In the Arena #136 - ...but if you try sometime, you just might find...

Between Christmas and New Years (my Dad and) I built and hung doors on my old boarder's run in shed, turning it into a second and much needed hay / tool storage building. Top capacity is now 120 bales on site - 150 being our yearly consumption. My inner hay hoarder is (almost) satisfied.

looks like Dad did all the work, but I wielded power tools too

Completing that project allowed me to clean out the other half of my studio, and bring everything to the farm from the storage unit I had rented since moving into the Shimmy Shack. Big savings, much more convenient, and I'm simply overjoyed to have yet another reason to justify kicking out the boarders. (I also feel better not storing hay in the same building I use a torch and kiln in... hel-lo!) 

Val and I ended 2012 with a bareback ride. Prompt response to the aids and smooth steering were our goals, which we achieved in an enjoyable and easygoing ride. My neighbor stopped by and shot a few pictures for us.

putting squeezers on him

We began 2013 with a morning ride. My plan to groom Val while ground tied proved challenging, with him being super wiggly, and ultimately taking advantage of my turned back to flee to the far corner of the arena, giving me his best "I'm naughty but also very cute" face. I brought him back, smiling, doing circles, halts and backing as we returned. Val relaxed and relented, staying put for the remainder of tacking up. I was proud of him. It was windy and hunting season is in full swing.

The rest of the session was like a (very good) dream. While I focused on yogic breathing - deep, regular and audible - we worked on the buckle. We stayed that way much longer than usual. I let Val tell me when he was warmed up. He did this by snorting and deeply breathing as he stretched down and gave me a swinging walk.

I focused on keeping my seat bones even and over Val's long back muscles, which basically prevents me from collapsing my right side and shortening my right leg. My other task was to press the saddle gently forward into Val's withers, which is to say keep my weight on my triangle, seat bones and pubic bone equally. I think it has to do with the tilt of the pelvis... counteracting a chair seat.

As we worked on a few school figures, the thought floated through my head that it might be a good day for trot work. Val immediately picked up a trot. I was shocked, promptly ruining the moment by posting on the wrong diagonal, but the feeling was still awesome. I finished up by working on trot transitions in the non-telepathic way, and we called it a day.

The remainder of the first day of the year was similarly fruitful. After shucking the last of the holiday oyster bushel in preparation for making oyster stew, I loaded the last twenty four bales of hay waiting in my trailer into the new storage space. Next, a thorough cleaning of the trailer, collecting all the loose hay for evening feeding. I organized Val's blankets and blanket bins, and returned them to the spic and span trailer, which is an excellent place to store, hang and air out blankets between wearings. As the light faded and a cold rain began to fall, I delivered a bucket of steaming mash studded with apple slices out to the barn. What a good boy.

one for the stew, one for my belly...

the best oysters have delicious crabs in them

I avoided doing a blow by blow ode to 2012 post on New Year's eve. Mostly because there were so many really disappointing aspects to the year... very tight finances, putting my dearest Sweetpea to sleep, yet another hurricane disrupting everyone's lives and destroying our road for the second time in a year, ugly, public confrontations with my boarders + a family member that made me physically ill. Worst of all, the nagging feeling that desire and passion are not enough to progress in dressage when you are on your own...

finally got the road "back" on 12.21 - to be continued...

...so I tacked up my horse and rode anyway. I've heard that how you spend the first day of the year reflects the way your year will develop. I hope this is true, as I had one of the best, most productive days I can ever remember. Happy New Year indeed.

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 # 124 - Redemption song....

An almost perfect Saturday. I could have used about three more hours squeezed in - (my most recent to do list is outrageous) but I'll take it. After feeding, walking and cleaning up after all the other residents of Edgewood Farm while savoring a tasty iced cappucino, I hitched up Orange Crush for our weekly mowing session.

