KSC Spring Horsemanship Challenge: Week 5 Wrapup

Well I had an awesome recap post all done up, but Blogger ate it. If it somehow miraculously reappears, I will post it. Instead, this week, it's more of a general summary. Last week the weather was awesome, and I was able to ride Betty outside again. She is starting to settle into our rides much more quickly and has been improving with each ride. I've been focusing a lot on circles; I'm making sure she stretches her neck and responds to my leg correctly. The payoff is a horse who has learned to lengthen her topline and take longer strides. Her days of jarring pony trot are quickly becoming a thing of the past. Our circles are getting more balanced, and she is learning how to relax into the work. I'm still struggling with getting her to step cleanly into her turnarounds; she wants to push back off her front leg to start the turn. She's so compact and athletic, it's hard to catch her in time to fix the mistake. None of my normal exercises have worked, but setting it aside for a couple weeks and focusing on her response to my legs meant I've been able to approach it from further away. Spiraling in and out on a circle has been a fixture in our rides, and, by improving my timing in the spiral in, I've been able to help Betty understand that a squeeze from me means step forward and over. Betty's "git er done" attitude with take us far working cattle, but reining requires precision. She can learn it. I just have to ride well enough to teach her. Slowing down and looking at tiny details is not my favorite thing. It takes a level of concentration that is sometimes hard to achieve when I'm sneaking rides into the middle of my work day, but the payoff is totally worth it. Our lope has improved by leaps and bounds. I introduced walk to canter transitions this week and was pleased with how quickly she grasped the concept. We are still not where I want to be, and I need to put in some serious time working this month so she will be ready for the clinic. She's finding her rhythm more easily, but it's still a little disorganized and tense. I'm hoping the weather cooperates, because she seems to have a much easier time when we ride in the outdoor arena. Either way, hours in the saddle is the way to address this problem. Our rides have been a bit scattered and sporadic; work has been crazy. I'm really hoping to stick to my original plan of five rides a week for the coming month. We're headed to a cattle clinic on Sunday, so I'll get a lot of riding hours logged there. I'm excited to get her back in the sorting pen to see how she does.

KSC Spring Horsemanship Challenge: Week 3&4 Wrapup

Week 3, I only managed one ride, so I was too ashamed for my wrapup post (haha, not really, mostly just busy), but I DID manage to have a much better luck last week. Betty is really coming along well, and I'm so enjoying getting to see her natural talent come out. I think she has some serious cowhorse potential. Here's what we've been working on the past couple weeks,

Week 3:

Wednesday: I hauled out and had an awesome lesson with Sabrina. It took Betty a while to settle in at the new place, but when she relaxed and started thinking we had some great work at the walk and trot. My focus on suppling her is paying off; we still need to work on consistently responding to my leg, but I think this is a problem of me not asking for things consistently more than her not getting it.  When she get all settled and warmed up, we worked on circles asking her to step deeper under her body with her inside hind and lift her back. It felt good that Sabrina picked up on the thing that I have just been introducing, and lets me know I'm on the right track. I really miss taking weekly lessons; sometimes it's hard to know what to work on when you are by yourself all the time. I was excited to show Sabrina how much Betty's canter has improved, but, alas, it wasn't in the cards for this lesson. Betty was still a little distracted, and I think the smaller space and new footing were just too many difficult things to bring her best work. Oh well, I was still super proud of her, and we left with some really good exercises to work on. Starting by asking her to step up on a circle, then step her hips slightly out so that the inside crosses under and in front of the outside light, and then doing a half circle like that followed by a half circle of  haunch turn. 

Week 4: 

Monday: We rode in the indoor arena and warmed up with circles, sidepass on the wall, and alternating between sidepass and forehand turns to help get her back and hips loosened up. Betty still likes to get quick with her feet, and these exercises encourage precision but not speed. Then we worked over some trot poles. At first she wanted to wiggle and squiggle over them, but after she figured out the spacing she came through much more straight. She stays very balanced and doesn't throw herself around, but I can tell we need to do more of these to build consistency in her trot. Working with poles always provides additional opportunities to mount and dismount when things get knocked out of place. Betty continues to be hit and miss with standing still, but she knows what I want and really tries to be good. We worked on the canter a little bit, but it was just not flowing like it did outside. Switched to working on rollbacks and we both had a lot more fun.

