In the Arena #59 - You could have knocked me over with a feather...

The plan was to give Val a few days off from riding so his mouth could heal up, in case there are hurts inside which the bit could affect, that I haven't been able to see. But something came over me at the barn this evening. On a total whim I hooked some reins onto a halter and hopped on, slip on shoes and jeans, with not even the bareback pad. What the heck got into me?

It's not that I didn't believe my trainer who has repeatedly told me that you don't need a bit for control. We discussed bit choices when I first got Val. He was previously ridden in a slow twist. I was worried about switching. I think her exact words were - "A horse can run through a bit made from barbed wire if that's what they want to do." A french link egg butt snaffle has worked out well for us.

It's not that I didn't believe my fellow bloggers who ride bitless primarily - Kacy from All Horse Stuff,  Juliette from honeysuckle faire, Golden the Pony Girl and Kate from A Year with Horses all have great success riding their horses without bits. I have admired them for this choice - I know it must be nicer for our horses not to have a piece of metal in their mouths.

So tonight I took the plunge. And I had steering and brakes from the get go. We wove through the cones and did some turns on the forehand in each direction. It didn't feel any different from riding with a bit actually. The only uncomfortable part was Val's withers without a bareback pad giving me a wither wedgie ;)

I have worked hard to develop soft following hands, and imagine it could take the rest of my riding career to perfect them. However, I also think I need to really get a feel for correct contact with a bit, before spending tons of time riding bitless, especially as far as dressage is concerned. Tonight was mainly about going out of my comfort zone, and getting perspective on what control is and where it comes from. It was super fun - I giggled the entire time.

A note to my trainer - yep, you can still have inside rein-itis without a bit :)

At the barn #36 - A public service message, because that's how we roll...

It ain't over 'til it's over.

Some of you might remember that we had a situation with problem weeds in our hay not too long ago. I began treating Val for the condition; sores, swelling, and a bad smell in his mouth, caused by barbs from foxtail barley imbedding themselves in his gums as per my vets instructions, rinsing his mouth and using a soft toothbrush thingy to try to scrape the needles out. I also threw out fifteen bales of otherwise perfectly good hay.

This created hay deficit - what a crappy time to try and find decent hay. A feed / tack store about three hours away, near my trainer, had some beautiful bales of orchard / timothy mix that although outrageously priced ($9.75 for still green 60 lb square), were up to snuff quality wise, or so I thought.

A few days ago Val developed a nasty quarter sized bleeding sore on the flat part of his upper lip, where it meets the lower lip. (I tried to document, but Val drew the line at facilitating lip photos.) He has been so over the top cooperative with his treatments that I didn't push it. He arrives at the tack room door waiting for me to get the dose syringe out, and holds his head low and still while I jet salt water and listerine around in his mouth, finishing off with a swipe of vitamin e on his lip. All of this happens without a halter and lead rope. I love my horse :)

Anyhow - I spent a nervous evening online researching other possible causes / conditions. Boy was that fun. Vesicular stomatitis - a drastic version of hoof and mouth disease - came up over and over. Could eventually occur on the coronary band causing hooves to slough off. Wrong region and time of year thank goodness. Bot fly sores - wrong time of year and I worm against them. Then there's the herpes virus - he hasn't had contact with any other horses for almost four months so that went to the bottom of the list.

On a number of forums, I kept coming back to foxtail barley. Numerous posts about the same symptoms as Val's happening this winter, and they all pointed to hay. Could it be possible for me to get two different types of hay, from two different sources at different times, that both had this noxious weed in them?

Apparently yes. I took a bale that we were currently eating from out into the light, and broke it apart, searching stem by stem... what do you know - it was chock full of foxtail barley. What I thought I had identified previously wasn't correct. The feed store is letting me return the hay thank goodness. I'm taking in a few flakes that are ridden with the weed, as well as some samples so they can identify it in the future.

picking through the needle hay

You throwin that away?

Nuthin wong wth thth hay...

