Pretty much amazing!

It has been another tough week in regards to getting good ride time in- damn the winter weather!  Shelley rode J on Tuesday and I was so happy when I got an email indicating that he did really well and tried very hard.  That was so great to hear!

I couldn't ride on Wednesday due to sub-zero temperatures, so J got the day off, which wasn't too terrible as he had worked pretty hard for several days in a row.  But then he got Thursday off too!  I had been checking the weather temperature all day while at work and it didn't look good, but I wanted to get out to the barn to at least let him run around in the indoor and groom him, as I had a lesson scheduled for Friday morning and J hadn't been outside for a couple of days.  So I went to the barn on Thursday night, donned in sweat pants, and found that the barn temperature was absolutely balmy- CRAP!  So I gave him a good grooming and shook a lunge whip at him for a little bit in the indoor.  Then I decided to hop on him bareback, with only his halter and lead rope.  This has been done THREE times in his life (not kidding!) and he was a bit confused at first, but quickly got the idea.  We walked for a bit and even did some lateral work!

So my lesson came this morning and I wasn't sure how J would feel, as he has been inside since Tuesday, with only one (real) ride and some turnout time in the indoor each day.  I lunged him first to get him stretched out and moving and then Shelley got on him.  She worked on getting him really solid on the outside rein- especially when going to the left, as he is very dependant on the left rein and doesn't want to go to the right rein.  She commented that he wasn't as supple as he was on Tuesday, but that was understandable as he hasn't been worked or even turned outside since then.  He eventually got more reliable and honest about his contact, although not without some protesting.  J has MANY tricks in his bag, all with the goal of getting out of working correctly.  Whether it be hanging on the left rein, throwing his haunches to the inside, slowing his tempo or lowering his poll into his little "hole" where he cannot be bothered, it is all to get out of working properly.  So we addressed many of these issues today- first by making sure that my body position was correct and relaxed, secondly making sure that he kept up his tempo the entire time, then asking him to yield to my inside rein (whether it be using a slow, short "take" on the inside rein with a straight neck or using a bit of overflexion if was being especially resistant) and finally using my inside leg to push him to the outside rein, either doing an actual leg yield or capturing that energy with my outside leg and sending him straight forward.  While doing this, he would typically want to slow his tempo or lower his head to a point that he was curling behind the contact and in his "hole".  So my aids had to be quick, not allowing him to lean on the inside rein, keeping his hind legs quick and asking him to raise his poll if he got too "into" himself.  The aids were super close together but never overlapping- which is much easier said then done!

So with all this work and effort, it was amazing because everything actually came together beautifully!  I felt so connected to him and felt that I wasn't fighting my own body.  He got more and more consistent and it was nothing short of fantastic!  The canter that we produced felt like the best canter we have EVER done!  It felt truly powerful but under complete control- such an adrenaline rush!  Our most successful leg yields felt like he was truly dancing underneath me!  I am addicted to this feeling and it gives me so much motivation to work hard this week and hopefully show Shelley some improvement in my next lesson next week!

Show season... where are you???

The weather finally gave us a break and I was able to ride three days in a row!  It was heaven!  On Saturday I worked on his suppleness, really working him over his back and letting him be deep, but not on the forehand.  Lots of circles and some leg yields, all while staying very round and actively pushing from his hind end.  He tired pretty quickly, probably from the lack of work as of recent and the quality of work.  I was happy with his effort and did not work him too long, as I didn't want him to be sore or anything like that.

