Back to basics

Even though it was my day off I was quite tired today.  But regardless I drug myself out to the barn since the weather was amazing.  It was slightly chilly, sunny, and just perfect for riding.
The one flaw was the fact it has rained for almost two days straight here in East TN.  So the paddock I am now riding in was quite wet still.
So I decided it was a day to work on the walk to avoid slipping and sliding around in the mud I knew was lurking under the grass.

Thankfully Gracie was in a good mood today and went right into work.  None of her usual stopping and throwing fits that can occur at the beginning of a ride.  Maybe we are getting to the point she once again has a work ethic...maybe.  Not holding my breath or anything.
But she was all about the cows, or lack of cows, in the field across the street.  So we spent a fair amount of time working on going past those points without having to be all "looky" at the cows way at the bottom of the field.

Mainly we worked on lots of bending and changing direction with a constant contact.  Added in lots of walk/halt/walk transitions to get her through and listening to me.  Then I started with some lateral work.  Did leg yield away and to the fence line so she was moving evenly and respectfully off both legs.  Next I worked on shoulder-in and haunches-in.  I swear she is getting alot better at both of those.  When she was actually in the zone and listening to me they were good today.  When she was off in cow land they were just okay.
Poor mare she is just a bit ADD.

So overall even with the limitation of gaits it was a productive day.  And some days it is just good to go down to the basics and work on nothing else.  Today was one of those days.
It was so nice to feel her so light in my hands and listening to my aids.  :)

                                                          Gracie posing for the camera.

All ready for a good workout.

Back in the saddle

It has been a few months since I had been on here updating the life of Gracie and I.  Not that we are by any means that exciting.  But it is a way for me to follow what happens in our day to day training.

This summer has been kinda a bust for us.  In the middle of June Gracie fell on the lunge line.  She splatted right onto her side and in the process hit her right stifle it seems on her front feet.  Her shoes left a pretty icky gash on the inside of the stifle and for a few days all seemed ok.  Thankfully she was never lame on it.
BUT a few days later the largest seroma formed at that location.  It was huge.  Probably about the size of a cantaloupe.  And like I said she wasnt lame, but I do feel it inhibited her way of moving and didnt want to push the matter.
It was also during this time I moved her across the street to a friend's barn where she was to be on 24/7 turnout. Add in that and the miserable heat we had here in east Tn this year and I gave her some time off.

Two months later the evil seroma was gone and the heat had settled somewhat.  So about 2 weeks ago I started us both back into work.
I am TOTALLY out of shape.  It is ridiculous how much you lose with such a short time off.  But I will get it back I am sure.
Gracie though was living on this intense hill she is now going up and down multiple times a day.
Sure she gained a bit of weight with the nice lush grass, but she also got stronger.  The last remnants of the EPM was just she had not fully gotten back her muscle strength in that right hind.  Now though with all that hillwork she has done it on her own.  Why didnt I do this sooner I ask myself!!!???

Basicly the mare is now WANTING to do nothing but canter.  I have a small grassy paddock I am riding her in with a very small incline down to one side.  So as you make a 20meter circle you are going slightly down and up a hill all in the same rotation.  It has done wonders for her balance and tempo.  But as we head up the hill she sees it as a perfect time to canter.  And will pick one up if I allow her every time.
This is the same mare I had to fight to get to canter.  Even after the EPM was treated.  So it is amazing what good muscling will do.
She also had maintained a pretty good topline in spite of her time off.  And the more we have been working the more of that extra 100 pounds she loses.  Soon I will need to get her back onto her grain daily again.  Right now she doesnt need it at all.

So I will just keep doing what I am doing.  Probably as the sun sets earlier I will go back over to Merry Hour Farm to use the indoor so I can continue to ride through the fall and winter.
My goal is to go to the Halloween schooling show held there on October 30th.  If all goes well I will do Training Level Tests 1 & 2.  For us that is a huge thing.  And all I want from it is to finish the test...a good score is just a bonus.

So I am happy to be back.  I needed the small break from riding, but it is in my blood and I cant stay away too long.  :)

From Pony to Horse in one day.

Well Monday I spent the day in Aiken, SC with my great friend and trainer Cathy Fox. She is down there teaching, training, and working with some young sale horses with her friend/partner Chris Taylor. The two of them both rode on the 1999 PanAm Games dressage team for Bermuda.

So they were moving barns and I offered to help while I was in town. I was really just in for the day as I arrived late Sunday after spending my weekend in Camden at a massage seminar (which I'll talk about in another post!).

