Dressage In Jeans

I live.

2011-12-16T21:57:00.002-05:00

Sorry for the serious lack of posting, everyone. I have been having a series of things pile up here, with family drama, and too many hospital visits. I contracted MRSA two years ago, and it seems to come back once a year at the worst of times. Whilst I am not passing out in showers this year, the petechiae (small blood clots) have returned to my legs to pester and confuse the doctors. If that weren't enough, I fell directly on my neck on asphalt back when I was in college, knocked myself out, memory loss, the whole nine yards. I'd never gotten it looked at as I didn't have insurance then, and since I was planning on going to the doctors, my neck pain decided that it should come too for the holiday season. So with with now-diagnosed bone spurs in my cervical spine, degenerative changes, and a reverse curvature (so far--possible follow up MRIs to come...), sitting on the computer has been far off of my list of things to do. Compounded with the fact that my laptop refuses to hold a charge and the charger is now dead... it makes posting nonexistent.

I seem to be pretty banged up for a 24 year old, but I can still function, I just complain a lot. ;) The animals have all been good, and I believe Odie will be scheduled for the snip-snip time with the vet. He is so good with me and with everyone else, but he has started eating Key for sport. Since I refuse to keep him alone, it will be better for him to be a gelding. A wise horseman once told me, 'A good stallion makes a great gelding.' We have one of our goats pregnant for March I believe, and possibly another if she ever goes into heat!

Plenty of things to keep me busy here, that's for sure. I'm going through physical therapy for my neck, so I'm hoping that once we have this managed again, I can get back to my computer rituals.

I hope everyone has a good holiday, and apologize for being absent for so long. Stay safe!

Happy Holidays!

Survivor Week

2011-08-25T23:18:00.003-04:00

Hey all. Working hard to get everything ready here in New Jersey for Hurricane Irene after the earthquake that hit here surprisingly from VA.

If anyone wanted to know, horses know when earthquakes are coming! All three of my boys hauled butt to their lean-to in the middle of a gorgeous afternoon. I rolled my eyes at them and walked in the house and went upstairs, and within moments the second story of my house was shaking side-to-side by inches. I literally thought my house was falling down, considering I can't remember the last time I felt an earthquake! The horses then refused to come out of the lean-to until me and my SO went out to 'rescue' them, and found the electric wire in the fence down.

Bigger problems seem to be rolling in this weekend however with Hurricane Irene. For those of you further south then me I wish you the best of luck! Up here in the north east we aren't often prepared for this kind of stuff and our houses are rated for lesser winds/etc.. Further more, just a week or so ago we had terrible storms that brought more then eight inches of rain in two days(actually I heard nine inches, but I'm rounding down!), and we still aren't dry and are getting pummeled by more thunderstorms BEFORE Irene moves in with torrential rain and flooding. Many properties out here are still 'lake-front homes' as huge, deep puddles have yet to dry up... and we're getting more rain! Our coastal regions are beginning to evacuate in the early hours of Friday morning.

Wish us luck! We still haven't decided if we're going to put the boys in the barn or keep them out, but it'll all depend on the wind speeds, which will depend on what level the hurricane is when it rolls in.

To all those out there on the coast line, stay safe!

Goin' to a GOAT SHOW~!

2011-08-13T14:28:00.002-04:00

Alright, I got some pictures from a couple of the shows... thought you guys might find them interesting! They aren't the best because the lighting was pretty poor for a digital camera, but you get the idea.

Bella

Also known as 'Bey-bey', you may remember her from earlier posts. She's all grow-ed up! For reference, here's a cute baby photo:

From Bella

She placed fifth out of the largest class of the show on day 1 (about 11-12 goats), day 2 she didn't place at all, and day 3 she took third! We didn't expect Bella to do that well and were pleasantly surprised. :)

Next up is 'my little buffalo', Brandy!

Bran-Bran!

Being a rock star!

Brandy was awesome! She was the youngest goat we brought (3 months) and if you've ever seen a class of young goats, it's usually just a bunch of kids being drug on their backs because they REFUSE to walk on leashes because they are GOATS damnit. They rear and wiggle and just generally carry on and they are forgiven because they're so damn cute. But Brandy was awesome and came home with two thirds and a second. Someone also told us she's the nicest brown goat she'd seen in a long time! (in the pygmy world, browns are rarer and are often targets of Krazy Kolor breeders and turn out as show rejects). She was the youngest goat in the class of four and did well against older animals, which is hard in the goat world, as the oldest animal in Junior classes usually wins (because they are more developed).

(As a side note, Brandy also participated in the obstacle course with someone who's never walked a goat before and did AWESOME!)

Next up is Bethany, the goat we acquired two shows ago. She placed first, last (ack! Couldn't find someone knowledgeable to show her and I had to show Brandy in the same class), and second. Her mother won Grand Champion Doe at the show as well, so we have high hopes for her and she was very well behaved.

Bethany

Last but not least is Brie, who was rockstar number 2 and is always awesome in the show ring. She doesn't place as well because she's going through a lanky stage where everything is LONG and pygmies are supposed to be cob-ish, but she was so well behaved.

From Goats

And here's her showing down at NC (two firsts for her there!):

From Goats

Our buck took two Junior Reserve Champion ribbons, and our goat Brooke was the only one in her class, so no competition for her :(. It was a good time and the goats were great! It's nothing like a horse show but it's fun, and these little guys are the coolest pet you'll ever have. ;)

Three Day Goat Show

2011-08-05T22:43:00.001-04:00

Day one is down! I'll see if I can get some photos up in the coming days. It was only bucks showing tonight and our buck took another Junior Reserve Champion. Woo!

The Amazing Shape, and an Update

2011-07-17T07:56:00.006-04:00

I have been riding Odie maybe 2-3 times a week, with some lunging tossed in, and hand walking down the streets and old paths that used to harbor railroad tracks. He rarely does anything strenuous anymore. In the beginning of the season, I used the heat and wet saddle blankets to give him manners, rather then work against a young stallion's energy, and since then I have far tapered off the work, as he is good. Now we can work on quality.

Two Saturdays ago I decided to take him to a show to chill out, and I wanted him quite tired before I ever put him on the trailer. I decided I'd breeze him around the hayfield, with some trotting, for maybe a half an hour and he'd be good to go, as most of are riding sessions are walk/trot with lots of breaks and max out at the thirty minute level. I've never let Odie run, and never canter anything but a large circle, so I was excited to have a good time and let him relax into a rhythm. What I found out:

Oh my lord. Odie may not classify as a hot breed of horse, but he is in SHAPE. I don't even know how he got there. I guess you could say that from tiring him out he's gotten better, but it's been so long since I had him really tired, and the last two weeks I've maybe ridden him twice. I don't want to overwork his body, young as it is, so since I worked him hard at the beginning of the season, he's been on a taper for at least a month, if not more. After an hour of riding, my legs were sore and he was hot, but barely breathing hard (as I wrote this, I could see him trotting outside the window. JERK!! IT'S 100 DEGREES!).

I do a lot of dressage, riding wise. I'm sure you guys know this. But I had SO much fun pointing him down the straight away, kissing, and watching him fly. I mean, fly. He was galloping, and I was grinning, and then all of a sudden that horse was like, 'this is silly', and we hit gear five, and I knew that he wasn't even at his limit. We went from fourth gear to fifth in half a second. I felt his legs gather underneath him and just eat the ground away. Now I know why the eventers do what they do! I honestly don't know why he's so fast; he's 1/4 Percheron, 1/4 Friesian, and 1/2 German warmblood. Maybe I am ignorant, but none of those things scream 'hyper speed' to me.

Before I got Key, I was riding racehorses off the track with a jockey. Off the track as in, 'raced on Tuesday, get on him on Thursday'. We never let them unwind, we just got on and started. And yeah--sometimes they took off just to blow out steam. I've raced Clyde and pushed Key to his limit down the straight parts; I know speed. This was just something completely different.

And from such a young horse, who's never done this before, he was completely ratable. No bucking, no bolting, no 'OMG WHAT'S IN THE WOODS' spooking. I will be the first to say that's not my training; he's just listens. Got to love a mind like that.

When we finally stopped, we walked maybe 100 yards and I unsaddled him, let him drink (out of a kiddie pool for the dog. Yes, we're sophisticated), hosed him off, and put him on the lunge for another ten minutes. And the jerk still wasn't breathing heavy! I've never worked him over 30 minutes.

Now, he was tired, but I wanted him TIRED-tired. And by time we walked to the hose to cool him down again, his respiratory rate was just a hair off normal. After the bath he just looked like he had a good workout--no excess energy, but plenty of energy if I so asked. Breathing normal.

He'd seen me drink out of the hose once, and the jerk still had the audacity to try to do that too.

It was going to have to do, and I loaded him up and took him to the show. I don't have much to report--he was loud (he talks. A lot.) but he never once decided not to listen to me. He stops, backs, etc. off of a suggestion; didn't rear, paw, or jig. Honestly even though he was loud I was really proud of him--he didn't spook at the loudspeakers or the bleachers or the barrels--nothing scared him. He was completely safe.

I have worked with stallions before, but I've never been the person to introduce a young one to the show scene. I've heard so much conflicting advice--let him call, punish him if he calls, etc.--and have tried my own. I've tried ignoring it, which works to a degree--he's not quiet, but he doesn't get worked up. I've tried punishing him and this typically makes it worse; he doesn't get aggressive, he just gets louder as he gets more nervous. I've tried trying to keep his attention, and if backing him up took his mind off the fact that other horses were calling to him, I'd say he was probably a few cards short of a full deck.

I've decided he just needs more shows + more outside-of-the-arena time. We've been going on longer trail rides, and watching him call to cows is always amusing (they think so too). Today I decided I was tired of riding in breeches and tall boots, so I pulled out a Big Horn synthetic saddle and literally just threw it on him, no questions asked. It fits him really well, but it is not my saddle so it is about four times too big for me. I'm going to shop around for a smaller one--I've heard good things about the Abetta Endurance saddles, any information on them from you guys? How about tips on saddle pads? Abetta has saddles with 'Arabian trees'--what's the difference?

I must add--I LOVE trail riding the big guy. He's so forward, and had already handled a ton of trail oddities: kids on quads, big mac trucks, baby turkeys!!, loose dogs, etc.. He's so good. I wish I had more trails closer, but it looks as though we're going to be stuck to the road for most of the time. We do minimal arena work, but as of now, he is becoming a strict trail horse to learn that not everything must be talked to (This includes me, the kids next door, grandpop, deer, cows, etc.).

I also am rasping his hoof wall as it grows in, as he has a lot of flare up front from the previous farrier so I'm trying to get a hold on that. However, the rasp takes FOREVER to get anywhere--anyone have good recommendations on rasps and hoof knifes? I'd like to do maintenance on the boys feet until the trimmer comes back out. I didn't mention him previously, but he's really good and I'm Much happier, as are the boys! Key's thrush had gotten to a standstill, and after taking his heels down, it's almost gone. :D

Continuing the rambling theme of this post, the family had a goat show down in Boone, North Carolina last weekend. Brie and Brandy, the two new babies, took first in their classes; our buck took reserve junior champion buck (second best buck out of all of the 1st/2nd junior bucks), and our doe Brooke took second in a nice class. A good weekend and the goats were all well behaved. I'll try to get some pictures up!

Lastly, I opened a twitter account, and it's over on the right of the page--I'll be using it to update when I'm away or with silly things that just aren't big enough for posts.

Alright, I think I'm done with the nonsense!

Relaaax

2011-07-09T20:11:00.014-04:00

One can not talk about jaw flexions without talking about relaxation, and how important it is to a dressage horse--or any happy horse, for that matter. It is easy to explain what they facilitate, but its impact is lessened if the reader doesn't understand the importance of it.

Relaxation is first on some dressage pyramids, and second on some others, which I don't agree with. Collection, power, and impulsion all come from controlled muscle movements. They all can be done with tense muscles, but this is when you see specific errors popping up in their work--swishing tails, grinding teeth, gaping mouths, tails stiff and held out behind the horse, four-beat trots, etc. etc.. Tension is the cause of a lot of problems for a lot of horses, and once you start unlocking the muscles and letting them loosen, you start to see a change in your horse. Horses that work relaxed, love their work--it's just that simple. Relaxed horses feel safe, and safety is more important to horses then food.

The German school of dressage finds balance through movement. Horses are moved forward in order to find their balance--eventually a horse that is pushed forwards will gain muscle to balance itself. The German school also uses the reins to 'shape' the front of the horse, and hold the reins to create a 'block' to stop the energy from escaping.

The French school is 'balance before movement'. Horses are relaxed, and brought to a slower gait if not. They are taught to be balanced before impulsion is often brought into the picture. Jaw flexions are used to relax the horse and allow his head to drop at the poll, and are also used to teach forward, down, and out (long and low). The french rule is 'legs without hand, hand without leg'--ie, you will not hold with the reins and push the horse into it.

The German school is what is rewarded in the dressage ring today--they want a lot of contact with the reins, and big flashy gaits. The problem, however, is tension. The German school thinks that jaw flexions are 'hand riding', and only address the head of the horse. Oddly, this is what most traditionally-trained horses look in the dressage ring today:

Focusing just on the headsets of these horses, they have just as many pictures above the bit as they do broken at third and behind it. This is because the horses are taught to curl their head when the reins are taken up, so when the rider needs to slow the horse, it is the same aid as telling the horse to put his nose down. The degree of the head on or behind the vertical is entirely dependent on the amount of rein the horse is given. The horse's headset is entirely dependent on the rider; the rider can put it wherever he wishes.

By nature, if force is used to pull the horse on to the bit (this doesn't have to be rough or mean), then a certain tension will result. If a horse's head is behind the vertical, his upper neck cannot be relaxed, because it takes muscular tension for the horse to hold its head in that position. Once the head curls up and over the bit, look at the vision of the horse--it is forced onto the ground. When you are learning a sport of balance, what do instructors tell students? 'Don't look down or that's where you'll end up'.

I think the biggest test to see if a finished horse has been pulled or 'set' into a frame is the piaffe. (For a less finished horse, it is the halt.) Since the piaffe requires impulsion on the spot, a lot of hand is used in competition, along with a lot of leg. Watch the tails fly, the gait deteriorate, and as the point of this post, the head curl under as the horse can not differentiate the difference between 'set your head' and 'stop moving forward'. Yet when one looks at those who practice jaw flexions, the horses piaffe like this:

The horses set their own heads, and as long as they are relaxed, the rider will leave the head alone.

This is not to say that all German riding is bad, as wonderful horses come out of those programs as well, and for the most part it becomes a mean to the same end of the French. However, as I am more French-classical then I am a believer of German, I may come across as a bit biased. ;) Perhaps the argument is more French classical vs. competitive dressage, but whatever you call it, you cannot deny that these horses have been trained correctly.

Jaw flexions take the place of setting your hands, 'taking up the reins', pulling back, etc. The goal of correct contact is for the horse to take up the slack in the reins, which means he comes to meet the hand. This is practically impossible if the horse is taught to 'back off' from the bit. Often these horses do not stretch long and low, because following the bit is a foreign concept to them.

But why are they so important? Jaw flexions help release the TMJ, which then releases the first few vertebrae of the neck. This is like opening a doorway to the spine and eventually, the hind end. The goal is back to front, yet a young horse knows nothing of this. You can push forwards as long as you like, if the horse is blocked in the front, you will never gain access to the back end. Those who know the importance of a relaxed TMJ are those who've had teeth problems--horses with ragged edges will have sore or locked TMJs, and it is a common known fact that tooth problems can effect the whole horse. Those of you who've called a chiropractor or massage therapist out for a problem have often heard that the TMJ was blocked--and then see how much better the horse travels afterwards.

The reality is that how the horse perceives the bit and his reaction to it affects the whole.

So we have established the importance and the logistics: but how to do it?

When you are asking for jaw flexions, one of the most important things to remember is that you use a fixed hand. You do not pull. Very important! If the horse thinks you are going to pull on him, he will clench the jaw. If the horse softens and chews and your hand recoils towards you, you were pulling.

Start on the ground, as it is easy to see what you are doing and you will learn to match what you are seeing with what you are feeling in the reins, so that it will transfer over to riding. If you typically use a figure eight or a tight noseband, fit your horse in a normal loose noseband. If he cannot chew, or if you make it hard for him to do so, there will be no relaxing. If you normally use rubber reins or reins with stops in them, switch to smooth reins--you will need to let the reins slide through your fingers, and they are the easiest to do so with.

Stand by your horse's side, and take the rein in your hand and bring it up so that when you ask for the flexion, you will be acting up on the corner of your horse's lips. Me and Odie demonstrate:

(This picture was stupid-hard to take by myself! I am currently riding in 7 ft western reins, as I have no other plain black ones... but they work fine for right now!)

Now at this point, I usually set my elbow against the horse--this is a good mental reminder to 'anchor' your arm and help prevent you from pulling. One the rein is almost taunt, you make a fist, and hold. Don't release if the horse turns his head, as that's not what you're asking him to do. You don't have to fix him however, just hold and wait. When he chews the bit softly, it is a momentarily up and down movement, and it will feel like the bit is melting in his mouth. Do not reward gaping, grinding on the bit, or nervous chomping.

Some horses will get this right away, as when the bit is activated against the corners of the horse's mouth, it helps stimulate a chew reflex. Others will stare off into the distance and wonder when you're going to finally quit, lol! Sometimes, releasing with your fingers will work--often times, horses will chew the moment you begin to uncurl the fist. Other times--and this is what often works for me--you vibrate the rein softly.

Some horses you will have to just work on learning to chew, but if your horse gets this relatively easily, you will often find that after they chew, they want to put their head down. Let them. This begins to teach them how to follow the reins down. If the horse does not offer this on his own--and some just won't--you can pull both reins softly down just under the bit and encourage him down. Pet, release, and tell him he's awesome. Practice on both sides, then practice at a walk with you walking beside them (in-hand work). (This step isn't necessary, but it helps some horses understand that they have to do this walking too, and gives you greater control as you can see everything.)

If your horse doesn't come down in-hand, don't worry too much. I find forward movement and bending helps offer the final piece to long and low. When you start practicing under saddle, again start at the halt and move from there. As the horse starts learning to reach into the reins and stretch down (I find a lot of horses will offer long and low at the trot, through long serpentines, with emphasis on correct, soft bending through the turns), the bit is no longer something to resist, it is something to hold. I have yet to try to 'set' Odie's head, and yet he carries it, without fuss, calmly and nicely.

They tell you that headset is the result of work and will come naturally, and then you watch them ride with the horse's nose on it's chest or in draw reins behind scenes. They tell you that you have to help them, and then for the first year the horse flings its head all over the place. A head on the vertical is just a horse relaxed at the poll, who has been worked correctly--no fussing, no head tossing, no confusion.

Isn't that what we all are looking for?

Housekeeping

2011-07-08T07:07:00.001-04:00

Doing some design changes... hang tight until they're finished! If you see anything silly on your browser/screen resolution, let me know!

Progress

2011-07-05T19:58:00.002-04:00

Odie is reasonably straight, turns reasonably well, stops, goes, and listens. So it meant it was time to start teaching him to follow the reins down and work on some long and low. The Friesian part of him wants to carry his head up a bit higher then the quarter horses I'm used to, so it's always a bit harder to get these big boys to come down. With some jaw flexions (a concept that has almost disappeared from modern dressage, from what I can tell), I can keep him relaxed in the jaw and therefore... no pulling to set his head, no silly little cues, no 'hold with your hands and push with your legs' nonsense. When the jaw is relaxed, the nose will fall down. Obviously he's not perfect--I've got a little under thirty rides on him--and it's a training level frame, but he's being good and trying hard. Can't ask for much more then that.

Warming up

Go on, go down!

Nevermind.

Stretch! Reach!

Victory!

Impromptu canter!

And, video!

This is later during the day, and you can see him trying out this stretching thing a little more. I also ask him to canter, and do excuse the incorrect lead in the beginning--I've cantered him maybe four or five times since riding him, so he doesn't know all the 'lingo' yet, lol! Again, proof that the canter is improved not by cantering endlessly!

Baltic ROF from Kelly Mayfield on Vimeo.

In other news, I have a new trimmer coming out this weekend. A lot of you guys mentioned that it was absurd that my previous farrier didn't know that Key had thrush, that his bars were too long, etc. The last trim he got rid of Odie's flare by rasping the outside of the hoof wall. ..And now he has a ton of vertical cracks. Sigh. The new guy is a barefoot trimmer (Finally!!) certified by the AANHCP. Hopefully I'll find my heart-trimmer, lol!

Happenings

2011-06-25T21:10:00.002-04:00

Me and Odie have been busy!

Today I took him off the farm for the first time. He loaded and trailered like a champ--not a SINGLE peep from the back of the trailer.

We took him to a state park to wander around on the trails, and I hand walked him for maybe a mile or two. Not a single spook, despite frogs jumping around us in low brush (so all he could hear was rustling bushes!) and birds/etc. He had to walk over this log... thing where people laid a bunch of logs over some mud hole like 300 years ago (not a bridge... just a collection of loose logs on mud.). He called out a total of four times, never once got stupid and never once said 'no thanks' when I asked him to stop and stand.

Loaded himself to go home (he loves his trailer!), and in general was just awesome.

When we first got there

Also pre-walk

The picture looks like the chain is in his mouth... It's not. I used the chain for extra insurance (who needs a stud running around loose in a state park?), but I never once had to use it--he was fine.

My pony trying Pepsi

Also, as you might have noticed, his long mane is gone. I'm in the process of pulling it to a thin enough length to button-braid it, as he ripped a big chunk of it out of the middle during the winter and there was no way I was making it look good for shows. I tried. Also, OMG IT IS SO MUCH EASIER THIS WAY. His mane was coarse and tangled in 24 hours and even though I conditioned it every time I washed him, it was dry and it bleached a sunburnt orange. I think he looks sporty. :)

Could not have asked for a better first outing. He was great!

Now, goat spam:

My little buffalo!!

New goat we picked up at a show--her name is Bethany. Such a sweetie!

Breckenridge

I haven't posted him, but this is our buck--his father is a permanent champion, and his mother is a national champion. He's young but he's cool and such a happy guy!

Pic Spam

2011-05-23T20:47:00.002-04:00

I know I haven't posted much, but I've been busy. As an apology, here are some pictures:

The newest.

I call her my little buffalo... I love her so much!

Brandy with her mum

Odie!

Don't be fooled...his power steering has not been fine-tuned.

Wee!

He looks right at the camera man :)

He is being super!

Also, I wore a helmet. See guys?! This is Odie's sixth ride, and the first ride where I didn't lunge him before hand (I like to get away from that as soon as possible!). We're working on steering, but he's really good. And to anyone looking to buy a horse in the future--buy one with a short back. He is SO smooth... like riding a couch.

Also, he eats manes. So Clyde got a haircut.

Buzzed!

This is my first roach, and it's not perfect but it'll look okay in a week. He's cute!

Warning--Rhino EHV-1 Outbreak

2011-05-17T19:36:00.000-04:00

I had planned to take Odie to his first show this weekend, but not only is the weather not helping (rain for seven days straight!), we have a much bigger problem.

Please be careful when taking your horses to showgrounds or traveling at all for the next month or so--they are saying that even horses with the vaccination are dying, as the strain has mutated. One of the first signs of the virus is a fever. It is not transferable to humans, but from what I read so far it seems as though it can travel on your steering wheel, boots, etc.

Check out this link to see if shows in your individual state have been canceled/status of the horses in your state.

(Everyone here is fine, I'm just playing it safe!)

Cheeeeese

2011-03-29T13:39:00.002-04:00

Here are some pictures of baby Brie. We had another C-section--I couldn't get the baby out, and neither could the vet. The baby was 4.3 pounds--you want them to be at most, 3.5--and her size tore the uterus. The vet stitched what he could, but the uterus has the consistency of tissue paper and there really wasn't much he could do. He sent her home with us with an outlook of 30% chance of survival, and that was him being optimistic. The first two nights Bobo shivered badly, so the family took turns staying out in the barn with three heaters on the girl, and later a dog blanket. Here is how she looked yesterday, five days after the C-section:

Bolina

I am optimistic, but not too much. She was bleeding a little yesterday that we could see, but she is still eating and drinking, and fighting us over her antibiotic shots. Little Brie's story is just as crazy. Momma Bo pushed out one foot, so I went in to see what was going on. The baby was upside down with her head twisted behind her. Her head, my fingers, and her front legs would just not fit, and after maybe a half hour of trying, I literally pushed her feet back in and hoped for the best. I had felt a heart beat earlier, but we had broken the sac so she didn't have long. We flew down the road to make the 20 minute drive to the vet's; he tried to get the baby out, and then had to prep Bobo for surgery. And some how, when he pulled that baby out, she was still alive. Like Beybey, she wasn't the keenest on breathing, but it didn't take long and she was all systems go after that. Bobo is of course, retired from breeding regardless of the state of her uterus. Two bad presentations, with two kids that were both too big (Beier was 4.5 pounds), and hips that are not shaped the best for the babies to come out. She will be just fine being a pet. :) Now on to the pictures:

Brie

From Goats

Action shot!

Jingles for Bo?

Tis the Season....

2011-03-28T13:43:00.002-04:00

...For house goats. I don't want to go into too much detail because I don't want to jinx anything--I'm superstitious--but baby Brie is doing well, momma is hanging in there. I'll get more pictures over the next couple of days. House goats are so exhausting!

Sugar Ponies

2011-02-16T20:23:00.001-05:00

The idea for this post took a long time to form, because it took me a while to realize what I was seeing from my horse. Luckily for Key, it finally came to the point where I had to take notice, and all of my boys will be that much better for it.

When Key gets his feet done, he's usually good. The last couple times, he's been exhibiting weird behavior--when his front feet were being done, he would walk his back feet underneath his body. The last time they were done, they were so close to his front feet that he looked like he was standing on a pedestal. He puts his teeth on my palm, and opens and closes them--kind of like biting, but his intent is never to pull the skin into his mouth, it's just to run the front of his teeth on my palm. I don't get it, but I do know it means he's uncomfortable. After he couldn't take it any more, he actually reared, just to get away from the farrier and put both of his feet back down onto the ground.

He barely did anything when the farrier does his back feet, however. So what was wrong?

I asked around once and someone suggested back problems. Okay, but why would he be stepping so far underneath himself? He didn't move with any particular lameness. The day he reared and it became clear that it wasn't a weird habit, I asked my farrier what he thought.

