I took Sydney for a "trail ride" on Saturday morning.  Even though he's been living in his new barn for more than six weeks, he is very tense if I ride him anywhere other than the arena.  So on Saturday I put my endurance saddle on him (whoa, and now it's from dressage to endurance?) and walked him around the barn. It's hard to tell from the video that he's tense, but if you'll listen to his hoofbeats, you'll hear them speed up and see him lean towards the barn. 

I had to put the camera away to do the second half of the ride which included walking out of site from the barn down a hill into a ravine and back again.  He was very anxious about that and I had to give him some pretty good whacks with my legs to keep him pointed in the correct direction.  We did get some excellent opportunities to work on our whoa! from a previous lesson.

While walking around the barn, I was very pleased at how forward he is at the walk as compared to when he is in the arena.  That boy can really boogie and stretch forward when he's motivated!  Anyhoo, here's a clip of us walking around.  You might have to take some Dramamine as my video skills while mounted on a slightly nervous pony aren't that great!

Well ... it didn't work quite as well as I was hoping, but I did get to watch myself schooling Speedy G without the aid of a trainer or friend.  After riding for 30 to 40 minutes I eagerly raced home to watch my footage. Unfortunately Speedy G and I spent more than half of the time outside of the camera's viewfinder!

I did a serious amount of editing, but here's just under two minutes of our ride.  We started out with a bit of walking warm-up and then moved on to circles, canter transitions, and changes of directions.  None of the changes of direction made the "cut" as they were all done off camera.

Do I like any of it?  Yes!  We have some real moments of soft and round, and my position is hugely improved. Unfortunately, Speedy G wasn't giving me some of the nicer canter work that he had been giving me recently. I could feel that he was a bit heavy in front and the video confirmed it.  

Please don't think that I think this is fabulous work.  This video shows big improvement over what we could do last summer, but we have a long way to go.  I am just putting this out there for other lower level adult amateurs who want to see that everyone struggles.  Do I dislike some of it?  Yes!  Now that Speedy is getting softer I do need to start shortening my reins, and I need to work on pushing him forward to the bit.  I tend to ask for softness with my hands and I let him get behind my leg.  And while this is incorrect, it was what he and I needed to do.  Now that he knows that I will be soft, I need to start riding with a slightly firmer contact.

I will set up the tripod again, but I think I'll mark the visible area with cones so that we stay in the camera's view finder!

Yep, had another lesson with JL on Tuesday.  She was on vacation for 10 days so that's why Sydney and Speedy had those field trips to Cha Ching's place last week.  And good news for me: we will now take a lesson every Wednesday after work with occasional Saturday lessons when I have time.  Of course winter will probably have something to say about the every Wednesday idea, but this will be the first winter I've been able to do weekly lessons.  Woo hoo for me!

But I digress ... this was a brilliant lesson as JL rode for the first half of the time while I was able to watch, listen, and video.  With JL aboard, she helped me discover a few things: yes, his neck is stiff, especially to the left; yes, he is heavy, but only because he really hasn't been asked to go lightly; and his whoa! is woefully inadequate.  I watched her school through some of these issues, and then I hopped on (after switching out her saddle for mine - she's a hunter/jumper, not a dressage trainer) and went to work.

One of the first mistakes JL helped me to correct was what to do when Sydney's nose popped into the air to evade the bit.  Before, I had been alternately rocking and squeezing the rein to ask him to lower his head. Nope.  Instead, she had me pull both elbows back, hold the rein steady to create a "fence board" and add leg to push him forward.  He either ran into the "board," or learned that the release came from softening and lowering his head.  I had to learn to be patient and stick with the firm hold.  It took about half the circle before I felt Sydney start to soften and lower.  Once I felt him start to give, that's when I started to gently rock or pulse the rein.  Somehow that conveyed to him that yes, lowering your head is the right answer!  And because you did, I am now going to soften my hands.

Fortunately, Sydney gave me several opportunities to practice this new way of asking for softening.  Much like I've done with Speedy G over the last month or two, our focus now is on asking for soft with a light contact. Eventually we'll move to a firmer contact, but for now, it seems as though both of my horses need to trust that I can be softer than they are.  I think I'll call it the "Who Can be Softer?" game.

