I have been busy. Do you want to know how busy? I haven't ridden Harley in six months.
Yep.
Except for a couple short walks in the yard or through the woods, we have not been riding. At first this was because my schedule is insane. I am a new Mom and I work full-time. My husband and I live a juggling act right now. Many of my barn visits this winter were in the dark. Once or twice I stopped for a couple moments and caught a gorgeous sight: the stars over my horse's head, bathed in moonlight. It was stunning and made me realize just how fast I have been moving and just how much my life has changed over the past year. Some of it has been the most wonderful moments of my life, some utterly stressful, and others have been sad.
You see, for a while now, my lack of rides on Harley cannot be blamed on my schedule. Reality led to feelings of resignation. My horse has a respiratory condition (coughing due to allergies) and there is not a whole lot that I can do about it. I want him to be comfortable and happy, but I want other things, too.
I want to ride.
I love riding and nothing makes me happier than riding my horse. Somewhere in October, I gave up riding him. It was too upsetting to tack up and get on only to get off two minutes later because he was starting to cough. More than once, I pulled his tack without mounting. More than once, I left the barn in tears. Eventually, it was easier not to try. Of course, then the weather got terrible and no one was riding, so I just took care of my horse as best I could and tried to enjoy him as a pet and carrot-eating machine. There were other difficulties that arose due to his respiratory sensitivities, but I am glossing over them for now. Needless to say, it has been a really long winter.
And then last Saturday happened.
It was 60+ degrees and I decided to sit on my horse with just a saddle pad and his bridle. I have been hopping on his back in just a halter now and then for short walks, because I just missed it so much, but this time I decided to take down his bridle...
...We walked around for a bit and I got the idea to ask for some leg yields (this is part of my motivation for riding in a halter. I can't resist doing more). I shortened my reins a little and started to apply my leg and just like that we were trotting! I started to laugh and then remembered that I was not riding in a proper bareback pad. I asked Harley to walk and told him how happy I was that he wanted to trot, but that I had asked for sideways. We went back and he gave me the leg yields eagerly. To the left was super easy. To the right was crooked, but I could not have been happier. Harley was in my hands a bit now and I could feel the impulsion brewing even though we were only walking. He was begging to trot. All he needed was a whisper from me.
I let him trot and he stopped abruptly in a mild coughing fit. I patted him knowingly, not wanting to go down that path of disappointment, but then he stopped coughing and I felt the energy bubbling up again.
I am weak. I just can't resist the feeling of riding my horse. Of thinking together, moving together, and sharing happiness.
I let him trot again, but this time, he didn't cough. In fact, he was full of it! I stopped him because he wanted to rush off. He wanted speed. He wanted to canter. He wanted to ride as much as I did!
After a couple tiny trotting spurts, I had a tough time convincing him that that was all we were doing, so we left the ring and walked around in the yard.
Cue snorts of happiness. (from Harley, not me)
My horse is not fit. He is not 100% healthly (although he is totally sound of limb) and I am not sure what level of activity or fitness he can manage. He has good days and bad. But maybe, he is not quite ready to stop riding.
Maybe. I am cautiously optimistic.
Showing posts with label confessions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label confessions. Show all posts
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Rider Confessions
The last time that I rode my horse, I was hung-over.
"Hung-over the saddle" that is and specifically the pommel. I think that I might actually be hitting the stage where I no longer fit in the saddle. I am about 31 weeks pregnant, for those who may be wondering what on Earth I am talking about.
I rode Harley on the last day of Spring Break, April 5th. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and he was blissfully free of coughs. I rode him for a short time after our (less than stellar) long-lining session and he wanted very badly to canter. The canter was wonderful, but I chose to stand in my stirrups. It just didn't feel right to sit anymore. I could barely stand high enough to keep all of myself out of the saddle and off the pommel. With dressage length stirrups, this was a challenge. We returned to posting trot, as Harley offered a lovely stretch and I found that I was having the same trouble in trot. Sure, I could raise my stirrups a few holes, but raising your center of balance is contrary to a balanced position and security in the saddle. Obviously, giving up either of those things in not an option, especially when Harley is carrying two of us!
I think my saddle days are over until after our baby's birthday. Tomorrow, it will have been two weeks since I rode my horse and I already miss it. I know that this is for a very good reason, but it still makes me sad to think of not riding him for months. I am also not sure when I will be able to ride him after the baby is born. I really, really, really hope that I do not have to have a c-section. Thankfully, so far there is no reason to suggest that I will. I need my core muscles in one piece to ride my horse and I cannot imagine not riding for the entire summer. Now that notion really makes me sad.
I have still been visiting Harley and working him from the ground. We have had some really nice lungeing sessions. He has been feeling good and so eager to work that his transitions have been spot on from just my voice. He has also been stretching his topline and touching his nose to the ground as he trots around me. He looks so beautiful that it just makes me want to ride him more!
I am really glad that I took the time to teach my horse and myself groundwork exercises long before I ever knew that there would be a time that I couldn't ride my horse. However, this doesn't change the fact that I long for that swinging motion in the saddle. Nothing else quite compares.
"Hung-over the saddle" that is and specifically the pommel. I think that I might actually be hitting the stage where I no longer fit in the saddle. I am about 31 weeks pregnant, for those who may be wondering what on Earth I am talking about.
I rode Harley on the last day of Spring Break, April 5th. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and he was blissfully free of coughs. I rode him for a short time after our (less than stellar) long-lining session and he wanted very badly to canter. The canter was wonderful, but I chose to stand in my stirrups. It just didn't feel right to sit anymore. I could barely stand high enough to keep all of myself out of the saddle and off the pommel. With dressage length stirrups, this was a challenge. We returned to posting trot, as Harley offered a lovely stretch and I found that I was having the same trouble in trot. Sure, I could raise my stirrups a few holes, but raising your center of balance is contrary to a balanced position and security in the saddle. Obviously, giving up either of those things in not an option, especially when Harley is carrying two of us!
I think my saddle days are over until after our baby's birthday. Tomorrow, it will have been two weeks since I rode my horse and I already miss it. I know that this is for a very good reason, but it still makes me sad to think of not riding him for months. I am also not sure when I will be able to ride him after the baby is born. I really, really, really hope that I do not have to have a c-section. Thankfully, so far there is no reason to suggest that I will. I need my core muscles in one piece to ride my horse and I cannot imagine not riding for the entire summer. Now that notion really makes me sad.
I have still been visiting Harley and working him from the ground. We have had some really nice lungeing sessions. He has been feeling good and so eager to work that his transitions have been spot on from just my voice. He has also been stretching his topline and touching his nose to the ground as he trots around me. He looks so beautiful that it just makes me want to ride him more!
I am really glad that I took the time to teach my horse and myself groundwork exercises long before I ever knew that there would be a time that I couldn't ride my horse. However, this doesn't change the fact that I long for that swinging motion in the saddle. Nothing else quite compares.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Rider Confessions
I have only been riding once a week lately...
...and my horse has noticed.
It is not like I usually ride six or seven days a week, but I do like to ride more than once. Four is a gift, two is tolerable, and three is ideal during the school year. I definitely ride more during the summer, but that is only a few months out of the year. I know that three times a week is not a lot by many people's standards, but it works for me and my horse and doesn't keep me away from home and other obligations. Gone are the days when I could lollygag at the barn for hours on end.