We were soon interrupted by a visitor, one of my landscaping clients, who dropped by to pick up a load of Val's Super Dirt (composted manure). After a quick tour and filling his buckets, we chatted. I thought that the clouds of mosquitos would keep the conversation brief...

It turns out that my client was very well placed in the banking world before his semi-retirement. If his palatial beach "cottage" is any indication, this is true. He gave me lots of encouragement about my plans for the property, and offered to be a resource to help find financing when it comes time to build my house. This will be a fair exchange for my continued never ending consulting on his landscaping, (consulting is when people get my work for free) so the numerous bites were worth it. Who'd have thought horse manure would have anything to do with high finance?

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Once the grounds keeping chores were completed, I threw Val a few flakes of his new hay. I gave up on forcing him to eat the last bales of this winter's hay. For a week now he's pushed it around, stomped on it and yesterday dropped a pile and peed on it. I got the hint. With him munching in his stall, I dragged the ring.

Apprehension built as I rode around. I try always to have a positive attitude, but falling off the other day just sucked. I had, after a long time, gotten to the point that I was excited to ride again. I looked forward to it. Ending our sessions was disappointing - I wanted to just keep on riding. We were finally working on the canter for heavens sake. My fall set me back six months confidence-wise.

By now it was hot enough and I was sweaty enough to make pulling on my breeches challenging. As I groomed and tacked up, I focused on my breathing, as well being a stickler for Val staying put. At first I had to physically touch him, but as we moved along all it took was a step towards him to make the correction. My experience has been that Val starts out with small tests of my leadership. If I let those go, it escalates under saddle. Things go more smoothly when I patiently correct him, as many times as is necessary, on the ground.

We worked on the buckle for quite a while. Forward seemed to have gone out the window. We had to do lots of transitions to get Val moving off my leg at all. It's likely that I may have been asking for forward with my aids, but saying not forward with my posture.

I could feel the negative impact the fall had on my body, as it took forever before my whole seat was down in the saddle, not perching. I used to think that perching was more like being in two point... your butt physically out of contact with the saddle. Yesterday I (finally) realized that you can perch with your seatbones and pubic bone too, while technically being on the saddle. If your butt muscles aren't relaxed, it's not possible for your "triangle" to be in contact. My not being on my seat is the main reason I fell off.

The revelations about seatbones continued. While focusing on maintaining outside rein contact through the turns, I zoned in on the outside seatbone as well. Our turns were better balanced and deeper when I really felt my outside seatbone. I'm not sure if this meant that both seatbones were finally equal, or if more weight was on the outside, but the results were good.

Now on to the main event. We got our act together enough, that I decided to ask for the trot. In out most recent rides since working on the canter, I've been getting canter departs when asking for the trot. This is exactly what we were working on when I fell off last week. My first ask resulted in the canter. I let it go a few strides, and returned to the walk. I made sure I was not holding my breath, not anticipating cantering, and asked again - this time with very little aid - instead visualizing the tempo and feel of the trot. Voila! Perfect relaxed trot transition.

Kate at A Year with Horses has been such an inspiration to me. Her thorough and honest assessments of her riding never fail to resonate. Lately she has been posting about softness, bracing, and how the quality of aiding can either lead to softness, or result in bracing.

Struggling with the trot transitions yesterday helped me realize I had been way over aiding, because when I just literally thought the trot - no leg, no voice and no whip - I got the most beautiful soft transition. I'm sure now that my over aiding + perching + bracing resulted in Val being confused about what I was asking of him lately... "When she gets all bent out of shape like this - I'm supposed to canter!"

I hugged my horse, told him what a gooooood boy he is, and ended the ride there, on a very positive note.

preferable to working...

also preferable to working...

In the Arena # 121 - Flying by the seat of my pants...

More piano memories... I was ten years old. It was my turn to perform at a recital of the Leschetizky Society - a big deal. I was nerve racked as usual. I remember sitting down on the bench. I remember starting to play Chopin's Raindrop Prelude. Then I remember the hearing last notes fade away, and taking a bow. Nothing in between. As I sat back down beside my teacher, she leaned over with an astonished look, and uncharacteristically whispered in my ear "How did you do that - that was the best you have ever played?!"

