I had a lesson a few days ago with the owner of my barn, Shannon, who has been riding for years, and just got fourth place at Inavale in Novice on one of her horses. It was a great lesson.
She pointed out a lot of little details, including my now teeth-grittingly bad lower leg, listened to my description of the woes we've been having, and then we did one simple exercise a whole bunch of times. This included a spectacular stumble where Willig almost went on his knees, and one time THROUGH the jump (so he learns it's easier to just jump it for the love of god), all down at the scary end of the arena where the new neighbor's poodle ran out at him last week in an incredibly ironic attempt to make him LESS scared of that end. All of this is build up for today's ride, where I brought T out (in case Willig had another stumble in which I did not stay on), where he ...
floated over it.
Over and over.
And over and over.
With scary things under it, he just jumped it.
He got it!
Willig IS smart after all! Shannon thought at the end of our lesson that we would have no problems coming along together, and while I was glad she thought that, I wasn't sure I 100% agreed since the last 18 months have been, well, tough.
But in explaining things to her, I realized that a) he has no xc experience, so his bad habits have been taught to him by me, and b) he just genuinely doesn't know what or how he's supposed to do things, and I don't know how to teach him. So we've needed a trainer, and simple exercises.
I had sort of come to the conclusion, which this sort of cemented, that I pushed him too hard too fast (he didn't need to work on a ditch or a bank yet), and now I've wasted time because we have to go back and build his confidence up. This is good though, because I'm learning how to teach him too.
So the lesson in detail:
Our jump was just a vertical with two ground poles on those little plastic stands that you can set at different levels. Then 9' from the center is a ground pole on each side, but tilted a bit in, so it makes a side of a circle.
Then we cantered it in a big circle, each way.
My homework is to do that until it's boring, which I think will only take a couple times after today. During his lesson, he was trying to jump the vertical, AND outside the next 9' pole, so he kept hitting it with his front or back legs, he'd stumble, I'd open my hands and the reins would slide out, he'd be on the wrong lead, and I couldn't collect everything back again in time for the next circle, so we'd have to make a medium circle to get collected.
Today, however, he had, upon reflection one presumes, figured out how to bounce in and out, and it was just a cake walk. There were a couple little knocks, but nothing like the lesson. And people (horrors!) were even walking around next door and he put one ear on them, but stayed focus on his job - the jump.
I am so impressed. After each perfect jump, I made a huge deal over him and he got a break, so today we didn't do it until boredom, but just two good ones in a row and then something different (other direction, scary barrel underneath).
Anyway, my lesson:
Heels down, toes up. Make my stirrups a hole shorter, and practice riding without stirrups to improve my lower leg.
Mostly we need to clean up on the little details (and he needed, for example, to learn to condense his body, not jump all splayed out), but it's not bad.
He needs to pay attention ALL the time. When I'm sitting on him talking, he doesn't get to fling his head around anymore. When we lead, no more stopping and looking around. No giraffe neck, no looking. So when I lead him, now I walk with my crop on the inside hand so I can tap him (like my leg would) if he tries to look. He's also caught onto this pretty quick.
When I'm riding him and he wants to fling his head around, he does extra work. Like if I wanted to walk in a straight line, now we make a circle and he has to leg-yield.
So, Shannon thinks he's a good horse, but I pushed him too hard too fast, which was my mistake, in thinking he had the nerve and the knowledge to do it.
And Shannon thinks I have a good seat (if a terrible lower leg) because even though he almost went all the way on his knees, I stayed on him. I had to grab around his neck, but it was a decent save.
We also tried different gear. A bit, I'm blanking on the name, that has the long shanks up and down so it has a bit more leverage on his cheeks, and a cute little martingale that fastens to the breastplate. Shannon had a horse with a similar personality to Willig, and found that those two pieces of equipment helped a lot with controlling his attention. It certainly seemed to help today.
Shannon said he's not getting too strong, when I feel him go towards the fence, but she said just to sit up and do a half halt and make sure I can slow him down, but otherwise, let him go to it. She said it's a great sign. She said it's also great that after he had to walk through the one fence (because it looked different, and I didn't ride him assertively to it even though *I* knew it would look scary to him - I am quite the passive jumper), he came to it the next time intending to, and actually jumping it. She said a bad horse would have come in planning to refuse even harder.
She said he's paying good attention to the fence, and just doesn't know how to use his body properly yet.
I asked her to ride him for a few minutes, and she said he is squirmy, but to work on giving him a task - like going over a pole, making circles, doing transitions, etc., and then he does better. And to get him to lesson, respond immediately (no four steps before the transition), and to make sure I get a nice working trot - not too fast or too slow, which I'm usually doing on him.
It was a great lesson, and I absolutely encourage anyone in the Oly area who needs a jump lesson to try Shannon out. I thought she was great to work, and I've made more progress with Willig with that lesson than I have the entire time on my own or at the clinics. (The ground work was really consistent with what Mike has been telling me too, and my lessons with him are also making huge improvements. For the first time, I really feel like me and Willig are going to learn a lot, be a good team, and have fun!)
Charlie with the long sought after cooler
Spring NWEC 2013 Novice
Sunday, July 05, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Another incredible lesson with Mike
This week I had another lesson with Mike, after a bit of a delay with our schedules.
And - although I worked diligently on my "homework" the first few weeks after my lesson, Willig had about 2 1/2 weeks off because of my work schedule (I spent a week in Colorado, so I really had an excuse not to ride), a short vacation (to TN to visit my family, another solid excuse), but also some general malaise on my part because of Odin and general lackluster effort.
My big question for him was about feeling pulling my legs back - towards Willig's butt - which generally just makes my knees go up. The sitting trot is improving - very very slowly, but at least there's progress, and my seat got really solid with the new leg position.
However, the first thing Mike noticed was my heels. Which will NOT stay down, whether I think to keep pushing them down or pulling my toes up.
And I was complaining and complaining how burned out I was on Willig and what feels like constant shenanigans and me not knowing what I'm doing and not being experienced enough (or good enough) for him, and how it's HIS fault I can't keep my heels down because I'm so busy up above trying to get him to quit flinging his stupid head around looking at everything.
So after a few minutes, Mike went and got draw reins, which I have never used before.
And the angels sang.
My lord. Willig put his head down and got to work, and he was SO easy and delightful to ride, and I could actually semi-sit the canter, and we made these glorious circles and it was another ride where I was just grinning ear to ear, and Mike said, once again, he thinks we can make a nice horse out of Willig yet.
And no, it did not cure my heels. It's my own damn fault my heels don't stay down, so this month I am working on my heels down/toes up and I have no excuse if I don't make progress before my next lesson.
Mike said when I normally ride, to give Willig more breaks - he expected Willig to be sore from such constant work over his topline - and I WAS sore from actually riding (and sweating! I love it!), but to think about the number of times I have ridden Willig incorrectly (18+ months) to estimate how many times I'll need to ride him correctly to fix it.
He also pointed out that it's not like I can sell Willig right now, and if I learn to fix it, then I won't want to sell him.
AND - he said after a while of working like this, he's going to just go right over the ground poles, then the little rails, then the jumps. He thinks (and I believe him) the cure is on the flat. I just don't have the right tools to figure it out myself.
It was great.
Then yesterday I volunteered for the morning at the show. It was pretty cool, because I was the bit (and spur and whip and body) checker, which I haven't done before, and the rules are a little different from eventing to dressage. It was neat to feel all the different kinds of bits and the different ways the horses reacted (the FEI level horses just opened their mouths and let me look!), but what was coolest was watching the riders. The show didn't go from training level on up, so I got to watch a bunch of different levels and different riders.
And every horse is different. (Duh.) But the lower level horses were more consistently spooky (not necessarily in messing up their movements, but being afraid of the mirror, judge's stand, wheelbarrow, noises, etc.), while the upper level horses weren't. So maybe there is hope for Willig, that he just needs that experience and miles under his girth.
AND - they almost all were nastier spookers than Willig! His little jerky spazzy spooks actually looked really mild next to some of these guys! And the riders just rode them through it, so maybe I have been having too high expectations and being kind of a chicken.
Anyway, the ride with Mike felt amazing. And best was how cool it was to feel what it should feel like, so now I have something to work toward (a while back Practical Horseman had that "what kind of learner are you" and I'm kinesthetic, so feeling the proper movement is way more useful to me than having someone tell me or show me what to do). Plus, it was great to know Willig and I can do it. The "real" way is to ride from your legs to the bit, but Mike is going to teach me how after we improve the other stuff (like my stupid heels).
And - although I worked diligently on my "homework" the first few weeks after my lesson, Willig had about 2 1/2 weeks off because of my work schedule (I spent a week in Colorado, so I really had an excuse not to ride), a short vacation (to TN to visit my family, another solid excuse), but also some general malaise on my part because of Odin and general lackluster effort.
My big question for him was about feeling pulling my legs back - towards Willig's butt - which generally just makes my knees go up. The sitting trot is improving - very very slowly, but at least there's progress, and my seat got really solid with the new leg position.
However, the first thing Mike noticed was my heels. Which will NOT stay down, whether I think to keep pushing them down or pulling my toes up.
And I was complaining and complaining how burned out I was on Willig and what feels like constant shenanigans and me not knowing what I'm doing and not being experienced enough (or good enough) for him, and how it's HIS fault I can't keep my heels down because I'm so busy up above trying to get him to quit flinging his stupid head around looking at everything.
So after a few minutes, Mike went and got draw reins, which I have never used before.
And the angels sang.
My lord. Willig put his head down and got to work, and he was SO easy and delightful to ride, and I could actually semi-sit the canter, and we made these glorious circles and it was another ride where I was just grinning ear to ear, and Mike said, once again, he thinks we can make a nice horse out of Willig yet.
And no, it did not cure my heels. It's my own damn fault my heels don't stay down, so this month I am working on my heels down/toes up and I have no excuse if I don't make progress before my next lesson.
Mike said when I normally ride, to give Willig more breaks - he expected Willig to be sore from such constant work over his topline - and I WAS sore from actually riding (and sweating! I love it!), but to think about the number of times I have ridden Willig incorrectly (18+ months) to estimate how many times I'll need to ride him correctly to fix it.
He also pointed out that it's not like I can sell Willig right now, and if I learn to fix it, then I won't want to sell him.
AND - he said after a while of working like this, he's going to just go right over the ground poles, then the little rails, then the jumps. He thinks (and I believe him) the cure is on the flat. I just don't have the right tools to figure it out myself.
It was great.
Then yesterday I volunteered for the morning at the show. It was pretty cool, because I was the bit (and spur and whip and body) checker, which I haven't done before, and the rules are a little different from eventing to dressage. It was neat to feel all the different kinds of bits and the different ways the horses reacted (the FEI level horses just opened their mouths and let me look!), but what was coolest was watching the riders. The show didn't go from training level on up, so I got to watch a bunch of different levels and different riders.
And every horse is different. (Duh.) But the lower level horses were more consistently spooky (not necessarily in messing up their movements, but being afraid of the mirror, judge's stand, wheelbarrow, noises, etc.), while the upper level horses weren't. So maybe there is hope for Willig, that he just needs that experience and miles under his girth.
AND - they almost all were nastier spookers than Willig! His little jerky spazzy spooks actually looked really mild next to some of these guys! And the riders just rode them through it, so maybe I have been having too high expectations and being kind of a chicken.
Anyway, the ride with Mike felt amazing. And best was how cool it was to feel what it should feel like, so now I have something to work toward (a while back Practical Horseman had that "what kind of learner are you" and I'm kinesthetic, so feeling the proper movement is way more useful to me than having someone tell me or show me what to do). Plus, it was great to know Willig and I can do it. The "real" way is to ride from your legs to the bit, but Mike is going to teach me how after we improve the other stuff (like my stupid heels).
Willig vs. the dead mole
Last week, after lunging, Willig had another turn-out opportunity. He was doing pretty well - following me around but eating, and not too much staring at the barn or running around all crazy man.
But then as we were heading back on our last loop, he was in the middle eating, and then he stopped, sniffed, snorted, jumped with all four legs straight, sniffed, snorted again, and ran over to me and almost ran me over.
So I walked over to where he'd been sniffing, snorting, etc. and there was a dead mole (or something) that the lawnmower ran over.
Willig followed me over to investigate again, and repeated the whole performance.
As we walked back to the gate, he stayed right on my shoulder - like twice he stepped on my heel, and I couldn't get him away from me.
So apparently Willig is afraid of death.
But then as we were heading back on our last loop, he was in the middle eating, and then he stopped, sniffed, snorted, jumped with all four legs straight, sniffed, snorted again, and ran over to me and almost ran me over.
So I walked over to where he'd been sniffing, snorting, etc. and there was a dead mole (or something) that the lawnmower ran over.
Willig followed me over to investigate again, and repeated the whole performance.
As we walked back to the gate, he stayed right on my shoulder - like twice he stepped on my heel, and I couldn't get him away from me.
So apparently Willig is afraid of death.
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Quotes from a Yoga book
I was looking for hip openers, and wasn't successful, but did find these quotes, which may or may not be inspiring:
"That which we persist in doing becomes easier - not that the nature of the task has changed, but an ability to do it has increased"
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Nothing would be done at all
if we waited until we could do it so well
that no one could find fault with it."
- Cardinal Newman
"Practice is the best of all instructions."
- Aristotle
"That which we persist in doing becomes easier - not that the nature of the task has changed, but an ability to do it has increased"
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Nothing would be done at all
if we waited until we could do it so well
that no one could find fault with it."
- Cardinal Newman
"Practice is the best of all instructions."
- Aristotle
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Mercury is at his "new" home
I was very fortunate to send Mercury back to the owner I bought him from four years ago. They were very excited to see him, and he seemed happy to be home. He even gets to go out with his old pasture mate, and will get to just "be a horse" and go on trail rides for a bit. Julie is a very experienced rider, so I have high hopes she can figure out what weird thing was going on this month and cure it and turn Mercury back into a happy horse.
www.aspenfarmperformancehorses.com
I am, of course, going to miss him very much. He was a great horse for me, and just the horse I needed during the time I had him.
www.aspenfarmperformancehorses.com
I am, of course, going to miss him very much. He was a great horse for me, and just the horse I needed during the time I had him.
Monolith's gas mileage
A distressingly low 9.8 mpg.
That is, however, on a warm day, towing the horse trailer (1/2 way with 1 horse), over one mountain pass and three "hills" (1-3000 feet each), averaging about 50 mph.
We went 339 miles that trip and used 34.6 gallons. Before we left, I fileld it (17 gallons). At $2.85/gal for biodiesel blend, not cheap. ($150!)
And next weekend I have to drive it mucho more miles.
That is, however, on a warm day, towing the horse trailer (1/2 way with 1 horse), over one mountain pass and three "hills" (1-3000 feet each), averaging about 50 mph.