Foxtail barley - run your fingers backwards down the seed head and you feel the needles, very stiff and sharp

Foxtail closeup

Not foxtail - seeds fall off easily when you run your fingers backwards

Not foxtail - closeup

Hay farmers should know that horses cannot eat this type of hay - it is unscrupulous to sell infested hay without disclosing. It may be a case of occurring along the edges of fields so the entire crop is not affected, but nonetheless, I have been assured by my vet and dentist that hay growers should know better. The only way to find it for sure is to cut open a bale.

I'm looking on the bright side as much as I can. Val hasn't gone off of his feed too much. He's not quite as round as when the winter started, but luckily we had some padding to work with. Poop has remained normal - plenty of it. He doesn't seem to be too uncomfortable, although if he relishes picking up contact after all this is healed up again, I'll revise that thought. I do think that eating from the nibblenet exacerbated the situation, and that horses fed on the ground may have the chance to avoid or pick around the foxtails - so the nibblenet is officially retired for now.

I'm very relieved that I've finally gotten to the bottom of this little mystery. Sorry for the long post. I hope that the info and photos can keep anyone else from going through what poor Val has.

Have a great weekend everyone!!

In the Arena #58 - Heading in the Right Direction

Just returned from the barn, where Val and I had such a wonderful afternoon!! My goodness I can't even describe how much I love my horse (insert hearts with cupid arrows, A +'s, happy faces and a maybe a million exclamation points).

We started off in the arena, and got right to our trot work. The contact felt pretty consistent today. As a result, we achieved several confirmed half halts and reaching. (!) Brief and restricted to the long side that has the deeper footing, but confirmed nevertheless. Val seems to use his core and pick his back up more easily when we work in the deep parts of the arena. I'm not happy that the footing varies so much, despite nearly daily grooming, but it is helpful for me to feel when we start working correctly. Sometimes no matter how much I read about something, or how much instruction I get, it doesn't really sink in until I feel it.

So, since our arena work went very well, I decided to follow up with more out of arena riding. We walked around the property for a few minutes. I persuaded Val to go a little way towards the woods trail. He wasn't 100% calm, so I didn't push, and let him turn around. We headed out towards the front of the property, did a few circles and I would have been satisfied there, but when we got back to Val's gate, he turned around, expressing interest in more outside time. I decided not to be obsessed about steering and continued to let Val express himself. We walked back out towards and through the front gate! We even went several calm steps in each direction down the road. When we returned to the arena, I wouldn't say we side-passed, but I closed the gate from horseback :)

 

After all of that progress I thought some grazing reward was in order. Back out and down the road on foot. We stopped to eat a treat off the top of one of the death dealing trash cans, and then open the top and poke our noses in. Some in hand trotting to keep our soles in shape - with Val keeping my pace exactly and fully paying attention, + lots of green green grass.

As I cleaned and put away the tack, Val shared some gentle grooming. Why is it that horses always find that little bit of skin between your shirt and pants so interesting? My old ride Cowboy used to groom me there too. Val seemed like he enjoyed our afternoon as much as I did. I had to drag myself away :)

In the Arena #57 - Letting go

Bad weather on the horizon (what the heck else is new) so Val and I rode at lunchtime today. He was napping when I arrived, but roused and made himself available for grooming + hay in the run-in. It must feel terrific to get groomed when you have all kinds of extra hair hanging around, falling out, getting matted up under your tack. And having lunch served at the same time - seems decadent, in a Roman empire kind of way. Dogs have owners, horses have servants as they say ;)

Trot, trot, trot! Posting, two point, sitting, posting without stirrups, loose rein - it was a trot + half halt fest. Val felt it was entirely too warm to expect that much exertion, but we persevered. Worked more on driving and increasing the contact, but still allowing with my hands. This resulted in some reaching, slight but (I'm pretty sure) it was there ;) Also pretty sure I was not always releasing my hands / giving forward in my half halts, or not quickly enough. Whenever I caught myself today I followed up a few rounds on the buckle or very loose rein. In fact, I think blocking with my hands pervaded my ride, as Val offered the rein back (when I hadn't asked for it) quite a few times. Blocking with my hands + off of my seat. Sorry Val! Luckily he doesn't hold grudges :)

