My Horse Life Post-Baby

My life is so different now.

My life used to revolve around, well, me: my job, my horse, my exercise routine.  You get the idea.

My life now revolves around Sweet Pea. I have had to streamline my life to meet the needs of this adorable little person.  This means that I do not have hours of time to dedicate to myself, which also means that my horse life has taken a serious hit.  I cannot visit Harley everyday.  I cannot spend four hours straight at the barn.  Hour-long grooming sessions are out.  My schedule is so tight that I do not have the patience for most groundwork.  There really isn't time for "training" my horse or preparing for the next level or goal or what have you.  I AM riding, but my riding activities are so different.

Years ago, the idea of having to give up or reduce so much horse time would have been completely abhorrent to me.  Even last year, when I first returned to work and Sweet Pea was barely out of the newborn stage, I thought that I could get it back.

But then I realized that being a Mommy and parenting the way I want to parent is very important to me.  I realized that being there for Sweet Pea and watching her grow and change is as wonderful and amazing as my passion for horses.

I know what some horse girls will be thinking right now.  Oh, that could never be me.  But what you have to understand is that I was that girl, too.

I have a friendly piece of advice that you might not want to hear.  If you are thinking of starting a family and there is something that you want to do with your horse, do it now.

If you decide to have children, you will have to make choices and you might not be able to fit it all in.  That is okay.  You might just surprise yourself.

For example, you want to know what I love the most about riding right now?  The creak of the saddle leather when I first get on and the contented way Harley marches past the riding ring and towards the woods and field.

We have given up the ring for the time being.  I don't have the time to ride consistently enough to train in the arena and Harley does much better away from the dust. I have discovered that the grassy area next to the paddocks is level enough for riding, so we walk, trot, and canter out there.  Once the ticks die, we will hit the trails some more, too.

I ride Harley once or twice a week. I still trim his feet, which can be a challenge to keep up with, and I manage his allergies as best I can. I am very grateful for any ride that we have together, because last year he was not rideable for many months.

So my horse life is not just different because of Sweet Pea. It is also different because Harley is different; he cannot work as hard as he used to.  He wants to move forward, but sucking up his own dust while practicing on a circle is not good for him (he coughs).  He still loves to canter and listen for little cues to change bend or step sideways.  He is 16 and a half years old, but I cannot detect any stiffness or soreness in his body.  Our years of dressage work are paying dividends now as we ride without fences and with the unpredictability of nature (we see deer, squirrels, turtles, hawks, snakes, and other horses).  I ask Harley to stay balanced, on my aids, and off his forehand not because it is the proper way to ride, but because there could be uneven ground under our feet or the need to slow down or move over without much notice.

I am over the moon that I have a horse who can chill in the paddock all week and then go out for a ride on Saturday with no fuss.  My lifestyle and my horse's health have changed, but Harley has found himself a new niche.

And don't get me wrong, I am still a horse girl.  I still get the impossible-to-ignore itch to go ride, but nowadays, I will be home before dinner.


P.S. If you know of a user-friendly blogging app for the andriod tablet, please share.

In Awe of Equine Vets

Once upon a time, I wanted to be a veterinarian.  Not for large animals,  but for small.  Long story short,  I never even applied to vet school and chose a different path.  I had the grades, the gumption, and the love,  but I lost my passion for the job.  After shadowing a couple vets at a hospital,  I decided that I didn't want to put animals to sleep,  perform daily neuter and spay operations and to top it off,  my allergies were so horrendous that there may not be enough immunotherapy shots on the planet to have kept them at bay.

More than a decade after graduating college,  I am still happy with my decision and more convinced than ever that I would not have been happy as a vet.   Although I was not going for large animal medicine,  I see what my vet does now and I am consistently amazed.   How does she do it?   I am so thankful that there are individuals out there who can:

• Work ten to twelve hour days regularly.
• Explain patiently and with tact the nuances of an animal's medical condition.
• Be available on weekends, evenings, holidays, and will leave special events to attend a call.
• Eat on the run for every meal and every day (Seriously.  When does my vet eat?  She is constantly moving from call to call.).
• Maintain a business from the field.
• Shake off a nasty kick from a "patient" (I watched my vet get pinned and then kicked by a big pony; she barely took five before continuing with her work.).
• Stay focused and calm in critical medical situations.
• Say what needs to be said with an animal's best interest at heart.
• Maintain composure when transitioning from a tragic call to a new patient and client.
• Show empathy when a beloved animal is lost (My vet honestly and sincerely cried after putting one of our older horses to sleep.).
• Give the injection that ends suffering.

I have always admired my vet, but I admire her even more now because I have a baby and am working so hard to juggle everything.  My vet is also a mother.  I just can't fathom how she does it.  She must be a super woman. 

Harley has been doing better with his coughing.  I was inspired to write this post, because no matter how late it is,  whenever I see or speak to my vet,  she is never on her last call of the day.   Equal praise goes to her faithful assistant.  The two of them are my heros.

Dusting Off the Gears

Friday (two Friday's ago now!) was a gloriously cool day and, even more miraculously, the insects were taking a break.  Harley-time was on the cards for the afternoon and I was deliriously happy as I pulled up to the barn.  I didn't waste any time getting my grooming supplies out and marching out to Harley's paddock.  Likewise, he met me at the gate.  Good boy!

I consolidated prep work by feeding him some alfalfa cubes and finishing his grooming in his stall.  Then I tacked him up in his stall and he finished the last cubes just before I was ready to put the bridle on.  Score two for team work!

My partner in crime.

Once in the tack, we warmed up with our walk exercises and then proceeded to trot. Harley's energy felt great, uninhibited and free flowing.  He was reaching into the bridle and clearly asking for more, so I started riding to a point in the arena.  We tooled all around the ring with lots of changes of direction and variations in pattern.  I rode from my weight aids and my eyes.  Harley loves that game.

Since it was such a nice temperature, I thought we should work some canter, so I shortened my reins and asked Harley to step into more contact and carry himself.  As he obediently worked the dust off the gears and adjusted himself to a more dressage-y frame, it dawned on me.  I am thinking about working the canter and I have not worked the walk or trot yet!  Talk about running before you can walk.  It was time for some walk-trot transitions.

And boy am I glad that we went there.  Forward is always the first ingredient and this is no different when you are riding transitions.  I had to really encourage Harley to stay through before, during, and after the transition.  Predictably, it was easiest for him to stay forward in the upward transition, but much more difficult in the downward.  He also likes to try to suck back going right: the reins get loopy even though I have not changed their length.  I did my best to keep my elbows at my sides and give him a steady feel.  I also worked hard NOT to pull on the bit.  I let my legs tell him to lengthen his neck and carry himself by stepping more under with his hind legs. 

This was challenging, especially the part where I had to put more leg on during the downward transition.  Interestingly, my outside leg had to do the heaviest lifting.  I can almost initiate the downward transition off my outside leg alone.  I believe this is because he already engages the inside hind nicely, but has a tendency to lean in (hence his motorcycle-inspired name).  My outside leg stands him up and helps him stay balanced laterally, which improves his longitudinal balance.  Neat.

Even though he loves to GO, GO, GO, Harley needs  reminders to keep the impulsion in the downward transition.  Likewise, he needs reminders to relax and not rush in the upward.  I am sure that as we both improve our endurance this will get easier, because I typically do not like to subscribe to the "more leg" camp, but sometimes it does help work the dust free.

Twenty Minutes in the Saddle

I am learning to make the most of twenty minutes these days.  In fact, twenty minutes is a very large chunk of "free time" when you have a hungry Little One on your hands.  Can twenty minutes be worthwhile in the saddle?  I think so, and I am doing my best to relish those precious twenty when they are spent on Harley's back.  I am sure that I am not the only one who is keeping her rides short these days, as the heat of July affects us all (in the northern hemisphere), especially if we are not fortunate enough to have a covered arena!

