Worth the wait (for me, maybe not for you ;))

Friday morning Gayle called to let me know that she'd been kicked in the knee by her son's pony the night before so she was running late. My 10 o'clock lesson ended up being at 11, and I was a little worried about the heat, but typically once I get on and start riding I don't notice. Gayle brought out one of her Prestige saddles for me to ride in and Pro and I both loved it. I think it'd have been a good lesson either way, but in this saddle everything felt easy for me, and I think even for Pro. I was a bit concerned at first because it had HUGE thigh blocks and I've never ridden in anything that came even close. They were set far enough up and forward that they didn't really come into play except when we first started trotting and Gayle said to use them to help me do some half-halts. Other than that I never even noticed them being there.

We started off getting him to flex at the poll with the magical not-to-be-explained-on-the-internet trick Kate learned last week. Because of all the ligament damage in his head/neck from being cranked around as a baby, his poll and neck are too flexible. So I have to be very careful to get him to flex correctly and not over flex. Pro had already tuned me out by the time I asked him to walk off so I'd flex at the halt till I had his attention and his energy was pointed forward and ask him to walk off. If he went immediately to pieces then I'd halt, regather him, and ask again. After about 5-10 minutes we were able to walk off straight and engaged. With that as a start it was pretty easy to get him in front of me and thanks to the saddle and the engagement he rounded up with his back at the walk. Once I had him going forward with impulsion we worked on collecting that energy. So I had to get him out in front of me, but then once I had "forward" I had to collect him back so that I had "up". Part of doing that was giving him space to bring his withers up in front of me. Gayle had me shorten my reins a notch by moving my hands up to the next notch, not by bringing the notch back to me. That gave Pro space between my seat and my hands to come up. Pro spent a lot of the ride trying to convince me that it really was much better to do things his way, but luckily didn't have as much success getting me to dive with him or monkey with his face. I wish I could explain exactly what I did, but Gayle gave us a lot of time to just figure things out with the new saddle and me trying to not give in to the dark side, so a lot of stuff was little tiny adjustments that wouldn't make much sense on the blog ;).

We trotted both directions and worked on keeping his rhythm the same, nice and steady, but pushing him forward with NO rushing. I had to fight to keep him straight as he kept wanting to bulge (either out to the right or in to the left). Gayle had me straighten him a tiny bit at a time. Every time he'd get straighter and stretch down, I'd send him forward. The idea here was that he can't go forward and under himself unless he gets his front feet out of the way. So when he'd straighten, I'd ask for forward and get it, and THEN he couldn't really bulge as much anymore because his back feet were in the way. I love playing tricks like that on him! At the end he was taking these HUGE ground covering strides and we were all having a blast. Pro thought he was hot stuff, I was having fun because it was going so well and he felt so awesome, and Gayle was happy for both of us. She says a lot of people get intimidated by all the power when the horse is really traveling forward. I think I'm addicted instead. No worries I'll be trying to shut his gaits down. Now I just have to try to recreate it next time I ride. This heat has been giving me too many excuses to not ride...

Jay Needs Jingles!

I know I must be getting a reputation for long posts...sorry! I hope you will read, though, and I did include pictures! Jay needs some jingles!

A lot has been happening with Jay. After a little over two weeks this is what Jay's glue-on shoe looked like:

The new farrier came out 6-9-09, and removed that shoe. It was about to "remove" itself, LOL! She and I decided to try the Hoof-It composite shoes that I mentioned in my last post. I didn't get a picture of them on him, but this is what one looks like on another horse she has done:

She spent about three hours (!) working with Jay, who was not entirely cooperative at times, mainly because he hurt. Because we were trying the Hoof-It shoes, Jay's LF aluminum shoe had to come off too. There still wasn't anything to nail to, so both shoes were glued on.

