The Kindest Eye

I cannot say enough good things about Ike’s personality.  He might have a moody day like yesterday, who doesn’t, but he is a kind and gentle soul and you can see it in his eyes.  He maintains the relaxed and happy eye whether we are grooming or under saddle.  Ike wants to please which is a refreshing change from his brother.

Our ride today was top notch.  I always like to try to repeat the lesson from the day before to see if I can recreate the feeling without Ms. C’s direction.  We might not have had all the flexion and bend that we needed, but overall I was pleased with today’s effort.  In my humble opinion, Ike’s canter was show worthy today – he could have even have done well in a Training Level test.  The left lead was again balanced and rhythmic.  Drumroll please…….so was the right lead!  Why today and not yesterday?  Because we are still three years old for another 18 days and we just can’t make all the body parts work in unison each and every ride.  As we build muscle memory, oh heck, we need the muscle first, then we will get more consistent.

As I left today, Ike was contentedly eating his hay with that happy look in his eyes.  Isn’t is a great time when all is quiet in the barn except for the munching sounds from happy horses?  As much as he enjoys his hay, Ike always takes a moment to quietly bid me goodbye.

Communication 101

Horses are world class communicators.  Anyone who has spent time with horses knows.  While some are very vocal with whinnies, nickers, and squeals, others are relatively quiet.  All are masters of non-verbal communication.  A squinty eye with pinned back ears – I am not happy with what you are doing!  Eyes wide and unblinking with ears perked forward – danger, danger Will Robinson!

Ike is the tall, silent type.  I can count on two fingers the number of times he has whinnied in my presence.  He relies more on facial expressions and ear movement to let me know his feelings and boy, was he in a mood today.  Not his best photo but you can see the ‘tude.  Maybe it was because he didn’t get to see me yesterday?  Perhaps I did not doll out the treats fast enough or give him all the attention.  Most likely, it was close to dinner time and I made him wait until after our lesson was over.  Lots of ear pinning and head swinging every time I was in his sight line.  A handful of oats tamed the beast while I tacked.

It was not an ideal spring day to have a lesson.  In fact, it felt more like early March with temperatures in the high 40s and windy.  The clouds were out as well and produced some spinkles while we rode (so no new undersaddle photos to share).  With less than 3 weeks until the debut, we need the practice and you never know what the weather will do on show day.  Ike was feeling fresh so he was very much in front of my leg.  He has had a tendency to pop into the trot if I use too much leg – even with a suggestion of trot today he was popping up.  Do over!  Do over!  We were finally in sync at the trot; the down transitions, which used to be like running into a brick wall, now flow up and into the bridle.  Progress.  Centerlines could not have been better.  I thought we were communicating well…

Then it was time for canter.  The left lead was balanced and controlled and Ike got it on the first try.  The right lead, well, ah, you see, {patience, patience, patience} we were a bit of a hot mess.  Poor Ike was disunited in our first attempts, left lead behind, right lead in the front.  All I can say is that it felt like a was riding a 8 month old Great Dane puppy with legs flailing every which way.  You could tell that he was trying so hard to do what I asked, but he just couldn’t get all the body parts aligned at the right time.  Time to regroup.  I had to ask myself if I was being clear in my request.  Back to trot to gain some confidence, down the long side, half halt, step into the right stirrup, feed off onto a circle, squeeze the rein, rock the right hip, left leg slightly back, and TA DA!  Success.  Not nearly as balanced as the left, but we all have our better sides.

We ended the lesson introducing the concept of a walk pirouette to the right to help Ike shift his weight to the inside hind.  Well, it is a work in progress.  One good step and then out swings the hind end.  We try again.  Alison, where is your weight?  Shift to correct place, two more good steps and we are done.  Note to self – I must communicate at the right moment and in the correct way for Ike to succeed.

Back in the saddle tomorrow.  18 days.

I like Ike

It turns out that having a horse named after our 34th President can be really cool.  I found this old campaign button on Ebay (http://www.ebay.com) around Christmas time.  It is the perfect size for my husband to pin to his ballcap to show his support for us when we are out and about.  Luckily it is small enough so that he can hide it in a pocket if he wants to deny any relationship should we exhibit less than desirable behavior.

The best find on Ebay was the following:

Yes, that is right, I have a stock pin with my horse’s name!  I couldn’t risk not winning the item so I did the purchase now option.  Since I will be sitting astride Ike, I will be required to claim ownership no matter what.  I’m just hoping that Ike has been ignoring the war stories from his “older brother.”  My Thoroughbred was well known at local dressage shows, but it wasn’t for his stellar performances.  His antics were numerous and I always played defense – ready at a moments notice to shut down the explosion.  The gallop down centerline sticks out in my mind.  Hey, at least we were straight.

