Freedom feels better when ChatGPT agrees with you

Happy Independence day to my domestic readers — and congrats on living literally anywhere else to friends from beyond our borders ;) 

How about a nice light hearted and fun frolic through potential flame wars on this fine Friday, yes?

Ahem haha, anyway. In my last post, we had some discussion about training “by the book,” vs by what makes sense to the horse. And Kat left a funny and very relatable comment about a former trainer who said, “ you can teach a flying change by touching their right ear with the dressage whip, but that's not the generally agreed upon aid.”

Which naturally brings us to the whole “Form Follows Function” debate. And, doubly naturally, I kinda already know which side I sit — as a rider with, uh, not classically correct posture etc, I’m happy to believe any source that tells me that “Sure, that’s fine — the form will come in time!”

For a balanced view of the positions, however, I turned to ChatGPT and asked for arguments both for and against this theory. The response is as follows:

this conversation is facilitated by the legend himself, charles <3
(there are many ironies in this *ancient* fauxtoshop, and i choose to enjoy ALL of it lol,
including original source material lol)

Extending the “form follows function” debate to riding

In horse training—especially disciplines like dressage—there’s a long-standing tension between prioritizing form (posture, frame, position) and function (balance, engagement, relaxation, responsiveness, etc.).

Here's how we can map pro and con arguments in this context, while respecting the nuances of horse-and-rider biomechanics and training philosophies:

---

Arguments for "form follows function" in horse training

(Function leads, form emerges as a result)

1. Organic Development:
   If the horse moves correctly—relaxed, forward, and balanced—correct posture will emerge naturally over time, avoiding forced shapes.

2. Physical Welfare:
   Forcing posture can lead to strain, tension, or even injury. Function-led training respects the horse’s current physical and mental readiness.

3. True Engagement:
   Engagement of the hindquarters, lifting of the back, and flexion of the poll cannot be “shaped” from the front—they must be developed from correct movement.

4. Emotional Harmony:
   Function-first training tends to emphasize trust, responsiveness, and softness, avoiding conflict-based methods used to achieve a look.

5. Long-Term Soundness:
   A horse that moves with functional alignment stays healthier and sounder over time, even if the form develops more slowly.

   
   

dear sir charles, the **perfect* biomechanical form <3 <3 <3

Arguments against a strict “function first” stance

(Or, arguments for “form enables function”)

1. Correct Form teaches Function:
   Some postural shapes—like a lifted back, flexed poll, or engaged hind legs—can help the horse learn correct movement. Without some guidance toward those forms, function may not develop properly.

2. Neuromuscular Training:
   Like a ballet dancer using specific positions to build the right muscles and awareness, postural training can “educate” the horse’s body about how to move better.

3. Rider Position Affects Horse Function:
   For riders especially, correct posture is often a prerequisite for functional riding. Poor rider form can block or mislead the horse.

4. Discipline-Specific Requirements:
   In disciplines like dressage or equitation, specific frames and postures arefunctional within that context (e.g., collection, lateral movements).

5. Form Provides Consistency:
   Using consistent shape cues and expectations (when done sensitively) can create clearer communication and structure for both horse and rider.

---

Bridging the Two:

Many modern trainers adopt a "function informs form" or "form and function co-evolve" approach. They might use postural aids lightly to educate the horse's body, but always monitor function (relaxation, rhythm, thrust, etc.) to avoid forcing.

well ya know. at least that’s the idea!

SO. Dear Reader. As with just about everything with horses, there doesn’t seem to be one clear answer here. Many right ways, few wrong ways. 

I’m curious — you already know where I stand slouch, but what do you think? 

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. 

stayin' in school, kids

Doozy and I had another dressage lesson over the weekend (the day after her awesome jumping session!!) and it is exciting to feel like we're 'settling into the work,' so to speak.

It feels like we're both getting the hang of this new posture. Honestly maybe I shouldn't even call it "new" lol. It's not like I haven't had these lessons before, or like I've never managed to sit up straight on a horse before haha. Rather... I've just kinda receded into the safety and comfort of the familiar with Charlie in recent years (remember our whole "gave up on dressage" thing?).

