Football = Riding?

A quote by Chuck Klosterman - he's writing about football, but I think it applies to any sport.
Riding "allows the intellectual part of my brain to evolve, but it allows the emotional part to remain unchanged. It has a liberal cerebellum and a reactionary heart. And this is all I want from everything, all the time, always."

Sleepy, yet naughty Willig

I asked today to work on some of the 1-3 movements. Although I can do them, I'm not sure I'm doing them the "correct" way - that a judge wants to see. In particular, the canter-trot-canter transition at X, the two 10 meter circles at X, and our straightness. I also wanted to review the walk-canter-halt work we started last lesson, because it has gotten really ... flailing as I've been working on it on my own.
So we started with just a 20 meter trot circle (thinking overflexed neck and then flexing him alternately left and right) with a lot of focus on the responsive transitions. And as we moved to canter, Willig decided he no longer knew how to pick up his right lead. So I got frustrated, and started collapsing in over my right hip, which would shove his hindquarters in (to the right) so he'd have to shove even harder out (to the left) and then would pick up the left lead. This got hilarious. In the sense that after riding for 20 years we couldn't successfully pick up the right lead canter is hilarious.
So after struggling with that, Mike switched us to some other work - doing the walk "pirouette" (feeling his hind leg crossing underneath) and then trotting, then a few steps of trot or walk and then back and just keeping him really, really focused.
Willig was, remarkably, lazy. He wasn't paying any attention to Prince, who was having a blast on the lunge line, Jessica riding, or me.
The other thing we focused on was me sitting up straight and tall - just like my trot position, and not to fold up and lean in when asking for the canter.
And to smack him with the whip when he ignores me. I'm very, very, painfully slow on this.
So then we did a bit of the 10 meter circles - all that stuff on the regular ground just makes him flexible and responsive and collected on his hindquarters, so this isn't as big a deal.
Then the left leg yield coming out of the 10 meter circle to the right - Mike said think "shoulder in" for a stride along the center line before starting the leg yield. While I got it in theory, I couldn't get Willig to stop trailing his hindquarters.
And of course, the walk-canter-halt work helps with the canter-trot-canter transition.
So Mike went and got his boots on, and came out and rode Willig for less than 10 minutes. Willig gave him a bit of a hassle at first (Mike said because of the spurs) but then settled down and just looked gorgeous.
When Mike got off, he said to work on keeping my left hand steady and kind of lifting my right hand - he thinks that I am probably squeezing with my right leg all the time, and also leaning on my right hip.
So I got back on, and holy cow - Willig was like a different horse. He felt puffed up in the shoulders - like someone had put a balloon between his front legs - and he was so sensitive. It was like I've been riding a horse with two dials (direction and speed) and after Mike got off, he had like 50. It was like switching from driving a beetle bug (two buttons) to a space shuttle (200 buttons). It was kind of overwhelming.
To wrap up the lesson, Mike was trying to get me to feel the straightness, and to get my body position better (turns out, I am riding around on the right lead with my left leg forward and my right leg back!), but mostly I was just "oooo, space ship".
I have NO idea how he does that with only 10 minutes on Willig. I wish I'd win the lottery so he could ride every day and I could take a lesson every day. Holy cow.
Like, he likes to talk about peeling the onion - we started with my heels down, and are gradually working into more and more detail. It's just that I thought the onion was like - I don't know - 10 layers. And today I realized it is at least 100 - maybe 1000.
So, unfortunately because we're working at the frontiers of my understanding, a lot of what happens in the lesson makes sense at the time (barely) but it doesn't stick enough on the first try that I can get it blogged properly. It's cool to be learning so much, but I wish I was a bit more natural at absorbing it.

EHV-1 in Washington

http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/vet-breaking-news/2011/05/17/washington-state-veterinarian-cautions-horse-owners-about-ehv1-outbreak.aspx
A Washington horse that attended the National Cutting Horse Association event in Ogden, Utah from April 30 to May 8, tested positive for Equine Herpes Virus 1 (EHV-1), a highly contagious animal disease. Several confirmed cases in horses with severe symptoms have been diagnosed in Utah, Colorado and elsewhere.

Symptoms in horses include fever, sneezing, excessive salivation and other mild symptoms. Serious cases of the disease are rare, but can include staggering, hind-end paralysis and even death. The disease is not contagious to humans.

“While I have not yet placed any restrictions on the movement of animals, I strongly suggest that horse owners isolate animals that attended the Western National Championships in Ogden, Utah,” says Leonard Eldridge, DVM, Washington state veterinarian. “For the protection of other horses, these owners are advised to keep their animals home for a couple of weeks.”

The disease is spread from horse to horse through direct contact, on feed, tack and equipment or on the clothes and hands of horse owners. Considering the possibility of disease spread, owners are advised to carefully wash their hands and equipment to prevent the spread of the virus.

The time of exposure to illness of EHV-1 is typically two to 14 days. Horse owners attending the Ogden show should consider limiting the movement of their horses and isolate them from other horses to prevent further spread of the virus.

The EHV-1 positive horse that attended the Ogden show was treated at the Washington State University (WSU) veterinary teaching hospital in Pullman and was confirmed over the weekend. Blood samples from several other Washington horses that attended the Utah event are currently being tested at WSU’s Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory.

Horses that show symptoms of EHV-1 should be seen by a veterinarian. Positive cases of EHV-1 must be reported to the State Veterinarian’s Office at (360) 902-1881.

