Some Inspiration and Goal Defining

In another life, I think I should have made horses my job, or at least picked a more lucrative career that allowed me a lot of barn time.

I just had 10 days off work and I think at least half of each of those days were spent at the barn or out with the horses, and as the days passed, the further down the rabbit hole I went! I like to consider myself good at my job and my career is well suited to my strengths. I have a ton of hobbies and interests too. But horses are the only thing where I'm completely myself and where time gets lost!

Taking photos of my horses...also a time trap I'm enjoying.

Despite having a million other things I should have been doing,  I ended up spending pretty much all of Saturday and Sunday auditing a clinic and taking pictures for friends. I really enjoyed it and was wishing I'd known I'd be free further in advance so I could have booked a lesson for myself.

I like auditing clinics and lessons because along with the obvious riding and training tips you pick up, watching others and paying attention to the clinician's overall program and outlook gives a lot of inspiration for myself. I've been getting a little hung up on waiting for outside things (building a barn, buying a trailer, new saddles and saddle fitting, plus most importantly, saving the money for it all so as to not be debt stressed!)

This horse was SO cool.

I feel like I've got so much on my plate right now, and not in a good way. Kind of a 'what fire do I put out first?' way. I know what my big goals are, it's the getting there and prioritizing and setting the smaller progress markers that seem to be where I lose clarity....the bigger stuff seems so far away at this point.

In the absence of lessons and having my awesome coach EC at my disposal on the regular, spending time looking outside my own little world and the limitations I set on myself is so, so helpful in regaining inspiration and focus. I saw a lot of people working towards a lot of goals and overcoming a lot of different challenges to do so.

How cute is this guy? He loves this barrel :)  Seriously, I was having so much fun taking pictures for people despite feeling a little weird initially because I am obviously not a pro!

I've been reminded this weekend that there is never a perfect time to do the thing. The best time is usually right now!

We've got some fun stuff on the agenda for October, including the return of the Spooky Trail Course and some group trail rides. I'm pretty guilty of just doing my own thing, so October should be a nice change with a slightly bigger emphasis on more social outings and events.

Are you ready for some adventures, Sophie?

My hope is to get Sophie ready for some lessons and small shows and clinics next year. It's so far away but I'm eyeing up the dressage series in my coach's town - it would be a good opportunity to do a couple of overnight trips and ride some baby dressage tests in a relaxed environment with lots of support and help built in!

In the meantime in between time though, it's going to be all about keeping those tiny progress markers coming. Every walk on the trail and local event attended is a great experience for her. As we were reminded this weekend, every day brings an opportunity to take a step towards your goals.

Clinic Recap 2: Notes

At the risk of boring you, I have just a few more things I found interesting from last weekend's clinic. As always, remember these are just my notes and my interpretation of what was discussed :

-Round pens. He was not so much a fan. As soon as he has basic handling he wants to change it up and be out in 'the real world'. Said he sees too many horses that are shut down or sour from  people spending far too long using the round pen as a crutch or using them because they think that's just what you do.

Luckily Bridget still thinks round pens are a lot of fun.

- He mentioned having two types of clients: the ones who want to learn in the saddle (and have the ability to train their horses there) , then the second who are maybe more comfortable or capable on the ground for any of a variety of reasons. They are both great ways to have fun and build a partnership. This isn't an earth shattering statement in itself, but it got me thinking. I guess I've always viewed groundwork through the lens of it being a step towards riding and wondered why there was so much of it and so many variations of different exercises based on the same basic training principles. Like, how much do you have to do before you're ready to ride?  Makes a lot more sense to me now, knowing a large part of the client base maybe doesn't have riding as an end goal but still wants new and interesting challenges. (I'm such a dummy sometimes, I am so relieved that my imaginary 10000 step program of groundwork exercises he'd say I should do before I ride doesn't actually exist :)

- On young horses that turn their butts in and even kick out a little (on the longe in in a round pen). He used to discipline that thinking it was disrespectful, but has started thinking if it's just the horse inviting you to play and not being malicious he just ignores it rather than running  the risk of scaring them or shutting them down by working them harder and making things "not fun". If I understood him right, he'd rather you don't react to the playing and just redirect the energy to another task to get focus back.

