Quick post-publish edit: RM was riding Bounder, not Bailey.  Sorry about that!

Can life get any better?  I really don't think so.  After a very long work week, I was blessed with a weekend filled with riding and watching others ride.  Both of my boys got ridden on Saturday and Sunday.  I also went to watch JL give RM, my barn's property owner, a lesson.  After her lesson, Cha Ching's Mom arrived for her own lesson on Amari so RM and I stayed to watch.  I forgot to get stills of Amari as I was shooting video, but here are some pictures of our weekend.

Oops!  Before you scroll down for some photos, I think I have forgotten to mention that I have a show on Sunday.  Speedy G and I are still showing USDF Introductory B & C, but I am still excited about it.  We've made a lot of progress in the last month, and I am eager to see how it's reflected in my test scores.  I'll let you know how it goes. 

On Saturday morning, our first cool day in weeks, I gave both boys lots of turnout time, thoroughly groomed them, and even rode them both.  

Speedy G got to go first: Val, of Memoirs of a Horse Girl, had given me a whip tip to try on Speedy.  She suggested that I "Use a different aid to send him forward to the bit, like the whip. Keep your legs relaxed and just tap him forward on his hindquarters with a slightly elevated hand position and long reins."  As I rode Speedy G, I sent him forward with a leg squeeze.  If he dropped behind the vertical, I tapped his hip very softly with the whip as Val suggested.  

The first time I did it I got the response I expected - flattened ears accompanied by a threat to kick or buck.  But when Speedy realized that it was only a soft tap and not a move it, buddy! kind of cue, he cocked an ear back as if to say, huh?!  I tapped again, and when he reached forward from his shoulders he got a good boy!  The whip tap hasn't fixed the problem, but it's a separate cue from a go forward leg squeeze.  We had an improved ride which also included some nice canter transitions that were happily free of kicks and bucks.

Sydney got to go next: JL's confidence in me must have been well-founded.  After the utter ineptness that I demonstrated on Wednesday, I am not sure why she felt it was possible, but I was able to repeat the One, Two, Let, Go exercise with complete success.  Again, I had to do it from the sitting trot, but that also showed improvement.  I started with a pretty firm two-count pull, followed by a two-count let go.  Initially, the whole thing looked like an idiot (me) pulling back on a horse (that would be Sydney) who wasn't listening.  

Round and round we went.  Sydney's neck was braced, and his nose was pointed straight out in front of him.  He actually had a look of resignation on his face as though he was thinking, and so it goes.  Yet another rider who is just going to pull on my mouth.  But I didn't.  (And I don't.)  I pulled and let go, pulled and let go.  Little by little our circle got rounder, Sydney maintained a steady pace, and his neck started to move at the shoulder.  Once I felt him start to let go of his neck the littlest bit, I pulled more softly and continued to let go.  And then I stopped pulling and just kept the contact light.  I returned to a rising trot, and I alternately squeezed my fingers and felt him go round and soft.  He reached for the bit and held it lightly.  And with JL's words ringing in my ears, I started to fiddle.  A little rocking on the rein, little nudges here and there.  And just like that, we were there.  He was soft, rhythmical, and on the bit.

With my point made, I quietly asked for a halt, and got it.  The whole exercise took less than 15 minutes.  This was the first time that I was able to get him truly soft, rhythmical, and between my aids without being at a lesson.  And we did it very quickly with no fussing.

We finished the ride with some stretchy walking and soft halts.  Up until recently, getting a halt from him required all of my upper body strength.  He has quickly learned that a deep sigh done as my weight sinks into the saddle means stop, and do it without flinging your head in the air.

Hopefully we're almost ready to move on to the canter.  Can't wait to show JL what we've learned!

It's a four count beat that should match your horse's back feet.  This is JL's newest exercise.  I am a little worried about her confidence in my ability.  It was clear that this wasn't an exercise I was going to master in one lesson.  Not to toot my own horn, but I've been zipping through most of her lessons.  She shows me, I get an AHA!, I work on it all week, and I proudly show off how well we can do it at the next lesson.  She has been a bit surprised at how quickly I'm moving through her lessons.  That is until Wednesday.  I think she was actually surprised at my ineptness.  I mean really, I'd been doing so well.  What the heck happened?

