I decided to create this blog as a way to keep track of my training goals and notes with my 12 year old QH gelding, Henry. He's a great guy, and I'm doing my best to make him the best darn dressage horse I can - on a limited budget, with limited time, and with the best combination of patience and dedication that I can muster.
Wednesday night, I spent in the gym. Cardio on a killer elliptical, about 45 minutes of strength/ weight training, and then a yoga class. Good times :)
Thursday night, I went out to the barn kind of late, around 7pm, because I had taken my time with dinner lol. Henry was a peach as I lunged first, then got on to work on my homework (yes I did everything on the list!). Then I spent some quality time cleaning his stall, scrubbed out his water bucket and put some warm water in, etc. By the time I left it was 9:30!
Last night I taught another college lesson. Out of four originally expected students, one had dropped the class, and another never showed. This was an ABSOLUTE beginner class, which was easy to tell when the first comment in the barn was "Oh! It smells in here!" They were sweet though. We worked on grooming and learning how to tack up, as well as general rules for the barn and how to act around equines. They suggested at the end of the lesson that they'd like to switch to Wednesday nights, which would be nice so that I could teach M, T, W and then have the rest of the week to myself. I will have to check with the barn owner to make sure that's ok. My boyfriend, who comes home on the weekends from school, decided he wanted to clean Henry's stall (!!!) and so I let him do it while I scrubbed the water bucket. He's a keeper ;)
Today I went to the barn and rode Henry, really working on leg-yields from the wall, quarter lines, and center line, as well as getting that awesome uphill canter more consistently. He got his lead (true or counter) every time except once, and by the end of the ride was holding himself up for longer and longer stretches.
Unfortunately I was witness to some nasty bad-mouthing at the barn today; I hate to even be around that sort of drama but as we all know it is unavoidable. It was a woman who was actually sh*t talking the barn owner! Who is a glorious and wonderful older woman, and deserves to be sainted. I was shocked by this boarder's negative comments, but even more shocked that she would just spout it in the tack room with plenty of people around. That's bold. I left the tack room as quick as I could.
Also unfortunate is that our resident farrier seems to have forgotten about Henry. I have been using his bell boots during rides lately because he's getting pretty long, and I have heard him step on himself more than once. I think the next time I see my trainer I will ask her advice on this. The last thing I want is another episode like I had two years ago, when Henry got a sole bruise because his angles were off. Six weeks of handwalking in the middle of summer is frustrating, but it was worse since that was preventable. Hmmm...
Tonight I am attending and helping out at our GMO's annual Awards Dinner & Silent Auction. Last year I ended up spending about $100 on auction items... I might have to leave the checkbook at home this time! I also won a year-end championship last year, so keep your fingers crossed for a repeat for me and Henry!!!
Well, Tuesday night was more than a little nerve wracking for me. I got to the barn a little before five and got ready for my lesson on Henry. Of course, after so many years of practice it only takes about ten minutes to tack up, so I had some time to kill before my lesson started. I had thought ahead and brought a Kyra Kyrklund book with me to see if it offered any insights on that baffling half-pass that I knew I would be working on in my lesson, but also to see if there was a simple concept I could use to focus the lesson I would be teaching at 6:30. Suffice it to say that my nerves, combined with the vague tone of the book (I loved reading it the first few times but it does have a sort of "you had to be there" feeling) and I ended up blanking out on all the words. Oh well.
I did get a chance to talk to some of the girls who work and ride at the barn who have taught these college lessons before. They suggested some horses to use and some tips, and regaled me with stories about good looking college men (sorry, already taken!) and students who are studying abroad here (most are from Asian countries, for some reason). These stories were too funny because looking back to Monday night, there are four guy names on my list (one girl asked if they had "hot names"... um... WHAT?) and on Friday, all the names in my lesson are distinctly Asian... hopefully there won't be too much of a culture/ language barrier. I'm worried though, it's tough enough to try to explain all the parts of a bridle and a horse's anatomy to someone who is a native English speaker!
I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Getting back to my lessons, though...
I warmed up with a nice easy walk while I waited for my trainer to finish the lesson before mine. It's so awesome to be able to walk around on the buckle and not worry that my horse will do something spooky or dumb. We started with some leg-yields, and quickly moved into shoulder-in and haunches-in, and from there tried a couple of half-passes. Going to the left, he gave me a really good effort and so we gave him a walk break. After that we tried to get some good ones to the right, but we are finding he has a hard time bending well to the right. It's partially me as well, as I tend to let him work his own way through the corners and don't support his shoulders as much as I should through the bend. That will change!
