Who is this horse, and what have you done with Izzy?

I know as soon as I write about how freaking awesome this horse is becoming he'll turn into a jerk, but I can't help it. Every day that I get on him, his back gets softer with more swing. On Sunday, he felt ten feet tall and fifteen feet long. He was sighing, grunting, snorting, and flopping his ears towards me at every stride.

He is so happy in his work that I am able to try something new every day. His leg yields are getting nicely rhythmical. His haunches in are so much better than Speedy's (sorry, Dude, but it's true). He can do most of the counter canter work from Second Level; I haven't asked for the three loop serpentine yet because I don't want to shake his confidence.

We've also been able to play around with a trot lengthening. His back has been so tight that I couldn't get a regular length of stride. To even be able to play around with lengthening the stride is huge progress.

I don't have a show plan for him yet, but I am thinking about it. There's a lot I'd have to work on before we're ready to try showing again, namely getting him into the legal bit again. That I am even thinking about it shows how much progress he's making.

As I clap my hands in glee, I am so thankful that I didn't sell him. If he never makes it to a show, it will be okay as he is so much fun to ride. I am looking forward to seeing how much more he can do!

I am sure you can guess for who. If you said Izzy, you'd be right. Everything I do with him these days is to help him stretch over his back. If you've been following our little journey, I am sure you've rolled you eyes at least a million times wondering why I haven't done this or that to help him stretch down. Believe me. We've tried this and we've tried that. This horse just wasn't ready or willing to trust what we had to say.

Not long ago, an acquaintance said something like oh, he's got your number. I am too polite for an audible WTF?, but inside, it was accompanied by a very arched eyebrow. Whatever - it wasn't worth my time to clear up her confusion.

When I mentioned the comment to my trainer, owner and trainer at Symphony Dressage Stables, she laughed. It might look that way to someone on the outside, but that isn't what's going on at all. Even when Chemaine has ridden him, he's given her a hard time. Anyone who has actually seen me ride him through the jackassery knows that I am not afraid of him. This horse has just been a tough nut to crack. I like to call him my Verdades.

I am not saying that a more knowledgeable rider (maybe Laura Graves has some free time?) couldn't have gotten him squared away a lot quicker than I have because that would be a lie. He and I have had to do a lot of learning on the fly. Even though he has demonstrated that he can be a real jackass, I've learned something new each time I've been in the saddle. 

After more than two years of trying this and that, we finally tried something that made the stretch down clear to him. It ruffled the feathers of some, but it worked like a charm for Izzy. It was the over flexion exercise, and I still use it (bend him to the inside and then use the outside rein for vertical flexion until he asks to stretch down). Most of the time, simply getting the inside flexion is all I need to do before he asks to stretch down.

But that's not the exercise I wanted to share. He's learned that stretching down feels good. Now we're working on suppling his back even more so that he can take a longer, deeper stride. Here's how it goes.

On a 20-meter circle, we do a shoulder in. At first, I go around two or three times. it depends how quickly he lets go. Then, we do a haunches in on the same circle, again going around several times. As he gets looser through his back, I might do half the circle in shoulder in and the second half in haunches in.

For the next part of the exercise, I ask for a counter shoulder in which is shoulder in to the outside of the circle. Like before, I go around a couple of times until I feel him relaxing. Then we do renvers (haunches out) for a few circles. Like before, I gradually switch back and forth from counter shoulder in to renvers.

And then it's time to check. I straighten him and ask for a stretch down while also asking for a longer stride. If he'll give it to me, great. If not, we repeat the shoulder in/travers and counter shoulder in/renvers until he finally asks to stretch down.

After just a week or two of doing this exercise, Izzy's back is getting looser and his stride is steadily getting longer. There was no magic bullet. It wasn't just this or just that. It was this and that over and over and over again for several years. I am so glad I stuck it out. I am having a blast riding this horse, and I know he's much happier now that he knows how to stretch down and relax.

​The real trick is just time. Good thing we have a lot of it.

I don't have any great new photos or media to share to prove it, but oh my, is that big brown horse ever coming along!

