Goals and progress:. June and July.

[Brydie]

Flight - yes should be back to five days a week starting now Went out yesterday and bought thermals for riding after work in the freezing cold! (Last winter I went without and froze every night ha!)

[Chisamba]

Flight - yes should be back to five days a week starting now Went out yesterday and bought thermals for riding after work in the freezing cold! (Last winter I went without and froze every night ha!)

I love thermal underwear. Could not manage a winter without them. Hope the contribute to your riding pleasure.

[Chisamba]

In the way of having to restablish balance, went back to lots of transitions between gaits this week to get the hind end carrying better and to lighten the contact. I rode a downward transition into still hands and got a bit of a head shake, asked for a back up, and Kimba posed, so activated her with my legs and she decided that she could after all back up. I had to rinse and repeat a couple of times before she would do the downward without leaning into the hand.

Proceeded to do a whole ride with multiple transitions, sometimes in the gait and sometimes between gaits. I focused on using seat and legs more and quiet hands. lots of stretch breaks as a reward for good work, and by the end of the ride she was definitely improved in two areas, self carriage and lightness. I finished with a relaxing stretch trot for a few minutes but insisted that she still give a transition or two in the stretched position.

she is beginning to show better topline, she is naturally long in the back and weak in the croup area, and i am happy to see some muscling and smoothing over the top line, that is muscle, not fat.

Deneb has had an easy week, i am not up to strength with my rabies treatment, so she has been hacked a lot this week, it seems to be doing her good except that she now thinks that work is a four letter word.

Acacia was hacked by my DS and that is all. I need to reduce my own riding horses by one. anyone looking for a stunning Lippi mare with great gaits, who scored over seventy in her first show? ( looking to perhaps sell Acacia.) although each time i get interest i find myself deciding I need a back up, what if i loose all my good horses at once again?

I hope everyone is enjoying their riding.

this is a political comment but it has a point. I was reading in social media about how Denmark is the happiest country in the world. I was surprised at this because when i visited it seemed very stoic and gloomy. So i started to research what happiness is. The people who made claims of national happiness had their own criteria that had , in my opinion, little to do with actual happiness so i started wondering what separates happy people. I found out that I do not buy into the Jungian version of happiness, so i started looking at other options SWB as in subjective well being had three contributions to happiness, first, life satisfaction, which depended somewhat on having goals and achieving them, ( riding, i have goals every day and achieve some of them daily). Enjoying life and loving others. friendships ( my horse friends are my best friends, we share interests, support each other and enjoy life.
and finally low negative feelings. riding gives mea positive outlook and harmonious goals...

so in a nutshell, horses = happiness. ( i suppose i should have taken this tangent to another thread)

to tie it in, i wish you all happiness in your goals

[Ryeissa]

My horse is feeling back to normal and I hope we can put that off day behind us!

[demi]

Chisamba mentioned that today she "focused on using seat and more legs and quiet hands". This is what i have been doing since June 11th. This is all I have been doing so that I can re-instill this way of riding. Because of the high heat and humidity here, I have only ridden 18 time in this "new program" but it is so nice. Even with the uncomfortable weather conditions my rides are enjoyable. Emma is responding nicely and seems to believe that this is the way we do it now! I keep in mind the way I need to ride to not block her and I am diligent about carrying myself properly. Our rides are short, 20-30 minutes. I started the "new" program with walk only but for the last few rides we have been doing about half the ride in trot.

I am focused on keeping this very simple routine because the quality of connection that results is exactly what I have been looking for. I mentioned one time that I had remembered reading some of the old masters that said when the basics are in place, the advanced stuff comes easily....or something like that! It makes so much sense, all things considered, of course. I will try to find where I've read this and post about it later.

Dressuer, thanks for the pictures and vids. I suspect I know who you train with, only because of some books I just recently read! And I am SO jealous!! I loved the books and the method. Your position reminded me of the trainer and then when I saw your latest pics the arena looked very similar to the pics in the books...

Everyone else, I am enjoying all the nice updates and pictures.

[khall]

Just back from vacation, spent almost a week in CA traveling around seeing the sights. Yosemite is awe inspiring! Loved the low humidity after our sweltering GA summer, but boy is is dry out there.

Was nice to get away with the family though traveling with an almost 16 yr old is challenging. He also discovered Pokemon GO, sigh. DH and I had fun regardless.

Will get back to working horses some but man the heat and humidity is stifling with temps high 90's up to triple digits. Yikes, no fun.