But eh, Doozy is a whole new chapter, and a whole new opportunity. And at least for now, I'm embracing it! 

we've had pretty damp weather lately, tho not too cold at least!

The nice part about having so many lessons so frequently is that Doozy is definitely figuring out the expectations. At first it was really hard to try to change her posture bc she straight up didn't understand what we were trying to do. 

Now, tho, she is recognizing the pattern, understanding the process, and we can get from the point of "over flex to release the base of the neck" to "steady on the bit and through" more quickly. Or at least, we can when I have real time instruction LOL. It's still a bit hit or miss in our solo rides, but that'll be true for probably a while.

tried to get a photo of the dressage saddle, foiled again by the dust womp. thankfully, charlie toted me around later in the day to wipe all the mirrors down haha

For me, I'm continuing to work on shifting key elements of my posture. MP wants me to think of "standing on my seat," as in, being tall and upright from my position in the saddle -- not from my legs, which are draping down separately. 

This is much easier to do in Isabel's old dressage saddle. But, alas, I suspect Doozy doesn't love the fit. She's not porpoising in it like she did with the Pessoa we borrowed for our first few weeks of riding life.... But there are signs, ya know? So we'll see.

trainer MP snagged a quick shot too, mostly bc we were practicing halts and doozy stopped so nicely square haha. 

The other key positional change I'm thinking about right now has to do with my contact. Always and forever. We've already talked about stabilizing my elbows -- which basically means activating my triceps -- the back of my upper arm. And we've talked about adjusting my hands on the reins so that my thumb is doing the work of holding the rein, not my ring finger. 

What I'm figuring out -- in lessons, schooling alone, and from reviewing photos -- is that essentially my habit is to use the whole bottom muscle of my forearm from elbow to wrist to ring and pinky fingers for contact. That I'm basically way overdeveloped in that area, and that all of it has to release and soften. 

Instead, that muscle tone needs to move to the back of my upper arm, the place between my shoulder blades, and to my core. And everything else needs to stay softer (fingers still closed tho!). The trick to softening as I go is to occasionally rotate my forearm from the elbow like I'm turning a key in the door.

back in with charles!! we don't normally ride in the indoor but some of our riding friends wanted to do in-hand work within the safety of 4 walls

Anyway. Our lesson focused mostly on the walk, with a little trot. MP didn't feel like it was our best work bc.... Well, she WANTS our best work. She doesn't want me to be satisfied with close enough / good enough. Which is kinda refreshing bc y'all know that's how I tend to be. 

All the same, tho, I was really happy with the ride bc it felt like we've kinda moved on from 'pouring the foundation' and started getting into 'framing,' if you're into analogies about building a house haha. 

back again with charles <3
this time with festively lit friends for the long dark walk to the dressage ring

We also managed, almost out of nowhere, to bang out an awesome leg yield at walk. We were just in the zone, Doozy was on the aids, everything was clicking, and MP just sorta suddenly coached us into it --- without any warning, and I think without even really planning it haha. 

And Doozy did it very nicely. Good girl. 

barn panther Icee again. he's not as popular as Mikey bc... well, he's bitten a lot of people lol...

Sadly we didn't have a chance to try a second time bc a group of kiddos on lesson ponies came into the indoor soon after... And since it wasn't MP's normal teaching day, we had to end the lesson -- she's not technically allowed to teach on other instructors' days. 

Which, if you're curious about why getting lessons at home has been a struggle, lol, here's a prime example. The person who teaches on Sunday doesn't really want to teach boarders - she prefers kids. But she doesn't want other people teaching on her days either bc she wants first choice of the rings. So.... It ends up being that boarders can't really get lessons on certain days of the week. Doesn't make sense, isn't logical. Life's like that sometimes. 

speaking of animals that might bite LOL

Anyway, tho, I was still really happy with the lesson. I care more about the 'feeling' I get from a ride than the duration. So getting such good work was more than enough to satisfy me. 

