Deb Rosen Clinic: Dressage

This weekend was the clinic with Deb Rosen. She’s a Rolex competitor, so it was super cool to get an upper-level eventer’s perspective on Paddy.

Deb Rosen on The Alchemyst. For the record, I'm never jumping anything like that. Ever.

After three days off, Paddy was READY TO GO on Saturday morning for dressage. Unfortunately our warmup was pretty limited, since there was a kid’s lesson going on in the outdoor and the other clinic riders were in the covered arena. That left the round pen, so we did our new trot-till-you-drop warmup routine in there. Paddy was super distracted because we brought Taran along as well so Fuzzypony could ride, so they spent quite a lot of time calling to each other. It was annoying but I just ignored it and kept him moving.

It’s interesting how different a clinic is from a regular lesson. You show up and ride for 30 minutes with someone you’ve never met and has never seen you or your horse. You just sort of dive right in and they start picking you apart. There’s no time for breaks, no time for breathers. You ride what you have and work through the issues. Deb was super awesome because she immediately picked up how heavy he is on the left aids.  She had me constantly correcting him for left bend – as she put it, pretend like you have Tourettes’ and just keep annoying him about it. My left leg was SO TIRED by the end of our ride, I swear. I really need to start riding with a whip – I recently got the tiny spurs out, so that helps, but I need a whip to back it up.

There were a couple of big take-away points from my ride:

• Keep the rhythm slow. This is a constant theme and even more important as we make our switch from the mach-one-Haffie warmup trot to the now-we’re-working trot. Use my core to half-halt him when he gets quick.
• Remind him CONSTANTLY to bend left. All the time, every step. Don’t quit, don’t take no for an answer.
• Do not canter more than 5-10 strides at a time. As soon as I feel him start to fall apart, back to trot, reorganize, then canter again. Cantering while he’s unbalanced won’t help, and right now he’s not strong enough to hold it for longer than that.

It was a pretty damn awesome ride, all things considered. I rode him in Taran's baucher and it was enough bit - of course my new Myler baucher arrived during the day Saturday, so now I'll be using that. I could half-halt him effectively with my body – a month ago, he would have blown me off, so that’s pretty huge progress. It’s still very hard to get him off the left aids and into the right aids, but it’s happening. The canter… wow, it’s getting so much better. SO MUCH. Exhibit A: right lead canter footage.

See? We haz canter! 

Deb was super positive and seemed pleased with the ride we put in – I know I was! I was also drenched in sweat at the end of our 30 minutes of torture, despite it being 40 degrees with a 10 degree wind chill. Anyone who says riding isn’t hard work clearly isn’t doing it right!

TGIF. Also, it's cold here.

I had such good plans to ride this week, but it's been really cold here. I know, y'all up north will scoff, but the past two nights it's been below 20 with the wind chill. That's not a big deal if you're in a nice covered arena that blocks the wind, but I ride in an open field and since I'm not as hardcore as Andrea, I wussed out. This wouldn't be a big deal except that the clinic I've been wait listed for actually came through, so now I get to ride in front of a Rolex competitor and hope I don't fall off. 'Cause Paddy is gonna be fresh like whoa tomorrow after three days off.

Not actually taken this week, because this week the sun is not shining. But it looks cold, right?

Brrr.

In other news, it's a good thing Paddy is from Michigan, because apparently none of the other horses know how to break ice on the water troughs. They all stand around and wait for him to break it, then get a drink. Silly southern horses!

Still revoltingly cute.

Keep your fingers crossed for us tomorrow that I can stay in the saddle and not screw up too badly. Cuteness only gets you so far with a clinician... at some point, you gotta have some skillz too! We've got a dressage lesson in the morning, then a stadium ride in the afternoon. Oh, and it's supposed to warm up to the mid-60s. Here's hoping the weather forecast is actually correct for once!

