What a Difference a Julio Mendoza Clinic Makes!

After getting 57% at the Fix-A-Test, I took Cruz to a local schooling show for our first outing at Second Level test.

I really wanted to improve our score by at least two percentage points.

Show Number One

We just squeezed into the 60% bracket with our Second Level 1 test – my shoulder-ins were too much like shoulder-fores and received 5s. Then I dipped below that magic 60% in Second Level 2: my sad attempts at travers both received 4s, with the comments ‘not succeeded.’

Ouch!

Then Along Came Julio

However, I was booked into a two day clinic with Julio Mendoza, who’d been invited by a fellow PVDA Calvert Chapter member to visit our humble Southern Maryland area. I am so glad he did. He is a very upbeat, courteous and fun guy who wants riders and their horses to enjoy themselves.

Quick Background

Two days earlier I’d had a second lesson with a new instructor, as my former trainer was getting too busy with her competition circuit to devote regular time to teaching.

We were to ride shoulder-in and travers at walk on a 20 meter circle, punctuating the movements with halts.  This enabled me to concentrate on bending Cruz around my inside leg for the travers, and keeping a strong outside rein for the shoulder-in.

We then graduated to trotting the same exercise, alternating between compressing Cruz and releasing him forwards. His trot improved 1000%.

Back to Julio

So I warmed Cruz up in the same fashion at the clinic, and was thrilled when Julio continued during our session with the same exercises. But he did add some changes.

1. Bit Placement

First, he lowered the bit one hole in my gelding’s mouth. He explained to me that the area of the bar immediately in front of the horse’s teeth is very sensitive. By placing the bit further down, it was now resting on a less touchy part of his jaw.

Cruz immediately began to chew happily (and at our last show was actually foaming at the mouth!).

2. Hand Placement & Rein Function

Julio told me that I keep my hands too far apart. My outside hand should come almost to my horse’s mane and my inside hand should be close to it. The reins should also be held a little in front of the saddle.

One function of the outside rein is to lift the horse - together with the rider’s shoulders, core and lower back. This rein ‘belongs to the rider.’

The inside rein ‘belongs to the horse’ and one of its uses is to relax his top line.

Keeping my hands more together maintains the horse in a more condensed ‘packet.’ Julio had to constantly remind me to do this during the two days of the clinic, but I could feel a huge difference in my horse when I did as I was told.

3. Use of the Reins and Legs

Julio says the inside rein ‘belongs to the horse’ while the outside rein ‘belongs to the rider.’

The outside rein stays constant, supporting - but not holding - the horse. Since the aim is to get the horse to lighten up in front, any time he leans on either rein, release that rein a tiny bit before resuming contact. This takes away the horse’s prop so he has to carry himself.

The inside rein is the more playful rein, which releases as a reward to the horse when he bends, gives, etc. This doesn’t mean constantly messing about with it: just let it be softer/squeezed more than the outside rein so the horse gives to it and bends laterally.

At the same time the inside leg needs to urge the horse forwards and into the outside rein, while the outside leg supports him.

4. Shoulder-In and Travers

In the shoulder-in, I learned to maintain my inside leg behind the girth to keep the horse’s haunches out on the track, while my strong outside rein brought his shoulders in for enough angle. I also learned that I need more forward impulsion to perform a good shoulder-in.

For travers my horse needs to be properly bent around my inside leg, yet not over bent, laterally or horizontally. Again, with correct impulsion, Cruz found it easy to perform a correct travers.

5. Collected Trot

I needed a sharp reminder that ‘collected’ trot does not mean ‘slower’ trot!

My clue to having achieved collected trot was when Cruz moved forwards in a controlled fashion with so much bounce I could hardly sit it out! He became lighter in front, and moved laterally with ease. It was a great feeling. This trot also segued effortlessly into a spectacular medium trot.

The Second Show

Thanks to that clinic, at the following show I got 6s for my shoulder-ins (no more shoulder-fores) and 6.5 for my travers (goodbye to those 4s!).  

With expert guidance from Julio and my current instructor, Cruz and I are on truly en route to becoming a genuine Second Level partnership!

P.S. On the second day of the clinic, before our session began, a clap of thunder and instant downpour of rain on the indoor arena’s roof freaked Cruz out, and he took off!

When I finally brought him to a standstill, I leaped off and stood shaking while trying to reassure Cruz that all was well.

Julio gave me a kind hug, then hopped on Cruz for a while. It was lovely to see the horse go so well with a great rider! Julio was so calm that Cruz settled straight down to work and I was soon able to resume my lesson on him.

