2 Lessons in 1 Night = Exhausting!

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 ;)

Setting the goals is the easy part!

I even used a free calendar to write down what I should do each day to maintain my progress on my 2009 goals. Sundays, ride. Mondays, yoga or pilates. Tuesdays, lesson. Wednesdays, run. Thursdays, yoga or pilates. Fridays, ride. Saturdays, ride AND run. So far, so good. I even did a yoga podcast Monday night in my apartment. We'll see how good it is when I try to motivate myself to get to the gym to run (since it's sleeting/ freezing raining outside)...

After the boot debacle two weeks ago, I tried to muster the motivation to ride, but with the holidays and general craziness I did not get on Henry until last Friday. I rode Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and had a lesson last night. He wasn't too bad, considering his time off. We worked on keeping him forward even in halts and down transitions, and using this forward momentum to keep his withers higher than his butt, so that he doesn't fall apart on the down transition. These are UGLY exercises, but they will help build his strength so that he can carry himself through all the time, not just when we're going along at a constant pace.

We also worked more on shoulder-in, leg-yield, and haunches-in. These weren't great, but as long as I keep my upper body UP and maintain my half-halt (while remembering to keep my hands closer to his mouth than to my belly) he gets that I'm asking him to move his body around, not GOGOGO! My trainer says I need to be much more picky about these movements if I want them to be useful, and I definitely agree. I had some success last week doing them down center line so that there was no wall to tempt him, so I will try that again this week.

Homework!

• Canter-walk transitions, keeping him forward and UP in the shoulder/wither/neck area
• Meticulous practice of leg-yield, shoulder-in, and haunches-in, holding my half-halt position to help keep him slow and focused
• Trot lengthenings keeping his front end UP so as to avoid sprawling
• Halts with clucking (yes, clucking him into a halt) to keep his forward momentum and trot promptly out of the halt (should work as long as he was forward into the halt!)
  

We also got a delivery from Dover, which included new bell boots (so I could throw out the three on his stall - the green without any velcro straps, the red with only one velcro strap, and the black that was thisclose to being torn in two), Thrush Buster, Healthy Hair Care moisturizer, and a brand new BRIGHT YELLOW bucket. I love this bucket. My boyfriend thinks this is HILARIOUS. He has never heard anyone be so excited about a bucket in his life. I think it's great. The color makes it easy to see when Henry's water is gross (although it is a pretty safe bet that it will be disgusting at any given time, as he is a "dunker"), it is actually still bucket shaped, and it's sturdy. LOVE this bucket.

And I still get to shop Dover for another generous $25 thanks to Stacey of Behind the Bit! I'm not sure what I'll get yet, but I will be sure to post when I figure it out.

New Year, New Goals!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

There are many people who started off this year with resolutions. I tend to think that resolutions are too tough to keep because they aren't specific enough. "I want to be a better rider" for example, is vague and unaccomplishable, because there's no way to measure your success - how do you determine when you've become a better rider? I have found that in order to be successful, you need to have something concrete to work towards. I like to have goals, not resolutions. That way I can have a measurable achievement in mind, and I can break it down into smaller steps to help me towards success! It has been thoroughly documented that in making your goals measurable and realistic (i.e. no matter how much I'd love to earn all my USDF medals before age 30, I sincerely doubt that's realistic) you can increase the chances that you will accomplish them.

That said, I wanted to give a shout-out to a woman who has just started blogging, with a measurable goal in mind. Her name is Christie and her goal is to lose 100 pounds and start riding dressage again. Check out her blog here. I first read about her goal on COTH and I think she's doing great so far. I know I will be following along with her journey and wishing her the best of luck.

As for myself, I have about 20 goals for various parts of my life, including running at least 2 5K races this year, creating a $1,000 emergency savings fund, paying off at least 50% of my credit card debt, and keeping track of everyone's birthdays. I want to make sure my resume is updated every 3 months, deep clean my apartment once a month and keep it tidy and uncluttered all the time, and take some business classes. The ones that are more pertinent here, though, are as follows:

• I want to maintain and improve this blog, by posting at least 2 times a week and by expanding my posting topics
• I want to be at the barn at least 3 times a week, riding each time unless the weather or some other serious circumstance prevents me (knocking on lots of wood right now)
• I want to show at First Level and take Henry to at least one recognized show this year (and compete, not just watch!)
  
• I want to continue taking regular lessons (which means making and putting away the money for it!)
  
