Sweaty Pants

“Can someone please turn down the heat?

So it has been hotter than Hades these past few weeks. I will admit that I do not function at 100% when the heat index is over 100°F. I am certain that neither does my horse – there is a certain lack of pep in his step when the temperatures soar. So what is one to do when it is just too hot to put in any strenuous riding? One goes on vacation! Spent a week on the shore with family fishing, horseback riding on the beach, and amusing fellow beach goers with my feeble attempts on a standup paddleboard. If you think riding takes good balance and a strong core, just try standing on a paddleboard while trying to paddle and steer.

Hatteras Island beach ride

And while I had a fabulous time soaking up the sun while floating in the cool ocean waters, Ike stayed home and had some one-on-one time with Ms. C. He is not good at keeping our secrets and was obviously rather plow horse–like in his work with her since I received the following message: “Rode the giant, too heavy in everything!!!!! (yes, there were that many exclamation points.) So we had some ‘enlightening’ right away with no leaning on hands, legs or [in] the movement.”

I am now not the only one paying the price for Ike’s actions during my absence. During my first lesson after vacation, Ms. C first informed me that because of her work with Ike, that unless you are out for a hack and a relaxing ride, all of her students were now expected to actively ask for uphill balance…no more accepting lack of engagement or plodding around on the forehand. If we accept that during our training rides, then why wouldn’t our horses believe that it is acceptable in competition. Train like you are in the competition ring with a judge at C. Train for excellence and not for mediocrity. I have asked Ike to apologize to everyone, but he is rather unrepentant. So as his mother, I am truly sorry for Ike’s unapologetic behavior and half-assed work for Ms. C.

Achieving real uphill balance, having hind end engagement, sitting on the hind end, picking up the front end, making the forehand lighter, ending the plow horse movement, getting off the forehand. Whatever you call it, it still means that you will no longer carry your horse’s oversized head yourself. He is going to have to shoulder that load. It means that he will no longer bully you with his massive shoulder when resistant to the leg aids. I understand the concepts, but putting those concepts into practice can be challenging. It is much easier for me to achieve it with a double bridle, but for the time being, that toy has been taken away. “You need to be able to do this without the double.” Aaarrggghhh, but it is soooo much HARDER. But I knuckled under, tacked up with my snaffle, and worked on lightening Ike’s forehand. Ms. C provided me with a new visual to help drill in the concept of how to half halt effectively to achieve the desired result– Pretend you are pulling on a pair of wet riding pants when you are sweaty. Now there is an image to haunt your dreams…

But the funny thing is, that the image worked for me. My first solo ride after my lesson, I actually felt like Ike was sitting on his hind end more and moving like a real Second Level horse – not just a poser who gets lucky with good scores every now and again. It is that uphill feeling that we will need to make the transition to Third Level; I’m almost certain that plow horses do not achieve high scores at Third. So the next time you see me making a funny face while I am riding, you will know what is going through my head – “Must. Get. On. These. Sweaty. Pants.”

alison

The TV Did It

Ike prior to the latest round of facial injuries

When I was in my formative years, I was always injuring myself. There was rarely a question about how I did it – I fell in the gravel driveway and tore up my knees, I jumped off the handlebars of my friend’s bike and scraped my hands, elbows and knees, I was walking and simply tripped and twisted my ankle. Poetry in motion. And if there was a parental question about how I obtained my injury, I would always tell the truth no matter how embarrassing it might be…My brother on the other hand, he was notorious for his bold-faced lies. How did you slice open your hand? “The T V did it.” (My father did not have to investigate long before he found the pocketknife and bloody Lincoln Log.) How did you tear your brand new sneaker? “The sweatpants did it.” (He is taking the truth about that one to his grave.)

Ike falls somewhere in the middle. Sadly, the big fellow can also be a bit of a klutz. (Ssshhh, I can hear some of you noting that he is just like his mother.) And while he may not exactly lie about how he injured himself, he is also not always forthcoming with how the injury occurred. I swear that he shrugs his shoulders when asked what happened to cause the loss of hair/blood/lameness/odd lump. Sometimes I can tell that the injury was inflicted by his brother. Other times I can locate the offending bug bite that started the itching and severe loss of mane. Last weekend I watched him misjudge how far away from the fence he was and bang his head on the fence post. I feared he’d hit his eye, but thankfully upon removal of the fly mask, he’d only scraped some hide off his face right above his eye. Most times though, I have no idea what caused the injury and all I can do is triage the damage and pray that we have some hair growth before the next dressage show.