Flight and Straightforward and Leheath, thanks for the compliments on my filly! I just adore her, she is a pocket pony and a Barbie horse for sure. Never had one that I wanted to keep a long mane on before, it is fun though. I am learning to enjoy it. She certainly got the Iberian hair gene. She is 3rd generation mare line for me. Her grand dam was the 2nd horse I ever owned, a TB mare that was the first horse I started from scratch. I was all of 16-17 when I got her as an unstarted 2 yr old. Loved that mare. I lost her in 2001 to a fractured leg in the pasture, so I ended up keeping her last foal that was a yearling at the time. She is the nicest of my TB's offspring, very kind mare and just beautiful. So fun to ride, light to the aids and an easy start. I wanted to continue those bloodlines but not with WB, so I bred the mare Anna (Han/TB) to Saphiro, I love his conformation and he complimented my mare perfectly. Not much I would change with my filly. I got a filly, buckskin (knew I was getting this) and just conformationally hard to find fault. Will be interesting! Unfortunately I was counting on having Mark to help me get her started, not having Iberian experience.

Chisamba, there are a couple of reasons that my mare took my friend for a walk about. One is the breeding, she is jumping lines Pilot in particular. They can be tough horses to deal with. I have shared how difficult my big guy was to deal with, still can be. This is his full sister, she is much less difficult than her brother but still has those dominating tendencies when allowed. I don't have much problems with her, heck after my gelding any horse is a breeze to deal with! But she is no fool and took advantage of my friend quite quickly. My friend has trouble with not releasing quick enough or releasing at all and hanging on the reins, that was an open invitation for my mare to take over. So yeah it showed me how her mare while she is not a perfect match for my friend really could be much worse. My friend hangs and her mare just stiffens and hangs back, does not try to take over like my mare Gaila did. Horses are good at keeping you humble and honest.

[Chisamba]

Today I got some new barrels to use for my jump lessons. My three horses personalities showed through emphatically.

Kimba glanced at the barrels with little interest, and then worked around then and past them very comfortably.

Deneb actually sunk 18 inches,. All her legs bent ready took spring into action with her neck very tense. However after five or so times walking and halting and walking, till she was not snorting and crouching, she went to work with moderate focus but lot less bit acceptance.

Acacia was less tense than Deneb but remained distracted by them for the whole darn ride.

Such with the theme of quiet hands and emphasis on the response to leg and seat. Lots of transitions and more immediate response to the aid requested and expected.

This return to basics has helped with accuracy and tact in the more demanding exercises. It has improved the basic balance and elasticity, especially with Kimba.

It has also shown me that I have allowed Deneb to be a little resistant in the quest for relaxation. Of course, I am sure you can guess, she relaxed better and focused better when I asked for a consistent and attentive response to the aids.

With my students I put up a grid of cones and cavaletti ,. A cavaletti at N S E and W on the circle, with cones defining a twenty m a fifteen m and av ten m circle. I was having my students spiral in and out over the poles in trot and canter.

I am happy to report that neither Kimba not Deneb had any trouble with the exercise, which is actually a lot harder than it looks.

We also started figure of eights with one circle in shoulder in and the other in counter shoulder in with Kimba.

That is my midweek update,. Friday is video day, so shall be able to assess my own form.

[kande50]

I am focused on keeping this very simple routine because the quality of connection that results is exactly what I have been looking for. I mentioned one time that I had remembered reading some of the old masters that said when the basics are in place, the advanced stuff comes easily....or something like that! It makes so much sense, all things considered, of course. I will try to find where I've read this and post about it later.

I think most of the odg's mention it at one time or another, and I've been reading about the importance of building a strong foundation since I started reading about learning to ride, so I think most authors, by the time they write books, have figured out that the only way to get good work is to build on good work.

The problem, as always, is that reading the words didn't tell me how strong the foundation needed to be before trying to progress, and every instructor I've had has had different ideas about that (as have I)!

I too, tend to ride for 20 to 30 minutes when it's hot like this, which is mostly because I'm riding inside to escape the sun and bugs, and it's a small area so half an hour of going around and around just seems like enough. I always tell myself I'll ride again tomorrow so there's no need to ride for longer today, and then sometimes I ride again the next day and sometimes I don't.

I spend most of my time working on "cue discrimination", as I'd like to get all the aids/cues sorted out so that we're close to 100% clear on what each one means, because I think when we lose our connection it's more often because he's not sure what the cue means rather than because we lost our balance. There are times that the problem may be because he doesn't want to go in the direction I want him to go (because it's too scary), but more often I think it's because he's guessing about what the cue means and makes the wrong choice and then persists with that choice.

