Free lunging from the Sunday where I flew out to Seattle
Momentum is an interesting thing. It's not that I don't have information to share, in fact I almost feel like I have too much information to share, it's more that I just haven't been able to convince myself to sit down and write.
Last year I started to really struggle with my seasonal depression but this year I started taking my vitamin D way earlier so I'm actually doing well. Beyond just being tired recovering from my Seattle work trip I'm feeling great.
Last weekend I rode Saturday-Sunday and then gave her Monday off before my lesson on Tuesday. In those days I had a lesson on Sunday and a lesson on Tuesday. The Sunday lesson we worked a bit on canter and some shoulder in.
Tiny dog is a ham and I think he missed me :)
We did two exercises, one was leg yielding to center line away from the long side. Once we hit X we made a 10 meter circle in the direction of the bend and then, figure eight style, changed the bend at X and did another 10 meter circle towards the other long side. Back at X we'd leg yield back towards the original wall we'd started from.
The second was one that we've done before where we'd shoulder in along the long side, midway down the side we'd go across the diagonal, change the bend prior to hitting the wall and cue for canter. In canter we'd do a 20 meter circle at the end of the arena and then go back to trot and do it again. I LOVE this exercise and Katai does too. We did so much better this lesson than we have in the past and the SI was clearly improved.
Little blurry and tough to tell, but that's a hot tub boat on Lake Union
On Tuesday we did a bunch more canter including shallow loops to work on our counter canter going into 20 meter circles where we'd spiral in and out. Going to the left it was pretty funny because she wanted to half pass to the center rather than move straight. Not what we were asking for and we were able to correct it but talk about an over achiever!
We also worked a lot more on SI and it's feeling SO MUCH BETTER!! It's actually starting to flow a bit more and Jane mentioned that she's impressed with our quick improvement. We worked a lot on the concept of me lifting her with my seat to control the sitting trot rather than sitting down into her back to control the sitting trot. Or as Jane says, "bounce her up with your seat". There were magical moments but they didn't last long and it would take me awhile to get it back. When it worked though it really worked so I'm excited to keep working on this.
Someone had asked for a picture of my Ariat coat.
Here it is, courtesy of the AirBnB Bathroom mirror
In other news I started the first clip of the season today. I got almost all the hair off and got the lines pretty good. Tomorrow I'll just clean everything up. Poor girl is a bit moth eaten tonight and poor Jane probably wondered what I did to her when she saw her at evening feeding. Oh well, I'll finish getting her cleaned up tomorrow. I also got her bridle path cut but I still need to "pull" her mane, do some work on her tail, and I'd like to do one more bath before it gets too cold.
In sad news, her feet are looking pretty thrushy. During most of the year I was keeping up with it but after the past month were I wasn't at the barn as much they've back slid a bit. It will be my focus for this month and hopefully I can get it cleaned up right away!
First off, thank you all so much for your help on my last post! I'm going to go ahead and get Katai her HID this year since that doesn't need to be renewed but otherwise I'm going to stick to opportunity classes. If for some reason she blows me away at these first two shows I may reconsider but otherwise it will be a nice cost savings.
Then, at some point here I may change the lesson recap posts just because there's enough similar information that I might do every other lesson or something. Not sure if people are enjoying reading them but I'm getting bored writing them ;)
At any rate this lesson felt like a lot of work. I'd skipped a couple of weeks of core workouts and then done one the weekend before this lesson. Then Jane had me work a lot on sitting trot and do a lot of canter AND she was making me use my core correctly... I'm pretty sure that's why I was dying by the end of the lesson. Katai also got a good workout and had slightly sweaty ears and some good sweat on her butt muscles.
The themes were that Jane wanted me to keep the bend and roundness really consistent (certainly not my specialty).
SQUIRREL
and make sure that she really stepped and pushed forward with her hind legs. Typically I can do one or the other but not both however in my lesson this week I was actually getting both as long as Jane didn't want me to do anything else.
Jane really pushed me to challenge Katai's balance again. First with much steeper leg yields in sitting trot where we did a zig zag from quarter line to quarter line which meant Katai going very sideways with her short little legs. I messed this one up royally before getting a good one. Then we moved on to shoulder fore and shoulder in. Jane wanted me to really focus on keeping her active in the trot and giving her space to move forward with my reins while keeping her round.
It's really tough with Katai because as soon as I use my legs to ask for something she tightens up through her back and completely loses the roundness which is a tough balancing act for someone who's just learning how to do some of these movements. We're getting there though and I'm still feeling steady improvement with each lesson which makes it fun.
