Instant improvement

This morning I read the following quick snippet in an email from Jane Savoie:
I rode with Olympian Robert Dover for many years. One of Robert’s favorite sayings is, “Amateurs ride from movement to movement. Professionals ride from half halt to half halt.” I think those are words to live by.

This evening I squeezed in a quick ride, and remembered her words towards the end. So during our final trot work I worked on riding from half halt to half halt, and what a difference it made in Lance's frame and gait quality!

This evening I read the entire article, but for me, the "quick tip" had as much impact. It was the right message at the right time for the right result. Now to remember it!

Our right shoulders

Lance and I had an early-morning lesson with Julie today. She is leaving this week for another stint as a groom and trainer's assistant in Florida, so I wanted good dose of critique and instruction before she left. I also needed some video footage to go with my application to be a demo rider at the NW Horse Fair & Expo on March 22. I don't really expect to be selected, but you never know until you try. It would be a free opportunity for feedback, and a good excuse to "clean up and go to town."

Anyway, back to our lesson. Julie had lots of good things to say about Lance's gaits, frame, and execution of various exercises; we've done our homework! But there is always room for improvement, and today what needed improvement were both Lance's and my right shoulder.

When tracking right, I need to keep my right shoulder back. It wants to stay forward, which handicaps my horse; when I DO put it back, my outside leg comes forward! I couldn't help but laugh at how difficult it was for me; I really have to practice The Twist or rather, keeping all my body parts independent. When I get it, Lance is free to move ever so much better.

As for Lance's right shoulder, he has always had a tendency to pop it out when tracking to the left. I need to use my outside aids and "ride his shoulders;" in other words, keep him properly aligned with shoulders in front of haunches. Again, when I do, his gaits and movements improve dramatically.

Here are some snippets of works in progress, and then a run through First Level Test 3 which went okay.

Another card in the Rolodex

Last Sunday, Stacey featured a training tip from Shannon Peters on her blog. The concept was not new to me, but it's been awhile since I've thought about keeping my elbows connected to my hips. I put it into practice during my next ride, and it worked marvelously to help Lance lift his back and connect with me – or rather me with him!

I think of these various training tips as cards in a mental Rolodex. The trick is to keep flipping through those cards and utilizing all the tips while riding so that you and your horse can be the best partners you can be, moving together in beautiful harmony.

Visual images

When Two Spines Align: Dressage Dynamics

Attain Remarkable Riding Rapport with Your HorseBeth Baumert

Within riding there exists a fundamental conflict of interest: The rider needs to have control—her confidence depends on her ability to control the balance of her own body as well as that of her very powerful horse. The horse, by nature, needs to feel free—free in both mind and body to express himself through physical movement.

In When Two Spines Align: Dressage Dynamics, author Beth Baumert, writer and editor at the internationally recognized equestrian magazine Dressage Today, resolves the freedom-control enigma by taking a close look at the individual components that make up riding and dressage. Beth provides insight gleaned from years of working with the best riders, trainers, and judges in the dressage world, and details practical ways riders can learn to harness the balance, energies, and forces at play when they’re in the saddle.

Readers will discover how to use “positive tension” and what the author calls the four physical “Powerlines”—Vertical, Connecting, Spiraling, and Visual—to become balanced and effective in the saddle. Readers will then find ways to understand and manage the horse’s balance and coordination challenges, including the fact that he is inherently crooked and naturally inclined to do too much with his front end and not enough with his hind.

Ultimately, the rider learns to regulate and monitor the horse’s rhythm, energy, flexion, alignment, bend, the height and length of his neck, and, finally, his line of travel by properly aligning her spine with his. When the center of gravity of a balanced rider is directly over the center of gravity of a balanced horse, that place where two spines align becomes the hub for rider and horse harmony—a dynamic and remarkable riding rapport that yields beautiful performance.

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Recently the above book advertisement landed in my inbox. I glanced through it, and went about my day. But that evening when I rode Lance, "align the spines" kept running through my head. So I consciously did my best to do just that – and what do you know? We had a really good ride!

It's another golden nugget to add to the treasure chest that contains various phrases or visual images that have contributed to my dressage education over the years. One of the earliest I can recall came from the first clinician I rode with and the first horse I danced with, over 20 years ago. To help me understand how to turn him properly, she told me to think of driving a bus around a corner. It's still a great visual and kinetic tool to keep the shoulders where they should be in relation to the hindquarters.