We went 339 miles that trip and used 34.6 gallons. Before we left, I fileld it (17 gallons). At $2.85/gal for biodiesel blend, not cheap. ($150!)
And next weekend I have to drive it mucho more miles.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Willig at work on Sunday
Good news - he's making an effort.
Bad news - I'm fat and STILL - after all these years and a real effort not to - jumping ahead.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Mercury & Willig - I guess slow and steady will win the race
Merc update: I have been blissfully ignorant for the past fifteen years that there is a bad habit called "balking". That's exactly what Mercury is doing, and thanks to the internet, I've now done quite a bit of reading on it (and found it in some of my horse books too).
According to Cherry Hill, balking is "refusal to go forward often followed by violent temper if rider insists" and it is caused by "fear, heavy hands, stubbornness, extreme fatigue" and the treatment is "Curable. Review forward work with in-hand & longeing. Turn horse's head to untrack left or right. Strong driving aids with no conflicting restraining aids (no pull on bit). Do not try to force horse forward by pulling -you'll lose."
Many of them mentioned the "violent temper", but none of the causes apply, except, dreadfully, stubborness.
I talked to my friend J today, and she said that her horse does it too (but not "violently"), about 2-3 times in the 10 years she's been riding her, so she gets a wild hair, tests her authority with J, and then they go back to work. J says she gets off and lunges her until she's in a froth (what I've been doing! yay!) and if she's on her and can't get off, turns her head to spin her if she tries backing/sideways movements. She says it is NOT inappropriate to get off when they're being ridiculous becuase otherwise they are learning that they can indeed boss you around.
She suggested a week off, since Mercury has totally pushed my buttons and I'm pissed, with lots of lunging, and then just turn his head and lunge the bloody hell out of him if he tries it again as long as it takes.
She also thinks a month "with a cowboy" would do him some good, and that he could still find an appropriate home where he won't feel like he needs to test. I think it's going to be much more difficult now, but I'm feeling better.
Today Willig just got turn out on grass. At first he looked like he was frolicking and having fun, but I think it was actually more nerves.
Sigh.
Regardless, he cantered and bucked way off in the field, far away from the gate, and once I came back in (I had walked the dogs from the car to the adjacent turn-out and back, and with Odin, that takes forever), he went back to eating grass instead of running around. I actually consider that progress. He wasn't a wild man crazy.
The good news is that willig has NONE of the Cherry Hill "bad habits in horses" which include, in addition the dreadful balking, "barn sour/herd bound, biting, bolting when turned lose, bucking, can't catch, can't handle feet, halter pulling, head shy, jigging, kicking, rearing, running away/bolting, shying, striking, stumbling, tail wringing". That's pretty cool. And Merc's balking appears to be on the very mild end of the scale from the stuff I read on the internet. Still - how do I NOT know these things? I know basically nothing about horses.
I'm going, in the days that already don't have enough hours, to try to start doing yoga and some strength training at home. My legs are getting fat and I'm losing flexibility in my old 30's. (I also have GOT to find time to run and bike. I'm going crazy with the routine of work, sick dog, bad horses, try to keep house a tiny bit clean.)
According to Cherry Hill, balking is "refusal to go forward often followed by violent temper if rider insists" and it is caused by "fear, heavy hands, stubbornness, extreme fatigue" and the treatment is "Curable. Review forward work with in-hand & longeing. Turn horse's head to untrack left or right. Strong driving aids with no conflicting restraining aids (no pull on bit). Do not try to force horse forward by pulling -you'll lose."
Many of them mentioned the "violent temper", but none of the causes apply, except, dreadfully, stubborness.
I talked to my friend J today, and she said that her horse does it too (but not "violently"), about 2-3 times in the 10 years she's been riding her, so she gets a wild hair, tests her authority with J, and then they go back to work. J says she gets off and lunges her until she's in a froth (what I've been doing! yay!) and if she's on her and can't get off, turns her head to spin her if she tries backing/sideways movements. She says it is NOT inappropriate to get off when they're being ridiculous becuase otherwise they are learning that they can indeed boss you around.
She suggested a week off, since Mercury has totally pushed my buttons and I'm pissed, with lots of lunging, and then just turn his head and lunge the bloody hell out of him if he tries it again as long as it takes.
She also thinks a month "with a cowboy" would do him some good, and that he could still find an appropriate home where he won't feel like he needs to test. I think it's going to be much more difficult now, but I'm feeling better.
Today Willig just got turn out on grass. At first he looked like he was frolicking and having fun, but I think it was actually more nerves.
Sigh.
Regardless, he cantered and bucked way off in the field, far away from the gate, and once I came back in (I had walked the dogs from the car to the adjacent turn-out and back, and with Odin, that takes forever), he went back to eating grass instead of running around. I actually consider that progress. He wasn't a wild man crazy.
The good news is that willig has NONE of the Cherry Hill "bad habits in horses" which include, in addition the dreadful balking, "barn sour/herd bound, biting, bolting when turned lose, bucking, can't catch, can't handle feet, halter pulling, head shy, jigging, kicking, rearing, running away/bolting, shying, striking, stumbling, tail wringing". That's pretty cool. And Merc's balking appears to be on the very mild end of the scale from the stuff I read on the internet. Still - how do I NOT know these things? I know basically nothing about horses.
I'm going, in the days that already don't have enough hours, to try to start doing yoga and some strength training at home. My legs are getting fat and I'm losing flexibility in my old 30's. (I also have GOT to find time to run and bike. I'm going crazy with the routine of work, sick dog, bad horses, try to keep house a tiny bit clean.)
Quote
This came from Real Simple, but I thought it was amazingly apropos for riding:
"Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance and order and rhythm and harmony."
—Thomas Merton
"Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance and order and rhythm and harmony."
—Thomas Merton
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Lessons with Mike are completely amazing
Unfortunately, today's lesson and all I learned has been overshadowed by the problems I had with Mercury right after the lesson (blog post below).
We started with me describing the jumping problem at AF derby, and my theory - that it stems from me doing something wrong on the flat because I also have problems getting him to pay attention to me other times (at home, for example - the "easiest" place to pay attention).
We started with my position, and Mike gave me several homework assignments:
- First we did jump position. Again, a total miracle. There is a spot - god knows how I've made it this far in my life without ever feeling it - where your balance is just - absolute. It is the back arched, butt pushed back over the saddle, and legs - to me - forward. The alignment is like the stars aligning, and all of a sudden it is a spot you could be in forever. It's totally solid and I have never, I swear, ridden in it, because I would have remembered it.
It's also very, very hard to find on my own. Even with Mike's guidance, I would get it, feel it, and lose it.
- Next we worked on my seat and hips. This was kind of agonizing. It was different muscles than I usually ride with (not that my riding muscles are all that strong right now anyway, which is probably a blessing), and required some hip opening that I don't have, so it's back to the yoga mat for me.
Ok, so from the bottom up:
Heels go down. Down, down, down. But they go down by thinking "toes up" and what helps with "toes up" if I think "open knee" and open knee means "push your leg forward". Now, of course, it doesn't. You don't ride like a chair to have an open knee, which makes your leg long, which puts it underneath you, which helps you drop your heel. But that's what I had to think to make my leg do it.
This is out of order, but when we finished working without stirrups, when Mike said to pick them up, I picked up my legs, put them in the wrong place again and plonked my feet into the stirrup. So another homework assignment is to drop the stirrups, then pick them up by lifting my toes into them, instead of lifting my foot and dropping it down into the stirrup.
Toes also go IN, thinking pigeon toed, which actually just makes them only slightly out. I had to imagine keeping spurs off his sides to even get my legs close to pointed straight forward. Interestingly, for the brief moments I could hold the proper leg position, it felt really good and solid.
My leg goes back. Like I am pushing down against his stride and pulling back at the same time. My leg is way too far forward on the saddle. This was a really interesting feel. We did some sitting trot, and I held onto the pommel with one hand and thought about pushing my legs down into him instead of him pushing me up, and then tried to do loose hips. It turns out I can only hold about 3 new instructions in my head at any one time.
Mike said work 5-10 minutes every day without stirrups to work on this - the feel and loosening my hips and the sitting trot.
- Ok, then canter. It was similar to sitting trot, only I am bad about letting him run into it (his trot should not get quicker!), and I slouch in and collapse my chest. I am thinking about posture with a book on my head and consistency from him, and we tried how slow can I trot and then ask for canter. It is also thinking "leg back" but only my leg moving.
The canter movement is the same - pushing down with my legs and back and thinking of that pommel feeling, but it was harder for Willig with me shifting around, he kept breaking to trot and I kept not catching it in time to keep him going.
- We have a whole lot to work on in transitions.
- In general, Mike says lunging without side reins is not a good use of time. I am going to dig mine out and start using them again, but we'll start the next lesson with them to make sure I'm doing it right. He also said he thinks we're about "three chapters" away from jumping, and that he thinks a lot of the problems we fix with me will help Willig over the fences, but that it's likely he'll always be an insecure horse. Mike can help me with some baby jumps, and we'll work up to it - a pole, then 6", then cross rails. But first we are fixing me and the flat work.
And it felt great - there is so much to work on and it was so wonderful to be able to feel the difference and have something to strive for in between the lessons.
What was actually quite incredible was neglected Willig, while I've been dealing with Mercury, was really good (for him). He didn't do anything wild, and while our circles when I had one hand were more like amoebas, and he doesn't like it when I ride him inconsistently, it actually helps me know that I'm doing it wrong - he tells me. It's a nice way of looking at it - he's helping me improve.
I really like Mike's style. I had considered doing my lesson on Mercury since he was having problems, but then he was so good Tuesday I figured I didn't need it. I was wrong. Post-vet, I'm going to try to do an extra lesson with Merc if Mike has time as my first step towards what to do next with him.
We started with me describing the jumping problem at AF derby, and my theory - that it stems from me doing something wrong on the flat because I also have problems getting him to pay attention to me other times (at home, for example - the "easiest" place to pay attention).
We started with my position, and Mike gave me several homework assignments:
- First we did jump position. Again, a total miracle. There is a spot - god knows how I've made it this far in my life without ever feeling it - where your balance is just - absolute. It is the back arched, butt pushed back over the saddle, and legs - to me - forward. The alignment is like the stars aligning, and all of a sudden it is a spot you could be in forever. It's totally solid and I have never, I swear, ridden in it, because I would have remembered it.
It's also very, very hard to find on my own. Even with Mike's guidance, I would get it, feel it, and lose it.
- Next we worked on my seat and hips. This was kind of agonizing. It was different muscles than I usually ride with (not that my riding muscles are all that strong right now anyway, which is probably a blessing), and required some hip opening that I don't have, so it's back to the yoga mat for me.
Ok, so from the bottom up:
Heels go down. Down, down, down. But they go down by thinking "toes up" and what helps with "toes up" if I think "open knee" and open knee means "push your leg forward". Now, of course, it doesn't. You don't ride like a chair to have an open knee, which makes your leg long, which puts it underneath you, which helps you drop your heel. But that's what I had to think to make my leg do it.
This is out of order, but when we finished working without stirrups, when Mike said to pick them up, I picked up my legs, put them in the wrong place again and plonked my feet into the stirrup. So another homework assignment is to drop the stirrups, then pick them up by lifting my toes into them, instead of lifting my foot and dropping it down into the stirrup.
Toes also go IN, thinking pigeon toed, which actually just makes them only slightly out. I had to imagine keeping spurs off his sides to even get my legs close to pointed straight forward. Interestingly, for the brief moments I could hold the proper leg position, it felt really good and solid.
My leg goes back. Like I am pushing down against his stride and pulling back at the same time. My leg is way too far forward on the saddle. This was a really interesting feel. We did some sitting trot, and I held onto the pommel with one hand and thought about pushing my legs down into him instead of him pushing me up, and then tried to do loose hips. It turns out I can only hold about 3 new instructions in my head at any one time.
Mike said work 5-10 minutes every day without stirrups to work on this - the feel and loosening my hips and the sitting trot.
- Ok, then canter. It was similar to sitting trot, only I am bad about letting him run into it (his trot should not get quicker!), and I slouch in and collapse my chest. I am thinking about posture with a book on my head and consistency from him, and we tried how slow can I trot and then ask for canter. It is also thinking "leg back" but only my leg moving.
The canter movement is the same - pushing down with my legs and back and thinking of that pommel feeling, but it was harder for Willig with me shifting around, he kept breaking to trot and I kept not catching it in time to keep him going.
- We have a whole lot to work on in transitions.
- In general, Mike says lunging without side reins is not a good use of time. I am going to dig mine out and start using them again, but we'll start the next lesson with them to make sure I'm doing it right. He also said he thinks we're about "three chapters" away from jumping, and that he thinks a lot of the problems we fix with me will help Willig over the fences, but that it's likely he'll always be an insecure horse. Mike can help me with some baby jumps, and we'll work up to it - a pole, then 6", then cross rails. But first we are fixing me and the flat work.
And it felt great - there is so much to work on and it was so wonderful to be able to feel the difference and have something to strive for in between the lessons.
What was actually quite incredible was neglected Willig, while I've been dealing with Mercury, was really good (for him). He didn't do anything wild, and while our circles when I had one hand were more like amoebas, and he doesn't like it when I ride him inconsistently, it actually helps me know that I'm doing it wrong - he tells me. It's a nice way of looking at it - he's helping me improve.
I really like Mike's style. I had considered doing my lesson on Mercury since he was having problems, but then he was so good Tuesday I figured I didn't need it. I was wrong. Post-vet, I'm going to try to do an extra lesson with Merc if Mike has time as my first step towards what to do next with him.
Now we have a Mercury problem - help!
Ok, Merc went up for sale, and after lots of emails, a few people wanted to come ride him. Because of my schedule, it took a few weekends until I was in town.
I wasn't riding him much, and a couple days before the first rider, I lunged him, the next day rode him, and he was his naughtiest ever.
The first rider came out, and although she had a nice calm demeanor, he was really unpleasantly naughty with her too. (I'll define naughty in a minute.) When they left, I lunged him, and he worked himself into a lather, and I had noticed he was chubby when someone else was riding him (his first chubby ever in 4 years!), and so I cut back his grain and hay, figuring he was just hot.
Unfortunately, I couldn't ride for three days, so three days later (this Monday), I lunged him (he lunged himself into a foamy lather), then rode him, and he was great until I asked for lateral work, then he was naughty, but we worked through it and ended fine.
Tuesday he was mellow on the lunge line, mellow under saddle, not very resistant for the lateral work, and we even popped a couple fences.
He got Wednesday off because of my pesky job.
Tonight he was the worst horse I've ever ridden.
He made me so scared I was sweating.
He deliberately tried to buck me off twice, which wasn't the worst.
He was erratic and difficult - throwing his head in the air, balking, jigging, running sideways, trying to back into the wall, trying to slam my leg into the wall, doing some half-rear things that weren't quite rears but were definitely front end oriented.