Monday night Betty also got some back shoes installed. After riding outside so much more in the beautiful weather, she was getting some uneven wear and cracking on her hind hooves. I'm also hoping this will help give her a little bit of extra traction to get the lope figured out. She still scrambles through turns, especially in the tighter space, and I think a little extra grip will help her get her balance figured out and help her feel more confident. I'm really hoping by the next cycle she will be ready for her first set of sliders.

Wednesday: I decided to rrde Betty while I taught my evening lesson. She was a pretty good demo horse and also tolerated my teaching and general silliness very well. I didn't dedicate much attention to her while I was teaching, but I appreciated how she just waited for me to give her a job and relaxed the rest of the time. At the end of the lesson I took a few minutes to move her around; we had nice trot work and her canter was amazing. She felt much more stable and able to slow her legs down through our turns instead of rushing and feeling like a motorcycle. Yay! I could get my legs long and balance her through the turns instead of just trying to stay with her. This was huge improvement from our last canter inside, and I'm so excited to feel like we finally have a place where we can start working on the canter. Introducued piece 5, backing in a circle, she tried hard, but I need to focus on getting her shoulders softer before I spend much time here. She has the idea now, and I was able to see that she's not quite ready yet. 

Thursday: I only had a few minutes, so I decided, why not ride her bareback? In a halter! All of our work on standing still during mounting came in handy as I had to take a few attempts to jump on her back. Once I finally made my way aboard, she looked back and got a cookie, let out a big sigh, and wandered off like this is our usual routine. I love my little horse. 

While I was initially hoping to finish this challenge by the end of May, I'm finding that I really like the slower pace I am taking with Betty. Ok, one ride a week was a little ridiculous, but we are one month in, and I've completed 11 rides. Betty is progressing really well in her training, and I don't want to push her too hard. Right now, she enjoys the work, but I also balance it with a lot of hanging out, grooming, and free time in the arena. I worry if I get too focused on under saddle stuff, she will lose her enthusiasm. We'll see how the next couple weeks go. I sent in my check for the Les Vogt clinic, and I definitely want to be ready for that. I just don't want to risk ruining this awesome horse that I'm so lucky to own. 

KSC Spring Horsemanship Challenge: Week 2 Wrapup

Week 2 of the Challenge was indeed a challenge. I had a crazy busy work week and didn't ride nearly as much as I wanted to, but where we lacked in quantity, we made up in quality. Betty is such a willing partner; it challenges me to be the best, most effective rider I can be so that we don't waste a moment.

Tuesday: Started off the ride in the best way possible when Betty stood like a statue for me to hop on. We warmed up with circles working on stretching her neck long and down first to the inside and then to the outside. When she was relaxed, I would lift the inside rein slightly and ask her to make her circles just a little bigger. This was our first time riding in the indoor arena in a while, and I was pleased that she felt much more forward and balanced. Our previous rides frequently had a sort of scrambling quality like she just didn't understand how to get traction, and at the same time she would always be trying to stop and then shoot forward. Not pleasant. Tonight was a whole different story; she felt solid and ready to concentrate on work instead of putting most of her attention into not falling down or running into a wall.  We moved up to the trot and did some buttonholes and some pinwheels. She still struggles to the left, but had some really nice forward moving maneuvers with good crossover in front. I need to remember to feel whether or not she is balanced and ready to do the exercise rather than just throwing her into it when I get impatient. I really focused on how she responded to my leg, because I wanted to try something new. After our quick warmup, I knew she was ready. 

We ponied Norman! It was awesome. She really wanted to be worried about the whole situation, but, when she realized there was a job to do, she settled right down and got to work. I was really impressed. She had a few moments where she got really nervous, but she handled herself so well. I like the way she clinks the bit in her mouth three times after she does something scary. It's like her way of settling herself. My silly little mare. 

Thursday: I ran Betty and Norman around together in the indoor arena. They really seem to enjoy their group exercise time, and it's so cute watch them together. I felt lucky to have enough time to groom her and shove some treats in her face. 

Saturday: I had some of my students out for a lesson and it was way too nice not to ride a horse myself. Betty tolerated things pretty well and even did some nice work. 

The weather was beautiful, and all the ponies were on their best behavior. We worked on pivots and on moving her hips around while walking forward. No fancy maneuvers, just asking her if she minds moving her big booty over a step or two. She still likes to be tense rather than relaxed, so this was a challenge for her, but she gave it an A+ effort. 

