Background: I like pretty things. A lot. But with brushes, I usually just use whatever is in my bag and don't think about it too hard. I've had a random collection of nylon and unknown bristles in plastic handles for most of my career. The horses are clean and shiny, no harm, no foul. Why would I drop a bunch of money on a fancy set of brushes? Because I own a yak and my brushes are mostly patting the surface. I need something more effective to get down to the skin or I get this 'dead zone' in his winter coat that isn't groomed and becomes a mass of dead skin and oil.
I stared at the Haas brushes for a year. Literally a year. Reviews kept saying they really got into the coat. I finally pulled the trigger and have been using them for a month.
The Product: Haas brushes are made in Germany from a company that is very old (est 1919) and well respected. They're definitely more expensive than your standard nylon bristle brushes. They use natural materials for the bristles and most have a nice leather strap on the back to keep your hand in place. They also have fancy German names like Cavaliere and Diva Exklusiv.
I did not go buy the whole 'Black Pack' set of brushes. I couldn't convince myself to buy in that much. But I did use sample lists of brushes to piece my set together. I went through Smarkpak and bought the Der Gute curry comb, Schimmel stiff brush, Cavaliere body brush, and Diamond Gloss finishing brush.
Review:
Curry comb: This thing is magic. When I picked it up for the first time I went 'ugh, it feels cheap, it's hard plastic, why did I buy this?'. And then I used it and watched the dirt and scurf and dandruff fly. I don't know why this thing works as well as it does, but it cuts through mi papi's ridiculous coat and gets right down to the skin. I usually buy softer, rubber curry combs. This thing puts them all to shame for brute dirt removal. Theo tolerated it on his belly better than I thought he would, so it's clearly not rough or offensive, just effective. This thing is only $6 and is worth every penny and then some. Even if you think the rest of the set is overpriced and dumb, give the curry a try for thick coats that get dirty. It's also perfect for cleaning off brushes as you work.
Schimmel brush: I like this one a lot. I don't usually keep really stiff brushes around, too many horses get offended, but this one is a keeper. It's coconut fiber and no joke stiff, but Theo hasn't killed me yet even when I do the girth area, so it's not over the top (unlike the Mustang that actually has some wire in it, I'm pretty sure that is too much for any clipped pony). It's fantastic on knees and hocks that are coated in dried mud/manure/I do NOT want to know. It's another product that really cuts through the coat and gets the dirt up from near the skin. I keep the curry in my left hand to clean this brush as I go because it's great cutting through Theo's winter coat and getting up the dead skin. I scrape it with the curry and watch the flakes of icky fall to the mats. This is the other brush I would flat out recommend. Between this and the curry, I'm seeing a real difference in how clean I can keep my shaggy yak. I mean horse.
Cavaliere brush: I was very confused on body brushes for awhile with Haas. I eventually figured out that the Lippizaner and the Cavaliere were the same brush, but the Cavaliere was smaller and easier for small hands to handle. That works for me! I like this brush, it's a nice body brush and does a good job of getting the finer debris off of my horse that is left by the stiff brush. It's also the one that goes on his face and he approves of it for use on delicate areas that still need a decent scrub (mud around the eyes most of the time). It's not stunning like the first two, it's just very effective. If you already have an effective, well loved body brush, don't bother. If you need a replacement? Go for it. It's nice, dense, should last a long time, and puts on a nice shine.
Diamond Gloss brush: This is so the wrong time of year to test this brush. I did give it a good work out after his last clip job to see it in action. It's so dense that it feels stiff and not like a finishing brush. It does put one heck of a shine on your horse. I don't bust this one out much since it's November and my horse is actually a yak, but when I tested it, it got the job done. Worth the purchase? If you're show ring bound, yeah, I'd toss this one in the show bag to give me that extra hit of shine before I head in. I find I stop with the body brush most days at home, but I suspect the finishing brush will be getting more use in the summer. It really needs your horse to be most of the way clean before you start to get the effect. It's so dense it just jams up with dirt, but if you've done your work with the other brushes? Mirror like finish is possible.