We moved a total of 5 horses, hay, shavings, tack, and an assortment of other things. It took us about 3 trips to get them moved. The new barn though is phenominal! I wanted to move in and just sleep on the couches in the lounge (yes they had a lounge that is nicer than my house!)

This is the front entrance of the 20 stall barn.

So after I picked my jaw up off the ground I spent a bit of time working with Roy, Cathy's talented German Hanovarian.  Being that he is very fit and ridden correctly he generally only requires a good tune up with the massage.  Cathy though believes in my work and always has me work in him.  She knows that it keeps his muscles in good working order to prevent any potential strains or injuries.  So she is my favorite kind of client!!

I then watched her ride him which to me is always a treat.  He is such a big mover and is lovely to watch.  And Cathy as a rider is also a joy to see as well.  Very classical in her seat and position and I get so much from just watching her.  Her horses are always very straight and balanced and truely do over their backs and are forward. 

His piaffe and passage are coming along in leaps and bounds...its amazing to see what she has with him.

Roy hanging out in his field waiting to go to his new home.  Love the face.

While in Aiken I got a call from my dear friend Kate.  She had fallen off and knew she was going to be a bit too sore to ride for a few days.  This would of course happen right before she was taking JoePony to Regional Championships to show in BN this weekend.  So she asked me to come and ride him just to keep him on his toes. 
So on Wednesday I made the trip out to McCord Farms to ride the Joe! He is a great lil guy and was a ton of fun to ride.  Such a willing attitude and nothing phases him.  I of course only did dressage/flat work with him, but the silly boy wanted to veer off to the jumps as we passed them.
We did work alot of going to the outside rein and staying under himself during transitions.  He tended to want to dump (but hey so many of them want to do that right?), but he reallys started to use his lil tush by the end.

Kate put her eventing cap on me as she said I will event one day.  Ha!

What a lovely lil trot he has. :)

I love him and will beg Kate to ride him again without a doubt!

So I then went from pony onto my mare Gracie...hence the horse.
She had spent a wonderful week OFF from work.  Wasnt she shocked when I brought the saddle back out.  I saw the smile fade from that pretty face of hers. Oh well I had planned a day of hillwork so figured she would enjoy herself.
And she did..though a bit too much for my liking.  I will say it was stupid of me to take her out in the fields after that long with no work.  But hey were told fresh air is good for them and it was a nice day.
All was fine just walking up and down, and even with trotting up the hill. 
BUT...BUT when you add the canter in it was just too exciting.  First time up at the canter, she perked her ears and you felt the energy buzzing in her, but she was good and steady and balanced.
So went for a second time.  She went right into the canter and then right into bucking. 
I could feel her trying to wiggle her head further down to put in some better bucks.  But I just sat back, held her head up, and hoped that Charlie had 911 on speed dial. 
Funny how things run through your head in moments like those...
But I guess I had superglue on my ass because I didnt come off.  Even when she continues to put in small bucks at the top of the hill and kept tring to bolt forward. 
Abandoned the hillwork and just stayed at the top and made the damn mare really work.  She got the picture and settled down and stopped trying to bolt.  Mares....

So today I went back to the ring.  Gracie has been in our indoor a bizillion times.  But today the monsters had taken it over.  I swear she was spooking at everything and nothing.  The entire ride she was like "OMG IM GOING TO DIE!!!!" It was one of those rides that kinda sucked the whole time but I was okay with where it ended.  I went in with one game plan and it changed almost immediatly.  In the end I just wanted her forward and listening. 
The canter work is getting there though.  I was not together to the right so the up transition was hard for her.  I just couldnt get her and myself where we needed to be to have a successful one.  I got it eventually but I really need to work on myself when it comes to that.
To the left?? Well it was really good.  Which is suprising as it was the harder one for the last few months. 
She picked it up each time and in the canter itself stayed fairly well balanced.  I even got her to do a walk/canter transition like she was an old pro at it!!
Goofy mare...I must say I love her. 
My friend Julie says the two of us have a bizarre and sick relationship. ;p;p

She does have such a pretty face when she's not making evil eyes at everyone.

Really Mare?

Well this past weekend was supposed to be our time with Cathy Fox.  But Gracie decided to be lame for two days and those two days were during the clinic. 

Ugh.

I swear that mare went into her field and stomped up and down on whatever rock she could find so she was just slightly lame enough NOT to ride.  I mean she loves her Granny Cathy, but that also comes with lots of work. 

And we had gotten somewhere and I was looking forward to Cathy seeing that.  Pooey.

But then again I am just happy she isnt lame anymore.  I think Bill laughed at me when he found nothing with the foot testers and then she lunged out sound as a dollar.  Little does Gracie know but we are going back to work in the morning!!

