Shiraz, next up and coming jumping star

I have been so sick this week. This morning was a finger-numbing -20 degrees Celsius (-4 F really?). To make it worse, the horse(s) had broken three boards between the pasture dividing Savvy and the other two.

Repairs took forever because I had to scavenge the wood pile covered in snow for boards, walk back to the house for a working drill and then fix the electric wire that pulled out when the boards were broken. I guess Savvy has found new things to kick now that the pony is not in reach? Or maybe it was Shiraz kicking back now that Savvy can't get revenge.

I was really kind of in a funk and feeling so unwell. I considered cancelling my lesson but this one was going to be Shiraz's intro to jumps: I needed to ignore the freezing temps, my funk, and my bronchitis (with a lot of help from Tylenol and Benylin) and just buck up.

Brace yourself for awesomeness ;)

 

The lesson was made even better when a very good friend of mine asked if she could come and watch. These super fun milestones are made better with company who knows how much it all means to you.

Going into this lesson I had not ridden Shiraz for (ugh, I am embarrassed to type it!) two. weeks. Yup. It has just been too cold and busy and all the excuses. No worries, apparently Shiraz is a fucking unicorn. She was a bit looky to start off but went right to work and was an absolute sweetheart. We started off with two trot poles quite far apart and quickly moved up to cantering them in both directions.

Then out came the standards and my friend and I silently squealed like 12-year-old school girls. Hang on to your panties; this lesson just got awesome. Shiraz did not bat an eye (nor lift a leg much) at her first pass through the ground poles to a little cross rail. There was never actually the feeling of 'jumping' per se but I was nonetheless so thrilled with how she was trying to do what ever it was I was asking of her.

After trotting the line many times, C had me work on asking for the canter on the landing. It was completely uneventful and so much fun. I was really happy with the whole lesson because we kept it simple and C did not overface me or my horse. We're in no hurry right now beyond getting Shiraz out and seeing new things, building my relationship with her. I do have my overall grand plan in mind but there is time to take it slow. I have seen plenty of jump in this horse lunging over obstacles at home but I guess I will have to wait until next year to feel it for myself!

XC Schooling. I think I can.

I don't always ride well -- no, seriously it is true! But when I do, it is magic.

Getting more brave every successful lesson.

Following my disappointing moment of fear/abandon ship/xc fail in my last derby, I immediately set to work trying to find a coach that would be taking a group out for xc schooling. Fortunately I found a great coach with a small group of lower level riders to head out with right away.

I love this coach. She is very hands-on experienced with xc, has a great eye for rider and horse and is fair in analysing and verbalising what she sees.

Pre-lesson pow-wow

She had been at all the past derbies and had the opportunity to see us do well, as well as the not so good moments. She noted that Savvy perhaps was struggling more with taking in all of the landscape rather than the jumps and showed me how to ride to the jump in a way that would help her focus on what we were coming up to. I was mistakenly reacting to all of her fussing and looking by getting very busy with my hands and really losing the battle of trying to manage her mach 5 brain. Instead, she advised me to get her at the pace I wanted well ahead of the jump, and then ride her straight and hold her that way with my legs, thinking leg yield rather than correct with my hands and look up and beyond the obstacle. Think straight!!

Black, black, bit of blue and black, hmm. I think we need a colour. Any suggestions?

Funny how riding with a purposeful mindset and not messing with things right before the jump really helped Savvy lock on to the jumps better. We were still having ugly distances, but our line and steadiness was much improved.

We all know I have struggled to ride with commitment at a level that clearly helps my horse know what has to happen. Even when I think I am riding a bit aggressively, I am always surprised to see in video that I still look a bit backed off. This was still the case with video from this schooling day, but I can see some moments of actual riding, so yay for improvement. I am happy to say we had not a single refusal in this lesson - even with two jumps that scared the crap out of me.

First was the raspberry jump we had struggled with at the June derby, and the feeder which we had never actually made it over before -- just one purposeful ride-around and three refusals at that derby.

Raspberry jump: Looks so innocent but has been trouble for Savvy in the past...