We went back to the leg-yield to the right to try to work some more on bending, but it will be a long road. This is something that will start to show itself more and more, and so I will need to work on getting him to bend all the way through to the right. Another disconcerting quirk that is showing itself is that when I ask for something challenging, as he is thinking Henry tends to click his teeth together. He's not gnashing them or fighting the contact, just playing with the jaw and click-click-clicking through the movement. It is a sign of tension but I have been assured that it will go away when he becomes more comfortable with what is being asked of him. I purposely keep his noseband one hole looser than most would, because after reading horror stories on COTH and sustainabledressage.com, I want to make sure I am doing what I can to understand the biomechanics of my horse and make him more comfortable. I'm also going to put in a call to the vet to have her come check his teeth and see if there are any shots that need updating.
Anyway, after another break we did some counter-canter-walk-canter transitions. Let me tell you, his canters feel awesome, but it's also tough because I need to be there to keep his shoulders up if he starts to tip in (especially to the right), half-halt before he can flatten out, and push him into the bend, all while staying upright. Someday his balance will be such that I can just sit back and enjoy the gait, but for now I am more than willing to lend a helping hand (and leg, and seat, and upper body...). We finished with some lengthenings at the trot, emphasizing a prompt transition back down to the more collected (not actually collected, more like working) trot, and then a stretchy circle, focusing on encouraging him to stretch down and OUT, not down and towards his chest. He's getting there :)
So homework for this week is:
keep plugging away at getting precise control of his shoulders, haunches, and sideways to improve each of the elements of half-pass
keep working on getting a deep, through bend to the right
leg-yields on center line and from the track to center line so that he's not leaning on the wall as a crutch or anticipating the movement
prompt transitions within the trot to lengthening and back down
The tough part is, as my trainer says, "we're going to be here for a while". Henry is such a quick learner and a hard worker, that it sort of feels strange when he struggles with something. I gave him last night off (and spent almost three hours at the gym between cardio, weight training, and a yoga class!) and will work sparingly but diligently on our homework. I really wish the weather was better so that I could give him a trail ride mental break. He's always in work mode, which might be how he likes it, but I do get nervous that he'll resent all the concentrated effort on these tough new moves!
Hmm... think I'll save my tale of the college lesson for the next post. This one's long enough ;)
1. When I have more time to sit down, decompress, and blog 2. When this ARCTIC weather passes (it's currently 15 degrees out)
I have been running around quite a bit this past week, hence my lack of posts since my lesson last Tuesday. However, I have been at the barn almost every day since then. On Wednesday, I decided to longe (lunge?) Henry as it had been a while since we had worked on his voice commands, ground manners, etc. He is muscling up really nicely, but he does have a LOT of energy... He was quite good in walk/trot/halt both directions, and then... sort of exploded in the canter :X He wasn't trying to be bad, I don't think; just a lot of energy and feeling fresh. He took off around the circle a couple of times and then stopped short, after which I sent him forward into a walk or trot. After each little outburst he was on his best behavior (for a few minutes), and I even got some very nice canters when I asked. Aside from his bout of spunkiness, he was a peach.
I didn't make it out to the barn on Thursday, and then Friday a BIG STORM came. Yeah, the same one that dumped snow on Las Vegas. I was let out of work early and headed straight to the barn, because I knew that I wouldn't get out there later at night. I knew the temps were supposed to be dropping well under the freezing mark, so I pulled out Henry's *clean* blanket and I'm sure he appreciates it. If the temperature ever gets back to the mid-30s I will let him go without since his coat is nice and thick, but these bitter cold days with snow and wind are a bit much.
Saturday there was a holiday party at the barn, so my boyfriend (who is on break from school) came with to eat cookies while I rode. Henry was awesome. I used a quarter sheet to warm up with and I can definitely appreciate when he is warm and loose. His trot was great right off the bat. We worked on everything from our last lesson, including turn on the haunches and trot lengthenings. He was a very good boy :)
Yesterday we worked on the same things, as well as trying to get some good canter-walk transitions, but I was sort of distracted the whole ride, so it was tough going. There were two other riders in the ring, and one of them gives running commentary on her ride. She talks to her horse, saying things like, "Come on, pick yourself up a bit! That's good, good balance, keep it together..." etc etc ETC. It gets very old, very fast. It's also tough to concentrate when you are looking over your shoulder all the time to avoid head-on collisions with other riders, who don't seem to think it's their responsibility to do the same. It's frustrating but a good learning experience, I suppose. Trying to keep your composure, turn on a dime, and really practice your transitions (i.e. WHOOPS we need to HALT NOW!) keeps you and your horse sharp!