And the cause Ike’s lameness a few weeks ago will forever remain a mystery. We had a stellar lesson one day, a solid training ride the next, and emerged the next morning clearly limping. What the?! We had been working hard to strengthen our countercanter and develop a more powerful collected trot. I had been doing my best to teach him to reach more in his medium trot while trying to maintain my position in the saddle. He went from 100% sound to the walking wounded overnight. You could see him limping even at the walk and the problem was definitely the left front. No obvious signs of a problem; he only flinched when you touched the bulb of the hoof. My best guess is that he laid down to sleep and then whacked himself with one of the hinds as he flailed about to get up. There were no televisions nor any sweatpants to take the blame.

We were lucky and after a week off from work, Ike came back completely sound. Amazingly he did not seem to lose any of his fitness or stamina from the down time. Wish I could say the same for me – a week out of the saddle always leaves me a bit rusty and slow to react with the necessary aids. We now work with polo wraps, pastern wraps, and bell boots to protect his legs and hooves. I’m still debating the merits of bubble wrap for turnout. Keep your fingers crossed that we make it through the second half of our show season!

alison

Equestrians Know It’s Hot When…

Can we just hang in the shade?

So there have been numerous articles published in the local newspaper to let us know that the dog days of summer are here. Oh, really? Someone needed the newspaper to tell them that it is ridiculously hot? Umm, any equestrian could have told you that weeks ago. We have our own ways of knowing it is hotter than Hades outside with a dose of subtropical humidity to make it more insufferable.

Equestrians know it is sweltering when…

You are on your third change of clothes and it is only 10 AM.

The sweatband in your helmet is so saturated that the sweat just runs into your eyes and blinds you. Thankfully your horse is smart enough not to run into your trainer.

They postpone a horse show for the safety of horses and riders.

You sweat through your gloves and can no longer half halt efficiently since the reins are sliding through your fingers.

Your horse is soaking wet even before you start grooming and tacking for your ride.

You dread stopping somewhere on the way home from the barn for fear someone will surreptitiously take a photo of you and mistake you for a Pokémon character.

A bug flies into your face and sticks to the sweat. Hey, at least it didn’t fly into your mouth this time.

You remove your clothing off like a banana peel. Raise your hand if you have had a wrestling match and a few choice words with the sweaty sports bra that really doesn’t want to part ways.

It feels like you are squishing when you walk, but it is just the sweat pooled in your black leather boots.

You sweat so much that your gloves turn your hands a rainbow of colors from the dyes. Another show of hands for those who have gone into the office with this new “accessory.”

You accidentally hit yourself in the face with your horse’s sweaty saddle pad. Bleh, that doesn’t taste so good.

You seriously debate the merits of riding up and down the barn aisle rather than braving the sun.

You place your helmet on your head and sweat from the day before drips onto your head.

Your clothes are wetter going into the washer than when they go into the dryer.

You use the word “moist” a lot in conversation and you have not baked anything since the holidays.

You Google “places with cooler summer temperatures” but then realize that your 18 hand dressage horse will be a bit out-of-place at that dude ranch in Banff, Canada.

Stay cool and safe everyone! This heat wave can’t last forever…

alison

Who Needs Fireworks?

Happy Fourth of July everyone! No fireworks needed to celebrate. I am ecstatic that Ike appears to back to 100% sound. We squeezed in a quick 20 minute ride before the rain set in for the day and there was no sign of the limp that showed up just over a week ago.
So thankfully we averted a long term injury and mom can now get a good night’s sleep again.

The Show that Almost Didn’t Happen

Second 3 Dover Medal Ride June 2016

What do you get when you mix one part horse lameness with one part work and one part family obligations? You get a hot mess of a rider and a lot of sweat from worrying if you are going to make it to the June show or not. Of course, this all starts to ramp up just after the close date for the show which means no refunds. It also meant that there was not a significant amount of schooling done in the two weeks leading up to our second licensed show of the year.