I keep track of what I do each day at the barn. On my calendar, I note who I rode and for how long. I also jot down whether it was a good ride or whether someone had a bad day. I was looking back over my calendar for the past few months and noted that Izzy has boatloads of stars and smiley faces next to his name. 

When I get on him now, he starts out sighing and snorting as his ears flop from side to side. Most days I have to boot him a bit to convince him that yes, I genuinely would like a trot.

From the first step we take, I ask for a stretch down. We stretch down at the walk, and then we stretch down at the trot. And now that he can, I insist on it all the time. He no longer trots around with a hollow back. His back has suppled up so much that he is physically able to stretch. 

Now that his back is looser, we're tackling his stride length. It's not pretty, but I am asking for more, more, more at every stride. He now stays soft in the bridle as I ask that inside hind leg to step deeper and farther. We don't have that longer stride yet, but it's coming. 

The canter is also getting more balanced. As with Speedy, I am starting to insist that he step into the canter with his hind end instead of launching forward with his face. We can now do lots of trot/canter transitions without him panicking and charging through my hands.

I have a pretty full show calendar planned out this year for Speedy. so there isn't any room for Izzy. He still has some tension issues to deal with anyway. I have my eye on next year though. If he keeps improving at the rate he's going, we might have a decent chance to be successful at a show.

Horses though ... they love to surprise us!

Facebook has been reminding me of what Izzy and I were doing last year at this time. We were still regular riders on the struggle bus, but the good moments were coming more frequently. We could pick up the canter going both directions and the shenanigans were happening less and less. We put in a lot of miles over the summer, and by fall, things were really starting to come together.

I don't think I've had a bad ride on Izzy since before Christmas. The last real doozy of a ride that I can remember was the first time I got on him after being so sick last fall. Chemaine Hurtado, owner and trainer at Symphony Dressage Stables, rode him the next day, and they had a come to Jesus kind of ride. Since then though, our rides have all been really productive.

When I rode on Sunday, he was so rideable that I was throwing in some of the elements from Second Level. We picked up the counter canter, did some canter to walk transitions - those are effortless for him, shoulder in, and the 10-meter half circles. I still can't get his stride to lengthen, but his back is definitely getter looser.

One thing that really helps his back to let go is the leg yield, especially when I insist on a BIG move over. We did a few of them in each direction. All of a sudden, he gave a leg yield that was huge, balanced, and absolutely effortless. There is no doubt in my mind that it would have scored a 10! I have never ridden a leg yield that felt like that.

This boy is so talented. If I keep working on him, I'm going to have a second star in my barn. Look out, Speedy G. Izzy's on his way!

I haven't written much about the big brown horse lately, but that's because things have been sailing along quite smoothly. I put in a lot of rides over the summer that must have finally done the job. Over the fall, things clicked into place for him. This spring, our rides have been about improving the connection and working toward getting a longer stride.

I am tackling the stride thing two ways. First, before I even start grooming, I do some "body work" with Izzy. I flex his neck towards his rib cage, stretching only as far as he wants to go. As he loosens up, he usually starts reaching further and further so that I have to back up. His incentive, no, it's not a carrot, is getting to grab some part of my clothing. He'll stretch a mile if he thinks he can nip my t-shirt.

I follow that stretch with a jaw/poll wiggle with his head hanging straight down. I nearly always get a variety of pops and cracks from his poll when we do that. He seems to enjoy it. I also cross a hind leg in front of the other to get a hamstring stretch. He'll hold the stretch by himself, but not for long. That stretch is boring without any opportunity for playing with me.

The second thing I am doing to increase stride length is actively riding with a long and low frame in mind. Everything we do now MUST be done with a longer neck. When we leg yield, I am focusing on doing it with a long neck and then a big step from behind. If his neck isn't long, I half halt until he'll stretch down. 

And that's where the half halt to the hind leg comes in. Since Izzy wants to keep his neck so short, my half halts weren't doing anything. With a short neck, his stride just gets shorter and quicker. To remedy that, Chemaine Hurtado, owner and trainer at Symphony Dressage Stables, had me think about half halting all the way through to his hind leg. 

