Impatient

The ponies moved to their winter paddocks a couple of weeks ago, a move which really didn't cause any undue hardship on them as our wet and windy weather meant they've all been opting to stand inside in the dry barn the vast majority of the time anyway. This week though, we've switched clear days and freezing temps and the horses have all woken up ready to play! Without exception, they've been more than a little wild, and the lack of any large winter turnout space has meant we've all had some interesting rides. Summer feels like it just ended, but I am already missing the late evening light and kinder weather.

Pony ears in the dark:

For Bridget, her excess energy has given her a level of sensitivity and motivation on par with Ginger. She's also getting very fit and impossible to tire out, which I seriously thought would never happen. It's all good though- I am having a ton of fun driving my newly found sports car pony, even if it randomly bucks and bolts off now and then ;) 

My Wednesday lesson was nothing exciting. We discussed some ideas (and riders/potential buyers) for Ginger and then my general impatience with not being the rider I want to be. I love that EC does not waste time sugar coating anything, instead she gets right to business and has you quantify your goals then maps out a plan for you to work towards. 

Riding wise, we did a ton of transitions and played a little with extending and collecting. Honestly though, EC was uncharacteristically easy on us. Perhaps she reads this blog? More likely, in real life I am easier to read than I'd like to think and she very wisely opted to avoid risking any further rider meltdowns/drama.

My other rides this week were more of the same: dark, cold evenings, me feeling a little out of sorts, and a very ramped up/tense/impatient pony. Tonight I just let Bridget go on a loose rein and let her burn off some steam. She asked to gallop around a little and have fun and I said OK. That's probably the exact thing you shouldn't do with a pushy little freight train of a pony, but sometimes you just need to live a little and enjoy the moment. (For the record, galloping a slightly out of control/stir crazy pony is just as much fun as an adult as it was when I was a kid - I highly recommend it the next time you're feeling a little down :)

Standing still on the off chance I have treats:

25

Pretty Suzie

Thanks to Cathryn at That Red Mare for the blog hop!

1. Mares or Geldings? Why?
Mares. I never make a conscious decision to own one or the other, but I seem to end up with mares!

2. Green-broke or Fully Broke?
I've only ever had green. I like it because I know the history and can build a great relationship. I'd never rule out buying something experienced though if my budget ever allowed!

3. Would you own a "hotter" breed (ie. Arabian, Trakhener, etc).
Depends. If 'hot' = forward and hard worker, then yes. If 'hot' = needing to be worked every day and needing 100% focus, then no, that doesn't fit my lifestyle.

4. What was your "dream horse" growing up?
Probably a solid black thoroughbred type.

5. What kind of bit(s) do you use and why?
Ginger has a loose ring french link because she likes it. Bridget has a plain D ring snaffle because that's what the tack store had in her size, and it seems to work for her!

6. Helmets or no helmets?
Helmets every time!

Nope, no color preferences shown here.

7. Favorite horse color?
Bay with chrome (obviously lol), but I do like a nice coppery chestnut. Huge sucker for a blaze!

8. Least favorite horse color?
Paints with white faces. No real reason for it, and wouldn't stop me from owning one though.

9. Dressage or Jumping?
I like both.

10. How many years have you been riding?
Way too many for my level of (non) expertise.

11. Spurs/whip or no spurs/whip?
Sometimes both, sometimes neither. Depends on the horse and how they're feeling.

12. Your first fall?
Playing tag bareback in the backwoods on a bouncy pony about a week into learning to ride. Also my second through probably  tenth fall, all in the same ride. I really had no fear back then!

13. When was the last time you rode and what did you do?
Last night - dressage lesson. Tons of transitions!

14. Most expensive piece of tack you own?
My (stubben) saddle, which isn't saying much - although I got it new,  I got it on a super clearance sale back when the canadian dollar was doing better than the american one.

15. How old were you when you started riding?
11. The deal was I had to wait to be old enough to work somewhat unsupervised in exchange for the privilege.