Unfortunately, the combination of needing to get things done at work and the shortened days has seriously cut into my barn time. The work has to get done sometime and usually now is a better option than later and I cannot control the sun. I am not shy about riding under lights, which we do have at the barn, but once the sun goes down it gets pretty cold. Also, and more significantly, my barn feeds much earlier when the daylight hours are short. Sure, I could ride and then feed Harley myself. He really doesn't make much of a fuss, although years ago he used to throw a bit of a fit. After many, many repetitions of continuing to ride while the feed was being dumped and making the work more challenging if he continued to carry-on, he eventually resigned himself to the idea that I would decide when dinnertime would begin for him. Once we crossed that Rubicon, he was quite tolerable of the fact that he may have to continue working even when the other horses were enjoying their food. But even so, I do not like to work him hard just before he eats grain, so dinner does hamper our routine and nine times out ten, I will end my ride early out of convenience. Standing around in the cold waiting for Harley to finish eating is even less fun (and much colder) than riding in the cold, so I prefer that he eats with the group. I also do not want his paddock mate to get a head-start on the hay they share.
I do not usually get overwhelmed by guilt when I haven't seen my horse in several days. I figure that as long as his bodily needs are in place (food, water, shelter, a friend and more food), he is okay, but I do miss him and he is one of my most reliable forms of stress management. Working more tends to create more stress, so not seeing my horse as a result is more than an unfortunate side effect. It is actually detrimental to the balance that I try to keep in my life. Stress is very unhealthy and, for me, it accumulates just by being around people all the time. I am definitely introverted and need time to recharge my batteries. Being with my husband or my horse makes them recharge all that much faster.
So you can imagine the sudden rush of mixed emotions that I felt when my barn owner called and told me that Harley was not finishing his grain and had been leaving more and more each day. Of course this was reason for alarm, but she did assure me that he seemed normal and not in the least sick. He would just eat a certain amount of grain and then decide that he was done and ready to go outside. I drove out to see him in the dark, ready to check his vitals and armed with allergy meds in case he was having an episode.
I found Harley munching hay happily with his buddy in the shed. He greeted me immediately by sniffing my hand and he touched my hand with his muzzle several times as I checked him from top to bottom. Not wanting to find anything, but also not wanting to miss anything, I looked for some sign of distress. His breathing was normal. His attitude was normal. His gut sounds were normal and audible just standing next to him, which is always the case with Harley. I also found a fresh pile of manure in his stall before I walked out to the paddock. His appetite, at least for hay, was clearly normal, as he continually stuffed his face the entire time that I was with him, only leaving his hay with a mouthful as he checked on me checking him out. He didn't mind that I was there, but he definitely knew that it was not typical for me to visit him in the dark of night. I left him, feeling better that he was most likely okay, but also realizing that I needed to make a point not to stay late at work tomorrow. Harley needed to go back to the top of the priority list.
The very next day, I made it to the barn in time for a group trail ride. We went for a nice walk in the woods, staying close to home, because the sun was setting. Riding in the dusk is a neat experience. The fresh air and the twilight atmosphere did wonders for my mind. Harley led the way with pricked ears and a pep in his step. It was a simple ride at no more than walk, but it was plain to me that he was happy.
Once back at the barn, I fed him, because I wanted to see him eating his grain. The dentist is coming out next week, so our thoughts were that he was due for a float and this was making it uncomfortable to eat grain. We gave him a little less than usual, so as not to waste his expensive food, and I stood with my barn friends outside his stall, talking and hanging out while my horse ate.
Fifteen minutes later, I look in his trough and it is empty. Harley is standing at his stall door bright-eyed and curious. I put my hand up to his muzzle and he sniffs it in the way he always does when we hang together. I start to wonder that maybe he just hasn't been expending enough energy lately to require as much of his high calorie food. I never like that he has to eat so much of it to maintain his weight, which actually looks very good right now. This makes total sense.
And then, one of my barn friends comments that she thinks he ate it all, because I am there.
Oh dear. I think my horse missed me.
I promised him that we would go for a "real ride" the next day and we did. He was wonderful, full of energy, but listening at every moment. He ate a snack of hay cubes and was eager for his after ride treats. Then I did feel guilty that I hadn't been forcing myself out to see him more often during the week. I need our time together, too. Even if it is just to groom or lunge, I am going to make a point to get out there more than once a week.
Message received, Harley, and thanks.
...and my horse has noticed.
It is not like I usually ride six or seven days a week, but I do like to ride more than once. Four is a gift, two is tolerable, and three is ideal during the school year. I definitely ride more during the summer, but that is only a few months out of the year. I know that three times a week is not a lot by many people's standards, but it works for me and my horse and doesn't keep me away from home and other obligations. Gone are the days when I could lollygag at the barn for hours on end.
Unfortunately, the combination of needing to get things done at work and the shortened days has seriously cut into my barn time. The work has to get done sometime and usually now is a better option than later and I cannot control the sun. I am not shy about riding under lights, which we do have at the barn, but once the sun goes down it gets pretty cold. Also, and more significantly, my barn feeds much earlier when the daylight hours are short. Sure, I could ride and then feed Harley myself. He really doesn't make much of a fuss, although years ago he used to throw a bit of a fit. After many, many repetitions of continuing to ride while the feed was being dumped and making the work more challenging if he continued to carry-on, he eventually resigned himself to the idea that I would decide when dinnertime would begin for him. Once we crossed that Rubicon, he was quite tolerable of the fact that he may have to continue working even when the other horses were enjoying their food. But even so, I do not like to work him hard just before he eats grain, so dinner does hamper our routine and nine times out ten, I will end my ride early out of convenience. Standing around in the cold waiting for Harley to finish eating is even less fun (and much colder) than riding in the cold, so I prefer that he eats with the group. I also do not want his paddock mate to get a head-start on the hay they share.
I do not usually get overwhelmed by guilt when I haven't seen my horse in several days. I figure that as long as his bodily needs are in place (food, water, shelter, a friend and more food), he is okay, but I do miss him and he is one of my most reliable forms of stress management. Working more tends to create more stress, so not seeing my horse as a result is more than an unfortunate side effect. It is actually detrimental to the balance that I try to keep in my life. Stress is very unhealthy and, for me, it accumulates just by being around people all the time. I am definitely introverted and need time to recharge my batteries. Being with my husband or my horse makes them recharge all that much faster.
So you can imagine the sudden rush of mixed emotions that I felt when my barn owner called and told me that Harley was not finishing his grain and had been leaving more and more each day. Of course this was reason for alarm, but she did assure me that he seemed normal and not in the least sick. He would just eat a certain amount of grain and then decide that he was done and ready to go outside. I drove out to see him in the dark, ready to check his vitals and armed with allergy meds in case he was having an episode.
I found Harley munching hay happily with his buddy in the shed. He greeted me immediately by sniffing my hand and he touched my hand with his muzzle several times as I checked him from top to bottom. Not wanting to find anything, but also not wanting to miss anything, I looked for some sign of distress. His breathing was normal. His attitude was normal. His gut sounds were normal and audible just standing next to him, which is always the case with Harley. I also found a fresh pile of manure in his stall before I walked out to the paddock. His appetite, at least for hay, was clearly normal, as he continually stuffed his face the entire time that I was with him, only leaving his hay with a mouthful as he checked on me checking him out. He didn't mind that I was there, but he definitely knew that it was not typical for me to visit him in the dark of night. I left him, feeling better that he was most likely okay, but also realizing that I needed to make a point not to stay late at work tomorrow. Harley needed to go back to the top of the priority list.
