Coulda sworn I had a title for this.

Blessed ibuprofen. :) Before the vet came out to do yearly shots, Coggins, and teeth-floating yesterday, Rev and I had a make-up lesson from this weekend. It involved lots of canter work for me, which boils down to getting a canter depart. So all of the muscles involved in me following MT's exhortations to SIT UP SIT UP SIT UP! are soooorrree. *grin* The shoulders-back muscles under my scapulae; the chest-lifting muscles under my ribcage, the butt-tucking muscles in my butt ... yeah. (Note to self: use butt-tucking muscles more, to avoid arching my back.)

I actually have a pretty good idea of why my canter aids aren't working -- I wasn't getting my inside seatbone in the correct position. I realized this morning that in the lesson I just wasn't doing this one step I'd been doing on my own, and I think that actually did me in.

So the prescription for the next several rides, for me, in addition to rein contact and light, subtle leg aids that don't deaden her to my leg, is going to be 'canter departs, and lots of them.' I know I can do it. I know I can. So I just need to keep practicing, so I can get them immediate and as automatic as the trot departs.

I'm definitely wanting to ride again tonight, but unfortunately, reality intervenes -- I have to work late. Plus, I imagine Rev will be happy to have a day off from the bridle (assuming MT didn't ride her today, which isn't a safe bet at all) after getting her teeth floated -- I know I would be, if there'd been that much vibration in my jaw for that long. Not sore, but probably sensitive. I can take ibuprofen, but she can't, really; I doubt bute is really warranted here. I just feel like it's not all that well tolerated and I don't want to use it for her unless I have to.

Anyway, the other thing that I asked the vet about was her complete hollowness on the left side and her stiff right hind -- she's nowhere near lame, but she just doesn't want to bring that right hind under her. So I wondered if chiropractic care would help her at all. He poked and prodded, and then confirmed my worry ... she's sore under her saddle and through her quarters. He told me to use the P3 unit on her (the equivalent of a TENS machine) for five days, see if that helps her. It probably will help the symptoms, but ... the actual problem, I'm convinced, is my saddle. Sigh. MT's Hennig fits her better than my Courbette does, but it's still not quite right.

I have no idea what kind of saddle she needs ... what I do know is that I can't afford it. :/ Does anyone have a medium-wide, nice saddle they want to give me, outright? *grin*

Anyway, I did get some pictures of my poor girl getting her teeth done. :) This first one reminds me a bit of people I knew in college -- droopy lip, floppy ears, droopy eyelids, and front legs all splayed out to keep her upright. *giggle*

I hated to giggle so hard at the poor girl, but ... it's funny! She's trying so hard to put her ears forward, and she can't quite get it together ...

Really, this only looks medieval ... it's very gentle, and it makes the vet's job sooo much easier!

A little more clearly, this time

So -- now that I have a full keyboard, I can completely express my absolute SQUEE!! at this weekend! :)

Starting with the best stuff: So we've been having trouble with our canter departs. And when I say "we," I mean "I." Rev can do prompt, balanced, quiet departs with MT, but with me, all I'd been getting is bouncy faster trots. My fault entirely. On Saturday, when MT rode her, he narrated his canter aids for me briefly. I'm not sure if he knew how much trouble I'd been having, but whatever the case, the narration made the difference. On Sunday, when I rode, I decided that I was going to try what MT had said and then make. it. work. And I'm damned if it didn't!! :D

We had a lovely, rhythmic canter that I felt would go on as long as I wanted it to without her falling out of it. Matterafact, she started to slow down at one point, and I was able to just squeeze and get her to not falter. What's more, I felt like I was riding it correctly! I could feel my hips swinging and my butt stuck to the saddle, and everything was smooth. Bliss!

It was a little harder getting the canter to the right -- everything with us is harder to the right -- but I got it.

And better yet, the person who'd ridden before me had been practicing cantering over ground poles; just two poles at about 5 strides. So ... we had a canter. We had ground poles. We had the inclination to play a little.

