Memo to Stretch: "Go" Isn't An Option

This is Stretch. The gigantic (I'm guessing he'll finish at 17h) Dutch WB x Arabian that I traded Biff for.

Now that I've gotten him back up to a really nice weight after his Texas debacle and then a stint at a less-than-stellar "full care" boarding barn I had him at while finishing clinicals, it's time to start working him.

Don't get me wrong, I had hopped on him a couple of times at the barn in Turner in the round pen. He did okay. Nothing spectacular. I had The Boy help me by leading Stretch around for a bit until I was confident I wouldn't die, then back off so we could go solo. Problem is, Stretch almost requires someone leading him around. Without ground support, this horse is convinced that "forward" is impossible.

Since moving back up to the barn in Estacada, our focus has been getting weight on, building a topline, and finding a saddle that fits his crazy shark-fin withers. I finally figured out that my dressage saddle fits if accompanied by my nice fleece correction pad.

So this weekend I had Katie out at the barn and jumped on the chance to have a knowledgeable horseperson assist me with Mr. I-Can't-Go-Forward. She knew the ways to get him "jumps started" from behind and has the timing on when to back off that my sweet but non-horsey boyfriend just doesn't possess.

Stretch was.... just okay. Still is hesitant to move forward. When I start to really nag him, I can feel him tense up. Given his history of bucking off the last trainer who tried to establish forward with his dressage whip, I wanted to avoid that route. 17h is a loooong way down! I do have to admit that on horses that I am more confident with, I will get very aggressive about establishing forward. To me, it's vitally important that when I say "go," it means "GO NOW."

I just don't think I can get that aggressive with this horse. Yet.

So in the meantime, I suppose that my tactics will be to either annoy him until he moves forward then praise feverishly, or, when that starts to annoy me start pulling/kicking him in circles to show him that balking is highly unpleasant and I still expect his feet to move. Not sure we're even at that point yet.

I will, as usual, sit and ponder this obsessively, and likely try a few different approaches to see if I can figure out what gets this horse to click and what he responds to. I do know that I want him to learn how to go solo. No more ground helpers around as a crutch. Sorry, Stretch, you have to listen to ME.

Survivors

So it's 10pm and I'm blogging with a bowl of popcorn. I usually have a rule against eating things past 8pm. It's amazing how much weight just drops off on its own when I cut out the nighttime snacking habit. But tonight my willpower is down and it was either popcorn, ice cream, or cookie dough. I chose the lesser of the three evils and went with Healthy Pop, which tastes like cardboard but is giving me something to munch on.

Moving on.

This last summer I kept my horses pasture-boarded while I finished up my clinical rotation for school. While we were there, I had many life-altering "moments." First of all, this place had NO arena. None. Anywhere. There was a small round pen. That was all.

I happen to be an arena baby. I looooooove the arena. You know, with good footing, and corners, and straight walls. Virtually all of the training I do involve either the corners, the walls, or center/quarter lines. I have no idea what to do out in a field other than goof around for a nice easy hack. Kind of like a trail ride, where the only thing I want to accomplish is completing the ride with minimal drama.

So I solved that problem by not riding much all summer. Sure, I tried to ride in the round pen. It was fun for about 3 minutes and I quickly got bored.

Then one day out of the blue I decided to take the pony out for a "real" ride in the 40-acre hay field. Why I suddenly felt that she was ready to take on the big, open world at that moment still to this day mystifies me. I'm also not entirely sure why I felt that was the day to ignore my hatred of riding the tiny little 13.2 hand dainty pony. I always feel like I'm going to a.) squish her or b.) fall off the second she takes a misstep because there is nothing substantial about this pony to hold me up.

But I'm an impulsive person, so I went for it. Besides, I had ridden her in the round pen a few days earlier and she was only a *little* herd-bound, and we both survived.

I got her tacked up, led her to the gate, and she stood still like a good girl while I mounted and fidgeted with my stirrups. I was feeling a sense of confidence that my pony had, indeed, woken up one day and decided that she was going to become magically dead broke.

Off we went at a nice, calm walk. I was inwardly congratulating myself for my mad skillz at training the psycho pony. Then, approximately 20 feet from the gate, the Drama Pony must have realized that her friends were in a different field. On the other side of the barn. And that we had NEVER been in this field. She planted the brakes. I managed to boot her on until we were continuing in a tense, prancy jig, but at least it was the direction I wanted.

