Willig check up

Willig is still off on his right front. He appears sound going in a straight line, but on a circle (on a very hard surface - asphalt), it's visible to the naked (vet) eye. Three more months of hand walking (or riding, on the days I am terribly brave) for an hour a day. Since most of the last three weeks I thought "there is no way I can subject myself to more of this" I am going to have to dig very deep for the willpower to hand walk him for three more months. The silver lining - ok, there's two - is that 1) he was quite easy to jog in hand, thanks to the hours and hours and hours we've spent together walking; and 2) I have had lots and lots and lots and lots of time to "ride" my dressage tests in my mind by walking them on the ground with Willig. I not only know them, I have thought through every movement my body makes, every potential movement the horse makes, and how my body would correct it. Of course, when I'm on a horse it happens at lightning speed compared to when I'm walking it, but still - it's something. Dr. Revenaugh thought that the lameness was prevalent enough that if he went back to work now, even light work, he'll be lame again sooner rather than later. I agree, but am not sure he is going to recover. The three months is the outlier - if Dr. Revenaugh checks him again in three months and there's no progress, then he said he'd likely "revise his prognosis down" which I translate to "Willig will be permanently lame." I believe the best case if he finally passes his soundness exam is the 2 minutes per week of trot, up to 20 minutes of canter something agonizingly far away, like 16 weeks later. So Willig is looking at a long, long, long, slow recovery (if at all). Stay tuned in three months. And thank god for Charlie this summer. I cried already, but it would have been harder without Charlie to look forward to.

Stick with the commitment

For today's jump lesson on Charlie, Shannon took it up a notch and put me back in the "stretch" zone where I had to really think and work to ride what she asked. After our warm up, we started with an easy little course. Then she rearranged the fences, starting with a vertical jumped at an angle, with some sharp(er) turns. What I foresaw in my head was chaos and clutziness, but we actually rode it ok. Then she changed it again, making it a little harder, and we were a little sloppier, but still did it. Victory! And finally, she set a barrel on the ground with two "wings" and we had to jump the center of the barrel. This took three tries to get right - first I was staring at one of the wings, then I was weaving and couldn't commit to the center, and then finally got it right. She said she once had a lesson where she had to jump an upright barrel without wings!! The thing I struggled with today was making a decision and sticking with it. We started with a little fence with ground poles and rode in with the extra stride. My job was to sit there and not allow the launcher. It's Charlie's job to decide to put in the extra stride, but my job not to go ahead and launch him - it's a bad habit I need to break, especially for upper levels on cross country where it can be dangerous. My preference is almost always to launch, but that's because I've only ridden Beginner Novice where it works ok because the fences are smaller. So that was much harder to do than it is to type. To wait-wait-wait for the fence even if it felt like we were about to ride under it. Then we worked on the sharper turns and the angled vertical. Both of these were the same action by me - make a decision and stick to it. Shannon said she could see as we got closer, I'd start to second guess myself and wiggle all around and poor Charlie didn't know whether to go ahead and go or if I was actually asking for something else. Since I'm really just getting in the way that last stride, my job is to make a decision and commit to it and not mess around at the last minute. It was another fun ride on Charlie. He is an absolute delight to ride and I am enjoying every single minute of it. And anything with a spread still looks a little big to me. It will be very satisfying to look back from the future and think that spreads are easy-peasy.

