The positive show experience really boosted my confidence that I was on the right track. And that I was making progress in small steps.
The next weekend was our wedding anniversary and Ed and I went away for a weekend break. We rented a small cottage on the ocean with a hot tub and a sauna. It was lovely to get away and unplug for a couple nights. The first night we went out to dinner and the second we cooked at the cottage.
We went to Carter's beach for a few hours
I came back feeling rejuvenated and ready to get back to things. The weather has been lovely and I've been able to ride every day. I've been continuing with the paying attention to the small things and not letting it slide.
And wow it's working. Quaid and I are cantering all over the place. His balance is really improving. I've been also focusing on half-halts. We walk-halt-walk-halt-walk-almost halt- walk on. Rinse, repeat. And then trying it at the canter. At first it was all very confusing to him and we had a lot of breaking into a fast trot and head flinging. But we found our groove. Not that it's perfect. But it's progress.
true for all the disciplines I think
What I like is how easily he picks up the canter now and I'm sitting much better. And when it falls apart we regroup and get back to it.
enjoying some pre-ride scritches
Carmen is also doing really well and she's down 90 pounds! I haven't had to a use a grazing muzzle which is great. Being able to exercise her helps a lot. We're back to normal work and she feels great. There's much more push in her stride. I realised how much I missed riding her. I also realised that time is ticking by and I have no idea how she'll be next year. So I signed us up to do a Freestyle in the show in September. I've noodled with the idea off and on but always bailed. Now I'm buckling down.
And choreographing a freestyle is hard you guys. I measured out the timing of the music and asked Chat CPT to design one for me with the timing of X minutes trot/walk/canter. I figured I could take it and edit it. Turns out that AI has zero idea how to design a freestyle. It was not just objectively bad, it was impossible. Like it thought that C was on the sides and put in a half-pass (which is illegal at our level) from C to C. It was kind of funny.
In our rides we warm up and then I play the music and try out various configurations. Carmen has started to recognise the music and the transitions. Either way it will be a lot of fun.
I'm hoping that we'll have a lesson this weekend. I want Jane to see where we are. It feels like a good place.
In my last post I wrote about taking Quaid to a clinic at a location he'd been to many times before. And it did not go well. But I learned a ton and was quite motivated to solve this issue. The next week I took him to Krista's to lesson (I took both of them actually). I was thinking that we could move forward with things. Quaid had other ideas. The first few minutes things were going well and he was flowing forward. Until he wasn't. Jane had us going forward and even cantering. The idea was that shenanigans did not equal getting out of work. At one point Quaid was a total ball of chaos underneath of me and Jane told me to canter. I may or may not have sworn at that idea, lol. Anyway it was a sweaty ride but I felt like I had stayed calm and on task.
The next week I really paid attention in my rides to the small resistances. Things that I usually would dismiss as unimportant. But I was wondering if these weren't unimportant to Quaid and I was sending the message that it was okay to not listen to me. And when he was ramped up that I would not accept his big resistances was, to him, inconsistent. The plan was to pay attention and to, not punish, but to insist. So when he was lagging at the walk or not bending I would insist. And it seemed to be working. He was feeling more responsive and tuned in. One day I even rode him to the gate, dropped it from his back and rode down to the barn. And he was unfazed by it.
I had a lesson with Jane at home on Sunday and it was really really good. She was honing in on getting him bending off the inside leg and flowing forward. When he was bending he would be using his hind end and could not pull any shenanigans. I could feel him lifting his back and pushing from behind. We even did 10m canter circles.
And the timing was good because the I had signed up for a small show. I had done it after the clinic as part of the plan to get him used to going to places and working. I had heard that it was laid back show and it was pretty inexpensive. As we got closer to the date I had some serious doubts. But I reminded myself that the only way to learn to do the thing and was to do the thing. And I figured at the very least it would be a schooling session. I had signed up for Intro A & B which was early in the morning.
I got up at 5:30, had coffee and breakfast, braided Quaid and loaded him on the trailer. My friend Paula met me there. The venue was a large open field. On one side was a line of dense trees. The dressage ring was beside that. Next to it was a grass warm up ring, then a tent, then a sand ring and a barn. The trailers were all parked along the back. In other words there was a lot to look at: horses, people, tents, trailers, chairs, etc.
I got walked him around and let him look at all the things. Then I tacked him up and rode him to the sand ring. I began with what we had done in our lesson. Small circles with bending. And I could feel him go 'oh yeah! I know this'. I was quite happy. We had a little moment where he stiffened and tried to go sideways but I was able to ride him out of it.
We then moved to the grass ring because that's where all the horses were. And it was closer to the dressage ring. He was a bit distracted but I kept to the plan. I rode the horse I had and asked him to step under and tune in. There was a horse that came in that was quite ramped up. He was being quite lively.
Quaid: OMG what's happening?! Is it a bear? Do we run?
Me: you don't need to worry about that at all. We just need to be doing our circles. What's happening over there is not our business.
Quaid: phew. Okay.
I then went over to wait our turn for our first test. Before I had us at 50/50 getting in the ring. Now I was feeling more optimistic.
waiting our turn
When it was our turn I walked him up the long side and up to the trailer where the judge and scribe were sitting. For many horses it's a spooky thing. And when we walked up he was really surprised to see people there. I stood him there and chatted with him while he settled. The judge and scribe were great and talked to him too.
Quaid: wait, so people can go in trailers? How come you never ride with us?
Me: because I am driving.
Quaid: maybe the male servant could drive next time.
Soon enough the bell rang and we went in. It's a pretty simple test and, spoiler, it went really well. He was tuned into me and ignored everything. He as tight and had some questions but he totally listened to me. Not once did he say 'no'. I was so happy with him when we were done.
a little tight but definitely listening
Originally my rides were over an hour apart but when I arrived I was told that some people hadn't come and the schedule was changed. But not how it changed. So when I cam out there and the next horse went in and there was just one horse waiting I decided to go after her and be done. I stood with Quaid and, when he got restless I would walk him and then ask him to stand again.
We went in again and I could tell he was thinking 'hey, didn't we just do this? Oh look those people are still sitting in the trailer, why haven't they left yet? I never need to wait that long when you drive'.
I went in with more confidence and it really paid off. He was fabulous!
like look at us!
It was a really good test. I was thrilled. Here it is if you want to see it:
What I see is how we're having a conversation. It's not him saying 'no' and me saying 'you must'. Instead I'm guiding and asking and he's trying his heart out. He's not looking at the blowing trees or worried about the other horses or the trailer. I was so happy.
square halt! Quaid: was I good? Did we win?
I took him back to the trailer and untacked him. I had made a lunch for Paula and I and we had a sandwich while Quaid grazed by the trailer. After eating I told Paula that I was going to the bathroom and then loading him up. You should pick up your tests too she said. Oh right! I had totally forgotten that I had actual scores. But when I went to the office they weren't ready and they said it was going to be a while. So I texted Tanya who was coming to show late afternoon to pick them up for me. But I did buy two delicious cinnamon buns from the canteen for Paula and I.
I loaded Quaid and we were home by 1:30. I turned him out and thought about the experience. I believe that the openness helped us. He's used to being ridden outside. And the other horses were, perhaps, a comfort rather than a distraction. Not gonna lie, my first thought was that if I came off he'd be gone. But it never even felt like a possibility. I also think that my warm up picking up just from the lesson and asking him to follow that pattern was a help. He never had time to be distracted or make his own decisions. I think my paying attention to any small resistances in our warm up really made a difference.
Later that day Tanya text me that I had good scores and came second in both classes. Which was a shock because the classes were really big. But it was nice, even though I felt like I had already won.
