Tag Archives for half halt

The One With the Really Sweaty Horse and Rider

It might be November, but Ike and I managed to get so sweaty (and I’m assuming a bit stinky) at our clinic that on the drive home, my husband insisted that I wait in the truck while he us grabbed something to drink at the local Valero. Hmm, maybe I dressed a bit too warmly for the occasion.  I had forgotten that we’d be working in an indoor arena which effectively blocks the wind and stays a bit warmer than the ambient temperature outdoors.  I wore my FITS winter riding pants, my Mountain Horse winter boots, 3 tops and my Horseware Ireland wool sweater.  (Note to self:  Remember this combination if I need to sweat off a few pounds in record time.)  Ike is not clipped since we ride outdoors in the winter, I don’t want to have to play “guess which blanket to put on the horse” every day, and let’s face it, I’m too lazy to clip.  So yet again, we looked nothing like the winter riders in all the horsey mail order catalogs I regularly receive.

All our sweaty efforts were worth it.  We attended another clinic with Rebecca Langwost-Barlow.  Overall, she is very pleased with Ike’s progress.  Can you guess who needs the most work in our team of two?  Yes, you guessed correctly.  It is me.  Shocking.  I still like to overuse my inside rein which overbends Ike’s neck.  When I do think I’m straightening his neck, I end up throwing away my contact and leave Ike to decide how things are going to go.  It doesn’t matter what gait we are traveling.  I also have a tendency to cross my outside rein over Ike’s neck trying to correct what I’ve done with my inside rein.  Arrrrghhh!  What mayhem I create for myself.  I then get so hung up on what my hands are doing that I forget to effectively use my legs, and my shoulders start to shrug as they tense.  Becky kept after me the entire lesson just as Ms. C does – these ladies know how to drag the best out of Ike and me.  While working on the left lead canter, she even resorted to having me hold my SOS strap with my right hand while she told me when to half halt.  It took a few minutes, but I finally figured it out.  Ike leaned in on my inside leg a lot less and, surprise, surprise, his neck was straight.  I think I actually turned him using my outside rein and leg rather than pulling with my inside rein.  We then achieved similar success with the right lead canter.  Cool.  Nice to find out that the SOS strap can save me in other ways.

This was most likely our last outing for 2012.  The holidays are upon us and I’ll be sweating the details to get everything done on time.  Maybe I should wear my riding attire as I shop, wrap, and bake, and sweat off those extra Christmas cookies…

We Need More Time to Acclimatize

Ike and I are looking for a free ride to somewhere warm.  If possible we will need free boarding, food, and living quarters for the duration of our stay.  My parents have a condo in Florida, but Ike would be a bit cramped in their guest room.  I’m also figuring that the upstairs neighbors would begin to complain after a day or two of Ike in residence.  Where did our nice weather go???  I rode in summer clothes on Monday with a high temperature of 77 degrees.  Yesterday, I had on winter riding pants, winter boots and multiple layers.  48 degrees was the high.  After only 30 minutes, my ears were numb, my nose was running, and eyes were tearing.  Supermodel material…not.

Oh how I wish we could have a gradual transition from summer to fall to winter.  It seems that Virginia weather is bipolar.  It swings from one extreme to the other on a whim.  Wouldn’t it be nice to have a few weeks in the mid-60’s then a gradual drop to more winter-like temperatures.  And the wind could give us a break as well.  It really gets the nose flowing and I routinely forget to stuff tissues in my gloves, so my gloves or shirt become the unwitting recipient of the nasal offerings.  Such a pretty picture don’t you think?  You never see the rider’s in Smartpak or Dover with runny noses.  I’m so jealous.

So let’s just say that I’m a fair-weather loving rider.  I suffer through the summer heat and struggle in the cold of winter.  Half halting is a challenge when your fingers are non-responsive and bloodless.  My Raynaud’s Syndrome can make winter riding challenging.  I’ve lost count of the days that I had to stop what I was doing, and sit in my car holding my hands in front of the vents while waiting for the circulation to return.  Winter gloves do little to help.  It is what it is and I just don’t ride on the coldest days.

