With the pressure of my first show of the season being two weeks away, I have been busy with Shelley preparing for it. We have bumped up our lessons to two per week until the show. So I had a lesson last week on Wednesday, one on Saturday and one yesterday. My next lesson is scheduled for Thursday.
Unfortunately, for the past five years, I have had issues with back pain. This is usually solved by a few visits to the naprapath, but lately the pain has started to become more intense and more frequent. I finally got an MRI done and found that there are are a few herniated discs, a bulging disc, disc degeneration and mild scoliosis. I am not one for pain meds or extensive medical treatment, so I am trying to work with my naprapath to do strengthening exercises and strengthen the areas of concern. I am also going to meet with my general physician about getting muscle relaxers for the particularly difficult days when it is hard to get out of bed. This pain is definitely exacerbated by riding, especially when I do not use my core and use my upper body instead. So I am definitely trying to be more conscious about my position and listen to my body when it hurts, telling me to correct my position.
During the first lesson, Shelley worked on our half halts and suppling, and quickly noticed that J will really slow down his tempo, drop at the poll and onto the forehand if he is not told to quicken the entire duration of the half halt or suppling aid. So she wanted us to GREATLY increase our tempo, to the point of over-tempo, and then ask him for half halts and supple from there. It was very painful on my back, as I was using too much upper body to try to steer and control his tempo. But I stuck through it and by the end of the lesson, J was much more honest.
Our lesson on Saturday was a great one. Shelley got on him first and had no issues with him, she seemed very happy with his work. She commented that J is very uncomplicated when the rider's position is correct. Then I got on and she suggested that we start off with no stirrups, so I could work on my position and using my core in a more effective way. I was a little wary because of my back, but gave it a shot. We started in walk, working on my pulling my shoulders down and back, bringing my elbows in to my body, lowering my hands and stilling my lower back. Shelley had a very interesting analogy- which I had previously seen in a Dressage Today magazine- of thinking that the reins were not connected to just my hands, but connected all the way around me and my lower back. Picturing this definitely helped me use my core and lower back in a more correct way. We then moved to sitting trot work, going around the whole arena, but doing constant voltes, asking him to turn from my seat and then push him back onto the outside rein with my inside leg. We had some really nice work and amazingly my back was not hurting at all! It clearly makes a difference when I am riding correctly! Then we worked on canter work, doing the same small-ish circles, but keeping them at about 15 meters instead of 10 meters, all without stirrups. My position was definitely better throughout the entire lesson and I ended up not using my stirrups at all! I felt really great afterwards- not in any pain, felt very connected to J and did some really nice work. It was very exciting!
On Monday we went back to increasing his tempo, as he was a bit sluggish, possibly due to the extremely humid and hot weather we suddenly found ourselves dealing with. Shelley set up cones in a 20 meter circle and had us ride an accurate circle while really making sure he was on the outside rein. We did this by asking him to move his outside shoulder a hair to the inside and then pushing him back to the outside rein, while controlling the bend with the outside leg being back and keeping consistent contact on the outside rein. At first he was a bit resistant- he was distracted by the barn owner power washing vehicles in the driveway, which was ridiculous for him to even be thinking about. But he eventually came around and his work improved. Once we got good, consistent 20 meter circles at the trot and canter, with lots of transitions throughout, we went to work on our leg yields. J and I really love to overbend in the leg yields, which is very slight (I am told by Shelley) but enough that he is not coming through his inside hind as well as he should be. So we really worked on making the turn correctly by not letting him fall out the outside shoulder, quick half halt on the inside rein and follow up with outside leg to ask for outside shoulder to come to the inside and then straighten him with the outside rein and move him quickly over with the inside leg. All of this happens within 1 or 2 steps, so it is a very quick process. Than he will typically lose his balance after 5 or 6 steps, so I have to ask him again to turn his shoulder to the inside and move over. It was really hard work! And with the temperatures in the 90's with extreme humidity, both J and I were dripping with sweat! We then worked on the 1-3 trot sequence of the leg yield to the voltes, which did not go so well. It made me very nervous that we will not get these good enough by the show next week, but we will try our best. I just have to be very careful to make sure that J is very straight in the first leg yield (which is his toughest way) that goes from left to right, because if he is overbent, our volte really sucks. I will definitely be doing some work on that tonight!