But it was a good weekend full of horsey peeps, great lessons, and in general spending time at the barn.
I was able to hop on a good friends horse, Merlin, for a few minutes.  He is the coolest little warmblood who is a great schoolmaster. 
Even in the most uncomfortable saddle I have ever had the displeasure of sitting in, I was able to do my first flying changes!!
The first one sucked.  Oh goodness did it suck.  I was like, "what am I doing?  Half halt, legs, what?" Merlin changed in front but not behind.  Yea I got like a 1 on that one.
So we circled and tried again with Cathy barking at me that I knew what the F a half halt was so use it!
And I used that great tool, put my leg back, and BAM! Lead Change. 
I laughed like a fool, Merlin looked at me like I was crazy, and Cathy told me Good job. 
So it wasnt all for naught with my mare being lame.

Tomorrow I am planning on riding early in the morning.  Then heading out to Crossville to watch the oneday clinic with Cathy there.  I have a few horses who are lucky enough to get a massage too.  So it wil be a fun and productive day for me. 

Gracie just better realize she cant play possum all the time....wait...no possums...The two of us hate possums...no more EPM, bad possums....

Gracie being too cute with her new flymask.  Even if she was playing at being lame. ;p

Having to not be such a nice guy

That is my main focus right now with Gracie.  I am just too damn nice to the mare.  She is such the horse that if you give them an inch they take a mile.  It is a slow thing, so slow you dont even notice.  Till one day things just dont work anymore.  So this last week has been about me sitting up and riding.

Mainly I go around and am a bit too open with myself.  I was told I looked like I didnt want to offend her and was trying to baby her.  And I was I am sure.  I can get her to move and all, but I dont get her to really work.  There is no engagement of her hinny and that back never really gets up under me.
I have let that mare start slowing laying on my hands and not being truely on the bit.  She looks it but she feels like a ton of bricks in my hands.  Throw those reins away and she would just land on her nose.

This all I am positive is related to why the canter was once again an issue.  I will say the first time was the EPM, but that is long gone.  Now it is just her stupid rider.  She is the kinda girl that if she isnt through the canter is not possible.  Ask and all you get is that giant extended trot she is so good at because it is all she can give you.  So to get a canter depart you have to sit her on her ass and make her work. 

So this last week I have done two things to make this easier on us both. 

One- Started with a lunge line lesson because I know my position is related to shit most of the time. 
Laura Wolfe came out and did a great job of pointing out my many faults.  Mainly I seem to pinch with my knees.  How can I have an active working seat if it isnt really in the saddle?  Well I cant and Gracie must be ridden off seat and leg.  She will kill anyone if they get into using their hands too much.
So lots of work minus stirrups and learning to let go with my knees.  I have worked most of my rides alone the same way without stirrups.  Sure my abs are on fire but it is a good thing.
I know that my position inhibits Gracie alot of the time.  As Cathy Fox and Jim Koford have both told me she is a mirror and will show all my mistakes.  And lordy lordy isnt that the truth.

Gracie showing that sometimes I do ride correctly.

Two-  Help Gracie be able to help me in the canter work.  So after each ride I have been putting her on the lunge with sidereins.  Doing lots of trot/canter/trot transitions to help her gain the strength she needs to balance herself better.  So we do equal amounts of work in both directions.  I had also stopped working the canter under saddle for a week to just let her focus on the lunge work.  Today was the first day I tried it under saddle again..more on that later.

So how are the results? 

I think good.  We will see what Cathy thinks this weekend as we are riding with her in a two-days clinic at our barn.  Then I will know if I am doing better or if I am still doing in circles with the same issues.

But really I feel like she is respecting me more and her work ethic increases with her respect for you. 

Today was a good ride.  Within 5 minutes she agreed to step up and accept the contact and go forward.  I was turning with my outside rein/leg and she was bending evenly in both directions.

After the warmup I worked a bit without stirrups.  Started with shoulder-ins and haunches-in at the walk.  There are not good yet but she has the idea.  And for a mare who couldnt use her right hind well at all 6 months ago she is doing great with her stepping under. 

Then some sitting trot work for me.  Had her going on serpentines, diagnols, and small circles.  Went well, but I could tell my muscles were a bit fatigued from the sudden correct use.  I can tell now the difference between me sititng in the saddle and gripping with my knees.

Then I got it in my head to see about the canter.  She wasnt being all sneeky about getting out of the contact so I thought it might go well.  And it did.  She went into both leads 2-3 times each as soon as I asked.  I felt more secure asking her too.  She didnt pop her head too bad, and she didnt race around like an idiot.  I kept the canter brief..no more than a 1/2 circle before transitioning down to ask again. 

