Lesson Recap

For some reason yesterday I just was not feeling like doing anything other than going home and sitting on the couch and maybe reading a book. Those days are far and few between for me and while very occasionally I don’t feel excited about working with pony, some days it’s nice to just do other things, usually I at least want to do something.

At any rate yesterday was when my lesson was scheduled and with the barn move throwing off my schedule for the next week and a half it was important that I get this lesson in while I could. Plus I’m not someone that is willing to cancel a lesson last minute just because I don’t feel like it. I had talked myself into it by the time I left work and, thanks to Viva Carlos’ last quote, I wasn’t even whining too bad. I got to the barn and luckily the woman who is going to be trailering Katai on Saturday was there so we were able to talk through the plan for that day. I had received a text from my trimmer earlier and apparently we had scheduled a trim for that day (damn you iPhone calendar for not coming through for me!) but were able to get that in before the scheduled move so Katai will have nice short toes for her arrival to the new barn.

 

After that conversation I went out to get Katai and was surprised when she whinnied to me and walked up to me in the pasture. She never runs or moves away but normally she’s not clearly excited to see me. I felt renewed hope that this was going to be a great lesson. However, as I was grooming and tacking up she started to express her displeasure in small ways. She’s usually not naughty anymore during the process but she did a few things that were unlike her such as refusing to take the bit at first and stepping away when I went to put her saddle on. I’m still not exactly sure what was into her unless, like me, she just wasn’t feeling it that day.

 

As I walked into the ring L was showing up and warned me that she was early. I started to go through my normal warm up routine but Katai was clearly tight, tense, and didn’t want to go on the bit or listen to my legs so I started making her work earlier than I normally would. I’m not sure if it was that, the two days off in a row, or something else but once we started to trot and actually got into the lesson she was full of it. She just wanted to run and was allergic to any leg pressure. Finally after hopping up and down in place a few times I got her going forward and we went with it and started with the canter.

 

L let me know once we finally had some semblance of a calm pony that “She is setting the difficulty level and if she wants to do things the hard way and not listen she’s going to have to work and work until you are ready to let her rest.” Because of this we did a lot of canter and trot in a row and waiting awhile to give her a walk break. After that initial blow up though she did come back to good work again fairly quickly. I feel like this is our main improvement over the past few weeks since it used to take at least half an hour to get good work. Now she may still blow up but at least we get to good work after about 10 to 15 minutes.

 

Once we were back to a trot I mentioned to L that she was just not listening to my legs and at even the hint of pressure she was blowing through everything else to run. Since we had her actually going forward L had me do spiral circles at the walk on the bit and be REALLY picky about how she was moving, when, and where and having me put my leg and keep my leg on her so that she couldn’t get away from it. Slowly, after a few circles in each direction, we had a pony that was listening properly to each leg and not overreacting to leg aids so we moved up to a trot. She was still a little fast but she actually was listening to my aids and after I got her slowed down we did more trot spirals and then after some great work on bend to the left, which is her tough side, we went ahead and called it.

 

L mentioned again that she thought we looked really good at the end and that she agreed with me that we were making progress and it was great to get good work 10-15 minutes into the lesson rather than only for the last 10 minutes. She said that I need to focus on doing what she needs when she needs it. If that’s canter right at the beginning that’s what I need to work on, if she’s in front of my leg but not listening to independent leg aids I need to do some slower walk spirals to take the tension out of leg aids etc. L also mentioned that at some point she would like to ride her. I think she was waiting for me to be displeased about it but actually I’m really proud since this is because she wants to be sure we aren’t headed in the wrong direction and that means that she thinks we can actually get places. She’s never mentioned riding her before, probably because it wasn’t worth the risk to herself to ride such a green, naughty, pony who wasn’t showing any real ability. Now that she is L wants to help me make sure that I’m not creating a habit or problem that will haunt us later and that makes me happy.

Unfortunately H wasn't able to make it because she was feeling under the weather so I still don't have anymore new photos or video. Coming soon hopefully!

 

I think my next lesson will be on Tuesday but with the hoof trim on Saturday and the move we’re going to play it by ear and see how she’s doing. Now I just need to make sure that I ride consistently before the move/hooftrim so that we can have a productive lesson!

