Tag Archives for Dressage

Equestrians Know It’s Hot When…

Ike in the shade

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

 

 

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

Alison and Ike May 2016 by Melana

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

 

Ike at the Meadows May 2016

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:

The boys Apr 2016

“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

Frankenhorse

Ike Culpeper Aug 2015

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!

“Un-Stuck”

20160313_114250

The takeaway from this past weekend is “Even when progress appears to be stagnant, Never Give Up.” 

 Why, you ask?  Well, Facebook reminded me that it was one year ago on March 26, 2015 that I wrote a blog about being “ Stuck ” and feeling all together depressed about my lack of progress in moving up the levels.  In March last year, Ike and I were just not ready to test the waters of Second Level.  So we continued showing First Level and schooling our collection at home.  Later in the season we did finally test the waters at Second Level and earned scores anywhere from 59% up to 64%.  Not bad, but nowhere near where we would need to be in order to make it to the regionals.

 So this winter we worked hard on the skills needed to up our Second Level scores.  More throughness, more hind end engine, more collection, and more tactful riding.  But I still wasn’t certain that it would be enough to compete successfully at the local licensed shows.  Region 1 has A LOT of talented riders and freakishly talented horses with jaw dropping gaits.  And they are very good at getting high scores on a consistent basis.  So I had decided that if I couldn’t get mid-60 percentile at schooling shows, that I would not throw my money into any licensed shows.  My dime would be better spent on more lessons.

 My internet search turned up a March 26th schooling show about an hour away.  The facility is a stunning eventing facility (https://www.morningsidetrainingfarm.com/ )  that runs a combined training/dressage show series.  Most of the folks who attend are there for the combined training show, but a few dressage only people invade the property at the end of the day.  I made sure that the calendar was clear and that Ms. C could attend, and then threw my name into the mix.  We signed up for Second Level Test 1 and Test 3 to establish a baseline for the year.  Where would we end up??  Well, it turns out, this show is best summed up as “A Tale of Two Tests.” 

Test 1 was pretty solid.  The judge told us that we needed to commit to our medium trot and that she knew there was more to Ike than he gave me in the test.  She explained that I should use the corners better to set him up for success in our medium gaits.  We also had one over exuberant simple change, but overall, though she seemed to like our ride.  I believe that I even remembered to breathe throughout the entire test – that alone is a big accomplishment.  While we didn’t see this score until after both rides were complete, I am happy to report that we scored a respectable 67.12%!  What?!  There is hope for us yet!  Here are the videos of the first ride…my phone decided that it is best viewed in two parts:

Second Level Test 1 Part 1

Second Level Test 1 Part 2

I only had two riders before Test 3, so we really just kept Ike relaxed and his focus away from the misbehaving horse being schooled in part of the warmup.  My hope was to implement the judge’s suggestion for my medium trot and to maintain the dreaded canter serpentine without Ike thinking flying changes.  Well one out of two isn’t bad.  We had two very respectable medium trots, but our first serpentine was a hot mess.  We fell out of our canter in the second loop of the serpentine.  Poor Ike was fired up and even my quietest canter aid sent him to the moon with the wrong lead, a disunited canter and finally the correct lead.  The horse breezing on the training track also gave us so much extra oomph for our second medium canter that I was not certain that I’d show any comeback.  Can you say “unfortunate tension?”  And sadly, our turn on the haunches were wrought with Frankenstein-like stiffness.  Unfortunately, our mistakes were costly, so while I did manage to get a 6.5 and a 7 on our medium trots and a 7.5 on our transitions in and out of the medium trot, we ended up with a 58.659% due to our costly mishaps in our canter work.  Tension is definitely not our friend. 

While I was hoping for two scores in the 60th percentile, I am okay with the outcome of the outing.  Ike was a perfect gentleman on his first outing of the year at a very busy schooling show.  He didn’t even react to the “flying horses” in the jump ring or the loose horse on the cross country course.  Ms. C was very pleased with our work for the day and is working on a game plan to improve the low scores.  We left the show with some new found confidence and the feeling that we are no longer “stuck” in the lower levels.  