Happy happy joy joy dressage lesson

Today Charlie and I had a fabulous dressage lesson. We started out with a suppling exercise - leg yield from the quarter line towards the wall, shift it to a shoulder-in, and then shift the shoulder-in to renvers. We only did renvers counterclockwise (since my right bend is fine and doesn't need any further encouragement). This is extremely hard to do without sitting the trot, and Mike says our bodies kind of fake it, which is why he made me (try to) post it. Then we added a canter at the end of the long side. Mike had a great mental image to help with the clenched up right side, which was to open my rib cage on the right. He had to keep reminding me, but he said that he could see it collapsed, which actually means my left side is the one clomping down heavy (coming straight at a mirror, my left stirrup is longer than the right - he said I also cinch up and clamp on with my right leg). Doing the suppling, plus Charlie and I were clicking, meant we got to move right on to some really nice moving. We did an exaggerated exercise next on a 20 meter circle where I took the reins up about 8 extra inches and then asked Charlie to trot without throwing him away, so that I could feel how he lifted his shoulders up into the trot when I don't flap everything loose. Then we worked on the canter, and did a leg yield type move along the long side, then turned it into a 20 meter circle, then into a 15 and 10. This got Charlie's shoulders really elevated, and I'd think 1-2-3 walk or move out of it. When we trotted after doing this exercise, Charlie was really moving through his hind legs, and so he wasn't perfect in his shoulder "poof" but he definitely had a lot more vitality and energy coming through - he felt lighter in my hands, unbelievably, because he's already delightfully light. It was an elevated light, which makes me sound like a hippie. The big takeaway is that I'm still satisfied with far, far less than what Charlie is capable of, and I don't think to ask for more on my own. He got a little resistant, but after one good smack with the whip, he kind of let out a sigh and was like "fine, I'll work hard too". We were both sweaty by the end and got a break in the rain to go on a really nice walk in the field and a short loop on the trail. This also felt like a eureka ride - I think I'm finally starting to chip away at the wall that we've been at. Most of the corrections I made today were to ride with my back and stomach as my brake or to think "elegant" (long and tall) instead of with my hands. I think you need a) enough impulsion and responsiveness to the aids to get the hind leg coming under, and then b) use your back for your half halts and down transitions instead of your hands to keep the energy from going onto the forehand. I think my problem with a round frame has been not doing those two things consistently. It was a really, really fun ride, and I felt really good about it. One of those beaming, grinning, happy lessons.

Charlie is the greatest horse in the whole universe & Maxims

Charlie was also a total rockstar at show jumping yesterday. I got pretty nervous because I was the very last rider - and the rain came back after those two glorious warm sunny days - and I definitely felt the pressure of being in 1st. And then, sadly, lost it, with another beginner error. So the good news is that the mistakes I made are definitely mistakes I can learn from and improve (not "huh? what happened?" sorts of mistakes, which I am all too familiar with), but the bummer is that I made them at all. And yes, it was ME making them - not Charlie, who was a total champ. Our show jumping course was quite smooth (to me) - it was very spacious ridden - it looked harder from the ground than it was to ride. I had walked it the night before and then confirmed with Shannon what I thought - I had only missed one thing, which was jumping the purple vertical at a bit of an angle to make the line easier to the next oxer. And then I got to watch how it rode for several other riders which was nice. Shannon told me that Charlie might have difficulty in the striding to the oxer, and in the classic snowball effect, we were excellent until fence #8, when he launched (and I let him, instead of squeezing in another stride) and then I reverted to my usual habit and didn't pull him back together fast enough, so I was still pulling him together as we turned to the combination, and then I didn't want him to go in short so I kicked him long for the first fence and through the two strides, so he was a bit flat and .... just ... barely ... rubbed ... the very last pole of the very last fence of the very last ride of the whole day, and like a tragic novella, I heard it thump behind us as we went across the finish line and it was the thunk of us going from 1st place with the fabulous cooler for a prize to 2nd place with a lousy leftover ribbon from last year's event and some weird ass stall bag thing. Sigh. But it does give us some things to work on (and a manageable handful at that!) and some progress to make over the next three shows. And Charlie was SO MUCH FUN and so fabulous to ride and I had the best time of my life. It was such a pleasure and an honor and the reason I've been riding my whole life and I am so, so, so grateful for the opportunity. My new maxims: - A beginner rider should not have an inexperienced horse. Beg, borrow, but do not buy until you save the money for a horse who will let you have the space you need to learn. - You are probably less experienced than you think you are. This one is hard because you will not realize how inexperienced you are until you acquire more experience. I have consistently, no matter how hard I am on myself and how much of a perfectionist I am, overestimated my skills. Ah - yesterday I had a whole list of these, so I'll have to fill in the rest later.

Show Jumping

BEST. DAY. EVER.