How did I do it? Faithfully practicing the basics. Scales, scales, scales. Boring, boring scales. Memorizing the piece hands separately. Breaking it down by the phrase, then by the note. There is no substitute for getting the basics down. Period. Once you have the fundamentals - I'm talking muscle memory - then you are free to infuse the music with your soul.

So - how does this relate to dressage? I am struggling to learn how to ride. Gently, tactfully, effectively, graciously. At the moment (for the foreseeable future) my focus is the basics. Balance, contact, consistency. The training pyramid. It doesn't always make for super interesting blogging. The pace of progress seems glacial.

That being said, over the last couple of weeks we've begun to work on the canter. Impulsively. A little voice in my head (self doubt) suggested it could be problematical. I've spent plenty of time cantering on other horses, even bareback on the beach. Casually, not correctly. I've only worked on the depart seriously on one of my former trainer's school horses. All I had to do was think canter and he knew what was up. I had to ask correctly mind you, but I only had to be responsible for my own flailing limbs.

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Last week we rode twice. Tuesday was a bareback ride, working on steering and stretching out my hips. A nice, easy, calm, ride.

Saturday (my birthday) dawned absolutely gorgeous, and despite a jam packed schedule, nothing was getting in the way of my horse time. After reading Val at Memoirs of a Horse Girl's recent post  which had some great video of she and Harley jumping a cloverleaf pattern over cross rails, I had the bright idea to lay ground rails in the same pattern, an X basically, and use them to spice up our trot work.

We began with an excellent warm up on the buckle, walking over the rails. Val was all about the new X, from the moment I dragged it into the arena. He could barely contain his attraction. I picked up a trot, working my way over to the X. He sort of hesitated a few times before crossing them, so on the next go round I really gave him a squeeze with my legs. Any guess where this is going?

Val cantered a couple of collected strides, rocked back on his haunches and (way over) jumped the rail, cantering on afterwords acting very. proud. of. himself. I was shocked. Mostly because it's been cough--ty some years since I've jumped, and I was usually over-horsed and petrified when I did it then. And, as Val (blogger Val) pointed out, dressage saddles aren't ideal for jumping. Super glad the video didn't capture that moment!

We halted. I gave Val a big hug and cracked up for a few minutes, then got back to work. On nearly every request for the trot from then on, I got the canter, and I had to abandon the rails for a while. Eventually, after numerous walk / trot transitions where he received lavish praise for his self control, we got back on track.

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Just got in from my ride today, which was one of our most productive to date. It was very windy, the tarp canopies were flapping like mad, yet Val's mind stayed on me. I focused on breathing, from the minute I began grooming. Great warm up, smooth transition into contact, accurate school figures, supple, reaching horse. We had a few offers of the canter, but I schooled the halt / trot transition until we both got it right.

I had two revelations during this ride. One is, hey - shorten those reins! - shorter than you think you should, a little shorter. Give your driving aid, feel the reins elastically through your elbows (thumbs on top pointing to the bit) and then - you have contact. Val chewed the reins out of my hands while stretching long and low several times today. What an awesome feeling.

The other reality check was leg on does not mean leg on.... leg off... leg on again. Keep your damn leg on and aid from that position - don't remove your leg to aid - it really irritates your horse!!

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My no one on the ground / without trainer status take on the canter-fest issue is... I definitely don't have the basics of the canter depart down. Some of it may be that Val is delighted to canter. I am as well, but we are restricted by occasionally deep footing and limited space to work in until my real arena is completed. (long story for another post)

Most likely though, I am inadvertantly combining / confusing / mangling the canter depart cue. One solution will be getting Val out to the beach and letting him rip - straight line cantering. Firm footing, no need to balance in tight turns, plenty of room. Possibly this weekend if weather permits and my riding partner can join me.