And I've been able to keep working on practicing some of the feelings and postures in my rides since then --- esp with trying to leg Charlie up in advance of his next farrier appointment. Ideally, if he's going to get sore from being ridden, I want to know that before the appt so I can talk to his farrier about it. If, alternatively, he stays sound after a ~week of regular work, then maybe that bodes well for staying sound through the trim / shoeing?? I dunno. We'll see. 

charlie demands love tho, and won't take no for an answer!

Regardless, it's been so nice to ride both -- bc Charlie is so good and so easy, I can really just focus on myself. Which, naturally, he appreciates significantly too LOL. 

Doozy is not so easy, so there's more opportunities for me to get distracted and revert to my habits when she gets tense or does something unexpected... But eh, progress is progress. 

rethinking charlie's "fitness" (again)

I'm constantly reevaluating how I think about Charlie's overall health, wellness, and particularly, fitness. Case in point -- I've written about my evolving understanding of conditioning Charlie for sport quite a few times over the years. Long story short: it's complicated. 

Charlie is a large heavy horse with a high mileage body on slightly small feet. Not only is it entirely possible -- it's downright easy to lame this horse through well-intentioned and generally accepted fitness and strength-training routines. 

"conditioning" is basically my favorite excuse for a trail ride with friends haha. long slow miles, amirite ;) 

It isn't enough to read a book on horse fitness and apply those practices directly to Charlie. I learned that lesson the hard way once, and have been a bit gun shy ever since. To the point where.... We've maybe gone too far the other way, with not quite enough baseline fitness and strength training to support Charlie's physical needs. 

There's obviously no shortage of research (and opinions) in this field, but I recently got a fresh perspective from a long distance runner, of all places. His approach to fitness and conditioning is basically, "everything I do in the gym is intended to support my goal of running." Meaning, he's not there for the #gainz, not there to increase mass. Only to support his running goals. 

brief interruption for a shoe update: leather pads are officially on, and we're *still* growing out that overreach crack from last year

Obviously that's obvious, but then he kinda veered off in a different direction than I expected, observing that runners tend to over-develop some areas of musculature (hamstrings) while under-developing others (glutes). And that he uses his gym time and strength training to counteract these musculature imbalances. 

His point was that these imbalances are ultimately unsustainable and will eventually lead to injury. And since he can't run if he's injured, he prioritizes "injury prevention" as his number one objective in strength training. Anything else -- specific exercises to improve stamina or quickness or whatever to improve competitiveness -- is secondary to this pursuit of risk mitigation. 

obviously gotta give this ridiculous wannabe mountain goat the footwear he craves omg

Now. I've never really been what you might call "an athlete" (har har). I didn't play sports in high school or college, never had any sort of coach work me through a routine or regimen. So for those of you who have had that experience, this might not be anything new to you. But... To me, it seems like a really important distinction. 

switching gears again to some snaps from charlie's chiro / acupuncture appt this week

Horseback riders always talk about how "dressage improves the jumping," by getting horses more off the forehand, or more adjustable, or whatever. That, doing *this* set of exercises will improve your ability to execute in *that* arena. Or we always hear about how dressage is kinda the "weight lifting" (or anaerobic exercising) complement to the "cardio" of trot or gallop sets. 

he gets basically the same spots jabbed every time but the urge to document is strong lol

All of that makes sense to me and whatnot, but it's easy to miss that foundational point of "balance." Of ensuring that muscles developed through one type of work (running) are physically balanced and stabilized on the body. Not bc it makes you better or faster or whatever (tho, it probably does), but bc *this* is our basic protection against injury.

That approach to conditioning is, to me, very attractive. To the point where literally the most expensive lesson I've ever taken in my riding life (which, notably, includes lessons with various Olympians and 5* riders...) was a "Solutions for Soundness" clinic that was basically billed to be this exact sort of experience. 

bonus shot of charlie's puffy fetlock bc he got caught up in something and dinged up the ankle, ooh ooh and *also* added a NEW overreach before the old one had even finished growing out! 