Jay stayed overnight at my friend's place, where I had met the farrier, to let the glue dry. The next day I was getting reports that sounded like Jay was virtually crippled! So the farrier was super to meet me out there again that night to try to get Jay into a better situation ASAP. He was about 3 out of 5 lame which is still not good, but better than crippled! She began by removing the bar in the shoes with her nippers, and that helped Jay some, but he was still clearly uncomfortable. So off the Hoof-It shoes came! Between the shoes, glue, and overnight stay, there went about $60 down the drain! Ouch! The farrier has been great about helping me out with cost as best she can, though. She has really been great, and our next attempt was trying some hoof boots...and she let me borrow her own personal boots. So these are the Cavallo hoof boots with Happy Hoof pads inside them:

I have to add that this farrier's trim virtually eliminated the characteristic "twist" that Jay has had in his LH leg as he moves off. As we were watching Jay move, watching for it, I noticed some steps that I didn't like. So I did some neurological tests like circling and the tail pull, with not very encouraging results. I knew Jay was hurting from all the foot soreness and changes though, so I tried not to panic and took him home to see how he would settle in. The neuro tests steadily improved, so I think it was just from soreness.

Jay looked relatively good in the boots after 24 hours, and there were no signs of rubs. He had increased digital pulses which worried me, but TPR were OK, so I gave him bute. The next morning Jay looked good and seemed pretty happy, no increased pulses, and so with some more bute I made the decision, with some trepidation, to take Jay to pick up the new saddle. He looked good on arrival there, and was such a trooper and let me sit on him in the saddle for about 15 minutes to check the fit and make sure it was adjusted correctly. Not a very good shot, but here it is:

When we got home I removed Jay's boots to check everything over, and there were some rubs. Aargh! They weren't really bad, and I didn't want them to get worse, so I decided to not continue using the boots. I didn't feel comfortable trying them with vet-wrap, which is supposed to help with rubbing. I called Davie County Large Animal Hospital (DCLAH) to get an appointment with Dr. Meeker. Jay is scheduled for the farrier meeting July 14th (YAY!), but I wanted him to be checked before then. The soonest I could get an appointment with Dr. Meeker was this past Monday. The farrier met us there, too, which was really nice. She was VERY instrumental in getting Jay into the farrier meeting, too!

Dr. Meeker did a low block that blocked just the heels, and Jay went relatively sound. His coronary bands are still so inflamed from the boots that they are contributing some. He also did x-rays, and I was really nervous at this point as laminitis thoughts were being floated about. I was also worried about navicular, etc., because Jay was SO painful and lame.

Thankfully the x-rays were actually pretty good. There were no signs of laminitis and no navicular changes...YAY! However, Jay's sole depth is less than 1cm, which is about the minimum "acceptable" thickness. There is just still nothing to nail to in order to get a shoe on to protect him! Dr. Meeker said that Jay is excellent for the farrier's meeting, we just have to keep him comfortable until then. So I have found a better place to keep Jay for at least the next three weeks so that he can have good stall rest with limited turnout. The farrier also let me borrow her own Easyboot Gloves, with thicker Happy Hoof pads, for turnout.

Jay is so lame and uncomfortable that we did not get into evaluating his LH "twist," whether that is a contributing factor to the shoe pulling, and the effect that this most recent trim has had on it. Things are complicated right now!

A week off = Silly Pony

Once Skate gets used to thinking for himself, he prefers to keep it that way. He had a week off due to a death in the family so getting back into the swing of things is going to take a few rides. Last night he was rushy, tense, spooky, and on his forehand. Ugh. Good times! On the bright side, it really made me work on myself - I spent a lot of time really sitting back and deep trying to get him to engage his hind end and quit trying to dig a hole to China with his front hooves. My back is sore from having to half halt his front end so his hind end would catch up. I don't think its unreasonable to think he can canter down the long side without speeding up. We do not need to circle constantly! I spent a lot of time telling him to "get it together!"

Of course he was so opposed to listening to me, he tried to opportunize on every distraction...old rattly trucks seemed to be conveniently driving by all evening. Last week a biker went by and Skate cared less, what's with the fear of rattly trucks? I know he's totally just used to thinking for himself and I've got to reinforce that I'm the driver of this team!

I have always thought that the reason the horse was so bad after time off was b/c he was full of energy - last night I realized it has nothing to do with that. It was hot as crap, humid, and Skate goes out in a huge hilly pasture for 17 hrs a night...he is not full of energy. He was totally trying to control the situation. When he is worked regularly he is used to following my lead on the ground and undersaddle.

This weekend he'll certainly be worked regularly. I'm signed up for Pony Club camp, which includes two lessons a day in dressage, gymnastics, and XC (remains to be seen whether I'll actually be brave enough for this), plus trail rides each night of Friday through Sunday. Chubby Skate is going to boot camp! (Yes, he's actually getting his food cut back as he just slid over to the high side of the Henneke scale).

