March (and April) of Progress

[Ponichiwa]

It's a new month, so time for a new thread!

In like a lion, out like a lamb: a spot-on description of Queso today. En fuego in the pasture, absolutely foot-perfect in the arena. The weather is changing again and all of the horses are acting like absolute nutbars.

These next 2 months, I'm going to:
- Ride 5x/week (weather permitting-- outdoor arena only)
- Exercise outside of riding 5x/week
- Count calories
- Re-introduce 1/4 pirouettes; by end April, school 1/2s.
- By end April: line of clean 4- and 3- tempis

Let's hear what you're working on!

[exvet]

I'm going to be a broken record,

Junior - focus on straightness, engagement, lowering the hind quarters, better soft connection, even into both reins and of course quality of the canter
Brandon - soft, steady connection, the rest will be 'in place'
Ace - just let him be the numero uno trail boss

I plan to continue to work out 4-5 times a week.

For both boys who compete - schooling show in April, recognized show in April so we'll work to 'that' goal - modest improvement in at least one movement/score for each (of course I'd gladly accept more but baby steps seem to be getting us further faster, snail instead of slug).

[heddylamar]

I'm going to participate properly this time

– Ride 5+ times/week
– Minimum 2 lessons/month (I am a mess with this!)
– JUMP
– Lift weights at 3x/week
– Run outside again because I hate the damn treadmill

[khall]

Jillian clinic in March
Jingling for black dot 3/15 with Gaila
Just play a bit with her
Piaffe under saddle with Joplin
Working canter CC prepping for changes Joplin
Ride in my hay field at least once a week
Caveletti at least once a week both
Work on soft passage in hand both

Me pilates twice a week still really need to do something else at home but running out of time

[Moutaineer]

My one goal... ride my horse regularly and do all the things. By the end of this period we should be riding outside. Can't wait!

I do want to try and drop another 5lbs and will continue to exercise out of the saddle.

[demi]

Ive videoed the last two days and I feel like Im getting into gear. I had forgotten how helpful videoing was for me because I couldn’t do it while at the trainers barn because there were always too many horses in the arena and Pivo doesnt differentiate.

So:

1.) video a couple of times a week
2.) ride 5 times a week weather permitting
3.) haul to trainer at least every other week
4.) get some video on the video thread
5.) work out 2-3 times a week

[chantal]

We had a great winter, went back to basics, still working through those and feeling improvement from it. I currently have covid, so assuming I feel better, this is the plan I have with my instructor and trainer.

2 schooling shows at 1st, though march 26 may be a little early now.
hunter pace on april 2
bootcamp at the trainers, hopefully starting next week for a week or 2

still working on forward, straightness and consistently over his back. and a quick response to my aids.

for me, working on consistent contact, quick corrections, not letting him go through either shoulder, and my sitting trot.

He also had stitches over his eye which come out tomorrow. horses!!

[blob]

Me:
Find time to ride despite work craziness, even if that means waking up very early
Keep walking on my walking desk
Cook at least 2x a week

MM:
Maintain fitness through start of allergy season
Start doing more proper dressage work in the arena

RP:
Figure out lesson situation now that trainer has moved
Start videoing rides more regularly/get that pivo set up!
Show in April
Keep working on lateral work at trot
Keep working on improving canter quality
Clip if not shed out by late April

[Chisamba]

Honey. Wtc. Introduce canter under saddle

Kimba. Lightness. Improve canter. Improve flying changes.

Saiph. PsG canter work.

So it seems the theme of the lion and lamb months are canter, canter canter.

Personally, find a way to deal with depression and tiredness that is less to do with stuffing my face with all the things I know are fattening. I did that Noom diets psychology. It teaches you all the reasons you eat more than you need. Now I know why I'm eating while I stuff myself. It's so helpful. ( tinge of sarcasm not to be missed)

Improve my fitness and focus on enjoying my horses more and appreciating incomplete efforts . Sometimes I get so focused on goals that I am disappointed when things go less perfectly. I want to focus on appreciation of the journey and less on the destination. While still approaching PsG . Lol

[Moutaineer]

Chisamba, your last two paragraphs resonated somewhat...

I did not get chosen today for jury duty next week. (The case was far too close to my own personal experience for me to be able to be an impartial juror.) So, having cleared my schedule already, I shall spend as much of the week as I can on a horse!

[Aleuronx]

Appreciating incomplete efforts. Ooh, I felt that in my bones Chisamba.

As we are hunkering down for another Nor'easter to arrive this evening I'm dedicating this section to trusting in the training and 'appreciating incomplete efforts'. We have another 5-6 weeks until we *might* get outside for anything other than snow hacks, so this is deep life in the indoor time. The Pivo has been invaluable immediate feedback, super helpful to *see* how those moments felt, good or bad.