Here's where my "dorkiness" showed up.  In this case, dorkiness equals big hole in my skill set.  I probably should back up a bit and offer more of an explanation.

You see, I never really learned to post.  I mean, I could post.  Who can't?  But it wasn't posting right.  I was posting from my knees with my feet behind me, and I was very top heavy.  I rode like a Weeble Wobble.  You remember that egg shaped toy?  That was me.  Since endurance riders don't do a lot of posting, it was no big deal.  Dressage riders need to post, so I started working on it.

Over the last year I have worked really hard to learn how to post correctly by allowing the horse to lift me while my legs hang relaxed without being grippy.  I've also learned to sit back and bend my elbows which keeps my heavier horse from jerking me forward.  I've become a fairly decent "poster."  I can't yet always tell by feel which diagonal I am on without peeking, but I am getting much better.  I feel the diagonals on a circle, but on the straight I still have to look.  Nothing like telling the world about your weaknesses.  

The way I practiced posting more correctly was to chant, one - two - one - two.  If I needed Speedy G to slow down, I posted like this: ooone - twooo, ooone - twooo.  It has taken some effort on my part, but I can now slow, or speed up, my horse's rhythm through the post.  My weight is much lower, I don't grip with my knees, and my pelvis stays in an open position.  This is all great, but I can't do it without the occasional counting and conscious focus, especially when one of the horses is being naughty.  When they're relaxed and working well, posting is effortless.

Which brings us back to JL's One, Two, Let, Go lesson.  The point of this lesson, which I'll describe in a minute, is to teach the horse not to be heavy by showing him that you won't hold onto him.  It teaches him to hold himself up and not depend on the rider to lug his weight around.  This may be a hunter/jumper lesson, but since it works so well, I don't care who it was designed for.

Since our earlier work has effectively taught Sydney to be light in the bridle and stretchy at the walk, we started the new exercise at the trot.  JL had me pick up the trot.  Sydney tipped his weight forward and tried to run the circle.  He doesn't yet know that he's supposed to be submissive.  JL had me pull back with both reins for a one, two count.  Then I was to let go for the same two count.  And repeat.  The trick to this exercise is knowing how much weight to put in the pull back.  She described it in terms of a number.  If he's heavy, I pull back with a five or six.  If he's getting lighter, I pull back with a two.  The number describes the firmness of the pull.

That sounds great.  The problem is that I could not coordinate the one, two count with my internal posting count.  I tried.  Over and over.  I just couldn't pat my head and rub my tummy at the same time.  JL's comment was that we had finally found a true hole in my training.  It is obvious that I need to work on being able to move all of the parts of my body independently of each other.  Since I can't yet do that, I finally just sat the trot.  Well, sort of.  I was dismayed that I was sitting the trot much like when I first started to develop my dressage seat.  I hunched forward, gripped with my knees, and brought my heels up.  But then ... slowly ... I felt myself relax my lower leg and I was really sitting the trot.  It wasn't pretty, but it was working.

From a non-posting seat, I was able to follow JL's count: one ... two ... let ... go.  It took some time and a lot of concentration on my part, but I was eventually able to pull with 2s and 3s instead of 6s and 7s.  And finally, we established a submissive rhythm.  I returned to a posting trot and with JL's encouragement, I began to fiddle. A push here, a nudge there, a rock to the inside, a half-halt with the outside.  And at the very last, Sydney gave me some lovely reaching, stretchy trot.  AHA!

When we finished the lesson, JL's homework assignments were:  
#1. Practice using my body's parts independently of one another, and 
#2. Work on the One, Two, Let, Go exercise.  

The mind is willing, but in this case, the body is weak!

This is a continuing series of photos that illustrates the differences between an endurance seat and a dressage seat. 

