle a bit with the sitting trot right before the canter. I tended to tighten my seat which resulted in him dropping to walk. whomp. What can I say? Riding is hard.
trying to not burn out on the corner, but not pull, while sitting up and staying balanced.
Like I said the lesson was fantastic. Good progress and some homework.
Interestingly, the next time I rode Quaid (after a day off) he was really worried about the blanket (I had left it on the cavellettis). He started to do the prop to a halt and try to duck away. Instead of being disappointed, I welcomed the opportunity to work on this at home. I sat up, encouraged him to bend and go forward.
Quaid: oh my god, it's a monster, we must flee
Me: it's fine. Hey, we lost bend, let's fix it.
Quaid: HOW DO YOU NOT SEE THAT?
Me: Hey buddy we need some flexion and to trot forward.
Quaid: nope, nope, nope.
Me: we can do it.
Quaid: *gulp* okay, I'll try
Me: you are the bravest pony that ever was
Quaid: I am aren't I?
Today I rode him and it was totally not a thing. Which was funny because yesterday Carmen was pretty convinced it was a big thing and she wasn't having it. But I just did the same thing with probably higher expectations, because, come on.
Next weekend we have our second show. Like before we have the skills we need to lay a solid test. But even more importantly, we have some new things in our tool belt. Or should I say some 'not-things'.
Either way we'll go and deal and it will be a great learning experience. Because learning to be brave is a series of small steps and building confidence.
I realise that the blog has been a bit heavy on the Quaid side of things. Not that I'm choosing favourites, it's just felt like he has a lot more going on while Carmen has been just been super steady and fun.
I had a lesson last Sunday and it was Carmen's turn. In an ideal world I'd have a lesson on both of them each week (assuming that there's room in the day) but, alas, the bank account is not bottomless so I alternate.
I'm going to apologise for the media showing Carmen being really dirty. Normally I'd give her a quick wash before the lesson but we are in the middle of a bad drought and conserving water. I save the water now for the post ride rinse.
the grass is pretty dead so I've been putting out hay
I had Carmen groomed and tacked up about 15 minutes before the lesson was to start. This gives me time for setting up my Pivo and warming her up. Carmen has been a ton of fun to ride these days. We get on, warm up, go to work and are done. There's little to no drama and when there is drama it's pretty short lived. I've been playing with a new thing on my warm up which is to keep the reins loopy/no contact and let her walk while I work on regulating the pace and steering with my seat. It's getting better and I love that while she could take full advantage of this she chooses not to. I'm not crazy though, if she feels really explosive I will pick up the reins. Here's a short video: You'll see that I do pick up a rein if I need it but drop it right after.
It makes me feel closer to my dream of riding with just a neck rope. And, even if I never get there, it's way better than the feeling that I had to have total control otherwise everything dissolved into chaos.
We had a nice flow going when Jane showed up to begin the lesson. It was one of those nit-picky, detail oriented lessons that I love. Jane has been working on me learning to push the hind legs under but not allow the pace to speed up. Honestly, it's hard. Carmen's response to go faster makes total sense and I don't want to fall into the crank and spank error. That will piss her off in a hurry (and rightly so).
The lesson was awesome. Carmen was right there trying her heart out and any errors were because of miscommunication or her doing what worked in the past. At the walk we worked on rhythm and alignment. Carmen really wants to look outside the ring and I've been guilty of not being insistent enough for the inside flexion.
We worked on some halt-walk-halt transitions without letting her change the flexion and throw her head up. It required a half-halt in the transition, not a hold nor a giving away the rein.
Then we went to some trot work.
warming up, not quite tracking up but I'm really happy with my alignment and hers.
I've been working on a soft seat and it's really starting to pay off. I am noticing sooner when I tighten through my pelvis/thigh/knee but I'm not yet solid to prevent it.
Carmen: trit-trot
I do like this moment, she's stepping under, her nose is in front of the vertical, her forehand looks light and I'm looking where we're going
Jane pointed out that she's going really well and I'm riding so much better. I agree and it's become a total feedback loop. The better I ride, the better she goes and the better she goes the better I ride. It's such a cool feeling to find my seat solid in the saddle and not flopping. Her rhythm is so much better. Whenever Jane would remind me to soften my groin, she would immediately soften too. It was neat to see/feel.