Elasticity!

Okay, so I'm finally updating my Friday lesson...I rode last week as well, but I guess I need to get more militant with myself about posting so I can actually use this blog to track my progress. **I also added pictures to Andrea's entry, so make sure to go check them out. :)

I was just getting on when Gayle arrived, so I took advantage of the timing to ask her to help with my pre-ride "ritual". We worked on standing poll flexion, which isn't anything like the way Chris Cox does it. I'm also sworn to secrecy, and made to promise that I won't teach anyone else how to do it. ;) It's something that's very hard to explain unless you're actually having someone stand next to you and show you, plus Gayle really emphasized that it can be harmful if misinterpreted and misused. But basically, I learned how to gently flex him at the poll (not his neck, at all...Gayle warned of repercussions of neck-flexing, especially when/if Pro ever gets into a double bridle!). She reminded me that the horse's atlas is a very delicate piece of anatomy, and doesn't need to be wrenched around in order to achieve flexion. Now, the neck-bending we did way back when she first started with us, that was discipline. And Gayle is quite clear on the differences between discipline and training. That was discipline, now we're training. :)

He warmed up pretty well at the walk, especially using my "high hands" trick to counter any attempts at giraffe-face. Pushing my stomach at my hand if he jigged. We moved on to the trot, and continued to practice "threading him through the bit", one piece at a time. Bump with my inside leg (or both legs, gently, to ask for a touch more impulsion), give with the inside rein when he pushes his energy back at me. Eventually we had quite the lovely trot :) and even ventured off of our circle into a figure-eight. And I bravely did my best at resisting the urge to TAKE my inside rein when he stiffened and pushed his energy back at me as we neared the bunny tree. Inside leg, give inside rein! We're making chasing the bit into his new safe place - where things feel familiar, comfortable for him. If he gets nervous, remind him to chase the bit, and he relaxes. And he did!! Finally, after many years, Pro is finally trusting me. Gayle reminded me that it will take a long time to completely undo all the misunderstandings from prior rides (both with me, and others before me). But he's finally realizing that he can trust me, and that I'll keep him safe, and always give him a safe place to go.

I also had a major conceptual breakthrough. :) I forget what triggered it, but I suddenly realized that ALL of these years, the words "on the bit" had conveyed the wrong idea to me. The horse doesn't go ON the bit, he goes TO/TOWARD the bit!!! The energy has to go forward, things have to go forward, how can things go forward if we're pulling their faces backward? Or pulling anything backward? I guess I'd "known" this in my head after working with Gayle, but it finally clicked into place and I really, truly got it. When everything goes forward, and Pro chases the bit, it looks as if he's "on the bit" when he's really always moving toward the bit.

We even cantered some, and he was so delightful about the whole thing. A nice easy transition up into the canter, and he relaxed into it. I feel like I can really sit deeper and more still when I consciously lift my lower legs off his sides at the canter. And Gayle reminded me that at all gaits, my seat looks more still if his back is up (counter-intuitive). There's no conscious going-with-the-motion of the horse (ie, moving hips, etc.) - you just sort of go with them by being still. If the horse's back is hollow, that's when your seat moves around, so it's a good way to check if their back is up...the feeling of "stillness" in your seat.

Gayle said Pro has finally (!!) developed elasticity. :) Longitudinal elasticity is the foundation of lengthening and shortening the stride, and lateral elasticity is the foundation of good lateral work. She said he's a solid 7-year old these days, so I'm just thrilled! :)

A happy moment...

I'm just going to say that yesterday Skate did what I have always wanted a horse of mine to do: He came galloping up to me in the pasture! I just went out to give him a once over and say hello and he spied me across the field and took off towards me. Sure, he just wanted a cookie...but it made my day and cheered me up after a bad week. Thanks, therapy pony : )

Reprogramming muscle memory

Sorry I haven't been blogging. There's just so much to do and so little time.

Last week I got serious about getting a new saddle and tried one out from Triangle Horse Sports. It was a little bit too wide for Pro and Gayle says that the gussetted style of panels won't sit properly on his back, so that had to go back. She thinks a Prestige will work best for him, so she's supposed to have her saddle fitter/neighbor David keep an eye out for a used Prestige in my price range ($800 or less, I'm a poor broke grad student right now). Until then I'll make do with shortening my stirrups a hole so I can post over the pommel of Kate's saddle ;). I realized about two weeks ago that I was slamming my crotch into it every stride at the trot so my butt would like some extra room. Dennis from Rocking B may come to the barn in July to fit several horses, so depending on how much that is I might buy in and have him see if there's anything closer to my price range that will work.