- Was quite vocal about never chasing your green horse into a canter or even trot. He used to be fairly firm with the transition needing to happen when asked, now interestingly enough he's in line with my dressage coach in wanting the transition to come from first establishing the proper balance and relaxation and waiting. He went so far as to say that a lot of the horses he gets in for training who swap leads or are disunited have issues that could have been prevented. They've often developed a lot of anxiety or tension in the up transition from being pushed, resulting in a loss of quality in the gait, rather than it being a mechanical or strength issue as is often assumed.

- Ask your horse to do the thing, then leg/hand/seat neutral until you want a different thing. Coming from english/dressage land, this is a thing often mentioned here too, but I've been told also to ride every stride, and my lessons are all about second by second suggestions and corrections.  I know I'm not alone - the world is full of people squeezing every stride on an extension or half halting every collected stride, making steering or bend adjustments throughout a circle, etc.  Kind of a change to see someone ask for something like a big trot or a collected canter, or a specific sized circle, then just take his aids off and expect the horse to carry on until he says differently, usually on a totally loose rein. Quality obviously not quite on par with what a dressage judge might look for, but certainly don't think he'd be kicked out of the show either! Having your horse so honest with minimal aids is a worthy goal for anyone.

- Ideal body position on the ground when longeing, leading, asking for turns, lateral movements, has a lot of similarity to under saddle. Makes perfect sense, and yet I never put the pieces together that way, always viewing it as two separate things. For example, on the ground with my longe or lead rope, I have a habit of letting my wrists turn, bend and give, and hunching forward in my shoulders  so I run out of 'room' and my elbows end up behind my back to compensate. Strangely, a similar habit and reluctance to use my arms and shoulders properly often appears under saddle :)

Clinic Recap 1: Lesson With Sophie

Sophie had her first clinic outing this past weekend and was such a star!

I'm sure I've mentioned before that I don't do a ton of groundwork Natural Horsemanship style, so I had a lot of questions for the clinician! I was also feeling a bit worried we'd be in over our heads. If I'm honest, while some of the things they do are super cool, it's still not something I can see myself wanting to put that much effort into if I can work it out in the saddle or on the trail instead.

I'm so sorry, I took pictures this weekend for everyone but didn't ask for any in return. So, you get some randoms from last weekend instead.

We started with chatting about short and long term goals (not dying when I ride her the first time, then dressage :) and what I've been doing with her. The clinician knows me from previous under saddle and mountain trail clinics with Bridget, but it's the first time he's met Sophie.

Worry number one was eased right away - none of the fancy round penning or rope twirly things were happening. He said teaching liberty and tricks is one thing, getting a horse ready to ride and be a good saddle horse, another. Cool.

So, he watched me lead and longe Sophie and generally just do what I do and was super happy with her. Very complimentary of us both, which I won't lie, was really awesome to hear and put a big smile on my face! I've mentioned here before that I feel fairly confident with what I'm doing at this point, but of course being without guidance there us always that worry in the back of your mind wondering if you're actually being an overconfident dummy and messing it up!

So, we continued on, and the majority of our time was spent on new to us things. Awesome!

I learned how to have her side pass from the ground, away from me, then towards me. We did turn on the haunches and turn on the forehand and got them a lot smoother. Spent a little time doing  patterns, and a lot more time discussing future steps and homework. We finished with him teaching Sophie how to line up with the fence for mounting, and he put a foot on her back and then kind of hung a leg over her. Sophie was pretty wide eyed at that (stranger danger!), but we ended there when she relaxed.

Homework and feedback:

- Build on the turns and sidepassing we learned, always looking at adding more correct steps in a row and having a good flow.

- Keep with the longeing and the transitions within the gaits - he loved that I do that with her and that I  try for balanced up and down transitions too. It's so helpful for improving her response and balance.

- She is more reactive on her right side than the left. Right flank in particular a touchy area. Keep working on that. Asks if she kicks and I said not in a long time, but I do agree if I push her too hard she might still might panic and see that as an option.  It's fun that he picked up on that so quickly.