WE CANTERED THE GROUND POLES!! :D I know, it sounds like such a simple, easy thing, why would I be excited about it? Well ... yknow, you take your victories where you find them. :) It's the beginning of jumping! She jumped a teeny tiny bit, just basically a little bouncier canter stride, and I was right there with her. No problems. It was SO fun and SO rewarding! I haven't felt that delighted on a horse in a long time. Thinking about it still makes me grin and tear up a little. Yes, I know, I'm overenthusiastic. It feels a lot better than the edge of despair I'd been having, so ... yep, I'll keep it!

I'd also asked MT if it was realistic for me to plan on entering the crossrails class at the next event derby. His daughter (the super-high-level rider and oughta-be-Olympian) said, with some skepticism, "well, has your horse jumped yet?" She has, on the line, but not under saddle. MT made my entire weekend by saying "Well, let's start jumping her!" I asplode with excitement. ;) Seriously. SO FREAKING EXCITED. :) Jumping!!

So -- in other awesome news, it looks like this summer is going to have a lot of great stuff going on at the barn.

• In the first week of April, we'll have the first Test of Choice night. I hope to get our canter departs ready for Training 1.
• The weekend after the TOC night will be the first stadium/cross-country clinic of the season, at home. As long as our jumping is going okay, I am SO THERE. Finally I get to ride in a clinic instead of just audit!
• Lots of little shows starting up in May, and I will probably start out just going with some friends and paying the grounds fee to just ride her around, get her used to the environment. If I'm feeling froggy and up to it, maybe I'll post-enter a class, but ... still. No huge expectations.
• In June, MT, TW, and TD (Their Daughter) will be running a Camp. Two and a half days, two riding sessions a day, educational seminars in between, including how to walk a cross-country course and how to walk a stadium course and then how to ride the courses based on your walk. And more stuff too. This could not be more perfect for me. Heh -- they designed it with the Pony Clubbers and 4-H kids in mind, but I am SO going to join in. My friend Kate might go too, and hopefully Crystal -- we'll be the geezers of the group. :) Super excited about this.
• I think I'll be able to go to the derbies up in Bellevue and other places around here, too. And the Test of Choice nights go on every first Wednesday of every month, and I'm all in for that.
• And so much more. Just ... squee! :D

Try this again

'parrently i needed to set up an app rather than try to type on the page with my iPod touch. Anyway, goodlesson, I think. Rode in mt's Hennig,which was awful nice after we got the stirrups sorted out. It's weird - I clearly have Zero perspective, because I thought I was terrible, yet mt said it was the best frame he's seen me ride her in. Puzzling! More later, when I have a full kyboard.

Quick

New helmet

In light of Courtney King-Dye's very sad accident, I thought I'd mention that my new helmet arrived! It's the Charles Owen Pro II skullcap, which comes with a cover and comes in black, silver, gold, and hot pink. Silver and gold are heat reflective.

I got mine in silver, because the desert sun can be kind of brutal. I was excited about this version of the helmet because it's got venting, which lots of skullys don't, and because it came with a free schooling cover.

I have to say -- I love it! It fits like a dream, is comfortable to ride in (no hotter than any other helmet), and just overall, it's great. The only drawbacks I see with it are:

* The cover doesn't really fit: it doesn't cover the whole surface of the helmet (see below). It can cover the front all the way and be rucked up several inches in the back, or it can fit over the back and have the brim poking up from somewhere in the vicinity of my hairline. O.o Oh well -- it was free, and it's just for schooling. I'll get a snazzy blue and white event cover and a velvet cover for show. Not, of course, that I'm excited about that prospect, ohhhh nooo ...

* The harness is made of a sort of vinyl material that I can see cracking in the future. We'll see how it holds up.

Other than that, I'm downright chuffed! :)

In other news -- the first Test of Choice night is coming up April 7. I'm sure glad I got Rev into half-training this month. We need it. I'd really like to ride Training 1 this time, since I am beyond tired of Intro A and B. Of course, there are always, always things to improve, even in lower-level tests, and I really should improve certain things ... but I'd like a new challenge, I think. Depending on how our canter departs go, I might be able to ride Training 1 and Intro A -- one for a stretch, one for refining what we've been doing.

Don't ya hate it when ...

