Willig's search for a new home

Now that Willig is going back to work under saddle, I'm going to start looking for a home that will be a better fit for him. Here's his history in a nutshell: Willig is a 17 hand 2001 American Warmblood Registry chestnut gelding. His sire is Wizard (ARF) and his dam is Hi Fidelity (Trakehner). Willig injured his medial collateral sesamoidian ligament (old name: suspensory ligament of navicular bone). He's been under treatment by Dr. Revenaugh. He had about four months of stall rest with hand walking and three shock wave treatments, then four months of tiny turnout and stall rest, and has just started back under saddle. It's possible that in the future he might need injections in his coffin joint and/or navicular bursa. He has x-rays and an MRI on record with Dr. Revenaugh. Before his injury, Willig was showing 1st level and schooling some 2nd level movements. He's a natural lateral mover and has the potential to progress well beyond 2nd level. Because of his injury, Willig should never jump again. In 2011, he scored 50, 56, 61, 57, and 60 (twice) at recognized shows. That was my first year showing 1st level. He got 63s at training level in 2010. (Keep in mind, I'm an eventer, not a dressage rider.) I'm looking for a new home for Willig for two primary reasons. First, my primary interest is in eventing, and while Willig will likely return to full dressage work, I do not have the time for two horses, so plan to focus my energy on an eventer. Second, over the next year, while Willig will be in need of consistent rehab work, I'll be extremely busy at work, and I'm not sure I will be able to devote consistent time to him. My best guess for a good match for Willig will be an experienced rider who is assertive and calm. Willig has a busy mind and prefers regular work. I'm asking $1,500 for Willig, and anticipate doubling this about every 4 months as his rehab progresses. Because of Willig's injury, there will be strings attached. I will require any sale to be conditioned with an obligatory return to me in case he reinjures himself so that he can go back into treatment or out on pasture, if appropriate. I'd be pleased to provide further information and answer any questions. It's easiest to reach me by email if you send me your email in a comment (I won't publish it). Here is a link to a video of a 2010 training level test: http://vimeo.com/12902590

Counter canter

With the two final shows of the season rapidly approaching, I've suddenly lost all confidence that I have any idea I know what I'm doing on a horse. It would be really interesting to be a totally different person who had fun instead of putting all this pressure on myself all the time. We worked more on the Martha classics - close my fingers, keep my legs long with heels down, and make sure Charlie is responding to my leg (so I can use my core to halt or slow - with hands as a quiet, firm brace). I noticed when we were warming up that my left leg falls sloppy and loose, while the right leg is steady against the saddle. Shannon suggested thinking of some of the Centered Riding exercises to help focus attention in the right way, especially the one where your knees point towards the ground and your legs end as stumps. We did the classic work of getting Charlie moving forward, then round (leg first, then hand), then REWARD him by softening when he gives. Then we worked on trot to halt transitions (minimize walk steps in between). And then we did a wild and crazy counter canter loop (both directions) where I'd try to bend Charlie's neck to the outside, and interestingly, would come off posting on the wrong diaganol. It was a good ride, but it's frustrating that I'm still working on the same old things. Maybe the silver lining of my hours and hours of walking Willig over the next few months will be the perfect opportunity to turn those habits around on the basics, where I won't really have anything else to do!!

Willig goes back to "work" (finally) (notice those quotes)

Willig had his 3 month follow up with Dr. Revenaugh today. He got a very thorough exam, and here's the nutshell: He's got 2-4 months of walking, building up to 10 minutes of trotting. With the aid of drugs to keep me in one piece. Long version: He's sound trotting a straight line on asphalt He's the same amount off as the last 6 months trotting a circle on asphalt He acts as if he's in "pain" (my word) for the flex test. On both front feet. Dr. R used the word "drama queen" to describe some of his behavior. In our arena, with good footing, trotting on the lunge line, he doesn't appear off at all. When he got on the lunge line, he immediately decided to freak out and rear and spin and be naughty because - horrors - he'd never seen a lunge whip before. So he got a new drug - sedi-vet. 1/4 cc dose. Which gives him 50 extra IQ points. He's going to stay on his little turnout for 1 month, and then I'll see how he's doing under saddle. He's going to get 1/4 cc of sedi-vet every time I ride him, which is going to start at a walk and build up to an hour over the four months, with an equally gradual build up to the 10 minutes of trotting. And then I'll see how he's doing and get another check up. Next shoeing he'll get another pad (so he's even) and switch to a straight bar, and then take the pads away for winter since this is the Pacific Northwest and it'll be too wet. I was really anxious about the appointment, and then hadn't strategized for what would happen if he got the green light (a "B+" according to Dr. R) to go back to work. And, horrifyingly, my face fell when Dr. R said I could ride him again.

A spread, some serpentines, and an angle

I started today's jump lesson like I'd never been on a horse in my life, or even seen someone ride one on tv. It was excruciating. My body refused to do all of the things I was telling it to, but also refused to default to - ok, nowhere near perfect, but at least riding - behavior. My right seat bone was jabbing into the saddle, and I have no idea what messed up body thing is going on that causes that. Shannon had me jump a teeny cross rail several times without stirrups, first at the trot (if I had been a watcher on the ground, I would have had to shut my eyes because it was so hideous to look at) and then at the canter (a little better, but still close to making eyes bleed). Even without stirrups, my feet wanted to squish into Charlie's sides and I'd be behind, ahead, sideways - any way but just in balance with him. I was about ready to give up - throw in the helmet and just confess that I'd managed to fake my way this far in life and it'd finally caught up with me. So Shannon walked off and was messing around with the fences - although someone had changed them from last week to little intro level, I assumed she was going to have to make them even easier after my spectacle. Instead, she fixed the distance a bit on what I thought was a 3 stride, and changed its direction, turning the second fence from a vertical into an oxer with about a 3' spread. Then she had us ride two little courses - and lo and behold, all that work we've done on the distances, and riding up close to the fence, has had an effect! It went pretty smooth - with me being able to trust that we could fit in one more stride and not launching Charlie from way out. Then we did it again, but with a tight turn to an angle, and so I rode the first fence, the tight turn, and the angle at a more "collected" (pulled together) canter, then went back to the normal, bigger canter for the last couple fences. And again, we did it! So it's the same old same old - keep working on even hands, not bending Charlie to the right, not digging in with my heels, keeping the rhythm even. But the big difference from when I jumped by myself last week was to get him out in front of me - responsive and light to the aids with a bigger canter than I would pick, and then I could slow him down or lengthen him out, but I had him adjustable instead of sluggish. And - a tiny glimmer of hope of progress. I am learning some of this stuff, even if I'm slow. Then we finally had a chance to watch my DVDs from the first two shows together, and other than my doofus moments that even I can clearly see, Shannon pointed out that I have a few chippers on the cross country fences, and that she's done that too, and when she does it, it's looking down at the fence instead of up and out at the next fence. So that's another one to keep in mind - making sure I don't stare down the fences just because they're big and solid and impressive looking.