The idea was an experienced riding coach and an equine sports massage expert would tag team the lesson to identify specific exercises to improve conditioning and promote soundness in the horse. Sadly the *execution* of that idea was... er, underwhelming lol, so I kinda put the whole thing behind me and moved on, with the exception being that it was the genesis of my idea to ride with a metronome. 

flashback to 2019 lol

But ya know. Everything old is new again, right? And spring time is my favorite time to take a fresh look at Charlie's overall health picture and make sure it aligns with my ideas and goals and dreams for the year ahead. 

and back again to today. goddamn charlie LOVES this practitioner tho. that is the face of a horse who is focusing every last shred of his attention on that pink-sleeved hand in the background

Step 1 was going down the laundry list of "housekeeping" items for Charlie, inserting literally *ALL* the quarters into the machine.... We slapped the leather shoe pads back on this past cycle. The horse got his hocks freshly lubed. We followed that up with a visit from his favorite chiro / acupuncturist to help work out and release any lingering compensation issues from the hocks. Plus, I picked up a box of Adequan for good measure. 

time to go back to work, sir! 
also his dweeby forelock center part will never not kill me <3 <3 <3

And? Guys. The horse feels good. It's almost like he's going out of his way to show that issues we had under saddle were 100% related to his physical condition. And now that his hocks are taken care of, he's back to stretching and swinging, back to drama free left lead departs, and even volunteering lead changes despite the fact that we normally never practice them.

So the next step is making sure the work we do is additive to Charlie's condition vs corrosive. Which, it turns out, is not quite as easy as writing a check to the vet to stick a needle in it. 

I've basically got a sense of some of the work we'll do to try to improve the overall balance of Charlie's musculature. Namely -- just more of the same that we worked on with Molly. And I'll probably start riding with a metronome again since that was super helpful to work on rhythm. 

But... idk, what all do you do to build up hind end strength? Anything glutes-specific? I know there isn't like, a magic bullet or anything (I wish... ugh), but anything reasonably fun and not too likely to piss the pony off is worth a try! 

sitting the trot?

So. Ok. This blog is home to a long and tortured history on the various ways in which I kinda suck at riding. Specifically -- that whole bit about how to actually sit on the horse. Rider position and all that. 

This last year FINALLY felt like we opened a new chapter in that regard, tho -- aided almost entirely by the roughly half dozen(ish) lessons I've taken with Molly since September. 

photo of my attempt at sitting trot, circa 2019 dressage clinic at Thornridge. this pic basically serves as a comparison for all the others included below -- note the rotation of my legs from hip to toe. pc Austen Gage
(also, if you're reading this post on your desktop computer using a feed reader and the images aren't appearing... ugh, i'm sorry, i don't know why it's happening but it seems widespread across the platform... the mobile app doesn't seem affected tho, and of course all images appear directly on the site itself!)

Long story short, in that September lesson, Molly basically completely changed my leg position. Or, at least, she guided me toward the "feeling" I needed to recreate in order to commit this new position to muscle memory. 

The "feeling," for me, is like having my toes point toward Charlie's armpits, and when I want to turn, positioning both legs as if I'm on skis. So, if I'm turning left, both toes (and accompanying attached limbs) rotate left, bringing my inside left leg onto the horse at the girth, and my outside right calf off, with right thigh on. 

video evidence of said attempts here: link to youtube

It was not news to me (or to any of you, or to any of my many past trainers) that my clinging, nagging legs were counterproductive and poor form. But ya know. Knowing a thing is not the same as doing a thing. 

throwback picture to this summer, during the lesson where Molly first started addressing the rotation of my legs, working to get my calf and heel off the horse 

So finally being able to develop the right feeling and positional awareness was apparently what made all the difference. And we've been practicing that feeling ever since. 

link to footage from that influential lesson

The craziest part, tho, has been the almost immediate and undeniable positive validation from Charlie. I literally trained this horse with my legs glued to his side full time. Everything -- and I mean everything -- he has learned from me, was learned via a shit ton of leg. 