16. Leather or Nylon halters?
Either. Current barn the lesson kids tend to mix halters up, so cheap nylon. At home they live in leather ones because they're prettier :)

17. Leather or Synthetic saddles?
Leather! Although synthetic may be in my future, my love of animals has me seriously re considering buying leather things.

18. What "grip" of reins do you like?
Laced. Bridget is fairly heavy in the contact and I hate gloves, so everything else with any kind of grip shreds my fingers.

19. English or Western?
Prefer english, but can be seen in a western saddle now and then on the trails. Sometimes in an english bridle and western saddle at the same time. I have no pride :)

20. How many horses do you currently own/lease?
I own two.

Full board with great turnout = the best

1. Do you board your horse? Self-care/full board? Home board?
I've done all of the above, but currently full board is suiting my lifestyle

22. Have you ever had to put down a horse that you loved?
Yes, but it's been a very long time (and fingers crossed never again).

23. How many saddlepads do you have?
Rather than counting, it's easier to say the stack in the corner of our basement is about 5' high.

24. Slant-load trailer or straight haul?
Angle haul. Owning smaller horses, I like being able to turn them around and lead them out head first.

25. Why do you ride?
I've just always loved riding and animals, particularly horses. Also, my mind is always going a mile a minute - horses are the only thing that make me focus, live in the moment and enjoy it.

Trials and Tribulations

This morning marked our visit to see Ms Ginger at the farm just outside Vancouver. I was really excited to see her, but also slightly apprehensive. Overall, I felt pretty positive I'd have a great visit and a great ride - my confidence has never been higher, and Ginger has been doing really well with Trainer M.

Part of me really doesn't want to blog/think about my visit, but the main part feels like you've all followed along this far, plus the only person judging me around here seems to be me :)

So, the minute I walked up to Ginger's paddock she was like "Oh no, not you!!" She is after all the master at reading people and could tell from a mile off I was feeling a little emotional.

Trainer M ran thorough some of the things she's done with Ginger, and hopped on for a ride. Ginger obviously likes her (she is a beautiful rider) and looked as relaxed and happy as I've ever seen her. She's done a great job, particularly as Ginger tried her best to convince everyone she was feral for the first few weeks. Pony is all about needing someone to trust before she'll work for you.

Next up, my turn to ride. Annddd, it went really badly. Poor Ginger was like "Why are you shouting at me, I am not Bridget! Please relax and don't nag" I don't really even know how to recap my "ride". Basically I walked around and felt terrible, because Ginger went from going pretty well with M , to being unsure and reactive with me from the moment I got in the saddle. I kind of froze up and got nervous, and honestly just felt horrible that I was making her so upset. M said not to worry, it's obvious we have history, Ginger just wants to be good, it's something we can work through...etc etc etc. I was just like "No. I can't. Ginger deserves better than this, it's obvious she is telling us that I am not the rider she needs right now." 

So, if she doesn't sell I am going to do my very best to find a suitable lessor for her. And on that low note, I said goodbye, gave her a big hug and a bunch of her favorite peppermint treats. Then I got in the truck and cried pretty much the whole way home. I really hate myself right now, guys. I know Ginger can be dramatic and silly, but she really wanted no part of being around me today, and it was pretty hard to hear that from her.

Take 2

Those transitions on a circle made an appearance again for Wednesday's lesson. We started with trot/walk/trot on the circle (Recap: trotting, then asking for one stride of walk, then trotting out again on about a 15m circle). We added some tiny x's in, the goal being bigger, but not faster steps. The focus was really on staying loose and round through the transitions up and down, as well as making smooth ones within the gaits. (The fancy unicorn prancing got to make an appearance again :)

Then we added spirals and our canter/trot/canter exercise in, with the option of spiralling in or out and using the x's if I felt like the canter was "good".