Monday: We enjoyed another sunny ride outside. She was very soft at the walk. Her trot work was much more rhythmic without being lazy, and she's figuring out how to take horse size strides rather than choppy ones. Our pieces work (1,2,3) is getting smoother. She seemed to understand piece 3 better after Saturday's review of moving her hips around. I can feel her thinking about what I'm asking but not always getting the right answer. We did the windshield wiper exercise (stop, back, pivot, trot off, repeat) to help get her lifting her shoulders better in her backing as well as give her a reason to hustle around her turns. Loping we introduced the idea of the big fast and slow small circles that will be such an important part of her reining work. Our circles are getting rounder and more consistent, and, to the left, we even have two speeds, sometimes.  To the right, she still needs to get coordinated to bend and slow down, but she's thinking along the right track.  I've been struggling to figure out my seat on this mare, as I've always felt we are slightly out of sync. I think I finally got myself figured out during this ride. She is so small even a small change from me can really affect her. I know the actual change in my position is small, but it feels like I am leaning so far forward over her shoulders that she will fall on her face. Apparently, that's where I need to be so that she can get her back up and drive with her hind end, though. Strange as it may feel, I'm gonna work with it. 

I'm really pleased with her progress this week, and I'm inspired to ride even better this week and see where we are by next Tuesday! 

KSC Spring Horsemanship Challenge: Week 1 Wrapup

Our first week of the challenge went really well. The weather was, overall, wonderful. Betty is shedding... mostly on her neck and shoulders.. why?! Why must my beautiful horse shed from front to back like a weirdo? Oh well, I'm sure her hiney will catch up eventually. Throughout the week, I've been taking a critical look at where we are at in our training and trying to set some concrete goals to mark our progress as we prepare for our clinic. Each of my rides focused on skills that are too important to only learn halfway. 

Tuesday: Our ride was focused mostly on going forward. Forward has always been a sticky spot for Betty. She is willing to go, but when she wants to stop or slow down, she's pretty quick about doing so. I need her to start moving when I ask and maintain movement until I ask for something else. When we are working cattle, I can't nag at her with my legs every stride; there's a few other elements I need to be focused on. A steady, balanced canter has thus far eluded us, but we had some nice circles during our ride. My goal was to just stay out of her way and let her work, and she did! I've been a little ADD with Betty's rides lately, and I really had no idea where we would come out on this important foundation piece. That being said, I wasn't surprised that she has improved so much. This mare is so smart and loves to learn new things. I have to keep my focus, or she gets ahead of me and doesn't know what to do.

Wednesday: Since Betty is shedding like mad, I took a little extra time and refreshed her clicker training during grooming. She doesn't like to stand still when she doesn't feel like it and would also still like it to be ok for her to be nervous about me touching certain places on her body, particularly around her rump. I have no aversion to buying my horse's cooperation, so I reinforced her "Stand" command while I gave her the most thorough grooming of her life. This also tied into my plan for riding as she has gotten into the habit of wiggling around when I try to mount; I want to be able to tell her to stand and have her plant her feet immediately. We also worked on pulling her feet forward like she will have to do for her farrier appointment on 4/21. She hates holding her foot up on the hoof stand the most, and I think this cycle she will get back shoes as well, so twice as many feet as the last time. She really loves food so was very good for this practice. I'm hoping it pays off for John, the best farrier in the whole wide world. When I finally got around to riding her, I spent a few minutes working on having her stand while I mount, and showing her that this way she doesn't get bumped in the ribs with my foot, which she hates. Sadly, I forgot to check my cinch, and I ended up getting down to do that and has the bonus opportunity of practicing standing to mount again. Eventually, we got warmed up and I began working on our "5 easy pieces exercises". If you aren't familiar, it's basically a five part warm up routine that helps you break down the body into four basic pieces, head/neck, shoulders, ribs, and hindquarters. It's a great way to move front to back through your horse's body (and training) and find where you and them may need some extra work. Pieces one and two (Stretching the horse's neck in and out while traveling on a circle, nothing fancy) have been part of our routine, but I focused on emphasizing relaxation as she gave to the rein and stretching her neck out rather than down. I feel that she completely understands these two exercises but needs to spend more time doing them to get more relaxed before increasing the difficulty by asking for more give or smaller circles. She still wants to either tuck her head or stiffen her neck and dive her shoulder into the turns. I have to try to support her with my leg without hanging on her or nagging her. We rode the buttonhole exercise, which I have a separate post to talk about because I like it that much. Toward the end of our arena time, I introduced the concept of piece 3, moving the ribs, and she gave me a few nice steps. We left that one to soak, but I was very pleased with how hard she tried to figure out the puzzle.  I added more guidance from my outside seat bone in the canter and we had some nice moments where I felt like we were together rather than bouncing off each other trying to find the rhythm. Also did some rollbacks along the rail at the canter for the first time, and she loved it. We had some lovely departs into the canter and some nice stops as well.  It was such a beautiful day we spent some time riding the loop and visiting neighbors working on steady steps up and down hills and just going straight without worrying about much. She wanted to explore where the tree fell recently, and down by her old paddock along the fenceline. She is so smart. And weird. Here's a short video from our "trail ride"