Tonight I am working late, so Henry will get the night off. FHOTD wrote that she never rides when temps are this low, and I think that's a good standard. If I could get out to the barn I would probably give Henry a good grooming and some hand walking. Hopefully things will be warm enough tomorrow night for my lesson...
Aside from all the usual work and barn trips, I am trying to catch up on some volunteer work for my local GMO, write and send holiday cards, and I have been making chocolate covered pretzels for holiday gifts. There's not a lot of extra money this year, so a homemade delicious gift is the best I could do, and so far the reviews have been great!
Yesterday the weather was quite warm, into the mid 50s I believe. This meant that I wouldn't have to deal with Henry's scooty-OMG it's cold attitude. Yay! However, there was also a great deal of precipitation yesterday. Hmm...
When I got to the barn there was a jumping lesson again. I heard the trainer talking to the boarder afterward and she's a lot younger than I thought! She's looking for high schools! It's hard to tell when some young riders are so dedicated, and so quiet, but I suppose I was like that when I was her age as well (only sans horse).
Henry made some faces at me as I was tacking up, probably because it was shortly after he had been fed and he wanted to keep eating his hay. Oh well. My limited schedule becomes your inconvenience, buddy! There was another boarder there whose horse is in the stall next to Henry and she too was tacking up, but got into the ring before me (I waited until the jumping lesson was over, so as not to get in the way of the HUGE WB careening around and hurdling over things.
As I was getting ready to get on, I noticed something shiny in the ring footing - turns out it was someone's pocketknife (thankfully closed)!!! Then I started to walk around on the buckle and hmmm... what's that noise? Above the din of the rain on the metal roof, I heard an engine. I looked out the end door and there was a tractor, lights on, idling in the mud. Apparently there would have been a deluge followed by a very muddy ring if not for the impromptu ditches being dug. Henry was a little wary of all these shenanigans but after a couple of laps around the ring he settled down quite a bit. The only thing left to deal with was my neighbor-boarder, who apparently thought it was quite alright to practically run into Henry on her way around the ring. Um, what? Good thing he's not a kicker!
I warmed up with some shoulder-in at the walk, as well as some small circles and halts. His trot work was pretty great, though halfway into my ride there was another lesson starting (2 riders) so I mainly stayed on a large 20(ish) meter circle at A. Thankfully the instructor of that lesson made a point of asking neighbor-boarder not to follow too closely, saving me the trouble. I tried to work on some canter-walk transitions when I had a clear path, which was a little difficult, but towards the end we were doing quite a bit better than last week.
I hate sitting at a desk all day, and I really need to get back to the gym, because my position is one of the most important things I need to work on. How can I expect Henry to work and be his best when I'm tipping forward or being inconsistent with my aids? I'm not being fair. It's just so tempting to sleep as late as I can in the morning, hit the barn right after work, and not even think about the gym, but the consequences are *ahem* starting to show. I'm REALLY not a morning person but I might have to try to muster the motivation to get up and work out BEFORE work, because there's really no other time in the day I have free, but winter weather makes it oh-so-nice to stay under all my blankets when I wake up...
These time (and motivtion) limitations will certainly be exacerbated next month, when I will be taking a class (or two) at the community college, working full-time, trying to move my horse up to 1st level & taking lessons, and teaching a lesson at the barn... the BO asked me if I would be interested in teaching a beginner level weekly night lesson - um, YES!?! I taught a few private lessons there before I left for college, usually small kids getting acclimated before joining a group lesson. The lesson I would be teaching next month would be a beginner-level group lesson of college students (they get a PE credit - how cool is that?) and would involve teaching grooming, tack, anatomy, safety, basic riding technique, position, etc; a lot of what I've done at summer camp in years past, only with people whose attention span is longer than 15 minutes. I'm excited to hone my skills and I am finding more and more how much I love meeting new people, so hooray!