Dressage: better and better

Y’all, Paddy is just the most awesome horse ever. I may be slightly biased, I know, but he just keeps getting better and better, every ride
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Sunday we had another dressage lesson. I told Jeanne about our Very Forward Warmup experiment, and she said that we should try it for the lesson. We did maybe 10-15 minutes of trot at whatever speed Paddy wanted, where the only requirement was for him to keep his nose between his shoulders (that is, stay straight). He wanted to look around a bit but Jeanne was adamant that we are working now, distractions are not allowed. Poor Haffie. Toward the end of the trot, we had a nice forward canter in each direction where I let him find his own balance on a 20 meter circle. It felt like we were zooming around, but Jeanne assured me it didn’t look like it.

After a walk break, we got to work. I was concerned it would be hard to get him back to a more manageable speed, but after a few squares, 10 m circles, and some walk laterals, he was very willing to steady his trot rhythm. Jeanne commented that he was really tracking up and was much more over his back than usual, so we both agreed that the full-speed-ahead trot warmup seems to be the way to go! He’s still throwing his haunches left whenever I ask him to move off my left leg, like in a leg-yield right, so we worked on making sure he’s moving away from my leg rather than into it.

We also did some leg-yields on the wall since he didn’t seem to be getting the leg-yield to the wall concept, and that was much more successful. Surprisingly, he was great to the right with plenty of angle and moving off my left leg (whut?), but to the left he got stiff in the left rein and tried to throw his left shoulder. We just threw in a couple of squares to the left and got the shoulder back under control – it’s like the magical exercise, I swear.

We moved on to canter, and our transitions were better than ever. Canter left is really coming along – we were able to do rudimentary canter squares on the left lead, which of course got him to rock back, stand up, and not fall in. The right lead is much, much better, but it still feels like we’re zooming around, and he’s definitely less balanced on the right lead. I also actually RODE the downward transitions instead of letting him flop into a trot, and although we have 5 or so steps of ick, I’m able to put my leg on and ask him to rebalance relatively well.

Toward the end, we worked on halting straight and square. The straight is getting better… some of the time. The other times we look sort of drunk as we stagger to a halt. I love having mirrors, but it’s also horribly obvious when your horse zig-zags around. Oops. At least I can laugh at our attempts? I worked really hard on keeping my weight even, through my reins and seat and legs, so that he wouldn’t have the slightest excuse to be anything but straight. He’s super sensitive when he wants to be and will use my being uneven as a reason to flop around. I mean, it’s a perfectly legit reason to flop, lol, but it’s hard to be precise with your body! Of course, if I ask it of him, I should ask it of myself as well, right?

So much to work on, but getting better every time!

Posin' like a pro!

What's your warmup routine?

Back in the day, when I'd been riding Cash 6 days a week for several years, we had our warmup routine down pat. I'm sure the routine evolved over time, but I don't remember it ever being a conscious process. What I do remember is what the routine was: two laps of walk each direction around the (very large) arena, two laps of trot each way, and then a lap of canter each direction. This was all done on the buckle, and I didn't ask anything of him other than to go forward in the requested gait. I didn't ask for round, or straight, or anything - just stick on the rail and go forward. I remember that I used to do a lot of trot work with contact before cantering, and then one day I cantered him much earlier in the session... like magic, he was much more over his back and into the bridle after the canter. After that experience, cantering became part of our warmup - do it early, do it often.

I'm still trying to figure out what works with Paddy. Normally I focus on having a steady, slow rhythm (because we all know how zoomy Paddy can be), and since our last dressage lesson, I've also been working on getting him straight and evenly in both reins by moving his shoulders around. But yesterday, I just didn't have the energy to be super demanding of him and ride every step, which is really what's required to make straight and steady happen for us right now.  So instead, I took him out on the back track for a little conditioning work. We did our usual mile or so of walking to get loose, and then we did about 10 minutes of trot, alternating directions with short walk breaks. He was allowed to go whatever speed he wanted, but he couldn't haul on me and he had to stay balanced and over his back. I rode with a really soft rein, even as he flew over the ground, and tried to remember not to let him get really heavy on the left rein.