Kora: Touch on developing half-pass in trot. Increase suppleness and relaxation in walk-canter-walk-canter. Play with a flying change on good days. Take that darn left front to the right in all gaits, all times.

Me: We're doing a friendly weight-loss comp at work, more supporting each other than anything. I'm using that as a jumpstart to losing some lbs. I have a number goal in mind but we'll see if I can manage it.

[Tanga]

I'm with you on the eating, Chisamba. I am the same way. I have literally been working my ass off as I exercise on Zoom five days a week, plus ride two horses and hike to get them, in deep mud up hills lately, and no difference. I think what finally helped a little was being able to access a lot more better food in fruits and vegetables and feel more full that way. I also make my own "cereal" with oatmeal, cranberries, nuts, flax, and such with a fruit in there, and I think adding an extra scoop of protein powder has helped me last through the day a bit better instead of feeling naseaus at the barn from hunger.

With all of that, I think I lost maybe 8-10 lbs? I'm not sure. I haven't been o a scale since before Covid at the gym and I was hovering at 200-205. I was able to jump on the scale at the vets recently in heavy mud boots from the barn and it said 194. If anyone wants to join my amazing Zoom class, let me know. She used to be at 24 hour fitness, but will only do Zoom now and charges $25 a month for all you want and does classes 5 days a week at 11 am PST and Tues and Thursday at 9 am also. They are always slightly different and a combination of a lot of things, and every time I think I've finally gotten stronger (like those outer thighs!) she adds something that shows I need more. Age ranges from 5 to 85 in the class, and some of those 80 year olds can kick my ass in things. The really good thing is she always has great modifications for people who can't do things. Because of my knees, I have to modify anything to do with crouching, and because of my back and neck, all of the over the head things. Most people in the class are local, but there are some from the east coast. Message me if you want info.

My goal otherwise is to ride a lot quieter for the show next weekend, and really work on keeping Quinn's head steady. And knowing this judge and scribing for her last year, I really hope the scribe is sharp and can point out when she keeps missing things.

I just got my plane tickets and accommodations for Omaha. Anyone else going? I am really losing my enthusiasm for this, but Omaha is supposed to be an amazing venue, and I am sure as hell not going to give a cent of my money to Taliban Texas in two years. There are tons of tickets left in all seating areas.

[khall]

Good luck at the show Tanga!

As for weight loss it is my understanding the best way to lose weight for women especially those of us post menopausal is to lift weights. Build muscle which we are losing to burn fat. I am stronger core wise than I’ve been in a long time. Pilates is excellent for developing core strength and flexibility. But I need more muscle. I don’t really want to do hard core weight lifting but there are YouTube channels that have specific workouts for us who are losing muscle. Now I just need to actually do the workout!

Gorgeous spring weather here and I’m stuck in the house doing paperwork

[zevida]

\And knowing this judge and scribing for her last year, I really hope the scribe is sharp and can point out when she keeps missing things.

Oh interesting, I have scribed a ton and I would never point anything out to a judge other than if they missed giving a score for a movement. What would you want a scribe to point out? Even something like the rider going off course if the judge missed it then the judge missed it. And positive stuff like I guess the judge giving a low score for a missed count on tempis that I think were correct I could just as easily be wrong as the judge so not my place.

I just got my plane tickets and accommodations for Omaha. Anyone else going? I am really losing my enthusiasm for this, but Omaha is supposed to be an amazing venue, and I am sure as hell not going to give a cent of my money to Taliban Texas in two years. There are tons of tickets left in all seating areas.

I watched the qualifier at Wellington this past Friday and it was a ton of fun, Anna Buffini's freestyle is great. I think you'll have a lot of fun.

[Tanga]

Zevida, well, having scribed for this one and others, things like counting the tempi changes out loud for her. But, yes, pointing out things like off course, too. She was having trouble keeping up with the FEI tests and even mentioned it was time to retire, but didn't. The show in Oct. last year I got a 2 (!!!!!!!) on my I-2 half passes that were perfectly good. The judge clearly started out thinking it was the GP and there was a comment crossed out, and then a general comment I know would have been a 6 or 7 because I scribed for her the next day that , but she never went back and changed the 2 and the scribe didn't say anything. (And I had four rides, then had to leave quickly to take my husband to the airport and then get up early to scribe the next day, so didn't even see it until Monday.)

I'm glad Anna Buffini got in. I thought hers was better than Sarah's, who had a lot of irregularities and head wagging that was over scored. It's nice to see someone new. Hers was not solid, either, but it seemed a lot of horses weren't. I don't think that horse has ever been there. The venue is supposed to be great, and there seem to be tons of open seats, so it shouldn't be crowded.