Usually, when I ask him to go on the bit, I squeeze the reins like a sponge. He would just throw his head up in the air and open his mouth and nothing I could do would get his head back down. He'd also run backwards.
He's actually quite athletic.
A smack on the whip would usually result in running sideways or backwards. The light leg tapping working up to leg slamming was just ignored.
And this is - I would ask him to walk and then stop and then walk again. EASY stuff.
We were fighting almost two hours. He had been mellow on the lunge, did one quick head toss when I first started riding, and then was good all the way through trot (with lots of serpentines and bends), and right lead canter. When I changed direction to do left lead, all this nonsense started, and he just went downhill.
I finally - after a huge struggle - got enough of a walk that I felt I could get off (without rewarding him for being bad), put him on the lunge line, and he was already - from fighting me, pouring sweat. And he lunged himself into a lather, I got back on, and then we had intermittent success. He'd walk a couple laps, on the bit, no problem, and then I'd ask for a halt and he'd just start running around sideways. Or we'd walk, no problem, I'd ask for a halt, get it, and then when I asked for the walk again he'd run around sideways.
It was absolutely terrible.
I have no idea why he's doing this if he's not hot, why he hasn't done anything like this before in the 4 years I've had him, or what to do about it. I'm not comfortable riding him alone if this is how he's going to act, and I certainly can't sell him like this.
I'm going to have the vet out next week to check for soreness and check his teeth, but he's not the least bit sore, gimpy, or sensitive, and he's not the kind of horse to stoically hide it.
He has a completely different personality. The only other thing I could think of was that I'm asking him for more because I'm learning more with Willig. But over the past 4 years, we've been on a slow and steady up, and he's never fought me - even when I ask something he doesn't know - he doesn't fight it.
Any thoughts? Suggestions? I am at a complete loss.
I wasn't riding him much, and a couple days before the first rider, I lunged him, the next day rode him, and he was his naughtiest ever.
The first rider came out, and although she had a nice calm demeanor, he was really unpleasantly naughty with her too. (I'll define naughty in a minute.) When they left, I lunged him, and he worked himself into a lather, and I had noticed he was chubby when someone else was riding him (his first chubby ever in 4 years!), and so I cut back his grain and hay, figuring he was just hot.
Unfortunately, I couldn't ride for three days, so three days later (this Monday), I lunged him (he lunged himself into a foamy lather), then rode him, and he was great until I asked for lateral work, then he was naughty, but we worked through it and ended fine.
Tuesday he was mellow on the lunge line, mellow under saddle, not very resistant for the lateral work, and we even popped a couple fences.
He got Wednesday off because of my pesky job.
Tonight he was the worst horse I've ever ridden.
He made me so scared I was sweating.
He deliberately tried to buck me off twice, which wasn't the worst.
He was erratic and difficult - throwing his head in the air, balking, jigging, running sideways, trying to back into the wall, trying to slam my leg into the wall, doing some half-rear things that weren't quite rears but were definitely front end oriented.
Usually, when I ask him to go on the bit, I squeeze the reins like a sponge. He would just throw his head up in the air and open his mouth and nothing I could do would get his head back down. He'd also run backwards.
He's actually quite athletic.
A smack on the whip would usually result in running sideways or backwards. The light leg tapping working up to leg slamming was just ignored.
And this is - I would ask him to walk and then stop and then walk again. EASY stuff.
We were fighting almost two hours. He had been mellow on the lunge, did one quick head toss when I first started riding, and then was good all the way through trot (with lots of serpentines and bends), and right lead canter. When I changed direction to do left lead, all this nonsense started, and he just went downhill.
I finally - after a huge struggle - got enough of a walk that I felt I could get off (without rewarding him for being bad), put him on the lunge line, and he was already - from fighting me, pouring sweat. And he lunged himself into a lather, I got back on, and then we had intermittent success. He'd walk a couple laps, on the bit, no problem, and then I'd ask for a halt and he'd just start running around sideways. Or we'd walk, no problem, I'd ask for a halt, get it, and then when I asked for the walk again he'd run around sideways.
It was absolutely terrible.
I have no idea why he's doing this if he's not hot, why he hasn't done anything like this before in the 4 years I've had him, or what to do about it. I'm not comfortable riding him alone if this is how he's going to act, and I certainly can't sell him like this.
I'm going to have the vet out next week to check for soreness and check his teeth, but he's not the least bit sore, gimpy, or sensitive, and he's not the kind of horse to stoically hide it.
He has a completely different personality. The only other thing I could think of was that I'm asking him for more because I'm learning more with Willig. But over the past 4 years, we've been on a slow and steady up, and he's never fought me - even when I ask something he doesn't know - he doesn't fight it.
Any thoughts? Suggestions? I am at a complete loss.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
AF Derby Dressage Test
The high point of the day:
http://vimeo.com/4407056
At least we have improved at something.
http://vimeo.com/4407056
At least we have improved at something.
How do you solve a problem like Willig?
(To the tune of "How do you solve a problem like Maria?")
After our terrible experience on the xc course at the derby, I am feeling pretty low. As best I can tell, trying to be objective, Willig has gotten WORSE at jumping, not better. Although it took me months and months to jump him the first time after I bought him, last summer we went to two derbies (both intro) and a clinic with Jonathan. There were no refusals, and he wasn't refusing at home.
Then he got a few months off over the winter with the problems at the prior barn, and this year my goal was to move him up to starting to experience Beginning Novice, since the height is no problem (he's 17 hands!), and he needs to see the different types of jumps. I think we've been on a steady decline since February.
I don't really know what to do about this. I think we're a bit stuck - I'm afraid he's going to refuse, and therefore, he refuses. Then I gather all my confidence and ride him assertively to a fence, but he's learned to refuse that fence. And the refusing started before the fall, but that big fall off really, really shook my confidence in him. It doesn't help that he randomly tries to buck me off now. (He did it again today - working circles (I WANTED to be working stretchy trot circles; instead we worked rhythym instead of racing around circles), and out of nowhere, a buck. Now, it was half-assed, and I gave him a good pop in the mouth, a yell, and a smack, and he didn't try again, but still - what the hell?)
So, the problems are:
- He's an insecure horse, and I'm not riding him confidently, and that's my fault, not his.
- He's also an inexperienced horse, and he's going to be wary of fences that look new and different - which is most of them so far in his life.
- He's also a jerky face, and so on a course, when there's a lot to look at, he's going to look at it, and I just have to be able to ride him through that - getting him straight and looking at the jumps as far away as possible.
- I'm scared of the big, solid jumps. This is new - being scared. And I'm scared because he's not a reliable jumper. And the only way he's going to get to be a reliable jumper is if I keep jumping him.
My plan of attack is this:
- Work at home on:
- Bigger fences (2'9" to 2'11")
- XC fences and "spreads"
- Courses (12 fences in a row)
- Everything at the canter
- Drop back down to Intro for the next couple of shows to build his confidence (and mine)
- Haul him to some of the recognized shows for the day for him to get the show feel without the nerves and expectations
And my goals are this:
- Ride him BN at a show with no refusals by this fall
- If I can't, send him for a month of training with Jonathan in the fall or spring
- And then if I still can't ride him, sell him and get a different horse
But I'm really perplexed why he would have been so completely unfocused at the derby when he did so well at the clinic. The obvious answer is my nerves, but I KNOW how to ride a show, and even if I'm nervous, I know what to do and was trying to do it. I just got ZERO response from him.
I don't want to sell him. I also don't want to screw him up. I've really never had a horse like this that is this much of a challenge. Although I noticed today, riding Mercury is SO easy. I think Willig is making me a better rider, but I'm so insecure about everything with him. I feel like I am just ruining both of us.
Here's our one fence (the first one) at the derby - note I am, horrors, jumping ahead. Argh.
AF Derby - We suck at jumping
Ok, the good points first:
Our dressage test was our best yet. Willig got a 34.8, with a few 8s and only 2 5s, but best of all, I understood the judge's comments and agreed with them completely and remembered each of the errors. So I think we have a lot of potential to improve even more and be consistently 8s in dressage.
Even after three days there, and all the activity, Willig was, on our stall "block" the calmest horse there. He munched his hay, licked his ball, and was like "Oh? We're going out? Ok, then." Tom commented on his sweet, calm disposition.
It was all a ruse, but I'll get there.
I decided to warm up a bit early for jumping - not so much for a lot of riding (Willig was pretty tired after the second day of the clinic and his back was a little sore), but to let him look around and see the sights and not be nervous about all the activity. So I mixed in riding in the arena with walking around the hopeful jumpers and down to the xc course start and back up and around. He was fine until a loose horse went tearing past, then it took me quite a while to get him relaxed again.
Things were a bit late, which messed up my system, and the beginner novice warmup got really crowded, so we didn't end up doing as many warm up fences as I wanted, but he had done really well over the hopeful fences a few times - really nice jumping, smooth, calm, and obedient.
So we went down to xc, and one rider went before me, and I had been visualizing a perfect course and breathing and being calm and thinking about how well we were going to ride it, just like Jonathan had been working with us the two days before - nice forward, assertive seat, looking from point to point, nice straight approaches to jumps, and circling if I needed to collect him between the jumps.
We lurched over jump one.
He refused jump two.
We circled before jump three because he was being a spaz.
He stopped for the water and wouldn't trot through it.
He refused jump five (water counted as four) - apparently because two people were standing one jump over watching.
He also refused jump six.
He lurched onto the bank (jump seven).
And then I pulled him off the course, after we hurky jerky went down the gentle hill.
Because jumps 1-7 were the jumps I wasn't nervous about at all. They were the easy ones - tiny - and all jumps we had done several times, extremely successfully, during the clinic the last two days.
Jumps 8-14, however, were going to be a challenge, and I had been visualizing how excellent we would do after building confidence on jumps 1-7.
Now, in my entire riding life spanning about 20 years now, albeit with gaps, I have NEVER, EVER pulled a horse off a course because I thought he couldn't do it and might hurt me.
And I am extremely, extremely disappointed and discouraged and frustrated, and mostly, I have no idea why. I have zero idea what went wrong or how to fix it.
Next post addresses this issue.
Our dressage test was our best yet. Willig got a 34.8, with a few 8s and only 2 5s, but best of all, I understood the judge's comments and agreed with them completely and remembered each of the errors. So I think we have a lot of potential to improve even more and be consistently 8s in dressage.
Even after three days there, and all the activity, Willig was, on our stall "block" the calmest horse there. He munched his hay, licked his ball, and was like "Oh? We're going out? Ok, then." Tom commented on his sweet, calm disposition.
It was all a ruse, but I'll get there.
I decided to warm up a bit early for jumping - not so much for a lot of riding (Willig was pretty tired after the second day of the clinic and his back was a little sore), but to let him look around and see the sights and not be nervous about all the activity. So I mixed in riding in the arena with walking around the hopeful jumpers and down to the xc course start and back up and around. He was fine until a loose horse went tearing past, then it took me quite a while to get him relaxed again.
Things were a bit late, which messed up my system, and the beginner novice warmup got really crowded, so we didn't end up doing as many warm up fences as I wanted, but he had done really well over the hopeful fences a few times - really nice jumping, smooth, calm, and obedient.
So we went down to xc, and one rider went before me, and I had been visualizing a perfect course and breathing and being calm and thinking about how well we were going to ride it, just like Jonathan had been working with us the two days before - nice forward, assertive seat, looking from point to point, nice straight approaches to jumps, and circling if I needed to collect him between the jumps.
We lurched over jump one.
He refused jump two.
We circled before jump three because he was being a spaz.
He stopped for the water and wouldn't trot through it.
He refused jump five (water counted as four) - apparently because two people were standing one jump over watching.
He also refused jump six.
He lurched onto the bank (jump seven).
And then I pulled him off the course, after we hurky jerky went down the gentle hill.
Because jumps 1-7 were the jumps I wasn't nervous about at all. They were the easy ones - tiny - and all jumps we had done several times, extremely successfully, during the clinic the last two days.
Jumps 8-14, however, were going to be a challenge, and I had been visualizing how excellent we would do after building confidence on jumps 1-7.
Now, in my entire riding life spanning about 20 years now, albeit with gaps, I have NEVER, EVER pulled a horse off a course because I thought he couldn't do it and might hurt me.
And I am extremely, extremely disappointed and discouraged and frustrated, and mostly, I have no idea why. I have zero idea what went wrong or how to fix it.
Next post addresses this issue.
JE Clinic - Day 2
Day 2 was better than day 1. We started with a few show jumps. Willig started great, but then refused the "big" red oxer. And then refused again. Then Jonathan lowered the front rail to an x, and he went over it twice - HUGE. I jumped off and Lexy (one of Jonathan's students) rode him up and off the bank a few times - at first he refused and then got it and did excellent (and then the other horses refused).
I rode him on and off the banks a couple times, and he acted like it was no big deal.
We went out into xc course, and he did excellent - until ... scary hill jump. The jump itself wasn't that big, but it was on a slight downhill (the downhill off the bank instead of the bank itself), and, like the day before. He refused, and refused, and refused, and refused, and refused. It was so frustrating.
As best I can tell, the first time it was my fault - he was looking at it like 'whoa! scary!' and I was thinking "whoa! scary!" and so he screeched (slowly probably) to a halt. So then the next time I thought "I bet he's going to refuse" so he thought "I better refuse". So the THIRD time I thought "damn it, we're going over this jump" and he thought "This is the jump I'm supposed to refuse."
Jonathan told me I needed to be careful about not letting him start to learn he's going to refuse every jump ...
Foreshadowing ...
I rode him on and off the banks a couple times, and he acted like it was no big deal.
We went out into xc course, and he did excellent - until ... scary hill jump. The jump itself wasn't that big, but it was on a slight downhill (the downhill off the bank instead of the bank itself), and, like the day before. He refused, and refused, and refused, and refused, and refused. It was so frustrating.
As best I can tell, the first time it was my fault - he was looking at it like 'whoa! scary!' and I was thinking "whoa! scary!" and so he screeched (slowly probably) to a halt. So then the next time I thought "I bet he's going to refuse" so he thought "I better refuse". So the THIRD time I thought "damn it, we're going over this jump" and he thought "This is the jump I'm supposed to refuse."
Jonathan told me I needed to be careful about not letting him start to learn he's going to refuse every jump ...
Foreshadowing ...
Friday, April 24, 2009
Jonathan Elliott clinic - day 1
In brief:
Willig was full of himself. He was finding things to spook at in the indoor arena after I lunged him, and when I jerked on his face, he reared so high I actually thought I was going to slide down his back. It's the most impressive rear I've ever ridden (actually, I was a lot more worried he was going to fall over backwards on top of me).
We started on show jumping fences - several lines that varied. What I describe as Willig rushing is not such a big deal to Jonathan - he wanted to fix me (I ride with my hands down at the withers instead of out up on his neck, which feels really bizarre to me) and because I anticipate him running on the other side, I clench my hands and then he fights me as we approach and go over. What I did with the "rushing" was make a trot circle on the other side of fences with a nice bend from my inside leg before walking.