• I want to create a musical freestyle (probably only for fun at a schooling show since I don't have the scores to do one at a recognized show)

It looks like a lot, now that I've written it out, but goals are supposed to be aspirational, after all! I can also break these down into smaller goals and work towards them a little each day. I am a visual learner, so I will probably be creating posters with those little thermometers on them that people use for fundraisers so that I can mark off my progress as I go! I will post them around the apartment for motivation :)

Good luck to all of you on your 2009 goals!

Merry Christmas, now back to work!

This week has been a busy one, with several church services, lots of delicious food, and a motivating lesson on Tuesday. I was motivated by Henry's progress to look towards the future and some shows, and I was motivated to stimulate the economy thanks to a broken boot zipper!

First off, Merry Christmas to those who celebrated yesterday. My day was full of cookies, chili, and a much appreciated plane ticket so that I can go visit my grandfather in Florida. I am very lucky to have friends, family, and loved ones in my life! I also got a gift certificate to Dover Saddlery, which I will be using for a new bright yellow bucket, some Healthy Hair Care Moisturizer, some Thrush Buster, and a new pair of bell boots. Nothing too glamorous, but there are some things I have my eye on for the future, which will be especially useful if, as my trainer mentioned, I will be going to my first recognized shows this year! She said that her boot zippers have broken TWICE at the same show on two separate occasions, and that it might have been related to the fact that her tack stall was #13. When I asked if she ever brought other horses than her own to those shows, she said that she did and that Henry would definitely be ready this year.

I am SUPER excited at that prospect and so of course have been drooling over new boots (mine are field boots since I like the ability to lace up around the ankles), a new coat (yup, been riding in the same old black HUNT COAT since I was a pre-teen), and white show gloves (although maybe we'll wait on these to make sure I have the hands to do it right!). It is also dangerous to leave me alone with a credit card and a tack catalogue (I would end up with soooo many sets of polo wraps...), so I will keep my purchases under $100 for the time being, and start a piggy bank for the spring.

I had a lesson on Tuesday that I endured with my busted boot zipper (booooooo). It broke right before I got on, unfortunately. I dropped it off at the repair shop on Wednesday, only to be asked for the other (non-broken) boot as well, which my boyfriend dropped off this morning. I guess I should appreciate the dedication of the zipper-repairwoman, who wants to match the zippers on my boots. Unfortunately she said she would probably not be able to finish the job until next week, prompting a mild how-will-I-ride shopping spree this morning. I found paddock boots and half chaps online for a whopping $45 total, and hopefully they will get to me before next Tuesday. If not, I will probably just cancel my lesson and use the extra week for some more practice time, since I did not ride Wednesday or yesterday.

During our lesson, we worked on transitions, and holding my half-halt aids until Henry was *actually* traveling at the pace I wanted. This did a lot to help our trot-halt and canter-walk transitions. We worked more on trot lengthening and he gave me an amazing result across the diagonal towards the end of the lesson. We also introduced haunches-in, asking him to swing his back end in at the walk, and reinforcing it with a couple of steps of turn on the forehand. I think he will pick it up quickly, and he is doing a lot better about listening to my half halts when previously, he would have scooted when introduced to new things.

My trainer is pleased at how easy it is to get things done with Henry. Many horses will just be settling in to work halfway through the lesson, whereas as soon as I shorten the reins, Henry is ready to work. However, this tends to make it easier for him to become mentally tired towards the end of the lesson. At first I was worried that he was really unfit, but this makes a lot of sense. He is a thinker, and after working on things that he has to think about to accomplish, he gets mentally worn out. It definitely doesn't help that the weather keeps us in the arena every time I go to the barn, but at least he has daily turnout with buddies. I can't wait until we can get out on the trails!

So, my homework for this week (and probably next week, too) is to:

• keep working on getting the gaits I want and that I know Henry can give me
• work on lengthening and shortening the stride in trot
• work on shoulder-in and introducing & reinforcing haunches-in
• keep his shoulders up at the canter, especially to the right, as he tends to tip in towards the center going that direction
• trot-halt and canter-walk transitions, including collecting the walk, cantering 3 strides, and walking again
• making sure Henry has mental stimulation as well as breaking up the routine to keep him happy and interested

I hope everyone is having a great holiday season, and I will be working on my New Year's resolutions this weekend. I'm pretty sure those will have something to do with the huge pile of chocolates and cookies at home...

Icy outside, but very cool in the ring!

What can I say? I am so lucky to have such a great horse. As I was mucking his stall post-lesson tonight, I kept hearing Martina McBride singing "Blessed" in my head (cheesy, yes, but oh well!).