Thursday: We took a day off from riding and did just a bit of groundwork. I focused on having her yield her head and neck to halter pressure and loosening her back. This ties in with my decision to focus on pieces one and two becoming more relaxed under saddle, and it's a huge piece of her lunging training that I skipped. I also let her free lunge with her mini me, Norman. 

Friday: We did lots of trot work and changes of direction. Working on clearing up leg aids and getting response from shoulders/ribs/hips as needed. Used leg yeild on the wall to help her get the idea for piece three, and it helped a lot. Our canter was even better than the previous days. Riding in the outdoor arena where she has a little more space to get coordinated seems to have really helped her get things figured out. I was happy that she really seemed to relax into our bendy trot work and I even got some video to prove it... but you can't see it... because, even though I uploaded it to Youtube, they say I didn't. I know it's out there somewhere, but I can't figure out where or how to make it be here. So, just imagine it for now, but try not to imagine too fantastically, I don't want you to be disappointed. 

 

Saturday: I didn't have time to ride, but we spent a few minutes hanging out in Betty's stall. I fed her too many treats and scratched her itchy neck, but then I had to take off to teach some lessons. 

This week's rides were all super productive, and I am working on a post laying out my goals for the coming weeks. 

This Is Not a Joke

I wanted to post this entry yesterday, but I feared people would only think it was an April Fools joke and never come back. This is, I believe, my return to regular blogging. I have been dealing with a few issues that led me to be a bit wishy washy with this blog. First, I had a hard time deciding on what type of writing I wanted to do here, but I also lost a dear friend last year and have spent the last year feeling not at all myself. Earlier attempts at bringing the blog back in a "fake it til you make it" approach left me feeling frustrated. I was empty inside and words would float around my head but never solidify into cohesive thoughts. The good news is, I've been doing a lot of training, riding, and thinking. Now that I'm feeling a little more myself, I'm ready to share my thoughts with you! BUT FIRST... We are going to start off with an update on Betty the wondermare.

After our fantastic outing at the SAFE show, Betty and I continued to work on riding, showmanship, and having her feet handled. I struggled to find enough time to ride her at the facility she was at as the days became shorter. Without arena lights,  I was still heading out to feed her each day, but I wasn't able to ride much. So, in October, she moved to The Red Horse Farm, my home base of operations and where two of my lessons horses live. We spent the next four months not quite riding as much as I'd like but still progressing steadily. Then we went and did this:



Her first time on cattle showed a lot of promise, but I realized how many buttons I still needed to install before she would be ready to work them again. We started working with more focus and with an aim at better body control. Betty was really enjoying her large pasture at RHF, but I was again running into issues with her housing arrangement. It was beginning to get hard to catch her, and I found myself making excuses not to ride just so I could avoid the half hour of chasing her around the pasture it would take to bring her in. In January, I had a serious talk with myself about getting this mare on track. At this point, she had about the equivalent of 45 days of training. We could walk/trot/canter and had basic steering but little else.

So, again, Betty was loaded on the trailer and moved a little further north along the road to Lazy M Stables. This has become my main training barn, and it made sense to have Betty where I do most of my riding. Since her move in February she has really come a long way. We have been taking lessons with a reining trainer, a dressage trainer, and hauling out to work some cattle. She has learned how to bend (relaxation is still a work in progress), is much better balanced, works well off my leg, and is starting to take horse strides instead of short choppy pony strides. This little mare has been such a joy to work with, and it turns out she's pretty talented too. She clearly was bred for the types of events I want to do and has such a steady temperament it's amazing.

So why bother to blog about her again after so long? Well, let me tell you what we have coming up! Starting April 1, we are participating in a 14 Week Riding Challenge. Between now and July 12, the goal is to complete 40 rides and a total of 60 hours together. Since we usually ride 5 days a week, I am hoping to complete this challenge by the end of May. Here are a few photos from our first ride of the challenge.




She's still pretty fuzzy but has put on some good muscle since the fall. These are our official "before" pictures for the challenge.