Another 20 feet later I got a spin-and-bolt attempt. Supposedly the bushes we were passing by were of the pony-eating variety. Thank God that in all my years of riding I have perfected the "You Can't Bolt If I Yank Your Head Around To My Kneecap and Spin You In Small Circles" maneuver. At this point I was livid. How DARE she try to run back to her friends! I decided there was no way in h*ll I was letting her move her feet back in that direction until she was being obedient. I don't need calm per se. I do need her to listen to me and not try to take matters into her own hands- er, hooves.

More prancy-jiggy crap. A few more spin-and-bolt attempts. A few times she planted her feet and refused to go forward at all (note: it is absolutely imperative to me that this pony ALWAYS go forward when told. When we first got her, she liked to rear as an evasion. I have seen her on multiple times rear so violently she flipped herself over. The rearing has gone away, but I've seen her do it, and I know she is capable. Therefore forward is a BIG DEAL- they can't rear if their feet are moving forward). Eventually I got her trotting in roughly 15m circles. It was hot out, she was out of shape, and got tired quickly. When she would trot politely in a full circle without trying to sidepass towards the barn, I would let her walk. As soon as she started being nutty again, back to the trot.

It was a long, hard ride, but she finally gave in and we walked back to the barn on a loose rein. As we were walking, several things hit me at once:

1.) I rode out the worst this pony has ever thrown at me and stayed on. I am not going to fall off the damn pony in a strong breeze. I *do* have good balance. I *am* a skilled rider. Several really bad falls off of a couple of previous horses has made me a timid/cautious rider. I don't need to be. I just need to get over myself.

2.) Pony was genuinely scared being out by herself, but even in her spin-and-bolt fits, not once did her front end leave the ground. I don't even think rearing crossed her little pony brain. It's amazing how far she's come since Katie and I first picked her up.

3.) I have ridden horses who have literally lost their minds when scared and there was no getting it back (refer to revelation #1, above). Horses are flight animals. It's what they do. The fact that the pony wanted to flee but eventually came back to me speaks volumes about her. She's a sensitive, nervous type anyway. The fact that we could still communicate with each other is huge for her.

This incident was several months ago. We have since moved back up to the barn in Estacada (I really missed the arena). In retrospect, while attempting to take the pony out on our little jaunt was somewhat impulsive and foolish at the time, I think it is one of the best things I could have done for both Drama and myself. I am no longer scared to ride her. Getting over my mental hangup about riding her has been great. I find that I actually enjoy riding her now, and her training has been progressing in leaps and bounds.

I think she, too, also came out better on the other end of our adventure. It seems like we bonded. She's much more in-tune to me, and she tries her heart out for me every day. It was like, in her little pony mind, the joint traumatic experience of having to ride in a field made us soul sisters. Everything that we used to struggle with before (trailer loading, clipping, taking her blanket off over her head) is suddenly a non-issue. I can almost hear her saying, "I'm not a fan of the blanket going over my head, but you and I went to Hell and back together, therefore I trust you."

Silly pony. I am still trying to sell her, but not as enthusiastically as I once was. I secretly wish she wont sell. If I had the money, I would keep her in a heartbeat. Maybe take some dressage lessons together. No, she doesn't have the "sparkle" for competitive FEI levels, but right now she has the heart and the willingness to likely make it to 4th and do pretty well.

Did I mention that we started schooling lateral movements just last week and she is now leg-yielding off of only my seat bones?

Great Expectations

I have written about Biff here before. Cute, fun, but not really that good at anything that I like to do. Yes, he is a rockstar trail horse, but I'm just not a trail rider. I have higher ambitions for my riding career than trail riding (don't get me wrong- I love trails and I think they are a valuable training tool for EVERY horse. I just don't want to do it exclusively).

When I posted a photo of Biff with my 7-year-old niece on my Facebook page, I had no idea that my friend Chelsea would ask if I would ever consider parting with him, as she was looking for a solid, safe trail horse. I love Biff enough that I wouldn't mind keeping him forever if I had to, but Chelsea is such an amazing home that I wish I was a horse and could live with her. Who was I to deny Biff the chance to live the good life as Chelsea's trail horse?