Overall? I'm happy with my investment. I'm seeing a real difference in the amount of gunk hidden under his coat and I'm having an easier time keeping him looking reasonable in this very rough time of year. I'm looking forward to putting these brushes through their paces next summer when I can really shine him up for the competition ring.
At least the curry and the Schimmel brushes should be added to brush collections. Those things are magic for those that own yaks.
I'm sitting at my desk in my nice wool skirt and ballet flats, looking nice and professional, icing a swollen spot on the front of my ankle I got from tripping out of my horse trailer while at my clinic. I slammed that tendon that goes down the front/inside of your ankle right into the metal edge of the door to the tack area. I was wearing clogs, not boots, so nothing but chicken socks to cushion the blow. Applying ice to get the swelling down.
Also note the rubs on the back of my ankle. Apparently my Dublin river boots are PISSED that they were ignored for six months and decided to punish me for the neglect by rubbing me raw after being perfect for two years. WTF, boots. The other ankle is worse.
But the long hem at least hides the bruise I got when Theo spooked and I whacked my knee against the barn door. It did give me a bit of a limp.
That one is on heat therapy now, trying to convince the muscles to settle down. And it's in the ugly green puke colored stage.
This is a day to day thing now that I'm back in the saddle 4 to 5 days a week. I've got my groove back, my motivation is up, my horse doesn't want to kill me, and it doesn't hurt my face to go outside. I'm getting my ride time in!
And limping into the office every dang morning due to various injuries that are only tangentially related to riding. My coworkers are starting to ask questions.
I get nervous when I'm riding with people that have a big presence. Most of the people in my area know Vitor Silva. He does a lot of demos up and down the east coast with his Lusitanos. Like this one:
There's marketing to be concerned with, a brand image, etc. And egos get big. Trainer A enjoyed her ride with Vitor, but I still get nervous. Will he help or will he just blow smoke up my ass so that I have a good time and ride with him again (aka spend more money)?
First, I made my horse presentable. This meant shearing my yak yet again and learning a lot about how to keep clippers happy. I can't keep buying new clippers and brand new A5s from Oster shouldn't be acting up! My horse is a freak of nature. But the new barn handyman gave me an assist with tuning up my clippers (including a lesson in the different kinds of phillips head screwdrivers) and we got through the project.
The magnificent tail was trimmed, the tack was scrubbed, and the trailer was hooked up. I went with my chicken socks. Bold, let's people know that despite my classical, conservative attire, I'm also fun. Plain, brown vest, blue check shirt, grey full seat breeches. Theo went in the silver clincher browband and a white saddle pad. I wanted to keep things understated, having never met the clinician or visited the facility.
I got there early enough to watch two people ahead of me. Theo was calling a bit in the trailer, so they offered me a spot on the high line. I stared, then said nope, he's never been on a high line and I think that will go badly. He's already in stud mode, I could totally see him rearing and flipping over when he realized he was tied and couldn't go anywhere. Also, it was raining. So they let me use a stall to keep him happy with a hay bag while I observed.
Vitor loves to use laterals to get a horse straight. The first rider I watched was a working equitation rider. Lots of leg yields off of the wall to center line in each direction, getting the horse stretched out and supple. Then it was leg yield off the wall, half passe back. Then canter, turn on center line, leg yield to the wall. It all built up to her horse doing it's first flying change. The rider was as startled as anyone when she realized what all of her previous work had been leading up to. All of a sudden, a clean change on command. It was eye opening for her.
Then he had a lesson with a nervous older lady and he turned it way down, working on position and just being able to communicate with her horse. I went and tacked up my beast, feeling much better. He never yelled or barked and everything he said made sense.
Stall time calmed Theo down a lot and he walked into the indoor like a civilized beast. The high lines in the corners perplexed us both (and Vitor), but our absolute training on standing while I mount held and mi papi didn't embarrass me by spinning away in terror with me hanging off the side of the saddle. A couple of walking passes and he settled right down. Almost like he's done a few clinics in his life.