Finally we worked on shallow serpentines at the canter. We've worked up to doing them to the center line rather than just the quarter line and as long as I remember not to cross my inside hand across her withers to "help" her get back to the wall we were doing pretty well. We also worked on trying to get some 10 meter circles at the canter. By the point we got to those Katai was already pretty tired so she struggled a bit but I'm so happy with how much longer she's able to maintain a decent canter!
It was a really good lesson even if I did feel exhausted by the end. It certainly made me realize that it's time for me to keep upping my fitness game and to do the same with Katai. I REALLY need to get her comfortable on the quiet(ish) gravel road so that I can get her out and work up to more trot and canter sets. It would be really good for both of us!
The title doesn't have to do with Katai being contrary but with what we asked her to do.
We started counter canter!!!! The lesson was pretty short and specific. Katai hasn't been getting worked as much with all of my traveling and her soreness plus with her shots she was still pretty sore through the neck. We worked on spiraling, getting my upper leg on, a couple of leg yields and then tried some counter canter.
My shopping trip on the way to the barn yesterday
Carrots for Katai, dried mangos for me, and doggy kibble for Veggie
I also got some stuff for braiding so that I can start to practice
First, Katai was SO GOOD!! No extra tension, excitement, or sassiness. She was just calm and trying hard to understand what I was asking. I was fumbling since it's the first time I've tried shallow serpentines at the canter and she just patiently let me figure it out.
In the end she only broke once and even to the right which is her tougher canter lead she did a great job. We also had her cantering for longer than typical and she never once refused or was sassy about that. I didn't even get a head toss or pinned ears. I actually think she sort of enjoyed playing with something new :)
I ended up getting a couple of good tries in each direction and after doing some stretchy trot we ended there.
Only in a horse barn.
It's the cheese stick next to the syringe that really kills me ;)
I'm feeling really motivated and ready to get back on track this week but unfortunately with all of her appointments I've been needing to take it easy. My plan is to pick things up seriously tomorrow and get her back on a fitness/regular riding plan.
Sorry for the random food item photos. Hopefully I can get more riding media soon!
I had an amazing lesson with my pony valentine on Tuesday! After this lesson I figured out at least part of why Jane is so good for us and that is that she doesn't allow me to be such a perfectionist.
Both of us are but instead of letting me get on a 12 meter circle and pick at the trot for 20 minutes to get it "perfect" she just expects me to ride a "perfect" trot while doing lots of other things. When it's not perfect, she gives me feedback and trusts that even if it's not good in that moment, I'll work on it appropriately and make it better. She never thinks anything is good enough and I always get lots of blunt feedback on everything but she also doesn't let me wait until she starts to introduce new things.
Right after I realized this I saw this quote on VivaCarlos' blog and it so perfectly illustrates exactly what this lesson was all about.
"You'll never be ready if you keep waiting to be." iOn my own I would totally just keep waiting because I wouldn't let myself move on until something was perfect and my instructors in the past have supported this or brought this out in me. Jane just doesn't care and keeps on pushing me which is exactly what I need. In this lesson we covered the following: 3 and 4 loop serpentines Halt Medium Canter Medium Trot Shoulder In Haunches In Baby Half Pass Leg Yield Plus, she didn't just have me work on each of these things. Pretty much the whole lesson was her calling out what she wanted next much like a reader would do in a test.
Shiny pony butt! I never thought I'd see her actually shine :)
I don't remember exactly what we did where because it was pretty much one thing after the next but one of the exercises we did was to turn down the center line and then A to E do haunches in which was baby half pass. Then straighten on the wall and at C turn down the center line and do the same thing to E which was haunches in (baby half pass) the other direction. It was SO cool, very tricky and it really reinforced how exact I need to be with my aids for haunches in and how I can't "cheat" with the reins and avoid using my legs correctly if I want to be able to ever do half pass. My favorite exercise that we did though was shoulder in, sitting trot down the long side. Then half way I would straighten her and ride a short diagonal, get the bend, hit the wall and cue for canter. We'd do a 20 meter canter circle and then canter down the long side and transition into trot before I hit the corner. This was cool because a few months ago both of us would have fallen apart at the seams if asked to do those things back to back and now we both held it together a few times in each direction. We also only got one canter lead incorrect!
Yep, it's spring!
This was also the first time Jane had us try medium canter and Katai did so well! Jane asked me to try it towards the end of the lesson and that was where we ended after one really good try. She really lifted in front and lengthened and it felt pretty magical :) During the rest of the lesson we also got at least one really good medium(ish) trot, some great haunches in at the walk (we spent a lot of time there getting my cues correct - MUST NOT TIP TO THE OUTSIDE!!!), a couple of ok halts, really nice shoulder in and a few nice leg yields! Katai was clearly extremely proud of herself (as she should be) after this ride and I was too. Jane had some really nice things to say and it really felt good. It was all messy and the perfectionist in me was crying for a lot of it but I held it together and really rode the whole time which I certainly wouldn't have been able to do a month or two ago. So happy with my amazing baby girl!!!
