A great riding lesson!

Today's lesson was fantastic. At the moment we are making progress all the time, and it's a good feeling. I need to remember this when we take steps backwards. But it's been a long time coming!

The major things I learned today are:

1. To emphasize the outside rein (especially the right with Cruz) hold it open and downwards until he gives to it, while keeping the inside rein steady. This worked beautifully, at all gaits. And don't be afraid to do it during the test.

2. Use light taps with the whip to activate his hind end when he slows down, which is usually in the corners, while keeping my legs on to encourage him forwards.

3. Also when turning make sure to support Cruz with my legs, including going up the center line.

Cruz gave me smooth canter transitions and stayed round and straight along the long sides. His trot work was lovely, too.

Let's see if I can replicate the work tomorrow and through the weekend!

Riding while being videoed

Two days ago I finally got my seventeen year old to tear himself away and take some footage of yours truly. I need it to post on YouTube at some point to link to my website, so people can see I'm not lying when I say I ride!

I'm also entertaining the idea of volunteering at a Thoroughbred Rescue center where they retrain OTTBs to become regular riding horses. The center needs a video of me riding, since the folks there are understandably wary of unknowns claiming they can ride well enough to be of any use.

I was pleasantly surprised at the result. Cruz behaved very well, so of course the batteries on my little hand-held device went dead after I began my canter work on the right lead. My son switched to the regular video camera which records on tape, but I have yet to discover (a) how to view it through the camera and (b) how to transfer it to the computer and thence to YouTube. I'm trying to get my son to film me again. Now all I need is no more rain, which started again with a vengeance today.

However, Cruz has been pretty good the past two days. He still tried it on with me in left canter after the filming stopped and took a while to convince that I was just going to sit there, quietly but firmly asking him to flex left and keep cantering without throwing a fit about it. Eventually he gave in.

Then yesterday we went through the two tests we have on Sunday, to finish. He had a bad moment but it was soon over. I was trying to keep things smooth as though I were in the ring, so as to know how to hide the fact that he's being difficult while bringing him round to my way of thinking.

I've been wearing my custom show boots again, and am so pleased that it's made no negative difference now. And the most wonderful thing of all is that yesterday I was able to sit quietly in all three gaits, without nagging with my legs. Cruz responded so well, by becoming ultra-sensitive to the lighest of pressure from my legs, encouraging me in this new and improved way of riding! I know he's thinking "It's about &^*$% time, Mom!"

So although my arena flooded again today, I have fond memories of yesterday to see me through to tomorrow.

I have been giving him Ex-Stress in preparation for the Equestrian Center on Sunday, just to help see him through the overnight stay and the day at the show.

Quick! Ride before it rains again!

Yesterday was frustrating: I wanted to soldify the lessons learned the day before, and ended up waiting for the plumber all day. Allegedly he was going to arrive within 2 hours of 11:30 a.m. Time to ride after he's finished before the sun goes down, I thought. Well, he didn't get here till at 5 p.m.

Then today, Sunday, it didn't rain until we'd been to Starbucks and had our coffee and done the crossword. I was livid! I have the show next weekend and need to keep Cruz going. Luckily the rain stopped for long enough to bring the horses in, give them hay and let them dry off before I rode.

The wind was blowing very hard, in big gusts, and Cruz thought it a reason for spooking at the end of my arena as usual. But he behaved very well about being mounted and walking off, and after that he only tried it on when we came to that end of the arena. He tried very hard at the left canter, as usual, but I persevered and he gave in quite quickly. I made sure he would behave round that corner and then cantered him quite a bit more to make sure he would keep it up.

I then brought him back to trot and he was fantastic!! He was supple and round and in front of the leg.
I did some work in sitting trot and made sure he'd transition into canter on both leads with no argument.
Cruz was great, and we finished on a good note.

Riding Lesson notes

Today's lesson was, as usual, very educational and humbling! Let's see if I can remember everything.

We concentrated on getting me to look up instead of at Cruz's neck and react to the feel of him in the reins. I can assess what's going on and adjust my riding much faster this way.