I have my own lesson tonight, and I can't wait to find out what we'll be working on. I will be using my quarter sheet to warm up with (I am keeping it in my locker, under my saddle as I read on COTH that the wooden rack could damage the flocking) because it has suddenly gone from 55 yesterday to... 30 degrees out today. Blech.
It is a busy, busy time of year. I have been riding, I just haven't been good about posting afterwards. To recap my week:
Monday - rode in the cold; Henry was a little all over the place Tuesday - amazing lesson, trying to work on position and down transitions Thursday - Henry was a little scooty in the trot, but his canter work was awesome Saturday - cold again! with a fleece quarter sheet though, Henry was more comfortable and warmed up quickly and easily (he is not clipped) trot work was super, canter-walk transitions are going to take a while!
So my week in riding was pretty eventful. I feel like we are progressing in leaps and bounds (mostly figurative), and I can't wait to see how the rest of the winter pans out. The last barn I was at had a couple of boarders who liked to show at the local/ schooling shows, and there were a couple of trailers on site. I'm not sure if there are many boarders at this barn who do show, and many of them ride purely for the fun of it (which is awesome). I DO like to show, so we'll see if there are any opportunities that come up in the spring. Our USDF GMO sponsors several shows, clinics, and "show and tell" events, and I have enjoyed going to shows hosted by other organizations and barns in years past. I'll start saving now for entry fees...
My week in life was somewhat eventful as well. We got a tree and my boyfriend trimmed it... well, the top half anyway. I am also planning on doing some serious soul searching to figure out what my next career steps will be. I am hoping to take one or two business classes at a local college in the spring, to see if it's something I could stomach. I've never envisioned myself going into business but... who knows?
Another week, another amazing, enlightening lesson with my trainer. I am dumbfounded at her ability to turn simple exercises, periodic reminders, and visualized metaphors into amazing results in my horse. I am LOVING these lessons.
I was nervous that Henry might still be a little wild as he had been on Monday, or that worse, the weather might not have been the only reason for his acting up. What if his back was hurting? What if his mouth was hurting? Thankfully, he plodded around on the buckle to warm up for a few laps, even though we were in the trainer's ring (which he has only been in once before).
We started with some trot, asking for a bit of an over-bend, to get his body loosened up. I worked on keeping my shoulders back and sitting up, not pulling back with my hands, and keeping my legs on. Every now and then his head would pop up or he would try to pick up the pace, but my trainer said that every time he does that, I should sit up and hold my half halt until he relaxes. It works! I got him so that he was going around with his shoulders up, neck relaxed, mouth light but steady, and bending nicely, with a steady tempo. Where was this when I needed it on Monday???
We did a few shoulder-in to 10 meter circles, making sure both of my legs were on to support him when I asked his body to move around. We did a couple of leg-yields to reaffirm my half-halt (so that he would move over nicely instead of throwing his shoulder to the outside and squirting over to the wall). We gave him a walk break and then when we picked him up, did some work at the walk.
The walk is the hardest gait for me. He is so willing, so eager to please, that his walk can end up looking very tense and way too fast. We worked on "halving" his walk - reducing the speed and stride by half (two or three times!) to get him into a calm, collected walk. As my trainer said, I'm fighting against his nature, so I will have to teach him how to walk differently, and that this new, s l o w e r walk is really awesome and definitely what I want.
From the walk we did some canter transitions, and from canter back to walk, emphasizing my upper body balancing his tendency to tip on to the forehand. Then we did a figure 8 exercise where we cantered a 15 meter circle in one direction, (tried) to walk on center line, and then cantered a 15 meter circle in the other direction, and so on. After a little while his canter-walk transitions were getting a lot closer; my trainer explained that since he has such a nice big stride, it took him longer to get organized to be able to walk. After three or four of those figure 8s, his canter was amazing! It was uphill, rolling, rhythmic, and so light... I hope I can get that again this week!
My trainer complimented the canter, and then his personality in general. I love the feeling of validation that I'm getting from these lessons, since my last trainer kept telling me that if I really wanted to be serious about dressage, I would need a new (read: expensive) horse (read: warmblood). Nuts to that. Henry is AWESOME.