First, before we get to my Monday ride recap I wanted to recap the weekend. After a really successful week last week (first time I’ve ridden 5 days in a way in a LONG TIME) I went out on Sunday all ready to ride only to find the arena full of exhaust. Again, my fault since I know they drag the arena late Sunday morning/early afternoon and I showed up in the early evening. I was only frustrated because if I’d shown up a bit earlier I could have taken her outside for a walk (by the time I showed up it was too dark) or a bit later and maybe the exhaust would have settled a bit more. Oh well, I’ll remember for next week.
Instead I ended up doing a good spa day and I worked on spray bottles. I also walked her around the barn finding places that were #justlikeatrailer and making her walk into them and back out. She seemed to enjoy the time without riding and again, I need to do this more.
Sorry for the weird framing, I put this above the
arena door and didn't think it would be in the shot
but apparently it was.
Then Monday! It’s getting to the point where we have enough movements to work on that I need to do more planning prior to the ride about what I’m going to work on. If I don’t I either end up not really working on anything (suddenly getting a perfectly circular circle seems very important) or I try to fit too many different things in and the ride feels hectic. This Monday I wanted to tackle halts, medium trot, stretchy trot, and leg yields and knew that I needed to fit a good amount of canter in there. Because a few of these things are really opposite and I knew that Katai wouldn’t be good at halting after some work on medium trot I wasn’t quite sure how to fit this in but at least I had some goals.
I’m happy to say that I did all of these things!
I started off with some stretchy trot. It wasn’t our best stretchy work but it ended up being an effective start to the ride. I’d like to do more of this in the future but for this ride I was happy with her work on this. Then I gathered her up and pretty much went straight to canter. She also cantered really nice (see video) and I’m starting to look less like a potato as well. Both of her transitions were decent even which was great!
Right after the canter when she was forward we did some medium trot. The first few times weren’t good but on our fourth try we got a REALLY good attempt! It’s in the video but unfortunately it’s straight towards the camera so you can only partially tell.
What I was proud of was that I was able to maintain the same rhythm and yet she really pushed forward. After that we went right to walk since I wanted to reward that try.
After the walk break I picked her back up and we did some lateral work which was a mess. Now that she can do haunches in and shoulder in she offers that instead of leg yield and since leg yield is still one of my weakest things I struggle even more. I can really see it in the video one way where I didn’t feel like she was doing anything but actually she was doing a really nice shoulder in. *headdesk*
Oh well, we’ll keep on practicing and I think I found a few holes including that I was hanging on my inside rein and blocking her from going over. We’ll keep right on practicing!
After that we finally worked on halts. She was getting a bit flustered and throwing her haunches right so I went to the rail and slowly broke it down for her and used way more cues than I should need to. In the end I got two nice square(ish) halts so we quit on that note.
It was pretty action packed for such a short ride so next time I’m going to work on fewer things. Mainly I need to ride more but work on fewer things in each ride so that’s my goal for this week!
Yep, I celebrated the end of 2016 with a good, tough lesson with Jane. It had been a couple of weeks since I'd had a lesson and my rides have been pretty inconsistent (timing wise, Katai has been really consistent and I've had great rides just not as many of them as I'd like) so I knew we were going to get a workout but mainly we are just at a point where we can both be pushed more which is so exciting!
Since I haven't posted many details about my rides in the past month I just want to post a quick recap of what we've been doing. That is, doing more work on lateral movements, specifically leg yield and shoulder in. My leg yield is starting to get more consistent now that I'm starting to be able to use my outside rein and both legs (so, so, so hard for me!). We've also been doing a LOT more canter than we had been. Jane was pushing way more canter than I was used to and when we talked she basically told me that at second level since there is about as much canter work as trot work I should be trying to do that with my rides as well. SO COOL TO HEAR!! I think I just about squealed like a kid :)
At this lesson we started off getting the trot to a good place. Academically I know that I'm working towards a pushing, active hind leg and that if that's right everything else will fall into place (at least at this point in our training) but I struggle sometimes to really get there. I can instantly feel when it's correct but between correct and when Katai's faking it a bit I struggle to catch the change. I eventually get it when I'm riding by myself but only multiple 20 meter circles later which isn't helpful. It's so helpful to have Jane right there telling me when it's good or not but I'm still a long way from being able to feel it instantly.