Thankfully Ike’s lameness turned out to be the need for his annual Equithane application. For those of you who are wondering, it is basically a custom gel pad to keep his highness’ feet from getting too sore on the hard ground. This is now the third year that he has needed it, so I should just put a tickler on the month of May to get it done and stop waiting for the pain to appear.

We went to the show with high expectations that we’d continue to earn scores in the 60th percentile as we have for most of the year. Ha ha! I should learn to stop setting the bar so high since there are just too many things that are out of my control – like sloppy footing, unexpected spooks, and a judge who just didn’t seem to care for us as a team.

It is hard to not take the low scores personally, but when you see most of the scores as 4.5, 5.0 and 5.5 in a test, you can’t help but feel like a failure. I’ve shown enough to have a sense of what my score will be when I complete my final salute. It is devastating when you see a score that doesn’t mesh with your expectations. I think all the competitors were feeling the same as I did when they saw their scores from this judge. After the particularly brutal beating we got after our Sunday morning ride, I took a walk to clear my head, shed a tear or two in frustration, and to try to get myself ready for my final ride of the weekend.

Our final class of the weekend was the Dover Medal class – Second Level Test 3. All adult amateurs are eligible for this award; the award goes to the high score adult amateur in the class as long as the score is greater than 60%. My goal for the class was to get at least 60% and to hold our countercanters in both three-loop serpentines. I wasn’t even worried about my placement. We had to warm up on our own without any adult supervision. Ike felt a bit tired, but he was calm and on the aids. I didn’t school countercanter since we’ve found that it can fire him up and encourage him to show off his flying change skills.

It was finally time for us to head down centerline. I love it when we make the turn at A and Ike puts on his game face. He knows it is time, and we can usually make a good first impression on the initial halt and salute. I was doing my best to breathe and to keep him supple in my hands. Our medium trots were two of our best for the weekend and we got solid scores on our 10 meter circles. Frankenhorse did not make an appearance and we got a 6.0 and a 6.5 on our turns on the haunches. Yea for us! Our simple changes were not our best, BUT I am happy to report that we held our countercanters in both directions. Hallelujah!! Especially since they are a double coefficient in the scoring. We did our best and now just had to wait for the final tally.

While we waited for the score, we got Ike hosed down and our tack loaded on the trailer. He and my husband were going to head back to the barn to get Ike some afternoon paddock time while I gathered our test once the class placed. Amazingly, we heard our score right before the boys departed. I knew I’d done well when I heard the announcer share the news that we were the recipients of the Dover Medal. What?! Never did I think that I’d be able to claim I owned one of these medals. It was such redemption after the challenging rides we’d had all weekend. Our score was a 63.049%.

My only wish was that Ms. C had been there to watch our ride. Thankfully my husband recorded our ride so she would be able to see it for herself. This medal is as much hers as it is mine.

Pause

Photo by Melana Krivitsky

A pause in a speech can punctuate your words. A pause in movement can help you to recover your breath. Taking a break during the work day can help you mentally recharge. And sometimes you just need to pause from writing because your “to do” list is overwhelming and you feel too scattered in your thoughts to put something cohesive on the page. So please accept my apologies for disappearing for the last few weeks. Ike and I have been busy and there is much to share.

The weekend after our first licensed show, I signed us up for a schooling show. Hmm, perhaps that might have been a bit too much for my big man. He had a bit of a temper tantrum during our lesson with Ms. C and jigged his way around the arena. When I finally asked for canter, he gave me more of a hand gallop. “He’s been planning that” was Ms. C’s observation. Thankfully, I shut it down and we were able to refocus him enough for some productive work at the trot. In the last month, our travers has really strengthened and Ike has shown some effort in our medium trot. Unfortunately, Ike was not over his tantrum and I dealt with the attitude for the rest of the week. In the remaining days leading up to the schooling show, he started to show additional signs of stress by bolting when asked to perform the movements he struggles with – most notably the left lead countercanter. Hmm, it was shaping up to be a challenging schooling show.