We finished up with some canter work. Unfortunately, my phone ran out of storage so the Pivo quit videoing. It's so annoying to not have video of it because it was really good. We started on the right lead, which has been our nemesis in the past. But it's so much more balanced now. I've been doing a lot of canter in our schooling, playing with transitions along the long side and it's really paying off. As is her responding to my seat to lengthen and shorten her stride. Jane was super impressed with the improvement in her canter.
She pointed out that she did not have to get after me to let go of the inside rein (yay!). We did some counter canter serpentines (right lead canter circle at one end, ride the middle loop in counter canter (a left circle) and back to right circle. Then I had to a full circle of counter canter. It was hard. A few times she dropped out of canter and switched leads. But it was because I wasn't cuing her. Instead, I became passive and Carmen was 'okay, this is wrong, I'm just gonna fix it, 'kay? There, that's better'. But when I kept my outside leg on she was able to do it. We finished with some left lead canter and counter canter and it was exactly the same issues (me), but honestly it was such good work.
The whole lesson was fantastic.
Jane 'it was the best I've seen you ride'
Me 'but that was last week'
Jane: "I know. And you're better again'.
I mean I know I'm riding better. I can feel it and my horses are going better. My homework is to continue to work on flexion and lateral suppleness, riding with my seat and balancing her. I'm going to end this post with a cute video from our trot work. I love how rhythmical it's become. Near the end Jane tells me to soften my seat and when I do Carmen completely half-halts and then stops. Jane laughs and says now we know what was tight! and I call Carmen a snitch (but laughing). See how pleased with herself she looks.
If you read my last post I realised that I needed to be more consistent in my contact, ride less defensively and create opportunities for Quaid to be tested. And by that, Jane meant that he needed to learn how to deal with different things and maintain his emotional equilibrium.
In the past I'd have been tempted to throw all but the kitchen sink (well maybe also the kitchen sink) at him and probably definitely overwhelm him. But that just results in either a wreck or a shut down horse. Quaid is quite sensitive. He also really wants to please but sometimes it all gets a bit much. And I'm guilty of babying him through that and not helping him find his own balance. Then I take him off property and expect him to be fine. Like I always say 'hope is not a strategy'.
That look you get when your had 3 intense days and they see you come out with a halter. Also, it's so dry here. We're having some serious drought conditions. It's awful.
I gave us all Monday off after the clinic but Tuesday I was excited to get back at it. Since it's been so hot I've just been riding one horse a day in the morning. This is working so far. I decided that it was Quaid's turn. Normally I have a set routine that I follow every time I ride him. I tack him up, we do groundwork, I put on his bridle and we ride. And there's nothing wrong with that routine. But it's not one I can follow when I'm away. So this time I put on his bridle, walked him around the ring and hopped on. I had his halter and lunge line if I needed. But I didn't need it. So I've been doing that in our rides since.
In my rides I've been focusing on maintaining a consistent contact no matter where his head is. It takes a lot of awareness. I was also paying a lot of attention to sitting on my seat and not leaning forward. I basically was scrolling through a repeating checklist while I rode: body aligned, elbows following and keeping contact, horse walking forward.
As the week progressed I became much more aware of when I tipped forward. In the past I might have thought '''yeah but that's not the most important thing right now" . Now I know it is. I made up this little rhyme for myself: head and shoulders, nose and toes. Which for me meant: am I aligned (head and shoulders over pelvis) and is Quaid aligned (is his toes following his nose)? One thing I noticed on my lesson video at home was that he began to say no at the 30 minute mark. In my rides at home when he first began to say no I looked at my watch and saw it was 31 minutes. Same for the next ride. Interesting.... Instead of stopping like I normally would with the thought that he'd had enough, I asked him to keep going forward. When he was forward and soft, then I stopped.
I rode Quaid on Saturday and it was quite windy. He was feeling a lot more 'up'. It was breezy and Carmen was in heat. I do notice that he's much more attached to her when she's in heat (not that I've seen any shenanigans thank god). Anyway he was being spooky at the blowing trees and reluctant to go forward. After a couple big spooks I began to feel quite vulnerable and my frustration was rising. then I stopped and took a breath. I reminded myself that wasn't being like this to get me. He was feeling more frazzled and he needed me to show him how to go and not just get irritated. So I went back to what we've been doing. Riding forward, being aligned, soft but there with my hands. And I felt it working. He began to tune to me. Not usually I wouldn't canter on these sort of rides. But he felt better so I put us on a 20 m circle and we worked on canter-trot-canter transitions. And do you know what ? they were fine.
