Savvy and the 'c' word

We did it!  After a whole summer of prep (avoidance/fear/lets just walk/trot for ever!) the perfect opportunity presented itself to finally ask for canter.

Cutest pony ever.

We all know I have serious baggage around the 'c' word from a two-year long shit storm of canter problems with Miss Tea. We also know as riders we can't carry baggage around and place it onto other horses, but fear is a difficult thing and if it were so easy to set it aside, I think a lot more people would be trying bungee jumping.

 

But as I said, the perfect day presented itself - warm, no wind, happy calm pony, and months of great walk/trot work, so I decided it was The Day!

 

Working on shoulder-in at lesson last week

 

The very first try was lovely! Attempt #2, 3, and 4 resulted in crow hopping -- not excessive or difficult to ride out of -- and attempt #5 she cantered well again so I left it there on the good note.

 

 



 

Happy Monday everyone!

Savvy Progress

My magical wonder pony is the joy of my life right now. What started out as a side project of training a little grey mare (when I could find the time) has now turned into a full-time passion and I am finding myself lying in bed pleasantly ruminating previous rides.

Having found an exceptional dressage coach has definitely been the key to bringing Savvy so far this summer. C is a kickass horse trainer and gets the best out of a horse the long, hard route of careful and correct training -- no shortcuts allowed. But on top of this, she also shares in my belief that above all we need to care about our horse's experience and shape their training to be interesting and fair.

Our last lesson was quite a test for wonder pony. It was cold, windy and raining and we were the only ones in the arena. Spooky mare was spooky. Luckily she is far less spooky in trot so after a few minutes of white-knuckling it around at a walk, C had us get right into trot work and we both relaxed a bit. There were still spooks, but short explosions were immediately redirected into forward and back to work with not too much difficulty.



No lesson pics - just pretty pony

Our lateral work has been amazing as of late, but this night she was a bit too nervous to get soft and I found it very difficult to get her haunches moving with her forehand. Instead, she would often pop the shoulder and curve her neck to the inside too much. C was trying very hard to get the concept "when in doubt, release" into my head. I really struggled with release on a spooky horse, but when I did, she went so much better.

After half pass and shoulders in work, C had us do a new exercise of trotting a figure-eight, except cutting straight down the center of the circle and focusing on:
1. Asking for the change of bend softly but timely.
2. Straight like its my job on that straight line.
3. Keep her shoulder from falling in on the circle back.


We did this on a 20m circle (to be honest, more like 25ish m oval)

My first go at it, Savvy and I were literally fish-tailing it on the straight line. I got my shit together though, and we steadily improved. Then C asked us to ask for walk in the straight line and then back to trot. This progressed to asking for just 4 steps of walk and back to trot, then 3 and then just 2. It was a great exercise, which seemed so simple in concept, but had a lot going on for us at this point in Savvy's training.

In a week and a half we have a dressage show! It is being held at the super fancy equestrian centre that I took Miss Tea to in the spring. We will be doing test Walk/Trot A, Walk/Trot B and one equitation class. So excited!!

Running away to join the circus...

Last night I went to see the much talked about show, "Odysseo by Cavalia".

The entire production is quite the undertaking. They travel and build a magical wonderland 'big top' which sets the stage quite literally for what to expect inside.

Pictures from the Cavalia website

Within the first moments of starting, the tone is set with calm, quiet horses meandering with their humans. Such a simple-appearing seen, but full of subtle cues and constant interaction between horses and people.

There is plenty of wow factor intermixed with subtle, quiet moments to take your breath away.

There were many horses that clearly loved their job, and of course a couple of horses that would rather go back to the stall. Considering the quantity of tasks and number of horses on stage at a time, I actually expected more moments of lost attention or horses trying to exit stage right!

Overall, this show did not disappoint. I left the show wishing it were not the middle of the night so I could play with the horses. I can totally see Savvy and I galloping around bridle-less, me in a long flowing princess gown, jumping jumps, fancy piaffing and passaging all over the place...hahaha!...Maybe we could.

Training Shiraz: Part 2

"You cannot build a dream on a foundation of sand" [T. F. Hodge] and so it is with horses, the solidity of their initial training can create a base from which great things can someday be achieved...or at least allow me to putter around safely on my pony!

Weaving cones, combining pressure and drawing, and inviting her to think about the task and be more aware of my body language.

I have continued all of the yielding work from before, and I am now adding in drawing her towards me.

Backing from pressure and then drawing her back

I have been working on lots of ground work, being mindful to push her to improve yet not over-face her with anything. Instead of just simply making her do the things, I am trying to set her up to think and problem solve.