I like this photo a lot.  Both mares have their heads up and ears perked forward.  They're watching the trail while their riders smile at the camera!  This was at the Casper's Park Challenge 50 in 1999.  I am riding Montoya and our riding partners are Fire Mt Torch and her mom.  Notice both mares are on a loose rein doing a pretty decent trot.  I finished 51st out of 72 riders with a ride time of 10 hours and 21 minutes.

Right away I am grumpy ... WEEBLY, my host, screwed around with the "add a link" feature and as I tried to add my link, it navigated away from my unsaved draft and lost it.  Crap.  It was turning out to be quite humorous. Now ... not so much.

The post started out with some funny anecdotes about how I don't like to shop ... at all.  There was a bit about finally switching from free, endurance ride t-shirts to shirts designed for equestrians.  It went on to say that I am now succumbing to the "it's okay to buy appropriate stuff" way of living.  Cha Ching's Mom is the world's best shopper.  I am nowhere near her league, but at least I am on the playing field.

For many years I have been using a free, green, mesh bag to haul my junk from home to the barn.  I am sure you have a similar bag.  I toss in water bottles, my camera, stinky socks, and other items that need to be taken to the barn and back home.  A month or so ago, the handle to my barn bag finally broke.  I was crushed.  I really liked Freebie Green Bag.  A lot.  It was mesh, which allowed dirt to fall out, and the odor from my wet, stinky socks, could dissipate into the air.  Freebie Green Bag had served me well.  Since they don't hold their shape and they tear easily, plastic grocery bags wouldn't do as replacements.  I gave Target a look, but nothing matched the functionality of Freebie Green Bag.

As luck would have it, a co-worker brought in a catalog for thirty-one.  Apparently, thirty-one is the newest and greatest catalog for all types of purses and bags.  Hey!  Just what I am looking for!  I flipped through the pages and [cue heavenly music] found it!  Staring right at me was Freebie Green Bag's replacement.  I wrote the check, and two weeks's later, Expensive Brown Bag arrived!  Here it is!

Expensive Brown Bag is a washable vinyl.  It also stands up on its own and holds its shape.  And unlike Freebie Green bag, the straps of EBB are long enough to go over my shoulder - bonus!  Thursday was EBB's maiden voyage to the barn.  Bye-bye Freebie Green Bag.  RIP.  Welcome to the barn, Expensive Brown Bag, and may you last as long as Freebie Brown Bag.

Of course it won't since I paid for EBB!   Free seems to last forever, as does ugly!

I had a lesson on Wednesday evening.  My writing time is short. So, here is the Late Show's Top 10 ...

1. I am a complete dork.
2. Sydney can bolt and hop/buck/rear/squeal with surprising quickness.
3. I can't [yet] move all the parts of my body independently.  Think pat your head and rub your belly.
4. I can sit the trot.  Not very well.  But contrary to what I may have believed 24 hours ago, I can do it.
5. Sydney's brakes need work, but they are improving.
6. I can change diagonals from the sitting trot.  Who knew?!
7. Sydney has a lovely trot rhythm.
8. I know what a stretchy "reach" feels like!
9. We have the walk down pat.
10. I am a complete dork.  I already said that, I know, but there was more than one opportunity in which to demonstrate that particular item!

That was the lesson in a nut shell.  I promise to write about JL's 1,2 let go lesson when I have more time. Suffice it to say that it requires the rider to be able to post rhythmically and do a prescribed arm movement at the same time.  No can do, hence the dork comment.  More to come.  I promise!

Hopefully done without too much whining on my part, although a glass or two at night has sure helped ...

This week's work schedule has me doing some extra duties with an extra meeting thrown in for good measure.  The extra duties mean that I need to get to work extra early if I want to actually finish my job at a time that will allow me to visit my ponies.  So the first half of my day has been really long, like get to work at 6:30 a.m. long.  Many of you are thinking, no big deal.  I get to work that early every day.  It is a bit bothersome since the paid part of my day doesn't actually begin until 7:50 a.m.  I am off at 3:20, but yesterday my meeting went past 3:45 and I worked through lunch.