Katai was stiff and wasn't moving as well as she had been since she's spent a lot of time standing around. Both because I wasn't able to get to the barn and ride as much as I wanted and because it's icy out so she isn't moving around as much as she normally would in turnout. We ended up spending about 30 minutes getting her moving better and really focusing on my bending. I was also really struggling with my right hand, really really struggling. Jane made me come back to walk and I spent awhile on the struggle bus trying to figure out the feel of what she was looking for.
The problem is that when I'm going to the left everything works, then I go to the right and everything falls apart. I completely blame my right hand but my left isn't much better. I seem to only be able to move my left arm side to side and my right arm straight forward and back. I also struggle to take a good feel on the right rein so Katai is used to the contact being really light on that side. That means that when I'm going to the right I've got my left arm pointing at the wall (when she's trying to fall in which I'm causing haha) and my right is in my lap. I'm not getting her bent properly because I'm not giving her the ability to take the bit forward on the outside and my right arm isn't supporting her on the inside either. Then I fall to the inside hop bone, a lot, and she falls in more to pivot around that "turning point", ie. we're a bit of a disaster and Jane is very patient.
Of course that's not going to be fixed in one lesson so Jane put us back together to the point where we could continue and I've got my homework.
Then we started working on shoulder in!! Jane had told me to practice it when she saw me before my next ride so I knew she was going to bring it up in the lesson. This was actually much smoother than it has been, maybe because Jane had me using both reins a bit more correctly ;), and after we had a couple good tries on either side we took a walk break and then worked on leg yields.
I'm still struggling a bit with the timing of the aids on these but this lesson was the first where I feel like I had a couple of decent tries in each direction. I actually felt like I rode more evenly to both sides and was able to get the timing of the forward and sideways aids a bit better.
Then we went to canter and Katai felt pretty darn good. She's actually starting to develop a little bit of jump to her canter which wasn't there at all before. She's also starting to be capable of holding the canter a little longer which means we get to have more fun with it. We're working on doing 20 meter circles at different points in the arena as well as riding the full sides of the arena but this lesson we also added leg yields in on the 20 meter circles while allowing her to trot when it felt to difficult. At that point we'd leg yield out and ask for the canter again. Katai did really well, I struggled to sit straight up but after a conversation with Jane at the end on the biomechanics I think I get it and know what to do differently next time.
In all the lesson went for about an hour and we took up the full thing with riding and not just "easy" stuff so Katai was fairly sweaty. It was the first time that we made it through the full hour since normally I don't have enough horse to make it that long or we only get there because we do a lot of talking or walking around while Jane explains something to me. I was really proud of both of us and how much progress we've made but even better, it's great to have more new homework!
I'm not happy with our weather right now. Spring and Fall when our weather changes and the pressure changes I always end up with bad migraines. This year in particular there have been so many swings back and forth that it feels like my head will never feel normal again. I've been tired, crabby, and in pain which has led me to not feel motivated to blog or to ride. Also with the recent FLSA change, which is going into effect on December 1st, and other year end things work has been crazy. With all of that I've been setting a goal to ride 4 days per week rather than 5.
For the most part Katai has been fine with that but today between still being madly in heat (seriously weather just go away. It's ok to be warm, or to be cold but please make up your mind) and a less consistent riding schedule she was full of spice.
I feel like we're living in England with this cold rainy weather
Also, she really wasn't bad, at all, but I also had my trainer hat on and so I was pushing things a bit more than normal. I feel like around once a week I really feel up to being a real thinking rider and actively training. Clearly I'm aware that I'm training her ever ride and I'm always working on things but this was one of those rides where I went into the ride knowing that I was going to push her a bit. For this ride that meant changing up the normal routine a bit more. It probably wasn't a good time to do that when I knew she was in heat but meh, it ended up being a great thing.
To start I got her into a good trot. She normally doesn't get as through until after she canters but she felt really good today. Because she felt so good early in the ride I asked for canter fairly quickly. She went into the canter pretty nicely but started off on the incorrect lead, my fault. I fixed it and did a good amount of canter on 20 meter circles and straight down the long side. After I really felt that she was on my aids and going well I went to trot across the diagonal and then towards the end went to leg yield and right into canter in the other direction once I hit the wall. Video below, I can really see some improvement!
In that transition she didn't do anything naughty but porpoised slightly as we went which she hasn't been doing at all so I knew she was feeling tight and extra full of energy. That was her tougher side so I got about as much canter but it wasn't quite as good as in the other direction and then back to trot. I gave her a walk break and then back to trot.
She was a bit tight to start off (she still doesn't think she should have to trot after we canter, my fault for always letting her be done after we cantered) but after a couple of serpentines and leg yields she loosened up. At that point I actually went back to canter which she did really, really well. She went right into the transition, very nicely. I was actually kind of impressed with just how nicely she cantered.
Slightly failed experiment with taking phone pictures
Very happy with that hind leg!