We had no trouble at all with the raspberry jump this time, and the feeder was a success on the first try, even though the coach felt Savvy had come to it saying "Yes, got this" while I was riding a bit of a "hell no". Haha! Got to love an honest coach, and yes, she was very right on that one.

Savvy had no trouble with this (although I am still working on my feelings about it).

There were definitely nerves getting in the way at some points, but for the most part I really just had a ton of fun and felt like it was a great experience for Savvy to help her realise the jumps were no big deal.

Savvy was being so game for the whole thing--when pony is good, she is fantastic. And it may have even helped me with the same issue as well, but I still need more good rides like this one to really feel like I can trust Savvy headed at the bigger jumps.  No worries! We've got time.

 

 

Time of my life

I had the opportunity through the barn I am lessoning with to sign up for one of their jump nights. There is a lot of interest in these and there turned out to be full groups booked every hour starting at 4:00 pm to 10:00 pm. I was lucky enough to get a spot at 8:00 which would work around everything else I had going on that evening, i.e. taking my daughter to gymnastics, making supper for the crew and getting nighttime chores done early as hubby had to work late that night.

It would have been so easy to just say nope, not this time as it was all so difficult (not to mention freezing outside at -20 that day) but I decided to dig in and make it work. Savvy and I really need to learn how to jump and at this point have never strung together more than two little cross rails let alone see a full course set up in an arena!

Not only would this be good for jumping practice, but also exposing her to a more busy atmosphere with other horses and people everywhere.

Ooohhh, what's this?! Could that be Savvy snapping her cute little knees?!! :)

I really was not sure what to expect for my time slot. I did not know how many riders would be with me or just what the format of it all would be. Upon entering the arena I decided to just lead Savvy around and let her see all the jumps/horses/people and sniff the things while I waited for my coach. The jumps were amazing and there were many different styles and colours to see. The only thing that was really an issue at first was a Christmas tree leaning on a standard, but after a few passes by it she was fine.

It turned out that this particular jump night was a bit more full than usual ones, so the organiser had to put me in a group that was maybe slightly more advanced than me. This meant no ground rails to start with, but my coach was awesome enough to put one jump down to ground rails for me to get warmed up quickly while the rest of the group started with cross rails.

Our first jump would be a cross rail following the ground rails on the outside line. Lets just say it was a total stall out as she ignored my leg and came to a stop before the jump and sedately stepped over. I had to laugh and came around again with better success the next time through.

We quickly moved on to cross rails and my coach introduced us to each jump on its own and then started stringing pieces together to build our confidence. My coach did a fantastic job of keeping us progressing and not overfacing us. She was right there at each jump to help us through and I actually never felt afraid at any point (that right there is huge for me!).

We had our first bit of trouble when the cross rails went to verticals and Savvy just really was not sure that was a thing horses could do. We had a refusal at our first vertical but again, coach was right there and put the rail down so Savvy could step over and our next go around was fantastic!

Soon enough Savvy realised that yes she could jump and really started to show a bit of spunk and became more forward. This really helped turn her hop-overs into much more fluid jumping. I actually started to feel like maybe this is all really possible and we can do this whole eventing thing in the future! She even started offering canter after a few jumps which felt incredible.

By the end of the hour I was able to piece together the entire course. For our very first time doing this, I just could not believe how well Savvy had done. Both my coach and I were blown away with how she took it all in, figured out the game and improved steadily throughout the evening.

Back in the barn untacking and going over it all with my friend who had come to watch, film for me and provide much needed moral support, I couldn't help just bursting into tears. I know a course of tiny verticals is no big deal for most of you, but I finally accomplished something I had been working towards for so long. All I have wanted was to toodle around small fences, have fun and feel safe and I really haven't up until this night. It was everything I had wanted right there and I just couldn't hold myself together finally getting it.

All I can say is I love this horse. She is not easy, but she gives back as much as I put in and truly deserves her Wonder Pony nickname.