A 3/4 empty glass; or 1/4 full

Today's lesson was a big slice of humble pie. I struggled at the start with getting Charlie moving forward off my leg, and then gradually, everything else slowly fell apart. My right hand was pulling back, my left hand was twisting, my right heel was scrunching up and digging into his side, my left leg wouldn't stop twitching, and it just went on and on - it was like I couldn't think of more than one part of my body at a time, and the parts that were habits couldn't remember what to do without my brain actively focusing on them. Shannon's message was: one squeeze. If Charlie blows me off, he gets a tap with the whip. If he blows that off, he gets a belt. Then when he moves forward, he gets a pat. So the big obstacles seemed to be my right hand pulling - it never really gives, so Charlie gets tense and stiff on his right side. So I need to think about making sure that it softens when Charlie softens to it. And then my left hand (mostly, but my right hand too), keeping my fingers closed. Every single time my brain stops focusing on them for a second, blammo, they open up again. Keeping my hands steady and even. Push Charlie forward and then softly stop with my hands. And nice forward into the transitions - don't have that moment of "hanging" that I tend to do. And legs long - no heels in Charlie's side. Now, here's the slightly more sophisticated version from last year. My heels don't need to be in Charlie's side when I get him light and responsive off my leg aids. So the real trick right now seems to be me learning how to do that. I suspect that I have bumbled my way through 1st level, and that if I went and looked at the training pyramid, I would realize that I never did the ground level foundation, and that's why 2nd level is like hitting a wall going full speed. I think that what I need is to go back and learn how to get him light and responsive off my leg - get better control over all four of the basics (right & left hand & leg) - and then 2nd level will just flow. After that excruciating start, we did some shoulder-in and haunches-in, and once again, it was pretty much like I'd never even been on a horse before. Shoulder-in steps are: 1) perfectly straight; 2) moving forward with impulsion and on the bit; 3) then inside leg on; 4) then hands move TOGETHER to the inside, like making a circle; 5) then outside leg keeps him from moving his shoulders back to the rail. Legs on shoulder-in are kind of like the canter aid, but with hands moving together on his neck to the inside. Haunches-in is more natural for me. And turn on the haunches is haunches in, and then turn towards the haunches - so sort of like he's making a C and his nose is going to touch his haunches - turning towards the haunches. After we did that, Charlie got much more responsive and light - just like the last lesson, although I am so behind the 8 ball at this point that I have no idea what I was doing or why it made him responsive - I was just glad to feel it. I have to say - if I'm barely firing on 1 cylinder, I am grateful to all those horses in my life who have put up with my lousy riding up until this point. And to trainers who have had to stand there and watch me suffer through a lesson. The positive side is if I've enjoyed riding this much on not even 1 cylinder, man, I'm going to love it when I really learn how to ride. It's going to be spectacular. And it's got to be pretty much just improvement from here. It doesn't feel like I could go much lower and even sit on a horse at this point.

Shoulder-in is NOT the same thing as leg yield

If I had any pride left associated with my ability to ride, I'd have to swallow it after the humiliating lesson I had today. Ok, so first, I realized dimly that the reason that Charlie has been a bit harder to ride is because Shannon has been really busy, so I'm doing most of the riding. And so Charlie is like a living, breathing exhibit of all of my riding flaws right now. I ride crooked, I pound on his poor sides with my legs, and I scrunch up trying to get him to go. So: #1 - One forward aid. If he doesn't respond, it is the aid with the whip. No more kicking, begging, pleading. And no scrunching up my heel into his side - ride with elegant, long draped legs that have contact, but don't squeeze every stride, and definitely no heels lifting up. #2 - Watch my crooked hands. When we're going left, I should see his left eyelashes. For the right, right eyelashes. No more sloppiness on my end here! To help with this - when we're going left (counterclockwise), my right hand is the outside hand. It stays steady and I ask for the bend and flexion with my left leg and left hand, respectively. Always, I ask for collection and contact with both hands. And it is give and release, give and release. Don't forget the release. Riding on the #3 notch on the reins is about right, but my left hand opens and my right hand pulls back, so I have got to keep a careful eye on them and keep them even - in space and in the amount I pull. #3 - I let Charlie ride kind of heavy, pulling down on the forehand and bracing with his mouth. It took Shannon many, many minutes and a lot of different exercises to get him light in my hands. (The good news is, even though she had to stand there repeating herself like a broken record, eventually I did it. So I can do it - I'm not a limp rag up there completely.) This is hard for me to feel because Charlie is already so light (so pulling and bracing feel light to me), but after a few laps with him carrying himself, I was like, "oh." This took asking him to transition, spiraling in and out, and getting my hands and aids consistent. #4 - Transitions when I ask for them. Not 5 or 10 steps later. Walk to trot to walk should be CRISP! Then, I told her I was working on the 2-1 movements, but suspected I wasn't doing them right. I said the turn on the haunches felt awkward. This led to the realization that I don't know how to do shoulder-in and haunches-in. Shannon said, "Ride him in a straight line and then do haunches in" so I did, and she said "Not leg yield! Haunches in!" so I went the other way, and she said "Not leg yield! Haunches in!" and by the third try she said "Show me haunches in." So no wonder haunches in and shoulder-in have seemed so easy - I just leg yield down the long side and call it shoulder-in or haunches-in. This was great to learn (and quickly filled up my head) but excruciating. Ok, I've never been officially taught 2nd level, but why in the world would I think that the movement was just leg yield on the long side? Obviously, I can't underestimate myself. So a shoulder-in and haunches-in are his body straight, and, for haunches-in, a canter aid position leg placement. It's three tracks, but three tracks with only one part of his body moved (butt or shoulders), not his whole body at an angle like in leg yield. A shoulder-in is easier because you think about being about to ride a circle to the inside. To do a turn on the haunches, you ride straight, power-up like a piaffe, do a haunches in, then turn. So the haunches in sets him up for his hind leg to cross. Now I will re-read the dressage books and see if something "clicks". I always wondered why they said shoulder-in should be like the start of a circle and now it's clear.

