A New Trainer

So, I am currently 'stationed' in Columbus, Ohio. It's been three months and I already miss those blue mountains and evergreens like nothing else. Not clear how long I'll be here in the Land of the Bucks (ugh), but since I have to be here anyway, I started taking lessons with a local trainer who I met several years ago. She has her USDF bronze and is very close to getting her instructor certification. In other words, she knows her stuff. At least, I haven't been instructed to pull the rein behind my waist yet. ;-) (See last post.)

So far, we've been working with really easy, but fundamental stuff. I never knew how lax I was with my outside rein until working with Kerrie. Like many beginning dressage riders who 'loooovvvee' horses, I think I misunderstood the concept of lightness to mean very light on the reins. I always rode with mostly leg and seat, which is good, but I failed to realize that the rein contact is equally important. I'm not saying that I threw my contact away like a western rider; I had a light feel of the mouth, but there wasn't enough there to 'recycle' the energy back into my hands. Kerrie says that contact should be 50% hands and 50% legs and seat.

To be cont...

The search continues..

Without getting into too much detail, I am not riding JJ anymore. Basically, it became clear that he was not going to be sound for what I want to do. His canter, despite all of the chiropractic work, was still not quite right. I need a horse that has three gaits. ! I was more than happy to keep him in decent shape with walk/trot and trails, but to my great disappointment, the idea did not go over very well. Apparently I am not serious about dressage. Really. Does this sound like someone who is not serious about dressage?

-Audited two clinics in the past year (well, 1.5...I had to walk out on one)
-Volunteered at three different shows in the past two years
-Attended several WCDEA--Whatcom County Dressage and Eventing Association--meetings, and will be joining soon
-Recently audited a local instructor to get a feel for her style
-Took lessons with an FEI trainer on her wonderful stallion back in Ohio, until a riding accident put me on hold for four years
-Have read dozens of books, magazine and online articles to deepen my understanding (no, this is not my only learning method--obviously personal instruction is needed, but this person actually demeaned the fact that I like to read about the art/sport she claims to be dedicated to. Irony?!!)

Suffice it to say that after this experience, I am done with leasing and riding other people's horses. I decided that the time has come to acquire my own horse so that I can have complete control and no longer have to be bullied into using training methods that are questionable, at best (did you know that you can supple a horse by pulling the reins one at a time, waaayy back behind your hip?!) Just to clarify, the person did not succeed in having me *use* that method, but it sure sparked a lively conversation ("lively" mostly on her end)....WHILE I was on the horse, mind you. Talk about insane!

So I have done a lot of thinking about my dream horse, and the following qualities stand out in my mind as being absolutely essential.

-No soundness issues. I understand there are some schoolmasters out there who are worth their weight in gold but need some maintenance. That route may be fine for some, but I want a horse that I can enjoy for a good number of years. Not to mention I have reservations about how ethical it is to inject hocks, etc just so a horse can be ridden. Sometimes it's better to retire them--at least from having a rider on their back (that leaves long lining, walking in hand on the trail, and basic ground work. I don't like lunging for older horses because it stresses the legs too much.)

-No major vices such as cribbing.

-Age approx. 6-12--experienced enough to be past the 'silly stage', but still plenty of life left in them.

-Mare or gelding, doesn't matter. I generally prefer mares (surprise surprise!) because in my experience they work harder for you once you earn their trust. But if I find an exceptional gelding, that's great too.

-Height approx. 15-16hh. I'm only 5'5", so I don't need a behemoth. Smaller horses are easier to get on (even with a mounting block) and generally hold up better later in life.

-Larger type body/good bone. I am a bit "fluffy" (working on that!) I'm not planning to do any crazy cross-country stuff or anything, but I want to make sure my horse is comfortable carrying my size-12 frame.

