gettin it done... sorta

For one reason or another, Isabel and I haven't had a proper school in our own arena in two weeks. In fact, not since my tale of woe about our right lead canter (read here)... 

But the lights are fixed, the rain wasn't due until 8ish, and my barn mate and I want to prep for this weekend. So off we went! 

Both my friend's mare and Isabel made it immediately clear that neither felt much like working. In fact - both were so tense that we each trotted around for the other to watch for signs of lameness. But no. Both mares are sound. Just tense and not particularly cooperative. 

braced & behind my leg

**Quick note: all the photos are from our last HT... but this ride followed a similar pattern so they are applicable. Also, my hands are too low in these pics, and that's something I've been addressing with positive results**

Specific examples of tension: braced neck/jaw, getting wayyyy behind the leg, rooting the reins, head tossing (naturally we weren't wearing the martingale...), and popping the shoulders every which way - particularly near the gate. 

This was reminiscent of my meltdown ride two weeks ago... and I really didn't want to go there again. I need to figure out how to reach Isabel when she's in this kind of mood. 

hollow

I don't think the answer is getting after her. Tried that last time and it didn't work for either of us. And she's too smart to trick. And my strategy for snarky OTTBs - let 'em run around until they're a little tired (ie - asking to stop) - has the exact opposite effect on my arabian. 

But I wondered if some sort of combination of those approaches might work. 

We walked for a lonnnnnngg time, using an exaggerated inside bend until she released through her neck and went low. We had *some* success here, but not much and I think she's figured that trick out. 

As she came into a (relatively) steadier contact, we moved right up to trot and started on circles, changes of direction, and transitions. She is becoming gate sour again, and I really believed that problem was solved a long time ago. Frustrating. 

rooting the reins

But I told myself: "We are not fighting tonight. It's a conversation. Soften your shoulders and elbows - give when she gives. Keep the reins at an appropriate length: hands *out* of lap and wrists unbroken. Long legs - don't nag. Light seat, upright back, stable core." Over and over and over ad nauseam. 

She worked ok-ish, but wasn't particularly good. There was a lot of pulling and rooting, mixed with head tosses just for kicks. Plus rushing towards the gate, then going all crooked and twisty away from it. 

I could tell she was anticipating canter (Izzy thinks she knows the drill) and wasn't really focusing anyway, so we just moved up into what was actually a pretty nice jumping canter. 

And we cantered. And cantered. She maintained a flowing rhythm, and I mostly stayed in half seat with minimal contact. After a while I started sitting into the saddle and softly organizing a bit. We randomly hopped over a single crossrail once and she nailed it. This was mostly to keep it interesting and get her mind on me. 

maybe better...?

We cantered for a lonnnng time on the right lead - and she eventually felt pretty steady, even if it wasn't exactly the canter you'd want to see in a test. 

Then a lonnnng walk break (noticing a pattern here? The name of the "Emma doesn't lose her temper" game is patience). Then back to work at the walk and trot. It still wasn't Isabel's nicest work, but it was looser and more relaxed - like the canter almost helped us 'reset.' 

We did more walk-trot transitions, changes of direction, circles, etc. - not drilling but just showing her that what I'm asking really is ok, and she can do it. And she did. 

We cantered again to the left - not for nearly as long, but just to get it in there. We popped the X once more (and she gobbled it up - just moved right up to it off a short approach through traffic) to break up the monotony, then back to trot, then walk, then trot, then walk, then long reins and a slow cool down. 

faking it

I dismounted in the center - our new norm since noticing the resurrected gate problem - and left through the *back* gate to go the long way around to the barn. The gate sourness really bothers me - but I suspect it's a rebellious phase while we settle into flat work bootcamp. 

In any case, it wasn't an inspiring school. But there were solid improvements and progressions throughout the ride and I avoided a total mental breakdown. Yay me?

So now I have a better idea how to help Isabel (and me!!) through these moods - especially if they crop up at inopportune times (like our show this weekend....). 

october's 10 questions

Another month's 10 Questions, courtesy of L. Williams at Viva Carlos. This iteration definitely made me put on my thinking cap lol. 