putting the new positional mechanics to work in 1-3 a couple days later

So imagine my absolute shock when I took my leg off..... And suddenly Charlie just, idk, breathed deeply (thanks to a newly liberated rib cage, I'm sure), and proceeded to instantly transform into a soft and supple and delightfully capable dressage horse. 

link to test video

I'm not even exaggerating -- we rode First 3 in a show something like two rides after that transformative Molly lesson, and it was hands down the happiest and most attentive Charlie's EVER been in a dressage show environment -- despite being his most advanced test yet, natch. 

ok i know i know it's a different saddle from the very first picture, but i see real differences in how my leg hangs from the hip

I always thought part of what makes dressage so hard is that it's not "self evident" for horses. Like, you don't have to explain a jump to a horse. They don't need help understanding when a distance feels uncomfortable, ya know? Or when they knock a rail -- that's their own appendage hitting a pole. They experience it directly. 

yes of course there's video, i'm glad you asked

Dressage tho... How do you explain a perfect 20m circle to a horse? Or a "late" transition? How does the horse know what is "good"?? 

Turns out.... It really is all about that feeling. Charlie knows when something feels good. Like stretchy trot. Sure, he can still lose balance and run onto his forehand... But he can feel that too. And the more Molly adjusts my position on the horse, the more easily I can stay out of Charlie's way so that he can just sorta innately achieve that softness and balance and suppleness -- longitudinally AND laterally. 

stirrups are at least 3 holes too short here haha but i like this pic bc you can really see how the change in leg rotation gives me a whole new foundation from seat through torso

This is playing out in our rides in two main ways:: 

Laterally.... Charlie just.... goes now. I used to think that lateral work with this horse required massive amounts of energy and manhandling and literally molding all 1,400 pounds of Charles into shape using my own 5'3 frame as rebar. But.... Now that I'm not death-gripping his rib cage with my calves, it's like I can sorta just adjust hip position, thigh contact, and rein flexion and Charlie just merrily floats right on along. Crazy. 

last but not least, test video from 10/2021

The second main way these changes are playing out is that... All of a sudden, I can actually sorta sit the trot. Like, don't get me wrong, it still kinda sucks. But I can DO it. Compared to that first video at the top from 2019, where I could only go a couple steps at a time then had to post again -- all the while being almost completely useless with the rest of my aids while attempting to sit.... Yea, it's completely different now haha. 

thank you charlie for being such a good dog while i try to learn this stuff!!! pc Amy Flemming Waters

And it's not like I can even specifically say what I'm doing differently either -- there isn't like a bulleted list of "My Top 5 Tricks for Finally Sitting the Trot!"  And naturally I currently have exactly zero videographic evidence that I'm even telling you the truth haha. 

But. It *is* happening. And to me, it's crazy. Honestly kinda exciting, too. Especially right now with the nasty weather and limited riding options, it's nice to have some new tricks to play with during our otherwise monotonous evening rides under the lights. Nice to have some "winter bootcamp" goals that are all about me, knowing that Charlie is basically already primed and ready to go once I get my shit together. 

just the basics, ma'am

One of my enterprising barn mates brought an exciting clinic onsite this past week! Specifically, she coordinated a full day of lessons with Molly K, local upper level eventer and coach who offers clinics with the Equiformance resistance bands. 

You might remember I took a handful of lessons with Molly last summer and fall at a nearby farmette, so I was quick to jump on the bandwagon again this time.

always important to set expectations with a new trainer haha... esp when you're a hot mess, whoops

It's interesting, tho. I thought long and hard about what I wanted from the lesson -- and what I didn't. Specifically, I wanted to set expectations about objectives, including being honest with myself about "off-limits" topics.

Which... Might sound crazy..., but hear me out. Charlie and I have been out of a regular lesson program for months at this point. Closer to years if we're talking specifically about dressage. It's not ideal, but it is what it is. 