Baby slide stop tracks are starting to happen. Sometimes she braces too much, but it's a work in progress.

The reason for the challenge and the blogging, is to help keep me accountable and track my progress towards something that's already keeping me up at night with excitement. June 7-8, Betty and I will be heading across the mountains to clinic with Les Vogt. This guy is one of the greats, and I never expected to have a chance to ride with him. Needless to say, I am super excited and want to be sure that Betty and I are prepared to take home as much from the clinic as possible.

For some reason I can't get this video to embed, but it's a great explanation of his training approach and our road map for the next month at least: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJs_KP7e_DA&list=PLR4AO9Zju0dTri8I--5JmsUJolS3n33fE&index=2

We are currently improving pieces 1 and 2, and I just introduced step 3. So, we are well on our way. I'm also focused on getting her more relaxed and steady at the lope. Once these skills are a little further developed, I will put together a list of more specific goals. I still need to be careful of pushing her too hard, and I want to get out on the trails as soon as we dry out a bit here. Check back often to see what we're up to! 

Now I Can Exhale

Last week I had my second and third rides on Betty, and we are settling into a routine. I catch her and Z, cross tie them to groom and saddle, and then they take turns tied to the fence while I ride the other horse. Betty usually stands very quietly watching while I ride Z. Occasionally she'll get herself into a pickle with the rope over her head, but she just calmly works herself out of it. What a smart girl. I'm so glad she's sensible when tied. Nothing really seems to faze this mare, though; so, I shouldn't be surprised.

Our second ride was much like the first. Betty had a little bit more nervous energy when I brought her to the mounting block, but she settled down quickly and stood very nicely at the block for me to hop on. The most important thing for her to realize this ride was the ability to move forward. We still did many tiny little circles, and she trotted off in a small panic when I smacked her hiney with the end of my rein to inspire some forward energy, but she relaxed into the ride and even went straight for a few strides at a time. I kept it short and sweet, but I was so proud of my girl.

Our third ride was even better! We walked and trotted both directions mostly on the rail. She balances well and is getting the hang of turning from my seat and leg. I'm riding her in the sidepull, and it's a great tool for teaching her to follow her nose through turns. I've never started a horse with one before, but I think it may be my new favorite piece for starting horses.

During training, people put a lot of emphasis on the first ride, but, the way I see it, I have the element of surprise for that one. To me, the better test is the second ride. The horse knows what's coming and has to make the decision whether they're going to behave or buck me off. Of course, if I have done my preparation well, there won't be a problem, but there's always the free will of the horse to take into account. Since we've got three rides behind us, I think I can finally relax. Betty will continue to progress, and I can stop worrying about it and get down to the serious business of training.

While I haven't sent in my registration yet, we are definitely planning on attending the S.A.F.E. show August 3 and 4. Z will show in some western classes, and I may even ride a Western Dressage test with him. I'm not sure what capacity Betty will participate, but, at the very least, I hope to do some in hand classes with her. We have been practicing our showmanship every session, and she is improving by leaps and bounds. I'm really hoping she will be doing well enough to go into a walk only class. We've got a few weeks left before the show, and I will just have to see where we are at when the big day comes.

Excuses, excuses

Hi, readers! It's summer and I've been playing in the sun. Also, my laptop bit the dust. Thus, the lack in posts. I'm trying to get back into my blogging routine. We'll see how it goes. ;)

I taught a wonderful lesson with one of my really fun clients last night. She has a wonderful little gelding that I ride a few times a week. They are both on the green side but willing to learn. We were working to prepare for a show, and I set up cones in the corners of the arena to help work on keeping on the rail and riding correct corners. Sweet little gelding was doing really well with all the corners except one. At this particular corner, he would drop his shoulder and push to the inside of the cone. Every time.  Wonderful client wanted to know why he was spooking in that corner. Helpful railbird commented that it was probably where she was standing or possibly the saddle cover hanging over the rail. While initially it may have been one of those things, what it boiled down to is that the horse didn't want to go into that corner. He wasn't spooking and he wasn't afraid. Without the proper leadership from the saddle, he just didn't have a reason to. Now, I have no idea why he initially didn't want to go into the corner, but after three or four times, he had it in his head he shouldn't have to. So, I encouraged my student to be proactive by lifting the shoulder ahead of time and focusing her energy on riding through the corner rather than fighting about the cone. Viola!! He went right through.

