friday flatwork finish

Happy Friday, guys!! If I’d known I’d have these video clips today, I would have waited to post yesterday’s dressage lesson recap, bc they’re fairly well representative of how we’re going!

Oh well, as it is, you got cat pics yesterday, and then my barn mate surprised me by snagging a bunch of nice clips while Doozy and I rode last night, so here ya go, more footy!

in case you wondered whether 3 months of yoga was enough to make me not tip forward LOL

And I am who I am, so obviously I like to pore over the videos and try to connect my feelings to how it looks. Bc it basically never looks how it feels. 

This ride was a little tricky too, bc I wanted to keep working on the test practice, while also continuing (as always and forever) to keep establishing “solidly on the aids” as status quo. Versus the alternative of just letting Doozy spin around at trot or canter for a few minutes each and calling it good. 

our combined biomechanic imperfections made tracking left a little softer in this ride

It’s easy to get suckered into avoiding a lot of contact at the walk, lest the mare anticipate and get tense or jiggly. And practicing a lot of transitions is a great way to make a fizzy horse boil over. Except, obviously, we have proof that when done tactfully and intentionally, the opposite can be true too. 

I don’t know that I totally succeeded in this ride with the whole “tactful and intentional” bit, let’s be real LOL, but it felt like productive practice anyway. 

i think i’m just getting greedy bc the soft moments feel so nice when they happen!

Doozy got a bit tense and tight at times, but mostly kept her shit together. I’ve been working on really exaggerated half halts lately — bringing the pace and tempo wayyyyyy down in trot. Mostly just to try to show her the pattern. Make it as clear as possible, vs kinda just hanging on at a dull roar while she flattens into a run. 

And I think it’s working? My hope is that we could in theory carry a little more forward tempo in an actual dressage test (well, real talk, I might not actually get a choice there!), but that by practicing and schooling in a more contained manner, maybe it’ll be less likely for us to get completely strung out?

trying not to throw myself forward at the mare the second she gives a little lol

I also am trying to be really aware of whether my posture really looks braced against the horse from the judge’s perspective. Which, in the video, it totally does in places especially when I’m tipping forward with my arms straightened down instead of elbows bent. Again, in theory it’d be a lot easier to mask how strong Doozy is if I don’t give it away to the judge with my posture. 

this is a better representation of the “workmanlike but not soft” feeling we have most of the time. 
still miles better than the totally tense and inside out feeling!

Then ya know. There are all the other normal observations we can make every time I get new media lol — I still collapse through my inside core, while twisting my seat to the outside. It’s like my body has this weird idea that if I drop my inside shoulder, that’ll magically get my weight down into that inside leg. Hasn’t been true yet, but for some reason I keep doing it LOL!

canter is still a bit of a hot mess, which is a shame bc she has such a nice canter naturally!
all things in time, tho, amirite?

Our canters in this ride were particularly rough around the edges, but kinda a little bit on purpose. And maybe in a productive way? The transitions I was quite happy with in general (tho none are in the video), which gives me hope that we really are more truly connected on the aids — since, recall last summer we were having problems bucking and kicking into the canter, which I attributed to being behind the leg. 

However Doozy’s a bit habituated to just kinda taking off once in canter, and in this ride I really tried to bring her back together, almost too collected, right from the very first stride. Like, right away, trying to get almost a “square turn” or “spiral” feeling with the outside aids. Again, I think in an actual test environment the horse will naturally already be traveling more forward — so hopefully we can find a happy medium?

about 2.5min of various clips from our ride

As always, I’m just happy to have the media. Mostly bc I like seeing where we are in general, but especially right now bc I feel like there are real glimmers of excitement in this work, real moments where things kinda come together. 

Obviously I’m biased, but I quite like Doozy’s natural gaits — she can have a very handsome way of going. It’s just dealing with the tension, which is obviously compounded / limited by my own abilities etc. Like she’s not just gonna magically go better than how I ride, right? 

But then again, thinking back to where we were last winter when we first got more serious about dressage saddle shopping… Ya know. Some things have changed, ahem, for the better. LOL. It’s not always easy to see in the day to day, but it’s nice to have the reminder!