Here's the video of JL schooling Sydney.  If you don't have a regular trainer, you'll probably enjoy watching her work.  Remember that she's a hunter/jumper trainer so her riding style is going to be quite different than what you might be used to.  Softness doesn't come from the saddle in which you ride.  I am learning that instead, it comes from how you use your seat, legs, and hands.  Enjoy!

There was a blog post this morning.  Honest.  And it was actually a good one.  I published it.  It's not here. What happened?

Did you catch yesterday's post?  If not, scroll down a bit.  I blogged about being stressed out and busy now that I am back to work.  And already today, I proved that to be true.  Here's what happened.

I couldn't make it to the barn on Thursday.  I felt guilty.  I woke up at 5:05 a.m. on Friday, threw my barn clothes on, and was at the barn by 5:15.  The 5:00 a.m. visit was due to the fact that I had a second obligation on Friday evening which meant no barn visit again.  Two days in a row just felt unacceptable.  

It was dark, but the arena and wash rack lights were on so I could see well enough.  I turned Speedy G out.  He clearly needed it because he did some big gallops with some equally big bucks thrown.  Those were just to keep me from feeling too relaxed.  When he was finishing up with his last gallops, I went to get Sydney. Speedy was then tied to the rail and Sydney had his turn to run amok.  He must have needed it as well as he did quite a few cork-screwy maneuvers.  I was forced to squint so I wouldn't have to see the impending wreck. Both boys came out unscathed.

I cleaned their stalls, fixed them an early pre-breakfast lunch, and added all necessary and appropriate fly protection.  I left the barn at 6:23 with both boys resting happily after their morning work out. 

I raced home and showered.  I logged onto the website, found today's post, hit publish ... except I didn't, gobbled down some breakfast, packed a quick lunch, and made it to work by 7:15 a.m.  Sometime during the day I checked for the blog post and saw yesterday's post.  I hit refresh.  Nothing.  And then I realized what I had done.  Instead of hitting publish, I hit delete.  Well ... crap!

So ... here's an abbreviated version of the blog post.

Riders4Helmets recently ran a contest asking for helmet stories. My story was chosen as a top winner.  My prize?  This super nice, embroidered dressage pad.  Thank you, Riders4Helmets!  To see the complete list of winners, click here. To see my entry, click here.

I promise the original post was more interesting.  Sorry about that!  Please check back tomorrow - I have a good post ready to go that includes a video of JL (newest trainer) schooling Sydney.  It's worth a peek!

August 18th ...

• Summer vacation is officially over.
• Since the end of the school year, I have ridden over 70 times, and I was out of the country for 15 days!
• My two-horses-a-day riding is officially over.
• My four hour daily barn visits are also over.
• My life will once again be filled with stress.
• Grocery shopping and cooking dinner will now eat into my riding time.
• I am not going to feel like going to the barn after work.  It will be 99 degrees.
• I once again have two horses that need to be turned out, groomed, and ridden in the time after school is over and before I cook dinner.  I won't be able to get it all done and I will begin to feel guilty.
• I will soon be stressed out about work and feeling guilty about not spending four hours daily at the barn.  I might not be able to even spend one hour at the barn.
• My AHA! moments will surely wane as I spend less and less time riding and thinking about riding.  I will be thinking more and more about lesson planning and grading papers.
• My blog posts may suffer.  I will begin to feel guilty about that, too.

A very deep sigh.  My husband is not very sympathetic to my plight.  Most people aren't.  I don't blame them.  Here's to June 1st - may it find me in good health with sound ponies!

When my husband came home on Tuesday night, he had quite the story to share.  And it was actually an equine story.  

A little background ... My husband is very supportive of my horsey love affair, but he is pretty much a non-participating member of team Keep my Horses Healthy.  He has been to a few endurance rides and one or two shows, he helps with truck or trailer maintenance if the job is above my strength level, and he indulges my love of all things equine by slowing down while traveling to point out a pony I might have missed. But really, that's about the limit of his participation in my horse life.  So when he walked in the door with a horse story, it had to be a blog post.