I'm planning on doing some work without stirrups again tonight and work on my position. Then we will do the trot work from 1-3 and hopefully get some more consistent leg yields. I'm so anxious to show next week- I can't wait!!!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
My horse, the goof!
So this may be a record- two posts in one day! But I am serious about trying to be more diligent with entries, and knowing that I have a very busy day tomorrow, I thought it would be best to write tonight.
I was not able to get out to the barn yesterday as it was my brother's birthday and we had a family dinner for him (for which I made an amazing blackberry lime cheesecake with blackberry lime curd- YUM!) so J had the day off. I got to the barn today to find that the horses had been inside their stalls yesterday and today due to the terrible storms that have been moving through the area, resulting in flooded pastures and paddocks. My wonderful barn owner and amazing barn help are very good about getting the horses turned out in the indoor, but that also depends on other rider's schedules as well. And my horse getting turned out in the indoor is just not the same- he can be much more distracted when he hasn't gotten the mental release of being outside all day.
So today was decent weather and despite a small pond in one portion of the outdoor arena, I knew I wanted to get J outside and even take advantage of the water- as many times we have to plop through water in the show ring. I got J groomed up, which was no easy task as he has been inside the past couple days and he loves to use his manure has his pillow and mattress! I took him straight outside, mounted off a big rock (isn't that what everyone uses as a mounting block, LOL!) and started to walk him around the outdoor. He was relaxed at first, then seemed to realize that 1) he was outside for the first time in days and 2) he was the only horse out there. He had a couple little temper tantrums, seemingly wanting to burst out the seams and let some hooves fly and after a little while of this, I decided that, after working a couple good circles, I would take him into the indoor to burn off that excess energy. So we made our way inside and I worked him pretty hard, working our corners, 10 meter voltes into shoulder-in, leg yields and a couple of half passes. Also did a few lengthenings in the trot and canter, which were pretty decent. I tried to be sure that he was stretching his neck throughout his work and I was not letting him just sit on the bit. I would throw in random voltes to try to vary the work and not let him get too complacent in whatever we were doing. After working for a while in the indoor, we made our way back to the outdoor, as I was not going to let him off that easy. So back out we went and he tried to be distracted a couple of times, but I was quick to get him back and we worked on transitions while staying soft and supple in the bridle. He did pretty well and I was happy with how our training session ended.
We have a lesson scheduled tomorrow evening, so hopefully it won't be cancelled by either party and Shelley and I can get some good work done!
I was not able to get out to the barn yesterday as it was my brother's birthday and we had a family dinner for him (for which I made an amazing blackberry lime cheesecake with blackberry lime curd- YUM!) so J had the day off. I got to the barn today to find that the horses had been inside their stalls yesterday and today due to the terrible storms that have been moving through the area, resulting in flooded pastures and paddocks. My wonderful barn owner and amazing barn help are very good about getting the horses turned out in the indoor, but that also depends on other rider's schedules as well. And my horse getting turned out in the indoor is just not the same- he can be much more distracted when he hasn't gotten the mental release of being outside all day.
So today was decent weather and despite a small pond in one portion of the outdoor arena, I knew I wanted to get J outside and even take advantage of the water- as many times we have to plop through water in the show ring. I got J groomed up, which was no easy task as he has been inside the past couple days and he loves to use his manure has his pillow and mattress! I took him straight outside, mounted off a big rock (isn't that what everyone uses as a mounting block, LOL!) and started to walk him around the outdoor. He was relaxed at first, then seemed to realize that 1) he was outside for the first time in days and 2) he was the only horse out there. He had a couple little temper tantrums, seemingly wanting to burst out the seams and let some hooves fly and after a little while of this, I decided that, after working a couple good circles, I would take him into the indoor to burn off that excess energy. So we made our way inside and I worked him pretty hard, working our corners, 10 meter voltes into shoulder-in, leg yields and a couple of half passes. Also did a few lengthenings in the trot and canter, which were pretty decent. I tried to be sure that he was stretching his neck throughout his work and I was not letting him just sit on the bit. I would throw in random voltes to try to vary the work and not let him get too complacent in whatever we were doing. After working for a while in the indoor, we made our way back to the outdoor, as I was not going to let him off that easy. So back out we went and he tried to be distracted a couple of times, but I was quick to get him back and we worked on transitions while staying soft and supple in the bridle. He did pretty well and I was happy with how our training session ended.