First Lesson of 2017

Operation JumpAllTheFences (aka teach Savvy and myself how to jump and start eventing this summer) is officially under way with my first lesson of the year.



Ready to ride!

 

I was scheduled to start last Thursday, but weather kiboshed my plans with a super fun wind/snow storm. This Thursday however, offered up a perfect sunshiny day with warm temps to boot.



Just a typical Manitoba morning...where no horse gets ridden. :(

It turns out a few months off from heading anywhere with my horse was enough to bring on some serious nerves, but the whole trip there went just fine and I didn't even hurt myself this entire outing! Gold star for me!



Although there was one casualty - one of my winter riding boot soles came right off (luckily at the end of my lesson though). 

I arrived well before my lesson and had a lot of time to lunge her around the massive arena (which I had all to myself!) and show her all the mirrors/giant advertisement signs and see what kind of horse she would be after so much time off.

She spooked once when she kicked some sand against the wall and then again at an advertisement with a large horse picture on it. She had to sniff the pic right on the horse's nose a few times before she was sure it wasn't a real horse.

I knew keeping Savvy from getting too hot would be a major issue with this plan. It was great for me to be in a heated arena, but the fluffbum was already sweaty before I even got on. Once the coach arrived, I explained I would be fine with a really easy-on-the-horse type lesson so Savvy wouldn't get too hot. So two-point torture would be my fate. Maybe I should have told her I was also just getting back into work as well and shouldn't over-do it?



Wonder pony was pretty sceptical about this whole back to lessons thing.

As the lesson progressed, the arena went from empty to horse after horse coming in which was great practise dealing with the automatic overhead door opening again and again and keeping Savvy focused on task no matter what cute gelding had just come in.

And she was great! Not perfect obviously - there was a lot of head bobbing as per usual, some serious side eye every time we passed a horse and a bit of jumpiness at random noises (like snow sliding off the roof), but I was happy with the level of relaxation in her walk and trot and it felt quite enjoyable to ride.

As for all the two-point practise, I will not be walking tomorrow.

Next week I will head back and work on all the positional stuff we covered today, and moving forward, I think I will stick with the bi-weekly lessons at least until this whole winter/can't ride at home issue clears up.

It is amazing just how good I feel now. It was so great to get back to riding! Anyone else find nothing beats a good ride for your mood? Or is any kind of horse time do the trick?

The value of a good coach

My last lesson focused on straightening the wonder pony and learning to address the position of her shoulders (left shoulder in particular) in a more consistent manner. Basically, Savvy and I are doing alright, but coach thinks Savvy is ready for me to expect more from her.



Connection is slowly becoming more consistent, although still lots of head bobbing moments.

I have diligently been doing my homework, practicing shoulder in and haunches in, as well as shoulder in on the 10 meter circle. I could only do riding at the walk this past week as it has been raining a lot and the outdoor arena footing is questionable - not that Savvy and I were ready to trot any of this yet anyways. There were good moments and then some more awkward moments where Savvy would throw a fit and do a mini lipizzaner jump. She is definitely not one to supress her opinions.

 I must say Savvy felt really good this lesson. I thought I had good inside bend and her trot work was relaxed with a lovely long stride.

It was all going well until coach asked us to do a bit more complicated exercise at the same time the farrier showed up in the barn. Combine the distraction of sounds in the barn and the increase in difficulty and I basically had a high-headed, hallow-backed mare who was acting like she simply could not.

Finally has a thinking and working frame of mind after a little help
 from a training ride by my coach.

Coach asked to get on (yay! I love when she offers!) and started asking Savvy for inside bend and to ignore the farrier. When she moved up to trot, Savvy gave her the "I simply cannot" trot that is more of a strange shuffle with her head high. It did not take long though and coach had her bending, lengthening, and fully on task. I love a coach that can help you out with a mini training ride.



20-meter circle with left bend - asking her to 'almost' leg yield outward
to encourage that left hind foot to reach.

I really just wanted to sit back and watch coach make my pony be amazing for the rest of the lesson, but instead she gave her back to me to try again. This time I upped my expectations. I just watched Savvy totally do the thing she had convinced me she couldn't do.