[piedmontfields]

Well, it's brutally hot here this week (95 F). Still, we're 3 rides in this week. But I don't want to overdo it. I figure if I'm feeling the crappy air quality, so is my horse!

In general, we have easily kept up our 5-6 rides a week work plan over the summer and my mare is quite fit.

Kande, even if I only work for 20 minutes, I am picky. I expect a good walk in between the aids. I expect acceptance of bending aids (leg), half halt aids (seat, sometimes hand), and flexion guidance (hands). I test these aids near the beginning of every ride and tune up anything that needs it. So even a very "light" work in hot weather can be quite productive and exacting. Taking this approach has made a real difference in my riding/training. I definitely did spend time (in the past) wandering around in circles. No more!!! LOL

p.s. Tonight was spa + stretches + good grazing time night. No need to push when the heat index is close to 100 F.

[capstone]

Yes, the heat is brutal. Particularly when I came from temps 45-60 last week.

So we are riding in the morning and at night to try to get a bit of relief. My trainer and her staff start working horses at 5am and break at lunch and pick back up, if necessary, at 7pm.

As for a personal update... Progress!!!! My trainer did not have to remind me to ask for more forward tonight. We were forward from the first trot stride. I was sitting back, my hands were steady with short (a good short) reins. It was great.

[Moutaineer]

Wish me luck... 2nd 3 for the first time tomorrow and again on Saturday.

It's stinking hot here too, 95-100, windy and dry. I just spent 5 days in cool, damp San Francisco. My rides are early afternoon both days. Shoot me now.

At least warm-up is inside, but it's a huge show for around here so it will be a complete zoo.

My trainer has been riding my horse while I have been out of town. A bit of a two edged sword--I have ridden him twice since I have been back and it would appear that she has installed a new canter depart aid on him, disabling the old one... I understand why she's done what she's done, but it sure makes the prospect of showing in such short order interesting... and something's different with the counter-canter balance and I can't replicate it perfectly, so he's started trying to change on me. She's smaller, lighter and much more athletic than me. Oh, well. We will survive.

He is, however, forward, obedient and respectful, so that's good.

[leheath8]

Good luck Moutaineer and I'll hope for a cooling breeze for you!

[Brydie]

Good luck at your show!! You'll be great!

[Flight]

Goodluck Mountaineer!
I was entered with my young horse to do a Novice test (first level) at a training day tomorrow, but it's been cancelled. I'm a bit glad it's cancelled as he is currently covered with mud and we have horizontal rain outside this evening. It's forecast to be very windy and I don't like floating in the wind let alone riding in it.
Such a wet winter. I was talking to a local man who does earthworks, and he said he hasn't seen the ground this wet in years. He said it was 1989 when he last remembered it this wet!! I dunno how he remembered that it was that year.

[kande50]

Kande, even if I only work for 20 minutes, I am picky. I expect a good walk in between the aids. I expect acceptance of bending aids (leg), half halt aids (seat, sometimes hand), and flexion guidance (hands). I test these aids near the beginning of every ride and tune up anything that needs it. So even a very "light" work in hot weather can be quite productive and exacting. Taking this approach has made a real difference in my riding/training. I definitely did spend time (in the past) wandering around in circles. No more!!! LOL

I'd like to be able to just test the aids at the beginning and then move on, but no, I test the aids and then fall right back into trying to get better responses to them---which is probably a complete waste of time because he may not even be able to respond the way I'd like.

It's also the reason that I think half an hour is enough, because I'm not just going around and around but am working on very subtle differences between very similar cues/aids, which I think is likely better taught in short lessons so that we both have our best chance of being able to assimilate them.

I do try to do some sustained trotting and cantering at some point during the ride just because it's the only exercise I get, but what interests me the most is getting the meanings of the different aids and cues sorted out.

[piedmontfields]

He is, however, forward, obedient and respectful, so that's good.

Sounds awesome. Take good care of yourself in the heat (I know you will of Laddie). And good luck!

[musical comedy]

Wish me luck... 2nd 3 for the first time tomorrow and again on Saturday.

It's stinking hot here too, 95-100, windy and dry. I just spent 5 days in cool, damp San Francisco. My rides are early afternoon both days. Shoot me now.

At least warm-up is inside, but it's a huge show for around here so it will be a complete zoo.

My trainer has been riding my horse while I have been out of town. A bit of a two edged sword--I have ridden him twice since I have been back and it would appear that she has installed a new canter depart aid on him, disabling the old one... I understand why she's done what she's done, but it sure makes the prospect of showing in such short order interesting... and something's different with the counter-canter balance and I can't replicate it perfectly, so he's started trying to change on me. She's smaller, lighter and much more athletic than me. Oh, well. We will survive.