Real Life intrudes on riding? I sure as heck do. This week was one of them -- I worked and worked and worked, and I didn't get a chance to get out to the barn. Blah. But this week will be MUCH better, as much because I will it to be as because I don't have so many commitments.

I was thinking, in my lesson last Sunday (not yesterday; MT and TW and D are all at an event), about the different types of intelligence. I was trying to explain to MT how it is that I could have been giving overpowered leg aids All This Time, and I'm not sure I was very clear. That said, the types of intelligence are (as commonly accepted):

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1. Naturalist Intelligence (“Nature Smart”)

Designates the human ability to discriminate among living things (plants, animals) as well as sensitivity to other features of the natural world (clouds, rock configurations). This ability was clearly of value in our evolutionary past as hunters, gatherers, and farmers; it continues to be central in such roles as botanist or chef. It is also speculated that much of our consumer society exploits the naturalist intelligences, which can be mobilized in the discrimination among cars, sneakers, kinds of makeup, and the like.

2. Musical Intelligence (“Musical Smart”)

Musical intelligence is the capacity to discern pitch, rhythm, timbre, and tone. This intelligence enables us to recognize, create, reproduce, and reflect on music, as demonstrated by composers, conductors, musicians, vocalist, and sensitive listeners. Interestingly, there is often an affective connection between music and the emotions; and mathematical and musical intelligences may share common thinking processes. Young adults with this kind of intelligence are usually singing or drumming to themselves. They are usually quite aware of sounds others may miss.


3. Logical-Mathematical Intelligence (Number/Reasoning Smart)

Logical-mathematical intelligence is the ability to calculate, quantify, consider propositions and hypotheses, and carry out complete mathematical operations. It enables us to perceive relationships and connections and to use abstract, symbolic thought; sequential reasoning skills; and inductive and deductive thinking patterns. Logical intelligence is usually well developed in mathematicians, scientists, and detectives. Young adults with lots of logical intelligence are interested in patterns, categories, and relationships. They are drawn to arithmetic problems, strategy games and experiments.

4. Existential Intelligence

Sensitivity and capacity to tackle deep questions about human existence, such as the meaning of life, why do we die, and how did we get here.

5. Interpersonal Intelligence (People Smart”)

Interpersonal intelligence is the ability to understand and interact effectively with others. It involves effective verbal and nonverbal communication, the ability to note distinctions among others, sensitivity to the moods and temperaments of others, and the ability to entertain multiple perspectives. Teachers, social workers, actors, and politicians all exhibit interpersonal intelligence. Young adults with this kind of intelligence are leaders among their peers, are good at communicating, and seem to understand others’ feelings and motives.

6. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence (“Body Smart”)

Bodily kinesthetic intelligence is the capacity to manipulate objects and use a variety of physical skills. This intelligence also involves a sense of timing and the perfection of skills through mind–body union. Athletes, dancers, surgeons, and craftspeople exhibit well-developed bodily kinesthetic intelligence.

7. Linguistic Intelligence (Word Smart)

Linguistic intelligence is the ability to think in words and to use language to express and appreciate complex meanings. Linguistic intelligence allows us to understand the order and meaning of words and to apply meta-linguistic skills to reflect on our use of language. Linguistic intelligence is the most widely shared human competence and is evident in poets, novelists, journalists, and effective public speakers. Young adults with this kind of intelligence enjoy writing, reading, telling stories or doing crossword puzzles.

8. Intra-personal Intelligence (Self Smart”)

Intra-personal intelligence is the capacity to understand oneself and one’s thoughts and feelings, and to use such knowledge in planning and directioning one’s life. Intra-personal intelligence involves not only an appreciation of the self, but also of the human condition. It is evident in psychologist, spiritual leaders, and philosophers. These young adults may be shy. They are very aware of their own feelings and are self-motivated.

9. Spatial Intelligence (“Picture Smart”)

Spatial intelligence is the ability to think in three dimensions. Core capacities include mental imagery, spatial reasoning, image manipulation, graphic and artistic skills, and an active imagination. Sailors, pilots, sculptors, painters, and architects all exhibit spatial intelligence. Young adults with this kind of intelligence may be fascinated with mazes or jigsaw puzzles, or spend free time drawing or daydreaming.