I learned something interesting today: Knowing it is in there (seeing my coach asking for more and getting it) made it much easier for me to expect a better result from her. You really have to believe it to make it happen!

Can't we just go right forever?

My weekly lessons are becoming more about addressing Savvy's shoulders and that incredibly underused left hind foot.

There has been no doubt about the struggle bending left right from the beginning. I have been working on it to some degree, but it was never the major focus as Savvy was so green we were looking for forward resposiveness and basic yeilding to pressure (and I was really just happy with her feeling broke!). Now she is ready for a bit more attention to detail.

First correct bend, then shoulder in on a circle. I can see where we get

it correct a few seconds at a time, here and there!

Tracking left, Savvy will throw her weight in on her front left shoulder, try to tip her head out and avoid stepping under completely with her left hind. Tracking right, the left shoulder will bulge and she will over-bend to the inside.

It turns out correcting a bulging shoulder is a much easier fix than lifting a dropped shoulder. Ugh. I spent much of my lesson wishing we were tracking right so I could stop working so hard.

We are addressing it, bit by bit. I have to remember patience and kindness for my girl. Asking her to track left with straightness and balance is like asking a right-handed person to write an essay with their left hand.

One exercise I will be using is shoulder in on a 10-meter circle. This well help me to lift her shoulder and help Savvy develop the coordination required to use her weaker hind left by stepping under.

Shoulder in tracking right - may not look like much, but felt awesome after all the struggle trying to accomplish this going the other direction. 

Once I was starting to get Savvy more balanced and bent correctly going right and then asked for the shoulder in, she literally could not stay at the trot. It was just too much for her to use her body differently and came down to a very clumsy walk through it. From past experience, when Savvy is faced with something new or complicated, her response is always to stop or slow down. She was really trying though. She definitely got extra cookies after this lesson.

Overall a great session with lots of little exercises to take home and work on.

Wonder Pony and her Brain Vacation.

I had grand plans of jumping Savvy at home yesterday. She has been so wonderful lately and even though she is not all that great at jumping (would rather step over or knock it down than jump), maybe it would be a nice change for her.

So I set up one tiny cross rail in the arena and headed out to get my pony. She was out in the pasture with her two friends, munching grass and looking sleepy in the afternoon sun. Perfect! A great mood to be in for a fun little ride.

After tacking up and hand walking in the outdoor arena, I hopped up to get started and...nope. Savvy was literally prancing on the spot. What the heck? So I got off, grabbed the lunge line and decided to let her trot a bit and see if she just needed to get some nerves out. Nerves from what, I didn't know--it was just a normal sunny day in an arena she has been worked in for almost three years. After this she looked calm, relaxed and interested in just eating grass. Okay, back to it right? Wrong.

Me: "Can we ride?"
Savvy: "No."
Me: "But..."
Savvy: "No."
 

This went on for about half an hour. When ever I got on, she felt so nervous that she might flip out, or worse, over. I really tried to stay on as long as I felt safely possible, but each time I ended up having to get off and regroup. Finally I ended up taking her back to her pasture friends and got on there. This was to test if this was emotional or physical. If physical, she would be just as bad close to her friends, but if emotional, she would be better because of the comfort of being with the herd.

Luckily she was better. Completely better. So I took her back to the arena and just slowed things down. None of the focused ground work that usually makes her calm and focused had worked today so I decided to approach things differently. I took her over to the scariest corner and then just stood. I focused on my breathing, and was careful to aim my body away from her and look down at the ground. I relaxed and waited.

At first, Savvy could not keep still. She paced in a never-ending circle around me, but I just continued my breathing and stayed calm and relaxed. The only time I moved was to keep her out of my bubble--what she chose to do was up to her.

Finally she stopped. I rewarded her with scratches and then tried a new spot to 'meditate'. This time she just followed and stood with me.

Two hours after beginning this simple little afternoon ride, I was able to get on and walk her without fearing imminent flippage.