Ike’s centerlines have improved the past few months.  We’ve found that I must sit perfectly still once we make the turn.  Ike hears every shift of my weight or the slightest pressure from my leg.  He does tend to keep his weight to the right in the halt.  Tried using my leg to stop the shift, but then he over-corrects and we are then more crooked than before.  We will live with status quo for the time being.

He was spot on today.  The canter is coming as he grows stronger.  His “try” is what makes him such a special horse.  He gives his best every ride and never holds a grudge.  Can’t ask for more than that.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

First, let’s get the the ugly stuff out of the way…trailer practice had been progressing in the right direction. Ike has been walking right on the trailer with absolutely NO hesitation. I could not have been prouder of him. Well, today we had a minor setback. He walked right up the ramp and proceeded to eat his oats. He lifted his head and spotted the neighbor’s children in the woods (boogie men in disguise). He high tailed it into reverse and lifted his head. When he does that, it is higher than the back door. You can see where this is going. Bam, he hit his poll on the trailer – you can see the dented metal. The boy has a hard noggin. He then went into mule-mode and would not get back on the trailer. Sigh. Time for another lesson in patience. Twenty minutes later, he reloaded and managed to back off with his head down. We got the ugly out of the way before we rode, so I was hoping for a good day.

Managed to fit in a second lesson this morning. The divine Ms. C brought in the tractor as a stand in for a dressage judge’s booth. We started developing a game plan for the first show. How will we warm up? What if Ike is as high as a kite? Will I scratch or try my test if he is having a meltdown? So many unknowns and although we can try to plan for every variable, I know good and well that there is always another boogie man waiting for us.

We then practiced our tests.  Since I did not compete last year, I never studied or memorized any tests at any level.  It is somewhat nice to ease back in with the Intro tests.  [Heads up, Here comes The Bad.]  Made it through Intro A.  Simple test – need to work on our long diagonal.  Hate that you have to walk down centerline to finish.  With Intro B, we made multiple 20 meter circles to the left in order to achieve better bend.  Overall, it was our best effort.  Then it came time for Intro C.  Made it through the first trot circle, the right lead canter (and we got it!), the change of rein, our left circle, then……………………………………….oh, yeah, my mind went…………………………….blank……………………………………..rider error.  Better to get it out now.

Finally let us end on The Good.  My trainer is the best!  Her knowledge of dressage is amazing.  She has a way of explaining things that make complex concepts simple to understand.  She helps me set realistic goals.  Mere words hardly seem enough to express how much I admire her horsemanship and friendship.  Ike and I could never do this without her support and guidance.

Einstein

 

Ready, Set, More Action

Yesterday was our weekly lesson.  I can honestly say that my trainer is one of my best friends and has probably forgotten more about horses that I will ever hope to learn.  She keeps us on task and knows just how to bring out the best in both of us.  Too bad I cannot shrink her enough to hide in a pocket as I ride my tests.  It is evident by the photos that we need the constant reminders by the fabulous Ms. C to find our happy place.

We continue to work on our rhythm and relaxation; Ike was much less of a freight train during the lesson.  Ike and I are also searching for straightness between the reins and my legs and for the still elusive connection and recycle of the energy.  There are fleeting moments where we achieve that goal, but then the moment is gone and one body part or another has moved into another time zone.  Ms. C says it is all part of the process as Ike learns to find his balance, and I learn how to help him find it and maintain it.

We work a lot at the walk and trot.  If we can’t maintain our straightness and throughness going slower, we have absolutely no chance at the canter.  I have to think like a metronome while trotting, one, two, one, two, one, two.  I think I’ve got it, and then, oops, I don’t prepare Ike well enough to feed off onto a circle.  We then look tense and choppy.  Sigh, rider error! Thank you for playing, please try again.  [What, did you think I’d post one of those photos??]

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could have “do overs” during a dressage test?  Think about it, at golf tournaments, golfers can purchase mulligan tickets so when your ball ends up in the creek for the second time, you can whip out that ticket and try again to hit terra firma with no penalty strokes.  You won’t see mulligans at the Masters this weekend (I bet Rory wished he had that ticket when he ended up in the drink), but every fun golf tournament I’ve ever attended offered this fabulous option. I think USEF and USDF should consider allowing riders to purchase similar tickets, then when you blow a movement, you can stop and cry “DO OVER!” and retry.  Show managers, think of the money to be earned!  Sign me up!

Since I doubt mulligans will be an option by the end of the month, we will continue to practice.  Twenty three days to go.