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Now, me? I'm extremely intelligent linguistically and logically/mathematically. (More on the logic than the math, but that's another story.) Secondary are intra-personal and musical intelligences.

What I am absolutely not are: Spatially intelligent or bodily-kinaesthetically intelligent.

It takes a lot for me to learn a physical skill. Once I learn it, I can be quite athletic, but ... it's hard for me to take "okay, now squeeze with your legs" and translate that to "use the inside of your calf muscles and just tap the horse on her side a little, with about a pound of pressure, and then immediately release it." Because I can't actually *see* the pressure when I watch MT ride, I had no way of knowing what he was going for.

However ... after we had the discusson of "Is this how you do your leg aid? No? This? No? THIS? No? Oh god.", MT mentioned a conversation he'd had years ago with a clinician or teacher he'd worked with. The clinician said to MT, "Well, yknow, when you learn to use your leg right, your horses will go great."

So at least I'm not the only one, and at least I know now what I ought to be doing!

We also had some good progress with rhythm -- lifting my hands a bit seems to be hugely helpful. She finds release when stretching her head down and working through her neck in this position, so we'll go with it for a while, until the better position becomes routine.

So -- in other news, I've been tagged! :D onthebit tagged me with this meme:

Write 7 things about yourself and then pass is along to 15 bloggers!

Hm. I don't actually follow 15 blogs here, but you can have 7 things. Here you go:

1) I'm a published author and editor. I've worked for a variety of roleplaying game companies. So if you google me, you'll find a bunch of my books. I'm not entirely sure this counts as being a real author, but hey -- my words are published and translated into a zillion languages.

2) I love the aforementioned roleplaying games. I'm a cheerfully unashamed D&D geek! However, I don't play online games ... no attention span for them, and see above spatial ineptitude. ;) I've tried, and every time it's come down to "ack! Where is that damage coming from! Guys, help, I'm drowning, and I can't find the tunnel you all went down! ACK!"

3) I am a Detroit Red Wings fan. My favorite players on the team are probably Pavel Datsyuk and Niklas Kronwall, with a fan nod to Justin Abdelkader. Of course, it's impossible to not respect players like Lidstrom, Zetterberg, and Cleary, too.

4) If I had the financial freedom to do so, I'd be a working student forever. I love taking care of horses, even the smelly parts. I love learning from MT and TW, and I'd cheerfully clean stalls from here on out in exchange for lessons and training.

5) I have a probably ill-advised dream of riding a musical freestyle dressage test to Shipping Up to Boston, by the Dropkick Murphys (one of my two or three all-time favorite bands). It's got the right rhythm, and it's so energizing. Why not?! Don't judges and audiences get tired of the same old instrumental, orchestral music? :) Let's bring a little attitude to the arena!

6) Although I enjoy dressage and I recognize why we're doing all the flatwork, all the heavy lifting, now ... I am SO ready to start jumping! Mentally, anyway. Since MT hasn't started us jumping, he must believe that I'm not ready physically, so ... I'll wait. But I am SO EAGER to get back to jumping!! I think I'll be better at it than the flatwork/dressage ... I always was. We'll see.

7) My dream horse is a red leopard Appaloosa sporthorse. I had a chance to have one, years ago, and I just wasn't up to the challenge/opportunity, so I missed out. I am just crazy about spots. :)

Two thank yous

So many things to blog about ... so little order in my brain. :)

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We'll start with this: More dreams featuring MT, TW, and their kids -- this one involved me having to ride both Reveille and the pony I had the most success on, Stormy, in a group lesson. MT wasn't teaching, though -- his son was. Which is odd -- J could teach, I'm sure, but he's just not a huge horse guy. So it was all very chaotic, with Reveille dancing around like a much spookier horse, jumping in and out of her pen, etc. I was terribly amused when I woke up, and when I got to the barn I told MT and TW they had to quit showing up in my dreams. :) Clearly, my brain is working on the Whole Horse Thing overtime!

