Generalization

 Back when I was studying to be a Speech Language Pathologist we learned the concept of generalisation: the ability of an individual to apply something learned in different situations and settings. It promotes independence and adaptability. 

This applies to horse training as well. At home Quaid is doing incredibly well. He's a solid horse with a lot of try. But the proof is whether we can do the things we working on: WTC, rating his speed, steering and focus in other settings.  For example, he's quite good at ground tying in the ring but not in the barn. I've started working on that and it's coming. But he'd much rather explore the barn. 

Quaid: standing is boring

We have a show this weekend. It's the first one of the year. I wanted to get him off property before we went so I arranged to travel to Krista's for a lesson with Jane. It's not a totally new place, he was there last year for a clinic. To be 100% honest I was a little worried. I was leaving Carmen behind but I wanted to test that as well. I got everything ready and asked him to get on the trailer. He walked on by himself but needed some encouragement to take the last two steps. I got there about 90 minutes before our lesson. I put him in the stall. 

I walked him around and was happy to see that he wasn't a nervous wreck. Just more on edge. 

he approved of the grass

When it was time for our lesson I was able to bring him in to do some ground work. The wind was high and the canvas ring was flapping a bit.  It was definitely unnerving but he did well to focus on me. I then mounted. I wish I had some footage but I messed up and decided otherwise just get to the lesson rather than fuss with it.  

Not gonna lie, it was a really tough lesson. Quaid was nervous and uncertain and I was tense and worried. Not the best combination. Jane, however, was great. She kept telling me to put my butt in the saddle and ride. You are a good rider. You need to ride like it!  I was really struggling though.  Riding is hard but the mental part is the hardest part of it. The physical is, by comparison, easy.  He was a speeding up and slowing down and getting pissy when I tried to rate his speed. My tension was not helping either.  

At one point she asked me to canter and it was terrible. Bouncy, zero steering feeling really precarious. I rode like I'd never sat on a horse in my life.  I brought him to a halt and Jane said 'you decided that you were coming off and gave up.  I looked at her. Absolutely. I said.  She laughed. I think she was expecting me to argue, possibly blame Quaid. But she was right. I went into full self-defence mode.  

That seemed to break something loose and I was able to, finally, buckle down and ride the damn horse. And when I did things got better.  I was able to follow instructions and get back to work. Jane said that at the end it was good. She was firm that I need to be stable to help him find his balance. Which is true. And hard. But anyway we got it done and it was a valuable lesson. I might have thought that Quaid needed practice off property but clearly so did I. 

I put him back in his stall and loaded my stuff back in the trailer. When I went to load him he refused to self load. I was at the end of my stamina by then so I walked him on and tied him. Fortunately, he followed me easily and did not pull against the tie.  We made it home and I hosed him off before letting him out in the field.  

I was going between being frustrated with myself and recognising all the positive things.  

I gave him the next day off and rode him on Tuesday. He was not happy and the things I thought had been solid at home were definitely not.  The canter wheels had totally fallen off the bus.  I decided that this was a great opportunity to work on making what I thought was solid, truly solid. Because clearly it was not.  It was a difficult ride again. But rather than give in to my nerves or be frustrated I took what Jane had taught me and put it to work.   I refused to hide from the canter work.  Even when it sucked. Especially when it sucked. I did my damndest to sit up and ride him forward.  I rested when he gave me a good try.  

I just love teal on him. 

I was bit worried about the show after that ride. I texted my friend, Tanya, that we no longer had a canter and the show was going to be GREAT (sarcasm font).  But she told me to get a hold of myself.  So I did. 

Today I decided to ride Carmen first. I figured that if my rides on Quaid were going to be hard then it didn't matter and Carmen would give me the chance to work on keeping my seat in the saddle and not tensing my thighs.  Whether it was the weather (warm and sunny vs cold and windy the day before) or the hard work I did or the stars aligned but I had my horse back.  Early in the ride he picked up a canter by accident and I just rolled with it. and it was fine. We had a great schooling session of him listening and me supporting. It was nice to feel us jell again. 

