Photos went up from the Aspen derby, and I have a death grip on poor Charlie's face with my hands basically in my lap and no crest release. John said most likely, Charlie was slugging around, I was leaning back to try to get him to go forward, and over the course of the course, the reins just got longer and longer to where I couldn't give a crest release.
Then he made a point. He rode the snot out of me. And then said at the show, if Charlie is stuck and not moving forward, TRY SOMETHING. Do a 10 meter circle and then canter, or a leg yield, or a lengthening, or anything, just to break up the monotony of doing the same thing and wishing he would do something else.
He did this by starting us on a 20 meter circle, then we'd go down the long side to another 20 meter circle. Then we'd do the long side on a shoulder in. Then we'd ask for the canter (with inside hip). Then we'd do a long side shoulder in at the canter (!!). Then we'd do a change of direction and counter canter, and then a flying change. Then some 10 meter circles at the canter where I turned Charlie using his shoulders, and I could feel the start of a pirouette. Then sitting trot. Then lengthened trot at the sitting trot. Then a bigger trot at the sitting trot using my hips, not my legs.
All of this while he had me control my hands - not flapping hands at the sitting trot, but holding steady hands. And with outside rein/inside rein/outside rein/inside rein lifted (going to the left, to tilt his head in), and leg aids. It was one of the lessons where the step-by-step was too much for me to feel it all, BUT, I could feel the change it had, especially when we did a half halt with the outside rein and it made Charlie kind of "square up" and balance through his shoulders instead of falling out.
Charlie had one direction where he got mad and was shaking his head then trying to stop, and I'd kick and whip and he'd just toss his head, so that was kind of frustrating, but other than that, Charlie tried to figure out what I wanted and do it.
It was really, really hard, but John said I need to expect more and ask for more, even if I get the wrong thing, at least I am getting a different thing and not just being content with mediocre.
Charlie with the long sought after cooler
Spring NWEC 2013 Novice
Tuesday, April 26, 2016
Sunday, April 24, 2016
Aspen derby and jump lesson
Yesterday was the second Aspen derby of the year and today we had a jump lesson. Charlie was a bit of a slug at the derby; he got a 30.5 in dressage (broke to canter in first trot lengthening), had a run out at the narrow corner the first round jumping, and did fine the second round, but had no go.
So I was worried about his health, and did just at tiny amount of warm up for both dressage and jumping, trying to save him for the jumping and to see how it would affect him today. We got to John's, I said I waited to warm him up so John could help me as if it was the third day of a three day and Charlie was pooped, and he just trotted out like he was feeling his oats. It made John laugh and laugh.
At the derby, I don't know what happened with the lengthening, but the jumping was instructive in a humble pie way. The run out was the same mistake I made like three years ago, it was a long six stride (six strides, then 6') and I jumped the first jump in the wrong place at the wrong angle, then didn't even think to run him long and just got him to the second fence in the wrong spot.
I also had a problem with a rollback turn (on the right lead), the turn itself was fine, but then there were only a few strides to a decent sized oxer, and I didn't have enough power either time, so Charlie had to kind of twist over it. That one I'm not sure how to fix, but it is progress, I guess, that I know what the problem is. I didn't fix it between the first round and the second round, but at least I fixed the long six stride, which is something.
The long six stride was a weird angle, and the other riders jumped it making a rollback all the way around and then riding the combination as a bendy line instead of an angled straight line. What I should have done was walk it both ways; the reason I didn't switch was because I didn't know how it would have walked, and I walked the damn course three times so it would have been easy enough to do once.
Charlie had no problems with any of the other fences, just a general lack of go.
Then in today's lesson, we rode with someone whose name I should know but don't. She had a black and white paint mare. We started over some verticals that were down the center line, first going one direction, then the other (just in a 20 meter circle) and then switching directions each time. The secret here was outside leg. Whichever leg was the outside of the circle (so if going right, left leg) needed to be active to get the line to the fence right. I'm pretty sure this is the same thing as the rollback turn …
Then we went outside and rode a 5 stride line that had to be done gently, then the elements of the line with a hard left and hard right turn to a vertical, then a two stride to a bounce. We had a hard time the first couple times through getting the 5 stride line, but the last time I finally caught on how to come in gentle, and it was no problem.
It was also a relief that Charlie didn't bat an eye at the bounce, although John made me do it again to show me (remind me) to use my outside leg to keep him from drifting to the left (left leg). And unlike the paint, once he figured out we were turning, he could make the corner.