The very next day, I made it to the barn in time for a group trail ride. We went for a nice walk in the woods, staying close to home, because the sun was setting. Riding in the dusk is a neat experience. The fresh air and the twilight atmosphere did wonders for my mind. Harley led the way with pricked ears and a pep in his step. It was a simple ride at no more than walk, but it was plain to me that he was happy.
Once back at the barn, I fed him, because I wanted to see him eating his grain. The dentist is coming out next week, so our thoughts were that he was due for a float and this was making it uncomfortable to eat grain. We gave him a little less than usual, so as not to waste his expensive food, and I stood with my barn friends outside his stall, talking and hanging out while my horse ate.
Fifteen minutes later, I look in his trough and it is empty. Harley is standing at his stall door bright-eyed and curious. I put my hand up to his muzzle and he sniffs it in the way he always does when we hang together. I start to wonder that maybe he just hasn't been expending enough energy lately to require as much of his high calorie food. I never like that he has to eat so much of it to maintain his weight, which actually looks very good right now. This makes total sense.
And then, one of my barn friends comments that she thinks he ate it all, because I am there.
Oh dear. I think my horse missed me.
I promised him that we would go for a "real ride" the next day and we did. He was wonderful, full of energy, but listening at every moment. He ate a snack of hay cubes and was eager for his after ride treats. Then I did feel guilty that I hadn't been forcing myself out to see him more often during the week. I need our time together, too. Even if it is just to groom or lunge, I am going to make a point to get out there more than once a week.
Message received, Harley, and thanks.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Rider Confessions
Sometimes, I get angry.
Truthfully, this should post should be called "Horse Handler Confessions", but that doesn't have quite the same ring to it.
I found myself very frustrated and angry the other night after teaching lessons. I was angry with a horse. Rest assured, this horse was not Harley. It was the black Percheron horse, which we use for lessons.
I know intellectually that there is no point to getting angry at a horse. If I pick the situation apart, I guess that I am really angry at all the people who have touched this horse since he began his training. This horse is very nice under saddle. My gripe is with his ground manners.
Although my interactions with this horse were pretty minimal on this particular evening, every interaction that I had with him annoyed me to the point where I wanted nothing to do with him by the time he finished his dinner and had to be turned out for the night. Problem number one arose, when I attempted to bridle this horse for a lesson. The fact that I have to use the word "attempted" makes my blood start to boil. I have bridled many, many horses over the years including tall horses and draft horses alike. I have bridled horses that put their heads on the ground and make things easy for you (I love you, Harley.) and horses who throw their heads up and refuse to open their mouths. I have never failed to bridle an unwilling horse until the other night. Every time that I try to bridle this horse, he tries to walk away and this instance was no different. I had the reins around his neck and I was ready, so he did not walk away, but he did sweep his big head and neck away from me. Twice. Once he realized that he was not going to be able to walk away he put his head as high as he possibly could. I was able to bit him, but I was too short to put the crown over his ears. I just could not reach. The barn manager finally had to help me by encouraging him to put his head down, which he would do for a second and then jerk it back up again. Needless to say this put us behind for the scheduled lesson I was about to teach.
The riding lesson itself went fine, but once the lesson was over, I had to hold the horse while the client was leaving. A small child unexpectedly stopped right in front of this big horse, so I asked him to halt and he continued walking forward. I asked again and he ignored me. I had to resort to pinching the underside of his neck to get his attention and then MAKING him back up by pushing on the bit and his chest. This is the complete opposite of how I like to work with horses, but this horse's attention to his handler was so poor and the situation was such that I could not allow him to walk forward and make a mistake. I was admittedly angry at this point, but outside of pinching the horse, I did not act on my feelings. I walked him back to the barn and decided to remove his bridle in his stall, so that he could not walk away from me.
And I failed again.
Unknown to me, the horse had grain in his bucket and walked away as I was trying to unbridle him. Thankfully, I stopped him before he got his nose in the bucket and rewarded himself. I promptly removed him from the stall and marched him back into the aisle. I realized that I would have to ask for help again to remove his bridle. I turned around and suddenly became aware that there was a crowd of people in the barn. Everyone from staff to clients. I decided to wait for a moment until the group dispersed so that I could untack the horse without so much commotion and people...ehem... underfoot. I was standing at the horse's shoulder, directly next to him. Not in front of him. I was holding the reins under his chin. He was adequately restrained in every way except that his attention span and body awareness are zero.
Do you know what this horse did? He stepped on my right foot.
I very, very rarely get stepped on by a horse. The few times when I have been stepped on in the past twenty-five years, the horse (any horse) realized that they were beginning to squash me and immediately lightened the load on my foot to basically nothing. I have been working with, riding, and handling all sorts of horses in that time frame. All different ages and breeds, males and females. I am quick, which helps me avoid a possible foot-squashing situation, and most horses that I work with do not want to step on me and make every effort not to hurt me if they ACCIDENTALLY do.
I think this horse stepped on me on purpose. I was right next to him and he moved his foot sideways and planted it on my little toe. My toe did not break, but it hurt and it was not easy to move him off of my foot.
My anger was threw the roof at this point, but I still did not act.
I wanted to smack that horse, so badly. But I did not.
I got some help. We untacked him. He ate his dinner. I let someone else turn him out, because I could not stand to interact with him one more time that night.
I love, love, love horses. I love my horse so much. But this horse made me so angry and frustrated. This horse needs some serious work and I know how to do ground work to improve obedience, but this horse annoyed me so much that I do not want to spend time with him to help him improve.
I do not like to admit that a horse can make me angry and I do not think that many horses have over the years. But this one got me. At least I feel a little better having written about it.
Has a horse ever made you angry?
Truthfully, this should post should be called "Horse Handler Confessions", but that doesn't have quite the same ring to it.
I found myself very frustrated and angry the other night after teaching lessons. I was angry with a horse. Rest assured, this horse was not Harley. It was the black Percheron horse, which we use for lessons.
I know intellectually that there is no point to getting angry at a horse. If I pick the situation apart, I guess that I am really angry at all the people who have touched this horse since he began his training. This horse is very nice under saddle. My gripe is with his ground manners.
Although my interactions with this horse were pretty minimal on this particular evening, every interaction that I had with him annoyed me to the point where I wanted nothing to do with him by the time he finished his dinner and had to be turned out for the night. Problem number one arose, when I attempted to bridle this horse for a lesson. The fact that I have to use the word "attempted" makes my blood start to boil. I have bridled many, many horses over the years including tall horses and draft horses alike. I have bridled horses that put their heads on the ground and make things easy for you (I love you, Harley.) and horses who throw their heads up and refuse to open their mouths. I have never failed to bridle an unwilling horse until the other night. Every time that I try to bridle this horse, he tries to walk away and this instance was no different. I had the reins around his neck and I was ready, so he did not walk away, but he did sweep his big head and neck away from me. Twice. Once he realized that he was not going to be able to walk away he put his head as high as he possibly could. I was able to bit him, but I was too short to put the crown over his ears. I just could not reach. The barn manager finally had to help me by encouraging him to put his head down, which he would do for a second and then jerk it back up again. Needless to say this put us behind for the scheduled lesson I was about to teach.
The riding lesson itself went fine, but once the lesson was over, I had to hold the horse while the client was leaving. A small child unexpectedly stopped right in front of this big horse, so I asked him to halt and he continued walking forward. I asked again and he ignored me. I had to resort to pinching the underside of his neck to get his attention and then MAKING him back up by pushing on the bit and his chest. This is the complete opposite of how I like to work with horses, but this horse's attention to his handler was so poor and the situation was such that I could not allow him to walk forward and make a mistake. I was admittedly angry at this point, but outside of pinching the horse, I did not act on my feelings. I walked him back to the barn and decided to remove his bridle in his stall, so that he could not walk away from me.