1. How many pairs of breeches/jods do you own?
Seven. I just started growing my collection again after riding in jeans for years.

Lad clearly didn't care what I wore...

2. How many horses have you ridden?
I've never owned a horse, so my riding career has been spent primarily taking lessons. And I've ridden at many barns, so there's a lot of variety here. I got to 83 just on the ones I remember... (yea I made a spreadsheet lol, so what?)

But I'm forgetting more than a few (particularly from the starred farms where I rode for years), plus all those IHSA shows... (do they count? I think so). So let's peg this number at 100. Not too shabby.


3. How many trainers have you had?
At least 12. This includes my first trainer, two from LF in Rochester (not including the IHSA coach who I never lessoned with), the bio-mechanics trainer and D Clasing, two OF trainers (jump & dressage), three from ST, and two from a barn that wasn't a good fit. 

show time with A and Harry in Rochester

4. How many barns have you ridden at?
At least 7. One (CS) was a trail barn where I traded chores for free unsupervised rides. The rest are lesson barns with varying degrees of fanciness. I was a paid employee at 3 of these barns.


5. What is the name of the horse you consider yourself to have the greatest bond with?
Another toughie. Isabel and I have a pretty cool thing going. But there was another red mare in Rochester, Ellie Mae, who meant a lot to me and was the first horse I 'got going.' And Lad (also of Rochester), whom I simply trust without reservation... 

Smellie was a very good girl - so long as you just left her alone

(this photo, blurry and grainy tho it may be, has permanent residence on my fridge)

There are a few others. Snowy and Dancer, in particular, from the barn where I learned to ride... I think this variety comes with the territory of never owning something. 

Snowy was a sensitive appy mare - learned a lot from her

6. What is your favorite show name that you've encountered?
I don't know about this one... honestly never thought much about show names. There was a gray gelding at my first barn named Idiot's Delight bc my trainer had sworn off grays once and for all (too difficult to keep clean), but he was such a nice horse she couldn't resist. Not sure if it counts, but it always stuck with me. 


7. What do you consider your greatest weakness or flaw in riding?
My personal confidence and trust in the horse. So so so many of my mistakes stem from not being able to just let go. 


8. What do you consider to be your greatest strength?
I am teachable. I want to learn, to improve, to be a better rider. Therefore I *listen* to instruction. (though this quality is usually reserved for paid trainers - unsolicited lessons aren't always met so openly lol)


9. Have you ever leased a horse?
Yeppers - Isabel :)

10. What is the name of the first horse you rode?
The first horse I rode was a paint pony led around by my non-horsey mother on a big trail property. No clue about it's name, but I remember that ride very well :)

My first lesson was on Bonnie, an infinitely patient buckskin whale. 

chiro afterthoughts

No riding today for princess. Hopefully  I'll manage to get in three good rides (must practice 20m circles at trot and canter!!! and, ya know, some two point plz) between now and Saturday. Weather looks... iffy, but maybe ok?

'more of this plz!' - emma

'mebbe' - weather.com

In the meantime, I dug up the worksheet from Isabel's first chiropractic adjustment last Spring. 

April 2014

October 2014

Notice any patterns? Yes?? That's because Isabel was out in almost all the exact same places.  

'alignment is for squares' - isabel

Post-adjustment, Isabel felt GREAT for our show on Sunday. No one smoking gun that showed a clear 'before and after' difference. But the general picture was nicer and she felt smoother and looser. 

Prior to April, I'd never tried to improve Isabel's way of going - other than to control speed. Since the spring, however, I've been working with trainers to actually move out *correctly* (essentially, installing the foundations of dressage).

