Really great ride

Last night was one of those rides that really makes me love my horse more.  It wasn't perfect or anything, but Apollo was in a particularly good mood, and we ended up with a really lovely trot.   It's so cool to look down at his neck and shoulder and see that his neck is wide at the top, with the correct muscles engaged, and the curve of the topline, and his shoulders looking strong and broad (I know, not broad compared to other horses, but you know what I mean).   So pleasant!   

So yeah, we worked further on connection, transitions within gaits, and outline, as usual.   I didn't longe him before I rode -- his attitude and body language said I didn't need to.   Plus, I really didn't feel like it.  :)  I'm glad he agreed!  It's so nice to just hop on and start warming up.   What's also nice is that we work through him being looky at the door, the mirrors, the chairs, the standards, the gremlins ... he doesn't react much, but he does tense and let himself get distracted.   As TED put it a while ago, I'm really learning to be the pilot of this team.  (Easier when your horse will let you and not fight about it.)  I just figure that he's going to see a lot of unfamiliar things in his career as an eventer, so he better just get over these tiny things he sees every ride.  

Seems like that there is the basis for the relationship I want with my horse, really.  And days like that make me think simultaneously that this relationship is going to take time and effort and that hey, we could be having fun out there by this summer.   Heh.  :)

Flood!

Flood of motivation, that is!    ... or maybe it's the coffee hitting.   Either way, go check out Katie's Twin Rivers Go Pro video -- it's her ride on Piccolo over the Jr Training XC course.  

Suddenly I want to BE THERE and DO THAT.    Thanks, Katie!

A week behind

I have been reminded that I am a week behind on my blog and that this is causing agita for at least one reader.   Mea maxima culpa!

Honestly, I feel like I'm a week behind in my life, too.  I am still dealing with some random stomach issues, so other than work and staying home, I don't have a whole lot to report.   I have been out to play with the best pony in the world a few times, though.

I don't remember exactly what we did on which day, so a couple of highlights:

We have some new jumps in the outdoor arena, a few panels and some barrels.  Nothing huge and fancy, but they are non-poles, which makes them exciting.   The sun was out on this day, and life was gorgeous, so I took Apollo on an in-hand walk around the arena, up to the new fences, around the new fences, around the arena, etc.  I was half-expecting some spookiness and kind of wanted to get it over with from the ground, but nope.  Pony didn't bat an eyelash.  Not that this is surprising, when I think about it.  On the ground, he's completely chill.  It's when the crazy monkey gets on his back that he worries.  ;)    Anyway, I am really looking forward to jumping again.  I miss it.

Under saddle we've been continuing to work on straightness and contact.  Apollo was rather distracted the last couple of times I rode -- I mean, it IS spring and all -- but I think we got some good work.  I used the techniques I learned from TD as well as what MT has been having me work on, and by the end of the rides Apollo was soft and round and connected.  What an awesome feeling that is!   Now I need to work at getting him strong enough to stay that way and to get there faster, rather than 40 minutes in.  

And we need to get outside.  I haven't been out much, mostly because on weekdays it's still not light enough by the time I'm ready to ride (come on, Daylight Savings Time!), and on weekends I'm either in a lesson indoors or trying to stay out of the way of a lesson that's going on outdoors, ergo riding inside.   Plus, it'll be good for me to ride Apollo through any "omg what is THAT" he does.  Which, historically, hasn't been much.

And I wanted to weigh in on The Sprinkler Bandit's Booting Call post.   Like she says, I don't buy the idea that boots support tendons or ligaments -- I've known way too many horses that've blown out their legs while wearing a variety of types of boots to actually believe that claim.  On the other hand, I definitely believe that they protect the leg.  Brushing themselves, hitting jumps, sand burns, bushes on the trail, interfering, whatever - if I can prevent an injury to the leg, I'd prefer to do that, thanks.

