I had a fantastic lesson on Izzy. For the first time in quite a while, he wasn't jerking the reins from my hands. That big brown horse is ... BIG and STRONG. Unfortunately, I think he also knows how big and strong he is. With the correction bit though, I didn't really have to do anything except sit there chill and quiet. He fought with himself (once or twice) instead of with me.

Per our earlier plan, I brought Speedy up to the arena with Izzy and tied him to the fence. Speedy has become such a solid citizen that he stood there patiently never even fussing when Izzy and I tried to run him over. Izzy's fear response was nearly non-existent with Speedy and the rest of the ladies hanging out near the gate. In fact, it seemed as though he forgot about being worried. 

When my lesson was over, I sat on the bottom rung of the fence with Izzy standing by Speedy. We watched the next rider for a while just so that Izzy could have some non-working time to stand in the arena without feeling any pressure. Little by little he relaxed and even got a sleepy look in his eye.

When I take a lesson with Chemaine, I can usually get someone to take video (thank you, Morgan!). When I watch the video later, I usually have a hard time finding even one or two decent moments to share as screen shots. The last few times I've had a lesson though, there have been more and more moments from which to choose. For this lesson, Izzy was so good that I was able to grab moments based on the scenery rather than hunting and picking for that one moment of decentness.

The gist of this lesson involved three things: slowing him down, leg yielding, and controlling his haunches and shoulders. Slowing him down was easy. I was able to be pretty effective with my seat aids by simply slowing my posting rhythm and tightening my core. With the snaffle, he was so heavy on the bit that he couldn't hear any of my aids which turned slowing down into a tug of war. Go even slower is my new mantra.

Leg yielding is a way to help loosen Izzy's back and get him more supple through his body - the reason any horse needs to leg yield. At this point, Chemaine didn't really care about the quality of the leg yield itself. She really just wanted me to get him crossing over and for him to stay with me mentally. We did the leg yields from center line to the rail, not really worrying about how long or quick it took to get there. 

With this new bit, controlling Izzy's haunches and shoulders has now become a possibility. Tracking left, he wants to carry his haunches left. That's easy to manage. I do have to keep control of a his drifting shoulder however by thinking shoulder in.

Tracking right is more complicated. Since Izzy wants to carry his haunches to the left, which would be out, I have to be vigilant about keeping his haunches in without pushing them too far in. He also wants to fall in with his shoulders which means I have to open the outside rein to draw his shoulders out.

It was during this haunches in but shoulder out work that I got a brand new feel. I don't get those very often, but when I do, I am always grateful. When Chemaine told me to draw his shoulder out, I asked, "with my leg?" and she replied, "no, draw it out by opening your outside rein."

Like always, my thought was okay - that's not doing anything. And then out of nowhere I pushed my right seat bone down and to the left. All of a sudden, I felt Izzy move his shoulders into my open, outside rein. D'oh! Chemaine has told me what to do so, so many times, but until my body has a visceral connection with the words, I don't truly get it.

That idea of using my seat bone to push him into my outside rein really helped in the right lead canter where he has all of the same problems: haunches swinging out/shoulder falling in ... lose the lead.

We didn't get to work on it as much as I wanted to, but I have enough information to continue on my own. To help maintain the right lead canter, I'll need to do three things: pick up the lead slightly counter bent to make sure the shoulder stays in. Once he's cantering comfortably and relaxed, I can slowing straighten him while "guarding" his haunches from falling out. As he relaxes into the straiter position, I can then ask for some inside bend by opening my outside rein and pushing his shoulder out with my inside seat bone.

Izzy wouldn't have earned a 10 for submissiveness during the lesson, but he was hugely improved over the last few weeks. The bit didn't turn him into a polished dressage horse of course, but it finally allowed us to have a conversation where he could actually hear me. I knew Chemaine would have some tools to share with me, and I wasn't disappointed.

Our next lesson is tentatively scheduled for early December. I am already looking forward to what Chemaine can teach us next!

I wish I could do weekly lessons, but as I've lamented many, many times in the past, I live in a dressage desert. My trainer, Chemaine Hurtado (owner and trainer at Symphony Dressage Stables) is two hours away, and I work full time. During the summer months, I managed to take a lesson about once every third week. That was awesome.