Rewind to a few years ago. Chelsea was searching for an Arabian to show and came home with an Arabian/Dutch Warmblood cross. I had always wanted a WB/arab cross after meting a few at my local dressage shows, and the several arabs and arab crosses that my dressage trainer's other clients rode. I was also partial to Arabs since my very first lesson horse (who my parents ended up letting me lease) was also an Arabian. Plus, it didn't hurt that I learned to ride dressage and hunters on a Dutch WB mare (who I regretfully sold later so I could be a "responsible adult" and go to college). When Chelsea found an Arab/DWB (later named Stretch because he will not stop growing), I was in love with the idea of that particular cross, and have secretly coveted Stretch ever since.

Back to present times. When Chelsea asked how much I wanted for Biff, I told her that I would just give him to her, because it was the best home I could ever find for him. Plus, he was a $230 auction rescue who couldn't canter. Realistically, with today's horse market, he's not worth that much to begin with. Then she asked if I wanted Stretch in exchange. I almost fell out of my chair. I was sure that Chelsea had lost her mind. I mean, who trades a VERY nice Warmblood with loads of potential for a $230 auction rescue trail horse? I tried to remind her that it was NOT an equal trade, and that I couldn't afford to pay her the difference. Her response was the same "he's going to a great home" line that I gave her about Biff. (That's the weird thing about us horse folk. We'll willingly lose money on a horse just to rest assured that they are taken care of and loved.)

Chelsea is bringing Stretch down next Friday, and picking up Biff. When someone offers to trade you a Ferarri for a Volvo (as Fuglyhorseoftheday author Cathy put it in a not-so-subtle test message), you DON'T say no. I am thrilled and can't WAIT to see him in my pasture.

I am also a little freaked out. With Biff, there was no expectation. He was never going to be the dressage superstar of my dreams, so there was never pressure when I rode him. He was the horse I could ride when I didn't feel like schooling anything and I could putz around on him without worrying about ruining anything special, but he has an endless list of dressage-y things to work on, so he kept me occupied and amused.

Now, I will have a young horse with potential for upper-level dressage. I was worried that I wouldn't "do him justice." I can usually bring a horse up to 1st level dressage by myself, but as soon as we start getting into the greater collection and lateral work of 2nd level, I prefer to have eyes on the ground. Preferably the eyes of a trainer. I am also at a disadvantage because I cannot afford to keep a horse in full-time training with a dressage pro. I can afford lessons, but I also know that the learning curve for "lessons-only" training is much slower than the learning curve for "pro rides 5 days a week and the occasional owner lesson" training. It was stressing me out.

Key word: "was."

Then I had to be logical and reasonable:

1.) Stretch doesn't care if he makes Grand Prix. Stretch doesn't even know what Grand Prix means. He probably only cares about eating, pooping, and getting the occasional scritch. Stretch will not be disappointed if he never makes it to the FEI levels, or if he is "only" at 2d level by the time he's 15. It's silly for me to think I am somehow letting him down by not being able to progress as quickly as I'd like.

2.) The whole point of me wanting a horse with upper-level potential is for ME to learn how to bring a horse along up through the levels. If I hand off every talented horse I get to a professional trainer because I'm afraid I wont be able to get them to their highest level of performance, I will never learn how to do it myself. This is as much for me as it is for him. Oh, who am I kidding? This is MORE for me than it is for him (see point #1, above). It has been insanely frustrating to ride under gifted trainers and instructors on a less-than-suitable horse. Trying to advance my riding skills was like trying to wade through molasses; painfully slow.

So who cares if Stretch is only doing 2nd level 10 years from now? If that's where we're at in 10 years, that's where we're at. It's more about the journey, anyway. I just like having high goals. What's that saying about shooting for the moon and landing in the stars? That's generally what I go for...

When Stretch arrives on Friday, he is getting turned out in my 5-acre pasture with my small herd. He gets time to just be a horse while I finish my last 3 months of school. He earned it. Plus, Chelsea thinks he's *still* growing...

NH vs Classical Dressage. And the winner is.... something in the middle.