For now, my main leg boots are Toklat Valena boots.  I use them for flatwork and whatever jumping we do/have done.  On the surface, they look like your average fleecy boot, but once you pick them up the difference is obvious.  The outside is vinyl, rather than PVC, and the velcro is good-quality and stitched well.  The lining is what I like most -- real wool pile fabric, rather than synthetic fleece.   They're fuzzy and flexible and secure, and I heart them lots.   Plus, I just love white boots on non-gray horses.

Apollo does sometimes overreach, so I have a couple of sets of Westropp petal boots.   I think I've got the older version, though, which is all good with me.  I like the petal boots for a few reasons: most importantly, NO VELCRO.  Argh!  I had a few sets of bell boots before these, and every dang time, the velcro would fail in some way.  Come unstitched, just quit sticking together, fray, whatever.  I hate velcro on bell boots!  I like it on leg boots, but not these.  So the petal boots that buckle on with a strap work way better for me.   Plus, the general consensus is that they don't cause nearly the accidents bell boots do if a horse steps on it on course; the petals just break off without tripping the horse up too much.   This is a boon, for sure.   And for the everpresent aesthetic aspect, I adore having royal blue and white petal boots.  :D  I have a set of black, too, that I use mostly for flatwork.  Because I can.

The next Horse Purchase is probably going to be Dalmar Eventing Boots, for cross-country, whenever we come around to needing them.  I like the sturdy strike plates for protection.  Much more protective than the Toklats, for solid fences.  (YES I KNOW we don't do anything huge or scary, but still.)   They also have cooling vents/mesh built in to cut back on the heat.  They're the top of the line for the price range and purpose ... yesh.  I like them.

I also have some open front boots for jumping, your basic Roma open fronts, like this except with the Roma logo.  *shrug*  They worked for Rev, who could get careless with her front legs.  So far, I haven't felt like I need them on Apollo.  I'm not selling them, though.   Plus, they're white.  :)   Apollo might need open fronts, or short hind boots, or something, but we haven't really discovered a need for them yet.  So I might as well use the boots I adore until I need something else, yeah?

I know.  I am not a very good tack whore.  I tend to find something I like and stick with it.  And as long something I like is performing well, I don't feel like I need to get another just for fun.   Once something stops performing well, though ... it is OUT and I HATE it and it is CRAP.  ;)   No in-between around here.   Except for Davis boots.  I am still just crushed that they rubbed Rev's legs.  I love Davis boots. (but only in white)

The next big thing for me will be a jump saddle, as I've mentioned.  I'm pretty sure I want a County, but I'm not excluding anything right off.  I have a "don't love it" list, but ... we'll see.  And of course, the money for said saddle is still being accumulated.    As soon as I find a good saddle, I'm sure I'll be a devotee of that brand too.

When in doubt, look at the facts.

Hm.  An assortment of facts for this entry:

• I want to ride tonight.
• I didn't ride last night.
• Or the night before.
• I got to work late today.
• If I stay in the office until it's officially quitting time, it'll be too late to ride.
• I don't know if I have enough warm clothes in my riding bag - I planned it for yesterday, when I wore a warm thermal under my vest for work.
• I would usually just ride in whatever I wore to work, but today I am wearing a white sweatshirt that I don't want ruined.
• I need to ride, not just want: two days off is enough for both me and Apollo.
• If I go home between work and barn, it's 15-20 minutes out of my way if I just grab an extra shirt, 30 if I change and get the dogs.
• Things go better if I just go straight from work to the barn.
• The corgis would benefit from some running around time.

Okay, given that assortment of facts, I think I've made my evening's plan: leave here at 5, go by home, change and get dogs, then go to the barn.   Getting to the barn at 6:30 won't kill me.  It may even make me stronger.  ;)

Plus, after yesterday, I really do need to ride.  I had gotten maybe 4 hours of sleep the night before, work was irritating, and I was generally so out of sorts that I was liable to pick a fight, or at the very least frustrate my poor horse and end up with a bad ride.  A book, a few tacos, and some horizontal time took care of that, and now I'm itching to ride again.  I bet Apollo would like to be bothered too, seeing as horse-bothering tends to come with plenty of carrots.