This accomplishes an unprioritized goal, which is to keep my head up. I never look down at the fence anymore because we're zooming around, and so my posture is, I think, better. I am doing better letting him push me up instead of overjumping, even though the good lord knows I look pretty pitiful over fences nowadays.
However, when we were almost done with the show jumps, Willig went bananas and started refusing this one fence (that he already had jumped just fine several times) and then we tried. And tried. And tried. And TRIED to jump it. Willig was willing to run over Jonathan instead of jump it. And so then Jonathan said that Willig didn't respect me in the big canter (he jumps just fine - he just won't listen to me), and so I need to do things like bring him down to a trot, then ask him to canter again more controlled. Jonathan thinks he's a good jumper, he just needs more direction from me.
Sigh.
What worked was if I looked at my spot - the next fence, a spot I needed to point him at, and "rode the line" instead of trying to ride him over the fences, we worked much better together.
So then, after everyone else had to wait an agonizingly long time for us to make it over the vertical, we went outside into the glorious weather. And Willig did great with some new challenges (jumps on top of "hills" going both ways), until we got to the off bank.
The last clinic (the one I fell off) we did a little bank in the show jumping arena, and it took him a few tries, but he got it. This bank, which seemed to be basically the same size, he didn't get.
I couldn't get him off of it. So once again, we tried. And tried. And tried. And TRIED. This time, Jonathan asked if one of his students could ride Willig (after we followed her, several times, to the edge, which her little pony just stepped off of, and Willig screeched to a halt), and I said "YES". So she took him around a few times, and then, to my horror and relief, he wouldn't jump for her either.
So then ANOTHER clinic rider had to try to lead him off with her horse, and he still wouldn't go, and then finally, he went off. She took him off it a few times, and then I asked if Willig could quit for the day on that. The other riders got to do one more course.
Tomorrow Jonathan wants his student to ride Willig off the bank once more, then he wants me to do it. He said that Willig just needs experience, that when he jumps the fences, he looks great, but he's timid because he's inexperienced. The student described him as something that sounded like "fun".
So, my take home message was:
- Hands up, short reins, but not death grip
- Head up! Look at my line and the next spot and ride him from spot to spot.
- Don't put him in situations where he spooks out sideways, and push him back under me with my leg when he does, instead of trying to move back on top of him.
It was a nice day. The jumps I was thinking looked big are actually quite easy to float over, when Willig jumps them. And since, once again, it's me who's the problem, now I can work on courses and riding lines at home to try to improve that.
Also, we got a sweet trailer parking spot - the weather is so great - I wish I was camping out there.
I brought my book (for work) and watched the end of the group after me and the following group. They both did really similar stuff to us, but some of the riders looked better. Interestingly, that's because it was a Novice/Training group, and then another Beginner Novice group. Unfortunately, I missed watching prelim and training/prelim, but I saw their leftover showjumps which were HUGE.
I'm pretty pooped. I'm kind of burned out and overloaded at work, which means I can't get stuff done at home, which means I can't get in enough riding or exercise. And I've been thinking a lot about Willig and whether he's actually improving with me.
Willig was full of himself. He was finding things to spook at in the indoor arena after I lunged him, and when I jerked on his face, he reared so high I actually thought I was going to slide down his back. It's the most impressive rear I've ever ridden (actually, I was a lot more worried he was going to fall over backwards on top of me).
We started on show jumping fences - several lines that varied. What I describe as Willig rushing is not such a big deal to Jonathan - he wanted to fix me (I ride with my hands down at the withers instead of out up on his neck, which feels really bizarre to me) and because I anticipate him running on the other side, I clench my hands and then he fights me as we approach and go over. What I did with the "rushing" was make a trot circle on the other side of fences with a nice bend from my inside leg before walking.
This accomplishes an unprioritized goal, which is to keep my head up. I never look down at the fence anymore because we're zooming around, and so my posture is, I think, better. I am doing better letting him push me up instead of overjumping, even though the good lord knows I look pretty pitiful over fences nowadays.
However, when we were almost done with the show jumps, Willig went bananas and started refusing this one fence (that he already had jumped just fine several times) and then we tried. And tried. And tried. And TRIED to jump it. Willig was willing to run over Jonathan instead of jump it. And so then Jonathan said that Willig didn't respect me in the big canter (he jumps just fine - he just won't listen to me), and so I need to do things like bring him down to a trot, then ask him to canter again more controlled. Jonathan thinks he's a good jumper, he just needs more direction from me.
Sigh.
What worked was if I looked at my spot - the next fence, a spot I needed to point him at, and "rode the line" instead of trying to ride him over the fences, we worked much better together.
So then, after everyone else had to wait an agonizingly long time for us to make it over the vertical, we went outside into the glorious weather. And Willig did great with some new challenges (jumps on top of "hills" going both ways), until we got to the off bank.
The last clinic (the one I fell off) we did a little bank in the show jumping arena, and it took him a few tries, but he got it. This bank, which seemed to be basically the same size, he didn't get.
I couldn't get him off of it. So once again, we tried. And tried. And tried. And TRIED. This time, Jonathan asked if one of his students could ride Willig (after we followed her, several times, to the edge, which her little pony just stepped off of, and Willig screeched to a halt), and I said "YES". So she took him around a few times, and then, to my horror and relief, he wouldn't jump for her either.
So then ANOTHER clinic rider had to try to lead him off with her horse, and he still wouldn't go, and then finally, he went off. She took him off it a few times, and then I asked if Willig could quit for the day on that. The other riders got to do one more course.
Tomorrow Jonathan wants his student to ride Willig off the bank once more, then he wants me to do it. He said that Willig just needs experience, that when he jumps the fences, he looks great, but he's timid because he's inexperienced. The student described him as something that sounded like "fun".
So, my take home message was:
- Hands up, short reins, but not death grip
- Head up! Look at my line and the next spot and ride him from spot to spot.
- Don't put him in situations where he spooks out sideways, and push him back under me with my leg when he does, instead of trying to move back on top of him.
It was a nice day. The jumps I was thinking looked big are actually quite easy to float over, when Willig jumps them. And since, once again, it's me who's the problem, now I can work on courses and riding lines at home to try to improve that.
Also, we got a sweet trailer parking spot - the weather is so great - I wish I was camping out there.
I brought my book (for work) and watched the end of the group after me and the following group. They both did really similar stuff to us, but some of the riders looked better. Interestingly, that's because it was a Novice/Training group, and then another Beginner Novice group. Unfortunately, I missed watching prelim and training/prelim, but I saw their leftover showjumps which were HUGE.
I'm pretty pooped. I'm kind of burned out and overloaded at work, which means I can't get stuff done at home, which means I can't get in enough riding or exercise. And I've been thinking a lot about Willig and whether he's actually improving with me.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Mike is a genius
Tonight was my second lesson with Mike, about a month after my first one.
It was the best ride I have ever had on Willig, the entire time I've owned him (which is just about a year and a half now), although we spent pretty much 30 straight minutes riding in a tiny circle around Mike at the trot.
The short version is: I have not been communicating properly with Willig, and Mike knows how to do it and is good at telling me how to tell Willig.
The long version:
We started by checking my tack and the bits. The skinnier bit should have been more severe, so it doesn't make much sense how I lost steering and brakes with it. Next lesson I am going to switch to it for the lesson and see how he does. For now, I'm going to keep riding in the Mylar Level 1.
Then I had a few questions about my position (the balancing blocks) because I feel like I'm too far forward (not enough on the two back legs, but on the front leg of the stool). It's a moving target, but it should be pretty evenly distributed.
Mike watched us trot for a few minutes (the only other time he's seen me ride was when my hip and shoulder were excruciating). (Side note here - at the NWEC derby I introduced myself to the couple who caught Willig at AF at the clinic. The guy said he saw me falling and that it was one of the most spectacular falls he'd ever seen, and he knew I was going to the hospital as I was going off because I was so high in the air, then bounced. He was amazed I could walk a month later and nothing was broken.)
Mike said that my lower leg (the back, near my heel) is too busy - it touches, touches, touches Willig and so he tunes me out and then doesn't pay attention to anything I ask of him). This requires a new lower leg position which feels odd and awkward, which means I just need to practice it and get used to it. I can still use my upper lower leg (below the knee) and my foot for a hard squeeze, but I have to hold it off him further all the time.
Then we started to work on my position, and Willig, out of absolutely nowhere, took off bucking, totally, totally naughty. I was so surprised I didn't punish him, and Mike was surprised too, I think. (Suspiciously, this is the second time he's bucked majorly since I fell off on the big huge bucks at the clinic.)
So instead of going straight to working on my position, we went to making Willig work, which ended up being an amazing experience for me. Actually, first Mike showed me how to stiff arm jab him in the mouth when he's terrible, and said I need to get his head in the air faster (hands up) to keep him from keeping going and eventually getting me off.
Ok, so first Mike held the reins and showed me the difference between rounded back/hunched shoulders (Willig can pull me out of position with barely any effort) and straight back/pushed out belly (Willig can hardly pull me out of position at all). We did a tiny amount of position work in a two point, and how if you push your butt back - like you're pushing it over the back of the saddle - your position (closing over your hips) actually gets really super solid, in contrast to if you round over his neck, where then you're just topsy turvy.
So then I put my hands on each side of his withers and held them completely solid and then tapped tapped tapped ("the police knocking at the door") with my leg until Willig gave with his head. Then I released the tapping and hard hands until he flung his head in the air, then I started tapping and hard hands again.
Then we did it at the walk, and I basically learned I have no capacity to walk and chew gum at the same time.
Then we did it at the trot, and a few miraculous things happened:
- Willig breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, you're finally RIDING me. Thank god."
- I sort of got it together and could totally, absolutely FEEL the difference in him - not just in his nice soft back, but in his nice, calm demeanor.
- We were a team! It was fabulous. I just went around grinning.
- He is responding to me. Each time I loosened to try to readjust my position, his head flung up (well, most of the beginning, then he "got it" and his head lowered when he had a chance), so all along it's been because I'm spastic up there on top of him and he doesn't know what I want him to do.
- I need to work on the release/praise/pat and then immediate firmness when he disobeys. I'm slow on the draw.
Willig took the bit and chewed it and lowered his head (we even did some stretchy circles!) and quit flinging his head around, and so then we:
- Bent to the inside. Interestingly, without his head flinging all around, I was able to notice he preferentially bends to the right.
- Worked, very slightly, on transitions. Again, I "throw him away", and so my job was to keep it all together and regroup and do it again if I messed up.
- Then started working on me. No news to me, I can't sit the trot. It makes Mike cringe. I also pull my heels up, and so I have to push-push-push them down, and think toes raised too. I click instead of using my leg or whip. And, the canter, which I told him I've been having problems with, was still a struggle. (It's weird, because it's so nice on Merc.) I don't "wipe" the saddle with my seat, so then we tried some just seat exercises (hold the pommel and pull myself down and towards it while looking up at the rafters - then lifting my legs off and letting them relax back down). I can feel the seat then, but as soon as we canter, I lock up my knees and back. So then we tried to think legs open and wiping the seat, and although it felt like my knees were flapping around on the front of the saddle, I could feel the proper seat in my hips. Mike says we can fix my knees later, but to work on my hips.
So ...
that's not all of it, but it's a huge amount for me to work on and practice before our next lesson. I'm hopeful again now that Willig and I can be a team. I just didn't know how to ask him properly, and he was really great and willing once I got the hang of how to do it - he was a totally different horse and an absolute delight to ride. I really like Mike's descriptive style and corrections, and how amazing it feels when we do it properly.
It made my entire day - possibly the whole month!
(Oh yeah, so just to put things in perspective, we still can't do transitions, canter, sitting trot, or, oh, anything that's even remotely dressage. But I am so excited to have a great trainer again. The sky's the limit!)
It was the best ride I have ever had on Willig, the entire time I've owned him (which is just about a year and a half now), although we spent pretty much 30 straight minutes riding in a tiny circle around Mike at the trot.
The short version is: I have not been communicating properly with Willig, and Mike knows how to do it and is good at telling me how to tell Willig.
The long version:
We started by checking my tack and the bits. The skinnier bit should have been more severe, so it doesn't make much sense how I lost steering and brakes with it. Next lesson I am going to switch to it for the lesson and see how he does. For now, I'm going to keep riding in the Mylar Level 1.
Then I had a few questions about my position (the balancing blocks) because I feel like I'm too far forward (not enough on the two back legs, but on the front leg of the stool). It's a moving target, but it should be pretty evenly distributed.
Mike watched us trot for a few minutes (the only other time he's seen me ride was when my hip and shoulder were excruciating). (Side note here - at the NWEC derby I introduced myself to the couple who caught Willig at AF at the clinic. The guy said he saw me falling and that it was one of the most spectacular falls he'd ever seen, and he knew I was going to the hospital as I was going off because I was so high in the air, then bounced. He was amazed I could walk a month later and nothing was broken.)
Mike said that my lower leg (the back, near my heel) is too busy - it touches, touches, touches Willig and so he tunes me out and then doesn't pay attention to anything I ask of him). This requires a new lower leg position which feels odd and awkward, which means I just need to practice it and get used to it. I can still use my upper lower leg (below the knee) and my foot for a hard squeeze, but I have to hold it off him further all the time.
Then we started to work on my position, and Willig, out of absolutely nowhere, took off bucking, totally, totally naughty. I was so surprised I didn't punish him, and Mike was surprised too, I think. (Suspiciously, this is the second time he's bucked majorly since I fell off on the big huge bucks at the clinic.)
So instead of going straight to working on my position, we went to making Willig work, which ended up being an amazing experience for me. Actually, first Mike showed me how to stiff arm jab him in the mouth when he's terrible, and said I need to get his head in the air faster (hands up) to keep him from keeping going and eventually getting me off.
Ok, so first Mike held the reins and showed me the difference between rounded back/hunched shoulders (Willig can pull me out of position with barely any effort) and straight back/pushed out belly (Willig can hardly pull me out of position at all). We did a tiny amount of position work in a two point, and how if you push your butt back - like you're pushing it over the back of the saddle - your position (closing over your hips) actually gets really super solid, in contrast to if you round over his neck, where then you're just topsy turvy.
So then I put my hands on each side of his withers and held them completely solid and then tapped tapped tapped ("the police knocking at the door") with my leg until Willig gave with his head. Then I released the tapping and hard hands until he flung his head in the air, then I started tapping and hard hands again.
Then we did it at the walk, and I basically learned I have no capacity to walk and chew gum at the same time.
Then we did it at the trot, and a few miraculous things happened:
- Willig breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, you're finally RIDING me. Thank god."
- I sort of got it together and could totally, absolutely FEEL the difference in him - not just in his nice soft back, but in his nice, calm demeanor.