My lesson on Friday was hard because Gayle made sure we went to my weaker direction (going right) instead of left. To the left I apparently do an ok job of not fiddling with my inside rein, but to the right my right hand wants to do all the work still. That makes sense with what I'd noticed on my own about how I needed to keep a firmer connection with the outside rein. Unfortunately by the time my hand started understanding what I wanted Pro had already gotten pissed about me screwing around with his inside rein and gotten less cooperative. Gayle took control of my inside rein and helped get him to stop laying on my inside leg so that we could bend correctly. At the end we got a couple circles of nicer trot, though we had to go very slow to keep things at a speed I could control.

Last night the rain stopped/held off long enough for me to get a ride in. It was my first ride post-lesson and I went to the right and made myself not let my left elbow get in front of my left hip. That worked pretty well for keeping the outside rein connected. Then I tried to focus on every time I wanted to twitch my right hand bumping him with my right leg instead. If he didn't listen to the leg, he got tapped with the whip. If he didn't listen to the tap and get off my inside leg then I let myself pull his head in quickly and then immediately let go. He seemed much happier with that system than with me constantly monkeying with his head. I wasn't completely successful at staying out of his way with the inside rein, but I felt like it was progress. It's just a lot of work to stop myself from pulling inside, tell my leg to react instead, etc. We did almost the entire ride at the walk until I felt like he was stretching down and forward for the bit consistantly and taking "big boy" strides forward and was really in front of me. Staying at the walk helped give me the time to think and not worry about my balance while applying my aides. Our trot work was better than it normally is to the right, but it took a couple laps to get him back on the outside rein. It's going to take me awhile to get it right consistantly and convince Pro that I'm not going back to the way he's trained me to ride where I drop my hands and worry about his nose more than his ribs. Still, I was pleased with my progress in one ride, so hopefully by next Friday we can work on something different. :)

I'm Alive

I'm sorry I have been away. Its been a hell of the past few weeks. I lost my job, started training full time, and have been riding like crazy. I'm starting school in August to be an EMT. YAY!

I have 3 horses in for training and am working Andy like crazy. I'm keeping up with their training journals/blogs and trying to get everything else done too. I do come over and read everyone's updates though!

Skate - The Welcoming Committee Chairpony

Its nice to have such a friendly horse...but a pain when he feels the need to befriend the new mare in the neighboring field. Skate turned into a loudmouth last night when he saw his new BFF being taken away. Luckily, all his dreams were fulfilled when they rode in the indoor with us!

I figured, after hearing the "miss you!" screams in my ear while tacking up, that Skate would be a horrid pain to ride...but he was a very good boy. I don't know if things would have gone so well if the new BFF wasn't IN the arena with us!

How do you get a horse to shut the hell up? I feel like there's no need to punish, as long as he's behaving. He does this at shows, too...screams for anyone and everyone, yet behaves just fine. He can get tense, but still does what I ask. What do you do? Ignore?

Fiddling around

After a couple of conversations with people at the barn and Kate's work with keeping her reins longer, I decided to try a different sort of ride with Pro than normal today. I started with my reins LONG (4th stop as opposed to the normal 2nd) and just let him walk on a relatively loose rein. That didn't mean he didn't have to pay attention, but just that I didn't care about collecting him up. Instead I did a lot of circles and serpentines to get him listening. Even from the beginning he was reaching forward for the bit and seemed happy. Interestingly, with the longer reins he really didn't try to rush. Once I was happy with how he was going forward I shortened my reins to the 3rd stop and then started bumping him forward to get him really in front of my legs and stretching down across his back. Then back to a longer rein for a bit before asking him to step up into the trot.