While my two rides this week were extremes in the weather, Ike was consistent between the two rides.  He continues to amaze me with his capacity to learn.  His strength, stamina, and balance are ten times what they were this time last year.  My Florida boy has obviously acclimated to his Virginia home.

Quality vs. Quantity

As I’ve progressed through life, as many people before me have also discovered, that it is better to have fewer, but better quality things over lots of cheap crap that won’t last the year.  The better quality stuff also stands the test of time and the rigors of daily barn use.  I tried the “pleather” tall boots about six years ago.  If they had only been used once a week, they would have probably have been just fine and stuck around for a while.  They departed this world and into the bowels of the local landfill after only six months.  What can I say, Bigfoot is hard on her shoes.  Interestingly enough, my pricier Ariat leather tall boots have been with me for over 5 years now and still look fabulous even with regular use.  I am definitely getting my money’s worth out of them.

I’m also learning that the same holds true for training a young horse.  Even with fewer days of work and shorter time spans when working, you can see positive progress IF the time is used wisely.  (Cue the wise old owl.)  And lets face it, most of us have to work full-time to support our equine obsession, and we have families, and a house to take care of, and all the other To-Do’s in our lives.  I can’t spend all day every day with my horses.  My barn time is limited, so I’ve got to make the most of the time I do get in the saddle.  Ms. C also keeps me focused and is always reminding me that Ike will only be as good as I am.  If I space out while riding and paddle around in a half-hearted trot, then we aren’t really accomplishing anything with our training.  If I mount with a game plan in mind, and keep myself focused, then we can accomplish a lot in a 30 minute ride.

And probably like many others out there, I do my best riding while under close scrutiny of my trainer.  Am I right?  There is no wasted time during my lesson.  It is most definitely high quality saddle time.  Got my weekly lesson in today since it was a day off for me.  Since show season is over, we’ve stopped schooling the test movements and are focusing on getting Ike through and really using his back.  There is also quite a bit of time spent making me a better rider.  I’ve got to work on the timing of my half halts if I ever hope to progress beyond First Level.  Luckily for me, Ms. C is a patient woman.  She is also generous with her verbal instructions – it is almost like she is riding the horse and performing the aids herself.  If I’m struggling to figure out which aids to use and when, she will call out the sequence as if she was calling a dressage test, “Squeeze outside rein, put you inside leg at the girth, relax your shoulders, look up, half halt, half halt again, remember to release after you half halt (oh, yeah, oops).”  Those verbal instructions plus her saying, “Do you feel that?  Do you feel what you have right now?”  Um, yeah, sure.  “That is your 8 trot.  That trot is through; Ike is coming up and out of his withers and you are recycling the energy.”  Okay, I think I’ve got it.  Then we take a break, and then Ms. C tells me to try to recreate what we had.  Sigh, sometimes I nail it and sometimes I struggle.

Ike’s work was spot on today and I didn’t do too badly either.  Fewer struggles today which always makes me happy, but  almost all days at the barn are days to smile.  Love that quality barn time with my equine partner.

Turn off the Cruise Control

So Ike and I had our weekly lesson yesterday and the take away message for the day: turn off the cruise control and be present with every stride, i.e., get better timing for and be more frequent with my half halts.  Aaargghh!  Those darn half halts will be the end of me, but I do realize that they are what Ike needs to learn to become more balanced and use his topline.  I need to learn how to teach Ike the concept of a half halt.  There are days he does seems to do well with the concept and other days, like yesterday, he steamrolls along, singing, “La, la, la, I can’t hear you.”

Ms. C and I have many discussions about half halts and how I need to execute them.  Subtle finger squeezes are not always the answer when riding a steamroller.  Full body half halts are still commonplace.  I assume that we will eventually move beyond them, but that day seems so very, very far away.  Ms. C always tells me to try the quiet, invisible half halt first, but if Ike ignores it, then I have the right to be a little louder with my request to get the intended response.  Of course that means that we are well into the turn before Ike responds rather than getting the response before we turn or feed off onto a circle.