So, homework for this week:
position, position, position! (I am "sitting twice as well as last week", but I "still need to sit up more" - yup!)
keeping my upper body up to help balance him
holding my half-halts until he is willing to stay at the tempo I want
keeping the bend and a feel on the outside (pushing him into the outside rein)
keeping Henry's body "under my saddle", not strung out in front or dragging behind (not that the latter is EVER an issue - he's got too much motor, if anything)
keeping the walk calm, collected, and s l o w
canter-walk transitions to increase his confidence in my asking for down transitions, and his ability to organize himself at the canter
The reason I was out at the barn early enough last night to catch these 4:00 lesson people feeding and petting my horse (horrors!) was that I had a lesson at 5:30. Before we even started, I asked my trainer if there was anything I could be doing with my position that was making it harder for Henry to get those darn leg-yields down. She pointed out that he's just not that great at them yet, but said she'd watch for it. We ended up working a lot on getting me to sit up and keep my hands forward, which would help him be able to come higher in his withers (he's a little "butt high") and on keeping him forward, even when I was asking for down transitions and halts.
I love that in just 3 lessons, this trainer has already got a good feel on what's going on with me and my horse. I have sometimes felt like instructors or trainers just take a shot in the dark or spout basics over and over, without getting to the heart of real training issues. She also uses Centered Riding-like phrases and images that help me a lot. I'm definitely a visual learner, so things like "try to get his hind feet up into the rings of his bit" and "you want to make him short behind you and long in front of you, so you have more horse to work with" make a lot more sense to me than it would seem they should ;)
I also love having homework, cheesy as it may be. I want to be the best I can be, and Henry to have all the right tools and information he needs to be a great mount. I hate feeling unmotivated to ride because I'm not sure what I should be working on. I don't want to work him too hard, but I do want to continually work on improving various aspects of our partnership and our ride time. I also realize and am REALLY looking forward to the fact that "improving various aspects" will include copious trail riding this spring. None of the barns I have been at in the past have had access to the awesome trails that this one does. I know them well, having ridden them quite a bit from ages 10-18, and I know there are lots of people at the barn who make it a point to ride those trails every week, if not more often. I can't wait!
Until then, though, it's homework!
keeping my shoulders back
keeping my butt in the saddle (seat bones, here I come)
keeping my hands forward ("it should feel like he's taking you by the hands - your hands are his, you say nothing with your hands"
keeping my legs on
keeping his forward momentum, even in down transitions and halts
keeping my left rein when cantering to the right
transitions, transitions, transitions
some shoulder-in, leg-yield, shoulder-fore to make sure I can put him where I want him
It sounds like a lot, but most of it is making sure I am sitting correctly. My trainer noticed that I'm scared to upset Henry in any way, so I perch on his back with my legs off, hands towards my stomach, and shoulders tipped forward. When I actually sat up last night and put my legs on and my hands forward, it was like he said "THANK you, jeez!" and gave me a real connection. So cool!
I asked her at the end of my lesson if she thought I should keep him. Not in so many words; I was trying to sound casual about it. She sort of looked at me and said that I should definitely keep him, unless I couldn't (half asking, but not being too blunt about it). I mentioned that I had put him up for sale in the summer, when the plan was to go to grad school, but that since I had a job I was making ends meet. I mentioned that I had gotten a couple of offers on him, but that those who came to try him were put off by his sensitivity.
My trainer agreed that he's "not for the average amateur" and that he's too sensitive for many riders. It would be a fight for both Henry and rider to be happy together. She also said that if it were her, she would hold on to him, because once things start to click with him (i.e. once I get my position straightened out and he realizes he can go forward in a connection and I'll only help him out) then I'll be able to get what I'm asking for with a simple shift of the hips. His sensitivity used to be a bit of a curse (and yes, I've chewed him out in my mind a few times), but more and more I know that it's a blessing and gives him the edge he needs to be a great dressage horse.
I emailed the woman from CT to let her know what my decision was, and finally felt the courage to pull his ad from the web, knowing I'll never be considered rich in the eyes of most people, but that with hard work and some luck (and maybe a green Christmas), I'll always be able to find a way to make ends meet. More importantly, though, as long as I have this wonderful horse, I will always feel like a millionaire.
Henry was a peach tonight. Despite the two other riders in the ring who couldn't be bothered to steer - or be polite about sharing the ring (one almost ran into me twice and then muttered something about "target practice"!!! - these are students, not boarders, but common courtesy at this barn is, as far as I know, to use the "short arena" space for lessons and leave at least a 20 meter circle at A for other riders... or at least pass left-to-left!) he really did try.