On Sunday J's farrier, Joe Gnaster, reset J's front shoes and trimmed his back hooves.  Joe is a really great guy and an awesome farrier.  Joe commented that J needed to be done on a slightly shorter schedule as his front hooves had really grown!  Which was great news (well, not for my wallet!) as we have been working really hard at correcting some nasty damage that a previous farrier had done to J's hooves, so the growth is a good thing!  When we had arrived at White Spring, J's "feet" were a disaster- both due to terrible farrier work and terrible footing at the previous barn, but there is a definite noticeable change with the change in farrier and the great footing at the new farm.  So I rode J after he got his feet done and while he was a little testy at times (J can get an attitude when there are other horses in the arena, but that's a whole different post!) he felt really good once he settled into his work.  I started off working him deep again, asking him to really take up my rein and have a steady, even contact.  We did various figures, working towards a nice bend through his back.  Then I asked him take on a more "proper" show "frame", carrying himself in a higher carriage while keeping the suppleness, and he did a really nice job.  We worked on some lateral work and some lengthenings, mostly in the trot.  I could really feel him pushing off his hind end and lifting his shoulders in a way that is much improved. 

Monday came and I was feeling very lazy, wanting to go home and curl up on the couch with the dogs.  But I knew that I wouldn't be riding on Tuesday and a blast of arctic air was on it's way to our area.  So I bundled up and headed out, which I was so happy that I did.  J was so nice!  Moved great off my legs/aids, nice contact through the reins, supple and working over his back.  I did some leg yields, half passes and lengthenings in the trot and some leg yields and lengthenings in the canter.  I felt that he was "coming back" to me much easier while keeping the impulsion and not falling onto his forehand, especially going to the left in the canter.  I was able to really use the corner to balance him back with my outside rein- it felt great!  I feel like he is really getting more and more reliable in his 1st level work and it's such a great feeling to be confident again!  I can't wait to get out there this show season and show the regular 1st level tests and our freestyle!

Shelley is doing a training ride on J today and I think tomorrow is going to be below zero temps, so it might not be until Thursday when I get out there next.  But that's okay because J will need a day off so he doesn't get sore or anything.  I hope he is a good boy for Shelley today!

Making an official record...

So not extremely important, but I have to take note.  I actually took apart my bridle today... and cleaned the entire thing, every crevice, every millimeter of sticky crud, stuck-on peppermint saliva and dried up feed that was slobbered all over it.  What brought about this tedious feat?  Well, J is getting new bling of course! 

I ordered an absolutely stunning hand-strung browband from Janet Quinn at Crown Jewel Design.  This is no ordinary browband, but is strung with only the finest swarovski crystals and 24 karat gold rondells.  Now I would never spend this kind of money on a piece of my own jewelry, but with a nice contribution from my generous father, it is nothing but the best for my little golden boy.  LOL!  So I had to take my old browband off my bridle to measure for the new one. And with that I reasoned that I should clean it since I had gone through all the effort to use a screwdriver to pry apart the nearly permanent dirt encrusted buckles.

And just for fun, I've attached a picture of the beautiful beads for the browband, but just on the strand as they are not sewn onto the black leather browband yet.  The beads are garnet and golden topaz.  I think it will look really great!   http://www.crownjewelsdesign.com/

Snow, snow and more snow!!!

It's been a few days since the last post, as absolutely NOTHING has happened in regards to riding.  The midwest (and rest of the country, really) got hit with one of the worst snow storms in history, essentially barring any road travel.  The storm started on Tuesday and the roads were finally some-what passable on Thursday, however Thursday came with below-zero wind chills.  We just can't seem to catch a break!

So I have not ridden since Monday, and I wouldn't even count that as a real ride.  I mostly went on a "trail ride" around the arena with my barn owner and her adorable reiner, Twist.  We both chatted like two little old ladies at tea, our horses loving that neither of us were concerned about their output of work.  Then my eldest niece, Emalie came out to the barn and got her mini-lesson on J. 

And to top it all off, there has been no turnout since Monday because of the awful conditions.  Thankfully Tawney does turn them out for a little bit in the indoor arena, but as she has to rotate several groups and individual horses, there is only so much time they can get in there.  So I am headed out there today after work, hopefully to do some light work, but at least get in some good grooming (a.k.a. bonding time) and let him run a bit in the indoor, under supervision.  Then tomorrow is supposed to bring a warm up, so we'll get back to regular work tomorrow.

I am so sick of the snow!  Supposedly that big, fat rat is predicting an early spring... he had better be right!!