"It's probably his hocks," he said. "I can feel calcification on the front of them, and he doesn't like putting them out behind him."

"What about his front feet?" I asked. I picked up one to show what I meant. "In between the heel bulbs, there's this big crack. It's thrushy. Can thrush cause pain? He's a baby about little things."

"Nah," he dismissed. "His conformation is set up to put stress on his hocks."

Ok, so maybe it was his hocks, but that just didn't make sense to me. If they hurt him enough to make him rear (remember, Key is lazy), then why did he look fine in the pasture? Hocks can fuse around Key's age, so that could be the cause of the 'calcification' the farrier felt. (I trust him that it is there, although I didn't think it was the problem!)

I looked online a little but I wasn't sure how to search for what I needed. (Horse-stepping-under-himself-when-getting-feet-trimmed surprisingly did not turn up any results in Google). So I resigned myself to hock problems and browsed the internet like usual.

I came across a few barefoot pages and barefoot blogs--and the main thing I read was thrush hurts. And the second thing--it didn't have to be smelly or gross, just Not Quite Right, or with holes and cracks. Combined with the wet weather we've had... and tada. But why Key and not the other two?

Back when I first got Key, he colicked at a show and we took him to the New Bolton Center (I'm sure I've blogged about this before). Whilst he was there, they said he 'took a bad step' so they x-rayed him and put glue-on shoes. When we got there, they told us he had 'low grade, chronic laminitis'.

We originally scoffed at the thought, and thought it was an excuse to put on really expensive shoes and up our bill (because with or without them, he'd never stepped lame when we got him back!). We'd never seen him take bad steps other then abscesses, he had no event lines in his hooves, no sole pain, nothing. I had actually forgotten all about it, until now.

I was reading the Barefoot Horse Blog and came across a post about it, saying that these horses were commonly sore after being trimmed. And that they had little concavity to their soles.

Ding, and ding. And yet another thing--the high sugar in some feeds (and some pastures) were causing hooves to splat and loose their concavity. Sugar = not good.

Which then got me thinking more--the best his feet have ever been, and the best he's ever felt, was back when I was showing him in 2008. And he had been on a completely different feed... with lower NSCs.

It's becoming a buzz word, and there are plenty of people who don't understand what they are--including me, before all of this. So here is a little nutritional fact-dumping post for all to help better the horses out there.

NSC stands for 'non structural carbohydrate'. The percentage that people are often talking about in feed comes from the amount of WSC--water soluble carbohydrates--and starch added together. Carbohydrates are your sugars, and starch, after it has hit the stomach and is somewhat broken down... also becomes sugar. So basically, the NSC % is a number that adds simple sugars and things that essentially ARE sugar once they get past the stomach, and it is a handy little number. So handy, in fact, that many feed companies do not put it on their labels. ;)

Horses are not designed to take a lot of sugar in at one time. Although some grasses can have high NSC levels (and therefore affect insulin resistant horses--think 'diabetic horses'), the horse is getting little bits of it over a long period of time. When it comes to feeding them a high NSC grain, they get ALL of that sugar in a little under the 5-10 minutes it takes for them to scarf down their food.

So what are the downfalls of sugary feeds? We all know hyperactivity is one. OCD in young horses is another. Just like in people, a diet high in sugar can create obesity problems and metabolic disorders (again, think of insulin resistance). It also can contribute to laminitis, chronic diarrhea, and feet problems. Many people who have switched to low NSC feeds report hoof sensitivity being highly reduced. But what impact would sugar have on feet?

Excess sugar in the blood stream raises insulin levels. Studies have shown that this then diverts glucose away from the hooves--but laminae NEED glucose. A diet of sugar can create a hoof with weak laminae, and a perpetually weak attachment to the hoof itself. Weak hoof structure = sensitive feet!

So what to look for when selecting a feed for your horse?

Feeds where the first few ingredients are oats, barley, corn, or wheat bran/middlings are probably going to have a high NSC percentage. This is because oats have a NSC of 50%, barley is at 60%, corn 75%, and wheat bran/middlings come in at a smaller, but still sizable 30-35%.

To put this into perspective you ideally want to feed a grain that is under 20%, and the closer to 10% or under, the better. If you had an IR horse, you would absolutely require it to be under 10%. The feed I have currently has a NSC of 40%. (Where is the eye-pop-out-of-head icon when you need it?) Its first five ingredients in order are as follows: Ground Corn, Wheat Middlings, Wheat Flour, Corn Distillers Dried Grains, Cane Molasses.

Feeds that are high in fiber and fat are also typically lower in NSC. Often times, feeds that suggest they are 'low starch' or 'low carb' MUST be checked--there is no industry standard attached to those terms, and ANY feed can be listed as low starch. There are many sites that provide a list of feeds and their NSC values, and typically finding your NSC percentage to your current feed is as easy as typing 'X feed NSC' into Google.

Some horses do just fine on high sugar feeds--imagine those people who can shove donuts into their mouth and not feel the effects of the food. But they were never designed to eat sugar in such a dense, calorie-rich package. Some IR horses even get their hay soaked, as this lowers the sugars further in normal grass hay. Key, with a known metabolic issue (chronic low grade laminitis), is a definite contender for a feed change. Clyde's feet have always been good, but he is fatter then I would like; Odie's feet are also good but again, he is prone to putting on weight. I am planning on switching them to a new feed in the next couple of months, and will update you all if Clyde and Odie show any 'improvements'.

It is almost frightening how doing something as simple as feeding must be heavily researched in the horse world. There is so much information out there, and sometimes it feels as though I'm always doing something wrong when I'm trying to do the most basic of things--like feeding.

With the wet weather we've had, Key has thrush. He has often had a crack in his heel, and I now wonder if the high sugar in his feeds that are at the root of these problems. The lowest sugar feed he'd ever been on was the time of his life where I think he moved the best and, more importantly, felt the best. He had been running a lot in the pasture that year, and we thought it was because he was getting more food/alfalfa. Perhaps it was just the simple fact that his feet felt good.

I took some pictures of his feet to monitor the process, and although you can see the crack, you can't see the one flap in his frog all that well. Not only can I fit a toothbrush all the way into the cracks, I can also fit it into the flap on his frog. Ew! I urge you all to take a look at your own horse's feet. Key's feet do not 'smell' or look like a typical 'thrushy' foot that you all hear about. But alas it is there, and it's time to go!

The hoof pictures were taken at separate times, so that's why one is dry, and the other is wet, with my phone.

Right front

Left front

Edited to add:

Left front

(This picture is after soaking with Lysol, so it has that white bleachy residue on it. The left is way worse then the right. However, the more I clean it, the dead parts are more obvious, and I thought this photo would show what I'm dealing with a little better. You could hardly see the flaps in the previous photo.)

I decided to go with scrubbing with Dawn to clean, and then soaking with diluted Lysol daily. The back feet, which have no cracks at all, are getting sprayed with apple cider vinager solution (one part ACV to 2 parts water) to keep the foot at its optimal PH. Just in case. Will update!

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As a side note: Whilst I love this blog, and love putting up my tips, info-dumps, trials, shows and experiences, sometimes I don't always have exciting news. (Worked with Odie today, and he stood tied to the trailer for 20 minutes like a grown up. Exhilarating.) And other times, the posts are long, and take a lot of effort and research for me to feel comfortable putting them up. I don't want to stop posting here--actually, I need to post more!--but was wondering if anyone would be interested in another blog that I've been thinking about for a while.

I'm not sure of a clever title yet, but it would be half a product review blog, half a neat tips blog. So reviews on new products, cool apps that horse people can use, and new ways to tie other then the 'quick release' that isn't all-that-quick-releasing when a horse is hanging on it, etc.. It would allow the posts to be relatively short (yay for my fingers), full of pictures, and just a general fun, informative-type blog, updated weekly. Any ideas for a title, shoot them my way. :)

I live.

2011-01-28T03:38:00.002-05:00

No, really. I do. ;)

Since I was prodded out of my 'vacation time' by none other then an award from R Lil Bit of Cash (Thank you!), and I've since quit my day-job (oh my gosh, it was terrible.)--here is a post! I really want to do one on supplements, but I'll get there. For now, all you get is that everyone is happy and healthy. :)

There are 4 duties to perform to receive this award:

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award
2. Share 7 things about yourself
3. Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers
4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award!

1. Check! Also, thank you again! :)

2. Seven things? Well. Hm.

1. I have crazy hair. If you know me, you know this. It's curly and it can get BIG, and for as long as I've had the brains, I've wanted to stab people with straight hair that say, "I wish I had curly hair". Trust me, you don't! There are a MILLION things that make my hair look ridiculous in a second, and I've finally started to get a handle on it to make it look presentable the last couple of years of my life. (its hard! I'm no hair stylist that's for sure!)

2. Dude. I have no interesting things. This is hard. :(

2a. I'm usually really good at keeping it in check because I grew up with 'the smart kids' and their 'crazy-strict parents', but I work overnight in a warehouse. One other woman, the rest men--... I swear like a sailor. Truth.

3. On that note, I typically don't get along with a lot of women. We don't share the same interests and I don't know what to say. :)?

4. I rarely watch TV. I own one in my room, and watch it maybe 30 times a year.

5. I love cereal. I think it's one of the best things ever created.

6. I'd like to go back to college because although I love horses and training them, I don't think I'll be able to make a living out of it.

7. Problem, I hate school. >>;

Yay! Check.

3. I think most of what I read has been given this award, so consider yourself 're-given' if you're on my blog roll. What I would rather have is this: Leave a comment with a brief description of your blog. I need more things to read!!! :D

Referrals

2010-08-30T00:57:00.002-04:00

Just directing any who are interested over to Odie's blog--the little man was ridden this weekend! :) Many photos of the goober.

I is a link to the blog!

From Baltic

Do note there will probably be a lack of posting from me... picked up a second job so I'm working about 60-70 hours a week. Woo. Will try to get something up, but until I get used to my new schedule, I make no promises.

Thanks for hanging in there. ;)

A Post to Tickle the Brain

2010-07-25T08:58:00.008-04:00

People are so concerned with their horse's physical well-being, now-a-days (and why wouldn't we be?). There are thousands of supplements-many of which that do nothing-, special saddle pads, special blankets, heat therapy, cold therapy, horsey acupuncture, massage, chiropractors, special treatments through vets, injections, special shoes, boots--the list is almost endless. Advertisers pander to a market that is so paranoid about their horse's body; if you don't buy their product, then you don't really love your horse.

But what about their mental health?

Horses are gregarious creatures, much like us. It's hardwired into their systems. Not only do they crave attention, touch, and companionship, but horses feel safe with other horses. And unlike dogs or cats, horses place safety before food. Therefore, it stands that anything that makes them feel safe is of enormous importance to them.

Sometimes I think people forget that what makes us happy does not make horses happy. I used to board at an old Polo farm with the most gorgeous cedar wood stalls, with brass fittings, six inches of fluffy bedding, and dutch doors. At night we would bring the horses in and they would sleep tucked in for the night, out of the elements and safe in the barn.

But honestly? Those horses, terrible weather aside, would choose to stay out with their buddies every time.

There are horses all throughout the world that only get social interaction with other horses when they are foals, and when they are retired. And sometimes not even when they are retired--how many show horses do you know come with the label 'can not be turned out with other horses' because they don't know how to act?

Stalled show horses and race horses, the ones with the supplements, the special tack, the special high-dollar vets and the shoes, and fluffy bedding, are often the most stressed, mentally fried, and unhappy horses available (just take a look at ulcer statistics). And it has nothing to do with the workloads placed upon them.

The majority of people view this notion as absolutely ridiculous. The western barn at Findlay housed 300 horses, all in stalls, and the majority of these horses seemed just fine to me. A lot of them had weird habits, but you wouldn't look at them and say they were depressed. Clearly a depressed horse would look like a depressed human.

Horses have so many problems due to lack of turnout. How many times have you read on a forum: "Need ways to manage mild arthritic horse, looking for any way possible to make him comfortable. Turnout not possible so don't suggest it."

Kind of reads like an oxymoron doesn't it?

Horses have it in their makeup for three basic things:

One: They will be in a herd setting for safety and companionship.

Two: They will cover large amounts of ground aimlessly wandering.

Three: They will eat small meals almost constantly.

I don't think I need to list what stalls do to these three basic needs. Why do you think show horses have so many soft tissue problems? Newsflash--it's not the work. They should be walking some 19 hours a day.

I decided to take this post in a bit of a different direction then most people. I'm not going to go on and on about how terrible stalls are. In moderation, I really like them. Great for bad weather, vet visits, feeding time, injuries, hot weather, etc.. A few hours a day, a weekend show--it's not going to drive anyone mad. But it's usually the opposite; the horse gets designated 'turn out hours', alone, and the majority of their life is spent in a stall.

In the US (possibly other places too), solitary confinement is the most extreme sanction that may be carried out, other then the death penalty.

Read that sentence a few times before continuing on.

Prisoners are kept in private cells that are usually about 8x8, with little or partially covered windows. They get an hour of solitary exercise every day--the rest of the hours are spent alone in a room.

Out of 100 prisoners in a solitary confinement facility, 80% reported headaches. 77% reported depression. 91% were anxious and nervous.

Physiological effects include (but are not limited to): back and joint pain; deterioration of eyesight, lethargy, heart palpitations.

Psychological effects include: Depression, including 'emotional bluntness'--a loss of the ability to have 'feelings'; social withdrawal; short attention span; memory loss; poor concentration.

One prisoner writes about the boredom:

"Boredom is a major enemy. Sensory deprivation is a way of life. There is simply nothing to do. Sit in your bathroom alone with none of your intimate possessions and try to imagine years of it, week after week."

From National Geographic, in their series about solitary confinement:

"The brain processes loneliness in the same area as physical pain. Being cut off from others can hurt so much that people will go to extremes in order to connect."

There is so much information and studies out there on solitary confinement. Horses' brains are less complex, and I would not suggest that horses go through all of these problems. For instance, the human brain can dwell on the future, and not knowing the extent of their solitary time can make all symptoms worse. Horses live day-by-day. But I throw it out there to show the importance social interactions have to people--and to horses. Just because something is more convenient for us, does not make it right or acceptable for the horse. They're always clean, they don't have bite marks, you don't have to go chasing horses through pastures, it's faster, you don't need nearly as much space.

Do you think the horse cares for any of those reasons?

Think back on those rank stallions we all hear about. Think back on that 'really difficult' horse that went to the auction, or those young horses that 'just don't have the attention span'. How many of them were completely stall kept? How many stallions, when let into a pasture for turnout, pace the length of the fence for other horses (mares or not?)?

I always think about the quality of life for my horses--I want them to be happy in their job as much as they are in their downtime. Imagine living a life of just complete boredom in a box for years.

I used to have no problem having my horses stall-kept. But now that they are on almost 24-hr turnout, I see them curious every day. I see them play, I see them amble, I see them carry soccer balls around the pasture and 'pass it off' to the other horse. They groom each other in the early morning; Odie shares his grain with the chickens, the goats... anyone who would like to nibble. I see them roll, sleep on each other, move, learn, and interact in ways that are just not possible in stalls.

And in good conscience, I can't justify taking all that away from them--just for the boredom factor alone.

Silly Human.

2010-06-13T19:09:00.003-04:00

Finally some time to post! I'm literally sitting in bed on my laptop, with a drink on my nightstand, and it feels amazing. I've been running around trying to have a social life AND get my horses in shape (silly me!). And night work with my coworker away on disability. And errands. And goats.

So I've been wanting to do a post on horses anticipating, as was asked and I think it's a good topic. There are a couple of reasons why a horse will anticipate, and the first reason that must be ruled out is the rider.

A lot of riders unconsciously do what is easiest--for the horse and for themselves. Or they are creatures of habit, and consistently pick up the canter in the corner, or sit the trot for a few beats before cantering, or always shorten their reins before picking up a trot from the walk. Horses are really, really good at picking up what happens, before something happens. So while you may think your horse is being a butthead when you sit the trot and he canters, he just think he's helping you. With that in mind, punishment is never the correct answer for a horse who anticipates.

The first step is to find when your horse anticipates. Is it general, and he tries to anticipate everything? Is it more focused, and he anticipates the canter from the trot? Does he get hot in corners? When you pinpoint your horse's actions, then think about how you ask for these cues--are you doing something that is predictable? Changing this may be all that is needed.

Once you rule out yourself, you can then tell yourself, 'my horse will no longer anticipate. He will do what I say, WHEN I say it.' This helps some riders that allow this kind of behavior. They are plodding along at the walk, they shorten the reins, and the horse trots off. 'Wonderful!' they think. 'I was going to ask him to do that anyway."

That mentality has to go out the window for horses to learn to wait. You must never accept a reaction that you did not ask for because it rewards the horse for assuming.

Most of the time, horses that anticipate are a little hot, or have a bit of an attitude. Part of their teaching is to be relaxed--and the second part of their teaching is to accept your guidance. They are a partner in your riding, and they can tell you when things hurt and when they can not do what you ask--but they can not make decisions themselves. And with some horses, you have to teach them how to do this.

Clyde would always anticipate a canter departure. From any part of the arena, in any situation, any leg aid. Leg yielding and single leg aids were out of the question, because all of those things also meant 'canter'. He wouldn't run away--he would just canter.

I compare teaching a horse to calm down and listen, to loading a horse in the trailer one foot at a time. When you have a horse that loads and you walk him up into the trailer and try to get one foot on, what usually happens is you get a loaded horse. He knows what happens when he gets to the trailer--he gets on. So your requests for 'one hoof only' are usually ignored. (silly human). So then you stop him right in front, and ask--ever so softly--for that one hoof, and even this takes several times. Many horses just 'auto load'. Some horses 'auto-ride'. So just like the trailering horse, you have to break the steps into tiny pieces to get him to listen.

Some horses get frustrated when this happens. THEY KNOW how to get on the trailer (or canter). So would you PLEASE stop getting in the way?

This is where the 'leave it and relax' part comes in to the training. Don't continue with the 'fixing' until the horse is relaxed and waiting again.

I broke Clyde's specific anticipation into a leg-yielding drill. I taught him to leg yield at the walk, which was No Big Deal. Then we moved to the trot. I asked him to leg yield, felt him get ready for the canter, and circled him somewhat tight (tight enough to prevent a smooth canter departure, but big enough to allow him to keep trotting). I kept the leg on until he thought about moving away from it. I released the leg, praised, and then let him relax--at the trot.

Usually after a 'near-canter', Clyde was even MORE ready for the canter. Fast trot, a breath away from a canter. So instead of trying the exercise again, I just hacked him around at the trot, until he calmed down. I asked for gentle bends and a long neck, and I waited until the horse underneath me said, 'um... alright. What now?'

I try to keep the horse who is anticipating from doing what he thinks is right. Sometimes this requires a lot of riding skill--if you can feel a horse departing on the wrong lead, you can stop him before he takes a stride or two. A lot of this work is 'finesse' work. If your horse anticipates trot transitions from a walk, walk him until he's calm. Get ready to ask for a trot... and then don't do it. I do a lot of 'getting ready to ask for something'--and then not doing it. You can work on an extended walk, with a lot of transitions within the walk. And a lot of down time, a lot of relaxed time. Stop often, and don't let the horse walk off when it thinks it's been standing long enough.

Almost all of my work is spent on doing what my horse doesn't want/or think to do. If he wants to run to the gate, we walk. If he wants to veer left, we go right. If he wants to canter, we stay at a trot. If he offers a trot from a walk, we are immediately stopping, thinking about it, and then walking again. And what I usually get from this is a horse that says, 'yes ma'am?'

My horses are always praised in their work. I think this makes a big difference in their attitude towards it--my horses don't rush for the gates, look longingly at the barn, or run from me in the pasture (actually, they run TO me). The harder it was for them to do something mentally, the more praise they get, and maybe a walk on the buckle. They love work. And they work hard.

When you ask for a transition when the horse is calm, your aids are clear and concise, you'll almost always get the right answer. A lot of times when I am doing this work on hot horses, when I let them walk and 'think about it', they'll chew softly on the bit. These horses are thinking! Quite often these kinds of horses love their work more after they calm down and listen--they no longer have to make decisions, no longer have to lead, no longer are tense in their work. How comfortable is a job where you are relaxed and someone guides you? That's all that the horse is asking for. ;)

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In home news, Odie has been fantastic. I've been ground driving him, and on his third day of being introduced to everything I took him out of the round pen and into our open pasture. He did absolutely wonderful! This horse is ready to work--he loves it. :) I have a more pictures at his blog here, but here's one for those that don't visit:

His second day being ground driven

He's such a pleasure to work with. :) I went to get him out of the pasture the other day with my very city, very non-horsey SO. (Do note I had to beg to get said-SO into the pasture with me in the first place. 'They won't bite me?' 'Are you sure they won't run me over?'). Odie walked right up to him for a snuggle... SO was admittedly a little nervous, especially with my talk of 'stallions can be a handful'. He pushed him on his nose and Odie backed up for him... and then waited for his snuggle. It always amazes me how soft and respectful he is of people that have NO CLUE on how to handle him (like my father!). Amateur-friendly indeed!

Key has been getting back into shape after his little mishap, and with a Blocker Tie Ring he's been good so far. He's still a little nervous, because he won't eat hay out of the hay bag I leave there for him, so I'll probably have a few tying sessions where he'll be tied there for a few hours. With water and hay. ;) Nothing a bit of time can't solve.

Everyone is looking good here :) and I have tentative plans for Key's first show in July! :)

Blocker Tie Ring II

2010-05-21T14:26:00.002-04:00

I've had the Blocker Tie Ring II all of two hours. Went out to the tack shop today, picked it up, got Key and 'tied' him up.

I have my horse back!

I brought Key to the trailer and hooked him to the ring with my 25ft cotton rope (this rope had more slip if he pulled back--will upgrade to my thicker 22ft rope later). He was obviously very nervous, pacing back and forth and jittery. Coming from my lazy, please-light-a-bomb-off-under-my-tail horse, you knew this was something he was afraid of. He doesn't 'invert' and hide his fear--he's very child-like that way.

So I started to groom him, or rather, tried to as he danced around. I was hoping he'd pull back himself, but after five minutes he just seemed to work himself up more.

So I threw the brush at the side of the trailer.

The 'bang' set him off and he backed up--and could.

I re-shorted the lead to an acceptable tying length and tried again. A mini rear, and then he looked at me.

Huh.

I opened the tack room door of the trailer and pulled one of those plastic bag rain-coat things and shook the crap out it, threw it at him, etc. and got much of the same reaction--a horse that found out he could get away from what was scary.

It ended up with me hiding in the tack room and THROWING things (A brush, a ribbon, splint boots, rain coats) at him to scare him. I had to hit him with my helmet bag in order to get a reaction, and then proceeded to brush a calm horse with not ONE. NOT ONE more fidget. He stood there with that soft tail flick horses do, mumbling something about crazy helmet-throwing owners as I cleaned him off.

I love the ring. It was exactly what I knew I needed and it was exactly as I thought it was--it's strong enough to stop him from casually putting his head down to get a bite of grass, but gives enough so that when he panics he has full range of motion. I don't think he pulled more then five feet of rope through it the entire time. You can experiment as different kinds of ropes have different levels of slips, and you can tie it three different ways to make it have less slip.

I don't think I'm going to be tying my other horses with it unless they come up with the same problem (I feel like it would teach them to pull back? Maybe I'm wrong. We'll see.), but for problem horses and certainly ones like Key, it is a 100% must-buy.

If anyone wants photo or video of the rope I used/how I worked with Key I can get that for you--having a horse that doesn't tie but HAS to tie is so nerve wracking.

I also got the stainless steel version, but they have one made of a cheaper metal for about ten dollars less (I paid 34, and I've seen it for 24/26 bucks). It is worth EVERY penny and way cheaper then the ultrasound I just paid for.

Had to let you all know. LOVE!

Tis the season...

2010-05-16T05:24:00.002-04:00

...For horses to make suicide plans. I'm pretty sure Key talked to Funder's mare and decided that this world was too much for him too.

We'd been working almost every day, either riding or lunging over some jumps, and he's been getting in to shape really quickly this year. I was surprised at how forward he was, how in shape (for him) he was, and how happy. He was running up to the gate, daily, to come out for our workout. Awesome.

When I tack up my horses or groom them I tie them to the trailer. I use the little pull-release knot that everyone uses. Key typically ties well. Usually at the beginning of every year, however, he sits back, breaks a halter or two, and wanders off to eat grass. We have a conversation about how he can not break things when he's scared, and I move on and tie him for the rest of the year without incident. Ironically enough one of the readers asked about tying, and now I can go through the journey with her--not just telling her, as Key needs to be completely re-taught how to tie.

Key had his typical run in with tying already, like mentioned, but didn't break the rope halter I had him in. He just got scared, sat back, couldn't break it.... and then stood there like a normal horse. I thought nothing of it and continued on.

I tied Key two Thursdays ago and was putting the saddle on him. As I was tightening the girth, he started to wiggle like he was nervous--not common for him. He started stepping backwards--and typically what 'scares' Key is the pressure on his head from the rope when he hits the end. I told him 'whoa' as I saw him getting ready to run out of rope, and the horse exploded. He hit the back of the rope and then reared up and flailed like I have never seen him do before, ever. He reared up several times and in the process, flung his leg up and over the rope. It was then stuck there as he was still vehemently pulling backwards and he ended up flipping himself onto the ground. I proceeded to try to pull the 'pull release' knot--yeah, right--and the 'tug' on his halter made him flip out again and he flailed around until he got himself up again--reared AGAIN--and got his leg over the rope again--and flipped himself. Again.

He had given up by this point, as he couldn't very well breathe with his head hiked up and his body stuck on the ground. I knew I wasn't pulling that goddamn knot out so I got a pair of scissors that I leave on the wheel well and cut the halter off--my lead rope is those samsonite rope ones that boating guys use, so there was no way I could cut through it with my kid-scissors. (I tried.) Of course, with the pressure gone but my horse still terrified, he jumped up and took off.

Remember I said I was tightening the girth?

Well, the saddle slid all the way back as he was running through our hay field and flipped underneath him, so he then became a bucking bronc as he flipped out and bucked and ran and thank GOD he eventually stopped. When I ran up to him his leg was shaking and I managed to undo the saddle and get it off (god bless that horse that stands better 'ground tied' then he does actually tied. I didn't have a lead rope --stupid panic moment--and he didn't have a halter on. And he stood there while I pulled the saddle off). I then put my hands as like a 'guide' and walked him right to the hose, haltered him, and proceeded to hose down the shaking leg.