[exvet]

My daughter and I went to Omaha the last time the world cup was held there, and it was fun; but also, a little disappointing (scratches that we specifically went to watch go). We've decided to pass this year, but the venue is viewer friendly, relatively low key (compared to Vegas) and not difficult to get to or leave. We walked from the hotel we were staying at and enjoyed seeing old friends and visiting some of the local shops.

[Aleuronx]

We didn't get walloped by snow this past weekend as they were forecasting but still got a good amount of fresh powder, 8-9 inches or so. I popped over to have a play in it while the snow was dying down to flurries. I imagine this is what a friesan canter feels like, lol.

https://youtu.be/3vGgHriEnIU

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[khall]

Aleuronx just lovely! Looks frigid!! As I’m sitting here in 80 deg weather wearing shorts

[Tanga]

Aleuronx I'm jealous! Snow is SO much nicer than mud, and what a great strengthening tool. Water and snow are such a great way to train passage. You have a pretty fancy looking horse there! Sigh. We have another atmospheric river coming in Thursday night. The show is on for Sunday, so hopefully no roads collapse before then and we're down to a trickle by then. The good thing is, no reason to bother to bathe or clean up!

Exvet I'm am looking forward to Omaha. We have a VRBO 11 blocks away and plan to walk. I can also see a friend who will be there who moved to NC. I remember going to Vegas SO excited to see Matinee after that amazing video, and she slipped somewhere coming out of a trailer and was a scratch. Ugh. I am kind of bummed I won't see Salvino, but it will be the first time to see Suppenkaspar in person, so that will be nice. I have not been on a plane since before Covid! It was kind of hard to rouse myself to leave home!

[StraightForward]

I went to Omaha in 2017 and wanted to go this year, just can't afford it unless someone comes along and buys Annabelle. I have gotten a few nibbles this week. Now that winter is almost over it seems like people are looking again.

Still thinking about goals for this period. The last few weeks with T have been confusing. We'll see what I when I get home this weekend.

Meanwhile I'm down in Tucson thawing out.

[zevida]

Zevida, well, having scribed for this one and others, things like counting the tempi changes out loud for her. But, yes, pointing out things like off course, too. She was having trouble keeping up with the FEI tests and even mentioned it was time to retire, but didn't. The show in Oct. last year I got a 2 (!!!!!!!) on my I-2 half passes that were perfectly good. The judge clearly started out thinking it was the GP and there was a comment crossed out, and then a general comment I know would have been a 6 or 7

I wouldn't count tempis for them unless they asked me to in advance and even then it would be hard to commit because there's a good chance I'd still be writing the comment from the previous movement and may not be able to look up in time. I do think if they realized a mistake and corrected a comment but not the score I would have followed up with an ask if they wanted to correct the score too. But generally I think the scribe's job is to write what the judge says not manage the judge, and I'd report a judge who wasn't able to follow along without assistance.

I'm glad Anna Buffini got in. I thought hers was better than Sarah's, who had a lot of irregularities and head wagging that was over scored.

I love First Apple but his piaffe is very weak relative to his peers so that's going to be a real problem for her to improve her scores and standings, and probably why her GP scores are so much lower than the GP Freestyle. Otherwise he's fabulous I think. I didn't notice any head wagging but maybe in the stands I don't have a good angle on it.

[Aleuronx]

I wish I could get that canter front end in the arena without the aid of snow. I guess canter poles might be in our future, she can move that shoulder up and out she just chooses not to. I'd certainly take 80 deg khall I'm trying to learn taking enjoyment from winter, however slight. Just above freezing will have to do for now for us. Although come on March, you're supposed to be warming up!!

Solid working ride this morning Kora felt nicely soft in the neck but solid in the contact. Really pleased with that. I've been playing with the giving and retaking of the reins in the canter, don't know why I hadn't touched on it before. This is giving us both a huge realization on the state of self-carriage and a good quick reminder that she can carry herself and I don't need to. That's my training epiphany of the day.

[Kyras_Mom]

Umm…no real goals yet as I cannot count on being able to work Kyra (no indoor). Continue with basics as the weather allows.

I did get in a ride today…in the wind and snow. We keep getting these little waves of snow…soon to turn into rain. My timing in getting to the barn seems to be impeccable in that it is guaranteed to be precipitating by the time I mount. Oh well. I hadn’t been on her in at least a week and they have been barn bound for that week so I wasn’t sure what I was going to get. I did remember her noise deadening bonnet and I tried that today. She seemed fine wearing it and at first I thought it was really helping then she thought something down in the creek was going to get her. She got really tense but I just tried not to react and keep her engaged doing little figure 8 voltes and she did finally give a big sneeze, breathe and relax. We just did some LY and trotting circles with changes of direction through the circle.

