In the Arena #150 - Back to the drawing board + a super cool contest!

We're on a roll. Sort of.

A synopsis of events since spring:

- Val becomes three legged lame with a never pops mystery abscess. Six weeks gone.

- I learn a painful valuable lesson about girth tightening and bust my a$$. Six weeks down the drain.

- After a crazy month straight of rain every day, (source of abscess), apparently, it will never rain again. Water table historically low - my sand arena... more like a quicksand arena.

- I find L, my new trainer, who is super helpful, but located far, far away.

So now we're working towards an October 18th clinic. L's a student of Mary Wanless and Mark Rashid, specializing in biomechanics. So fortunate to have this opportunity.

The plan of action to prepare for our trip hinges on short term goals:

Daily - confirm forward, focus on contact, pick one other thing to work on for each ride.

Weekly - keep rides short but increase frequency each week. No drilling. Consistency is key.

Monthly - both of us fit, with the basics confirmed, so we can move forward while we have the benefit of several days with a trainer.

Changing trainers has provided an interesting lens to analyze my riding through. One element where there's a glaring difference, is the go button. With OT the aid was calf related. A wiggle of the ankle to lightly brush the barrel with your calf, tap, tap, tap with the whip as backup. NT - more seat/weight oriented, and straight to the whip if necessary. Thigh on, but calf has a whisper of contact. With OT I remember feeling that the motion of my leg was pulling me out of position. With NT, I'm stable.

With L's horse Tom Terrific, it definitely made a difference, because as I struggled not to nag with my leg while asking for the trot - surprise - we went straight to the canter. A bumpy little "not sure if you were asking for this - crazy lady with the spastic legs" canter. After a few tries I moderated my ask and we had a decent trot transition. Hello forward horse + light aids... it's been a while.

Anyhow - that's where we are. My seat is feeling more secure and effective. Val's been relaxed and blowing, tentatively taking contact. My aids are getting lighter, and lighter aids are all that's necessary. Every ride is a little better than the last. We've only got about a third of the arena that's rideable, but throw some cones in to make it interesting and we're cooking with gas.

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If you haven't already, head over to Life of Riley to enter a contest celebrating her 200th post. (with really great prizes) Or don't - better chances for me that way! ;D
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smooches for a good boy

In the Arena #146 - Serendipity, or You can get there from here...

Sometimes the very best things come out of a seemingly random chain of events.

Last year I ran across Mary Wanless' name in a comment on a blog. I googled her. The book excerpts on Amazon were enticing, so I ordered Ride With Your Mind - An Illustrated Masterclass In Right Brain Riding.  A life changing book.

Round about the same time, my partner in crime N - we rode with the same trainer for years - attended a clinic in Va. N was noncommittal about her initial clinic experience with this trainer, who as it happened, focused on biomechanics and was a student of Mary Wanless.

For her birthday, I sent N a copy of Ride With Your Mind. It blew her away too. At some point the book rang a bell, and she remembered the clinician and found her website. N set up a lesson early this year, which was super helpful. So have the subsequent visits. As it turns out, L has been a student of Mark Rashid for many years as well. Bonus!

Two weeks ago (a birthday present to myself), I drove to N's home in Va. We caught up, shopped and had a nice dinner out. Hit the road Sunday at o' dark thirty for (another) three and a half hour ride to Maryland.

At this point you could be thinking "she must be crazy driving fourteen hours round trip for a riding lesson." And you would be right. About the crazy part. But - ever since delving into biomechanics, I've been overwhelmed by a feeling that this is the right path for my riding education. The key to unlocking dressage for me. I think have a good understanding of what I should be doing and the outcome I want, but the signal often gets lost or disconnected between me and my horse.

Some people, especially you young bendy ones, naturally have correct position. And some trainers, while they might be terrific riders, aren't always the best at conveying knowledge about position and the body on horseback. No fault of their own, they just haven't had to think about how they do what they do. In RWYM, Mary mentions a BNT at a clinic of international riders where the frustrated clinician eventually resorted to yelling "Ride better!"

Back to the story. We arrived at L's tidy farm. Well kept premises and horses are always a good sign. The first part of my lesson involved assessing body and position. Tom Terrific, a patient grey ottb, was my mount. Oddly, I wasn't nervous or anxious at all.