Tomorrow both horses are off while I pack. We leave Friday and come back Sunday. I don't know how it will go there.  But my goals are not to win any red ribbons. It's to support and ride my horse while keeping my eye on the real prize: being a team. 

Out and About

 After the clinic and all the work we've been doing I've been really wanting to get out and hack at Coveside. It's such a beautiful location and riding there is good for the soul.  My worry was leaving one horse behind. But I've been doing a lot of work on separating them so I figured I could take Quaid and leave Carmen for the first time. I've also thought about riding one and ponying the other. 

Anyway, before I could reach out to Tanya to see if she wanted to go Julia messaged me that she was home for a visit. So before you could say 'wait, what?' I arranged for all of us to go to Coveside for a ride on the Monday after the clinic. 

We trailered there pretty easily and pulled in at the same time.  I tied Quaid to the trailer and had Carmen ground tied. I was pretty impressed with how quiet he stood in the parking lot. It was busy, there were side by sides, tractors and large equipment moving around. 

Quaid: this is fine

Carmen: does anyone even care that I'm not secured? 

We mounted up and headed off. We decided to go the longer way to the trail to avoid having to go by the large excavator doing some digging.  This meant that we rode by the paddocks and the horses got a little excited. There was also a donkey who was wondering who the heck we were. But everyone walked by with some tension but no shenanigans. 

Tanya took the lead and Suzi was excited. Carmen was pretty cool about the whole thing. Last time I rode Quaid here (last year) he was pretty excited and took a lot of half-halts (that he resented). This time he was much more mature. Still worried a bit but not fussing with the bit or getting annoyed that I kept his pace calm. 

Tanya slightly more excited than Suzi, lol

The nice thing about Coveside is that there are ton of trails but it's completely fenced around the perimeter so, while you can get lost, you can't get lost lost.  

I love walking in the woods. Riding in them is even better.  Suzi was really striding out, Carmen slightly and Quaid was being a little short strides and then trotted to catch up. I let him because, at some point, I do want to trot these. We did a lot of hills. Some of them were quite steep. I was impressed with how he dropped his head and just powered up. Carmen was the same. 

We skirted some fields and walked over bridges and by some buildings and rocks. He looked at everything but was good about going by.  Carmen, as always was completely chill about all of it. 

Now before you start thinking 'my goodness that Quaid is a perfect horse. I'm gonna steal him'. He had a pretty baby moment. About 2/3 into the ride we decided to put Carmen in front and Suzi behind Quaid. Carmen went from total relaxation to more alert. Julia said it was like she realised that she was now in charge and had to be vigilant. She still was fine.  But Quaid was not happy about Suzi being behind him. But not greatly unhappy, just aware and a little annoyed if she got too close. I should have paid more attention to this because he suddenly gave a big buck.  At least I thought it was a buck. Turned out he kicked Suzi!  I was appalled. Fortunately, Suzi was okay. We moved them around again so it wouldn't happen again. In retrospect I realised that he doesn't yet know that he can't work on herd dynamics when being ridden.   More on that later. 

Other than that one incident, it was a good ride. We rode for about an hour and did 5.7 km. Not bad. After we untacked. I made sure that Tanya forgave me. Suzi never did get sore (thank god). 

I am hoping to do this again pretty soon. It's good for us. 

Establishing Contact- Clinic Recap

 But wait, there's even more lessons!  If you've read my blog for any length of time you know that I have done many clinics with Johanna Beattie Batista over the years. She has been as much a part of my journey with Carmen as many other people. Johanna is a level 3 Centered Riding Instructor and has a long history of classical dressage training in Spain.  She is now semi-retired and living in Portugal. 

This year Stephanie and I managed to snag her to our area for 2 days of lessons. Johanna stayed with me and I transported her back and forth. It gave us time to have to some lovely chats. 

A little side story: I told her about starting karate and she said 'good for you!'. It turns out that Centered Riding encourages their instructors to do martial arts training because it's so good for breath and body control. She herself does Tai Chi. 

I did two lessons back to back on both horses. I do have some video and photos. 