-Good basic conformation, no major faults. There might be slightly long or short pasterns or a neck set on a bit low, but the legs are straight, the feet are hard and all the same size/shape, and the body is relatively well balanced and equally proportioned in all three segments of the body (croup to gaskin; flank to shoulder; shoulder to poll)

Now for the riding stuff:
-Three correct gaits. This is fairly obvious, but you would be amazed how many so-called "dressage" horses have messed up, lateral walks. It's not impossible to fix, but it takes a skilled trainer with many years of experience-that I am not! I'm just an average ammie rider, and it's hard enough to "do" this sport correctly with three good gaits, which are the bare bones of everything.

-Fairly sensitive to the aids. This, unlike the gait purity, is something that can be worked on relatively easily. It's not a big deal if a horse is slightly behind the leg. Chronic laziness, though, is something that can be hard to get over. Again, the fewer things I have to deal with, the better.

-Great mind/work ethic. Self-explanatory!

-Safe to ride outdoors/on the trail. I know there is no such thing as "bombproof" and all horses will spook if scared enough, but I want a horse that spooks by looking or lightly shying, not bolting or taking off bucking like mad. Been there, done that, don't want to go there again!

So, anybody got a horse for sale? :-D

Finally: a picture!

Albeit not a riding one; I'm still waiting for those to be emailed to me. At least you can see what we look like. I think we're a cute "couple" if I may say so myself. :-)

Update on JJ

Let me start off by saying I feel totally guilty for "neglecting" JJ for the last month and a half. It wasn't because I wanted to: the weather has been horrible. First snow, which is a big deal in this county (I've often commented how maddening it is that Washington doesn't know about salting the roads, then a more savvy woman told me how bad it is for the environment... I drive a 2WD: I think I'll weigh my risks, thank you very much!) Just when we were recovering from the snow, it flooded. The weather is only just starting to look decent, knock on wood. 

So anyway. I took advantage of the break in the weather by paying JJ a visit. Whether I'm anthropomorphizing here I don't know, but I could almost tell that JJ was like *grumpy old man voice* "What the hell took you so long? And where are my TREATS???!" :-D While I was grooming him, he gave me a "hug" (JJ hug=sticks his head around and tucks it in the crook of my arm.) Then I tacked him up with the aim to lunge him a bit to see how he went, and then ride a bit at a walk. For those who don't know, JJ fell the last time I rode him. He's been having soundness problems and I think the last chiropractor QUACK screwed him up even more. Anyway, he was pretty stiff from the get-go, but basically ok to the left. To the right, however, I could immediately see that the inside hind, the one that has been problematic for him, was off. He broke into a trot, then a canter--as horses tend to do when they haven't been worked for weeks--and the soreness was even more obvious. By the time he was a few strides into the canter he decided to stop on his own accord.....poor thing. I wondered if I should even get on him at all, but his owner encouraged me to just walk around. So I did a few circles in each direction, noting that his back is vert stiff--more so than the first time I rode him. It will be a slow and painstaking process getting him to stretch into the bridle again. We were just getting to that point when he started showing signs of soreness. I don't ever remember it being this bad, though. As positive as I strive to be, it is somewhat disheartening that we've put in so much effort only to go nowhere. I wish more than anything else that we could get him the chiropractic help he needs. I know he will never be a "superstar", but people have told me he'll never be sound for anything, and I want to be able to prove them wrong. All I want is a solid, sound w/t/c. If we can do more than that, great. But I'm not going to push him. If he tells me he's done, I'm going to respect that. Judging from his attitude today, though, I know that he is far from done. In fact, he tried so hard in spite of the way he was feeling, that I think it's almost cruel to not give him something to do. Even if it's just hand walking for now--practicing correct circles on the ground as a friend encouraged me to try--that's what we'll work on. Barring another weather-related catastrophe that keeps me from commuting, I'm not going to let another month go by. 