New shoe for Willig

Let's hope this is his glass slipper and he turns into a sound fairy princess. Today he got a silicone pad and silicone under his orthotic shoe.

We jumped training level height(ish) again!!

Today in my jump lesson, we worked more on keeping the even rhythm, keeping Charlie in front of my leg (this means having "go" when I use a leg aid), and waiting for that spot - retraining my eye on how close we can get. Shannon inched the fence higher and higher until it was training level height, and it is just AMAZING to jump on Charlie! Even if I was sometimes floppy and ugly, he is so smooth over the fence, and training level is just a blast because you're actually finally jumping and flying. This was a great lesson, and cemented for me that I need to continue to work on retraining my eye and cementing some new habits, but that I understand the basics and just need the hours of practice to get them as habit and not something I have to think about. The big lesson, I think, that is an overlap between lessons and among lessons is getting Charlie responsive. I will kick and kick and kick and scrunch up instead of giving one aid and he better respect it. So that is my #1 goal right now - why do I have a hard time with that, and making sure I don't do it when I ride. My mom is in town and afterwards, I made her walk out and stand next to the fence and admire how big it was. I was very proud.

Poof on Charlie!

Today Mike worked with me on the foundation for the second level movements. He noted that one of the judge's notes was very correct, I tend to allow Charlie's reins to get longer and longer, allowing him to stretch out and eventually fall onto his forehand. We used that to continue our work on Charlie being quick and responsive to the aids (collect/lengthen/collect/lengthen, and to do it very promptly off my aid) and focusing a bit more on not letting the reins slither out (or my heels slither up). Mike also had me tighten my abs at the walk, sitting tall, even, quiet, and elegant, and that made an immediate difference in the "poof" in his shoulders - it lightened him instantly. Until I asked for a transition and threw my hands away. So, oddly, every time I ask for an up transition, I let go of the reins. There isn't a lot to say, but there is tons to work on. It is SO COOL to be able to ride Charlie off of my seat, and while I still have the same things to work on, I really feel like we've made some good progress. Once again, I just need some time to practice it the new way to start to make it a habit. Have I mentioned I looovveeee Charlie? He's a darling, and so patient with me.

Charlie's second 1-3 ride

Me & C thinking; C being handsome

Charlie's 1-3 ride at Dressage in the Park

Revving up the engine

I believe that my next big riding hurdle is to learn how to rev the back engine. I can't ignore the symptoms anymore - when I rode Charlie while Shannon was on vacation, when I rode George while Mike was on vacation, whenever I ride Willig, and this week, when I rode Charlie all week - he was sputtery and slow by the end of the week. It is pretty easy to get the nice movements when I have the engine revved up, but I'm not very good (and maybe that's even being generous to myself) about getting it revved. I started my lesson with Shannon showing her test 1-3, and what I thought was wrong with it (at the canter, his nose was going up in the air, but if I tried to get him on the bit, he'd do a down transition to a trot). And the cause was, as you probably guessed, the sputtering. The way we worked on it was lots of transitions. Halt to canter back to halt to trot, and then lengthening and collecting within the gaits. My instructions before the show today were to do about 5 minutes of loose rein walking and bending, and then the big, confident, assertive transitions to get the engine going for less than 30 minutes. Which we did. And had a nice ride. But this is still a bit out of my grasp, so I am going to need to think more and talk more and ride more on it in my lessons - I think it's a very deep habit that's going to take some real effort to change, but I think it's my next big step to get to the next level of riding.

Handsome, Goofy, and Wet Charlie

4, 5, and 6 strides on a bending line

I thought today was going to be a dud lesson because I've been in a snit and I assumed that meant I'd be difficult and not very receptive. Instead, much to my surprise, it was one of those lessons where I could hardly keep up I was learning so much. Here's the top takeaways: #1 - Ride him forward into the down transition. I was watching Shannon do this at her clinic last weekend, and I started to suspect that I haven't been doing this right. Just like with most things Charlie, it helps me enormously to watch Shannon riding him because I see things that I am doing wrong without realizing it. I think it was the last clinic when I realized she really almost never uses her hands (at least, compared to me) and when I ride him with my seat, he understands better and is far more responsive. So I've been trying to down transitions with my seat only (no pulling back on the reins) and we go down, but we also kind of plummet onto the forehand instead of rocking back onto the hind legs. And this one was one of those slap the forehead it's so obvious lessons - use leg at the same time. Halt the forward momentum with the seat, but use the leg to keep the impulsion and eureka - a nice down transition. Like with everything, it's simple, but going to take some practice to recalibrate the way I've been riding. #2 - Turn from the outside rein. Seriously, how many times do I have to keep being reminded of this? It's sooooo much easier to approach a fence when I turn from the outside rein, but the second I don't think about it, I turn with the inside hand. Use outside rein, outside leg. #3 - Slowing down cross country for the next show. We'll find a nice, long flat stretch and I'll go slower there on purpose. My rhythm was consistent, just a hair too fast at Aspen, so if I just use one flat stretch to go a bit slower, I should hit it just about right. Instead of trying to take my nice consistent 1-2-3-4 and go oonneee-ttwwooo-thhhreeee-foooourr and risk going too slow. #4 - Ok, the exercise for today. To help me spot the distance (something I used to be able to do), first we rode a cross rail with the poles spaced close and rode in on a tiny "piroutte" canter. We did this fine - it was just like our 10 meter circle dressage work only going over a fence. Then Shannon turned it into a bendy line that was a 5 stride. So first we rode it at 5, then shortened the canter to ride it at 6, then rode 5 again, then lengthened for 4, then 5 again. But it took me approximately a million times to get the 6. The 4 I can do no problem. The 5 I do inconsistently (sometimes we launch). But the 6 felt like we were standing still on a merry-go-round (just going up/down/up/down in the canter) and it would still be a 5. Most of this was **the take off spot looks way too close to the fence to me**. So we'd be coming in tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny and I'd think "oh, lord, we're going to go straight through the fence" and launch him from the tiny canter instead of waiting to get to the spot. And then second, it takes me a long time (2 strides) to sit back up and half halt him after we land. I need to get much, much faster at that. Once I finally got the spot a few times, it turns out it's much, much closer than I thought it was - especially on the tiny canter. So it was a really good "feel" test for how off my spot perception was. And it was a great example of how easily I launch (the 4 felt smooth) and how hard it is for me to collect (not Charlie, he was a champ, like always). So it was really good to get it in my head how close we can get and how I can ride right up to the base of the jump - something we'll need to continue to work on, but is step 1 in getting that readjusted in my head. Have I mentioned I love Charlie? Shannon was right a year or two ago - at 36 and not actually all that experienced, a horse like Charlie is what I needed - not a Willig.