After that I praised her big time and went to something she LOVES to do.  Lengthen her trot.

BUT I had a stipulation.  She was to do it across the diagnol only after she straighted and balanced herself.

Then I would let her.  Took her a few tries to get that point but when she got it she really got it. 

And with that outside rein I had sure she would come back in her trot before we hit the corner. 

Can I say it is amazing what one can do if they are truely on that outside rein and really connected over their back???

Who knew!!

So a few more days and Cathy will be here.  I hope she is as pleased as I am.

The sun! It does exist!

So after so much time of nothing but rain, snow, and gloom everyone here in TN was blessed with seeing the sun!!  I am not sure about everyone else but I was damn sure going to go enjoy it with my horse.

Sadly her sole bruise in the right front lasted well over a month.  This stopped us from going to the schooling show at RiverGlen this past Saturday.  But such is life and there will always be other shows.  I am only happy that she is now sound and coming back into work. 

So today was my first day on her...in over a month.  First she tried the sucking back and not moving.  Just for old times sake, and to see if I REALLY meant that her vacation was over.  She learned it was. 
Next, she decided to spook at the vet working at his truck as he floated a few horses teeth.  Gracie's idea of a spook is to hop forward in her "look at me I have standardbred in me" trot, so it is totally managable thankfully. 
But that got her fire going and I used it to my advantage.  I like them a bit UP as it is so much easier to get them in front of your leg and working.

So today I just focused on forward and straight with a good steady rythmn.  We got the first two fairly early on, but she loves to zoom once she hits the open end of a circle or say going down the longside.  So half-halt, half-halt was my solution. 
I guess I finally asked her in the right way as she finally became steady eddy and the rest of the ride was quite nice.  Just stayed in the walk/trot. I will add the canter back in tomorrow or Wednesday I think. 

Though as we were ending the ride on a nice long and low stretchy trot the CAT OF DOOOOOOOMM jumped out of a hole in the kickboards of the indoor.  Holy hell that mare shot out from under me and was across the diagnol in 2 seconds flat!! Good thing I stayed on.  LoL.

Oh and the spoiled little mare got a very long massage before our ride.  I am jealous as I need one too.  She just better be happy her mom is a massage therapist.  ;p;p It is the only time Gracie will stand still for that long and be happy about doing it!

So we are getting back on track for our plans. 
Have a clinic with Jim Koford in a few weekends, and then right after with Cathy Fox. 
I better get my butt back in shape and soon!!!

In the land of mud

So for one I have been a very bad blogger.  I will try to explain myself for that, but first let me speak of Gracie.  Since she is FAR more interesting than I am.

First off the mare has been doing fantastic this winter.  She is so much more comfortable in her body and is a very happy camper.  It is amazing to see her transform after battling and winning against the EPM.
Her work ethic has improved alot and she hasnt sulled up on me in months.  The canter is slowly coming along and the transitions are becoming alot cleaner.  The trot work is really really good most of the time.
So I am quite happy with my little maremare!!

Though I have to say she has had off for almost a week now.  On Saturday I went out to clinic with my trainer Cathy Fox and she was lame on the lunge.  Only to the left at the trot, but it was definetly her right foreleg.  Ugh.
So all the signs pointed to an abscess.  And I have been managing her since then like that.  Farrier came out Tuesday and found a soft/tender spot and dug just a little to find the bugger.  And found a nice bruise instead.  But she seems quite okay on the leg but I am going to give her a bit more time off.  Keeping it wrapped so it stays clean to hopefully ward off an actual abscess forming. 

Other than that I am living the life of horses now.  I finished my six month Massage Therapy course with Mike Scott in SC back in December.  So I am focusing all my energy into getting that off the ground and running.  So far things have been going pretty well.  Making lots of contact and networking quite a bit.
Only thing is the rain/cold/snow/mud is keeping everyone from riding and indoors.  Including myself.  But I can still ride as I love that fact I have an indoor at my barn. 

Plans for 2010???
-Start off the show year March 6th at local schooling show.  Go out at Training 1 and 2.

-Plan on my club's May/September Schooling shows to see about moving up to other tests.

-Clinic as much as I can afford with Cathy, Tom Poulin, and Jim Koford.

-Make a show schedule to some rated shows that friends are attending and catch a ride with them.

-Start year off at Training Level.  Shoot for Regionals.

-Test the waters of First level at end of summer into fall.  It is all there except for the canter transitions.

-Grow my massage business!!!

-Take Gracie out on trail rides across East TN for a nice break for us and to just relax. :)