He didn't take a lame step on it but I knew it wasn't okay, so after hosing he was put into one of the stalls outside (remember Clyde's?) and his legs were poulticed and wrapped. At some point I eventually got my 1,800 dollar saddle that was left in the middle of the field and put it away, and ended up hosing his leg three more times that day and when I got home from work at six in the morning.

After a week it was still very sensitive to the touch. It had gotten swollen and hot, but he was never lame on it. I even walked him up to the street to see if a harder surface would show a lameness, but not even in tight turns. But it was still sore and I was not running the risk of a strained tendon becoming worse, so we got the vet out for an ultra sound.

He was given the all-clear for turnout by the vet who couldn't find anything wrong with his tendons (Can not tell you how relieved I was to hear this!!!). He was still sore so the vet said one more week off, and then monitor his work slowly and we'll go from there. I put him in the pasture while the vet was there and we both watched him run and play--he looked 100% on the leg.

I still have the issue with tying. In all my years of owning this horse I have never seen him react the way he did to being tied(or to anything, period). But I can't have a horse that doesn't tie. He has the 'prerequisites' to tying--he'll stand anywhere, he'll come forward to any pressure at all, doesn't fight the halter EVER--but now the inability to move his feet whilst tied has created what I guess I can call a phobia.

When I handgrazed him the other day I was thinking about how to fix the problem--it's not with tying really, it's with spooking while tying. My other horses dance around the tie. ... Key panics. The old way to fixing a horse like this, western-wise, is to tie him to something that won't break and leave him there. (And fixing him english-wise means I have just acquired a horse that 'doesn't tie', lol ;P)

So how could I train a horse who panics because he cannot move... to not panic? When riding, if you have a horse that is afraid of being ridden around other horses (this easily shows up the most as 'aggression' towards other horses when being ridden), you let him know that you will get him out of those situations by turning him and cantering him away from the 'threat'. When he trusts that you will keep him safe and that he CAN move away from the threat, the problem goes away.

But the whole thing about being tied is that he CAN'T move.

I looked up the blocker tie ring that people keep talking about, and it is exactly what I need at this moment. It holds the rope, and if the horse sets back, it gives him enough rope to move backwards until he stops. (obviously you do not tie a horse with this and then leave). It lets him move his feet whilst tied. And you can vary the amount of 'slip' to progress the horse to just standing tied normal. It's exactly what I need--as at this stage, I do not think tying him and 'letting him deal' will leave me with a ride-able horse at the end. Some horses pull back because they can, and I am all for tying those kinds of horses to trees with rope halters. They just need to learn that not everything breaks. But this reaction... I am not so keen to just let him deal. He's too old.

So, the plan is to tie him--purposefully spook the crap out of him--and then pull him back to the start point after he pulls 12 feet of rope through the ring. I'll be using my 22 ft lead to do this with so he'll have plenty of rope... and we'll go from there. Will let everyone know how he progresses--he was one of those horses that I mentioned had 'fear aggression' to other horses, and we've gotten through that. (...Even though I was told by trainers that it was just something you 'couldn't train out of them'.) He's lazy and I think when he realizes he can move.. I'll have a horse that can tie again. Will be giving a full review of the blocker tie ring too, so if you were ever at all interested, you can use me as a guinea pig.

__________________________________

So in other news that is not Key being silly, I just went through the panacur 'powerpack' on the herd here for peace of mind. Everyone gobbled it up (I bought the liquid as it was the cheapest kind). I've also been shopping for new tall boots and found that I have the worst measurements, which is why my current boots kill the back of my knees (never dropped enough). So I'm looking at customs or a magical brand that will fit me. Also picked up some new stirrup leathers (that fell off the saddle in the hay field when Key was running around... so we had a family search party), and my good luck socks for the show season.

Odie has been coming out a little but it's time for him to get some work done, and I bought him a surcingle to start his training with. Me and my dad are putting up my roundpen TODAY. WOO. So I will get some pictures and post them of the little bugger. He free lunged over some polls and looked super cute, but he needs to get into shape. And now!

His mane is starting to bug me and I'm not sure what I want to do. He bleaches out bad and turns golden by the fall (the cream gene in him makes it almost impossible to not bleach gold), and his mane has bleached red at the tips. I know that friesians have some bias in the dressage ring so I was thinking about keeping it short whilst he competes--less hassle, his neck can breathe, neater look, and maybe I can figure how how to wrestle its thickness and braid it. But he's going to fill out and look like a very baroquey--not modern--looking friesian, and he would look gorgeous with all that mane. And I could always do a neat running braid tight to his crest. I guess I'm leaning towards cut it--as it will always grow back--and somehow thin it... (I heard nair used sparingly works...) There's a poll at the side bar--let me know, guys! I need guidance!

In goat news, little Beier's legs will most likely never be stick-straight but he walks on his hooves now. He looks like he is turning brown, and will probably be for sale as the cutest wether ever. ;)

Him, Bey and Bolina all went to a goat show. No, really. Behavior wise they were AWESOME. Show-wise, they were... uh, 'thin'. Show weight for a goat is like halter weight for a quarter horse. REALLY FAT. haha, but it was a good learning experience and it was fun. Here are some pictures!

Baby Beier with his 'casts'.

He spent most of his time out of the cast like this..

Cute!

Also had to put up with Bella constantly telling him that everything was 'hers'

He thinks girls are stupid.

But I think she is the cutest ever. :)

I don't know when I'll have time (or when my internet will be reliable enough to get to the internet, rawr), but I'll try to get up a post that has something in it. Really!

Exhaustion + new arrival = infinite exhaustion. EDIT!

2010-03-28T11:50:00.002-04:00

Hey guys. I'll have to do a proper write up of the happenings, but I've been silent yet again for a good reason.

The goat we thought might possibly have gotten pregnant through the fence of the old temporary pen (long story), decided yes, she most definitely was pregnant. And decided to give birth Thursday.

Luckily we had a pretty good idea of what was going on, and mom called the vet out as I was asleep (I work nights, argh). The baby had contracted tendons, and could not enter the birth canal properly--so he was presented head first.

The vet tried but couldn't get him out, so someone came in the house and woke me out of my slumber. Not that many of you know this, but my hands have been nicknamed the 'fail hands' at my job because they're so impossibly small. Anywho, I got him out, he managed to live (had been oxygen deprived because of the position--lungs can't expand in the birth canal), mum cleaned him off, and he was a hungry little creature. He nursed, and it was then that we saw the contracted tendons and the reason for the head-first presentation. His front feet are goofy looking, but he is getting massaged several times daily and put in little toilet paper roll-splints for a few hours. The vet is also giving him tetracycline for three days--they use it in foals for contracted tendons as well. Although it's an antibiotic, they find that for some reason (they think it's got to do with blockers and such if you have the care to look it up!) it allows the muscles to relax. 'Contracted tendons' isn't really about stretching the tendons, as the surrounding tissue has grown faster then the tendons. The muscles curl and cramp up to prevent the pain of a short short tendon being stretched. So we're actually massaging and working on the muscles, and waiting for the tendons to catch up.

Anywho, more will come later, but here's a few pictures from his first night. Mom is being great with him, hooray!

looks just like her!

His little splints

So little!

Edit: Full story below!

Alright, so I'll expand here since I didn't get to the other night. I've got about an hour before I have to drive little Beier off to see Big Beier (we named him after our vet!), so I figured I'd do a little write up.

Bolina had been uncomfortable and crying on and off all day, but Bailey had done this numerous times (uncomfortable with triplets!), so we weren't sure if it was labor pains or if she was going in to labor. Mom was luckily off, and stayed with her most of the day, and saw her really starting to get into labor--so she called the vet ahead of time. Her water broke not long after. The birthing pen is in the barn, about 80 feet from the goats' pen, so mom started to walk Bolina into the barn (they all follow us, especially for food!). About halfway, Bobo just collapsed over and the next thing my mom knew, she was presented with the head of the kid. About a few minutes after this, our vet arrives (Thank God!) and heads over to fix the presentation of the baby.

I'm really not fond of this presentation--the baby usually starts trying to breathe at this point, but the lungs cannot expand. Which means you need to get him out--but it's not always easy. You can't push him back in and try again, because he's already breathing--he'll drown--which means you have to put your hand down the birth canal with the baby--a birth canal that ONLY has space for the baby--and all the way in to get to the legs. And the WORST part about this (and some other presentations) is if you can't get him out, the only way to save the doe is to dismember the kid to get it out--C-section is not possible because the baby is already in the birthing canal. Icky indeed.

So the vet tries, with no luck. I think it was my dad that ran to the house and woke me up--the vet knew from Bailey's C-section that I had little hands, so it was worth a shot.

I threw on a sweatshirt and forgot to get a coat and got out the house and found them in the middle of the lawn before the barn. The doc told me what I needed to find, I lubed up and moved in.

We tried to snag his right leg first, but to no avail. Bo was surprisingly alert and mobile throughout this, so she got up and tried to scramble away. In doing so we flipped her to the other side.

"Might as well try this side," Dr. Beier told me, almost with a helpless shrug. Wasn't much else we could do.

So with one hand holding Bo's shoulder for leverage (You can not imagine how non-gentle you can be with this kind of stuff), I went in and after a few moments, could reach a leg. I folded it up, and with two fingers, lifted it up and out whilst pushing the guy back in about a centimetre so that it would fit. (Sounds easy, took at least two minutes to get it up. Two fingers are surprisingly weak in that kind of situation--I had to aid them with my left hand on my wrist to help pull). Whoo!! (It's also REALLY narrow--the tops of my fingers are bruised from being smushed against the bone!)

"You got anything?" The vet asked as he waited--this is his expertise, not mine!

"Uh--yeah. The leg. It's right here!"

And ploop! The leg was out, which turns the shoulders enough to get the whole kid out smoothly. I sat back in some sort of shock and let the vet grasp at the leg and slide the little creature out, but I was then back on duty as I shook out/sucked the mucous from his throat, dried him off a bit as it wasn't warm!, and set him in front of Bo. He was alive, he was alert (not like little BeyBey at all in that respect). I was shivering pretty violently at that point though (me and cold do not mix well, as '60' feels cold to me!), so the vet found one of the unused jackets after he checked out Bo and covered me up.

"You did it!"

We did! :)

After Bo bonded with him a little bit we lifted her using our coined 'blanket technique' (as seen with Bailey in the snow storm!) and I held the little man in front of her so she could see him as we moved them into the barn and out of the wind. Bo continued to clean him up in there, and we all sat and talked for a few moments as the adrenaline wore off.

I ended up retiring early to grab a few more winks of sleep, as I had work. The vet stayed to splint his legs with some tongue depressors and some tape. Afterward he then told my parents again that I need to be a vet. ;)

BoBo is doing awesome, and we'll see if we can fix little Beier's legs. Wish us luck!

In the meantime, here are some cute pictures of my Bey. She was disbudded a week or two ago, so the marks are still there... one of the hardest things I ever had to do! Sorry BeyBey!

He's kind of hairy, but he'll do.

Why does Keiko look so nonchalant?

Fashionable Goat

Remember: Even goats don't pop their collars!

If you sit down, you are fair game to the goats.

But she's my Bey so it's alright. :)

All Clear!! :)

2010-03-17T07:59:00.002-04:00

Hey guys, I'm getting a bunch of spam in the comments and I'm not sure if it can effect your computers, so stay away for the next couple of days! I'll sort it out through Blogger to make sure its safe for you guys.

Everyone is doing well!

EDIT:

All spam comments have been removed, and no computers were in danger. I just wanted to make sure, I know crap gets into blogs sometimes.

Also, I wanted to throw this out there: I have a tentative plan for the next post, but if anyone is having a specific training issue, drop a comment and I'll see if I can offer any advice to help out.

BeyBey is doing awesome :) Her and Bailey go out during the nice days, and she comes in and sleeps with us at night. And I mean that literally--she's litter trained, so we just... let her sleep on the bed.

Seriously.

She's adorable. :)

BeyBeyBey!

2010-03-02T13:23:00.002-05:00

This is mah model walk

Me??

This is mah mum. She's shaped funny.

This is mah bed!!

Unless mum comes out.

I visited outside!

Aren't I gorgeous?

--BeyBey (Bella)

BeyBey

2010-02-28T20:19:00.009-05:00

The last couple of days have been an absolute, exhausting whirlwind.

1:30 AM Friday morning, I was called at work with a pretty frantic (which is pretty typical) phone call from my mother.

"Bailey's water just broke. I need you home now."

With a message passed on to my understanding boss, I left the building and drove home in possibly the WORST weather ever--sideways snow, snow drifts all over the road, ice, 40mph winds and terrible visibility. Take note this is coming from a person who's driven in all kinds of terrible weather for hours going 30mph. Of course Bailey picked this day.

When I got home, we hadn't progressed any further, but it hadn't been her 'true' water breaking so we had a few hours to go. So we got blankets and bundled up in our barn and listened to the wind howl outside as we sat and watched momma Bailey.

I manually went in once to check things out after a few hours and felt the amniotic sac for the baby, so we assumed things were going along as planned--as long as that's still intact, the baby is alright.

At 6, the amniotic sac broke, and at 7, still no baby. So I put on my glove and went in again--could feel a head and not much room for anything else. Breech.

So we called the vet and he told us to get her to him--at this point me and my mother were exhausted. We'd been up for at least 24 hours. The area around the barn was FLOODED, and there was no way we could drive the jeep to the car.

So how were we moving this goat?

Mom came up with the brilliant idea of putting the 60 pound goat into a blanket, and us lifting the sides like a hammock. Bailey was great--but let me tell you how exhausted we were after moving her through snow and mud and in a blizzard about 200 yards--and over a bridge! (Never. Want. To do. Again.)

But we got her there. At the vet's office, he went in manually, and since I have hands that are so small they look fake, he instructed me as we pulled, prodded, lasso-ed feet, and searched. Two were tangled--and they weren't going anywhere.

"Looks like we're surgery bound."

So Bailey was sedated and tied to a small table as our vet got the things he needed and instructed for me to grab certain tools/drugs/packages/needles. Avoiding the two large veins that run down to the udder, he cut down the centerline--and of course, Bailey had the freak large vein hiding there.

He sewed that up and continued along, and got to the two tangled babies. He pulled them out, and handed one to me, and one to my mother as we rubbed and dried and shook the mucus out of their throats. He began to sew Bailey back together. "Not breathing," I said as we rubbed.

"Sometimes you can jumpstart the heart--try pushing on their chests."

Nothing.

I checked their tongues and they were blue--no oxygen. I'm not sure if there is anything more desperate then trying to give life to something that hasn't even gotten the chance yet. I'm not sure if there's anything more miserable and heartbreaking then realizing that you can't.

The two beautiful brown caramel baby girls were laid out on the floor, my mom still working on hers, the smaller of the two with the white belly spot. What else could you do? What if the difference between living and not was just one more rub?

As I got to my feet, the vet was looking hard at Bailey. "Oh," he said.

Oh? He's not a man of many words, but oh always means 'oh my god' for a normal person.

"What?"

"There's one more in here."

I wasn't sure if I had the energy or the heart to see another gorgeous, lifeless, sweet baby in my hands but I grabbed a towel and moved over to the vet. He pulled out the last one, and deposited it in my towel.

I think everyone in that room saw it's little leg kick.

So I was on the floor with towels as the vet, the vet's wife, and my mother ran around the room grabbing supplies and stitching and pushing towels at me and handing me things, and I was rubbing and rubbing and rubbing, and all I could see were those same glass-dull eyes.

"I don't know," I muttered.

"The heart--can you feel the heartbeat?" the vet asked.

I checked--yes.

But it wasn't breathing. The vet informed us that the sedative given to the mother (which slows her heart and breathing down) also effects the baby, and it had been in much longer then her sisters had. And dosage for a full adult is very much lethal to a newborn.

So I was rubbing and shaking it upside down (helps get the mucus/slime out of the throat), pressing on her chest and sucking what mucus I could out of it's throat. And I had not a clue if anything I was doing was right. Or if there was anything I should be doing, that I wasn't. But the vet was tied up with Bailey, and it was me and this little lifeless creature.

It started out with a couple little pants, and then nothing. But there had been breathing. So I went back to rubbing and shaking and listening to the quiet, almost non-existent, weak coughs. There--a few more breaths. Rub rub rub.

The first few were hopeful, but after minutes and minutes and still only getting four or five breaths at a time with long stretches in between, I was pretty sure this baby was a false hope as well. "I can't get her to keep breathing," I told the room at large. "Keep trying," the vet encouraged. "It's the sedative."

So I rubbed and I shook and I put my finger in the mouth and annoyed the kid; I talked and coddled and wrapped it in a towel to keep it as warm as I could. Four breaths at a time. Five. Some out of the nose.

A sneeze. A weak cough.

A strong heartbeat.

The vet's wife came over and handed me a needle--something to help fight the sedative--and I was instructed to put it in under the tongue. No cry, no reaction to the pain as I stuck in the needle.

Losing two was heartbreaking. Losing the third after it had fought so hard--I wasn't going to. And it looked like the little critter agreed.

As Bailey was deposited on the floor after her surgery, we all heard the first, little baby cry of a sweet, gorgeous little girl. She was tired of me putting my finger down her mouth--and if it would make me stop, she decided she'd stay awake to breathe.

Our vet, no longer tied up, was able to come over to see how she was. Agreeing that we were losing the window for her to eat colostrum from Bailey, we put her up on the table and the vet milked Momma Bailey. My Beybey (what I called her when I was working with her) got her first meal tubed. She cried about that--a lot. Is there any better sound?

It was noon, we were all exhausted (vet had gotten a call at 2 in the morning that day), and momma was awake and baby was weak, but breathing. It was time to load up and go home. The baby was shaking, so we wrapped her up in my jacket and headed out.

Very tired!

Bailey seemed unconcerned with the little baby, so the surrogate mother title was offloaded to me. It was about 1 in the afternoon when we were settling down in the house with momma and baby in a temporary cage, and I was DEAD. But I had to feed the baby and convince her that yes, milk WAS good. Then came the cleaning, the caging, the milking, the searching for supplies. We had to give Bailey a shot to help pass the placenta and another because she inhaled spit during the surgery and had a wet cough (penicillin.)

I had a 3:40-4:00 nap, and then off to feed. Another nap at 6:40-7:40, and off to work at 8:30. Everyone wanted to know how the baby was doing--I just wanted to pass out in the corner.

I got text updates from mom throughout the night, and when I got home at 4 in the morning, we found that my jacket (the one we had wrapped her up in), had become her 'bed'. She couldn't walk very well, and mom put her on one side of the cage covered in socks. Beybey said 'no thanks' and crawled right back to my jacket.

When I put her outside of the cage on the floor, she decided that walking was good and followed me around the living room. :) I slept for another two hours on the couch that night, waking when I heard them cry only a few feet away.

Saturday morning was the newly crowned Bella's first wobbly walk day, however by night she seemed to take a turn. She couldn't put weight on one front leg for no discernible reason, constipated, and she seemed more tired and wanted to sleep. She got an ounce of electrolytes, a bit of milk, and she seemed to turn around from that. We still called the vet and set up an appointment with him for Sunday morning.

She got a Selenium shot in case a deficiency was causing the lameness, and with a clean bill of health and a much better leg, we brought her home. She has eaten much better all day, and has thoroughly exhausted us all. Bailey seems just as well, eating drinking and passed all three placentas. She went outside today and is currently with the baby and shows no aggression towards her--she sniffs the baby and licks the HELL out of us when we milk her, but Beybey is still no good at latching on. Perhaps we'll get them to bond, but it is still good for the baby to be around another goat regardless. She also likes Leo, who comes to sniff and be a very gentle uncle. :)

I am so tired.

But I've got a great reason to be.

Cell phone pictures!

Snow, Ice, Falling, getting stuck in driveways, ditches, work....

2010-02-12T15:43:00.003-05:00

Decided to show you guys the past couple weeks in photos... I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. :)

Parade of goats:

Barnum, showing us 'RegalGoat'.

Zip, our buck, showing us 'CrackerGoat'

Bo (our new one!) showing us that quantity of fluff IS directly proportional to quantity of happiness

And Bailey, showing us that you can fit two goats in a picture of one. (Due any day now!!)

And my boys, Day 1:

I can has MANE!

And whilst Clyde and Odie are running around and being general goobers... Key is busy working on his masterpiece:

I call it: sugar donut!

Day two:

Oh my lord does he look big to me!

I still can has mane!

Very bright day!

Looking like the APHA horse he is.

Clyde attempting to steal Key's masterpiece (It didn't work.)

He's good at this though. (The MSM is making him look and feel awesome!)

No moar pictoors. Sleepy!

And Furthermore...

2010-01-03T15:21:00.003-05:00

Just touching base here, happy new year and etc. etc. etc.. I'm not much for goals or keeping them, but I'm going to hope that everyone stays happy and healthy this year. Key already has a nice start, as he is keeping his weight for the winter (for once), Odie is starting to get more fit, and Clyde is looking good. Clyde has started some walk-work and neck reining.. with his arthritis I'm planning on making him a 'usin' horse', complete with western saddle and bridle. He's been in Western 101 learning to neck rein and become a respectable trail horse. He's not doing terrible, I can say that. ;) I haven't really seen him limp lately, but it comes and goes... I may see if something like MSM will help him.

I can't wait for summer already!

I also started a new blog for Odie; it's more of a training log, but if you guys are interested in our daily adventures, it's up in the links section of this blog. When he starts being pony-ed off Clyde or Key and being ridden, most of my updates will be there.

Stay warm! The ponys have all seemed to be a little haywire with this weather (even Key!), so hold on to your hats. :P

Weighing In

2010-01-03T15:10:00.000-05:00

Usually, teaching the horse to walk, trot, and canter, is not a issue. Those who follow the classical methods do so with soft, nonrestrictive hands, and end up with a soft, relaxed, forward moving horse.

And... then what?

This is where people start turning to draw reins, side reins, hyperflexion, and too much contact. The horse has graduated from kindergarten, so how do they get them collected? Although most riders know that pulling the head into a frame is riding from front to back, this is how a majority of people ride. Any time a horse is behind the vertical, they are using muscle to contract the head backwards--muscles they typically use when grazing--not trotting, cantering, or jumping. So if a horse is tensing the muscles in his face, how is he relaxed? How is his head 'hanging at the poll'? Why would the horse do this in the first place? To evade contact, or because they are pulled there? Because they are tense?

So, again, we don't pull back for contact. But god darn it, how do we collect a horse by riding him around and around and around, w-t-c?

Enter, stage left, shoulders-in.

This maneuver requires a horse to take more of his weight and push off with one hind leg. By alternating direction (and therefore alternating which hind leg is pushing), you begin to develop the strength in the hind end. By separating the legs, you begin to have control over the amount of push from each hind leg (very important!). This is what they're talking about when they ask for the horse to push from his hind end, into your hand.

It also begins to bend the horse in very beneficial ways. For example, when I put Key back into work December of 2008, he was very snooty(ears back, head toss) about moving to the left, circling to the left, etc., but there were no lameness issues that I could find in his legs. I began teaching and using the shoulders-in on a circle to warm him up, and the problem--which I am assuming was in his back--completely disappeared. A lot of the time, horses that are habitually stiff only need to be ridden in a relaxed manner and to be stretched correctly. This does not include circles and serpentines--this includes long and low, and lateral work.

[Note: Circles and serpentines can bend a horse, but only if he is using his body correctly. If the green horse has not graduated to lateral work like the shoulders-in and is still only walk-trot-cantering, more often then not he does not know how to hold his body on a turn.]

Shoulders-in also causes some elementary collection. As the horse is pushing with his hind end, and the inside hind leg is swinging in to carry the weight, he also will begin to lift his shoulders, as long as his head is not restricted. Restricting the head, or bending the neck too much, are common faults of this exercise and negate it entirely--but more on common problems later.

Shoulders-in (and haunches-in, for that matter), begin to allow the rider to straighten the horse--by gaining control of the shoulders, when the horse does his own 'voluntary' shoulders or haunches-in, the rider can adjust the shoulders to fix the horse. Giving him flexibility and strength, also gives him straightness. And a crooked horse cannot be collected. ;)

Knowing the right aids and how to ride the shoulders-in is as important as knowing what it does and how to get the horse to do it. Your inside rein maintains the bend--you do not pull, you do not hold the horse there. It encourages the bend. The outside rein is a little tricker--you need contact with the outside rein. It guides the shoulders, or slows them down if the horse tries to swing them too far out. The outside rein catches the energy from the inside leg. It lays against the horse's neck to say, 'this is where I want your shoulders'. The outside rein is very important! Do NOT drop it and do NOT leave it loose.

The leg aids are a bit tricker. Ideally, we want the horse bending around the inside leg that is sitting at the girth. The outside leg is passive, but a bit behind the girth. However, with both legs, we made need to 'instill' impulsion in the hind legs, and usually this is the inside hind. One should use the inside leg aid to add impulsion, then allow it to become soft again. A horse will not bend around a rigid 'pole'--they want to bend around something soft and inviting. Don't let your leg become that pole!

The lesser-seen aid is how we sit and carry ourselves. Our hips turn just slightly, as the horses haunches will turn just slightly. Our shoulders, however, will line up with the horses shoulders, and you will look through his ears.

This image shows ideal horse and rider position. It is Alois Podhajsky, and the picture is from Classicaldressage.net.

To ask the green horse for a shoulders-in, first establish a steady trot. Sit if you can. With green horses, ignore the walk and the canter at first--at the walk it is easy to lose impulsion, and at the canter the exercise is much more delicate and requires more balance. Coming across the short side of the arena, start a circle in the corner. As you begin to come out of the corner and along the long side of the arena, wait until the horse is in the correct position and then... ride him along the long side of the arena. The outside rein is used to ask the horse not to continue the circle, and ride him straight along the arena wall with your body. You probably will only get a step or two, and this is fine. Ask your horse to then move straight, re-establish the forward, relaxed trot, and try again the next time you come to the corner.