And I must confess, that once we get going, my mind will wander.  I will gaze at the trees or at the horses in their paddocks until I hear, “where was your half halt?”  Umm, well, ah, I then have no good excuse and must admit my digression.  Ms. C then talks me through what I should have done which is always much different from what I actually did.  Cruise control is great for trail rides, but not for training a four-year old horse dressage concepts.  Her explanations involve half halts every 2-3 strides.  Oh.  Sometimes I’m lucky to do one successfully before the mind wanders and I worry about the sweat dripping in my eyes or trying to sit the trot.

Yesterday we practiced square turns at the trot and attempted them at the canter.  This exercise really made me focus and stay on task…the fear of running into the fence kept me motivated to execute the turns rather than crush the fence.  If we were scored on successful turns at the trot, we’d have been given a 55% at the most.  I’m too late with my half halt to make the proper turn.  Ike can’t bear the blame for my error, but he can take the heat for lack of listening when I do give the correct aids.  I guess equine four-year olds aren’t that different than human four-year olds.  They are starting to develop their own identity and will challenge authority from time to time.  Hopefully Ike’s challenges won’t go much beyond the current level.  I don’t think I could handle a 1,200 pound tantrum.

Ike Feels the Need, The Need for Speed

So I know that Ike’s brother Cigar likes to run; he is a Thoroughbred who had 51 starts in his racing career.  In his younger days, Cigar could scoot and I mean, he was really fast.  He was never happier than when he was running.  My friend L took him for a gallop on one of the local cross-country courses a few years ago.  I’ve never seen him look so pleased with himself as he did after they finished that gallop.  Cigar must be sharing this love with his younger brother, because Ike continues to gallop laps around the big paddock and as well as while under saddle.

I’m all for his paddock gallops.  Have at it.  Enjoy yourself. Run, Ikey, Run.

The hijinks under saddle.  Not so cool.  And he can be rather sneaky about doing it.  We start in a lovely canter and within one stride, Ike has seized control before I can even say whoa.  I might get “wh…” out of my mouth, but quickly close it for fear of consuming a bug or two during our romp.  My biggest fear is losing a knee on the fence since turning while at a full gallop is tentative at best.  An inside, direct rein is my only hope for turning.  No subtle half halts.  No squeezing of the fingers.  No inside leg to outside rein connection.  Just hunkering down in the saddle, pulling and barely releasing the reins while trying to keep an eye on how close we are to the end of the ring and how close my outside knee is to getting obliterated.

It doesn’t happen every day, and not always certain what triggers the urge.  Youthful exuberance?  Perhaps.  A cool breeze blows up his butt? Doubt it. Me carrying the whip?  Maybe.  Ike isn’t sharing the why.  At least so far, he confines this behavior to home.  I can only imagine the judge’s reaction if it happened in the middle of our dressage test.  I can hear the judge ringing the bell because we are off course and demanding that I stop, whilst I yell, “I’m trying to stop, thanks!!”  Minus two points for use of voice.  More banshee running and eventual elimination for failure to listen to the judge.  Fingers are crossed that we never have to cross that bridge of embarrassment.

Needless to say, my abs are feeling better since there was little sit trot to be had the past two days.  The only casualty are my windburned cheeks and chapped lips.  It is always something.

Best Abdominal Workout EVER

My abdominal muscles are still in recovery mode today.  Yesterday was my weekly lesson with Ms. C and it was not our usual lesson.  Before I explain, I feel I must tell you this.  I have never ridden above First Level.  Yes, that’s right.  You could say that I really know next to nothing about dressage.  I’ve never ridden half pass or done tempi changes.  I only imagine what piaffe and passage would feel like.  Collected gaits have not been part of my riding repertoire, so it was a complete shock when Ike decided that he was going to work in a “collected” trot for my lesson.

Now I realize that it was not a true collected trot, but what can you expect from a four-year old horse.  Trust me, it was lovely for a young horse with a loooong back and looooonger legs.  He came up and out of his withers and engaged his hind end.  We took advantage of his generosity.  I understand now why you ride collected trot while sitting.  Thank goodness it happened during a lesson so Ms. C was able to talk me through my aids (half halt, half halt) to use it as a learning experience for both Ike and me.  We even attempted to lengthen the trot down the long side and collect it at the short ends.  Poor Ike had no idea what we wanted.  I kept trying and he finally started to figure out the game.