Lance feels good and I am really enjoying our short, frequent schooling sessions, 30 minutes or so at least four and often five times a week. I'm even considering entering a schooling show November 9, if I can get the management to respond to my questions. If it works out, it'll be my birthday present selfie.  ;-)

Walking my mule

Lance is looking rather mulish these days. In addition to his annually itchy mane,

this summer he's been scratching his dock nearly naked, too.

I've prayed it with Itch-B-Gone, fly spray, and even took a fecal sample to the clinic in case some parasite has developed resistance to his daily dewormer. No worms, but no relief. It's not raw, just ugly; good thing we aren't showing this year!

I continue trying to get Lance out for his daily constitutional. My friend Laura offered some suggestions for dealing with his naughtiness that I've put into practice, and I do believe they're helping. On Sunday we started in the arena, then headed down the lane. I dismounted while Lance was still being good and led him farther down the lane. On the other side of the paved road, he started getting squirrelly. A motorcycle cruised by; he launched into airs above the ground. Every time he acted up, I got after him, and led him farther away from home. We ended up walking a lot longer than our prescribed 30 minutes – and my shoulders reminded me just what had brought on my tendonitis. I gave my ouchy shoulders a day off, then rode again today the same way. I rode him a bit farther before dismounting; when he got naughty it wasn't as energetic; and he seemed to figure out that acting up delayed his return to barn and buddies.

A colorful ride

Yesterday afternoon I had some time at home alone, so of course I rode. ;-)  And since I didn't have to worry about being onsite for my son, and it was another gorgeous day of Indian Summer, I decided ride out and about. On Sunday Rick mentioned that Dr. Heuschmann talked about the benefits of hill work, especially trotting downhill and cantering uphill. So I put on Lance's Renegade front boots and headed out.

We headed down this path to the right of the vineyard

Peach orchard in foreground

The small peach orchard nearby is nicely tilled around the perimeter, so it was the perfect spot for our hill work. We trotted down the left side and cantered up the right side – with a little encouragement. Lance wasn't sure he wanted to work that hard! Then we took a long walk break around a cherry orchard before coming back to trot down the right side and up the left. This time, for some reason, Lance had plenty of energy in both gaits. He felt like he wanted to break to the canter going downhill, and as we rounded the corner to go uphill, he tried to bolt! I got his attention (and the correct lead again), but he didn't lose any of his energy.

It was warm enough that I was comfortable in a light short-sleeved shirt; hairy Lance worked up a good sweat (for him) but was mostly dry by the time we got home. As I was grooming him afterwards, I noticed that his rear legs, just above his fetlocks, felt slightly puffy. I had some Absorbine Vet Liniment Gel I received in a gift pack some time back; this seemed a good time to try it.

Last night after chores I asked Rick if he would feel Lance's back legs. There still seemed to be a bit of filling, so this morning Rick gave Lance a shot of Legend (bless him). I think I'll leave off the hill work for awhile and stick to the arena!

Don't do what comes naturally!

It was another dry winter day in the Willamette Valley, so of course I rode this morning! It was great to review the things Julie had Sylvia and me work on in our lessons before they flew from my middle-aged mind.

Some of what I have been doing with Horton is spot-on, like circling immediately when he braces or gets bratty. But I also have to remember to go right back to being calm and encouraging after a correction, giving him the chance to take the bit forward and down softly, so he can lift his back and swing in the walk and trot, and flatten out in the canter (he tends to brace and "climb"). This means pushing my hands forward (Jane Savoie's "short reins, long arms") while keeping my body upright and core strong. That latter point was a particular challenge for Sylvia, who has more history with Horton – including an involuntary dismount herself, and witnessing that of others. Interesting, isn't it, that when we are most insecure, our self-preservation instinct draws us into the most vulnerable position – collapsing our mid-section and leaning forward – while gripping the reins with unyielding contact?

Both of us needed reminding to keep our hands on either side of Horton's withers. As Julie noted, he is a workout for the rider's left leg because he tends to fall left. And while it is natural to try to "help" with the left hand, crossing the withers with the left hand actually has the opposite effect. I was thinking of that while riding this morning. "Crossing the centerline with my left hand means I need more leg – but I'm using my left leg as much as possible. Crossing the centerline with my left hand has the opposite effect – so what would have the desired effect? An opening hand?" BINGO! Horton moved over to the right immediately!

Another aid for keeping Horton on the rider's chosen track is "the eye in your bellybutton." Imagine that you have an eyeball in your bellybutton. Point that eye in the direction you want to go and the horse will follow!