The horse is out of the barn now... ;)

 

 

 

 

In the Arena # 120 - Putting on the big girl panties...

A pair of rides to report on (finally).

We fit in a nice session on Tuesday while waiting for the farrier to arrive. Our warm-up was very effective, and brief. My focus was on soft, even, continuous, elastic contact. I rode a good deal of the ride with my eyes closed, which helped me concentrate on the feel of the contact. On the open eye parts, I kept my head up, looking through Val's ears where I wanted to go.

We did a ton of transitions, and worked a bit on leg yields as well. In a freshly dragged arena you can definitely see the results of lateral work. I tried to make space for Val to move into by opening my inside leg and rein, and having the feeling of a halt before I asked for the yields. I have a feeling that these will improve at the trot, as many things do when there is more energy.

Our trot work is (still) about more forward without nagging aids. I was very pleased with our school figures - there was fluidity and smooth changes of rein. We finished off with a few walk / canter departs. (dessert!) I even had time to clean all of my tack before W. arrived. Val took a nap on my shoulder as I cleaned. His head is soooo heavy!

On Sunday, guess who showed up? If you said crazy horse, you'd be right! I think he arrived along with the big winds, and the king of super loud cussing next door. (yes, I am once again complaining about my neighbor - I cannot wait until I can afford to screen him off with plants and/or big fencing!)

Val went from ants in his pants during tacking up, to full on nut job who reared and bolted twice, yanking the reins out of my hands and nearly tearing my finger off. (not even kidding) As much as I didn't feel like dealing with it, I knew there was no way I could avoid addressing this behavior, for his or my sake.

We did a some leading work around the arena. I quietly demanded Val's full attention on me - not the swishy trees at back of the property, or the noise and distractions next door. When I had that, I led him to the mounting block and got on. I made sure that I didn't block him with the reins. Lots of quick transitions. Keeping my seat "fat", all three points in contact with the saddle at all times - no perching. Also hugging lightly with my legs. After it was over, I was really glad we rode.

I haven't kept up with blogging as well as I want to these last few weeks. Keeping up with my (actual) responsibilities is super challenging these days. Besides riding, there have been several marathon yard work, weeding, planting sessions topped off today with an all day hay and feed run. (300 miles, 36 bales of hay, 6 sacks of feed, 8 1/2 hours) Plus a few snake encounters - only nice ones.

Oh, and I made a decision about what to name the farm. We're located adjacent to one of the last remaining maritime forests on the east coast, so I think it will be Edgewood. :)

kiss my grass

In the Arena # 119 - We can have high times, if you'll abide...

Change of plans on Friday, just as I was preparing to mount.

Literally. Arena dragged, riding clothes on, Val groomed and tacked up. Who should appear, but a crew of camo outfitted, gun toting teenagers jumping out of a van next door, (picture a circus clown car), itching for a paint ball battle. The guns aren't a problem really, they're rather quiet, but the camo'd up, mask wearing kids crashing through the brush next to our arena... that's more than I can take.

Fallback to ground work. I've got Val moving his hindquarters around and stepping under freely, sort of an in-hand turn on the forehand. Now I'm attempting to get him to move his shoulders around while pivoting on his hindquarters. I've rewarded any lateral motion I get up front, but am unsure how to encourage keeping the back legs still. One step at a time... ;)

Yesterday was absolutely miserable weather-wise. It drizzled non stop, except when it was all out pouring. I spent the day on a major landscaping side job that will help pay for this summer's hay. I got soaked, but it wasn't too bad, and I finished up in time to ride this afternoon, just as the sun came out.

Val was majorly distracted during grooming and tacking up, but we eventually managed to get our minds on our jobs. (and today, we were all about the canter) After warming up, some transitions and big walk, I checked out the go button for trotting. My aids were answered immediately, and occasionally, with a canter depart.