He is, however, forward, obedient and respectful, so that's good.

Didn't you recently write that it was cold where you live? Is anyone here having decent weather? I am dying in this heat. I have to ride in the indoor and it is brutal in there. Bugs in the indoor too.

Mountaineer, I have a good friend whose is tiny and her male trainer is very tall. He does some of the riding/training on her horse, putting on the changes at present. She is a very good AA (GP), but she has trouble getting the changes. I keep telling her that her horse has to feel things very differently because of where the aids is given.

[khall]

First ride back on my big guy after vacation. Yesterday we just lunged lightly and worked in hand. He felt really good. I even got some real good sitting in the half steps today. I used the whip on top of the croup while mounted and he really sat behind, nice feel there. I like how energized he was and light to the aids for the most part. Had a bit of sticky at the canter but once we worked through that he was nice. I will have to try the canter seat recommendation on the biomechanics thread by MC, see how that works. Today I was just using my cluck to activate in the canter, he got real animated! I started giggling because it felt like the canter before a FC. Had to keep it relatively light, though heat this morning was not as bad as it has been. Had storms yesterday which helped cool it off a bit this morning. Also worked on some medium posting trot, starting to feel that second gear there. I really think for him it is all about active and collection, which we had both today. So excited by the big guy.

Just worked my mare on line and in hand a bit, other than some snort blow run off on line spooked about something, she is looking great. Her level of engagement is really rising and it is evident in her canter and trot. Really starting to lift up in both, she has a lovely canter now. She is a pretty mare anyway, not as big and impressive as her brother but very pleasing to the eye. In hand was done in the barn aisle to stay out of the sun, nice easy work for her.

Older mare was lunged lightly and worked in hand yesterday. She is coming along. I am having to do short quick workouts due to the heat, it is brutal here with heat indexes over 100 pretty much daily. This weekend actual temps are supposed to be triple digits. Yuck.

BTW my friend is buying the OTTB g we went and looked at! Vetted out sound with mild OCD in one hock per rads that may or may not need maintenance later down the road. I am so excited for her! His name is Peter Rabbit, aka Peter.

[Moutaineer]

Good luck Moutaineer and I'll hope for a cooling breeze for you!

Hah!...

A violent microburst storm boiled up as we went into the arena.

Laddie does not do wind. The trees were horizontal and you couldn't see where you were going for blowing sand.

Two horses in a turnout right next to the judges box (WTF?) were fighting and thrashing around. One of them was wearing a brightly patterned full sleazy, which just about finished my poor boy off.

So, I can leave the rest to your imagination. We got our first ever 3 for one of the 3 loop serpentines, "looses focus." Yah think???

There were also some very nice parts, fortunately, so we didn't completely disgrace ourselves and ended up with a 60.6. Which I think was rather generous. There was no problem with impulsion

Tomorrow is another day. But we have to ride in the same damned ring again. I hope they move those horses.

[Brydie]

Mountaineer - I think you did awesome considering the circumstances!!! Hopefully the environment is better tomorrow!

I went ahead and entered a show on the 14th of August (stupidly? lol) considering Red will only have around 10 rides or so between now and then. Only Prelim 1:1 and 1:2.

Today we worked on our trot canter transitions. This is basically the only movement where we will score below a 6. He is a put his nose in the air during the transition type of guy.

Our best (and last) left rein https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60oxBI58Wvc right rein https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_nuKi98fXQ (I think you can tell he's tired at this point).

[leheath8]

Good luck Moutaineer and I'll hope for a cooling breeze for you!

Hah!...

A violent microburst storm boiled up as we went into the arena.

Laddie does not do wind. The trees were horizontal and you couldn't see where you were going for blowing sand.

Two horses in a turnout right next to the judges box (WTF?) were fighting and thrashing around. One of them was wearing a brightly patterned full sleazy, which just about finished my poor boy off.

So, I can leave the rest to your imagination. We got our first ever 3 for one of the 3 loop serpentines, "looses focus." Yah think???

There were also some very nice parts, fortunately, so we didn't completely disgrace ourselves and ended up with a 60.6. Which I think was rather generous. There was no problem with impulsion

Tomorrow is another day. But we have to ride in the same damned ring again. I hope they move those horses.

Oops! That's not quite what I was hoping for you! It sounds like you did great, all things considered! Hopefully tomorrow's weather will be slightly more hospitable.