She's been saying that for however long, but I finally got it. Simply tugging with the outside rein isn't enough. When he actually transfers more weight to the hind, he can slow his front end which allows him to stretch down without falling on his face. If I don't feel a difference in how he's going, we didn't achieve a half halt. Another palm to face moment.

Over the weekend I got a really good feel for it at the canter. I half halted until I felt his hind leg through the rein. It was as though that outside rein was actually connected to his leg. I don't think I've ever had that sensation before.

The work we're doing now is fun; it's not about just trying to stay on. We're actually working together as a team to build something exciting. We may actually make it to Training Level someday!

We have maybe created a new and better problem - sometimes, I can't get Izzy's nose OFF the ground. He is now DIGGING this long and low neck thing.

Since Chemaine Hurtado, owner and trainer at, Symphony Dressage Stables, showed me a new exercise for helping Izzy to get a longer neck, he has been eating it up. Over the past year, Chemaine has helped me show Izzy where his happy place is. As he has gotten broker and broker, his happy place has continued to change.

Right now, flexing him to the inside while asking for vertical flexion at the same time has become his new happy place. As soon as he gets choppy, I ask for it. If his head flies up, I ask for it. If he gets quick, I ask for it. Rather than feel irritated or pressured, he seems to find relief in being shown a way to stretch down. It's as though I am finally asking for the stretch down in language that he can understand.

​Another step forward!

I wrote a post the other day which generated some not-so-constructive criticism. In the post, I shared an exercise that my trainer thought would be helpful. In essence, she suggested I over-flex Izzy to the inside and then use a firm half halt to flex him vertically. The purpose of the exercise was to slow him down, bring his shoulder in, get him round, and help him focus. I said to think rollkur. Here's a photo from that lesson.

Here's how Izzy wants to carry himself...

I am very honest on my blog. While I don't share every disappointment, frustration, shortcoming, or ineffective moment, I don't sugarcoat things either. When we're successful, I share it. When we suck, I share that too. I get lessons as often as I can, which for a long time has been about once a month. Lately, it's been twice a month. My trainer is based more than two hours away, so I don't get a lot of trainer rides either.

While I am not a trainer, and I've never even hinted that I could be, I am in essence training my own horses. Poor things. Little do they how good their lives could have been.

With that said, I have to rely on the help that I do get. And while it isn't weekly, I know in my heart of hearts that the training I get is good training. It's correct training. My scores on Speedy offer proof. We've finished each level (Intro, Training, and First) with scores in the high 60s and 70s.

I trust my trainer. She doesn't use shortcuts. She doesn't use gadgets. She wants horses to progress with a solid foundation. She treats each horse as an individual which means not every horse learns in the same way. When she suggests an exercise, I know she is trying to get through to the horse to teach him how to move more correctly. 

So what is Rollkur exactly? Basically, it is the practice of forcefully pulling a horse's head into an extreme low, deep and round position, often for an extended period of time. That's not what I am doing. And anyone who has ever seen me ride in person knows that. 

Instead, what my trainer suggested I do was create a situation where Izzy wants to stretch down. When I flex him to the inside, there is no force. He flexes easily. What he doesn't know how to do is to lengthen his neck. By over-flexing him to the inside, and then flexing him vertically, it is showing him that there is a more comfortable position that he can choose.

Within moments of putting him in this "hyper-flexed" frame, he immediately lowers his head and asks to stretch down. I am NOT holding him in hyper flexion. I let him stretch down, and if he'll take it, I'll give him all the rein.

When I rode him on Friday afternoon, I "felt" how the exercise can do even more for him. As I over-flexed him to the inside and then half halted to flex him vertically, I realized that this straightened him so that I could then push my hands forward and ask for a longer stride. 

In no time at all, he started snorting and swinging over his back. I don't think that's what rollkur does.

Izzy keeps giving me moments. Some of them are bad of course, but there have sure been a lot more good moments than bad of late.

I already told you about riding with a new friend on Saturday. What I didn't mention was that I rode Izzy before she got there. I got a late start to the morning, long story, so I was feeling rushed about getting my ride done before she got there. Historically, that is a recipe for creating a crappy ride. I know that, so I made a very concerted effort to tuck my "hurry energy" back in my pocket.

