Quite a shocking event happened today. It was so awful, in fact, I didn't make it to the clinic. :-( But I will definitely be going tomorrow, bright and early. I almost didn't go to the barn because I figured I was too emotional to ride. I told myself I'd just groom Emmy and the older blind horse, and go from there. I decided to ride and take it slow. A storm was brewing: wind, rain, the whole shebang. Having had horses spook and take off on me before, I was feeling a bit nervous but I decided to talk and sing to Emmy, which, if nothing else, helped me breathe.
Emmy, on the other hand, was calm from the beginning. LAZY if anything. While the wind rattled the arena gate like mad, she just clip-clopped along. I think she may have looked out of the door once, but it wasn't a spook, more like, "Hmmm..is that rain?" I even took her saddle off at the end and rode bareback (at a walk..I'm too chicken to go any faster bareback.) I had to nudge her with my legs just to keep her in a walk...lol. Is this the Emmy I know and love?
Maybe I'm just overly sentimental, but it was almost like she "knew" I was vulnerable. I put her away with tears in my eyes, once again relieved from the disappointment of mankind by the innocence and honesty of equines (if that sentence makes sense.)
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Friday, June 20, 2008
Dressage clinic with Gigi Nutter!!
..No, Em and I aren't participating. I would've loved to, though. Maybe someday.
The clinic is actually over the entire weekend; today was the first day. I'm lucky in that the barn is <10 minutes from my house. I'm so glad to have this learning opportunity, even as an auditor. Gigi is such a warm and genuine person--the diametric opposite of the stereotype of "stuck up" dressage rider/trainer. It's too bad that stereotype exists. Dressage is for every horse and rider, not just long-legged blond Frauleins with 17H+ Warm bloods (not that there's anything wrong with that... ;-) ) It's just not me. And a lot of people. Anyway, I digress.
One of the horses is a Morgan mare that resembles Emmy a great deal: quite stiff to the right, tends to "run" with quick short steps, and very sensitive. I'll be watching her rides very closely over the next couple of days. Some things I've learned today....
~Not to focus on slowing down first. The horse needs to stretch over the topline first in order to move with longer/slower strides. This stretching is accomplished by massaging the bit with the fingers as well as posting more slowly (in trot) and dropping the weight into the heels. Half-halting a horse who is already tight and hollow in the back will slow the pace, but doesn't fix the root cause, the back.
~Use a leading rein (slightly outside rather than straight back) to encourage the horse to bend its poll. This will take some getting used to for me since I'm used to riding with very quiet hands. Even when bending in a circle, I tend to massage the inside rein for the bend rather than pull back at all. Gigi seems to believe, too, that this "playing" with the bit should be done almost constantly. When I do it, it's only for a few strides. I have this fear of interfering with the mouth too much (silly, huh? quiet hands + snaffle = not much risk of doing any harm.) Still, I prefer to ride the back of the horse than worry too much about the reins. I guess that's better than the other way around...!
There's more, but I'm too pooped to think right now. On top of a full day, I had a very emotional moment earlier. Don't you just wish sometimes that life were less complicated? I sure do. Then, of course I go ride a horse and worry about getting Ms. Princess off her forehand, rhythmic, and supple. At least it takes my mind off the shit in my life. !
The clinic is actually over the entire weekend; today was the first day. I'm lucky in that the barn is <10 minutes from my house. I'm so glad to have this learning opportunity, even as an auditor. Gigi is such a warm and genuine person--the diametric opposite of the stereotype of "stuck up" dressage rider/trainer. It's too bad that stereotype exists. Dressage is for every horse and rider, not just long-legged blond Frauleins with 17H+ Warm bloods (not that there's anything wrong with that... ;-) ) It's just not me. And a lot of people. Anyway, I digress.
One of the horses is a Morgan mare that resembles Emmy a great deal: quite stiff to the right, tends to "run" with quick short steps, and very sensitive. I'll be watching her rides very closely over the next couple of days. Some things I've learned today....