No breathing = no riding!

So I probably pushed things too hard on Friday night and when I woke up on Saturday for my early morning lesson, breathing was a bit laborious, which is not conducive to anything that would require me to breath!  So I promptly texted Shelley and asked if she could ride J for the lesson instead of me, which she agreed.  I still went to the barn, got J tacked up and although he was quite mellow, gave him a quick spin on the lunge to get his muscles warmed so he could get straight to work when Shelley arrived. 

Shelley was prompt at 8am and hopped right on.  She wanted to really address his suppleness and swing, so she took our previous exercise and bit further, asking him for quit a bit of bend in the neck/poll area while being very diligent about keeping his body really straight on "on the line", no letting him throw his shoulders here or throw his hind out there.  Then she would gradually straighten him and ask him to really move on, without barging over the reins or getting heavy in the forehand.  Now people who were watching may consider this to be a little bit of "deep" work, but it was by no means rolkur <gasp!>.  By asking for a lot of bend through the neck, it would purposely throw his body off balance, asking for him to work even harder over his topline, then when he was straightened, he would move with much more swing.  I noticed an immediate difference and Shelley had J looking like a million bucks!  Really pushing off his hind end, swinging through his entire body and working over his back.  He looked like he was truly dancing!  She did a bunch of leg yields and then some half passes with him... they looked beautiful!  Shelley even gave me the "green light" to do some shallow half passes on my own if he felt like he was ready.

But the question will be whether or not I am skilled to handle such a tricky endeavor.  Shelley made sure to warn me not to keep him in the bend for too long (not as long as she did) and not as severe of a bend, as that will keep me "safe" from overdoing it and missing the point of the exercise.  Our next lesson is not until Friday, so I have plenty of time... to either screw it up or solidify it!  Only time will tell!

Unfortunately I did not ride on Sunday, we were busy in the morning and then had a barn party in the afternoon.  I was thinking about riding after the party, but after consuming a good bit of wine and eating a good bit of food, riding wasn't high on my list of priorities.  According to the (always wrong) weatherman, we are due for a horrendous snow storm starting tomorrow night.  So I am hoping to get out to the barn tonight and tomorrow morning (as I work late tomorrow, at least as of right now) in case I cannot make it on Wednesday.  So hopefully I'll get to work on this new exercise a few times before our next lesson, as I am really excited about the quality of movement if produced!

Amazing what a little (okay, maybe not so little) bit of money can do!

So J has had two more days off, much to my dismay.  Unfortunately I caught the nasty flu bug that is going around and have been carrying a 20 pound brick on my shoulders for the past two days.  But I was able to lift my head off the pillow today (and not feel like my neck would break) and me and my mucous factory made it to work (thank god for sick time) and then the barn.

J was much better then I anticipated- not very "full of himself" and not as stiff as I thought he might be.  It was a bit of a heat wave- reaching a whole 32 degrees, so definitely tolerable and J warmed up nicely.  We worked on much of the same things we've done all week; straightness, quickness off the leg, turning off the seat, flexion and moving his inside hind underneath.  J did some good grunting and groaning, so I knew I was hitting the right "spots".  I have a lesson tomorrow, so hopefully we have done some improvement since last week that we will be able to build on.

But I really want to comment on the acupuncture, laser treatment and chiropractic work that J had done a couple weeks ago.  My wonderful barn owner, Tawney, is a reiner and got a referral from other reiners for Interlaken Centre (http://www.interlakencentre.com/) out of Waconia, Minnesota for acupuncture and chiropractor work done by actual veternarians.  I soon found out that not only do they work on reiners, but dressage horses, saddlebreds and many other disciplines.  She first had them out in December, but with the holidays coming around, I had to wait until they came back in January. 