[leheath8]

Apparently, Luna did not appreciate an extra day off this week. She has been ever so slightly (as in I couldn't be sure I wasn't imagining it) off and her body worker thought it was her feet. I had my trimmer in on Wednesday (normal riding day after Monday and Tuesday off) and she had worn her feet significantly differently enough that he thinks that was causing the slight off-ness. He trimmed her and recommended not riding to give the muscles a day to relax/reset to the new, balanced trim. She looked so disappointed when I put her back in her stall (having nickered at me when I took her out). Rode yesterday and she was very "enthusiastic". Crazy weather today so no turnout...tonight she was wilder than a march hare...20 minutes of mad galloping around on the lunge and she was ridable, but not really what I wanted her to do so soon after the feet adjustments! Hopefully tomorrow will be calmer and more conducive to productive riding!

I asked the trimmer why she was wearing so differently and he said conformation (basically her legs aren't the same length as each other). She wears the outside of her right front faster than the inside and that is currently exacerbated since I have increased how often I ride (2-3 times/week to 4-5 times/week) and the ground is hard and more abrasive than in the winter/wetter weather. Her right hind also turns out more if she is not trimmed correctly, but it holds for a normal trim schedule. Anyone had this situation before? Any thoughts on addressing it other than just having her trimmed more often to keep her as balanced as possible? I worry about longer term issues but have never dealt with this problem before so can't tell if I am worrying for no reason?

[kande50]

Any thoughts on addressing it other than just having her trimmed more often to keep her as balanced as possible? I worry about longer term issues but have never dealt with this problem before so can't tell if I am worrying for no reason?

I'd have her trimmed less often, because I think that horses do a much better job of balancing their own hooves than any trimmer can. The hooves may not look as smooth and symmetrical when they self trim, but trimming the hooves to look better doesn't necessarily make them function better.

The mule I trail ride is base narrow and pigeon toed in front, so carries a lot more weight on his lateral walls which are quite a bit wider than his medial walls. No surprise that the lateral walls wear faster and the medial walls flare. I've tried keeping the medial walls shorter so that the hoof looks more symmetrical, but we ride on hard, stony gravel roads and the more I trim the medial walls the more often he ouches on the stones.

I've been experimenting with this for over 20 years now, as have some of my trail riding friends, and what works best for our horses is to let them self trim as much as possible, and if we need to trim be very conservative about how much we take off.

[demi]

I tend to agree with Kande. The more natural, the better. Over the years I have gone to keeping horses barefoot unless there is an extreme issue that can only be helped with shoeing.

Your horse, Leheath, is young and you are aware of what's going on with her, so I don't think you need to worry. As far as trimming more or less frequently, I was over worrying about Emma and I recently went from 6 weeks to 5 weeks and then back to 6 weeks. There are so many other factors involved that I decided I would do best to just keep the trimming cycle consistent and concentrate on building her muscles. She toes out quite a bit with the right hind and it can't be fixed with trimming. My feeling is that if i just work her regularly (and hopefully correctly) that her musculature will compensate for skeletal and hoof issues. In the 9ish months that I've had her, I mostly have ridden 3-4 days a week and she is gaining muscle, getting more solid, and staying sound and happy. Once we get passed the hot, humid summer I plan to go to 5 days a week and increase the intensity of the work. At that time, I will pay close attention to how she goes and re-evalute...

I will try to post a "before" and "most recent" pic. As well as one that show how much she toes out with the right hind.

[demi]

Emma Nov 2015 and again July 2016

[demi]

Emma right hind July 2016.

I think the toeing out is fairly severe but am hopeful that with building her muscles up she will stay sound even for more advanced work (prix St. G?!) Time will tell....

[khall]

Nice Demi!!

Did you see my thread on tells? My guys pics as a 4 yr old that was very cow hocked? I need to post pics of him now, he is much straighter behind from the lateral work. One of my clinic riders found the same thing with her Arab g that was quite cow hocked.

[demi]

Yes Khall, I saw and enjoyed your thread on "tells". So now you must post "after" pictures of your guy! BTW, I also saw your Iberian cross filly in this thread (I think it was this thread)and she is beautiful!

I didn't respond to your "tells" thread because I hadn't realized Emma how much improvement had made. I thought that she wouldn't show much improvement, other than coat condition and countenance (can I use that word for a horse!?), until we were up to 5 days a week with some high intensity days once a week or so. But yesterday I noticed some muscling and decided to take a picture.

I'm really encouraged to see that even with mostly 3 days a week, and sometimes 4, that noticeable improvement can be made. And the work we've been doing hasn't been really strenuous.

[khall]

Another interesting tidbit re toeing out especially RH, which many horses tend to toe out more RH that LH. Take a look at people, many too tend to pronate R leg more than L. I know I used to. Riding has helped me not too as much with the rotating the thigh leg in for proper leg placement. Mark pointed that out to me long ago.