I told Vitor he was 13, gelded late, a former school horse, and currently going at about First level. We're having major trouble with leg yield right and canter left, which seem to be related and I suspect come down to strength issues as he was recently informed that he had to submit to the bit. Now he has to canter in balance and it's hard. Vitor nodded and pulled Theo in so that he could take a feel. This meant taking my whip and my reins so he could feel where Theo is currently. I did warn him Theo has a strike in him, since he had a whip in hand and was quite close to those front hooves. Theo was a gentleman and didn't threaten Vitor at all, which I took note of. Theo is usually quick to make an impression on a stranger, but Vitor didn't trigger Theo's FU button, even when he had the reins and was making mi papi use his hind end correctly.
I will say it was freaking weird to sit in the saddle while Theo was put through his paces from the ground. I kept wanting to participate, but nope, supposed to just sit there. Might have to book some lessons on in hand work . . .
Knowledge gained, Vitor sent us off to warm up at the walk. Leg yield off the wall, leg yield to the wall, shoulder fore, counter shoulder fore. Fortunately I've had enough feel beaten into my thick skull that I picked up the moments where Theo was straightening up quickly, so it became a game of Vitor showing me how to make Theo straight and me managing his parts as needed. We trotted and did a LOT of lateral work, mostly leg yield. He wanted Theo supple and soft. He really, really focused on Theo having a long, relaxed neck and giving me his back. Give him the rein so he has somewhere to go, set him up to succeed. Don't encourage a short neck, a horse like him loves a short neck because he will drop his back. The contact is light, encouraging him to step up into the bit.
We did leg yields for I swear 30 minutes, mostly at the trot. Off the wall, off centerline, neat 10m turns at the end that required a change of bend. When he laid on my left rein, I was instructed to use right leg, right rein as though doing a leg yield and force him off of that right shoulder. He was to be symmetrical and light in the contact. Lo and behold, it worked.
At the end of my lesson, I stepped him into the canter from the walk and it was no big thing. Still a smidge more reluctant left than right, but it was balanced and chill and lovely. Vitor said he saw no problem with the left lead and I wanted to cheer. It's not really busted, he's not broken, he's just learning a new way of going. Vitor encouraged me to come visit him at his farm to keep going with this progression. Theo has the challenge of being started too late, but he's a good looking boy and he's a good worker. He also offered to give me a lunge line lesson. Whee!
I really enjoyed my clinic. No yelling, no chasing, no fussing. Yes, I was told to get him more forward and we worked hard on transitions. I did tap him with the whip as needed with instructions to praise him, complement him when he did it right. Theo is a proud horse that needs to succeed. Despite getting after him to go forward, his approach had Theo more chill at the end of the ride than the start and that was nice to feel. Theo was chewing and foaming away by the end of the ride, which was something Vitor was actively working toward. Our homework is to do lots of laterals and when he is laying on his shoulder, think leg yield to get him straight again. Keep his neck as long as possible while keeping him on a contact.
If you get a chance to ride with Vitor, I say do it. He's approachable, happy to answer questions, positive, and classical. He wants a happy, supple horse regardless of your background, tack, or level of experience.
The hubby forwarded a link to a clinic in the area to me, thinking I'd like to go audit. First off, that's so sweet. Second off, how the hell did he find out about a dressage clinic when I hadn't seen it? Is he a closet dressage fan now? Is he stalking trainers? I have questions about this.
I followed the link and saw a name I recognize. Vitor Silva is pretty local, has a gorgeous Lusitano farm, and does a lot of demos. Trainer A has ridden with him a couple of times and likes him. He's a softer touch, more interested in a cooperative, supple horse. He's not a competition focused trainer. He works with baroque horses, so smaller strides than the warmbloods and short backed. He specializes in lateral work and in hand work. Well, gee, that sounds like someone I would enjoy as a clinician. I went to check for audit price and saw that there were a few last minute spots available.