He immediately went into a nice, rounded back trot and it really felt like he was coming up to meet my seat. We played with that for quite awhile. He was staying round and happy, but wasn't as lose in his shoulders as I was hoping for. The BM was riding with me and I asked her about it to see what she suggested. She had me do a 15m circle at a collected trot in the corner, then half-halt HARD as we came around the corner towards the diagonal and then send him out down the diagonal. The first time I dropped my reins at him and we got nothing. The second time I cut it to a 10m circle, half-halted and then released the energy from my seat instead of dropping him in front. He extended pretty nicely for a stride or two. A couple more tries and he shot off down the diagonal so extended that I think he freaked himself out. It actually felt like his front legs had some SNAP to them as opposed to shuffling. From there we spent most of the rest of the ride getting him settled and comfortable again and playing with loose and forward but not rushing. I also made sure to give him longer reins periodically and send him down and out to check that his back was staying loose.

When we cantered he was sort of rushy and off balance, but once we did a couple circles and half-halts he found his balance and really settled in. I lengthened the reins at the canter to see what he'd do and he stretched down and down and down for the contact and then started falling on his forhand. D'oh! Back to the trot, a rebalance, and then we walked around on a loose rein. I think I'm going to play with this looser rein and more focus on forward (in balance, of course) for the rest of this week and see how the lesson goes. As the BM pointed out, he's really still more of a Training level horse and at this point he should be going in a longer frame so we can work on the throughness of the back. I think we had to collect him more than you normally would when starting a horse to help him find his balance, but now that he'll look for it on his own, we need to help him learn to carry the energy forward instead of getting stuck. I could be wrong though, so we'll see.

More Straightening...

I had another lesson this morning...Skate was a very good pony - quiet, attentive, and willing. Our exercise of the day was a short leg yield as we come off the short end of the ring. So, building on the straightening (in the corner) exercise of last weekend, we came down the long side in a sitting trot, spiraled in to a circle that would be at about the quarter line, then leg yielded quickly back to the rail. The first time I tried it we lollygagged back to the rail with barely any real crossing over of the legs. My instructor then stood in front of me about 3 strides off the short end so I would have to really push Skate over and get him really crossing over. We got it easily tracking left. Tracking right, however, was much harder. Our combined right-handedness makes for a very crooked horse in that direction so when I asked him to quickly yield left, his butt was somewhere else. So, I realized the point of the exercise - to position him straight (quickly) coming off the short rail so that our leg yield wasn't a failure.

Skate loves the lateral work...he's gotten so he likes to crabwalk around showing off how he has a butt that can move independently of his head! I think we could zigzag around all day in leg yields and he'd be a happy pony. As long as we're moving forward he's fine. Ask him to do a TOF and he gets pissy - its something about feeling trapped, I guess.

I've also gotten him a pretty set of white fleece boots...we are really looking like DQ's now! I have got to get some video/pics of us motoring around doing leg yields and sitting trot. I can't believe I've finally made it here!!!

Next lesson I'm planning on having my instructor help me over fences (cavelletti, really). I took Skate out on Monday and tried to hop him over some little stuff and felt all discombobulated. Ugh. I could NOT get out of the saddle...either due to weak legs or a poor fitting saddle. I'm going to blame it on Skate's recent weight and muscle gain and say its the saddle. Ha.

Carousel in the rain...

What a fantastic lesson! :) I'm getting it all written down now before I forget. Sadly, I could not convince my mom to take pictures but it's a good thing, since it ended up pouring rain the last 15min or so of the lesson.

We started off getting everything un-crooked at the walk, LENGTHENING my reins, and getting my hips straight. Which felt crooked. But they're really straight. Pro sighed a lot, which meant that he was exasperated with my bumbling incompetence, but pleased when I finally got it right. I need to remember to keep reins longer than I think so that he can unkink that long neck of his. He may look short, but he has quite the long neck. Once we got that, we worked on small circles and keeping my outside hand to the OUTSIDE instead of letting it be evil and try to cross his withers. After circling, we did small figure-eights at the walk and focused on me keeping my hands the SAME while his body changed underneath me to accept the new bend and the new outside rein. Eventually we had him chasing the bit at the walk, stretching down and lifting his back, and chewing.

Then we picked up our trot and started with the sameness routine - same stretch and up-back as the walk, same chew, same straightness ("bend") around the circle. Gayle is now weaning me off a new habit - compulsive giving with the inside rein. She's trying to get me used to the feeling of steady contact and letting him chase the bit on his own, instead of defaulting to continually helping him chase it. And to give the inside rein strategically - to give it whenever he pushes the energy back at me instead of pushing it forward, chasing the bit. It worked (haha, of course)! Especially feeling him so straight on the circle. Spiraling in by moving his shoulder to the inside, and spiraling out by pushing his inside hind leg toward the outside.