Izzy is HUGELY sensitive to my mood, so if I am stressed, he's stressed. If I am rushed, he rushes. If I am relaxed, it's much easier to get him to relax. So, I took a deep breath and forced myself to slow the heck down. 

As we were doing our walking warm up, the vet came driving by from the south end of the property. We don't see cars come from that direction very often. I cringed inwardly hoping this wasn't the end of my quiet, relaxing ride as that's the kind of distraction that knocks Izzy's brain loose.  

To my complete joy, Izzy barely glanced at the truck and kept working. As it turned out, the vet idled his truck while chatting with the ranch owner at the gate end of the arena for the rest of my ride. Izzy didn't put a foot out of place. He worked hard and completely ignored the distraction.

Oh, how I love Good Moments!

I am not even kidding. I almost didn't ride yesterday afternoon. It was 71℉ at 4:00 in the afternoon! Since I don't blanket my boys, they have full on, polar bear winter coats. When I went to get Izzy, he was sweating. It's January. What the heck?

It seemed silly to waste such a lovely day however, so I saddled up anyway. I know I've been filling this space with My Horse Is Now Awesome types of posts, but I have to add another one.

Even though the gardener was using a wood chipper to dispose of some piles of leaves, Izzy only gave him three seconds of a hairy eye-ball, and then shrugged it off.

Since he was so relaxed and already kind of sweating, I made the executive decision to keep things at a walk and trot. Feeling that he was ready to be pushed a little though, we did all of the walk and trot work from Second Level (except the turn on the haunches).

He's got a sweet shoulder in, and his travers is way better than Speedy's! We did those fun little 10-meter half circles, and for the very first time ever, I was able to get a baby trot lengthening.

When we were finished, he was actually drier than when we started. I think some clouds rolled in, and we picked up a small breeze. Either way, I decided to make sure he got a good drink that evening by giving him a dose of electrolytes with his dinner bucket. It was supposed to be in the 30s over-night.

Chemaine Hurtado, owner and trainer at Symphony Dressage Stables, will be here for another clinic this Saturday. I sure hope he keeps it together, but if not, I know how to help him put his brain back in. And if I can't, Chemaine knows how to kick his butt even better than I do!

And it wasn't a good one. After several weeks of really great progress, I took a day off from riding to head up to Lake Isabella and Kern River Brewery with my husband. It rained cats and dogs the next day. I guess two days off is more than Izzy can handle.

I knew it was going to be a rough ride. The wind had howled the night before, and I mean HOWLED. Like banshees coming to take your soul. Or whatever banshees take. The sky was dark and moody, and everything was just dripping. My mantra these days is it doesn't matter. Izzy doesn't get any more breaks; this is it. This is his life. At nine, going on ten, he now gets to just suck it. Sucking it up would be preferable, but whatever.

As soon as I got on, I knew I was in for a doozy. Right away I felt I had no inside bend to the right, but I decided to take a page from Chemaine Hurtado's book (owner and trainer at Symphony Dressage Stables). When she rode him a few weeks ago, she spent what seemed like an inordinate amount of time bending him to the right and booting him in the ribcage. Later, when I asked what the purpose to that was - never doubting that there was a purpose, she explained that she wanted him OFF her inside leg and listening to it. Hmm...

So, I bent his nose until it was practically resting on my right knee while I booted his ribcage with my inside leg. Sometimes it was in a turn on the forehand, sometimes it was a leg yield on a circle. The exercise worked, but not without a few oh, crap moments.

He was really stuck on that inside right shoulder. It was bulging into my leg, and his version of I won't move it is to swerve left or to rear. At one point, he actually hit me in the face as he went up. The thing is, it's hard to go all the way up when your face is crammed into someone's knee. His face, my knee. It took a good 40 minutes, but I won the day. 

So even though yesterday was technically Speedy's day, I really needed to reinforce the previous day's lesson with Izzy. It took 17 minutes. He clearly remembered the ass kicking he had received the previous day.

Rather than (ahem - excuse the expression) pussy foot around, I went straight for the far end and asked for a right bend. He was coiled into a very tight ball and was literally bouncing around, but he moved that ribcage over and bent to the right.

​Winner winner, chicken dinner!