And today at our lesson at my coach's barn? A perfect little angel even with a bird trapped in the arena occasionally swooping at us and the neighbours constructing something and all the random loud banging from that.

Mares.

Clinic Day Three - So What Now?

Regular non-horse life has been very busy since the clinic. When I had the chance, I researched more about Legerete proper as well as reflected on what I had learned at the clinic. I wanted to see what was pure Legerete versus Muriel Chestnut's own style, which seemed to be a bit of a melting pot of her own learning from various styles.

I mentioned before the clinic how excited I was about seeing french classical mixed with natural horsemanship. Muriel had specifically studied Parelli which I have not delved into much beyond the seven games, level one on my own using a friend's dvd set. I am not sure what I was expecting, perhaps some education towards a magical blend of high level movements done at liberty? Instead, it was simply use of phases while applying the Legerete in-hand work. Makes sense, but I think I deflated a little.

Day three was much of the same as day two, and I particularly enjoyed watching everyone else throughout the day working on movements that were above my head to say the least.

I left the clinic wondering where to place this new-found information into what I already was doing. Would I take it on full throttle or discard it completely? Frankly I had no idea. I liked a lot of what I had learned, yet some aspects made me a bit uneasy. If you have looked into Philippe Karl at all, you might pick up that he is quite passionate about his training style and it is quite tightly controlled.

I am far from good at horses, but I have become quite open-minded over the years about training style. If you have trained more than a couple of horses, you will know that not all horses are the same and training goes a bit easier with flexability, creativity and a willingness to adjust to the horse you are working with.

I know for myself that I am happy to be the adult ammy, puttering around the sandbox on a horse I trained and I want that horse to be my athletic partner, my well-loved pony that gets too many treats, and a safe friend that can do some fancy when asked.

So with a bit of time to reflect, I am quite happy I dipped my toe into some new information. There is so much about this school of training that appeals to me.

For now though, I think I will take the few little tidbits I liked and add it to what I am already doing.  I will not be donning a Fedora and working on my French skills just yet.

A Year In Review!

This has not been a year full of shows and ribbons and jumping progress like I had planned. Paired with disappointment and letting go came an unexpected incredible new beginning.

Lets have a look at where it all started:

APRIL 2015:
First show of the year with Miss Tea! We had a bit of time off mid-winter so were a bit under-prepared, but that's nothing new for me. It was an overwhelming venue but ended well - I won highpoint equitation and left feeling like this was going to be THE YEAR for me and Miss Tea.

Also this month the kidlets started riding lessons and I promised myself to dedicate more time on training Savvy.

MAY 2015:
I was looking to keep the ball rolling with Miss Tea and entered a schooling show that was somewhat disappointing as it really highlighted our inability to canter a course.

JUNE 2015:
June started off with a small local show (but is always a big deal because everyone you know is there and its not the place to be making mistakes --  horse people love horse gossip.) This show went well and on retrospect I think the fact that the footing was SO wet and deep that Miss Tea had no choice but to dig in and use her hind end which equaled much more stability and power and resulted in our first cantered course with no wobbles or tripping.

Also the best show of the season happened -- kids and mom showing together -- could life be any better?!! This was also the show where Miss Tea and I jumped perfectly with no anxiety issues on my part (kids are a great show distraction!) and I recall saying "That's it! That was so good I never have to jump again!"

 

This was the month I also had the pleasure of meeting a talented dressage coach with a) a barn not too far for trailering. b) affordable lesson fees. c) a horse-minded training philosophy that was a must for me. It seemed like a good idea to get into a program with Savvy to keep me on track and give her the consistency she would need to be officially 'broke'.  

 

Can't I just stay here and eat hay? - Savvy

JULY 2015:
Savvy attended her first show and I took in my first experience at a dressage show! It went so much better than expected and I kind of started to see how dressage could be appealing to some.



In July we also added a new set of hooves to the herd - Meyla!