The vet comes tomorrow for spring stuff, teeth and check her right hind. I might just ask him about putting her on Adequan…I will see what he thinks. 90% of the time she looks and feels fine. The other 10% she just has a little ‘hitch’ in the right hind that she works out of in 5-10 minutes. Here’s hoping the weather cooperates so we can trot her out outside.

Susan

[Moutaineer]

Chugging along here... the weather isn't great. It's snowing again but the temps are due to rise so we will get California's atmospheric river as rain/snow mix over the weekend. Blech. The only good thing is it might wash away the vast amount of snow sitting on the arena roof waiting to cascade down at an inopportune moment...

Potters is doing well. I'm sharing my rides with Justin at the moment. He does the hard stuff then I get to play on a warmed-up horse. I'm rather enjoying it

We've learned this week that he thinks counter canter is for the birds. "Why do that hard balancing stuff when you can throw in a change that no-one is going to reprimand you for? And if you do insist, I'll just blow a wobbly and change the whole subject..."

Well, no, little horse. That isn't the way we do things anymore; you need to learn to deal with your issues in a calm and rational manner and not just freak out over them.

It's so interesting. You ask him to do that next harder thing and his first response is "Oh my God, no. Not just no, but Hell no!" But once you ease him into it, and he has confidence in his ability to do it, whatever it is, he's fine. We've just been going through this with the Renvers--lateral work presents no great difficulty to him in general, but the Renvers, Good Grief... but now, he's learned he's not going to fall over or tie himself in a knot (or get beaten up for failing) and he's renvers-ing all over the place in all gaits like a champ.

I don't know if it's inherent laziness, some kind of past handling, or what. It doesn't seem physical as he is more than capable of doing this stuff beautifully, fluidly and harmoniously once he gets over himself, and is just a joy to ride.

[khall]

Mountaineer I’ve always called that a horse having the vapers. I rode a ASBx who was very similar to new moves that you would introduce. He would be WHAT?? No nope I will tie myself in knots how dare you??? Give him a day or two to settle in with the new movement then he was cool as a cucumber. One good thing about him even during his hissy fits he was still very safe to ride. Ended up as school master for a friend and he was the absolute bomb at it.

Having fun with Joplin both in hand and riding. Gaila is just sitting right now hoping she’s bred. Our weather is about to be psychotic Georgia spring with rain and chilly temps coming back. We’ve had some gorgeous weather that unfortunately does not look like it will last much longer. I’m just hoping for dry Jillian clinic. No covered arena here.

[blob]

Debating doing some diagnostics on RP. There are a few things I've been dealing with for about half a year now that I thought were training issues but don't really seem to be improving the way I would expect--going left I can do SI all day, going right he keeps losing the trot behind and doing this almost racking type movement. Similarly, going right in the canter he really wants to learn on the inside shoulder, when I try to stand him up he gets lateral in the canter and/or tries to swap leads. At first this felt like strength stuff, but it really hasn't improved much. And I'm wondering if he has something going on behind

[Flight]

Sounds like it might be worth investigating, blob. Hoping that it's nothing serious!
Wow to that snow Aleuronx

I'm at the Valenca's in Portugal! I'm here with my (non-horsey) partner and we did the touristy thing for the first 5 days and now settled in for 6 days of riding.
I'm learning that I suck a lot at riding!! I've ridden 3 different horses so far. I'm sooo used to just riding my own. They all have nice comfy trots to sit to though, way nicer than my own so I am appreciating that.
The stuff I need to work on is mostly my hands and contact. More about keeping the contact, keeping the collection, not pulling back and just using my fingers to release. Not throwing everything away.
The horses know what to do, they are very much schoolmasters. I've done some piaffe/passage/changes. I've done some in-hand work which I'm really bad at. The horses really tell you when you've done it right or wrong!
One of my fav comments so far was one of the horses 'likes to be a sausage, you need to make him more like meatball"

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[khall]

Flight I’m so jealous!! Want to go back:). Which horses are you getting to ride? I agree that they are easy to sit. Much easier than the Andalusians in Spain. My friends and I had so much fun when we went Pre covid.

[Moutaineer]

How fun is that, Flight!

[chantal]

Flight, that is amazing! Have fun and soak it all up! And I hear you on the contact. Gosh, enjoy!!

We are at the trainers for 2 weeks. The trip was planned, the covid recovery part wasn't. So she'll be doing more riding that we had originally planned but that's not a bad thing. I warmed him up today and that was about all I could do and then she worked him. Working on consistency, stretching into the contact, keeping the straightness (gosh he likes to pop out a hind leg or a through a shoulder, strengthening here we come), and really being nit picky about it all. He's come such a long way in a year, heck, even since September. I should say we have come a long way and she's very pleased with that. And I just love how soft and over his back he is. She really demands correctness from both of us.