- We were a team! It was fabulous. I just went around grinning.
- He is responding to me. Each time I loosened to try to readjust my position, his head flung up (well, most of the beginning, then he "got it" and his head lowered when he had a chance), so all along it's been because I'm spastic up there on top of him and he doesn't know what I want him to do.
- I need to work on the release/praise/pat and then immediate firmness when he disobeys. I'm slow on the draw.
Willig took the bit and chewed it and lowered his head (we even did some stretchy circles!) and quit flinging his head around, and so then we:
- Bent to the inside. Interestingly, without his head flinging all around, I was able to notice he preferentially bends to the right.
- Worked, very slightly, on transitions. Again, I "throw him away", and so my job was to keep it all together and regroup and do it again if I messed up.
- Then started working on me. No news to me, I can't sit the trot. It makes Mike cringe. I also pull my heels up, and so I have to push-push-push them down, and think toes raised too. I click instead of using my leg or whip. And, the canter, which I told him I've been having problems with, was still a struggle. (It's weird, because it's so nice on Merc.) I don't "wipe" the saddle with my seat, so then we tried some just seat exercises (hold the pommel and pull myself down and towards it while looking up at the rafters - then lifting my legs off and letting them relax back down). I can feel the seat then, but as soon as we canter, I lock up my knees and back. So then we tried to think legs open and wiping the seat, and although it felt like my knees were flapping around on the front of the saddle, I could feel the proper seat in my hips. Mike says we can fix my knees later, but to work on my hips.
So ...
that's not all of it, but it's a huge amount for me to work on and practice before our next lesson. I'm hopeful again now that Willig and I can be a team. I just didn't know how to ask him properly, and he was really great and willing once I got the hang of how to do it - he was a totally different horse and an absolute delight to ride. I really like Mike's descriptive style and corrections, and how amazing it feels when we do it properly.
It made my entire day - possibly the whole month!
(Oh yeah, so just to put things in perspective, we still can't do transitions, canter, sitting trot, or, oh, anything that's even remotely dressage. But I am so excited to have a great trainer again. The sky's the limit!)
Newsworthy Willig
Last Saturday, unexpectedly, Willig had a great day, so pursuant to the Conrad Schumacher instructions, I took our "comfort circle" and kept expanding it.
Willig was so good we did five stretch goals:
- cantered a course (instead of trotted it - he got hot, but at least we did it without mishap);
- jumped the big "brick" wall (a refusal and then a spook looking at it, but then the second try he did it fine, well "fine" for him);
- jumped my fake ditch (which he has been getting better and better at, and next time Tom comes down, I am going to try to jump the real ditch);
- walked around in the huge pasture on a "trail" ride; and
- and then went out in a pasture and let him loose to eat grass (according to Shannon, the owner, he is afraid of the pastures) for 15 minutes!!
Tonight we did another pasture turnout which was a bit more sketchy, but not too traumatic.
By the way, a couple weeks ago on a Monday, I set up two lunge "jumps" (one at 3 and 9 if I'm the center of a clock). First they were just poles on blocks (so a high step up, but by high, I mean like 3"), then one became a jump (less than 2') then the other became a jump. I had to set up the fly poles to keep him from darting out to the side each lap, and I noticed he kept his years pretty much pointed away from me the entire time. Then I did Merc over them too, and I did not need the no-run-away poles AND his floppy ol' ears stayed looking at me most of the time. Hmmm. So clearly there is something missing in my communication with Willig.
Willig was so good we did five stretch goals:
- cantered a course (instead of trotted it - he got hot, but at least we did it without mishap);
- jumped the big "brick" wall (a refusal and then a spook looking at it, but then the second try he did it fine, well "fine" for him);
- jumped my fake ditch (which he has been getting better and better at, and next time Tom comes down, I am going to try to jump the real ditch);
- walked around in the huge pasture on a "trail" ride; and
- and then went out in a pasture and let him loose to eat grass (according to Shannon, the owner, he is afraid of the pastures) for 15 minutes!!
Tonight we did another pasture turnout which was a bit more sketchy, but not too traumatic.
By the way, a couple weeks ago on a Monday, I set up two lunge "jumps" (one at 3 and 9 if I'm the center of a clock). First they were just poles on blocks (so a high step up, but by high, I mean like 3"), then one became a jump (less than 2') then the other became a jump. I had to set up the fly poles to keep him from darting out to the side each lap, and I noticed he kept his years pretty much pointed away from me the entire time. Then I did Merc over them too, and I did not need the no-run-away poles AND his floppy ol' ears stayed looking at me most of the time. Hmmm. So clearly there is something missing in my communication with Willig.
Second day of NWEC/Adult Riders Derby
This is a very belated blog entry, since this was April 5th, so I'll be concise (for me).
I had fun.
For the first time in a long time, and maybe the first time riding Willig, I had a good time. The weather was great, and Willig was pretty good and relaxed.
Plus, I hooked up the truck and trailer perfectly. One try.
We got third place, at Intro. 1st place was 35.3, 2nd 42.7, and we were another slight improvement to 43.2.
No refusals on the course, and dressage could have been a bit better, but the ground was frosty and I was worried about him slipping, so I didn't do as vigorous a warm up as I would have liked. (Our dressage ride was 7:56 am!)
Then, after the terrible trailer incident the day before, I coaxed him in with carrots. It took about half an hour, but there was no pulling or fighting (he got a carrot each time he came a step farther in, so he could back out and stand and stare (but not eat), but he didn't get a new carrot until he came in farther).
The next day, Janis suggested, sagely, the stud chain, which was just a few feet away from me.
But then on the roundabout (like the 5th one) on the way home, I almost hit a truck going through, and I had to slam on the brakes, and poor Willig came out of the trailer sweaty and scared. (Sigh).
Anyway, Adult Riders did a great job and I had a great time and even got a bit of a tan on my face. Oh yeah, and third place was jackpot. I scored my first bucks ever - $15!!
I had fun.
For the first time in a long time, and maybe the first time riding Willig, I had a good time. The weather was great, and Willig was pretty good and relaxed.
Plus, I hooked up the truck and trailer perfectly. One try.
We got third place, at Intro. 1st place was 35.3, 2nd 42.7, and we were another slight improvement to 43.2.
No refusals on the course, and dressage could have been a bit better, but the ground was frosty and I was worried about him slipping, so I didn't do as vigorous a warm up as I would have liked. (Our dressage ride was 7:56 am!)
Then, after the terrible trailer incident the day before, I coaxed him in with carrots. It took about half an hour, but there was no pulling or fighting (he got a carrot each time he came a step farther in, so he could back out and stand and stare (but not eat), but he didn't get a new carrot until he came in farther).
The next day, Janis suggested, sagely, the stud chain, which was just a few feet away from me.
But then on the roundabout (like the 5th one) on the way home, I almost hit a truck going through, and I had to slam on the brakes, and poor Willig came out of the trailer sweaty and scared. (Sigh).
Anyway, Adult Riders did a great job and I had a great time and even got a bit of a tan on my face. Oh yeah, and third place was jackpot. I scored my first bucks ever - $15!!
Monday, April 06, 2009
Saturday, April 04, 2009
Rough start to a nice day
Today was the first day of our portion of the Adult Eventing Derby. Today was the play day. (We didn't go to the clinic portion.)
We had a terrible start. I couldn't sleep last night and thought I was getting sick - last night Willig was a loony tune on the lunge line, kicked at me, got it wrapped around his leg (I should be ashamed how frequently this happens - he won't make a round circle, and he tends to kick on the flat side, so the lunge line is more often loose on that side), then when I let go so as not to break his sweet little leg - he went ripping off and ran around and around for 10 minutes not letting me catch him, like a total jerk-face.
After a solo-hitching at 5:45 am (one that the neighbors AND me want to avoid happening again), I went to get Willig. He was all sweet and quiet in his stall, apparently a sleepy Willig is a docile Willig.
I noticed a little piece had snapped on his halter (oddly, since it was ok last night when I put him away), and I made a mental note to fix it after I put on his bridle at the show. That's called foreshadowing, readers.
So we went out to the trailer, and I was using the light my dad got me to light up the inside since it was still pretty dark out, and that ding dong would not go in. And he was pulling, pulling, pulling, and SNAP - the rest of the halter broke - it flew off his head, and he ... thanks to last night, possibly? ... ran away again. With his shipping boots and his tail wrap, he ran all over Forest Park's trailer parking lot. This gave me time to get his back-up halter and move the broken one, and then he let me catch him, but had gotten himself quite worked up.
So then I put him in, but with the lunge line through the tie, so that I could stand next to him but pull him in at the same time. Well, the lesson he learned was "if I pull hard enough, I can get loose and not go in the trailer" - he was rearing and thrashing and sparks flew from his hooves like he was the devil hisself. By this point, unlike last night, I didn't care if he killed himself.
Eventually, he got so worked up he started shaking, and then, for reasons unknown to me, he just walked in. I was just about ready to quit. He gave me rope burns on my hands.
So I was upset - I was like "I can't even load this horse into the trailer, what the hell am I doing going to a show?" and I thought I'd just drive him around the block (so he didn't get away with being so terrible then going right back in his stall), but we went to the show anyway, because I reasoned that once I start chickening out, there's no going back.
We got there late because of the trailer incident. I registered, ran out and half ass walked the course, rubbed him briefly with a brush, lunged him about 5 minutes, rode him about 3 minutes (once over each fence), then made it to my start time with 30 seconds to spare - and no breakfast for Willig.
So given that, he did pretty well, though given what he should be able to do, it was pitiful. We were clobbered by 6 year olds.
He had a refusal at fence 3 (an odd shaped log). We stopped in front of it, he looked at it, then he jumped it kind of funny but jumped it. Then I pulled him off of 8 (another log) because he was so busy looking at the scary ditch to the right of it that I thought he was going to slam right into it. The rest of the fences were fine. It wasn't timed, so we trotted and were calm. (Interestingly, I just read in Practical Horseman, while sitting in the sun later in the day, that it is harder to trot a fence than canter it.)
This resulted in either a:
- 3rd place finish (two refusals were the third worst ride)
- 10th place finish (out of 17) (there were 8 or so ties for 1st place since it wasn't timed and they didn't refuse)
- Last place finish (everyone below us was eliminated; no one had three refusals)
But - with a bunch of horses screaming in their stalls - and at least three loose horses (which made me feel a LOT better), Willig was actually really, really good in his stall.
I went and walked BN, what we had planned to ride. It looked bigger. It had a ditch.
Just before I was going to get him ready for dressage, he got bored, so I got him ready early and we just rode around all over the show grounds. That was really good for him I think - to just see a bunch of stuff happening and it not be a big deal.
Then, our dressage test was with Francis O'Reilly, and Adult Riders set it up so you got to talk to the judge after. This was genius (thank you Adult Riders!). She came out and explained HOW to ride him with contact, and how to do down transitions. It feels TOTALLY different than how I've been riding, and I am so excited because she told me, it took me a few minutes to get it, and then I got it, and I felt it!! And of course, he fought it. So it's: steady contact on the outside rein - and by contact - really solid contact. And then when he tries to lift his head or act out, squeeze with your legs, but counter it with your hand so he doesn't go faster, but you push him into the contact on your hand.
For down transitions, it is pushing him down into it - not letting his head pop up. She said to work at home on a lot of transitions to help him with this, and I think this is the same as my prior Conrad Schumacher post about the young horses and poles and turns-on-the-forehand.
It felt GREAT - and totally different. I can't wait to practice.
And our dressage test was a 44.5.
Then I let him graze about an hour (which rocked to him - I think the ding dong might not really "get" grass, and maybe that's why he doesn't appreciate the turnout at FPEC), and we watched some of the training and prelim riders.
I left him with his dinner and some extra local hay, and I'm getting up again at 5 tomorrow for our 7:56 am dressage ride. I'm a little worried about him overnight, but he's got horses around and lots of people are there in their campers, and I've got his stall sign (thanks, mom) up with my phone number and the vet's number on it.
I am so excited about the judge showing me how to properly ride. I hope that is the missing link.
Though I watched the jumpers - I just can't see us ever doing prelim. And I heard people talking "oh, he's a project - he's JUST prelim potential".
Also, the sun was awesome today. Yay sun and warmth.
A future post is going to discuss me being stubborn and plodding away at him, vs. him one day turning into a good horse, vs. the need for me to learn how to ride him for my personal growth with horses, and once again, whether I should keep him. I think we've made progress, and I think he's going to turn into a nice horse, but I don't know when you know that for sure and when you're just wasting time with a horse that's too much. And I'm not sure he's ever going to be confident enough to be an eventer. Those training/prelim horses WANTED to do it.
We had a terrible start. I couldn't sleep last night and thought I was getting sick - last night Willig was a loony tune on the lunge line, kicked at me, got it wrapped around his leg (I should be ashamed how frequently this happens - he won't make a round circle, and he tends to kick on the flat side, so the lunge line is more often loose on that side), then when I let go so as not to break his sweet little leg - he went ripping off and ran around and around for 10 minutes not letting me catch him, like a total jerk-face.
After a solo-hitching at 5:45 am (one that the neighbors AND me want to avoid happening again), I went to get Willig. He was all sweet and quiet in his stall, apparently a sleepy Willig is a docile Willig.
I noticed a little piece had snapped on his halter (oddly, since it was ok last night when I put him away), and I made a mental note to fix it after I put on his bridle at the show. That's called foreshadowing, readers.
So we went out to the trailer, and I was using the light my dad got me to light up the inside since it was still pretty dark out, and that ding dong would not go in. And he was pulling, pulling, pulling, and SNAP - the rest of the halter broke - it flew off his head, and he ... thanks to last night, possibly? ... ran away again. With his shipping boots and his tail wrap, he ran all over Forest Park's trailer parking lot. This gave me time to get his back-up halter and move the broken one, and then he let me catch him, but had gotten himself quite worked up.
So then I put him in, but with the lunge line through the tie, so that I could stand next to him but pull him in at the same time. Well, the lesson he learned was "if I pull hard enough, I can get loose and not go in the trailer" - he was rearing and thrashing and sparks flew from his hooves like he was the devil hisself. By this point, unlike last night, I didn't care if he killed himself.
Eventually, he got so worked up he started shaking, and then, for reasons unknown to me, he just walked in. I was just about ready to quit. He gave me rope burns on my hands.
So I was upset - I was like "I can't even load this horse into the trailer, what the hell am I doing going to a show?" and I thought I'd just drive him around the block (so he didn't get away with being so terrible then going right back in his stall), but we went to the show anyway, because I reasoned that once I start chickening out, there's no going back.
We got there late because of the trailer incident. I registered, ran out and half ass walked the course, rubbed him briefly with a brush, lunged him about 5 minutes, rode him about 3 minutes (once over each fence), then made it to my start time with 30 seconds to spare - and no breakfast for Willig.