It was a huge relief that he jumped and was fine. I was really worried that I shouldn't ride him a third day in a row when he was so tired yesterday, then I realized I'd rather know at home that he can't handle three days of work yet than learn it at a show and disrupt the season. He did fine, but tomorrow is a rest day and then Tuesday is another lesson, so we'll see how the lesson goes.
May is going to be a busy month and will fly by, and I am looking forward to getting this show season going.
Oh and food.
Charlie is now getting: flake of timothy and alfalfa am and pm, but if he doesn't eat his am hay, he doesn't get pm. Full scoop of rolled oats, 1/4 scoop of Purina performance, 1/2 scoop of Senior Active, and 1/2 scoop of rice bran pellets am and pm with about 1-2 quarts of water. Supplements vary am and pm. AM is 3/4 cup corn oil, salt, squirt of body builder, and 10 papaya pills (which we are about to quit). We just used up Red Cell and I didn't get more. PM is his smartpak, salt, probiotics, papaya, corn oil, and ration plus.
Goal is to get him to: 1 scoop Purina performance, 1 scoop oats; then corn oil and smartpak. Once he has enough weight on that it is turning to muscle.
So I was worried about his health, and did just at tiny amount of warm up for both dressage and jumping, trying to save him for the jumping and to see how it would affect him today. We got to John's, I said I waited to warm him up so John could help me as if it was the third day of a three day and Charlie was pooped, and he just trotted out like he was feeling his oats. It made John laugh and laugh.
At the derby, I don't know what happened with the lengthening, but the jumping was instructive in a humble pie way. The run out was the same mistake I made like three years ago, it was a long six stride (six strides, then 6') and I jumped the first jump in the wrong place at the wrong angle, then didn't even think to run him long and just got him to the second fence in the wrong spot.
I also had a problem with a rollback turn (on the right lead), the turn itself was fine, but then there were only a few strides to a decent sized oxer, and I didn't have enough power either time, so Charlie had to kind of twist over it. That one I'm not sure how to fix, but it is progress, I guess, that I know what the problem is. I didn't fix it between the first round and the second round, but at least I fixed the long six stride, which is something.
The long six stride was a weird angle, and the other riders jumped it making a rollback all the way around and then riding the combination as a bendy line instead of an angled straight line. What I should have done was walk it both ways; the reason I didn't switch was because I didn't know how it would have walked, and I walked the damn course three times so it would have been easy enough to do once.
Charlie had no problems with any of the other fences, just a general lack of go.
Then in today's lesson, we rode with someone whose name I should know but don't. She had a black and white paint mare. We started over some verticals that were down the center line, first going one direction, then the other (just in a 20 meter circle) and then switching directions each time. The secret here was outside leg. Whichever leg was the outside of the circle (so if going right, left leg) needed to be active to get the line to the fence right. I'm pretty sure this is the same thing as the rollback turn …
Then we went outside and rode a 5 stride line that had to be done gently, then the elements of the line with a hard left and hard right turn to a vertical, then a two stride to a bounce. We had a hard time the first couple times through getting the 5 stride line, but the last time I finally caught on how to come in gentle, and it was no problem.
It was also a relief that Charlie didn't bat an eye at the bounce, although John made me do it again to show me (remind me) to use my outside leg to keep him from drifting to the left (left leg). And unlike the paint, once he figured out we were turning, he could make the corner.
It was a huge relief that he jumped and was fine. I was really worried that I shouldn't ride him a third day in a row when he was so tired yesterday, then I realized I'd rather know at home that he can't handle three days of work yet than learn it at a show and disrupt the season. He did fine, but tomorrow is a rest day and then Tuesday is another lesson, so we'll see how the lesson goes.
May is going to be a busy month and will fly by, and I am looking forward to getting this show season going.
Oh and food.
Charlie is now getting: flake of timothy and alfalfa am and pm, but if he doesn't eat his am hay, he doesn't get pm. Full scoop of rolled oats, 1/4 scoop of Purina performance, 1/2 scoop of Senior Active, and 1/2 scoop of rice bran pellets am and pm with about 1-2 quarts of water. Supplements vary am and pm. AM is 3/4 cup corn oil, salt, squirt of body builder, and 10 papaya pills (which we are about to quit). We just used up Red Cell and I didn't get more. PM is his smartpak, salt, probiotics, papaya, corn oil, and ration plus.