At 35 minutes into the lesson, Gayle announced that we had achieved dressage-worthy trot. :) So we played with it! We moved him down by the bunny tree, and focused on keeping him in that wonderful carousel sameness. With his back up, he would have to work pretty hard to suck back and invert (to spook), so if he started to think about looking, I just bumped him forward and gave the inside rein. I made it his safe place to be. And (finally, showing that he's FINALLY starting to trust me), he would retreat to his chasing-the-bit safe place. He felt so bold, so confident! It was like he was saying "HA! I'm a BRAVE pony!" to the bunny tree area. And we just trotted like that - forward and beautiful and balanced - for a good 15 min while it downpoured. He was so focused and so much fun. Gayle couldn't stop saying how damn CUTE he was. :) And he was!

Here's a video from last week's lesson...it was a lot rainier today, but it gives you an idea of how steady and rhythmic he's become. And this video has cantering!

Trying Another Farrier

Yesterday I went to check Jay, and could hear his glue-on shoe clicking before we got two steps.  I pulled up his bell boot to find that 5 tabs had come unglued.  Ugh.  So I hosed it clean, dried it off as best I could, wiped the hoof and tabs down with alcohol, and used super glue to glue the tabs back on.  For good measure I added a diaper and duct tape over that!

I had already decided to try a different farrier, but was just not sure when since since Jay's lameness seemed to be evening out some, and I hated have that glue-on shoe removed if it would actually work.  This situation has made it clear that I want/need to pursue another opinion and different options now.

The farrier who arranges the case studies for Davie County Large Animal Hospital (DCLAH) did decide that Jay sounded like a good candidate for a case study, but this month's meeting is already booked full, so it would be July before Jay could get in there.  I really hope that we can get something resolved before then!  So then I had to decide whether to go through a vet at DCLAH to get in with one of the clinic farriers, who are VERY good, or go another route.  If I went with them, I do not know if either of the clinic farriers would then keep shoeing Jay as his regular farrier, but I don't think they would.  The farrier I spoke with there also did not know of anyone to recommend who he thought would come to me.

I have been corresponding with a farrier who responded to my post on NC Horse News.  She is a Certified Level II Proper Balanced Horse Trimmer, and did her apprenticeship under an AFA Certified Journeyman II Farrier.  She does not use traditional keg shoes, though, and that was one of my reservations because I am not familiar with the Hoof-It composite shoes she uses.  After doing some research and talking with her further, though, I think they are worth a try. This farrier is VERY convinced that Hoof-It shoes are just that much better for the horse.  They have a wide web, and she says they are more flexible and shock absorbing than traditional shoes, and give more support.  They don't rely solely on the hoof wall to hold up the entire horse;  the sole, bars, and frog share in the weight bearing, which allows better circulation in the hoof and ultimately better growth.  It is also possible to nail or glue them on, or use a combination of the two.  She also says they pull off less easily at the heel because they will bend instead of pull, they have good traction, and they can be rasped to a custom fit.  Add ALL of that up, and they sound like they may be exactly what Jay needs right now.  She has also got some Equi-Cast on hand, and I think Jay may need that too right now.  

This farrier says that she usually takes about an hour just trimming the horse because she wants to watch them move and see how they are responding.  She says that she just can't bring herself to do a 20 minute trim just to try to undercut the competition, because the horses (and her reputation) are just too important to her.  If her work and these shoes work out for Jay, she is also willing to travel to me, which will be nice! 

Carousel pony

Friday's lesson was good - intense. We worked with longer reins, which warped my mind a bit. At one point Pro threw a fit about something, and I was so focused that Gayle had to remind me that she was trying to teach me how to fix him, if only I would stop having a stroke. ;) So I had to disengage emotionally, which is really hard. Pro is my only horse, so all of my dressage success/failure depends on his progress. So it's hard to step back and stay calm.







At the trot we worked on "sameness" - keeping everything the same...tempo, rhythm, bend, stretch, etc. As well as working on clearly differentiating between bending...and straightening...bending...and straightening and just dropping him down, down, down. He resisted a little, and Gayle said he was getting so into himself and just having fun being round and bouncy, that he really didn't want to stretch down and over himself, but he eventually got it. Once I had him, he felt like a carousel pony - we just made circle after circle of steady sameness. Muscle-building sameness!!