Now as long as I don't overdo it and push myself backwards.

[demi]

Nice, Flight!!

Contact is something I’m learning on Besa. It’s very different that what I’ve always thought and only in the last 2+ months, since I’ve been working at home, have I been able to start to figure it out…I think…I have been videoing again all week so I will make some clips to post in the video thread. Contact isnt and easy concept to get across to someone and I’ve needed the time to experiment with Besa on my own to try to understand. The videos help a lot, not only in showing me what I’m actually doing, vs what I think I’m doing, but also in giving me a general sense of how Im progressing. Sometimes I’ll get done with a ride and think it was absolute crap, but when I watch the vid I see the good parts. Right now, it’s taking 20-25 minutes of warm-up to get to where I like the contact. I’m pretty sure it takes so long because Besa has figured me out. Even tho she is a real worker bee, she still wants to do as little work as necessary from her point of view!

[blob]

Nice, Flight!!
Even tho she is a real worker bee, she still wants to do as little work as necessary from her point of view!

MM is like this. I call her an 'efficient horse'. She actually has a very good work ethic, but she takes the philosophy of 'work smart, not hard', so she is always looking for the short cut to still achieve the objective I'm asking for. It's hard to fault her for this, I am the same way! But of course in dressage, the real objective is to do the work the right way, not get from point A to point B.

It's one of the reasons I'm always doing exercises where in order to do the thing, you have to use the body correctly. It's another reason I think she would like working equitaiton--where something like a clean, prompt change will make going through the weaving poles more efficient.

[Kyras_Mom]

So cool Flight. I am like you. I only ride my own. So nice to get to ride some very nice schoolmasters.

The vet checked Kyra over yesterday. We really didn't do much of a lameness exam. The ground was icy and frozen so trotting her out there probably would have shown all kinds of wonky things. He said her stifle had no effusion and as I do, he suspects some arthritis (hock and/or stifle). I am going to do a round of Adequan and see how that goes. We can explore further if she shows issues. She has been working well and sometimes needs a few more minutes warm-up which is easily done.

However, she has a tooth that most likely needs to be removed. She has an upper molar that over the last 3-4 years has had shards peel off and now the exposed tooth is all gone and she is packing food into the hole. Currently that is all that is happening but he wants a head X-ray to see what the roots look like. He said better to remove sooner than later when there is an abscess or sinus infection. No hurry but I am trying to decide to do it before or after my Iceland trip (May). With the crappy weather we have been having, it would probably be advantageous to do it sooner and hopefully by May we have good riding weather. In the meantime I will start irrigation to keep as much of the food from packing in there as I can. We will also have to bump up her dentals to every 6 months. The unopposed lower molar had grown almost 1/4 inch in a year!

Other than that...more crappy weather. It poured last night and this morning. The BO's even couldn't finish cleaning this morning as all the horses were worked up by the wind and told us to stay home . It quit raining for the time being. I may try to go up later if the blue sky holds.

Susan

[exvet]

Flight I had a colleague who learned tons while there. Enjoy and get the most out of it you can!

Blob, I think we've often compared our horses but Junior is definitely on that energy efficient list all the while being that worker bee. It is the reason why we've been having so much trouble with our flying change. I had a bittersweet memory pop up in my feed. It was of me riding Resi, Junior's sire, at third level test 3 in a schooling show 9 years ago yesterday. Junior turns nine next Wednesday. They are so much alike but Resi was always in front of my leg making everything so much easier. I watched his flying changes and there was no issue with his understanding of changing the legs in the air, nor did he feel it was a waste of energy LOL. He definitely stamped his get in movement and looks but I think Junior inherited his acute awareness of Darwinism (ie, energy waste leads to an earlier end) from his dam or maybe it was growing up with our mustang Ace and the stinker pony. Either way I've been going through the flying changes course offered by Amelia Newcomb and taking the advice of Molly (who's been away either judging or showing so no lessons until next week) and keep working on the basics. Junior's first stride in the walk to canter transition is getting much better in both directions (with jump and on the aids, over the back) and his willingness to move F-O-W-A-R-D in the canter and come back on my seat is also becoming crisper. He still seems challenged more so with the strike off of the right lead which has caused me to also go back to long lining so that I can watch the set up from the ground and talk him through the transition. There's no question he can do it correctly but it seems his interest in conserving energy has him sometimes acting like a left -handed dominant person being asked to write with their right hand and either writing so teeny tiny or so slow that it can get him muddled. What baffles me though is the little engine that could is putting in some awesome canter half-passes and working canter pirouettes which you would think he would take issue with, but, nope. Once he realized that the ante really has increased and I couldn't/wouldn't be convinced otherwise I did get some good work out of him today.