My last ride on Harley consisted of twenty minutes of walking and five minutes of trotting with a few more minutes walking in the shady yard before hopping off.  I know that adds up to more than twenty, but only twenty of it really consisted of "work", the rest was mounting, dismounting, and getting ourselves situated.  My horse has not been ridden since April and I have had very little physical activity since then, so we are taking it slow for reasons other than the hot, humid climate.  How did I make twenty minutes of walking productive (and fun) you ask?  We focused on the mental rather than the physical game.

As always the first ingredient was "forward".  I asked Harley to march along with some pep in his step, not hurried, but with a clear feeling that he was going to continue marching.  To me this is what forward means in dressage.  I kept the reins long in the beginning and only really shortened them to the fourth-stop.  I wanted him to stretch his frame and move freely to the contact with a long neck.  We alternated between the buckle and the fourth-stop between exercises.

happy, happy, happy

Our exercises were simple.  From the walk I asked him to halt with a little aiding from me as possible.  I always picked a shady spot to halt and I was not fussy about his head and neck position.  I was more interested in if he was listening to my seat.  Before long, he was stopping in response to me drawing up tall, stilling my seat, and pressing into each stirrup as I felt him taking his final steps in walk before the halt.  These light presses in the stirrup really seem to make a difference for us.  With repetition he also started keeping "at attention" ready for the next transition and with his neck straight.

Then I added "rein-backs".  My goal was the same.  Get the backward steps with as little aiding as possible.  These were not quite as good as the halts, as I did have to resist with my hands several times to send the energy back, but they were pretty straight and obedient otherwise.  I cue the rein-back by lightening the back of my seat to "open the door" and cuing him with my legs farther behind the girth than I ask for forward steps.  Usually he moves into my hand and feels the resistance from my position before stepping back.  I like this because he is thinking forward even as we move backward.

Next, we rode some deliberate corner-turns, not at the corners of the riding ring.  I focused on turning from my outside leg and my weight to the inside over my inside stirrup, which I carry at the girth.  I wanted to feel Harley initiating the turn from his outside hind.  This starts to get him carrying his frontend more and usually leads to him bending naturally into the turn.  A little squeeze with my inside ring finger was all that was necessary to encourage inside flexion if he wasn't already there.

After several nice, honest corners in each direction, we went to shoulder-in in walk.  I wanted to see Harley's neck straight even as he carried his inside shoulder on the inside track.  I felt for his inside hind stepping under his weight.  I encouraged gently since he is limbering up after a long vacation.  He is easier to (over)bend left and straighten to the right, so I rode each direction accordingly.  This is still challenging work even if it does not leave my horse sweating buckets.  He felt like butter by the time I asked for trot.

Our trot work was very, very simple.  Move forward, straight, and in a regular tempo.  I let him chose the length of neck that was comfortable for him and he chose to stretch (Good Boy!).  He was very eager to trot, so forward was not a problem and his tempo erred on the side of too fast, but that is typical Harley, so I just enjoyed it.  He powered down the long side a couple times with some big, beautiful strides.  It felt amazing and those five minutes were up way to soon!

Now if I could just learn to squeeze a hoof trim into twenty minutes...

How do you make the most of twenty minutes?

Saving Money With Horses

Oxymoron, I know.

Lately, I have been thinking about how to save money.  This suits my nature more than making money, fortunately or unfortunately, and the distribution of wealth and the state of the economy has me really worried.  I am always concerned about those types of things, even though I try to avoid reading about them (my husband reads enough for both of us and fills me in).  I am pretty sure our economy is breaking in this country and this makes me think about my priorities:

Keep my family healthy and happy.
Keep my horse healthy and happy.

Oh yeah, and have I mentioned that we have one on the way?  ;)
This makes me think even more about how to save or cut costs.  Sometimes I wish that I was wired differently and looked for ways to make money instead.  Anyone want to buy Harley paraphernalia?

My husband and I are rather frugal people.  We are not penny-pinchers, but we are definitely not interested in dropping cash without good reason.  We do not splurge on things like restaurants or new furniture and we traded our cell phone contracts in for contract-free service (This saved us about $100 per month and we own our phones!).  When we first were married, we did not purchase cable television and hardly missed it for years.  My husband only buys his electronics on sale and uses his expertise to our advantage (i.e. He chose a wireless web camera instead of a baby monitor and saved a lot of cash.  Plus we can see the video from our phones or computers and control where the camera looks.  Have you seen how much baby monitors with a speaker and video screen cost?).  These are just a few small examples, but, in general, I think we do pretty well.

What is my single, greatest expense?  You guessed it.

My horse.  My beloved, Harley.

Priceless in my heart, but to my bank account, not so much.

I have tried to consider how I save money in the care and upkeep of my horse, but it is difficult.

My horse eats the most expensive food at the feed store (the extra cost is added to my board bill).  He is a hardkeeper and won't maintain on things that seem to work for other horses like Senior Feed (not really cheap, I know), alfalfa pellets (he won't eat them), lots of hay (hay is strictly rationed around here and, apparently, expensive), or air (if you have an easy-keeper).

I do not save money with regard to my horse's health.  He has regular veterinary and dental visits.  He has had extensive dental work done to compensate for a lack of care before I bought him and a severe overbite.  He is currently receiving immunotherapy shots for his allergies, which are not ridiculously expensive, however, I was spoiled for the first five years that I owned him and he did not require anything except routine vaccinations, so the allergy meds are a considerable new cost.  I suppose I save money by administering them myself, which is common practice.  If I had to pay for the vet to come out and give them every couple weeks, I would never be able to do it.

Sadly, I have wasted money on supplements trying to help my horse gain and/or maintain weight.  I now give him the bare minimum (ABC's Plus prebiotics/probiotics and Cough-Free) via SmartPak.  SmartPak seems to be the most economic way for me to get supplements into my horse on a daily basis.  I have wasted money on supplements in buckets and weight-gain supplements with rave reviews.  Bummer.  I am done with those.

My horse is boarded (full care), which is very expensive in New Jersey.  This is by far the greatest cost of horse ownership for me.  Yes, it is very convenient and private and the farm is less than 10 minutes from my house, but there are no bells and whistles (no heated tack room, no indoor arena, no bathroom, no special footing or sprinklers, no grassy pastures, etc.), which might surprise you if I revealed what I pay for full care.  Owning and maintaining a farm would be a huge expense too, of course, and I save there by boarding my horse (i.e. I do not need to own a tractor, manure spreader, truck, the land, etc.).  Our little and densely populated state has some of the highest taxes in the country (income, sales, and property tax).  I wish that I got some kind of tax break for boarding for my horse.

I keep my horse out 24/7 (also called pasture board), but, perhaps surprisingly, I do not receive a discount.  Obviously, I do not keep my horse out for financial reasons.

I trim my horse's feet, but I do not do this to save money.  I hesitate to even mention my horse's hoof care in this context, but I suppose that after purchasing my own supplies, I might come out on top.  Of course, then you have to ignore the time and energy required for me to trim his feet every three weeks or so.

I do own relatively inexpensive tack, so I guess that I save some money there, sort of.  My no-name bridle cost about $100 new and my saddle was purchased used, but was still expensive (Albion Original Comfort).  I love my saddle, but unfortunately it was not my first saddle purchase and I burned through some cash with an (also expensive) ill-fitting saddle that I had to sell at a loss several years ago.  That one hurt, but you just cannot compromise saddle fit.  Lesson learned.