So given that, he did pretty well, though given what he should be able to do, it was pitiful. We were clobbered by 6 year olds.
He had a refusal at fence 3 (an odd shaped log). We stopped in front of it, he looked at it, then he jumped it kind of funny but jumped it. Then I pulled him off of 8 (another log) because he was so busy looking at the scary ditch to the right of it that I thought he was going to slam right into it. The rest of the fences were fine. It wasn't timed, so we trotted and were calm. (Interestingly, I just read in Practical Horseman, while sitting in the sun later in the day, that it is harder to trot a fence than canter it.)
This resulted in either a:
- 3rd place finish (two refusals were the third worst ride)
- 10th place finish (out of 17) (there were 8 or so ties for 1st place since it wasn't timed and they didn't refuse)
- Last place finish (everyone below us was eliminated; no one had three refusals)
But - with a bunch of horses screaming in their stalls - and at least three loose horses (which made me feel a LOT better), Willig was actually really, really good in his stall.
I went and walked BN, what we had planned to ride. It looked bigger. It had a ditch.
Just before I was going to get him ready for dressage, he got bored, so I got him ready early and we just rode around all over the show grounds. That was really good for him I think - to just see a bunch of stuff happening and it not be a big deal.
Then, our dressage test was with Francis O'Reilly, and Adult Riders set it up so you got to talk to the judge after. This was genius (thank you Adult Riders!). She came out and explained HOW to ride him with contact, and how to do down transitions. It feels TOTALLY different than how I've been riding, and I am so excited because she told me, it took me a few minutes to get it, and then I got it, and I felt it!! And of course, he fought it. So it's: steady contact on the outside rein - and by contact - really solid contact. And then when he tries to lift his head or act out, squeeze with your legs, but counter it with your hand so he doesn't go faster, but you push him into the contact on your hand.
For down transitions, it is pushing him down into it - not letting his head pop up. She said to work at home on a lot of transitions to help him with this, and I think this is the same as my prior Conrad Schumacher post about the young horses and poles and turns-on-the-forehand.
It felt GREAT - and totally different. I can't wait to practice.
And our dressage test was a 44.5.
Then I let him graze about an hour (which rocked to him - I think the ding dong might not really "get" grass, and maybe that's why he doesn't appreciate the turnout at FPEC), and we watched some of the training and prelim riders.
I left him with his dinner and some extra local hay, and I'm getting up again at 5 tomorrow for our 7:56 am dressage ride. I'm a little worried about him overnight, but he's got horses around and lots of people are there in their campers, and I've got his stall sign (thanks, mom) up with my phone number and the vet's number on it.
I am so excited about the judge showing me how to properly ride. I hope that is the missing link.
Though I watched the jumpers - I just can't see us ever doing prelim. And I heard people talking "oh, he's a project - he's JUST prelim potential".
Also, the sun was awesome today. Yay sun and warmth.
A future post is going to discuss me being stubborn and plodding away at him, vs. him one day turning into a good horse, vs. the need for me to learn how to ride him for my personal growth with horses, and once again, whether I should keep him. I think we've made progress, and I think he's going to turn into a nice horse, but I don't know when you know that for sure and when you're just wasting time with a horse that's too much. And I'm not sure he's ever going to be confident enough to be an eventer. Those training/prelim horses WANTED to do it.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Conrad Schumacher Symposium - Lessons from 1/2 of 1 horse
I only got to attend the first day of the Conrad Schumacher Symposium because my sweet old dog had a rough night Saturday night. Aside from it being very, very cold, and me being surprisingly ill-prepared for the weather, it was really fabulous.
So my first take home message is: Go next year! For anyone who rides dressage, at all, in any capacity, there is tons to learn and it will be worth the money.
It was set up so that there were 15 horse/riders on Saturday, starting with young horses and working up to 4th level. There were also some young riders.
Herr Schumacher was really funny, conversational, and did just a bang-up job of describing what was going on. For each "set", he provided some exercises and explained what they do and why you should do them. Although the horses and riders were really good (way, way better than me and Willig), we could still see how the exercises improved them.
I haven't seen his DVD, but I'm guessing it's worth the money.
The Symposium was worth the cost just for the 2nd horse for me, which was a 6 year old warmblood who was nervous and also, just coincidentally, happened to look like Willig.
I'm not going to describe everything I saw and learned, just Horse #2. Maybe later, when I somehow magically am blessed with more time, I'll put the rest on, but I took 14 pages of notes just on Saturday - with a freezing cold hand!
A solid education starts first with trust. Do NOT punish young, nervous horses. They do not make mistakes on purpose - it is either an instinctual response or the rider's mistake.
This horse didn't want to go and C.S. said that warmbloods are bullies when they're young, but if you give them time, they become rideable. What a relief this was to hear!!
So this horse had a big, regular trot, but he was tense because his tail was up. His ears were listening though. C.S. said to let them move out - let the tension out, then canter 20 m circles, or bigger if your arena permits.
This was really interesting - he had the rider really ride the horse forward, and his head got softer and quieter the more she pushed him forward.
He said warmbloods are the opposite of thoroughbreds. A tb doesn't relax when you're riding him forward, he goes crazy. Warmbloods you need to ride carefully, but speed is good. It opens their bodies and helps them extend.
He said to get an active back in a wb, ride them over poles on ground, and I wrote, again, ride them FORWARD.
He described young horses going out on the racetrack, and how their necks got lighter and haunches moved under. A warmblood has to be ridden into your hands.
Then he showed us, standing on the ground, the difference in the horse's neck. It was all tense when he first came in, but C.S. wiggled the reins, and after being ridden forward, the horse's head was all soft. He said a horse is honest in the neck when he pushes away from the bit.
My notes say: "hold - strong - then give in - give in poll", and once they give in the poll, it moves to their back, then their haunches come under. I think this was they push back at first, but if you stay steady, then they give with their head.
His exercise for the young bully was to help him with sugar (to relax his poll) or poles on the ground.
Then he had the rider do leg yielding down the long side, a turn on the forehand, then leg yield back.
For horses that are strong on your hand, this makes them soft. Do it 5 minutes, and they get rounder in the neck.
Ok, that's just the first half of THAT horse only! I'll do the next half later.
My report, taking that home and riding Willig and doing those exercises is that they seem to work like magic!
Two nights ago, I did a lot of pole work, the back and forth on the long side with a turn on the forehand (which Willig totally knows how to do), and riding really forward in the warm up. Willig got longer and was reaching his head down and towards the bit and chomping on it at the end. This was despite wind, a flappy jacket, and this little pony shooting around.
Tonight, the wind was much stronger, and Willig's head was much stronger too. But I still got some really great steps and more offering to be on the bit from him, even though it was all mixed with some really terrible running sideways jumping around, totally evading the bit behavior. I pulled him away from his dinner though, and it really was tremendous wind.
Shannon (the owner) said Willig is too neurotic to go out on the grass. It's his loss, but what a waste. Even *I* want to live out in her turnouts on the grass; they are amazing. Maybe it's because he was raised in a CA barn? Maybe he's just never had open space before. I hope he grows out of it. Sweet, reliable Merc, of course, thinks it's no big deal.
So my first take home message is: Go next year! For anyone who rides dressage, at all, in any capacity, there is tons to learn and it will be worth the money.
It was set up so that there were 15 horse/riders on Saturday, starting with young horses and working up to 4th level. There were also some young riders.
Herr Schumacher was really funny, conversational, and did just a bang-up job of describing what was going on. For each "set", he provided some exercises and explained what they do and why you should do them. Although the horses and riders were really good (way, way better than me and Willig), we could still see how the exercises improved them.
I haven't seen his DVD, but I'm guessing it's worth the money.
The Symposium was worth the cost just for the 2nd horse for me, which was a 6 year old warmblood who was nervous and also, just coincidentally, happened to look like Willig.
I'm not going to describe everything I saw and learned, just Horse #2. Maybe later, when I somehow magically am blessed with more time, I'll put the rest on, but I took 14 pages of notes just on Saturday - with a freezing cold hand!
A solid education starts first with trust. Do NOT punish young, nervous horses. They do not make mistakes on purpose - it is either an instinctual response or the rider's mistake.
This horse didn't want to go and C.S. said that warmbloods are bullies when they're young, but if you give them time, they become rideable. What a relief this was to hear!!
So this horse had a big, regular trot, but he was tense because his tail was up. His ears were listening though. C.S. said to let them move out - let the tension out, then canter 20 m circles, or bigger if your arena permits.
This was really interesting - he had the rider really ride the horse forward, and his head got softer and quieter the more she pushed him forward.
He said warmbloods are the opposite of thoroughbreds. A tb doesn't relax when you're riding him forward, he goes crazy. Warmbloods you need to ride carefully, but speed is good. It opens their bodies and helps them extend.
He said to get an active back in a wb, ride them over poles on ground, and I wrote, again, ride them FORWARD.
He described young horses going out on the racetrack, and how their necks got lighter and haunches moved under. A warmblood has to be ridden into your hands.
Then he showed us, standing on the ground, the difference in the horse's neck. It was all tense when he first came in, but C.S. wiggled the reins, and after being ridden forward, the horse's head was all soft. He said a horse is honest in the neck when he pushes away from the bit.
My notes say: "hold - strong - then give in - give in poll", and once they give in the poll, it moves to their back, then their haunches come under. I think this was they push back at first, but if you stay steady, then they give with their head.
His exercise for the young bully was to help him with sugar (to relax his poll) or poles on the ground.
Then he had the rider do leg yielding down the long side, a turn on the forehand, then leg yield back.
For horses that are strong on your hand, this makes them soft. Do it 5 minutes, and they get rounder in the neck.
Ok, that's just the first half of THAT horse only! I'll do the next half later.
My report, taking that home and riding Willig and doing those exercises is that they seem to work like magic!
Two nights ago, I did a lot of pole work, the back and forth on the long side with a turn on the forehand (which Willig totally knows how to do), and riding really forward in the warm up. Willig got longer and was reaching his head down and towards the bit and chomping on it at the end. This was despite wind, a flappy jacket, and this little pony shooting around.
Tonight, the wind was much stronger, and Willig's head was much stronger too. But I still got some really great steps and more offering to be on the bit from him, even though it was all mixed with some really terrible running sideways jumping around, totally evading the bit behavior. I pulled him away from his dinner though, and it really was tremendous wind.
Shannon (the owner) said Willig is too neurotic to go out on the grass. It's his loss, but what a waste. Even *I* want to live out in her turnouts on the grass; they are amazing. Maybe it's because he was raised in a CA barn? Maybe he's just never had open space before. I hope he grows out of it. Sweet, reliable Merc, of course, thinks it's no big deal.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Video of Fences 2-5
http://vimeo.com/3844950
Fence 2
- lose steering
Fence 3 (refusal)
Fence 4
Fence 5 (knocks with back legs)
Fence 2
- lose steering
Fence 3 (refusal)
Fence 4
Fence 5 (knocks with back legs)
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
AF Derby - Quickie summary
I've been too tired to really type out the AF Derby, and mostly, my anxiety about being a terrible rider. If I wait much longer, I'll forget, so here's the highlights:
- Although we got there at exactly the time I planned on, I did not plan on the 30 minute line to get my number. That threw me completely off schedule, so my warm-up consisted of NO lunging, and once over each warm-up fence (still at hopeful height).
- We were second to go. The first horse refused a lot. Therefore, so did Willig.
- We had a refusal on the very first fence, where I immediately gave up the tiny shred of hope I had about actually competing, and switched my whip to my left hand, which I had forgotten to do ahead of time. I DID stop him right in front of the fence and let him look at it.
- Then we lost steering in between fences 2 and 3.
- And a refusal at 3. (With a stop and looking at it.) There were a lot of fences in this area, and poor ADD Willig was completely overstimulated (and under-warmed-up).
- Then we made it over 4.
- He hit 5 with his back feet.
- Made it over 6 and 7.
- Walked through the water.
- Tried to refuse 8, but since I had (cleverly) switched the crop, I smacked him and we went over it.
- Made it over 9.
- And I pulled off and circled 10 because it had looked ENORMOUS to me when I (in a rush) walked the course. When we came back to it at a trot, he was all "holy shit" becuase I had pulled him off, and so he sort of came to a walk/halt, and then sprang over it like a deer. This was actually quite rewarding because if he could jump the fence I thought was enormous from basically a stand still, I can stop worrying about the size of the jumps.
Then we watched for a while, practiced patience at the trailer for a while, got tired of patience (and local hay) and tried to dig to China, and therefore, got to the dressage warm up arena about an hour before my ride.
There, we watched an INCREDIBLE rider warming up and riding her prelim test. She was a delight to watch.
Then we accidentally cut off a kid for her test (as a lawyer, I misunderstood what "two more riders then you" meant), rode our test with only one spook, watched Amy Tryon jump a training level course (and some other riders), and then got my worst dressage score ever ...
46.9.
Until that point, I felt like the day was success. Since that point, I have felt like a total failure of a rider. (First place was about a 30.5.)
The major comment is an up arrow (increase?) "bit". As best I can tell, it means increase my contact with the bit. The only other negative comments are his spook ("counter bent"), his down transition from trot to walk ("abrupt"), his free walk ("lacks energy/march").
And me - the rider - I got a 5. He also got a 5 for submission.
The judge's comment says "Horse has nice gaits & appears to be kind. (Surely I am reading that wrong.) Needs positive direction from you."
Last summer's BN test (I could only find one of two), was a 39.5, with a "crooked on center line", "circle too small and off center". He got a 5 for submission there too, but I got a 6.
At that show, he got 2nd. The show before that he got 3rd.
At the last two derbies, he has been in the bottom quartile - which means the bottom 5.
So, we appear to be getting worse. How this could be, I'm not sure, since we are riding better (it feels - I mean, obviously not the refusals). I guess it is going from hopeful/grasshopper to BN, but that shouldn't change my dressage score, and he has the ability to jump the fences.
In line, the women in front of me were talking about how it was "too embarrassing" to ride BN. Maybe my standards are too low. Maybe I've been working with him alone too long, so I think that not spooking = success.
My plan is to see how the next few months go. We have the ideal set up for success now - rapid improvement: lessons with Mike, clinics with Jonathan, boarding at Forest Park, and a few more unrecognized derbies and stuff. If he hasn't improved at BN by fall, I think I should rethink my riding ability and what I'm doing with him.
In other news, Stampy came with us, and T said that he got many, many "He's going in Hopeful, right?" and "How many hands tall is he?"
And for those of you who are Strokes fans, here is Willig's theme song:
"Take it or leave it" from "Is this it?"
The words are sort of ...
"Leave me alone, I'm in control, I'm in control
Girls ask too much, boys act too tough, enough is enough
....