Enough.  I said I'd write this without a lot of whining.  So why am I working such long hours?  If I get to work early, I get my job done which means I can leave "on time."  Or almost.  This gives me that wonderful hour and a half in the afternoons to ride and play with my boys.  That afternoon time helps me blow off all of the grrs and grouchiness that I would otherwise be bringing home to hubby.  

I was really grateful that I did suck it up enough to get to the barn yesterday.  It was hot, but the thermometer only read low 90s.  The humidity was high however, and the air was very still, no breeze at all.  When I pulled into the barn driveway, Speedy eagerly came over to the fence and started his feed-me-pet-me-I-know-you! singing.  Sydney on the other hand was standing pressed up against the side of his stall with his nose dragging in the dirt.  He hardly noticed me.  Crud.

I offered Sydney some horse cookies and was relived when he took them eagerly.  I fly sprayed him, which helped a little to lighten his mood, but not much.  What really perked him up was the sound of the feed buckets being filled.  Hmm ... maybe things aren't as bad I think.

I gave Speedy a quick hosing, saddled up, and enjoyed a 25 minute ride.  We worked on the same old stuff, but he wasn't being all that cooperative.  No matter how much I squeezed, he just would not come up to the bit.  Instead, he just got rounder and rounder until I was literally riding a beach ball.  There was nothing in my hands.  Zero.  I Squeezed him forward and gave him all of the rein.  He moved out, but the second I picked up on the rein, he went round, too round.  I asked for a canter which can sometimes "unstick" him.  That went well, but as soon as we returned to trot work, he returned to that behind the bit position.  This is something we need to continue working on.

Once Speedy was tucked back into his stall, I tried to relieve Sydney's dejected look.  Everything seemed fine. I gave him the endurance check: fresh pee spot - check.  Fresh poop - check.  Eating - check.  Drinking - hope so.  I skipped the actual metabolic checks (pulse, gut, hydration, temperature) because the next check (will grass "fix" things?) showed me that it was a fly/heat/no breeze combination that had him feeling lethargic.  

I put his fly sheet back on and brought him over to the wash rack.  I hosed him and the fly sheet and he visibly perked up.  I hung the fly sheet to drip dry and led Sydney to the lawn to graze.  From the video that I posted, you can see that we have several acres of lovely lawn.  Sydney LOVES lawn.  I let him graze the entire perimeter.  He got happier and perkier the longer we were out there.  An occasional gust of air would sweep over him, driving away the gnats, and cooling his still wet body.  I could almost see him sigh.

Once he was back in his stall, I fed both boys their beet pulp/rice bran and fed all four horses dinner.  When I left, everyone looked happy and relaxed.

So ... working ridiculously early hours is definitely worth it.  It allows me to spend time at the barn every day without cutting into the time I spend cooking dinner and hanging out with my husband.  As I write, it's still early a.m. and he's fast asleep.  I'd rather miss morning sleep than an evening relaxing.

This is part of an ongoing series of posts about trailering.  If you're an old hand at hauling horses, please chime in!  

Today's post is about common safety practices before hauling.  Every single time I haul my horses, I do a super quick safety check which includes the following: 

1. I walk around the truck and trailer and visually check the tires to see if any look flat (it's happened!). 
2. I check for any broken running lights, and I turn on my truck lights just to make sure the trailer lights are working correctly.  It's time consuming, but I also check to see that both trailer blinkers are working as well.  
3. I also peek into the bed of the truck to be sure that my hitch is still correctly connected and that the safety chains are in place.  I have a gooseneck trailer so the hitch isn't easily visible while walking around.
4. After loading my horses, I do another "walk around" to check that the living quarters door is firmly closed and locked and that both back doors are firmly latched with the cotter pins in place.
5. I check my drop-down windows to make sure that they are either firmly closed, or if they are in the down position, I make sure they are locked into the keepers that hold them down.
6. After an event, I do the same thing for the trip home, except that I am extra careful to check for things that I may have hanging from the trailer, like buckets and hay bags.  I also do another "walk around" to look for things like my step stool, feed pan, scissors, brushes, or other dropped items.