I finally had to cry, “Uncle!” and take a walk break.  I thought I was in pretty good physical shape for a middle-aged woman.  I walk, do Zumba, practice yoga, ride my exercise bike, and still use my 8 Minute Abs DVD.  But man, none of my other workouts have prepared me for riding in sit trot for long periods of time.  Rising trot?  No big deal.  Two point?  I’ve got that.  Sit trot?  Yikes!!  Feels like I did a 30 minute abdominal workout two or three times in one day.  Keep this workout in mind if you are trying to get ready for bathing suit season.  I’m fully expecting to have ripped middle by next summer.  Hmm, hopefully wine consumption will not impede this…cheers!

 

 

Master of the Dark

                                                                                           A+++

That would be Ike’s grade for his performance yesterday even if our scores had been awful.  How, you ask, would that be possible since dressage schooling show success is typically judged by your score and ribbons earned?  Let me explain.

I last rode on Tuesday at our lesson.  Life intervened the rest of the week and kept me out of the saddle and away from the barn until Friday.  My job which pays the bills, general life maintenance (read, laundry and house work), and ACL surgery on my dog Tim’s knee demanded my attention.  I managed to make it to the barn long enough on Friday to load the trailer and groom big man.  I put in the basic braids so all I had to do in the morning was roll them into our cheater buttons.  Ike would have had every right to act out since he’d had limited work.

Yesterday started at 3:30 a.m. in the DARK of night.  Had to tend to Tim – getting medicine to go down and a morning walk were necessary.  A quick stop for coffee was also necessary and then the 25 minute drive to the barn in the DARK.  Arrived at the barn at 4:30 a.m.  It is very DARK in the country.  The horses all nickered to me as I opened the barn doors and turned on the light; not sure if it was “good to see you” nickers or  “turn off the lights, we are sleeping” nickers.  In either case, all eyes were wide open when I fed Ike, so everyone got some oats and hay.  Ike balked at getting on the trailer.  I’m assuming because it was DARK and way too early to be going anywhere.  Since he is such a good sport, he finally conceeded and we were on our way at 5:00 a.m.

We arrived at the show barn at 6:15 a.m. in the DARK.  We parked in the field in the DARK.  Did we remember a flashlight?  Of course not.  So we unloaded Ike and tacked in the DARK.  Since it was DARK and there was no one else at the show, I opted to not put Ike and I in our Halloween costumes.  What was the point?  It was DARK and no one could see it.  We then walked through the field and down the path in the DARK.  Checked in with the show secretary in the DARK.  The one advantage to being there at this early hour – since there were no lights in the field where warmup was to be, they let me warm up in the competition arena since it had lights.  The lights did a decent job at providing light, but there were still DARK, boogie man corners and shadows.  Ike, being the star that he is, didn’t spook at anything.

I should also mention that we rode by ourselves for most of warm up.  Thank goodness my husband and Ms. C were also there so Ike had some ground support.  About 7:00 a.m. another horse showed up; it was the other horse in our class.  As it turns out, the other competitor in our group scratched…I’m betting it was because they did not wish to ride in the DARK.  Ike’s warm up went fairly well.  We had tense moments and some stumbling.  Hey when it is DARK, I tend to have trouble as well.

It was finally time for Training Level Test 2.  Not our best effort.  Ike was inconsistent in his rhythm and even felt “off” during half of the test.  He also kept trying to break into canter.  The judge took some time to talk to us after our ride since the scratches opened up a block of time.  She also noticed the odd movement, but told me there were some nice moments.  She complimented my riding and Ike’s stellar performance in the early morning DARKNESS.  We ended up with a 62.5% but it came with a blue ribbon.

They let me and the other competitor do another 5 minutes of warm up in the competition ring before our second rides.  The sun was just starting to peak over the horizon, so the field was still pretty DARK.  During this five minute period, Ms. C had us trot in a circle around her and she checked Ike’s shoes.  Maybe he stepped on a rock?  Maybe when he tripped in the DARK, he torqued something?  His movement was still not quite right…..and then he finally pooped……..and my happy horse returned.  Ah!