I said just take it or leave it (repeat)
I say, he's going to let you down (repeat)
I'm going to break your back for a chance
I'm going to steal your friends if you dare
We're going to win some day
I fell off the track
I can't go back
I'm not like that
Boys ask too much, girls act too tough, enough is enough
On the minds of other girls, I know he was
I said just take it or leave it (repeat)
I say
He's going to let you down (repeat)
I'm going to break your back for a chance
I'm going to steal your friends if you dare
I'm going to win some day
...."
- Although we got there at exactly the time I planned on, I did not plan on the 30 minute line to get my number. That threw me completely off schedule, so my warm-up consisted of NO lunging, and once over each warm-up fence (still at hopeful height).
- We were second to go. The first horse refused a lot. Therefore, so did Willig.
- We had a refusal on the very first fence, where I immediately gave up the tiny shred of hope I had about actually competing, and switched my whip to my left hand, which I had forgotten to do ahead of time. I DID stop him right in front of the fence and let him look at it.
- Then we lost steering in between fences 2 and 3.
- And a refusal at 3. (With a stop and looking at it.) There were a lot of fences in this area, and poor ADD Willig was completely overstimulated (and under-warmed-up).
- Then we made it over 4.
- He hit 5 with his back feet.
- Made it over 6 and 7.
- Walked through the water.
- Tried to refuse 8, but since I had (cleverly) switched the crop, I smacked him and we went over it.
- Made it over 9.
- And I pulled off and circled 10 because it had looked ENORMOUS to me when I (in a rush) walked the course. When we came back to it at a trot, he was all "holy shit" becuase I had pulled him off, and so he sort of came to a walk/halt, and then sprang over it like a deer. This was actually quite rewarding because if he could jump the fence I thought was enormous from basically a stand still, I can stop worrying about the size of the jumps.
Then we watched for a while, practiced patience at the trailer for a while, got tired of patience (and local hay) and tried to dig to China, and therefore, got to the dressage warm up arena about an hour before my ride.
There, we watched an INCREDIBLE rider warming up and riding her prelim test. She was a delight to watch.
Then we accidentally cut off a kid for her test (as a lawyer, I misunderstood what "two more riders then you" meant), rode our test with only one spook, watched Amy Tryon jump a training level course (and some other riders), and then got my worst dressage score ever ...
46.9.
Until that point, I felt like the day was success. Since that point, I have felt like a total failure of a rider. (First place was about a 30.5.)
The major comment is an up arrow (increase?) "bit". As best I can tell, it means increase my contact with the bit. The only other negative comments are his spook ("counter bent"), his down transition from trot to walk ("abrupt"), his free walk ("lacks energy/march").
And me - the rider - I got a 5. He also got a 5 for submission.
The judge's comment says "Horse has nice gaits & appears to be kind. (Surely I am reading that wrong.) Needs positive direction from you."
Last summer's BN test (I could only find one of two), was a 39.5, with a "crooked on center line", "circle too small and off center". He got a 5 for submission there too, but I got a 6.
At that show, he got 2nd. The show before that he got 3rd.
At the last two derbies, he has been in the bottom quartile - which means the bottom 5.
So, we appear to be getting worse. How this could be, I'm not sure, since we are riding better (it feels - I mean, obviously not the refusals). I guess it is going from hopeful/grasshopper to BN, but that shouldn't change my dressage score, and he has the ability to jump the fences.
In line, the women in front of me were talking about how it was "too embarrassing" to ride BN. Maybe my standards are too low. Maybe I've been working with him alone too long, so I think that not spooking = success.
My plan is to see how the next few months go. We have the ideal set up for success now - rapid improvement: lessons with Mike, clinics with Jonathan, boarding at Forest Park, and a few more unrecognized derbies and stuff. If he hasn't improved at BN by fall, I think I should rethink my riding ability and what I'm doing with him.
In other news, Stampy came with us, and T said that he got many, many "He's going in Hopeful, right?" and "How many hands tall is he?"
And for those of you who are Strokes fans, here is Willig's theme song:
"Take it or leave it" from "Is this it?"
The words are sort of ...
"Leave me alone, I'm in control, I'm in control
Girls ask too much, boys act too tough, enough is enough
....
I said just take it or leave it (repeat)
I say, he's going to let you down (repeat)
I'm going to break your back for a chance
I'm going to steal your friends if you dare
We're going to win some day
I fell off the track
I can't go back
I'm not like that
Boys ask too much, girls act too tough, enough is enough
On the minds of other girls, I know he was
I said just take it or leave it (repeat)
I say
He's going to let you down (repeat)
I'm going to break your back for a chance
I'm going to steal your friends if you dare
I'm going to win some day
...."
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Wilhelm Museler book
I'm reading "Riding Logic" which is genius and should be read by everyone.
"Harmony between rider and horse ... is best expressed ... by the complete and constant accord of two living bodies in every movement."
"Harmony between rider and horse ... is best expressed ... by the complete and constant accord of two living bodies in every movement."
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Miscellaneous Thoughts
The nice mom of the Lipizzan mare told me that Willig has a nice uphill confirmation (I think earlier she called him "cute").
Jonathan told me (several times) at the clinic last weekend (the one day we were there) to ride with shorter reins.
Mike worked with me on loose hips (swinging like an elephant trunk), and when my legs finally got loose and my hips were swinging all huge, I asked if that was just like a loosening warm-up walk, and Mike said oh no, that wouldn't even be a nice loose rein walk, that 9 out of 10 horses would be walking bigger. I was amazed. I have a lot of adjusting to do in my feel.
Two of the dressage riders at the new barn used to event, and they both did prelim! I'm totally impressed.
I made the fake ditch today, but it was raining too hard and too wet out to lunge Willig over it, but maybe next week, with the time change, it will be light enough (and not raining) after work to try it out.
Jonathan told me (several times) at the clinic last weekend (the one day we were there) to ride with shorter reins.
Mike worked with me on loose hips (swinging like an elephant trunk), and when my legs finally got loose and my hips were swinging all huge, I asked if that was just like a loosening warm-up walk, and Mike said oh no, that wouldn't even be a nice loose rein walk, that 9 out of 10 horses would be walking bigger. I was amazed. I have a lot of adjusting to do in my feel.
Two of the dressage riders at the new barn used to event, and they both did prelim! I'm totally impressed.
I made the fake ditch today, but it was raining too hard and too wet out to lunge Willig over it, but maybe next week, with the time change, it will be light enough (and not raining) after work to try it out.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
1st lesson with Mike - Spectacular!
My first lesson with Mike was tonight. Not only did it exceed my wildest expectations, but it was a roaring success given the state of my shoulder and hip after the fall last weekend. I wasn't sure I'd even be able to get on (let alone trot or canter) but I figured we had plenty to learn at the walk (I was correct) if we couldn't. I don't think I can even repeat everything we learned in 45 minutes just a few hours later, but I'll do my best. I am so excited about my next lesson - I think I am going to work really well with him.
- I have been riding with the noseband too low, which also makes the flash useless. The noseband should be 2-3 fingers below the "cheekbone" - up above the dip where the bone turns soft. My noseband was at least 4 holes too low. This also makes the flash not do its job, which is to hold the bit properly up against his cheeks. (I thought the flash was to hold his mouth shut.) I adjusted this as soon as the lesson ended, so we'll see how it works now.
- My bit is a baby bit, and I need to work him in a smaller diameter (I'm not sure that's the right word) bit. Mine is a big fat eggbutt snaffle, and he showed me skinnier loose ring snaffles. I tried to find one online, but most of them didn't have the "diameter" measurements. Willig appears to have the regular 5 1/2" width mouth. He said at 7-8 he should be ready for double reins, not working in a 3 year old's bit.
- My saddle doesn't fit right. He showed me how the gullet doesn't have a big enough gap (3 fingers tall), and how it pinches when I shift on his shoulder blades and on his back. The back of the saddle, with my big butt, was squished onto his poor backbone, not on the muscles that run on the side. (Contrary to what I've been believing for years, wider is not always better.) He loaned me a pad for the lesson to fold up under it (which made it feel tall), which I also haven't been able to find online. My riser pad (a Miller's pro-tek) doesn't look nearly fat enough but I'm going to try it next ride (when I also look at my jumping saddle to see if that one doesn't fit either). I didn't notice Willig changing his movement, but we were really focused on my position the rest of the lesson.
- I'm also riding with the saddle too far forward, sitting on his withers and on his shoulder blades. The front flap of the saddle should go behind his shoulder blade (so they can lift and move forward) and that was an easy 2-3" further back (maybe more) than where I've been putting it.
- I didn't have Willig's splint boots on (because it hurt too much to bend over) and he said to always wear them just because a splint is so easy to hurt and can so easily be avoided and takes so long to heal.
So after that humiliation - but extremely educational! - we moved on to riding - and only got as far as my position:
- The reason I think my saddle doesn't fit me is because I ride with my legs all hunched up like I'm jumping, even in the dressage saddle. We did a bunch of balance exercises to feel the right place (which of course, feels wrong right now), too far forward (butt sticks out behind) and too far back (fall down on your butt). If you stand up in the saddle, so there is a vertical line (shoulder, hip, heel), you should land on your feet if the horse disappears from under you. I ride like a rocking chair - with my legs too far in front of me. The front of your toe and stirrup should just be touching the girth - my ankle has been right alongside the girth - so that's actually a few inches difference, I think.
I can look down and see the long leg, but this is going to take some work to undo and refeel it, because I could stretch my leg back and feel it at the walk, but as soon as I trotted, my legs curled up again. Interestingly, the long leg didn't need a longer stirrup - it was just in a different place on the saddle (that looked more "right", looking down). Also, at the trot, think "lift my toe" not just "drop my heel". This felt crazy and wild and like I was going to fly out of the stirrup, but did make for a bouncy, shock-absorbing ankle that did NOT fall out of the stirrup.
- The other vertical line is bit to elbow, and you are usually in the right place if you can touch your thumbs above his withers. I need to work on that one too - I let my reins go too loose. (He said I also throw him away in all my transitions, so that's a future work on too, because I don't know how not to.)
- Then we took my stirrups away and felt the balance, then worked a bit on the sitting trot. At first, I sat it better with stirrups, but as we worked on it, I had a step here and a step there, where he said "yes!" and I felt it. It was pretty incredible.
The main thing I do is not pull my belly back to my spine - I flop forward like a beer belly. When I pull my belly to my spine, it makes my back go straighter too. But I have to keep telling myself and sucking it back. Putting the belly to the spine also puts my butt in a better place on the saddle. (After I correct all these things, we'll work on my shoulders and posture - eck.)
- Then we put the stirrups back and did a little bit of canter each direction. By now my hip was aching, my back hurt, and my shoulder was killing me, so I was starting to fall apart. When I have been riding, to keep my butt from lifting out of the saddle, I have been pushing it back and down - that makes me slide around in the saddle with each stride (because I'm clamping my thigh and losing mobility in my hip). Instead, if I (at the halt) drop my stirrups, lift my legs away from the saddle for a second, then drop them back down, it "plugs in" my sit bones (the ischia, I think). But then I have to also pull my belly back to my spine (so I don't flop forward with it). For just a second, I could feel Willig's back lift under me when I was thinking long loose thighs, plugged in, belly back.
So this doesn't do even 1/100th of capturing how well Mike explained everything and how many light bulbs went off for me. He explained WHY a change in my position causes these other changes, and I love that he gives homework and assignments. I also really appreciate him taking the time to start from the "ground up" and look over Willig and explain what was wrong and how to fix it and what effects it has. I feel terrible that I have been riding Willig in improper tack - it is a constant source of amazement to me that horses are so forgiving and keep working for us.
I got the impression that while we've given Mike plenty to work with, that he has some really good ideas once we start correcting the basics, of how to deal with my Willig problems (he said a horse gets neurotic if you keep it bottled up), and he showed me some natural horsemanship when Willig stepped away from me at the mounting block (something he rarely does, but decided to today when I was essentially one-armed). For that, Mike led him from the right side, told him to stop, and tapped him lightly with the whip when he didn't listen immediately. He says horses need to respect you as the herd leader. I also asked at the end if (huge gulp) Willig was too much horse for me and if I was going to ruin him, and he said that everyone ruins at least 3 grand prix horses before they can make 1, so the best thing to do is to get riding.
Future things to work on, in addition to my list of issues (doesn't pay attention, hard to bend to inside), is how to properly lunge with a surcingle and side reins. I really have no idea how, and have been reluctant to try and then make things worse with him. Also, sadly a ways off, is to work on the "metronome".
It's about a month before my next lesson, so if I work really hard, maybe I will be able to get my leg position a bit improved by then and do better with looser thighs and plugged in seat. Mike has had an incredible range of experience - he's ridden show jumpers, eventers, and now dressage, and I really like his teaching style.
Saturday I'm going to try to fix the ditch problem. Shannon has some black mats, so I'm going to "make" a ditch by putting out the mats, using my cavelleti holders, and putting out cavelleti, so I make a fake ditch. Then I'll lunge Willig over it until he's solid, and then ride him over it. Then the next time Tom is out as a spotter, I'll ride him over the real ditch out in the field. Once the footing firms up, I want to take him out and ride him at canter and trot up and down the hills so we get control and footing out in the open.
I'm really excited now! This is going to be really great for me and Willig. There is so much to learn!
- I have been riding with the noseband too low, which also makes the flash useless. The noseband should be 2-3 fingers below the "cheekbone" - up above the dip where the bone turns soft. My noseband was at least 4 holes too low. This also makes the flash not do its job, which is to hold the bit properly up against his cheeks. (I thought the flash was to hold his mouth shut.) I adjusted this as soon as the lesson ended, so we'll see how it works now.
- My bit is a baby bit, and I need to work him in a smaller diameter (I'm not sure that's the right word) bit. Mine is a big fat eggbutt snaffle, and he showed me skinnier loose ring snaffles. I tried to find one online, but most of them didn't have the "diameter" measurements. Willig appears to have the regular 5 1/2" width mouth. He said at 7-8 he should be ready for double reins, not working in a 3 year old's bit.
- My saddle doesn't fit right. He showed me how the gullet doesn't have a big enough gap (3 fingers tall), and how it pinches when I shift on his shoulder blades and on his back. The back of the saddle, with my big butt, was squished onto his poor backbone, not on the muscles that run on the side. (Contrary to what I've been believing for years, wider is not always better.) He loaned me a pad for the lesson to fold up under it (which made it feel tall), which I also haven't been able to find online. My riser pad (a Miller's pro-tek) doesn't look nearly fat enough but I'm going to try it next ride (when I also look at my jumping saddle to see if that one doesn't fit either). I didn't notice Willig changing his movement, but we were really focused on my position the rest of the lesson.
- I'm also riding with the saddle too far forward, sitting on his withers and on his shoulder blades. The front flap of the saddle should go behind his shoulder blade (so they can lift and move forward) and that was an easy 2-3" further back (maybe more) than where I've been putting it.
- I didn't have Willig's splint boots on (because it hurt too much to bend over) and he said to always wear them just because a splint is so easy to hurt and can so easily be avoided and takes so long to heal.