Brandon also is an interesting sort in that he makes it clear that he isn't all that appreciative of this thing we call connection, well, really someone keeping control of the left rein as the outside rein. His acceptance of the bit has become so much better. He is also much quieter in the mouth; but, the initial 10 minutes of seeing if I'll let him avoid filling out the left rein when it's the outside rein is still the battle of wills of sorts. He is definitely a horse that if in the wrong hands would automatically go to rearing so I have to be black-and-white, firm in my demand but at the same time ride with 'weak hands' once I get him to agree to my terms. I like how he's beginning to develop over the back. I'm contemplating just riding him at first level at this upcoming show. I must decide soon; but, trying to get enough scores for training level (for all-breeds now that we're qualified for the regionals) seems like a waste of time and money. I'm sure his breeder disagrees but I've flown that flag for the Welsh. Not sure I have it in me anymore to campaign. I have looked at the new first level test 3 and gosh it appears to be tediously long. Not sure I can remember the darn thing but who knows I've managed worse things.

Our weather has turned absolutely beautiful finally - flowers, 70s for temps and ground dried out but not hard.

[StraightForward]

Flight, I am jealous; sounds like a wonderful time! My husband is actually in Spain right now and headed to Portugul in a few days. A riding vacation with schoolmasters is definitely on my list for the future.

Other than that...more crappy weather. It poured last night and this morning. The BO's even couldn't finish cleaning this morning as all the horses were worked up by the wind and told us to stay home . It quit raining for the time being. I may try to go up later if the blue sky holds.

Susan

Oh yeah, my girls have been locked up all week while I've been gone. It might take a few days to get things back on the level. I did manage to get a few workouts in during my trip, so at least I'm not coming home feeling bloated and way off track.

I suddenly have three people that seem to be seriously interested in A. One is coming tomorrow to meet her, but won't ride this time. The other is farther away but has a 50-acre horsey paradise that A would love. Monday she is going to get a jump school with the teen trainer my BO has been mentoring (and who is now an adult with an LLC, so I feel more comfortable hiring her). It will be interesting to see her jump with someone who is smaller and braver. Hopefully we won't be stuck in the indoor, but the weather... yeah. At least we are not getting it as bad as over in Reno - a colleague I was working with this week shoveled a foot of snow to get down to Tucson, and was unsure last night if her flights were going to get her back home.

Crossing my fingers that T has forgotten her recent non-cantering agenda over the week off, but I'm not counting on it. Not sure about the new Fager Nils bit - it is one with a rotating barrel like a Myler, and the first few rides it seemed promising but then I realized it had rotated and ended up with the tongue relief upside down. When I fixed it, she no longer seemed to like it.

[heddylamar]

Very cool experience, Flight!

Maia has some time off — I’m at SXSW for the week. Hopefully she’ll be as fabulous next week as she was on Wednesday and Thursday.

[StraightForward]

Well, I don't think I know what the heck I'm doing this period!

I am putting T on more or less a PSSM diet as she's been having lots of "wind down" and not wanting to canter the past few weeks. I spent longer warming her up today, and she was not bad, but I think she could be better. So I'm replacing her Strategy with Renew Gold and adding some ALCAR, Vitamin C and extra magnesium and hempseed oil and spreading the supplements more evenly between two feedings. I'm hoping it makes a difference and we have canter back before our clinic at the end of the month.

I had a nice first ride back on A yesterday, so I arranged for some interested people to come meet her and watch her school today. She was sound on the lunge, but very unhappy under saddle, so I had to pull up after two bobbly circuits of the arena attempting to trot and apologize and swear up and down that she was fine 24 hours previous. This exact same thing happened with the last girl tried her. It is kind of uncanny. Hopefully she is fine within a few days, but both girls will be going to the vet shortly, so we'll see what he thinks.

My body did not appreciate my plan to jog today, but I got the three miles in. Tomorrow starts the second half of DRT3, so I am plugging through that.

[exvet]

We've been schooling and trail riding. I've been focusing so much on Junior that Brandon has kind of taken a back seat. I did work him yesterday with the idea of getting him solid into the outside rein and just focusing on perfecting our transitions - walk-trot-walk and trot-canter-trot. Well as we were coming across the diagonal in right lead canter, I was preparing him for the trot transition by putting him in shoulder fore. He actually felt good for a moment and my brain has been so much focused on setting Junior up for the FC that I said, What if? Well the Morgan gave me a clean flying change, not exactly pretty, a wee bit braced but probably would have gotten a 6 for it. I have video so I'll see if I can get it loaded.

[chantal]

SF, gosh I am so sorry to hear that. Sending encouragement all around, for sound horses and for you to have the energy to work on yourself. You can do it!!

exvet-i read all your posts and learn from every one. So cool with Brandon, can't wait to see the video.

Do you have any more pics Flight?