- Just keep doing what I'm doing. I'm good at it. If I'm unsure, just do what I think is right. I'm not going to mess it up. (Sounds so pretentious to write that, lol...I think what he was really saying is I could be more confident in myself, not thst I'm a perfect trainer! :)

- Don't worry too much about asking for even more responsiveness. She's ready and willing to try and if I want my sharp dressage horse it's cool to have those expectations right from the start. She naturally wants to be that horse anyway, and there is no need to slow her down. This means I need to be hyper aware of my cues and response times too.

-No judgement if I wanted to ride her a little now, but likes the idea of waiting until she's a bit more physically mature. Thought she looks like she's got a lot more growing to do.

- He really, really, really liked Sophie. His take on her:

     -SMART
     -Sensitive
     -Wants to be light and soft
     -Great attitude
     -Nicely put together, nice mover, so cute.
     -He wishes she came in his size, and  thinks I made a good choice purchasing her          and will have a lot of fun with her.

All in all, a great starting point! Sophie was SUCH a good girl too, and really seemed to enjoy having new and interesting challenges and people to meet.

I audited the remaining parts of the clinic as well, so if you're up for it, I'll post some notes. There were lots of new to me things to ponder, plus a lot of things he mentioned he used to do but doesn't anymore, and why he's changed his thoughts. I found those conversations especially interesting.

Farrier Clinic, Sophie Style

We had a consult with a farrier clinician this weekend, which was interesting and fun. I highly recommend the format if you're at all interested. I pick my farrier's brain all the time, but it was pretty cool to have someone more accustomed to teaching come out. I felt like a lot of the info was still way over my head, but there was good news - the farrier was really happy with Sophie's feet and the work we have been doing. The take home of the day for me was basically that I can be more confident and take her toes back further than I have been, but to otherwise follow my instincts, because her feet look good and she's growing into herself as she should.

In other news, Sophie just couldn't bring her energy level down and was a bit of a nightmare to deal with. I was unaware it was a clinic format with auditors and such, so I was surprised when a number of people came and parked themselves all over the barn and around Sophie. I think that added to her anxiety. She's a very social creature and I think had a lot of questions as to who all these people were! Now and then, there were a few audible gasps from the audience at my lovely pony's more extreme measures at expressing her boredom, so unfortunately for Sophie, not too many people were interested in getting close enough to say hi to her properly.

I don't mean it to sound like it was the auditors or format at fault - certainly not, Sophie was having a tough day all on her own. When I got to the barn she was busy trying to show the boys that she's grown up and all mare, while also trying to start a play fight with the gelding she apparently doesn't find as attractive. Mares! The boys were less than impressed with her and I think were relieved when I took her out of the field. Poor Sophie, however, firmly believed her destiny was outdoors with Bachelor Number 1, so obviously taking a time out for a pedicure was not where she wanted to be and she was not shy about letting everyone know.

Having a drink with her boyfriend

As a side note, to give you an idea of how my life runs, there was also an informal acupuncture clinic going on. I can only guess what they thought of my barn smashing, screaming pony as they all tried to ignore us and embrace calmness and Zen thoughts with needles 20 feet away.  Looks like I'll have to keep Sophie, because after her display I'm pretty sure no one else in my town wants anything to do with either of us  :)

That's us. No manners, all class ;)

 In all seriousness, I'm not too fussed. Maybe I should be, but meh, she's young, she's had a winter off, and meeting a bunch of new people and having to stand and pay attention for 2 hours is just too big of an ask for her right now. There was a time I would have been worried about what everyone thought of her/me, but I'm past that - no matter what, horses are going to humble you at some point. I in no way prepared her for this weekend, so it would be unfair to have any expectations of her.

I apologized to the farrier, who is the one who matters, but the farrier loved her and didn't mind. I've honestly never seen one quite so positive and chilled out - I wish she came here all the time! She's a pro, and had a great feel for the fine line between getting it done and keeping it positive. Sophie doesn't have a mean bone in her body, at least (just many, many impatient ones!), so all's well that ends well.

