Willig has developed a cute habit (other than the not-so-cute downward dog he does after a hard/stressful ride). He likes to drink out of the hose when he's getting hosed off after a sweaty ride.
Charlie with the long sought after cooler
Spring NWEC 2013 Novice
Sunday, August 02, 2009
Silly Willig
Willig has developed a cute habit (other than the not-so-cute downward dog he does after a hard/stressful ride). He likes to drink out of the hose when he's getting hosed off after a sweaty ride.
Slight jumping improvement
Although my back is rounded and my heels are up, this is a considerable improvement over giraffe-neck Willig.
Monday, July 20, 2009
2nd jump lesson with Shannon
Willig and I had a much more ... show-and-tell jump lesson last week.
Shannon started us with a gymnastic, which was really cool.
There was a ground pole 9' away from the plastic blocks (that I think make a 2' vertical) as a cross-rail. You head into it from a trot.
Then it's 18' to a low vertical (probably 2' - I haven't measured, but it's small).
Then 9' plus a roll to another ground pole.
That's how you start: pole, cross rail, vertical, pole.
Then you add from the vertical, 21' to an oxer, but start it as a vertical, and then add the second pole for the oxer after you've done it a few times.
So it's: pole, cross rail, vertical, pole, oxer.
Willig did it just gorgeous over and over. What we worked on was me not jumping ahead, steering him through with my legs, planting my hands about 5 strides out on his neck and pushing against them, and keeping him moving forward and through. This was all much harder than it sounds.
After we did this several times and he was just great (he did one little half-assed head shaking buck at the end of one line), Shannon set up a course for him.
And this is where he gave her a full-on example of how he is naughty.
We came off the gymnastic, had a big wide left hand turn, and had plenty of space to approach the fence and see it coming.
And even though he's jumped that particular fence at least 20 times, he decided to run out to the left, buck, and do the little "whee!" with his front legs.
My reaction time was too slow, so he got away with all that, I didn't yell at him, AND I was getting ready to stop him, but Shannon had us canter on a smallish circle several laps, then move the canter circle out, then jump a little cross rail a few times each direction.
And then Willig panted and was tired.
Then we did the gymnastic line again, and then the course.
Willig gets a bit - headstrong - it feels like rushing to me, but Shannon says it's not, but he is kind of strung out.
So our homework before the next lesson is to work the course, a figure 8, whatever, over and over and over again until he is bored with it, and to work in between fences on control, and to work on the flat on me speeding him up and slowing him down at will.
And to continue using the super fun and fabulous gymnastic to work on my position.
It was kind of frustrating - he had been doing so well on the gymnastic that I did not see or feel the naughtiness coming at all, and then I spent the rest of the lesson not trusting him and having to really work at sitting up and riding into him instead of curling up into a scared little ball.
Shannon's other tips were to growl and, if possible, smack, at the first sign of naughtiness, to make it harder work to be naughty than to just jump the fence already, and to not lose contact with my outside rein on circles.
Of course, I probably threw all this to the wind with our poodle follow up the next time I tried to ride him. We'll see how he does next time, I guess.
Shannon says our next lesson will be on condensing his body - instead of the 9' to the fence, make it 7' or so, and he'll have to learn to squish his body up instead of spread it out. She said it helped a lot with one of her horses.
Shannon started us with a gymnastic, which was really cool.
There was a ground pole 9' away from the plastic blocks (that I think make a 2' vertical) as a cross-rail. You head into it from a trot.
Then it's 18' to a low vertical (probably 2' - I haven't measured, but it's small).
Then 9' plus a roll to another ground pole.
That's how you start: pole, cross rail, vertical, pole.
Then you add from the vertical, 21' to an oxer, but start it as a vertical, and then add the second pole for the oxer after you've done it a few times.
So it's: pole, cross rail, vertical, pole, oxer.
Willig did it just gorgeous over and over. What we worked on was me not jumping ahead, steering him through with my legs, planting my hands about 5 strides out on his neck and pushing against them, and keeping him moving forward and through. This was all much harder than it sounds.
After we did this several times and he was just great (he did one little half-assed head shaking buck at the end of one line), Shannon set up a course for him.
And this is where he gave her a full-on example of how he is naughty.
We came off the gymnastic, had a big wide left hand turn, and had plenty of space to approach the fence and see it coming.
And even though he's jumped that particular fence at least 20 times, he decided to run out to the left, buck, and do the little "whee!" with his front legs.
My reaction time was too slow, so he got away with all that, I didn't yell at him, AND I was getting ready to stop him, but Shannon had us canter on a smallish circle several laps, then move the canter circle out, then jump a little cross rail a few times each direction.
And then Willig panted and was tired.
Then we did the gymnastic line again, and then the course.
Willig gets a bit - headstrong - it feels like rushing to me, but Shannon says it's not, but he is kind of strung out.
So our homework before the next lesson is to work the course, a figure 8, whatever, over and over and over again until he is bored with it, and to work in between fences on control, and to work on the flat on me speeding him up and slowing him down at will.
And to continue using the super fun and fabulous gymnastic to work on my position.