In the meantime, Charlie and I have come to something approximating an "agreement" about how we do our work. We have an understanding, let's say. And a pretty freakin major part of that agreement relates to how we do "forward," and how much I fuck with his face. 

bonus 2-in-1 pic: 1) bizarre little rubber ball under my knee; and 2) excellent example of what the kids call a "gansta lean"

You might read that and interpret it as me enabling Charlie, or letting him call the shots on "who trains whom." And ya know... That's not an altogether incorrect interpretation lol. 

But the reality, as I understand it, is that we can make it work on the flat --- in a way that (most importantly!!) does NOT sour the horse to work in general, or make him sullen or behind the leg when it really counts -- like jumping. And until we're back in a regular coaching routine, I'm not really inclined to shake that up, ya know? YMMV, obvi haha. 

LOLZ the more things change, the more they stay the same.... 

So anyway. My unspoken (but top-of-mind) prohibited activities included chasing Charlie forward beyond what I would do in a normal ride. Obviously tho I didn't say that to Molly bc obviously it sounds insane. Like, well, why the fuck are you trying to ride dressage if you don't want your horse forward into the bit?? 

Lol... But ya know. My horse, my rules. What I DID say, tho, was that I wanted to work on "riding circles." All sizes, all gaits. And focus on my position and biomechanics while riding circles. To fix *me* -- make *me* better. 

next time i'm bringing my tools, charlie >:(

And? To her credit, Molly was game! I told her I was indifferent to whether we did the full body bands or not, and we ended up not. Tho she did pull out a couple other fun play things. First up:: These bizarre little rubber balls that she stuck under my knees. 

The idea with these were to literally force me to realign how my leg hangs ("drapes") off the horse -- and hopefully interrupt some of my hard-wired habits like clinging with the lower legs. 

there's a good boy tho!

Molly also described imagining my entire head-to-toe posture as if I were on skis. On skis, shoulders, hips, and *legs* all travel in unison in the desired line of travel. Whereas I, in my perpetual state of crookedness, prefer to rotate my outside toe outward, rather than inward. 

And THIS is the biggest contributor to my lower legs clinging. 

Well. Let me put a qualifier on that: I've gotten worlds better at the clinging, with both legs. But the habit is substantially reduced in my left leg compared to the persistently pasty right leg.** 

**Which... is probably related to my left ankle being basically useless after many repeated injuries. TBH, once the weather turns in maybe December-ish, I'll pursue more diagnostics bc it feels likely at this point that some shit is straight up detached in there, and might need surgical repair, argh....

lookie he can go the other way too!

Anyway, the "skis" imagery was helpful for me, tho I'm not sure the balls made an enormous difference. Tho it's all in the video so you can decide for yourself. I kept the balls there through the canters, at which point they wiggled out of position and I opted to drop 'em. 

Notably, tho, Charlie was a tad sulky in the lesson anyway (much to my chagrin, since I'd brought neither spurs nor whip....) and our canter departs were epically sticky. As evidenced by that "dinosaur stuck in tarpit" image above... Ugh. Charles. Gotta keep up your side of the deal, buddy!!

In his defense, I'm pretty sure the balls kept me from being where he expected me to be in the transitions. That's *not* an exoneration, to be clear, but that's what it felt like. 

charlie's smiley face! and the pretty late summer light!!

After dropping the balls, we switched to a stretchy rubber tube behind my back that looped over my fingers. This was probably more useful for me, tho I did tend to get a little "fixed" rather than "following" in my hand position. 

And separate from the bio-mechanical gadgetry, we basically just worked endlessly through very very basic figures. And it was wonderful. Seemed like each time Molly put me through one pattern, she realized yet another weakness or asymmetry in our way of going. 

gettin the feel for the next gadget: an elastic band behind my back (that little black strap)

Probably we could have spent an entire lesson working on each of those various "aha" moments individually.... And if we have future opportunities I'm sure we will. But for this ride, we kinda opened up allllllll the holes, and Molly outlined the first steps in addressing each of them. 