How delightful is that?! I wasn't even planning on working on the canter, but apparently my horse wanted to. Val has a beautiful canter, and I cannot wait until I am able to do him justice in my riding of it.

The other day I paid no attention to whether we had the correct lead or not. Today, I noticed that we got it right all but once. I'm sure that was pure-D luck. My focus was still the depart, and my position, which will without a doubt require me to video myself, as I am so overwhelmed by our new gait I feel like I have no control over my body. I suspect that I need to sit back, or rather, not lean forward.

As a young girl, I studied classical piano, rather rigorously. My teacher entered me in a number of competitions. I was constantly having to memorize long, complicated pieces of music. Lots of pressure. One day, after having recently discovered Scott Joplin, I brought in the sheet music for the Maple Leaf Rag.

"Do you think I could learn this one next?"

"No dear, playing that music is pleasuring yourself at the piano."

This afternoon as I let Val canter around the ring, I felt like I was "pleasuring myself" in the arena.

And I liked it. :)

I'm going to take a picture of us after every ride from now on. 

One day, when I'm old and grey... when I can't haul my ass up into the saddle anymore, 

I will look at these pictures, read these words, and think what a lucky girl I am. :)

In the Arena #117 - Time keeps on slipping...

Deep into planting season around here - sorry for the sparse posting. I started a few, but just wasn't feeling it. I did manage to get horse time in, thank goodness.

We have had two productive groundwork sessions and two productive rides. After a ten day break, Val was pretty up and distracted during the first session - boogeymen at the back of the property and all... Head up, barging around, not with me. Luckily I was having one of my more patient days. After a few sharp corrections + letting it go immediately, we got on the same page. I worked on Val moving his shoulders freely - especially turning away from me. By the end we were gelling. Today I had Val from the beginning - we concentrated on his hindquarters and finished with some clicker work. Let me just say, Val is a pro on treat related activities.

Next, a bareback ride. I was hoping to address my crookedness, and stretch out my hip and thigh. Yes, and yes. I did almost the whole ride on the buckle, and Val was moving like a little reining pony. Note to self: watch that you don't block with the reins, your horse maneuvers better when you don't really use them...

On Saturday we saddled up, and had absolutely our best ride ever. Our warm-up went smoothly, transition to contact as well. I took up the most contact ever so far, and my horse snorted out many thank you's throughout the ride. Can someone explain why I resist taking contact when it makes my horse feel so good?! He was relaxed and responsive, swinging his rear end. We've been building up our stamina too - more consecutive trotting, less resting. While our contact basically rocked, energy still has a ways to go, but we did keep it up up through the corners. Transitions were good. My focus in coming rides, will be generating forward without annoying Val with my aids.

Things were going so well that I thought I'd turn on the camera. While documenting rides is super helpful, I seem to lose some steam, and / or get self conscious, less relaxed. Around here, when people ask how the surf is, it's always like, "oh - you should have seen it yesterday." That's how I feel about videoing. The break I take to mess with the camera interrupts the momentum, and I always wish I'd had the camera on for the whole ride, but who wants to wait eight hours to upload? And no one wants to watch all that, including me. That said, I have some stills to share from the video I took Saturday - highlights if you will.

 

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Thanks so much for all of the observations and constructive criticism of the videos I posted recently. I want to respond in general - I have a hip issue (old injury) that contributes heavily to the drawn up right leg / bracing against the iron. The right shoulder is bum too which likely doesn't help. My stirrup leathers are even, I rotate them periodically, and I check that my saddle is centered before I start my ride. I am always more even in the saddle when I ride bareback or drop my stirrups. I need to zone in on what happens when I give a leg aid on my right side - reviewing my videos has been helpful. So have your suggestions - very much so. Again, thank you.