A note on the chiropractor situation. JJ's owner (and I) want to get him to the chiropractor who saw him two years ago, but he's an hour and a half away and wants to book ten horses before he'll come up to Bellingham. My first reaction was to dismiss the idea; what are the chances there are nine more horses in the county who need adjustments? But seeing as I've had great success buying, selling, and connecting with the community via Craigslist in the past, I figured it's worth posting an ad just to see what I can get. I could also put up flyers in the local feed stores. Plan B is to haul JJ to the chiropractor, but that would involve $80 in gas and a day off of work for JJ's owner. The total costs would amount to over $300. The far distant third option is to get a local vet who just got her chiro certificate to work on JJ, but to me that would be just as much of a gamble as the lady from Canada. We'll have to see how this one goes--stay tuned for an update.

HorseFlix.com: next best thing to an actual clinic.

There unfortunately aren't a whole lot of clinics, or even good instructors, out here in the northwestern corner of Washington, so I was nothing less than stoked when I heard about a website by the name of HorseFlix.com. Sort of like Netflix in that it's a monthly subscription for DVD's sent through the mail, but with horse-related DVD's. Surprisingly (and luckily for me) the bulk of their training videos are dressage-related. And at $10/month for their basic plan, it's an affordable way to tap into a wealth of information. I'm going to start reviewing DVD's here on my blog, and you can also read my thoughts on Horseflix--my user name is "GI"-something. 

The first DVD I rented is one that I had considered buying since I heard about its release: "Success Through Fitness" with Ingrid Klimke. As most dressage contacts I have inevitably find out, I'm a huge fan of the late Dr. Klimke. Back in Ohio in my parent's house is a six-tape set of one of his clinics, which is high on my list to bring back with me when I visit. I must have watched that set a dozen times, and as a result the phrases "touch ze neck" "doesn't matter" and "a little more impulsion" are permanently etched into my brain--thank God he was an endearing man! 

Anyway, my first choice was DVD #1 in Dr. Klimke's Complete Training set, but it was rented out so I went with Ingrid's. Let me just say that this DVD can be summed up in one word: WOW. Not that I expected anything less from a member of the Klimke family, but this DVD is really superb. She shows exercises with cavaletti for unstarted to Grand Prix horses. It was refreshing for me, as a lower-level rider, to see something from an Olympian that is applicable to me at my stage of knowledge. The basic quality of the gaits, which cavaletti definitely serve to improve, is the foundation for everything and cannot be understated. Ingrid is a spectacular rider (duh) ;-) and a joy to watch. 

The second DVD I chose turned out to be a bit of a disappointment for several reasons. With the Visible Rider, I was expecting something a tad more advanced, perhaps going into biomechanics, such as exactly what happens to the rider's body when a horse walks, trots, or canters. In reality, the concepts in the DVD are technically correct and important for all beginners to learn. But for me, someone who has spent hours poring over Centered Riding and other body awareness type of books, studying the form of top riders and doing my share of time on the lunge line, The Visible Rider was, to be blunt, boring. It basically discusses the proper position, position faults, and their effect on the horse. I'll be first to say that I'm far from perfect, but these concepts were nothing new to me, and probably not new to most of the readers of my blog, either. Also, the demo rider is not what I would consider an ideal example. It seems that she, like most of us, has room for improvement, as she bounces in the saddle. One last point: the incorrect means of turning are demonstrated, but they never actually show the correct way, i.e. using the seat/weight and outside rein.

Stay tuned next time for a review on a biography of Balkenhol (Still waiting on that Klimke dvd.) Should be interesting!

As for my personal riding....sadly, I haven't been on a horse in two months as the weather has SUCKED--first snow (they don't know how to salt the roads in Washington) then flooding. We had finally been having decent weather, and now it's supposed to snow again later this week. JJ fell with me on him last time (!) Fortunately, neither of us was hurt, but it shook me up a bit and obviously now we are going to have to evaluate his soundness for awhile--whenever it is that we can start back up again. 

Until next time, happy riding!