One area where I feel that I might actually succeed at cutting corners is riding clothes and saddle pads.  I will wear my riding clothes until they are bare and "holy".  This includes boots.  When I buy new clothes and saddle pads, I buy them on sale.  Before online shopping, I used to raid the bargain box at our local tack store (One time I found a pair of bright, purple breeches.  They were awesome!).  My priority with saddle pads is that they do not affect saddle fit (thin, please) and they must be easy to wash in my machine at home.

Where do I save the most money?

This would not work for some equestrians, but my greatest savings is achieved by limited participation in lessons, clinics, and horse shows.  I only take lessons about six to eight times per year and I rarely enter clinics or horse shows.  If I do show, I only enter schooling shows.  I just cannot stomach entrance fees or expensive classes.  I know that this is an important part of riding for many equine enthusiasts, but I am just not in that camp.  I have also noticed that I get more out of lessons with a consistent instructor than I do at group clinics.  One of the last clinics that I entered was $350 for a weekend with a very-well known clinician.  This may not sound like a lot of money, but it was a lot to me.  Even though I was an eager student (for $350, you better believe I was eager!) and took notes furiously in the classroom sessions and made the most of every exercise in the mounted sessions, I still felt like I didn't come away with enough new information and insight to warrant the price tag.  The clinician actually had me do some exercises with Harley that I already practice and use with my own riding students.  She was surprised that Harley could do them so well (didn't have the heart to tell her he knew them already), but didn't really offer the next step.  I hate to admit it, but I was disappointed.  Now, I save my money for occasional lessons instead.  Sometimes I kind of long for the comradery and "show-off" factor of clinics.  Harley always wins the heart of the instructor and auditors, which can be a lot of fun!

Oh yeah, and I do not own a truck or trailer.  That definitely saves me money, but also makes the attendance of the activities described above more difficult (and more expensive since I have to pay for hauling.).

If showing and attending clinics were my focus in riding, these would be disappointing areas to cut.  A great deal of my horse's training is done entirely by me.  Our mistakes and short-comings are my own and our successes are mine, too.  Besides literally saving money, I find great reward in this independence.

How do you save money with horses?
Practical advice welcome!

A Lesson On Elasticity

Harley and I enjoyed a second riding lesson in November on the last day of the month.  My teacher had something unusual in store for us.  I think her teaching techniques should win some prize for originality, but I will let you be the judge.

On this day, my teacher brought a new (to me) teaching accessory: a stretchy, tan bandage.  It was exactly the kind of bandage that a person might use to wrap a sprained ankle.  Extra props were in order for selecting a cost effective instructional aid and for making me scratch my head as to what was coming next.

Disclaimer: Don't try this at home.  Harley was nonchalant about the exercise that follows, but I am sure that not all horses would respond in quite the same fashion.  Always use a healthy dose of caution and keep safety first!

The first phase of the exercise was to place the bandage over the bridge of Harley's nose, securing it underneath spare leather from his bridle.  I held the ends of the bandage like reins.  This was reminiscent of a bit-less-bridle or hackamore, but with one distinct difference: the bandage felt very fragile.  The fabric is probably stronger than it feels, but there is so much elasticity that it feels like you are holding nothing.  I kept the reins attached to Harley's bridle in my hands, but with a lot of slack in them.  Then I asked Harley to walk on.

The sensation of my horse pushing against the elastic bandage was positively delightful.  It made me laugh.  I could feel every little movement of his face and neck.  My teacher offered this exercise so that Harley might be encouraged to reach and stretch into the elasticity of the bandage.  Surprisingly, he did and almost immediately.  I used my legs to keep him moving forward and to direct him around the ring.  Once or twice we got a little mixed up with our signals, but for the most part it was smooth sailing.

Even though this activity was meant for the horse, I found it really interesting, too.  With nothing to hold or brace against, it felt like my shoulders were part of the elastic.  I could feel them moving with Harley's nose.  Each of my shoulder blades felt independent.  It was really cool and so silly that it made me laugh out loud!  This was a great exercise for me, because I tend to hold tension in my shoulders, although I must say that those days are melting away.  This activity just added to my awareness.

On a whim, my teacher decided to try moving the bandage up to Harley's forehead.  This time she secured it through the browband on his bridle, which was a good idea because I dropped it more than once.  Again, this was something that did not bother Harley, but might upset another horse.  The new position of the bandage had an interesting effect.  Harley starting pressing his forehead into the elasticity of the bandage since it was higher up.  Can you imagine what that would do for his neck?  He stretched his topline and advanced his poll forward.  What a lovely ride that was!  And guess what, there is video:

In the last segment of the video, I dropped one side of the bandage by accident.  Harley hesitated and then continued on with a lovely posture.  Shortly there after, I let the other side of the bandage go and just held the reins at whatever length they were already at.  My teacher marveled at the freedom in his shoulders.  You can see it especially in this final segment of the video when Harley is in the frame of the camera, that is.  Harley demonstrated self-carriage and a winning attitude as the bandage dangled next to his face.  He is one cool dude!

I was excited to share this lesson, because it was so out of the ordinary.  I do not practice these exercises without my teacher present and she is so eclectic, that I imagine we may do something completely different next time.  I have enjoyed my rides on Harley since then and I think that we both have a better understanding of the type of elastic connection that can be possible between us.

What unusual exercise have you practiced with your horse?

Riding Reflection: Variety Day

Yesterday, I finally got to ride my horse again.  Between work, the holiday, the weather and after school commitments, I have only been able to ride him once a week for the past couple of weeks.  Of course, moving the clocks back does not help either.  We have arena lights, but once the sun goes down, the temperature drops pretty quickly and the horses tend to get fed earlier in anticipation of the setting sun.  Harley has learned over the years that he may still have to continue working, even if the rest of the barn is eating.  He doesn't like this, but he remains obedient and I usually get some very enthusiastic, expressive movement out of him.  Even though I could keep riding, I tend to cut the ride short anyway, because I do not want him too warm before dinner and I have to stay later and feed him myself if I keep riding.  Riding in the cold is one thing, standing around waiting for Harley to eat his food in the cold is entirely another.  What can you do?  That comes with the territory this time of year.

Warm and sunny, the weather was absolutely glorious yesterday.  I did not even need to wear my jacket!  I tacked Harley up and set out to walk around the arena and past the paddocks.  He looked longingly out into the woods, so I opted to warm up through the short trail-loop behind the farm.  He marched along with a pep in his step and I took in the colors.  Most of the scrub oak have lost their leaves so the trail was padded with a carpet of bright orange, yellow, and red.  It was so beautiful that I almost didn't recognize parts of the trail, which we have walked hundreds of times.

Once we returned to the farm, we entered the arena and continued our warm up around barrels, cones, and poles, which are ever-present in our ring for lessons.  Sometimes all the "stuff" in the ring annoys me, especially when poles and things are placed inconveniently (like along the track), but on this day nothing was going to dampen my mood.  Harley smoothly changed bend as I guided him through figure eights and changes of direction around the arena "junk".  Before long, I asked him to trot and was delighted that his first transition was crisp and fluid.  Sometimes that first trot is a little choppy.

After trotting some large figures and diagonals on a longer rein, I picked up a little more contact.  As long as my legs ask for more energy as I pick up the reins, Harley changes his balance and assumes "dressage-horse-mode".  I remember my original dressage trainer teaching me to always use a little leg with the hand to keep everything in balance.  A decade later, I still think that this was sound advice.

We tackled the barrels and cones again, this time riding figure-eights in trot.  I lifted the inside rein with each change of direction and watched Harley's crest flip from one bend to the other.  I pushed my elbows forward a little and kept my balance back, practicing the exercise from our last lesson, then I brought my elbows closer to my body again.  This exercise makes me and my horse more responsible in carrying ourselves, which makes it much easier to move together.

After a break, we tackled the trot poles.  I had moved them farther apart, becuase they are almost always set too close together for my horse.  At 15.1 hands, Harley is not a huge mover by any stretch of the imagination, but he seems to need the poles set farther than any of the lesson horses.  Even the draft horses require a shorter pole distance.  I have always found this surprising.