So I'm not sure what's really going on here. I suspect it's a combination of factors:

• Isabel's own preferred way of going (she is an arab, after all)
• ongoing saddle fit issues
• increased efforts to lower her front end, lift her back, and bring the hind end underneath - but the misaligned areas have made this difficult/painful/impossible

My (decidedly amateur) impression is that I haven't been getting Isabel to use her hind end appropriately because her hips and sacrum are always out of alignment. So she is constantly on the forehand, affecting her head, neck and shoulders.

This is something I'll discuss more with my dressage and bio-mechanics trainers, but I'm really curious to know from you all (regardless of your feelings about the merit of equine chiropractics): 

Have you had recurring issues crop up like this? If so, do you incorporate this into your training regiment at all? 

fun times at a schooling show

Isabel and I participated in a fun closed-farm schooling show at OF this weekend. I signed up at our lesson last week - and by 'sign up,' I mean I wrote my name on a list and my trainer determined classes etc. 

'what's in that plastic bag?? is it food?!?' - isabel

We parked and warmed up in a new-to-us field. I liked this because it gave the sense of being in a 'new' place (even tho it's the same farm we go to every week) and Isabel didn't bat an eye. Plus it was another opportunity to practice our dressage on grass, in anticipation of next week. 

She didn't care at all about the activity. I guess she's kind of a pro now? This did a lot to reassure me about our HT next week. All the circumstances of today pointed to: new high pressure situation!!! *I* knew that today wasn't a big deal, but how would Isabel react? 

Answer: Exactly as she always does. She's the same girl regardless of setting. So I just need to go in and ride the way I know how (limited tho that may be) and Isabel will follow suit. 

Our flat class was LEGIT. They asked for multiple transitions, two point (thank YOU 2pointober!), sitting trot, posting sans stirrups, simple lead change across the center line, AND hand gallop. And Izzy was a pro through the whole thing: going soft and loose and just feeling amazing. I'm thinking she's feeling pretty good after yesterday's body work.

When it was all said and done, Isabel and I finished 2nd - good pony! Judge's feedback included notes that I look down too much (when will I ever learn?), and that my feet sometimes got too far behind me. I know exactly when that happened - my toe got too deep into my stirrup, and I had a hard time kicking it out given the light weight grippiness of the composite stirrups... but whatever still love 'em. 

yep, i think we cleared it

Our two warm up fences felt fabulous, so I was ok going into the course. We got kinda a questionable distance to the first fence - but Isabel took the (correct) longer distance. This allowed us to get the right # of strides in the line, but it was still a funky out jump. Probably should have been a bit more organized. Jump 3 was tight, but allowed for a flowing seven strides to jump 4.  

She landed on her left lead (!!!!!), but then we were a bit tight into jump 5, and wibble-wobbled down the line to add a stride. The last line was probably our most 'even' effort on course. 

I thought our course was a touch wild - and Isabel CLEARED some of those jumps lol (leaving me quite discombobulated). I'll let you decide for yourself, though, as there is video evidence :)

wherein Isabel and I pretend to be hunters. LOL

Also, yep, 2'3" is not an issue for her (too bad 2'6" is still a problem for *me*). 

Regardless of what I thought, it was apparently good enough for 1st place. Yay Isabel!!! Despite some lack of organization on my part, I was pleased with her attitude and felt that she made some nice decisions when I ran her into iffy spots. A few months ago (or hell, maybe even just on a different day) we would have had a few more chips in that course. 

PROOF: bareback goal = accomplished

Last class was bareback 'sit a buck.' Isn't that kind of the best way to check a 'ride bareback' goal off the list? I thought so. Anyways, we made it up to our canter transition before I lost the dollar (so, uh, kinda weak), but I cantered a lap anyway just to do it. Sure, my fingers were firmly braided into her mane, but whatever - didn't fall off!! Yay me!! 

ties like a pro. who knew?

Our division was the last of the day, so we wrapped up pretty quickly. I decided to tie Isabel to the trailer while I put all our stuff away, instead of dragging her around with me, per usual. She was quite happy grazing, and only reached the end of her rope once, and just calmly moved closer again. 