I could feel the difference as we headed down centerline for our second test.  Ike’s rhythm was steady, there was no hitch in his giddyup, and there was no general ickiness in any of his movement.  His canter transitions were prompt (a good thing since they have a coefficient in Test 3).  His trot loops were smooth.  We even nailed our canter turn onto the long diagonal and the down transition at X.  His walk was marching and forward.  I was tickled with our test.  The judge was as well.  Her oral comment, “WOW! What a difference!  What did you do??”  LOL, I told her what made the difference.  She laughed.  She was very complimentary of our test and the score reflected her comments – 68.6%!!  Way to go big man.

As we headed back to the trailer, we finally saw more competitors.  We also could see the path back to the trailer parking and the fields and the ground and the tack room.  The sun had made its daily appearance and night was over as was our work for the day.  I joked that our experience prepared us for riding under the lights at Devon.  Ha!  Although we didn’t make it to the 70% mark, I cannot complain.  My big man proved to me that he is a rising star.

Ike’s Turn Again

Hello Everyone!  My darling mother has been hogging the blog, so I haven’t had a chance to check in with you in recent months.  She really should be a little more cognizant of my need to share my point of view.  Maybe Santa will bring me a laptop of my very own so I don’t have to hijack Mom’s.  Hmm, guess I’ll have to suggest that WiFi access be installed at the barn as well.  I’m sure Mom will be willing to pay extra for this small convenience.

But I digress.  Mom has been very focused on the “tests” that we perform when we leave the farm.  I sometimes don’t see the point of them.  What fun is it to do the same thing as the horse before you and the horses that go after you.  Bo-ring.  My paddock is sort of shaped like the riding arena and I try to show Mom and Ms. C what I think would be fun to do.  I run really, really fast, kick up my heels and end with a high-stepping trot.  But no, the two fuddy-duddies frown upon my antics.  When I do try to cut loose under saddle, Mom gets a very stern tone to her voice.  She then tries to squelch my creativity and slow me down.  It just makes me want to try harder to impress upon her my thoughts and suggestions.  I’ve got one more chance this coming weekend to break free from the pedestrian walk/trot/canter.  What do you think my chances of success will be??

And speaking of paddocks, I have been granted the privilege of spending time in the BEST paddock at the farm.  Ms. C calls it sanctuary.  I call it heaven.  It is smaller than my normal paddock – more of a square than a rectangle.  I can visit with two pony girls, the chestnut mare that sometimes is kind to me when she thinks no one is looking, and my brother Cigar.  Most of the fences have hot wire, but I’m tall enough that I can just arc over the wire and visit with anyone I want.  The little bay pony likes to squeal at me.  Cigar likes to rough house.  I could stay in this little paddock all the time, but they make me share.  I’m not always good at sharing.  I try but it is hard when I see Mom paying attention to others and giving away my candy.  Hmmph.  She can pet the others, but my candy is mine.  Mine, mine, mine.  I wonder how Santa would feel about this.

I’ve also been told that the scores from the prancing routines have been good enough to qualify for awards.  I think Mom tried to explain them to me, but I was too busy dunking my hay to really pay attention.  I guess they can be a good thing if it means there are more bags of treats or peppermints.  Usually awards mean ribbons.  I tasted one once.  Not worth the effort.  Definitely not as tasty as candy.

I did behave for Mom these past two days.  She is so easily flustered, so I like to be kind to her most of the time.  We worked on the routines we are planning to do this coming weekend.  That Test 3 is a hard one, especially the left lead canter turn onto the long diagonal.  If we’ve got a good clip going, it is even harder.  Thank goodness Mom’s knee is there to buffer me from the fence.

So nice catching up with you!  Come see us at the show and tell Mom to breathe and have fun.

Ike

“What You BS?”

Say what?!?

Me: ” I have no idea what you are asking.”

Former supervisor: ” That is because you blocking.”

Huh? What the ___?

Me: “Blocking what?”  (My smart mouth started at a young age.)