 In an effort to keep myself from studying, well, anything for my surgical technology class, I have suddenly taken a profound interest in studying -heavily- Natural Horsemanship (NH) training principles and simultaneously studying Classical Dressage (henceforth referred to as CD) principles. I compare and contrast the two constantly. I find it surprising how many training philosophies overlap and how many are polar opposites. (There is more overlap than not. Who knew?) I love to spend hours and hours contemplating which theories make more sense, which are the most valid, and deciding which ideas to tuck into my training "tool belt" and which ones to ignore forever. I try to look for parallels, and , when there are none, I try to consider reasonable compromises between the two. I want to become knowledgeable enough about both extremes so I can understand everything in the middle. This way, when it comes time to start my yellow colt (in another year and a half or so), I can make informed decisions and pick which methodologies I think will have the most success with that particular horse.

Unfortunately for my older, broke horses, they have become my guinea pigs. Biff, Drama, and Footloose have become my training experiments. Mostly Biff, because he has the mind and forgiving nature to deal with my mistakes and not hold them against me. Notsomuch with the girls. Biff is my "tester" and the girls are my "confirmation."

Should be interesting. When I am procrastinating on homework further I will write about my first lesson with Biff and what *I* learned from it.

Update

So I enrolled myself in one of those "career colleges" to get a certificate in Surgical Technology. Then I found out it's an accelerated class and we are supposed to learn everything in one year as opposed to the usual two. Ergo, the Anatomy and Physiology class that I am taking is insanely intense, and we're cramming a year's worth of classes into about 2.5 months. Needless to say, I haven't been getting to the gym much. And usually when I do, I am armed with my Medical Terminology flashcards and study them while on the elliptical/treadmill/stationary bike. I'm pretty sure I am not getting the best workout ever, but I DO know that increased blood flow also increases cognitive abilities, so hopefully I am retaining things better... we'll find out.

Other than the excessive studying required, I am very excited about becoming a Surgical Technologist, and will love my future paycheck even more.

Now, back to the horses. ;-)

I am trying to not let my crazy schedule interfere with my horse-time. I NEED horse-time to function. I was concerned that being overly busy would cause me to forgo riding in exchange for even more study time, so I just filled out an entry for a local dressage schooling show for my OTTB. This will be her very first horse show ever, and so I'm keeping it low-key. We're just doing Intro A and B. Nothing too strenuous. The show is Oct 30, so I have a few things I'd like to work on before then:

1.) I'd like to get her more bendy to the right (yes, that's the technical term. LOL). Like all OTTBs, she was very one-sided when I got her, and she's much better now, but I'd like to improve it even more.

2.) Our centerlines and diagonals are more "squiggles" than "lines." Now that she understands what leg means, though, I have a feeling it will improve with repetition.

3.) I just want to get her a little more consistently on the bit. She is good about being on the bit about 75% of the time. I want to bump it up to about 90% of the time.

Clearly, we do not have lofty goals. I am not planning on going to the show to win a ribbon, I am planning on going to the show to, well, get my mare to a show. I want to see how she does away from home in a show environment. And, I wont lie, I also needed motivation to keep riding her consistently while I am trying to avoid pulling my hair out from the excess studying. It's good for me; I NEED my horse-time.

Either I'm Getting Stronger...

... or my feed store is lying to me about the weight of my hay bales. But since they're still 3-string bales and HUGE, I'll go with the former.

I just stacked almost a million 125lb hay bales. All by myself. In the heat of the afternoon, with energy to spare! Well, maybe it wasn't "almost a million" but it sure felt like it! And I can lift them higher too. I will not credit this to anything other than the fact that it's summer and have been stacking more hay than usual. I don't work my arms out at the gym, although I really should.

My current horsey-project is getting my OTTB mare to actually relax her jaw, give at her poll, and flex softly. I want her to learn that the bit is NOT something to clamp down on and lean on. I've heard that it's a racehorse thing. Apparently in Racehorse Land, pulling on a horse's face actually makes them go faster. Huh, who knew?

I got her teeth floated before doing anything- I always try to rule out any and all physical issues before trying to work out a somewhat difficult problem in horse training. Now, her teeth are in tip-top shape, and she got a massage from Uncle Jason the horse masseuse. She is set to go.