2nd level canter transition work

Willig was having a high-spirited start, and I told Mike he might finally get the chance to really see Willig act up, since we spent 30 minutes warming up going past the "scary" blocks that have been out for over a week. No - Willig just made me show that what I'm doing (actually riding him) has been right, with just a little fine tuning to improve it.
Mike also pointed out that it's easier with another person on the ground, the other set of eyes who can see things differently than being the rider, and that even his younger horse will go past the blocks 20 times and then spook at them the 21st. All of which made me feel better - it's not just tiny brained Willig.
The high-spirited start came from a really soggy day of rain; it really makes a difference when he doesn't move around in his turn-out, because for once in the past two months, he'd actually been ridden for a couple days leading up to the lesson.
Anyway, so we worked on those "control" rides - which are the leg yield, circles, sitting plugged in, distracting him, asking him to bend his neck and give (he started out like riding a plank with a 100 pound weight on the end - even my wrist muscles were getting sore), and shoulder-in past the scary places. Mike suggested it as he can look with one eye, but not with both, which helped me know how much looking was ok.
For warm up, Mike suggested thinking overbent and overflexed, and then praising and releasing when he gave to me.
Then we worked on the one loop serpentine, and the responsiveness to the aids - when I ask for canter, he needs to be ready to leap into canter. And then from there, we ended with working on the 2nd level movement for simple change. A simple change is NOT from canter to trot back to canter on the other lead, but canter to walk to canter.
So we did a few walk-trot-walk transitions to get him responsive. Then I'd ask for the canter with a bit of a pop up. Like popping a wheelie. And a few times, albeit a bit ugly and ungainly, he'd "pop" and he'd kind of jump his shoulders up into the canter. We'd go just a few strides (like starting to do pull-ups Mike said - you don't do 30 the first time) and then think "halt" back down. I thought Willig did great, and Mike said to add this in to our work, just making sure to do a few strides only as he builds up to it.
It was a really satisfying lesson when I look back at a year ago, when I couldn't even ride him at the far end because he'd act up, and now I get irritated when he doesn't warm up perfectly at the far end when it's been raining and there's scary blocks.
And Mike pointed out that really, ideally if you were competing to win, you'd school 3rd level and show training level, and then you'd get 70s in training level.
I'm just happy that I'm able to ride Willig now, even with a bit of a hot start, and not need to lunge and I just kind of clench my jaw a bit and focus, and then he's just grateful I'm telling him what's what.

Canter just keeps getting better

Against all odds.
This week I had a lesson with Mike, and it was a really great one. It was one of those ones that was just jammed full of interesting stuff - way too much for me to be able to write it all down afterwards - but a few easy homework assignments:
- When Willig dives down from the canter to the trot (without me asking, or hell, even when I ask but I don't ask for a dive onto the forehand), sit back, sit up, plug my seat bones into the saddle, and ask him to trot up into my hand.
- Before the canter transitions, do some "half-steps" and then walk (half-steps = think piaffe) - just a few steps of each, just to get him listening and also I think he rocks back a bit on his hindquarters with these.
- Don't accept less than what he can do.
- For the 1st level canter serpentine - I had the geometry wrong in my head. You don't leg yield over and back, it's just two diaganol lines. You point his head from K to X, and then when you get to X, you swing his hindquarters around (counter-clockwise in this example) and then his head is pointing at H and you just ride another straight line to H. I've been making this way more complicated than it needs to be.
- The funny little "hop" Willig does sometimes when I whip him while we're cantering is his preparation for a flying lead change. That snot-nose DOES know more than he's letting onto.
- We worked on ... I forget the name, but the shoulder-in and then when you turn his neck the opposite way (travers?). So now we can do shoulder-in, haunches-in, and travers. I think we just need to learn renvers.
- Willig did more excellent canter work and excellent leg yielding. This is not due to anything I am doing on purpose, which is kind of frustrating. It's wonderful and fun, but I wish I knew what I was doing differently to be making these things stick.
It was a great lesson! I am so excited about how much we're learning, although I have a tsunami wave of work heading at me, and I am just trying to figure out how I can keep some semblance of riding and the rest of my life together with the limited hours there are in a week.