So this show served as a pretty good dry run for next week, just by going to a 'new' place with hustle and bustle and hanging out by the trailer in a way we usually don't for lessons. All in all, I'm feeling quite good about it!! This mare is just such a rock star :)

the collection grows

head shoulders knees & toes (knees & toes!)

Izzy enjoyed a chiropractic adjustment this weekend. We did a full work-up last spring when I first prepared to get into a lesson program with her. The idea was to ensure a fresh start, since learning to event would be the most physically demanding work Isabel had done in years. 

the unsuspecting victim 

So yesterday's session was a nice way to circle back and see how her physical situation may have changed - for better or worse. Plus I had a few concerns: namely, believing her right hind doesn't work to its full ability, and other regions (like her back) have had to compensate. I also worried that these issues are compounded by a less-than-ideal saddle fit. 

she was, uh, a bit out. ya know. here and there

This chiro likes to get straight to work on her assessment *before* asking about specific concerns. She prefers to approach the horse with an open mind, and then check in with the owner to compare notes. Part of me is a bit skeptical of this method, but I felt oddly validated when she zeroed in immediately on the exact spot of Isabel's back that I constantly fuss over. 

dr feel good at work on the sacrum

Isabel's hip was wayyyy out on the right (half an inch difference), which popped out her sacrum on the left - thus accounting for the sluggish right hind and left side back soreness. So hey - at least I'm not a total hypochondriac!! Yay?

trust me, i'm a doctor

Anyway, the chiro had Izzy figured out pretty quickly. 

Chiro: 'how old?'

Emma: '13.'

Chiro: 'ahh yes, 13 going on 5. I see.'

this foot

She also noted how guarded and defensive the Princess is about people moving around her hind end, and that Isabel will try to anticipate what you want, and then fake it instead of actually, ya know, working for it. 

that foot

So for each adjustment, she'd have to wait for Isabel to finish her fake lick-n-chew (Izzy is not stupid by any measure) and then actually give and release. 

all the feet!

She recommended that I actually get Izzy to stretch her head UP and back for our carrot stretches. She says that the long and low under saddle is good, but that since Isabel wants to carry her head up so high - that's the direction I should ask her to flex for stretches. I guess this will help keep her more supple?

'i am skeptical' - isabel

After all the adjusting was finished, she looked at my saddle, complete with DIY shims. While she understood the reasoning behind the shims, and agreed that they improved the contact between Isabel's back and the panels, she didn't like that it was two separate pieces. She said Isabel needed consistent contact across her back - not a lot of independent pieces distributing weight differently. 

So I had her look at a new saddle pad that I just picked up, but haven't written about because I haven't used it yet. 

unconventional shape, difficult color to keep clean

And the chiro LIKED it. Plus Isabel went all soft-eyed and yawn-y and low-headed when we put it on her. To me, this matters a lot. Isabel always gets wide-eyed and scoots away from me when I come at her with the saddle. I see worry and anticipation of pain, but other people kept telling me she was just being a mare. 

But the chiro felt that this saddle pad had all the ingredients to work very nicely for Isabel. She recommended that I ask my bio-mechanics trainer too (they know each other), and ride around in it a bit, but felt optimistic. Score! So definitely stay posted for more info on the pad. 

'i'm freeeeeee!' - isabel

Anyways, all in all it seemed like a good time for Isabel. She got the rest of yesterday off, plus the thumbs up for today's show. We will see what kind of difference it makes under saddle.

multitasking

Yesterday was a super boring day at work. Practically nobody was in the office. And we had a big event the day prior, so everyone who was in was operating on a low-ish level, myself included lol. 

So I took a couple breaks. I will call the breaks well-deserved. Your mileage may vary. 

ANYWAYS... taking a few breaks meant putting a dent into my massive backlog of unread posts that has somehow skyrocketed. Seems like a couple bloggers out there are experiencing similar slowdowns and feelings of ennui (with which I totally commiserate!). 

But some of y'all are doing pretty cool things that totally make me want to live vicariously through you. 