The Central Valley of California is home to some of the world's richest farmland, and agriculture is a major industry where we live.  My husband works for one of these companies as the Plant Controller.  This means that he drives out into a pretty rural location to get to work.  While on his drive, he spotted a vehicle parked on the shoulder of the road that had it's hazards going.  He slowed down and noticed a loose horse some distance in front of the parked vehicle.

My husband has enough equine experience to know that a loose horse on the road is a tragedy in the making. This particular pony was heading toward HIghway 46 which is a major east/west artery to the California coast. It's heavily trafficked and would be a death sentence for a loose horse.

My husband told me the story rather quickly, so I know I am not going to get all of the details right, but essentially what happened was this:  He saw a young girl of about twelve years old following along behind with a rope in her hand.  He picked her up and tried to get her closer to the horse.  The horse, of course, felt chased by their attempts to come up behind him and began to gallop farther down the road.   My husband left the girl to follow while he found an alternate road which led him around the horse.  He was hoping he could get in front of it and drive it back to the girl.

My husband, and several other good samaritans, tried this strategy several times, but each time the horse was able to dart around and continue toward the highway.  My husband even parked in the middle of the road and got out with arms spread wide to block the horse's advance.  No luck.  

Eventually, they neared town and the horse darted into an alley (it's a small town).  My husband quickly drove several blocks to block the alley exit and get in front of the horse.  Several other drivers blocked other exits. Finally, the horse was corralled and he stood quietly as the young girl walked up to him with her lead rope. According to the girl, the horse had unlatched the gate, walked down their driveway to a small road, and then continued out onto the road with traffic.  The girl had walked after him hoping to catch him right away.

My husband wanted to offer the girl a ride back home, but the safest way for her to get the horse back home was to just lead him down the side of the road.  Since it was only about three miles, my husband knew it was a fairly easy walk.  Some kids on 4-wheelers were heading their way so adult help was not far behind.  As the good samaritan drivers began to pull away, the girl thanked everyone profusely.  My husband was glad to see that their help was appreciated.  In all, the little escapade took about about 45 minutes.  

Good job, honey!  You saved the day.

Click photos for larger view and captions.

A friend introduced me to EQ Solutions last summer when I first started showing.  Even though this is quite embarrassing to admit, I am going to be very honest.  Before last summer, I used just water to clean my horses, or if needed, a Betadine scrub.  If I was feeling really fancy, I used a cheap people shampoo.  Now I know better.

I didn't go wild with the fancy shampoos, but I did invest in the EQ Body Wash and Foaming Tool.  This stuff works.  You hose the horse off with just the sprayer.  Attach the Foaming Tool to the sprayer, and spray with the foamy soap.  Scrub with a sponge or other tool, if needed.  Repeat the foamy soap, if needed.  Remove the tool from the sprayer, and rinse clean.  It's that easy!  It leaves the horses feeling silky soft, but not slick, for several days.  Their coats feel clean and smell nice, but not perfumy. 

For show prep, either the day before, or the morning of, the foaming tool makes clean up a simple, easy, and quick task.  I sound like a commercial, I know, but the stuff really is that great!  

I buy mine at Valley Vet, although I know there are similar brands available at other stores.  I've stuck with this particular brand because it works so well.  The Foaming Tool runs about $35, and the 100 oz. body wash runs about $25.  You can buy the Body Wash in a 32 oz. jug that comes with a built in foamer, but I was worried that it might break.  I've used my foaming tool for two summers and it has held up very well.

Here's to quick baths and pretty ponies!

And then there was Corky.  She was probably my first "heart" horse.  Montoya was the second.  You know the ones.  They're the ones that touch you deep down inside.  "Heart" horses know you better than anyone else, even better than your spouse might.  They get you, and they love you completely anyway.  Don't misunderstand.  I loved Sunny, Nakota, and Gideon as well, but it was just different with Corky.

Corky actually came to me from the very same family that gave me Sunshine.  I still had Nakota and Gideon at home, so I don't remember exactly why I started hanging around their place after school.  Maybe it was because Nakota had just delivered and had a foal at her side.  Whatever the reason, I started riding Corky in the afternoons.  I would ride the school bus to Garberville, which is 9 or 10 miles down the highway from my Dad's house, and my stepmom would pick me up after she got off work.