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So this afternoon, as I was getting ready to go out to the barn, the doorbell rang, the corgis informed me that We Were Being Robbed!, and I opened the door to the mail carrier, bringing me a prize package! :) It was from onthebit, and it was my prize for being the first to identify her car tire buried in snow. Squeee! I was so excited! I opened the package to find a very nice note on pretty horse stationery and this:



So very cool! It's a lovely white dressage pad and a bridle charm!

Thank you, onthebit -- it's great! I will actually keep this pad for show season, because I need a nice clean show pad, and I am really looking forward to putting the bridle charm on a clean bridle and horse. :) I absolutely love it! The bridle charm is definitely for good luck; see?


I can't wait! :)

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So this week's schedule got blown out. Blah. But -- something good did come of it. When Thursday went awry and took Friday with it, I called TW as I was in the middle of turning my car around and changing my plan. I asked if MT could put a ride on Rev Friday morning, because she needs the work and I wasn't going to be able to come out that evening or Friday. He had the time, so yay!

And when I got to the barn today, she was so tuned. She was awake and alive to my aids, and I was able to get her to keep a strong, forward tempo, both directions. That is complete bliss, right now. She's so easy to ride when she's forward. Or at least, so much easier. I was able to actually work on positioning her nose inward, little gives and takes on the right rein, rather than moving her forward. When she did slug a little bit, she responded instantly to my leg.

Thank you, MT!!! *beam*

What with my tax refund coming in and with a bit of a reshuffle of my budget, I'm absolutely delighted to discover that I can afford to put Reveille into half-training starting in March. This might not sound like much, but it's huge for me. It means MT will ride her several days during the week, and I'll continue with my usual riding schedule, and I'll have weekly lessons. This is going to be a great thing for my girl, who needs a lot of consistent riding, just because of who she is. I anticipate it'll bring her along by leaps and bounds, compared to how she's been coming along so far. Which, in the last month, has been pretty far, so I'm happy.

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Training with side reins continues to go well. I saw some real effect today while I was riding, and her muscles are developing very nicely. She needs more, of course, but it's good to have the validation that it's working.

So overall, positive progress! I have a lesson tomorrow, which I'm looking forward to, and I'll hope it goes as well. :)

Ketchup!

Monday: Spanish teaching.
Tuesday: Game night.
Wednesday: Worked late, had to bathe dogs immediately on getting home. Ugh. I did dream that MT and TW saw me reading some kind of school book and insisted that I shouldn't bother with all that reading and schooling, that I should quit school, live in some unspecified place on their property, and focus on riding only. *laugh* Talk about wish fulfillment; if I could quit my job and just ride, I'd be thrilled. Unfortunately, horses cost money ...

Today: Longing, finally.

Also, I suddenly -- after a training meeting for work that culminated in "oh, it doesn't matter exactly what you do, just be consistent about it" and very little "THIS is what you should do," and my resulting "FINE. I'll do it my own way then, since you don't care." -- understand how Rev feels sometimes when I'm not clear in my leadership.

Such strange things offer us insight.

Further updates as events warrant.

Weekend comments.

A very productive weekend, horse-wise. Not an easy one, but a productive one!



Friday I went out to ride, after rescheduling with a friend. The whole goal was tempo and balance, and we ... sort of succeeded. In hindsight, after Sunday's lesson, we didn't succeed at all, but I worked really hard at it.



Saturday was a very fun day. I got to the barn around 1:30, and as 2:00 got closer, people started arriving in floods! Turns out that MT was teaching a 2:00 jumping lesson that somehow ended up involving just ponies -- maybe just-barely-horses, but still. :) I love watching jumping lessons, partially because it's fun in its own right, but partially because I want to soak up as much information as I can and make my own return-to-real-jumping as easy as possible. So after I longed Rev, I took her outside, mounted up, and watched the jumping lesson from outside the arena. It's good for her to learn to stand and wait, and she was quite good about it! She did look around and get a little tense a couple of times, but I distracted her by having her move around, etc., and that took care of it. MT commented on how good she'd been, which was nice.



