Practice makes perfect better

Since our lesson with Suzan, I've been using a CorrecTOR with rear shims to balance my saddle as suggested, and we've been working on keeping the walk (and trot) regular and unhurried. Stella is fine with the CorrecTOR (a few horses aren't), and the saddle position does feel better to me.

Stella understands what my body/leg half-halts mean, and tries to comply (sometimes wonderfully), but other times she is just so full of "go" that it is nearly impossible to s-l-o-w  d-o-w-n to a measured, four-beat walk. So I pull out the toolbox (cavaletti, shoulder-in, leg-yield, halt and rein-back) to help her control herself and we always make a little progress. Sometimes we just work at the walk and trot, sometimes we canter, too – if she's settled enough. Unlike a lot of horses, getting to canter tends to ramp her up rather than lower her energy.

Looking a little tidier after getting her bridle path and jaw line scissor-trimmed.

Yesterday I rode her twice. It was a beautiful day. Since I'd turned the horses out at dusk the night before (and since there will be occasions when she can't have turn-out before a ride, so it's good experience), I just pulled her out of her quarters to school her in the morning (we did our walk warm-up, of course). Stella was working hard to listen to my half-halts, so after some good work at the walk and trot I led her back to her stall, still cool and dry. As the day progressed I got an itch to ride through the woods while the weather allowed, so I turned the horses out to run and play, then saddled up Stella a second time. No warm-up; we just headed up the driveway. She was eager but tense, not a good combo to navigate the slick conditions that lead down onto the neighbor's lot to access the gravel road and she resisted, so I hopped off and led her through their property and remounted using a boulder at the bottom of their drive. We walked up and down all three dead-end 'branches' of Matthews Creek Lane, checking out the 'progress' at the least developed end, but didn't go up the longest, steepest hill on another branch as it was getting dark. Riding in dark clothes with black tack on a black horse with nowhere to get off the gravel lane if a car came through just didn't seem like a good idea. I do have a hi-viz vest but didn't think to don it. 😏

Even though we just walked, Stella worked up a sweat from nerves and lots of hill work, so I put Breezy's cooler on her. Last night Rick cleaned stalls while I fed and watered everyone, so I forgot all about it. When I saw her in the paddock this morning, my 'dressed' horse took me by surprise. Then I had to take a photo; she just looks so elegant, like a movie star relaxing in her dressing gown. 😊

First lesson of 2022

After being able to resume more frequent schooling sessions this month, I decided it was time for another lesson with Suzan. I texted her on Sunday, and she said she could fit us in this morning!

It was a drizzly day; I was thinking I might have to walk Stella up and down the barn aisles in lieu of a warm-up. But the lesson before us finished early so Suzan ushered us into the indoor arena. Suzan noted that my saddle isn't sitting balanced on Stella's back, and suggested I use my CorrecTOR pad with shims to lift the cantle. She also noted that Stella has filled out some since our last lesson and is croup-high, meaning she's grown. Hopefully her front end will follow suit....

As before, Suzan was worried that I was going to just get on without lunging Stella first, but after a minute or so of high tension, Stella settled well and we got to work on her, and me. Below are my notes, which I sat down and typed as soon as I got home so as to forget as little as possible!

Use sustained half halt to slow Stella's walk down to a steady, four-beat "3," then ease out of it (not abrupt release) while keeping the clear four-beat walk, BREATHE, and become a wet sandbag in the saddle. If she gets tense or hurried (often!), repeat. and keep repeating as needed. Don't pull on the reins; the half halt should be in my body and legs. If she dives down, squeeze her up with inside leg; if she gets high with her head, follow with my hands. Keep my shoulders down, neck back into collar, chin up (not tucked); look forward between her ears. BREATHE. Let my hips move when she relaxes (think "move with her ribcage/encourage her ribcage to move"). BREATHE.

Most of this applies to trot as well; stretch left side and don't twist torso.