Some things to remember when asking your horse for his first shoulders-in:

Do not get tense. A lot of riders will hold their bodies in cockeyed positions with twisted torsos or uneven hands, because they tend to pay more attention to the horse then they do themselves. Remember--the horse's success is dependent on the quality of your position.
Try to envision the horses energy starting at the hind and and coming out and up at the horse's head. Do not pull his head in, and try your absolute best not to restrict him with the reins. This is the fastest way to lose the freedom you are trying to gain in the shoulders.
Make sure your horse is bending through the body. We do not want a horse traveling straight down the arena with his head and neck cranked to the inside.
Make sure your horse's ears are even. Some horses will 'tilt' their head, as they are not stepping evenly into the rein pressure. More impulsion is needed on the 'drooped' side, and perhaps a lightening on the reins--listen to your horse.

Ask for little, praise a lot. As your horse learns, step by step, he also builds muscle to carry out the exercise to the fullest. If you horse becomes resistant or moves awkwardly or unsure in the trot, bring him straight and work him straight until he is moving forward again.

When your horse is moving well in his shoulders-in, you can incorporate it into the other gaits. At the canter, the balance that is required for a shoulders-in will help a horse with flying lead changes.

Remember that this work is ultimately to help our horses move straight, correctly, in the future and build muscle--and remember that the majority (2/3rds) of your work should be done moving straight. If you have an arena, make sure you're not just following the 'wall' or fence around.

Happy riding! :) If anyone wants to send pictures as examples, I'll be more then happy to feature them. Shoulders-in isn't rocket science. It needs to be precise and correct, but it doesn't need to frustrate you or your horse.

December Appreciation--Edited with Horses!

2009-12-21T15:04:00.000-05:00

No pictures of the horses yet as they're still in the barn, but here's some snow-love:

For everyone who's in this storm, stay warm and drive safe!

Enjoy :)

Odie is still eating the snow and stuffing his head into the snow piles.

Well, that is, if he isn't jumping them. ;)

It's alive!!

2009-11-24T16:38:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone! Just wanted to wish everyone a belated Happy Thanksgiving, and send some picture love your way. Things have been busy with the holidays, work, horses and everything else, but everyone is doing well. Key's still on holiday, Clyde has been officially retired from any hard work(with off and on lameness on cold days due to arthritis), and Odie has been hamming up the attention with lunging, tying lessons, long walks, first-bridling lessons, and his first walk on the street to meet the neighbor's mule. (He's been awesome!)

Have I also mentioned he's BIG?

Cute!

15.1 at the withers and 15.2 at the bum!

Edit: I lied, he's 15.2 even.

From today:

Just for reference, when we got him at four months old:

Little!

Hopefully things will calm down at some point so I can finish my lateral work post!

Be safe everyone!

Real Quick

2009-09-11T13:22:00.002-04:00

I'm going to be doing a post on leg yields, shoulders in, and haunches in (it's actually in the woodwork now), but I just wanted to post this because I was super excited and all of my friends are non-horsey.

Me and Key did our first asked-for flying lead changes! :D Key is not a very athletic horse despite what anyone thinks hehe, and although he did them in the field (and occasionally crossfired), I could NOT get him to do it undersaddle. Could. Not. Not over a pole, not over a jump, not doing the figure 8 with the trot strides in the center until you take out the strides until there were no more left. Nothiiiinng.

After the regional show, he had two weeks off due to a weird swelling on his abdomen (almost twelve inches long!), and I have gotten a completely different horse back. I. Love. It.

:D

Hope everyone is riding safe! Everyone go wish Andrea and Gogo luck at the AECs!

He's a punk

2009-08-19T13:07:00.000-04:00

The last couple of posts have driven me to write this one; I've made several posts starring Key who looks like the poster child of Mr. Sunshine himself. I've written how we bought him and what he does and how I train him, but for one reason or another I've never written about Key's attitude.

Or rather, Key's Attitude.

I'm pretty sure that Key was sold because of this... unique... attribute, and after we had paid for him, we went down to his stall to see our new horse. He proceeded to try and bite our hands repeatedly.

I remember my mother looking and me and saying in a horrified tone, "What did we just buy?"

Oh man, did Key have an attitude. On the ground he bite and nipped and reared and kicked--but only when you asked him to do anything more then walk to and from the stall. I have shirts with holes in them where he took the material and pieces of my arm--he wasn't playful, he was nasty. Key was a paragon of cuteness, unless you thought you were going to make him do something he didn't feel like doing.

In the saddle, his favorite move was the back up. When you wanted him to go forwards, or do something hard like canter, he would throw on the brakes and reverse into the next TOWN if needed. When you asked for a canter and you had spurs on, he would kick out at the leg. His tail would swish-swish-swish every canter transition, he would throw his ears back and toss his head up at you to let you know he HATED cantering, and he HATED you. When Bill the trainer would ride him, I always remember what he said about him.

"This horse is a punk."

And with shows, you had Key's Attitude, and then you had Other Horses.

Key did not like Other Horses.

When we took him to his first show, I'd ridden in an arena with three or four other horses. He'd been fine. And when me and Key were all ready for the first show we'd ever have together, I took him in the arena, and all of a sudden, Key's Attitude came out and he tried to kick, buck, and kill every horse that got within ten feet of him.

That show was me and Key's turning point. I remember getting out of that class completely shocked, and unsure of what I was supposed to do with a show horse I couldn't show. I didn't beat the crap out of him (which had been suggested). I took him to the back warm up pen, and we just rode.

I didn't 'ride the piss' out of him, or canter him until he couldn't stand. I did what was, at the time, my version of bending and small circles, stopping and starting, asking for him to pay attention to me and only me.

And for some miraculous reason, he didn't kick or lunge at any of the horses in the next class. We were in tune--I was learning something very important about a horse's focus, and he was learning something about where to put that focus.

The next few weeks had been spent ponying Clyde off of Key to get him to allow other horses into his space. He still is bad at this (and if you watch the video, you can see a few moments when his ears flick back as we pass a horse). Me and him were standing in the warm up arena together and a man rode up and stopped his horse a respectable distance away, but Key made a fake lunge at the other horse anyway. 'Mine!' Key's attitude won't ever change, but he is respectful and controllable--his 'lunge' was made without moving his feet.

Key just really has a 'thing' with other horses. In the pasture with horses, he's usually the low man on the totem pole, but if there is an old/sick/young horse in the pasture, he terrorizes them. Just like he terrorizes and loathes Odie.

Key's horse attitude also translates to people. He only respects certain people touching his face and his sides; other people get the ears-back, head-snaking-around glare. He'll lift legs to threaten at people he doesn't like touching his stomach, he makes faces at people ALL of the time--he has a very low patience level and loathes when people mess with him. We joke that he's a five year old with a 'I'm-a-big-boy' complex; he hates being baby-talked to, cuddled on, or pet on the face. When he loads into the trailer he refuses to follow anyone, he has to load himself. 'I can do it MYSELF.'

Riding Key now is a delicate game. Key has a very high sense of integrity and self--if he feels he is being punished for no reason, he'll let you know immediately. Philippe Karl always says that the difficult horses--the ones that protest--are the ones you learn the most from, because you learn how to ride to respect the horse. They make you. Key taught me some of the most important lessons I'll ever learn--to be polite. To be quiet. To respect the horse.

Key is lazy, and not a 'go' kind of horse. In days previous, if you didn't have spurs, you weren't even walking, let alone trotting. Now as you ride him, to ask him to walk, you breathe up with your body, and hug him softly with your calves as you breathe. It's all it takes.

When people get on him and know that he's lazy, their first reaction is to squeeze hard/kick. And Key promptly refuses to go anywhere. I remember the first week I left for college, my mother called me. 'How do you get Key to go?!'

She'd tried to ride him, and he stood in the arena without lifting a hoof the entire time.

It was Key, of all horses, that made me understand that being light was not just something for sensitive horses. The lighter I was, the harder he tried to listen. The more I learned that usually there wasn't ever a good reason to punish under saddle, the more he stopped misbehaving. The more I engaged him, the more he wanted to work. I think Key has two very specific looks on his face when ridden--one being that he's happy, and the other being that he is proud of what he can do.

Key, like previously stated, is lazy. He was the horse who you couldn't get to canter on the lunge line for more then two strides, the horse you had to have spurs with, the horse who quit the moment he was tired. Key is the horse with attitude, the horse who tells you immediately when he doesn't like a saddle, the horse who quick to swish his tail and get crabby and put his ears back at a rider.

I suppose this post is to say 'look at who Key is' and then to compare it to 'look at how Key rides'. When people blame their horses for things like 'he's lazy' or 'he's just got an attitude', I laugh. Look at Key in the video, at his canter transitions--not one swish of a tail. SO many horses in APHA and AQHA have 'an attitude', when really they're just tired of being spurred and jerked in the mouth. Those are the horses that are resisting, and I applaud them for it. I would personally LOVE to take those horses in, work with them for a few months just to give them back to the original owners to say, 'see? It was all you.'

I didn't realize just how hard Key had been trying for me until we went to the regional show. Discipline and obedience is one thing--you can ask for that. But when we were popping over the jumps in the hunter hack class in warm up, and I jumped ahead of him really badly, I gave him every right to refuse. I made it harder then the jump ever had to be. I even THOUGHT about how I'd hit the dirt on the other side if he refused--and he popped right over without even the thought of refusing it.

Every horse has try in him--I suppose you just have to appreciate him enough to earn it.

Senior Hunter Under Saddle

2009-08-12T15:54:00.002-04:00

Without further ado, here's our Senior Hunter Under Saddle class, placings second and fourth out of some fifteen-odd horses.

I thought I had a video of the first 25-horse class, but the camera apparently had not been cooperating for that class. :(

It's not the whole thing, but for those of you who haven't been to a paint show... it's a little like this.

Senior Hunter Under Saddle from Kelly Mayfield on Vimeo.

What it look like?

2009-08-06T15:04:00.002-04:00

This is long over due, but I've been WAY to busy to breathe here!

My Aussie friend departed onto her flight back home yesterday, and over the oodles of fun we had I get to have a few hours of rest before work this night. I'm going to throw up a quick post of how regionals went, as I'm still exhausted--I do have video that is just super cute, but it's long so I'm going to need to condense and then throw it up on vimeo. Bare with me!

We woke up at 3:00 am to braid and get Key ready--having no stalls is a real killer. He was pretty good (though I wanted to kill him by the end of it because he wanted to look at EVERYTHING whilst I was trying to tie up the braids!), and they turned out like so:

Cute, huh?

We magically got there on time, but parked on the asphalt instead of the crappy gravel park they have for trailer parking that is about a mile away from the arena (I swear a moron designed that showground). It was the first time that arriving at a show the horse was done, and we brushed his tail, put some hoof polish on, and saddled up.

Ter-dah!

If you take note to the next picture, I FINALLY GOT A HUNT CAP!!! Look how cute and professional we look! Hehe ;)

Key warmed up very forward (as you can see) and a little tense (as you can also see, with his feet all silly at the canter). I let him move out for a while, watching everyone lunge and put draw reins on their horses whilst Key flew around with his best 'I'm a grand prix dressage horse!' impression.

Silly man

And then as we warmed up, bending, leg yielding, and stretching, look where his head came:

cuteness

I think he did just fine without lunging and draw reins, don't you? ;)

We went into our first class and it was HUGE. 25 horses. I have never taken Key into a class so big, we hadn't had a chance to warm up in the indoor arena so we were going in cold, and all of these horses were BIG and PRETTY. I have no pictures from inside because the lighting was crap and the camera couldn't focus (oh, especially when the power flickered out and we only got half of the lights turned on!), but I do have the video which will be edited hopefully tonight after work or tomorrow when I get up. ;)

So, Key powerhoused around and I did my best to put us in a good position to be seen against all of these huge horses (which is really quite funny on the video), and one judge placed us third. THIRD OUT OF TWENTY-FREAKIN-FIVE! Third at the regionals!!! WHAT! I almost fell off him in the line up!

Coming off of that, we had our equitation pattern, which as you know, is my favorite. Unfortunately, Key did everything Exceptionally well, but I forgot the end of the pattern because I was riding on auto-pilot. In the video I have of it, as I exit the arena, I grab at my face because I was so angry and frustrated with myself. I'm not sure if it was the lack of sleep (four hours), or the fact that I was carrying over a sickness and couldn't eat food, but there are no excuses for it--I fouled up our best class. He was a good boy, though--couldn't have asked for more.

I had to go into the ring right after my pattern for Senior Hunter Under Saddle. This is an open class, which meant trainers/professionals were free to enter. We had a 15-16 horse class, and one judge placed us fourth, and another, second. WHAT. WHAT WHAT WHAT!!! I'd screwed up our pattern but I could not believe how exceptionally well we were doing in the pleasure classes--I had expected not to place at ALL under ANY judge.

We ran through a hunter hack class really for the miles; Key refused only once and after that took every jump they had set up (five!) without killing us. We looked cute, but when it came time for the class, he hit the first jump with a back foot and chipped the second. He tried though, and he was tired from the pleasure classes (with so many horses, we went around and around and around forEVER).

Thus concluded english time!

Tired face!

We suited up for western and then had to wait at LEAST three hours because the trail classes that were supposed to have been completed the night before had to go NOW. Me and Key fell asleep in the warm up ring waiting. It was a huge joke, and I kept warming him up, then letting him stand and wait. I must have warmed him up four or five times, and he was plain exhausted. He really didn't have it in him to collect on his worst lead, and in the class he looked like a rocket (compared to the others). His right lead was cute, but we weren't in the call back and I didn't expect to be. He did everything I asked of him, we placed much better than I thought against the hardest competition we've ever been up against, and he was just the darnest thing walking around in the puddles all day (it POURED and stormed like the world was going to end. Thank god for indoor arenas!).

All dressed up ;)>

Puddles!

Long day.

The day was long with high points and low points, but in the end we came out with a handful of points in Hunter Under Saddle (possibly enough to complete his ROM in it!) and I couldn't have been more proud of him. He always knows how to turn it on for show day!

In other, more exciting news, Monday, the day after the show, my mother woke me up and we went to the Toyota dealership... AND I HAVE A NEW CAR. A black manual 2009 Yaris sedan. I. Am. In. Love. My old car was beat to hell, needed way too much money to fix it to pass inspection, and LOOKED like hell (paint rusted off, interior a mess). I love it!!!!!!!!

So excuse me if I don't get too many posts up in the next week... I will be zipping around in my yaris and riding my awesome paint. :D

Mr. Yeah -Edit with more fun!

2009-07-31T12:57:00.003-04:00

Just a quick update before the Regional Show that is this weekend (Wish us major, major luck, because we are going to need it!). Just wanted to let you guys peek in on what we've been doing to prepare in a pic-spam kind of way.

I don't have a good feeling about this show, but we're going to go, have fun, and just show! Plenty of pics will light up the way too, hehe. I'll be braiding for english, so maybe third time's the charm for tight braids (hopefully blissfully quick ones, too!).

All photos were taken by the guest star photographer, Rhu!

The first grid of the day, and Key's first bounce!

Key showing the 'bounce' portion

Key says he could event too!! He has wings! And I don't look like complete hell!

My exhausted little boy :)

More pictures may be added throughout today. ;) LUCK US!

--Edited!

Western day was today... now it's time to go braid and create a stall in the barn!

Cute!

He just looks so happy :P

Bending!

Bending with long reins is weird.

Joogs

Lope

More lope

Intermission....

For some good ol' fashion bridle-less riding!

He's a cool horse :)

Working hard

My boo.

Just Throw it in the Back!

2009-07-27T10:46:00.003-04:00

Quick update!

My friend from Australia frequented our show trip to Carlisle PA, and was a great help all day. :) We had gorgeous weather, I LOVED riding in my new saddle (the wintec material used to squeak loudly against my leather tall boots...), and we had a real fun day with a few points (One in western pleasure!).

We got up early and left and missed showmanship AGAIN (It's never going to happen), but I decided to put him in Hunter Under Saddle, Huntseat Equitation, Senior Hunter Under Saddle, Western Pleasure, Western Horsemanship, and a Jackpot Walk-Trot class. A lot, I know! I NEEDED to get him into some Western classes, with Regional Show being next WEEK. Ugh.

First up, with lots of pic-spam, was English:

Cute!

Doin' his job!

Not too bad!

His first class he was really 'looky' for some silly reason, but settled down after the first canter. His feet felt pretty good (still small amounts of residual sore on hard, packed ground), and we placed third I believe and fifth in our first class out of... Six or seven? I can't remember, I'm going to have to pull up the show results once they're posted. When I came out of that class, I hadn't looked at the Equitation pattern all day because I usually have time in between my classes--uh, but a bunch of classes got cut and as I was exiting the arena they were announcing that my equitation class was going in. So I ran over and grabbed the pattern, was the last one in out of four or five, and placed first under both judges. It was a little ugly, but again, all techincally correct! (he just didn't keep a pretty headset). Yay, pattern-memorizing abilities! We had a combined Junior-Senior Hunter Under Saddle class and we placed third out of seven, which is no points, but still pleases me!

Then we moved into western, with the Jack Pot class being the first to go. I wasn't sure how Key would be, seeing as I only practiced western ONCE after the two weeks he'd been off, but I hopped into the arena with a small warm-up period, and this is what we got:

Cuteness

Work-time

He is freakin adorable

Jogging and moving at the same time!

Our lope needs some headset work, but he certainly doesn't look crippled!

Key's transitions were bad in western, I won't lie. But between the transitions, he was so much better then I thought he was going to be! The judges thought so too; In the jackpot class of 12 we placed 5th, in the western pleasure class we placed5th again (out of seven ish?), in the equitation class we placed 3rd and 4th (out of seven), and in the Senior Western Pleasure (which I decided to go in for fun), we placed fourth out of twelve and scored us a western pleasure point!! I was really proud of him!

A fun day all around, with Key trying his little heart out. :D

Also, I know some of you have given me some awards, and I'll get that up as soon as possible! Thank you thank you!

Then call me Jorden fourth quarter in 92'!

2009-07-20T09:01:00.007-04:00

Hey guys! Quick update before a bit of a hiatus; my dear friend from Australia is HERE to visit after... oh... some nine-odd years and she is staying with me. :D So for two weeks I am becoming a land-pirate, off to enjoy many adventures (and a show or two). The written language cannot express my unmeasurable excitement. :D

The Regional Show is August 1st and 2nd, and they are expecting a big, good crowd, so if I place at all I'll be happy, but I'm not expecting too much at the moment. Things did just not come together the way I wanted to this year with his training (me sick, him foot-sore only weeks before the show) and at the moment I wouldn't consider him ready, but... We'll see where he is in two weeks, so wish us major, major luck! I should have lots of updates and pictures surrounding the dates... even if we don't place, we're just going to make it a fun day.

In other news, I had a small show on Saturday, and I was worried about going at all because Key is still pretty sensitive on hard surfaces (fine on grass, bad on flat, packed dirt--let alone anything worse). When we pulled into the show grounds, I groaned--it was thick sand with rocks EVERYWHERE--boo, jersey soil! We pulled up, I saddled him up and pulled him into the warm up pen to see if we were staying, or going back home--low and behold, he seemed alright as long as he was in the arena. I waited for the break in events after showmanship and took him in the main arena just to be sure, but he was pretty good so we decided to stay and test our luck. I banded and got him and me ready, and our first class (after a long period of no shows and him hurt and me sick!) was Hunter Under Saddle.

Walking

Mom has an inability to photograph the horse AND me

Decent reach considering his feet!

Out of six we placed third, so no points, but the two horses that placed over me were much more typey and I can't say much bad about them, so I was content (considering Key was coming off of a LONG break!) with his performance. Our second class was a Equitation class, and although he spooked in the middle of it (oh, lovely!) the pattern was technically correct so we placed 2nd under one judge and 1st under another, so I got a point. Woo! It was very hard on the horse with a TIGHT counter canter circle that the horses really struggled with--a lot of kicking and spurring was going on to get the horses to do it, with most just trotting instead of cantering. You know what worked better? Counter canter practice at home. ;)

After the show was the REALLY cool thing--my mom and my grandmom wanted me to go to the tack shop to 'look at shirts', and they ended up BUYING MY LEATHER SADDLE THAT WAS ON HOLD!!!!! This is the first REAL quality saddle I've ridden in. AWESOME!!!!! I was going to get the Bates Caprilli Close contact, but upon further inspection, I really liked the look, balance, and feel of the Bates Elevation better (much better quality leather, for starters!) so I'm paying the difference, and we upgraded. SO EXCITED. SO PRETTY! And it fits REALLY well. And jumping is SO much easier.

Pictures of it will be up later... but off for ADVENTURE TIME!

How could you be so, Dr. Evil?

2009-07-12T00:17:00.002-04:00

I suppose a post would be appropriate! :)

I missed our 4-judge Paint show last weekend as I was in and out of the hospital with a really bad infection, coupled with low blood pressure and dizziness. [I like to keep everyone on their toes ;) ] It's finally coming around, and we were supposed to go to a show in New York, but Key came up TERRIBLY sore after a farrier visit, go figure, and we scratched that show too. Since I came up lame last week, today has been the first day I was able to ride the Key man.

Key, up until my untimely lack of fortune of being unable to ride, has been doing fabulous. I'd actually gotten a few moments of real, true long and low (not him just dropping at the withers) which made me excited like a school girl. :P We were starting to work on shoulders-in on a circle to warm up and it's transferred over to his other lateral work, and he was REALLY bending nicely. So nice to have him so responsive! I had my mother watch his warm up today and her words were, 'He's crossing his back leg all the way over!! Is that good?'

Haha, yes mom. ;)

I also got to work with my baby boy, so you guys get some cute pic spam of my yearling. :)

Um, hey guys? He's really really big now.

This was his first bath of the year with the hose sprayer attached. :)

Water!

Yes... he is trying to eat it.

After his bath, I decided to 'lunge' him about two or three circles in each direction, and then work on going, stopping, turning out of my space, GETTING OUT OF MY SPACE, REALLY, and trotting in hand. He had some baby moments, but the thing I'm really beginning to love about this colt is that he likes people so much, that he doesn't want me to be mad at him for very long.

I'm really liking this colt!!

His 'forgive me' face in action:

'Sorry sorry sorry let me come back!'

Gosh he looks so big from when we got him!

He's a lot of fun. At times challenging because he tests constantly, but he is so well-tempered that I'm really excited about him. I'm attempting to get him inspected in September (if the damn American Warmblood Society ever contacts me back), as he needs inspection scores to get his 'full' Friesian Sport Horse papers. As of yet, I can't decide what I want to do with him--let him grow the long pretty Friesian mane and feathers, or keep him neat and tidy and... 'sporthorsey'. Opinions?

In other news, I kind of mentioned doing a post about Headsets, the necessary 'evil' in the Breed show world. I believe that a 'body frame' comes from training, as it is necessary to allow the horse to gymnastically build muscle to be able to keep his working frame--and then it is necessary to teach him to 'hold it', no matter the situation. In HUS and Western pleasure, the horse has a lot of rein to pick his head up and be curious and look at things; in dressage, you always have a nice contact to keep the lines of communication going. The horse has to go on auto pilot, in pleasure classes. You can talk through your legs and your seat, but those things are not as following nor as dynamic as rein contact. So how do we have them hold the position? And how do we have them keep it?

-----------------------------

The first thing I start to do is ask for longer periods of 'show ready' frame. I work Key up in his dressage frame a lot, and slowly start to incorporate the level headset that we are looking for. I squeeze both reins with my fingers back towards my hips (don't move your arms back--that's too much pressure!), and then release down and offer him the amount of rein he'd be showing with. This cue is very useful, because eventually you can pull back and release with just the nudge of your fingers and the head is fixed--no bumping or checking necessary. I used to pull his head to the left or right and then he'd settle down, but I found that this was not very good for in-the-ring fixes, as his head would snake back and forth as he looked at spectators or other horses. When teaching it you can use a little more pressure--the release is key. There is a moment where the tension in the neck goes away--that's when you give the rein. It is hard to describe, but once you've got it, you got it. It is NOT, however, the horse tucking his nose behind the vertical and 'giving' to the bit. That's a technique that a lot of WP trainers use that I call 'backing off the bit'--the horse will never ever take up contact because they have been systematically trained to tuck or drop their head when contact is apparent. They're the horses people call 'soft in the bridle', where you pick up the reins and the horse puts their head where ever you want it--but you can't ever get any contact with their mouth.

Pull back, wait a few moments, and give the rein. If they don't go down, take up the slack, resume a more 'dressagey headset', and try again. Do it several, maybe even hundreds of times until you and your horse have got it.

Once you have the cue, you can start shaping your horse's behavior, transitions, etc. Ask for the canter from the walk, and before the head comes up... use the cue. In the beginning, the horse is not going to be able to execute perfect transitions--they need to build up back muscle! Accept any progress made; soon you will have transitions that look seamless now that you can show your horse how you would like them to look. Never ever PUNISH a horse with this cue during a transition, either--when the head comes up, it's almost always due to imbalance or a lack of strength. Jamming back on their mouth only builds distrust and a dislike of the job at hand.

I call this a 'shaping tool'. You don't punish a horse if he wants to lift his head or look around--you just calmly correct it. You calmly ask for his head to be level during a transition; you calmly ask for his head to remain level when kids are riding their bikes by. You shape his behavior. In the beginning, you always allow them time to stretch, and have the head come back up and relax, but the stronger they get, the more you ask of them. Taking your horse on a trail ride and schooling him like he was in the arena is one of the best exercises you can do--because when you can ride your horse all over the woods like he IS a true Hunt horse, when you go into the arena, it's a piece of cake.

One of the big reminders of this technique and of horizontal frames in general is to let go. You need to relax the reins in order for your horse to stretch his neck--if you are always holding and grabbing and not releasing enough, where would you like their neck to go? A good friend of mine, back in our freshman year in college, would always ride her western horses with tight reins. We would call her horses 'macaroni necked', because they didn't have enough room to stretch their neck out level. She felt in order to control the horse, she had to have contact--when she let the reins go, the horses didn't do anything. The secret to getting the long neck is nothing more then giving them enough room to figure it out and stretch on their own. ;)

Collapse

2009-05-29T04:49:00.005-04:00

Hey! Life is getting crazy and hectic, and I am really excited for the next few weekends because I DON'T have shows. A bit of a break... I'm totally stoked for it. I'm heading down to the shore on Sunday for a little R&R, and with all of the work, the riding, the working out, and then running... I'm in dire need!