Same old, same old; I'm inconsistent

Last week I had the brilliant dressage lesson. We shone like the sun. Today, it was like my entire body was stuck in something sticky. I don't know what makes the difference between the days when I can pull it together and the days I can't, and that drives me crazy. I can't fix it or improve it if I can't at least label what's not working right.

Charlie is AWESOME; I need some work

Our results at Aspen: Dressage - 32.0 (2nd place) Show Jumping - 4 faults (one rail down on fence 2) (6th place) Cross country - 2.8 time faults (too fast) Final - 6th place out of 19; 38.8 1st place for BN rider was 35.0 Our results at NWEC Spring Classic (which I think I forgot to post); Dressage - 26.5 (1st place) Cross country - 3.2 time faults (too fast) (still 1st) Show jumping - 4 faults (final rail down) (2nd place) Final - 2nd place out of 21; 33.7 1st place for BN rider was 31.8 Charlie was awesome, and my goal had been to improve a little bit on each of the three phases - get a slightly better dressage score, go clean in stadium, and get no time penalties in cross country. While I did slow cross country down, I didn't ride any better in show jumping, and in dressage, the razor thin edge between being brilliant in the moment nerves and freezing up nerves slipped into the freezing up side. I lost my left stirrup twice - just before I went into dressage and again after the 2nd fence in show jumping (at NWEC, I lost it over the second cross country fence, so hopefully that is my symmetry for the season and I'm done losing my left stirrup). Although the first walk of the xc course was kind of intimidating, it rode like a charm - thanks to Charlie, who was, once again, a total champ. I felt like my riding (other than dressage) was maybe a micropoint better, but I'm still making dumb mistakes that are messing up a nice blue ribbon. At least this time my pants didn't rip.

Charlie show jumping at Aspen

Charlie's Dressage Test at Aspen

Working on 1-3 with Charlie

Today we had one of those lessons where even though it was in the 50s, by the time I got done, my hair was soaking wet in my helmet. i.e., a success. Other than a few little bobbles, BN-A was fine - I made the same mistake I did in the show and hesitated in the trot to walk transition instead of committing, and I could have slightly improved the right trot to canter transition, but other than that it was rock solid and consistent and smooth. So fingers crossed for tomorrow. For 1-3, we worked on improving the individual movements. We started with some respectful transitions. Charlie was blowing me off just a tiny bit, so we did some walk-canter-walk transitions, and he got a smack with the whip if I gave the aid and he ignored it. After a frustrating 5 minutes or so, I realized it was easier if I smacked him just before he did whatever the bad thing was (blew me off, or down transition before I asked for it) and lo and behold everything went much more smoothly from that point forward. I can't feel them coming 100% of the time, but I can do something about it when I do feel them coming. This helped us with lengthening and then with the collection back to regular canter at the end of lengthening. We'd do a lengthening on the long side, a 20 meter circle where I'd collect him back up, and then either a down transition or another lengthening. Once Charlie caught on to what I wanted (and that it varied), he paid attention instead of "guessing" and offering what was supposed to come next. We also worked on the simple serpentine. I RIDE it (ride being the operative word there, instead of just pointing him in the direction I want him to go), with my inside leg forward, a soft seat, and just a touch on the forehand, so that he doesn't try to offer a flying change. Then we worked on the canter-trot-canter transition across the center line, and again, if I actually ride each step, I get a smooth, flowing transition. For the trot lengthening, that's going to be more of a long term project, so for the dressage show at the end of June, we're just going to ride what he's got (probably a 5) and make up for it on the other movements. I tend to kind of fling him forward and rush it, which is worse than just having it be a somewhat "meh" movement. Oh! And for stretchy trot circle, he tends to get a little fast, so I ride him by halting with my inner thighs, kind of like thinking about asking him to walk. We also started with the leg yield-shoulder in-leg yield exercise, which really helped for those first two movements, and on the two 10 meter circles, I need to learn my 10 meters better (I kept blobbing them out all big) and also have about three steps on the center line and clearly change the bend from left to right on those three steps. About half way through the leg yield, just think shoulder in, and that helps me put his hind leg back underneath him and keep his shoulders from leading. It's much harder going to the left than the right - which was the same on Willig, so it must be something about my confirmation. For the long walk, I need to let my hips rotate (like bike pedals going around) so that I don't restrict his good stretchy walk.

New Eventing Book!

"Fiel" by Diana Vincent.

I need a mnemonic

I had, what is now a "duh, of course" great jump lesson on Charlie today. I have a list of the things that I "get" but just need to keep working on to make them habits - here's the top 8: 1. In warm up, ride him rounder and more forward. 2. Don't bend forward to suck up the reins (after they've been loose). 3. Sit in my two point, light two point, seat down, and then WAIT for the fence - no more launchers!! 4. Keep it even - 1-2-1-2 (a corollary to this is not to get faster, looser, flatter, more strung out (get the picture?) as the course goes on) 5. Turn inside leg to outside hand - not with outside rein 6. Chest open (squished together shoulder blades - chest out, like I'm proud) 7. Commit to the fence and don't wiggle around those last couple strides 8. Make any corrections fast - no dawdling around for 5-10 (ok, sometimes 15) strides before I get it back together again What was nice today was Shannon made things a little twisty, and at the end, just a hair big, and I felt like we did it pretty smoothly. I am having a little more trouble with the combination - I don't correct quickly enough, so that will continue to need some work. Charlie is such a delight to ride. I seriously can't say that enough. I look forward to every ride on him, I'm smiling while I ride, and I'm smiling when I get off.

Willig check up

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

Stick with the commitment

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

Happy happy joy joy dressage lesson

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

Charlie is the greatest horse in the whole universe & Maxims

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

Show Jumping

BEST. DAY. EVER.

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

Preliminary (my) analysis of dressage test at NWEC

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

Polishing our dressage test before NWEC

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

Bascule!