Honestly, it felt like Molly "unpeeled our onion" in this ride, identifying first the 'symptoms,' then the root causes, let's say lol. Such that the exercises we ended on were more basic, but perhaps more important, than the exercises we started with, if that makes sense lol.

just cheesin around, creating epic dust storms on my leggy little beastie

So, the exercises:

For Charlie, change flexion / bend often to get him more even from side to side:

- Ride the quarter line and first flex out, then flex in

- Canter "rectangles" -- flex out on long sides, flex in on short ends

- Ride diagonal to half circle (See: exercises for Emma lol)

- Tracking L + quick R turns are notably harder for *me*

- Therefore, practice with purpose and awareness 

For Emma, be posturally correct, and prepare the horse sooner than I think:

- Keep my chin centered over wither and between ears

- Ride eyes up as if I'm riding out, even when inside the ring

- Be more mobile through arms/elbows/hands -- think throw pinkies toward mane

- Rotate, don't lean

- For real, tho, Emma. Stop leaning.

- And plz for the love of all things holy, get your right heel off the horse. nowwww.. ahem. 

- Leave room for all steps of a movement or figure**

- Think about sinking/bending elbows in my half halts

- Also think about actually literally halting in halt halts haha. No, really tho. 

hands too low with this gadget, but we're werkin it out

**This "leave room" piece is my biggest take away not related to position. It was fascinating bc Molly maybe realized why I ride Charlie a little bit the way I do vis-a-vis forward lol, as evidenced by switching hard core to instructions like "Slow Down! Balance!" in this part of the ride, even tho we're not going meaningfully more forward lol. 

Basically, in my OCD desire to be "accurate," I'm always trying to do a movement or ride a figure at specific points in space. But.... then I get to that point, and we're straight up not actually fully prepared for the entire movement -- all the steps that must happen can't be done "on the spot" -- and we end up careening. 

This showed up most clearly in our left turns across the diagonal, right turn to half circle change of direction. I wanted to do be seamless from left diagonal to right half circle -- but actually there are more like three distinct steps: 1) half halt; 2) change bend while straight; 3) turn.

init amazing how i'm a different rider depending on which side of my body you see?!

So. Lots of good food for thought coming out of the ride. And I'm glad we did it, ya know? Well, I'm not sure Charlie particularly enjoyed it. But, eh, I'll digest all the pieces and adapt them into our normal schooling routine so that Sir doesn't feel quite so picked on lol, god forbid. 

link to video from lesson here

It's funny tho. I watched a couple other lessons from the clinic, and wondered whether I might have been the most persnickety prickly protective student of the day. But.... I also feel like I got tangible takeaways that I can implement independently and still be reasonably productive. 

On one hand... I'm the first to admit that "I don't know what I don't know" and therefore who am I to pick and choose instruction, ya know? OTOH, tho.... Eh, Charlie's my boy, ya know? This week marks exactly 5 years since I first met him, and it doesn't take more than a quick perusal of our Events Page to see that he's a pretty special horse for me. 

Do I sometimes wish the flatwork were easier? That he were fancier? That I was more skilled? Sure. Obviously. But... Ya know... This horse has already given me so much, and still for all the world feels like he has so much more left. So. Yes, lol, I'm protective of him. But we also keep working on it. One little bit at a time! 

treating yo'self

And, obviously, by "yo'self" I am clearly referring to "yo'horse." Because why on earth would I ever indulge myself with any sort of creature comfort when those resources could be spent on my horse instead?! 

creepin on the shetland herd next to his temporary paddock

Case in point: I've been hobbling around the farm for a literal month at this point since my latest ankle calamity (in case you forgot: I dismounted directly onto a jump pole, and cckrtch'd the fuck out of my poor long-suffering ankle....). But, have I seen a doctor? Attended physical therapy?? Done literally anything other than brace the ankle, gird my loins, and carry on??? No, nope, and definitely not. 

only jusssst a little bit like that random sketchy guy hangin around the children's playground

Meanwhile, during this exact same time frame, my horse had a spa day, got his (joint) oil changed, and - as of yesterday - enjoyed some chiropractic massage and acupuncture from his favorite wellness practitioner. 

it's amazing how quickly these old buildings come down!