 

When I send her on a circle I am giving her the task of maintaining the circle until I invite her to stop. Love how she is already starting to stay on task with a loose line and keeps her inside ear on me waiting for her next task.

A little fun at the beginning of trot work!

We have been practicing parking at the mounting block with me leaning over her back and working on both sides equally. Now is the time to get up and begin working on one-rein stop!

Shiraz being a super star at the mounting block.

I worked on one-rein stop for a while on both sides. I am looking for not just the stop, but yielding her head and flexing her neck with softness.

I finished up with basic turns where I am asking with my leg and seat, but use the stick to help her make the connection. So far so good!

Dressage Day Two - magical pony belated update

Better late than never! Slow and steady progress has been happening with Savvy this summer. The Give-It-A-Go Dressage weekend we attended was incredibly useful, presenting Savvy with all sorts of new experiences.


This nose.

Day one was all about just taking it all in and hoping Savvy would settle a bit. Day two would be the fun show with our dressage test scheduled for 1:00 - perfect for an entire morning of warm ups, down time and show prep, i.e. braiding!!

The morning went all as planned and Savvy was really starting to relax and begin to realize I was indeed on her back asking her to do things.

By the time it was our turn to ride the test, I felt as ready as I could be. Savvy is so green yet, my goal was to simply do the test accurately - as in walk/trot/stop in the right spots. And we did! No spooks, no attempted escapes over the little fence.

We are working on properly riding into the bit and because she is soft, responsive and can curl behind the bit so easily, I am taking my time with that and trying to ride her in a way that helps her seek the contact. Right now it is just a lot of head bobbing mixed with fleeting moments of lovely, but we'll get there!

Training Shiraz: Part 1

I am having so much fun with this sweet little 2-year-old! Not all horses are the same, we all know. What I ask of a young horse is pretty much determined by where their mind and body are at. When training Miss Tea, her body was not ready for a rider until she was 4 years old. Her mind at 2 was happy to learn, but was easily overwhelmed. Savvy was also not ridden until she was 4--although her body developed nicely for the weight early, her mind was...well lets just say we are now at 6 years old starting to see she might actually have one.

Shiraz is pretty much blowing me away with her stable mind, ability to stay on task and interest in learning something new. I am not about to let that boat sail and I am jumping right in on showing her all the things.

I have discussed what she has done up until now in an earlier post. Now it is time for some more serious ground work which will be the foundation of all her future schooling. I like to think of it as teaching her the alphabet. All the ground work I am starting with will be the letters we need to make whole words later. Much of the early training techniques I will use, I have learned from Glenn Stewart, a natural horsemanship instructor in Canada. I have mixed that knowledge with my own experience working with horses and have come up with a plan of action that works for me. Horses and people are all different, so it is good to be flexible. If one thing is not working, I am always open to try something new.

Poles help us both work on straightness in the backup

I am starting with basic yielding. I want to be able to move all parts of her body independently with different types of pressure. I am not just looking for a yield, but asking for her to use her body correctly with each step.

Yeilding her forehand - looking for outside front to cross over and put weight into haunches for turn

I will do this type of ground work with her not just now but later in her training to keep her on track with correct use of her body as well as maintaining respect and softness.

Sideways - looking for straightness, crossing legs closest to me over the others. A tough one!

Not surprisingly, Shiraz is doing incredibly well with all I am asking of her so far. She is so laid back, my biggest problem is getting her soft and reactive. She has really lovely natural carriage and conformation; she pretty much walks like a ballerina and it is easy to get the correct movement so far.

Practicing mounting block parking...ya, the helmet...do you think I got on? ;)

Wicked is as wicked does

Meyla the wonder pony is slowly revealing to us all her wondrous and impish traits.

What? I'm perfect.

 

First of all, her love of grass is surpassed by nothing. If there be grass--head be going down!

 

Second, she knows the difference between an adult rider and a beginner rider--and does not hesitate to take advantage.

First lesson for Aiden and Meyla was a rough start: Aiden had a really hard time getting Meyla to go. Lesson number two went better as we brought a crop. Forward movement happened. But then Meyla had an idea. How about lying down?  Yes, she did. Forget that Icelandics are supposed to be called a 'horse'. She is P.O.N.Y. through and through!

Some tears and hugs later, Aiden got back on (Yay!!) and I stayed close by for the remainder of the lesson, just in case.

My son is deep in the trenches of learning to ride on this creature. If he comes out on the other side still riding, he is going to be one hell of a horseman!