Okay - so I had my first less than kind feedback. It went back and forth between harsh critique of my position and riding skills (repeating what I said in my post, but meaner) and numerous tried and true dressage rules - practically lifted verbatim from one of my favorite dressage master's books. I got the impression that the motivation behind it wasn't sincere helpfulness. Something didn't ring true. The commenter obviously had not bothered to read my post or the many thoughtful comments that preceded theirs, but jumped straight to the video. A click on the commenter's name revealed someone whose only profile information was that they had joined blogger in April, and had no profile views yet. On a whim, I looked up their curious screen name, the definition of which is a pejorative UK slang meaning "foolish incompetence." Welcome to the round file. :)

In the Arena # 116 - This will go down on your permanent record...

I've been on a bit of a roll lately. That would be - too much going on + sleeping vs blogging? (sleeping wins) + blogging news build up. Work is crazy busy. There have been lots of visitors to entertain (I've sort of had a social life). As usual I haven't been in a rush to finish up my taxes... and gardening doesn't wait this time of year. I'm really happy that I'm getting rides in (and also frazzled). Hopefully things should calm down in a few weeks.

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A new video camera is finally on the way (!), which means I won't have to fool with my little point and shoot much longer. And, I'll be able to take some video lessons. ('cause lord knows I need them) In the meantime, I caught a few minutes worth of Val and I schooling over the weekend. No editing capabilities til the new technology arrives - just sayin'...

Nothing so constructive as watching yourself ride. More accurate than looking at only the best pictures and remembering. ;)

1. While there is a straight line from the bit to my elbow, I need to shorten my reins. I failed to maintain steady contact (although it was better while I warmed up - isn't that always the case). Val is looking for it.

2. Fairly forward on the long sides but bogging down on the short side - overall we need more energy, (and more consistent rhythm). Inside leg to outside rein + more driving aid. It would be good to address this prior to entering the corners, otherwise it's too late.

3. Good circles. I think I can start working on some bend - inside rein (tiny) until I can just see Val's eye.

4. I'm not unhappy about my posting, but I'm way off to the left side of the saddle way too often. Any suggestions on a good exercise to counteract this tendency would be appreciated.

4. The flies were absolutely horrendous in the second video. Loads of the flies that hang around the sheath area. That's why the head tossing and uneven gait. Bug spray was completely ineffective. I cut the session short with some transitions as the insects were super distracting.

5. I need to go for it. There is no reason to be tentative.

In the Arena # 115 - Forward is forward, and no such thing as too many treats!

The unseasonably warm weather has pushed my landscaping  / farmette schedule forward by several weeks. Everywhere you turn there are chores to do!
 
My electrician is scheduled to come this weekend (!), and I've got more garden to put in, so opportunities to ride may be limited. So far the sugar snap peas, radishes, carrots and leek seeds are planted. I discovered six pepper plants that overwintered hiding under the wretched mat of weeds I had to remove from last years beds. I must confess that after the hurricane, I was disgusted with gardening and neglected the beds all winter. My prize for the arduous weeding sessions was finding these established peppers.

We've snuck in two rides this last week. Responsibility to work or to riding - seems like an easy choice - but it's not.

Ride one. After a nice warm-up on the buckle, I focused on getting an immediate response from the smallest aid possible. I hope I'm not imagining that this phase of the ride is becoming briefer and easier. But still necessary. Forward into contact just won't happen without my addressing how Val responds to my aids at the beginning of the ride.

Next we worked the big walk, timing of that aid, and got some nice baby leg yields as well, which makes walk work less boring. I was reminded (once again) that when I give the leg and rein aids that I wish Val to move away from, I must also give him space with the opposing leg and rein - space to move into. The space is slight, and I find each ride I can make it slighter. Maybe one day it will just be the idea of space.

I also chose to focus on the quality of my contact - steady and following, which equals reliable, to Val. We proceeded on to trot transitions. Things were going smoothly when invader cat chose to have some sort of loud attack in the woods beside the arena. Val spooked slightly. I asked him to go back to work, and tried not to pay attention to the cat noises. Val requested that we work in such a way that he could keep an eye on things. He asked politely, and I thought it a fair request, so I arranged the figures to accommodate him. He thanked me by getting right back on track. Teamwork.