So far, I've been proceeding as follows: I start off by longeing her in a nice large circle at the walk and trot until she's warmed-up, loose, relaxed and forward. Then I start slowly shortening my longe line and spiraling her closer into the circle until it starts to look like she's struggling a little, then I let her spiral back out. This little extra bit of stress from the smaller circle makes her stronger. Then I reverse her and do the same on the other side.

(A WORD OF CAUTION: Only do this is you are VERY comfortable reading your horse and can see when they start to get stiff or struggle. You have to know enough to not force them into a circle so small that it will actually damage their joints or muscles. Right now, my mare can spiral in from a 20m circle to a 12-15m circle, so my circles are NEVER teeny tiny, only a little more challenging. When she gets stronger we'll go for 10m, but, like weight training, you have to build up to it slowly.)

After a few spirals and she's good and warmed up, I put her bridle on (over her halter) and let her eat apple pieces with her bit in her mouth while I put on her surcingle. I am trying to get her to chew on the bit. I am teaching her that it's okay to play with the bit, and that she doesn't need jaws of steel. I also use apple, specifically, because it promotes salivation.

After she's done with her apple piece, I do flexions in-hand on the ground. The idea is really too long to describe here, but just Google it. I am particularly fond of Jane Savoie's descriptions, as well as Dr. Thomas Ritter's descriptions of how to do flexions. In essence, it releases the tension in the jaw/poll area of the horse. I'm mostly just trying to her her more supple in that area.

Then I attach Vienna reins. I tried plain side reins, which I prefer, but she is a smart cookie and very quickly learned to evade them by going above the bit and travelling hollow and ignoring me when I tell her to go forward. The Vienna reins don't let her do that.

So far, we've only had 2 longeing sessions with the Vienna reins. At first, Miss Priss was convinced she could not move forward when there was any kind of contact on her mouth. I mostly lead her around while she got used to them. Yesterday, we mostly longed at the walk and did a little tiny bit of trot. I let her take it easy, since this idea of being on the bit tends to be earth-shattering for some horses. We literally change their whole world when we ask them to move a certain way. So I don't ever ask too much of it at first. My plan is to continue adding longer and longer trot sets in the Vienna reins for the next week or so (every other day- muscles need a day to recover), to build muscle along her topline, and then back to riding, and working on introducing the same idea under saddle.

Katie took pictures of Missy Magoo in her pen last week, and I keep meaning to ask her to email them to me. They will be my "before" pictures of The Princess with her scrawny neck and weak topline. Hopefully in a few months I will have nice "after" pictures of a more athletic-looking horse. Stay Tuned!

By the way, my mare's name is Footloose. Don't be confused by the various nicknames I have for her. I'm pretty sure that all of my horses have an identity crisis by now.

Go Team COTH!

Okay, so I need some extra motivation. I didn't even realize that I did until someone posted a thread on COTH about a weight loss clique. I didn't even read through all of the posts until I jumped in and joined. Then I went back and started re-reading what I had skipped.

It looked like everyone was joining a website called SparkPeople. I began looking around, and am thoroughly impressed with the site. It's free to join, and allows you to track what you ate, how much exercise you got, how much water you drank and other goals. You can use their goal suggestions or create your own. You are rewarded for staying on track with points. You are given meal-plan suggestions that you can chose to follow or not. They have weekly weigh-ins. They have options where you can chose to track your blood pressure, blood sugar, mood, sleep quality, and stress level, if you so desire. This is like the "WebMD" weight loss site on steroids. I love it.

My favorite part about this site? They have an extra "community" aspect. Members can join "teams" where everyone on the team is working to accumulate points. This is EXACTLY the motivation I need. When I am working out for me, myself, and I, I don't get very upset if I have to miss a workout or two (or ten). When I have a team that needs my points, I feel SO guilty for not pitching in, that I tend to become an overachiever.

So, the kind ladies on COTH started a COTH team. So far we have 17 members. I am so excited to have some form of a support group- especially since they are all horse-people, too, and they understand exactly what I am trying to achieve when I say "I want to lose weight to become a better rider."

I joined the site last night, and today is my first full day of my new "lifestyle makeover." If you'll excuse me, I have to go walk my dog so I can get an extra point for my team...