We started with Quaid. When I ride both horses I almost always start with Quaid because he's, well, easier. Carmen can be a bit draining so it's just better all around to start with him. If having these two has taught me anything (too much really), it's that it doesn't matter the age so much as the temperament. 

Cordelia fell in love with Johanna. It was 
hilarious and adorable. 

Anyway, Johanna wanted us to work on his taking of the contact. I was to ride with soft hands and follow his motion so that he learned to go into the contact. This is not new, Jane has also been working on this with me. It was a slightly different approach and it's good to learn the same thing in new ways.  Johanna was quite impressed with Quaid and really seemed to like him (he's hard to resist).  You will notice that I'm not in a t-shirt because the weather turned cold and cloudy. A typical May in Nova Scotia is full of warm days, cold days, rainy days. Sometimes they are all in the same day.  

lovely square halt

This sort of work can be frustrating because it's so subtle and it's very tempting to just 'take' the contact. But, if I understood Johanna correctly, if he learns to go to the contact then everything will be easier as we move to more advanced work. Which I totally get. It was interesting because I suddenly felt when took the contact. It was cool. 

getting closer

Here's a video (because my phone battery is not so great, I managed to get media of Quaid on day 1 and Carmen on day 2.):

What I love about this horse is his try. He really wants to figure things out. He can get frustrated and annoyed but he almost never says 'no'. 

Carmen went next and she was in a totally different mind set then Quaid. As you know I've been struggling with her barging through my rein aids and half-halts. It has been getting better but today she not in the mood for my crap. Johanna took one look at this said 'Okay, she's not allowed to pull this shit'.  'This shit' being leaning on my hands and pulling me all over the ring. There's a difference between being heavy and just bullying.  As I think about it, it really is the same as her old behaviour of spook and bolt. But because she can't bolt on me anymore it manifests differently. 

Anyway, Johanna's solution was to not let her build up a head of steam. I was to not ride any straight lines. I had to do 10 metre circles, shoulder in, haunches in, leg yields, half-pass, turn on the haunches, forehand., etc. This accomplished a few things: one she couldn't get super strong and pull the reins out of my hands, two, she had to think and three, it set her back on her hind legs and not her forehand.  Carmen can be a real physical and mental ride and this was no exception. When we were done I felt pretty wrung out. I'm sure that Carmen felt the same. But we definitely ended in a good place. 

After lunch Stephanie picked up Johanna because I had to wait for a repairman for my washing machine. Because, of course it would happen now. Adulting is hectic at times.  Fortunately, it was an easy repair and I baked a cake while I waited. I managed to get to see Stephanie's ride. All I'll say is that its been wonderful to watch her partnership with her new horse blossom.  

Bob and Stephanie came for dinner that night and Ed made a wonderful Mexican meal.  After eating, laughing and talking they went home and we all collapsed into bed. 

The next day was also cold but not super windy so that was a win. Quaid came out and was like 'oh I remember yesterday. You want this, right?'  It was so neat to see the carryover. He felt a little tired to me as well. The day before hadn't seemed so hard but it's possible that he was just not feeling it. Either way we decided to work on him going forward into downward transitions and not just fall onto his forehand.  It was a good lesson and, once again, it was wonderful to see how good he is given that he's five. 

Then it was Carmen's turn. She was less feisty but still not super keen on the this whole work idea.  We basically repeated the lesson from the day before- no straight lines.  The goal was for her to come to contact without trying to take it over.  Johanna kept repeating that the whole point of, say, a shoulder in was not that it be perfect. But that it keep her thinking and listening. 

And it definitely worked, I could feel her come onto her hind leg and take real contact not 'gimme that rein'  contact. 

Here's a video. 

At the end Johanna suggested that maybe a different bit would be better. I like her current bit in that it prevents her from getting her tongue over it. But I think I will try her in Quaid's bit to see if she's more respectful. 

The next day I drove Johanna back to the city and gave her back to Stacie after a great lunch. It was a good two days and I really enjoyed the intensity of the work, even if I needed a nap after. 

The Mushy Center

 It is ironic that in the winter bloggers write very little because very little is happening. In the warmer months, they also write less because they are very busy with all the things happening.  Or maybe that is just me.  Anyway, I am behind updating you on all that is happening with the horses. 