As riders, we have a natural tendency to want to explain and rationalize what is happening with our horses. Especially when something goes wrong. Putting a label on it, or assigning it a reason or cause makes us feel better. The problem with this is that horses don't always have a reason for what they do; or, if our thought process isn't like the horse's, we may assign the wrong reason to the behavior. Horses live in the moment. They are not hatching plans to make our rides more difficult. They are not devious.What horses are is incredibly sensitive. If something is bothering you, it will bother them. By putting a lot of thought into the problem you are having, that corner, this movement, or that transition, you are only telling the horse that there is something to be concerned about.

If we constantly excuse our horses inappropriate behavior because there was something hanging on the rail, he doesn't like that horse, the door was open instead of closed etc, we make it ok. By putting a name on it, and allowing the horse to behave in a way they shouldn't because of that, we have given our horse the opportunity to make decisions. Now, I don't know about you, but, when I'm in the saddle, I want to be making the decisions. So, when I'm riding and the horse pulls a move that's out of line, I make sure that I was not giving a confusing message, that there's nothing the horse should be legitimately concerned about, and then I carry on with whatever I wanted in the first place. I may adjust my strategy to make the exercise more clear to the horse, but I don't spend a lot of time figuring out what may have bothered sweet Fluffy. I don't even care! I want to continue to make progress with the horse listening to me, so I'm not going to spend a lot of time focusing on a little hiccup. Often times, when we fall into a pattern with our horse, we are anticipating the problem and creating tension in the horse. It's hard, but when something unplanned happens, you need to brush it off and move on. Fixating and wondering if it will happen again is almost a sure guarantee that it will. Ensuring that your horse's attention is focused on you and being proactive to stop problems before they turn into a habit will go a long way in eliminating unwanted behavior.

It's about time...

Before we get started, just wanted to say "Hey There" to all eight of my followers! Thanks for sticking with me through my sporadic spells of inspiration. I'll hit my rhythm one of  these days ;)

Recently, the TWH world has been in the spotlight. If you read my blog because you like me and not horses (Hi, Mom?), the short version is that there's a very popular type of show horse called the "Big Lick" Tennessee Walker , and the only way to get them to do what they do is by torturing and eventually crippling them.  See the ABC video and article for more info.

Here is A LOT of footage of the Big Lick walkers in action. Don't they kinda look like aliens? Two of the reasons people are outraged by the practices of Big Lick trainers are action devices and soring. Because of all the "civilian" attention this case is getting, I think it's about time we revisit a discipline that has been called out for completely unhealthy fads in the show ring, but has still not cleaned up its act. Western Pleasure has allowed ridiculous training and fads to win in the show ring, and while the style may change, the ribbons still encourage others to follow whatever is the winning style. Why would anyone going for a ride out in the pastures want their horse cantering with such a hook in his body that it's more of a crabwalk? Or is showing such a popular activity now that people breed show horses that need not even resemble what would actually be put to use in the real world? So, we are going to look at the similarities between Big Lick and Western Pleasure. Maybe people will get mad about this too!

Let's do a little comparison between these two and see what we can see

Big Lick has Soring. Trainers cover the lower leg with caustic chemicals, like deisel, and then they wrap the legs with saran wrap to make sure the chemicals get the skin good and tender. Then they put chains on the tenderized skin, which will repeatedly smack them as they move and, therefore, "encourage" their flashy gait. They also use huge platform shoes called stacks. These are extremely heavy and can warp the foot. Check out this post from a farrier about stacks on FuglyBlog if you'd like more information.

This video shows a few of the Western Pleasure problems that compare to soring. One is the "yank incessantly on the mouth while spurring" training method. This video got nearly unbearable at the two and a half minute mark. My goodness! While she's not necessarily pulling hard, it's almost incessant. That type of continuous nagging with the bit can do permanent damage to the tongue, not to mention make the whole mouth very sore. This gal seems to be fairly quiet with her spurs, but she's trying to get you to buy her how-to video. Maybe she's saving some of the really good tips for people who will shell out the cash? Some other methods to encourage the WP gaits are huge bits, draw reins, martingales, and hock hobbles. While these methods seem a little more humane than the TWH folks, many of these methods cause lasting damage to the horse and most do not remain sound.  

Hmm.. both disciplines drastically change their horse's gait in a way that actually causes harm??

Moving on...

This is a winning TWH Tail

This high tail set is sometimes achieved by "nicking" the tail, which is the nice name for slicing a tendon on the underside of the tail so that it can be held higher and look better(?!) in the show ring. They also strap them into these tail set contraptions to help the tail look more awesome. 