[leheath8]

I definitely believe in barefoot as much as possible, but am not fanatical and will shoe if truly necessary.

Further conversations with my farrier (as well as what the horse was also telling me!) have indicated that the uneven steps are from the balance of the foot more than actual discomfort (which is why the unevenness was same whether I rode or didn't ride and got neither better nor worse as a ride progressed and didn't seem to make the horse unwilling to work).

Unfortunately, letting my horse "trim itself" is not in her best interest. We work hard 4-5 days a week jumping and dressage (much more wear and stress on the feet than trail riding), but even with correct work the rest of her time is spent moving "naturally". Letting her "self trim" results in a body sore horse taking uneven steps due to the lateral imbalance - smooth and symmetrical feet are irrelevant to me, but function and soundness are critical. I also didn't think the RH toeing out could be fixed with trimming, but apparently it can! I now have an excellent farrier (after 7 years of searching for a good one and doing my own trimming most of the time!) and he explained that if you trim a horse that toes out as you would intuitively think was necessary "to even things up", you actually make it worse (as kande50 discovered with shortening the medial wall on her horse) - instead you have to do the opposite of what seems intuitive (which I cannot wrap my head around well enough to do myself, but fortunately he can!)!

Demi - really nice improvement in your horse! I too have discovered that lots of work isn't necessary to progress. This last winter, I was only able to ride or work with my horse 1-2 times per week (occasionally we would manage 3 times in a week) and none of those sessions were particularly strenuous yet progress and improvement were made. I now don't beat myself up if life means we have to work a little less often for a while - as long as I keep the work appropriate and ramp it up gradually when we start working harder, we can still keep progressing!

Khall - Glad your horses are doing so well after your vacation! I didn't realize most horses tend to toe out more RH than LH...interesting, and that makes me feel better! I will have to look at the wear patterns of my older shoes to see if I do/did also! I am also impressed with your description of the cow hock improvement through correct work - I agree with Demi that you should post photos!

The hind toeing out worries me less (as it is "fixed" by trimming and the "fix" holds for 6-8 weeks without trouble) than the unbalanced wear pattern on the right front (which was significant only 4 weeks after last trim), but I suspect you are all right that I am worrying more than necessary (this is truly my heart horse, that I have been searching for for many years, so I am more prone to worry than I would normally be!). I will continue working her as correctly as possible and let her dictate the trim schedule - when the breakover isn't right and the right front is getting too unbalanced, it is time to trim!

[Moutaineer]

A 60.7 today. Perfectly creditable for a first outing at this level, but not really good enough.

Watching the video, we are entirely capable of doing this. I threw a bunch of points away with sloppiness and inaccuracy. Can't do that any longer.

We didn't practice the test enough. I have discovered that personally I need to actually ride the whole thing through several times at home before I hit a show, and we didn't have the opportunity to do that.

So, onward and upward! A few days off and then back to work...

[Flight]

Brydie, they look like good transitons!

My horse is still a touch lame, but I trimmed his feet and he was about 99% right today, only very slight head bob and not always there. So, I'll continue with light riding and see which way it goes. Of course, he gallops around the paddock like a nut so I doubt light riding is going to make him worse. Entries close this friday for a comp coming up, and I'll just wait until the last minute to decide if he's ok enough to go. I'm keen on getting to a comp as they've all been cancelled this winter.

Mountaineer, will you share your vid? I agree with riding the test through a few times before hand. Especially as you go up the levels. I struggled with our 3.3 test, I only have a small arena, and there were quite a few movements at those in between markers and I kept doing EOCs. Definitely need to practice them more in a full sized arena.

[Brydie]

Well done Mountaineer! I would love to get 60 at Elementary :p

Thanks Flight, after watching Natasha Althoff videos I think there's going to be improvement in our work. My mindset is changing. "Ok" is NOT good enough. I want GOOD! I really hope your guy is 100% real soon.

Had our first lesson in 3 and a half months today. Let's just say we both weren't fit enough to last a full hour. I told my instructor I want to aim for my first Novice end of October and she thinks we are ready Just need to get the leg yields better!

[kande50]

Another interesting tidbit re toeing out especially RH, which many horses tend to toe out more RH that LH. Take a look at people, many too tend to pronate R leg more than L. I know I used to. Riding has helped me not too as much with the rotating the thigh leg in for proper leg placement. Mark pointed that out to me long ago.