If she startles or spooks at something, let her stand (stroking) until her energy comes down if possible.

Before asking for shoulder-in, do a slow volté (half halt!) and push her hindquarters out, then continue down the wall with that bend. Harder to the left; think "swing her ribcage in a pulsing motion."

Stella did so much better than her first lesson in the indoor. She really wants to scurry along and got frustrated at times that I wouldn't let her go in her default quick, tense pace, but she tried. Suzan remarked on how much better she was today, too. It was a good lesson.

1-2-3, as different as can be

Last Thursday morning, the farrier was out to trim the horses' feet. Stella has always been good for him; tense, but good. This time she was not just good, but relaxed for the first time. SmartCalm Ultra for the win! But lest I relax too much....

That afternoon I got home from work with cooperative weather and enough daylight left to ride. We did our usual warm-up walk, and (as near as I can recollect) I started messing with unfamiliar reins (I had swapped them out so that each pair stayed with the bridle they matched). Stella started or jigged or something, and my boot, wet and sandy, forcefully slipped out of the stirrup, which banged into Stella's side. Startled, Stella jumped, which made the stirrup bump her again, and off she went, bucking to the end of the arena. Thankfully I stayed on and got her stopped, because I think it would have really spooked her if I'd come off. Instead, I was able to stroke and calm her, and we finished our ride, including cantering, without incident.

Better yet, STAY on!

The next day I happened to read Anna Blake's newest blog post before heading to the barn to take advantage of the improving weather. After an energetic turn-out,

Turn-out started out calmly enough, but then . . .

I worked on positioning my feet in the stirrups as she suggested, and what do you know; we had an EXCELLENT schooling session. I was happier with my legs and seat, and Stella seemed to be as well. I resolved to read and re-read Anna's post as a reminder until I develop new muscle memory.

The third ride in this post was Sunday afternoon. Stella was back to being a 'go-go girl' (I'm dating myself with that reference!) with lots of nervous energy, jigging and fussiness. Where was my SmartCalm mare? Perhaps I could have found her again – if I'd had time. But Rick called me from town, needing an address, and a septic tank pumper texted me that he was on his way, so I had to find something relatively positive to end on and get back up to the house. Now that I'm typing it out, I realize that those other things – and their effect on my nerves – may have contributed to Stella's nerves.

Since then, we've had rides #4 and #5. Tuesday's ride started out similarly tense to #3. Since she wanted to GO, I let her move into canter work more quickly than usual after our warm-up, and we cantered until she was ready to trot. That seemed to help, although I didn't have long to evaluate the strategy's effect since I was called upon to pick up DS from work in Portland. (I have to wear too many hats....)

Today I said "yes" to Stella's pointed desire to leave the arena and head down the road. It was a beautiful, warm, dry day. She eyed the recycling bins along the road, worried they might flap and rustle like the trash bins did on that windy day, but they behaved themselves. Further down the road, we were greeted by a jarring chorus of barking from a place that has four dogs. Stella stopped. Then their newest one, an LGD, jumped the fence and made her way towards us barking, hackles raised. I dismounted and held the reins, reassuring Stella that I would defend her if necessary. The owner came out and eventually got the dog back onto their property, so I (took a photo of Stella and)

led her past that property before remounting. We continued to the end of the lane and back home, passing the property with barking dogs again without incident. I was so proud of her!

My local Oregon Dressage Society chapter has folded, but the winter schooling show we ran for ~20 years has been picked up by another chapter and I would love to enter Stella in the Bears Above the Ground show at the end of February. In my dressage 'career' I've always set fairly ambitious showing goals and then worked towards reaching them, and that has worked for me with a lot of different horses. But Stella? I know Suzan would tell me to give her more time to grow up, and I know she's right. TTT – things take time. It's only fair to give her that.