It felt like things were coming together. Jane was coming on Sunday to the area to teach and I signed myself up for a lesson. Paulina needed an early morning ride so decided to haul to my place (I'm usually one of the early stops). Then Tanya asked if she could come too. This is great I thought. I was planning to ride Quaid anyway and have Jane help me to do various tests with him so I can make sure I'm not just letting him set the tone. I also know that Carmen, who normally does not care when I take him out, cares very much when there are other horses around. I figured the ruckus of having horses coming and going and Carmen being Carmen would be a perfect test.
And I was right. Paulina came and rode first. While she was riding Tanya came and unloaded. Neither of them really reacted to the horses coming. I brought in Quaid to tack up because we were after Paulina and before Tanya. I did exactly what I'd been doing all week: saddle, bridle, walk up and get organised. Carmen was pitching her fit. Paulina took her horse away while I was getting organised. I led him up to the mounting block and got on.
And do you know what? He kept his focus with me. A few times he'd look to Carmen or at something else. But he came right back when asked.
head, shoulders, nose and toes
Do you know what was even better? Jane never once had to tell me to sit up. I mean she had to tell me lots of other things but not that. So it's win for me. I'm still letting my elbows move too much. I honestly couldn't tell when she was after me about it. But when I watched the video I could see it. It's subtle, not a huge amount but enough to bug his mouth. Sigh. Riding is hard.
I also need to figure out how to ask him to step under more without letting him get faster. But it's coming. I overheard Jane say at one point 'my god he's a nice horse'.
he really is nice. Unfortunately his breeder isn't selling any of her young horses right now. Otherwise I'd send everyone there.
We did some canter work and it wasn't bad. I really have to focus on sitting up and following with my seat instead of getting all grabby with my thighs and hands. But it's so much better. And he's responding to it too. Here's a short video from our ride. I'll apologise ahead of time because my pivo was getting confused and stopped following me for a bit. But it comes back.
Not every moment was great. Or even good. Case in point, here's when I asked for a transition to trot:
lol, at least I'm not falling on his neck....
But right after he came back and went into a lovely trot.
We did about 45 minutes and Jane said that was enough. I was talking to her and asking some questions when Tanya came in. Instead of dismounting, I decided to see if I could get him to work and focus back on me so I asked him to walk some 10 metre circles, switch directions etc. And he would look, get distracted and then go 'oh right, sorry. ' which is so much better then before when he'd say 'stop bugging me. I can't possibly listen to you in these conditions'.
Jane was super impressed. So was I. I was texting Jane later to thank her and she said 'I was just about to say how great you both were. I'm starting to push you guys more....it's hard not to push when it's sitting right there'. (she was referring to me, Paulina and Tanya who also had amazing lessons). Then I had to laugh because she texted 'notice how he was no flail Quail today'.
Indeed. It's coming. I'm not so foolish as to think that I've solved all our issues in 4 rides. But it's a good start. I want to haul back to Krista's and ride him again so work on it.
I also had Quaid signed up for the 3 day clinic. I was really looking forward to working with him and moving forward.
I rode him first on Friday because the weather was supposed to get hotter as the day went on and he's not a fan of the heat. It was a really good lesson. Jane had us riding forward to contact and staying upright and balanced. My tendency is to curl forward. I've had that flaw forever. As soon as I feel the least bit of unbalance I want to drop my shoulders forward and curl. But it's getting better.
upright(ish)
Jane had us canter pretty early in the ride and it was a bit zoomy but not too bad.
Quaid: I go fast! Eat my dust!
In the past I would be grabby and unbalanced. While I was not perfect by any stretch of any imagination, I wasn't in imminent danger of falling off. And it got a lot better.
better trot
I'm still leaning but at least my seat is following.
At about 30 minutes into the ride he began to spook at the far corner.
Quaid: na- uh
Quaid: also nope
Jane had me sit up and quietly ride him through. The first couple minutes he actually backed up. the aim was to sit up, put my leg on (quietly but firmly) and encourage him forward without giving away or grabbing contact. After a bit we worked through it and had some lovely work at the end.