Anyway. Happy Friday, friends! Hope you’re all looking forward to a nice weekend! We’re actually supposed to have our first show of the season (omg!) which I’m normally too superstitious to post about in advance… but eh, the only folks left on this platform are either kindred spirits or AI bots sooooooo there it is lol, wish us luck! 

trying out the 2026 tests

It’s honestly so great having a regular schedule with dressage trainer C this year. We found a mutually convenient bi-weekly time (that I suspect will be even more convenient when the horses switch to summer hours), and I’ve got my calendar blocked in perpetuity. 

Perfect!

tyrannical red mare scatters her pony friends like pins in a bowling alley!

Well. Ok, haha, mostly perfect…. Since it’s still horses, after all! We missed last week’s lesson bc of Doozy’s lost shoe. Tho, fortunately with the bi-weekly routine we could make it up this week instead, and then hopefully get right back onto the normal cadence again next week. Love. 

well. she tries LOL

Normally I like to just let trainer C have her way with us. She has so many students, has been teaching for so long in general, and teaching me in particular for more than a decade now… It’s easy to trust the direction of her coaching. But she’s exceptionally good at teaching ring craft and test practice too — so that’s what we did this week, with the new 2026 BN-A test!

perfectly pleasant for hill hacks tho!

Obviously basically all of low level eventing tests are some variation of training level dressage… Basically just showing your gaits in both directions on simple large figures and patterns. 

They aren’t the most exciting or inspired patterns, and in fact often give the impression of being almost a bit of a formality anyway — like the test designers are trying to see how quickly they can check all the boxes to get horses in and out of the ring.

literally eating…. trash?

That’s great if you’re riding a half asleep school master who could do the low levels backwards on three legs… But actually can produce a slightly hectic choppy and frazzled tempo to the tests for our slightly, er, less established horse and rider partnerships. Like, ahem, me and Doozy!

anyway. cats. 

The BN A test is plain enough on paper — enter using that weird broken center line so you don’t have to aim straight at the Judge’s Booth of Doom. Trot your circle basically immediately tho. 

Trainer C’s sage advice: ride that first corner after the broken center line extra deep, then as you start your circle at C it’s easier to show a difference in your track. Same idea reversed for the final quadrant of the circle and the following corner, really taking advantage of making a first impression when you’re right in front of the judge.

absolute hooligan, squeakiest of ink blots, purveyor of random creepy lost baby cat teeth

Then it’s right into a circle at your middle letter — developing your canter on the circle sorta like in the Intro C test. Except after years of eventing tests using this transition point to send you on 1.5 rotations of the circle (one full lap at canter), the BN A test says, “ain’t nobody got time for all that! (and may dog have mercy on your soul if you misfire leads!)” and keeps the rotation at 1.0, sending you right back down the long side toward A, transitioning to trot before the corner.

ok ok, back to the horse!!

Then there’s actually a nice little breather for us, using the short end at A to hopefully get our shit together if the canter got us strung out, then crossing the diagonal, hopefully again utilizing necessary changes of bend etc to stay organized. Right into another trot circle in front of the judge at C — again with the strategic use of corners, showing a difference in track / line of travel.

handsome doozy, ready to ride some dressage!

Then, at least for me and Doozy, things get… potentially more hectic. We are already notorious for getting increasingly strung out as we go, but then we repeat again the same canter pattern — picking it up on the circle but only doing exactly 1.0 rotations before continuing toward A. 

Except — sweet mother of jesus, you better be ready to trot asap, bc then you’re walking in the corner after A, then free walking the long diagonal, then trotting again by the time you are past the judge, trotting straight down the whoooooole long side toward A (and, presumably, toward the promised land, given how most shows are laid out), before whipping back up the center line to halt, salute.

aaaaaand back on the cats again… this time with denizens of the barn!

Doozy was actually quite good for the whole lesson, and particularly the test practice. Tho, interestingly, not “good” in like a classically supple soft round way… But an entirely new type of good for us: the kind of workmanlike good where she sorta kinda phoned it in, like “Yea yea I know my job, whatever,” but… actually did just go about doing her job. Which like… Cool? 