Sidenote: I have no experience with the above horse, and have no idea if that tail was nicked.. or set... or won anything for that matter.

Doesn't that look comfy for them to curl up in their stall with? 

This is a winning WP tail

Because stock horses have big ol' booties, fake tails have become very popular to hide the fact that many stock horses grow pathetically thin tails, and thus they balance the appearance of the horse. Why this matters, who knows? Fashion is an unruly beast! But the next tail shocker is the fact that it is fairly common for pleasure horses to have their tails blocked. The tail is injected with a chemical to temporarily "partially" paralyze it.  I've heard one reason for doing this was to stop the horse from carrying their tail away from their body. Apparently using their whole spine to move is out of fashion this year. Another added bonus is that these horses lose their ability to swish their tail when they are spurred by their rider.  This fad is not without censequence, if the injection site gets infected or the horse has a bad reaction for any number of reasons, they could die. More commonly, the effects may not wear off, the horse may lose hair at the head of the tail, or it may develop a kink in the dock.  Here is a photo of the aftermath of tail blocking gone wrong. 

I bet that cost more than it was worth....

Looks like both of these disciplines are willing to go to extreme measures to "improve" their horses' appearance. 

Here is a video of a class of 4 year olds at the Celebration last year. I think the canter is the most awkward one, but they all look like a strain on the horse.  The structures of the leg were not designed for the additional work of squatting down behind and carrying bricks on their feet in front like these horses are. 

Here is a video from a class at the 2011 AQHYA World Show. In my opinion, these horses don't look much more comfortable than the walkers. The main horse in this video looks like her booty hurts to me. 

As we've just seen, both of these disciplines promote gaits that are unnatural and affect the horses' long term soundness. 

While I know there is always a range of people involved in every discipline, nobody can deny that Big Lick and Western Pleasure have earned every bit of their terrible reputations. There is a major difference between these two disciplines that I should mention. While I feel there are people who actually care about horses in the WP industry, no horse loving person could ever do what the Big Lick weirdos do to theirs. Let's raise awareness people! Education is power and all that. 

Training Spirit

This handsome young fellow is Spirit. He's a 5 year old TB that I have in for training. His owner plans to use him for trials, and my job is to make sure he's a perfect gentleman. He's very special to me because he was the first horse I started professionally. I put 90 days on him 2 years ago, and then he went home to grow up for a while. This photo is him on his first day back in training. 

Spirit has always been a pretty easy going fellow. Uncharacteristic of his breed, his biggest hurdle was creating forward energy. He would rather stand around for pets and cookies. Our re-introduction to riding went off without a hitch. He picked up the work routine again like he had never left the farm. BUT, he has been such a slug. Getting him to pick up a walk rather than a mosey was a project. He also spooks at the poles in the corner, and the corner with the mailbox, and when cars pull into the parking lot.

Needless to say, I was a little apprehensive about our first trail ride last weekend. After all, I'd only been riding him for 2 weeks (6 rides), and we were still having a lot of problems. It's not that he was terribly naughty in the arena, but he wasn't giving me a lot of confidence in his level headedness either. I didn't really have a choice, so I sucked it up and made my plans. I brought a whip in case of balking, two good horse companions to sandwich us in safety, and a good rope halter and lead in case we needed to do some ground work out on the trail.

We loaded up the horses on a pleasant Sunday afternoon and headed to the trailhead. This particular one only has parking on a wide shoulder of a fairly busy road, but that didn't bother anyone. Hallelujah!

Here he is, waiting patiently :)

As we set out, I was mentally prepared for a torturous battle in the woods, but boy was I in for a suprise. He. Was. Perfect. Not one jiggy step, not one spook, or even a refusal. He went up, over, and through everything I asked him to. Although, he did skirt the edges of puddles and mud in order to keep his little hoofies clean. The only time I dismounted was to go over/under a fallen tree that came up almost to his chest with a low hanging branch overhead. He even turned and approached the large, barking dog that we encountered. 

Sandwiched in between the more seasoned horses. 

We ended up riding for about two hours, and a great time was had by all! I think I've found Spirit's calling. Now just to adjust our arena rides for more success and less arguement. I think we'll spend more time working with obstacles and less time worrying if his circles are round and supple. 

Guapo, one of our trail riding companions, is ready to head home and eat dinner!