Once L had gotten me sorted - legs under me, core engaged, hips rotated in, thighs bearing weight, kneeling feeling in my knees, calves with feather contact, feet pressed toward the outside of the stirrup and almost no weight in my stirrups... sound like a lot? It was. The core engaging part is complex. There are inner abs, and outer abs. The inner abs push out while the outer abs push in - kind of a core sandwich. Pardon the very unscientific explanation, but that's what it felt like to me.

L helped me pinpoint the affected anatomy and how it felt, and then it was time to ride. To try to ride. Of course things went to hell in a handbasket once I focused on anything in addition to position...

While bringing my attention to the moments when I coordinated everything and how it felt, L urged me to come up with key words that I could associate with the feeling when my body cooperated - a shorthand checklist for examining / correcting my position. She frequently had me assess how much (percentage) of my attention maintaining position took up. That was enlightening and needs improvement.

N was up next. It was so helpful to watch her ride. She worked on influencing her mount's stride with her seat and refining her posting technique. As usual - the horse never lies. When N got herself together, her mount immediately responded by picking up his back, reaching into his (bitless) bridle and producing a lovely and visibly higher quality trot.

At this point I had the epiphany that the seat is everything, there is so much more to the seat than I ever realized, and my seat needs an overhaul, stat.

The lessons concluded with an exercise designed to bring attention to the engagement of the core + breathing. We blew up a (new) balloon held in our mouths (no hands or teeth) and kept it inflated using our core, while also inhaling and exhaling. Now either I am a stone cold champion at this bizarre skill, or was cheating and didn't know it. We'll have to wait and see at the next lesson. ;D

N and I are planning monthly visits through the summer, and then hopefully caravaning our trailers up for a three day weekend or two this fall. L was so fun and comfortable to work with. I can see myself learning a lot with her. Well worth the journey.

In the Arena #142 - Threw me for a loop...

(warning - long catch-up post ahead)

I am so not good with control issues. No - really. Not good. Another in your face horsemanship lesson. Lame horse + lame weather really got me down. I couldn't fix Val - I couldn't pinpoint what was wrong - and I was mostly stuck in the Shimmy Shack worrying - for a flipping month. There certainly was plenty of time for blogging, but my heart was not in it. All better now.

During the incarceration, there was also plenty of time to review video of our last few rides before Val went off. Who knew you could obsess over look at video frame by frame? I should have explored my editing software a long time ago. Initially there was the lure of lifting stills, but soon I realized how the technology could fill the gap of my current lack of instructor.

Biggest revelation *eye roll* - my contact was not steady... not consistent. The tension on the reins came and went. Bouncy. At times I had so much contact on the outside rein that I pulled the bit through Val's mouth. This tells me that in my efforts not to pull him around, I am (still) abdicating contact on the inside rein. Classic over-compensator. Not a new issue for me, but one I must figure out how to conquer.

A good thing - the absolute instant that I looked up, asked for more energy and felt the reins through my bent, point, heavy elbows Val's back came up and he reached into the contact. The bad thing - it literally only happened for an instant at a time. (at least I'm not totally imagining it lol)

Slack in reins, sticking out butt and leg turned out

Chair seat, piano hands

Better, but leg too far back

New header pic!

It is really helpful to be able to isolate moments in time and then have continuity also. I usually know what I should be doing, but have struggled with position issues that are hard to nail down without eyes on the ground. I think I am asking one thing, but my pesky body puts it's two cents in. Poor Val. Now I am hopeful that I can close the feedback loop occasionally.

We've begun a rehab program consisting of weekly mini trims (by me) and working on the nearby paved road to ramp up the circulation in Val's feet. Life in the sand paddock + arena hasn't done him any favors. I want the landing toe first business to end. The beginning of the walk is over some gravel, and on our first trip he buckled when we hit that stretch. Definitely ouchy. This week he seems more comfortable, and very happy to be out and about. Licking and chewing while clip clopping alongside of me. The occasional patch of tasty greens doesn't hurt either.

On the training front, there is some hopeful news. My friend N (we studied with the same trainer for years) has found a woman who teaches in the style of Mary Wanless - biomechanics and position oriented. My plans to try her out were foiled this month, so we'll try again in April. It's a bit of a road trip, but should be fun with company, and doable on a monthly basis. Fingers crossed...