I think it may go along with the left rein "stiffness" that's so common in horses. Because my horse has a right front club, and because I videotape most of my rides, I've become much more aware of that particular asymmetry, and when I started paying closer attention I started to notice that a lot of horses have the same "short" diagonal (left hind to right front), but just not to the same degree as a club footed horse.

One small part of that particular issue is that the right hind not only toes out more, but it also tends to land laterally (out to the right more).

Demi, when you get your soloshot you may be able to get video that will give you a better idea of how Emma uses her right hind in relation to the rest of her body, and which exercises might work to help her use it better?

[khall]

kande, that is why lateral work is so important to the development of the horse. It closes the hind legs, narrows the base and works to have the HQs to support more of the weight of the horse by asking the horse to step under the center mass. Also to equalize the carrying of each hind leg. To straighten and strengthen the horse. I always have wonder with a club footed horse A. can they really be straightened since they are so out of balance (talking about severe club feet, not HI/LO) B. when you straighten a HI/LO horse does the HI/LO go away? Any thoughts?

[kande50]

I always have wonder with a club footed horse A. can they really be straightened since they are so out of balance (talking about severe club feet, not HI/LO) B. when you straighten a HI/LO horse does the HI/LO go away? Any thoughts?

A true club doesn't go away with straightness training, nor does a high/low, so I'd say that it's perfectly possible to trim hooves so that they look more symmetrical, but because the asymmetries in the horse's body are still there the hooves will continue to be asymmetrical.

I can make my base narrow, toed in mule's hooves look fairly symmetrical from the outside, but as soon I turn the hoof over and look at the bottom it's obvious that any perceived symmetry is nothing but smoke and mirrors. Same with Sting's club. His fronts look very similar from the top, but as soon as I look at the bottoms I can easily see that they don't match.

I think the problem is that horses spend the majority of their time loading their hooves the way their conformation dictates, and an hour or two a day of loading them more evenly just isn't going to be able to overcome all those steps they take in between.

[Ryeissa]

Overall VERY pleased with our progress! He is very free over this topline and I am sitting better. whoohooo!

[Sue B]

You are ROCKIN' IT Ryeissa. You look strong, flexible and confident...oh, and so does Riot. Excellent job you two. (Love the little whoopsie do at the end of the right canter lead. Cheekie fello. )

[StraightForward]

End of July wrap up.

sorry for quality of video, we have a lot of light and it was a bad time to try to film
https://youtu.be/Xni7O-82Tp0

Really horse?
https://youtu.be/kN0TXDwt4vc


Overall VERY pleased with our progress! He is very free over this topline and I am sitting better. whoohooo!

He got VERY round at the end there, didn't he? Nice work!

[Ryeissa]

delete

[Chisamba]

Ha ha ha ha very round! In love it.

Rye, I agree. You look to be working nicely together. It's lovely to see.

[Chisamba]

I'm not quite ready to wrap it up yet. Had very good work with Kimba today. More elastic in the transitions and better timing. It was melting hot so shorter rides and lots of sweat!

[demi]

Looking good, Ryeissa! Thanks for posting. Riot is an attractive mover and you are doing a good job with him. Keep it up and maybe we'll be seeing show videos from you one of these days.

Mountaineer, you're gutsy to show in that weather on Laddie! I would have been thrilled with a 60+ % under those conditions.

I rode three times last week and am shooting for 4 this week. I really enjoyed my ride this morning even though we just went for a good connection. Just walk and trot, 20,15, and 10m circles with lots and lots of transitions from walk to trot to walk again. I am focused on my seat and position and I am starting to see some patterns:

I bring my outside seat bone up when I go around corners both in walk and trot. I think it's because Emma slows down and I not skillful enough to just give her more leg, get her more forward, and then go right back to neutral. I make a bigger deal than necessary, using my inside leg to bend her into the corner, and my outside leg to get her moving more forward. This puts more weight on my inside seatbone and lightens my outside seatbone. The outside leg cue is stiff, also.

I stiffen somehow in downward transitions unless I really think about staying relaxed.

And I am in general holding my aides too long. I need to "get in and get out".

So as long a I concentrate I can do a nice job, but the minute I start thinking about doing any more than walk, trot, transitions and circles, I loose focus and the quality of my riding goes out the window. I just have to stay with these basics until I can ride very well without thinking about it....

[piedmontfields]

My brief summary: It's the 25th of the month and I've ridden 20 times already. And it's freakin' hot (for here--a few weeks of mid 90s F).

Insights: 1. Pirouette canter aka school canter is da bomb. Totally transformative to go in and out of it. Super clarifying for my seat. 2. It's possible to be expressive in counter canter. Cool. 3. Changes will be returned to in Aug-Sept. I've put them on the back burner to address some clarity issues in canter aids. 4. Trot keeps improving with the attention to canter. Kind of a side bonus.