The other catch? It was all done with no stirrups, which should have taken our modified circle of death exercise to an entirely more punishing level. Somewhat unsurprisingly, (since I have a love/hate relationship with my stirrups) everything felt easier. Much easier to sit without tension, much easier to influence the pony with my body, much easier to coordinate my aids. I could hang my leg softly under me, which resulted in my hips and lower back being way looser (and no back pain- oh, what a treat that is!) Midge responded by going really, really nicely, so I think we can lay much of the blame for her bracing and rushing on me. Poor pony.

Cute post ride Midge

There is much for me to think about from yesterday's lesson, there were so many light bulb moments! My comfort zone has always been to ride either without my stirrups, or with them crazy long. I've thought that was just because I grew up that way, having access to a pony but no saddle for many years. Weird habits and all that. Maybe, it's actually easier because my leg is stretched down and relaxed and then the my body naturally lines up into that place where it's easy to follow the horse's motion?  I'm definitely going to need to think on this a little more.

Moving forward, after warming up in a light seat off her back, I'm to do all my flat work in this saddle without stirrups. EC is really liking how I sit and ride without, it's easier on my back, and most importantly, Midge seems to enjoy it. Also, I might consider investing in a dressage saddle. (Gulp!) My current saddle is great for jumping, not so much for the increasingly difficult flat work we're working towards.

The kind of tension we've lately been struggling with for the first 10 minutes or so. No stirrups = almost instant relaxation - wish I had a pic!

No Stirrups November for the win, everyone. How incredibly cool to hear that what felt right to me all these years on the trails IS right. Now off I go to price out dressage saddles...

Canter Trot Canter

So, these days we can canter off immediately when asked, in a fairly balanced transition. We have leads. Walk to canter transitions are reliable enough to be a thing now too. We can (mostly) steer, and pony usually responds when I ask her to move her body around within the canter.

What we're missing is the ability to adjust the canter. One stride currently fits all and things gradually deteriorate to uncoordinated rushing over the course of a few 20 m circles. A common approach to working on that is to ask for a trot transition just before things unravel. As I'm sure I've mentioned, Midge is a very smart and lazy pony, so she figured out super quickly that general flailing around and giving up leads to trotting. Trotting is her happy place, so she will happily bounce off walls and stumble around, then be like "OK, trot?Trot now? How about NOW?*collision course with jump standard* Surely now we trot?" In other words, another approach was needed. Tonight , a slight variation: canter a few strides, then transition to trot but get as few trot strides as possible before cantering again. All on about a 15m circle, insisting on proper bend and quality transitions up and down. The idea of all this being we decrease to 1 stride of trot, then finally think "trot" but keep cantering, and viola, a half halt in the canter is installed. (We could do this on the straight, but again Midge would brace and use it against me/go into runaway pony train mode so the circle, while more difficult to coordinate, is my friend.)

As a rider, this was a simple concept but in practice was the most ridiculously difficult thing. Keeping wayward pony on a circle, on the aids AND doing accurate transitions? I've never felt so uncoordinated in my life. By some magic, to the right we accomplished a consistent 4-6 strides of canter alternating with 1 of trot, and then the theory proved correct, because by half halting and thinking trot for a second we had a legit half halt installed and rebalanced canter activated. Love it!

The left just about fried my brain (what? now I have to weight the other seat bone and use the other outside rein?!!?) and I never did feel as coordinated there, but it is Bridget's easier side and we got it done. 

I'm excited about this exercise - it's difficult for me, but it really works and it's pretty simple. Our transitions were becoming better, and Bridget was really on the aids and focused. It also exposed some (more, lol) position issues on my part...funny how your quirks become very obvious/exaggerated when you feel rushed, as I did when trying to coordinate my body to ask for a correct canter depart with so little prep time. My little cheats became very apparent :)

Even more non excellent photos coming tomorrow :)

Next lesson: Wednesday

Next "event": Visit and mini clinic with Ginger and Trainer M, November 16.