Overall I was really pleased with him and our lesson.
On Saturday I rode him in the afternoon. He was restless going down to the ring but stood fine outside. When I brought him we walked around the rail for a bit and then I started to the mounting block. When I went to line him up for mounting he nipped me! I was pissed. Biting is a non-negotiable for me. I gave him a couple good whacks with my crop immediately and then stood there getting my breathing and adrenaline back. It was the first time he's ever down that. Given that he's a gelding and young I had been expecting it earlier in the year. But when I never happened I stopped worrying about it.
Anyway, I got on and he stood just fine at the block. We walked off and he was obviously tense but listening. Jane was immediately on me to sit with my butt in the saddle and a following hand.
Things were going well and then Jane asked us to trot. The hamster came off the wheel pretty quickly. We'd get a bit of nice trot and then he'd throw his body around or refuse to go away from the in gate. And I really do think it's an in gate problem. Even though I never ever rest by the gate or get off there. Like ever.
I was struggling with leaning forward. Although, when I look at the video I can see how much better I am. Even 4 months ago, with how tight and fling-y he was being with his legs I'd have been up on his ears.
Quaid: no!
Quaid: I want to talk to my union steward
When I look at the video I can see how well he steps under with his hind and his reach with his front is amazing. He also piaffed a little. I was really struggling on how to ride this. I even said to Jane "I think I'm ruining my horse". She said "look at me. YOU ARE NOT RUINING YOUR HORSE."
In the end she settled us into an exercise of small circles, keeping his body bent and his legs on the same track as the circle. She called it 'making his toes follow his nose'. He would bend but still travel in a straight line. But when I added the outside rein and leg he would turn nicely. This work settled us both really nicely. It gave us a safe exercise to work from. A few times he'd plant his front leg and pivot around it (like how horse?). But was a good exercise. I even trottted him on it, although every time we'd move away from the gate he'd break and throw his shoulders a bit.
Here's a semi- short video if you're interested:
I have to say she was so supportive through the whole thing. Giving me directions, praise when I did it correctly, encouragement when I looked overwhelmed. I don't think I could have ridden through it all without her. I was disappointed because it seemed like every time I take him somewhere he was worse instead of better. I realised I needed more help and I asked Jane if she would ride him on Sunday. She thought about it and agreed.
I have zero issue with swallowing my ego and letting someone with more skill help me through a patch. I think as horse people we need to know when we've reached the end of our knowledge and skill and seek others.
Anyway, Jane rode Quaid on Sunday and it was eye-opening. I'm not going to share photos or videos because it's one thing for me to post myself but it's not fair to expose someone else to the internet trolls. But here is what I saw and what Jane explained to me:
he needs a following hand all the time. Keeping the rein shorter and shoulders relaxed allowed her to keep a steady feel when he was in front, on and behind the vertical. In other words he could yank the reins out of her hand or duck behind contact. It was just there, talking to him all the time.
Her seat stayed steady and her legs on while she rode. But not tight. She encouraged him forward. When he gets chaotic I cannot let myself join that. Instead she was the calm centre that he could return to.
She knew what level of forward she wanted and she asked for it. She didn't let him decide how fast or forward he'd go.
When he fell all apart she would bring him back and put him right back up. Jane said that she's thinking he's learned this as a way to make the work back off. And I think she's right, when he would get upset I'd stop and let him relax. Which was fine but not if he does it in order to stop (this makes sense in my head).
She kept her aids simple and clear. There was no fuzziness. We walk or we trot or we halt. She even did a walk pirouette and he was just like 'okay'.
Watching him I was struck by how adult and handsome he's become. There's been a huge change in his body, especially his neck. He's also a lovely mover. I mean, like, I knew that but then I saw it and went 'oooh'. Tanya tells me that I can't call him a baby genius anymore. Because he's not a baby. How about evil genius? I quipped.
Jane told me that, because he's been so good at home, I haven't been testing him enough so he can learn to deal with distractions and new places. He's fine because he feels fine. He doesn't know how to be fine even when he's not feeling it. Carmen was a lot more obvious so I made the mistake of thinking he's just fine all the time. And she shared all this without making me feel stupid or incompetent. Which is a talent.
I definitely learned a lot last weekend. About myself and my horses. And I came away armed with a training plan. And I do love a good plan.