So. Uh.... Yea. Self care isn't exactly one of my strengths lol. Tho --- in fairness, major components of my day to day mood and mental well being are directly connected to the time I spend with my horse, and the satisfaction I get from this lifestyle. 

onto the main story: charlie getting spoiled!

In this roundabout way, I convince myself that Charlie Care -- investing in his quality of life -- thus indirectly serves my own interests too. Sorta kinda I can rationalize anything.

he luvs this attention so much tho

Lol for real, tho, for better or worse I like to take a holistic approach to Charlie's wellness. Obviously I'm a big believer in the benefits of typically invasive western medicine practices like joint injections etc. When the Shit hits the Fan, I'm calling out the DVM and shelling out for prescription grade medications. 

obvi it's always recommended to have the barn manager on hand supervising the adjustment!

For day to day maintenance, tho? I like to try out alternative therapies like massage, chiro, PEMF, acupuncture, etc. For a couple reasons: 

1) My horse fucking loves it; 2) It's a lower cost way to routinely check in on my horse's overall condition with professionals who know him well; and 3) It gives me more confidence that we're correctly distinguishing between physical issues and training issues in our regular work.

fairly standard array of pokey proddies

The practitioner I keep coming back to again and again over the years is this chiro / acupuncturist. She's a former DVM and very well known and respected throughout the region. She used to work on Isabel back in the day, and was one of the first people to meet Charlie after he came home to me. 

marinating

So, obviously this appointment had to be a key item on Charlie's Spring Tune-Up Checklist. The basic hypothesis being: we had a pretty low key winter around these parts, punted his annual maintenance from what would have been a fall appt to the springtime (a couple weeks ago now), and we're now starting to gear back up again.

more stabby jabbies -- in the neck here, and also some down on his pasterns / heel bulbs

The chiro confirmed that Charlie had more pronounced soreness in his back than we'd normally expect, and said it was more apparent on his right side. This is most likely the result of compensating for his hocks. Tho ya know, it's also possible my asymmetric style of riding lately (thanks to being #crippled again) isn't helping. 

deep in thought

We talked a bit about the realities of a sore back. Basically, the gist is: in horses, a sore back rarely if ever resolves itself. Rest does almost nothing for it (in most cases), mostly due to the compensating nature of their way of going. The only real solution to a sore back is to work on it -- through physical therapies, correct riding, and in more extreme cases, medical interventions like muscle relaxers. 

so focused on his favorite wellness practitioner haha

Charlie's not getting any muscle relaxers this time (much to his chagrin -- I swear Charlie is an absolute junkie), but he's getting all the rest of it. 

like a pig in clover lol

Theoretically the joint injections will correct the underlying root cause and need to compensate. The chiro should help ease everything back into alignment, and the acupuncture stimulates the nervous system and relieves pain. Or at least, that's sorta my working understanding haha. 

lol that's one way to stretch your back, charlie!

Then the rest is up to me: actually riding my horse, and riding him properly. Getting back into more normal dressage schools will be part of keeping him healthy happy and comfortable by building all those big important muscles he needs to support his bronto-self LOL. 

an right onto his next appointment -- he's a busy pony!

And just to complete the package: Charlie's first farrier appointment of spring happened to fall at the perfect time -- hopefully early enough to get in front of the crumbling hooves that will come when the grass is up. Maybe this year I'll finally be prepared lol. 

We went ahead and put leather pads up front earlier than in previous years too. Honestly Charlie is just more comfortable in the pads -- and hasn't had any issues with thrush or whatever. And I'm comfortable when Charlie's comfortable, so there ya go. 

Ooh. And. We also got the season's first stud holes drilled 'n tapped. Maybe -- jusssst maybe -- now that Charlie's getting all tuned up, I'll actually pull up my big girl britches and put this amazing thoroughbred to good use LOL.

Anyone else ticking things off the list?? Doing your own variation of spring cleaning? Treating yourself or your horse?!? Stamping out the mental gloom by sprucing up your favorite pony???