We have a lesson scheduled tomorrow evening, so hopefully it won't be cancelled by either party and Shelley and I can get some good work done!
Building momentum into show season!
So it has been quite awhile since my last entry, for which I regret and hope to get back on a semi-regular basis again. I feel like much as happened since my last entry, but at the same time, nothing monumental (i.e. my horse hasn't won the Olympics and I haven't been named the next rider for Ravel, LOL!).
J has been doing well, still keeping 4-6 day/week training sessions, lasting about 45-60 minutes each. Really working on his endurance/stamina, honest engagement of hind end and supple contact. I had the acupuncturist work on him two weeks ago, not because J was doing poorly, but felt that he would benefit from a routine tune-up session before our show season starts. Dr. Johnson confirmed that J was still sore in his pelvis, although less so than last time. He stated that he was also a bit sore in his left stifle, so he worked on that area also. He encouraged that I still do adjustments on J's shoulders and rib area prior to each ride. My lessons have not been as regular as I prefer, due to scheduling conflict's, illness, etc. But we still chip away and I feel confident that I know what is correct for the work that we are doing without needing Shelley's guidance on a constant basis.
The weather in Illinois has been tumultuous, to say the least, making it very hit or miss as to when I can get into the outdoor arena and practice my movements in a regulation size dressage arena. Fortunately all of last week was beautiful, so we worked outside exclusively. On Thursday I was able to put up my "white trash" dressage arena (vinyl letters stuck to buckets) and at least get the feeling of riding the movements in correct dimensions. Tawney (my barn owner) is seriously considering putting up a permanent dressage arena, which would be in our 200 X 200 outdoor arena, so that would be really great! But until then, mine definitely does the job. The footing in the outdoor is a little deep, although it is really nice torpedo sand and my barn owner is great with maintaining it. Because of the deeper footing, J can get lazy, so it is actually good for him to have to step it up a little bit and helps to build his endurance even more.
I've been really working on making sure J is turning with his outside shoulder during the turn. Sometimes he can get distracted or lazy, and when he does this, his outside shoulder will not actually turn towards the inside of the circle, even to a small degree. So we've been addressing this by using my inside rein a bit more often but direct and asking him to move his OUTSIDE shoulder with a small contraction on the inside rein. Now sometimes this has to be a large contraction and a large reaction, but the goal is that it will become very small, invisible to the judges, but he will know that means to get his inside shoulder underneath himself and even move it towards the inside. If I ask for a large reaction, I will follow up by asking his haunches to fall to the outside and for a small "wheelie" turn and then continue on our way. I have found this exercise very helpful when he is distracted or not on my aids as well as he should be. It prevents him from falling out the outside shoulder and ignoring my outside aids. This aid is very useful in my leg yields and my shoulder-in's, as I can very minutely turn his front end but keep his hind end underneath and no falling out of the movement.
His lengthenings are getting more consistent and powerful, as long as I make sure to really half halt him through the corners before the diagonal and keep him waiting for me to ask him to move out. Then I make sure to half halt him to bring him back to working gaits, but not hold him up at the same time. As a matter of fact, I am working on our corners in general, using them more efficiently to use them as an opportunity to half halt and get him more engaged. I can tell that I was have been very soft on him in the corners, because he really wants to cheat in the corners- either by getting crooked in the body or neck, slowing down and leaving his hind legs out behind him or throwing his outside shoulder out and "motorcycling" around the corner. So I have to be very diligent and work very hard to make him understand that is not how we ride a corner anymore.
And the exciting news- I have officially entered our first show of the season! It is June 10-12th at Silverwood and I could not be more excited to get out there and show our stuff! Shelley and I are planning on 2 per week lessons to get our work solid before that show and also working on my freestyle, as I plan to show that on June 16th at Sorensen. For the first show, we will just be showing 1-1 and 1-3 (qualifying) on Friday and Saturday and than 1-3 (qualifying) on Sunday. I am really hoping that I can get my regional qualifying scores for 1st level right away that first weekend, but regardless, we will just try our best. Than throughout the season I will show my freestyle and hopefully get qualified for regionals for the freestyle as well.