I dismounted and prepared to undress Val when it occurred to me - it's warm out, Val is tired from hard work, quiet around the barn... hello - perfect time for a mini trail ride. We walked out to the small arena, mounted, did some circles there and then explored the property. Calmly. Nonchalantly. Pleasantly. Without Val's neck all tight and his head way up in the air on the lookout for imminent danger. Perfect :)

It's not that I think Val is some sort of super hot tb - he most certainly isn't. He can do a pretty good impersonation under the right circumstances though, such as our last out of the arena foray - the super train wreck trail ride. He had a serious case of drama llama going on, and bolted out the front gate almost unseating me... and this was before the ride even started.

I know that Val wasn't thinking of that today. I know it's up to me to forget about it. Every uneventful ride we have brings me another step closer to letting go... another step closer to the freedom of trail riding. *smile*

In the Arena #56 - It's not just for hunter / jumpers...

I may have blown Val's mind this afternoon. I came down to the barn way early for dinner feeding, but much later than our usual midday rides... groomed him, dragged the ring at hyper-speed and then left. He had such a concerned / confused look on his face as I drove away. Don't worry Val - I did not forget your chow - I swear!!

It's so nice that there is light late enough for evening rides now. I met a friend for a quick power walk in the campground, then zoomed back to the barn. (much to Val's relief) What can I say, my guy digs his eats :) We tacked up and had a lovely pre-supper ride.

Focus was on contact, timing of my aids and two point trot work. And I experimented with my stirrup length, as in I shortened them one hole. Kacy from All Horse Stuff and Carol from Dressage Training Journal have been discussing the benefits of riding in two point and stirrup length on Carol's blog. Thanks so much to both of them for the inspiration and training suggestions.

I recently had the opportunity to examine some of my trot work on video, revealing among other things an un-quiet lower leg and a not low enough heel. Immediate improvement today with the stirrup length change. I must confess that I had lowered my stirrups a notch, a month or so ago, because I was sure that all of the bareback work we've been doing had opened my hips and stretched my hamstrings enough. Guess I jumped the gun ;)

This evening I rode in two point for ten or fifteen minutes straight, then alternated long sides of the arena and then numbers of strides. My legs felt good, my balance felt good, and Val was very relaxed. I foresee more two point in our future, because I want to earn my longer stirrups!! An altogether enjoyable ride.

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As a horse crazy eight year old, I channeled my frustrated horse desires into a reading habit. I lived five minutes away from our local library, and spent whole summers there, reading every last horse book in the collection, memorizing horse "facts" and gaining ammunition for my constant requests for riding lessons and my own horse.

Imagine my surprise when, while wandering around online, I should stumble upon an etsy store that sold primarily jewelry, as well as one vintage book,

which I read and re-read countless times as a child. It was my horse bible. What a blast from the past to see this book again. And what a random way to find it after all these years.

Here are some highlights:

The ubiquitous parts of the horse diagram...

A lovely synopsis of the goals of a riding instructor.. (wish my first riding instructor had read this!)

And then there's this?!

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 #54 - If he ain't reaching - you ain't driving

It's been a crazy week. In the good column, Val and I got three rides in, thanks to a string of beautiful days.

In the not-so-good column, my lab / pit mix Sweetpea needed an emergency vet visit to figure out why she suddenly wouldn't bear weight on one of her front legs. She was in severe pain, didn't want to venture off of the couch or head outside for walks, and most alarming of all wouldn't lift her head up to lick out the yogurt container. X-rays revealed no cancer - the worst case scenario - at least no cancer that could be detected yet. An arthritis / orthopedic issue is what we're treating her for, so she's temporarily on an assortment of meds - an anti-inflammatory + stomach easer + pain med + she gets to share Val's adequan. 48 hours later she is moving well with good energy, back to aggressively begging, and no more pitiful whimpering. Fingers crossed that I can keep her comfortable. She suffers from Cushing's which besides shortening her life span, complicates treating her for any other condition. Glad to have her back at home and back to normal. I love my Sweetest Pea :)

