first hill hack!

A byproduct of moving both my horses to new farms last month is that it gave me the opportunity to think more seriously about what I really want in a boarding facility. 

doozy + lacey continue to do quite nicely as new pasture buddies!

It's all fun and games to hypothetically consider "must haves" vs "would be nice," but things get real when it comes to actually evaluating available options.

kitties are good too, clearly eager to be frens with whoever will feed them LOL

Every farm is unique, with its own way of doing things, own community ethos, and combination of resources (land, water, shelter, riding facilities, etc). 

for today's post: our first solo hack about adventure! there are trails in the woods too, but i'll get a guide for that

Personally, I've always preferred spacious barns with lots of room to roam and plenty of options for riders, on top of good turnout. It's nice to have a little variety, ya know?

explored a few little pasture lanes, tho!

When I first toured Doozy's farm (over a year ago, bc good lord, this change has been a long time coming!), access to open fields, hills, and trails was a major point of interest.  

there are nice little dog leg trails so you don't have to hack the gravel utv roads

Doozy and I have honestly done very little hacking. There were a few field jaunts during her cellulitis recovery last year, sure, but I can probably count on one hand the number of times we properly hacked out or did trails since she's been in regular work. And even then, it was always with a friend or group. 

eventually we reached the back field --- only direction is UP!
also, peep those fun little jompies!

Tho obviously Doozy has come a long way over the months. She's traveled to all sorts of new places for lessons and schooling trips and competitions. Not even mentioning all the little wanders around the last farm getting to and from the riding arenas. It might not have been "proper hacking," but maybe it had the same effect on the horse. 

poor dooz was NOT expecting the huge climb, 30m vertical gain! felt like we were on top of the world, looking back over the low spots toward the big blue indoor in the distance

So when I determined that we'd worked hard enough in the rings lately, and it was time for a little low-key wandering, Doozy was game!! 

previous pic taken from the first peak high point, blue indoor sits on the second, slightly lower peak. there's a stream crossing the property (apparently the trails cross it!) that accounts for the lowest point

Eventually the timing will work out to ride along with some of our new boarder friends, many of whom seem to love trail riding and hacking. Until then, tho, I felt brave enough to go exploring along the various laneways and back fields.

 

more little jompies!! kinda narrow and small, more like hunter pace jumps than proper schooling fences, but still fun!

There are little gravel lanes all over the property for UTVs and tractors and what have you... Tho I was pleased to find that most were also crisscrossed by grassy and wooded paths for horses and riders who maybe preferred the scenic (and less steep) routes around the farm. 

the hillside ahead of us is where i opted to turn back toward home. it is SO STEEP i'm not even sure we could safely walk down it in such dry hard ground conditions! 

And the back fields are wide open for hacking. Tho, I'll say, the hills around here are no joke. It's going to take a little time figuring out the best ways for traversing the ground without constantly going straight up and down the fall lines!

turning back toward home base

Doozy was hilarious about the first big march up the hill --- I just got up off her back and gave her her head, and for the briefest second she thought about bursting into trot up the hill. Which, like, fine haha -- if that's what you want! But she thought better of it and pushed onward at a walk. And was quite happy to pause at the top for a deep breath lol!

there are little laneways everywhere!

We really don't have a lot of experience riding together on hills yet, and conditions right now aren't super forgiving --- hard slick dry ground isn't great for traction, ya know?

doozy was so so SO good for this solo hack -- honestly really her first ever solo hack into the unknown

I'll eventually map out all the laneways on my elevation app to try to figure out where the best conditioning spots might be for longer, less steep climbs and descents. Ideally there will be some sort of loop we can put together for trotting over the more gradual inclines. 

really really smitten with this critter <3 <3

And I'm really interested in seeing what the woods are like too -- supposedly there's a nice big creek crossing in there somewhere! Not sure how Doozy will cope with that, to be honest, but we'll find out eventually!

just generally a big fan of all the critters too haha --- behold my future frens!

One thing's for sure, tho --- we're both definitely going to get a lot of passive conditioning just from constantly navigating the hills haha. All that terrain makes for a nice counterpoint to the typical schooling on flat surfaces we do in the ring. 

just another day in paradise <3

Plus it's just nice to get a break from the ring sometimes. Thankfully so far Doozy seems pretty game about it all!

je ne sais quoi

One of the biggest advantages of our new digs is new coaching opportunities!! Particularly on-site coaching, omg! 