1. I need to ask Cruz to give on the right rein until he does it. Whether I'm riding to the left or right, I need to get him to submit to the right rein. Once he does, he gives in the back and is more supple - in all gaits.

2. When he doesn't want to bend left (once we start what he considers to be 'work') I mustn't turn him in small circles while emphasizing my left rein and asking him to get off my left leg. This makes him more unbalanced, and upsets him. I need to work him on a larger circle where he has a chance of co-operating, and loosen my upper thigh, while keeping my legs quiet. I have a habit of using too much left leg, which encourages him to move sideways.

3. Moving sideways instead of forwards as asked means he is behind the leg and able to evade my aids. I must keep him in front of my leg and using his rear end, then he won't feel I'm in his face and will be better able to co-operate.

3. When I asked him for left canter from walk he got discombobulated very fast. If this happens, I need to stay calm, keep my left rein asking for inside bend, loosen my thighs and relax my legs again. Just stay like that and he'll give in graciously, without a fight. It really worked.

4. Maintain that right rein (without giving up the left rein) while cantering down the long side in left lead. If necessary, move his head left and right - just minimally - to keep him supple in the neck and round and giving his back. Same goes for right lead canter, but he did that better anyway, 'cos it's easy for him.

5. Cruz doesn't want to get underneath himself in canter, so he tends to rush down the long side. I have to make sure I get him round, and with half-halts bring him into a more balanced canter. At one point he did a flying change from left to right lead to get out of cantering to the dreaded left! That was a first.

6. As a general rule, use shoulder fore whenever I'm riding down the long side.

7. Use shoulder fore coming onto the quarter line and moving into leg yield. Look where I'm going, so we don't overshoot the quarter line and go round in a circle again. Keep the outside rein guiding the horse on the line I want to take, maintain the shoulder fore and ask him to move laterally.

8. When in sitting trot in the final phase, ask him to lengthen and shorten (not 'go faster' or 'more slowly' because the impulsion and activity have to remain the same) to get him used to bringing his hocks underneath himself and strengthening his hind end.

Great trot, square halt, big pats with sugar and walking to cool him off.

There are horses and then there are horses: do mares and geldings mix in the field?

A very close friend of mine needs to move her 18 year old mare from her current deluxe quarters in a state where shoeing costs over $300 per horse, down to yours truly's humble establishment, where it costs less than half that amount. I hope to integrate her easily into the herd, as it were.

Cruz's mum ran with him and the other two geldings for years, and it was never a problem. It made for a balance in numbers and Cruz remained very close - in a filial way  - to his mum until her death when he was six. I think he misses her, as he bonds very fast with mares when we go to shows or clinics, and I think he will be overjoyed to have a mother figure in his life again.

But I'll have to be very careful how I introduce the new horse to the others. I don't want fights to break out over her - been there, done that, with fatal consequences - and will have to be extremely watchful.

If we can make this work, Cruz won't be the odd man out any more. Sometimes the two older horses go off and leave him in a corner of the field by himself, which makes me feel sorry for him and want to cry over the death of his mother all over again.

It won't be for a few weeks, and my friend will arrive with her horse, and stay until the mare has settled. So I have time to come up with a game plan.

Horse riding can be fun, after all!

Somehow I've managed to keep it all together for the last two days! Cruz spooked at a deer rustling in the trees by the entrance to my arena, and decided it was a good ruse to continue shying at that spot as soon as I asked him to start his trot work. He thought it was a fantastic idea to do the "I can't canter on the left lead here, because Something Bad is going to get me."

For the first time ever, I kept my hands in their correct position, and each time Cruz tried to throw his head up or evade me any other way, I just kept a steady even contact. Lo and behold! He gave in very quickly, after the first try during his trot warm up and a couple of attempts to evade me in left lead canter.

It was such a good feeling to have him submit without a fight!! I patted him and told him he was a good boy.  I could sense that by keeping a firm but not unkind hold on the reins, he felt reassured that I really was in charge and that there was nothing to worry about/no point trying it on!