So of course today isn't going to be very important, but I have some picture spam you guys will enjoy. ;) I had a show last weekend, and in four classes, under three judges, we only took second once--firsts for all other classes. I can't boast very much because the classes were two, three, and four horses big (haha), but I was proud that I put Key in four classes and he had PLENTY of gas left in the tank, and that there were no little 'stumbles' in our performance. For Key, having gas left NEVER happens. I've been lunging him with some 'interval training' that Stacey, Daun, and Andrea use on their horses, and he's really fitting up nicely for ONCE. It's really a neat thing. :)

The other cool thing about Saturday was that I had several really flattering comments. One from a trainer that frequents the world show every year--"He's come a long way, he's almost there--you're looking good!" The same trainer also was telling someone else that I was a good trainer--Yay, props for me! I then had another world-show visitor tell me we had a good ride. And THEN, perhaps my favorite compliment, I had a fellow rider tell me she was so happy when I won the Equitation class LAST YEAR at the Regional Show. I was so flattered that 1) she remembered me 2) remembered my run through the pattern 3) thought I was a good rider!

Cute!

Artsy, headless photo!

Look how cute and content he looks :)

I was going to do western classes that day, but I ended up scratching the pleasure class because the show was taking FOR. EVER. And I was working on about an hour of sleep. Sunday however was an Open show, so I decided to show up there just for western. I have no pictures (such happens when just my dad comes), BUT we got second in a class of five, under a pinto-congress champ.. This is the first WP class I've had him in where I felt he was in with some serious competition, and he did great. He's starting to get a consistent pace and realize that the curb bit means don't take super long canter strides. lol ;) His lope falls apart sometime, but he's getting stronger and the transitions are coming together and... well, we have a month to put everything together for the next upcoming shows. I'm excited for the possibilities :D I'll nab a video for you guys :)

I also have some Clyde, Key, and Odie pic-spam from the pasture, so please enjoy:

'I is in shape, so Is can bend!'

'I is also an Arabian.'

'I shedded out black, but i is fading!'

'It's a race!'

Relaxing with my boys <3

Odie. Is. Big.

Working on something solid for you guys... until then, have a great weekend, and be safe!

Hoorah

2009-05-14T04:50:00.004-04:00

This is a late time coming, but alas, 'tis here!

Me and Key had a show last weekend, and I totally managed to snag some pictures. And videos! Woo. He did good. The classes were a little small; 5, 6, I think one class with 10? 11? We placed in almost everything I think, but only placed high enough in our equitation class for points: First place! Out of six. It was one of the more difficult patterns, and me and Key NAILED it. Yay.

There was an extremely pleasant man there last weekend and although he did a little jerk and jab, he was letting his green WP canter around with his head in the air. Woo! His other horse was GORGEOUS and I want-want-wanted him. Moving with REAL impulsion! I forgot to tell him that I liked his horses, but if I see him at another APHA show I'm going to make a note of it.

Also, I put Key in a WP class! We placed 6th and 4th out of six, LOL, but he did kind of swerve towards the judges in a moment of horsey defiance. Haha. It felt good to get him out there in WP... even if I DID forget my show shirts at home. Not consistent at all--but it's okay. He was in the ring in WP!

Ignoring the piano-hands, I kind of love my legs on this one!

Key takes naps when we show.

Impromptu western shirt! We are colorful.

I need to write a post that actually has some substance to it. ;)

Friday Mayhem, Chapter 2

2009-05-01T17:48:00.004-04:00

Nothing important in today's post, folks. I do have a product review coming up soon, as I just bought a thinline half pad, but I want to use it a few more times before saying anything concrete. So far, it's pretty awesome. ;)

Just going to introduce some of the newer members of the farm, here!

First and foremost, here's Keiko!

Kerplunk

We adopted her from an animal shelter, and is the first animal I've had inside that's been a girl. It's a learning experience for sure ;) but she's cool. Nicknames are Keiko-rama, Kerplunk, and 'kit-ton'. She had tendencies to bring me stuffed animals from my closet, or to hide all of her toys (and Leo's) under my bed.

Fluffy!

The newest addition to the farm is little 'Zippo'. Me and mom went up to North Jersey last Monday to pick up a baby buck for her pygmy goat breeding operation... thing. His registered name is 'Ashwood Excipient Crowne', and he's quite possibly the cutest thing ever.

Little man!

We're really excited about his color and his lines; when we eventually breed him to Bailey, we'll have our first goats with our farm name. Cool!

He's cuute.

And of course, we have Barnum and Bailey. Barnum is the Heinz 47 goat and is a wether (castrated); Bailey is the little registered pygmy doe. They're really just the cats from Hell... they follow us around the property and jump on just about anything. They're pretty athletic, surprisingly!

And of course, Barnum is Odie's play-time pal. ;)

Roughhousing boys

Last and not least we have Leo who is everyone's buddy; our dog doesn't have a mean bone in his body. Probably the best dog we've ever had; I'm really sold on the golden retriever breed (although I STILL want a border collie)!

Leo in his hunting-protection gear

I really want to get some pictures of Odie and send them to his breeder, but he's being really stubborn about letting go of his winter coat. He also can't decide what color he wants to be. ;)

Everyone have a safe, fun weekend!

Epic Fail--Edited?

2009-04-26T00:36:00.005-04:00

Man, today was, as the title suggests, an 'epic fail' kind of day. By me, and by the judges.

We got to the new showgrounds early and I figured I had time to braid. The showgrounds were designed by a jackass, because where we had to park was about a half-mile away from the announcers, so whilst I was braiding I had to keep sending up members of the 'support team' to see what class they were on. Most members of the support team are not horsey, so we seemed to have a few issues that resulted in me missing the first class, Open Senior Hunter Under Saddle. Maybe this was why the judges were asses for the rest of the day; I would like to think they had a reason!

The braids looked alright (especially for my second time braiding, ever), and I figured it would give me brownie points since Key was, by far, the hairiest horse there. Maybe the judges didn't like me for that reason, too.

As you can see, still has guard hairs on stomach!

With the car being so far away from the ring, I also have no under saddle shots because no one felt like going back to get the camera. Fail.

I think my braids are super cute though.

Key warmed up alright, and I was actually pleased how he handled everything. This is a brand-new show ground, and with his eye I was a little concerned... but although he was very 'looky' and distracted in the warm-up ring, he went to work during the class.

He was very, very good in the under saddle class. Better then last week (who could ask for more?), and his canter was A++--except the part where he picked up the right lead instead of the left in front of all of the judges.

It was lame. There were horses on his right and he was interested in them, and I should have paid more attention and got a better bend. But I didn't and just asked for the canter, and I got what I asked for--the horse was interested in the right, so he picked up the right lead. Key very rarely blows a lead; perhaps not at all last year--but, it's the second show of the season... got to get the kinks out.

In that class, we didn't place at all. Which I was fine with; we screwed up.

We waited around in the indoor until the Huntseat class, and this was where I lost my respect for the judges. The pattern called for a lot of sitting trot (which means sitting jog to these riders), and then you had to make a posting circle to the right, and one to the left.

These riders were blowing diagonals so hard, you would have thought that they were beginner riders. Posting around the entire circle on the wrong diagonal; posting three or four beats before realizing they were on the wrong one--just a joke.

The beginning of me and Key's pattern was nice. I did my job (got my diagonals... duh), and he listened beautifully. But at the end, where we had to break from a canter to a sitting trot to the cone.. he forgot how to trot. I don't know why he did it; Key's lazy. Key hates cantering. But I asked him to trot, and I got one stride of trot, two strides of the opposite lead, and then something in between. And by time I'd fixed it we were at the next cone... and the pattern was blown.

But I know my job; I glanced to the judges and waited to be excused from my pattern. It may be a 'breed' thing, but the judge will nod, smile, and 'excuse' you from the pattern.

All four judges refused to look at me, and were then focused on the next rider.

I was pissed. These riders were pretty bad; not only equitation wise, but hands and spur-wise too. They were way worse then the previous show, spurring the crap out of their horses and yanking on the bit like you wouldn't believe. I went to school for this kind of training, and I couldn't believe the overwhelming lack of horsemanship on these rider's part. And the judges couldn't acknowledge me when I left because I cantered instead of trotted?

So I thought, maybe they weren't acknowledging people when they left the pattern.

All riders after me got a nod and a loud 'thank you.'

And then the 1-3 place winners were people who were on the wrong diagonal for the majority of the circle.

What a joke, APHA.

I messed up the pattern; I understand why I didn't place. But I have a curious feeling that even if I did it right, we would be in the same place we are now.

This is why people get frustrated and leave. I wanted to kick these riders off of their horses, it was so sick. I watched a woman repeatedly ask her horse to canter, and then lean almost on the horse's neck. He jumped forward and lifted his head (because she was overly weighing the forehand like a beginner rider would), and then she would spur the shit out of him, spin him in a tight circle as she booted his haunches around, and yanked his face off because he didn't 'do it right'.

And then I watched these same riders go out there and win. Loping in english saddles, yanking on their kimberwicks with every stride in the class, going around the entire arena on the wrong diagonal... it makes me sick. It makes me want to quit; I'm tired of being told that people who have such an obvious lack of horsemanship, are better then me. I'm tired of watching horses with pinned ears, swishing tails, and gaping mouths place over me.

But this isn't about me, it's about the horses. There's got to be a way to change this; I just have to find it.

I was so frustrated at the end of the day with myself and showing in general, and was schooling Key around the indoor to get him used to all of the new things. When someone rode past me on their snarling, angry, ears-pinned horse, I had to stop.

We left after that, and untacked Key at the trailer and loaded him up. After all of the work I put on him, after the heat and the bad footing and the eye-issue, Key still wants to work. For some reason, unbeknownst to me, he still trots up to me every day and thrusts his head into the halter, or beats me to the gate if I don't get there, or nickers at me if I don't get his halter fast enough. When we're at a show, he's bored if we're not trucking around the arena. When I wake him up from a nap he perks right up and asks me what we're doing, where we're going, and how we're going to get there.

After all the shit I put him through, my lazy, attitude-prone horse still loves to work.

I will always admit that I do not have all the answers. I don't know if I can accomplish what I want to with Key; I'm no big-name trainer. And when I'm frustrated and angry and cynical and wanting to quit, Key's there to tell me that I may not have all the right answers now... but I'm on the right track.

We're going to do it.

And we're going to do it together.

Edit:

I thought I would add this here since there seems to be a lack of understanding on this post. I probably did not convey myself as well as I would have liked, but I suppose that happens when you're tired and frustrated. ;) So I apologize.

I did not say every rider was horrible, so if any offense is taken, that is for you to decide. There was one rider in the equitation class that could ride the pants off me; I was very surprised and impressed. I don't remember how she placed, however. There was another rider in another class that had a beautiful run on her horse; I made a point to tell her good job. He was super cute. Another rider was warming up on her horse over fences and they looked awesome.

There were people riding well, and there usually are. I was surprised last weekend with the spurring/kicking that resulted from anger and indignation, not training. I was angry with the judges not because we were out of the ribbons (seems to be the general consensus...?), but because of what they were placing. There were some nice horses that weren't getting what they deserved; especially when people were checking their horses the entire ride in the class. My old AQHA trainer would have threw me off the horse if I did that in front of a judge! I was always taught NEVER to school my horse in the arena; perhaps I am of a different thought.

If someone is spurring their horse and kicking it for a reason they created, I believe I have every right to say, 'bad horsemanship'. When we all say 'ride the horse from back to front' and then the headset becomes the all-encompassing goal for these riders, I believe I have the right to say, 'incorrect logic'.

Like I have said before, this is a blog. This is for my opinion. And if you don't like what I have to say (that there is a better way to train for better results other than checking and bumping), then there is a little red 'x' button in the top read corner. If you want to have a calm discussion then be my guest; I'm open to differing thoughts!!

I apologize for the confusion; next time I will wait until I have slept, ate, and relaxed to make sure my thoughts are better written. It is hard to convey tone and inflection with words, and if I chose them poorly it is very easy to misconstrue them. ;)

Release the Dragon

2009-04-24T06:04:00.004-04:00

"You want to ride him?"

Clyde had been going well; if you held on to his face he wouldn't run away with you. You could even KEEP him in a trot rather then a gallop. He stopped, most of the time, and he'd go over jumps. It was pretty cool.

The younger girl got excited. "Can I?" The horse she'd just purchased at New Holland was lame in three legs and had all kinds of chiropractic problems. She had decent legs and looked like an okay rider; she'd gotten a horse and still had no opportunity to ride.

"Sure."

I threw her up with some minor instructions and watched her trot him around. They looked cute. We weren't in an arena but in a field about 1,000 (Roughly 330 meters) feet from the barn, and she was moving him through the grass that really needed to be cut.

As I watched, she went down the long side toward the barn, and turned the corner like she was going to head back. With a big open stretch in front of him, Clyde reached out in his trot, moving a bit faster.

And then I had no idea what happened next.

The girl got scared that he moved faster. He didn't canter or extend trot, he just put some pep in his step--which any horse would do, faced with a huge open space that lead directly back to the barn. She threw the reins down, grabbed on to the saddle horn, and screamed.

To this day, I have never heard anyone scream the way she did. This was the sound of someone's arm being cut off; high-pitch, deafening--something that will stay with me for the rest of my life.

And Clyde promptly did his best impression of Curlin taking off out of the chute on the track. His legs went from 'trot' to 'cougar-eating-gallop' in one second. She screamed as she flailed on his back, the reins flopping around his neck as she gripped the saddle horn for dear life.

At a dead gallop, Clyde had no direction so he was making his way straight to the barn. I was running after them... but a girl in cowboy boots does not run as fast as a terrified thoroughbred.

The barn we boarded at was insanely nice, and had an asphalt road around it. As Clyde galloped up to the barn, he tried to throw on the brakes as he came into the aisle. But hooves have horrible traction on asphalt and he slid and fell, tossing the girl in the process. She luckily had a helmet on; as she fell off she rolled, got to her feet, and took off, leaving Clyde with a hanging leg and a clear path to the open road. She ran around the 24-stall barn and to her parents, leaving Clyde standing there until someone got to him and grabbed hold of the bridle.

When I got there, he was holding his leg in the air; the white foot, the leg with the bad stifle. And where was the wound? ...Right over the stifle. He had rubbed off a huge chunk of hair/skin/etc. on the asphalt and slammed into a pole with the leg; there was hair on the road and the large, solid metal pole had been tilted to the side.

This ended in me having to tie Clyde to the stall wall with four lead ropes to administer ointment every morning before school. It wasn't fun; it was constantly opening because it was over a moving joint, but we got through it. That's what me and Clyde do.

But just like that, Clyde became the 'worst horse ever'. My mom refused to let anyone other then me ride him. The girl's father had a snide comment about him every day I was there (coming from the man who bought a horse with three lame legs, it didn't hold much water). 'What kind of bit do you use on him? Guess he needs an electric one to get him to stop.'

I've always been known for my snide comments too. "It's only hard to stop him when your hands are holding the horn and not the reins."

There are always stories of me and my 'Seabiscuit' horse, because he was never calm, never consistent, never the way I wanted. For years we blamed him--he was just difficult.

When I came home from Suck-lay University in Ohio, I watched him in the field. The problem wasn't with him--he could move, collect, extend just fine. I watched him piaffe when he was chasing the goats; watched him fly across the field in an extended trot that would make a dressage rider drool. He had talent, he was athletic. And if that was the case, then the problem wasn't with him, it had to be with the training.

From Clyde

Thus became my quest for relaxation, the ultimate key before anything else. The quest to find out how to work with my horse's nature rather then against; the quest to unleash the potential I had sitting in my pasture burning hay.

I know a couple of readers have hot horses, and I've been meaning to do this post for a while. I put Clyde back in work last week, so I figured it was only fitting to dedicate a post to him, how I work him, and where we are now. I still have my goal of a small jumper show by the end of the year; he's got a late start with his muscles but mentally, I didn't set back as far as I thought I would.

Relaxation is always the key. But how to get it?

The first thing I look at when riding a green or nervous horse is balance. A horse's lack of balance with a rider can unnerve them significantly. It can be caused by the rider, or a lack of muscle, an incorrect turn or a moment where the horse just takes a bad step. When someone pushes me off balance, the first thought that goes through anyone's head is, 'crap I'm going to fall!' And then what happens? We speed up to correct and level ourselves. An increase in speed from the horse 'for no reason' is almost always a lack of balance--not a horse ignoring you. Speed transfers the center of gravity of the horse forward --and further off balance.

So with nervous horses, we need to allow them to find their balance; to place them in situations where it's easy for them to work. When they find the balance, we can work on the muscles of the jaw. And when we relax those... you'll find that the training can finally begin.

What's balance? Muscle memory, and muscle strength. Easy enough, right?

This means we don't (or attempt to avoid) place our nervous horses in positions where we know they will become unbalanced. If they are unbalanced at the trot (have trouble keeping an easy tempo, speed up/change speed at turns, lean on the hands, etc.!) then it is very safe to say they will not be balanced at the canter. Which means, in the beginning: don't canter.

Jean-Claude Racinet, a very interesting French Classical rider/trainer, has this to say about balance and the canter in 'Another Horsemanship':

"If your horse does not canter correctly, you won't improve it by cantering tirelessly. For one, how could he understand? There is no such thing as a "bad" or a "good" canter, for a horse's mind; he just gives you the ONLY canter he can produce given his condition of balance at the moment."

If your horse is nervous or very unbalanced, save the cantering for later. Work in the walk and trot.

I enjoy going over trot poles; but even more I enjoy going over raised walk poles. These work the quadriceps, and with them being one of the last muscles to shape up, it is a great way to 'kick start' your training. I walk over a set of 4-5 poles, five times a day. (For reference for anyone wanting to try it, I build to ten times after about two weeks just for some reference. :P )

Most of the work I do with Clyde in the beginning is geared towards stretching the neck, transitions, and long and low. You guys know how much I adore long and low... and it hasn't changed! This is a very fundamental step in dressage, and for nervous horses... almost unquestionable. It lowers the head (calms the horse), raises the back, gets them to search for the contact they used to think was scary, and very important--stretches the neck. When you pull the head under (or the horse does it themself and ends up using muscles to hold the head behind the vertical), you loose the total relaxation that is a requirement of collection. The line that allows the energy to flow through and then up is broken. When you allow the neck to stretch and then allow it to lift as he gains muscle, the neck and poll will stretch over the nose, instead of the nose being pulled under.

If you can not get calm at the walk, do not trot. Sometimes it will take more then one ride, but you have all the time in the world to do it right; only takes a few seconds to do it wrong. ;) One thing that I've found calms the horse after power walking for fifteen minutes, is to take the head and gently pull it to the inside of a circle whilst trying to keep the reins very loose, and then push the horse with the inside leg, to the side. When the horse side steps, they will usually 'give' in the neck, and the head will come down... and they will chew on the bit. You release immediately, then continue on the walk.

Do lots of bending exercises, and wait until the horse chews and plays with the bit softly after or during a release. This is the moment where the TMJ (temporomandibular joint) muscles relax and release--once that happens, the horses whole body will practically melt. Let it! It may only remain that way for a few strides, but then you go back--use a fixed hand to bend the horse. Do not pull back to your body; you can not react quick enough to release. Squeeze the fingers, brace the hand--then all that is needed is a release of the hand, rather then a push of the arm. Faster, more efficient. The horse doesn't learn because of the action, they learn because of the release.

-------Test moment!--------
Think tense thoughts, but only clench your jaw tightly. What does the rest of your body want to do? Now lick your lips, 'chew' on a theoretical bit, and calm your jaw. How do you feel?
Horses--and people!--will rarely just hold one muscle tense in their body. If something (the TMJ) is tense, then most likely, a lot of other muscles are too.
Now tense both biceps. Hold for at lease five seconds, then completely relax and shake only one arm.
What happened to the other?
Chances are you relaxed that for a moment when you relaxed the first.
Relax the jaw, relax the horse.
------------------------------

When working on the walk, make sure your hands are giving to the gentle head-bob of your pony. If every time they try to take a step forward they bump their gums on the bit, they are not going to be very forgiving--or very calm. Also make sure that your hips are relaxed and following. The horse, not only goes forward and back in the walk, but goes side-to-side. One hip goes forward and out, whilst the other drops backwards. Keep with the pace of your horse--don't push, and don't get left behind. Nervous horses aren't fond of either kind of rider, because they are always pushing on the saddle.

As you ride these horses you always think calm and slow and easy, but your seat always follows their motions. Once the horse trusts and understands your seat, then you can use it as an influence for gait and speed. On nervous horses, my seat is usually a quiet passenger.

My old trainer Bill always told me to 'post slower' when I was riding Clyde, to make him come back to my speed (sounds like a western pleasure trainer, huh?). It never worked then and rarely do I try it now. Imagine how a green horse must feel that? He goes faster because he's unbalanced, and now there's something thumping awkwardly on his back.

Guide the horse into a circle; or walk, recoup, and try again. But make no mistake--letting your horse run around on High-Speed-Autopilot will not fix things. You have to stop the habit by intervening, and then you have to convince the nervous horse you're right.

Once you've got the walk, then ask for the trot. We want our nervous horses to first do transitions with a long neck, and a somewhat level frame. When the head comes up, then you lose the back--which interrupts the 'push' from the hind end, and you lose the balance (Remember we talked about that?). So you ask and the horse's flings up and he flies off in a crazy trot. What do you do?

First, if the head comes up don't let them trot. Go back to the walk, calm the horse, and start over from the long-neck headset. Horizontal is not important--you want the 'topline' part to be long and sexy. ;) Breathe up, hug the legs, and wait.

Continually bring the horse back to a walk and calm them before trotting again. For some, it may take a while. But once you got it, don't drill it--it takes back muscle to do these things correctly, and if you demand-demand-demand, the horse is going to find the easier way out, which means using the wrong muscles. If you had a hell of a time, get a few good ones, and quit for the day.

It doesn't take them long, once you've let the horse walk around and calm down. Nervous and hot horses can be a handful, but you can calm them down. You just have to find their buttons.

Clyde Stretching from Kelly Mayfield on Vimeo.

Here's me and the Clyde-boy, a week or two of work. Here he is stretching, which we are doing with more correct contact--I'm actually very happy with the long and low work he's producing with such little work! Also note I am wearing HUGE western spurs... what better way to train your toe forward then to ride a hot horse with spurs? (Actually, I was wearing them so I would get used to walking in them so I didn't trip over my own feet at the show. Big western no-no!)

This is the first time I rode in the wintec isabell on Clyde, as I needed a size THIRTY-FOUR girth, and previously had a 28. He's not that big, the saddle is just weird. But I DO love it, very comfy. :) It is a matter of preference however, as some people REALLY dislike the saddle, and I would imagine if you had a bigger frame then mine, it wouldn't work as well. It has a wider twist then most saddles...Apparently that works for me? (Ignore the slouchy shoulders! Eek.)

Anywho, video break down!

At the 30 second mark, this would be a good place to ask for a trot. The head and neck are calm and relaxed.

...Which I then ask for at 48 seconds, and this is how you want your transitions to look in the very beginning. Calm, even, smooth. Once the horse is completely calm through all three gaits, then we work on impulsion. ;)

At 54 seconds he settles into the trot, and then in a few seconds gets unbalanced (probably because my turn was too tight), the head comes up, and a soft but fixed hand corrects the inverted-ness. Then as he releases the muscles, look what he wants to do... stretch. :) In the beginning, I let nervous horses stretch as much as they want. He asks and then I push my hands forward and down and he goes right with the contact, just like he should! Good boy Clydeo.

He gets unbalanced around the 2 minute mark, and then starts speeding up. Two half circles calm him down, and then he wants to stretch again. (like the test; he relaxes one muscle and wants to relax them all.)

3:16 is total Pilot Error. :D

If someone would have told me that Clyde was capable of such calm work, I would have laughed in their face.

It is possible.

I trot Clyde for at least a month before asking for the canter, and it is the same idea. Ask whilst they have a low head; don't let them canter off with a high one. If they get unbalanced (which is less likely to happen after a month's worth of good, correct, walk-trot work), bring them back to the trot. You may only get three strides.

And that's normal. It's okay. Horse's have a restart button--the walk. :)

Work on long and low. Get them calm. You can do a lot of work at the trot and walk before ever needing to get to the canter. And the cool thing is, by time you do get to it.. a lot of the work is already done.

New Jersey Show Association Show; 4/18/09

2009-04-19T21:46:00.003-04:00

I believe the lesson I learned today is, 'sometimes you just have to laugh at western riders. AND the judges.'

We pulled up to the showgrounds at 8:00 in the morning with a whole family cheer support team--Mom, dad, grandma, aunt, and my two cousins. It was nice; I like having a lot of people around me to help, even if I can't ask them to do a lot more then hold or watch. My youngest cousin, Cassie, likes the horses a lot so she is deemed 'my little helper'. She puffs up and gets really proud about it too. ;)

Mom and me had a camera malfunction (camera, batteries, and no memory card)--so unfortunately, no photos. :(

Key was probably the furriest horse there; he still has almost all of his guard hairs on his stomach and neck; I didn't clip his legs; didn't clip his ears. This was a schooling show for me, so I was much less worried about how we looked as apposed to how he did. When we pulled up, almost everyone's horses were slick. Oops.

I banded Key's mane and cut it in about 20 minutes (one of my redeeming qualities, I'm sure!) and was ready to go. We were in three, possibly two classes: Hunter Under Saddle, Huntseat Equitation, and a Walk/Trot Jackpot that depended on how the judge liked him. Didn't think it was worth it to put him in it if she liked the western look more.

When we walked up to the warmup ring, Key jigged into the pen. Jigged! I laughed and pushed him into a trot, and he did his best I'm-a-warmblood extended trot, complete with huge air-time and possibly a slightly lifted tail. The lady who was warming up her paint looked to me and called out in a friendly way, 'Oh my gosh, is he a pacer?'

I had to laugh. I politely told her no, he was just excited... but I suppose if you've never SEEN an extended trot, then you wouldn't know.

Sigh, western people.

He warmed up quick and we waited for our chance to enter the ring to warm up in there. I watched the walk-trot kids run around, making sand castles in the warm-up arena and screaming and hissing? at the horses in it. Thankfully, Key passed that test with flying colors.

When they opened the arena, I usually take this as a time to size up my competition. I had a lot of senior riders to ride with; some nice horses but nothing we couldn't, or haven't, beaten before. The nicest horse there (I thought) was in a junior class with a dumbass rider. There are at least 40 horses in a ring, and she comes in with headphones on. I tried to tell her that her horse was pretty and looked right at her and spoke, and she couldn't even hear me.

What a GREAT idea. Sigh, western riders!