Harley enjoys pole work, which he expresses by speeding up.  I love the improved impulsion, but I have to remind him the first three times or so that his job will be easier if he slows down and just lengthens his stride.  Once he organized himself and put his enthusiasm to more effective use, he powered over the poles with a lovely flow of energy over his back.  I could see and feel his withers come up and his strides even had some hang-time.  We practiced a few circles in each direction, and then rode some figure-eights with the three trot poles at the center of the eight.  Wow, that got his tempo squared away!  Harley was floating and he was having fun.

Finally, it was time to canter and this made Harley even happier.  Since we had not ridden all week, he was full of spring.  He cantered from the trot.  He cantered from the walk.  He transitioned down to a balanced trot and stretched into my hand.  I rested back, pushed my elbows forward and whispered for him to canter again.  Off he went, and if felt like heaven.  I felt my legs hanging down his sides and my torso tall above his back all at the same time.  His neck stretched forward in front of me and I could see his inside shoulder coming up and then reaching forward.  It all felt incredible easy.  That is what I want in my riding horse.  I want it to feel easy.  Trust me, I know that it doesn't start that way; Harley's back used to be so tight that I couldn't even sit on him in the canter, but that was almost six years ago.  For that hour in the saddle, easy is my goal.  I work hard the rest of the week and we have worked hard together for six years to get here.

How did we finish our perfect ride?  We revisited the short trail, this time leading the way for two grandchildren riding their respective Grandmother's horses.  The Grandmas led each horse and Harley led the group.  We stopped often, so the kids could do various activities on the trail, but Harley did not mind.  He likes going out with other horses and would frequently snake his long neck around to peek at his gang in tow.  We scouted out some deer and walked in parallel with them as the kids whistled to tell the deer that we were not trying to sneak up on them.  Prey animals seem to appreciate this.  The deer trotted away, halfheartedly showing their white tails, and then turning back to watch the parade as we made our way back to the barn.

A summer picture: Now the trail is covered with the colors of fall.

Photo Reflection: Walking

This is a very busy time of year for me.  The first marking period is ending and the grades will be due very soon.  My students are finishing and turning in their final projects and completing their tests, which means that I have been bombarded with paperwork.  I am burning my red pen at both ends, which doesn't leave much time for blogging.  I am also off to teach therapeutic lessons after school today and it is cold outside.  Have a mentioned that I am not a fan of cold weather?  We actually had snow yesterday, but it has completely melted as of now.  The New Jersey coast and New York have really gotten more than their fair share of inclement weather recently.  I hope things calm down soon.  My husband and I bought an infrared space heater in preparation for losing power during the colder months.  No AC in July was the pits, but freezing under blankets almost sounds worse.  Yesterday's early snow was not a good sign for what may be to come this winter.

In lieu of one of my lengthy posts, I decided to post a photo that I really like from October.  This shot was from the very beginning of our warm up, which is part of the reason that I like it.  We have barely even begun to ride and Harley is soft in the bridle, starting to engage from behind, and listening.  I like the bend through his body and the fullness of his back behind and his neck in front of the saddle.  If only I had a photo from five years ago for comparison.  He looked much more like a llama, back then, even if he was a cute llama.

I am happy with my position in this photo, too.  My leg position and upper body look correct.  I am really down in that saddle and my elbows have bend, but my wrists are still soft.  I think that I am correctly lifting up in the corners of Harley's mouth with the bit in this photo.  He has nodded forward like his nose is "resting in a basket".  Aside from a little encouragement to move forward in the warm up, I am not doing much of anything except sitting as well as I can and holding the reins.  I like it when my horse rewards me for keeping it simple.

November Lesson Reflection with Video

Yesterday, Harley and I had a riding lesson.  Our progress was reviewed, we learned some new exercises, and we experienced some really wonderful moments of self carriage and softness between us.  I wrote a rather long and detailed post to record what I learned and to share with you.  There are two short video clips at the end.

Improvements since our last lesson:
Harley's neck muscles and posture
His straightness and forwardness
His willingness to seek the bit on his own
I am finding the center of my horse more quickly
My legs are staying forward more consistently
My seat is closer to my horse and I am staying upright more consistently
My arm and hand position have improved

Things to continue working on:
Strengthening Harley's hindend
Stretching the base of his crest just in front of the withers
Allowing Harley to make the connection for me
Keeping a bend in my elbows and an upward feel to my forearms and hands
Keeping my shoulders down and loose even when I raise my forearms
Encouraging mobility and flexibility in Harley's ribcage by keeping my leg muscles loose and mobile

My teacher prescribed some interesting exercises in this lesson.  She could see the effects of our work since the last lesson.  She also liked my image of Harley's hindlegs stepping forward through my stomach, which has, no doubt, helped my posture in the saddle.  The typical way of beginning a lesson is she tells me to ride and then sees the next thing that she wants to work on with us.  This usually takes all of thirty seconds and this lesson was no different.  Even though I have been working diligently to keep my forearms light and up, there is still a downward tendency in my inside hand, particularly the left side.  This downward tendency goes "hand-in-hand" with collapsing left, my natural inclination.  One of my teacher's strategies is to exaggerate the postural correction, so that the rider's body must abandon the original habit and recalibrate.  I like this technique very much and find it to be quite effective.

So my prescribed activity, was to bend my elbows so that my hands were tapping my sternum; she wanted my hands moving.  This means that I had to let the reins slide almost to the buckle.  She called this "praying mantis".  This position kept my upper arm parallel to my sides and helped my shoulders stay down.  Since I was totally unable to "make" any contact with the rein, Harley had the opportunity to initiate the connection.  In this position, it was also basically impossible for me to tighten across my shoulder blades when Harley did pick up the bit.  This was the recipe for recalibrating my riding habits.

So while riding around with this rather silly arm position, I also had to stay in the middle of my horse and keep him traveling straight around the circle.  No rein aids allowed!  I figured out how to shift my weight and ask Harley to follow my center of gravity around the circle.  I ride like this, to some extent, all the time, but the experience is amplified when you are prevented from using the reins for guidance.  Remarkably, I felt Harley straighten and rebalance himself very effectively using this technique.  He also tuned into his hind end in some startling ways.  All the rein supports had been removed and this was very challenging for me to ride at times.  When he shifted back and powered off of his hind feet, it felt really unsettling, even a little out of control at first.  I was pushed and tipped off center many times.  It is difficult to have been a rider for so long and just allow this to happen, especially when I know that I could hold everything together if I made the contact instead.  Thankfully, before too long, we found our rhythm and our balance.  Harley demonstrated some genuine self-carriage.  No half-halts, driving, or holding required.  Years ago, I would not have thought that possible without more boundaries and control from me.  It was so cool.

Once Harley picked up the connection, I was allowed to let my forearms lower toward his mouth, but I had to be very careful not to let my shoulders tighten.  The next exercise was in two parts.  "Part 1" was to push my hands forward toward his mouth.  I had to try to keep some bend in my elbows and not lean forward with my arms.  To compensate, my teacher told me to lean back.  This directive kept me straight in the saddle and allowed me to support my horse with my posture as I offered for him to follow the bit forward.  This was really tough at first and moreso to the left.  Everything is easier going to the right, which interestingly, is Harley's less bendy side.

Once I was able to push my hands forward without surrendering my position, I kept my outside rein for tempo control and "stirred" my inside hand toward his nose.  This was "Part 2".  Again, this was more challenging to the left and Harley seemed to be working against me by rooting forward abruptly.  This was frustrating for me, because I felt like it was preventing me from offering him the rein.  My teacher said that he does this when he feels my shoulders tighten.  If my shoulders stay soft then he is less likely to push against them.  There was no need for him to force his nose forward, because I was inviting his nose forward by moving my hands toward the bit and moving the inside rein in a circle toward his nose.  I wish that I could tell him that!  Eventually, he became steadier, but that habit is going to take a long time to dissolve.  Putting more responsibility on him to make the connection with me and carry himself should help.