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

New top height and Back to Work and Conditioning

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

Schooling Lessons

We went to NWEC to school some cross country fences today, and I had so much fun. I'm also so glad we went because I thought I was completely a cool cucumber until the moment Shannon sent me off trotting by myself to do the first five fences, and then suddenly I got that tight anxious feeling around my ribs. But since Charlie is a freaking rock star, the only fumbling was on my end. My two big take-aways - ride him more assertively (for Charlie, this is faster than I'm used to going, and not timidly approaching every fence in a baby trot), and new one - keep my hands planted on his neck. So in between fences, I'm riding in a two point with my hands planted down, and then as we're about 10 strides out, I sit up into a light seat ... but my hands stay planted on his neck. And my job is to think rhythm (1-2-1-2) and then to steer him over the center of each fence. If I screw up and am riding too defensively, I let go of the reins so I don't grab him in the mouth. And corners and approaches are when I rebalance and sit up. Charlie is a total superman, and can totally take care of the fences all by himself. We will, a few strides from the water, trot into it, but then canter once his foot hits the water. He didn't even flick an ear at the water OR the ditch today, or the one humongo log. He just floats right over them. So I still have some switches to flip from my Willig riding style, but I think I am going to have a really good time this summer, and I am so so so grateful for this opportunity.

Charlie and Willig

Charlie peacefully grazing after his schooling session at NWEC, and Willig looking jealously at Charlie peacefully grazing.

Jumping George on a gorgeous spring day

Excellent dressage lesson on Charlie

After some wrangling with my schedule, I finally got a dressage lesson with Mike on Charlie. It was very illuminating and left me grinning and really looking forward to my next ride on him (until today, when I watched Shannon in a lesson and realized I'm a totally sucky rider and wondered why I even try).
First, a tip for George: when he's being heavy with his head, use my back to lean back, so it's my back muscles and the lever action working on him, not my flabby arms which will never win a tug of war with his heavy head. And when George squeals at me (which he rarely does) he is telling me a dirty word and he shouldn't get away with it.
Now, for Charlie. The take away was I'm not riding him hard enough. After 45 minutes with Mike I was soaking wet with sweat.
- Hold my hands higher (to lift his head) and have more contact. I ride him very very light, long, and low, and the contact isn't heavy, but definitely a presence.
- Use more leg - ask him to move until he's on the edge of breaking to the next gait. This is a little hard for me to judge, but as I get used to riding him, I'll know where this feeling is.
- The walk should have his hind legs stepping over his front foot steps by about 6-8". It's not how far down his head is (at his knees) that matters. He should feel like he's walking like Marilyn Monroe - with a swinging, rolling walk.
- A good ride feels like it's on the edge - don't be afraid to push it to the limit - that's where the 8's and 9's are. But be aware of what Charlie can do (his canter and walk can be 8's - his trot is more realistically a 7) - but if he's having a spastic day, it's better to play it a bit safer, like letting him go a bit long, low, but steady.
- My posture needs to be more elegant - sitting up tall with my heels down. Heels lifting up say to the judge that I'm nagging the horse.
- I need to ride him lifting into the canter - the elegant posture (and I saw Shannon do it today) collects him up and gets his hind legs underneath him. (I'm not sure how.)
- When I come down the centerline to halt, think piaffe the last few strides to get a nice, underneath, square, quiet halt.
- Also keep him bent "left" which makes him straight. (Something is really crooked in my right hip and it's messing everyone up.)
- Think canter to halt to get a nice down transition to trot, but also keep the forward momentum going.
- Every five to ten steps do a big kick to remind him his job is to go forward. No nagging every stride.
- It is ok to collect for a few strides to prepare for a transition. It is better to have a nice transition than to do a sloppy one exactly at the right place (for BN).
- Be done with what I'm going to mess with by the time I come around the corner. This was for the free walk to medium walk to trot, and the point was, as I finish the free walk, collect the reins up and get it back together BEFORE I start the corner to medium walk, to make us look neat and polished.
It was a great lesson. It made me feel like I could actually ride.

super fun jump lesson on Charlie

I really do feel like a weight has lifted off of me after I ride Charlie. As I accurately but not wisely suspected now maybe a couple years ago, when Shannon first offered to let me ride him and I declined, mine and Willig's whole lives would have been different these last couple years - ok, well, Willig had to go lame for me to ride other people's horses so maybe not - but I have FUN on Charlie. Willig is work. Charlie is enjoyment.
We got to take advantage of the nice spring weather and had another outside jump lesson (in warm sunshine) yesterday. After a few warm up fences, we did a little 6 fence course, roughly 2'7", with an oxer, the lattice fence, and the barrels. Charlie is a total champ.
I'm flailing a bit, but it's more because I spent the last 4 years trying to unlearn most of my basics to adjust to riding Willig, and now I need to switch the Willig skills off and go back to the way I was taught.
Which is:
- Ride in a light two point, with my hands in "jump position" up his neck until I come around a turn or about 10 strides out
- Then sit up a bit (but wait for the jump - legs in front defensive is one thing I think to keep from jumping ahead with those long sproingy frog legs)
- Keep it even - I have to say 1-2-1-2 otherwise we speed up
- Be ready to balance him after the fence, and not to let him rush towards it (because Charlie actually enjoys jumping)
- And for the connection, it's leg, then hand
I mailed my entry for NWEC today, and I am so excited!

a journalist's idea of dressage

http://news.yahoo.com/romney-talks-horses-dressage-missouri-fox-trotter-201433096--abc-news-politics.html

"Dressage is very competitive horse riding in which the animal's mane is often braided and the riders wear top hats and long coats."

Free Willig

Willig soundness update

After 6 more weeks of stall rest with 10 minutes of hand walking a day, Willig is still not sound.
Now he's going onto 8 weeks of tiny turnout and up to 60 minutes of walking a day (hand or, likely on what will be a rare occasion, under saddle) and then he'll get checked again.
He's also going to get the navicular support bar shoes to help support the navicular ligament.

2nd schooling video

Charlie: Leg gets a thumbs up, back gets a thumbs down

Until you watch the video and freeze the frame, then I have a flat back in the moment in the air, but bad lower leg and seat (swinging behind, jumping ahead). Sigh.


I had my first outside jump lesson in a while, and my third jump lesson on Charlie in the gorgeous spring weather we had yesterday.
I had a really fun time during the lesson, but (not that this was ever a real worry) there is still plenty to work on.
Charlie actually enjoys jumping, so he needed to be ridden in two ways majorly different than Willig: light seat but steady him (1-2-1-2) so he didn't speed up the last couple strides to the fence.
Not surprisingly, I'm also (still) not very fast on my reflexes, so this video with two bends was pretty difficult for me to do.
That being said, after we did it a few times I started to catch on, and I ended the day on top of the world and looking forward to more.
Same old from before applies: legs in front, even rhythm, stay in the center of the fence, look for the next fence as I do the final line up for the current fence.
Also, because Charlie is trained and reliable, I can also ride a bit closer to my jumping position (seat light) and also hands up his neck with reins shorter.
We also checked speed, and telling myself a slow, steady 1-2-1-2 we were exactly 350 m/m so for x-c we'll need to go just a bit faster.