A quick couple of messages and we have a one hour private on Sunday afternoon. Yay? Impulse control issues. I haz them.
The view after our early morning lesson and road hack, 68* today!
But I'm excited! This will be a very different view and it's a great time for it. Theo has broken through the wall of 'neck braced or death!', but the connection isn't consistent yet and we have a lot of suppleness work to do. Yes, he can flex in both directions now which is a huge achievement, but today's lesson with Trainer A really highlighted how much more we have to do.
My left lead canter is a bit broken. I know, it has been for awhile, but while it's getting better it's also becoming more noticeable as we up the difficulty again. He now does not canter and turn left unless I let him shove his nose out and use the underside of his neck. Keeping him on a contact and balanced on both sides is forcing him to use his topline and build up all new muscles. Papi is not a fan of building up new muscles. I refuse to go back to a heavy connection, so the battle is on. He would really rather not give to the left and thinks that my left leg is purely decorative.
We did side passe, 10m circles, and leg yield today to unlock the rib cage and shoulder where he doesn't want to stretch through. It's quite a juggling act to keep all of his evasions in check. Throw a shoulder, go haunches first, invert, suck back. He's a smart, creative horse. But it's getting better. We had a couple of leg yields that were actually upright, not him laying on his shoulder and crossing as quickly as possible to get it over with. And I'm getting a much bigger, stretcher trot these days!
Theo will always be an evasive horse because he's damn smart and if I don't know the difference, he'll do it the easy way. But we've completely turned the corner in terms of his submission to the aids. I put my leg on, he reacts. I close my fingers, he reacts. It's not consistent or always honest, but it's there. Now we can move on to submission to the bend.
Tomorrow I clean tack and pack the trailer. Oh, and try to make my November horse look somewhat fit to be seen in public. Sunday I haul out and let a completely different voice check my work and (hopefully) give me some guidance on how best to keep progressing with making him more light and supple.
Maybe I'm not ready to give up on my plan to move up to Second after all. And maybe Theo isn't so adverse to the idea. Maybe we need to just keep doing things at our own pace and in our own way. Because right now? He's a fun, neat horse to ride.
And nothing dramatic going on in my life! I went home to Minnesota for my scheduled visit, went for some nice walks, and helped out while my mom recovers from a knee replacement surgery. The only downside to this vacation was a complete lack of papi.
Minneopa State Park
Now I'm home and preparing for my next road trip. This one will feature mi papi time! We're heading to our Mary Wanless clinic on the 10th. Oh, the joys of having my own trailer. I was able to just sign up and not worry about arranging for a ride. We'll have three days of torture. This time I'm staying at a local hotel rather than driving back and forth. I'm going in with the goal of getting a strategy and or image to deal with my collapsing left side. This also means I need to get my trailer cleaned and packed this weekend. I might have been dumb and bought a ticket to a distillery showcase on the evening of the 9th. Hungover dressage clinic? Sure, that'll be fine.
I'm still working on that super basic idea of not letting my hobby start to suck. We've been doing jumping lessons, both me and his leaser. Papi is a fan. It's sad that he's still got an 11' stride, but that's just how papi does and I'm used to it. He likes to touch the ground as many times as possible between jumps. He'll do a grid at 12', but a line? He wants that extra thinking time, kthx. But he looks really good and is learning to not brace his neck between fences.
We still have zero selfie skills
I'm also fitting him for his western saddle. After watching obsessive amounts of video on western dressage, we're going for it. One of our local shows (30 min away) is doing recognized western dressage next year and bringing in a clinician over the winter. Woohoo! I think the emphasis on obedience rather than huge gaits will suit him. Jog and lope are still hard work, but the fact he wants to take his time about it is a benefit rather than a problem. I still have to get him well up in front of my leg, but his little strides won't be such a problem. He's definitely a semi-QH bars boy and it appears I need a 15.5" seat. And a 32" cinch. And probably custom cut fenders for my stubby little legs.