AND! Imagine my delight when I learned this farm is frequented by a local upper level eventing pro who's been on my coaching short list for a few years at this point! Let's call her KO, and we had our first lesson last week. Much excitement, guys!

no new riding pictures, so instead let's revisit trotting pics from doozy's first couple months with me -- august 2023 to january 2024

It's going to sound like déjà vu, and maybe basic, but we all know riding is more than just knowing the words "inside leg to outside hand." For me, it's all about the real time coaching and corrections. The puppet mastery etc. 

d'aww, who remembers that scrawny neck tho <3

KO started the session by explaining her interpretation and understanding of the French philosophy of horse training and riding, then dove into tweaking and adjusting my way of sitting on the horse. 

First instruction? Inside leg to KO really means inside seat. She wanted my weight sinking down from my inside seat bone, down a long leg, and through the heel. We started here, bc duh, but also this is maybe my most original sin faux pas.

august 2023 -- doozy's second post-track ride!!

She suggested Doozy is putting me on the outside, but we all know the truth lol.... I've always loved sitting on the outside of the horse lol, and am notorious for wanting to sit more to the right than the left. 

KO was adamant, tho. Her whole point was that by sitting deeply on my inside seat bone, Doozy should respond by lifting up her inside shoulder and ribcage -- effectively pushing against my push, and straightening her posture in the process. From KO's perspective, this must become my new and most fundamental raison d'être.

september, still recovering from the cellulitis

Bc, obvi, next came the hands.... my hands, my terrible horrible bad hands. My fait accompli, my seemingly irreversible habits... 

Lately I've been riding with my hands more or less pinned to the front of my saddle. Mostly just to keep them anchored and reliable, rather than wandering off hither and yon. I know it's not necessarily the most "correct" hand position, but it's kinda worked well enough for us in at least giving Doozy a reliable and consistent contact, from which she's learned to balance and bend and even trot omg!

october schooling at home -- starting to get consistent!

Tho, KO might rightly observe that what I've actually trained into Dooz to date is more trompe-l'œil than anything else. Meaning that my too-low hands aren't doing anything to actually help the horse adjust her longitudinal balance up off her forehand... 

This matters bc all horses, but especially racehorses, need help learning to raise their carriage up through the wither, in order to give space for the hind legs to step under themselves. 

november, in doozy's first jump lesson!

KO's method is to basically position the rider's aids somewhat passively but very correctly. She wanted to see me raise my hands to level, particularly my left hand. Shorten my reins (surprise surprise) and keep a stable outside elbow. "Tidy."

From this position, just passively, gently, almost incidentally.... ride the horse straight. She encouraged me to spend more time tracking left to establish the straightness, then track right to use that straightness to strengthen Doozy and help bring her right hind up and under.

also november in one of our first dressage lessons

All normal stuff, obviously, but these are the kind of postural adjustments I've historically had trouble getting consistent without routine coaching. 

It was honestly incredible to feel Doozy respond, tho. Guys, she stayed with me the WHOLE ride, really showed a natural savoir-faire, if ya know what I mean! 

december schooling at home

We mostly stayed on a 20m circle the whole time, and worked on holding the same passive but steady position through transitions. KO observed my tendency to kinda get a little rushed and garbled in asking for a transition, and instead coached me into a more laissez-faire style -- asking for the transition almost as if I didn't care whether I got it or not. Especially the canter. 

I really wish there were videos tbh. There were some really incredible moments, at least from what I could feel, and it's exciting to see Doozy learn and develop. This was a hard and intense lesson, but Doozy kept trying the whole time. Didn't get frazzled or tense at all. Progress, y'all! 

january at kealani

It felt like a really solid first lesson, and I'm already looking forward to the next one. Hopefully we'll also start integrating jumping into the mix too, and I may also try out some of the other available on-farm coaching options just to get a sense of the new local flavors haha. 

Now that the mare is settled in, feels like we can just dive right back in to things! It's an exciting feeling ;) Happy Monday, y'all!