The rest of November's rides

11/23: Showers on and off since last night left the arena a maze of puddles. Since I turned the horses out for a romp at dusk last night after working in town, I decided to tack up Stella and ride without turning her out first, and mostly ride outside the arena. We did our usual warm-up walk on the buckle in the sandbox, and then headed up the driveway. Deciding it was too slippery to turn left and go through the southern neighbor's lot, we turned right and headed up the gravel lane. Stella was hot to go and tense, so I leg-yielded her back and forth up the incline on our single-track lane to encourage walking instead of jigging. When we got to the top of the hill, our northern neighbor was pulling out in her car and another car was coming our way, so I hopped off and held Stella, then got back on.

From our end of the gravel lane to the other and back is little more than a mile, but Stella says that being on high alert and leg-yielding or doing shoulder-in at the same time takes a LOT of effort, even if we walked the whole way. 😆 Plus, the incline peaks between the two dead-ends, so there is some uphill and downhill action going and coming. By the time we turned around and headed back up the peak, Stella's head came down and her pace leveled out. After crossing the intersecting paved road, we were passed by two vehicles (winery traffic) with no precautionary dismounts or reaction on Stella's part. This is exactly what I hoped to be able to do during the rainy season, both to preserve our arena footing and to provide variety in conditioning and training; yay us!

11/24: Today we schooled in the arena. I worked on keeping her pace controlled, using my core at the walk and my posting speed (which is also using my core) at the trot. Doing shoulder-in at the walk on both reins also helps keep her pace controlled, while I analyze my legs and seat to see if I'm using them the same in both directions (I don't, naturally; it takes a lot of focus!).

11/25: After baking off my dinner rolls for Thanksgiving dinner, I had just enough time to turn the horses to play and get in a very short ride before we had to clean up and leave. Rick came down to the arena to see what I was doing, and all Stella wanted to do was hang out at the gate with him and get stroked! Found the treasure below in the arena; anyone know what bird lost this? 

11/28: In spite of Stella having two days off and being pretty tense, I decided we were going to 'go out,' this time turning left and going through the neighbor's lot and down the gravel lane. She had to stop to look and listen several times to make sure it was safe, but was then willing to keep going. It was dusk when we returned, with some reflected color in the SSE.

11/30: Last ride of the month; we schooled in the arena after the horses got turn-out time. Again I worked on slowing Stella's walk and trot with my core and not my hands as Suzan had us do in our last lesson, while also working hard to use my legs and hips the same whether tracking left or right. After making good progress (both of us), I asked for canter while continuing to concentrate on keeping my 'slow and steady' aids the same. It worked! Her canter was much more controlled than usual, even though she clearly wanted to rush at times. It feels so good to be figuring out what works with this girl, and being able to feel and correct where I tend to struggle as well!

Afterwards we walked up the driveway to see the fancy new Christmas lights my husband put on the entry gate. She noticed them, but wasn't freaked out, and didn't move when I activated the power arm to shut the gate.

We have made a lot of progress together in two years!

Riding notes

10/30: First ride this week because of work, weather, and leaves. Many thanks to my husband for blowing out the arena! I didn't know how Stella would be after such limited turn-out and no riding this week; the girl really needs her exercise. Other than being a little more 'on her toes,' she was good. Wasn't sure I was going to ask her to canter, but when I did, she took the correct lead (right). The canter wasn't nearly as soft and quiet as it had become last week, but that wasn't surprising. Didn't successfully get the left-lead canter for awhile; she took the right lead circling left twice, so we tracked right again so she could take the correct lead on cue. Then we tracked left again and she got the correct lead, so we finished on that positive note and cooled out.

Looks like someone was tightening up an invisible check rein in the above photos!