We've had a few decent rides despite the weather and Val's feet. One was a bareback in the halter with exceptional steerablilty - first time that's happened. And yesterday we had a full length schooling session, bareback again. I focused on being consistent with the contact, and ended up working on no stirrup posting. (sore today) The solid month of no work has done a number on Val's topline, affecting his comfort under saddle, so for the time being we'll be barebacking. Fine with me - my seat is so much better without the saddle.

Spring is here :D

*Thanks to our new followers - there have been a number of you lately. I have tried to locate and visit everyone whose blog I can find. If I haven't found your blog, please leave a link in the comments. :D

In the Arena # 125 - We shall overcome...

Our big excitement this week was the first tropical system of the season - Beryl. Say what?! No, not even kidding.

The beginning wasn't too bad - several hours of blustery winds and torrential rain. Eventually the eye / center of circulation passed directly over us. The moment it cleared us the winds went from 0 to gusts of 70. Tide came roaring out of the sound, and up the streets. People were scrambling to move vehicles to higher ground and attend to their boats. As usual the forecast hadn't called for any of the drastic-ness...

All I can say is if my tomato plants had gotten killed I would have kicked that storm's ass! (I parked my truck to block the main winds from the garden, and it worked.) Actually, all I can say is that if this had been August instead of May, I dread even to imagine the destruction we would have suffered. Island life can be dicey.

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Weather and subsequent footing issues kept us out of the arena until this weekend. Yesterday afternoon I dragged the arena, groomed and tacked up for our first ride in a week. Val tried to convince me that the part of the arena beside Captain Outburst's property was a no-fly zone. I persuaded him differently by practicing leg yields into the area in question. I concentrated on my position, namely opening up my hip angle and getting my leg more underneath me, as well as all the usual non stop self reminders and adjustments.

This morning dawned with bright sunshine and cool breezes. After morning chores and the usual preparations, with extra attention to repelling flies, we got to work. Again, I paid attention to my alignment - ears, shoulders, hips, heels, as well as keeping my elbows at my sides and my eyes straight through Val's ears. As I have no one on the ground and no mirrors, I must rely on Val to let me know when I've got things right (or wrong!), which he gladly does.

Also, I put the cones back into the arena. They really help me to focus on keeping the school figures accurate. After picking up contact and achieving a nicely forward walk, we worked on trot transitions. There was a halfhearted canter stride the first ask, and after that I got the trot when I asked. Once again feeling the rhythm of the new gait was the first go at the transition - leg and crop only if necessary. Overall I think we gained some ground. Apparently it's going to take a while to restore confidence - mine and Val's. We'll chip away at it.

Afterwords Val got a scrubby bath plus a relaxing pick of grass. Then he helped me reinstall the stall awning that got trashed in the storm. He oversaw handling of the tarp, inspected the tools and licked my legs while I was on the ladder. It was a perfectly lovely day with my horse.

 

 

 

 

 

If you turn up the volume, you can hear Val happily snatching away at mouthsful of grass right in front of poor, poor Cowboy...

 and groaning with pleasure - there's nothing like a good roll in the sand.

 

In the Arena # 114 - First ride after the trim, first bath of the year, more proof that me and videos are incompatible, + one happy accident. (or how do I love thee, let me count the ways...)

Another good ride with the new tack, and another breathtakingly beautiful day. Sunny, perfect temperature, Carolina jasmine blooming up a storm and the Osprey couple that returned last weekend were wheeling around loudly calling out suggestions to each other about this year's nest site.

Val seemed a tad mincy from the trim yesterday, so I planned on keeping it to a walk. We did a lot of on the buckle work. Took up contact, and once again, keeping my thumbs on top of the reins and pointed toward the bit resulted in good arm form + immediate reaching into contact.

We flowed around working on our big walk - with Val stepping up under himself - using cones for the patterns. It really helps my steering, and my addled mind, to have a visual target, so the cones are great. I focused on the timing of my leg in asking for the inside hind to come under. I aimed for just before it left the ground.