Mother Nature also had a bit of a tantrum because that Sunday in May felt more like a Sunday in November. It was downright COLD and very breezy at the show grounds. As you can imagine, that created quite the electric environment at the show. Our canter transitions were more along the lines of canter explosions. When Ike gets on the muscle, it is all I can do to quietly suggest canter. Needless to say, that our tests were not some of our best work even though he did manage to show a lovely stretch down walk. I know, go figure. Too bad we couldn’t maintain that relaxation in the canter. The best I can say about the day was that thankfully I stayed astride.

As a result of Ike’s out of the ordinary behavior under saddle, I opted to give him a week off after that schooling show. We’d been going fast and furious on the show circuit this spring (4 schooling shows and 1 2-day licensed show) and perhaps the boy just needed some down time to reflect on his recent work. The timing worked out well since my work commitments had picked up to keep me away from the barn and my husband was taking me to the Preakness!

Preakness

What a fun weekend that was. As you can see, I did dress for the occasion although Mother Nature again made it not the best weather day for the full experience. (Can someone please have a talk with her and see what she wants and or needs to mellow out this crazy weather?) The weather didn’t seem to dampen the spirits of the attendees. Congratulations to all the winners that day and my heartfelt condolences to those who had to say goodbye to their horses before the day was through. I can’t imagine having to face the loss in such a public setting.

And speaking of losses, lately it seems that I’ve had too many friends who have either lost foals or had bad news about the health of their beloved equine partners. There are also the tragic losses that you hear about at horse trials and shows. I either well up with tears or have downright sobbed when hearing the news. I pause for a moment and think about how sad my friends must feel and wish that I was there to give them a hug. There is something about these amazing creatures that gets under your skin and into your heart like no other animal. These animals are ten times our size yet allow us to pursue our passions on their backs. They carry us down centerline and over the jumps. They gallop and let us feel like we are flying. They allow us to pause from our busy lives and just live in the moment. So, even while you struggle to learn that new movement or get your strides right to the jump, never forget to be grateful for your horse.

alison

Get Smart

Photo by Melana K.

If you are of a certain age, you have probably watched the television show Get Smart starring Don Adams and Barbara Feldon. Younger generations are probably more familiar with the movie of the same title starring Steve Carrell and Anne Hathaway. Maxwell Smart’s famous tag line was, “Missed it by that much.” That line pretty much sums up our first licensed show last weekend. It is that wee little bit that costs you dearly.

The weekend did not start off well given that Mother Nature had decided that we needed 15 straight days of rain leading up to the show. I was so desperate to squeeze a lesson in before we went that I rode in some light rain. We traveled to the show grounds in the rain, unloaded in the rain, and then sat in the barn listening to it rain even harder. The covered arena was in use by the breed show, so most of us tacked up and rode in the rain and slop and prayed that Saturday would dawn a clearer day.

My first ride on Saturday was Second Level Test 2 – the qualifier for the USDF Region 1 CBLM Championship. I needed a 62% to be qualified for the fall. You only need one score and to be a member of one of the group membership organizations. We’d been able to get some scores over the minimum at the schooling shows, so I was hopeful that we could get our score at this show to take some pressure off at future shows. Heads up, watch my face closely as we make our first turn off centerline:

First Attempt at Second Level Test 2

When your horse decided to show his medium canter rather than a medium trot, spook at the judge/scribe/plants/invisible boogey men, and then show his pivoting skills rather than a correct turn on the haunches, you end up with a score of 61.795% – a mere 0.205% away…yep, missed it by that much. I would have to wait until Sunday to try again.

We also attempted to obtain that magical 60% in Second Level Test 3 that I need in order to try my musical freestyle at a licensed show. This test has continued to vex us even though we are stronger in all of our Second Level work. We have yet to ride it without a bobble or two, but I took a deep breath and headed down centerline. Well, let me tell you, we did manage to ride both canter serpentines without breaking in the countercanter, but we again demonstrated our ability to plant Ike’s hind legs in the turn on the haunches. Our score? A 59.5%…sigh, another swing and a miss. Since we only signed up for this test on Sunday, the coveted 60% will have to wait until June.