Happy Spring Everyone!  We look forward to seeing everyone this season! 

Alison

 

 

 

“Your Horse”

Ike with new browband March 2016

I had an epiphany the other day.  No, it wasn’t about my riding skills or some huge life lesson.  Nothing that profound or life changing.  What I realized is that when the first words out of Ms. C’s mouth are “Your horse” or “Your horses,” the words that follow are usually not, “is an angel” or “are a pleasure to have around the barn.”  No, the words that follow usually are more along the lines of, “ran me over” or “tried to kill me.”  This must be what it feels like when a parent has a conference with their child’s teacher.

And here lately, my boys seem to be very busy since I hear that phrase usually a few times a week.  Since it is so common, I thought I’d share some of the stories with you…

“Your horse….is icky.”  It is no secret that Cigar is a wee bit of a pig boy; he has been this way from the first day I owned him.  He gleefully wallows in any puddle or mud slick and will try to bite me or run away when I attempt to remove the filth.  Unfortunately for me, he has now lead Ike down the path of muddy ickiness.  And I have discovered that if your unclipped horse sweats profusely on the abnormally warm day in March, the sweat combines with the winter’s worth of crud to create a sticky paste that doesn’t want to rinse off.  You can create little spikes of hair to make your horse look like a punk rock band member. Since it won’t rinse away, the next time to see your horse, the hair is matted together and nearly impossible to brush.  At this point all you can do is hope that it rains and that your horse stands out in the downpour for a few hours.

“Your horse….looks like a plow horse.”  I suppose that I must raise my hand and claim responsibility here although I’d like to think that Ike must bear some of the burden for this as well.  We hear this when we are trudging around the ring on the forehand rather than engaging Ike’s rear end for more power.  Sure, just half halt and all will be right in the world.  Wrong.  If I was a stronger person, a subtle half halt might do it, but on plow horse days, I sometimes have to resort to some louder tugging and a few jabs with my spurs to get the young man’s attention.  (Yes, I heard you gasp in horror.)  Once I fuss, Ike usually will comply and we can then move along more like the Second Level pair we aspire to be.  And once Ike is engaged, it is amazing how much easier walk to canter transitions are and how much more of a push I can get for a medium trot.

“Your horses….tore down the hot wire.”  My boys are bound and determined to live together.  They check the status of the hot wire on a daily basis.  I can hear them asking each other, “Did someone forget to turn it on today?”  Deconstruction commences as soon as they realize the power is off.  I have reiterated to them that I do not agree with this course of action since I cannot afford to build a new wing onto Ms. C’s home for the vet to use.  My admonitions seem to have little effect on their daily activities.

“Your horse….looked like a rodeo bronco.”  Thankfully, Ike rarely shows off his rodeo skills while under saddle.  If you have followed us for a few years, you know that it did not end well for me the one and only time he bucked while I was astride…I showed off my gymnastic skills with a single front flip, but unfortunately I did not stick the landing.  Routinely while stretching his legs in his paddock, Ike can be seen happily kicking up his hind legs.  I cringe in horror as I play out the worst scenarios in my mind that involve strained muscles, torn ligaments and fractured bones.  Any attempts to explain to him why this is not appropriate behavior fall on deaf ears.

“Your horse…is very tall.” I usually hear this either after Ike has spent the day rearing while playing with his brother or after Ms. C has ridden him.  I suppose that I am now so accustomed to his burgeoning girth that I no longer give it much thought, except when it is time to replace tack since most standard items won’t fit.  Not everyone carries 18 inch browbands or blankets for big and tall boys; this reminds me of when my mother would shop for my brother in the “husky” boy’s section at Sears…clothing with a little something extra.