My biggest concern for the show was if Key would spook in the ring without full vision in his one eye. The answer was a huge resounding no. He could have cared less... which means we'll be moving into the show season with slightly impaired vision. Hoorah! I purposely put him in situations that were potentially scary or have, before when he was younger, scared him in the past--corners with horses coming up on him, in between two horses, walking in the midst of 20 horses cantering around me.

Key got the 'all clear' from me!

First class came up with 12 horses in the senior division. Key put in a really nice run; he didn't have a perfect headset, but he gave me some of the best long-and-low stretches that I've been able to get out of him all season. He botched a walk-to-canter transition but that was mainly my fault (we haven't really worked on those yet), so no concerns and it wasn't in front of the judge. Woot! I was very pleased with how he trucked around the arena; I figured a 1st-2nd placing, considering my competition.

We lined out and I watched the horses be called... all of the slow moving, plodding-along, extended-jog, tall horses beating me. The second place horse went from trotting to quitting on the rider and just walking in the middle of the class.

Sigh, western judges.

We did manage to snag 5th; I was surprised because with the horses placed above me, I guess I was just the best out of the rest of the crap in the arena. I was pretty peeved about the 2nd-and-3rd horse placings because I've shown against those particular riders many times; the seesaw, jerk and spur head setters. Their horses couldn't move out if a cougar was chasing them; they have that 'dead soul' look.

What are you gonna' do?

We moved into the equitation pattern and me and Key put on a decent show and placed under people who did the pattern completely incorrectly... who were also the same horses the judge placed in the Hunter Under Saddle class. Huh! We snagged six, but it was all good.

This is the kind of crap you face against when you're not following the norm. I CAN seesaw, jerk, and spur; but I'm not there to win. I'm there to prove you don't have to do it that way.

I have to admit that Key is possibly the lightest I've ridden him in the front end, ever. He doesn't LOOK that spectacular yet; still a little front heavy. But it's definitely the best I've gotten to. His trot is really looking nice; the canter doesn't look so plod-plod-plod.

I scratched the Walk-Trot class as all of the riders in it were going to be in western gear and I had a pretty good feeling we weren't going to place at all ;). There were some nice hills in the back of the show grounds however, so Key got a 30 minute work out cantering and trotting up and down hills. I even breezed him a little; he really enjoyed it. :) So did I... it was really neat to feel that much power and that kind of stride on Key, and still be able to drop the reins on his neck completely and have control.

All of the horses there were goose-rumped. All of the horses had undeveloped quadriceps. I checked, I searched, I looked--couldn't find any indication that these horses were using their bodies the way they were supposed to. Key's not perfect yet... but we're making headway. A lot of the horses had the head-down, dead soul look.

And Key most DEFINITELY does not have that.

We've got work to do for next weekend, a 4-judge Paint Show. But if Key put in the show he did today, I don't doubt we'll do well. He did everything he was supposed to as best he could. That's all you can ask for!

Apologize for the lack of pictures, but I have a video for the next post :)!

Key Updater 2

2009-04-14T18:29:00.003-04:00

Would have posted earlier, but the stupid computer was broken. Rawr.

Anywho, we trailered Key up to the New Bolton Center this morning, and to make a long story short, the ophthalmologist thought his corpora nigra was enlarged when she talked to the vet. This is a simple procedure; they 'pop' the thing with a needle, and then it's small enough to not obstruct the vision.

But, that's not what Key has (and I'm not sure why this wasn't communicated better!), as his is detached and dangling in his vision. That is a whole different surgery with much higher risks (and higher costs) then their 'easy procedure', and they brought a whole bunch of students in to poke, prod, and shine lights into his eyes (since he was such a good boy. Usually they sedate for that. ;) ). So, apparently, this was NOT something they'd seen very often.

Long story short, the ophthalmologist recommended that I take him home, take pictures of it every week so we can monitor it and see if it is falling off on it's own (which is a good thing!). She said since he's not too bad with the spooking, that rather then go through with the risks of the surgery, to take him to a show and see if he can handle it. If he can't, then we bring him back for the surgery.

So...First show is this Sunday! Shame I wasn't PLANNING ON IT!!!

Key was an absolute dream at the NBC, letting then grab, POKE HIS EYE WITH A THINGY, shine lights, etc., with no motion from him. The students loved him. ;)

So... We'll see how he does at the show?

The Posh Un-Rawr, Part 4

2009-04-12T03:31:00.002-04:00

Ah yes, the final post on western pleasure! I must apologize for this being overdue... I've been working 6 days a week and work has been kicking my ass. As such, this will not be as in-depth as my other post; I'll elaborate on subjects on a case-by-case basis. ;)

If you followed a plan like the one I outlined or something remotely similar, you should have a forward moving horse with shoulder control (from the reins) and hip control (with your legs). That's pretty simplified, but like I said before... western pleasure isn't rocket science. So what now?

Key all WP-ed up!

Consistency

To win in the western pleasure showpen, your horse has to be v e r y consistent. You can make your horse consistent by making him afraid of doing the wrong thing, or you can make him consistent the 'pain in the ass' way--by repeating yourself over and over again. This is what can separate a rider with good feel, from a trainer. You need to be OCD about this kind of stuff--when you flick a rein on the horse's neck you must always get a response. When you give the horse the reins and he starts sight-seeing, you have to fix him every time. He needs to know that he has a job to do, and when he is doing it he gives all of his attention to you. This is why my warmups are taken very seriously--I have to warm and stretch his muscles, but that doesn't take very long--I have to convince him that despite what he had planned for that day, he has to pay attention. And when the horse says 'alright, let's go to work'--you best be stepping into that show pen, or your going to waste the best parts of your horse in the warmup arena.

Transitions

Your transitions are a big part of your chance of winning a class. If you botch a walk-to-canter transition, the judge is going to place you underneath every other horse that didn't, whether or not they move better then your horse. The rules suck, but if you want to win, you have to abide by 'em. So--we need to make these clean!

Practice your transitions often--you don't want the horse throwing his head up as he jogs and lopes; you don't want to punish him for this, either! This means he wasn't ready, for any number of reasons. You don't want swishing tails, you don't want pinned ears, and you NEVER ever want a horse to rush into his gait. When training green horses, I allow them to canter from a nice trot, and as they build muscle I start to canter from a more and more collected trot. Eventually you will have to teach your horse to keep his head down at all times during transitions for 'safety's' sake, but not until he's ready to do it physically.

-'Safety's sake' is the show ring. Your horse has to be 'drilled' to a certain point in where he will execute the maneuvers despite less then perfect circumstances. Practice, practice, practice. ;)

A tip for western riders on transitions:

We're not looking for dressage transitions in the WP show ring, we just need consistency. The best way to get your horse to perform to their best ability is to give them a warning of the transition to come. As long as Key is 'prepared', he won't swish his tail. When you're jogging along and you stick a spur in their side, that's when they get crabby--or a swish of the tail.

Before a transition, I breathe 'up' and lift my body. Key feels this, prepares mentally--he does not speed up--and then waits for the cue, which is a leg on the inside to keep him straight and a leg behind the girth, and a kiss. He is NEVER allowed to lope without the kiss! To desensitize a sensitive rushing horse, do lots of drills at the trot with haunches in and pretend like you want the canter but never ask--and never quit the exercise until the horse relaxes. Use your legs MORE, not less! If there's ever a moment where you feel like you couldn't ask your horse to put his haunches in because you're afraid he'd canter, then he's not desensitized enough for the pleasure ring. One leg never means canter--me putting all the pieces together, does!

Headset

Headset is very important in the western pleasure ring--so much so, that kids and adult amateurs have taken to the 'low head, slow horse' mantra. But why?

I can understand someone's frustration with the headset. 'Why do their heads have to be so darn low? Why does it have to weigh so much on headset? Why is a horse that is moving like he's crippled place over mine?' Usually, these frustrations are broadcasted by people who can't train a headset, and have a high-headed, fast horse. Your inability to train the horse does not make the rules of western pleasure 'stupid'!

I have to agree with the judges on this. Headset is important. If I see a horse walk, jog, and loping with a nice level headset, he looks well-trained to me. Headset is the proverbial 'icing on the cake', the final step in training a finished horse.

Now I look at the next horse who is a better mover then horse 1, but has his head in the air or is very inconsistent with his head, looking around, lifting it during transitions, glancing at the other horses outside of the pen. Why does a horse get to just scoot by on talent, or with a bad rider? Sorry, this is no dressage competition--we don't ignore training over movement ;P (teehee). Western pleasure is about creating a nice horse to ride; I don't want to ride an inconsistent horse. I want to ride one that rides like a car drives--easy.

[Take note that I would always place horse 2 over horse 1 if horse 1 was four-beating/other evils of WP. The above assumes that both are moving as the rulebook describes as ideal.]

First and foremost, headset is a mindset. When a horse is relaxed and listening to you, he will put his head in the correct position and work correctly, especially if you have a horse bred for western pleasure. People start getting into the check and the jab when the horse isn't 'broke' enough and wants to look around, or if they ask for something the horse can't yet do, like a walk-to-canter. The head comes up or swivels around and they go, 'CRAP!'

Second, headset is partly trained. If I'm in the arena and, say, Key's head comes up for whatever reason, I need a cue that teaches him to put it back softly. There is no need to jab a horse, but I'm sure that started with little snob-kids. 'Max put his head up and now we're going to lose! JAB-stupid horse!'. If you watch amateur classes, it's almost a crutch/nervous twitch for riders that are insecure in the arena. They'll jab the entire length of the arena where the judge isn't looking for NO CHANGE in gait, pace, OR headset. And they'll do it every time.

A quote for all of you that I apply to horses often: "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

If you are jabbing and yanking and checking and there is no difference in your horse... I'm first to suggest that maybe you're insane and should get off the horse--and I'm sure thousands of QHs and Paints would agree.

Headset--or rather, lets call it the 'showing frame'--also has to be practiced at home. You can't work a horse up in a dressage headset for three months and then expect him to be able to travel in a level frame for long periods of time. I like to start practicing it lightly after I've got good forward impulsion and a few months of riding under the horse's belt. I let the horse come down and stretch his neck, and any moment he gets heavy we go right back to the 'up' frame. You practice consistency at home, not at the showgrounds--take him on a trail and school him there. Ask him to move with a low headset and pay attention as if you were in the ring. When you can do this for a 10 minute trail ride, a pleasure class seems like a piece of cake!

Speed

Ah, this is important too. I don't mind a horse that covers more ground because of a long stride. Neither to judges. But I do mind scramblers, four-beaters, and horses that look like 3 out of 4 legs are broken. I don't like watching or riding horses that have a very 'disjointed' canter, where you can see the rider feel each beat of the canter in the seat--one... two... three. The canter is supposed to be a rocking horse motion, and just because it's 'more collected' doesn't mean you should look like a flailing monkey in the saddle. It's plain uncomfortable to ride!

This is where your horse's breeding and pedigree comes in. If they have a long stride because they're big, they're going to look faster. My favorite combo is Key--long stride, tiny body. :) His jog doesn't look whacked out like some other horses, where they are moving the legs but the rest of the body does seem to follow along.

Speed, however, is something you bring down gradually by asking the horse to collect, then extended again. Collect... then extend again. Feels heavy? Extend. This is a french dressage principle of 'when hands, no leg. When leg, no hands!' You don't push the horse into your hands! Ask for a little bit slower (but think UP!) speed, and try to keep the impulsion in your body. If your horse falls apart, take him back to a canter and try again. Transitions within a gait!

Key has been coming along with this really nicely at times, where I can feel him together and lifting and working. And then.. there are other times when he looks really scramble-y!

Don't ride him forward for three months and then just ask for your show-speed! That's not the way it works. You progressively work down to something 'acceptable' for the ring. Key's jog may be too fast now but he's got impulsion; as he gets stronger, we'll be able to go slower. Never expect show ring performance IMMEDIATELY. Allow your horse to progress, especially with his speed!

If it feels heavy, it probably is.

Loose Rein

This is important--if you have a horse over five (or six for some registries) you MUST use a curb bit and show one-handed. But when do we switch to the curb? And how do we show correctly in it?

Number one: Curbs were never made to direct rein. They were made to 'pull backwards'. So when you want to put a tom-thumb on your horse, you cross the line when you grab both reins and direct-rein; it was never intended for that. They are leverage bits; they are graduation bits.

Throughout all of training I work on neck-reining, especially at cool downs. You need to keep your horse 'between the reins', as cowboys say. If I move my reins to the left, the horse moves his shoulders to the left to keep him in the 'middle' of the reins. With this imagery in mind, also note that I often train Key to bend in response to the neck rein--if I ask him for a left turn, I don't want him all counter-bent and just moving his legs. The reins control the neck and shoulders... get him to bend the neck by asking for it every time. Eventually, they'll do in on their own.

One of the best things for control in horses is to put down cones every once in a while, create a pattern, and ride it. I do this with 'grass clumps', poles, and trees. Why is this important?

Your horse needs to go straight when you give him free rein. He can't wander around all willy-nilly; he can't veer sideways, etc.. And when you don't have a plan and just ride around the arena on the rail or just make hap-hazard circles, when it comes time to do a pattern you have a horse that is seriously not broke to your cues. You need to be precise, and giving yourself goals and parameters is a great way to do it.

Riding in arenas gets you to be more aware of your horses motions... and riding in fields and pastures can make your horse more broke to you--there is no 'rail' to suck to and no diagonals to fly down, and lots of distractions. I love a mix of both, and whilst I would love a formal arena mainly for the footing, I do love having the option to ride in a 10-acre hay field. ;)

For some English riders, letting go of the rein for WP is the hardest part. They always have contact, be it one hand or two. When I train, I like to have enough slack to give my horse freedom, yet still be able to correct if necessary. The more broke the horse gets, the more rein I allow him.

And about the curb bits--I still haven't switched Key over. Key's a very unique horse in that he very often does not care about what is in his mouth. I can switch him to a correction, high-port bit, a snaffle, a slow-twist snaffle, a tom thumb, a halter, rope-around-neck--with no change in behavior or acceptance. If he is very untrained (which he was when I first got him), the Curb bits gives me 'slow power', but now they give me... well, the ability to not really direct rein.

Clyde 'owns' the sole English training bridle I own, and since he goes utterly fantastical in a waterford bit, that's what Key's in now as well. I really, really enjoy this bit for people with very, very quiet hands. There's nothing that jabs the roof of his mouth or jams up on the bars of his jaw--it's so foldy/collapsible and at the same time, still thin enough to not be cumbersome in their mouth. It's probably one of the best things for comfort of the horse, but can be a pretty severe bit because it's so loose. Gladly, I never have to pull on either of them! (Sidenote: Pulling on a horse annoys me to no end. I hate the feeling; it ticks me off!).

Key has a slow-twist snaffle that I do 'western training' with him. The slow twist scares ME, so it's my test for a real curb when we switch. I don't like direct reining in it but I can if needed, and the different bit/headstall/reins help Key make a difference between the two disciplines.

Anywho, when will I switch? When I feel Key can do everything I want with the snaffle! The more 'broke' he is, the more I'll school him completely one-handed.

______________

Trying to get this post out has been hell. Key's heading to the New Bolton Center Tuesday morning (gulp. Huge freakin gulp) and we get him back Wednesday. Then he goes back in a week for a check up!

I've also hit one of those 'lulls' in my training. I do what I can with Key/Clyde/Odie, but when you watch videos and see these amazing facilities and amazing horses, and I'm struggling for just an arena, it'll make you lose a little hope. So many people have their parents or relatives to work off of--I have me, and a ton of school loans to pay back. I feel like I can do a lot with training--but will never have the facilities/money/chance to do it.

Combating a saddle fitting issue with Key has just made me feel frustrated, but I think I've fixed it and on the road to recovery. ;) Like I tell my mom--we all have to start SOMEwhere.

Anywho, I uploaded two more videos: One to show Key's trot, and the other to show Key's 'impulsion canter' and my crappy jumping abilities. ;) This is to make up for the lack of example pictures in this post!

Key Man from Kelly Mayfield on Vimeo.

Key Impulsion Canter from Kelly Mayfield on Vimeo.

Special K--Updater!

2009-03-26T06:23:00.000-04:00

Update:

Key is scheduled April 14th for eye surgery at the New Bolton Center. (whoo?) The good news is that he'll go in Tuesday morning and come out Wednesday, and the recovery time is only a week! It IS Key and he is a huge baby about pain, so I'm over estimating two weeks, but one week is great news. :D The NBC has heard of it and dealt with it before, and they said it's a very simple procedure. Whoo-hoo!

I was riding him today and my 'arena' is right next to the road. Someone drove by in a jeep and attempted to scare him and leaned out and yelled 'YAAAH!' like they do in western movies. *rolls eyes* My half-blind horse didn't even flick an ear.

I do love my little pony. :D I think that if we had to work around this, he could because he's that calm, but I don't think it's fair. I'm asking so much of him against his heavy downhill conformation and do things that he hasn't been made to do that the LEAST I can do for him is help him have clear vision.

Also, for those who are interested, Odie is just under 14.3 and weighs in around 650 (so says the height/weight tape). Woot!

---------------------------------------------

A bit of an intermission I know, but I needed to inform all of the possibly changing plans for 2009.

Key has been slightly 'off' lately, with spooking a few times at a lead rope or a tree. I didn't want to mention it on the blog least I sound like a hypochondriac (you know, with all of my, 'his tendons! ulcers! Eyes!') until I got some solid evidence. I thought I could see something in his eye, but I wanted to talk it over with the vet.

Our vet came out today to do spring shots/coggins/and checkups. We got him to take a look at Key's eyes, and low and behold... there's something in there that shouldn't be. There is a piece of the eye that is kind of squiggly and rests 'on top' of the pupil. Well, Key's broke off and is now dangling in front of the pupil... effectively creating shadows and swishes of movement in his eye almost constantly. When I told the vet I thought something was wrong, he asked me how Key's behavior had been. I told him it was good, with just minor spooking at things in close-range vision. He didn't roll his eyes (bless him!) but he wanted to, and we took Key into the barn so he could quell my fears and get a look at the eyes in a dark room with his flashlight.

When he looked at his eyes, he almost backed up a foot and said, "Oh! That's interesting!"

Of course, he's never seen or heard of this before, so Special K is truly... Special K!

We're going to get a call later tonight/tomorrow about where to go from here. Our vet knows some eye specialists in the area (including the one that works at the New Bolton Center), so he's going to call for us so he can instruct us where to go next. We're looking at eye surgery folks--it's just a matter of how and when.

I was lining Key up for the Pinto World Show in June, but it looks like those plans are now scratched.

Sigh.

Key has also had some minor swelling/no pain in his left hock, so I brought that up to the vet. The beginnings of minor arthritis was the diagnosis (Gosh, he's eight already), so now he'll be on a joint supplement. The boy is falling apart before show season even gets here!

I do have ONE small bit of good news, that is more of an bravo to Key's nature and small bits of talent then my training abilities. The boy has still been jumping up until this point, and I managed to get videos ;)

Here is my favorite of the day--quite hilarious. I was attempting to count my strides out loud, and Key thought that meant 'stop cantering'. So my brain caught up at a bad time to ask him to stop.

Jump=FAIL Whoa = WIN from Kelly Mayfield on Vimeo.

And here is a viewing of my bad jumping ability and Key's amazing ability to find a decent takeoff point with one clear functioning eye:

Key Jumping from Kelly Mayfield on Vimeo.

Good god, could he move ANY more like a pleasure horse? :) I do have a video of him in his 'impulsion canter', which I'll have to upload on vimeo as well. I also have to note that my heavy little pony can clear 3 foot. :)

All in all the boy has been a saint with all things considering. Will keep you all updated with the eye prognosis, and if we'll be making it to shows this season.

In other news that got sidetracked, Odie is the official '1 year old' today, so happy birthday to O-town! I have to weigh and measure him at some point to post here--apparently I add two hands to his height, and that's a decent guesstimate for how big he'll end up. (I'm thinking it'll be 16.3).

Oi, horses!

The Un-Rawr [Part 3]

2009-03-08T17:20:00.001-04:00

If there is one thing about me that I know for a fact, it is that I love cake. And since I have cake at this current moment, it makes me happy... which is a great mood for this part of my trio because this is the part where I try to explain myself. And trying to explain myself, and how I train, is possibly more frustrating then something... exceedingly frustrating. I always feel like what I am doing can not be put down on paper adequately. Not because is 'magickal', but because I feel that my ability to organize my thoughts and write them is inept when I compare it to the art that is riding. So, as always, bear with me!

Instead of trying to cover how I would train every horse in X situation, I've decided to explain how it is that I'm training Key. Since the horse is built, in many ways, for un-collection [Coined it! Term is mine.], this method will work fabulously on horses who are not so unfortunate as himself. :)

First I'll do a short conformation critique on the guy.

Special K 2008

Alright, for the rider--why in the world has she pulled her hat so far down? Her toes point out too far. But other then that, she is FABULOUS. (It's me, by the way. :P)

Number one: Please avert your attention to Key's humongous neck. I love strong necks. I dislike his. It's set low on his body--very low. It's also very thick. Tie that in to his huge head complete with big heavy QH-stud jowls, and you're looking at a horse that carries the majority of his weight on his forehand.

For people that show western pleasure--Key can go slower then a snail. Slow does not mean a horse is collected. You do not go slow to collect. You collect to go slow.

Bold because I have been told, many times, that the horse has to be collected, because he is slow. Bzzzt! With a head and neck like that, his ability to go slow after I pull him out of the pasture after three months of no work does not mean he is uber-awesome. It means he's made a life of moving around on his forehand.

Anywho.

Key's got his own goose rump going on that is largely conformational, but can be improved upon with correct work. For those of you who don't have the pleasure of owning a Paint, I scanned in his registration papers--Paint Registration papers come in 1) color, and 2) with a baby picture on them. Cute!

I is little!

There he is, complete with slanty-rump glory. :)

Here is Key's natural 'mode of transportation'. This is somewhat recent, the first show of 2008, and you can see that Key is a gelding that does not keep his muscle conditioning over the winter. He actually looks pretty horrible in this picture, in my own opinion, so feel free to dissect at will.

Oh dear. April 6th, 2008

Key loves to drop his neck and break at the withers, largely due to his lazy personality. It is much easier for him to break, let the back hollow out, and putz around on the forehand. It was what he was bred to do. Concave at the quadriceps, dip in front of the withers, no neck muscle, slanty rump... and he hadn't just been pulled out of the pasture, I'd been working him for at least two months. This is what crap work does to a horse. I had just left the University of Findlay, and was training him the way I had been taught--bump and spur, bump and spur, slow slow slow slow, head down.

Obviously it wasn't working. Look at that shark fin I am holding on to!

So what happened?

I let go of his head. I took off the spurs, I grabbed a dressage whip. I forgot about The Slow.

And here he is in August, after all of his hard work.

There are no words that can describe my feelings after the Zone 7 Show. That is the face of an ecstatic young woman. That is the face of a happy horse. A proud young trainer, after an unbelievable day.

Canter

And here he is moving. Is he perfect for the show ring? Not in my eyes. He has a lot that we can improve on, and one judge placed us second in this HUS class against 16 and 17 hand horses who had been drilled to death. Perhaps with better training on my behalf, I can turn that 'one judge' into all of them. And that 2nd, into a first.

I love that his midsection isn't sagging. I love that you can see the quadriceps working. I love that his chest isn't sinking to oblivion. I don't love the very slight break at the 3rd vertebrae. I would like to see his neck lower and close to horizontal--this is the only way we will place when we attempt to tackle the World Show. I do love that the reins aren't pulling at the sides of his mouth--an old habit to set his head, seen in older photos.

But, is he better then the first show in April? Unbelievably so. And since that show year, I have learned so much about training that this year, he can get better then what he was. That's the goal, isn't it?

(My equitation improved over the season too which is mind-boggling. No instructor, and no 'eyes on the ground'. Dedication and a crazy application of self-awareness! And pictures. Improvements for 2009: toes in, better stirrup-less posting and sitting trot!)

But that's all English--how do we improve the entire goal of this series--the CORRECT Western Pleasure horse? How do we train without bumping? Without The Slow?

Pulled Key out of the pasture the last week of December, after about three months of complete inactivity (brushing and a very very occasional trail ride aside). The first three weeks consisted of trot work, 15 minutes to a 30 minute max, usually every other day, with warm ups and cool downs done at a walk. If the ground was too cold to actually do work, I either hand-walked him around the pasture, or trail-rode.

All the work that was done was forward, forward, forward. But what is correct forward, and what is rushing?

Key's forward work is to bring up his head. I ask for a trot, and I do not want the transition to lag into a jog, then build to a half-way decent trot. When I ask him to trot, I want us to be going somewhere, with purpose. He has to be almost 'marching' into the trot, where the strides are long and powerful--not quick and choppy. This is what keeps Key's head up--the impulsion is pushing through the back and up. Rarely do I touch the reins at this point. At the walk, where it is harder to get correct impulsion on a green horse, I may push with the legs, no seat pushing. Wouldn't encourage me to have someone shoving their hip bones into my back, and it doesn't encourage Key! I lift one rein up gently until the steps get bigger. Usually, when he steps with more purpose, the head lifts on his own.

The canter will be asked for probably once a day, just so that my lazy horse does not forget that he has to canter. ;) We do not drill anything here yet.

Usually, for the first and second month of training, my horses will not break into a sweat. If so, it's very minimal. Also take into account that it is cold here!

Month One:

Short training days to encourage them to use the correct muscles, instead of drilling endlessly to build the wrong ones.
All trot work. The canter is a measure of progress at this point!
The neck must NOT break at the withers.
Forward! [But still relaxed!]
Lots of walking and frequent breaks so as to not over-use the correct muscles. We want to tell him that although this work is hard, he will get the breaks that he needs!

Key modeling 'forward', with the untouched head. No frames in the first month!

After the first month I usually move to a schedule of 'easy day, hard day', five times a week, with two days off somewhere in the week--occasionally after a 'Hard day' to give his muscles a recoop' time. Easy days run from 15-20 minutes, where hard days run from 30-45.

At 30 days, the better WP trainers are usually starting to teach their horses to go slow, move in a head set, etc. If 30 days was enough time to build muscle for 'upper level work', then I could go run for a month and then start myself on an Olympic training regime. The idea that a green horse has built enough muscle in a mere 30 days is ridiculous. Their muscles don't work any different then ours--talk to ANYONE who has ever had to get back into a high level of fitness. It takes longer then 30 days!