Ok, today was an absolute blast. The low point? My wardrobe malfunction and no back up pair of breeches. Shannon had to safety pin the hole in my butt closed and then she was nervous it would spring open and poke me, so she duct taped it, and I had a little flashy tail right on my butt. The second lowest point? The second fence, where we both popped out all crazy. For a nanosecond, I thought I was going to fall off, but by sheer fear of letting Shannon down, I willed myself back into the saddle (and thanks to my iron grip from my right leg) and then rode the distance between fences 2 and 3 trying frantically to get my left stirrup back before anyone could see that I had lost it. The third lowest point? The day ending. Tied with the fact that cross country went so fast it was over right after it started. And it really did go fast. To my absolute and total surprise, I went faster - not slower - than expected. Since I am so slow, I had completely ignored all of the rules about what to do when you're slow. Thankfully, in passing Shannon had mentioned it, so I knew I could trot between fences, but I was too scared to make a circle and have it count like a refusal. So I ended up with time penalties - but for being too fast! Charlie was a superstar. He was totally responsive, but once I took my hand off the brakes, he just flowed over the ground. When I'd sit up, he'd slow down. It was incredible. After fence 5, I decided to just trust him and hope that my muscle memory did what it was supposed to do and I just remembered our "signposts" (like ride to the fence then turn to the ditch). It'll be really interesting to see how the video comes out, and whether my riding was as fluid as Charlie felt. It felt like Mach 10, so it'll be interesting to do the math to see just how fast it was. Other than that - just amazing. Just heavenly. I loved every fast second of it. And the tiny spread? Nada to Charlie. He's a rockstar.

Preliminary (my) analysis of dressage test at NWEC

It went much better than my lesson. There were three little wrinkles which could have been improved - I hesitated on our trot to walk transition, which meant Charlie got ready to walk, felt my hesitation, and then finally walked; our right canter to trot transition was not as graceful as it could have been (again, my fault - I was thinking "this is going pretty well! I hope I don't screw up!" and so my stupid brain was thinking about that instead of about riding the next movement - which is a shame because the right side is my "easy" side); and then my trot to halt transition, I let Charlie take several walk steps. I thought the rules said that was ok, but once Shannon asked me, I'm wondering if I was reading something else and applied it because I'm lazy. So I'm going to check the rules tonight, although it's too late for this test of course. Oh, and Shannon said Charlie can do better at the free walk, so we'll work on that. I can't take credits for the braids - Shannon did those. She showed me how, so I'll be practicing that before Aspen. Charlie was a rock star, as I expected. He pulled out some flash for me, was consistent and on the bit, and didn't bobble about anything at all. Thanks to him (and Shannon), I had a BLAST.

Polishing our dressage test before NWEC

And oh man, we needed it. After my last lesson, and then the following week's brilliant ride, and then last week I did conditioning instead, I have been watching this video of us in my mind where we are COMPLETELY KICKING ASS in our dressage test. Well, that was not what was projected onto the screen of reality. Instead, it was like riding through wet sand - everything felt sluggish and in slow motion and while very steady - also very dull and flat. Mike gave me three things to keep in mind tomorrow that we practiced all lesson, but I'm going to add a couple other gems I picked up during the lesson: 1. Bend Charlie to the left when we're going left. Shannon also pointed this out when I was warming him up and when she rides him after I've ridden him, but I curve him to the right - something is off in that leg! So I don't need to think about it to the right, but I do need to think about it to the left (and coming down the centerline). 2. Think "behind the bit" because my feeling of behind the bit is like not even close to vertical. This one is perplexing. Why am I not getting this? I went and walked the course at NWEC afterwards, and like 50 people were warming up, and they ALL had the vertical head. I don't understand what my problem is. 3. Be flashy. This is a show. Ride with some ooomph and pizazz. I was trying to do this and not succeeding, so #6 is how Mike got our flash back. 4. Brake with my back. Using my hands as brakes is like the emergency stop on a bus - Charlie is trained so light and responsive that he just plummets down to a stop. 5. Transition from trot to canter - give him a few good jiggles with the reins, and then DO NOT LET HIM toss his head up! I've been letting him get away with it. 6. Ok, as best as I can tell what we did in my last lesson, and what I did the following week was (same old theme) actually ride him, and then I reverted to my tepid, passive style. So he gets a little warm up, then he get a good konk, then I get my legs off him, then he goes a few strides and gets another konk. If he doesn't leap forward, he gets a smack with the whip. I only have to do this 3-5 times total and then he is like "ok, fine" and goes to work. Then, to keep him fresh, listening, and responsive, I ride each gait big and then little. I extend the trot, and then I collect it (my versions of extension and collection) - I ride him on the cusp of breaking from canter to trot, then lengthen it. And I do not let him drop his head too low or get too strung out. So we improved a lot from my first run through of the test to the last, but I wanted to saunter out like a rock star, and instead I feel like we have so much to work on ... and a class of 21! Charlie is such a great horse, and I don't want to let him or Shannon down. So I'm going to think the three main points tomorrow: bent left, behind the bit, and flashy! And then really ride him in my warm up, and brake with my back. My fingers are crossed. It's a great forecast (even better for Saturday) and I think this is going to be the best riding weekend of my entire life so far!