These are no-brainer tips that everyone should already know to do even if you're never driven a trailer. Unfortunately, sometimes we're tired or simply in a hurry and we forget to do some of these things. 

The more routine we can make our hauling experience, the less likely we are to forget something.  Every once in a while I'll hit the brakes and think, did I put Speedy in the trailer?  So far I haven't made that mistake! There have been others but not that particular one.  Just last month I lost a pocket knife because my "walk around" wasn't as thorough as it should have been.  Another time I drove off with my bale of hay sitting beside the trailer.  I was quite surprised when I got to the endurance ride we were doing, and I had no hay!

Safety Tip #1: Always do a walk around.

Yesterday I told you about getting the DVD, but I didn't tell you what I'd seen, or how useful I felt it was.  So far I've limited my viewing to what I actually need right now.  I watch a lot of great rides on You Tube, RFD TV, and HRTV.  I know what great horses look like.  Piaffe?  Sure.  I can spot that.  Passage?  Yep, looks good to me. Tempi changes?  Beautiful!  

None of those are very helpful to me right now as they almost always look perfectly executed.  I still need help with the basics.  Don't get me wrong.  We're getting there.  But I want to have the basics down, and I mean solidly down.  Better to be really good at one thing than to stink at everything!

So I watched the Introductory and Training Level Tests, repeatedly.  I even took notes.  Here's what I saw ...

I compared the A and B rides from the DVD to my own A and B rides and feel pretty confident in how we're doing.  When I got to Test C, I gave an immediate Uh-huh!  Yep, that's our problem, too.  The rider from Test C illustrated perfectly where Speedy G and I are struggling.  I wrote down the trainer's comments in the hope that JL can help me apply them to my own riding.  Here are the trainer's comments:

The horse needs to stretch into the rider's hand.
I understand the words, but using my aids to actually get Speedy to stretch into my hand has been tough, especially since I am not exactly sure what that stretch feels like.  At our last lesson, we worked on getting Speedy to reach forward through leg aids that ask for forward movement with a squeeze, squeeze, squeeze.  His reward for striding forward was that I stopped squeezing.  If he started "running" forward, I used my outside rein in a half halt to slow down his front end.  When he sucked back "behind" the bit, I asked for forward again. Does this mean I am teaching him to stretch into my hand?

The horse needs to cover more ground.
Speedy can cover the ground pretty decently at the trot, but when he drops behind the bit, he stride shortens. Again, squeezing him forward would seem to encourage him to cover more ground.  The free walk is something that we also struggle with.  On the trail, Speedy can do an awesome free walk.  His back swings, his tail swings and his head and neck swing.  In the dressage court he gets pretty "ploddy."  More squeezing needed?

The horse needs more forward energy and more reach.
I think that forward energy, achieved by squeezing, will create more reach which will in turn encourage the horse to stretch into a rider's non-restricting hand.  JL's method for having me establish the contact (without restricting) is to allow a slightly loose rein as I squeeze Speedy forward.  As he reaches forward from behind, I slowly pick up on the rein, lean back slightly, and tighten my shoulder blades.  If he avoids the contact, I try not to pull back, which restricts his forward energy, but instead keep my hands where they are.  I repeat the leg squeezes until he comes back up to the bit.  When he does, I relax my shoulder blades and return to a more vertical position.

The horse needs to be more between the leg and rein aids.
Again, these are words that probably have more meaning than what I currently understand.  To me, it means that the horse isn't leaning on the inside leg.  He's also not falling out to the outside leg.  He's staying right between the rider's leg.  He's not over bent to the inside.  He's not twisting his head to the outside.  He's even between both reins with a steady amount of weight in both hands.  At some point in my riding, the expression between the leg and rein aids will no doubt have a more complex meaning.