At one point, the working student looked over and said "You look like you're ready for an ambush!" I'd just redirected Rev's attention from something she was about to get too tense over, just by talking to her and wiggling the bit, so my response was "I am! They're lurking." I wasn't really kidding, either. I know Rev sometimes gets in the mood to spook -- she's not a spooky horse, but sometimes she decides it would be fun to play and spook at things. I don't care for riding that sort of thing, so I'll head it off if I can -- be ready for things Rev wants to be ambushed by, and keep her from ambushing me. :) Sometimes I feel like I have to have, in the words of Alastor Moody, constant vigilance! I'll be able to almost-completely relax on her one of these days, but for the moment ... she's 5.



So after we watched the lesson, we went in to work. Again, focus on tempo and energy, and my balance. We did better than we had on Friday, certainly, especially when I got my balance. Of course, after Sunday's lesson, I think we should have done more, but ... experience is the thing you get right after you need it. :)

I also talked to MT and TW about the fit of my saddle -- I learned some new things about where it ought to go and about my horse's back. I had no idea she was such a round horse. XD It's odd: my Collegiate Diploma jumping saddle is a medium-narrow and fits her nicely. My Courbette de Kunffy Grand Prix dressage saddle is a medium and is a bit too narrow. Hunh. Interesting. We'll see if she finishes her wither-growing this year and how it affects saddle fit. Meanwhile, when the County fitter comes out again this spring, I'll get my Courbette reflocked to fit her a little better. (And see how County saddles fit her and me; if they fit great, I'll start saving.) I really do like when TW and MT are in talking moods, because I always learn something interesting. And heaven knows that I need to learn more things -- and heaven ALSO knows that I love to learn things!

So Sunday, obviously, we had a lesson. This one was all about tempo and energy, with a small side of Longing in Side Reins: How and Why, and a topping of Weight Aids.

Oy.

Now I know what to look for when I ride. And it's more than I'd been getting. I'm glad I have this yardstick, for sure -- I know she has a beautiful trot, and of course I can't see her feet when I'm riding to know where she is with it. So now I know what I'm looking for and what it feels like. She's not real excited about giving it, so I have to work at it.

MT gave me a couple of tools for getting there -- first, he mentioned that if I don't have any contact in my reins, she'll raise her head, pin her ears, and start swishing her tail. I'm not sure if this is a general purpose comment or if it only applies to when I use my stick on her, but having soft contact can't possibly be a bad idea, so I'll take it and run with it.

The second thing he suggested was that if she starts resisting and slowing down, despite my leg aid and weight aid, I should hop off her and put her right back on the longe line and basically push the GO button, get her moving. Get her into a relaxed, forward, energetic trot with her back swinging and her attitude improved, then get back on her. Lather, rinse, repeat until she moves forward under saddle. I'll definitely work that this week and see how she does.

Good news, though: MT commented when he rode her that she feels a lot better to him than she did the week before, so there's progress! Woot! He thinks, and I agree, that longing in side reins is having a great effect, so we'll press on with that.

If we can get the forward energy back, I think we can make some real progress. One thing I noticed in the jumping lesson was the emphasis on steady tempo before and after fences -- which I know about and know is important and why -- but somehow it'd not occurred to me that that's part of what we're shooting for here. Part of it.

So I find myself motivated -- there's a noticeable change in my horse, which is extremely positive. There's something to shoot for in the foreseeable future. And in the short term future, if I can get her forward energy going, she'll be WAY easier to ride, way more fun. Can do.

Mental prep

Nothing new to blog about today, since I didn't ride last night due to Spanish lessons, but -- certainly thinking about what it is I need to work on tonight.

* Clear aids, for one, both on the longe line and in the saddle, with the expectation of near-immediate response from the horse.

* Energetic gaits, both on the longe line and in the saddle, that are regular. (the regularity is, to use an abhorrent bit of corporate-speak, a "stretch goal")

* Balance, as usual! Weight aids, and keeping the correct steady leg position.

* Keeping her neck straight by allowing the left rein to be soft and lots of little gives and takes on the right -- guarding the haunches with my outside leg, as well as outside leg to inside rein.

That oughta keep me and her busy, neh?