Goal is to get him to: 1 scoop Purina performance, 1 scoop oats; then corn oil and smartpak. Once he has enough weight on that it is turning to muscle.
Friday, April 22, 2016
Total, unabashed relief at having a lesson
It has been a few weeks since I've had a lesson, and I was going into serious lesson withdrawal. My list of questions went down one side and onto the other, and I was sure in the three weeks off I had ruined Charlie because of his crazy eye and cross tie antics. I had not.
John patiently went through my list of questions.
First, he said that Charlie is gaining weight, and yes, it is in his neck. (And yes, his coat is shiny and glossy and he has a sparkle in his eye, but the glossy coat is from the corn oil.) They gain easiest in their neck, and then their butt, and then they will start to convert it to muscle on the top line and in his leg. John said he could see a bit of weight in his butt rounding out too, but he wasn't worried that it hadn't instantly made him a beautiful top line. He said this is just three weeks on this diet, and so if he still doesn't have a top line in four more weeks, then he can come to Caber for a few weeks of work, but John thinks that I am riding him properly and he just needed enough fat to convert to muscle before we can start to see him building the muscle up.
His theory is Charlie probably was a bit sick from the surgery, and it just took a few months to catch up with him, and now it is going to take a few months to turn it around. He was not worried that Charlie wouldn't be able to handle Rebecca (in more than 8 weeks).
BUT, John did say to go ahead and cut out the rice bran pellets when I'm done with the bag, since they are about 50% fat, and that is basically what the senior active is. He said Charlie doesn't need both. And he said to be very careful with the water in his grain. He said if Charlie doesn't eat all of it, especially when it is warm, it ferments very quickly (within a couple hours), so do not forget it in his stall and go to work or leave it overnight.
He doesn't think is it the senior, but the amino acids in the body builder that gave Charlie his crazy eye.
Second, for the little nicks on his right hind foot, John said there is a pastern ring he can wear. He said bell boots have the potential to cause more problems, because they get wet, rub sores, etc.
Third, for his show tack, they have little loops I can buy for his flash, and John will try some of his bits over the next few lessons so I don't have to buy 30 bits. He said that we might not need a different bit, because it was to get Charlie off from lugging on my hand, which the new diet might do anyway.
Fourth, he said if Charlie can only go 30 minutes, it is probably because that is how much sugar he has, then he hits the wall, and where a horse with fat could pull on the fat to keep going, Charlie doesn't have enough fat right now. He said he'll probably be ok for a show, because I only ride him 6 minutes, and so long as I time my warm up to not be over 20 minutes, Charlie should be ok. I said I was worried he would be wild at the show, and John said that was fine, I could ride it now, and anyway, it would be preferable to Charlie lugging around and us trying to get him jazzed up for 30 minutes in the warm up.
Then we rode, and Charlie just floated around like he loved working. At the end, John gave him a big pat and a kiss.
We did some 20 meter circles and then 10 meter circles and then into the canter back to a 20 meter circle. Then we did a bunch of leg yields, and some canter, across the diagonal, then on the rail back to trot. Then some 10 meter half circles at H or M back to the rail and then pick up the canter. Then some 3 loop serpentines but only for half the arena (which took me like five tries to figure out how to get the shapes right).
The big takeaway is inside leg is at the girth UNTIL I want to use it to push his haunches out, then it slides back. John showed me at the girth (which I have a bit of an open knee) and then behind the girth to push his haunches out. He said if I use behind the girth as my go aid, Charlie can't know the difference between go and move your haunches over. He said "don't make it too complicated" which is exactly what I was doing with a prior lesson where he had me keep my outside leg on the girth but use my inside leg back. I was trying to do that all the time instead of just doing it when I needed to push his haunches out.
For the leg yield, it is to bend him (but I always forget which way - the way we are going?) and THEN ask for the leg yield and THEN use the outside hand to keep his shoulder from popping out. And it is outside hand, not inside, no matter how much I want to use inside.
On the circles, it was some more work on bending him but then using inside leg to outside hand - thinking outside hand like a side rein pushed against his withers - to keep him round.
Charlie got quite sweaty, but was nice and forward the whole time, and it was really nice that John could see him moving so well, that I didn't ruin him, and that we are still progressing. John feels like once we get the weight back on, Charlie is really going to be going well.
But sadly, I just went to check which California event has the P 3 day, and it isn't there anymore. :( I was going to try to double up the T 3 day this year so the second one in CA would be the practice run for the P 3 day two years from now.