After another walk break I asked her to go back to trot, which I knew would mess with her, and she was quite hot, tense, and sassy. Clearly I was completely incorrect in asking her to do that since Katai knows much more about how our riding plan works :)
However, she did get nice and stretchy and felt great. She was stretching down and listening so I went to do a walk transition but didn't want to give her the reins right away. I hadn't put tons of thought into it, just knew that I can't keep just giving the reins away when I bring her back to walk. That really messed with her and she lost the remainder of her pony mind. She jigged, jogged, pranced, and started rearing. Major sass attack time.
Taking pictures with my apple watch
Children, don't Watch and Ride
There are times when I would just have called it after an amazing canter, or amazing trot but I can't keep doing that every time. Sometimes she has to just be an adult and my plan had been to have her take about three steps with some contact and then let it go and be done. Since she spazzed out though we ended up with another 5-6 minutes of riding and sassing with me talking to her, staying calm and relaxed, and trying to get her brain back between her ears.
I wasn't asking for much contact and eventually she did a good job of walking and relaxed a bit and then I really pushed my luck and asked for another halt/walk transition and she walked off softly with contact so I was done.
I was really proud of how I handled it and the progress that we made and I know that I need to just keep chipping away at this little monster I created with following too much of a routine.
No new pictures of Katai so you're getting some of Veggie at the dog park
Last night I had one of my best lessons to date. Katai seems to be switching to winter mode which for her means that she sweet, sleepy, compliant, and very, very fuzzy of course.
I like winter pony!
She was all blinky and relaxed and happy when I pulled her out of her stall so I was looking forward to a great lesson. She stayed really happy through being tacked up and normally if she’s going to be fussy she shows it when I put her saddle or her bridle on. Since she was still just perky eared and soft eyed I knew we’d have a good lesson.
As soon as we started at a walk I started getting her to stretch down and right away Jane commented that she seemed very relaxed but did seem a little stiff. Because of that Jane had me start off doing some leg yield at the walk. I was having a tough time balancing the aids on both sides of her body so she would either fall sideways with no forward or I’d get lots of forward without getting her to cross her legs at all. Jane worked with me a bit and then had me move up to trot.
I was still having similar struggles and Katai was so relaxed that she kept falling back to walk so I felt like I had to over-ride which wasn’t helping anything so Jane had me switch exercises.
He's just the cutest!
First at the walk and then the trot Jane had me do the long diagonal switching between riding the diagonal straight and doing it in a leg yield. We discovered that the reason that I can’t balance my aids is that I’m pulling the outside leg off, like literally hovering it in the air like a wing. After I started to leave it on her we started to get somewhere but of course as I changed how I was asking Katai didn’t know what to do.
We did it a couple of times in both directions at the trot (still on the struggle bus with this one) and Katai was getting jazzed up but not tense!! She never once lost her mind and she remained very soft and pliable, she just didn’t quite understand and because we just let her not understand and figure it out there were absolutely no meltdowns. None.
We gave her a break and worked on me at the walk for a minute and then we went to canter. Jane wanted me to try a different exercise for this. The plan was to do a leg yield from the center line and as we hit the wall cue for a canter, do one 20 meter circle and then go down the long side with a transition to trot prior to the next short side. I have to admit that I cringed a bit. I had done the first part of this exercise with L and after the first time Katai figured out the plan and completely took over prior to the canter complete with lots of tension and pony tantrums (bucking spinning and refusing to go forward). Of course at that time we couldn’t really even leg yield but still, I had some legit concerns.
I went to do it the first time, took a breath, sat and cued for the canter and other than a little leap she didn’t do a thing wrong. I had asked that we start with her tough side so while it was a bit flaily (when your human actually sits on their inside seat bone and you have to carry them with your weaker inside leg it’s really tough to canter!) but it was there! We did the full exercise three times in that direction without a break and had absolutely no pony tantrums. Even better she never once anticipated! She literally stayed relaxed and on my aids the entire time and cantered when I cued and not before. She struggled a bit each time but we just let her figure it out.
Then without a break we switched to our easy side and it was like magic! All of a sudden her leg yield was brilliant, when I sat correctly she picked up the canter right away, and we had the most gorgeous, slow, three beat canter with some jump that we’ve ever had. We did the exercise three times that direction as well and still didn’t have any anticipation or pony tantrums and then called it a bit early.
Pony got LOTS of pets and verbal praise. Both Jane and I gushed over her in the ring and when I was grooming her and she even got a treat. Adult dressage ponies get cookies after particularly good rides after all
I went to check out a new dog park with Veggie.
This one has a really cool view of the St. Paul skyline.
I've had a great weekend for rides mainly because I feel like Katai and I are really figuring out what we need to do at the canter.