Big saddle that looks very tiny on my boy, still weighs a ton lifting it over my head
I do have a bitch about the saddle shopping process. I researched, put saddles on him, and picked out my saddle. The Circle Y Performance Monarch with Flex2. If I'm going to get a saddle, I'm going to get a nice dang saddle. I like the Flex2 concept and the cutaway skirt. It shouldn't put me into a massive chair seat, either. It was made with western dressage in mind. But used western saddles in New England are kind of sparse. No one sells this dang saddle used! Which is usually a good sign, people seem to keep them and love them. So I decided to just bite the bullet and ordered up my test ride through SmartPak, along with some Baker blankets for Theo's trip.
So pretty, not sure what's up with the strings
Wouldn't you know it, my favorite company that never ever lets me down is dropping the ball hard. My blankets were scheduled to ship yesterday. Nothing. My saddle that was in stock when I went to bed last night and is scheduled to ship tomorrow in my confirmation? Suddenly out of stock and may not be available until the end of the month. I've got different 'back in stock' dates on different pages. I called customer service in a bit of a snit because I need to make sure I can ride as much as possible in those five days. I can't be playing 'guess when the saddle is going to show' for a month. And I need those blankets!
I've been assured the blankets are going out today or tomorrow. Surely, they're going out, don't worry, you'll have them in plenty of time. I've been hearing a lot of horror stories recently about SmartPak shipping and it's not giving me confidence. I'm supposed to hear from the Test Ride person when she gets back tomorrow so I can find out when this dang saddle is supposed to show. I can get the saddle right from Circle Y for the same price, but I'm hesitating. I'm discovering that western saddles are an absolute do not ride in it if you want to return it, so I don't want to change companies. I want to know I can try it out and still return the dang thing.
My mom's kitten
It's just shocking after years of stellar service to have them drop the ball so hard. My last order was slow, but I thought it was a one off. Ugh.
I guess I'll have to wait until after our clinic to try out the new gear. No one wants to wait for shiny new tack to show up. It's the worst. I'll distract myself by doing a fall clean up this weekend. I need shiny clean tack for the clinic and people are starting to talk about the condition of my locker. There may be a dead body back there.
Not the most welcoming sight outside of the barn. Happy Halloween!
I did a lot of blog worthy things while I was gone, now that I look back.
This time it's about my attempt at bushwhacking on my dressage horse. My big, not so delicate dressage horse.
Trainer A has been working on expanding our network of trails by exploring and mapping out little loops and connections that haven't been maintained. Most of what she's found have been human oriented little paths over typical New Hampshire terrain (steep with random boulders and stone walls). Please note that she does most of this bushwhacking with a cute little German riding pony or her favorite appy pony. Her usual companion is the newly hired barn manager who also rides a little appy pony. Not a lot of height or weight going on there.
Typical New Hampshire terrain
Since our main hill for working the booty got closed thanks to rude ATVs trashing everything, I've been looking for new hills. Trainer A took us out to check out a new loop she found that took us out by the lake and it had some nice hills to climb.
I'll point out that everyone I went out with was on a short, stock bred horse. One pony, two QHs. And then there's Theo, a solid hand or more taller and the only one in four shoes. To check out a newly discovered trail. Yeah, you can see where this is going. I was picking pine needles out of my teeth, cobwebs off of my face, and I was covered in scratches from branches that everyone else just ducked under.
At one point I used the 'downtown' command to get Theo's head under a branch so he could pass it to me and I could get underneath safely. I'm going to start a movement for dressage training the trail horse. Aside from the height and width issue, Theo's skill set made him a comfortable, easy ride on rough terrain.
More New Hampshire terrain
The trail was a nice combination of challenging and scenic. There were some steep hills, but dressage pony showed the rest how to sit on the butt and ease down without falling on the face. It was exactly the kind of trail I want to go out on to work on his brain, his booty, and our trail skills. We've been working hard on things like carefully stepping around and over fallen trees. I decided that I should go out and conquer the trail on my own.