The horse needs to take hold of the contact.
This one is quite tricky for me.  I don't know if this is a literal statement, or more of a metaphorical one.  Do I really want Speedy to hold the bit?  What I imagine this means is that he needs to remain steady in the contact. He shouldn't suck back, he shouldn't pop his nose out.  Is there a different meaning?  And this goes hand in hand with the trainer's next comment ...

There is an insecure connection ...
I think the trainer was describing a horse that isn't steady in the contact, but instead is coming behind the bit, or popping his nose out.

The horse needs to step more under.
I think this is just another way of saying that the horse needs a longer stride, especially from the hind legs. When he steps more under himself, he will certainly cover more ground, and later, he will have a better base of support when he begins to lift his front end.  At Introductory Level, I am guessing the trainer just wants to see the horse moving with a longer, freer stride.

The trainer finished her explanation with two final critiques.

The rider needs to keep the connection more stable.
Even I could see that the rider was fussing with her hands quite a lot.  JL feels that I have fairly quiet hands myself, although I have a tendency to drop a hand, or carry one too high.  My hands have always been fairly quiet, but I did have to work pretty hard to keep them still at the trot.  Learning to bend my elbows has nearly fixed that problem.

The horse doesn't fully understand holding the bit.
As the trainer said this, she gave an immediate explanation, acceptance of contact.  This made her critique more clear.  This horse still needs to work on accepting the contact without evasion.  This is the very challenge that faces Speedy G and me.

The trainer used another phrase throughout the videos that I found to be spot on.  As the riders and horse worked, she would say, the transition to trot is more confirmed.  Or that the canter departure is not yet confirmed.  Or that the free walk is less confirmed than the medium walk.  The use of the word confirmed is very non-judgemental and conveys the sense of a work in progress.

I am delighted with the videos and will no doubt watch the tests many times.  I already have.  I am a "studier" by nature and love to do research.  My approach to dressage has always included a heavy academic element. I've read many of the dressage classics and find that theoretical knowledge gives me a base to draw on when I am having a lesson.  If you are a dressage rider working on a particular test level and want to include a theoretical approach to riding, this video will do it.  

I'll write about the Training Level tests when we get to them.  Hopefully it will be sooner than later!

I just wrote about ordering this last week (here).  My set came just in time for a weekend of viewing!  I ordered the DVD from Premier Equestrian for $39.95 which included free shipping.  To see more about the DVD, find it here.

"On the Levels is a three disk DVD showing the dressage tests from the perspective of the judge and the instructor with scoring, judge's comments and training tips."

Okay, I copied that from the front of the package, but it's kind of need to know info.  What all that means is that every 2011 test, Introductory A through Fourth Level, Test 3 is ridden at a show, or at least staged to resemble an actual show.  

An audio track of commentary and scores for each movement is added to the video by Judge Gary Rockwell, FEI "O" 5* and USEF "S" Judge.  His final score is also included.  

On a separate disk, the same video footage of each test is included with a different audio track. This one is done by Lilo Fore, FEI "I" 4* and USEF "S" Judge and trainer. She narrates the test from the perspective of a trainer.  She also pauses the tests to offer lengthier explanations of what needs to be corrected.

Disk Three, the one I've been watching, has a menu feature that allows you to select the test level that you'd like to watch.  There is then a second menu that allows you to select which actual test that you want to see. During the test, Lilo narrates the ride.  At the end of the test she gives a summary of the ride praising the horse and rider for what went well and then offers advice for what needs to be improved.

Of course all of this is done kindly.  Since this is the fifth version of the DVD, I am sure that future versions wouldn't happen if the judge and trainer were overly critical of the riders.  And from what I can see, the riders aren't professionals and are clearly making some of the very same mistakes that I am.

Overall I am quite pleased with the quality of the DVD.  The footage is of good quality, the narration is loud enough to hear, and text of the test movements is even displayed on the screen.  My only complaint was that at the end of the Introductory C test, there seems to be a slight glitch in the DVD as I am not able to return to the main menu.  It seems to work well for the other parts of the DVD that I have seen.  So far it has been worth the 40 bucks.

More on the Introductory Test tomorrow ...