"Treats?"

When a friend texted later in the weekend wondering if I wanted to take Bridget in a riding clinic the first weekend in May, I signed up. Except, I signed up Sophie and we'll do groundwork :) Boot camp is going to start a couple of weeks early for the yellow pony. I might be OK with her behaviour this weekend given the situation and the time off to grow up she's had, but that doesn't mean it's something I want to continue forever. Look out, Big World, Sophie is coming.

Clinic Notes

This weekend's clinic was shortened to just one day. We were lucky to get that, given the wet and windy weather that resulted in ferry cancellations and a not so pleasant outdoor experience for the particpants.

Throwback pictures from baby Bridget's first outings with the same clinician, 2013. It feels weird posting photos of other people's clinic,  so you're stuck with old ones of Bridget and I.

I sat this one out and just audited. The format is normally groundwork in the morning and riding in the afternoon, and since Bridget is pretty solid these days and Sophie isn't under saddle it seemed to me my money was better saved for another time.

Aww, baby Bridget sass!  First week I owned her. We still laugh because I rode to the clinic on quite a busy road without much of a thought, and the poor clinician just about choked when he heard that. (B was VERY green, lol) 

I still got quite a bit out of it. I appreciate the clinician (Sev)'s approach because it's positive and straightforward. In the morning, the participants practiced all the usual groundwork you expect from a nicely mannered horse: leading without pulling, respecting the handler's space, responding when asked, etc. I know all the horses are pretty solid citizens, so it was interesting to see the wheels fall off a little given the crazy weather and the energy a couple of horses and humans brought to the group.

Once everyone settled a little, one of the greener horses got a lesson in appropriately existing with other horses around her. She's very quick to get defensive, so it was neat to watch the clinician introduce her to each horse and lay down boundaries for her that she respected. I know that mare and just love her, but I'm not sure anyone ever thought she'd willingly walk up to a strange horse and be calm about it quite so quickly!

That done, there was some fun stuff with teaching the horses to sidepass away from and toward the handlers, plus longeing over and through obstacles.

Baby Bridget tackling a bridge for the first time, 2013.

The afternoon riding was fun. There were a couple of green horses and riders, and some nervous adults too, so the starting exercises consisted of drill team type stuff: follow the leader in pairs, focusing on keeping equal distance and pace. Deceptively difficult for everyone. Then it got "extra" with the clinician asking everyone to ride one handed on a super loose rein and do the same patterns. Idea being you should be able to turn and change speed off your seat and leg, no hands required. Surprisingly, this proved to be way bigger of a problem for the riders than the horses...by that point most of the horses were pretty tuned into the program, even the super green ones. The riders, however, were pretty unwilling to let go!

B has less than reliable steering too, back in the day.

I'm hopeful I can sign up for the summer clinic. It's put on just down the road from where I board and Sophie will be back by then. I think Sophie would benefit hugely from some of the exercises involving other horses. There were a few greener handlers and horses this time and the usual rules and boundaries weren't always respected. Kind of like a busy show warm up! I'm thinking it would be a fun way to introduce a show atmosphere without the stress and travel. I'm going to see if I can share a spot with someone who maybe wants to take the afternoon riding portion.  If not, I guess we could drag Bridget along and I'll ride. As always, I'd prefer to save some pennies if possible, though  :)

It's kind of sad this remains one of my favorite pictures of us...she was maybe 3 months under saddle here?

Topics covered that I can use:

- Sophie definitely needs work on moving her shoulders independent of the rest of her body.

- Getting Sophie out in a busy arena.

- Having her stand patiently away from everyone...She's not quite clued in that being alone and tied could be a happy place of rest.

- I need to up the ante and rely less on the lead rope for reinforcement and have her respond to my voice and body language more quickly.

- The side pass exercises and turns on the forehand and haunches would be easy to teach on the ground and translate directly to under saddle.

Horsemanship Clinic

(Horsewomanship clinic? Would be more appropriate - there was one guy and about 10 women there, lol)

Have I mentioned how much I love my new schedule? Sunday, I had a day almost entirely free to do whatever I wanted. Crazy, I know.