Once school started, I had to go back to work, and my trainer got busy with year-end championship shows. Her schedule has finally settled down enough that she was able to come to Bakersfield for two days of lessons this weekend.

Whenever Chemaine gets on Izzy, which isn't often enough, I am always hopeful that she'll instantly "fix" of all of his problems. That's never going to happen though as training takes time, not magic. As weird as it may seem, I was happy to see that he behaved just as badly for her as he does for me. That tells me that I am (probably) not causing any of the issues.

So yah for me being a competent rider. The downside is that the issue is Izzy. While Chemaine rode around, she asked me a few questions about his behavior. I explained that the constant looking for danger happened every single day. She was really surprised by his over-all nervousness as she has never seen him that nervous, even at a show.

He tried all of his shenanigans under her, which again, made me feel better. She agreed that the bit change was more than needed. He had definitely learned how to blow through that bit which is not acceptable

While the correction bit is a good choice for the next few weeks, she explained that he wouldn't be able to take a good contact with it. That's fine for now as he needs to lighten up, but once he gets that part re-figured out, I'm going to need to go back to a snaffle.

I had serious reservations about going back to the eggbutt lozenge, and Chemaine could see it on my face. I shouldn't have worried. When she agreed with me that we needed something to keep him from running through my aids, I knew what was coming: The Double. Cue ominous music here. Pretty scary, huh?

Before anyone gets all freaked out and starts criticizing, I agreed with her. Izzy is a challenging horse to ride, and more than one "expert" has pointed out his talent for upper level work. We're not going to intentionally skip any of the lower level stuff, but we may need to do things out of order with this horse.

A bradoon bit, strap, and curb have all been ordered. Chemaine has also given me directions on how she wants me to use them. Besides that change, which is big enough, Chemaine also had some suggestions for reprogramming Izzy's brain.

​Chemaine thinks he has developed a habit of being fearful in this arena which probably started when I brought him to the ranch a few months ago. She wants me to bring Speedy up to the arena and tie him to the fence for a while so that Izzy doesn't feel so isolated from the other horses. We tried it during her ride on him, and he did seem to settle down a bit.

Next, she wants him doing more leg yields and haunches in to supple up his body. Along with that, she wants him to slow the heck down. She compared him to a child that stutters. When he gets going too fast, he can't control his legs and he scrambles faster and faster. This is not new information of course, but with the snaffle, I simply couldn't slow him down.

She rode for most of the lesson, but I hopped up on him for a few minutes after she had schooled him. In just that short time he felt so much lighter. She once again reassured me that this horse is worth the time and effort and that yes, I do have the ability to get the job done. It's just going to take a while.

It might seem like a daunting endeavor, but I love having a plan!

I am not a bit swapper. I've never had a horse that couldn't or wouldn't go in just about anything that I stuck in his mouth. I should also add that when I choose a bit for a horse, it's always with the horse's comfort (and discipline) in mind. 

Growing up in the 80s, all of my horses went in a curb, but that was because that's what everyone used. My endurance horses all started out in a Kimberwick with a curb mouth piece. That was fine for a while, but then I found the Myler bitting system and found that each horse did go better with something more specifically selected for their preference.

Speedy has gone through more bits than any other horse I've owned. For the trail, I needed some brakes so he went in a Mikmar Combination bit which looks really scary, but seems quite comfortable for Speedy to pack around. Later, he went in a loose ring French link, but that one wore holes in the sides of his mouth. He also went in an eggbutt snaffle with a lozenge, but he got kind of heavy in that bit. He's been in a Baucher French link for the past year and a half, and we're both happy.

From the beginning, I've had Izzy in a Mikmar Lozenge bit. It has thick bars and a yummy lozenge to suck on. By all appearances, he should love it. It's a gentle bit that should encourage relaxation and contact. It hasn't. Instead, he learned that he could jerk the thing right out of my hands and do exactly what he likes.

