Confidence

Trainer A is a smart lady.  I figured there wasn't anything I could really do to get ready for the three phase this weekend, but she had other ideas.  When I showed up for my lesson today, she announced that I could warm up in the indoor and then we were going out to the Ritz.  As a reminder, the Ritz is the big field where we jump stuff.

Pulse immediately jumps.  What can I say, I'm still coming around to the idea of jumping out in the open after my time with the Meathead.  Mi papi has such a reputation for being a puke out in the open it's hard to forget that part and just ride the horse that I've actually experienced.  I warmed up in the indoor then bravely marched out to face my fate.

You know it's going to be interesting when Trainer A announces that I was going to trot around the field once in each direction, then she had some fun ideas for torture.  Really, trainer?  Really?!

So after jumping two logs, I learned my course.  Keep in mind, I haven't actually jumped a cross country course in years.  I even told her that I was nervous about cantering down to these fences.  She said I'd be fine.

We went downhill over the log line, turned and went uphill over the log pile, two strides to the hanging log (Beginner Novice question with a small drop on the other side), turn hard to another hanging log and uphill to a birch (each about 2'), then turn and canter right out of the field and into the next field over, twenty meter turn, canter back in to a 90 degree blind turn to a one stride combination (neither of us have jumped it before), turn and canter back out of the field and down the trail to a turn around point, come back, jump the skinny, then pass out.

So help me, we did it.  We did it despite my nerves, despite my stirrups not having enough holes to get as short as Trainer A wanted, and despite the fact that the horses in the surrounding paddocks were getting their dinners.  He was sticky to start, more occupied with the feed buckets being passed out.  I did the first two logs which were quite small and friendly, then turned to the two stride.  I felt him suck back and look at the girl with the feed buckets.  I heard Trainer A yell 'push that horse!'.  I decided I was not going to die today, damn it all.  I growled like an angry German dragon and booted him hard.  He gave me one buck then jumped the combination beautifully.  I felt that pommel whack against my sternum as he launched over the second part with his knees up around his eyeballs.  On the other side, I gave him a big pat, cooed at him, and he let out a big snort.  It says a lot about our relationship that he just took that big of a correction then moved on without getting angry.  He shook off the correction and moved on with a nice sense of forward.  The rest of our course was lovely, he was a total packer.  He never considered stopping and cantered bravely out of the field, even if he had that big question mark over his head and sent another field of horses scattering.

When we were done, Trainer A was waiting for him with half of an apple.  I guess she's made peace with my treat based training.  Theo even gave me a bit of a swagger while walking out afterward.  Trainer A's favorite parts were his brave approach to the fences he'd never jumped and the way he took the correction.  She also appreciated the fact I started to sit up and remember how to be an eventer.  There were glimpses.  Not much, but glimpses that I had, once upon a time, galloped about fearlessly.

 Once upon a time, with the princess, when I was an eventer

It was the confidence boost we both needed.  I'm only doing 18" jumps, so it's not about big jumps or tricky combinations.  It's about Theo going out bravely and taking my word on it that we're going to be fine.  We have a battle plan, I've been assigned a groom, and now I've got a course under my belt that is far bigger than anything we'll be facing.  I'm working on putting Theo's and my pasts behind us.  Theo is a different horse than he was a year ago when he refused to complete his cross country and jumped out of a dressage ring rather than finish his test.  He's also not the Meathead who threw a temper tantrum when I tried to take some control and threatened to unload me.  This isn't me facing down a Training level course.  This is me going for a calm trot/canter in the woods with some logs to hop over.

I guess I better dig out that old cross country vest and armband.

How to

Something came up at the barn last night that had me thinking.  Someone said I was like a walking horse encyclopedia.  If they had any horsemanship questions, they knew they could ask me and I'd have an answer.  Of course I have to be careful since I'm still learning the quirks of the new barn, but in general, how to handle a cut is pretty universal.  How to pull a mane, braid, clip, blanket, wrap legs, and a hundred other little things are just sitting in my head, waiting for an excuse to come out.

On the flip side, ask ten riders how they get a horse ready to show and you'll get eleven answers.  Opinions vary wildly and people can be very devoted to their side of an argument like what side of a horse's neck you should have the mane trained to stay on.  I say right, Trainer A says left, and we have just agreed to disagree.  What I do will be different than what a lot of other people do.