So what changes in month two? The time we work is longer, so I have to be careful, especially in the beginning, to see how he responds to the work. If he comes out trotting great, and then gets tired 20 minutes into the ride, then I consider him done. Pushing him at that point makes a horse cranky about his work, as well as use the wrong muscles.

We start working on leg yields at the walk. These are small, about four or five steps of correct movement, and then he's left alone. The same thing applies here--you cannot drill over and over again, or the horse is going to start searching for a way to do it easier and use incorrect muscles, drop his back, etc. Baby steps here are important, especially if the horse has never done leg yields. Key knows how, just doesn't have the muscle. But babies also have to learn how to coordinate their legs and bodies as well as build the muscle, so always err on the side of 'too little' than too much.

We start doing circle work here, with big wide circles and a slight bend to the inside. When he can keep his impulsion on the circle, then I begin to ask for a little more bend.

Month two is where I ask him to hold a canter a little longer, making sure that the upward transitions are powerful --no jumping into them!-- and the downward transitions don't look like Key had been shot in the middle of it. He has a talent for cantering, and then stumbling into a dead walk. Haha

I also start baby shoulders in and haunches in. Like the leg yields, they are only held for short amounts of time, and are for the majority kept at the walk.

A Baby haunches in from Key at the trot

We also start asking for halts from the trot in month two. When he halts, he must stop and be ready to back up as I ask. The halt is done with a leg release, no rein pressure, and the word 'whoa'--all things that I can use in the pleasure ring. Not quite a dressage thing, I know. ;P

Remember--reins don't get your horse to back up. If you find yourself pulling and their head disappearing, then they don't understand the cue like they should! Lean forward slightly, pick up the reins just enough to have a contact, and squeeze with your legs. (That one's a dressage thing, though. :P)

This is also the month for something that I would not change for the world. If your horse is sound enough, which it should be if you're considering upper-level shows, then I completely recommend it: jumping. Yup, jumping for WP horses! What better way to get them pushing from the hind end and bending their hocks? I keep the jumps low--1'6"--and I go over them myself with Key. If you or your horse is not confident, you can always set up a small jump and lunge them over it as a warm up. Month two is all trot-in work, which eventually builds to a two-jump grid where I want my horse to trot in--with trot poles!--canter one stride, and then take the next small jump. All basic, all easy, and since Key get's praised like he's the next best thing since sliced bread, he thinks he's awesome at it.

I am pretty bad, but my horse is cute.

Month two, Key's cool downs change from 'completely chilling out' at the walk, to 'mental work'. We practice neck-reining here (of which I will have to do a separate post on). You need to get the horse to be able to navigate through cones and small areas with your hands--and then your legs refine the cue and give you a more complete body control. I have watched some reiners ride, and when that rein flicks the horse's neck to turn,the horse's neck actually bends in the direction of travel with no direct contact to the mouth. It CAN be done, it's just constant repetition. We also work on turns on the haunches, and spins with one hand, and two.

....Yup. That's a Parelli hackamore. AND sneakers. LOL

Month two is a big change, and although a lot is introduced, none of it is drilled. Got that? No drilling! A majority of our work is just long trotting and some light cantering.

Month 2:

Increase the duration of training sessions
More canter work
Light bending and circle work, building to lateral work at the trot in the end of the month
Small jumps!

Month three is where we finally start asking for some part of collection, and where a big part of the 'feel' from the rider comes in. I'll try to describe what I can, but I go through great lengths to make my posts NOT look like mini novels [Hey, I know, shut up.], so I'll do what I can!

Rolling into my third month in riding Key, his steps at the trot are becoming light. I have to admit, this is certainly the most 'light' he's ever felt in my entire time of riding the heavy creature. You can hardly hear his feet at the trot as he cruises around, and he's not pulling me out of the saddle with every canter stride. It makes me very excited. :)

This is where we build on what we've been working on--increasing the time of workouts, bending more, holding lateral work longer and at the trot, jumping--and start the 'gaits within a gait'. This is nothing like you'd see in a dressage horse, but since the goal is WP, you're not going to see any flying extensions from him down the diagonal (If the field I train in even HAS a diagonal..). Working in the trot, our main mode of transportation of course, I start asking for longer, flowing strides. I absolutely do not want them to be choppy. It's a combination of asking with the legs, holding your post in the air a little longer, and allowing him to have the freedom of his head--and then quitting when he gets it right. This is a big theme of my training, and it makes them catch on to what you want very quickly. Eventually you can hold the position or gait that you are asking for, but the first few times, I only hold it for a few strides and then give him a break.

If you're training for Hunter Under Saddle, the lengthening portion is indispensable. It's the main way your horse is going to move around the arena, especially if your horse is small, like mine--something comparable to a medium trot, in dressage terms. They need to have a little 'hang time', the stride needs to be long, and they have to be calm doing it. Keep that in mind as you ask for it, and if you get something you think is correct, praise the horse and let them have a break. ;)

Key is being such a nice model. ;)

I don't slow them as much as I ask for the long stretchy trot. When I do, by this point the horse is keeping the light contact himself. There is a difference between a horse falling onto the forehand and him slowing down to collect, and it's really a huge matter of feel. You're not really looking for short fast steps either--relaxed legs are slow, and relaxed legs are the first ingredient to collection, like I always stress. You want short, powerful steps. If your horse does not feel like he could pick up a canter or a nice trot, then you're lacking in the 'power' department, that is provided to you via the haunches. I like to change my direction when I go slower; it's a good way to feel if a horse is leaning on the reins, or on the forehand, or leaning in/out of circles and turns. I also stop them as a test--NOT as a means to slow them--and if they stumble into the stop, then they need more impulsion. If they step into the stop, you're doing good. If you're riding a horse like Key, the first thing he does when he falls on the forehand is attempt to drop his neck. A nice indication for me! When I do 'collect him' (And I use that term loosely! We're training nice WP horses, not GP horses!), I like pushing him into a nice powerful trot afterward.

With Key I also start the 'impulsion jog', as I call it. I teach him a difference from asking for a jog, then asking for a HUS trot. Since I have been asking him to go into a big forward trot every time, it is something that must be taught for show reasons. The last thing I would need is for him to break into a big springy trot in a WP class. :) The jog is asked for much like the trot--I lift my sternum, breathe deep and think 'up'--and instead of squeezing with the inside of my calves, I bump gently with my legs, around three times. He's then allowed to jog around at a speed that would certainly be deemed 'too fast' for a western pleasure class, and as long as he keeps his neck level or above level, he's allowed to stay there. If he drops, we lift the head gently and ask for some push. I find that the longer he is in training, the less he will 'break' and plod around.

An important note here for aspiring WP riders--if you ask for an 'impulsion jog' and get a nice little rhythm going, and your horse suddenly lurches into a trot, DON'T just pull him back to your speed. Usually it happens because the horse got unbalanced. Whatever the reason however, you circle the horse and I usually ask for a big bend from their body to make it hard for them. When we resume 'impulsion jog' speed again, I leave them alone. You can't punish them for becoming unbalanced. You can't 'hold' them in a slow speed. You can, however, make them want to STAY in your impulsion jog, (and eventually your show jog and lope), by making them work harder when they come out of it. This gives them a nice incentive to figure out how to carry themselves and keep their speed, rather then just lurching ahead into a big trot. When the horse can keep his speed the terrain, that’s when you know you’ve done your job—and that he’s doing his!

At the end of the third month, I like to start the canter exercises—counter canter especially—as well as some shoulders and haunches in at the canter. Again, start with baby steps! I also like canter poles, and you can make the stride longer/smaller according to what you want.

The third month is really a ‘building’ month, where nothing is really new, but we start asking for more. More lateral work, more jumping, more time. I start timing how long I will stay in a trot/canter continuously with no breaks, and sometimes are workouts are just stamina building ones where he will go on our almost-mile track around the hay field and trot/canter.

We also start the very important WP lesson of ‘keep your speed, please!’ this month. We’ll build on it in later months until we have our show jog/lope.

Month Three

Build on what we've been doing previously
Start the 'impulsion jog' and the first inklings of WP training

As the months continue, you start asking for more responsibility from the horse, in making him carry his own speed. You start to neck rein more, collect the horse in slower gaits, work more on lateral movements and more fitness. You don't pull back on the reins to collect the horse; you slow your body down, ask for a little more 'oomph'. Me and Key work on long and low around the 3rd/4th month because of his low headset and tendency to break at the withers, but if your horse has a high headset or is more forward, you could start a lot earlier.

You always want to be working on neck reining, when you can. And you always, throughout all months, want to 'throw away' the reins for a few minutes, to make sure the horse is learning to rate his speed on his own. A lot of times, when people go from Huntseat to WP, they have to always tell their horse to slow down because the horse is very dependent on rider input. You want to try to do as many things as you can with one hand. When ever you go for a trail ride as an easy day or a 'day off', go in one hand. Your horse will never learn to neck rein well enough to show if you don't make it something you HAVE to do. Getting them to spin without walking out of it with just one hand can be hard--but if you can only use one hand, you're going to figure out how to get it done.

I always like schooling my horse on the trail, asking for the 'impulsion jog' and for him to rate his own speed. It's a good test as to how the horse will be in the show arena; in an unfamiliar area, horses tend to speed up/slow down at will. If this was your 'plantation horse', who you rode everywhere and his speed never changed... terrain wouldn't make a difference. There was a a quote somewhere that said, 'if you ride him like he's a pleasure horse, he'll turn into one'.

This is a good outline for people looking for another way. It's not the ONLY way. I'm sure there are others out there doing what I do, but just a little differently. But it's a GOOD way to get started if you want to try, but couldn't get away from the spurring and the kicking and the checking.

I think, unfortunately, I'm going to have to do another post on the 'finishing touches' for showing. So... Part four will be up next week. :P

Me and Key's game face.

Rawr! Part 2 [Side note: Happy Birthday, Mom!]

2009-02-28T07:03:00.006-05:00

Last week I mentioned what's wrong with training [With an updated link at the bottom about training pens at the Quarter Horse Congress]--now it's time to talk about what's wrong with showing. Some of these could crossover to the 'training' category, but they're normally seen at shows so I'd rather feature them here. I may not have pictures or videos for some of the things mentioned here, because some of this is the kind of stuff trainers really don't talk about/picture often.

Tail blocking:

Yup, this still happens. Recently I can think of our Freshmen instructor at the University of Findlay. She had her daughter's congress horse at the school, and I clearly remember his constant, laid back ears, flared nostrils, and narrowed eyes. They rode with a lot of The Spur, so a horse like that should have been swishing his tail all over the place. But, his tail had been one of those 'blocks gone wrong' and it swished side to side but never up, and had a huge, broken kink in it--so noticeable that the judges at Congress should have DQed her. I remember thinking in my naivete 'what could have broken his tail? Why's it so ratty looking?'

So many trainers block tails that for the QH and Paint industry, it's a 'non-issue'. It's as common as having the vet come to do vaccines and block some tails. Why don't trainers deal with WHY they are swishing their tails, rather then just covering up the fact that they need to use a spur and a jerk for every cue? This is a lot like the nose bands with ever increasing padding because when you crank a horse's mouth shut--imagine that, the leather rubs the hair off of his face and causes 'discomfort'.

A link here to a blocked tail gone wrong... Did not embed it because it's pretty graphic.

Drugging:

Drugging's not quite so bad as it used to be-yay for testing. It happens mainly at local shows--my territory, of course. I've actually boarded with a girl who drugged her horse 'to take the edge off' of him as she yanked all over his face. Even Bill [the trainer with Key] barked at her to quit snatching at his face. You know what else takes the edge off? Proper training. I will never understand that reason for drugging a horse. You need to make it 'safe' for someone to ride?

Are you kidding me? Since when were horse's safe?

If you do not have the skills to ride your horse, when it is excited/nervous, then get a new one or let someone else ride it, or get off. Don't let someone drug it for your inabilities. With riding fresh, right-off-the-track TBs, I've hit the dirt a lot in my lifetime. And for some reason I was stupid and always got back on horse's I shouldn't have been riding. Never once did I think, 'was there something I could give him to make it easier?' Either I was bad, or the horse was. And usually, I blamed myself.

I have actually heard of trainers complaining about not being able to use drugs--why not make it legal, so they could bring in the youngsters to keep them calm?

You know what else keeps them calm? Good training. And if the horse doesn't have the mind to be a pleasure horse, don't make him.

Induced Anemia

I'm not quite sure of the name for this technique, but it's mostly out of the show scene now although I'm sure it's not completely gone, used mainly at local shows by poor trainers. They would drain the blood out of pleasure horse's to make them more lethargic--and it never showed up on a drug test.

I don't think I need to explain what's wrong with that!

Lunging

Ah, lunging.

I tried to find videos of this, but I guess no one felt like videoing their horses for three hours. ;)

People are always lunging. People will get up at the crack of dawn to lunge a horse before it's class at nine in the morning. That horse will canter around hundreds of times (and their hocks just 'go bad', yeah, right.) just so the horse is 'warmed up' and tired for their classes.

...What?

From a track aspect, we were NEVER told to just go 'run' for an hour before our meet in a pretty tight circle. We ran about a 1/2 mile, stretched, and then did drills [if you were a sprinter] or stayed loose by not STOPPING AND STANDING (coughs at all the ammy riders talking to their friends at shows!!!!) if you were a distance runner.

First of all, I can't imagine how the horse could ever use the correct muscles to carry you after you ran him in a circle for two hours or more. It just doesn't happen, people. Just because they are horses doesn't mean they are magically different and their muscles don't get tired. They can do things with the right muscle groups, or the wrong ones. When you chase them around in a circle, they're going to do it with the wrong ones. Just like you'd want all that energy if you had to play a football game, you want it for your horse, too. You just have to teach him that he has to be productive with it. And hell, if Clyde can do it, any horse can learn.

Second of all, 'to make him tired'? I thought our WP horses were supposed to be collected, not tired. English people make fun of us because it looks like our horses could fall over at any second and go to sleep. 'No, they're COLLECTED', trainers always argue... and then go tire them out before they bring them into the ring.

Little backwards, huh?

And don't take this out of context, of course. I have no problem with a little lunging in a new area for 5-10 minutes. I might do this at new show grounds the day before we actually have to show--but usually I'll just tack up and ride. I can bend my horse much better then a 30 foot rope could. THAT is warming up. THAT is bending and stretching. Not running and bucking on the end of a rope.

Too thin to show?

It used to be a decent fad back in the 90s, I believe, to make horses exceptionally thin so they'd be lethargic for their classes. This usually happened to Hunt seat horses that had a lot of TB in them; when these western trainers found that the TB crosses were NOT like their ol' quarter horses back home, they had to come up with a way to 'fix' this, which lead to a lot of thin appendix horses traveling around the arena.

Edited so they'd remain anonymous! You know you like headless horsemen.

Could use some groceries

Another 50-75 pounds would be nice

Neither of these example are horrible, but when the AQHA got pissed at the condition of the show horses, everyone was real quick to take down their pictures and put some weight on their horses. It was bad to the point where you could count multiple ribs--I remember seeing this SEVERAL times when looking for show horses.

Is this common? Only by the worst of trainers, the ones that are horrible and really don't place at shows, but somehow STILL have jobs training people's horses... sigh.

Oh, I go and say that and find a picture on someone's website, sigh. This is a 2000 mare, which means she was ridden at least at 2002. But, as I read, the photos were taken at 2003, so not THAT old.

I think when you can count 6 ribs, it's time to feed the horse.

Tying

This is something that's so frustrating, and so common. Have you ever watched a WP show and looked at the horses and thought, 'Man, it doesn't even look like they could lift their head if they tried!'

Well, you'd be right.

When I go to a show, more then half of the horses are tied in their stalls, often times overnight, with their heads pulled up so they cannot lower them. When they are untied in the morning, their necks are so darn tired and sore that they can't lift their heads--a 'safety precaution', if you would, so the rider doesn't have to worry about the headset during the class.

I really wish they had 'Patrols', so to speak, who would go through the stalls at night and untie all the horses. It is such a quick fix, and of course, something that goes unnoticed. SO many people do this because 'their trainer said so', and since their trainer has won shiny belt buckles, that must mean they're right. People never question this, people that love their horses are seen tying the horse up and then leaving to go eat dinner.

As always, I don't blame the riders, I blame the trainers.

The Low

Ah, the low. The thing that every current western pleasure rider would tell you is as good as gone from the industry, and that we need to find new things to complain about.

From low

So this is phasing out, right?

...Wrong. I pulled up these pictures from my Facebook account; these are kids I went to Findlay with and know personally. And this is how they are being taught to train.

Edit: Photos have been removed due to requests.

Here are photos from Findlay's website. Links are here (yellow shirt, paint horse, head too low),and here (horse way behind the vertical).

There are countless horses who are low at Congress and the world shows, but I didn't want to pull up the 100s of horses that are lower then the rules dictate but aren't that bad, because we all know they're out there.

Light amounts of low doesn't tremendously bother me when accompanied with a raised neck and wither, with a raised back. But when the neck 'breaks' at the wither and the neck flops straight down, that's when I say, 'come on. Really?'

You honestly think they're collected like that?

Incorrect Musculature

I'm only going to touch on this briefly, but it's one of my biggest points when I argue to western pleasure riders that these horses are not collected. Their muscles are not built for collection.

From Other

Take a look at this stud, for instance. Found this in my Paint Horse Journal. Alright, he's low--we can all see that. But look at that horse's rump. That has to be the extreme of the 'bump' that happens when these horses are just tucking their hind end under for balance and not actually pushing. You can even see exactly where the tail connects in, because of the lack of muscle. I bet this horse's rump would be nice--without all that incorrect training.

From Other

This poor thing seemed to get a lot wrong. He has the tell-tale 'dip' in front of his withers that means he's not lifting the base of his spine at ALL. VERY slanty rump that looks more then just conformational. A lot of build-up on the underside of the neck. The quadriceps muscles are nonexistent(The area from the point of the hip down to the stifle. See how it's concave? A lot of dressage sites talk about the 'triangle' of muscle that SHOULD be there. Young horses and green ones will usually have a flat--or concave--area here, like shown.). He was pulled from a Pleasure horse website, not a purely English one. :P

From Other

Again, the gooserump! While some horses are being bred with this (um. Why? Isn't the 'rump' the pride and joy of the QH??), you can see that when it starts popping up in the majority of WP horses--especially when they weren't BORN this way--that it is muscle forming to do the job that is being forced on them. Also... the reason why they are being bred this way: the form is winning because it is easier for the horse to travel on the forehand. Thus, this makes the horse look 'effortless' and very 'trainable'. They win a lot... then breed... and ta-da! It gets into the breeding stock.

Like previously said, I am open to any arguments/different points of view. But if your statement starts with 'my trainer said' or 'my trainer has won a ton of congress titles', please look at what you're doing and how it's effecting the horse. The horses would all be served better if people just stopped following trainers with blind eyes. Winning something doesn't make you right--remember when the trainers were winning with drugged horses, their noses on the ground, and half of the blood let out of their system?

Were they right then?

Intermission, Part Uno

2009-02-22T22:27:00.004-05:00

Yeah yeah I have a post due on Western Pleasure, I know. :)

I figured with all my western pleasure talk I had to feature the man of the hour. I've featured Clyde many a time for his challenging, nervous demeanor--time to give a little back story of Special K and our journey into the show world. ;)

Moving boarding barns was common place where we lived because there were plenty of people who couldn't do it right--who fed stale bread instead of grain, no hay, etc.. We took Clyde to a barn in a little town called Franklinville, owned and managed by a man that has influenced me in ways I still do not understand. Bill was an old AQHA show trainer; an old war veteran; an old cop from Camden; an old cavalry trainer in the military. The man knew his stuff, that was for certain. And boy, could he ride.

When we moved in he told us he'd be leaving in a year, and he didn't really have the room or the care to take on any new students. Sad face. So every day I went out there, I'd pull my crazy Clyde out of the pasture and proceed to do 'Nine-Oh' around the arena {90 miles an hour!}. I tried, I struggled, we fought, and I worked. We never got any better, and let me tell you--if you were the least bit unstable, Clyde made you look like complete crap in the saddle.

One night, one of my parents friends who happened to board there as well went team penning, and asked me if I wanted to come. He told me I could ride his horse, Socks--one of the prettiest, most atheltic horse's I've ever seen. He was registered and Lou paid a hefty penny for him, and he was smoooth.

I was excited beyond belief. I remember Bill was there that night, watching with those blue eyes that could nitpick everything in about .02 seconds. I ran to get my helmet when Lou said I could ride and hopped on my first cow horse ever--to pen my first cows, ever. I was practically shaking I was so excited. "You probably won't get a time when you go out there," Lou told me. You had 2-3 minutes to pen the cows, and then you were 'DQed'. "Just go out and have fun."

Socks was smoother then butter when I lined up with the other two penners--two older gentlemen who were good ol' cowboys. This was child's play for them, and I felt bad that I would be slowing them down. "I've never done this!" I remember telling them while we waited for our number. "I've only watched it once!"

"We'll show you how it's done, kid. You just gotta go in and get the cow!"

Easy for him to say.

I think our number was six that night. When you pass the line, the announcer calls out a number. On the cows, they have numbers on their sides or ears, and if the announcer says 'six', then you go find the three cows that have the number six, pull them out of the herd, and put them in a little pen at the other side of the arena.

I was going to die.

I sifted through the cows, searching for the number. Socks was a saint as that old cow pony did his job, those ears flicking back--he wanted the cows. He'd eat them if I let him, but he was polite in an odd way that I don't remember from him otherwise. He was taking care of my sorry ass, that was what.

The other two men had found their cows, picked them out, and were working them towards the other end of the arena--THERE! I'd found my cow, I sifted him out, and Socks knew his job. I don't even remember how we got him to the other end of the arena but it was smooth and clean, and the men were urging me on. "Go on through the gate--put your hand up!" the were cheering as I penned and closed our time--which was quite respectable--for my first three penned cows ever. Woo! The little crowd in the indoor cheered--because the announcer, crazy man that he was, announced several times that a newb was in the arena.

The next morning, my mother drove me to the barn. "She want lessons?" Bill asked her in that gruff way that was more then typical of him. Of course I wanted lessons.

"I'll take her."

Thus began my dive out of the Thoroughbred Racing world and into the AQHA show pen.

Bill could be a rough man, with his horses and with his customers. He was a user of the check and the jab, and the spur when he was angry. But he had a control over his horses that I'd never seen before; an eye for a horse that I don't think I'll ever find again.

We were working on lead changes with his dead-broke, old WP champion gelding, Chipper. I couldn't get him to do it. "He's not doing it," I protested after the 6th figure-eight. "I'm doing what you're telling me--he's not listening."

I had a knack for talking back and explaining my views. Bill told my mom to go to K-mart and buy a zipper for my mouth.

"Get off the horse," he growled, moving out of his chair in the shade. "Get off. Lower the stirrups."

Embarrassed I did as asked, face red as I stood in the heat, pulling the stirrups down to his height. I stepped back as he hopped onto the saddle, watching with utter disbelief when he reached forward and slipped the bridle off of the horse's head. With the reins looped around the horse's neck, he picked up a canter right there. In the same figure-eight's I'd been riding, he did each lead change perfectly. "I don't see the problem with the horse," came Bill's grumble as he rode, frustrated with me and of the fact that he had to leave the shade. "Horse is just fine. The problem's with you."

You're humbled real fast when your instructor is never pleased.

I rode every Wednesday in a lesson, rode my butt off and tried to do everything he asked. I stopped talking, started listening. When Chipper had chronic lameness issues, we switched to me riding Clyde--and Bill was no fan of the TB variety. Occasionally he would come out of his house and wander over to the arena--you could call them snide remarks, but they were always Bill's way of giving advice.

"He's a puke," he told me once. "Costs just as much to feed a bad one as it does to feed a good one. You want to show?" He'd ask. Of course I wanted to show. Why else would I be getting lessons and letting him berate me for an hour every week? "The horse can't do what you want. You're going to need another one."

For all intensive purposes, Bill was right. Clyde was no show horse, certainly no pleasure horse. He wasn't papered. With an old stifle injury, with what we were doing, he couldn't do. I needed something better.

So I continued to ride him and began working at the good old City of Circuits (..Circuit City). For my birthday, for Christmas, for Easter--Money, please. I didn't want anything else. For Christmas, my mom bought a little fake Christmas tree, and tied money to it, folded in little fan shapes. On the top was a star with the words, 'Horse Fund'. It was like the Charlie Brown tree, dinky and not much to look at, but with more meaning then you'd know. I just pulled it out of my closet, still with the bows, sans money:

The money tree

Eventually it came time where I had enough money saved up to be able to pay for half--my parents would cover the other half, and then I'd pay them back. There was an Auction at the Timonium Fairgrounds in Maryland, and Bill was going. He'd told us he'd help us pick out a horse, and if we got one, he'd trailer it back up to New Jersey. For free. For an old trainer, an old auctioneer, for a rough man who never let up an ounce of slack--it was something huge.

I got to skip school that day and I was higher then a kite. Getting your first show horse after /years/ of wanting to show--it was incredible. I'd been riding what I could; crazy horses, race horses, 'unrideable' horses--never any nice ones. Never anything young.

I remember seeing Key, trotting down the longside of the arena during the presentation for green horses under five. "Bill--what about /that/ one?" Me and his wife liked the way he looked and moved.

We watched them ride around, then school over a small jump that they raised to about three feet--I remember Key refusing, and none of us being bothered by it. His rider had a crop and she got the boy over it the next time, and then we were tagging along Bill as he sought out the owner. He would make the deal for us.

When we got over, the man asked if I wanted to ride him. What? Ride this fabulous, young horse? Was he insane? I don't know why I had the horrible case of the nerves but I could hardly post when I rode him along the grass, coming back beaming but flopping all over the place. The man was laughing, but I think he was pleased with the idea of me owning him. "You know how to ride," Bill grumbled to me when I got off in a tone that was sort of, 'what the hell was that?', but I didn't have words for him.

We asked Bill what he thought of him. "Nice, clean legs," Bill commented. "And he's got a hell of a head on him."

Bill liked him. So, he couldn't be too bad.

He talked to the man and then came back to us. "He won't take anything less then 5,000," Bill told us. "He'll sell him to us before the auction."

"That's great, because 5,000 is the highest we'll go!" I had 3,000, and my dad went with me to cover the rest. I liked him, Bill liked him, and we just kind of... bought him, just like that. I had my show horse.