I am sitting in quarantine until negative but feeling pretty good so kinda climbing the walls. But, the pony is being educated by my trainer and I'm loving that. So excited to finally be able to get back on him and work toward our first schooling show in April. I have one planned for every month, and hopefully a recognized one in June. Fingers crossed.

[Tanga]

OMG. I am exhausted from yesterday. We've been getting a lot of all weather in a day here and yesterday was a doozy. Not too bad getting to the barn and the horses were at the top of the hill, but came galloping down when I whistled. (When Quilla sees I'm there early a lot of times she'll play keep away and run around for a half hour.) Raining heavy on the freeway and hit a puddle going 45 and really scary. Heavy rain there (lots of scratches.) Backed off when I got on Quilla, who wasn't super happy about the very watery warm up ring, but did fine. They let us warm up in the ring during lunch for Quinn, which was nice, and the FS ride for her it started her it started pouring so much I could barely hear the music (and the judge mentioned that to--She "thought" the music went well from what she could hear ) and on and off rain on the way home. I took city streets because I did not want to be on the freeway.

The girls were good. I think all of the horses were so overstimulated by the constant changing weather no one could get too worked up. I had a couple of stupid errors, but otherwise I am happy. I went for for very quiet and steady and tried not to override.

Quilla
https://youtu.be/CLpQ1s68V0I

https://youtu.be/vVkIOcXTr98

[Tanga]

Quinn

https://youtu.be/56GhW60Z5aM She actually won his very competitive class with very nice horse, and it would have been even more if there was't the tempi mess up

https://youtu.be/idmC2uAFYIo

[Moutaineer]

Reading along... I had two excellent and revealing rides at the end of last week, (He's coming through very nicely from behind at the moment, so I have to manage what's going on in front. I have to shorten my reins a bit and remember to never let that neck get any semblance of stiffness, and things go pretty well!) Which left me dying to get on today.

But the best laid plans and all that...

For a change, the sun was shining, the sky was blue, and that meant there were sedan-sized chunks of snow and ice coming off the roof and hitting the sides of the arena on their way down.. Potters was not impressed. I was not impressed.

We don't need to deal with that, especially as I'm under strict instructions not to take any stupid risks this week. We woke up on Sunday morning to yet another bloody snowstorm, looked at each other, and impulse-booked a trip to Mexico next week...

So, I will be duly cautious through the impending melt, and look forward to a few days of sun, sea, sand, indolence and fresh fish.

[blob]

Glad to hear things are moving along nicely, Mountaineer. Keeping the reins short is always such a challenge for me!

Gosh, Tanga, sounds like a stressful show environment, but also a successful outing. Congrats!

Exvet, yes I find your posts about what you're working on especially helpful because of the similarities with our horses. Go figure after all that focus with Junior, Brandon would give you a first clean change without struggle! After my struggles with MM changes, I'm hoping I too have an easier time with RP. I don't want to play with them much yet because he will still try to swap behind when he gets off balance, particularly going right. But hopefully that means at least he wont' be late behind!

I am feeling a bit discouraged/aimless at the moment. RP and I are looking at another year of showing first level and I'm not feeling like we are really making progress. To make that worse/harder my trainer situation has gotten complicated. My trainer has moved barns, so instead of a 10 minute drive, he's now an hour drive, which isn't the end of the world. But I also live 45 minutes from my barn. So when I do all the math it'll take about 6-7 hours out of a day to do a lesson now, which really limits my options. The new facility he's at also has a $50 facility fee. So, that also makes lessons very expensive. So, yikes. I don't want to stop working with him but my already less frequent than ideal lessons with him are likely becoming even rarer. There are a couple trainers that come to my current barn periodically for clinics. I tried one of them yesterday and was very underwhelmed. I rode MM and the good news was that she handled a 45 minute lesson just fine from a breathing stand point, sot hat was exciting. She's definitely weak when it comes to the dressage work, so she felt more like a training level/first level horse than I expected, but that's ok--it's part of the journey we're on bringing her back. But the lesson itself didn't really give me anything. No new exercises, no new ways of thinking about something, no new insights, no really being pushed, and i didn't end the lesson with the horse feeling better. It was all just fine. There was nothing WRONG with the lesson. It just did not give me anything other than structure for 45 minutes, which isn't nothing. And for MM having her first lesson in over a year, that was valuable. But it is not a trainer that I would likely pursue again. So, that was disappointing. I need to try to find another regular/consistent option if I want to get out of just kind of hanging around casually in the lower levels, but I'm not sure I have a ton of options...sigh.

[exvet]

Tanga - glad to read you had decent rides, haven't had a chance to view the videos; and admire your fortitude to deal with the weather.