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Wednesday was a repeat of Monday - a really fun ride and another faulty video attempt. Things were going so well that I kind of forgot about the camera, and ended up with over ten minutes of trot work recorded. Ten minutes is t-o-o long. Too long to download, too long to upload, (too long to watch unless you're me)! It took about 45 minutes to get it loaded into the more modern photo program that came with my camera - with hopes that I could edit it down. Once in the program I failed to accomplish editing anyway... just didn't have the attention span for the poorly written manual, and not enough energy to pursue trial and error ;)

I learned a lot from watching the (excessive) footage. Still prone to off-to-the leftness, leg aids are far from subtle and we've got a long way to go in the energy department.  I know the solution: forward + half halts + soft even continuous elastic contact. What remains is to consistently put it into practice. On a positive note, we kept up a sustained trot with changes of rein through numerous school figures, smoothly, as well as some lovely loose rein stretchy trot. Having the camera going was much like having someone observe my ride. It was a very helpful tool to keep me focused on the details of my position - knowing I could see the results afterwords.

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It's Saturday morning now - and while I wait for youtube to finish uploading my video (hopefully), I'll finish up this post. Yesterday's ride was very productive, continuing our happy trend. After warming up, we did more trot work. I kept the focus on half halting to rebalance, and maintaining steady contact. I think it's time to take up more contact, and we'll explore that in our next ride. A few months ago I was getting a lot of head tossing/ protesting from Val, which generally meant too much contact for the amount of energy - and I needed to encourage him forward with my legs. Now that we've got the energy level increasing, I suspect I need to modify the contact to match - to give him a place to reach to.

Trot work will be the story of our lives for a while I think. As the footing has allowed, I have gradually increased the amount of time working at the trot hoping to improve Val's fitness and stamina. (Holy cow - I need to build stamina also - twenty minutes of non-stop posting had me sucking a bit of wind the other day!) When I got Val he was lacking topline and his haunches needed filling out, although his on-the-forehand way of going had kept his front end pretty beefy. Thoughtful dressage training will help Val fulfill his potential - beautifying his build and movement under saddle.

Yes - the video worked! Have a great weekend everyone :)

In the Arena #53 - Some really good work - you had to be there...

It was super windy but warm and sunny yesterday - yes - the sun actually felt warm. I couldn't bear not to ride. For once I didn't catch my horse napping at midday. We got cleaned up, dressed, and off we went.

Apparently the next door neighbor was hanging around near the woods by our arena (quietly for once). I didn't realize he was there at first, but Val is excellent at detecting lurkers, be they human or animal, so we had to do a little work to move through that part of the arena willingly. Leg on, keep the neck straight. He relaxed immediately once we heard the neighbor get in his car and leave. I intend to plant a thick hedgerow of Russian Olives in the woody area dividing our properties to screen the neighbors + their noise, and to discourage visiting, invited or not. Good fences make good neighbors ;)

My plan for the day was to warm up, get right to the trot, and when we were moving smoothly in both directions, to shoot some video. I had set up the camera on one of the gate posts so that all I had to do was turn it on when we were ready. Wish I had charged the battery though. It ran out right before we did our best trot work to date. Bummer!

We achieved some forwardness - this has gotten better every consecutive ride, and did a number of decent 20m circles, with prompt upward transitions. I focused on the half halt which was fairly successful at re-balancing the trot. Our downward transitions were less than smooth however, and I think the key would be half halts. Since the footing was pretty firm, we were able to do more circle work than usual. I noticed how much it helped Val for me to support him (inside leg to outside rein) on the trot circles. He was reaching, especially during our breaks on the buckle - nose to the ground. A great ride :)

We toasted the day's success with another walking trip down the road for grazing rewards and to get hooves on hard surfaces. As windy as it was, I had some reservations about taking Val out, but there was no need. He was super brave, only acting up when we came back on to the property to find Cowboy screaming his head off. Poor Cowboy - he's going to flip when we go to our next clinic.

My goals for the next few months are forward consistently, half halts and contact. (They're all kind of related come to think of it.) Oh, and to get it together with the camera!