I really need to take more pictures, make this blog more interesting!   I'm just not the photo sort ... 

Fumbling toward a new thing

I got the opportunity to have a lesson with TD yesterday -- apparently it was some kind of holiday, and apparently everyone in the world wanted to have lessons with MT.  ;)  Anyway, TD was able to find room in her schedule for me and Apollo.

And I am so glad she did.

We worked on the same basic things that MT works on with us -- contact, connection, straightness, flexion, and push -- but in a very different way.  Instead of being concerned about working to bring Apollo's head down, TD worked much more on my contact and position.  She had me bringing my left shoulder back when tracking left, dropping my right shoulder down away from my ear, and paying close attention to keeping my leg under my hip, not behind.  And sinking down through my legs more, keeping them long instead of letting them contract.

The entire feel of the lesson was different than I get from MT.  Definitely not bad, definitely moving toward the same goal, but different.  I really enjoyed riding with TD!  I came away feeling like I was doing something right, but ... I'm not entirely sure how to replicate it or work on it on my own.  Like there's this Concept! or Idea! that I'm on the edge of and need to understand better.   It's a very cool feeling, actually.   For us what like to learn, a puzzle like this and the feeling that the breakthrough to understanding is juuuuuust out of reach is downright awesome.

So yeah.  Apollo and I are both processing the lesson!   Any bets on who'll come out tomorrow understanding better?     Nah, me neither.  He's unburdened by all this human brain crap, so he'll have absorbed way more, way faster.  :)

Productive Valentine ride

I suppose I need some prodding to write every day.  :)   Sprinkler Bandit is my appointed prodder, but apparently some kind of sickness?  Busy-ness? is consuming her life.  Pfft.  Not like I ever have that going on!   ;)

Anyway, in all seriousness, Apollo makes a pretty good Valentine.  He's sweet, funny, and accepts gifts gracefully.  He also doesn't give it up easily these days -- what I get, I work for!  Heh.   Last night was more focus on connection through that outside rein, lengthening his neck from wither to poll, and transitions.   And thanks to ME, we got to work through the horse-distracted bit too.   I had a moment of understanding the idea of seeing challenges as opportunities; I realized as I was putting my tack away that I could have responded to Apollo being a bit up by freaking out and just walking or quitting early or whatever.  That didn't even occur to me, though.  Which is a bit surprising, but there you have it.  Instead, I kept working on getting his attention and really working through it, focusing and making sure that I didn't crash into ME and Grayson.  ;)

We had good moments, especially toward the end, when I remembered that I need to be quite a bit more assertive with my inside leg when we track right and that I need to keep him on the bending track in a circle without overbending his neck.  Straight on the track, whatever that track is.

I also used the methods MT used in the lesson to get Apollo to stretch and lengthen his neck: a tiny little leg yield in the beginning of the ride, keeping the step active and not too much angle; then having a long rein and encouraging him to stretch down and forward; then taking up on that outside rein and making sure that no matter what, it was connected.  And connected firmly until he gave to it, through little gives and takes on the inside rein.   Working on the push all the way through.

Something I am suddenly aware of that I need to fix: keeping a straight line from elbow to bit.  Instead of pressing my hands down and flexing my wrists down (with my thumbs still on top, oddly), I need to remember to flex at the elbow.  Elasticity from the elbow, not the shoulder?  wrist?  some odd combination of joints.   I think a bit of duct tape on my wrists will help here, actually: put a strip on the top of my wrist to the bottom thumb joint.  That will be even when I have my wrists in the right position, but as soon as I press my little fingers down like I do, it'll pull and remind me to not do that.  :)    I'll give it a shot.

So a productive ride last night, if not our most beautiful!   ME pointed out that Apollo doesn't have the muscle yet to really hold the longer neck/rounded back position for long periods of time, but that he does go there, so we're making progress.  :)   And of course, the only way to get those muscles is to keep doing this.