Remember the bit where the trail was for humans, rough, ungroomed, and explored by ponies? Ungroomed and pony sized quickly turns into unrecognizable when you're on a big horse that's convinced the last of the gnats are going to kill him. I got to the top of the steep hill, went to find the descent, and realized it wasn't there. No path anywhere. I turned around and there wasn't a clear path behind me, either. When the heck did I lose the path? I could have sworn I was on it when I started up the hill! I started to weave my way down, looking for my trail. I'd managed to go from rough trail to all out bushwhacking. I eventually had to get off and lead my horse because it was too difficult to manage him on the steep hill, avoid branches, and find my way back. By the time I got to the bottom, I had no idea where the path was.
Seriously, why does anyone live in this state? The camera isn't tilted, that's the angle of the hill we're on.
I was genuinely lost in the woods for about ten very scary minutes. I couldn't find the path, wasn't sure which direction I was facing, and Theo sure doesn't have Fi's sense of direction. Sure, if I picked a straight line and walked I'd get to the road eventually, but you can't do a straight line in NH. Stone wall blocking me from the main trail, gully blocking me from heading straight to the road. Holy crap, I was actually lost. If I had to call the barn for a search party, I would never live it down.
We wandered and fought our way through the trees until I happened to spot a serious of snapped branches. Trainer A's calling card when on the trails! She always snaps the little branches that hit you in the face. I wiggled my way through the woods and followed the snapped branches back to civilization (aka the main trail).
Theo stood for me to mount, but was seriously questioning my leadership after that. It took about ten minutes for him to chill and just walk home like a gentleman. And my poor saddle, pine needles and foliage and little scratches from ducking under branches with me on foot. Much scrubbing and apologizing to the leather. Clearly I need a western saddle for my bushwhacking adventures and should NOT go out in my calf skin jumping saddle. My poor, precious baby.
We need to mark that loop before I attempt it again. We need to mark all of these new loops before I try them on my own. I'm going to order a bunch of blazes and we can go out (with the PONIES) and get the trails marked before the leaves fall and completely hide any path. There's a reason real cowboys like short, sturdy QHs. Hulking draft crosses don't really do bushwhacking well.
Theo was just awesome today. Awesome-sauce kind of awesome. Apparently a return to lateral work was what his left lead canter needed because it was much improved. We started out with some halt walk transitions, getting him to move off a light aid. Then we did some leg yields off of quarter line, really focusing on him staying balanced. We had a stubborn moment in the outdoor because mi papi clearly doesn't have to listen to the leg or go forward in the outdoor, but once we pushed through that, we had lovely, very soft work in both directions including that left lead canter. I'm suspicious his left hip (the stronger one, damn it) was tight and he needed to stretch it out.
Then we went on a trail ride. A walking on the buckle trail ride. We did have to spook at the new construction zone, but he touched the big Bobcat attachment with only a little shaking in terror. Most of our hack went exactly like this.
So why is it suddenly so good? Why am I not icing my shoulder or crying or panicking? Partially he's done being dumb for fall. Partially we've pushed through the wall on the whole flex thing and it's no longer a big deal to him or something he wants to fight me on (at least most of the time). Partially I'm back out there on a regular schedule, getting him back in his routine with the exercise and attention he demands.
But mostly it's because I decided that this hobby is too expensive and dangerous for it to suck.
I fell into the old trap of forcing him to submit. I don't like that part of me. I didn't even recognize that it was happening until I looked back. I was so frustrated that I couldn't MAKE him behave the way I wanted, the way that was expected of me.
All blinged out and nowhere to go
So, simple rule.
If my shoulders hurt, stop doing whatever the hell we're doing, walk on a long rein, and figure out what the hell has gone wrong (unless we're going cross country, then all bets are off). In exchange, mi papi doesn't try to kill me.
Let's start with that and see if that's what I need. The nice part about having a hurt shoulder is that it will make a great barometer.
