whose job is it, anyway?

The nice thing about not having anything pressing on the agenda is that.... Eh, we can focus on emphasizing balance and enjoyment in 'getting going.'

Right now, all our 'real' riding happens inside the indoor arena. Which is small and dusty and not the most inspirational place. But it's where Doozy (/me, let's be real) feels secure enough to go about the basics of walk-trot-canter.

look who didn't get anybody killed in the outdoor dressage ring!!

I'm hoping that pairing this routine with regular (ideally weekly, but we'll see after the time changes) extended walks out into the fields or along the driveway or bridle paths, or even other outdoor arenas will help Doozy understand that expectations don't really change even when the venue is different.

pretty girl <3

We made some nice progress last week, too, when Doozy accompanied a friend up to the dressage ring and didn't totally melt down! Actually, she was pretty solid except for a few little outbursts like when friend's horse had a noisy stumble while trotting behind us, or when a rattle trap car cruised by in the driveway. 

She wasn't perfect, and I didn't try to trot or anything like that... But she was good. And, when I dismounted in the center of the ring in a moment of soft relaxation, she seemed like, 'wow, that was all?' and was happy to stand relaxed for getting the girth loosened and a few pictures (above). Considering last time she was in this arena, she couldn't even hand walk successfully... We'll take it. 

Small steps, y'all!

lolz none of charlie's boots fit her

It does mean, tho, that for the rides when we ARE working, we need to keep developing the tools I'll need to help keep her focused and with me during those outside moments. Like, getting serious about introducing bend etc so that Doozy can't keep using her neck against me.

this weekend's homework: Turning!!! diagonals have "honesty blocks" in the corners (foreground of picture), and that semi-circular bending line of 3 can go in both directions. spacing is generous on everything (including the corner blocks)

So for our next two schooling sessions, I rearranged all the various exercises we've worked on to focus more on turning and corners. Everything was intended to be smooth sweeping turns, and gentle corners --- basically relatively easy to accomplish even if we weren't super supple, but at least introducing the concepts. 

photos + videos are from our second day riding these exercises, when we (obvi) had company in the ring

And it was a SUPER useful ride for me. Bc Doozy is still kinda just a tense horse, ya know? We were alone for our first ride (Saturday), and she wanted to be rushing and tight in the trot. Tho, notably, she could always come back to a relaxed walk. 

I had to keep reminding myself that our whole intent right now is: rhythm + relaxation. That I had to guide Doozy through the exercises and into the pace I want, that she's not just gonna figure it out herself if I don't tell her. And I also tried to channel lessons from a million years ago with Dan C: when he told me that, 'if what you're doing isn't working, slow it down.'

had some seriously good feelings in this ride's canters, even if i don't necessarily look it lol

So if we would come across the diagonal into the corners with the blocks, and felt like we were kinda motorcycling in trot... Just bring it back down to walk and get the bend I'm looking for, then try to recreate at trot. 

I also tried to be more disciplined in my own positioning, steering, and balance through the bending line of 3 poles. As in, ride them as if I was in a lesson and would be told to repeat it again if I didn't ride as well as I could. Like, it's ok for Doozy to make mistakes -- but this is my chance to set her up as well as I can for each exercise. 

mare is werkin it!

Her canter was pretty solid, tho a bit more porpoising than I'd totally expect at this point. Which we tried to address with a different half pad in Sunday's ride. Regardless, we cantered a few more circles than normal -- AND, Doozy even cantered her first ground poles!! One off each lead :D

The pole was in the short end so we had a nice bending approach, and they came nicely out of stride without much consideration on her part. That could change on a long straight approach, but I was obvi pretty pleased with her. And obvi we repeated again in our second ride of the weekend so there's video yas!

pretty happy with this picture, not gonna lie
(even tho obvi we can always find things to improve!)

Our second day of riding all these exercises was even better. We had another horse in the ring, which is now officially A Good Thing for Doozy. It's hard to tell if the difference in our execution is bc we were doing it all for the second time in a row, or if it was just bc we weren't alone. Honestly, not sure I really care at this point haha! 

Doozy seemed to understand in this ride that I wanted a slower trot, and actually a couple times went a bit too far in that direction -- getting a little stuck in place. Like, not stuck stuck, but enough where I had to put on a lot of leg. 

yasss mare, go get it!!! (and hold mane, emma!!!)

All the same, she went about and did all the exercises easy as pie. Which, good lol. It should be easy, and should be nbd. That's a big reason why I'm so ground pole-centric in these early rides with her: to make them feel easy and normal, and also bc.... ground poles don't lie. 

Like, you either traveled over the center, or you didn't. They're like built in fact checkers haha -- did that feel nice? Balanced? Easy? Cool! Or did you miss your turn, scramble across, have to yank around the corner halfway through? Ok, nbd, but see what you can change next time to make it better.

finishing the ride like a princess

Probably the biggest stand out for this ride was the canter --- Doozy had some really nice moments in canter where I felt like I was actually riding her in a balance. Like, sure sure my position still kinda sucks and I'm still way too defensive with my hands, plus obvi we do still motorcycle around a little bit... 

But the good moments are happening, and more frequently. And natch, Doozy repeated her new skill of cantering ground poles <3 <3 Good girl!

link to video of trot + canter poles

So, overall, a very productive collection of recent rides. Biggest takeaways are:

1. It really is my job to ride Doozy where I want her, and not just endlessly lap around waiting for her to somehow just magically figure it out. Key mantra: "Make a difference."

2. Lessons will help with this! And esp will help with continuing to untangle some of my terrible position habits that are made worse by nerves/defensiveness.

sweaty girl after some real 'work,' considering it was 80*F on saturday (oof)

3. We need to continue experimenting on riding with and without company to better understand Doozy's nervous tension. I think she was happier this ride bc we weren't alone. But I also used a different half pad -- was that part of the difference too? Lots to play with!

4. It's pretty remarkable how consistent Doozy is with her walk. Even when the trot is really tense, or after cantering, or when she's worked up, the walk is basically always free, fluid, and four beats. This is definitely something worth preserving!

post-bath grazing

I'm obviously super grateful for the video my friend snagged yesterday, esp after our more tense ride on Saturday. While I naturally kinda want to zero in on all the things that need work, there's a lot in the video that, to me, feels validating. 

Hope you all had a nice weekend full of ponies too!