Note to self: We could totally win a trotting race against a Standardbred. Just sayin'.

After we did our little trot session, I decided that I did actually have it in me to ask for some more demanding work. I picked up the reins and started on some 15 meter trot circles, along with some trot squares and halts. He had a faster tempo than I would have liked, but he remained balanced and very over his topline. I could really feel his back lift up, and that was new. We also did some canter, which, while fast, was balanced and longer/lower than usual. I think that's a direct result of our warmup - normally if we work on slow rhythm, coming over the back doesn't happen so much.

So I don't think we have a warmup routine that works for us just yet, but it's interesting to try different things and see what sort of ride we have because of it. Maybe I need to let him trot it out for the first 10 minutes or so, then ask for more steady work? I don't know, but we'll continue to try different things. Paddy is a big thinker, and he needs the mental challenge of something other than zoomy trot to really get him working. At the same time, I don't want to kill the forward or stifle his desire to come over his back by having him do too much slow/collected work. It's a tough balance!

What do you do for warmup? What works for your horse and what doesn't?

Unrelated: I looked closely at the pics from the show on Saturday and discovered Mr. Sneaky trying to sample his winnings. I swear he has a prehensile nose!

50 pages of cuteness

When I got Paddy, I had to become a member of the American Haflinger Registry to transfer his papers to my name. While I was at it, I signed us up for two year-end award programs - we'll see how that goes! But what I didn't realize is that AHR membership includes a bi-monthly magazine of Haffies.

That's right... and ENTIRE magazine with nothing but adorable Haflingers in it! If you think Paddington is cute, I almost died looking through this magazine.

So handsome

I'll take this one.

Also these guys... especially the one that jumped a 5' 6" jump! I'm sure I can find room for them somewhere around here...

The last page of the magazine is called "Between Golden Ears". It's nothing but pics taken through Haffie ears. Ermahgawd, they are all SO CUTE AND TINY. I want them all!

I think I will see about sending in a picture of Paddington for the ears page, although he'll have a lot of competition - there are a lot of cute Haffie ears in there!

2/1 schooling hunter show: Breaking news! Paddy's not a hunter

Saturday, Lauren and I went to a tiny hunter schooling show at a farm about an hour north of us. Unlike my last experience at a tiny hunter schooling show, this one was very well-run, and the people there were very friendly. I contend the fact that there were several eventers and at least one dressage rider there helped both the timeliness and the overall cheerfulness of the folks there, but Lauren swears that hunter/jumper shows are normally like that. Hm.

Photo courtesy of Gorgeous Equine Photography. I actually wore a grey hunt coat instead of my usual black dressage jacket. Yay me?

Lauren and I both entered the 2'3 hunter division and the 2'3 eq class. Tragically for us, so did 10 little girls under the age of 14 or so, all of whom were mounted on well-trained ponies with auto changes. Still, we had a great time!

Simon and Paddy becoming BFFs at the show

We were able to school before the show started, and Paddy didn't take a second look at any of the jumps. Granted, they were all poles with one gate and one wall, but still, I was very pleased with how he went. We're still figuring each other out for warm-up - I think he needs way more time than I was able to give him, and that showed when our actual rounds begin. Sure, I can get him straight and on the aids after 45 minutes in a dressage lesson, but without that, we are motoring around the turns and falling in like mad. It's less than ideal, but it's not like all the pieces are magically going to fall into place overnight. A steady round is going to take a lot of work on all the pieces between the fences - we're getting better, but we're certainly not able to put in a steady, consistent, balanced round yet.