By the end of the lesson, we had changed directions a few times in big loopy figure eights.  I was completely absorbed in my position, when my teacher brought to my attention the softness we had achieved.  Every muscle in my body and every muscle in his body felt quiet and without tension.  I looked at his neck (which means I had not been staring at it already, yay!) and he was very clearly stretching the base of his neck in a beautiful "bloom".  I could feel our center beneath us.  I could feel my shoulders soft.  I want that again!  I want to ride like that all the time!  And now I have some insights and exercises to get us a little bit closer to that magic.

My teacher took these video clips and very kindly sent them to me.  It was late so the lighting is not great, but you can get a little taste of what my lessons with her are like.  These clips are of the "stirring" exercise going to the left.  You can see us both struggle between figuring out the exercise and experiencing its effects.  The exercise looks simple, but it was very challenging!

Enjoy!

Imperfect Photo

My husband came with me to the barn yesterday, armed with the camera.  The weather was gorgeous and the farm decidedly empty and peaceful.

Happy day!

Unfortunately, perfect conditions do not guarantee that your horse with allergies will have a clear day.  Harley's cough was bothering him yesterday, despite my long-term efforts to mitigate his hyper-immune response.  I had to cut the ride and the photo shoot short.  This makes me sad for many reasons, especially when he trots off like he wants to work even though he is not feeling 100%.  I like to celebrate the good stuff that we are doing on this blog, because there are some days that we are stuck in the starting gate.  I did have some time in the saddle, so I should not complain.  Thank goodness I am not really interested in showing, because how could I sign up for a show when I cannot predict if he will be coughing that day?

Since we had an imperfect day, I decided to share an imperfect photo. 

Does this count as expressive?

I believe this was our first walk to canter transition in this direction.  Obviously, there is a lot to be improved here.  I know that we are capable of a much better transition.  What we lack in finesse, we make up for in effort.  That is Harley's "game face" by the way.  I still think it is cute.

Prior to this transition, I did not engage Harley's walk enough to place his outside hind under his center of gravity, allowing him to lift his front end smoothly into canter.  The walk to canter transition requires coordination, suppleness, and strength.  I enjoy practicing the transitions that skip a gait for just that reason.  Although Harley was not quite in the position to perform an elegant, controlled transition, he still went for it.  This is his nature.  He used brute force to make the transition happen, which required that he also flip his head and neck up.  He was compensating for not having his weight over his outside hind (my fault).  I admire the roundness of his back behind the saddle and those flexing muscles.  They don't call them quarter horses for nothing!

I have been working on keeping my seat more firmly closed in the transitions, so I am happy that I have accomplished that in this "imperfect" snapshot and that my inside foot is forward, encouraging the left lead.  I would like to see my hands side by side, but I am glad that I have not surrendered my elbows.  It is possible that Harley was expecting me to give up my position, so that he could throw his neck forward into the gait.  I wanted up in the canter, which he can do.  A clear picture is important even if this one isn't exactly pretty. 

Training is a process with many imperfect photos along the way.

Rebalancing for the second stride

What a difference one stride can make!

Wracking Up The Stars

Harley is on a roll.  He has collected many stars in the past two weeks.

Star number 1: A body condition score of 5+ and clean blood work

Star number 2: Super floaty trot (Dare I say, cadence?!)

Star number 3: A smooth, flying change from left to right

Star number 4: Being a model ambassador for the horse

Star number 5: Lungeing through a deep puddle of water

I just can't keep up, but I am loving it.  

The fall vet visit was a blast, because we did not have to have the conversation about how to improve his weight.  I also had blood work run to ensure that he does not have an infection hiding in there.  When you have a horse with allergies who periodically coughs, you have to be careful that the allergy symptoms are not covering up another illness.  His blood work came back absolutely perfect.  He is healthy as, well, a horse!

Harley has had two sets of children visit with him in the past two weeks.  He stood like a champ for both visits, waiting patiently while little hands patted him, brushed dirt off his coat, and laughed at his funny faces.  Little children inevitably forget that they are not supposed to walk behind the horse.  Harley is a good first-horse for children to be around, because he is very forgiving of those types of mistakes.  He stands solid and, even with his sensitive nature, is not bothered at all by the excitement and unpredictability that accompanies little kids.  I was so proud of him and it was a lot of fun to introduce little children to a big horse.  Parents and grandparents alike commented on what a nice horse he was.  They were preaching to the choir, but I still liked hearing those compliments.

I rode him during afternoon lessons last week, so we had a little audience.  Harley was moving out so beautifully.  I could feel the energy traveling from his hind legs to my seat, up to my elbows and down my lower arms to the bit.  There was no break or kink in the lines.  I could adjust the tempo or stride length and the connection remained, true and powerful.  At some point, I could see and feel his shoulders coming up and swinging freely.  I almost called out to the barn visitors,

"Are you seeing this?"

But, this would have been in vain, because they were not riders and would not have been able to see what I was feeling.  I kind of laughed to myself at that thought.  I would have to enjoy it alone. 

Harley was floating. 

I have been working on myself a lot lately.  I keep imagining that there is room from his hind legs to keep traveling forward through my seat and waist each time we make a transition or while we are moving forward.  This is keeping me more upright and reminding me to keep my core fully engaged.  I have discovered that I have a bad habit of collapsing my waist and opening the back of my seat.  I think the image of his hind legs stepping forward has made me aware of this.  It is almost like his hind legs step forward and tip my seat forward out of alignment if I am not thinking about keeping my seat closed and receiving that energy.  I did not realize that I was doing that and quite a lot, especially in the canter.  My position must be better as indicated by that floaty trot and he gave me some of the absolute best walk-canter-walk he has ever done on the same ride:  relaxed, balanced transitions with barely anything in the reins.  He was listening so closely, I could feel him in my mind.  Please allow me to remind you that I am a very scientific person, but that was how tuned in he felt.  I could hardly believe it, because walk to canter is very challenging to his relaxation and canter to walk is very challenging to his balance.  Improving the rider's position is such an effective way to improve the horse.  It was like all the static was gone.  I love relearning that over and over again.   

And to think, when I started years ago, I thought that dressage was more about the horse.  
I was so wrong.

The clean, smooth, gorgeous flying change in his more challenging direction arrived on a previous ride after lots of circle work, tempo changes, and more walk-canter-walk transitions.  Harley felt very through and connected along the inside of his body.  This is work continued from a previous post where I described how I have been using the inside rein more.  That's right.  The inside rein.  I have been neglecting it for a long time, with the feeling that using it was bad.  I guess I had "inside-rein-guilt-issues".  They are dissolving quickly and as a result, I believe that Harley's suppleness, throughness, and relaxation have improved, with his balance following closely behind.  Having the inside rein improve his balance is so counter-intuitive to me.  I see use of the inside rein as something that sets a horse off balance, but this has not been the case.  I guess that I should acknowledge that the inside rein is not working in a vacuum.  All of my aids are present.  I must just be learning how to let the inside play its part more effectively.

And finally, I lunged Harley yesterday.  He walked.  He trotted.  He cantered.  He stretched his neck and back, all in a plain halter.  No extra gear necessary.  We practiced transitions and then I drew the line in to decrease the circle.  He trotted smaller circles around me with beautiful bend and balance, as if he had an invisible rider.  Then I asked him to trot through a big, deep puddle at one end of the arena.  I let him enter the water and do whatever felt natural to him.  I fully expected him to walk or stop, but he didn't.  Harley kept trotting and picked his feet up as he pranced through the water.  He did try to drift to the side a little, but the puddle was so wide that there was no going around it, so with a couple repetitions he was marching straight through.  He started dropping his neck, in stretchy circle fashion, and dragging his mouth through the water, coming up with water dripping from his cheeks and jaw as he continued to trot around me.  Tons of praise and "Good Boy's" were in order after that!