It was kind of frustrating - he had been doing so well on the gymnastic that I did not see or feel the naughtiness coming at all, and then I spent the rest of the lesson not trusting him and having to really work at sitting up and riding into him instead of curling up into a scared little ball.
Shannon's other tips were to growl and, if possible, smack, at the first sign of naughtiness, to make it harder work to be naughty than to just jump the fence already, and to not lose contact with my outside rein on circles.
Of course, I probably threw all this to the wind with our poodle follow up the next time I tried to ride him. We'll see how he does next time, I guess.
Shannon says our next lesson will be on condensing his body - instead of the 9' to the fence, make it 7' or so, and he'll have to learn to squish his body up instead of spread it out. She said it helped a lot with one of her horses.
Gory picture alert - don't look if you can't stand blood!
I gashed my elbow yesterday falling off of Willig.
The short version of the story is that I was working him on the gymnastic exercise from my lesson (which will be the next posting), and the new neighbors on the other side of the arena were standing in their yard, drinking beer, with the spastic poodle on its leash thrashing around every time it saw Willig.
Because I had T with me, I decided to try to work Willig anyway, despite the fact that he is scared of that particular poodle ever since the day it ran onto Shannon's property, lunged at him, made him rear, and in general, terrorized poor tiny delicate Willig.
Although he was not stellar at paying attention to me, he was doing a great job basically doing what I asked and jumping the gymnastic really nice.
But at the end of the jump, the poodle couldn't take it anymore, started barking, Willig started bucking, the poodle barked more, and Willig took off bucking down the long side.
Miracle of miracles, I stayed on almost the entire length of the arena (which is, when you're on a bucking Willig, a very, very long side), maybe 5-6 bucks, T estimated.
But the last one, I was yelling at him, trying to jerk his face up, had lost both my stirrups a few bucks earlier, and decided to go for his neck to swing off, and that launched me off the side.
I hit the arena footing in a roll, and it gashed my elbow open.
Willig then proceeded to run for about 10 minutes straight, in a full blown panic, while T went over to talk to the neighbors. The only one left in the yard was the husband - the wife (who had been yelling at the dog the time it chased Willig) and the guests were already inside.
Blood got all in my glove and on my dressage crop, but once Willig quit running, he calmed down right away.
I rode him back and forth past their now terrifying yard (his body tenses up to jump as we go past) several times, did some trot and canter to make sure he could listen again, then we did the gymnastic reverted back to baby level twice, and then we put him away and I went to urgent care for stitches.
The location ended up not getting stitched, because the doc thought it would get infected, and the nurse gave it a - shall we say - vigorous - scrubbing with a toothbrush. Thank goodness it was numbed.
My big fear now is that we're going to have to go back even further, now that poodle incident #2 has happened, or, heaven forbid, he'll start bucking again.
Now, these weren't malicious, get-off-me bucks - they were oh-my-god-that-poodle-is-going-to-eat-me-if-I-don't-get-out-of-here-NOW bucks. I think he completely forgot I was up there.
Also, he's got about 5 hives. I put his flysheet on and put him back on garlic, but I hope this isn't the return of the hives. Ech.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Sit down for this one. Literally.
For both of you who regularly read this, you will need to be sitting for this posting ... just like I was - at the trot - not posting, but sitting! (That analogy had so much potential, but I got carried away.)
Unlike many of my prior "ah-ha!" moments with riding, where my crafty and clever body figures out a way to continue not to ride properly until my next lesson, the movement I thought was the proper sitting trot last week really, actually was.
Now, I know for most riders, this isn't a breakthrough.
For me, however, it is. I have been trying to learn how to sit the trot since I was about 16, so for those of you counting, that's about 17 years. Yikes. That was a little hard to write.
And thanks to Mike, I got it.
Now, I can't do it all the time - I can only do it for a few laps, but I can now do it at something slightly less than a working trot - not just the plodding around western trot, and I can also do it with "no hands" (i.e. hands on the reins, where they belong, and not one finger on the pommel).
So Mike was suitably impressed, and my lesson was great. We still have tons and tons to work on, because now we can really get to work.
I started with sitting, and asked him to look at it, to see if I was somehow faking it.
He showed me a better way to cross my stirrups (pull 6" down, twist the bottom over the top so it lies flat and doesn't bruise your inner thigh), and then we worked about half the lesson on sitting trot without stirrups.
He worked on getting my legs longer and straighter, which requires a lot of effort from me thinking about dropping them straight down.
And then we worked on picking up the pace a bit.
He said it's a great start and a world of difference from my first lesson, just a few short lessons ago.
We talked a bit about lower leg - he thinks it's good to work on sitting trot without stirrups (that it's the 2nd stage of a 3 stage process), but that it's not as good for posting trot.