At this point Val seemed okay so I asked for some trot. He was slightly short strided at first, but this improved within a few minutes. I spent some more time focusing on staying super balanced through the turns and corners, and got more improvement in lugging and stalling. I must remember to sit tall and straight, ie no leaning into the circle or in the corners. We are making slow, but sure progress. :)

After riding, we finally washed off the accumulated winter filth, and for one brief, shining moment. my horse was clean. Sparkling clean. He was so l-o-v-i-n-g it, even asking for his head to be soaped up and rinsed. I scrubbed him within an inch of his life.

We air dried while grazing, which made poor Cowboy so jealous, he nearly exploded in fits of frustrated lip flipping. I thought I videoed that cuteness, just like I thought I videoed some of our ride. Nope, when (due to a combo of polarized sunnies can't see display screen + stubborn videographer not acknowledging the need for actual glasses) the camera was on, it was actually off. When I turned it off, it was actually on. (imagine lots of cussing) I did manage to catch the first thing Val did when I turned him back out...




I also (sort of) videoed was Val's new found love for the Kubota. Now, whenever I drag the ring, he deposits himself in my way, refusing to move, and nosing around on the tractor, located mere inches away from his feet. I believe he reckons it's a super large version of the clippers. The little clippers feel gooood on my muzzle, maybe the giant orange machine will feel really good. [ Note the mad skillz - who can be bothered to remember that the camera must stay horizontal. Not the first video fail for me...]

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 Wherein my horse tells me what's up the best way he knows how...

So - yesterday evening as I did barn chores, I noticed Val reaching his head around to his left hind, which he was holding up in the air. I have seen him do this a few times recently, and because of his hip injury it's hard. Usually I figure it's a bug bite and offer to scratch.

A few minutes later, he was holding the lh up really high under his belly, stretching it forward and looking distinctly uncomfortable. Like it was stuck. Oh heck - has he done something to his stifle? Is that why he felt stiff under saddle this morning? I flew into a panic... time for an inspection!!

 I started massaging the front of his stifle. The look of pleasure from Val was immediate and unmistakable. He closed his eyes, stretched out his neck and both his lips began trembling uncontrollably. As I looked more closely, with my head stuck up in his area, I found three ticks attached to his inner stifle, one of which was terribly swollen. I picked off the ticks. Then I scratched some more for him. He looked like he was going to pass out. His nose hit the electric fence twice. Pure pleasure lol. I applied some Veterycin (holy water) to the bites and we were good to go.

Oh - still working on the cliffhanger post...

In the arena # 55 - It's all about the half halt

The half halt is one of the foremost balancing tools. It is one of the main keys to forging harmony between horse and rider. This is so because it is only when the horse finds independent balance - through correct use of the half halt - that he begins to carry and complete (or "fill") the seat and leg so that the rider can find a comfortable place to sit (half the seat is made up by the horse!). The half halt is also the single most important avenue to liberating the horse's powers. Through the freedom, founded on independent balance (self carriage), true suppleness can be developed, which in turn enables the horse's energy to travel unimpeded through his whole body and enables the gaits to blossom beautifully. Erik Herbermann Dressage Formula

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Slowly but surely there are more days you can ride, than days you can't. Thank goodness. I'm working up a raging case of spring fever... things are greening up, my winter garden is finally producing and sleeves felt unnecessary for part of today. I even contemplated flip flops, then came to my senses ;)

Monday was super windy - blowing steady in the 30's by the time I got to the barn. For a little while I reconsidered riding. Really hated to have wasted the time and fuel to get there - so I decided to give it a go. The wind blows six out of seven days around here, so I need to learn to just deal with it. Fear is such an interesting emotion. My desire not to be wasteful eventually over-rode self preservation :)

We worked on the half halt. Specifically coordinating the half halt with posting, and keeping a quiet leg. I found it very challenging, and don't need video to know that I need a lot of practice. Even so we had some nice moments. Every ride Val is moving off of my leg a little more, and more responsively. My use of the whip is reserved for when we lug in the corners. I find I need to give that aid well in advance of the actual turn for it to be effective and avoid stalling out.

At one point, the tarp canopy over the front of Val's run-in flapped violently as we passed by and lifted up like a parachute. Val spooked - one of those crouching then sideways kind of spooks - which left some air between my butt and the saddle. I guess I was relaxed because it was no big deal. We both survived. :)

Tuesday was a day off, although I did get the chance to drag both of the arenas. A happy conjunction of the perfect amount of moisture in the sand + equipment functioning. As I was cleaning up the arena before I dragged it, Val suddenly charged from the far end, full speed galloping, veered towards me, and screeched lightly to a halt right at my feet. I don't know why, but I didn't flinch. It was an impressive maneuver lol.

