i'm bringin' bascule back

Everybody super excited for yet another rundown of how Doozy and I are deep into reestablishing the basics through building up gymnastic exercises that reaffirm both technique and relaxation over fences??? 

for a little visual stimulation, enjoy unrelated pics from doozy's first TWO trips into the proper woods at her new place!! see the river to the right side of the trail?? #gorgeous

Lol... For real, I know it might sound repetitive and redundant... But, eh, it's where we are in the training. There are many many roads to Rome, sure, but I'd argue that few (if any) entirely bypass boring, consistent and progressive practice. 

Lucky for me (if not for you LOL), I live for the day in, day out, nitty gritty practice. Which, come to think of it, probably explains why I like making my own horses, even if I'm slower and less effective than the typical professional. Ymmv!

pink loop is my estimation of our first little solo jaunt across the grounds. we have since ventured WAY FARTHER !!!

Anyway. When last we checked in with the intrepid red critter, she was learning the ins and outs of the 9' distance. Primarily with 3 ground poles in a line spaced at that distance. Learning to not rush, fling, launch, swan dive, or otherwise plummet / bomb / cannonball through said configuration. 

Then we started adding in the same 3-element exercise, but now with the middle element raised into an actual jump, albeit very small. Doozy got a bit frantic about jumps since Jenny Camp, so the whoooooole idea is to prove that... it's not a big deal! You don't need speed!

doozy had the #WorldsBest chaperones <3 <3 <3

That practice has continued through basically almost every ride, aside from the occasional trail ride or suuuper basic low pressure flat school. Aiming for at least twice weekly practice with actual jumps. 

This past week, we hit a new milestone too! I decided we needed bigger X's in our lives. Two main reasons: 1) to do a better job of capturing Doozy's attention than tiny speed bumps, and 2) to passively encourage straightness and form. 

anyway, tho, the beat goes on. and what we're really talking about are gymnastic exercises to help doozy both improve her jumping technique AND get a little more relaxed about it all.
here we have a big medium X, with flower fill, and 9' takeoff / landing poles 

And it worked! She was still a bit frantic her first time through, but then really nailed it the second time! Then we changed directions and knocked the rail a couple times --- which is annoying bc I have to dismount and reset each time... It was my own fault tho bc I only used one flower box under the center of the X**. See below pics for future efforts where I wised up and used flower boxes on BOTH sides for a ground line. 

Eventually, tho, she really figured out the footwork, and was able to trot all the way up to the first pole and bounce through. Good girl!

**Obvi in the pic above it's not centered but instead was placed on one specific side, bc I was tired of knocking the rail and moved it out to be more of a ground line so we could execute successfully and be done. Ideally, it's a bi-directional exercise tho, so a box on each side is better.

different ride, same idea. big medium X, **two** flower boxes as bi-drectional ground lines, 9' takeoff and landing.
plus our "flat" version of the same exercise right along side. repetition, yo, it's a helluva drug

After that nice little breakthrough, our next ride was a lovely hack through the woods, then a very vanilla flat school amidst an active lesson group (with zero fireworks!), and then right back to the jumping exercises again!

It's nice that the ring is right next to the driveway, bc I can basically scope out the traffic / occupancy situation on my way in, and stop to set my stuff up if the coast is clear! For this last ride, I replicated the ground poles and X, and also set up takeoff / landing poles for a vertical.

some variation within the structure tho: a small vertical, still with a lot of fill and 9' takeoff and landing poles

And guys --- Doozy got the memo, in no uncertain terms! She was incredible this ride!! And the thing is --- it's not just the exercises where she feels good, it's everything in between too. 

For example, a week ago she could canter cleanly through the 3 ground poles, but might kinda careen off afterward, requiring some work to regain balance. It felt like I was sorta "holding her together" through the exercise, basically only delaying the explosion vs avoiding it entirely. 

And now? Guys --- she's holding her own self together, omg! She can canter away from the ground poles in almost exactly the same balance she had going in. Or, at least, it takes very little work or time to find that balance again, with almost no sacrifice on 'line of travel.' 

aaaaaaand back to those cool pleasant and neon green woods!

And for the actual jumps?? Ugh I was so proud of her <3 <3 She still had moments of getting excitable and breaking into canter before reaching the first placing pole (I'm still trotting into everything except for the flat ground poles at this point), but even then still understood the footwork and could bounce through nicely!

We knocked the X once, but it was just a normal run of the mill mistake for a big horse being asked to compress through an exercise --- vs a frantic horse flatly rushing through. Nbd, just dismount, reset, and jump it again!

lots of pets for a good girl, even if she was a bit suspicious of the ferns!

Doozy finally gave me the feeling again of really lifting her wither and jumping around the fence, rather than launching over it. Finally!! 

And it was reproducible too, we had like 5 good efforts in a row, and I broke my own habit of quitting too early and said, Let's go one more time! And so Doozy went right on ahead and executed the vertical again perfectly. What a mare!

power walking up the big hill!

I really love these exercises and this practice.... Bc other than me using my voice and some gentle cues, it's mostly just Doozy figuring out the exercise construction on her own. Which, ya know, since she's Queen Of Jompies, Knower Of Everything, she much prefers that style of learning vs me manhandling her around. 

My only real job is to keep my hands soft (aka -- hold the neck strap!), and go with her. 

and obvi, a bonus charles <3 <3
here he is standing right in the middle of the aisle, the better to greet everybody as they walk in the barn

So I think we're about ready for the next step --- reintroducing jumps without the placing poles. Or perhaps, if I get cold feet about that (which... y'all know me LOL!), just increasing the distance. Instead of bounce poles, let's bring back the 18' short one stride and see where that gets us. Or ya know, maybe a little bit of both, right?

Like, I still expect Doozy to bolt the occasional fence. My hope, however, is that the gymnastic exercises and practice will help her better figure out what to do if she runs past a distance, or ends up at a less than ideal takeoff point. That, instead of being uncomfortable and punishing and, thus, frantic, we now have options and technique. 

he also just likes the view <3

Or at least, that's the idea haha! In the meantime, it's fun practicing and seeing progress <3

There were glimmers in our ride yesterday where I thought to myself, "holy shit, are you actually becoming schooled??!?" not to mention the many MANY moments where I had to remind myself to soften and let go, bc the mare is starting to maintain her own carriage now, thankyouverymuch. 

Tho, as with Newton's third law of motion, so it is with Dooz: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction lol. There's always more to come, I'm sure!