Last week, I decided to try my Myler correction bit on him. Holy smokes, people, the change was instantaneous. Instead of giraffing his neck and jerking the reins from my hands, he threw his head up and then brought it back into our atmosphere with a shocked look on his face. I didn't have to do a single thing except sit there with quiet hands.

For the first time in weeks, I had a quiet ride that I was able to keep short. Like 15 minutes short. In that time, we walked ... not jigged. Walked. And then we trot without going mach 10. We picked up a left lead canter and didn't do it at mach 10. We walked some more. We trot some more. We picked up the wrong lead tracking right, but then we trot and got the right lead. He swapped behind for a bit, and it wasn't exactly lovely, but it wasn't at mach 10 either.

For the first time in weeks, I smiled. It wasn't a forced smile either, it was genuine. I even took a selfie.

The next day, Chemaine got on him and rocked his little world a bit, but that story is for tomorrow ...

The thing about Izzy is that he truly can be a lovely horse. I also appreciate that he's fairly honest and consistent. It's not like he's an ass one day and brilliant the next. He's the same day after day. Once he learns something, he seems to get it.

Last year at this time, he didn't know how to canter with a rider on his back. If we got a canter, it was almost always accidental and on the incorrect lead. It was also rather wild and wooly. We can now get the correct lead, and he knows what I am asking for. The issue isn't getting a canter departure, it's getting a soft canter departure. There's a difference.

Last year at this time, we couldn't make a turn because he would crab or bolt sideways. He can turn now, and he definitely knows what I want, but now he won't turn softly.

He used to balk when he didn't want to work. So much so that I could whale on his sides with a full-on pony club kick, and he'd just pin his ears. The whip and spurs solved that. Now, he might think about it, but he goes forward. 

Izzy is just not an easy horse. He's not submissive, and he doesn't appear to care if he pleases me or not. He wants to do what he wants to do and that's it. If it smacks of work, he's out. He's far more willing to play if he sees things as well, playful. Chew on the back of my t-shirt while I pick out his feet, dude's all over it. Dig a hole right next to me while I fill a previous hole, dude's the master. Trot a 20-meter circle without flinging his head wildly, not so much.

Yesterday, after a quick phone call to Chemaine Hurtado, owner and trainer of Symphony Dressage Stables, I tried a couple of things she suggested. First, I swapped out his bit for something a bit tougher, and then we hacked around the neighborhood until we got to the old golf course.

The bit is not legal for dressage of course, but I am hoping it will help solve a few problems. This particular model is a Myler that I bought for my endurance mare who loved to run through the bit. This bit uses kimberwick cheek pieces which work as either a direct action bit when the reins are attached to the top hook (loop) or as a leverage bit when the reins are attached to the bottom hook.

The mouth piece is a correctional ported barrel (MB41PB). Myler offers a few different versions of this mouthpiece, but they all serve the same purpose. Myler describes the function of this bit: ... allows the rider to isolate one side of the bit to lift a shoulder and also to reward the horse with a "comfort zone" when relaxed at the poll. A good bit for collection and stopping. Works well for spoiled horses, horses which run through the bit and those which drop a shoulder.

Yep. This is the right bit for now. Izzy does all of those things.

I've seen a lot of Myler demos, so I know how they like to introduce a horse to their bits. I let him just wear it for a few minutes and then I led him over to the grass and offered him a moment to lower his head and graze. When he seemed okay with the bit, I applied gentle pressure to each rein individually until he lowered his head. And that was his introduction.

Without making this too long, he definitely noticed he was in a different bit. He started out by bouncing his head, but I kept my hands low and fairly fixed against my saddle pad. Each time he giraffed his neck, he brought his head back down by himself. For the entire ride, I kept my hands super quiet and rode almost entirely with my seat and legs.

He got very tense and anxious in his regular spots, but the bit grabbing and head flinging were not an issue. When we got to the golf course, we walked for a few minutes and then picked up a lovely trot and rolled right into a happy and relaxed canter.

He was soft in my hands and willing to bend and turn. I am not sure the bit was the magic bullet, but the bit combined with some fun helped give me a pleasant ride. I know the good stuff is in there, I just need to convince Izzy that short, fun rides are much better than hour long rides that do nothing but torture us both.