Carmen: you should go check that out Quaid. I'm 
right behind you. 

Last week I had two lessons with Jane. She's been very busy and, with one thing and another, I haven't had many lessons so far. Fortunately, she was able to accommodate me have back to back lessons on Quaid and Carmen on Friday the 16th.  Spoiler alert: both were excellent. It was a warm day with a mix of ominous clouds and blue sky. 

With Quaid, Jane was very pleased with our progress. She zeroed right in on me collapsing through the middle and not giving him enough support. In trying to be soft and fluid, I ended up collapsing my centre and not providing him enough stability to find his balance underneath of me. We did a lot of transitions at all three gaits and I was to be like a tree trunk not (my words not hers) 'a sack of mashed potatoes'. 

It was great to feel how stabilising myself allowed me to be clearer in my aids. Unfortunately, I had set the Pivo up wrong and I had zero video. You'll have to settle for this photo of a warm and tired Quaid: 

oh that face. 

Then it was Carmen's turn. And she came out loaded for bear. I was stupid, contact was stupid, half-halts were stupid and Jane could go to hell. Now, in all honesty, at some point every spring Carmen gets like this. What part is due to hormones and what part is due to being on grass I'm not sure. In previous years that usually meant spooks, spins,  bolts and generally intimidating behaviours. But I'm a better/stronger rider now so those I shut down pretty damn fast (the mantra's come in handy too). 

when the sky and the mare's mood match

Jane's approach was to keep my rein and half-halts and not let her pull the reins out of my hands or duck behind the contact. She told me don't try to make her light. Not because she didn't want Carmen to be light, (that is the ultimate goal) but because it was false. She wasn't taking the contact she was hiding and then couldn't really be in balance or on her hind legs.  I remember when I realised that a horse could be slow and behind the leg and also fast and behind the leg. I'm realising it's the same with contact. A horse can be heavy and not accepting contact, and light and not accepting contact. I don't know if this makes sense to anyone but me but there you have it.  

But it's a struggle for me. Because a heavy contact feels really wrong and like I'm being harsh. Yet when I looked at the video it didn't look like I was wrestling her or that she was in distress. Pissed, yes. Distressed, no. I was disappointed to see how collapsed I was in my middle so I've been trying to sit up better in my rides.  

This was a hard lesson. Physically I mean. I, again, found myself, collapsing through my middle and trying to hold with my hands. Which is not correct. I needed to take some firmness in my core and then I'm not just relying on my arms (hello centred riding).  It was also great timing for the lesson because it stopped me from backing off and instead we worked through it to have some really amazing work at the end.  Jane said that it was some of the best canter we have done. From there we worked on walk-canter-walk transitions that were actually half-decent.  And Carmen was no longer in a rage but actually working. 

leg actually reaching under and not just sprawling forward

I've been trying to get a video clip to upload but my iPhone is being really contrary so I gave up. Just trust me. It was great. Since those lessons, I've been trying to stay aware of what my core is doing and not let it be mushy. 

Karate Crone

 I've been pretty open on this blog about my fitness journey and how beneficial I've been finding it for my riding and for just feeling pretty good. I belong to the local Rec Centre and the membership is really inexpensive for what you get, especially for a seniors membership. We can skate (I don't skate), the pool and all the group fitness classes. 

This January there were some new classes to choose from. One of them was called Bodukan. When I read the description I realised it was a karate class.  I always wanted to try a martial art and since this was included I signed up.  I like trying new things and I have strong feelings that people (especially women) should have some self-defence.  (note: the karate is Goju Ryu which is a Okinawan traditional karate and not a sport). 

Here's a photo of Cordelia 'helping' me in the 
kitchen to break up the wall of text. 

So I totally expected to like it. What caught me off guard was how much I liked it. I bought a Gi (for a steal off of FB marketplace) and was excited for every class.  I think it has to do with how much I like to move and use my body. But I believe that the main reason is that I found it so relatable to horse riding. And I am not kidding. There are so many similarities between riding and karate. 