Tomorrow I have a lesson and have told my instructor that I only hope I can show her what I've been bragging about, and not have it all fall apart under pressure!

Watch this space.

Steady hands, happy horse!

It was so good to get back in the saddle today after 96 hours of torrential rain. The previously half-full water troughs were overflowing. Although my arena wasn't completely dry, it was very rideable.

Cruz was just wonderful again. He stretched down into the steady contact my hands are finally offering, bent easily to the left and right, cruised smoothly into canter on both reins and snorted happily all the while.

And the main reason for this: STEADY HANDS!!! Why, oh why did I never pay sufficient attention to my hands before these past few weeks? All Cruz has ever asked of me - well, one of the things he requires - is constant support from yours truly. Now he knows where to put his head, he's happy to do it.

End of ride: lots of pats while walking him off. Dismount, loosen girth, flash and cavesson, many apple chunks and hugs in thanks. We both admired the beautiful sunset to our right as we walked side by side up to the barn, with the obligatory stop to poop in my driveway (by Cruz, not me!).

My Thoroughbred cross horse and his apparent reaction to sudden temperature drop

After four solid days of pouring rain, a swimming pool instead of a riding arena, watching Cruz roar around the field, rearing and spinning for lack of other exercise, and a missed horse show on Sunday as a result, the sun came out. Hurray! By late afternoon the arena was rideable.

As I groomed Cruz I noticed two things. One, his winter coat has suddenly sprouted and two, he is no longer sensitive about being brushed. He's been enormously antsy while having his stomach and even his back cleaned, and has several times tried to cow-kick me: that's not Cruz at all! I was very much hoping this new sensitivity was down to the change in season, and it looks as if it was. This is the first year it's happened. Maybe because of the rapid drop in temperature and his body's attempt to compensate fast. Now his coat is thicker he's back to enjoying being groomed.

After the second day of rain, which my British born horses usually don't mind, I brought them all in for a few hours to dry off. I didn't want them getting rain rot/scratches. They have the option of coming out of the weather any time they want, as I've set up the stables to act as run-in sheds as well, but they weren't taking advantage of this shelter.

Kinley and CD were fine, but Cruz was shivering. I put a net blanket on him and covered that with a light wool rug. He was immediately more comfortable, and soon warm and dry. The three horses then wore New Zealands until the temperature rose and they were happier without them.

Anyway, that's taught me that when the weather suddenly and dramatically cools down, the Thoroughbred part of Cruz has a tough time with it. Luckily for them, the Irish Draft in the other two overrides the sensitivity of their Thoroughbred side.

This is different from usual: Cruz is normally the horse wanting to be out in the rain, snow, ice, you name it. I always thought this was his one quarter Welsh Cob coming through - the rugged pony part of him. In Virginia he used to open his stable door so he could be out in some terrible weather conditions. So once again I put his atypical body reaction down to the suddenness of the temperature drop.

One has never learned everything when it comes to horses. That's why they never get boring!

A Good Rider is a Good Leader

Have just come back from riding Cruz in the rain. Hey, we're both from England - we can take it!

I hope I'm not speaking too soon, but Cruz is in such a good mood and so co-operative that I'm in high hopes of a good show on Sunday. He's teaching me things he's tried to tell me for ever, but which I am only just now listening to. Poor Cruz has a rather dense mum.

I have a really irritating habit of adjusting my left rein all the time. I don't keep my fingers wrapped round it tightly enough and it gets longer as I ride, necessitating constant shortening. This means the left rein is never steady and annoys the heck out of Cruz. It has taken me years to figure out just how disconcerting it is for him, which is very embarrassing and makes me feel bad for him. So much of his anxiety in left canter can be traced to this one issue, plus not enough right rein.

What it boils down to is that Cruz has never had constant reassurance and true leadership from me. It's like being a girl with a dance partner who is supposed to lead but keeps changing his mind about where he wants to go or how to get there. He sometimes has his arm round your back, supporting it, then takes it away, then puts it back. Can you imagine how worrying that is, having no support from your partner and not knowing what's coming next, as you're never being properly prepared for the next step?