Most blogs have how to articles or theoretical discussions.  I've never done that, since I never felt like I had anything specific to add.  But now I'm starting to think that there is some knowledge rattling around in my skull worth adding to the cumulative knowledge treasure trove known as the internet.  Your mileage may vary with my advice, of course, but over the past three decades I've done a lot of horsey stuff.  I even spent some time at a western pleasure barn, just for the experience. 

So what do people think, is there room for yet another blog with some how to articles scattered in amongst the tales of mi papi and our struggles to be a real, honest to goodness, grown up dressage team?  I'm thinking horsemanship and turn out primarily, since that's the area where I seem to actually know stuff people want to know.  Don't ask me about dressage theory, you'll get a bunch of random words and sketches and 'I have no idea why' comments.  Jumping?  Completely muscle memory and repetition, I struggle to describe what I'm doing in words after this long.  Makes Trainer A crazy when I devolve into random gestures and adjectives when she's trying to discuss biomechanics. 

But proper procedure after a hard cross country school?  That I have words for.

So what say you, intertubes?  Need more how to in your life?

No guts, no glory

After much consideration (aka a bout of insomnia due to Aura deciding she wasn't comfy and shoving me off my side of the bed), I've decided to just go for it and do the 18" three phase.  I want to know, and there's only one way to find out.

So keeping in mind the incredibly low bar I've set from a technical point of view, most of my attention is on confidence and trust as we build up to our last show of the season.  Yesterday I decided to give mi papi a test and see if we had a snowball's chance in hell.  I tacked him up and set out with the goal of 1.5 hours on the trails, including some loops we hadn't done yet and going backwards through most of it so it looked completely different.  I'll admit to being a bit horrified and I almost backed out to go the safe, well known way.  Mi papi is a wonderful partner but if he is genuinely afraid, there is no trick in my bag that can stop him.  I was throwing him in the deep end to see if he could swim.

I'm here and typing so we clearly succeeded in the most basic goal:  don't die.

Theo actually impressed me.  He's still uneasy on the road, but that seems to be more about the asphalt than anything.  When we have a shoulder to walk on, his walk is normal and his body is more relaxed.  When we have to walk on the black top, he's tense and takes small steps.  Not a shocker, that stuff is slippery since he has four shoes on.  I can actually let him walk on a longer rein now and not keep him constantly on the bit, which is hard on him and irritates him.  He needs chances to stretch, especially when we're out for a long time.

We did get a couple of extra surprises.  Heading down the road (so already tense since we're on asphalt and going the wrong way for the loop), I heard a weird, sharp sound.  Mi papi stopped and snorted and I couldn't identify what it was.  I thought I heard kids, so I called out 'hello' a couple times.  A boy of about 13 came out and yelled 'oh my god it's a horse!'.  His friend came clambering out of the bushes to see this amazing sight.  Both were carrying toy guns.  As soon as they said something, Theo relaxed.  I asked them what that weird noise was and the boy said 'oh, we're playing with our cap guns!'.

He was right across the street, about ten feet away from Theo.  You can guess what happened next.

The young man, being a 13 year old boy with no horse experience but at least some gun common sense, aims the gun straight up and fires it three times.  Theo's eyes almost bulged out of his skull but he actually stood his ground.  I immediately fed him a cookie, which was good timing since the boy's friend copied the move.  I asked them to reload and do it again since my horse had never heard a cap gun before.  They thought that was a great idea and reloaded before aiming at the sky again.  By this point Theo decided this wasn't a big deal.  I thanked the boys for their help and they dove back into the bushes.  Mi papi barely flicked an ear when they went back to playing their game.

We also found tree work, complete with chain saws, and a car parked on the trail where there never was one.  Very scary business.

We spent the afternoon randomly wandering.  We even did some bush whacking to get around leaning trees and access parts of the trail we usually skip.  We jumped the downed birch (about 2'3"), crossed a fairly busy two lane high way, and passed several joggers.  Theo was feeling a bit sassy, so we did a lovely fifteen minute trot down the old rail bed to get home.  I took a chance and let him travel with his head lower than usual.  He has a history of getting his head down, then unloading his riders.  I let him chew the reins out of my hands to he could stretch out over his back and focus on tip toeing around roots.  Yay, ground pole work being put to use!  Once we got back to the road, I let him walk home on the buckle.

