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Monday, September 16, 2024

the work

There have been a couple false starts over the last year with Doozy re: training programs. In particular, we've had to learn that, in the land of Dooz, relaxation must be the priority. No ifs, ands, or buts. 

cutie <3
Not every training methodology / trainer we've worked with has fit that bill, but interestingly.... There have been commonalities throughout every program all the same. 

she looks pleased with herself, no?
Almost without fail, each professional we've worked with has identified two key issues:
1) I need to be able to get my leg aids onto the horse, and 
2) The mare wants to lean onto her right shoulder. 

"will chase you down for cookies tho"
So ya know. None of that is new, right? But eh. Maybe it's time to address it lol. We've worked so hard in the last few months to get on the same page re: a standard ride package wherein relaxation is the priority, and we can work through all three gaits in a relatively pleasant and productive way. 

schweet mare
These last few days, tho, I changed the rules. From the moment we step away from the mounting block, my right leg is on. Which.... honestly, for Doozy, probably feels illegal.

amazing management --- freshly dragged ring AND a grass mower!! just normal things at this farm!
But it's been a fascinating little bit of homework for me, tho. By paying attention to keeping my leg on, I'm figuring out just how often..... my leg is off lol. And in what circumstances. 

speaking of mgmt, ignore the mess and peep my new trailer fans!
Like it's fairly easy to get the right posture (for me) while walking. And it's easiest for Doozy too to have the correct response with minimal (altho decidedly non-zero) tension. But once we start trotting?? All bets are off!

trailer has a lot of airflow already, but i still feel a lot of relief with these additions
It's also interesting to try to pay attention to both my lower legs and my upper body at the same time. Bc what we're figuring out is that... I want to tip over to the right while using my right leg --- when what I really need to be doing is making the whole right side of my body longer from shoulder to heel. 

i think mare appreciates too <3
So my objective, while tracking to the right, is to feel like I can sink into my left leg, feel like I've got eyes on the left side of my horse's neck, but also keep my inside right leg down and on. Essentially trying to create some independence between my upper and lower body.

just normal lesson things
Doozy, for her part, wants to be very reactive to the leg aid, and wants to get hurried and flustered. Which, ya know. Fair. It's a big rule change for her, considering we've gotten along this far on the compromise of, "don't fucking touch me with your legs unless you want me to GO."

Which... Come to think of it, isn't much of a compromise LOL.

#NormalizedChaos
But ya know. That's why it's homework, I guess. I'm figuring out that a LOT of our "established" aids kinda lived in this one-sided application -- like our down transitions. Apparently we can only transition down when bent left, which... wow, uh, whoops!

With Charlie, I more or less enabled some of our co-dependencies and compromises, bc many were rooted in his own physical limitations. But with Doozy? I'm still hoping to get a fresh start, correct some of my own bad habits, and hopefully give her a more solid (and straight) foundation to promote her own long-term soundness. 

So we'll keep chipping away at it. 



11 comments:

  1. Interesting! I was thinking about writing a post about playing around with tension verses relaxation with my horse, Shiloh. He is a much older horse than Doozey and a cold-blooded breed. He is usually extremely chill. However, doing certain activities like trotting ground poles can bring out tension if I am not super intentional about paying attention to his roundness, form, and impulsion as we play with the ground poles. Which of course means paying attention to my own riding form in a way that I might not when we are simply moseying around our pasture. It gives me a better sense of how I help or hinder my horse in what I am asking him to do.

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    1. oooh you should definitely write a post about your work with Shiloh! tension in horses is such a big topic, and one that is often kinda glossed over i think. but what i'm learning with doozy is that i have to find a way to deal with and channel the tension *first* before i can really teach her anything in a way that sticks or is productive...

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  2. How dare you change the rules?! Poor Doozy. Carmen can totally relate. And is offended on Doozy’s behalf (and also her own 😁).

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    1. oh lawd, poor doozy -- and poor Carmen! so unfair that we do this... doozy says she was perfectly happy traveling crookedly, thankyouverymuch, and this new idea of bending *the other way* is really for the birds!

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  3. I have similar right leg problems. My right hand would love to compensate by pulling. And emphasized by some bareback rides this week, I would also like to fling my seat left when I "don't get a response" to my right leg (in my mind). Unrelated, I looooove all the Ryobi fans. So convenient, so breezy!

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    1. yea i'm only finally starting to pick apart some of my weird compensation habits.... like the main goal of riding charlie was to *do less* -- like getting my legs off, less nagging, ya know? and so it's been ages since i've had to confront all the weird things i do when i'm trying to ... do more LOL...

      also these fans, i'm so impressed with them -- esp the battery life so far! they came with those dinky little 1.5ah that i figured i'd have to charge for every trip, but they're doing great so far!

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  4. My trainer rode Opie in a lesson with her trainer over the weekend and the consensus was that he doesn't need his hand held at 3rd anymore and it's time for him to learn about ✨️self carriage✨️ Opie thought this rule change was just about the worst idea on the planet. #solidaritydoozie

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    1. ohhhh noooooo, poor Opie --- **self carriage**???? THE HORROR lol... doozy would never!

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  5. I'm having the opposite problem with Cinder; I need to remember to take my leg off and she's expected to maintain herself. It's asking a lot for a horse who has been rehabbing for five months to trot faster than a snail without constant legging.

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    1. oh man, that's totally relatable too!! basically my entire focus with charlie was doing less + getting my leg OFF... it's been a huge adjustment with doozy! good luck with the rehab!

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  6. Poor. POOR Doozy. Having to accept the leg. What a horror story!
    Al says she should just ignore the leg completely. That's what he does. The human tires out a lot faster that way too.
    I have to advise against listening to Al. He never gets to do fun things due to behavior like that.

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