Peteton - first dressage show of the season

This was a mixed bag. Like the FPEC jumper benefit, I was overall pleased, but at the same time disappointed*. (*Because I am a perfectionist.)
First, the weather was schizophrenic. Sun shining, gorgeous, then dumping rain 10 seconds later. While I love Washington summer, and can't wait for it to get here, this is the time of year I start getting frustrated. It doesn't help when I fail to get away during the dead of winter to somewhere sunny.
Second, Willig was a nut. He was rearing tied to the trailer, then I lunged him and he was leaping around the mounds with a crazy eye, and then I put him back on the trailer and he tried to roll, and basically he tried to dig a hole to China at his spot. Al was on the other side of the trailer and there were like two hoof marks. Willig's side of the trailer looks like someone was plowing to get ready to plant corn for the village for the year.
Third, I had the dogs in the truck, and while they were good and quiet, I was feeling guilty, and also anxious about the temperature (too hot, too cold, too wet).
So because Willig had his crazy eye, I got on him about an hour before my first ride. Fortunately, Shannon was just wrapping up working with Kerry, so she gave me a hard 15 minutes of warm up, which pretty much settled Willig down. Then we walked for about half an hour (at which point he got the "hops" and we had to side pass all the way down the long side because he wanted to be a moron - not showing off if anyone who was there watching is reading this - trying to avoid some bucking/bolting action). And then warmed up.
Now, two things were different. The test was inside, in a small arena, which I had NOT practiced the tests in.
And then, I haven't ridden the tests in about two months - usually I ride them way more than anyone would recommend, so that I have them memorized kinesthetically and can think about other things than the next movement during the test, like riding.
So this was a double whammy because the arena was small, the next movement came up fast, and I was already struggling to make sure I remembered the test.
What was satisfying:
- After Willig settled down, especially after the first ride, he was actually quite nice - much nicer than he's been since pretty much mid-March, when I quit being able to ride so much.
- And most of the low scores were expected: the small arena (it is really hard to lengthen him and collect him up when it only takes him like three strides to do the long side; similarly, it's hard to not lead with the shoulder when you're coming off a 10 meter circle at R and only leg yielding from X to K), and then his lack of bend and "quick" responsiveness are just me not riding him enough.
He got 3rd for 1-1, a decent sized class and just like .1 away from 2nd, and then sort of 2nd for 1-2, but she was scoring 1-3 with 1-2, and I didn't wait to see how the full thing broke out.
The scoring was on the hard side, but he got 58.276 for 1-1 and 57.838 for 1-2.
I'll probably just do 1-2 and 1-3 the rest of the season (I don't think I can remember three tests) and my ambitious goal is 2-1 for the informal stuff at the end of the season and to start working on a level 1 freestyle.
It was also good to have Shannon there because she holds us to the higher, consistent standard (see previous post on Mike's lesson), and then she always has really good suggestions, like: she pointed out that we weren't using the corners as much as we could (and thus, losing easily four strides on every lap around the arena), pointed out what I could do to make better use of my warm up (I get lazy), and also pointed out that once I enter the arena, I similarly shouldn't dawdle around in there, but make the most of my 1-2 minutes before my test starts. The best tip was not to ride him around all held up and squished at the sitting trot, but to let him relax, stretch out his back and topline, and post while I'm waiting to start the test. It was one of those "duh, why didn't that ever occur to me" and I'm so glad she said it.
Also, it was great to be there with Shannon there and with a friend. It makes such a huge difference in the day to be able to share it with someone.
So for Willig to start out on the wild side, I was very satisfied with how he performed during the tests. Reflecting back, a year ago I probably couldn't have even ridden him in one of those moods, and this time, I tried to channel that injury into "sparkle". And I'm not scared of it as much, more irritated, and it makes me ride him better (and then he's grateful for the clear direction).
I also rode the whole test at the sitting trot. Mike had suggested that I post, since my back is back to locked up (my fault for not working on it enough), but then it was easier to ride the small arena sitting because it made me keep him packaged so that we wouldn't overshoot a movement. And I did it! A year ago I could barely sit the trot - and I sat it like I was a tin man with only three joints - and now I can do it! This continues, with my lower leg, to be the thing I'm most proud of.

When Mike takes it up a notch, we both get sore

We had a couple weeks off from lessons because Mike was showing in southern California, and the timing worked out "well" because they were two terrible weeks for me with almost no riding. (In theory, that would be good timing, in practice, I ride more regularly and show up for my lessons if I have them, no matter how busy or terrible I think my week is going. So I've taught myself that I need to have at least a lesson every other week - I try to do Shannon even weeks and Mike odd weeks so that I actually end up with a lesson every week.)
So we didn't get to work on most of what he had us doing the last lesson, and then the first informal show was coming up fast (next post) and I hadn't even ridden test 1-1 or 1-2 in a couple of months.
While Mike had us do some of the 1-2 movements, and gave me feedback on how to improve those, what he really did was start holding us to a higher standard. Now, as the title says, when Mike decides to hold us to a higher standard, my abs get sore, and Willig seemed to be a bit sore the next day too) (although not two days later, for the show, when he had a crazy eye).
This is really hard to ride, because I have to think about what feels like everything every second, and here we go back to riding with Bob ... if I would quit trying to control it (i.e. think about everything every second) and just ride it, for god's sake, I could be present and in the zone instead of a freaking control freak.
That being said, it gets amazing results.
So some of the things I'm now thinking about (the next layer of the onion):
- No more puttering around! When I ask for something, Willig better respond. No beating on him with my legs, no clucking, no whip-whip-whipping. I ask; he gives.
- No more lollygagging. We were weaving in and out, couldn't hold the 20 meter circle to save our lives, his head was tossing or grubbing, and Mike is just like "are you ASKING him for that or is he just doing it because he feels like it?" (Hint: I am not asking him to grub while he weaves like a drunken sailor on and off the rail.) I'm the rider, and I need to be the boss.
- Work on my sitting trot. I haven't been working on it, and I'm locking my back up again, so I need to go back to work without stirrups. Mike kindly (praise the lord!) said we weren't doing it during the lesson, and that's good because it wasn't just my abs that were sore the next day, even without being without stirrups.
What does this all boil down to? Consistency.
- Then taking his movements up a bit. When I ask for a canter, no lifting his head, no falling on his forehand, no rushing, no hurrying, no waiting 3 strides before doing it.
- And similarly, asking for him to be on the bit - no head up in the air, no grubbing. A nice "waterfall" neck.
- And also, asking him to bend to the inside. He's not physically deformed. Do it, Willig, do it.
- Then asking him to actually move. Impulsion.
- And then asking him to stretch down on that stretchy circle. The half-ass "stretch" isn't good enough anymore.
So I loved it. I love that Mike is making it harder and not letting us just get away with a plateau, and I love that he's able to ask for harder, explain, patiently ask again, and then not gloat when I grin with pleasure when we catch on.
He said we're approaching the next level of stuff, and that we can do it (renvers, travers, flying changes) and at "flying changes" I started laughing, and he pointed out that last year I never would have believed I'd be where I am right now. And he's right.
I'm super excited. I love these lessons because they make me want to work harder in between so we can go even further the next lesson. It's just my damn job and rest of my life, all those hours I'm not riding ...