~Not to focus on slowing down first. The horse needs to stretch over the topline first in order to move with longer/slower strides. This stretching is accomplished by massaging the bit with the fingers as well as posting more slowly (in trot) and dropping the weight into the heels. Half-halting a horse who is already tight and hollow in the back will slow the pace, but doesn't fix the root cause, the back.
~Use a leading rein (slightly outside rather than straight back) to encourage the horse to bend its poll. This will take some getting used to for me since I'm used to riding with very quiet hands. Even when bending in a circle, I tend to massage the inside rein for the bend rather than pull back at all. Gigi seems to believe, too, that this "playing" with the bit should be done almost constantly. When I do it, it's only for a few strides. I have this fear of interfering with the mouth too much (silly, huh? quiet hands + snaffle = not much risk of doing any harm.) Still, I prefer to ride the back of the horse than worry too much about the reins. I guess that's better than the other way around...!
There's more, but I'm too pooped to think right now. On top of a full day, I had a very emotional moment earlier. Don't you just wish sometimes that life were less complicated? I sure do. Then, of course I go ride a horse and worry about getting Ms. Princess off her forehand, rhythmic, and supple. At least it takes my mind off the shit in my life. !
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Good things come to those who wait
After that disappointing ride on Monday, I think we are finally making some progress. She's actually starting to stretch her neck forward and down, accepting the bit. It was like she finally realized, "Ah, ok, if I just relax and stop fighting, it will be a lot easier." :-)
Granted, in the trot she only does it for several strides and then goes back to the old way, but the point is that she's doing it, and that's the important part. The consistency will come. I wouldn't say she is "on the bit", because that phrase I take to mean active/engaged in the hindquarters as well, and she is just not there yet. But this is progress. At least I can slow her down when she's light like this. With her head up and that short, tense neck, there's no way my half halts can possibly go through. All I've been doing is simply riding her into a steady and elastic contact. Not once have I used a martingale, or any of those silly devices to try to force her head down. (Side note): Why must people insist on short cuts when it's really so amazingly simple? Is it lack of time, laziness, what? I'm not a genius or an upper level dressage rider, yet things are happening here. I'm excited. I might even go as far as to say that I look forward to proving that "trainer" wrong: yes, National Show Horses/NSH-types can "do" dressage. Heck, there is a Saddlebred by the name of Harry Callahan who is shown GP (YouTube him-he's amazing.) If he can do tempi changes, piaffe, and passage, surely Emmy can w/t/c/ accepting the bit and going in a steady, forward rhythm--basically all that Training Level requires. What's so hard about that?
Granted, in the trot she only does it for several strides and then goes back to the old way, but the point is that she's doing it, and that's the important part. The consistency will come. I wouldn't say she is "on the bit", because that phrase I take to mean active/engaged in the hindquarters as well, and she is just not there yet. But this is progress. At least I can slow her down when she's light like this. With her head up and that short, tense neck, there's no way my half halts can possibly go through. All I've been doing is simply riding her into a steady and elastic contact. Not once have I used a martingale, or any of those silly devices to try to force her head down. (Side note): Why must people insist on short cuts when it's really so amazingly simple? Is it lack of time, laziness, what? I'm not a genius or an upper level dressage rider, yet things are happening here. I'm excited. I might even go as far as to say that I look forward to proving that "trainer" wrong: yes, National Show Horses/NSH-types can "do" dressage. Heck, there is a Saddlebred by the name of Harry Callahan who is shown GP (YouTube him-he's amazing.) If he can do tempi changes, piaffe, and passage, surely Emmy can w/t/c/ accepting the bit and going in a steady, forward rhythm--basically all that Training Level requires. What's so hard about that?
Monday, June 9, 2008
A lesson in patience..