And I failed again.
Unknown to me, the horse had grain in his bucket and walked away as I was trying to unbridle him. Thankfully, I stopped him before he got his nose in the bucket and rewarded himself. I promptly removed him from the stall and marched him back into the aisle. I realized that I would have to ask for help again to remove his bridle. I turned around and suddenly became aware that there was a crowd of people in the barn. Everyone from staff to clients. I decided to wait for a moment until the group dispersed so that I could untack the horse without so much commotion and people...ehem... underfoot. I was standing at the horse's shoulder, directly next to him. Not in front of him. I was holding the reins under his chin. He was adequately restrained in every way except that his attention span and body awareness are zero.
Do you know what this horse did? He stepped on my right foot.
I very, very rarely get stepped on by a horse. The few times when I have been stepped on in the past twenty-five years, the horse (any horse) realized that they were beginning to squash me and immediately lightened the load on my foot to basically nothing. I have been working with, riding, and handling all sorts of horses in that time frame. All different ages and breeds, males and females. I am quick, which helps me avoid a possible foot-squashing situation, and most horses that I work with do not want to step on me and make every effort not to hurt me if they ACCIDENTALLY do.
I think this horse stepped on me on purpose. I was right next to him and he moved his foot sideways and planted it on my little toe. My toe did not break, but it hurt and it was not easy to move him off of my foot.
My anger was threw the roof at this point, but I still did not act.
I wanted to smack that horse, so badly. But I did not.
I got some help. We untacked him. He ate his dinner. I let someone else turn him out, because I could not stand to interact with him one more time that night.
I love, love, love horses. I love my horse so much. But this horse made me so angry and frustrated. This horse needs some serious work and I know how to do ground work to improve obedience, but this horse annoyed me so much that I do not want to spend time with him to help him improve.
I do not like to admit that a horse can make me angry and I do not think that many horses have over the years. But this one got me. At least I feel a little better having written about it.
Has a horse ever made you angry?
Monday, September 3, 2012
Girth Check Video
I filmed a short video to demonstrate how I check for girth tightness at the horse's sternum starring Harley, of course. I hope you enjoy it and remember, safety first!
See Rider Confessions for the back story and more information.
See Rider Confessions for the back story and more information.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Rider Confessions
I ride Harley with a loose girth.
At least, that is what people have been telling me over the years.
And by "people" I mean,
the barn owner.
my teacher.
other riders.
random barn folks hanging on the fence.
a gate steward at a horse show.
a judge at a horse show.
In contrast, there are a handful of individuals who have told me that the girth does not need to be super tight if the saddle fits horse and rider and I have read something here and there to support their claims. One of them was a tack professional who designs saddle pads and shims. The other one was a therapeutic riding professional at a certification workshop. She was one of the workshop trainers for instructors and insisted that we check for girth tightness at the sternum of the horse. She explained that if you check for girth tightness at the side, and especially if the girth has elastic ends, you will almost always be able to feel that you can tighten it up a hole or two. I guess this would be true until you run out of holes in the billets!
The workshop trainer asked us to compare the tightness of the girth at the sides and then at the sternum for a horse whose girth had been "tightened up" in typical fashion for lessons. At the horse's sides, the girth had some give and I could easily pull it away from his body. It felt like I could raise it up one more hole. When I felt the girth at the sternum, it almost felt like he was being split in two! I could barely squeeze my fingers between the girth and his body. The workshop trainer told us about the soreness that can develop at the girth spot on horses who are consistently worked with a girth that is too tight. A little prodding or pressure applied at the side of the girth spot may be enough to cause the muscles to tense up or the horse's facial expression to show discomfort. Horses in chronic pain from the girth or other tack may become frustrated and show stronger vices, like ear pinning, head tossing, biting, side-stepping, walking off, or more dangerous behaviors under saddle. As riding instructors, she stressed that it was very important for us to look out for the well-being and happiness of our equine staff. This was as important for our riders and volunteers as it was for the horse. A pony in discomfort can become a dangerous pony very quickly and, of course, no one wants to cause an animal any pain. Girthiness is to be taken seriously as the symptom of a greater problem.
I took this lesson to heart and started checking the girths of all my therapeutic lesson horses at the sternum. I also taught my volunteers to do the same. I had to loosen more girths than I tightened in the beginning, but before long my group of helpers became very good at checking and tightening girths correctly. My lesson horses seemed happier. Some even displayed a reduction in unwanted behavior, like head-tossing while being girthed-up. It is required practice to check the girth several times in a therapeutic lesson, especially if the rider is not independent or able-bodied, so I was constantly monitoring the safety of the girth tightness that I chose for my horses. The "sternum test" really worked! It was an enlightening experience.
I started applying this practice to my own horse. He had not displayed "girthy" behavior, but I still wanted him to be comfortable when I asked him to work. I tightened the girth until it felt secure at the sternum. Looking from the ground, the girth rested snuggly against his sides. I have known horses that hold their breath and pop out their rib cage to protect themselves from the girth, but Harley was not doing this. I rode my horse. The saddle did not shift. If we went on trails and moved at speed or traveled up and down hills, like at the Turkey Trot, my tack stayed secure. Even when Harley is having a "bouncy" day, my saddle stays put. I never think about the girth when I am riding until someone at ground level looks at my saddle billets with wide eyes.
I cannot tell you how many times this had happened. I am standing next to some horse person and he or she glances at the girth for my saddle and suddenly the person's eyes get big. Next, I hear that my girth is too loose. I have tried handling this situation in a number of ways. In the beginning I always got off and tightened the girth. I did not want to worry anyone about safety, especially at a horse show, and, hey, maybe they were right? I do not want to get caught hanging under my horse's belly. Talk about looking like a newbie! However, sometimes I would tighten the girth or ask someone else to tighten it for me (can't seem to reach a dressage girth from the saddle), and then later that same day another person would make the same discovery about my girth. I cannot just keep tightening it!
Other times, I attempted to explain to whomever was trying to save me from certain death, that the girth was tight at the sternum. At this point the person's eyes would usually glaze over or he or she would raise an eyebrow in disbelief. Something about anatomy terms seems to have that effect. Of course, people whom I see all the time, like the barn owner, would listen to me and usually ignore the girth after that, but that did not take care of random new folks. This is where "looking young" is not a good thing. People seem to think that I need help, because I look like I am new to whatever I am doing: riding, teaching, trying on shoes, etc. Just imagine being treated like a novice in everything that you do whenever you meet new people. It gets old really fast. Trust me.
The strategy that has worked the best so far when informed that I am in eminent danger, because the girth securing my saddle is too loose, is to very nonchalantly say,
"It is always like that".
For some reason random people are more likely to accept complacency then they are thoughtful technique. On one occasion, the other person dropped the issue immediately and responded back with,
"Oh, people always say that to me, too."
I am baffled by this, but if it keeps the savers off my back, I am willing to play along. Maybe they assume that I am less concerned with safety than they are or too ignorant in my riding practice to bother with. I do not want to be rude to someone who is trying to look out for a stranger's safety, because there is something to be said for that, but I also need an effective counter response so that I can continue on my way.