I was feeling a little sore and that wasn't helping, either; my shoulders got sloppy and I ended up not sitting as deeply as I should have...grrr. After a little trot warm-up, I went right in for some serious leg-yield practice. Inside track, quarter line, center line, you name it. There is SOMETHING I just don't get going to the right (that is, going left, but leg-yielding right). If I am too soft with the outside rein his shoulder pops out and he scoots over to the side. When I half-halt and take a stronger feel of the outside rein, he stops moving off my inside leg. Just goes straight ahead, and just scoots if I give him a nudge or a tap. He was also being a dork about bending left - especially at the spoooooky end door. It was a totally clear night, by the way. No rain, no snow, no horse-eating boogeymen waiting to jump out of the shadows (I don't think...). I must be doing something with my position that is too dramatic on that side, but I can't see or feel it. When I was younger, I know that I was always too strong in the right rein - maybe that's coming back, or maybe I'm overcompensating by being to weak? That nagging thought, coupled with the thoughtlessness of other riders, and a good helping of sore, tired muscles to boot (thanks, uterus!) made for a less happy than normal ride.
HOWEVER! The Syracuse men's basketball team is 7-0 after steamrolling Colgate (I usually end up driving around in circles to get it on the radio - no TV!), I have a lesson tomorrow night wherein hopefully my leg-yield issues will get sorted out, my horse is as cute as a button, even when he's drooling in my helmet (thinks there's cookies in there - they've got to be somewhere!), my board bill was cheaper than I thought it was going to be, and now I have a hot shower and Moby Dick to look forward to. It's things like this that make me happy to be alive :)
But! I did ride Saturday afternoon. When I got to the barn there must have been 9 or 10 cars in the parking lot. By the time I was tacked up the indoor ring had miraculously cleared out :)
We warmed up with some trot circles and serpentines, as well as some trot-halt-walk transitions (trying to get him to fight his natural instincts to slide to a stop and curl up!). After a quick break, because I haven't clipped him this year, we worked on leg yields from quarter and center lines, shoulder in, and lengthening on 20 meter circles and across the diagonal. I have a tough time keeping him from overbending and throwing his shoulder at the wall when we leg-yield to the right. His shoulder in wasn't too bad, but it was better going left. Hmm...
Then we took another quick break and started up again with a couple of canter transitions, then on to counter canter. This is a BRAND new concept for him, as I have avoided it until last week. I wanted him to always nail his leads, and feel confident that he would balance himself at the canter. When I first started to train him, I don't think Henry had ever been asked to canter on a circle. I thought a few times I would bite the dust because he would get quicker and quicker to avoid having to balance himself. He would fall in to the inside, speed up, and run through down transitions. He has gotten a million times better and his canter is actually quite comfy now. Saturday, his counter canter was spot on... well, 80% of the time.
I have come to believe that the better I am as a rider the better able Henry (or whatever horse I'm on) will be able to understand what I'm asking and do it well. I know most horses have a "stiff" or "strong" side and that's surely a factor in all of the things Henry and I do but I am constantly trying to analyze my own position, my aids, and how I'm doing as a rider. I do have a tendency to lean just a little forward; this is probably left over from my hunter/jumper time in college (I never heard the end of the snarky "dressage seat" comments) as well as a bit of hesitancy to really sit on Henry lest he get quick and/or unbalanced. I have to GET OVER IT and keep my shoulders back! I'm crazy if I think he'll actually run off with me. He's never done anything like that, and will slow down willingly (sometimes even before I ask). I think he's less fit than he needs to be because after a 45 minute ride on Saturday, he was starting to get sweaty and strangely keen on interpreting half halts as "Stop, we're done!" Part of this is probably also that I'm asking for new and different muscles to work and for him to let me do new and different things.
I am going to head out to the barn tonight and try to fine-tune those leg-yields before my lesson tomorrow. Hopefully he's not covered in mud...
My Pumpkinhead! He's getting the day off while I bake 4 dozen cranberry pumpkin muffins to distribute to the 30+ family and friends making the trip for Thanksgiving. Tomorrow I will head up to the barn to work on my homework from Tuesday night's lesson:
leg-yield to shoulder-in both ways
loosening up his middle (more on this in a minute)
working on lengthening in the trot
trot-halt-walk transitions
and introducing counter canter.