Let's just say that today's ride didn't go very well. Basically the same problems we've been having, but worse. I tried, in vain, for 45 minutes to slow her down, and we had to end early because it was so ungodly hot and Emmy and I were dripping sweat. The whole time we were trotting, her head was up, and she was trying her darnedest to pull the reins out of my hands as I was half-halting like mad on a small circle desperately trying to slow her maniacal trot. In short, not a pretty picture. I think we got about four steps of a decent rhythm...then as soon as I patted her neck (yeah, it was that big of a deal) it was all over. *Sigh* I'm seriously hoping my effort pays off someday, because I truly believe she could be a cute little Training level horse. I totally believe in Arabians in dressage, and it's nice to have one to work with that's not loony--energetic, (I was going to say "hot", but not exactly according to my book) but sensible.
On the positive side: the mounting process is down to about five minutes (compared to over twenty!) :-D
On the positive side: the mounting process is down to about five minutes (compared to over twenty!) :-D
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Adventures with Cavaletti and more
This past Thursday (the 29th) marked my third session with Emmy. In case anyone is curious as to how I found her, her owners (aka "parents") responded to an ad I had on Craigslist for catch riding. They originally wanted me to train her in western pleasure, and I told them that while I have no experience in that discipline, I would love to do some basic work with her and see where we can go from there. Since my interest is Dressage, Emmy's mom thought it would be neat for me to take her to some schooling shows this summer. So, that is our primary goal: to do a decent Training-level test by the end of the season.
Fortunately, Emmy has a great disposition (although she can be stubborn--but how many horses aren't? ;-)) But she is pretty much a joy to work with, which makes riding her that much more fun. She is great on the ground, too--with the exception of refusing to stand still when you try to mount her. We are working on this by teaching her to flex laterally via one rein, which she is slowly--but surely--getting the hang of.
Emmy has two major issues under saddle right now. Being an ex-Saddleseat horse, (which I am somewhat familiar with, back in the Dark Ages before my conversion to dressage) she was trained to trot around the arena "like Speedy Gonzales" as her Mom aptly described it, with her head up in the air. At the risk of sounding elitist, this is the opposite of what is classically correct. I have to include a side note here that I can no longer watch any English Pleasure, Park, etc. class without shaking my head and wondering how people can possibly want their horses to go like that. I understand that the conformation of NSH's lends itself to the high head carriage, but there are also quite a few, along with Arabians, Saddlebreds, and Morgans--competing successfully in dressage. Apparently a "trainer" told Emmy's mom that Emmy couldn't "do" dressage because of her breed. ...ANY sound horse can do Training Level!!!!! It's just w/t/c with circles! *gets off soapbox*
Anyway, back to Emmy. So far, we've been working on a lot of quick w/t/w transitions to get her off her forehand. When I say "quick", I mean every four steps or so. When she's above the bit, she sometimes resists coming back to trot, and I have to half-halt HARD. I don't like doing that, but what's that saying--"as little force as necessary, as much as required"? She's a fairly agile little mare (that's what I like about Arabs and Arab crosses--soo much easier to maneuver than the big honking European Warmbloods. Sorta like my Civic compared to a Yukon ;-)) but regardless, I like to do shallow serpentines to get her bending. This is somewhat of a challenge since she does not understand lateral leg aids, so I have to move her off the rail and back with my seat and reins only. I guess this is good experience for me to pay more attention to my seat!
Lastly, I have to say my personal favorite exercise is cavaletti (not sure what hers is--I would venture to say walking on a loose rein.) My all-time favorite trainer, Dr. Reiner Klimke, RIP, was a strong advocate of cavaletti for the way they help with getting a horse off its forehand and pushing from the hindquarters (HQ.) Next to hill work, which is usually not much of an option in Ohio, cavaletti are probably the most effective tool for that purpose. Initially, Emmy tried to dodge the cavaletti ("But it's sooo hard, surrogate-mom!") but moving them against the arena wall solved the problem. Apparently, trying to escape to the inside was not as fun as scooting between the cavaletti and the wall at the very last second.