Although I use the "sternum test" for all the horses that I tack up, Harley is the only one who triggers action in "concerned girth activists". This has happened with more than one saddle/girth combination. Since I cannot see what his girth looks like when I am on his back, I cannot share their perspective. Do you think that he could have figured out a way to hold himself away from the girth, so that it looks dramatically loose? He is slap-sided, which probably exacerbates the visual effect. I only get these comments when he is standing still and only after riding for a while. When I get off to untack, his girth looks exactly the same as it did when I tacked up. I have tried putting his girth up an extra hole on each side (elastic on both), just in case, but I learned at my last lesson that the "looseness" is still apparent, because my teacher lost her thought while explaining something to me at the end of our lesson. Her eyes, which had dropped to the girth, widened and she stopped midsentence to look up at me and say,
"Your girth has like this much space." She was using her thumb and index finger to measure out about an inch. I had been caught up in the wonderful stuff that she was saying about our work during the lesson and almost didn't realize what she was talking about at first. In the same situation, I am sure that I would feel obligated to share the same information with my own student. My expression sank a bit as I sighed, smiled a little, and whispered,
"It's always like that..."
At least, that is what people have been telling me over the years.
And by "people" I mean,
the barn owner.
my teacher.
other riders.
random barn folks hanging on the fence.
a gate steward at a horse show.
a judge at a horse show.
 |
| "Feels tight enough to me!" Harley wears a special contoured girth, made by Prestige, to prevent the saddle from being pulled into his shoulders due to a forward girth spot. Worth every penny! |
In contrast, there are a handful of individuals who have told me that the girth does not need to be super tight if the saddle fits horse and rider and I have read something here and there to support their claims. One of them was a tack professional who designs saddle pads and shims. The other one was a therapeutic riding professional at a certification workshop. She was one of the workshop trainers for instructors and insisted that we check for girth tightness at the sternum of the horse. She explained that if you check for girth tightness at the side, and especially if the girth has elastic ends, you will almost always be able to feel that you can tighten it up a hole or two. I guess this would be true until you run out of holes in the billets!
The workshop trainer asked us to compare the tightness of the girth at the sides and then at the sternum for a horse whose girth had been "tightened up" in typical fashion for lessons. At the horse's sides, the girth had some give and I could easily pull it away from his body. It felt like I could raise it up one more hole. When I felt the girth at the sternum, it almost felt like he was being split in two! I could barely squeeze my fingers between the girth and his body. The workshop trainer told us about the soreness that can develop at the girth spot on horses who are consistently worked with a girth that is too tight. A little prodding or pressure applied at the side of the girth spot may be enough to cause the muscles to tense up or the horse's facial expression to show discomfort. Horses in chronic pain from the girth or other tack may become frustrated and show stronger vices, like ear pinning, head tossing, biting, side-stepping, walking off, or more dangerous behaviors under saddle. As riding instructors, she stressed that it was very important for us to look out for the well-being and happiness of our equine staff. This was as important for our riders and volunteers as it was for the horse. A pony in discomfort can become a dangerous pony very quickly and, of course, no one wants to cause an animal any pain. Girthiness is to be taken seriously as the symptom of a greater problem.
I took this lesson to heart and started checking the girths of all my therapeutic lesson horses at the sternum. I also taught my volunteers to do the same. I had to loosen more girths than I tightened in the beginning, but before long my group of helpers became very good at checking and tightening girths correctly. My lesson horses seemed happier. Some even displayed a reduction in unwanted behavior, like head-tossing while being girthed-up. It is required practice to check the girth several times in a therapeutic lesson, especially if the rider is not independent or able-bodied, so I was constantly monitoring the safety of the girth tightness that I chose for my horses. The "sternum test" really worked! It was an enlightening experience.
I started applying this practice to my own horse. He had not displayed "girthy" behavior, but I still wanted him to be comfortable when I asked him to work. I tightened the girth until it felt secure at the sternum. Looking from the ground, the girth rested snuggly against his sides. I have known horses that hold their breath and pop out their rib cage to protect themselves from the girth, but Harley was not doing this. I rode my horse. The saddle did not shift. If we went on trails and moved at speed or traveled up and down hills, like at the Turkey Trot, my tack stayed secure. Even when Harley is having a "bouncy" day, my saddle stays put. I never think about the girth when I am riding until someone at ground level looks at my saddle billets with wide eyes.
I cannot tell you how many times this had happened. I am standing next to some horse person and he or she glances at the girth for my saddle and suddenly the person's eyes get big. Next, I hear that my girth is too loose. I have tried handling this situation in a number of ways. In the beginning I always got off and tightened the girth. I did not want to worry anyone about safety, especially at a horse show, and, hey, maybe they were right? I do not want to get caught hanging under my horse's belly. Talk about looking like a newbie! However, sometimes I would tighten the girth or ask someone else to tighten it for me (can't seem to reach a dressage girth from the saddle), and then later that same day another person would make the same discovery about my girth. I cannot just keep tightening it!
Other times, I attempted to explain to whomever was trying to save me from certain death, that the girth was tight at the sternum. At this point the person's eyes would usually glaze over or he or she would raise an eyebrow in disbelief. Something about anatomy terms seems to have that effect. Of course, people whom I see all the time, like the barn owner, would listen to me and usually ignore the girth after that, but that did not take care of random new folks. This is where "looking young" is not a good thing. People seem to think that I need help, because I look like I am new to whatever I am doing: riding, teaching, trying on shoes, etc. Just imagine being treated like a novice in everything that you do whenever you meet new people. It gets old really fast. Trust me.
The strategy that has worked the best so far when informed that I am in eminent danger, because the girth securing my saddle is too loose, is to very nonchalantly say,
"It is always like that".
For some reason random people are more likely to accept complacency then they are thoughtful technique. On one occasion, the other person dropped the issue immediately and responded back with,
"Oh, people always say that to me, too."
I am baffled by this, but if it keeps the savers off my back, I am willing to play along. Maybe they assume that I am less concerned with safety than they are or too ignorant in my riding practice to bother with. I do not want to be rude to someone who is trying to look out for a stranger's safety, because there is something to be said for that, but I also need an effective counter response so that I can continue on my way.
Although I use the "sternum test" for all the horses that I tack up, Harley is the only one who triggers action in "concerned girth activists". This has happened with more than one saddle/girth combination. Since I cannot see what his girth looks like when I am on his back, I cannot share their perspective. Do you think that he could have figured out a way to hold himself away from the girth, so that it looks dramatically loose? He is slap-sided, which probably exacerbates the visual effect. I only get these comments when he is standing still and only after riding for a while. When I get off to untack, his girth looks exactly the same as it did when I tacked up. I have tried putting his girth up an extra hole on each side (elastic on both), just in case, but I learned at my last lesson that the "looseness" is still apparent, because my teacher lost her thought while explaining something to me at the end of our lesson. Her eyes, which had dropped to the girth, widened and she stopped midsentence to look up at me and say,
"Your girth has like this much space." She was using her thumb and index finger to measure out about an inch. I had been caught up in the wonderful stuff that she was saying about our work during the lesson and almost didn't realize what she was talking about at first. In the same situation, I am sure that I would feel obligated to share the same information with my own student. My expression sank a bit as I sighed, smiled a little, and whispered,
"It's always like that..."
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Rider Confessions
I forgot something.
Animals have an uncanny way of revealing ourselves to us. Just yesterday, my husband's father was marveled by the family dog, because he seemed to always know what my father-in-law was going to do before he did it. He exclaimed that it was like the dog was reading his mind! I smiled and in my head thought, "Believe me. I know what you are talking about!"
But a few days prior, I forgot this.