Henry is great front-to-back. He's got go and whoa, and a lot in between, and his neck is easy to move around, but my trainer's analogy was that from the withers back, "he's like a tube" - we have a hard time getting him to swing side to side, and put his haunches and shoulders where I want them. So, to loosen him up I'm going to have to do a lot of bending, spiraling in and out on circles (I usually start at 20 meters, circle down to about 8 meters, and back out to 20 - he's a small horse, so 8 meters isn't too hard for him), transitions, and lateral movements. I am also constantly working on getting him more uphill, so that he is sitting down on his back end and raising his tummy and withers up. Lots of engaging his hind legs to come up under him, and half-halts up front to keep him from curling his nose in and falling on the forehand. This is a lot to try to remember when I'm actually on, but somehow it works out. Even when there are big snow piles sliding off the roof, or other riders in the ring who forget to pass left to left, or REALLY interesting tractors outside, or friends coming in from turnout.
I went to college in Virginia, deciding to forgo my mom's alma mater, Mount Holyoke. Looking back I really do wish I had pursued something in the equine industry, but I'm very thankful for my college experience. I got to learn a lot about who I am, and what I love, and that there really are places where the coldest it gets is 30 degrees. I am also thankful for my boyfriend, who, when I mentioned that the articles like "Careers With Horses" in the December issue of Dressage Today make me wish I had chosen a different path, reminded me that I still could, if I really wanted to. Something to keep in mind before I go $100K into debt for grad school...
I am also thankful for my family and friends, who know that this is one of my lifelong passions, for having a job that allows me to pursue this dream, and for the barns and people that I've met during my horsey life that are encouraging, kind, funny, smart, responsible, dependable, and fun. For the teachers I've had - good ones and not so good ones - thank you. I always try to learn something (even if I'm learning how NOT to do something) from every lesson, every show, every clinic, and every day. I'm thankful for the horses that have taught me as well, from my first ever pony ride at 4 years old (not that I can actually remember it, but there's photographic evidence!), to my first lesson on the stubborn Appy Fancy Pants, to the first horses I showed (Ritchie, thanks for letting me cry in your mane), to the first horse I got to train for dressage (Hershey - still giving lessons to everyone and going well from the glowing reports I get from students and teachers at the barn), to every horse I had to get on at an IHSA show, to the skinny camp horses, to all the ones I can only see on TV.
Here is a video taken by my saint of a boyfriend (he's allergic to horses... literally). This was from July of this year. We are riding Training Level Test 2 at a schooling show.
I decided to create this blog as a way to keep track of my training goals and notes with my 12 year old QH gelding, Henry. He's a great guy, and I'm doing my best to make him the best darn dressage horse I can - on a limited budget, with limited time, and with the best combination of patience and dedication that I can muster.
Most posts will be short and (hopefully sweet) as I ride and train through the bitter New York winter. This one is long because I love my horse, and I think his story is amazing (I can hear all the eyerolls already). My profile picture is... you guessed it! Me and Henry at a show this past summer, doing a Training Level test (3 maybe?).
I was working at a summer camp in 2004 when I met Henry. I was the "Horse Director" in charge of maintaining a lesson program of sorts for 400 campers, ages 4-12. Over the four summers I worked there (thank goodness it was only a DAY camp!) we had between 8-10 horses each summer, borrowed from a local trail horse operation at a nearby state park.
Every summer, before the campers arrived, the horses came on a huge trailer - some were muddy, some had saddle-shaped sweat marks still on them, most needed their feet done. I usually spent that day cleaning out the tack room, giving baths, and fitting saddles. Then I tried to get on any horse I didn't already know to see what their personalities were like and what age group they would work best for. The youngest group got grooming & lead line lessons, next oldest got "fake reins" (a lead line clipped to each side of a halter) to learn stop & go, steering, balance, etc, and the oldest actually got to use the bridle, learn to trot, and go on trail rides. I hated those bridles, with their big rusty curb bits and ill-fitting headstalls. Not my place to nitpick - there was nowhere else we could get horses for the summer - but give me a nice fat snaffle bit any day.
There was also the joy of working with teenagers. I was in college for the majority of the years I worked at camp, and I was shocked at some of the DRAMA and shenanigans these teens could produce in 8 short weeks. Crazy. Then there was the joy of coming in every Saturday and Sunday to feed, water, make sure everyone was happy and uninjured, and walk the fenceline to make sure it was still hot and effective. We were set up next to a rural-type highway, so runaway horses were not an option.