And we even cantered, like a big boy. :) I was quite proud! I remembered Andrea's lesson and tried to erase everything I've ever been taught about sitting the canter. I pulled my legs off of him and immediately he seemed to relax.

Since the lesson he's been fairly good - my goal is to get him to carousel pony, and work him there for 10-15minutes so that he continues to build that muscle. We had talked about keeping his back up to prevent him from spooking, and last night it actually worked. After a 5min argument at the start of the ride where he just valiantly threw 50 evasions at me, one after the other in rapid succession, he gave in. But later in the ride, he spooked at one corner of the arena (I have no idea what, it seemed pretty genuine) and was only able to scramble beneath me instead of getting his head up and inverted. Pretty cool! I knew to be prepared when I passed there again, but my dizziness hit and he was able to suck back from the rhythm, invert, and spook. I got off and walked him around for a little while to regain my non-dizzy state. I really *wanted* to take the blunt end of the whip and beat him over the head with it, but I refrained. :P

I got back on, we resumed working, and he was fine. Even some carousel pony work. :)

Compliments from strangers!

Pro and I had a pretty good ride last night. The new boarder was out and she decided to walk her Lipizanner around the arena by hand while we were riding, but then she got bored and hopped on to ride him around bareback. Since he hadn't been ridden in several years before she got him, she asked that I keep it at a walk while she was on.

Pro was having his normal "debate" about whether or not he wanted to stretch down at the walk, so that was fine with us. We spent much longer at the walk than normal and on a slightly looser rein, but I made him go all over the ring and change direction periodically rather than our normal boring 20m circle. FINALLY he gave in and started stretching down and over at the walk. The new boarder and I both told him GOOD BOY at the same time, so it was neat to have a 'higher' level dressage rider (I think she's shown 2nd or 3rd level in the past?) agree with me. Once she went in we moved it up to the trot and the fact that we'd gotten the walk solid showed in his trot. We spent awhile keeping the correct bend to the right (focusing on not over bending) and even got some decent forward out of it. The canter in both directions also went really well, with the new boarder spotting us and commenting that he had a very nice canter and that it looked easy to sit. :) I pushed him to keep the canter for a little longer than he was comfortable with, but stopped before it completely fell apart. It sounds like cantering may become a regular part of our lessons so he's going to need those muscles again!

A steady connection - Finally!

Skate and I had a lesson on Saturday. After a week of vaca and a show going on at the barn, I expected the worst....and was pleasantly surprised! There was that one instance where a spectator had a giant black and white geometric print umbrella up and was twirling it - that turned Skate into a complete statue. His little pea brain could NOT process what the hell that thing was. Luckily, the umbrella user must have scared one of the special olympics horses in the show, b/c it was put down quickly.

The lesson topic of the day was straightness. We all know straight on a horse means anything but straight. It means the exact bend necessary for the figure and the one sidedness of that horse. My instructor even got confused when trying to explain how we should be positioned for a correct corner. Haunches in, haunches out, shoulder in, shoulder out, bend of neck, blah blah blah. Just ride it and we'll see what we get! So we set up square corners (the ring is an oval) and did basic figure eights...I learned that Skate has progressed past me! I am still trying to correct his imbalances like it's last year - when he's gotten strong enough to do a training/1st level corner without my help. All I succeeded in doing was getting him off balance. After that exercise my trainer praised him profusely and I got the lecture! Ha.

We both noticed how well he did (after getting over the excitement of the show going on in the indoor) with a steady connection. We almost have this down pat...my only need to really address with the connection is when he spies something way more interesting than the figure we're currently working on, which can be fairly often. He does still like to drag me down when he gets tired or behind my leg....but when I push him forward in front of me, he's fairly steady. We do much better in a sitting trot than a posting trot with the steady connection...I will probably ride my next test/show in sitting trot, even if I sacrifice some forward. I've also learned that Skate likes a heavy contact (heavy for me, as I prefer whisper light reins flappin in the wind sort of contact). Because I prefer the extra light version, I'm actually too forgiving with my elbows. I allow him to pull me down and forward instead of holding my position.

Things to work on - I should ride Skate like 75% of him is in front of me; when he feels like he's hanging behind, push him forward. Support him around the turn, but don't overcorrect. And, as always head up and ponytail to ponytail. Whenever my head drops everything falls apart.