As me, dad, and the Key's (now previous) owner walked up to the booth to finalize the sale without the horse going through the auction, Bill walked up to my mom and grabbed her arm. "We got her a horse!" He exclaimed. Excitedly.

"We finally got her a horse!"

Key's first morning in New Jersey

Rawr! Part 1

2009-02-13T22:02:00.001-05:00

That's dinosaur for, 'I'm angry!'

In the past week or two, I've run in to so many people who don't know what they're talking about when it comes to the pleasure industry--only they THINK they do. I've run into people who think the pleasure industry is just fine. I've run into people who think it's the worst thing since slaughter in Mexico. I've run into so many people who hate the pleasure industry, but they've never even sat on a Western Pleasure horse themselves. I've run into people who think I'm crazy when I say, 'Western pleasure: You're doin' it wrong.'

Probably because I think they're all doing it wrong.

Pretty lofty thing to say for a 21-year old who'd never had a horse at the Congress or a World show, huh?

But a pretty correct thing when you start piecing together the facts.

I can't talk about what's wrong unless I explain why I like it. A lot of people dislike Western pleasure. A lot. And I know why; they dislike western pleasure for the same kind of reasons I dislike modern dressage. English people can see what is wrong in the western world; the western world can see what is wrong with english horses.

First off, riding a finished western horse is just plain fun. The horse never asks to go faster or slower, keeping his own speed, and in order to control him you just flick a rein on the side of his neck, or turn your wrist lightly, or close a calf on his side. His steps are light as you just float in the saddle, everything's soft, quiet, flowing. I want him to stop? I say 'whoa' without ever touching the reins. A click gets him to walk or jog, a kiss gets him to lope. It's so ridiculously easy and a fun ride.

Western pleasure horses are not modeled after cow horses (a common misconception). They were the horses a ranch/plantation owner could hop on and ride around and do whatever he wanted. If he needed to get cattle, the horse could do that too. The horse couldn't be fast or uncontrollable; you needed to be able to use your free hand. I think riders who can lift shoulders and move haunches with just one little hand on the reins has a whole different concept of horses and body position then most dressage riders with their death grips.

The whole general theme of a western pleasure horse, to me, is 'ho hum'.

So what's it /really/ supposed to look like?

I have one video of a horse I think is absolutely gorgeous. This is an 2003 video the AQHA released to try to stop peanut rollers and the excessively slow movement--and a judge clinic is at the end. There are a lot more parts to this if anyone's really interested, but I thought I'd show the part where my favorite horse is loping--because this is the gait that really gets put under fire.

(I don't mind the other two, they're pretty nice as well--no one's 4 beating. But when I think of 'the best of the best', I always think back to this horse.)

He's the third horse in the video, the gray, showing up at 3:45. You can still see the normal 'rocking horse motion' that most western pleasure horses have lost due to their modern mechanical movement. With modern WP horses, you can almost see each beat hit the rider's seat bones--and that's as uncomfortable as it sounds. (If anyone knows of this horse/or trainer, someone tell meeee!!) I don't know if this horse's trainer just got lucky, or he trains his horses to carry themselves... this is how it SHOULD look. Could his head come up a little? Sure, but--I'm happy to have found something that I can strive for.

I love the simplicity of western pleasure. Dressage, in the upper levels, can be so complicated sometimes, and not everyone wants to ride tempi changes and canter pirouettes. Western pleasure is like that Honda Civic model where everyone can drive it, and it's just easy. Western pleasure isn't SUPPOSED to be rocket science, it's not a group of the most fit athletes you'll ever see (I'll leave that to the eventing, jumping, and dressage horses). It's just a horse fit enough to carry you comfortably, and safely for himself.

But, er, there's a little problem.

The ideal of the western pleasure horse is just fine. But the execution of it... could do with getting completely revamped.

A lot of people think these horses are being bred to move incorrectly. Some of them are (anyone ever look at a side shot of Vested Pine, a major stud in the business? He's a 'little' butt high..), most of them aren't. The problem is in the training--because lords, I've seen it.

Number one: Pleasure horses are trained too early. They are broken at 1 1/2, two for two-year-old classes. It's not simple lines and transitions--these horses are worked hard to get them into that frame and 'collected' state. But bones don't fuse together until three, four, or five years of age. You do the math. You want to know why a pleasure horse break down?

Here's information on when bones fuse in young horses, by Dr Deb Bennett, which I found here if anyone needs to quote it:

At the age of 1 year: pasterns have fused

At 18 months: cannon bones are mature

At 30 months (2.5 yrs): has stronger - but not entirely mature - knees (the small bones have fused), and his fetlock joints are mature

At 3 years: the weight-bearing area at the base of the knees is fused, as well as his hindleg between hock and stifle

At 3-and-a-half: the highest part of his foreleg, the humerus, is fused, as are parts of his femur, the area of his hindleg between stifle and hip

At 4 years: the shoulder is fused, and the hocks and pelvis are now mature

At 5-and-a-half: the growth plates over the centrum, which allows the spine to flex, become fused

Now you tell me why so many pleasure horses have hock lameness, their hocks injected at four years old, or any other kind of leg problems. A lot of people tell me it's the breed--but fact says otherwise. Navicular is also a problem in QHs, but with them being shod at such young ages, I wonder if that changes the hoof growth and stunts it--I wouldn't doubt it!

(Short disclaimer on my thoughts here: I don't believe you have to wait until five to train a baby--2 1/2 or three is fine for most breeds, and you just keep the heavy work out of the equation until they're older. What's heavy work? COLLECTION.)

Number two: Western pleasure horse trainers have no idea what collection is. Absolutely, entirely, no idea.

If they did, they wouldn't kick with their legs and 'bump' their mouth with a curb bit!

I'm going to 'out' some typical western pleasure training with some videos, and I apologize to the people I use as examples--most of them don't think they're wronging the horse, they just don't know any better. The problem with western training methods is this: when I ask a trainer, 'Why do you check him with the reins?" I get one of two answers.

One: 'It collects him.' Obviously false, because you can see NO difference between the horse before and after bumping.

Or two: 'Because it works.'

I loathe 'because it works' attitudes. Beating a horse in the head every time he rears sometimes works, but that doesn't mean I should do it. Blocking a horse's tail so he can't move it in the show ring works, but it's still wrong. 'Because' is a horrible answer, and as a trainer if that's all you got, then you better quit while you're ahead!

Classic Number 1: The 'Check'.

Riders do this move for one of two reasons--to get their horse's head back into frame, and to get their horse more collected. The Check is often used in time with The Spur to collect a horse. It can be sudden and quick, or light, but pulling on a bit in the horse's mouth is not going to correspond to getting him to collect. Let me jangle metal in your mouth, or bump your gums with steal--does it make YOU move better?

Offenders: Almost if not all upper level western pleasure trainers, some Backyard riders--usually will not be found in a 4-H level, for headset isn't important. (Neither is slow in 4-H!)
[Disclaimer on my 4-H references: I'm talking about the Western pleasure in 4-H where the barrel-racing ponies win because they have a western saddle on. I do realize that states that have big AQHA programs will normally have a competitive, AQHA-styled western pleasure class.]

Examples:

At 5 seconds, you can see a MASSIVE, abrupt check. One of the worst ways to use this 'training method'.

Here's the 'sustained check' at 33 seconds to 47 seconds, guest staring 'The Cant' (see below). This is used to 'fix' the way of going. And, as you can see... the horse looks exactly the same.

This video is full of The Check, The Jab, and the rider is all over the place with her hands, pulling and jerking to set the head. Sad thing is... this isn't a Back-Yard Training method--this is how some of the PROs teach head sets. Watch the jabs especially at the lope, where the hand snaps back from the elbow to set the head. In the info, it says he's in a tom thumb, so it's not a harsh bit and it's perfectly fine to jerk on a green horse's mouth in it.

Because, you know, curb bits are for training. (..Because western trainers said so. Because it works.)

At 3:47, I'm assuming the trainer gets on (Because she/he is clearly schooling the horse where the previous rider just sat there), and it's full of The Check.

Classic Number 2: The Jab

The jab is a little different from the check because one, there are two hands on the reins, and the reins are usually pulled back and often times, down. This makes the rider pull past their knees, and sometimes, even behind their own hips. The jab is for headset and collection, and is harder to see because the movement isn't big, like moving the reins up high, but it's abrupt and sharp.

Offenders: Kids when angry, Big Name trainers

Examples:

Here's a trainer in Germany, showing The Jab and The Spur. For you English riders, The Spur is hard to see because most western spurs are pretty long, which allows the rider to keep their leg almost motionless when they hit the horse with them. What you CAN see, however, is this horse's reaction to The Jab and The Spur--not happy. Tail is swishing, the movement is tense, and when you watch him sidepass, you see why I hate The Spur. The horse moves away from the leg not because he understands, but because pointy metal in his sides hurts.

Right off the bat we see the see-saw jab (alternating hands), and then jabs straight up, rather heavily, like The Check. (You can't make this stuff up, guys, its everywhere.) You can see how this horse is ill-prepared for lead changes, which makes the rider 'punish' and the horse angry.

Just wanted to show you another clip of the mare, earlier on in her training:

Give the professional trainer about five seconds and he's jabbing his way to victory on a sale video. At the end, you get a look at the combo--the jab/check and The Spur.

Thought I'd feature this one--there are several riders in this indoor, and they are all checking and jabbing sharply. (Not to mention draw reins and training forks.)

At 59 seconds until 1:13, you can see the hard Jab with every beat of the stride (also accompanied by The Spur).

Classic 3: The Spur

The Spur is hard to find (other then the one I showed you above) on youtube, because the 'good' trainers don't like showing they use a lot of spur. The spur has two different faces, so I'll share:

The spur bump is typical in that you'll see MANY WP riders bump-bump-bump the sides of the horse with the spur. Sometimes they'll do this to get a transition, other times they will do it every stride (when the bumps stop, the horse will stop). To me, this desensitizes the horse to the leg--why do all that work when you ride, when you could just sit there and let your leg hang softly instead? I want my leg to mean something--so I get a reaction any time that I use it.

There is the Cue Spur, which any time a cue is given, it's also given with the spur. This is VERY common for the lope, where the spur will be stuck in the horse's side and then it will be asked to lope. Spur-stops fall into this category as well, and horses will get VERY crabby with this method--which usually means drugged and doctored tails. The Spur in the video with the German trainer shows this as well, where the cue (to side pass) is only give via spur, and the horse moves out of pain and tension instead of a learned response.

Offenders: Big Name trainers and professionals. Most 4-Hers and Backyard-ers won't use the spurs so often.

Examples:

As you can see, the horse is very crabby in the video. She also uses the 'stop every few strides to make the lope slow' technique. Why ride the brakes when the problem is with going? If you always ask the horse to stop, it will never engage, as you'll see there.

In the very beginning you can see the needless bumping of the sides repetitively. She does this through a lot of gaits, as if to 'encourage' him to collect. No different response from the horse. (Which is a shame, because he's a nice mover.)

Classic 4: The Cant

Ah, the cant. The AQHA has done a lot to get away from this, because it used to be really ugly. Canting is when a horse swings it's haunches to the inside of the arena, like a haunches in, for the ENTIRE time they are being shown. Back in the day, they would just travel in a canter sidepass for the entire 'lope' portion of the test.

Nowadays, The Cant isn't so exaggerated, but it's still there, with a horse's outside hind hoof landing in the track of the inside front hoof's track.

I wanted to find a video of the exaggerated Cant, but could NOT find one for the life of me. Too much to look through, lol.

Classic 5: The Draw reins

Ah, the draw reins. Some of the better trainers stay away from the draw reins (and pretend that The Check and The Jab are somehow different), but there are still plenty of professionals out there running around for months in draw reins. Unlike most english draw reins, western draw reins attach to the girth, then to the bit, and then go to the hands--normally, there are no 'normal' reins in this equations. Tie downs, short martingales, and training forks fall into this category as well.

Want a horse to dump onto it's forehand and let it's hind end become useless? Use draw reins. :)

Offenders: More knowledgeable 4-Hers, professional trainers, back yard trainers

Examples:

This is this horse's first week of training.

There are a lot of happening out there, but not a lot of videos--most trainers won't post videos of them with the horse in draw reins. Wusses.

Classic 5: THE SLOW

Ah, THE SLOW (capitalized because I dislike!). Everyone's probably seen this at some point. This is where 'slow' becomes all-important, over everything else. You'll see a baby's first ride, and the trainer will be in it's mouth, asking the horse for slow, slow, slow. As the horse's get further along, this manifests in 4-beat jogs, horses that can't maintain a jog and switch openly from jog to walk (much to the chagrin of the rider), and scramble-y, nasty, danger-of-breaking canters. There's a lot of videos of this, in the show pen, at congress, at the Worlds, so I didn't think I'd have to prove it, but I did pull up one video of a particularly scramble-y canter.

Offenders: This is a huge fault of Back Yard trainers and 4-Hers who don't really understand western pleasure or horse mechanics. The 'poor' western pleasure trainers do this at the beginning, but almost all of them start, at some point, to slow their horses down too soon.

Examples:

Classic 6: The Hold, Push, and Rollkur

This is, ironically enough, usually done by people with a more english or dressage background. The Rollkur part is optional, but there are plenty of trainers who think the way to a good WP horse is to keep them going slow by constantly being in their mouth--often times, with the reins being held by the knees or behind the saddle horn. This training method isn't as offensive, but I still find it incorrect so it's got a home on the post.

Offenders: More-english inclined riders, 4-Hers and novice WPers, some professional trainers

Examples:

At 1:24, this Oldenburg at the western barn, is a prime example of the hold and push and watch the horse's head disappear! At first I thought the owner was just putting a western saddle on an already english horse, but I am more inclined to believe it's a western trainer. The boots, jeans, riding style, hands, and jacket are all staples of the western world, and I couldn't imagine someone who had the money to get a premium Oldenburg would ride mainly western. ...Then they would have gotten a Paint/QH. So, the assumption is that the owner sent him to a trainer. Could be wrong, but if it walks like a duck...

This example isn't as terribly behind the vertical, but the idea is the same. The contact is light but the horse is curled up, and she's learning to depend on the rider to go slow because of rein pressure, not because of the muscling or ability.

-------

This is all common training practices in the western world--all of these silly, goofy, ineffective and abusive are for headset and collection, and guess what? They all fail pretty hard.

I have no problem if someone disagrees, and would like to post a comment. I am completely open to arguments or different thoughts; I won't delete any posts. I've been in the WP world, I've trained with BNTs at Findlay and at home, I've seen what they do--and hell, I used to do it. I know the industry, just in case anyone suggests otherwise.

Also take into consideration that I don't hate WP--I like it. I like it a lot in fact, and me and my Paint are training MY way.

Part 2 will be on what's wrong in the western pleasure show ring, with part 3 being on how to do it right!

Have a great weekend, everyone. ;)

[Please let me know if any of the videos are not working!]

Also, here is a link. These training methods are at the tippy-top, and they are THE way to train your horse. Here's someone's view at the warmup ring 2008.

FREEEDOOOOM

2009-02-10T15:59:00.003-05:00

Just a short little update: Clyde has been 'reintroduced' into the pasture, and this was his first day out. When I said Clyde likes to run... Clyde likes to run! We keep telling him he was never on the track and he doesn't have a lip tattoo, but he doesn't believe us for a second. ;)

This is why I normally don't fall off anymore--he used to do this kind of stuff under saddle!

(Also, ignore the first camera seizure I have, had to fix it. :) )

Clydeo Freedom from Kelly Mayfield on Vimeo.

(At 49 seconds, Odie put his nose on my shoulder, and at 53, you can here him sigh lol!)

He was let out yesterday for a half hour (with boots), and no heat/swelling/pain in any of the legs. He's been looking fine for the last week/week and a half, but I wanted to make sure. :)

He went out today as well, as as long as he doesn't get silly he'll stay out for the night. :)

Picture-Spam!

I jumps for joy!

They see me rollin'...

Key thinkin' he's fierce

Odie making a cameo and showing off his moves :)

The boys are happy, and Clyde looks fantastic. Close monitoring will be done on the leg, so if anything silly comes up, you'll know!

February Appreciation

2009-02-03T20:31:00.007-05:00

Like I mentioned at The Eventing Percheron, I wouldn't be able to do 'January Appreciation', because none of the snow was sticking. We got 5-6 inches yesterday (woo!) so I can finally post some of my own pictures!

Early morning

Barnum and Bailey in their Snowy Wonderland

This picture is just so awesome. Early morning, Leo off ahead on the walking trail

Quite possibly the cutest goat ever. <3>

I love the little blue snow birds! I followed them for a half hour to get a picture...
this was the best I got.

Key-man, watching me take pictures of the birds <3

I love my home.

Get Low

2009-02-01T21:03:00.012-05:00

"So how do I get him on the bit?" Sitting in a western saddle, holding the horse-hair bosal reins in my hands, it was a new question for me when I was wearing cowboy boots, but I asked anyway.

"You take a hold of the reins and push him into the contact," she answered. "He'll fight for a bit because he's green--but when he gives he'll find his relief. You can hold on to the saddle if he tries to pull the reins out of your hands."

Ten minutes later, he 'gave' to the bit.

"I didn't know that contact felt so... heavy," were my exact words.

'Cool, huh?'

Not really.

This belief is one of my biggest gripes with most BackYard Dressage--the hold and push method. The 'dressage' trainers I had met and worked with for a while followed this principle, and I was no fan of it immediately. The horses were heavy on the reins, and they weren't supple at all until you were 30, 40 minutes into the ride. My arms ached, the would try to pop their head up and off of the vertical and steal the reins, and it was ALWAYS a fight for ten minutes, every time I would take one out and ride.

When I would come home and hop on Key, I couldn't imagine my way being wrong. I bent the rein softly with my wrist, and he'd bend. Every time, no matter if I was riding for 1 minute or 50. There was no fight there. But my horse was 'on the forehand' and theirs were 'collected and beautiful'.

Here were dressage trainers telling me to hold and push. It'd compress the horse (by allowing his back to drop and his croup to get higher), his head would be on the vertical (Or behind), he'd be 'on the bit' (by leaning on it), and his poll was the highest point (if you meant the 3rd vertebrae, then yes). These were the same people that told me a half halt consisted of pulling the outside rein backwards. And with hot horses, it became a ride of half-halts. I positively hated micromanaging every single stride--couldn't they teach him to calm down?

But being hot was 'good'.

Then I suppose being 'nervous' was good for them, too.

They kept telling me that this was correct contact; this was what it was supposed to feel like. It was how I'd seen top dressage riders ride (with death grips on the reins), so I supposed they had SOME validity. I'd only ridden western pleasure horses and OTTBs--so how would I know?

With a post on long and low, I decided I absolutely could not leave out a post about contact as well. In understanding one, it helps improve the other--and vice versa.

Dressage riders today are riding with either too much, or quite incorrect contact. Usually, they fall under the use of 'too much' and 'pulling back.'

Look here at this example. The horse isn't horribly behind the vertical or anything like that, but take a look at the curb bit. Seeing that when it is inactive it is lying almost parallel with the mouth... He's got it pulled back to a pretty high degree. The horse doesn't seem angry but worried, and you can see the tension arising in his gait--the back left leg is hitting the ground far ahead of the front right. Sport horse breeders and dressage riders call this positive 'diagonal advanced placement' (DAP), thinking it's something that denotes collection. The trot is essentially becoming a 4-beat gait. Why is that something we should encourage, or look for? Unresolved tension in the horse's body manifests itself this way too often, and often times you can hear the impurity.

My favorite.

And look here at Anky's curb bit--unnecessary contact. You can google her name and see 8,000 other photos of the curb bits pulled far beyond ideal; she rides entire tests this way. And the horse's response? Broken at 3rd (probably from being ridden 'deep and low'), disunited back end, high croup, sagging midsection, behind the vertical. You can see how she sits behind the vertical to 'push' the horse into the very restricting hands--inventing her own horsemanship in order to ride the horses she has. (Kind of like Linda Parelli's equitation, but that's a whole other topic!)

I can't fathom how people can be completely oblivious to the very hard, very real problem of this kind of contact in the dressage rings. This is a double bridle. There are two bits in that horse's mouth, one of them being a curb. If I rode my western pleasure horse like that, I'd be slammed on boards for using that much contact in a curb. But a dressage rider? Well, then it's perfectly fine.

Problem is, this isn't true contact--this is the face of contact when a horse is pulled into it.

Contact is not something you just take up on a young horse. You must work to it--just like a 'frame' is due to correct work, so is true contact. It is also not something you just expect every day--if contact is as dynamic and amazing as people expect it to be, then you can not expect your horse to pick up the contact as soon as you hop on. It becomes part of your warm up, therefor giving it purpose--to warm, stretch, and prepare, mentally and physically.

When gaining contact, your legs and seat ask for it by sending the horse forward. The ultimate goal is for the horse to reach forward with it's neck into the contact, for the legs and seat ask, and the hands allow it to happen. They don't pull back, they don't take out slack--the horse does that. The horse creates the contact, not the hands! When the horse begins to seek the offered hand, then your contact is true.

But how does one get a horse to even begin to think about that?

Other trainers have different methods, but I enjoy using long and low. It comes by other names, such as forward and out, forward down and out, etc., but it is essentially the same thing. It has many uses, and I can't even begin to understate it's importance.

First of all, what's it look like?

True long and low has a horse arching his neck forward and into the bit, with his legs tracking up and his back raised. This helps lift the back directly behind the withers, and eventually strengthens the hips to rotate in (rather then rotate out and leave the back end 'trailing' behind). In correct long and low, you must have some semblance of contact. If it's a green horse then you are asking him to give it; if it is a more advanced horse, then you'll have it. The horse is always in front of the vertical. You want the horse to think forward and move forward, not only with his legs but with his head and neck. In keeping his head in front of the vertical, he is searching and creating his own contact--if he is behind the vertical, then you're holding him there or he is not stretching correctly.

BZZZT!

Example one. Behind the vertical and NO contact. As you can see, there is no 'lifting' work really going on, and the hind feet seem disconnected from the front. Not the way you want it to look!

Ding ding!

Look at this cutey! This is Mouse from Arrow Equestrian, a training dressage barn somewhere... in Europe. You can see clearly how he's engaging, not just moving his head down or pulling himself around on the forehand. The rider has perfect contact, and she's moved her hands forward and down to follow the head (rather then just lengthen the reins, which is incorrect). You can see the correct muscles bending, rather then the incorrect ones in the previous picture.

Here's my photo up for critique, from last summer when I was still with the 'dressage' trainer:

Clydeo

He is tracking nicely and stretching nicely, considering I threw away all contact. He is green so I don't like tight contact (teaches them to lean!), but I surely should not have the reins as loose as they are. Otherwise, I'm pretty pleased with the look and since then corrected the floppy reins. Woo!

We've talked about looks, now onto reasons why. My favorite reason is that it teaches a horse to search for the bit when you are giving driving aids. He lengthens, reaches, and finds the bit due to the aids, which then can later be applied when his head gets higher.

Long and low really encourages a horse to swing through his back and allow the energy to transfer from the hind end to the front--which is what we are striving for, to connect the hind end to the hands. It allows the horse to relax with his head lower, and really gives the topline a good stretch after working in a more contracted state. If the horse is worked with a higher head set for a length of time, I allow him to stretch long and low or free walk on a loose rein to stretch the muscles and give them a break immediately after. My work is a constant change between 'collected' work and long and low, allowing the horse to stretch and find relief in a break. The more conditioned the horse is, the longer I can keep him in a 'frame' before allowing him to break.

Long and low is especially good for checking the quality of the contact. If the horse is seeking the bit, when you push your hands forward he should follow it (it might take newbs a second to realize what to do!) to keep the contact. All horses should be able to do this at all gaits!

A bigger question than 'what should it look like' and 'what does it do' is how do I do it.

Putting the horse into a long and low frame should be like pushing him down, with the two reins acting like 'sticks', as Erik Herbermann describes them as. You push your reins forward and downward, whilst keeping your driving aids on--a soft, asking leg and a moving seat. You don't want him to just take his head down, you want him to arch and to be pushed forward into it. Green horses won't have the contact a more advanced on will, but eventually the horse will reach out and initiate contact--searching for the bit on his own!

Some horses are difficult to get into this position, and have issues with 'finding the ground'. I find that some uphill horses feel nervous when putting their head that low, because they've never learned to balance their bodies that way (especially with a rider). So, we have to show them.

First thing that I've found to work tremendously is bend my horse like I mentioned a few posts ago (too much detail for me to repeat myself!) for greenies. As I found out, bending a horse's neck from side to side helps enable him to relax and let it down (I love figuring out why things work--thank you, Philippe Karl!). Why's this? Because a horse can't really flex his neck to the side AND bring it up. When the stretch done correctly, the horse bends his neck, stretches both sides with a pretty low headset, and then is much more comfortable to relax and drop the head when offered rein.

If the horse does not, at that point, then I take my inside rein, tighten my hand to create tension in the rein and a slight pull on the bit, then I release and put my hands forward. Eventually the horse usually drops his head and then is 'rewarded' because I no longer squeeze on the rein. You teach him where to go, when the contact is 'gone'. Once the horse gets it at the walk, I use the exercise mainly at the trot.

I don't know if you can tell but I absolutely adore long and low, and use it a lot on my greenies.

Here's the challenge! Try some long and low work, get a picture of it, and send it in! If your horse is a beginner we'll talk about how to improve it, and if you're an old-time Dressage queen with a gorgeous shot, I love those too. I'll post up the pictures with comments if you'd like, but if you want it to be anonymous then there's no issue there either. :)

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In other news, I trotted Clyde in hand today on the soft sod we have by the house. No visible limp now, but he's still on rest for two weeks so I know it's completely healed. As you can see, the bugger is pretty hyper from the stall rest! Do ignore me patting him after his little episode--I can't understand punishing a horse for having extra energy for being in the stall. He calmed and stopped himself without any help from me as if going, 'well, that was pretty stupid' and no more episodes. :)

And yes, he is absolutely wearing a chain on his nose. And we use it correctly--no yanking or jerking at all, and just soft movements from my wrist so he listens. I like using a chain rather then hanging all over his face, especially when he's super hyper. Actually, I'm surprised he was so good today--the day before he would just buck in place!

Silly boy!

Do let me know if you see anything suspicious with his movement, but for right now I'm pretty pleased with his progress.

(Barnum the goat provides some entertainment whilst I fidget with the chain hehe)

Trotting Clydeo in hand from Kelly Mayfield on Vimeo.

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