Finally, it was time to try Second Level Test 2 again. This test would be ridden in the covered arena…and guess who never schooled in the covered arena. We’d just have to hope that Ike would maintain his composure, and let’s admit it, it was fingers crossed that I could maintain mine as well. Here is the ride:

Second Level Test 2 Dressage at the Meadow

We had the one little bobble in the right lead countercanter, but after a quick prayer, I was able to get Ike back into the right lead so that we could demonstrate our simple change just a few strides later. Phew! Overall I was pleased with the ride; I had to just hope that the judge felt the same way. After a 30 minute wait, the score was finally available online. Drumroll please! 65.128%!! We did it!! Qualified!! What?! Ooohmmaahhhggeerrrrd! What a huge relief. Finally, we didn’t miss out by a hair or a nose. There is hope for us yet. We had many very good movement scores in this test. I am proud to say that we earned a 6 and a 7 for our turn on the haunches (the secret is to nag at the caboose the entire time). Our simple changes also were strong.

So now I can breathe a huge sigh of relief. Don’t worry, I’m sure there will be plenty more misses on our way to the championship and plenty more comedic relief moments as well. But that is part of the journey.

alison

The Other Left

Ike Morningside April 2016.jpg

Hello friends!

It has been too long since we have had a heart to heart. I have had a busy spring, and this weekend will be my first weekend away from home since the championship show last fall.

Mom and I have already done three schooling shows this spring. Three! A poor boy can’t catch a break these days. She is a woman possessed this spring – like she is on a mission and everyone had best stay out of her way. I tried to get out of her way by busting out of my stall, but she was less than amused at my efforts to thwart the third outing of the year.

Two of the shows were at this place that has a lot of high-flying horses and also horses that race around on perfectly good grass and jumped bushes and big logs. I can’t figure out why they would choose to jump over fences or bushes. That seems like a lot of extra work. Why not just run around them? I could show them fence deconstruction techniques that are rather effective. Or, here’s a thought, how about not run at all and just eat the grass? Such silly ponies. Mom did let me taste some of the grass before and after we worked. It was very delicious. I think all shows should offer it to the competitors – a snack bar for horses if you will. There is a snack bar for the people, and I think since we are doing most of the work that we should have one too. I shall have to remember to bring this up with show management at each of the shows this year.

I like these little shows since it means that I still get some time in my paddock to play with my brother and I get to sleep at home. Yes, I get a stall at the away shows, but with my late night visits with my selfie buddy and the fact that the new barn makes scary noises, I don’t sleep as much and get very tired by Sunday.

And I must say that poor Mom needs some directional help. At the last show, I almost had to change my name and disassociate myself with her. Mind you, she had Ms. C READING the test and we have ridden Second Level Test 2 many times already so it wasn’t like she didn’t know which way we needed to turn. I even tried to strongly hint to her that she was trying to turn the wrong way and I tried to go to the left as called for by the test and Ms. C…but the crazy woman insisted that we do a second turn on the haunches to the right. Umm, Mom, we just went that way, it is time to go LEFT!! The judge never rang the bell, but politely told Mom that she failed to demonstrate a turn on the haunches to the left. Mom laughed. I just hung my head in shame.

Thankfully I have heard through the grapevine that she has now enlisted the help of a 6 year old for some tips on remembering which way is left. (“The left hand makes the ‘L’ Ali.”) Hopefully mom has practiced making the “L” so that we don’t have another misstep this weekend. If you are reading this and will be at the show grounds, remind her to avoid the other left and stick with the correct one.

And, in case you hadn’t heard, I’m 8 years old now. That’s like 25 in human years so I am waiting for the opportunity to have more of a say in what I do and don’t have to do. My brother doesn’t have to go places or work hard, so I think it is high time I get to live like him. When I asked him about approaching Mom with the idea, this was his response:

“Seriously, why does Mom keep him around? Shouldn’t he have moved out by now?”

He thinks he is such a comedian. I am not amused. I will just have to figure things out on my own. Stop by my stall this weekend if you have any tips to share.