I'm working hard to be the reassuring, confident leader of our dance partnership, and keeping steady contact with my hands, appropriate leg pressure and bend/flexion, forward movement and preparing Cruz correctly and in timely fashion for transitions.

It's really working! 

He went long and low and stretched and bent in walk, trot and canter, snorting away and letting me know he approved of the New Me. His transitions were smooth, and even his first canters were easy to sit to, as he gave in his back early. Consquently I positioned my legs better in left canter, as I am just as right-handed as Cruz is and we both struggle on the left rein.

Once again, the session didn't need to be long. His work was just as good in sitting trot, and with my keeping a firm but soft hold on the left rein, he is happy to give to it in the canter transitions and stay flexed correctly to the left both on circles and on the straight.

I think I'm finally getting the hang of being a good leading dance partner. Even when he heard a deer moving in the woods and thought about taking off, he stayed calm because I kept him between my hands and legs.

Another good day!

Riding horses is about being grateful for any progress!

Cruz and I had our lesson, which was very hard work on both of us. My instructor showed me how to persevere without getting into an almighty fight, specifically maintaining my cool when Cruz doesn't care to bend or even remotely flex to the left.

The next day my rear end was so sore, I just rode in walk! But it was productive and I used the time to practice shoulder-in and renvers (I'm not very good at the latter yet, so walk is easier on the horse). The next day Cruz was much more co-operative and the week progressed well until we hit another brick wall. Cruz definitely has a work threshhold! He is now very good at counter canter on the left lead while bending inwards to the right! He much prefers that to a normal left lead canter. I persevered until I got a decent-ish left canter from a decent-ish right legyield, then stopped.

In my next lesson, I was shown how Cruz sets his neck in any given bend and doesn't care to change it. We worked on exercises to loosen his neck while riding long and low, all the way up to asking for more engagement and raising his poll. It was, once again, very hard work, but he began to give in his back as well as in his neck and jaw, and did some lovely work. I was able to sit quietly and ended on a high!

I was busy the next day, so he had time to recover. When I rode him again, I made sure to keep his neck and jaw supple while asking him to move forwards off my leg. Another thing I must keep in mind is that if he is going sufficiently forwards he won't feel that I'm getting 'in his face' when I ask strongly for any given bend if he doesn't give in easily. The whole ride was peaceful: Cruz listened to my requests very politely, gave the required bend, so that I was able to reduce that to flexion early on. AND, he gave me the most wonderful left canter. It took less than half an hour to reach this point, and I stopped then and there. Big pats and a walk around the neighborhood as a reward.

Cruz has continued for four days like this, and I am able to ride more quietly - at last - without getting after him. Another thing I have realized is that I am very unsteady with my left hand. I am beginning to appreciate how negatively this affects Cruz - heck, if I were a horse, I'd be a lot less tolerant than he is! I'm concentrating on keeping my left hand steady, especially through the upwards canter transition, when I've been giving the rein away and then trying to get it back after he's got upset. It's working a treat: if  I keep that steady contact even on the hated left rein, Cruz feels comfortable and flexes nicely to the left.

Of course, I need to watch that right rein! So much of my straightness 'issues' with Cruz result from a lack of sufficient right rein...Dressage is certainly never boring! But it feels great to look forward to my rides again, and not have to keep going ad nauseam just to correct some issue. My riding time has been cut almost in half at the moment. That'll change as I introduce more work, but for now I want Cruz to feel that it's all easy for him and that his canter work is no big deal.

I have a show coming up on Sunday next. I'm in the PVDA Chapter Challenge Show on November 1st. My team is riding Training Level so that we are all able to compete together. I'm riding the same tests this Sunday as a practice for the November show. Given the way Cruz is going. I'm hopeful that we'll do well.

Interestingly I've found that wearing my super warm winter riding boots has improved my leg position.