“Your horse….is crooked.”  Yet another time that I must share some, if not all, of the blame.  It is most noticeable with our right lead canter.  I know all about positioning my horse in a slight shoulder fore position, but just because I know about it doesn’t mean that I can tell if I have achieved the correct position. Usually we fail and Ike carries his hind end to the inside as we canter down the long side of the arena.  Any judge who is paying attention will comment, “haunches in down long side,” but I am usually so focused on maintaining the correct rein length and praying that I can slow down the freight train at the appropriate point that I cannot spare a thought on where Ike’s haunches are.  We are diligently working on it in our lessons.  In my defense it is hard to know what is going on behind me when there is so much of it back there.

My horses might be a handful, but they are mine. They make me laugh and smile and bring joy to my life.  I hope your horses do the same for you.

Alison

Finally, the Hiatus is Over

Feb 4 2016

When I was a child, my family owned boats – a daysailer when I was very young, then we sized-up to a 25 foot sailboat, and finally, we shifted to motorboats which were better for fishing.  My mother used to call them “holes in the water that we throw money into” since it seemed sometimes that the boat spent more time at the dock than on the open water.  But, even when the boat was stationary, there were still expenditures that drained the bank account.  A few years ago, my parents finally plugged the last hole and got rid of the boat.

Now that I own horses, I better understand what she was saying.  When I am forced by powers beyond my control to cease all riding, it can be very frustrating.  Even when I cannot ride, there are still board checks to write, vet bills to pay, and apple expenditures.  So after 15 days of no riding, I finally got my butt back in the saddle and rode Ike through the slushy remnants of the blizzard.  Desperate times, people, desperate times.

Fortunately, some warmer temperatures melted those last stubborn traces of the snow and the ring was back to its pre-snow condition.  I took full advantage of the situation and scheduled a lesson with Ms. C.  She had warned me that the horses had displayed their naughty wintertime behavior earlier in the day.  One of the horses she rode decided to exhibit her airs-above-the-ground skills.  So with that cautionary advice, I heaved myself onto Ike’s back and began my warm-up.  Just when I was lulled into a false sense of confidence, Ike reminded me that he could at anytime be in charge of our ride.  Luckily I kept my ass in the saddle and quickly regained control.

In my lessons, we have dabbled with flying changes and half pass in preparation for Third Level, but the focus is mainly on the basics – is your horse through and working over his back?  Is your horse straight?  Seemingly simple concepts in theory yet challenging when you add motion and power.  Ike can certainly give the outward appearance that he is through at the trot, but I know when he is faking it.  The challenge is then to correct the lack of throughness.  There are times that the only way to establish it is to go back to the walk.  It is usually easier for me to win the argument while moving slower.  Once we achieve the throughness, we then are starting to add more power.  Note to self:  You had better get into better aerobic shape in order to ride that powerful trot!

Straightness can still elude us at times…well, for full disclosure, it happens more often than not.  Yes, we can regularly trot a straight centerline, but straightness at the canter and on a circle or bending line?  Hmm, I struggle to know what is going on with the caboose.  I can think we are going straight, but if you look at photos or watch videos, you can see Ike’s hind end is not quite on the same track as the front.  And while I know that we should be cantering with a slight shoulder fore position, I struggle to know if I have achieved that correct positioning.  Ms. C frequently asks me if I think I have a straight horse; I frequently respond with, “Maybe.”  Needless to say that is not the correct answer.

Things get even more challenging when I try to recreate the throughness and straightness when I ride on my own.  Do I have it?  Should I praise Ike?  Or did we completely miss the mark and I’m rewarding the wrong thing?  The struggle is real, but thankfully, I have learned that I am not alone with this struggle.  I’ve found a group of like minded dressage riders on Facebook.  We lament working on our own and worry that we are doing more harm than good.  Luckily some riders with more wisdom reassure us that our horses are forgiving creatures.  Most of them want to please us.  Stop worrying about making mistakes – it is part of the learning process.  Just enjoy the journey even when you end up on the long road.