The Physical: 

It was very early in the classes when I began to hear things like 'keep your elbows at your sides'.  Other gems include: 

• breathe with everything. if you stop breathing it not only tires you out but it keeps you from thinking
• align your shoulders and your hips
• ground yourself physically
• You may need to be tight in one part of your body (e.g., arms) but you need to be relaxed in the others
• look up
• focus and don't get distracted by what others are doing (or not doing). Hello warm up ring! 
• Don't overthink. Let your body do what it knows
• Repetition is essential. Honestly, the first time our Sensei said this "I know we're doing things over and over but don't get frustrated. it's how we get better".  Me "repetition is my jam!"
• As you gain proficiency pay attention to the details. 

The Metaphysical: 

The philosophical overlap is somewhat scary: 

• everyone is on their own journey so don't compare
• we do the movements and katas striving for perfection knowing we won't every achieve it. 
• the learning is in the doing
• respect for your teachers and coaches
• no matter how advanced you are you will always practice the basics
• We don't train to start fights, we train to not lose 

Today I tested (successfully) for my yellow belt.  It is the first one but I am still quite proud of it. To pass you have to show what you have learned. Tell me if this sounds familiar: 

When it was my turn I went I into the middle of the Dojo, bowed to the Sensei. Then went through my chosen Kata, A kata  (in case you don't know) is a series of hits and blocks usually taking 1-2 minutes to complete.  You are judged on your accuracy and form. If you mess up the Sensei may stop you and have you start again or wait until you are done. When you are done you wait until (in this case) he acknowledges you and then you bow and leave. 

As I go up the levels it gets more complicated and harder.  I honestly don't know how far I'll get as a person starting karate at the age of 60! But I don't care. I'm really enjoying it and I made some friends too.  Our class is small and the core group consists of four older women and one woman's daughter.  We support and encourage each other. I also suspect that there's far more giggling than is typical in a dojo. 

The lesson I take from all of this is that things are more connected than they may first appear. I know that Mark Rashid talks about Akido and relates it to horsemanship. I think I'll do a deeper dive into his writings on that. And the other lesson is try something new because you never know what will resonate. 

Spring Maintenance

 Spring for horse owners is an expensive time. This year got a little extra expensive with my horse trailer needing some minor repairs and two new tires.  But now the horse's bus is as good as new. Which was good because this year I had to trailer the horses to their vet appointment.  With the vet shortage it was the only option if I wanted them to be seen before the end of June.  The downside was that I had to miss a clinic that was (of course) on the same day. 

Carmen: well this is new
Quaid: where are my snacks? 

It wasn't too bad really. The horses self-loaded and the ride was pretty easy. I'm glad I went when I did because they both had some sharp edges that needed to be treated. Quaid also had a wolf tooth that she popped out pretty easily. 

So stoned post dental work

I noticed he's much less fussy in the mouth since it was done. He did react to the vaccines again but much less than last year. Just a little off his feed the next day. I gave him some banamine and he was okay by the day after. I'm hoping that as he ages his reaction will get a lot less. Carmen, of course, reacted to nothing and was herself the next day. 

I've been able to ride pretty steadily over the past few weeks and I'm seeing some real changes.  Quaid is better every ride and his canter is getting easier. There's no shenanigans in picking it up but he still struggles a little with balance and maintaining a steady rhythm. All of which makes sense. What I am loving is that he tries so hard to do what I ask. I'm not getting any of the questions or balking I had before. 

Carmen is doing really well in lots of ways too. I've been honing in on our half-halts these days. She has a habit of simply bearing down and powering through them, especially at a canter. I've been trying to keep my plan and be really clear with my ask. If she blows through my half-halt I will put her in a 10 metre circle, rebalance and carry on. This is working and I'll be curious to get Jane's input when I have a lesson later this week.  I realised that I have let he blow off the half-halts for a long time so now I need to go back and fix my mistake. But when she does come back and rebalance I can feel everything shift to her hind leg. 

Honestly, riding is a series of doing the thing, then realising that you should have been doing it differently/better/more consistently and then doing that. Until you get the next bit of learning. Or maybe that's just me... 