Friday my amazing new farrier was there so I worked from home but only got to the barn just as he was getting done. I was able to pay him, important :-), and then spent some time with her in her pen sort of doing some free lunging but mainly just pushing her away when she got a crabby expression.
Not sure if that stuck or if she just has been thinking about things on her days off but Katai was doing her very best slow, relaxed canter on Saturday and was really working to figure out what I was asking. It was so amazing and, honesty, out of character for her that after one canter in each direction I did a bit of trot and then ended.
Using my Apple Watch to take this picture. I just wish I could use it to start video!
Today I planned to do some lateral work after the canter to really mix things up. To start I did a bit more trot and then cued for the canter to the right. She did so great! The previous day I had gone right from one direction to the next via some trot across the diagonal but today I took her down to a walk to let her catch her breath and give her a bit of a break.
When I asked for the trot again to the left she was having none of it. I was excited though because I found a hole. As long as I keep trotting she didn't resist but when I walk after canter she thinks she's done. Now that I know I can work on it! However, after a bit of resistance I got her into a trot, got a good trot, and then with just a slight leap forward she went right into canter when I cued.
Monthly tack cleaning time. This time the movie was Love Actually :)
Because of some of the remaining tension she was more resistant going that way but we still had some REALLY good moments which was really encouraging. I got her back to trot after a bit of work and then kept the trot for awhile on some large 20 meter circles and finally did some lateral work. She was so good the first time I asked for a leg yield off the centerline that I called it right there and she got to be done.
You mean not everyone sets their saddle on their bed while they're getting ready to clean it? Also, Where's Veggie ;)
I feel like recently my biggest takeaway is that with my incredibly intelligent mare I just need to mix things up every ride. I just can't do the same thing, the same way more than once in a row or she'll figure it out and then be resistant. Of course we're going to work on getting her to understand that sometimes she just needs to do these things but for now variety will be really important. It is totally on me that I was doing a very similar ride format for months and months and now that I'm asking for something different it makes perfect sense that she thinks I'm nuts. I'm just really proud that she's figuring things out as quickly as she is!
Despite never getting the formatting corrected on my last post about goals (I think I would have had to start from scratch and I haven't been motivated enough to do that) I have been making progress with my goal to reformat my goals. Mainly I think it's more of a conceptual thing but with goals that's the real struggle right?
What I realized, at work of all places, is that I already have the tools to structure goals for myself. After all I participate in coaching conversations with many employees on a regular basis and help them set goals. I just needed to start using my experience and not freaking out about how to structure these in a more standard way that doesn't work for my brain.
So I've decided to break these down into "buckets" and update at the beginning of each month. Thinking of these as buckets (or topics or whatever makes sense) just works better for me. There's more flexibility built into the idea of a list of "buckets" than there is in a more specific list or plan. Since it works for my brain I'm going with it and since it's the beginning of June so I figured this was a good time to start.
1. Proper bend to the left - We've got it about 90% of the time to the right, not it's time to get it to the left
2. Stretchy Trot - This is so necessary for her brain and teaching her not to just run when we're stretching will help with everything else, plus it's an upcoming movement :)
3. Canter Transitions - Practice, practice, practice
4. Lateral Work - All of the sideways. After a recent break through at the Susanne Winslade clinic we've actually got this sometimes and I can feel when we have it. Now we just need to practice and get more consistent
5. Cavaletti Exercise - I'm currently on the struggle bus with teaching Katai to transition within gaits (trot right now) and she likes to take shuffly little steps and then just walk when I ask her to slow within the trot. I think part of it is strength but part of it is that she just isn't quite sure what I'm asking for. I tried out an exercise where I put three cavaletti on each side of a 20 meter circle with one side being closer together (shorter steps) and the other were further apart (longer steps).
I didn't do one after the other since that would certainly have just blown her pony mind but I would do one a few times, take a walk break and then do the other. It was really rough but eventually she really started to understand and we quite on a good note. This isn't something I'm planning to work on regularly but it will be a good way to mix up our other rides.
I’ve had a weird couple of weeks. Just personal stuff going on (#datingproblems) but I’ve felt a little out of touch with riding and I’ve had less direction and motivation to ride and blog. However, the clinic with Susanne Winslade went really well!
However, we did have an interesting start since there had been a driving horse (combined driving Haflinger) scheduled before Katai and I started so not only did Katai get a little nervous in the crossties trying to figure out what was going on in the ring but when they drove out they left the door at the end of the arena open. When I was at J’s place open arena doors always led to a mini Katai meltdown and the doors on this area have never been open so I was curious how she would be. I took the time to walk her down there before I mounted up and she was up and curious but not losing her mind so I wasn’t that worried. However, as soon as I mounted up she lost her mind a little.