Honestly, I appreciate that Doozy is such an overachiever most of the time, but that’s also a big part of her explosive energy and frequent tension. If she wants to show up to an actual competition and just be like, “Siiiigh, this again!” I’d be toooootally fine with that!

OG: *literally growling*
Pebbles: *blissfully ignorant!*

I digress, tho. Anyway — yes she was perfectly fine for this lesson, but the test definitely feels a little rapid fire for us, particularly that second canter into free walk, into exit. All the transitions feel kinda stacked on top of each other, especially given that we tend to be more in the “slow to develop” category for down transitions. 

“I told him not to touch my butt… so we compromised and he’s touching my butt.”
(the deep sigh of resignation at the end kills me LOL)

In a weird way, tho, maybe the test will suit us? My habit so often is to kinda shift into survival mode and sorta whip us through the pattern… But maybe this new version will force me to stay more present and ride more proactively? 

Doozy seems to prefer the proactive approach, it keeps her more calm and relaxed to be constantly given clear directions vs sorta left an ambiguity. I’ve known this from the beginning, but the Brit Bot definitely confirmed it, and even Dan pointed it out in our last lesson. 

So ya know. I just gotta remember that. And, ahem, cough cough, execute on that… A girl can dream, right?

snacks with friends!

Anybody who’s been along for the ride with Doozy knows we had a bit of a bumpy start to the year last year. For a couple different reasons — firstly bc she’d been NQR with suspected hoof bruising on and off the whole winter; but secondly bc I kinda incorrectly assumed we’d be able to just pick back up where we left off at the end of the previous season. 

field trip with friends!!!

Which… lol. Is NOT how Doozy rolls, apparently! But we got our mojo back by breaking things down into more “bite-sized outings,” an approach that was also reaffirmed by none other than Boyd Martin himself. Tho ya know. Life is what it is, and we still haven’t really made it particularly far afield this spring other than a couple lessons.

doozy trying to act like the grown up of the group LOL

But this weekend we had the perfect opportunity to check all the right boxes: A barn mate has been eager to get her bebe young Morgan off farm for positive low key experiences. Obviously, renting the rings at one of our favorite local farms, Tranquillity, could suit that purpose nicely!

taking pictures of each other taking pictures of each other

AND it would be a nice venue for putting Doozy through her paces and jumping some “new” jumps, but without a full blown show atmosphere. Perfect!

bc having fun with horses is quite literally the whole point lol

Doozy doesn’t get to travel with friends all that often, but it’s always a good experience. Especially when that friend is a field mate and Doozy gets to remember that she can still focus on her own work despite maybe wishing she could socialize instead lol.

pictured: FUN!!

For our purposes, I tried to treat our warm up as if we were preparing for dressage at a show. My habit, to be honest, is to ride Doozy a little delicately at shows, just trying to keep an even keel etc, vs putting on a lot of pressure and amping up the tension. Which… ya know. Fine, right?

lol doozy is locked ‘n loaded

It remains true that our flatwork really is not good when the horse is very tense. It’s just a fact, it’s why relaxation is one of the fundamental pillars of dressage. Slowly, however, I like to believe that Doozy is learning to trust the aids, trust the connection, and hopefully learning to work into the contact even when tense, vs the two of us kinda just spiraling onto the doom loop.

wheeeeeee mare!!!

And honestly Doozy WAS super good throughout our flatwork! She stayed mostly on the aids, mostly in the correct bend(ish), and I was mostly able to stay present and active as a rider. We’re gonna call that a win lol.

ok i did actually set two jumps to BN height to at least say we did it lol

Because eventually it was time to play around with some little jumps!! I say “little” bc I only reset like three of them before getting on to ride, and only two to full height. But who cares, right? Certainly not Doozy! She’s just happy to be jumping lol.

we match the jump lol

We warmed up catching a couple little singles, then finished with a nice little 5-jump course. Nothing crazy, no related lines, just long sweeping turns to singles. Virtually all verticals, tho it is Tranquillity so there was plenty of boxes and filler etc. 

video of our little course here

And Doozy was so good! She was nicely forward and had a good feeling to all the jumps — none of the little rhythm disruptions in the last few steps like we had at the lesson with Sally a couple weeks ago. And it felt like I could find a decent balance of not holding her too backwards if I could focus on letting the hind legs travel.

straight cheesin’

All in all, quite a nice little ride. Nothing earth shattering, LOL, not perfect. But fun, positive and productive! And that’s all it needs to be, right?

no hour wasted, amirite?