Meanwhile, as L. Williams from Viva Carlos mentioned recently, USEF Network has live streaming of the Pennsylvania National Horse Show, which has been running on my smaller, secondary monitor since last week. (Yes, I have two monitors at work. Comes with the territory of number-crunching nerd-dom). 

So as I'm perusing the various blogs and watching some awesome helmet cam footage of Britt & Foster over at A House on a Hill (congrats again on an excellent show!) on my larger primary monitor, I kinda had a meta moment and snapped a pic. 

Then I went ahead and grabbed a screenshot too, just to give you a real sense of the view. Hint: it was awesome.

Yep. This is what my work break looks like on a lazy Friday afternoon. That's two different video streams on side-by-side monitors, simultaneously. One is rainy novice cross country (seriously, follow that link above and watch!), and the other is gorgeously turned-out 3'6" hunters.

And I soon found out that Britt wasn't the only one who posted some great video evidence of an exciting weekend. Sarah from Eventing in Color shared footage of her recent derby dressage tests (congrats again!) and I got to keep the magic going a little while longer lol. 

It was actually a really welcome distraction from an otherwise meh day. Sorry not sorry. 

My riding plans for the evening were partially foiled (again ugh). The arena lights are fixed and look great (yay!!), but I didn't realize that a planned Wine & Ride event would be IN the ring. Last time it was in a field... So I couldn't use the ring anyway. 

there was a band, camp fire, pony rides, and christmas lights strung everywhere

At least I got there early enough to pack in a 20-ish minute walk-trot dressage school in the field before the sun set. 

good practice since our next HT test will be on grass

After some initial speed walkin around to check out all the activity, Isabel actually settled into a very workman-like trot. I was quite pleased. Just focused on keeping myself correct: stabilized core, straight back, long legs, and shoulders and elbows aiding contact instead of my hands... Also spent a lot of time just talking to Izzy, with lots of praise. She was a little sticky past the corner of the field closest to the barn, but mostly worked through it. 

My goal was to feel her light and swinging and moving FORWARD. My tendency is to get too rigid with my hands/arms and actually kind of box her in. Trainer P refers to it as getting her 'stuck.' So I just wanted to feel a nice, fluid looseness through Isabel's neck and shoulders, helped along by an occasionally exaggerated inside bend. 

We didn't work super hard or long (lost the light quickly), but I was happy that Isabel could snap right back into work after four days off. Good girl!

Anyway, that's pretty much what I got right now. Actual fun stuff is happening this weekend, tho, I swear! :)

weather and other inconveniences

Ended up not riding at all this week due to combinations of rain, work obligations, or faulty arena lights. 

'it's cool - i'd rather go feral anywayz' - isabel

This last one is super annoying - drove through extra special traffic Tuesday night only to see the arena lights switch off right when I got out of my car. This doesn't seem like it should be a problem, except the lights are on the fritz and don't come back on if they were already on for a while. 

It's a blameless mistake though - the rider who was finishing up had no way of knowing I'd just arrived, nor did I know who was riding to send a text... It's just... frustrating. 

missing the sunshine pretty badly

I tried to make the best of it though. Enjoyed some relaxing, un-rushed grooming time with Isabel wherein she got to do some carrot candy cane stretches and simple ground work. 

It's apparently much harder than you'd think for her to back up straight and with her head down. She wants to brace and throw her haunches left (maybe why we can never get a straight halt in the dressage arena?). So we practiced a little bit - but just calm, no-pressure stuff. She was a little resistant at first, but then realized it wasn't a test or punishment and started trying to do what I asked. Good girl. 

Also played around a little bit with a new saddle pad - but more on that later.

Anyways, fingers crossed that the lights were fixed yesterday as planned and I can get a ride in tonight!!

Meanwhile, Isabel gets a chiropractor appointment early tomorrow morning - so probably will get the day off afterwards. Then a silly closed-farm schooling show at OF on Sunday that is purely a fun chance to dress up in show clothes and maybe snag some satin :)

Maybe NEXT week I'll actually get back to my regularly scheduled riding??