Thankfully Susanne was of the same opinion that I am and expressed that Katai was just going to need to get over it. We worked on getting and keeping at least one ear on me for the first several minutes and after a few great, forward, connected, directed 20 meter circles in each direction Katai was doing quite well. Susanne wanted me to get her head and neck a little lower than I’ve been getting it. Luckily after all our homework since the last clinic we were able to get there easily and I could immediately feel her start swinging better over her back.
After a few circles and straights with lower ears and a nice connection, Susanne had us start another exercise where we were supposed to spiral in and then leg yield out. Neither Katai or I are good at leg yielding so after a couple times in each direction, as Susanne saw how stuck we were on the struggle bus, she changed it to a "head to the wall" leg yield.
That’s when I started to get a little frustrated with myself. I’ve never learned how to properly do a leg yield and always struggled plus Katai hasn’t ever really learned to do them correctly. She actually used to rear as soon as you put her head to the wall so it wasn’t an effective way to teach this to her previously. During the clinic I was extremely proud that she not only didn’t rear but didn’t lose her mind with the amount of pressure we were putting on her. However, it didn’t mean that we were able to get anywhere ourselves. Poor Susanne had to watch us drunkenly and incorrectly try to accomplish this for a full arena before I let her know that I really didn’t know what I was doing and needed help.
Susanne came over and assisted on the ground and after almost another full arena Katai got it! She really is a smart cookie After that we did it in the other direction and it was a little rough but we got it, she got the concept of moving her haunches without blowing through her shoulder and I was able to start to understand how to keep her neck straight, not let her blow through her shoulder, and keep her haunches at the correct angle.
What was really interesting is that there is this bodyworker lady (she works more with musculature, not so much chiro) that has attended the last couple of clinics with Susanne and she made an observation, along with Susanne, once we got back that Katai is built like a little body builder but that it’s her "external musculature" and not her internal. She said that the "Internal Musculature" will be strengthened more by stretching and that the occasional slight shortness that I had mentioned (left hind) previously would likely be helped by this stretchy work of getting Katai to cross over properly behind. She also mentioned that she thinks the shortness is coming from Katai’s stifle and maybe fetlock which at least helps me know a little more about where to watch. She didn’t think that it was time to call the vet but suggested that if it goes on for much longer despite doing additional/different work it might be good to get Katai a massage and maybe some body work.
This lady is doing some specific work with horses and riders on Monday and I’m going to do everything I can to get there and have a "lesson" since I think it would be SOO helpful!
Finally, right at the end of our lesson, we went to canter. Susanne wanted me to do three circles and do our best. Unfortunately as I cued for it, Katai actually bucked again which was disappointing since she hasn’t in a while and then half way around the second circle had a big, random spook. Because of that I never really got her on the bit and straight so we didn’t get to show our best work. After our disastrous canter Susanne wanted us to work on straightness and I think that we’ve been over bending the pony. Susanne was having me keep her neck straighter and wanted her haunches out more on the circle. She said that Katai has been throwing her haunches in on the transitions which is likely caused by us trying to keep her bent for the transitions. I’m sure I’m the culprit since I tend to exaggerate and if a little is good, more will be better right? Oops!
I’m going to chat about this with L so that she can help me understand what Susanne was seeing. Last time I thought, for example, that Susanne wanted me to turn my upper body out on the circle (confusing since that’s not what I thought I was supposed to be doing) but after talking to L realized that I was turning and collapsing in so bad that Susanne was just using it as a tool. Indeed, this time it didn’t come up at all since I’ve been working on being straighter myself.
Unfortunately H wasn’t able to make it since I rode right in the middle of the day so I didn’t get pictures. I’ll have to find someone to take some at one of my next rides so that I have some more content since this blog is getting boring without it!
Lately I've been taking both Monday and Tuesday off and riding four days per week. I keep meaning to add a fifth ride but honestly she's going so well right now that I hate to change things up and am going to stick with what works.
That means that today was my first ride after my lesson on Sunday and for the first time I was struggling a little with what to work on. I decided to start working on lateral stuff which is something I haven't done on my own much. It's definitely something that I've worried about breaking but I also know that it will never get better without practice so it's time to start working on it.
I still feel like I have to get more help with how to connect the different parts of my body together but I was getting some really decent leg yields. It just never really felt like it clicked. I also ended up realizing after doing a leg yield in each direction that she was running from my leg so I slowed it down to walk and kept my leg on, appropriately, through a couple of small tantrums until she wasn't over reacting again and then went back to the leg yields and made more progress. I feel like slowly I'm starting to figure out how and when to stop why I'm trying, fix something with my tools, and then go back to it rather than just doing the same thing over and over and getting frustrated. It feels great!