Yup, good horse.

Direction! Focus!

I really missed being in regular lessons.  I get so much out of weekly lessons -- seems like an obvious statement, but there you have it.  Focus, direction, and feedback are so critical for me.

Last Sunday we worked mostly on getting Apollo to lengthen his neck from wither to poll and drop his head,  and that was my one piece of homework: keep working on the stretch.  It's kind of funny, because stretchy is Apollo's favorite thing.  However, when one of us gets distracted for whatever reason we lose that.  Lessons distract Apollo, and practicing with other horses in the arena distracts me.   Fortunately, Apollo and I both work out of being distracted in lessons.   It's the human brain that causes the problems, as usual!

So I worked at it, and this Sunday showed improvement.  We continued work on stretching, which came easier this time.  MT asked me to do it a different way than I had been while practicing; I suspect my reins are too soft in practice.  Then again, Apollo does relax and stretch well with that soft rein contact, so I will work on the new way and see how it develops.  Then we moved into both improving the push from behind in the trot and making smooth walk/trot and trot/walk transitions, maintaining contact all the way through.   Apollo has this habit of coming to a crashing halt at what I think of as my half-halt; he had been trained to respond immediately to a very small tummy-tightening move.  What we're looking for is a more balanced walk transition, more like prepare - sit up - close leg - walk without falling on his face or falling into a lethargic walk..  And that's this week's homework: practice finessing those transitions.  Not just making them, but making them smooth and connected.  Like butta.

We worked in the canter some as well.  Not much, but enough for me to foul up the aid a few times and stop myself, fix it, and try again.   I think working on Apollo's relaxation through his neck in the canter is on the list  for things to work on in the near future -- right after getting the canter transitions sorted, which won't take too long, I think.

Anyway, yes.  Good lessons, and it's so nice to be back in them!   Still having fun with my sweet TB guy.  :)

Probably beyond the strictly healthy level

Yup, I love that horse.  Absolutely adore him.   We had a great evening yesterday -- he played some on the longe, but not much, and then he was fantastic under saddle.  :)

I can't even say how much I needed that.   It felt so good to just ride and enjoy him.  WTC both ways, working on outline and connection ... ahhh.

I wish I didn't have an appointment tonight so that I could go ride again.

Happy day.

Thing one:  SO EXCITED GET TO RIDE TONIGHT GET TO PLAY WITH PONY YAY!   Even if it's just groom mud off and longe, I'm still excited.

Ahem.

Thing two:  Inspired by Checkmark115's entry about Jimmy Wofford's comments about the "cruising position" some BNTs have encouraged ...  I'm more than a little baffled.   I mean, I knew it was a thing being discussed in circles other than my own.  I knew there was debate about it.   I didn't figure it would last, because really: allowing rider joints to move in the classic galloping position is kind of obvious.  A dynamic position with the hip and knee joints mobile allows energy to be absorbed and dispersed, allows balance to shift as needed, and uses the least active energy from the rider.  

It seems really obvious to me.  Then again, I am a smurf for sure.  Less than a smurf.  I don't know my butt from a hole in the ground, I suspect.  

It occurs to me that MT and TD, etc, have never even mentioned it.  Not just not taught it but not even mentioned it.  I guess I could ask about it, but I can predict the answer: "Why would you want to do something like that?"   And if I could draw, I'd draw the exact expressions MT, TW, TD, etc would have on their faces.

Anyway, as usual, I think Jimmy Wofford's right.  And MT, TW, TD, TED, etc, who would probably chorus their agreement.  

Fads.   Hmph.  :)

Yes, almost done with this now!

The end of this sickness is in sight!   Doctor says I should be clear to start exercising (read: RIDING) tomorrow!

I am SO excited.  I am tired of not doing anything, tired of not seeing my horse, tired of my house, tired of coughing.

YAY!   Horse!   I miss my sweet bay guy.   I miss the feeling of riding, of how much I love his gaits.  I miss reins in my hands and horse smell in my nose.  :)