Trail horse super star letting me take his picture while waiting for traffic to pass

The best part is that he actually seems to enjoy these outings now.  When I first took him out back in June, I thought my days of relaxing trail rides were over.  He hated it and just wanted to go home.  It was like riding a ticking time bomb.  Now?  He still stops to stare at things and spooks at unexpected obstacles, but I don't feel like he's constantly upset.  He travels in a swinging walk with his ears pricked, just heading out for an adventure.

Theo is teaching me something very important:  the power of positive reinforcement.  So much of riding is based on the idea that your horse behaves to avoid punishment.  If they don't go for a squeeze, we kick.  If they drag, we use a chain shank.  There's a lot of dominance going on.  I do all of that, of course.  Theo is far too big and powerful to have him dragging me or being pushy.  But I carry cookies in my pocket at all times with him.  When he does something special, he gets a reward.  Special can be loading on the trailer with no trouble, pivoting around on the verbal cue, or marching past helium balloons on the first try.  He's learned that if he walks up to the scary thing and touches it (the command is 'touch it'), he gets a cookie.  If he jumps the scary new obstacle, he gets a cookie.  A scary thing is no longer about being punished and driven forward.  It's his choice.  He can't run away, but it's his choice to go touch it or jump it.  Being very food driven, he considers possible death to be secondary to peppermint treats.

If he stops dead and throws his head up, I hold still and pet his neck.  I count to three out loud so he knows it's coming, then he gets a squeeze.  He always steps off for me.  It's a compromise to be sure, but it works for him.  He is a thinking, alive being.  If he's scared, better to give him a second.

Neither of these are popular training choices.  Feeding a horse treats from the saddle?  Giving him a count of three when he stops?  I know Trainer A is grinding her teeth about the treats at least, but I can't win a pushing match with this horse.  Some horses will let you shove them toward something, Theo is not one of them.  It has to be his idea.  I just have to convince him that it's in his best interest to keep going forward.  I'm certain our work with positive reinforcement is why I was able to keep him from spinning and bolting when we found something that frightened him on the trail.  It took us a minute, but he walked by it politely.

I'd say that Theo passed his test.  He went out alone into places he'd never seen before and even trotted on paths that were new to him.  We've been practicing leaving other horses behind and he doesn't like it, but he's learning that I'm still with him, so it's okay.  Now I just have to put it together in a show environment.

Who knew 18" could be scary?

Foregone conclusion

It's fun to have jumping lessons on Theo.  He likes to jump and he's surprisingly athletic.  Today's exercise featured a bounce then four strides either right or left to a vertical.  After doing the exercise a couple times, Trainer A popped them up into the 2'6" - 2'9" range, including the second part of the bounce.  The fun part about mi papi is that he still isn't working that hard.  He has to actually lift his shoulders, but he's clearing with room to spare from the trot or the canter.  He's so blase about it all.  I point, he jumps, we go on.

We did have two rails down, both when the jumps changed and he didn't notice.  He chested one of them, clearly not noticing the change until he'd already started to leave the ground.  I'll take a calmly chested rail over the drama any day.

The adult ladies of the barn went out for drinks this week and Theo came up as a topic of conversation.  The current bet from the group is that I'll buy him in the next 6 to 9 months.  Trainer A thinks I should wait until I see how he goes cross country, but it dawned on me that I don't care if he can go cross country.  Even if I never got him over his fear of going out alone, I really enjoy him.  I enjoy spending time with him.  I enjoy my lessons with him and going out to do things.  We go out trail riding or jump around or do our serious dressage business rides or go to random shows.

 Our blue from the discipline rail class

I think I've come to the part of my career where having a horse I want to see every day is more important than having the wildly talented prospect.  I have very little interest in moving up the ranks of eventing anymore.  I would enjoy getting back to the beginner novice level, sure, but I don't have the urge to return to 400 mpm again.  As far as the dressage goes, I know he's not built to float across the ground or turn heads with his extended gaits.  I'm okay with that.  I enjoy working with him to get as far as we can manage.  He's talented enough for what I need and our personalities are complimentary.  At this point, that's more important.