So when they came out a couple of weeks ago, I promptly met Dr. Johnson at the barn to have J checked and worked on, if needed.  Now J has had chiropractic and massage therapy done before, and has shown definite improvement with both, but never acupuncture before.  Dr. Johnson was extremely friendly, professional and knowledgeable.  He completed an overall body check on J, promptly finding that he was very sore behind his shoulders, what might be considered a person's "armpit" area.  Then found that J was sore in his hind end/pelvis area.  He felt that J was primarily sore in his hind end, which caused him to pull himself around with his front end instead of pushing himself with his hind end, so he was sore in the girth area as a secondary issue.  He adjusted J's shoulders and even showed me how to do it, using J's own body weight to do the adjustment and advised me to do it before every ride.  He then injected B-12 and almond oil into various acupuncture points in J's hind end, up both sides of his spine and into his chest.  I wasn't sure how J would handle being a pin cushion, but he didn't even twitch a muscle!  I was so proud of my little man!  Dr. Johnson explained that while regular needles in the points are good, injecting the B-12 and almond oil was even better because it stimulated the point for longer and had quicker and longer-lasting effects.  Dr. Johnson hoped that J would be able to hold this treatment for a very long time, as he was not terribly bad.  He then had a laser, which he applied to acupuncture points that are located on the bonier points of his body, likes joints, fetlocks, etc.  His belief is that the heat stimulates the point that might be otherwise sensitive to a needle.

He advised me to ride J that night and the more he can move, the better off the treatment will be.  I tried to be very open-minded about this treatment, trying to not "imagine" results when none were really there- a placebo effect, per say.  That first ride seemed much better, like he was initially less reluctant to go forward, softer in the bridle and pushing more off the hind end.  But I stayed very cautious about claiming this a success.

But now that it has been a couple weeks, I feel that I can definitely state that it has helped him greatly.  He is offering to lift his shoulders and drop his hindquarters, especially in his transitions.  He is more agreeable in the bridle.  He swings much more reliably, truly come from his hind.  He is easier to bend through the ribcage.  I am so pleased that I decided to do this treatment and feel that was the "missing piece" that we had in our training.  Granted it was not exactly cheap (at least according to MY budget), but the hope is that it will last and as long as my horse is happier and healthier, that is what matters.  Fortunately Interlaken Centre has agreed to put us on their regular rotation and will be visiting our barn every 6-8 weeks, no matter how many horses we have signed up.  After seeing it for myself, I absolutely believe in this treatment practice and would recommend Interlaken Centre always!  Thank you to Dr. Johnson!

Back in the swing of things!

So I rode this morning, despite wanting to stay in my warm comfy bed!  J had been kept inside this morning, as I had requested, and he seemed happy to see me by giving me "kisses" and nuzzling my hair.  I didn't have a ton of time, so I quickly ran a brush over him, stretched his shoulders and got a couple good "pops" and tacked him up.  No lunging today as he was very quiet and content while tacking him up.  I ran through my usual warm-up routine except this time I did lots of big figures and turns on a long rein in one hand, just using my seat to steer him.  He was going really nice off my seat and seemed very happy to go forward.

I picked up my reins and started working on the exercises we did in the lesson on Thursday- doing lots of 15 meter circles around the arena, asking him to bend to the inside, then use my inside leg to move to the outside rein and take bigger steps underneath himself.  I was so happy with how quickly he got with the program and with hardly an attitude about it!  He was quicker off my leg, much more flexible and supple in the bridle.  I kept out of my hole and that definitely contributed to our success today.  We worked in the trot and canter, doing our consecutive circles all around the arena.  Both gaits were pretty good, although I had to be very careful in the canter as it is really easy to overbend him, which then forces his outside shoulder to pop out when I apply the inside leg.  So I had to play around with that and figure out the right amount of bend to complete the exercise correctly.  We did a couple leg yields each direction and a couple trot/halt/trot transitions.  I ended with some freewalk work, which is getting noticeably better as his contact is getting more and more honest.  He is getting much better going from freewalk to medium walk too, since I am not restricting him so much and trusting him to be more honest with the contact.

So it was a very successful day and I was happy with his work today.  He was much more focused, content in his work and agreeable about everything.  I was definitely happy that I had drug my butt out of bed and into the cold for a ride like that!