Family photo

I (heart) Charlie!

I had a flat/light jump lesson on Charlie today, because I'm going to ride him later this month without supervision. I was really curious (in a dreading way) about whether the first time I rode him (which I put off for months and months because I didn't want to realize how difficult Willig was to jump) was just a lucky coincidence fun ride, or whether I really do click with Charlie. The answer is clicking. I had so much fun riding him today, and I left on top of the world, feeling completely relaxed and happy after a week of just ... ugh.
Now I'm curious how riding him without Shannon's supervision will go, if I'll drag him down to my level or if he's just a better match for me. Or if I just like the way Shannon trains horses.
We warmed up on the flat, which felt a bit easier than last time. My aids have gotten clearer and I'm better able to adjust to what he needs (although he's really different to ride, both conformationally and style, than Mike's line-up), although I need more time than one ride to get a feel for the "right place" for all of it.
Then we did a little cross rail and later a vertical on a circle from the trot and canter, both directions, with my primary mission to be not to pull with my hands. Because Charlie was nice and consistent, it was easy for Shannon to see that each time I got the teensiest bit nervous (over ANYthing), I'd clench up and pull with my hands - especially that darn right one that has a mind of its own. So she had me ride with "upside down hands" (like carrying a bucket with your biceps - not that helpful a visual but I can't think of a better way to say it), so that I couldn't get in a pulling war with his face. And at first, I hated it - I felt completely powerless. And then I got used to it and rode with my outside and my seat more, and then it was a cake walk. An ecstatic, joyful, wonderful, thank-god-I'm-alive-and-on-a-horse cake walk.
AND - Shannon complimented my lower leg. She said that they look like they belong to a different rider than from when I started working with her. All of that hard work is finally paying off! They feel better too - totally secure and I don't have to think about them all the time.
So now I can focus on other things and enjoy myself a bit more. Which I totally did today. It was just a little lesson, but it reminded me why I ride and why I have my whole life set up for riding.

Jump lesson on George

Yesterday I had a jump lesson on George. It's been a while since I've had a jump lesson, and George's tendency to kind of plow into the trot poles has reawakened the chicken in me (that we were finally dampening).
We started with some flat work, with the "usual" instructions from Shannon that I hear, but somehow don't follow in between the lessons:
- Ride him more forward. If he wants to be flinchy, don't clutch up with my hands but kick with my legs. While contrary to every instinct I have, every single time this works like magic, so I don't know why I can't learn it the "new" way (the way that works).
- If he wants to be a bit of a pill (like he's, oh, had a day off), let him canter it out. Get up in my two point, shorten the stirrups and dig my hands into his neck, and let him do a couple laps each way. That lets him settle down and focus, just like when I have too much energy.
- Quit being lopsided with my hands! Even in the two point, my right hand would be all sneaky and snake down low and to the right, even if I touched my thumbs across the top of his neck. I'd have them touching, and then my right hand would try to sneak off and I'd have to force it back into place.
We did some trot poles and then some canter poles, then the poles, halt, back, turn around, trot back over them, repeat, and then variations of those on a big circle, where my job was to keep the same rhythm (1-2-1-2) and go straight over the middle of them. Sounds simple, right? It was fine until we started cantering and then the thing I posted about with Mike - the crazy bending to the left - went crazy again. It was like a battle of willpower to even get him straight - even with my right leg kicking and my right hand battling to pull him to the right instead of left so I could see his right eye. Shannon said to a) twist my heel in instead of lifting my heel, and b) to just ride him looking at his right eye until my body gets over whatever freakish thing it's doing.
Then she set up a little cross rail, so we did the 20 meter circle (cross rail to ground pole to cross rail) at trot and canter, then with a new block underneath, then with her strolling around near it.
Then she turned it into a little vertical and we did the same series.
For once, as we went along, it would start out ugly and messy, but she'd make me keep going, even when I was flustered and wanted to stop and pull myself together again, and then, lo and behold, I'd be able to pull it all together while we were going.
And once, he got surprised when something changed and went to run out, and my right leg, miracle of miracles, did its job and corrected him!
It was a very satisfying lesson, but at the same time, I still feel pretty much like a goober.

W's 1st follow up

Today W got another shockwave and did just a bit of trotting to see how he's coming along. While it's not bad news, it's not good news either. He's made some progress, but he's not sound.
We've put him on some Chinese Herbs to try to calm him down, because yes, it doesn't matter if he stands still 23 hours and 50 minutes a day if in the 10 minutes he's tearing around in his stall he's re-tearing his ligament.
While it's a judgment call, my guess is he's going to tear less in his stall than he would in even the teeniest of tiniest of outdoor paddocks, so we'll try the herbs for a week, but if he doesn't stop it with the bullshi*t, he'll go outside in a tiny paddock.
He may need April off too, if he isn't sound by the next follow up in a month.
I'm also going to try one of the Back On Track bell boots out of what is becoming desperation. I'm furious and worried at the same time. Why can't he just stand still and heal?!?

Respect My Authority?