Causation

Whatever’s not working at the current barn has become irrelevant because it is clear to me after my ride last night that I need to leave. I’ve been questioning if it is J’s teaching style, my riding style, the pony, or the other people but it just doesn’t matter because it isn’t working. 

Last night, after giving Katai a week off, I went out to ride her and I was able to relax because I didn’t have to worry about my lesson on Wednesday and the complete disaster that they have become. I had been toying again with the idea that maybe this just isn’t what Katai wants to do and had thought about possibly finding her another home with a kid but when I saw her pretty face and fuzzy ears last night I was strongly reminded that it doesn’t matter. I’m with her through whatever happens and we are going to be a team for a good long while. 

I brought her in and took my time grooming her. She’s been blanketed so she wasn’t dirty but she was enjoying being brushed since I’m sure she was itchy under her blanket. Her feet have also been concerning me and showing signs of Thrush again, probably because she stands in manure at the round bale all day and never moves around enough to dislodge the crap in her hooves. I cleaned them out as well as I could but I’m going to wash them out tonight and get them really disinfected and clean.

I tacked her up and went to the arena but there were two lessons so I took my time just walking around with her and showing her things that she’s been squeamish about. I tried to spend some time just hanging out with her and took my time tightening up the girth. 

After about 10 minutes one of the lesson people left so I brought Katai over to the mounting block and climbed up. She was initially a little tense and quick. I just rode her long and low with loose reins but expecting her to be reasonably straight and to listen to my leg cues. She did relax a lot and I was doing ten meter circles off my seat and legs with my reins on the buckle.

Eventually I did some trotting in both directions and since this is where J’s been putting the most pressure on us I knew she would lose it but actually after just a couple circles in each direction where I didn’t demand anything she relaxed enough to reach down into contact and even slowed just off my weight cue. I decided to quit on that positive note.

I brought her back into the crossties, got her untacked and was actually doing some clipper desensitization when this is where the story gets really good. I was just putting her blanket back on when J comes out if the arena and marches right over to me. She said, “I noticed you were working her in hand a lot tonight.” I kind of paused and said, “Nope, I was just hanging out waiting for the arena to clear out a little.” J then says, “Well if she’s that against you maybe you should take a driving lesson with me.”

I went

First, why is there nothing between me riding my horse in a third level frame which causes her to fight me and deciding that driving is just better? Did she not see that when she was ridden low, loose and relaxed tonight she was great? Again, Katai is an intro/training level horse and at this point I am an intro/training level rider which to me means we should be working on intro/training level things such as relaxation, rhythm, going different speeds within the gait, stretching, long and low, and working on other things like desensitization to clippers and riding on the trail. NOT transferring most of her weight to her hind end and trying to work on half pass or only allowing her to go forward when she is straight. Second, I know J probably knows how to drive but that doesn’t mean that I would go right into taking lessons with her and finally if there was ever a time to say green on green equals black and blue this is it! An instructor who doesn’t regularly drive teaching me, who has never driven a horse, to drive my young admittedly difficult horse just seems like an extremely horrible idea that is fraught with peril. Add to that the fact that I’m sure we don’t have any equipment that would fit her, I’m not sure that driving is something I’ll ever be comfortable after seeing my sister in a driving accident that resulted in three broken ribs, and the fact that I certainly can’t afford to go buy a bunch of driving equipment.  Finally, even if she is just talking ground driving its silly because Katai is the ground driving queen! I did a ton of this before I ever climbed on her back and she does it just as well, or poorly, as she rides at this point. Since I’m not scared of falling off or getting hurt when I ride her I guess I just don’t know what that will accomplish in the long run.

At any rate I’m going to stop my whining. I am really looking forward to this new opportunity and think I have a couple of barns picked out. I boarded Sora at one previously and the other I’ve heard great things about. That one I’m going to go tour on Friday and I can’t wait to look around! They have only stall board available and while it’s not something I ever thought I would do I also think it would be a great opportunity.

I typed up this post at work today on my lunch but need to add a postscript. I went to the barn right after work to see H ride in her lesson since its been awhile. She was doing really well! Afterward though when I told J that I needed to give my 30 day notice she fought me and declared, after I stubbornly refused to listen to her trying to get me to dump my pony at an auction, "You're going to regret this, that pony will never be worth anything."