Anywho, Henry was a dirty, skinny ball of nerves from the minute I met him. He also had a much less dignified-sounding name. But I definitely saw something in him. It was a little annoying at first, as he was too squirrely to put most kids on him. We used him some for the lead-line kids, and did grooming, learning the parts of the horse, etc with him. I rode him on our group trail rides because I wasn't afraid of a little scooting (okay, a lot of scooting).
Years and years on every lesson horse I could find at a dressage barn (since I was 10) and hunter-jumper barns (in college - I was on our IHSA team) had given me the ability to discern when I needed to get after a horse and when I needed to sit and be QUIET. He needed someone to leave his sides and mouth ALONE, and pat him if there was something weird looking in the woods or if he got left behind (there were lots of horses in that group that could be very stubborn with a timid kid on their back, and we had to stay with them while they kick-kick-giddyaped at their grass-eating mounts).
Riding Henry during our lunch hour, I discovered a horse that was unsure of himself, way off balance, totally unwilling to take contact with the bit, but totally honest. If you asked the right way he would immediately respond with all he had (usually way too much). One of my teenaged co-workers brought in her snaffle bridle to try him in, to see if he would accept some contact with his mouth. He did better. I tried bending him. It loosened him up a little. One day I even got a decent trot with some circles and serpentines.
Every so often, when he came by to drop off hay, I prodded the owner of the group of horses about him - what was his breeding, how old was he, where did he come from? A registered Quarter horse, eh? You say he's only 8 or 9? Hmm... I was a little skeptical.At the end of the summer, I asked the owner if he might consider selling Henry and was surprised when he said yes. Of course I probably paid too much for him, but it was worth it to me. I had to go back to college in August, so my mom helped arrange for him to be trucked to a new home in November. He was still skinny, and looked even scragglier with a full winter coat, but he was mine.
I had always dreamed about a tall, dark and handsome warmblood (yeah, hooked on dressage) as my first horse. Had to be at least 16.2, and preferably dark bay or black. Chestnut was out of the question. And what did I end up with but a scooty, head in the air, 15 hand (on tiptoes) red dun honest to goodness 1996 AQHA Registered Quarter Horse. Everybody thought I was nuts (I'll admit, he probably would have been a better barrel racer or something at that point). I didn't have any tack. I bought him a blanket and gave him the winter and spring off (I was in school 600 miles away anyway). He deserved a break. Of course when I came home for winter break his blanket was ripped up. Not too bad. It lasted another few weeks and then we had to trash it. Oh well.
The next year Henry was fat and happy. Shiny coat, brand new tack, and me trying to figure out how to get him to slow down, stop looking out the end door, and get his head out of the stratosphere. It wasn't very pretty. Don't even ask about his canter work. We've progressed a lot since then, been at 5 different barns, and taken home lots of ribbons.
In 2006 I think we did two local shows at Intro Level, scoring mid-high 50s. I was okay with that, but I kew we could do better.
In 2007 we showed a bit more and ended up as Year End Schooling Show (yeah, I definitely can't afford recognized shows. I was an art major) Champions for our local dressage and combined training club.
This past summer we showed at Training Level (did 4 or 5 local shows) with scores usually in the upper 60s. Our last time out was a Halloween fun show, where we took home two 70% blue ribbons and a high point championship. I'm looking forward to finding out how we did in the running for our Year End Awards in January.
Right now I'm back at the barn where I started almost 15 years ago, training with one of the best teachers I've ever met and had the pleasure of working with and working for. Henry is doing amazingly well. I never thought he would come this far, and from what people tell me he's still got potential to move up. I'm crazy about him and I feel lucky every time I go out to ride (when I can find the time and it's not blizzarding). I think about all the people who pay tens of thousands of dollars for crabby, neurotic horses, who import their warmbloods from Belgium, and who buy a new horse every season to show on. I could never do that. I tried (and failed) to sell Henry this summer/ fall. I still have an ad up online but haven't gotten any inquiries in a long time (and NO, he doesn't know how to jump!). I know part of it is the economy, part of it is him (he's not a babysitter, he's got an engine), and part of it is me. I spend pretty much half of my income on this guy. My boyfriend thinks I'm nuts. My parents think I'm nuts. My friends don't really... get it. I don't care. Riding is something I've never been able to stay away from. It keeps me sane. I wish someone had told me that I could actually go to college for equine studies. I mean, an art major isn't really that much more practical...
Posts