Today I rode George and Prince with Mike, and was mostly discouraged but had a tiny flicker of hope.
Ok, so while he was gone, I would have described the issues I had with the horses I rode as very different. And I would have been wrong. The main common theme was a lack of respect for my leg aids.
They were openly taunting me, even with Mike there! As soon as he'd walk towards them, they'd suddenly get very obedient again, but when he'd back away, we were back to me being the teenage babysitter who gets slimed. It was excruciating. He'd say "canter" and I'd fumble around for two or three circles.
That was one of the discouraging parts.
So let's do the tiny flicker of hope - in my bungling efforts to give his horses a workout while he was gone, I actually had stumbled onto some of the right ideas. I didn't carry them through as well as I could have, but that's what I've got and I'm clinging to it. Like I had been working George over the trot poles at 4'6". And one day he was just slogging around like he had on lead boots and knocking the poles, and a fellow boarder suggested they should be wider. Something about that didn't seem right to me, especially with the slogging and the fact that he'd done them fine many other days at exactly the same distance. I did try them a couple days later wider, and he knocked less, but it didn't seem to have to do with the distance. Instead, I had figured it out earlier, it was whether or not he was coming in with impulsion from his hind end - vs. strung out and on the forehand.
Mike said this is George's approach to fences too - flung out and over them, and instead, to sit up and say "no, I want three more strides in before the fence here".
The second thing I was a bit right about, but this feels like inching my way up a mountain by my fingernails instead of the space walk leaps and bounds we made last year, is that the impulsion comes from riding with your core. I think that it's - if your hips are bouncing on the basketball, making the bounce higher (more time in the air), but how to actually explain what's really happening with your body is still beyond my grasp. This is both canter and trot - it's easier to do in canter, but it needs to be showing up in trot too (that's what makes them easy to sit).
I think the things I'm really struggling with getting - like I've hit a wall - is using your core and riding with your seat, getting that impulsion with connection, and then the lower leg still has too much static, especially combined with the weird passive personality I have about my aids (actually, ok, it's insecurity - I'm never sure I'm doing it right).
So, Mike wanted to work with me after I described the issues I had with both of them (I claimed Prince was easy, we just struggled with the 10 meter canter circle - then on George, I had an "ah-ha" and said, "oh, I just wasn't riding it enough from the outside leg and outside hand" - simple, right? But when I got on Prince today, suddenly I couldn't even canter anymore and at one point I started crying.
Ok, second side track - I have cried a few times at the barn lately, and it isn't really about whoever I'm riding, it's my frustration that it's not Willig leaking out of my eyes.)
So, here's the nutshell solutions to my problems:
- Stop screwing around with my legs all the time. Ask for the aid. Ask a second time if the horse was asleep. Then use the whip and demand respect. Hence, the "Respect My Authority". This was ALL horses I rode, without him there to fix it, and an ongoing problem with Willig (which he, somewhat remarkably, seems relatively immune to, at least compared to two weeks with Mike's horses.)
- Ride that impulsion all the time (after a couple minutes of warm up). This is really hard on my abs and lower back, so this is going to go with "work out at home on your abs and lower back every night". Because I CAN get it on my own, I just don't trust myself that I'm doing it right because I can't explain it. I get it by riding the basketball.
- When George tries to dive down or his shaking his head, then sit up tall, lean back, brace my core and back, and use my seat to drive down.
- By the way, I think I can't get the canter because I'm getting frustrated, and then I drive my seat down because I'm mad which = brakes and then I'm like - arrgggh just go forward into canter! while I ask for exactly the opposite with my seat.
- The weird open left hand? That's all me. Work on making squares and making all my turns with the outside hand and outside rein, and work on a 10ish meter canter (instead of 20) and think about leg yielding to the inside to ask for it.
- Lower leg down. Ride without stirrups more. Think at both the trot and canter about what I've called "frog legs" or "trampoline legs" where I push down with my legs (all the way from the hip to my heel), into the saddle. When I watched Mike ride, nothing on his legs or seat ever bounces at all, and I think his "soft" look is actually very refined frog legs. And drop my stirrups a hole - I'm riding with my knees all clenched up, which makes my aids up weird and high compared to his (he's got really long legs and I've got really short legs so I'm already at a disadvantage there about where my aids are on the horses).
- Our trot exercises are: ride the trot with the tall posture on a basketball like you're going over elevated trot poles, turn it into medium, take it back to collected, turn it into medium, take it back to collected. Simple, right? Ha! I'll probably spend the next year working on this.
- Our canter exercises are: ride piaffe (prancing in place), then walk to canter on a 10 meter circle, and it's walk to COLLECTED canter like you're leg yielding into the center, praise him when he does it right, give him a few strides, and then it's 1-2-3 walk again. For Prince, it's the same but then a break, and then try again, and then a break. For George, it's working on increasing the amount of time he can hold it.
- and I got to see the end of another lesson, where Mike had set up three elevated poles at canter distance to help another horse work on his impulsion in the canter. That was pretty cool.

UC Davis article on suspensory ligament injuries

http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/ceh/docs/special/Pubs-SuspBrochure-bkm-sec.pdf

Willig's MRI results

He has an injured medial collateral sesamoidian ligament (old name: suspensory ligament of navicular bone). He'll get 8 more weeks of stall rest (3 months total), and 3 shock wave treatments. In the future, he may need another MRI, and injections in his coffin joint and navicular bursa.
It's not clear to me whether he'll jump again.
The MRI images were super cool.
The indoor dog park in Portland was super cool.
The flat trailer tire on the interstate was not even remotely cool and almost completely overwhelmed me (and Willig) with the stress, making me realize that the ways he annoys me are basically reflections of my personality.
He's also going to get SmartPaks of Quiessence, SmartOmega3, and SmartFlex Rehab (which will change to SmartFlex III Resilience when he goes back to work).

This is what a flat tire on the interstate looks like

And Les Schwab are my new heros. They have a mobile tire change van that has a lift that can lift a horse trailer with a horse in it and the fastest tire changing guy in the world who doesn't even complain that it's raining.

Snow at Forest Park

Family visit at Thanksgiving

The cure for Willig stall boredom

Not that he seems particularly out of sorts, but a fellow boarder loaned me her Amazing Graze, and I heard Willig playing and playing with it in his stall. Since he doesn't like Jolly Balls or Pas-I-Fier, I didn't have high hopes, but this appears to be just his thing!
Today I had just two quick mini-lessons and a couple of great ground tips.
For braiding, the trick to avoiding those bulges is to press your thumb on the top of each of the three strands to make it tight and flat at the top. It's the first three or so "wraps" that count. Once I master that, it looks like there's a trick to avoiding the "pippi longstocking" standing-straight-up braid (that Willig's mane usually does) and also ... braid styles go in and out of fashion in dressage! So while Willig is laid up, I'll practice braiding too.
For leading, you walk next to their shoulder. With a whip, it's in the outside hand and can be used to urge them forward. I lead all lazy in front of them, and that's the spot you can get jumped on if something unexpected happens.
Then we worked on the canter. I've had trouble using my existing method (at the top of the "swing", squeeze my inner thighs and lift a bit with my hands) to the get the moment of suspension to last longer. So Mike worked with us on changing my method from 1st level to her level, which was to think Piaffe, and then walk, and then ask for canter, and then keep the piaffe feeling. As best I can describe, this is to sit up tall - like the Centered Riding string pulling out of the top of your head - and that makes your core (belly and back) strong which helps hold that moment up. This worked to completely transform the canter, but I can't describe exactly why. Sitting up taller doesn't do it justice because after some work both directions, my thighs were just screaming.