Paddy sports the classy tousled look

After we schooled, we took the boys back to the trailer to chill for almost 2 hours while the 2' division went. Eventually,  we tacked back up and headed back to the arena. The only problem with the show grounds was that there really wasn't any warmup area. We were able to walk and trot a little in a rather rocky field, and do one little X. That really wasn't enough for Paddy, so we went into our warmup round really underprepared. My only goal was to keep him steady, relatively balanced, and not suck, and I'd say that didn't really work. The last line was especially bad - headed straight for the in gate at mach one-Haffie. The second round was even worse - at one point we were barreling down a line with no brakes to speak of. For the third round, I decided that we needed to change things up, so we trotted into every line and all the singles. It wasn't pretty, but he sat back and started listening to me, and I started riding better. Finally, in our last round, which was equitation, I finally got things together. Paddy was much more relaxed and balanced in between the fences, listening, and we got most of our spots. We still weren't really hunter-show worthy, but I was much happier with our round as a whole.

Our second round. You may want to close your eyes - or better yet, just not watch.

We had a bit of a wait before our flat classes. There were 12 people in the arena together, and it was a pretty small arena, especially with all the jumps in it. In the first class, I was a little worried about how he'd so with so many other horses around him, but I needn't have. Aside from breaking several times in a canter both directions (my fault, not his), he was very good. We aimed for a steady trot, which we mostly got, but of course he's not got the long-and-low hunter frame that the judges were looking for. Our final class was hunter equitation on the flat, and he was even better for that one. I tried to ride quietly and do better with the canter leads, and we successfully had nice walk-canter transitions both ways - and I managed to keep it. It was enough for a 6th place! It was our only ribbon of the day, but it was hard-fought and I'm pretty damn proud of it.

They had cool red-and-white ribbons for Valentine's Day! 

Paddy got like 1293873571293 comments on how cute he was. The photographer couldn't stop taking pictures of him - every time I turned around she was snapping a shot of him. At one point she asked me if he ever WASN'T posing for the camera, and I said that I was pretty sure he practiced cute looks in the mirror.

So there you have it. We're definitely not cut out for the hunters, but we had a great time with Lauren and Simon and we lived. I have a much better idea of what to expect at shows where jumps are involved, and I am understanding what sort of warmup Paddy needs to put in a good performance. Despite all the zoomies, he's such a great little guy and such a trier. He was honest and sane and got better as the day went on. I really can't ask for more!

Chapters in life you’d rather forget

After yesterday’s silly post, this one may require Kleenex.

Those of you who have been reading for a while will remember my OTTB Echo, who I acquired in February of last year and was diagnosed with Headshaking Syndrome over the summer. We tried so many things to treat his terrible pain, but sadly, none them really worked for him. With my vet’s help, I made the decision to send him to UC Davis to be a part of their research program on Headshaking Syndrome.

(For a description of Headshaking Syndrome, visit this post. For a synopsis of what happened, visit this post.)

Echo was only in my life for about 6 months last year. I don’t have a lot of happy memories of him, and we never really had time to bond. Most of my memories of how much pain he was in, how hard we all tried, and how much it sucked to give up and put him on that trailer. It’s a chapter of my life I’d rather forget, or that I wish never happened because it was so awful. But it did happen, and I can’t forget it. But what do I do with the tangible things from it?

I admit, I don’t have much - some print copies of pics from our only dressage show, and his halter from the track. But what do I do with them? The prints were hanging in my office, but I took them down and they are now face-down on my desk. The halter is hanging on the back of the tack room door. I won’t put it on anyone else – maybe it’s weird but I just feel wrong doing that. I don’t want to throw these things away but I also don’t want to make a shadow box or some other box of memories from them. There’s just … not enough. I don’t want to forget, but at the same time I don’t really want to remember. But then I feel guilty that he somehow didn’t mean more to me. A lot of people really went out of their way to find him for me, thinking that he’d be the perfect horse. And maybe he would have been, if only. If only…

Not every horse is a heart horse, even with the best intentions and a bright start. That’s how horses go sometimes. But what do you do with the “things” you collect while they are in your lives?

Photo courtesy of Lauren Mauldin