While I was cooling out one of the resident trainers was just warming up and asked me if I would be interested in riding in a clinic with Susanne Winslade at the beginning of March. I said absolutely and signed up for two rides. I've written about her clinic that I audited where I was a little lukewarm but I think that between L's support of her and the fact that everyone at the barn rides with here when she's here and I'm thinking I missed something or was just feeling a little negative those days when I was auditing. At any rate, I'm extremely excited and I think the timing will be great for us this year and help with prep for our first show season!!!
So sorry for being such a bad blogger recently. I'm still trying to figure out my schedule and we are understaffed at work so there's no way that I have the time to blog from there. I've been riding consistently five days per week and doing a great job of sticking to my schedule. I'm especially proud this week since I got almost got derailed by a migraine on Wednesday and still managed to get five rides in! With those five rides, dates, and doing adult things like buying groceries and cooking food so that I don't have to eat out all the time I feel like I've got very little time. Now I just need to get a blogging schedule figured out around my riding :-)
The good news about all of this is that we are making real, actual, tangible progress.
For so long I've felt like we are on the struggle bus and yes, making some improvements such as that pony stopped rearing, but not much that was really visible to most people watching. It's part of why I haven't posted video because honestly it's just been making me feel fucking depressed.
(Pictures are good moments from the bad video)
I was feeling especially bad about myself after a crummy ride on Thursday where after Katai's extra day off and having stayed in all day due to rain she was stiff and just not wanting to move. Of course I'd chosen to video myself that day and so the resulting video made me feel like giving up.
For about two hours.
And then I moved on and really looked at what was happening on the video. I watched it through, cringing, but thought about what L would have been saying as I was riding if it were in a lesson and I realized that while I've been thinking I've "got" certain things down it's just that they've improved. They aren't actually to where I thought they were yet but I actually do have the tools to get us there.
With that analysis I went to the barn the next day and really RODE my horse. Every step I chose what we were doing and kept making instant, small, gentle corrections. Every time I felt her just barely beginning to get hollow I'd make a small correction and bring her back before we were at the head flinging in the air stage. I kept her bent, I kept her at the same speed, and I kept her back up and I had a sort of epiphany that when I'm always letting her change her balance she never is balanced and that makes her feel panicky and like racing around. If instead I'm more firm about her staying the same balance she can get comfortable there.
Part of this is that I was riding more this way about 6 months ago but I was doing it in a very strong, forceful way and that was pissing Katai off. She also didn't have the skills or strength to go there at that point so it was just making her more upset and defensive. In some ways I've actually needed to get to a point where I was riding less and letting her do more as she developed that strength for us to be able to get back here but we are definitely at a point where I should be riding more consciously now.
Today for my lesson I planned ahead and got to the barn with plenty of time. At one point I was trying to keep my warm up to a minimum because Katai was getting tired by the end of the lesson and I didn't want to push it even longer. Now though she is getting to a point where I can have her warmed up before my lesson and able to start right in on more difficult stuff. When L showed up she was really impressed and started off saying how amazing Katai looked. She let us go for a little while and then said that we were looking so good that she wanted to start working on lateral work! Yay!!! She also decided that we were doing so well that she didn't want to climb on for this lesson.
For most of the lesson we worked on getting my body in the correct position for spirals in and out. She doesn't want me cheating anymore and steering her or pushing her in with my leg and wants it to properly come more from my body. Then we took those skills and used them to help me cue the canter correctly on the spiral while on the way out to the edge of the circle. Going to the right I had a tough time and that is also Katai's tough side for canter. One time I even had my body so perfectly wrong that she instantly picked up the counter canter. We did get two good transitions that way though and then I got two great ones in the other direction and we called it quits so that my amazing progress pony could get a break before she started feeling to fatigued.
One of the best parts of the lesson for me, other than a perfect left lead canter depart that had L grinning from ear to ear, was that after watching us for a few minutes at the beginning of our lesson she said that if she keeps going like this we could start out showing training next year and dabble at first!!! She said that Katai would be in a great place compared to some rated tests that she's seen at training level as long as we can continue to make improvements in a couple of areas. I've got homework, namely not allowing Katai to throw my weight to the outside of the circle and to practice picking her up at the walk and then giving her the rein again. She wants me to do this a lot so that it no longer offends princess pony and she just expects that its part of the routine.
I really thought I was going to be starting out at intro at a schooling show and maybe possibly doing a training level test at the end of the year. Training with a possible Level 1 test at the end of the year is more than I even thought we could accomplish next year but with how she is feeling I have complete confidence that as long as the wheels don't fall off the wagon before then we'll be able to do it!
