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Not-So-Speedy Dressage

From Endurance to Dressage

The Treadmill

7/11/2012

 
I like to run, but I don't really like to exercise.  When school gets out each June, I am ready to return to running, but the heat usually keeps me indoors.  Not this summer, I swore.  On my way home from work on the last Friday of the school year, I stopped by the gym for a three month membership.  

I've managed to go for a run about five days a week.  I am even considering extending my membership through the end of the year.  It's not that I am lazy, but when I work full time, I am busy!  I leave for work by 6:30 a.m. and get home at 3:45 where I promptly change and head to the barn by 4:00.  I ride and turn out both horses as well as clean my stalls and help with feeding.  I get home around 6:00 and cook dinner.  By the time dinner is cooked and the dishes done, it's 7:30 and the bed is gently calling my name.  When will I have time to get to the gym?  I might be able to make it work if I get up at 4:30 a.m.

This is horse-related, I promise.  I've learned a lot while spending those 30 minutes each day on the treadmill.  Who would have thought a treadmill would work for dressage?

Rhythm: oh!  When the speed is set at 5.5 mph, you have to go 5.5 mph. There's no speeding up or slowing down, or you might fly off the back. Speedy likes to speed up and slow down; that's not maintaining a rhythm.  

Lengthening: I've played around with this on the treadmill.  I can go 5.5 mph with a longer stride or a shorter stride.  I discovered that I do this when the music changes on my iPod.  Instead of running faster, I just lengthen my stride and stay in the air longer.

Balance: mine stinks!  I can definitely feel how uneven my own lateral balance is.  I hit the ground much harder on my right side than I do on my left.  Both my ponies have a more unbalanced side, too.

The Walk: my maximum, sustainable walk is 4.5 mph, and it's hard to do. After that I need to break into a jog.  With more practice and training I might be able to maintain a faster pace.  I can walk out really big and loose at 4 mph.  That's when I can get my best free walk.  My stride is long and swinging.   Speedy has a lazy free walk and doesn't want to lengthen his stride.  Maybe he needs to get on the treadmill!

Looseness: I am always searching for this quality.  USDF defines looseness as, Freedom from, or release from, negative physical and mental tension. Relaxation.  This is when I get in the zone.  Chunks of time can pass where I am not even aware of the work that I am doing.  I feel powerful and empowered.  I know this is referred to as a runner's high.  I wish I could feel it more often.  

Running is mental for me.  The muscle fatigue and shortness of breath are nothing compared to the difficulty of just DOING IT!  When I feel like stopping short of my time, I repeat a favorite line from The Matrix, is that air that you're breathing?  Morpheus asks this of Neo while training.  The point is that Neo is experiencing a mental fatigue since his body is safely tucked away on the ship while his mind is in a computer program.  I know I can continue; it's all about convincing your body of what your mind believes.

How do I get my horses to be loose?  This is a biggie for Sydney.  The last few months have been spent teaching Sydney that he can trust my hands to be gentle and giving.

The last thing that has occurred to me while running is that the treadmill is the perfect place to practice my dressage tests.  I have them memorized, but when I feel stressed, it's easy to forget them.  When I start to feel fatigued and my breath is getting short, I demand the recitation of a test. It's hard to do!  But I dig deeper, and I do it.  It serves two purposes: it gets me back in the zone, and it shows me that I can remember the tests under pressure.

For $24.99 a month, I am getting a lot of dressage schooling done.
Val
7/10/2012 11:08:07 pm

"There is no spoon!"

Loved it. Great post.

Karen
7/11/2012 06:29:02 am

It's really one of my favorite movies. And the no spoon line is another favorite. The movie really challenges our concept of reality. I firmly believe that the world is what we make of it!

lytha
7/11/2012 01:46:40 am

my husband is a high school teacher and he just started summer break monday. he's actually at work today getting some things planned for next year. summer break is 6 weeks in germany, because they get 2 weeks at christmas and 2 at easter and 2 in fall. i had no idea how much teachers work, it's like i married a doctor! he goes to work everyday, comes home and goes into his office to grade papers or plan lessons. on weekends he gets to the stacks of tests he couldn't get done during the week. the only time he has truly off is summer--well, mostly. teachers have to go back early as you know: ( i think it's because of his subjects: math, physics, and music, that so much planning and testing is done. but also that he's still relatively new - 10 years, and keeps getting new age groups to teach, so he cannot reuse material. i long for that day! i'm gone 10 hours a day for my job, but when i get home, i do whatever the heck i want (ok, riding would be nice..).

what subjects do you teach and what ages?

Karen
7/11/2012 06:39:42 am

Lytha - teaching is hard work. It can be very rewarding, but it's more difficult than most people realize. I have been teaching for 18 years. I also did one year as a student teacher (unpaid, practical experience) and served as a classroom aid while in college for the three years before that. That makes 22 years in the classroom. I am only 41!

I started out teaching a 1/2/3 combination class. I moved to kindergarten for a number of years and then moved on to 6th grade for three years. I followed that up with several years at 4th grade, and I now teach 5th grade.

I've taught at 5 different schools in 7 different classrooms under 6 different principals. I think most teachers are quite flexible and deal with frequent change as part of the job. My mother in law taught 1st grade in the same classroom for 20 years! I don't think I could do that. I need a bit of variety. :0)

Val
7/11/2012 09:54:53 pm

Hey Lytha,

Thanks for appreciating what teachers do. It is true that we are never really off until the summer. I get annoyed when non-teachers immediately point out that I get my summers off and ignore everything else in between!


Comments are closed.

    About the Writer and Rider

    ​I am a lifelong rider. 
    I began endurance riding in 1996 where I ultimately completed five, one-day 100 mile races, the 200-mile Death Valley Encounter, and numerous other 50, 65, and 75 mile races. I began showing dressage in 2010.
    ​Welcome to my dressage journey.
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    Photo by Lori Ovanessian

    About Speedy G

    ​Speedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. After helping me earn a USDF Bronze medal in the summer of 2020, he is now semi-retired. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.
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    July 2020 (PC AJSK Photography)

    About Izzy

    Izzy was started as a four-year old and then spent the next 18 months in pasture growing up. I bought him as a six-year old, and together, we are showing at the lower levels. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand warmblood gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.
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Among other things, Karen is a Wife, Friend, Reader, Writer, Rider, Traveler, and Dog Lover
Contact her at bakersfielddressage@gmail.com
  • Home
  • About
  • My Horses
    • Horses
    • Imperioso
    • G Ima Starr FA
    • Sunshine
    • Nakota and Gideon
    • Corky
    • Sassy
    • Montoya DSA
    • Mickey Dee
    • Sydney
  • Show Results
    • 2022
    • 2021
    • 2020
    • 2019
    • 2018
    • 2017
    • 2016
    • 2015
    • 2014
    • 2013
    • 2012
    • 2011
    • 2010
  • Dressage Organizations
    • Dressage Organizations
    • Memberships
    • 2019 Dressage Tests
  • Local
    • Shopping List
  • Home