Steady Eddy

 It seems that Spring has decided to stick around and that's it made it much easier to be consistent in training.  At first it was  exhausting keeping two horses in work. But it feels like I've found a rhythm with it. I ride both of them 3-4 days a week and other days just one horse. I do try to take one day off.  Those days in the gym have really paid off.  

with spring starts the weaning onto the back pasture. 

I've been tackling my goals and working towards getting ready for our first show. Earlier this week I sent in the entries for the first show. *gulp*  I signed Quaid up for Training Level 1 and 2. Carmen will be doing 2nd level again. I'm hoping by the end of this year we'll be ready to move up. 

With my last lesson on Quaid showing me how tentative I'm being with him I've been trying to improve that. Rather than canter being a big thing I've been working on it being no big deal.  To do that I've been asking for it early in our ride as part of the warm up. The first time I did it the left went fine but the right was a struggle. He showed some signs of wanting to bounce, rather than pull on the reins I sat up and urged him forward. I even gave him a tap with the whip.  Now each time it's better and not so emotional.  I'm trying to keep my arms steady and stay balanced in the tack. Not that I'm perfect, heaven knows. 

That dot is Cordelia lounging about 
while we work

What is really striking to me is how steady he's being with me. Even when things don't go as planned.  Earlier this week I was riding Quaid and was trying to decide if we were done. Then I heard a rumble in the field next door and a young person riding a lawn mower popped up over the hill in the field next door. We looked and she waved at us. Quaid was curious but fine so I decided that it was a good time to finish.  When we were walking back in the barn a barn swallow dive bombed him and he jumped 10 feet. 

That's when I realised that he's much more confident being ridden. I'm assuming that it's because of all the work that's been done, starting with the early work I did, then the training Mike and Nikki did last year and then what I've done (with so much support from Jane) over the past year. When he spooks he's asking for direction, not looking to escape. When I can answer his question of 'what do I do?!' he takes a deep breath and carries on.  

Today when I was riding we were doing really well.  At the beginning I realised I had brought up Carmen's bridle instead of his. I left him unhaltered and ran down to get his bridle. I was sure he'd wander to eat the grass in the ring. But he never moved. 

Quaid: is this a test or did you just 
abandon me? 

 I was working through some of the TL test: 20 m circle at A picking up the canter the first quarter of the circle and then going down the long side.  The first time was not that great but he really tried. By the third try it was much better so I let it be and we went on to do other work.  Near the end I decided to do some walk work as part of our cool down.  We've been doing leg yields so this time I decided to play with that a bit. We walked down the rail and I asked him to bend to the outside and leg yield in a few steps and then switch bend and leg yield back. 

As always, the first time he was like wait, what? I'm pretty sure that this is wrong.  Fortunately, unlike Carmen when he doesn't understand he doesn't get annoyed, just curious. Then after a couple tries he understood and it was felt pretty good. So then I wanted to work on shoulder fore. It feels pretty easy with him TBH. Then he began to be distracted and acting worried about the brush. I figured it was the birds fluttering about and that he was getting tired so more easily distracted.  Then he began to balk at going forward. So I made sure I had the outside rein consistent and my inside leg on. 

Then suddenly a cat came streaking from behind him with Cordelia hot on its heels! Not one of my cats but a neighbour cat that's been hanging around. Why it came so close with Cordelia there I don't understand.  But anyway...  As the cat and Cordelia went streaking by us (pretty much under his head) we came to a screeching halt. The cat disappeared into the brush and Quaid stood there stock still with huge eyes I TOLD YOU THERE WAS SOMETHING THERE! 

 I was busy calling Cordelia and then I realised that Quaid hadn't moved a muscle. I quickly hopped off because I was worried Cordelia would run onto the road.  I was trying to figure out if I should leave Quaid to follow when she came bounding back looking very proud of herself I chased off the intruder! I'm the best dog ever! 

I was super impressed with how Quaid handled the ruckus. It would have been completely understandable if he had taken off but instead he waited for direction.  I have zero idea if we'll be 'show ready' but if I keep riding we'll be okay.