When I got to the barn, there were some younger girls in the tack room (they help out with the barn chores, sometimes teach lessons, etc and board their horses there). As one exclaimed, "I love these boots, they were $75!!!" I figured it would be a frustrating night. The woman whose lesson is right before mine has a beautiful upper level horse, who gets all the fanciest gear you could imagine. I heard the two girls mocking her for using a quarter sheet - "It's just a little piece of fleece, it's not going to keep him warm!" "So and so has one too" "Yeah she has a PINK ONE! *snort*" (the last comment made right before one girl pulled a HOT PINK brush out of her tack box, which the other girl complimented...) - and then put them out of my mind as I brought out MY quarter sheet and started grooming Henry.

He was a little upset (again) that I was disturbing him right when he should be forehead deep in hay, and once again, the 4pm lesson mom put carrots in his feed bin without asking. I sighed, brushed out his mane and put his saddle on. We warmed up walking and trotting a bit before my trainer was finished with the other lesson, and when she was ready to start we picked up a trot and worked on leg yields, shoulder-in, and small circles for a few minutes. The trot he gave me, right off the bat (with the quarter sheet on) was amazing. It's like he KNOWS when we're about to have a lesson and just turns on the charm. I worked on bending his ribcage with my inside leg, fingers, and leg, and worked on something I read on some blog or forum somewhere - stepping into my inside stirrup and lengthening my body on the outside (from hip to shoulder) to help him lengthen on the outside. He was phenomenal.

After a walk break, we did some collected walk-canter-walk transitions. He is getting better every day and his canter is so uphill, floating, and light I feel like we're not even touching the ground. Down transitions still need work, but he is building his strength and stamina every ride. A few times he picked up a counter canter but hey, nobody's perfect, and his counter canter is super comfy! He's going to dominate at 2nd level... erm... someday!

After what was perhaps one or two circles too many, we took another walk break. My trainer and I agreed that we have to be careful not to work him too hard, which is difficult because he tries so hard that it's almost impossible to know when he's getting tired. He will go until he just can't hold himself together, instead of gradually trying to tell me 'Oh hey, I'll be getting tired soon... hmm, I'm sort of tired... still only kind of tired, check back later... okay I guess I'm tired now'. Plus his canter is so cool to ride (and watch, apparently - my trainer dropped the T word - THIRD level quality) that it's tempting to savor it. However, the reason it's so great is because he tries with all he's got every time I ask, and then suddenly he realizes, 'Oof, I actually need to take a break!' so I will be extra vigilant not to do too much. He's a quick learner too, so drilling is boring and counter productive. Lucky me :) Anyway she said that with this quality of canter, and striving towards 2nd/ 3rd level movements, it would get me great scores at 1st level, and would keep his mind engaged. He needs work, wants to work for me, and this type of horse would get cranky if I didn't challenge him.

After the walk we took a large circle in the trot and worked on shortening and lengthening his stride - not by much, but enough to get him started thinking about lengthenings. My trainer explained that I should treat them like transitions, not gradual changes, and expect an immediate response from him. What that got me was quite a few lovely canter transitions, and several almost-halts, but hey, I can't blame him for trying to do what he thought I wanted! So this week I will be working on this more. My trainer said to expect similar results for the next few months, but we'll see ;)

So, homework:

• still working on my position! ("much better" this week but I'm not going to get complacent!)
• 1st & 2nd level movements (shoulder-in, leg-yield, and new! turn on the haunches) with an emphasis on good bending through his ribcage
• trot shortening (gathering energy) and lengthening (a few strides) and working on prompt responses - treating them like transitions
• working a little bit on collected walk-canter-collected walk transitions, always maintaining the lovely uphill canter that we know he can do (and LOVES to do) to build strength
  

I think this week I will also try to do one fun/cross-train day, like grooming, ground manners, & longing, or working over ground poles and crossrails or something, just so that he knows sometimes we can loosen up and not worry about all the hard work we've been doing in the ring. The weather will probably not cooperate enough to get us outside any time soon (like, in the next 4-5 months) so I'll try to find something we can do indoors. Not even snarky teenagers or mountains of manure can change the deep-down grateful feeling I get when I'm working with Henry. I really have been blessed!

Yeah, Monday was just too cold.

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
  

"Take all the backward out of him, and take all the forward out of you"

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.

Sleet + Laundry Day = A Sunday Without Henry

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...

I'm (obviously) thankful for...

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.

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!