Christmas shots

Frisky George Lesson

On Thursday (I'm four days late, so I've lost most of the details) I had a lesson on frisky George. (He was still frisky Friday and then super frisky Saturday, and even Prince was frisky on Saturday.) Because George shares a lot of personality characteristics with Willig, this was a great learning lesson. We did a lot of "attention" work on a 20 meter circle to help him focus on working and not looking for something to act up about for about 15 minutes or so while I rode the frisky out of him. (Saturday I couldn't do that, but it worked on Friday and is what I've been doing with Willig instead of lunging.)
The eureka moment in this lesson was trot to canter transitions that were perfectly "smooth". No speed up, no slow down. To obtain it, I lost the "jump" up into canter with the shoulders, but it was really, really cool to be trotting and then one step later just as smooth as silk be cantering.
I also got a better feel on what my body is doing when I "suck up" the trot and canter (slows down the cadence and adds the "jump" and moment of suspension in the gaits). It's lower back and inner thigh and a bit of abs and outer thigh. But this was the first time I could kind of identify what my body was doing when I asked him to "suck up".
We also worked on teaching him piaffe and passage, Mike running alongside.
We continued to work on "powering up" the trot by collecting him (my version of collection) for a few strides, then lengthening for a few strides, then collecting, etc.
Although it's in inches rather than feet, I feel like we're still making a lot of progress. The vet visit to check on Willig is Thursday, so I have my fingers crossed he'll get back to work. I actually miss riding him.

Christmas George!

Prince jumping

Baby Piaffe and Passage

I had a dressage lesson on George today (still trying to get Willig sound in the slowest, most noncommittal approach ever), and a mini lesson on Falada.
For my before shot, I'm a dried up husk of dessicated sponge. For my after shot, I'm so full of liquid (information) that I'm dripping. And that was like, maybe absorbing 20% (at best) of what Mike was telling me.
Let's start with the things I still need to fix:
- My gripping legs - they're like cling-ons that never let go. Like how horses can sleep standing up, I have to think "relax" to make my legs ungrip. Invariably, if I check in with them (regardless of what is going on) they're gripping.
- Tone my middle. I'm doing more and more with my seat and it's connected parts, and I can't be flopping around loosey goosey.
- Watch my right side. Something funky is going on again (or it's just that this stuff is new and it's dominant) but I had a hard time with it overworking everything today. I also had, perhaps related, a hard time getting all three horses to canter. I think my hips are tight and I can't swing my leg far enough back, but I'm not sure what to do to work at home on that "leg back from the hip joint" feel.
So to start out with a bang, here's baby piaffe and passage:
Piaffe is stepping up and down in place, passage is lifting up and down. Piaffe comes out of the back legs while passage is elevating the front legs. I always thought they were two sides of the coin (I guess they are) but I hadn't appreciated these distinctions.
To teach a horse piaffe, you lean forward ever so slightly, slightly lift your hands, and put both legs back and do a whispery-fluttery aid. The person on the ground uses the stick to tap their hind legs, and when the horse starts the movement, it feels like he's crouching down. You just do a few steps then stop and reward. You do it out of walk, not halt.
For passage, you lean back, but then lift your hands and put both legs back with the fluttery aid, and also - I don't know how to describe this - suck up with your seat. The person on the ground uses the stick on the horse's front legs. This one feels like they're stepping over trot poles.
So this was really, really cool.
Then we took that feeling, and worked on the trot (slower) and when I thought piaffe, George would get light in my hands also. And if we did it really, really well and all the stars aligned, I could feel the moment of lift that we added.
Then later we took the feeling from passage, and used it with OPEN HIPS to extend the trot. This was the same thing I did with Falada after Mike rode her a few (?) rides ago, where she felt like she sat back, lifted her front end up in the air, and then shot forward like a rocket. We got a baby feeling of this with George.
We also worked on canter, taking the piaffe, and walking, doing a few half steps (thinking piaffe), walking, repeat a few times, and then cantering a few strides on a 10 meter circle, and then thinking 1-2-3 [trot/walk/halt]. I had been trying to ride Falada with halts from behind earlier, and this exercise also really helped with that.
Mike's goal is that the exercises we did today are how I will exercise George, Falada, and to a slightly lesser degree Prince, from now on. These exhausted my legs, made me pour sweat, and were exhilirating. The hard part is I don't even know how to describe what happened, and without being able to describe it, I feel like I can't repeat it. It's like it's squirming always just out of my grasp - every once in a while I get it with the tips of my fingers, and then it slithers away again. I definitely feel it when it's right, but I don't quite know what I'm doing with my body to make it right.
But I am definitely going to keep working on this, because I think the world is going to open up when I finally catch on. And my being nice to myself is that in the two years (ish) I've been riding with Mike and Shannon, I have made SO much progress as a rider. Yes, I regret I didn't have the opportunity to ride with this level of instruction from the very beginning (I might actually be good by now), but I'm grateful to at least have it now, and not go my whole life without learning this.

Jump lesson on George

I was out of town for a week, and when I came back, Willig was off. I putzed around with him for a week, hoping it was arthritis, and then gave him bute for a week, so I rode George for my jump lesson.
George is a pretty green jumper, at least compared to Willig (I never thought I'd say that). But he still had to be a trooper because I just wasn't on my A (or B, or C) game. We had a lucky break of nice weather - no rain and not too cold with decent footing outside (not too mushy and wet).
We worked on a circle at first, then a circle over some ground poles, then finally a low combination (three trot poles to a cross rail, then eventually a 1 stride to a vertical, and then ending with a third vertical 2 strides from the middle).
I couldn't get my hands to stop screwing around with a mind of their own. Even my left leg couldn't outcompete my left hand.
This was so depressing and frustrating that I really don't even have anything to say about it.
The lesson I had a month-ish ago with Shannon where I had a eureka moment and rode without hands? That's what I need to be doing all the time, practicing all the time, until doing everything off of my seat feels natural. I need to brake by leaning back and using my back, not my hands. I need to steer off of my legs and seat, not my hands. I can't get the connection and power because I wiggle my hands around and let it all "out". So we worked with bridged reins and even then, my hands flapped and struggled to get free, and even on nice Mr. George, who knows how to ride off of seat and legs, I felt wild and out of control without my spazzy hands.
Afterwards, Willig got a light workout, and then handsome, sweet little Prince did a little teeny six jump trot course.