Harley.
You are a five out of five!

Stars sound delicious.  More, please.

Flying Change Fix

I have not asked Harley for a flying change since the beginning of June.  That is about four months.  I wanted to take a break from this rather exciting movement and work on the quality of the canter: forwardness, obedience, straightness, and relaxation.  We also spent some time honing our counter canter.  I believe that is what you are supposed to do, when you are trying to improve a movement in dressage.  It is not about the movement itself.  It is always about the basics.

Four months later, my horse has no inclination to throw in an impromptu change.  His transitions in and out of the canter feel very nice.  His is relaxed and carrying himself.  I can throw in a little counter canter here and there without too much fanfare.  Admittedly, I have not practiced the counter canter as much as I originally intended.  The summer heat does not go well with lots of canter practice.

Yesterday we went on a trail ride.  I warmed him up in the ring to see how he was feeling.  He did not cough even once!  I was so, so happy.

I had been thinking that the time to ask for a flying change was near.  Apparently, Harley could hear my thoughts.  As we went to change direction in a figure-eight, I started to ask him to collect a little for a transition to trot and he offered a smooth-as-glass flying change from the right to the left lead.  It was gorgeous!  With the maiden change out of the way, I couldn't wait to get back in the saddle and try it again.

Today, we schooled flying changes.  I learned some interesting things.  Harley has not forgotten them and they still make him excited.  He is still much better at the right to left change than the left to right.  We did not get a really nice left to right today, but I can be patient.  After all, I waited four months with the hopes of improving them by working on just the canter and the transitions!

Harley bucked into the change a few times.  That is not gone, despite all the transition and relaxation work in the last four months.  I need to approach the change with more clarity.  I think "flying change" and he knows what that is, but what he gives me is not exactly what I want.  I want a balanced, calm change with his shoulders up, not his backside!  I need to start making that part of my mental image and riding the change like any other gait or transition that I want uphill.  I have been asking that of him for a while now.  I cannot forget it just because we are doing something exciting.

Things I Need To Do:

• Ride for an uphill change.  Keep the backdoor of my seat closed and the front door open.  I know how to ride this way, but I tend to lean forward in anticipation.  I just need to stay focused on my position before, during, and after the transition.
• Keep my legs forward and minimize the outside leg cue.  He does not change at all if I slide my leg back and push.  Just doesn't work.  I need to ride from my seat.
• Imagine his shoulders up and ride them that way.  Do not accept a change that begins with his head, neck, and shoulders diving down.  I was able to stop him in the dive a couple times, because my position was really solid.  He was surprised and complained a little, but I need to make my expectations clear.  I want a healthy, balanced change.
• Prepare for the change like any other transition.  The two best flying changes that he did were when I prepared like I wanted a canter to walk transition.  He stayed level and just swapped his legs.  He was light on his feet and it felt easy.  I tried to memorize the feeling.
• Do not let him get too tired on the left lead.  He gets too heavy.  If he cannot do a canter to walk transition, he does not have the balance or strength to do a change.  Quit and try next time.
• Praise him for the right kind of change and have fun!  Allow him to move out his canter or relax with a longer neck if he gets too tight.

I am really glad to be practicing these again.  So is Harley.  The first one that I requested had too much "fly" to it, but he was so delighted that he snorted with happiness several times.  We may never perform them in the show ring, but I still think that this is something within our reach.  I also love to make my horse happy and flying changes bring him joy.  His canter felt great.  I just need to remember my position and prepare like it is any other transition.  That is so much easier to write than to do!

Riding Refection: Borrowed Training Exercise

My horse really impresses me.  I guess that I make that readily obvious every time I write about him, but he does.  The school year has started up again, so I am not able to ride much more than a couple times a week, plus his allergies have been acting up so strenuous work is out of the question, but despite these things, we just seem to pick up where we left off each time that I sit in the saddle.

The last time that we rode, I decided to try an exercise which I saw on another blog, Dressage Mom.  Dressage Mom is an upper level rider bringing along her newest horse, a beautiful Arabian gelding.  She writes about their training and posts videos of their lessons from time to time.  I find this to be not only informative, but very fun to watch, as horse and rider are a talented pair.  The exercise that I decided to try is described by her trainer as the "Headless Snowman".  I think that is really cute and describes the figure-eight pattern perfectly.  Her blog entry includes a video.

My interpretation of the exercise:
The figure eight exercise is simple by design, but challenging in practice.  One half of the figure eight is a 20 meter circle.  The other half is a 10 meter circle.  Ride the entire exercise in trot or incorporate canter for the larger circle.  If I were riding a horse that could not handle 10 meters, I would just enlarge the second circle to a size that was challenging, but within the horse's abilities (i.e. 12, 15 , or even 20 meters).  If I needed to increase the challenge, I would ride the figure-eight in canter with a transition through trot or walk between the two circles or incorporating counter canter or a flying change (Wouldn't that be fun?).  The change in direction between the two circles is demanding for horse and rider, because the flexion, bend, and direction of travel must all change where the two circles meet.  The horse must stay balanced over his hindend in the change of direction to complete the exercise.  Too much weight on the forehand or displaced on one shoulder makes the change in direction and bend very difficult.  This exercise not only trains the horse and rider, it also reveals areas that need improvement.  I love dressage exercises that help the horse and are easy to modify.

I presented the figure-eight exercise to Harley first in trot.  He bounced along from one circle to the other with no problem.  I was careful to encourage him to maintain his energy from behind in both circles and to lift my inside rein in the new bend to encourage him to keep his inside shoulder up.  Then I added the canter on the bigger circle.  Wow!  Something about this exercise really helps the horse achieve a balanced uphill canter transition from trot.  Maybe the change in direction and bend helped him stay on his toes.  After cantering the large circle, I asked him to come back to trot and rode the smaller circle.  Here is where the exercise was a good diagnostic exercise for us.

When switching from the left lead canter to a 10 meter trot circle to the right, Harley lost his balance.  He had trouble switching the bend and I could feel that he had fallen on the forehand.  This made the 10 meter circle difficult to begin, so the circle was not on the center line.  He recovered quickly, so the second half of the circle was better.  I kept him on the smaller circle to practice the feel of the balance required and then "released him"  onto the 20 meter circle: gorgeous balanced canter transition every time.

The exercise was much easier when switching from the right lead canter to the 10 meter trot circle left.  This was not a surprise, since the right lead is his more balance lead and the left side is his more bendy side.  He swapped flexion and bend so quickly that he offered to canter the 10 meter circle.  I let him do this a couple times, but asked him to trot the smaller circle a few times as well.  The transition to the right lead was not as expressive as the transition left.  He also sneaked in a nose flip once or twice.  I need to make sure that he is forward into that transition and stretching to the contact.  This is the challenge with the right lead.  He feels really balanced and maneuverable, but he is less keen to stretch and reach over his back.  He stretches and reaches more easily in the left lead, but also tends to lose his balance on the forehand and into the trot more easily.  The lopsided figure-eight was a fun way to work on these areas.  Harley learned the pattern very quickly, which was a good thing in this case.  It gave him confidence and anticipating the transitions actually encouraged him to shift his weight back and stay balanced between his shoulders.  I think that I need to ride the canter all the way up to the change of direction.  I tended to ask for the trot about a quarter circle before the smaller circle.  I think the downward transition should be closer to the circle change to reap the full benefits of the exercise.