Ummm, you best be getting the treats my lady!

After the ride I marched Val right out the front gate and took a trail walk down the beach trail. Not super far - due to clouds of mosquitoes, but without hesitance on Val's part. He was with me 100% despite the fact that Cowboy was screaming his head off and running himself into an absolute lather. Val's response was minimal. I turned him out into the property next door, which I care for and which has some decent grazing. He did a few maneuvers, left some impressive divots in the paddock, but again he came right back when I asked for his attention. What a goooood boy!

Our other ride was an another impromptu, virtually tack free, spur of the moment (not entirely safety conscious) ride. As we made our way around the arena, Cowboy threw a hissy fit behind us - which has become a regular occurrence when I ride bareback anymore. My knees felt a little shaky, but it was mostly a non issue. My several months of only bareback rides has given me a much more secure seat  - I'm thankful to say.

When we weren't riding, Val and I had a number of massages, some deep grooming, and fun! We worked more on clicker training. Val thinks this is THE BEST THING EVER since it involves numerous treats. He caught on very quickly, and offered to target other things besides the cones - such as the jolly ball and mounting block. I haven't thought about "constructive" uses for our clicker work yet, but I can tell that Val enjoys the interaction.

There are subtle changes in our relationship these days. Val often runs to the gate to see me when I get home after work. He follows me around while I muck the paddock, tugging at my hoody and offering grooming. We can groom and tack up without even a halter sometimes, and ground tied most times. We're moving along slowly, but we are moving along. :)

In the Arena # 111 - We have tested our new rig, and we pronounce it - good...

Finally, we tack up with the new saddle + Thinline saddle fitter pad.

First, about the pad. It is quilted on top, and lined + edged with fleece. The channel sits up from the underneath of the pad, and has no fleece. There are four very well made velcro-ed pockets that hold nice flat shims, which stay put. The pad came with two sets of shims, different thicknesses. I figured that gives me three options: either one of the shims alone, or both together, which is what I tried today.

Our preparation for riding gave me pause. Val was acting super squirrely. Wouldn't stay still, tried numerous times to walk off, head tossing, acted like a far away troupe of crows was certainly death dealing. Then right on cue, my noisy neighbor cranked up the volume and rode various vehicles up and down the property while his dogs barked maniacally. Luckily - his week on of work starts tomorrow. The week will be peaceful. I had a moment of thinking well maybe today isn't the best day to ride... then I thought - screw that. ;)

We warmed up on a loose rein, and from the beginning I was getting halts off my seat. It felt like all I had to do was tip my pelvis back ever so slightly and "fill the sail". (draw my front line forward) Once we picked up some contact, we worked on serpentines and getting a big walk. I did on half of one serpentine and Val was onto me, eagerly anticipating our exercise, which made me laugh out loud.

My ask for the trot was answered immediately, every time, off my leg only. There was much less lugging in the corners,  and I barely touched my whip the whole time. We worked on transitions, figure eights and fifteen meter circles. Smooth like buttah. Cooled off working without reins - stopping and going was simple, but turning needs some practice.

It was a great ride.

I'm satisfied that the saddle change was a good decision, and the pad will tide us over until Val is more muscley. We're back on track - no excuses now!

In the Arena #99 - Two steps forward, one step back... From the Farmette #8 - I feel the earth - move - under my feet...

There were several drain the hoses, weatherproof the well pump days this past week. The first real cold weather so far this winter, and thankfully, it was temporary. Saturday was absolutely beautiful.

Our ride - not so much. Kind of "all's well that ends well." Initially, contact was intermittent - forward nonexistent, though I felt good about the quality of the contact while we had it. Val was once again very reluctant to move out. I attempted to reinforce a lighter aid with numerous transitions, concentrating on soft following hands. We finished off working with the trot poles, and making some decent circles with nice bend when we were focused. I finally got Val motivated at the trot, and we stopped there.