So the plan is to enjoy the unscheduled time off from riding to just enjoy my horse’s company and stop kicking myself when we make mistakes.  Success comes when you dust yourself off and try one more time.

alison

 

Mom is a Cootie Queen

Ike Jan 2016

Happy New Year!  Hope all my friends are doing well.  Things are good here at the farm especially since I haven’t had to go anywhere since before Thanksgiving.  It has given me time to catch up with my barn buddies and contemplate the writings of Baruch Spinoza.  He is credited with saying, “I have striven not to laugh at human actions, not to weep at them, nor to hate them, but to understand them.”  No offense to Mr. Spinoza, but how can I not laugh at human actions?  I guess he hasn’t met my mother or her friends.  It is a veritable comedy routine of hilarity for my pals and me.  It is beyond comprehension why they do the things they do, but we sure do get a good chuckle from watching them go about their day-to-day lives. 

Mom has apparently had an alien take up residence in her head because she has been sick since the day after Christmas.  While my brother and I do feel bad for her, it has meant that I have had a really nice break from the rigors of regular training.  She has tried to claim that she was “better” on a couple of occasions, but when she can’t make it through a 30 minute ride without blowing her nose 10 times, I would argue that she it is time for her to see the vet.  If I had a runny nose for that long, I would have been poked and prodded multiple times and been subjected to yucky syringes of ground up medicine disguised as apple sauce (you are fooling no one Mom!).  Can someone please make her an appointment?  Hopefully Dad knows how to grind up the pills and fill the syringes.  Now there is a funny image of Dad cramming medicine-laced apple sauce in Mom’s mouth. 

When she does claim to be “well,” Mom has only been able to ride me two or three days a week.  The rainy weather has also kept her from asking Ms. C to ride me.  It is hard to get away with anything when Ms. C starts riding me.  She is very smart and wily and is quick to fuss at me if I try the tricks I try with Mom.  What makes it even worse is that Ms. C then shares her thoughts and findings with Mom.  Shhh!  I have diligently worked to develop those evasions.  Why are you telling Mom my secrets?!  It is fun watching Mom fumble about trying to figure out how to stop me from grabbing the reins. 

I am not bored though with all my time off from my dressage work.  Cigar got a new halter for Christmas; he gets one every year since his halter gets pretty ratty over the course of the year.  Now, I don’t want to incriminate myself, but I may play a role in the halter’s annual demise.  Mom got a different kind of breakaway halter this year.  It has a short leather piece that breaks if necessary.  Well, the second day Cigar wore it, the new halter fell off into the mud.  It could be poor quality leather or poor workmanship in the construction, but noooo, Mom blamed me for the broken piece.  Umm, Mom, it was over on the other side of his paddock, so maybe Willow broke it.  You have no concrete evidence that I was involved.   That is all I have to say about that matter. 

Mom also fussed about the missing hair on my forehead.  As you can see from my picture, it really isn’t all that bad.  The first time she saw it, she wanted to poke it with her finger.  Seriously?  You want to touch my wound with your cootie-covered finger!!  I stood very tall, got accused of being a giraffe, then she got serious and put my halter on my head.  Thankfully, she wised up and cleaned it with a washcloth and put some ointment on it.  I didn’t get to read the label, so hopefully it will protect me from Mom’s germs. 

And, Mother Nature finally got serious and colder weather has returned to Virginia.  That means that my big blue blanket finally made an appearance at the barn.  Mom was tickled that it still fit me.  Mom had it laundered at the end of last winter.  Not sure what was in her Koolaid that day, since the very first day she put it on me, I christened it in the mud in my paddock…Hahahaaaa!  There is also a slight tear in the shoulder, but I have no knowledge of how that happened.  To my equine friends reading this, a fun game to play with your human is the Blanket Sidestep.  Quietly watch your human get the blanket situated to place on your back.  This can take a while if my Mom’s pace is any indication; be patient – it will be rewarded.  Right when they are ready to lift it onto your back, quickly sidestep away from them and watch the blanket fall on the floor/in the shavings.  If your human is anything like my Mom, it will drive them crazy.  Good times. 

So sorry, Mr. Spinoza, I  am going to have to disagree with you about not laughing.  Life is too short and my Mom is too funny.  I’m going to laugh even if it is silently.

Ike