The ability to read us goes way beyond mere action and pattern recognition. Most people who spend time around animals have observed this. I find that horses are especially sensitive to our thoughts and emotions. They also seem more compelled to respond in recognition of those thoughts and emotions like it is an energy that cannot be stifled. The mirror metaphor is nothing new, but this does not mitigate the effect of the experience.
At the end of this week, I got on Harley for a short walk through the woods. Something was bothering me. The thing that was bothering me was barn-related and it was the kind of thing that frustrates, because of feelings of being "not in control" of a situation. The situation affects my horse and my friend and me, which understandably made my frustration emotionally-charged.
I did not have time for a ride, but I needed to get on Harley for a few minutes. This inevitably makes me feel better and I was feeling pretty lousy. After swinging into the saddle, we headed for one of the exit gates to the property. We stopped at the gate and I unlatched it. We walked through and I turned Harley around. Well, he really turns himself around and walks up to the latch. We have opened and closed gates hundreds of times together.
This particular gate is not lined up at the latch as well as it used to be. I have to raise the latch and pull up on the entire aluminum gate to fix the latch and close the gate. Lifting the gate and keeping my thumb on the latch at the same time is not easy from the ground. It is really difficult from horseback. The muscles along my torso tighten and scream at me if it takes me more than one attempt to get the gate to close. Despite my fussing and grunting to close the gate, Harley usually waits patiently.
Not today.
As soon as I tried to lift up the gate, Harley started moving his feet. He started dancing in place. I stopped what I was doing and steadied him with the rein. I patted him and found his neck muscles tight. Of course, I could feel this under the saddle, too. I pleaded with him a little bit. Just give me a minute here, Boy. I fussed with the gate again, but he moved away before I could close it. I nudged him with my leg to move him closer to the gate. He side-stepped into my leg pressure. What? That is like horse defiance. When a steadying on the rein and a stronger nudge recieved more side-stepping away from the gate, I gave him a kick. Harley's hindquarters swung into the gate, slamming it closed with a satisfying "BANG".
This did not scare him. A part of me thinks he did it on purpose. I was actually kind of happy, because I did not have to mess with the gate anymore, but clearly there was a problem. I walked a small circle away from the gate and tried to stop Harley next to the latch. That trainer in me was not willing to let this go yet. We halted and I nudged his hindquarters closer to the gate. He responded with the same defiance of side-stepping into my leg pressure. I amplified my aids and he amplified his defiance. He swung his hindquarters in a circle toward my leg, pivoting on his front end. I kicked and nudged, but nothing I did had any effect. Once he had completed a 180 degree pivot, he started backing up. I kicked with both legs and tapped him insistently with the whip, but he kept backing up. His neck was high and tight. His ears were starting to flatten. He was angry! For a moment it crossed my mind that he might want to go up. Harley rear? Over a silly little gate exercise. But then I realized my mistake.
It was not about the gate at all. It was me. All the frustration and anger and emotion that I was feeling was coming through Harley. I was the one feeling defiant. Not in control. Like things were unfair. I was the one who was angry enough to rear, but as a human, as an adult, I had to keep my emotions in check. I was not allowed to act upon them, so I kept them inside. But I was not fooling Harley.
As he danced in place and hopped backward, I felt the energy streaming through both of us. It was not until we had danced like this for several long moments that I remembered how important it is to have a clear mind when you are with your horse. The horse cannot ignore it. He cannot hear any of your aids when your mind is screaming something else. This is why it is so important to always have a clear picture of what you want your horse to be like, to go like, when you are riding or training him. My mind was the equivalent of a laser light show when I was trying to close that gate. I might have liked to slam it myself, but I wouldn't. Harley did it for me and then he tried to figure out where to put all the energy I was giving off. There was nothing constructive for him to do with it and there was not a clear image coming from me, so he panicked and then he got mad at me. And now I was mad at myself.
Once I realized my mistake, my body softened and I took a deep breath. I told myself that even if somethings seemed unfair in my life, I needed to be fair to my horse. If I was riding him and not thinking about riding, I was doing him an injustice and I might as well just dismount.
Harley stopped his feet and waited.
I tapped him forward with both feet. He hesitated, but then he walked forward slowly. I imagined his body soft and flexible as I gently asked him to bend, and then I nudged him away from the offending leg. He side-stepped in a circle pivoting around his front end. I switch the bend and my aids and he repeated the exercise in the other direction. I released the reins and he let out a snort. We walked up to the latch of the gate and halted. I released the reins again and he lowered his neck. I leaned over and pulled on the gate, as if I still needed to latch it. Harley remained motionless. I patted his neck and he shook his mane from side-to-side, shaking off the previous confusion.
We started walking down the trail and he was a completely different horse. I am human and things are going to upset me from time to time, but I cannot expect my horse to just wash it away for me. I have to meet him halfway in the saddle even if my problems do not magically dissolve once my foot is in the stirrup.
The importance of riding with a clear mind cannot be overstated, but it does need reminding once in a while.
Animals have an uncanny way of revealing ourselves to us. Just yesterday, my husband's father was marveled by the family dog, because he seemed to always know what my father-in-law was going to do before he did it. He exclaimed that it was like the dog was reading his mind! I smiled and in my head thought, "Believe me. I know what you are talking about!"
But a few days prior, I forgot this.
The ability to read us goes way beyond mere action and pattern recognition. Most people who spend time around animals have observed this. I find that horses are especially sensitive to our thoughts and emotions. They also seem more compelled to respond in recognition of those thoughts and emotions like it is an energy that cannot be stifled. The mirror metaphor is nothing new, but this does not mitigate the effect of the experience.
At the end of this week, I got on Harley for a short walk through the woods. Something was bothering me. The thing that was bothering me was barn-related and it was the kind of thing that frustrates, because of feelings of being "not in control" of a situation. The situation affects my horse and my friend and me, which understandably made my frustration emotionally-charged.
I did not have time for a ride, but I needed to get on Harley for a few minutes. This inevitably makes me feel better and I was feeling pretty lousy. After swinging into the saddle, we headed for one of the exit gates to the property. We stopped at the gate and I unlatched it. We walked through and I turned Harley around. Well, he really turns himself around and walks up to the latch. We have opened and closed gates hundreds of times together.
This particular gate is not lined up at the latch as well as it used to be. I have to raise the latch and pull up on the entire aluminum gate to fix the latch and close the gate. Lifting the gate and keeping my thumb on the latch at the same time is not easy from the ground. It is really difficult from horseback. The muscles along my torso tighten and scream at me if it takes me more than one attempt to get the gate to close. Despite my fussing and grunting to close the gate, Harley usually waits patiently.
Not today.
As soon as I tried to lift up the gate, Harley started moving his feet. He started dancing in place. I stopped what I was doing and steadied him with the rein. I patted him and found his neck muscles tight. Of course, I could feel this under the saddle, too. I pleaded with him a little bit. Just give me a minute here, Boy. I fussed with the gate again, but he moved away before I could close it. I nudged him with my leg to move him closer to the gate. He side-stepped into my leg pressure. What? That is like horse defiance. When a steadying on the rein and a stronger nudge recieved more side-stepping away from the gate, I gave him a kick. Harley's hindquarters swung into the gate, slamming it closed with a satisfying "BANG".