But...
...holding the canter that long is asking Harley for a flying change.  We have not practiced those since June.  I have been working on the quality of the canter and obedience to my aids.  I want to return to the flying change and see if he will continue to listen, rather than turn into a flying change machine.  I think the time to ask is near.  I would be lying if I said that I am not itching to go for it!

Riding Reflection: Using the Inside Rein

The inside rein is almost taboo in dressage.  At least, that has been my experience.  In the past, I have heard more riders scolded for using the inside rein than anything else, myself included.  Subconsciously, I have held onto this.  I do not want to pull my horse onto his inside shoulder and I do not want to be guilty of the cardinal sin of using the inside rein to turn.  During my last lesson, my teacher essentially gave me permission to use my inside rein in the exercise she prescribed for us.  I was a little hesitant at first.

Me: "Wait.  You want me to keep full contact with the inside rein for the entire circle?"

My instructor: "Yes."

Me: "Like this?"

My instructor: "Absolutely and rotate to the inside of the circle."

Me: "Really?  What about my outside rein."
Me thinking, "There must be something with the outside rein, right?  What's the catch?"

My instructor: "Keep your outside elbow and allow with your outside shoulder."

So there you have it.  No "half-halt on the outside rein", no "hold the outside rein steady", no "inside leg to outside rein", counter-flexion, or anchoring of the outside.  I was instructed to lift both reins up a little, especially the inside, so that the bit works in the corners of my horse's mouth.  My elbows were to be bent and, most importantly, my shoulders down and mobile.  I tapped Harley's inside hind with a long, sturdy whip if he started to lose energy and the rest of the responsibility was up to my inside rein.  If really felt wrong at first, but different always feels wrong.  It is important in riding to ignore this feeling in the face of change and read your horse.

Inside rein in use in our August lesson: Even though I said that I was lifting the inside rein, look at how dead-on straight the line is from bit to elbow.  I also like the reach in Harley's frame and movement.  Notice how my leg is not back, as is often taught in dressage.  This would tip me onto the fork of my pelvis, pressing Harley down in front and dampening his energy.

Harley is engaging the inside hind, but I have dropped the rein and my position a bit.

Harley pushing his nose forward and opening his throatlatch area as he stretches into the rein.

A few strides later, he has rebalanced himself in a more uphill frame.

Harley told me very clearly what this exercise did for him.  He flowed right around that circle in trot.  He lengthened his neck.  Contrary to my fears in using the inside rein, he was less likely to tip onto his inside shoulder and if this did happen it was almost always because I let the inside rein drop.  Nearly instantaneous change.  How's that for cause and effect?

The more I allowed my shoulders to move, the more he fluid he was in his stride.  I tapped him with my whip as needed, but my legs were completely passive.  I kept them under me and my pelvis in neutral.  If we lost the flow it was usually indicative of a loss of energy (Harley's job), a loss of neutral pelvis (my job), a dropped inside rein (me, again), or tight shoulders (you guessed it, me).  If I kept these things correct, everything moved along effortlessly and I literally felt like I was doing nothing.

Nothing!  Just try doing nothing.
Now try hard to do nothing.
It is incredibly difficult, especially for people who like to "try hard".
People like me.

I have revisited this "new" exercise of using the inside rein on each previous ride.  Harley loves it!  He is so flowy and relaxed.  His canter has been amazing.  Now that I have tried giving the inside rein the responsibility it deserves, I think that I have been annoying him with the outside rein in canter.  I like to half-halt on that rein nearly every stride, especially going left.  I had not realized that I was doing this until I started focusing on the inside and felt the urge to hold the outside at the beginning of each stride.  At first I wondered if Harley was going to barrel out of control without the "support" I had been offering him.  How wrong was I?

Not only was Harley's canter more fluid and consistent, he was lifting in front, shifting his weight back for turns, smaller circles, and transitions, coming down to a balanced trot with ease, all without the "help" of my half-halts or the outside rein.  Instead, my inside rein was there in the corner of his mouth the entire time.  He was even giving these cute little snorts with each stride, the hallmark of a relaxed horse in canter.  For a self-proclaimed dressage enthusiast, that was a really weird revelation. 

Correct use of the inside rein does not equal evil and does not make my horse angry, annoyed, or off balance.  Quite the opposite.

I am loving this.

August Riding Lesson

Today, Harley and I had a lesson with our teacher.  The last time that we saw her, we had a bodywork session.  I transferred what I could from that ground lesson into the saddle, which was mainly asking Harley to free up his ribcage and balance over his hind legs more.  I also looked for the slight bulge on the right side of his neck to stay buried in his neck muscles, an indicator that he was not leaning on that shoulder.  Since the horse show, I have also been encouraging consistent suppleness over the back, including while going through puddles, and working on the stretchy trot and maintaining balance and stretch for transitions within the trot and canter.  We have also had some success with counter canter, but I would like to dedicate a separate post to that one.

My teacher has a very endearing way of greeting horses.  She greets each one like an old aquaintance.  The horses love her and always notice as soon as she approaches the barn area.  Today was no different.  When Harley saw her, he pricked his ears and made big saucer eyes in her direction.

"Well hello, Mr. Harley Davidson!"

I hope that she does not mind me quoting her.  It was just so cheerful and cute.  Harley's expression reminded me of my students when they see me outside of school.  It was so adorable.

The first item of the lesson was to assess my horse's willingness to release at the poll and his posture especially on the right side.  This was before we even left the barn, and I was happy that we got the nod of approval.  I was excited to get in the saddle for my lesson.

My Homework:

• Keep my legs forward at the girth all the time.  All. the. time.  As soon as my legs come back for any reason, my posture suffers and I rock forward on my pelvis.  Even just a tiny shift affects Harley's balance and contradicts our work.
• Sit like Jabba the Hut.  This image just hones in on that "plugged in feeling" that I get in the saddle when my seat is soft and inviting for Harley to lift up to.
• Keep my knees open.  I need to make a nice, wide "U" to accommodate and encourage the lift and release in my horse's ribcage.  This makes suppleness of the back possible.  Tightening, holding, or pinching with my knees or thighs (even just a little) makes my horse tighten his ribcage.
• Move my shoulders with emphasis on the moving them down.  As soon as I concentrate, I tighten my shoulders.  This is a very typical human reaction, but tightening and raising my shoulder blades makes Harley tighten his, which stops motion from behind, prevents release in his ribcage, and makes it impossible for him to lift his shoulders.
• Warm up my body by rotating from one side to the other in walk and trot, while moving my shoulders in downward circles.  It was amazing how Harley just followed suit by releasing his own muscles and flowing forward.
• Rotate to the inside while keeping my inside elbow at my side and with an upward feel to my hand and wrist.  This was new for us, because I have working mostly on rotating to the outside to fix a collapse of my ribcage, especially to the left.  This time my teacher wanted me to give Harley the support he needed from the bit to lift his ribcage and shoulders while releasing his neck forward and down.  This exercise felt absolutely wonderful and is closely tied to the next bullet point.
• The bit should work in the corners of the horse's mouth, NOT against the bars.  Pulling the bit down against the jaw stops the hind legs and encourages the horse to compress his frame.  Combine this with driving legs and you have a recipe for bracing in horse and rider.  Balance, freedom of movement, and true collection cannot happen under those conditions, even though I have found that they are very often taught for how to put a horse "on the bit".  I was certainly taught that way!  Intellectually, I understand this concept, but it is still an old habit that I revert to very easily.  I have to keep reminding myself and listening to my horse, because when I am successful in riding him with an upward feel on the bit, he is light in my hand, soft and relaxed in his body.  It does not feel like there is any wasted energy and we feel very balanced.  My horse feels happy to go on forever.  The movement feels efficient.  The horse's muzzle almost feels like it is resting in a little flower basket, which you gently support from above.  This is the same type of upward feel that allows Harley to show off his big trot.  Although the basket feels heavier in that case, his hind legs are not blocked and he can swing forward with his shoulders.