Who wouldn't want to see this face every day?

So now it feels more like a matter of when than if.

I've got two weeks until our first attempt at a 3 phase.  We're in the 18" division.  Walk trot dressage test, 18" stadium, and a trot around the woods with poles on the ground.  In theory, a cake walk.  In practice, something Theo has never managed to complete.  Trainer A suggested I move him back to a 2 phase, move up a couple divisions, and end my season that way.  I don't know.  I'm warring with myself.  I want to try and see if our months of work have really made a difference.  And if they haven't?  Probably for the best I know about it. 

I've learned my lesson.  Don't ditch a great partnership in order to chase a specific discipline and don't shove a round peg into a square hole.  If he doesn't want to play that game, so be it.  I'll still be there to give him his massages, feed him cookies, and convince him that pushing off of the right hind is not actually going to kill him. 

No looking back

I did go into this part of my riding career with the specific purpose of changing disciplines.  I wanted to finally leave my h/j roots behind and become a real, honest to goodness dressage rider (that still jumps and gallops and stuff).  I just didn't expect any of it to actually stick.

The pleasure show was full of firsts for me:  first pattern class, first showmanship class, first discipline rail class.  We went in with the goal of having fun, not falling off, and not letting Theo eat the competition.  That seemed a bit challenging when I realized the ring the group classes were running in was very small.  Like small dressage arena small.  There were 6 - 8 entries in the adult English riding classes.  Yikes.

Showmanship went about the way I expected.  Turnout was good, we executed about half of the moves very sharply and it was obvious we had practiced, Theo trotted right off with me even without me carrying a whip, but we totally botched the 360 degree pivot.  We got 5th out of 7.  I will happily take that, considering we were whooped by a group of ladies in Western gear that clearly did this every weekend.  I was proud that we were able to halt square and Theo didn't give me any sass.  And now I've knocked something off my bucket list!

Once I put the saddle on, I realized something odd.  I wanted to be a hunter, I was dressed like one, I jacked my stirrups up and put on the jump saddle, but I couldn't get my body or my horse to do it.  Perching left me feeling off balance.  I rode mi papi in a long frame and he wasn't sure what to do with himself.  I was in the middle of the pack for equitation and pleasure and botched both left lead canters.  Theo did very well with our goal of behaving himself, even with 7 other horses in the ring with him cantering.  He started to pop off of the bit and get mad, but he let me soothe him through it.  It also made me sit down and really ride, which he liked.

For my pattern class, I dropped my stirrups down and rode it like a dressage test.  Theo was convinced the barrel at the end of the ring was going to eat him so we ended up in the middle of the pack again, but it was a very nice test.  He didn't spook or bolt and went straight at the barrel that was scaring him.  It just wasn't a very pleasant picture with his head jacked up that high and I didn't risk the flying change  for the change of lead.  The pros in our division all went for the flying change.  The judge laughed and said I was clearly a dressage rider because I knew how to ride a nice circle.  Trainer A was laughing and calling me dressage rider on the way out.  Evidently I gave myself permission to sit up, sit down, and ride my horse for that test.

Discipline rail was our last ride and finally something perfect for us.  Left my stirrups down and picked him up so we could do quick, neat transitions.  I rocked him back on his hocks and put him in his higher carriage.  We did a leg yield off of center line one at a time and I couldn't have asked for a better chance to show off mi papi.  While the other horses protested and tossed their heads, Theo marched down center line, dead straight, then stepped over neatly for the required four steps.  No change of pace, no change in frame, nadda.  Got the blue for that ride.  Trainer A kept whispering 'dressage rider' at me when I was cantering past.  What can I say, there was no chance of me doing canter to walk if I didn't have mi papi back on his hocks, and that requires me to sit my keister in the saddle.