J is feeling really great right now. He is extremely focused, working hard and has pretty good endurance to hold up to the strains of showing. He also has a great attitude, which is what I love so much about him.
J has been doing well, still keeping 4-6 day/week training sessions, lasting about 45-60 minutes each. Really working on his endurance/stamina, honest engagement of hind end and supple contact. I had the acupuncturist work on him two weeks ago, not because J was doing poorly, but felt that he would benefit from a routine tune-up session before our show season starts. Dr. Johnson confirmed that J was still sore in his pelvis, although less so than last time. He stated that he was also a bit sore in his left stifle, so he worked on that area also. He encouraged that I still do adjustments on J's shoulders and rib area prior to each ride. My lessons have not been as regular as I prefer, due to scheduling conflict's, illness, etc. But we still chip away and I feel confident that I know what is correct for the work that we are doing without needing Shelley's guidance on a constant basis.
The weather in Illinois has been tumultuous, to say the least, making it very hit or miss as to when I can get into the outdoor arena and practice my movements in a regulation size dressage arena. Fortunately all of last week was beautiful, so we worked outside exclusively. On Thursday I was able to put up my "white trash" dressage arena (vinyl letters stuck to buckets) and at least get the feeling of riding the movements in correct dimensions. Tawney (my barn owner) is seriously considering putting up a permanent dressage arena, which would be in our 200 X 200 outdoor arena, so that would be really great! But until then, mine definitely does the job. The footing in the outdoor is a little deep, although it is really nice torpedo sand and my barn owner is great with maintaining it. Because of the deeper footing, J can get lazy, so it is actually good for him to have to step it up a little bit and helps to build his endurance even more.
I've been really working on making sure J is turning with his outside shoulder during the turn. Sometimes he can get distracted or lazy, and when he does this, his outside shoulder will not actually turn towards the inside of the circle, even to a small degree. So we've been addressing this by using my inside rein a bit more often but direct and asking him to move his OUTSIDE shoulder with a small contraction on the inside rein. Now sometimes this has to be a large contraction and a large reaction, but the goal is that it will become very small, invisible to the judges, but he will know that means to get his inside shoulder underneath himself and even move it towards the inside. If I ask for a large reaction, I will follow up by asking his haunches to fall to the outside and for a small "wheelie" turn and then continue on our way. I have found this exercise very helpful when he is distracted or not on my aids as well as he should be. It prevents him from falling out the outside shoulder and ignoring my outside aids. This aid is very useful in my leg yields and my shoulder-in's, as I can very minutely turn his front end but keep his hind end underneath and no falling out of the movement.
His lengthenings are getting more consistent and powerful, as long as I make sure to really half halt him through the corners before the diagonal and keep him waiting for me to ask him to move out. Then I make sure to half halt him to bring him back to working gaits, but not hold him up at the same time. As a matter of fact, I am working on our corners in general, using them more efficiently to use them as an opportunity to half halt and get him more engaged. I can tell that I was have been very soft on him in the corners, because he really wants to cheat in the corners- either by getting crooked in the body or neck, slowing down and leaving his hind legs out behind him or throwing his outside shoulder out and "motorcycling" around the corner. So I have to be very diligent and work very hard to make him understand that is not how we ride a corner anymore.
And the exciting news- I have officially entered our first show of the season! It is June 10-12th at Silverwood and I could not be more excited to get out there and show our stuff! Shelley and I are planning on 2 per week lessons to get our work solid before that show and also working on my freestyle, as I plan to show that on June 16th at Sorensen. For the first show, we will just be showing 1-1 and 1-3 (qualifying) on Friday and Saturday and than 1-3 (qualifying) on Sunday. I am really hoping that I can get my regional qualifying scores for 1st level right away that first weekend, but regardless, we will just try our best. Than throughout the season I will show my freestyle and hopefully get qualified for regionals for the freestyle as well.
J is feeling really great right now. He is extremely focused, working hard and has pretty good endurance to hold up to the strains of showing. He also has a great attitude, which is what I love so much about him.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)