This lack of forward has me stumped. I wonder if I am blocking him? And if so - where. Did I break him sitting the trot a while back? Or could it be the saddle?! All I know is the bareback rides always seem much freer and more fluid for both of us. (Please don't be a saddle issue.)

Just the other day I noticed online that my two year old Beval Natura dressage saddle - has been discontinued, selling new for half what I paid for it. That doesn't bode well for a possible future saddle shopping budget now does it. The saddle has plenty of withers clearance, but I wonder if it blocks his shoulders? Has he changed shape? Did the saddle ever fit? Is the saddle affecting my position negatively? It does have more of a knee block than I like and is fairly deep. Stay tuned - I've been lurking around on ebay... ;)

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I'm in love. With a big, orange, manly machine. I spent nearly all day Sunday on a borrowed full sized Kubota tractor. I sorted and moved 2 years x 2 horses worth of manure. I've got my composted, ready to plant in pile, my give it a few more months now that it's turned pile, and my needs more cooking pile. Plus I filled a few low spots on the property. Plus, I have backup space. What a relief! There are only two horses here - and they could bury me in no time. Can't wait til I can go tractor shopping. :)

action shot

before

after

big orange krush + little orange krush

black gold

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How do you all respond to a possible hay strike? Val just finished up a twenty five bale load stored in my trailer, so it was time to start using the fifty odd bales in my hay shed. The hay from the trailer was light weight bales of stemmy, late cutting mixed grass hay. I'm guessing it was sugary - it smelled that way. The shed hay is 75 pound bales of orchard grass that is still fairly green. If I were a horse, I'd choose the latter. Val however, has turned up his nose, consuming half what he was just a week ago. I slipped some handfuls of special trailer ride only alfalfa here and there in the hay bag, which helped a little. I'm assuming he'll change his tune eventually, before all my hair turns grey...

In the Arena #98 - A very good place to start... (happy birthday thoroughbreds!!)

We finished off 2011 with two rides, and began 2012 in the saddle as well. Couldn't ask for more - perfect weather conditions and happy horse + rider...

Unless it would be a freshly renovated tack room...

or a brand new manure composting space.

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I made a few changes to our regular ride routine. Hoping to pique Val's interest in our work, I set up a course of cones and ground rails. I also lowered my stirrups and left Val's boots in the tack room. The contact and energy came and went, although they improved in each successive ride. This indicated a lack of steady focus on my aiding I suspect. I've also gone back to a lengthier warm-up, working on the buckle before I take up any contact. Our big walk improves with every ride. It seems to work best to ask for it after a number of trot transitions. Regarding my posture, it was also effective to sit up and back so far as too feel like too far, which I think is just far enough.

What really excited me was how engaged Val became with the introduction of new elements in the arena. Despite his cleverness, he was unable to correctly predict what I would be asking for next. There were just too many choices. Balkiness and steering issues vanished. :)

Would we ride over the rails, or perhaps through them? Circle around the entire complex, or figure eight with a diagonal change through the rails? Turn-on-the-forehand at each cone? What about halting squarely in the rails. (practice for halting at X!) We transitioned and backed through them as well. It was enough to make a poor horses head swim...

One question I have is how to determine the correct distance between the ground rails. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I'd like to set the distance so they wouldn't have to be adjusted for the trot work. Thanks in advance my blogger friends.

Afterglow

I likes my mints in me...

and on me :)

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Other news - there has been progress on the new arena. We've dropped and spread seven tandem loads of sand so far. In addition to the arena itself, we're adjusting the grade of the whole property to facilitate drainage. If it sounds expensive, it is. Who could believe you'd have to pay through the nose for sand when you live on an island made entirely from it?! We're getting there slowly but surely...

Whatever will she think of next?!