Another rainbow at FPEC

Road to Kentucky Benefit Show

Today was the Forest Park hosted benefit show for J and her fellow pony clubber to raise funds for their super exciting trip to Kentucky later this year.
Willig was a half-ass rock star. Some of the jumps were a bit more than we're used to (ok, a lot more, like the one that was two trees), and without Shannon, I probably would have chickened out and made more excuses not to ride (I've had the shittiest shit week, which means Willig only got ridden once, by J, during the week) and just watched and then went off and did other things. Instead, I was Shannon's shadow for the first couple hours, which gave me the confidence I needed to finish off on my own.
Here's how I tackled it:
- Lunged. He bucked. A lot. But I kept him working until he cut it out and then went just a little bit longer. He also fell down in one of his tantrums.
- Led and Looked. From the ground. I spent a while (a boring while) doing this. Instead of walking the course by myself (all 14 (!) fences - I'm getting too old for this!), we led him and Holly. He was a cool cucumber, which usually means he's bottling his fear up for once I'm on him and the monsters no longer have me on the ground as the tasty treat (while he makes a getaway).
- Lollygagged. (Just to make another "l" word.) We "schooled" the ground pole course together, at the walk, then at the trot. This took forever, but was very, very reassuring to me. It was also, quite possibly, my lowest point as a jumper, so it was very nice to share that moment with Shannon. You pretty much can't do anything less than this and still be "jumping". I guess you could carry the horse yourself.
- More lollygagging. Then we stood around in the warm up arena for a while, just so he got used to the activity.
- Cross-rails. We just tackled these like with the last lesson - ride every step. He was a little more nervous about it trotting (it's easier for him to shoot out sideways) and the long lines, when he could see several fences in a row, made him want to rush. So we walked the last long line. He just stepped over each cross-rail. Ironically, we placed 1st. The time they wanted you to aim for must have been "tortoise".
- 2'. This was easy breezy. It was fun. He knew what to expect, I knew what to expect, but I rode every step with a death grip on my hands. I could hardly flex them when we finished.
- 2'3". Then my confidence tubed, because they put flowers and flags and cones and brush under every stinkin' fence. Since Mr. W has problems with a single cone, I was pretty sure the good afternoon was about to be shot. But I gritted my teeth, clamped onto those reins, and ... we did it! Hooray for us! Except for one refusal (the combination "rainbow") where he did a classic Willig run out abruptly to the right, which I did NOT feel coming at all. But thanks to how he's been teaching me with numerous examples of what to do and what not to do, I yanked him hard to the right, which was ... right into fence #6, which surprised both of us, so he ... jumped it. And then I was still yanking right, so we ended up making this tiny 10 meter circle with a jump at 3:00, and then at 12:00 went over the fence he refused the first time. I could hear the spectators laughing. They said it looked like it was on purpose (it wasn't).
So I'm really super pleased with how he did. A week off. A change in his own home. A LOT of stuff to look at and going on. And just one refusal, and we rode it. Good job, Willig!
Now if only every show let you have that kind of build up ... and was conveniently located at home.
This day was definitely the high point of my week. And they did a great job organizing and running it, with their creative and fun course. And they had a good turn out, so I hope they raised some good money for their trip.

This cow looks like she could kick W's ass

Horse dreams dashed, German teen turns to cow Luna
When Regina Mayer's parents dashed her hopes of getting a horse, the resourceful 15-year-old didn't sit in her room and sulk. Instead, she turned to a cow called Luna to make her riding dreams come true.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2014686063_apeugermanyjumpingcow.html

Oh! That's what "ride every step" means!