Chemaine will be here both Saturday and Sunday, so I can't wait to hear what she thinks.

My life involves three things; just three. I am a pretty simple person. When any one of those three things is out of whack, I feel stressed. If two of them are wobbling, I am in full depression mode. Occasionally, all three things go well and I am deliriously happy.  

First of course is my married life. If my husband and I aren't seeing eye to eye, ain't nobody happy. That area of my life is rocking along quite happily.

A second area of my life that that can cause me a boatload of stress is work. I don't talk about my profession a whole lot here because my employer would rather I not. Teaching is much harder than it looks, and if most people knew what goes on behind the scenes, they'd cut us a lot more slack than they do.

A week or two ago, a situation arose in my classroom that caused me to have a full on, burst out bawling, melt down. While it took about two months for that issue to be resolved, it is now thankfully taken care of and my 6:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. life is also sailing along quite pleasantly. 

Then there is my barn life. This area is the most volatile and the least likely to run smoothly. Having two horses that can break or be naughty is one reason for the more frequent downward blips. If one pony is going along happily, the other surely will not be.

Right now, Speedy is still recovering from a self-induced injury which is not causing me acute angst, but it's still a tiny pebble in my shoe of happiness. Izzy is the one causing me the heart ache. While I have since abandoned the notion that he might give me a good ride each day (he won't, I know), I am still hopeful that he'll show me some kind of improvement that I can actually see.

Last night's ride was a real loser. I tried every tool in my kit to get something of a half halt from him so that I could pat his neck and hop off. Nope. I finally resorted to planting both hands on my knees as we careened around on some sort of round shape that was definitely not a 20-meter circle. My thinking was to let him fight himself instead of fighting with me. It didn't work.

With no other tricks to try, I finally went back to counter flexion with a strong outside leg. With that combination of aids, he'll turn, lift his front end, and let go of the bit. It's not fun or easy though, and I hope Chemaine can give me something else this weekend.

So that's my trinity: married life, work life, and barn life. When all three are aligned, I float on air. Right now, my happiness balloon is bouncing along on the ground. Does anyone know where a helium tank might be found? I need a quick shot. Or tequila - same difference.

I wrote about Izzy's throttle being stuck yesterday. Hopefully my trainer makes it to Bakersfield this weekend for lessons, but in the meantime, I am working on the issue myself.

For the past several weeks, Izzy has decided that he can't/won't walk at any point during our rides. It doesn't matter how tired he is, he simply refuses to walk. Instead, he jigs or even piaffes. Talk about First World Problems: Woe is me, my horse won't quit piaffing! Sometimes it's a bit of passage, albeit a flat passage.

As I mentioned, his throttle is stuck in the on position. I like to solve problems. I don't always get them right, but when I get a positive result, I tend to go with it. I started to analyze why Izzy can't slow down and realized that he's completely on his forehand. That means he needs to lighten his front end by sitting down a bit.

Half halting was doing nothing. He just ran through my aids. Jerking his face off did nothing except wear me out. I realized that if I could get his shoulders moving around, I could probably break up the lock from his nose to withers.

Instead of fighting with the inside bend, which was just sending his shoulders further and further out, I asked for counter flexion. His neck was so locked up that he couldn't give it to me of course, so I laid into him with my outside spur and half halted HARD on the inside rein.

What do you know? All of a sudden, Izzy was sitting on his hind end just a bit which allowed him to free up his shoulders and turn. For a split second, he also let go of the bit.

I spent a solid 10 or 15 minutes doing counter flexion at the trot. Izzy finally started taking deep breaths and asked to walk. It was the first time he's been willing to walk in several weeks. Every time he tried to fall forward into a trot, I counter flexed him quickly and dug my spur in and insisted that he rock back on his hocks.

Right now, I don't care about throughness or a lifted back. Right now, I need him to start letting go of that bit so that he can listen to my aids. I think I am the right track. If nothing else, I finally found a way to unstick his throttle! 

I think the answer is always the same: he's a "young" horse and he can.

Why won't he just relax? See above.

Why won't he soften? See above.

Why won't he do any of the things that I want him to do? See above.