I feel like about a million pounds is off my shoulders now that I can check in with John and didn't have to keep worrying I was making a mistake with Charlie. Which is an interesting life observation, since that's how I feel about work too...
John patiently went through my list of questions.
First, he said that Charlie is gaining weight, and yes, it is in his neck. (And yes, his coat is shiny and glossy and he has a sparkle in his eye, but the glossy coat is from the corn oil.) They gain easiest in their neck, and then their butt, and then they will start to convert it to muscle on the top line and in his leg. John said he could see a bit of weight in his butt rounding out too, but he wasn't worried that it hadn't instantly made him a beautiful top line. He said this is just three weeks on this diet, and so if he still doesn't have a top line in four more weeks, then he can come to Caber for a few weeks of work, but John thinks that I am riding him properly and he just needed enough fat to convert to muscle before we can start to see him building the muscle up.
His theory is Charlie probably was a bit sick from the surgery, and it just took a few months to catch up with him, and now it is going to take a few months to turn it around. He was not worried that Charlie wouldn't be able to handle Rebecca (in more than 8 weeks).
BUT, John did say to go ahead and cut out the rice bran pellets when I'm done with the bag, since they are about 50% fat, and that is basically what the senior active is. He said Charlie doesn't need both. And he said to be very careful with the water in his grain. He said if Charlie doesn't eat all of it, especially when it is warm, it ferments very quickly (within a couple hours), so do not forget it in his stall and go to work or leave it overnight.
He doesn't think is it the senior, but the amino acids in the body builder that gave Charlie his crazy eye.
Second, for the little nicks on his right hind foot, John said there is a pastern ring he can wear. He said bell boots have the potential to cause more problems, because they get wet, rub sores, etc.
Third, for his show tack, they have little loops I can buy for his flash, and John will try some of his bits over the next few lessons so I don't have to buy 30 bits. He said that we might not need a different bit, because it was to get Charlie off from lugging on my hand, which the new diet might do anyway.
Fourth, he said if Charlie can only go 30 minutes, it is probably because that is how much sugar he has, then he hits the wall, and where a horse with fat could pull on the fat to keep going, Charlie doesn't have enough fat right now. He said he'll probably be ok for a show, because I only ride him 6 minutes, and so long as I time my warm up to not be over 20 minutes, Charlie should be ok. I said I was worried he would be wild at the show, and John said that was fine, I could ride it now, and anyway, it would be preferable to Charlie lugging around and us trying to get him jazzed up for 30 minutes in the warm up.
Then we rode, and Charlie just floated around like he loved working. At the end, John gave him a big pat and a kiss.
We did some 20 meter circles and then 10 meter circles and then into the canter back to a 20 meter circle. Then we did a bunch of leg yields, and some canter, across the diagonal, then on the rail back to trot. Then some 10 meter half circles at H or M back to the rail and then pick up the canter. Then some 3 loop serpentines but only for half the arena (which took me like five tries to figure out how to get the shapes right).
The big takeaway is inside leg is at the girth UNTIL I want to use it to push his haunches out, then it slides back. John showed me at the girth (which I have a bit of an open knee) and then behind the girth to push his haunches out. He said if I use behind the girth as my go aid, Charlie can't know the difference between go and move your haunches over. He said "don't make it too complicated" which is exactly what I was doing with a prior lesson where he had me keep my outside leg on the girth but use my inside leg back. I was trying to do that all the time instead of just doing it when I needed to push his haunches out.
For the leg yield, it is to bend him (but I always forget which way - the way we are going?) and THEN ask for the leg yield and THEN use the outside hand to keep his shoulder from popping out. And it is outside hand, not inside, no matter how much I want to use inside.
On the circles, it was some more work on bending him but then using inside leg to outside hand - thinking outside hand like a side rein pushed against his withers - to keep him round.
Charlie got quite sweaty, but was nice and forward the whole time, and it was really nice that John could see him moving so well, that I didn't ruin him, and that we are still progressing. John feels like once we get the weight back on, Charlie is really going to be going well.
But sadly, I just went to check which California event has the P 3 day, and it isn't there anymore. :( I was going to try to double up the T 3 day this year so the second one in CA would be the practice run for the P 3 day two years from now.
I feel like about a million pounds is off my shoulders now that I can check in with John and didn't have to keep worrying I was making a mistake with Charlie. Which is an interesting life observation, since that's how I feel about work too...
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