Photo Fail

G came out to the barn with me this weekend and I asked him very nicely to take photos for the blog, because I have no idea how you lovely readers how the patience to stick around looking at only my giant walls of text.

Sadly, beautiful photos were not to be. It rained, HARD, all weekend. Also, it turns out there were multiple sports being played while I was riding, and the temptation to quickly check scores was overwhelming for poor G.

I did have some good rides all weekend, which of course means tonight's lesson will be interesting. I heard a rumor we are doing a no stirrups November thing tonight as well...oh boy.

Anyway, here's my pic, exactly as photographed by G. I may need to hire another photographer :) :

It's really us, I promise. I also promise to make another attempt at photos when he visits next weekend.

Runaway Pony Train

We introduced bounces to Ms Bridget last night and it was a total non event. She was supremely bored by it all. So, we added a vertical, then a tight bend on 3 strides to the bounces. "Meh, I am bored", said Midge. Ok then...

The fences got raised to "T may or may not stay in the tack height" (For the sake of honesty, still not very high, I was really not in the zone last night!). Bridget got inspired and starting using herself. Then she got REALLY inspired and excited and did the runaway train thing. By then, we had added in a two stride vertical to oxer combination, and I was really having troubles there. Jumping in way big and getting left a little behind, with the train only accelerating onwards. We landed over the second slightly out of control, with Midge fairly certain the arena fence was a legit part of the line. No such luck for her, for once my western days came in handy and a stop and rollback happened...slowly, but it happened. Next time through I was ready for her, but she was also ready for me and threw in a very sassy little buck and rear in protest of not being allowed to drag me to the next "jump"(the arena fence?! Seriously, could this pony have a bigger ego?) O was laughing, "Bridget is saying going 4* is totally not a problem!" And then we laughed and laughed...poor Midget, she didn't find it funny at all.

"La la la...I can't hear you!"

Other updates: I have cancelled out on the show with Bridget this weekend. Ginger is still going with trainer M. The pony budget can only stretch so far and I feel like Ginger will benefit more from the outing. I am going to the city the following weekend to catch up with Ginger and get some rides in on her. It's looking more and more like our Ginger story isn't done yet and she will be coming back to live with us. She's going to be boarded with Bridget. One of the working students is going to help me keep both ponies ridden. Long term, I really only can afford/have time for one horse, but I'm choosing not to worry too much for now and just let things work out as they need to. Plus, I think it goes without saying that I've really, really missed my big mare. A large part of me wants to keep the both of them, and let the finances and a life outside the barn be damned :)

Fancy Prancing

We've been joking that Bridget and Katai of Stubborn Together have some sort of pony mind meld thing going on. Since Katai sounds like she's been a very good girl lately I was hoping Bridget might catch that vibe as well on lesson night.

Recycled pictures to break the text...again...

And wow, did she ever. She started out pretty sharp and spooky, but we funneled that energy for good rather than evil and I'm left totally inspired. Just when you think you know what your horse is all about, they surprise you! 

We started off trotting on a circle, spiraling in and out in addition to alternating shoulders to the inside and the outside. Those two things at once are like working in another dimension for my directionally (spell check says that's not a word, but I can't think of an alternate this early!) challenged brain, but it worked and pony warmed up super loose and supple. Next, EC had me think about slooowwwwing down. Bigger steps, same speed. And life was magical. Bridget was really lifting her back and using her hindquarters and it was all totally adjustable from my seat. Huge steps and really swinging through her back, same trot as normal but with a ton more suspension. I'm excited to see if this is a legit button now, and even more excited to see what we can do with it once she is a little stronger. (Fancy unicorn prancing everywhere? My vote is obviously YES. The child in me says it's appropriate for any occasion. If nothing else, we will mesmerize you with our prancing abilities - that is, if I could ever get pictures! ;)

Next up: take that magical unicorn trot and turn it into a canter. This is normally where our world implodes. Last night, it actually went surprisingly well. The transitions were great and the first few strides of canter felt incredible. Things unravelled a little after that, but the overall balance is just so much improved over even a month ago. Even in the not so great moments, I'm now able to ask for and get her to rebalance a stride or two at a time. She no longer has to gallop or break to trot when things get a little awkward.15m canter circles are now a thing, a noticeable improvement from September when 20m ones were a death defying stunt! Her walk and canter are both better than her trot out in the field, so I am hopeful there's a fancy canter waiting to be found consistently in the arena as well.