Harley's Homework:

•  Be the engine and keep it running! 

My teacher felt that Harley was not committing to his responsibility as the provider of forward motion from behind.  We started in walk and she noticed that my legs were coming too far back as I tapped him nearly every stride.  She also said that I was moving my body quite a lot in an effort to encourage him to keep up his energy.  She fixed my leg position and then told me to "just sit there".  She gave me two sturdy wands and told me to tap him forward until I felt the surge lift me up and carry me along.  She liked the sturdier wands for Harley, because they did not have the flexibility of my dressage whip.  She did not want him to feel the sting of the flexible whip, because that would feel like a punishment to him.  She said that we were educating him.  We did not want to do something to make him tighten or flinch.  I was to think of the wands as conductor's batons.  I had to use them rather assertively until he revved his engine and kept it in gear on his own.  I was surprised that my "fast little horse" was actually being lazy.  He would keep walking for me, but he was not eager to give enough "umpf" to keep his back up or propel his shoulders and neck in front of me.  Once he started to accept that responsibility, the feeling was much different and much more powerful, even just in walk.  This process was repeated at the trot, which was easier.  The natural impulsion of the gait seemed to help a lot.  This is not the first time that we have relearned this type of lesson and I am sure it will not be the last!  It is so tempting to just nag my horse into moving forward and take over his job and he is apparently willing to let me do that.  I think it is just one of those things in dressage that is easy to get sucked into.  Thankfully, the lesson should remain fresh in our minds for a while.  I need to get myself a couple "conductor's batons"!

We combined the inside rider rotation with engine reminders to produce some really nice flowing circles and figure eights.  Harley was level and light in my hands.  His neck was long and I kept the reins pretty long at about the fourth stop (I usually ride from three to just in front of two, depending on what we are doing).  This made it absolutely impossible for me to "hold him together".  The connection had to begin with his engine and then I provided a nice place for his back with my seat and a delicate basket for him to rest his muzzle.  This lesson was challenging, but it felt like we came a long way since our June lesson.  I worked on completely different aspects of my posture and position.  Once Harley's engine was running, the ride felt almost easy.  I say almost, because it would not have been if my teacher had not been reminding me to keep my legs forward, my knees open, my wrists up, my elbows bent, and my horse responsible for his engine.  This is why I take riding lessons after twenty-five years in the saddle.  There is just so much to learn and always something to improve.  Riding is so much more than walk/trot/canter, posting diagonals, leads, halt, and reinback.  It is such a wonderful puzzle and so very rewarding.  A horse like Harley and an enlightened instructor makes it an absolute pleasure.

My teacher was kind enough to take some photos to help with the learning process.  This is a good shot of my position with my leg at the girth and Harley walking with energy and a released poll.

This is a fun trotting picture.  We are connected and in a level frame.  I am carrying the basket for Harley's muzzle and he is lifting his back.

Riding Reflection: Puddle Practice

I made it to the barn yesterday with the intentions of giving my horse a short ride in a nice stretchy frame, so I could see how he felt after our long lining session.  I was really curious if there would be any immediate effect on his carriage and consistency in the bridle.  With a thunderstorm in the morning, I was not sure if I would be able to ride at all, but by lunchtime the sun was shining and the rain clouds had moved on their way.  That is how it is these days in New Jersey: intense heat and humidity, sudden storms, and then sunshine.  I feel like I live in Florida.

And then I saw the small riding ring.  Puddles!  There were puddles and standing water everywhere and one large body of water that was about three inches deep and nearly as wide as the ring.  Yes!  We could actually school through puddles.  It is not like I am eager to go to another show in a downpour, but at least I had a chance to work with something that was clearly uncomfortable riding conditions.  I still planned to work on stretching his frame and assessing his obedience to the contact and connection, but now we could do this with the added challenge of water under our feet.  I was seriously excited.

I tacked up Harley.  I marched him over to the ring with the puddles.  I pointed him at the first puddle and asked him to walk through and what did he do?

Just that.  He walked right through and even reached down and dragged his lip in the water.  He came up with water droplets on his face.

Okay.

After we moseyed through all the puddles in the ring several times in both directions, I asked Harley to trot right in the biggest, ankle deep puddle.  I asked him to stay on the contact and keep the stretch in his frame as he made the transition.  With only a moments hesitation, Harley was trotting and stretching his neck down toward the water.

What?!

I trotted him all around the ring, puddle after puddle, with the same relaxed horse.  The only puddles that he even tried to avoid where little shallow ones that he could easily step around, but I still brought him back and made him ride straight through every one.  I didn't just tell him where to go.  I told him how to go there.

After lots of "Good Boys" and neck pats it was time to canter through the water.  Again, I asked for the first transition right in the middle of the lake.  As Harley picked up the lead, I was careful to remind him to keep reaching to the contact by sponging the outside rein, like the long lining lesson the day before.  He was good about it and complied for nearly every canter depart.  Once, he popped his butt up instead of lifting his withers.  I immediately stopped him and asked for the transition again.  The second time, he did it correctly.  I used the same full halt strategy when he tried to surge forward in trot, blowing off my half halt like the day before.  After one halt, I had my half-halt back.  He shifted his weight back in trot after the canter on the very next request.  I no longer had twenty pounds in my hands or an anticipating horse.  I finally felt justified in the previous days work, but I need to remember that once does not make training.  I need to build the consistency and work in the lines regularly.

A little bit of tension creeped in while cantering through the puddles.  Finally, something to work on!  I put my outside leg on and held the outside rein, insisting that he let his back go.  We continued to canter circles through the same puddle until he stayed in the same body position, before and after the puddle.  Strangely, he was much easier to canter through the big puddle than he was the smaller ones, just like in the trot.  I guess the large puddle was big enough that there did not seem much point in trying to go around it.  It did make some exciting splashes though.  I enjoyed the "ker-plunk" sound as Harley's feet met the water.  I was delighted by the cadenced feel of his gaits as he moved through the largest puddle, even circling within the water and practicing transitions.

And we did the stretchy trot in the deepest, biggest puddle!  Harley stretched his neck down and forward in a lovely fluid way.  He did not speed up.  He kept contact with the reins and he felt supple over his back.  It did not take much effort on my part and it certainly did not feel difficult.

I have only ridden Harley three times since the horse show which was two weeks ago on Sunday.  He had one long line session and seven days off since then.  I am not a magical trainer.  I know that riding through puddles at home is not the same as riding a test under pressure in an unfamiliar setting, but based on the extreme displeasure that he demonstrated in the waterlogged ring at the show, I expected something similar as we splashed through the puddles in the small ring yesterday. 

Harley was a completely different horse.  He did not resemble a horse that has a disdain for water.  He did not spook, sidestep, or invert through the water.  I am not sure that the small puddles that he did try to step around would have even been noticeable to a casual on-looker.  It was more a slight crookedness that I could feel in his body and it was pretty easy to remedy.

I am starting to think that the water was not the major problem at the show two weeks ago.  There is just no way that I could have made that huge a dent in a serious evasion in that short a time.  I also do not think that I could have improved my effectiveness as a rider or my horse's training that quickly and without any outside help.

So what was it Mr. Harley?  Show nerves?  The trailer ride?  The thunder and rain combined with the new environment?  A lack of proper warm up letting you relax your back (or mind)?

At two shows a year, he is not a seasoned campaigner.  Maybe I underestimated how stressful that entire situation really was for him.  I am so proud of him for sticking with me and trying to go everywhere that I asked, even if he was not going the way I wanted him to.

"Neener neener, puddles"

I just knew my horse could do it.  That was the Harley I was expecting!