For the last several months, during both of my lessons, I have heard the words, but have felt kind of cloudy. I try to do what Mike or Shannon are saying, but it doesn't seem to make total sense (or I feel like I'm already doing it) or have much effect. But the last couple of lessons with each of them, it's like each lesson a major light bulb has gone off, and slightly embarrassingly, over really mundane stuff.
In yesterday's lesson with Shannon, after the last lesson's break through on keeping the contact, she was telling me to quit moving my left hand so much. I was pretty sure I wasn't moving my hand, but then suddenly, I felt it. Every step, I give just a bit. And then take it back. And so if I focused on that and planted my hand in place, Willig could relax. And like Shannon said, he's actually nice in the sense that he's obvious about when I'm doing it right, so I get rewarded for riding properly by almost immediately feeling the improvement.
I haven't been riding much or hard (still moving and getting the house ready for sale), so he's been a bit of a handful. He's harder to bend, less responsive to the aids, and gets skittish. But that made for a great "learning opportunity" on how to ride that during the lesson, and once again, Shannon didn't disappoint.
The two positive signs were that when I'm riding on my normal schedule, I'm actually making my life easier - i.e. he's overall more fun and enjoyable to ride (kind of a surprise, because I've assumed all my habits are so bad that I just make them worse between lessons). And second is that I CAN ride him when he's being skittish and has low responsiveness - I have acquired the skills and tools!
The big break through on the flat was that moving left hand and needing to think about "planting" it.
Then we went outside to jump. I asked for it, purely because I 100% didn't want to do it. We haven't been riding much outside, I certainly haven't jumped him outside, and I haven't jumped him at all on my own since my last lesson.
And so Shannon sent us right to the far end (the scary end), put us on a trot, then canter circle, and right over this 2' vertical. And she said (second breakthrough): pretend like this is the show and this is your only chance.
So even though he wanted to look and be a bit silly, I rode. every. step. And while it made me tired, he responded beautifully. On the second or third lap, the poodle came out, and when Willig didn't react, he started barking! And nothing from Willig! Just an ear flick. Because I was riding every single one of those steps.
He had a period where he tensed up his shoulders and got ready to bolt (when we changed directions) but I could feel it coming (because I was paying such careful attention) and so we skipped the jump for a few laps, but then he was like "oh, ok, we're not doing that today?"
So instead of dawdling around out there for 40 minutes, trying to work up the nerve to head towards that end, Shannon just sent us straight out there and created yet another breakthrough moment.
Now, Willig is Willig, but this was huge for me and how I'm thinking about things. I'm still very much a passenger-rider, and I need to become the driver-rider.
But wow. I can do it! I just need to keep changing those old bad habits.

Great canter!

We've been moving, so not only have I been exhausted and not riding much, but my back has gotten every muscle in it sore. So I wasn't expecting much from my dressage lesson this week, although maybe that's the secret to a great ride.
Willig has been really great each time I've ridden him - he's just so grateful I showed up, groomed him, and he got 30 minutes of exercise, and he started the lesson out the same - low level hijink at the scary end.
We worked on leg yield, and when it was dragging a bit, shoulder in using the wall, which improved it quite a bit, and then turning down the center line, leg yield, then switching to shoulder in.
Then we did some travers (?) which is almost the same as shoulder in, except his neck bends the "other" direction. Tiny difference, but feels hugely different to ask for and maintain (just because it's new).
Willig had just a couple of short circuit moments, and Mike had us ride small circles at the trot.
He also pointed out the same thing as Shannon - why don't I use my whip? He watched me ask for an aid, Willig would hear me, and decide not to do it, and then I wouldn't whip him. Over and over and over again. But when Mike said "whip him" and I'd give him a smack, he'd go right back to obedient, quick, responsive Willig. So I'm still lacking in the assertive department, which is just soooo weird since I'm not really a very passive person (I don't think).
Then we did some canter work, and Willig did this just spectacular, mind blowing canter that was not on the forehand, not rushed, even tempo, just amazing. Mike was like "wow - what have you been doing?" and I was like "well, not riding and my back hurts - exactly the wrong things!"
I thought it was a fluke, but he did it again, and then again the other direction (although not as well, I think he was getting tired).
So the take aways were:
Work a bit on the travers - the feeling of his hind leg crossing underneath him - ride it off a circle and make a circle, and feel where that outside hind leg is.
Keep working on the canter.
Work on sitting trot without stirrups to continue to improve that.
Work on quick, consistent, obedient, responsive aids. A smack with the whip if he knows what I'm asking for and doesn't do it.
There was a LOT more - it was another chock full of lessons lesson, but I couldn't get to the computer for a couple days, and it was also so much cool, new stuff that it made sense while I was riding it, but I was thinking at the time "I'm never going to remember all this!"
It was a great lesson. Way to go Willig!
And he was good for J jumping him this week (outside)! and the hives are almost gone again. Mystery hives.

Super satisfying lesson!

I told Shannon I was ready to take it up a notch from our last lesson (ground poles) and suggested some of the raised poles (i.e. 2" off the ground).
We started out on warm up, and Shannon, after patiently repeating herself about a hundred times, finally got through to me on a very, very important point: HANDS STAY STILL.
So one of the life habits that needs to be corrected is that I steer with the reins, and with the inside one when I'm turning to the inside. We touched on this many, many lessons ago, but I've had so many other things to work on that we haven't gotten back to it.
So Willig was being a bit of a goof (raising his head in the air, moving his shoulder to the inside) going past the scary end, so Shannon said "keep your contact steady, your hands still, and move him with your inside leg into your outside rein to keep him from running in". Sound simple enough, but when he'd raise his head, I'd squeeze (and cross over!) with the inside hand, and then my hands would go uneven and then his head would raise higher.
So finally, she told me to think that my hands were side reins, and they DON'T MOVE, and to ride him with my leg, and I thought "Shannon is full of it, but just to prove she's wrong, and because the way I've been doing it for the past 3 years isn't working, I'll just show her that if I do it her way, he bolts".
And you can see this coming ... I did it her way, and lo and behold, his head stayed in frame, he didn't bulge, and we just went smooth as could be past the scary end.
And it wasn't a one time freak coincidence. When I'm not wiggling all around with my hands, he doesn't have to squirm all around with his head.
Now, that would have been enough for me to call the whole month a roaring success, but noooo ... Shannon had to push us a bit.
So she set up a little cross rail with two ground poles, and we jumped it from the trot - with the door open! eek! - and then at a canter and then trotting from the other side, and then cantering from the other side. And Shannon had to remind me to keep my heels down and to come in defensively (butt in the saddle, not perched forward on the saddle) and to let him jump, not stand up in the stirrups, and the first couple times I had to cluck and ride him my teeny tiny wimpy way forward, but then he was like "ho-hum". He hasn't jumped in probably a month, and that's his response: "ho-hum".
So she turned it to a vertical: "ho-hum".
Then she set up a regular standard that had a long straight away back towards the barn (you came off a circle, but then he had lots of room to bolt or buck), and then raised it and raised it and raised it. He came towards that a little more forward than the "short-side" fence, but not a moment of hesitation - he jumped a bit long, a bit short, and a bit just right (not in that order) and each time after the fence, while I got myself back together, Shannon moved it up another hole.
She said that it's me who's getting nervous, as I come around the circle and see it's higher, I'm the one who's tensing up and holding him back, and that I have to forget that he used to bolt and buck, and ride him like he's going to be good, but prepared for if he's not.
It was great. I was just all smiles afterwards.
So everything is coming together. I'll see how the next lesson goes, but maybe we can put a couple derbies back on the calendar. And - note to self - ask Shannon for jumping homework after that lesson.
And it is - all this stuff ties together - I don't want to overthink it, but maybe he's nervous because I rode him poorly for the couple years before I got to Mike and Shannon, and so maybe now we can correct that (and I'll become a better rider!).