When we have rides like this I sometimes feel like I need to tone down my recap to keep it real. This time I say screw that - so many of our rides are not just on the struggle bus, but more like the struggle bus came along and ran us over, then stopped and backed up over us again. In other words, I need to really celebrate the good rides! She's probably the least naturally athletic welsh cob I've ever met and is packing around a not so tiny or athletic adult, so I'm extra proud when she gives us an A+ for effort. It really is much more rewarding than if it were all easy.

Add caption

Jim Wofford Clinic Notes

As noted in a previous post, I had hoped for some really detailed and excellent notes, but I had trouble hearing everything. I feel like the sound system was fine, just the seating was packed and people were getting up and down and chatting through much of the sessions. This is THE clinician I have always wanted to audit/ride with, so you can imagine my disappointment. Luckily, the horses and riders all knew their jobs and very professionally filled in the gaps in my hearing with great visual demos of the concepts. I did take home some tips I hope you'll find useful!

Lots of poles being set, sorry we were too far away to get any decent action shots

In no particular order:

-Jumping: as with dressage, you must go forward before you can go back (collect). I.e. start with long, forward distances before setting shorter ones.

-Gymnastics: Use them to create the best shape, for example with the long, flat jumper he set a series of bounces that gradually shortened to encourage a more rounded jump. Show the horse how!

-No such thing as good hands. We should say a rider has good arms.

-Misreading/hitting a jump is punishment enough for the horse, rider shouldn't react. Go back and try again immediately and praise them when they learn from the mistake. 

-Wait for the horse. Your upper body shouldn't move. Sink through knees/hips at takeoff - ideally about the distance from the fence that equals the height of it.

- Don't post the canter. Creates inconsistent contact, bumping with seat. Sit in a light three point.

- Corners. Started with angled jumps, gradually closed the gap from 3 stride, to 2, to 1, to finally a corner. Can set poles to play with this ie widest part of v is a 2 stride, narrowest a baby corner. Excellent for straightness issues!

My MS Paint skillz are embarrassing, but you get the idea.

-Bounces. Rider body needs to stay over knees. Great for agility, teaching rider to move arms rather than body. Forces horse to land and balance (good for those who like to rush away or fall on forehand after jump)

-Low, wide oxers. Guessing about 2' high and about 3' wide for the lower level session, maybe 2'6 x 4' for upper. He had these set everywhere, 2 forming a bounce, in the middle of a gymnastic line followed by a 1 stride to a vertical. Just everywhere. Idea being you need an agile, adjustable horse who learns to listen!

General: I appreciated how the same gymnastic lines came out in every session and he showed us so many variations to play with. With indoor weather coming, it was timely to see exercises demonstrated to keep the horses interested and practicing all the pieces of the xc puzzle without a lot of wear and tear (or large spaces needed). I also loved his coaching style: serious, but with a great sense of humor. Positive and encouraging with the riders, but the horse's welfare always came first. I kinda want to steal him and bring him back to my barn!

Mostly, I appreciated the horses and riders. I've been to a couple of the George Morris clinics at the same venue where there were seriously over faced horses and riders mixed in (and a rightfully angry George! I know the man has a rep for telling it how it is, but I had to totally respect how polite he actually was about it.) I digress though, this year the horses and riders were all excellent and super inspiring! I'm so thankful to whoever organized it, and to the riders for being there to demonstrate how it should be done.

Win Some, Lose Some

After our wonderfully fun jumping lesson earlier in the week, the easy option would have been to build on that via another jumping lesson.