Especially since my barn mate had such a positive experience too! She’d already had her mare out on some off farm adventures last year, but they were always alone and the horse was often quite stressed — especially by the trailering. Having our two horses together for this trip seemed to really help, and both horses finished the day at the trailer, including loading up to go home, looking relaxed and confident.

good girl, Doozy

Slowly but surely, Doozy is figuring out the job, realizing that it’s not getting harder or crazier or anything like that, nothing really changes even when we go other places or other horses are around. It’s just the same old thing, no big deal, no muss no fuss. Well. Eventually hopefully it’ll be “no fuss,” lol. Maybe. 

friday the 13th

Happy Sunday, folks! And just a quick friday foto finish sunday snapshot summary today. I would have posted sooner but… Had my hands just a little full, because……….:::

resistance is futile

Omg I finally got a new kitten <3 <3 <3

so are focused pictures LOL

Obvi this is a horse blog, more or less narrowly focused on documenting that aspect of my life. But ya know. My blog, my rules, and I also like capturing key moments, milestones, memories, etc etc etc.

fierce creature

I didn’t really document in real time my longtime kitty Martini’s battle with cancer, and his eventual passing. Nor did I post much about adopting a new kitty companion, Jojo, to fill the hole Martini left in my and OG’s life. Bc, ya know, I figured I had a lifetime ahead with Jojo, little snapshots would just filter into the blog, as they have with my cats for the last 10 years.

“what the fuck is that” — OG, for sure lol

But then Jojo broke all our hearts when after just four months together, he went into acute distress and was diagnosed at the emergency clinic with late stage heart failure. Talk about a gut punch.

kitten may or may not be nicknamed donald trump bc he just starts kissing, doesn’t even say hello first LOL

Obvi that was unexpected in many ways, and it left me a bit flummoxed about what to do next. Introducing adult kitties is a challenge, and honestly a bit of a gamble… but we’d done everything by the book and all signs pointed toward longterm happiness with the kitties. 

apparently still hard to take a picture even when sleeping

It had been a lot of work tho, and honestly a lot of stress too, esp for sweet OG. So we took the last few months to figure out whether it seemed like he wanted to be an only kitty or if he needed a friend again. 

“for real, tho, what the fuck” — OG, secretly excited by the enrichment

Obvi if you’re reading this, you’ll know we landed on, “Let’s get him a friend.”

already a pest while i try to work <3

And this time it’s just a little kitten instead of a young adult cat. The kitten is essentially a blank slate, no baggage or past trauma, and no expectations other than shelter, food and love. Wish us luck!

speaking of pests <3 <3 <3, it’s the Mamacita herself, Ms Señorita! 

Maybe it’s just the season, tho, but I’m feeling optimistic. The days are longer, the weather is getting more mild… More bipolar, sure — we may or may not have gone from 80*F to snowing and 30*F in 24hrs last week… But conditions are so markedly improved that the outdoor arena footing was rideable again even just two days after that storm!

stop the presses bc we are OUTSIDE OMG, and the footing is PERFECT!!

Which means that, as of at least this writing, we’ve now logged TWO rides outside just in the last week!!! Considering the ring had been too soggy and wet since, uh, *checks notes* at least November, this is a pretty big step!

this actual literal pile of poles is probably not the safest jump construction in the world, but who cares, jompies outside!!!

And I swear Doozy is happier out there. Like, she’s still who she is — distracted and a little ADHD and as eager as ever to leap off into the unknown… But she’s maybe less spooky? 

outdoor ring is bounded on all sides by turnout, meaning no matter where you are it always has a ‘horse safe’ feeling

It’s also so nice to have a little more room to feel like we can ride more forward, while still testing that the responsiveness to the aids still works. And guys, it feels like the schooling is really truly still working! 

nosiest mare in the world, spying on her bebe morgan friend at the far end

I’m trying to do better about being clear in my aids, consistent in my expectations, and more steady and still in my posture. 