It's weird.  I couldn't get it together for the hunter stuff, but Theo was the star when I went into my new dressage mode.  I doubt we would have scored any better in the pleasure if I'd done that in the dressage frame, since that's not what they want, but my equitation probably would have been better since I wouldn't have been fumbling and trying to figure my own body out.  It's just so strange to me that I'm now more comfortable sitting down and picking my horse up, especially in traffic.  Theo was back swinging, tail wagging happy in his last class.  I had finally removed my head from my a$$ and was riding him correctly.  I had so many people want to pet him and coo at him after he strutted around the ring like the dressage pony he is.  Did it actually happen?  Did Trainer A break the hunter out of me?

It might be time to retire the monogrammed choker.

Complicated

The weather has decided to go straight from summer to winter on us.  In the span of a week we've changed from sweat box humidity to cold and windy.  Change that sudden always has an effect on horses.  Everyone was cranky today and looking for a chance to act up.  Theo had a lesson with a beginner this morning and his school saddle was on Bob, so another saddle was used that he didn't like.  I spent my entire lesson trying to convince him to go forward and behave himself now that he was in his own saddle.  It was a good lesson in terms of teaching me more about how to turn properly, but not the lesson we had planned.  Trotting serpentines are a bit more remidial than the planned flying change work and leg yields.

After about 45 minutes of suppling work, we made progress and managed to avoid upsetting mi papi but that was all.  Trainer A sent us off to go on a trail ride.  Since Theo's gotten used to trail riding, it's actually become something that relaxes him.  We went for a nice trot down the old rail bed and even did a bit of canter.  By the time we got back, he was walking forward under his own motivation on a long contact and with floppy ears.  He can be so complicated sometimes.  But he's awfully cute.

I didn't get a chance to finish braiding him before my lessons started so I put his hood on and popped him in a stall.  The kids suddenly started laughing on our way back up to the barn after their lessons and I looked up to see Theo watching me and whickering.  The kids thought it was hilarious, especially with his colorful outfit.  Then he tried to take off some of the building's siding and was thrown out of the barn and back into his field.  He really isn't an indoor pony.

Tomorrow is the pleasure show.  After two hours of hunting, I've located my hunt coat.  That means I didn't do any of the other stuff I had planned and I'm in the very first class of the day.  It's going to be a very early morning.  No anxiety since it's a fun show, but it's still going to be a physically demanding day after today's lesson/show prep/teaching marathon.  Hopefully mi papi will be back to his usual sunshine self.  He did seem quite content at the end of our ride, but he's not exactly a friendly pony to other horses in the arena.  My goals are to stay on top, have fun, and not have to apologize for my rabid pony to anyone.

Hard habit to break

So I taught a couple lessons last Saturday.

I have a couple lessons scheduled for this Saturday.

I am completely fail at not teaching.  When Trainer A mentioned that she had an instructor leaving and lessons she couldn't cover, I said I'd chip in.  No big deal, right?  But that means I am once again teaching little ones to go up down up down on school ponies in order to lower my horse bills.

And heavens know Theo has horse bills.  I got him a lovely Baker rain sheet since our pleasure show this weekend was 100% chance of rain.  It arrived today.  Do you want to know what the forecast now says?  10% chance of rain.  I know it won't rain a bit because I have this lovely new rainsheet just waiting to come out and be used.  You're welcome, my fellow exhibitors.

I also got some new boots to stand in for my Treadsteps that blew a zipper.  I'll be getting them repaired because they fit better than anything I've ever worn, but the base model Ariats will get me through the show this weekend and serve as schooling boots.  It's a lot less work to put on tall boots compared to paddock boots and half chaps.

The cold weather is seeping in and I'm already eyeballing Irish knits and coolers that I just know I'll need for my hairy wildebeest.   I was at the barn until almost 8pm last night getting him cooled out after a serious one hour work out.  We did canter sets in the field on Monday and managed to squeak in what might be his last bath of the year.  I'm looking down the barrel of winter and remembering why I hate riding in below freezing temps.

As to the lessons, the kids I taught were cute and easy to deal with, so I'm excited to keep teaching them.  It frees up some cash to spoil mi papi and keeps me tuned up as a teacher.  It also helps out the barn, since they don't have to turn away students due to instructors being over booked.  It's kind of a win win scenario, except that I'm now teaching again despite all of my attempts not to work at the barn anymore.  Three hours a week barely counts, right?  Right?

Just lie to me and tell me it doesn't count.  It makes me feel better.