It drummed into me how staying calm oneself is vital to convincing the horse that there is nothing to worry about.

We're Riding Second Level!

Yes, folks, it’s official, Cruz is a Second Level horse now!

The winter here in Maryland was so mild that I was able to continue with a reasonably regular riding routine throughout. But I ride Cruz very differently from before.

He’s gone from being argumentative, head-in-the-air, I won’t-go-round and I won’t-listen-to-you to ‘O.K. Mom, what do you want from me today?’

I’m so excited about this that I want to share with you how this came about!

Forward

Steuart Pittman, the eventer, told me not to force Cruz to bend to the left, his bad side. ‘Just ride him forward and keep his head straight.’

This took the fight out of our sessions.

Because I was thinking forward while I rode, my hands came forward. Cruz was very thankful for this. He responded by becoming relaxed and softer in the mouth, jaw and neck.

My instructor added, ‘Use more left leg.’ This, plus short intervals of lateral flexion to the outside (right) encouraged Cruz to give to the left ‘by himself.’ As long as I continue to ask for forward motion and carry my hands over his withers, I have a co-operative horse.

It’s also important for me to keep my hands ‘alive’ - constantly talking gently to him with the ring fingers on both hands, but not nagging. I have a tendency to lock my left arm and hand, which adds to his left side resistance.

A Bit of Foam

Another suggestion from my instructor made a huge difference. Cruz’s  cavesson noseband comes with a leather pad under the chin. But my trainer recommended putting a strip of foam between Cruz’s jaw and the pad to further soften the impact of the noseband.

I have a foam mattress cover from Walmart, and have been chopping up for all sorts of things, such as extra girth protection. So I cut a strip from this and placed it under Cruz’s jaw.

He felt the extra comfort immediately and gave me no grief when asked for vertical flexion. This of course made me feel terrible that I hadn’t thought of doing this before! I’m not suggesting that a piece of foam is a cure-all for flexion issues, but it certainly helped in this case.

Counter Canter

Now that my horse was listening I could attempt counter-canter again, which had been such a disaster previously.

I was very careful to sit as tall and balanced as possible in the saddle as we negotiated the half circles and three loop serpentines. This time he stayed quiet and rhythmic, without breaking stride.

Simple Changes

Because Cruz is so ‘right-handed’ I was demanding too much left flexion in the simple change from right lead to left lead canter. I felt the need to exaggerate my request for left lead canter out of the walk.

What I achieved instead was another right lead canter depart (and an upset, confused horse).

As soon as I kept his body and neck straight while giving the left canter aids, Cruz quietly moved into a smooth left canter.

Putting It All to the Test

This past weekend I was lucky enough to find a Fix-A-Test locally. I could ride my first time at Second Level in front of a judge, have her comment on it, and help me improve without the stress of competition.

Cruz was an angel, and did everything I asked. We were awarded 57% - a great start to our season!

However: the judge commented that Cruz travels with his hind quarters to the right. He is not straight and this detracted from every single movement.

She offered me a choice: go through the test again, or work on straightness? I chose the latter.

Two Exercises for Straightness

1. Trot: Because Cruz carries his haunches to the right, riding haunches in (or travers) on the left rein trains him to move those haunches to the left.

Afterwards, in regular trot, his hindquarters are directly behind his shoulders and his ‘engine’ is pushing him evenly into both my hands. This has the effect of making him more ‘up’ in front, adding bounce and energy to his gaits. He feels as if he is moving without effort.

2. Trot and Canter: Ride on the quarter line so the horse doesn’t follow the boundary fence. This makes it obvious to the rider if the horse isn’t traveling straight. 

Channel the horse between your knees, and place the reins where the horse’s shoulders should be if they were directly in front of the horse’s haunches.

For example: Cruz carries his shoulders to the left of his haunches. My job is to align his shoulders in front of his haunches with my knees and the reins. After a while he starts to ‘fill up’ my slightly open right rein, as his shoulders come in front of his hindquarters.

Driving the horse forwards into the contact helps.

Once Cruz is moving straight, I can feel the power that gets wasted when he’s going all over the place instead of forwards!

The straightness makes collection easier, and he is ‘up’ in front for the transitions from canter to walk and up again. He listens to my seat and is lighter in the hand.

Encouragement for the Future

Less than a year ago I was being strongly advised to sell Cruz. His canter was lateral and he refused to submit to the bridle. I am now riding Second Level with that same horse, thanks to a different training system and his CoolStance feed, plus supplementary Quiessence with chelated magnesium, to counteract the effects of the sugar in the spring grass.

I look forward to the new season with a transformed (and straight) horse!