Bascule!

Today's lesson was our final jump lesson before NWEC next weekend. Shannon made the fences just shy of training level height, so that at the show Beginner Novice will look puny. We had a really smooth first round, where I felt like some of what we've been working on over the last month has started to stick - I'm smoother at the two point to light seat and slightly better at keeping my hands pressed into his neck, although Shannon said when I got nervous, I'd start see sawing with my hands. I also felt like I was collecting him up faster and everything was going smoother. That changed when she added the extra few inches, mostly because then Charlie jumped with a bascule (I've felt it a couple of times with Willig - it's the moment of suspension in the air where you're flying perched above the saddle - it's amazing), but it was over almost every fence and so big! I had to just perch above the saddle and hang there in the air, and I wasn't even giving enough of a crest release, so it was so big I had to keep slipping the reins! It was an amazing feeling and really fun to ride, but it took me by surprise. We did just a little course, twice, after the warm up, and Charlie was a total champ. No matter what I screwed up coming into (or after) the fence, he'd take care of me and deal with the fence. So my checklist is: chest open, hands pressed into neck, no see-sawing with hands, legs in front (defensive), two point until the corner before the fence then sit up into light saddle, use my back for half halts not hands, if I have to slip the reins be fast on collecting everything back up (same goes for if something goes a little wrong - recollect quickly), and even rhythm. Other than that, Charlie takes care of the rest. Those fences were so cool to ride. I can't wait to do it again. We also looked at a couple of my lousy braids, and Shannon showed me how she does it (waxy thread and some quick braid spray), so before the next show I'll have to practice some more. Oh, and we talked about the dressage test - I've been having a hard time feeling the line between a big free walk and when he's ready to break into trot. Shannon pointed out that I'm rushing, not doing a big walk, and he needs to lower his head more.

New top height and Back to Work and Conditioning

Sunday I had a jump lesson on Charlie which was delightful. We did a little course and ended with a tweener (in between novice and training height - I think about 3') vertical. We took my stirrups up a notch which helped tremendously with my lower leg position, and I continued to work on rhythm (1-2-1-2) and then if Charlie got a little sprawling, collecting him up asap after the fence. It was a great ride and a lot of fun. I had a couple days off, so I finally caught up on some reading, and finally read "Back to Work: How to Rehabilitate or Recondition Your Horse" by Lucinda Dyer. For several types of injuries, it had some perspectives from vets, and then case studies with owners' experiences. Although none of the examples were identical to Willig's, the tendon & ligament section repeated several times the importance of slowly working back up (but the importance of keeping them moving - and the consistency of the owners' nervousness (will he spook and reinjure himself?) and frustration). The recommended schedule after walking, is to add trot work to 30 minutes of walking from two minutes on week 1 to 20 minutes by week 7. Then add canter work from 5 minutes on straight lines only (week 1) to 40 minutes by week 8 in an hour of riding. I thought it was a good book with some useful tips. The April Practical Horseman also had a conditioning article by Jim Wofford (he's almost always my favorite) that said for Novice and Training, you should canter once every four days and work up to a slow canter twice the distance of your course. So a 5 minute xc course, you should be riding a 12 minute slow canter every four days, and he should recover within 7 minutes. To build up, start with trot sets - 3 x 5 minutes, walk 2 minutes in between, then do 9 minutes of slow canter in 3 minutes with brief walk in between. Build this up to at least 12 minutes.