My new goal: collection

Today was windy, and I was gone for an extended weekend, and although J rode Willig for me every other day, I only got to ride him Wednesday night before my lesson. And it was a busy evening in the arena, which threw us off a bit.
So I was a little anxious that it would be a lesson where we regressed again, but it ended up being one that was just the right amount of "stretch" into new territory, while feeling progress in the stuff we've been working on.
We began with the failure to bend to the left, and Mike pointed out that when I am asking for that bend, I tend to move my hand up and over (the dreaded crossing of the neck) instead of down and out (towards my knee). Also, I tend to pull with my right hand whenever I pull with my left (which I don't think happens the other way), so poor Willig has essentially been asked to go even more to the right when I'm trying to bend him to the left. Although this is quite obviously an ingrained habit, as soon as Mike pointed it out and I corrected it, the left bend problem pretty much went away (although I do need to remind myself to also use my leg).
We could have stopped right there and I would have been satisfied with the leap in progress, but no, that was just the first 5 minutes.
Then we worked on going past the scary side using shoulder-in. This also worked amazingly well (when I remembered to do inside hand down towards my knee instead of up over his neck) and especially when I remembered to use my inside leg to push him. It also helps, tremendously in a way I am trying to look at optimistically, that J was riding him inside because of the weather, because she doesn't put up with his bullshit at the far end, and just rides him past it like it's no big deal. So he was kind of a little bit over it until he remembered it was me, his timid mom, and was like "oh! Maybe I should be nervous again!" and then didn't get the firm, reliable corrections that J presumably gives without even thinking about it. (The optimistic side of me is that maybe one day, like breathing, I'll also give those corrections. The negative (and more dominant) side of me thinks, "If I haven't figured that out yet, I might as well get a sweet 15 hand Morgan and just putter around.")
Then Mike worked us through the movements in each of the 1 tests, because the dressage arena was set up. Note to self: I have not been using the inside row of lights as strictly as I should, because the big dressage arena feels small and cramped compared to what I've been doing on my own.
We worked on the center line a bit (straightness) which comes more through impulsion. Another eureka moment. He starts zigging and zagging when we're going slow. Although Mike also says to go ahead and slow down and walk a couple steps then stop with his nose on X. Don't wait and screech to a halt and skid past X.
We did some of the 10 meter half circles, practicing getting straight on the center line and then doing the next 10 meter half circle, to avoid making two angled lines instead of a half circle.
Also, we can improve our stretchy circle with more down for now, and then later add in more down and more impulsion.
Then we did some leg yield, which improves considerably when a) I work on the long side first, which is harder, as a warm up, which makes leg yield "easy", and b) when I, at the quarter line, check in on my outside rein/outside hand and make sure I'm maintaining the connection and not dropping it. When I don't check in, and I'm looking for the next movement, I drop that connection and his shoulder bulges out. Which is what feels like his hindquarters trailing, but is really a shoulder bulging.
Then we did the lengthening canter and the hard Test 1-2 down transition, where you rocket towards M and then are going back to working around the corner to C. This is not a news flash, but for an eventer, I'm a wimp and I don't really let him do his full lengthening potential. The other common error is to let him go too much on the forehand; it should be a "jumping" lenghthening feeling each stride.
We worked on not breaking to trot when you go back to working canter by lengthening, then turning off the rail and making a circle that progressively gets smaller (the same "horsey sit ups" that I have been doing the last few lessons that have strengthened his butt but still make both of us sweat) and then canter off in working canter. Or what I think of as working canter. And this is our beginning of collection: I lean back, and think "lift lift lift" with each canter stride on the little circle, and when he's tired, have to ask him (with voice, leg, and whip) to keep doing it. He got pretty tired towards the end of the lesson.
Mike says that by the end of the season, we'll be able to go back to working right at M, but that it's normal for me, and everyone else riding 1st level, to have to start slowing down a bit before M and use that M-C space to make the movement for now.
And finally, we worked on the counter canter loop, thank goodness, because I had been doing it as a leg yield! It is really a "V". Canter from K to X (diagonal line) then from X to H (another diagonal line) without changing leads. I was bending him in the neck like it was a leg yield from K to X and then switching the bend in his neck to ride X to H. Bad Martha!
This was right at the end of our lesson, so I think I'll want a little more follow up to make sure I am understanding that movement.
All in all, a very satisfying lesson, with plenty to work on, plenty of improvement, and an amazing amount of information that I never, ever would have picked up on my own for this year's showing in dressage.
And a VERY well-behaved Willig who, for the most part, ignored the wind. He is a bit easier to ride when he's on the verge of too peppy - both because he's got the lift and impulsion from his own peppiness, but also because I ride every single second because I'm waiting for the explosion, instead of getting "lazy" (I never feel lazy on Willig, but sometimes I might be a micromillimeter more relaxed).