So after that humiliation - but extremely educational! - we moved on to riding - and only got as far as my position:
- The reason I think my saddle doesn't fit me is because I ride with my legs all hunched up like I'm jumping, even in the dressage saddle. We did a bunch of balance exercises to feel the right place (which of course, feels wrong right now), too far forward (butt sticks out behind) and too far back (fall down on your butt). If you stand up in the saddle, so there is a vertical line (shoulder, hip, heel), you should land on your feet if the horse disappears from under you. I ride like a rocking chair - with my legs too far in front of me. The front of your toe and stirrup should just be touching the girth - my ankle has been right alongside the girth - so that's actually a few inches difference, I think.
I can look down and see the long leg, but this is going to take some work to undo and refeel it, because I could stretch my leg back and feel it at the walk, but as soon as I trotted, my legs curled up again. Interestingly, the long leg didn't need a longer stirrup - it was just in a different place on the saddle (that looked more "right", looking down). Also, at the trot, think "lift my toe" not just "drop my heel". This felt crazy and wild and like I was going to fly out of the stirrup, but did make for a bouncy, shock-absorbing ankle that did NOT fall out of the stirrup.
- The other vertical line is bit to elbow, and you are usually in the right place if you can touch your thumbs above his withers. I need to work on that one too - I let my reins go too loose. (He said I also throw him away in all my transitions, so that's a future work on too, because I don't know how not to.)
- Then we took my stirrups away and felt the balance, then worked a bit on the sitting trot. At first, I sat it better with stirrups, but as we worked on it, I had a step here and a step there, where he said "yes!" and I felt it. It was pretty incredible.
The main thing I do is not pull my belly back to my spine - I flop forward like a beer belly. When I pull my belly to my spine, it makes my back go straighter too. But I have to keep telling myself and sucking it back. Putting the belly to the spine also puts my butt in a better place on the saddle. (After I correct all these things, we'll work on my shoulders and posture - eck.)
- Then we put the stirrups back and did a little bit of canter each direction. By now my hip was aching, my back hurt, and my shoulder was killing me, so I was starting to fall apart. When I have been riding, to keep my butt from lifting out of the saddle, I have been pushing it back and down - that makes me slide around in the saddle with each stride (because I'm clamping my thigh and losing mobility in my hip). Instead, if I (at the halt) drop my stirrups, lift my legs away from the saddle for a second, then drop them back down, it "plugs in" my sit bones (the ischia, I think). But then I have to also pull my belly back to my spine (so I don't flop forward with it). For just a second, I could feel Willig's back lift under me when I was thinking long loose thighs, plugged in, belly back.
So this doesn't do even 1/100th of capturing how well Mike explained everything and how many light bulbs went off for me. He explained WHY a change in my position causes these other changes, and I love that he gives homework and assignments. I also really appreciate him taking the time to start from the "ground up" and look over Willig and explain what was wrong and how to fix it and what effects it has. I feel terrible that I have been riding Willig in improper tack - it is a constant source of amazement to me that horses are so forgiving and keep working for us.
I got the impression that while we've given Mike plenty to work with, that he has some really good ideas once we start correcting the basics, of how to deal with my Willig problems (he said a horse gets neurotic if you keep it bottled up), and he showed me some natural horsemanship when Willig stepped away from me at the mounting block (something he rarely does, but decided to today when I was essentially one-armed). For that, Mike led him from the right side, told him to stop, and tapped him lightly with the whip when he didn't listen immediately. He says horses need to respect you as the herd leader. I also asked at the end if (huge gulp) Willig was too much horse for me and if I was going to ruin him, and he said that everyone ruins at least 3 grand prix horses before they can make 1, so the best thing to do is to get riding.
Future things to work on, in addition to my list of issues (doesn't pay attention, hard to bend to inside), is how to properly lunge with a surcingle and side reins. I really have no idea how, and have been reluctant to try and then make things worse with him. Also, sadly a ways off, is to work on the "metronome".
It's about a month before my next lesson, so if I work really hard, maybe I will be able to get my leg position a bit improved by then and do better with looser thighs and plugged in seat. Mike has had an incredible range of experience - he's ridden show jumpers, eventers, and now dressage, and I really like his teaching style.
Saturday I'm going to try to fix the ditch problem. Shannon has some black mats, so I'm going to "make" a ditch by putting out the mats, using my cavelleti holders, and putting out cavelleti, so I make a fake ditch. Then I'll lunge Willig over it until he's solid, and then ride him over it. Then the next time Tom is out as a spotter, I'll ride him over the real ditch out in the field. Once the footing firms up, I want to take him out and ride him at canter and trot up and down the hills so we get control and footing out in the open.
I'm really excited now! This is going to be really great for me and Willig. There is so much to learn!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Sweet Stephen sent me flowers
Incredibly, there is still no bruising or swelling. I quit taking the vicodain, and switched to extra strength tylenol. My shoulder still hurts enough that it hurts to use the crutches (but the walker is so old lady), and my hip still hurts quite a bit. But it hurts less than it did Saturday, so I guess it's on the mend.
Monday, March 09, 2009
Aspen Farms Clinic - Excellent until fall
We unfortunately only attended the first day of the Aspen Farms clinic because I fell off on Saturday and spent most of the day in the emergency room.
Up until I fell, Willig was actually doing very spectaular - especially compared to last year.
We started in the indoor arena (the weather was doing typical Pacific NW - sunshine then pouring rain, then howling wind, then light breeze), and Willig was a bit head strong from the canter (I am still doing mostly jumping from the trot at home).
Jonathan told me the same thing as last year's clinic - keep him in control and rhythmic, and then to keep his head turned to the inside, so he's not such a looky-loo. (And later, he said I can start cantering him over everything, that he's nice and solid and I don't need to trot everything anymore.)
Then we went to the outside sand arena, and first did a series of three - a log, then a pile of three logs, then a nice tall log coop. I was a little nervous about the log coop - it looked really big to me, but Willig just soared right over it, as comfortable as could be.
The interesting overall thing about this clinic was how smooth Willig is to ride over fences, WHEN we approach them in a nice rhythm and he doesn't have to squish or lengthen right at the end. For basically every set, we would be off the first fence (and then I'd jump ahead), and then I'd get it and we'd do better.
So, the one trick Jon said, which he said last time and I've actually been doing, is to count - especially down, so the rhythm (1 - 2 - 3 - 4), and then when you approach the jump, count down (4 - 3 - 2 - 1), because three strides out it should be up to the horse and you should not change anything. (I want to get a metronome - Janis loaned me hers, so we both get better at rhythm - it turns out I've mostly just been counting his steps, not keeping us in rhythm.)
Ok, so then we did the bank, and Willig, bless his sweet soul, was like "huh? well, ok!" and he did just great. It took us a few tries to get the down (mostly because I would lean forward instead of back and then he'd LEAP off all enormous and it just was clumsy), but then we got it. We did a few more combinations, then went into the field because Sunday the forecast was for snow and rain.
Out in the field, Willig continued to do great - we did some cantering up a hill and trotting down, to maintain control, and then a slight bench, one of the kayak jumps, a log coop on the top of a hill, and then a regular coop headed back towards the other horses. Willig refused the regular coop the first time (I think becuase there was a hill on the other side, going down), and Jonathan said that for refusals, it's best to stop them right in front of the jump so they don't learn there's a way out to the right or left, that they can stop, but the only option is to turn around and do it again.
So then we headed out to a new section I haven't been to before, and did a log, then another nice sized solid fence (a long canter between), then a canter back towards the group and over a ditch.
Willig's first jump over the ditch was HUGE - I even felt a bit of a twist in the air while he was looking at it. (And I couldn't get him to trot and then we couldn't decide so it was like "trot? canter?" right up until the last couple steps.)
And then, just as Jonathan said, he refused it the next four times or so. We stopped right in front of it each time, and I put my crop in my left hand (he seems to always run out to the left), and then we went behind a nice pony, who jumped it reliably each time, and then ... finally, Willig jumped it.
And he was so excited and exuberant that he jumped it that he started bucking, and I was saying "yay Willig! good boy!" so I didn't get his head up in time, and I sat the first couple bucks, but then he did a really spectacularly huge one, and I went flying off.
And since I'm becoming an old lady, and have a knack, I landed on my left hip then somehow bounced onto my right shoulder.
Willig ran off.
I was on the ground for a while, tried to get up, and passed out.
To keep this short, one of Jon's working students brought me to the emergency room, where I did not break anything, and now I'm doped up on painkillers (which help tremendously), a bit sore, Tom is driving me around, and I have a walker and crutches (but my shoulder hurts too bad still to use the crutches just yet). And, amazingly, no bruise. I'm not sure if it's because it's such a deep bruise it hasn't made it to the surface yet, or if I'm just a total wimp.
Willig did not look remorseful - someone caught him and brought him back and he just stared at the sky instead of looking at me.
Fortunately, Shannon has a little ditch in her cross country course, AND she has a piece of black mat that she uses, so as soon as I can ride again, we're going to work on ditches.
The overall version was that the clinic was really useful, and I am really proud of how far Willig has come. Although we clearly have lots to work on, I am really, really pleased with how he is coming along. I think he needs a lot of experience, and I need some training help, but I feel very positive about him again.
And the other advantage of a clinic is watching the other riders' mistakes and corrections and what a difference it makes. I can't wait for Tom to video me again so I get a better look at what I'm doing wrong. (The mirrors at Forest Park help a lot with the flat for that, but I need to see how we're looking over fences.)
The pictures are of me with walker and crutches, post-clinic.
Oh yeah, and I asked Jonathan, and he said that they typically don't need studs until at least Training (bad weather) and more likely prelim. He didn't know about those trench shoes that were in Flying Changes this month.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Sweet Merc needs a new home
Ok, seriously, sweet calm Mercury needs a new home.
I adore him - he is my sweet, calm, reliable boy - but I just can not work AND ride both horses.
I've had Merc about 4 years.
He's a 1994 thoroughbred gelding. About 16 hands (maybe a hair taller), nice colored bay.
If you go all the way through the blog, he had last summer off (from showing), but the two summers before that I rode him beginner novice at unrecognized shows and derbies. Except for the one time I fell off, he always got 1st-3rd.
He loves to jump, but he's not experienced enough that I'd consider him a schoolmaster.
He'd be good for:
- a kid with a solid foundation who just needs a couple years of entry level work
- a trail riding companion (for friends/husbands/boyfriends of any level)
- an adult amateur who is getting back into riding
- light regular old riding
He's good for easy riding and reliable if he's only ridden a couple days a week (he doesn't get all crazy thoroughbred).
However, if you want to show him, he needs more consistent work, and he needs someone with enough experience who will make him work. He's good for beginners, but he's like a "beginner-plus" horse - he's the next step, where you have to be on alert and asking him to do what you want. (i.e. not telling him to canter, then he canters until you tell him to walk two hours later)
He trailers, cross-ties, clips, stands still while you braid, goes through water, goes on trails, and basically does everything an all-around horse should do. He's not spooky, he doesn't have any vices, and I can put my mom on him (who is afraid of horses) and she can go on a trail ride.
He was leased most of the last year by a beginner teenager who adored him, but when I moved barns, I went back to riding him myself.
I'd be willing to sell him - price negotiable - when I had him working and in show condition - pre-recession - I valued him at $4500.
I'd also be willing to put him in a full care, long-term lease with a purchase option that decreases the longer the lease lasts.
In either situation, I'm willing to give two test rides and a one week trial. I won't do a longer trial because the wait list is so long at our current barn, and I don't have a place I could put him until a spot opened up again. I will also do a right of first refusal (for a purchase) or a return to me (for a lease) so that if your situation changes, he gets returned to me (but I'll need two months notice because of the boarding situation). I don't want him to end up "on the streets".
Please, please email me or if you know of the perfect home, spread the word.
I'm going to branch out in my advertising, and the longer I ride him, the more his price will go up.
I really want him to find the perfect home, where he gets more attention and time than I can give him right now.
Mirror mirror on the wall
I suspect Willig isn't scared of being alone in the indoor arena because each corner has a mirror, and therefore, he thinks another horse is always in there, tracking with him. I'm not sure about that, but it seems like the likeliest explanation.
I'm trying to kick up the exercise a notch because I've gotten terribly out of shape and I've got some goals for this summer. To illustrate, here's the pants I wore yesterday:
6:45 am - pajama bottoms
7:30 am - biking pants (bicycle biking, not motorcycle biking)
8:30 am - work pants
noon - running pants
1 pm - work pants
5:30 pm - biking pants
6:30 pm - breeches
10:30 pm - whew - pajama bottoms
Both boys got their feet done today and new shoes.
For the future:
- Think about getting (maybe next year) some of the shoes with the "trench" for extra grip (instead of the horse cleats)
- We're going to try every 6 weeks to see if Mercury oversteps and hits his own ankles because his feet grow so fast.
Willig was actually pretty good, considering that I took him out of his stall mere moments after they put down his hay.
I am going to try, if our schedules align, to take one dressage lesson a month from Mike Osinski: http://www.mikeosinski.com/home.html
I'm trying to kick up the exercise a notch because I've gotten terribly out of shape and I've got some goals for this summer. To illustrate, here's the pants I wore yesterday:
6:45 am - pajama bottoms
7:30 am - biking pants (bicycle biking, not motorcycle biking)
8:30 am - work pants
noon - running pants
1 pm - work pants
5:30 pm - biking pants
6:30 pm - breeches
10:30 pm - whew - pajama bottoms
Both boys got their feet done today and new shoes.
For the future:
- Think about getting (maybe next year) some of the shoes with the "trench" for extra grip (instead of the horse cleats)
- We're going to try every 6 weeks to see if Mercury oversteps and hits his own ankles because his feet grow so fast.
Willig was actually pretty good, considering that I took him out of his stall mere moments after they put down his hay.
I am going to try, if our schedules align, to take one dressage lesson a month from Mike Osinski: http://www.mikeosinski.com/home.html
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Cormac McCarthy - "All the pretty horses"
"The boy who rode on slightly before him sat a horse not only as if he'd been born to it which he was but as if were he begot by malice or mischance into some queer land where horses never were he would have found them anyway. Would have known that there was something missing for the world to be right or he right in it and would have set forth to wander wherever it was needed for as long as it took until he came upon one and he would have known that that was what he sought and it would have been."
Sunday, February 22, 2009
3 video links to portions of AF Derby
Fence 3, naughtiness, and 4:
http://www.vimeo.com/3329293
Bell and trot to start:
http://www.vimeo.com/3329258
Overview of course:
http://www.vimeo.com/3329242
http://www.vimeo.com/3329293
Bell and trot to start:
http://www.vimeo.com/3329258
Overview of course:
http://www.vimeo.com/3329242
Final FPEC pictures - I'm so excited!
Horse in turnout, friendly Willig and me, and Willig looking shrimpy next to his neighbor.
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