Then we worked on trot to canter transitions. He wants me to think 1 (get ready), 2 (you're about to go), and 3 (ask for it). I sit at 1, slow him down and give him half halts at 2, and then 3, ask for it, is a series of steps: outside leg back with a quick aid (not my squeezing headlock aid), sit tall and up, and ask for it by thinking about getting forward momentum on a swing set (the firm hands on the chain, the stiff back pushing forward). He had to try a variety of analogies for this one, and it was really a struggle. But when we started, Willig ran into the canter in about 4 hurried trot steps, and by the time we ended, it was just 1-2 steps without changing speed. Plus, the one time we really, really got it, I felt it. He just lifted up into canter and it was so smooth.
Willig has been really great. He has been very obedient and listening, and almost ... gasp ... patient. I think now that he's figured out I'm actually riding him, he's got more respect for what I'm asking him to do.
Yesterday we worked on our "homework" jump again. I didn't have the martingale, but I didn't really need it. He did 5-7 jumps over the fence each direction, with a couple little rubs on the ground pole each way, but nothing major, and absolutely no acting up. Then I just jumped off him and put him away.
I got him one of those ear nets with the crochet headpiece, which I think are for bugs, but I've seen the show jumpers wear. It made no difference at all.
There was, of course, much, much more detail to my lesson with Mike, but we're getting to the point where I can't quite articulate what I feel. I definitely feel it, but I've never had riding go so well, and I'm not sure how to put it into words yet.
I can say, however, how wonderful it feels to really be riding Willig instead of just struggling with him. He's happier, and I'm happier, and I'm glad we pushed through it because I feel like a better rider now.
Unlike many of my prior "ah-ha!" moments with riding, where my crafty and clever body figures out a way to continue not to ride properly until my next lesson, the movement I thought was the proper sitting trot last week really, actually was.
Now, I know for most riders, this isn't a breakthrough.
For me, however, it is. I have been trying to learn how to sit the trot since I was about 16, so for those of you counting, that's about 17 years. Yikes. That was a little hard to write.
And thanks to Mike, I got it.
Now, I can't do it all the time - I can only do it for a few laps, but I can now do it at something slightly less than a working trot - not just the plodding around western trot, and I can also do it with "no hands" (i.e. hands on the reins, where they belong, and not one finger on the pommel).
So Mike was suitably impressed, and my lesson was great. We still have tons and tons to work on, because now we can really get to work.
I started with sitting, and asked him to look at it, to see if I was somehow faking it.
He showed me a better way to cross my stirrups (pull 6" down, twist the bottom over the top so it lies flat and doesn't bruise your inner thigh), and then we worked about half the lesson on sitting trot without stirrups.
He worked on getting my legs longer and straighter, which requires a lot of effort from me thinking about dropping them straight down.
And then we worked on picking up the pace a bit.
He said it's a great start and a world of difference from my first lesson, just a few short lessons ago.
We talked a bit about lower leg - he thinks it's good to work on sitting trot without stirrups (that it's the 2nd stage of a 3 stage process), but that it's not as good for posting trot.
Then we worked on trot to canter transitions. He wants me to think 1 (get ready), 2 (you're about to go), and 3 (ask for it). I sit at 1, slow him down and give him half halts at 2, and then 3, ask for it, is a series of steps: outside leg back with a quick aid (not my squeezing headlock aid), sit tall and up, and ask for it by thinking about getting forward momentum on a swing set (the firm hands on the chain, the stiff back pushing forward). He had to try a variety of analogies for this one, and it was really a struggle. But when we started, Willig ran into the canter in about 4 hurried trot steps, and by the time we ended, it was just 1-2 steps without changing speed. Plus, the one time we really, really got it, I felt it. He just lifted up into canter and it was so smooth.
Willig has been really great. He has been very obedient and listening, and almost ... gasp ... patient. I think now that he's figured out I'm actually riding him, he's got more respect for what I'm asking him to do.
Yesterday we worked on our "homework" jump again. I didn't have the martingale, but I didn't really need it. He did 5-7 jumps over the fence each direction, with a couple little rubs on the ground pole each way, but nothing major, and absolutely no acting up. Then I just jumped off him and put him away.
I got him one of those ear nets with the crochet headpiece, which I think are for bugs, but I've seen the show jumpers wear. It made no difference at all.
There was, of course, much, much more detail to my lesson with Mike, but we're getting to the point where I can't quite articulate what I feel. I definitely feel it, but I've never had riding go so well, and I'm not sure how to put it into words yet.
I can say, however, how wonderful it feels to really be riding Willig instead of just struggling with him. He's happier, and I'm happier, and I'm glad we pushed through it because I feel like a better rider now.
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
By George, I think I've got it!
I don't want to jinx myself or anything, but a few days ago, I noticed the sitting trot had suddenly gotten much, much easier.
Tonight, both the sitting trot and posting without stirrups were ... a cakewalk. I didn't even have to do the baby slow western trot.
My back is moving different, which lets my hips do the nordic track, but I'm not doing it on purpose. It feels great. I hope I can keep doing it.
Tonight, both the sitting trot and posting without stirrups were ... a cakewalk. I didn't even have to do the baby slow western trot.
My back is moving different, which lets my hips do the nordic track, but I'm not doing it on purpose. It feels great. I hope I can keep doing it.
Sunday, July 05, 2009
Stop the presses! A good ride on Willig!
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!)
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!)
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.
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