Before you start to worry, I am not mad, upset, frustrated (well, maybe a little), or threatening to sell my big brown horse. Instead, I am trying to find solutions. Knowing why he makes the choices he does helps me understand him better.

I've been doing a lot of thinking the past month or so and have landed on a few "explanations" (for lack of a better word) that seem to put Izzy's life choices in perspective.

First - I think the dude is slow to mature. At eight years old, he still acts an awful lot like a youngster. He's willful, brave one moment and terrified the next, and generally an all around dork. Compared to Speedy, who at one time was all of those things too, it's easy to see the lack of maturity. I've brought along quite a few young horses in my life, but Izzy has been the slowest of the bunch to "grow up." 

Second - he's only been working under saddle for about 16 months. While he was started as a 4 year old, he had 60 days with a trainer and than a few months with his first owner. He was then in pasture or a paddock for the next two years. Essentially, Izzy has had to start over. While some horses can go from unbroke to the show ring in just six months, Izzy isn't one of them.

In just under a year and a half, we can now walk, trot, and canter pretty much when and where I want to. I can ride him out in the open without worrying about losing him. He trailers, stands tied to the trailer, and can be counted on not to rip the trailer apart. These are all small things, but I think he's learned a fair amount in a short amount of time. I need to remember that he has had to learn how to be a riding horse AND learn how to be a show pony all at the same time.

I've read some great comments from you all, and I really appreciate it. One comment that I really liked was from a rider whose horse would go through her bag of tricks in the same order. That really hit the nail on the head. Every time that Izzy and I get to a new place, we start all over with the theatrics. It wasn't until I read that comment that I realized that's what's been happening.

Other comments that have helped have been of the "who cares if it takes three years, go at the speed he needs" variety. That's been helpful to hear because it takes some of the pressure off my need to advance yearly.

Barring some unforeseen issue, Chemaine Hurtado, owner and trainer at Symphony Dressage Stables should be here in town this weekend for lessons. I really need her eyes on the ground and solutions. It feels like Izzy's throttle is simply stuck, and I've been chipping away at the problem, but I'd sure love to hear what she thinks.
​
With his motor running at such high RPM's Izzy can't get off his forehand and let go of the bit. I've been addressing it, but I am certain that Chemaine will have some new and creative exercises to get him to slow down a bit so that he can lighten his front end and get off my hands.

I always look forward to the weekend, but now I have an even bigger reason to welcome those two days of freedom. And to make it even better, I get Veteran's Day off too!

While the Breeders' Cup changes venues each year, I think that it's at Santa Anita about the half of the time. That's good for us since Santa Anita is only about a two hour drive from Bakersfield. We went in 2014 and had a great time, so my husband made sure we had tickets for the 2016 event.

Before we even left for the races, I had contacted Jodi Perkins who writes the blog Racing to Ride. She had mentioned on Facebook that she and her significant other would be there all the way from Arizona. While Jodi doesn't post often, she does share her racing adventures on her Facebook page, and I am always deeply fascinated by her life. I was dying to meet her in person.

Of course, once we finally found one another, I was so star struck that I forgot to get photographic proof of the meet-up. Dude - she's tall, thin, and gorgeous. I had a girl crush right away. Not only is she simply lovely, but she's very nice and easy to chat with. I didn't want to keep her for too long, so we visited between races. I promised that if she and her SO ever bring a horse to race at Santa Anita, we'd be there to cheer her on.

I've been to Santa Anita a bunch of times and have written about it more than once. No matter how many times I visit, I am always in awe of the place. The track is set at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains which means that whether horses are going by or not, you always have an amazing view.

I don't go to a lot of tracks, so I can't say how they're set up, but Santa Anita does its best to give visitors an up close view of the horses and jockeys. At a normal weekend race, you can get right next to the horses in the paddocks and saddling areas, and fans are allowed right next to the fence. At the Breeders' Cup, it's a little harder to get around, so I didn't get any paddock shots this times, but we did get to watch all of the horses come through the tunnel.

When you stand at the rail, you realize just how fast those horses are moving. They flash by in a blaze of color that is simply beautiful.