10/31: A dry Sunday and the arena was still mostly clear of leaves, so two rides in two days; yay! After our warm-up (I always walk her around the arena three times in each direction plus a couple figure-eights on a long rein so both of us warm up our ligaments and joints; I probably need it more than my young mare 😏) I wanted to ride her down through the woods again, but I could hear someone taking advantage of the good weather to grade the gravel road so that was out. We had a good schooling session. When it was time for canter work, I asked for left lead first this time, and she took it beautifully when I moved my right leg back. Same thing circling right; she picked up the correct lead with just a repositioning of my outside leg! I should have quit then, as the rest of the canter work went downhill. She got pretty fussy in the bridle, and didn't get all her leads. She was fussy in the bridle yesterday, too, but I had chalked that up to a week off. Today it was worse, so I checked her wolf teeth after our ride. Their status hasn't changed; one has erupted, two have not, and one is still a no-show/no-feel. She didn't mind me checking,  so that wasn't the cause of the fussiness. I was thinking about scheduling another lesson with Suzan this week, but think I'll wait.

Another lesson; CliffsNotes only

Today Stella and I had our second riding lesson with my favorite instructor. We worked in the indoor arena and S didn't take any photos, so this is a "lesson journal" post for me, but you're welcome to read through. 😉

If our first lesson with S made me feel like I had a real dressage horse, this lesson made me feel like I was riding a just-started colt (filly). There was LOTS of activity in and around the barn, some of which Stella could hear but not see. She was tense, nervous, and reactive (although never to the point of being unsafe), so S's goal for us today was to expose Stella to all kinds of new things while finding effective ways to focus and direct Stella's brain. To that end, she placed a couple poles on the ground, along with some cones, like this: — o — o o o  Stella and I walked serpentines through this, stepping over the poles and weaving around the cones with lots of half-halts to slow her turns, alternating with 20m circles at walk and trot. Towards the end of our lesson, we also did several long halts, encouraging Stella to stand and process things calmly. S suggested alternating riding and groundwork during schooling sessions because Stella clearly looks to me for reassurance on the ground and said that will transfer more and more to under-saddle work by doing both several times within a session.

Most of the time we worked on a moderate-length rein, but Suzan did have me shorten them at the end, without increasing contact.  Thumbs on top, hands up and not held close together; encourage enough forward that she doesn't get trappy. At one point it felt like, and S confirmed, that Stella offered a bit of passage; nice to know it'll be there when it's actually time to ask for it! S also commented that Stella is going to be 'stellar..' 😁

Back to the future

Last week a friend mentioned that a former student of mine who bought my Swedish Warmblood mare many years ago would be riding in a show at DevonWood last weekend. I looked up her ride times online, and decided to run up Friday to watch her ride her current warmblood mare.

It felt good to be at DevonWood again; it is such a beautiful facility. My header photo was taken there; I've danced with three horses in all four of their 'ballrooms' (competition arenas). The first horse I showed there was my Morgan gelding; I can hardly wait to compete there again someday with my little Morgan mare!

But back to my former student. It took me awhile to figure out which one was her in the busy warm-up arena; I knew I was looking for a mare being ridden by a petite female, but it has probably been a decade since I'd last seen B. As her ride time approached and she headed up the hill to the Sylvan Arena, I followed her train of family and friend to watch.

Their Third Level test was lovely. The mare is built uphill with expressive gaits, and B rode her very well. I walked over to where she came out of the ring to say hi and be the first to congratulate her; she seemed surprised and pleased that I'd come.

Before I left the grounds I looked up her score; wow – 72.5%!

Sunday morning B texted me the following photo – they won their USDF Region 6 Third Level Championship class Saturday. Woot!

B has come a long way from when I first met her, a teenager riding a half-Arab pony....

And that burgundy jacket (and, I suspect, the gray one in the photo she sent me)? It is MESH. How perfect is that for the summer show season??? I didn't know such things existed; obviously I've been out of the loop awhile riding compromised horses, training for others, and 'bringing up baby Black Beauty.' But someday, when Stella and I are dancing in the big leagues, I plan on getting one. And since the attire rules for dressage are loosening up significantly this December, maybe I'll be able to find one in Stella's color – "first place blue"!!!