Trail Rides

This time of year, as the weather starts to improve (she states optimistically), I start getting pestered to take people out on some trail rides. Those of you readers who know me in person know that I would rather clean sheaths all day than go on a trail ride. I have a stock answer that generally gets me off the hook with people. It goes something like this:
Trail riding presents a lot of uncontrolled risk, and it's not relaxing for me to feel responsible for everyone and their horses' lives.

But... that's not entirely the truth. The other reason I don't want to go on trail rides is more along these lines:
Riding through the woods looking at trees is BORING!!!

Boring

Fun!

Boring....

Fun!!

I would so much rather putter around in an arena than meander in the wilderness. Trail riding has no challenge, and therefore I think it's awful. There, I said it. Anyone agree with me?

Trusting and Letting Go

As a riding instructor, part of my job is having faith in my students and letting them step out and do things independantly. I have always found this pretty easy to do,as I tend to have a large amount of faith in my students ability to rise to the occasion. I have seen pairs succeed that I was told would be a total disaster. I have seen these students continue on with those same horses and succeed in areas I would not have imagined possible. But for some reason, it's been a struggle to let my horses do the same.

A large part of my teenage years was spent riding the unstarted horse I recieved for my 15th birthday. I learned tons about training, and I really enjoyed watching my silly 2 year old transform into a steady eddy school horse and 4H State Fair Competitor. Sadly, though, I had a hole in my riding education. I went from a pretty uneducated backyard rider to training. I learned how to hold my horse together, how to manage the direction of his feet, and keep him supple and forward. But I didn't learn to let him go. I found security in my reins, which at times I really needed! So now, a few years down the road, I'm working on filling in that gap. For a while, my training philosophy was based on a lot of input, I wanted every step to be planned and executed the way I wanted it. Now, I'm working on treating my horses like partners. I want to help them perform the movements I ask for but allow them to start taking more responsibility for their actions. This means sometimes I go faster than I want, or in a less than perfect bend, and sometimes not even the direction I was planning; but these are all learning opportunities. I'm able to encourage my horses to be more willing and independant by not being afraid of their mistakes. I'm raising my expectations of my horses,  and it's cool the way they rise to the occasion. It's my challenge to be clear in what I want and to stay out of their way. It's their responsibility to try to the best of their ability.

It's definitely been a challenge, and I know this isn't the last hole I'll have to fill. The rewards are worth it. I'm having fun letting my horses do their thing, and I'm learning a lot from them.

Tack Addict Shopping Guide

Those of you who know me in real life know I have an *ahem cough cough* affection for tack. I am indeed a tack addict. They say the first step is admitting you have a problem, but they never said you have to go beyond that! Good old "they" ;) So, I'm going to be sharing with you guys some of my favorite tack items... there will even be helpful links if you'd like to pick some up for yourself!

For this first feature, I'm going to share what I think may be the best tack invention ever. The simplicity and usefullness makes me wonder why these do not come standard on every set of western reins.

You can purchase these from Buckaroo Leather for around $12!
If you're like me, you like the option of easily removing your reins without having to untie the waterloops. I tried snaps for a while, but eventually I decided I wasn't crazy about the way they jingled and rattled while I was riding (not to mention the risk of breaking or coming undone). I've also tried quite a few of the quick change style ends, but these puppies are by far my favorite!

Great Expectations

What goes through your mind while you're riding? If you're like many of my students and clients, you are focused on not letting things go wrong. "I hope Spooky McJumpypants doesn't freak out in the corner" "I hope Ol' Twobyfour doesn't brace through this transition" "Hopefully Mexican Jumping Beans isn't going to buck today"  This kind of thinking can be a self defeating prophecy. It's amazing how in tune our horses are to our mental state of being. They're just trotting along or whathaveyou, when they feel your body tense as you think about where they might buck/spook/swerve/brace or otherwise booger around. So your horse is thinking, "Well, shoot! Miss Rider Lady is really nervous about something that's coming up, I should be too!" We unintentionally clutter the horse's mind and make it more difficult for them to focus on the job at hand.

I was watching a boarder at my barn ride her beautiful black mare the other night. As they were going around I heard her say something along the lines of "stop bracing" to her horse... who continued to brace. Even though she was riding the horse in a way to correct the error, the horse continued leaning on the reins. When she changed her tune and asked the horse to be soft, the change was almost instantaneous.

Next time  you ride, try it. Make a note of the negative thoughts that you have, and see what happens if you turn them around into a positive. It's not a magic trick, your horse won't suddenly learn how to do flying changes; and we can't change our horse's natural way of going or temperment. However, it's amazing how well a horse will work when we get out of their way.