Sweet Freedom! (of movement)

I’ve been fiddling with my saddle pads to make sure I have the best fit on the Psycho Mare. Since her massage, I’ve been doing lots of lunging (even more than we had been) and when I get into the saddle, I have only been working walk and trot (no canter). The idea has been for her to rediscover the fluid movement and balance that she naturally has at the canter.


Last night, she was a rock star! I’ve been throwing lots of poles on the ground and the occasional x-rail to lunge over in order to keep things interesting. Mind-numbing circles are useless, so I strive to keep our lunge work goal oriented and actively focused. Watching this girl canter over the jumps was encouraging! She didn’t rush the poles or the jumps. She was striding nicely and had stopped offering lead changes to the left. In fact, at one point, she was tracking right and picked up the left lead (she had been avoiding the left lead like the plague!). She promptly fixed her lead and calmly took the jump. She looked like a big horse!

Do you know what I mean by that?

Like a big kid!

She didn’t appear quick. There was a sitting and a lifting of her shoulders every time she took the jump. It was just-another-canter-stride. In the trot, there was no discontinuity (when you see the distinct trot in – jump – trot out). It was one fluid string of movement. She was seeking the jump out on her own!

Sometimes, she came into one of the poles at an awkward distance. She just put her feet down and kept on moving. Maybe she had a back foot on one side and the other three on the other side. I know for one, she had one front on the far side while the other three were on the near side. Most of the time, she nailed it, but when she didn’t, there was no fuss or lookiness or anything. She just cantered.

Her back started swinging! At no point on this entire journey have I seen her back swinging at the canter!!

I wanted to ride this canter! I was trying out a different saddle, just in case it fit better. It didn’t. It looked great, but it turned out to be awful. For me, anyway. I went back to the barn and put my saddle back on her. As soon as I mounted up, I knew it was better! The horse underneath me did not need pushing or driving for every stride. She was ready to move out! When I asked for the canter transition, there was no fussiness or discussion about it; she just stepped into it! I was stunned at how slow and relaxed it was! Don’t get me wrong - it isn’t show-ready. But, it was more canter than I have had to work with in a while. When she lost her balance and fell out of it, she picked herself right back up into it before I could prod her about it! She still wanted to fall on her forehand, but I could still feel more reach in her back end. In fact, even when I just wanted to work on canter, Psycho Mare was really coming forward and asking to make a canter transition! There is so much less tension in my horse! I feel like I have to figure out how to ride her all over again (and I am beyond OK with that).

I know there is still some pain. I know there is still a knot. I can feel it. I can see it. When I first begin to work on it, she wants to kick me! However, within minutes, she is leaning into my curry and her upper lip turns into a finger.
I think we are back on track, folks!

If Wishes Were Horses – If Horses Could Talk…

There has been a little strangeness lately. You might recall a brief discussion about how she prefers the right lead, even when tracking left… Which was only somewhat odd, because she started out so reliable on her leads…


When I heard the massage therapist was coming to the barn, I jumped right on that and got her on the schedule! I couldn’t be at the appointment due to work, but I buzzed right out to the barn afterwards just in case I could catch her before she left… And I did!!

What she had to tell me blew me away. And lots of pieces fell into place.

MT (massage therapist) was able to work out a lot of stuff. You have to expect a lot of stuff to need work on a horse that has never had a massage. However, there was one area that she just could not completely release. The Psycho Mare had/has a huge, dense, ropey, gnarly knot in her left hip. When MT started working on it, I hear that the mare pinned her ears, screwed up her face, and kicked out HARD! Her only indication to me was less consistent connection to the left, and taking the wrong lead to the left (sometimes). Well, that and the head flipping and shoulder dropping at the canter. MT thought that this knot has probably been there for quite a while. Likely, before she even started under saddle. Despite this, she was doing less head-flipping and even slowing down her canter for me! She was TRYING to relax and balance!

I'm only doing this for you!

Last Monday, I pulled her out of her lot, and she was no longer roan. She was solid brown. The mud was *that* thick. So, I hosed her off (with soap, even!) before we rode. Usually she just gets curried and gets hosed *after* her workout. When I got to the part where I scape all the water off, she sucked down when I scraped down her back on the left side!! I was quite surprised, because she hadn’t been that sensitive or reactive when I scraped her *after* our rides…

MT wasn’t surprised. By working, she would have stretched and warmed the knotted muscles, in turn working and stretching over her back, so of course it didn’t hurt as bad!

I'm sorry I can't do it better!  It hurts!

At MT’s insistence, I pulled the mare out of her lot last night before she left. I could immediately tell that she was looser in her hip. She was tracking up right off the bat. MT showed me some techniques to help keep her as comfortable as possible though manual massage, tail pulls, and core activation. I want to have her back out one more time before we head off to the Pony Cup! I love her holistic, whole-picture approach to the horse. I love that she is knowledgeable about my sports. I really love that she will go over my entire horse with me and show me what to look for and how to help her.

I wish I had picked up on the subtleties sooner so we could have gotten this taken care of and started relieving her pain!