Morning at the barn

I have oodles and oodles of stress right now, and was rushing to the barn for a morning lesson, and stressed about the change in my routine and the oodles of work waiting for me as soon as the lesson was done.
And when I pulled up, this is what I saw and then everything seemed a little bit more manageable.
(It helped that then, despite the wind, I had a great lesson. But that's for the next post.)

Steady hands and (knock on wood) hives leaving?

I forgot to mention that in my lesson, I started out with nice, quiet, even, consistent hands, but as things got tougher, my hands got a mind of their own. I'm pretty sure they were saying "Let's get out of here!" which doesn't help me at all with the whole "Let's go thatta way!"
Also, I don't want to jinx us, but the hives seem to be on their way out. This is bizarre, and possibly (??) related to the cold snap and/or the snow? Maybe he is eating something (moss???) that normally he doesn't eat because there's grass? Which he couldn't eat because he was inside and then it was covered with snow?
I have no idea, but I'll be really glad if that's it for this year.

Woot Woot! Train Willig coming through!

For today's "jump" lesson, I wanted to experiment with the theory that what Willig is a bit difficult about doesn't have anything to do with the fences, per se, but the visuals (rails on the ground, things under the fence, i.e. his "scary stuff" box).
We put my box and some cones out, and then I waited to warm up until Shannon got out, so that she could also give me pointers on how to warm up properly, because in previous lessons, both she and Mike have pointed out that I kind of "blah" along for a while before we really get to work.
During this, I also asked about why Willig seems so comfortable - in fact, curious - about stuff when I'm on the ground, but then finds it scary when I'm on him. This goes along with the whole "get off to cross the ditch". When he sees me do it first, it builds his confidence. Just horse nature.
So we warmed up, and Shannon did say to tighten him up a bit, not to let him go long and low with his head or to get strung out and go fast, but other than the normal amount of huffing and puffing that accompanies a lesson (and not when I ride by myself), it was fairly non-eventful even though this was like the fourth day of snow.
Then we started going past the scary stuff. I'd ride past it with the crop on the side that I expected him to shy to (i.e. in my left hand if we were passing something with his right eye), and the take away message here was: (drum roll) I ride like a passenger, not the conductor of Train Willig. Even though I'd see him start to look, and start to bend, and start to move away, it wasn't until Shannon would yell at me that I'd react. I could feel it coming an entire 1/4 circle away, and yet would do nothing until she told me to. I'm soooo passive. It's weird.
So then she moved stuff around and eventually brought in the Gator and a snow shovel (which was more scary than the Gator, fyi) and we went past it both directions at the trot and the canter and lo and behold, if I was consistent and assertive, Willig would go past it. He might bend a tiny amount, or do that gawky eyeball roll towards it, but if I was being the boss, he'd be the horse. Go figure.
Then we switched to the scary side, and did a new exercise, where we made 10 meter circles down the long line to the scary side. This added a new element of also going back past the pile of scary things but from a different angle. Again, riding him assertively, confidently, and consistently meant less hassle for both of us. What was weird again was how much I'm reluctant to use the whip or my voice. And when I do use it, I usually forget to praise when he does it right. And then I frequently use it ahead of time (once I get "whip" into my repetoire) instead of immediately after he's bad. And when he gets himself a bit worked up, it takes me a while to turn him (away from the side he's being bad to) and then I like to just stop, instead of working him harder. So if he's trying to canter off left like a jerk, then I turn him right and make him do a tiny canter circle several times so that it is more work to be a jerk than to just go where I wanted us to go in the first place.
So - this gave me a lot to work on, but I ended the lesson feeling, kind of bizarrely, really good. Even though I got Willig with the (now I feel stupid writing this) goal of riding him at Training Level or higher, and we're now going on the flat past a pile of crap, the light bulb went off for me on the stuff we've been working on over fences for a year (or more) now. I'm not RIDING him to the fence. I can work during the week, by myself, on these consistent firm aids and praise, and maybe, just maybe, it's been my three years of being a pansy that has made him fearful of the fences (although I think he's a bit of a goof and probably always going to be unreliable to a degree), and if I can undo that and teach him that never mind, I am the boss after all, and he can trust me, maybe in a few months, once we've mastered it on the flat, we can go back to trying it over fences. Because he is gorgeous when he's in the air. It's just the stuff on the ground that's the problem. And it's not him - it's me. I've got to learn to ride this.
Note to parents everywhere: invest in a good trainer for your kid. In the long run, it will pay off.