Why I fell in love with my horse...

In honor of Valentine's day, Jane at The Literary Horse suggested folks should blog about their horsey love stories. What a great idea, especially since I don't have a valentine of the human variety at the moment :)

Why did I fall in love with my horse? Good question - it was not love at first sight. I tagged along one weekend to another barn to watch my trainer give Val and his owner one of their first dressage lessons. He was a cute ottb to be sure, good size, although I didn't really want a grey. He was hunter / jumpery, and moved decidedly on the forehand. He was well put together, seemed to have a mellow attitude and had been very well cared for. Plans were made for a test drive - ring work + a mini trail ride - and then negotiations began. And ended in just a few minutes. My overwhelming feeling was if I pass on this horse he'll be gone. No lightning though. No emotional connection at all. Against my better judgment I bought the first horse I looked at.

Two days after picking Val up, we were off to Maryland for a five day clinic with Erik Herbermann. The clinic had been planned well before Val came into the picture, and I convinced myself that taking a new horse on a six hour trailer ride (my first) to a clinic (my first) was an okay idea. Truth be told I was absolutely petrified - to the point of almost getting sick right before my first ride. Thankfully Val behaved beautifully, and in retrospect it was a great way to start off our relationship.

Our first few months together went smoothly. I got used to the routine of caring for Val. He got used to a new living situation. We trail rode out to the beach, Val's first time seeing the ocean. He was perfect :) Then I did something totally stupid. In an effort to address some weight loss, I put Val on a supplement called Amplify. So not necessary. I didn't see weight gain but I did see a change in temperment, and it wasn't good. Not long after, we had our disastrous, bolting, sky high bucking trail ride, where I employed an emergency dismount as well as hit the dirt super hard - without a helmet. I got back on and rode before I called it a day. But I was decidedly not in love with Val. And I had seriously damaged his confidence in me.

Over the next several months I avoided riding. I questioned why I ever got a horse. Who did I think I was, that I could handle an ottb. Who did I think I was that I could even ride. When I did get back on, we had so many arguments. I couldn't steer him - at all. I couldn't get him to move. I was so scared of my horse... and I'd deal with it by getting mad. Val tested me on everything, and it was so frustrating! Until I finally decided to get my act together. A conscious decision. Part of the solution was getting Val to respect me, part of it was resolving to respect Val.

When I stopped treating Val like an adversary, he stopped acting like one. I discovered his soft side. And his sense of humor. His habits became endearing, like how he always tries to eat his reins, or the lead rope, (or whatever he can get into his mouth)... and how when he's really content he'll gently groom me, top to bottom. *Sigh*

Little by little, one tiny step forward at a time, we became friends... then partners. We became more confident, and more confident in each other. I firmly believe you get the horse you need, even if you don't realize it at first, or need a lot of convincing ;)

We're in really good place now, and without a doubt, I LOVE my horse. A lot. What's not to love ?!

In the Arena #52 - Two firsts + needs improvement

A reprieve on the foul weather until this evening. We got a sunny but very chilly bareback ride in. I arrived at the barn to a sleeping horse, then experimented a bit with shooting video. I repeat experimented. This is my first try. One way you can tell, is by the part where I turn the camera sideways to get a nice closeup of Val's droopy lip... didn't know it's better to keep the camera oriented horizontally. And (who knew) time to update my software - I don't have the capability of rotating the screen. I actually need to update my whole computer. It's nine years old - gotta love a mac - nine years and (knock wood) never had one moments trouble. Except now, when my software is antiquated :)

Despite it being windy and brisk, we had a super calm and fun ride. I captured a couple of minutes of our ride on video as well, but since it's all shot in the vertical mode, I won't tempt you all to get big cricks in your necks. Plus it might take five years to upload.

So.... we finally trotted bareback! (Val might question the use of an exclamation point) Several passes of the long side of the arena. I figured that was enough for him. I felt very stable, so I wasn't even nervous, but not nearly quiet enough in my seat. Hopefully that will come with practice. Love, love, love bareback. Yay!