We rode again yesterday, and this time our focus was on forward. I really wanted to try to get a big walk. I have noticed how nice of a walk we have achieved when Val was slow to respond to my request for the trot, so I drove until we just about trotted, (sometimes trotted), half halted, and praised, praised, praised the bigger walk. I aimed to be very clear about what I was asking for.

Next we tried for forward at the trot. I drove, drove, drove! Again, there were nice moments. It felt to me like I had Val reaching in the beginning of the transition, but only for several strides before we lost it. I'm guessing that I'm not sustaining the driving aid? We finished off with some beautiful 10m circles, which got the best reaching of the session, and a number of lovely rein backs. Perhaps my contact was better with the circles? Finished up with work on the buckle. Can't wait until I see my trainer again - miss you Erin!

Val got off property walks to indulge in grazing both days after our rides. He's becoming more comfortable every time. The death dealing trash can gauntlet is officially no big deal. We did some trot work on the pavement, to continue toughening up Val's feet. It must be working, as our farrier commented on how good his soles are looking today. And how well he behaved he is. He also mentioned how nicely Val is moving as I trotted him out after the trim. Floaty he said. Now if we could only do that under saddle ;)

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Finally got time to work in the garden this afternoon, thinning the rows. This is the raised bed and deck I built with my dad. The soil is a combo of composted horse manure and composted eel grass (sea weed). I used some recycled widows to make a simple cold frame, which was enough to defy the ridiculous temperatures we've had this winter. Romaine, spinach, chard, mesclun, buttercrunch, arugula, bok choy, flat leaf parsley, and cilantro. Shared some of the thinnings and planning to eat the rest. Yum :)  

last summer

In the Arena #38 - More bareback therapy + my little cookie monster

Is it just me, or does time really speed up over the holiday season? Don't blink or it will be over. That's how I feel these days. I stole a few hours yesterday for another bareback ride. When I got to the barn, this is what I found (see lower lip) :) It took a bit of doing to motivate him but eventually Val got moving. He happily munched on hay while I groomed and tacked him up.

My plan for the ride was to concentrate on position, especially the legs. I spent most of our ride like this: Okay, is your heel down? Where's your leg... at the girth? Behind the girth - why? Not gripping with your thighs are you? Calf on... is your foot parallel to the horse? Not leaning forward are you? (I was ) And repeat. Add "rig up mirror at the barn" to the to-do list :)

I'm struggling with how to hold my lower leg when bareback that allows me to aid well while not creating tension. My seat and thighs feel great, very relaxed... lower leg needs work. And it is my sincerest wish that in the future I develop a more graceful style when mounting bareback. :) At present it feels pretty sack of potatoes-ish. (poor Val)

Besides focusing on position we worked on circles, straightness and contact. The contact felt super good yesterday - subtle and sensitive. And Val agreed... lots of mouthing the bit plus some reaching... moving out at the walk more that usual. I noticed towards the end of the ride that I had forgotten to put on my riding gloves, so had ridden barehanded. I wonder if that's why my contact seemed easier to maintain and much improved? Easier to feel really.  Maybe the gloves are getting in the way somehow... decreasing my sense of touch, or dexterity. I'll have to see if it's a matter of causation or correlation - but whatever it was I liked it. Overall a very productive ride.

Ummm, isn't it cookie time?

Pretty sure it's cookie time...

 Isn't this where you keep the cookies?!

I K-N-O-W there are cookies in here!!!

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This is also the time of year when there are drastic temperature fluctuations. Wednesday it was in the seventies... Thursday morning in the low forties. It's been flip-flopping this way for a few weeks. This kind of weather can disrupt eating and drinking habits. Colic weather. Val hasn't been finishing his hay, which I chalked up to how warm it was. Also not drinking nearly as much water. This had me worried, but thankfully this morning it was back to normal. I'm wondering if I should be adding salt to his feed? He does have free access to salt and mineral blocks, but I've know some people supplement salt. Any advice about salt and quantities would be appreciated! (Do I need to go to micro-managers anonymous?)