I decided to get extra crazy and actually be social by auditing part of a clinic that was being put on near where I board.

Long, long, time readers might remember when I first bought Bridget I signed her up for a clinic. This was the same clinician. He remembers me because yeah, I was the person who toodled through an entire "extreme" spooky trail challenge, and escorted the other horses through, and then after was like "Actually my horse has only been under saddle for a week and I don't really have any steering or brakes. I actually signed up thinking this was a colt starting clinic, but this is fun too." Bridget is a rock, what can I say, lol. Clinician was inspired then to use her as a demo horse to learn tricks, because he thought she'd be easy. B gave out her first big NOPE to that, lol, and I got to see the depth of her stubborness for the first time :) So, suffice to say, he remembers Bridget quite well too.

My first ride on Midge, Midge's second(?) ride ever :)

Back in the time machine to a week or two later in 2014, when Bridget was not impressed by cowboy clinician :)

"Is this what he wants me to do? This is kind of dumb, come rescue me please."

Anyway, off I went to audit last weekend. The instruction today was pretty beginner/basic level, but it's always super cool to see everyone out there learning and getting the job done. It's a good reminder too, that good riding is good riding. Regardless of discipline, the important stuff is all the same. There was a lot of talk about moving the shoulders to stay straight while backing, rather than chasing the hind end. A lot of talk about forward solving straightness, about how the horse being soft comes from the seat and leg, not the hand.

For the trail challenge, they had a "carwash" thing (basically a tarp you ride under), poles to sidepass over, barrels to jump, a cloverleaf pattern over poles, a plastic pool to step in, and finally a halt and back up between poles.

 I was asked if I wanted to ride a lady's horse while she was away. I said sure, thinking I'd be warming him up for her, and it's good for me to hop on different horses. You all know how not brave I am on strange horses!

Then the clinician was like "Alright, let's start with T. Show us how to do this"

Apparently, this wasn't that kind of clinic. Random person auditing in yoga pants? Please saddle up and come run through this course. Sidenote: this one time GM came over to chat after a clinic and I got so nervous I couldn't even make words. It was awkward :)

Um, uh oh. I thought they were joking, but nope, they really were asking me to ride. OK then.

My strategy was basically to attempt it all quietly and correctly, not going for speed, basically tackling it like a dressage test or jump course and making sure I had him bending correctly. I tried to choose my lines wisely by giving him lots of time to see things. I've never ridden the horse before, but I do know through the grapevine that he's got a nasty buck and spook if he's pissed off or confused. Also, I had no stirrups, the old short person on a tall wide horse issue - my legs are shorter than the fenders on most standard western saddles.

Random pic of B to break the wall of text.

(Can I just ask for a minute, how on earth do some of you ride in western saddles? My hips were ready to pop out of the sockets and I felt about a million miles away from the horse. Also, I forgot how some western horses can make it feel like you are tipping into an abyss and there is nothing out in front of you...don't mind me and my giant saddle floating through space, pointing at the ground somewhere ahead, lol)

So, we jogged and trotted pretty much the whole pattern, and opted for the alternate slow route rather than jumping...buddy is not a jumper, and I had no idea if his owner actually intended for me to take him through the course in the first place.

Long story short, he was a good boy and pretty brave and went decently for me. Our time was actually respectable, and the clinician was very complimentary about my riding and how I handled the horse, which made me feel good. I was about a million miles outside my comfort zone riding a strange horse without stirrups and I know I'm not the greatest and can get pretty nervous riding in front of "strangers".

Sidenote: I think in the future I'd best avoid this clinician. It seems to me the whole lucking out into almost looking like I know what I'm doing thing has to end spectacularly at some point :)

I can't believe I forgot about this picture, also from the clinic years ago :) This is what a 6'4" tall cowboy looks like in my saddle on 14hh Bridget, lol. (Don't worry, he just sat on her for a few minutes for fun - no ponies were squished)

All in all, actually a very fun day. I'm inspired to try some similar exercises and courses in hand with Sophie, and the whole getting way outside my comfort zone thing was pretty good for me too.