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Not-So-Speedy Dressage

From Endurance to Dressage

Winter Gave Us a Visit!

3/3/2014

 
Unless you really don't care about the Western United States, you've probably at least heard that there is a pretty severe drought occurring in California. Most of you are probably pretty sick of us Californians whining about our sunny climate, but we are in a serious mess.

A great deal of produce, dairy, nuts, and cotton come from my neck of the woods (among many other agricultural products), and those items are consumed by Americans across the continent (and world). Without water, California's farmers and ranchers can't farm or ranch which means they can't pay their bills. Our drought is so severe that at this point, only massive flooding would fix our water deficit.
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Look for the arrow in the center of the "category 4, exceptional drought" section of the map; that's us.
On Friday morning, we finally, finally got some measurable precipitation. It hasn't really rained since November of 2013. You wouldn't believe how cheerful people were about it. Everywhere I went that day people were thanking the rain gods for the deluge.

The drought is nowhere near an end, but at least we know it can still rain. For a while there, we were wondering if it would ever rain in California again.
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View from my front yard ...
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From my back patio ...
Even though I live to ride, I was so grateful for the rain that it didn't bother me at all that I missed an afternoon of riding. I simply took advantage of the day to work on other things.

After grazing and walking Speedy, I took Sydney out for some walking as well. The arena was just a too wet for a ride, and the clouds looked rather ominous, so I opted for some ground work instead. After a small rearing incident, for which Sydney got whacked, I brought him back to the cross ties for some grooming and "thinking" time, also known as a timeout.

Once I was confident that his attitude had been adjusted, it was only a momentary naughtiness, I started thinking about some exercises I could do in the driveway that wouldn't cause any mud to form. I realized that I had never done a trot out with Sydney and decided that Friday afternoon would be the day.

I think every horse needs to learn to do a trot out in hand. We did it over and over for endurance, of course, but any horse should be able to behave in hand for a trot out. It's a useful skill for presenting your horse to the vet for a lameness exam or for when the farrier wants to check out the horse's way of going.

Realizing that I had never really done a planned trot out with Sydney, I decided to school him. I started by walking quietly to my point of departure. We halted, I patted his neck and then walked off briskly. Once he was walking solidly alongside, I broke into a jog and clucked quietly. He broke into a hurried trot with his head sky high.

I kept my pace even and quiet and gently tugged on his halter to let him know no faster. Before we reached the end of the line, I took a deep breath and said, whoah. He halted quietly beside me, but he still had a giraffe neck. I turned him around slowly, paused a moment, and then began to walk forward again. When he was straight, I started to jog and he fell in step beside me.

We repeated this process a few times until he realized that all he needed to do was a simple trot with no reason to worry. He finally lowered his head and jogged along with me, keeping his stride even with mine. Each time we reached the end of the trot out, I halted him squarely and patted his neck.

I then took a few moment to ask him to flex his neck to the inside while having him step deeply with his inside hind leg. I worked both sides of his body until he was stepping quietly. Then we repeated the trot out, up and back. I was tickled with how quickly he learned what I wanted.

After the last trot out and neck pat, I walked him over to the grass where he grazed happily for a few minutes. It might not have been a schooling ride, but I felt like the time with him was well spent and quite useful. I am really digging this horse right now!
Lauren link
3/3/2014 12:21:43 am

I had one of those "weather delays" on Sunday too. Sometimes it's just nice to listen to the rain and relax at the house.

Bakersfield Dressage link
3/3/2014 10:48:24 am

I've been waiting for nearly 6 months to have a weather delay so it was divine to actually stay home and catch up on some stuff! :0)

martina peterson
3/3/2014 12:49:04 am

we haven't had much rain either even though we are the "duck" state. This last week we got quite a bit of rain and I love it.... but not as much as I LOVE YOU.

Bakersfield Dressage link
3/3/2014 10:48:49 am

Aw … thanks, Mom! :0)

Amanda link
3/3/2014 01:18:37 am

I'm really happy you guys got some rain. We had a pretty bad drought two summers ago and even though it wasn't even close to California's level of drought it still really effected us with hay prices nearly tripling if you could even find hay.

I like to thank my endurance/competitive trail riding roots for helping instill the importance of a good trot out under any condition. It really is very useful.

Bakersfield Dressage link
3/3/2014 10:50:12 am

I hope our hay prices stay in this stratosphere; our prices are already pretty volatile. And you're right; a good trot out is a great tool to have in your toolbox. :0)

Alanna
3/3/2014 02:10:49 am

I live in Oregon, and we are having a drought too, although not nearly as bad as you guys are. It's been raining more here the last couple weeks so things are looking better for us.

I agree with you regarding trotting in hand. That's something Emi is learning to do right now. :)

Bakersfield Dressage link
3/3/2014 10:52:33 am

My mom lives in Oregon; she posted just above. :0)

Yeah … it's been pretty dry here. As you know after spring passes, we'll have no chance for rain until next fall. This is probably all we'll get. Here in Bakersfield, we've had 3.75 total over the last two years. That' less than one year's average.

Austen link
3/3/2014 02:17:36 am

I spent Sunday listening to sleet hit the side of the house ... your rain sounds way better.

Still, I wouldn't trade away winter for nasty hot weather. Bleh! ;)

Bakersfield Dressage link
3/3/2014 10:54:02 am

Sleet? What's that? It's sounds simply horrible!!!!! :0)

Yeah … this summer I'll be complaining about 100 plus temperatures with lows in the 80s. We have GREAT winters, but the summers can be a bit unbearable.

Tori link
3/3/2014 11:15:05 pm

So happy it has finally rained in California, although I must say your lawn is pretty green for being in the middle of a drought! Is that sort or special desert grass??

Bakersfield Dressage link
3/4/2014 10:23:00 am

That's funny you should mention it because a co-worker said the same thing! So far, there hasn't been any restrictions on water usage. We are pretty conservative by nature so we don't waste water. Our front and back lawn areas are actually quite small so we don't use a lot of water keeping it green.


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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    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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    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
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