Also, the blanketing issue is here again. Thankfully, I'm more clear on this subject. I'm not going to blanket until it's below thirty night and day - a light blanket. And anything below fifty five with rain, he'll get the rain sheet, added layers as needed. That's my plan and I'm sticking to it :)

Oh - I can't forget our spa session the other day! I pulled out the clippers and clipped for the first time on my own. Val was a champ after a mild overreaction. I clipped his muzzle and bridle path with him loose in his stall and me balancing on a turned over bucket. Living dangerously lol. What a good boy and soooo handsome :)

Clinic Notes: Day three and four

Monday afternoon. One of my goals for this clinic was to figure out how to accomplish the warm-up in a timely and efficient fashion, without relying on input from my trainer. We only work with her every few months, so we need to do this confidently on our own. Without spiraling down into a battle of wills or stalled out in one of the corners. Done. Addressing conquering our steering stickiness / leadership issues has made a world of difference.

We moved on to some gorgeous trot work, initially full arena on the rail, moving on to the quarterline and then school figures thrown in. Both directions (!) Everything felt smooth, workmanlike... best of all easy and FUN. We also worked in two point for a while to adjust my ankles and their lack of springiness. Let's just say it's been thirt- (cough, cough) years since I rode in two point. Oh - did I mention that this was done with another horse in the arena with us. A year ago I would have had a total (internal) melt down at the thought of having a lesson with another horse in the arena. A superlative ride. We have come a long way, and I just love my horse :)

Tuesday. I groomed / tacked up a horse for my trainer, then watched her ride for a while. Afterwords we switched off for a longing session. I rode Star, a very well built and powerful thoroughbred mare, with big gaits. Most of this session focused on my position, and how to use my driving aid / legs to encourage Star to carry herself. Another issue we worked on is my (bad) tendency to lead with my chest and get ahead of my horse. Acknowledging that you have a problem is the first step as they say... We also did a bit of sitting trot work. It is very challenging to process all of the information that I get in my lessons, and when we do position work - changing so many elements at once throws me for a loop. It would be interesting to see how my afternoon ride on Val would be affected...


Later that afternoon. Another great warm-up, getting right to work, and again with company in the arena. My seat felt fantastic. Apparently I was able to incorporate some of the input I got during the longing session. Val really enjoyed the extra room he had to breathe since I was not pinching with my knees. It showed in his gaits.

At this point my trainer suggested I try some cantering. We decided it would be best to ask for the transition from two point, coming into a corner, and after a couple of aborted attempts we did canter. I was totally disorganized and frankly - extremely sore from the longing earlier. I elected not to try again, not wanting to open a can of worms with this new step we were taking, that would have to be resolved. I felt a bit like I was being a chicken, but honestly I wasn't sure I could count on my body to do what I wanted - we were getting on three hours of riding for the day. Also - it was dinner time and the other horses who weren't still at work were doing mad dashes, bucking up and down the fence lines. Val was focused and attentive considering the distractions. Instead we worked on transitions and turns on the forehand, ending on a good note. Another great ride :)


                              

Clinic notes: Day one and two

Remote from universal nature, and living by complicated artifice, man in civilization surveys the horse through his glass of his knowledge and sees thereby a feather magnified and the whole image in distortion. We patronize them for their incompleteness, for their having taken form so far below ourselves. And therin we err, and greatly err. For the animal shall not be measured by man. 

In a world older and more complete than ours they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not bretheren, they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendor and travail of the earth. 
Henry Beston

We arrived safely on Friday afternoon. Got Val settled in, unpacked and it was time for dinner and a movie. Dinner was delish and the movie - Secretariat - not so much. I won't go into all the things that weren't satisfying - it's very much a Disney movie - enough said.

Saturday morning. Val and I are up first for our lesson. It was seriously cold and windy, blanketing overnight weather and a shock to the system.  We've been spoiled down at the beach - but no matter.
 Our warm-up was excellent and to the point. I handled the entire warm-up myself with little input from my trainer, validating the hard work we've been putting in for the last month or so.

After fifteen minutes of loose rein work and some simple figures we moved on to the trot. Val is slowly but surely reaching and using his back. I focused on allowing hands and driving with my legs - if he ain't reachin', you ain't drivin'! - plus re-balancing with some half halts. My trainer commented positively on the changes in my seat since our last visit (!) We only had a little stickiness, that she pointed out happened when the next student was bringing her horse into the arena. Chalk that up to distraction. I didn't make the connection at the time but she is right. All in all I couldn't have asked for a better start to our clinic.