Dan really hammered me in our last lesson about how much my seat and position moved side to side with Doozy’s movement. My thought had been that it was better to stay fluid and soft if Doozy was going to be so rigid and tense, but Dan said it’s actually the opposite — I needed to be fixed and still and ‘in one place’ so that Doozy could come to me, rather than my aids kinda bouncing all over the place.

speaking of bebe morgan friend, she’s growing up too!

Aaaand go figure, the professional was right LOL. And honestly if you read that last lesson recap, it was a real test for us — with so many distractions and chaotic happenings going on while we tried to trot our circles. It was a real struggle, but honestly it feels like we both learned a LOT from that experience — especially Doozy. And especially about the consistency, safety and security of coming onto the aids even when we’d rather be distracted and flighty.

it’s all ahead of us!

So things are feeling positive. Lots to look forward to, hopefully. On little nibble, one little milestone inch-Pebble at a time!

reunited just in time!

I don’t think winter is fully done with us yet… but hot damn, it’s been LOVELY this week!

casually watching me search fruitlessly for her lost shoe. no doubt she knows exactly where it is, too…
also omg her nostrils… she is so extra lol 

Like, all my windows at home wide open type lovely. Warm, sunny, mild, all the nice things! And the horses are definitely appreciating it too! 

casually considering a little light dog-icide

And even better — my farrier was able to swing by and set a new shoe on Doozy’s stricken limb, hallelujah! I still have so much PTSD from Charlie’s foot-related fragility that it’s hard for me to relax again until the horse is fully shod and demonstrably comfortable. 

“i’ll let you live this time, but i have my eye on you!” — doozy, no doubt

Doozy, it should be noted, however, does not share my PTSD. And it was so nice out after her shoe was reset, and so many people were out and riding, it honestly felt like it’d be a crime to NOT throw on some tack and swing a leg over, ya know?

omg finally — our first hack of 2026!

I had intentions of meandering up the hill to the indoor where a few friends were already mid ride, but Doozy had other ideas haha. She set off on a marching pace straight down the lane toward the back hay fields. And who am I to deny her???

presumably the woods are still slippy sloppy mud, but the fields were perfect!

Honestly can’t remember the last time we hacked out, actually. The farm is so hilly and it’s been so snowy and icy and wet for so long… It’s probably been at least December, but maybe actually maybe even November since we’ve been out there…

it was legit almost 80*F out too, omg

Doozy clearly missed it tho, and was happy to wander around the hills, grabbing occasional bites of grass bc she’s obviously spoiled rotten haha. 

all these shrubs are gonna start sprouting buds any day now

I’m not getting my hopes all the way up yet, but it also looks like the outdoor ring might finally be opening for the season too!!

happy hacking <3 <3 <3

Obvi I’m beyond grateful to have indoor riding spaces, it’s made all the difference with keeping us on a more or less even keel this winter… But I also won’t be sad if we don’t have to ride inside again for the foreseeable future LOL!

oooh and a quick little bridle tag DIY mod!

Especially as we start thinking about gearing up for the season ahead, it’ll be good to be more out in the open, moving about in wide open spaces while staying accountable for our pace and balance without the passive influence of solid walls lol.

sure, i could have just bought a new number holder that was designed with a pin… 

I’ve also started doing a little light inventory work of all the various pieces of equipment that scattered every which way over the off season. In particular, Doozy became increasingly funny about things touching her ears last year. Her hair is a primary annoyance… but we also had some issues with my bridle tag too. 

So my hope is that a little light modification will transform it semi-permanently into a saddle pad number holder instead. Repurposing > buying new (if it works lol).

but eh, this’ll do! probably!

It’s also maybe time to shake out all the show clothes, do a little laundry, see what’s what. See if anything needs any attention or fixing / cleaning up before going out in public again. Not that I’m exactly a shining example of style and grooming, let’s be real (lol), but you know how it is. 

Spring cleaning season is officially upon us, as far as I’m concerned! Anybody else feeling the same?