Oh, Pipe Down, Pollyanna

1/15/2016

I'll admit it: I am a bit of a Pollyanna. I make lemonade out of lemons. I see the glass half full, and I always look for the silver lining. And it's not like it's a forced outlook on life. I actually can't help it. If someone says the traffic is going to be horrible, my very first response is maybe it won't be too bad. The line is always terrible at this place. My view? Oh, it'll go fast.

I just can't see going through life with a pessimistic view; it's hard enough as it is. That's why most of my blog posts focus on AHA moments rather than Oh, Crap! ones; on products that I like rather than on those that don't meet my standards; and on the day to day stuff that makes having horses fun.

With that said, that does not mean I live a charmed life. I deal with the same amount of fugly as the rest of the world, but I choose not to focus on it. Like this week - Monday was Izzy's day for turnout, but then an afternoon meeting kept me away from the barn on Tuesday. That's the day he should have been ridden.

On Wednesday, he came out of his stall pretty relaxed and seemed happy to see me. I groomed, tacked, up, and got on. We walked for a few moments, but then all hell broke loose. I could not figure out which horse I was on. Someone had clearly reversed time to six months ago, or some train wreck of a horse had been spray painted brown.

He R-E-F-U-S-E-D to be anything but a bolting piece of lumber. I schooled him for 45 minutes. I had him do serpentines, lots and lots of serpentines, in an effort to get him to soften his body somewhere. I tried letting him canter, but that just set his tension dial even higher.

In the end, he did sort of relax, but the whole thing was a hot mess of disappointment. After I rode, I pulled his tack and turned him out. He then proceeded to buck and gallop for another 45 minutes. He turned himself into a dripping, foaming, heaving sack of horse flesh. I had to hand walk him afterwards and then he spent some time in a cooler.

I went home totally discouraged and demoralized ...

But since I can't live that way for long, I reasoned that Izzy just can't do two days in a row without turn out. I put on my big girl breeches and hopped up in the saddle yesterday afternoon. The ride lasted an entire 16 minutes. In that time, we walked, changed the bend, did the Introductory Level trot circles and changes of bend across the diagonal, and even tossed in some leg yields across the full diagonal. First Level doesn't even leg yield across the whole diagonal.

Oh, my! can this horse leg yield. He can do it all day long. The only reason he doesn't do it perfectly is because my timing is a bit slow. Sometimes I let his haunches trail and other times I over-correct.

Maybe I need to skip all the lower level stuff and go straight for Second or Third Level. Flying changes and lateral work are just so "easy" for him. Maybe he think 20-meter circles are just too boring.

I am kidding of course ... mostly!

emma link

1/15/2016 08:14:21 am

ha skip alllll the levels!! ;)

Bakersfield Dressage link

1/15/2016 12:09:01 pm

'cause it's so easy, right?!?!?

Aarenex link

1/15/2016 08:46:54 am

"a bolting piece of lumber."

BAHahaha!

Yeah. Been there.

sigh.

1/15/2016 12:10:31 pm

If they're going to be hardware, why can't they be hoses or foam rubber? Why is is always wood? :0)

Teresa link

1/15/2016 12:22:10 pm

Do not skip any training steps. You will regret it in the long run. But that is the issue with these talented horses. Carmen has a real talent for lateral work- haunches in/out, pirouettes and even piaffe. I mostly ignore them though because I kinda want a really nice trot-canter transition that isn't accompanied by a buck. :)

1/16/2016 06:02:43 am

I would never intentionally skip a training step, Teresa - how would that be helpful? Some things are just proving to be easier for this horse than others. I don't have a problem showing at say First or Second Level though if he can do all of the Training Level stuff. Many of the world's top riders don't even bring a horse to show until they're at some of the upper levels.

With that said, I can only show him at a level that I know, and I am just now starting on the movements and transitions at Second. And even more limiting is what HE knows ... which is not very much. No worries - my desire to move up through the levels will never cause me to short change one of my horses in their training. I never had one of my horses do a 100 miler out of the gate either. I always made sure they had a solid foundation before asking for more difficult work. :0)

Teresa

1/17/2016 04:20:24 pm

I never really believed that you would. :) Honest. It's just hard when you have a horse that can do a brilliant and effortless haunches in but not actually go from walk to trot without an attitude. :)

Megan link

1/15/2016 11:01:22 pm

I love the term "bolting piece of lumber," I've totally been there!

I'll go against what was said above and say for sure skip levels if that's what he needs. Some horses need a challenge and sitting at a level that's boring for them just for the sake of doing all the levels in order will cause them to find more interesting things to do. Like working against you. Doesn't mean you're not working on what's important, just means that suppleness can come from 10m circles and half pass instead of 20m circles and leg yields.

1/16/2016 06:08:23 am

I agree, Megan, and so does my trainer. We just had a similar conversation the last time I saw her. Speedy and I were working on the canter to walk transition for Second Level. She pointed out that for some horses there are movements at Second or Third that are easier or harder for that particular horse, so she shows at the tests they can handle. She might not go back a level to show, but she certainly makes sure they can do that harder movement when they're ready. Counter canter and flying changes were some of the movements she was referring too.

But like I told Teresa, even though Izzy may have a talent for lateral work or flying changes, I can only do what I know how to ask for. I suspect I am going to be riding movements that I haven't asked for though with this horse!.:0)

Comments are closed.

Not-So-Speedy Dressage