Sunday morning. Colder and windier. Val didn't notice or care. He really seems to enjoy working, getting playful and sweet as we tacked up. I had more of a struggle with allowing hands, and even weight in my stirrups - sticky hips - in this session. Val responded in his usual way by challenging my leadership. Although I don't enjoy when this issue comes up, I got a lot of good ideas about how to keep it from happening (the goal) and dealing with it appropriately when it does while I'm on my own.

The answer is to break everything down to it's simplest components. If I'm having trouble with the turn on the forehand, make sure I'm getting a halt. If he's blowing through my aids (he was) then really get the halt, not the halt plus one step. I decided my course of action was do as many walk / halt transitions as necessary, gradually increasing the number of strides between the transitions, to get him focused back and listening to me and my aids. I am really happy to say that I worked this out myself, without constant feedback from my trainer.

She reminded me that not only must I allow and give with my hands, but I must also allow and give with my heart. This comment hurt a bit, but what she meant was that Val absolutely knows if I am not trusting in him. Horses know what is in your heart. And (as usual) she was right. I was holding back. As soon as I gave him 100%, he gave me 100%. After getting on the same page we did the most beautiful trot work we've ever done, long, low and relaxed. Smooth round circles. She also stressed that when we are struggling with something, I must be aware when to keep asking versus when Val has given me something - even just one step in the right direction - and therefore deserves to be rewarded. You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em! :)

Sunday afternoon. Time for a longing session. My trainer had computer work to catch up on so another of her students and I longed each other on the students' lovely 17 hand thoroughbred Howard. Very satisfying session. As instructive when you were the long-er as the long-ee. When on the ground I really aware of the way I used the longe whip affected Howard's stride length and smoothness. I had him reaching and using his back which I felt good about. When on board Howard, I was reminded of how far Val and I have to go - Howard uses his back. His trot almost threw me out of the saddle for the first few strides. A cadillac. I haven't ridden another horse besides Val for nearly a year. Getting longed is a great reference for whether you balance on the reins or not. I will say that I was better that I'd imagined I would be. Pleasantly surprised. My hips and upper arms are indeed sore this morning.

Unforeseen horse handling opportunities have popped up :) I had to catch a very wound up mare - who was running her legs off in the arena due to a gate left open. Another student was just chasing her around with a lead rope... not effective. I grabbed a bucket of grain and things calmed down immediately.

This morning two horses appeared on the property and had everyone riled up, running the fence lines.  My trainer took the truck to find the owners and the next door neighbor and I - armed with carrots, hay and lead ropes - rounded the strangers up.

Oh, and Val showed another side of himself this weekend - the escape artist. He got out of his makeshift paddock three times, and had a little middle of the night gelding party that got us all out of bed. We've finally got him somewhere that will contain him. All's well that ends well.

I have some pictures but no cable to upload - so I'll post later. Off to a tack shop (!) to look at bareback pads.

In the Arena #29 - Bugging out - again

Let me paint a picture...

Sunny and hot, no wind, and about 50 mosquitoes per square inch. Not kidding. Bug spray, even the very expensive very toxic kind, barely makes a dent. Poor Val's face is covered and I had just sprayed and wiped him. They're biting me through my riding pants and shirt... flying into my ears, and mouth if I leave it open long enough. Hellish mosquitos. No one here can remember anything like this.

None the less Val and I persevered and had a great ride. We built on our last session, concentrating on transitions - the accuracy of my aids and the sharpness of Val's response. Smooth and flowing. Another nice aspect was that maintaining my legs and seat seemed to require less attention today. I can only hope that correct position may s-l-o-w-l-y be sinking in (please, please, please).

Since Val had several large hives where the saddle hits, plus tenderness on either side of his poll, we stopped after half an hour as all in all it was pretty unbearable, but I'm really glad we rode. He enjoyed his pre-ride grooming but kind of protested when I curried his poll. I am guessing that snapping his head around at mosquitoes for the last several days may account for the neck issue... I hope so. Scheduling a massage for our next trip to the trainer.

It's really hard to take your own picture...