Down in the dumps post

Saturday was really windy, and with some time off that week, Willig was full of joie la vie (i.e. he had a couple good bucks on the lunge line), so I ended up using my lesson to discuss the merits of selling him, the progress he's made, what I want to do, and the like.
Today it was windy again, and he was Mr. Placid on the lunge line, and then, even when a wall of wind hit the barn like a tsunami, hardly flicked an ear. Willig's Motto: "Consistent Only In My Inconsistency". Maybe that's the motto for all horses, though.
Actually, it gets right to the heart of what was bothering me about my lesson. I was running through the same ruminations with Mike, and he pointed out that in his experience, a horse doesn't change its personality based on its work; i.e. a willing, patient horse who puts up with a lot of noodly banging around inside (ahem - my interpretation of me riding dressage) is probably going to be a willing, patient horse who puts up with a lot of crap over fences. But Willig isn't. And THAT'S what's weird. Why not? And what can I do about it? And have I really tried everything there is to try? And is it - horrors - me? Am I really just kind of a lousy, backyard rider? Is it ME who hates the fences? And if so, why do I think that I like them?
So Mike pointed out the obvious - if I'm not in the mood for hard work, and he's had a few days off, after I lunge him, just put him on the freaking draw reins already (NOT over fences, though, kids). Choose my fights, as Shannon said for Saturday's wind.
Then he pointed out that we warm up like slugs (these are my words). I drag around and around, and maybe a couple laps in actually start pulling things together. He's told me this before. Get on him and get riding, especially when he's had a few minutes on the lunge line.
From here we went to working on left bend, and trying to find whatever it is in me that holds the right side so tight. He had me bend with the left rein, leg yield with the left leg, then open with the right hand (like I'm going "ta-da" sweeping my hand out to the right), holding my right leg out and away from him, and then putting more weight in the right stirrup. (I was too chicken with the wind to try it, but he said ride with only one stirrup as a good exercise.)
And after a while, I started to be able to feel a bit more. This is weird, because this is the biggest feeling block I've ever hit. Like I can lean back (i.e. get vertical) and I feel "Woo! I'm falling backwards onto my back!") but when he says "pull left and leg yield to the right" I can BARELY feel it. Way later, at the end of the lesson, I pointed out that I could feel it when we were on a little circle, but around 15 meters was where I stopped being able to feel it and had to look to see where his head and neck was. So Mike said "so look then".
We did that for a long time, which was frustrating.
Then he had us ride down past the scary end where "the wind blows up his tail" and Willig didn't want to go past, but after a couple times, gave in and was like "fine". We went past with the leg yielding over - i.e. staying off the rail to give myself enough space to move him by leg yielding so that I have space to get closer and not ram right into the back wall.
Then we did some canter work, holding the outside rein contact steady so that Willig can't lift his head with the transition. Again, the first couple times he was confused because we were doing something different (he so loves to reveal that the flaws all come from me), but then he got it, and then quit trying to lift his head at all - even when we switched directions.
And this goes to my starting point. I don't get it. He's so willing and eager to please, almost, smart even. He knows all this dressage stuff already, and is just waiting for me to give the correct aids. So why are fences so freaking hard? My other horse friend was telling me how she brought her horse out to Aspen to school, and he just did every BN fence - even the big canoe. And here I am, AT HOME, and Willig can't do a 2' thing. What's the deal?
So then we dropped my left stirrup, got the whip across my left leg, and then got on a little 10-12 meter circle going left, and bent his head and neck to the left, while I pushed his hindquarters out with the whip and my leg. And then grew the circle out to 20 meters, and then did it again. And again, he caught on to this after just a few times and did it just fine.
So take away: be firm, consistent, and the boss about the contact and the bending.

Hive expansion

The hives picked today to start really spreading. Both the left and right side of his neck had the few medium sized ones, that have now deflated, but look like moon craters.
And now his body has numerous small speckled hives.
So it's not hay, not cob, and not ulcers.

Also, it is much, much harder than I thought to get good video and photos of Willig in motion. Tom used a tripod, but with all the light that our arena gets, the video will have 5 seconds of excellent focus, then we go past one of the light walls so we go completely dark, then it adjusts, but by then we're in front of the open door, so we go completely dark again, so then it adjusts, but then we're back in the corner without natural light, so then when it adjusts, we're perfect for 5 seconds, and then back in front of light. I guess next we'll try videoing at night, when there's no pesky sun ruining it.
And of course, Willig was super well behaved and peppy today.

That being said, we did video me schooling test 1-2, and while we're still pretty small for most of the test (except for when we loom right past the camera), at least it's not shaking or with a fence rail blocking most of the view:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7LRwzIejLk
I oscillate between being thrilled with how great he looks, and how much my riding has improved, and being heartbroken at how much I still suck.

Willig is for sale

I changed my mind. He doesn't like to jump, and we could both be unhappy making tiny steps of progress over the next 10 years, or I could let him do a job he loves. It just happens that I'm not ready to do that job yet. I want to keep jumping.
I'm going to stick with my plan for the next few months, while he's listed, but maybe his dream owner will walk into his life and I'll see that it was the right decision. Or maybe I'll give up on wanting to event, or maybe the light bulb will go off for him and he'll realize eventing is pretty cool.
DreamHorse.com Horse ID: 1652007 - Wise Guy
He's on dream horse under "Wise Guy".

Another horse in my barn is for sale on Dream Horse too - an adorable pony named Zoe, who makes me wish I was 25 years younger or just really, really short:
DreamHorse.com Horse ID: Zoe
And then Holly, for someone more experienced than me who can take a well-raised horse wherever she wants to go, which maybe I'd be able to do if I stuck with Willig for the next 10 years and actually learned how to ride a horse:
DreamHorse.com Horse ID: Perfect Holiday
Think of it. You could make a day of it visiting our barn.