On a normal weekend, we get super amazing box seats for about $40 total. For the Breeders' Cup, the same seats sell for thousands and thousands of dollars. The best we could do for this visit was Club Apron which is track level but right next to the tunnel where the horses come in and out and right in front of the finish line. We paid $165 bucks a ticket.

The highlight of the day was Race 12. You've probably already seen it on TV, but if not, here's the video.

We bet on California Chrome, of course, so it was disappointing that he lost. We saw him run in 2014 at the Breeders' Cup where he finished third. When the horses made the last turn and started down the home stretch, the roar from the crowd was deafening. I saw Chrome starting to flag, but I was certain the crowd's energy was going to push him that last little bit to victory, but no. 

I think we're going to go back in January for my birthday when the track re-opens for the 2017 season. Tickets will be cheap, the crowd a whole lot thinner, and the weather is usually better there than at home. Pasadena has fewer rainy days than even we have.

If you've never been to the races, you should find a track in your area and go. It's a lot of fun, and really, it's a pretty cheap day - especially if you cash in a ticket or two.

Well, poke and thwack, obviously. I know some horses don't do well with spurs. Montoya, my super star endurance horse, didn't need spurs and would probably have been quite offended at their application. Mickey, an Arabian gelding I "raced" for several seasons, needed them to support his lack of confidence, and Speedy's a real stinker without them.

Now that Izzy is back in boot camp, the spurs and whip are once again part of my daily wear, and I do not hesitate to use them. He gets one opportunity to do what I ask and when he doesn't, he gets a smart thwack with the whip, or I use my heel clad spur. It is amazing how many of his naughty behaviors are subsiding.

I am still disappointed that he hasn't turned out to be the easy going boy that I thought he was, but I am starting to accept it. And really, it makes him easier to work with when I let go of the hope that "today" will be the day that he's submissive. Get over it, girl, it ain't gonna happen.

Someone commented the other day that it took three years before her horse was show ready. When I first read that, I was horrified. Three years! I can't wait that long. But after thinking about it for a while, I thought why not? I (mostly) enjoy the challenge, and Izzy is sure making me a better rider. So what if we're not zooming through the levels in his second year of being under saddle.

Then I got really greedy. I've been reassured by people who know that Izzy has an obvious talent for upper level work. Once I get him a bit more submissive, maybe we'll come out at Second Level and just skip all of this Intro and Training nonsense.

Since my life is still bordering on apocalyptic, taking that pressure off myself to GET IN THE SHOW RING is a good thing. Izzy is very talented, but he needs to figure out his job. If a few jabs with the spur and a few whacks with a whip will get it done more quickly, I have no reservation about their frequent application. 

Until he starts giving me more frequent yes ma'ams, the whip and spurs stay.

When we bought our new house last month, one of the little extras that we liked was the size of the walk-in closet in the master bedroom. I've had plenty of walk-in closets, but never one that was big enough for his and hers if you know what I mean. All of our walk-in closets have been plenty fine for me, but my husband always had to use the smaller one or one in a different room altogether. 

​Not in this house!

This closet is the size of a small bedroom. It's enormous. It's so big that we still have empty shelves and racks. It's so big that I was able to dedicate one whole section to just riding wear!

The very top shelf is for my ancient ropers and any other equestrian boots that I may want to store at home. I actually have a few old pairs of Ariat Terrains that I might shove up there.

The next shelf is for my current rotation of breeches. I still have a drawerful of breeches I don't like and won't wear, but they're fine where they are. I've stored sports bras and other smalls on this shelf as well. Hanging below all of that are all of my riding tops, organized by type.

My C4 belts (and other belts) come first with my Kastels and other sun shirts next to them. Short sleeve summer tops are next. Long sleeve winter shirts come after that, and tank tops are on the end. Of course, now that I see a photo, I am wondering at my earlier logic. I think I'll run in there and switch some things around!

I am not sure if this house is my dream home since my horses don't live here, but besides that, it sure has checked off every other box. It might also be that I am pretty easy to please. Closet space for breeches probably wouldn't seal the deal for most buyers, but I am sure other horse gals would appreciate it as much as I do!

Living the dream, people, living the dream!