Horse Free Day

Whether I like it or not, some days are horse free – no riding, no grooming, no trailer practice, no nickers, no barn smell. The residual horsey odor in the laundry basket and car upholstery really don’t count. Work, commuting, family time, laundry, more laundry, dogs, exercise, eating, time with the husband, yardwork all have to fit around barn time.  I guess I should not forget sleeping in that list.  The life of the average, adult amateur rider is a juggling act with too many balls to count.  Throw in my lack of grace and it can be balls flying everywhere – the only one who appreciates that is my puppy.

I did receive my USDF Connection magazine (http://www.usdf.org) as well as The Virginia Horse Journal (http://www.virginiahorse.com/) in the mail today.  In the USDF publication, there is a wonderful article with Christoph Hess about The Pursuit of Happiness.  He believes that through correct and hard work by the rider, you become a better partner with your horse and thus a happier pair.  Applying this to Ike, we need a lot of time at the bottom of the training scale working on rhythm and relaxation.  Hard to have rhythm when we have body parts moving in three directions.  Ike definitely gets tense when he does not understand what is being asked of him, then the strides get short and choppy.  NOT a pretty picture of relaxation.  So we stop for a moment to regroup.  He almost always is good on the restart, and I make sure that I’m clearer with my aids.

We ride again tomorrow.  Another day closer to the 29th.

 

 

Action Shots!

Long over due, but here is an updated “posed photo” as well as Ike under saddle.  He was a bit strong in the hand today.  Half halt?  What is that?  I don’t know what that means.  Perhaps a photo session right before dinner was not the best idea. We are a work in progress and I must remember my mantra – patience, patience, patience.  I can already see my sister-in-law grinning as she reads this.

We took this shot to use for comparison to a similar one that was taken last year when I rode him in Florida.

And now trotting…

If only my upper body was more relaxed the above would be a better photo.  I think Ike looks handsome, but don’t all horse moms think that of their four legged children?

And another trot photo

I have a renewed appreciation for photographers who take action shots of horses.  We took 40 today, but many were just not at the right point of the stride for photo purposes.  My hats off to them.  And I’ve got to relax those arms and shoulders!

And a left lead canter…

Sit back Alison, sit back!

Time is ticking away.  T-minus 26 days.  Ugh.

Sanctuary

Ike is well on his way to being the biggest horse at the farm. A few more groceries as my farrier would say, and he will be the undisputed title holder. So I ask you: why is it that the biggest horse wants to occupy one of the smallest spaces? He has a lovely paddock that is green with spring grass.  His best friend Lady is in the paddock next to his and he is tall enough to reach OVER the hot wire to visit with her.

On any given day, he will pace and pace until he is back in his 12×12 stall.  He used to crash into his gate or rear and take it off the hinges before we ran hotwire over the new one.   Here is the old one as it held on for dear life.

It is now in a mangled heap headed for the landfill.  There is no rhyme or reason as to why we cannot stay outside on a clear, sunny day.  Some days there is wind, some days none.  Some days there are hawks, and on others only blue birds flitting past.  There are very few bugs compared to summer.

The best guess is that his stall is a sanctuary for him – kind of like a dog that has been properly crate trained.  He has alfalfa pellets in his feed bucket, hay to munch, an Uncle Jimmy Lickit toy, and one of my husband’s old work boots to nose around.  He has only the radio to keep him company, but he doesn’t seem to mind.

I just smile to myself when I walk in and realize that he is patiently waiting for me to arrive.  Life is good.

Trailer Work, Part 2, 3, 4…

No riding today, just more trailer work and we definitely need it.  Perhaps I was lulled into a false sense of optimism.

This past Friday, Ike was a star at trailer loading.  Ike is now very proficient at backing off the trailer, so it was time to introduce the side ramp. The beauty of the side ramp is that the horse unloads head first so they can see where they are going.  He walked right up the rear ramp on Friday and even used the side ramp a couple of times without any hijinks.

Today, well, let’s just say that he had an “Ike tantrum.”  Nothing like other horses’ tantrums, who I shall not name to protect their identities, his tantrum tends to be more of the growing roots variety.  There is a definite “NO” in his demeanor.  Recalling my new mantra of, patience, patience, patience, I plopped myself down in the trailer with the pink bucket of oats and waited.  My trainer’s husband also got in the trailer and waited.  Ike pawed the ramp, put two feet on the ramp, backed up, turned sideways, try to graze, and pawed the ramp again.  “Mom, will you just give me the bucket.”  He then walked on and quickly backed off without any oats.  The stood and looked at me.  Too bad I can’t give him the camera to take a photo from his vantage point.  I can only imagine what I must look like sitting in the trailer while shaking the pink bucket.

Fortunately, this session ended after only 30 minutes.  The desire for oats was too great and he finally conceded.  With no further drama, he walked up the ramp, calmly ate his oats, and walked right down the side ramp.  Daily trailer practice will recommence tomorrow.

Eeek, it is April 1st, 28 days until the show…