This did not scare him. A part of me thinks he did it on purpose. I was actually kind of happy, because I did not have to mess with the gate anymore, but clearly there was a problem. I walked a small circle away from the gate and tried to stop Harley next to the latch. That trainer in me was not willing to let this go yet. We halted and I nudged his hindquarters closer to the gate. He responded with the same defiance of side-stepping into my leg pressure. I amplified my aids and he amplified his defiance. He swung his hindquarters in a circle toward my leg, pivoting on his front end. I kicked and nudged, but nothing I did had any effect. Once he had completed a 180 degree pivot, he started backing up. I kicked with both legs and tapped him insistently with the whip, but he kept backing up. His neck was high and tight. His ears were starting to flatten. He was angry! For a moment it crossed my mind that he might want to go up. Harley rear? Over a silly little gate exercise. But then I realized my mistake.
It was not about the gate at all. It was me. All the frustration and anger and emotion that I was feeling was coming through Harley. I was the one feeling defiant. Not in control. Like things were unfair. I was the one who was angry enough to rear, but as a human, as an adult, I had to keep my emotions in check. I was not allowed to act upon them, so I kept them inside. But I was not fooling Harley.
As he danced in place and hopped backward, I felt the energy streaming through both of us. It was not until we had danced like this for several long moments that I remembered how important it is to have a clear mind when you are with your horse. The horse cannot ignore it. He cannot hear any of your aids when your mind is screaming something else. This is why it is so important to always have a clear picture of what you want your horse to be like, to go like, when you are riding or training him. My mind was the equivalent of a laser light show when I was trying to close that gate. I might have liked to slam it myself, but I wouldn't. Harley did it for me and then he tried to figure out where to put all the energy I was giving off. There was nothing constructive for him to do with it and there was not a clear image coming from me, so he panicked and then he got mad at me. And now I was mad at myself.
Once I realized my mistake, my body softened and I took a deep breath. I told myself that even if somethings seemed unfair in my life, I needed to be fair to my horse. If I was riding him and not thinking about riding, I was doing him an injustice and I might as well just dismount.
Harley stopped his feet and waited.
I tapped him forward with both feet. He hesitated, but then he walked forward slowly. I imagined his body soft and flexible as I gently asked him to bend, and then I nudged him away from the offending leg. He side-stepped in a circle pivoting around his front end. I switch the bend and my aids and he repeated the exercise in the other direction. I released the reins and he let out a snort. We walked up to the latch of the gate and halted. I released the reins again and he lowered his neck. I leaned over and pulled on the gate, as if I still needed to latch it. Harley remained motionless. I patted his neck and he shook his mane from side-to-side, shaking off the previous confusion.
We started walking down the trail and he was a completely different horse. I am human and things are going to upset me from time to time, but I cannot expect my horse to just wash it away for me. I have to meet him halfway in the saddle even if my problems do not magically dissolve once my foot is in the stirrup.
The importance of riding with a clear mind cannot be overstated, but it does need reminding once in a while.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Rider Confessions
My car smells like a tack room.
I know that to horse people, this is no big deal, so maybe I should clarify. We have been putting our cars in the garage at night, because scraping frost off the windshield in the morning is not fun. My husband is very sweet and less deterred by cold (He can wear shorts and move the cars in the cold. Not me!), so he has been moving my car into the garage for me. The first time he did this, he walked into the kitchen and said,
"Did Harley use your car as a bathroom?"
So maybe "smells like a tack room" is not the right description. You might be thinking of freshly cleaned leather or the subtle, sweet aroma of horse cookies, but this would not be accurate. Actually, I do not know how to describe the odor in my car, but it is bad and the problem seems to be coming from my trunk. I own one horse, but one saddle pad is just not enough. Apparently, the lesson goers at the barn did not think it possible to have so many pads and only one horse, so I noticed that my pads started migrating to the wrong side of the tack room. Who can resist a quilted, navy pad with silver piping anyway? I decided that the safest thing to do was to put my spare pads in the trunk of my car, along with the spare tire. Some of them were clean, others not so much. Honestly, I did not notice any odor migrating from the trunk until a few weeks ago. I went to retrieve my trimming rasp (my trunk doubles as a farrier's box) and discovered that it was hiding under a damp saddle pad. This was strange for two reasons:
And smelly, now that there are damp pads in there. Or were. No, I did not clean out my trunk. Again. I have limits and cleaning my car is very, very low on the "to do" list. The truth is that none of the pads are wet or damp, so they must have air dried during the past couple weeks, slowly diffusing their noxious vapors into the cabin of my car.
So let me rephrase.
My car smells like a really, smelly tack room, BUT
I cannot move "clean my car" up on the "to do" list,
because I have to ADD "do horse laundry".
For the time being I should reframe from offering rides to nonfamily members. As for family members, a tack room/farrier box/smelly car is part of the territory. Sorry!
I know that to horse people, this is no big deal, so maybe I should clarify. We have been putting our cars in the garage at night, because scraping frost off the windshield in the morning is not fun. My husband is very sweet and less deterred by cold (He can wear shorts and move the cars in the cold. Not me!), so he has been moving my car into the garage for me. The first time he did this, he walked into the kitchen and said,
"Did Harley use your car as a bathroom?"
So maybe "smells like a tack room" is not the right description. You might be thinking of freshly cleaned leather or the subtle, sweet aroma of horse cookies, but this would not be accurate. Actually, I do not know how to describe the odor in my car, but it is bad and the problem seems to be coming from my trunk. I own one horse, but one saddle pad is just not enough. Apparently, the lesson goers at the barn did not think it possible to have so many pads and only one horse, so I noticed that my pads started migrating to the wrong side of the tack room. Who can resist a quilted, navy pad with silver piping anyway? I decided that the safest thing to do was to put my spare pads in the trunk of my car, along with the spare tire. Some of them were clean, others not so much. Honestly, I did not notice any odor migrating from the trunk until a few weeks ago. I went to retrieve my trimming rasp (my trunk doubles as a farrier's box) and discovered that it was hiding under a damp saddle pad. This was strange for two reasons:
- I had only used that pad once the entire summer and
- I did not put a damp saddle pad in my trunk. Come on. I do have limits.
And smelly, now that there are damp pads in there. Or were. No, I did not clean out my trunk. Again. I have limits and cleaning my car is very, very low on the "to do" list. The truth is that none of the pads are wet or damp, so they must have air dried during the past couple weeks, slowly diffusing their noxious vapors into the cabin of my car.
 |
| My tack room on wheels. Honda calls the color "Inca Pearl", but I call it "Metallic Mustard". |
My car smells like a really, smelly tack room, BUT
I cannot move "clean my car" up on the "to do" list,
because I have to ADD "do horse laundry".
For the time being I should reframe from offering rides to nonfamily members. As for family members, a tack room/farrier box/smelly car is part of the territory. Sorry!
 |
| Dressage Civic |
Monday, September 19, 2011
Rider Confessions
Instructors everywhere scold and warn against it.
Trail riders find it unsightly if you are in front of them.
Show horses would not be caught dead doing it.
Maybe "natural horsemanship" folks applaud it?
Probably not.
I let my horse stop and poop.
I know, I know.
I have been yelled at plenty of times as a youngster taking lessons. I should definitely know better. The barn owner keeps warning that it will happen in a horse show. Harley and I rudely stopped an entire group of trail riders so he could, eh-hem, do his "duty". But at least no one can say he is impulsive or uptight.
Somewhere along the line, I decided that I do not care if my horse stops to go to the bathroom when I am riding him. I mean, I feel rude asking him to keep walking or trotting when "nature calls". I never want him to think that there is a bad time for going to the bathroom. A moving digestive system is way too important. I like to think that I have trained him well, but, in this regard, he has my number.