Yep, I made the right decision to get out of there.

More positive and wonderful posts to follow including pictures of the new place as soon as I can get them!

Matter and Mature

I've had a rough couple of weeks. 

First, in non-horse-related items I let the boy that dumped me in November back into my life. Of course it seems stupid as I type it especially after how he dumped me but I believe strongly in forgiveness and he made a good case. I was only willing to let him back as a friend but after a drunk night of conversation he admitted that he was back because he wanted me back as a girlfriend. I refused to agree to that and told him he better take some time and think about it. I've behaved only as a friend with him since then refusing any advances and to his credit he has been mostly polite and respected my wishes. However it has been extremely emotionally tiring for me. I really did love him and had just really gotten over him when he contacted me and it has been an emotional roller coster for me trying to decide what I want since I have a decision to make. 

I'm still on the fence but the fence starting to lean one way pretty strongly and it is not in his favor.

With all that fun going on my time with Katai and at the barn should have been my escape but that has not proven to be the case. In my last post I wrote about how Katai in heat was a pain to deal with but I was starting to have my doubts that it had anything to do with hormones and with the new supplements really starting to make a difference in her comfort and behavior I have come very strongly to the conclusion that it has more to do with J.

I really, really, really, really didn't want that to be the case. I am not someone who questions her instructors. I've been taking serious lessons since I was five, not in riding, but in music but I gave and was taught to give those instructors my utmost respect and NEVER questioned them. If something hurt or I had questions I asked and we came up with a plan which I followed. I've had excellent instructors my whole life and stuck with all of them for 7+ years until they told me and/or my mom that it was time to move on to someone with more experience. With that being said I have lost so much respect for J after my last few lessons that I am beginning to think of moving my pony.

The issue is the trot. J wants a slow trot, with Katai carrying herself on her hind legs, and with an upright neck and head. Basically a 3rd level+ frame and carriage. I'm no Dressage expert but 

it. is. too. soon.  

and this has of course been proven by Katai's discomfort, tense back, canter/trot/gaiting mess, etc. She is not even a 90 day horse at this point and more importantly, she has an amateur rider. What I KNOW needs to happen is long and low, lifted back, slowly more uphill, and slowly changing the speed of her trot until she can carry herself properly for a few strides at a time and then build on that. J doesn't just want this advanced frame for a stride she wants it the whole, damn half hour lesson and I know it's bullshit. Even if Katai was ready for it, and she is not, I am not. I'm an amateur rider for heavens sake riding a horse that I have made slowly and with great care so as to not screw anything up. I know I take that risk since I am not an expert.

I'm mad, and have been mad, because Katai is my girl. It is up to me to protect her and speak for her and its not something I'm good at but even beyond that J is just so domineering that she will not listen to a word I say. I have been trying to not mess up my pony while J seems to be trying her damnedest to do just that plus I can't get it out of my head that it's because she dislikes Katai and just wants to prove to me that she is unsutable for this.

I'm mad that I put us in this place.

On Monday this week I got us out of the arena, away from J's eyes as she taught other lessons. I rode Katai in an open field and despite all of the things that she could have had issues with and the fact that I have not riden her anywhere but the indoor arena since I moved her to this stable she was perfect. She listened, she generalized knowledge, she realized that she still needed to listen to my leg and seat even in a different and exciting place. Most importantly she troted, fast but even with her back lifted and her head low, curved and relaxed. Her back swung. She didn't duck behind the verticle. I had steering AND brakes. She pushed up hills and maintained her pace and got only a slight bit faster going down them. She evenly and quietly changed to a canter and back to a trot off my seat. She was perfect and I do not deny that without J we would never be here but I can't ignore where she is trying to take us.

I've had three lessons of this madness despite me trying to just get her to let me allow Katai to trot a little faster she litterally takes the reins out of my hands and walks along next to us expecting Katai to trot at her walking speed. This makes Katai try this tense, tiny prancy walk with no carriage and so much tension that she feels like she is going to snap but even beyond this if it were just Katai I would continue to put my trust in J. It's the fact that I've seen more and more of her students ride and almost every single horse is hollow, tense, prancy, and nervous. Not something I saw in the two months I took lessons before moving there but not something I'm going to ignore now.