Up next tomorrow: pics and video clips. I can't wait to read some constructive comments from my fellow dressage aficionados. :-)
ETA: pictures from today, June 2nd. I didn't feel like wasting page space on another post because we did essentially the same work today, with the exception of cavaletti on an arc. She did very well--we even did a bit of cantering--WOW what a dream. Smooth, but has a nice jump.
Also, her mom informed me that there is a graded hill accessible to the property. Yes!!!!! No doubt, we will be taking advantage of that A.S.A.P.
Sorry the pics are not the greatest quality. I still have not figured out how to use the flash on my camera, and it appears some dust got on the lens. I did get some video clips taken, but they won't load for some reason. I'll post them to YouTube later and post the link here.
Fortunately, Emmy has a great disposition (although she can be stubborn--but how many horses aren't? ;-)) But she is pretty much a joy to work with, which makes riding her that much more fun. She is great on the ground, too--with the exception of refusing to stand still when you try to mount her. We are working on this by teaching her to flex laterally via one rein, which she is slowly--but surely--getting the hang of.
Emmy has two major issues under saddle right now. Being an ex-Saddleseat horse, (which I am somewhat familiar with, back in the Dark Ages before my conversion to dressage) she was trained to trot around the arena "like Speedy Gonzales" as her Mom aptly described it, with her head up in the air. At the risk of sounding elitist, this is the opposite of what is classically correct. I have to include a side note here that I can no longer watch any English Pleasure, Park, etc. class without shaking my head and wondering how people can possibly want their horses to go like that. I understand that the conformation of NSH's lends itself to the high head carriage, but there are also quite a few, along with Arabians, Saddlebreds, and Morgans--competing successfully in dressage. Apparently a "trainer" told Emmy's mom that Emmy couldn't "do" dressage because of her breed. ...ANY sound horse can do Training Level!!!!! It's just w/t/c with circles! *gets off soapbox*
Anyway, back to Emmy. So far, we've been working on a lot of quick w/t/w transitions to get her off her forehand. When I say "quick", I mean every four steps or so. When she's above the bit, she sometimes resists coming back to trot, and I have to half-halt HARD. I don't like doing that, but what's that saying--"as little force as necessary, as much as required"? She's a fairly agile little mare (that's what I like about Arabs and Arab crosses--soo much easier to maneuver than the big honking European Warmbloods. Sorta like my Civic compared to a Yukon ;-)) but regardless, I like to do shallow serpentines to get her bending. This is somewhat of a challenge since she does not understand lateral leg aids, so I have to move her off the rail and back with my seat and reins only. I guess this is good experience for me to pay more attention to my seat!
Lastly, I have to say my personal favorite exercise is cavaletti (not sure what hers is--I would venture to say walking on a loose rein.) My all-time favorite trainer, Dr. Reiner Klimke, RIP, was a strong advocate of cavaletti for the way they help with getting a horse off its forehand and pushing from the hindquarters (HQ.) Next to hill work, which is usually not much of an option in Ohio, cavaletti are probably the most effective tool for that purpose. Initially, Emmy tried to dodge the cavaletti ("But it's sooo hard, surrogate-mom!") but moving them against the arena wall solved the problem. Apparently, trying to escape to the inside was not as fun as scooting between the cavaletti and the wall at the very last second.
Up next tomorrow: pics and video clips. I can't wait to read some constructive comments from my fellow dressage aficionados. :-)
ETA: pictures from today, June 2nd. I didn't feel like wasting page space on another post because we did essentially the same work today, with the exception of cavaletti on an arc. She did very well--we even did a bit of cantering--WOW what a dream. Smooth, but has a nice jump.
Also, her mom informed me that there is a graded hill accessible to the property. Yes!!!!! No doubt, we will be taking advantage of that A.S.A.P.
Sorry the pics are not the greatest quality. I still have not figured out how to use the flash on my camera, and it appears some dust got on the lens. I did get some video clips taken, but they won't load for some reason. I'll post them to YouTube later and post the link here.
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