 

 

SEPTEMBER 2015:

The summer slipped away fast but there were still shows on the horizon and although I was starting to have serious doubts about Miss Tea's cantering abilities, I was still optimistic that I could teach her to use her body correctly for a more balanced, safe canter. Then the big trip happened. Not going to lie, my confidence dive bombed and the quiet struggle turned into a shouting wakeup call.

 

OCTOBER 2015:

My focus over the course of the year turned more and more on to Savvy and this was the month she

cantered with a rider!

 

NOVEMBER 2015:

Reflection, tears, booze, and a decision. Riding a balanced greenie like Savvy just highlighted how off Miss Tea really was. It was so hard to let go of my simple little hunter dreams but having such a great little horse like Savvy to work with certainly softened the blow.

 

DECEMBER 2015:

Snow had me slowed down, but I am so excited about where Savvy and I are headed!

 

Another year has come and gone. It was not what I had expected, but I am learning to roll with things, listen to myself more and allow better things into my life. I am surprising myself to say I am hooked on dressage. I am a bit daunted though by just how much there is to learn.

 

I am literally starting on the bottom -- a horse that knows nothing and a rider that wishes she knew so much more...let's do this!

 

Unlocking Relaxation

Allison Kavey: “Dressage horse spooking at her very
fancy Dressage at Devon ribbon.

This time of year it is not uncommon for many riders to find their horse has transformed from the calm, willing partner they had back in summer to a jumpy, fire breathing dragon as the cooler temps settle in.

I have been enjoying a great deal of progress with Savvy in my lessons at the indoor with an exceptional dressage trainer. However, lately progress has been replaced with exercises in courage and balance as my Ferrari pony spooks and leaps at every little noise/shadow/nothing at all.

On lesson days, the usual routine of trailer in, groom, tack up, hand walk around arena and get to work was simply not cutting it. If all I am doing is surviving a lesson, we really cannot work on more interesting and important work.

So this lesson I came in with a plan. I have so many tools in my tool box, but I just was not employing them!

First, lunge pony at home before I put her on the trailer. This is so important right now because her paddock is frozen and none of the horses have been running or playing around for a couple of weeks now. This allowed her to stretch out, kick up her heels and buck like a maniac.

Second, arrive, groom and tack up with calmness in mind. I decided if I wanted her to be calm, I should reflect that in myself and be mindful of my body language.

Third, ground work. When I brought her into the arena saddled but still in her halter, I set to work with some slow and deliberate tasks for her to focus on. This included standing still while I touched her all over with the carrot stick, backing up with a shake of my finger, yielding the front and hind ends and then sidepassing down the arena wall.

By the time I got on for my lesson, Savvy was relaxed, licking her lips and hanging her head and listening to me!

We proceeded to have the best lesson we have had to date and trainer was completely impressed. There was not one single spook and her trot was 100% adjustable. Half pass and shoulder-in were magical.

This experience really got me thinking. Preparation obviously plays an important role in how our horses perform. How can I prepare my mare for the tasks I ask of her, such as the show atmosphere?

Our horses are athletes and we often train with a direct line approach of teach the task, but as the concept of sports psychology being applied to riders becomes common place, I wonder of the role sports psychology can be applied to the horse. We obviously cannot ask our horse to 'visualize' a relaxed, fluid dressage test, but we can help them to be relaxed and fluid in preparation for the test.

Do you employ relaxation techniques for your horse? I would love to hear what works for you!

Winter Riding

Winter makes for beautiful photos
on the white wonder pony.

The temps have been amazing here for the past few days. If this were winter, I would be so down with that. 












Fancy pony knows she's fancy. ;)

                

 

 

 

 

Having my horses home with me is ideal in so many ways.

 

 

The daily routine of caring for them, being able to watch their shenanigans out the kitchen window or go sit with the snoozing ponies on a sunny afternoon is therapy all in itself.

 

 



Look at me half pass
with the help of my tongue...-Savvy

                                                                               
I love being able to step out to the backyard, grab a pony and ride.



But when I actually want to get down to work on canter transitions, frozen ground and snow equals just...nope. 



So I will continue enjoying a lot of walk/trot exercises at home and save the real work for lessons at the indoor.