Besides, he will do the cutest little halt from the trot, relieve himself, and then spring back into trot on the aids and with renewed freedom. Makes me laugh every time!
Harley, you funny boy.
Trail riders find it unsightly if you are in front of them.
Show horses would not be caught dead doing it.
Maybe "natural horsemanship" folks applaud it?
Probably not.
 |
| Here I am thinking about canter to walk and how nice my horse feels. |
 |
| Carefree Harley and me hanging my head in shame. Nice square halt, though. |
 |
| Now, I am thinking about editing the video. |
I let my horse stop and poop.
I know, I know.
I have been yelled at plenty of times as a youngster taking lessons. I should definitely know better. The barn owner keeps warning that it will happen in a horse show. Harley and I rudely stopped an entire group of trail riders so he could, eh-hem, do his "duty". But at least no one can say he is impulsive or uptight.
Somewhere along the line, I decided that I do not care if my horse stops to go to the bathroom when I am riding him. I mean, I feel rude asking him to keep walking or trotting when "nature calls". I never want him to think that there is a bad time for going to the bathroom. A moving digestive system is way too important. I like to think that I have trained him well, but, in this regard, he has my number.
Besides, he will do the cutest little halt from the trot, relieve himself, and then spring back into trot on the aids and with renewed freedom. Makes me laugh every time!
Harley, you funny boy.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Rider Confessions
Happy First Day of Summer!
Rider Confession #1:
I used to ride until I was dehydrated.
This was when I was a teenager and in my early twenties. I remember getting off the horse, both of us covered in sweat, and my abdomen seizing up. I very nearly blacked out a couple times and often felt like I was going to be sick. I was just lucky that my lesson horse never tied up, but I nearly did. Have you ever experienced a "Charlie Horse" in a hamstring muscle? How about both hamstrings at the same time?
Looking back, I wish that my instructor had moderated our workout by forcing more breaks. She did hand me my water bottle during the lesson, but I probably should have been taking electrolytes, too. In her defense, I would not cancel a lesson just because the sun was blazing into the 90's and our arena was uncovered. Maybe she thought that I would learn my lesson and start regulating my own saddle time to accommodate health concerns. This possibility just occurred to me now, so I guess that I failed the "hands-on" learning approach. Now that I have Harley and ten more years under my belt, I am much more conscious of hydration and keeping both of us healthy in the summer months. What was that saying about age and wisdom? Or was it youth and folly? Personally, I think it was the "Charlie Horses."
As for the leather gloves, I used to wrap my fingers in baseball tape before I discovered the merits of purchasing more expensive riding gloves. That also reflects the amount of contact that I used to have in my hands. Learning to sit the trot was another ordeal altogether, complicated by never really riding in a saddle that fit my petite frame. Even if the saddle has recessed stirrup bars, the buckle from the stirrup leathers hurt my inner thigh, which leads me to my next confession.
I ride with leather webbers instead of stirrup leathers on my dressage saddle. They are Bates brand, black leather with a nylon core that is not supposed to stretch. I purchased nifty little sleeves to cover the metal "T" that sets the webber to a comfortable length. Now I do not have to feel the bulk of the leathers, the pinch of the "T", or the immovable buckle under my thigh. I also think that they look quite sharp.
Final Confession:
I have endured my share of pain for the sake of my passion, but, like all horse girls, the thought of not riding never crossed my mind.
Rider Confession #1:
I used to ride until I was dehydrated.
This was when I was a teenager and in my early twenties. I remember getting off the horse, both of us covered in sweat, and my abdomen seizing up. I very nearly blacked out a couple times and often felt like I was going to be sick. I was just lucky that my lesson horse never tied up, but I nearly did. Have you ever experienced a "Charlie Horse" in a hamstring muscle? How about both hamstrings at the same time?
Looking back, I wish that my instructor had moderated our workout by forcing more breaks. She did hand me my water bottle during the lesson, but I probably should have been taking electrolytes, too. In her defense, I would not cancel a lesson just because the sun was blazing into the 90's and our arena was uncovered. Maybe she thought that I would learn my lesson and start regulating my own saddle time to accommodate health concerns. This possibility just occurred to me now, so I guess that I failed the "hands-on" learning approach. Now that I have Harley and ten more years under my belt, I am much more conscious of hydration and keeping both of us healthy in the summer months. What was that saying about age and wisdom? Or was it youth and folly? Personally, I think it was the "Charlie Horses."
Rider Confession #2:
Hans Christian Anderson's
"The Princess and the Pea"
is the story of my life.
Hans Christian Anderson's
"The Princess and the Pea"
is the story of my life.
Literally and figuratively, I am not a princess. But when it comes to the whole pea part of the story, well...
...Let's just say that I get blisters by merely looking at a new pair of shoes and if I wear anything other than leather gloves, the skin rubs off my fingers. As a young rider, I suffered from perpetual raw patches on my inner calves, because I rode in paddock boots with jodphurs. The stirrup leathers grabbed and twisted the skin off my calves every time that I rode. Every time. The pain of warm bath water hitting open skin is unforgettable, but just in case the sensation escaped my memory, I got to relive it a little bit with my new high boots earlier this spring (Discount-box boots vs. FedEx-box boots).
When I purchase clothes, comfort is my number one priority. I am often discouraged to find irritating materials incorporated in riding clothing, like the elastic band around the ankle in riding pants. It feels like my skin under the band is burning. I tried riding Harley bareback in shorts one time. Every surface of skin that was in contact with his hair grew large, red hives. I had hives on top of hives. It was scary and disheartening. I was trying to be carefree on a hot summer day only to find myself rushing home to take Benadryl. My mom would tell you that I spent the beginning of my riding career with my eyes half swollen shut and snot running from my nose. When I was on stable duty, I used to wear a surgical mask when I cleaned stalls to avoid an allergy rush before my riding lesson. My early dressage trainer and her husband knew that "this kid is for real" when I showed up to the barn with a fresh package of masks and antihistamines.
When I purchase clothes, comfort is my number one priority. I am often discouraged to find irritating materials incorporated in riding clothing, like the elastic band around the ankle in riding pants. It feels like my skin under the band is burning. I tried riding Harley bareback in shorts one time. Every surface of skin that was in contact with his hair grew large, red hives. I had hives on top of hives. It was scary and disheartening. I was trying to be carefree on a hot summer day only to find myself rushing home to take Benadryl. My mom would tell you that I spent the beginning of my riding career with my eyes half swollen shut and snot running from my nose. When I was on stable duty, I used to wear a surgical mask when I cleaned stalls to avoid an allergy rush before my riding lesson. My early dressage trainer and her husband knew that "this kid is for real" when I showed up to the barn with a fresh package of masks and antihistamines.
Rider Confession #3:
I do webbers.
 |
| Clean and comfy. No extra holes to punch or leathers to trim. |
I ride with leather webbers instead of stirrup leathers on my dressage saddle. They are Bates brand, black leather with a nylon core that is not supposed to stretch. I purchased nifty little sleeves to cover the metal "T" that sets the webber to a comfortable length. Now I do not have to feel the bulk of the leathers, the pinch of the "T", or the immovable buckle under my thigh. I also think that they look quite sharp.
 |
| Harley gets to be comfy, too, with his contoured girth. |
 |
| It's the little things that count. |
 |
| No more pinching leathers and even less between me and my horse. Bliss. |
Final Confession:
I have endured my share of pain for the sake of my passion, but, like all horse girls, the thought of not riding never crossed my mind.
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