Supervisor: “You BS.”

Imagine a look of bewilderment.

Assistant Supervisor: “What was your college degree?”

Ah.  My Bachelor of Science.  BS.

I share this actual account from my first job after college, because even though it occurred over 20 years ago, I have never forgotten that exchange or the take away message – Clear communication is key if you wish someone to know what you are asking.  The same is true all these years later as I train and ride a young horse.  If I am not clear with my aids, Ike’s response is one of bewilderment as he attempts to fathom what I have asked him to do….Haunches in? Haunches out?  leg yield?  Ball up and get gnarly?  Halt out of frustration?

As we begin to introduce new concepts to Ike, Ms. C keeps me on my toes to make sure I am using my aids appropriately.  And as I’ve admitted before, I’m not always as sharp as I need to be.  I honestly try to time my squeeze/weight shift/leg movement, but as a girl who walked into the bathroom door yesterday (I’m pretty sure it moved on purpose), I sadly admit that I’m not always the most coordinated.  Poor Ike.  He is held back by my spastic appendages.  Luckily, he is a very forgiving fellow since we have shown progress over the past year.

Had an awesome ride today.  A full 45 minutes of solid work.  Since we are just over a week away from our last schooling show of the season, I did ride Training Level Test 3 in its entirety to 1) See if I could remember the sequence and 2) to remind Ike that he must respond at a specific time and place – not just when he wants.  We had more gor-ge-ous canter work.  If only we could have this canter when we are out in public.  We will just keep trying and practicing.  We’ve been nailing our centerlines the past few weeks.  I can almost tell you as we make the turn whether or not we will halt square.  That is a great feeling since it is the final impression we leave with the judge.

Alison

P.S.  My B.S. is in Biochemistry.

Preview of Things to Come

Sooooooo, the past few days have had non-equine activities to occupy my time and wallet.  My SUV decided that it was feeling neglected, so it blew a tire.  I spent Sunday morning having new tires installed – cha-ching.  My poor therapy dog had been nursing a hind leg injury for a few weeks and went three-legged lame Sunday morning.  He spent the day yesterday at the vet’s office.  At his pick-up appointment our vet broke the great news that he blew the ACL and he needed surgery.  We are well versed in doggie knee surgeries since we nursed him back to health two years ago from his first surgery.  Awesome.  We were sent home with Rimadyl and Tramadol and a surgery date.  Sigh.  Just to keep things interesting, my husband’s cold reappeared.  I’m hoping that the cooties don’t make a reappearance for me, but I’m glad that Ike and I had our weekly lesson today in case they come calling.

We started off slowly with absolutely no rhythm, connection or energy.  Ike even decided to pin his ears when I asked for a little more gas.  Multiple transitions later, Ike decided to pass gas.  Ah, so that was the issue.  Now let’s continue our lesson unencumbered.  Ms. C really had me focus on riding a circle – not puttering in a round like shape – riding every stride, looking ahead, planning my half halts, asking for the correct flexion and bend.  To the left, we nailed it with very little effort on my part.  To the right, well, hmm, let’s just say that if I put on the cruise control, Ike doesn’t turn, and Ms. C fusses at me (and rightly so) for not maintaining focus and letting Ike straighten.  Her words, “He is ready to learn this, but it is up to you to help him learn.  You let him leak to the left and You lost that outside shoulder.”  Double sigh.  So much work.  But she is right, so I tried again and we nailed it.

Lateral work is progressing.  We don’t get too greedy and Ike’s tolerance for sit trot is helping our progression.  This rider definitely maintains a better connection from sit trot and has better control of her aids.  A Grand Prix rider I am not.

Our canters today were delightful.  I can’t wait for the day that we can achieve this caliber canter strides in public.  Ike came up and out of his withers and the hind end came up and under that loooong back.  The right lead canter was aaah-maazzz-ingggg.  “Ride that canter!”  I heard as we nailed the transition.  The right lead was collected, rhythmic, and through.  Ooooh.  I want more of that.  But I am riding a four-year-old, and soon Ike said he could give no more.  That is okay, he gave us a preview of what is to come.