Ike

Nani Nani Boo Boo

The High Stepper prior to his brazen escape

So Ike decided that today was the day that he would not respect the stall guard’s authority.

I noticed a popped nail while grooming Ike for our ride, and had Mr. D come check it out. He decided that it needed some attention, so he went to get his farrier supplies. I left the stall as well to get some treats from the tack room. Ike typically stands quietly…but today was not that day. In the 20 seconds that Ike was left alone, I heard a metallic “Snap!” and then saw a large dark form trot by the tack room…

Ike made it all of 30 feet from the barn before he was distracted by a juicy patch of spring green grass. My appearance was unwelcome so Ike showed off his Hackney trot and pranced off to the arena which, he would soon realize, would mean the end to his freedom. Haha, big boy, Mom knows how to close the gate…(but obviously not stall doors.)

Mr. Hot Stuff high stepped his way past all the other horses who had come racing to the fenceline to check out the mayhem. He stopped to visit with his barn buddy Joe, caused some squealing, and pranced away again as I slowly approached. I am pretty sure he was chanting “Nani, nani, boo, boo” as he tossed his head in my direction. Mr. HS was yet again distracted by some grass in the corner of the arena. At this point, I finally caught up to my naughty pony and was able to clip the lead rope to his halter to end the hijinks.

Someone was not happy that I ended his walk about because he was wretched for tacking, tried to bite me when I buckled the girth, and tried to run me over as we headed back to the arena. Fearing the worst, I swung my leg over for our session. Luckily Big Man settled down for a very positive workout. We held our countercanter in both directions with uphill simple changes to the correct lead. Our 10 meter circles were fluid. Our shoulder in and travers had steady bend and rhythm. While I was pleased with our work, I don’t think I will encourage Ike to repeat his freeform warmup.

Tomorrow the stall door will remain closed.

Frankenhorse

Yes, that’s right puny human, come closer…

Move over Frankenstein (or Fraank-en-shteen if you are more of a Mel Brooks fan), there is a new monster in town to terrorize the villagers. If you are attending a dressage show in the mid-Atlantic area this year, keep your eye out for Frankenhorse. This creature is typically one of the larger equines in attendance with a ginormous, block-like head and a long bed body. He might look like any ordinary horse, but if you look closely at the button braids, they will be hiding the bolts in his neck.

In the stabling area, you might see him dragging around a young-ish maiden as he bulls his way to the nearest grass patch. Stud chains and lead ropes are no match for this monster who can be very single minded when hunger pains strike . It is suggested that you just step aside and let him pass rather than risk having him dent your $800 Deniro boots and/or your foot with his sizeable hooves. If you see him in his stall, do not be fooled by the friendly expression on his face as he watches your approach toward his temporary living quarters. Frankenhorse’s long neck makes easy work of nipping at unsuspecting passersby. Barn visitors should also be wary of flying feed buckets. This monster can be very grumpy when hungry. You might consider wearing your riding helmet when visiting the barn housing this creature.

Frankenhorse typically reveals his awkward self during the more challenging movements in the Second Level tests, so mosey over to the ring to catch a glimpse of the Second Level classes to see this creature in action. Ten meter circles are more hexagonal than circular since a supple midsection is not typically seen on a FH. Countercanter is also not FH’s strong suite since that also requires a supple body rather than bullish shoulders and a board-like ribcage. Most often, FH gives himself away with the turn on the haunches. That movement exaggerates FH’s stiffness. If you are quiet and listen very closely, you will hear him grunt and groan when asked for the turn. Pinned ears and a swishing tale are also telltale signs that you are watching a Frankenhorse.

Thankfully, with regular work, timely feeding, and appropriate training to keep his mind occupied, Frankenhorse’s reign of terror can be minimized and peace can be maintained.

Consider yourself warned!

ikescenterlineadventures

Adventures in dressage with my Dutch Harness Horse Ike

Sweaty Pants

The TV Did It

Equestrians Know It’s Hot When…

Who Needs Fireworks?

The Show that Almost Didn’t Happen

Pause

Get Smart

The Other Left

Nani Nani Boo Boo

Frankenhorse

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