[Dresseur]

I'm really pleased with the young man. He's totally settled in the new place- he finally started making his fart noises with his tongue to let me know he wanted carrots

In terms of work, I'm being more exact in the in hand work. He started taking a step out as he was landing the downward transitions, and that was a no-go. He also has to wait for me to go.

Riding has been good. He got a bit stuck on the left rein, so circles, circles, circles. But even with that, the feel in his body is great. He's incredibly rideable and as through as a 3 year old can be. The big change has been in our canter work. It's time to start boosting the canter a bit more before he does his trot transition. This is something that I've struggled with as a rider, but somehow, thinking about the slingshot thing made me try something different. I don't know if it's what was intended by the metaphor, but it's working. I'm not even sure if I can articulate what I'm doing.

In terms of getting out- he's now doing 1/2hour trail rides confidently, and on his own. We have hills, and that has been huge for gentle conditioning.

I have no plans to show him this year. The plan is to get him out at second level to wrap up my 2nd level mfs scores. So, that will take the time that it takes, I'm in no rush!

[Flight]

Well it's a wrap up for my little horse. Still slightly lame, so he'll just have to have a few weeks off and then I'll investigate it more if he's still lame after a break. After the initial swelling to his leg, there's nothing there now.

He's such a nuisance when he's not being ridden! I usually ride him first but if I don't and if he gets some days off he just gets in the way until you finally chase him off the arena
So cheeky!

First he tries to interfere with the camera, (he has picked it up in his mouth before) then stand in front of it for a while:

dinginfrontofcamera.jpg (60.6 KiB) Viewed 21281 times

Then he'll stand on the arena:

dinginfrontofcamera1.jpg (50.06 KiB) Viewed 21281 times

Until he finally gets chased off:

dinginfrontofcamera2.jpg (50.69 KiB) Viewed 21281 times

[Chisamba]

Flight I love it. When I had no way of getting my horses used to busy warm ups because I ride alone so much I would turn out a few horses in the arena while I rode.

Progress with Deneb. More acceptance of contract and more adjustable in length of stride in trot and canter. To be honest I asked her fit a bit of a lengthening today and she powered into a pretty dramatic extended trot for a few strides.

It's still hot, so shortened rides.

[Kyra's Mom]

Well...I finally have a diagnosis for my butt. I have a spicule (bone spur) at the very end of my tail bone that points down . Apparently it is really a birth defect. I have probably had it all my life but when I was heavier (180-200) the spur was sufficiently padded? I was a fat kid before obesity was as common as today. When I lost weight in my 30's I lost the padding. I gained it back and the pain went away until I lost weight again and I guess I can use the butt pain as a testament that I have kept the weight off for the last 10 years. Not to mention trying to ride dressage. I still don't know whether anything will fix it. I am going to start with injections. Surgery to remove it is out there too but not the first option...not to mention the 12-18 month recovery period I am not gaining weight to pad it. The Pain Dr suggested Kim Kardashian butt implants (tongue-in-cheek). They could work if they were in the right place . It is somewhat a relief to know there is a definite reason. The Pain Doc had referred me to a chiropractor and he really looked at the X-Rays I had in May and used a CAT scan I had last year to compare. The CAT scan was for an unrelated issue but he used the slice that constructed the spine and the spicule was clear as day. When he enlarged the film, you could see the spicule on the X-Ray too. He found what many have missed over the last 5 years of trying to get relief. Unfortunately, nothing he could do to help it.

So, right now, I am just puttering around and riding when I can stand it. Of course the common wisdom is to avoid horseback riding altogether and all I can say is . I have started working Kyra more in long reins. I can only lunge the poor thing so much. We have had to work through some anxiety/overachiever issues in the long reins. She is sure she knows what I want BEFORE I ask for it and goes for it. She is really good at throwing herself sideways or doing a faux piaffe. So a big goal has been to get her to WAIT.
Last time I was able to get some semblance of calm half-pass in the long reins. I keeping most of my riding to the walk . That isn't any worse than sitting in a chair. I have been doing lots of lateral work. She is getting quite supple .

I am not sure what the future holds as far as riding but I am not quite ready to throw in the towel yet .

Happy riding all.

Susan

[Moutaineer]

Well, ouch, KM.

I wonder if you could create some kind of gel padded undies? (And wear a long jacket:))

[Flight]

It's good that you know what's causing the pain, but tough if you can't get it easily fixed so you can ride.
What about the seat saver things? I guess you've tried most things anyway?