Not super relevant, but Bridget's attitude of late: PARTY(let her jump!) or else.

Sadly for Bridget, I have this idea in my head that I'd like us to be eventers. So some dressaging is necessary. Since Bridget can view flat work as an all out act of war on my part, I had a sneaking feeling this lesson was going to be painful. And so it was. The cool kids might say she forgot how to horse. I'd be inclined to switch that up and instead say she remembered EXACTLY how to Pony. With a capital P, obviously ;)

I'll save the world the tragic recap. I'm just going to hide out and try to forget this one ever happened.

In other win some, lose some news, it's just not going to work out for me to go the foxhunt this weekend. I was so excited to go, but I'm just way too over committed/poor. I also need to actually spend quality time with my guy and our adorable cat, BK. (A terrible name; almost a year on and now definitely adult sized, I still call him/he answers to the Baby Kitty. Waiting until the perfect name came to me obviously was a terrible plan. Out of desperation/embarrassment at the vet I called him BK, so it's official. Just imagine it stands for something really, really cool)

Too dignified for his name

Stolen from a fellow blogger (I think?). Love it for obvious reasons...if you know the source, please let me know - I'd love to credit you/find a printable copy for my wall :)

Anyway, I can't have horsey weekends every weekend! On the good news side, it's looking like we'll be able to attend the same show Ginger and her trainer are going to Nov 8th. It's a 2 phase event (dressage and show jumping) near the big city. Depending on weather/time we might be able to do a little xc schooling too. It should be fun, provided we can remember how to dressage in less than 10 days!

Flying

Monday night: my favorite because it's lesson night! There were 4 of us at tonight's lesson, all adults. EC likes to keep groups at 3 maximum, but seriously, 4 organized adults worked great and felt way less chaotic than sharing with even 2 kids. That's obviously just my feeling though!

Wondering if trainer got her inspiration from the Jim Wofford clinic this weekend. Clinic notes coming soon!

 EC had some gymnastic exercises planned for the night. Our little group has sort of a varied amount of confidence and experience, so starting off small is a must! First off, ground poles...7 of them spaced as canter poles. Midge had to really stretch to make the strides and fit in with the big horses, but she got there. Next, the middle pole was turned into a teeny cross rail. Midge got excited about that and I had a bit of a job keeping her canter consistent, but again, not a big problem. Next, the second pole also got replaced by a cross rail. No issues. Since a couple of our lesson mates were having a bit of trouble, the exercise had to stay the same, but I was told to ride it without my reins (arms out like I'm flying- ha ha all I could think is that cheesy scene from the Titanic movie). Pony straightness actually still was a thing without reins. Also, I learned that at some point in the last year my balance has magically improved over fences. No hands = zero problem.

Lots of poles

Next up, a third cross rail was added to the end of the line. So, canter pole, cross rail, one stride (with canter pole) to cross rail, and another one stride ( with canter pole) to the final jump, and one last pole after that. Again, Midge was a star, but still a little over enthusiastic. No reins went fine, but the steering got slightly dodgy coming out of it! Everyone else was pretty much done, so EC raised it all up to "serious" Midge height (center of x's maybe 2'3"). Midge jumped in way big and we had a bit if a moment getting out over the second, but the third rode great.  Back around one final time and Midge was taking no chances, way over jumping but being very careful with her feet over the ground poles and letting me make adjustments as needed. Good pony! Confident, but not rushing - just what we wanted. Great practice for me too, because everything comes up rather quickly and I still tend to get in a bit of a muddle and jump ahead. This really forced me to sit up and wait! Pony loved it too, and felt super confident. EC says she loves building big x's for that reason - visually, they look imposing, particularly in a gymnastic line, but realistically if you stay straight over the center they aren't big at all. Gives everyone lots of confidence!

Hand grazing for good ponies

All in all, this was my favorite Bridget ride in many months :)