To me, it's time to move and I have a few options. There are three serious dressage/eventing barns in the area and two barns that are very eclectic both with dressage trainers as well as western, english, jumper, hunter, etc. 

I have mixed feelings because the two eclectic barns are the cheapest but both have trails, indoor and outdoor arenas and instruction. One of the instructors is better than the other but that barn is WAY more crowded and busy and I'm just not sure its a good place to put Katai.

 One of the serious barns is home to a dressage trainer that is on the high performance list for the Olympics as well as an eventer that teaches dressage lessons. I would certainly not need lessons from the dressage instructor but having her available would make me feel like I could stay for the long term. I have actually asked to be on the wait list for pasture since it sounds like it could be a long time and that barn is closest to the location that I hope to move when I'm ready to move on at work.

The second of the more serious barns has a great eventing/hunter/jumper instructor that I've taken several lessons with but they only do stall board and I'm still not convinced that I'm ok with that plus the fact that just stall board is the same price as pasture + weekly lessons where I am now.

The third of the more serious barns is the one that I am leaning to the most strongly right now. I'm not sure if I blogged about it but I've taken a lesson with the instructor and I enjoyed it. It was more fun than lessons with J have been plus she does a lot of natural horsemanship and groundwork with her students. I'm sure she could and would help me with Katai's phobia of fly spray, clippers and help with getting her more relaxed for trailer loading. Those things would be far more valuable to me than continued dressage training at this point. Board, if there is pasture available, plus lessons would cost $5 more per month than I am paying now. Yes, $5. I think my budget can handle that. It's also only about 10 minutes further away and since most of my other choices are 20+ more minutes away it is one of the closest options as well.

I really did not want to be moving again or making this decision again. I wanted to stay at my current barn for years and I know some people who read this will think I'm jumping the gun but seriously, if you saw the way that she is starting to treat my pony paired with the attitudes of the other horses at the barn you would be jumping ship as well. 

Amazing, Incredible Opportunity

I’ve been quiet for the past week but there are two reasons for that. One is that it’s been extremely cold again so I haven’t been out to the barn as much and the other is that I finally have the opportunity I’ve been looking so long for.

 I get to take Dressage lessons with an INCREDIBLE instructor!!!

Not only that but I am moving Katai there at the end of March so I get to take lessons on my horse. I could cry I’m so happy. I’ve wanted to be able to take regular lessons from a good instructor for so long but between just not having the funds and thinking I didn’t have a good instructor anywhere nearby I was resigned that I would have to wait until I get a new job (the plan is to start looking in just over a year). However, I found a barn that is only about 15 minutes away from work, offers pasture board, and is affordable.

 I was aware of this barn because their riders consistently do the best at the schooling shows I’ve been to but for some reason I was thinking that it was located much, much further away and/or would be too expensive. Now I found it though!

There are four instructors that teach there and they do both Dressage and Eventing. I had a lesson with one instructor on Sunday and will have a lesson with another on Thursday. I’ve already talked about moving and they have a spot open for late March/early April move in. I love their set up already as it is both convenient and neat and clean. There are stalls but they are located in a separate, smaller barn near the mare pens. The mares and geldings are separated and they do rotational grazing with HUGE pastures. The herd sizes are nice and small and they do snow/poop removal in the winter pens so the horses aren’t standing in manure or in feet of snow.

There is an indoor and outdoor arena as well as a roundpen and the footing, at least in the indoor, is incredible. The tack up area as well as tackroom and viewing lounge are all once piece and heated and there is warm and cold water right in the tack up area which is a luxury that I have never had.  All of this is only about 15 minutes from where I work and I have been planning on moving within walking distance of work as soon as my current lease is up.

I can’t even believe how incredible all of this is and how much better it will make life in general. Pony will be closer, on less risky roads in a neat arena that doesn’t house a tractor and tons of scary obstacles, in a smaller herd of only mares with a USDF certified instructor who still regularly rides in both clinics and competitions.

I am so incredibly excited :)