Blob - that stinks about your trainer situation. You know kelo managed to progress mostly on virtual lessons. I don't remember who she was working with but she managed to use technology to manage distance learning in real time.

SF and Chantal, hope you are are feeling better/cleared soon.

Here is a clip from the video I shot the other day where Brandon produced his FC. This won't be something I focus on but I do think I will ask occasionally when the timing and set up feels right. We still have lots of work to do to try to convince a judge we belong at first level since that's on the agenda for the upcoming recognized show in April.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EESNiv0OnJs

[Flight]

Just quickly while at a laundromat waiting for the clothes to dry, I had my final lessons today.
Khall - the horses I rode were Tenor, Piu, Cajero, Vencedor, Ultimado and Bentley. I could have the spelling wrong!
I rode Cajero more and for my last lesson I asked to ride Tenor because at the start I could hardly ride him! I was really bad but today I could ride him much better so that was a relief and nice way to end.

My partner gracefully videoed most of my rides so I can study them on the 25 hours of plane travel home!

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[khall]

Flight what a gorgeous bay horse! I don’t remember him. Piu was one of my favorites though he had not been there long so his training was not as solid yet. Former bull fighting horse with the scars to prove it. My friends rode Tenor. He’s a change machine! I never sat on him. They all were fun to ride and work in hand. Though one older stallion wih he was a bit Spicey:). Let it all hang out! It’s a great experience for sure. Safe travels home!

Well my Jillian clinic is canceled. Ah well. Hate it not sure if I’ll be able to reschedule. She is unable to travel right now.

So clinic in May with Cedar. I need to work on taxes and my conservator report anyway. Bleh

[chantal]

Tanga, it looks like you've really been working hard, congrats!

So good to hear the positive update Moutaineer, and yes, stay safe

Hoping you find an easier way Blob, gosh, that sounds like a lot. Fingers crossed for you. Sometimes things fall in front of us when we least expect it.

exvet, well, that was easy, gosh! I do things like that too, when the opportunity arises, sometimes it's a great time to go for it. Brandon is such a cutie!

What a great experience Flight, thanks for the pics. I hope you enjoy your videos and have a safe flight.

Sorry your clinic is cancelled khall. Yay taxes...

[Moutaineer]

Tanga, there's some technical issues with a couple of your videos, but I did just watch the PSG. Nice! You must be pleased. Shame about the tempis as the rest of those 4's were lovely. I really liked your half pirouettes and your walk pirouettes, too.

Flight, that must have been the experience of a lifetime. I'd love to do that one day. My brother lives in Portugal, so it should be doable...

Khall, how disappointing to have your clinic cancelled. I'm trying to work out what to do about spring clinics. Jeremy Steinberg is supposed to be coming to our barn at the end of April, but Mette is supposed to be coming to a friend's barn a couple of weeks later. I really can't do both of them, so I will have to decide who to offend.

I rode Potters today. He's very, very fit and full of the joys of spring. I'm glad I have been diligently working out and have developed some form of core, or I'd be dead. There's still snow cascading off the roof but he seems to be inured to the large crashes, it's the dribbles and softer noises that worry him. So we have to work on stuff that gets him so focused he doesn't notice them. I can do that for a few minutes at a time and then my brain wants to explode It's the luck of the draw whether I fade out at just the wrong moment or not... I guess, just like him, I have to work away at increasing my focus, too.

[khall]

No black dot unfortunately:(. Timing was not right this last breeding so I’m going to try one more time with Gaila and see if we can get her in foal. I really really want another Saphiro!!

[exvet]

Sorry about that khall. At least it's early in the season. Keepings fingers crossed for you this next 'go round'.

Ugh we had a ton more rain, again, which of course I feel guilty complaining about it. My arena is saturated. Hauled Junior out to a lesson with Molly. The first thing she noticed was that he's lost weight (hallelujah). Of course he's still built like a brick sh!t house but she's able to see his last rib when he's working hard (LOL). Progress is good. Then she noticed that he's got more go off my leg especially at the canter. So another thing we've been working on is paying off. Today's lesson wasn't exciting but I feel like we've made considerable headway. We mostly worked on keeping Junior round, engaged, bent around my inside leg through the rib cage, and straight (no hind end thrown out or shoulder bulge allowed) through all the transitions. It was clear that he was freer and more mobilized through the shoulders once he realized I wasn't going to accept simply barreling through and trying to remain straight like a broom but obedient (which always got him a 'bye'). This rinse and repeat succeeded in making him hotter off of my leg in the transitions within the gaits, especially the canter and by keeping him straight and engaged, we maintained good jump in the canter and stayed up through the withers. I practiced lots of set ups to the flying changes but still not asking.....I feel it's coming very soon. The fact that on the 'up' part of the canter stride I am finally able to move his shoulders to the left or right of the line of travel is actually huge.