During one afternoon visit, Chris, the owner, asked why no one wanted to buy his horses.  I know now that he was just "fishing."  I will, I exclaimed eagerly.  Of course I would, why would a third horse be any more expensive or any more work than the two I already had?  Chris nodded his head knowingly and asked how much money I had.  Two hundred bucks.  

The money was in a savings account that I am sure was, in my Dad's mind, destined for something practical. Probably college, or some other event that was in the far distant future.  I am not quite sure why I felt that he would be okay with me emptying my "for-my-future" savings account, but the deal was struck.

I don't remember the money exchanging hands, and I can't even remember how we got Corky home, but once she was there, a whole new set of adventures began.

Corky taught me a lot about riding a forward horse.  She was fast, athletic, and fearless.  We vaulted logs, swam in the river, galloped long stretches, climbed steep hills, and occasionally rested in the shade of the redwood park at the edge of town.  I even rode her the three miles to school one day, with Gideon ponied to the side, as a model for the Junior High Ag class.  

There wasn't anything that Corky couldn't do.  She gave me a powerful confidence: with horses I felt knowledgable; with boys I felt empowered to be their equal and more; and with my school work I knew college was a realistic goal.  I don't understand how the relationship with a horse can cause such great changes within us, but Corky was one of those who did that.  

When it came time for me to leave home and go to college, Corky had to find a new home, but I couldn't bring myself to sell her.  It didn't seem right to sell a best friend and confidant.  Instead, I found a woman who simply needed a horse to love, and I gifted Corky to her.

I occasionally meet horses like Corky.  And I recognize them immediately for what they are.  Heart horses.  

I owe Val, of Memoirs of a Horse Girl, a gigantic thank you!

Thank you, Val!

She has been blogging about her (and Harley's) work at the canter.  She's also been blogging about trying movements that might be above your horse's current training level.  That got me thinking.  So, during my Saturday morning ride, I gave something new a try!

I feel like I need a disclaimer here.  If Stephen Peters wrote about walk to canter transitions, he might use the exact (okay, maybe not exact) words to describe his work.  I can guarantee that his descriptive words would include, connected, uphill, soft, lengthen, stretch, etc.  So really, I feel silly using those same terms to describe my puny little rides.  On the other hand, Speedy's recent work has been beyond all of my expectations.  To me, he has become incredibly connected, uphill, and soft!  I guess my point is that if you want tips from a pro, there are many out there.  If you want to read about someone's journey of discovery, here we are!

Since I am still learning the correct movement of my seat and elbows for the canter, I decided to try a canter transition from the walk.  I reasoned that I might get a better feel for the movement my seat needs to make if done from a walk.  My reasoning might be faulty, but I think I'm on the right track.

I started Speedy out at a nice supple walk and asked him for softness with good reach from his hind legs.  I pictured in my mind a forward inside leg with an outside leg lightly touching his side.  My seat would scoop forward and we would canter.  And that's what I did.  And Speedy ... cantered!  It wasn't perfect.  He gave a funny shuffle in the back, but then we were cantering.  And it was exquisitely soft.  We came back to a few trot strides and then walked.  He lengthened his neck and stretched deeply.  I gathered him back up and repeated the movement several times.  He got better each time.

If you would have suggested even two months ago that I would be riding a submissive pony at the canter from the walk, I would have laughed hysterically.  And yet, here we are!  If this is just a lucky week, I'll take it. If this is the result of two years of hard dressage work, even better.  I can't wait to see where we are in two more years. Bring it on!

After several days of very lengthy posts, I thought we might all need a break!  Here's a video of Speedy G "self-loading."  He makes it look ridiculously easy.  For those struggling with trailer loading, just know that Speedy G didn't start out quite this amiable.  In my experience, the best way to get them this easy going is to load and go ... A LOT!

As a side note, I shot this clip on Friday morning at about 7:15 a.m.  I walked Speedy straight from his stall (where breakfast had just been served), up to the trailer door.  There was no practicing.  This is him just getting in like he's been trained to do.  

(Please excuse the flip flops - I KNOW they're not appropriate barn foot-ware.)