Try, try again... Fancy Pony!

Take two!



Pony can trot!



Pony can walk, too!

Look at me!  I'm such a pleasure to ride!

dressage...

UN-DRESSAGE!!



Fancy Pony!

Volunteer horse show photographer snapped photos and shared them with us later!

dressage pony can trot!

pony can walk, too!

Look at me!  I'm such a pleasure to ride!

dressage...

Are you ready for this?

UN-DRESSAGE!!

Silly mare.

Changes?

Let me hear you!



a work in progress...



What differences do you see?

The Consistency Anomaly

Consistency is coming!



LOVE these ribbons!  How fun!

We had the opportunity to ride at an air-conditioned, indoor venue (that typically hosts recognized shows) at schooling show prices!

For the first time, we went all out and I got to wear a show coat! All previous shows have been prohibitively hot. I got compliments on my grey jacket! I wasn't confident that the color worked, so I made sure to try it at a schooling show. ;)

I got compliments on my braids, too! They were just quick, rubberbanded braids. EVERYONE stopped to say how cute and adorable the Psycho Mare was!

I had so much help to make this show happen, and I just don’t know how to show my appreciation to everyone involved, so they get mentions in my blog!

My dad was amazing and used his truck to haul us to the show. He also retrieved the trailer the night before. He also took video of our tests and posted them to YouTube!!

My mom made wraps and brought lots of water to keep us all alive!

My friend and volunteer groom bathed and braided the mare while I slaved away at work. She also cleaned my tack and loaded everything I needed in the trailer.

My aunt showed up as well, to show her support for our endeavors.

I left straight from work and met everyone at the venue. I was scheduled to ride down centerline at 5:00 pm sharp!

The arena was running very ahead of schedule, so I actually headed in about 15 minutes early. I rode Psycho Mare into the corner and onto the rail to make her take a good look at the bleachers and audience. Hooray for having an audience! She decided that, ultimately, those people and bleachers were really no big deal. She was so chill after we ended our test (Training-3); she tried to exit at P by stumbling over the rail. Oh, mare. Exit at A. It’s easier. Really. My sources say someone in the peanut gallery commented, “She must be a jumper!” *giggle*

We took a few minutes to relax and catch our breath. Then, we put ourselves back together and headed in early again for our second test! Intro B. Leaving the arena after that test, I saw the look of bewilderment on my Aunt’s face. She didn’t get the memo that our hardest test was first. Ironically, it was also our highest scoring test. :\



doesn't care about trains and traffic across the concrete bridges right over our heads!



 We ALWAYS get noticed at the shows! My mom made a good point… In addition to singing praises, I should mention, “By the way, she is for sale! She could be yours!” Thanks, Mom! I should have been saying that all along!

More pictures to come and I’ll post the YouTube videos in a later post! I’m interested in your reactions to the grey jacket!

Validation

Sometimes, it feels like the wheels are coming off – that the entire operation is falling apart – that, perhaps, you have no idea what you’re doing and have no business going about it, because you don’t even know what you don’t know…

There is a danger in working under more than one trainer… It’s called ‘cognitive dissonance’…

Your reins are too long!

Your reins are too short!
Push your knuckles together!
Widen your hands!
Get your weight up out of the saddle!
Sit back!

DQ has been helping to drill my position. My core continues to get stronger and more stable, but when the mare drops her back, I fall forward. Every time. I noticed it. I even mentioned it to DQ. Knowing it is going to happen doesn’t do a thing for allowing me to prevent it.

We’ve been insisting on a higher level of work: sitting more for her transitions, pushing into contact, staying supple in the bridle…
Sometimes she throws this tiny hissy fit… It goes something like this:
- drop all connection and get above the bit
- oh, you’re still sending me forward? Then, I’ll just drop behind the bit!
- oh, you’re still not letting up? I’ll just throw my shoulders up in the air and make an upward transition!

When these things happen in my dressage lesson, I hear DQ’s running commentary, “Yes, that’s right. Good. You’re right, you’re right! Yes, exactly!”

Many times, I find myself praising the mare at the same time that DQ praises both of us. Nothing earth-shattering has been brought to my attention. Nothing that I should do or stop doing has been mentioned. Still, I find myself frustrated and full of doubt. I asked DQ, “Are you *sure* you don’t want to ride her?” She acquiesced.

I watched with eagle eyes as this FEI-level rider put the Psycho Mare through her paces. I studied her leg, her hand, her position… I tried to grasp her timing and feel. To my amazement, Psycho Mare gave her all of the same evasions. DQ would get her together and connected, then the mare would drop it all. What really knocked my socks off was the way that DQ was also forced forward in her position when the mare fell out from under her. All along, I was thinking that it was a personal weakness, but it really isn’t just me!!

The upshot of this marathon lesson:
Keep asking and insisting. We have raised the level of expectation, and now we must insist that she deliver. Keep asking, keep sending.

After DQ’s ride, I was able to keep her connected enough to actually have an effect on my position! I have all of the tools and I am using them correctly. I need to just KEEP DOING IT!

I have been validated. ;)