So, another week elapses and I now have a more concrete plan for Tux. After a week of essentially mulling over my options, I had a really great lesson with super Ben Netterfield on Saturday afternoon where he both gave credence to my misgivings and boosted my confidence. For some reason, Tux really chills out at Ben's place - he's calmer, no blow-ups, a bit tense still, but a different horse. He's more the horse I rode the one time before I decided to buy him. Interesting.....
Ben and I talked a lot. And the plan was hatched: give Tux til the AEBC intensive in a month, use that 4 days as a platform to channel our progress and training, then execute the homework arising from the intensive over the following two or three months and evaluate his progress. Ben put it in a way that really validated what I have been feeling. Yes, there has been progress, but is it enough progress for the amount of time and effort I've been putting in? Is there enough of a change and improvement for me to keep pouring time, sweat and money into this horse?
The actual riding part of the lesson (the second half, really, but Ben and I can both talk, that's for sure!) was a bit of a lightbulb moment for me. Ben had two very clear suggestions, both of which made complete sense to me and both of which worked well with Tux.
Firstly, I have been skipping ahead with Tux, asking for more than he was ready for and not being super clear about what it was I was really asking for. The best example was the canter, which I've really been struggling with. Tux usually resists into the canter, bounding or pig-rooting, or chucking his head up and down as he canters sideways. Then if I do get him into a nice canter but ask for a change, like slower or turn, he chucks his head around and swaps onto the wrong lead. Ben just said 'keep going, push him on, just keep cantering on a big circle on the wrong lead'. Soon, we had a really nice counter canter and Ben would say, change reins in a big loop, and then we'd be on the correct lead. After a while, I'd upset Tux and he'd do his lead swapping thing again, disuniting and mucking around, but I pushed him on, made him canter and then when we got balanced and rhythmic we'd change reins again.
Essentially, Ben was saying that hot horses change the goal posts all the time. One minute it's, 'don't touch my mouth!', then it's, 'don't touch my sides!', then it's 'hell no, I'm not going to go forward!'. I need to be flexible and recognise resistance wherever it comes from. Tux will go from being super-sensitive to leg aids to really needing a boot to get going. Interesting....
So, that was lesson number one. Be really clear what you're asking and expecting. If you're having trouble with getting a canter, screw what lead you're on, focus on getting canter. Then worry about the leads once you get a consistent correct, calm reaction from the aid you're giving.
Lesson number two was about my position. I am letting him move me around a lot which, in turn, makes him more worried and reactive as he isn't sure where he's supposed to be. If I focus on maintaining my balance, my rhythm, my position and stay upright, he will learn that being under me, with me, is comfortable and safe. It's hard work, but the more I focused on keeping my line (shoulder, elbow, hip, heel), the better and calmer he became. Slowing and speeding up, keeping him with me, not fighting him and hanging on.
This is very true in my jumping position. I have this bloody stupid habit of, for the first fence at least, jumping before the horse does. It's obviously because I don't want to be left behind and catch him in the mouth, but as Ben explained, being ahead of the movement makes you more likely to be left behind. The horse is put on his forehand by my weight throwing forward, so he jumps badly and I'm not in balance so I get caught behind him. Makes sense when Ben explains it.
But, if I concentrate on simply sitting upright and still coming into the fence, it all just happens underneath me. He jumps up into me, I fold from the hips and I don't over-release the contact. It felt a lot smoother. And, Tux actually came calmly back to a trot which I've been trying to achieve for weeks. He really does like it at Ben's place.
So, Manu lesson on Friday. I'm a bit apprehensive as it's a shared lesson with a lovely girl on an even lovelier little stockhorse mare and I don't want to ruin their lesson with a crazy Tux. I'm also a bit peeved as I really need the help and the only lesson I could get to was the Friday as I've got Canberra HT on the Saturday. But beggars can't be choosers, and you just have to take what you can get when it comes to clinics.
Then Canberra, then in a few weeks' time it's the big drive down to Clonbinane for the intensive where I will be blogging every day, people! When too much Barefoot Eventer is barely enough! With pics!
Til then, happy riding. Might see some of you at Canberra.
Monday, 28 October 2013
Tuesday, 22 October 2013
Two steps forward, one step back - and meet Uno!
Craziness and uber cuteness have taken over the last couple of weeks. Crazy horse, uber cute Uno the brand new baby son of Rose, crazy weather, uber cute Jellybean the tiny shetland pony...so much to talk about!
Tuxedo and I have hit a new low. I am feeling quite depressed about his lack of progress at the moment, and literally dread getting on him. He's still very unpredictable (though much less dramatic) and I constantly feel like I'm sitting on a very tense leopard about to flip its lid and launch into a very athletic turn. Which he does. He still rears, though not the proper high-ho-Silver's, and he's taken to popping in some decent pig roots when I ask for canter.
It all sounds quite boring when I write it down, but he's a very tense, reactive horse and exhausting to ride. He is making riding not particularly fun and more like work, which is hardly the point. I keep trying to see all the progress we've made - he's so much quieter on the ground, he stands fairly well, he actually eats his dinner (admittedly, I've halved it so he will), he stands well while I mount and will trot rhythmically in general. We've even got some good calmish jumping going.
But he is still prone to becoming very excited, very nervy, and prances and stuffs around, cantering sideways, rearing when he doesn't get his way. It's confidence-sapping to say the least. And I haven't really once felt like I'd come off. Go figure! I've got a lesson with Manu coming up in just over a week, followed directly by the Canberra HT, so I think I'll see how that goes. Then I've got the Intensive Clinic at AEBC in Clonbinane, VIC, a month later and I'll use that as a re-training masterclass. I'll re-evaluate my work with Tux after that to see if I think I can take him on from there.
Moving on to the uber cuteness factor....meet Uno:
He's probably the most unco-cordinated foal you'll meet in a while, on account of the most enormous back legs he was born with:
You may be able to just see the tendon laxity in his hind pasterns which made it very hard for him to balance and walk properly for the first 3 or 4 days. That has resolved with time and exercise, but he still has some issues with those big back legs. The near hind is not tracking through straight, winging out to the side from the stifle. I've got Robyn from Equine Miracle coming out to treat Rose and she'll have a look at Uno too. I'll keep you posted.
Jellybean you'll just have to read about in the next post! I haven't even taken photos of her yet with all the excitement about Uno. But she's probably almost as cute.
Had a great morning judging out at Lynton on the weekend. The atmosphere was a little tense with smoke from the bushfires casting a bit of a weird light over all the quality horses warming up for the stressage. Some riders had fires close to their homes and had to dash home to get other horses just in case. Amazing that they came back, I say! Not the best pic as I had to wait til we'd finished, but the smoke is visible....
A really great event. Can't wait to ride there - maybe next year!
Tuxedo and I have hit a new low. I am feeling quite depressed about his lack of progress at the moment, and literally dread getting on him. He's still very unpredictable (though much less dramatic) and I constantly feel like I'm sitting on a very tense leopard about to flip its lid and launch into a very athletic turn. Which he does. He still rears, though not the proper high-ho-Silver's, and he's taken to popping in some decent pig roots when I ask for canter.
It all sounds quite boring when I write it down, but he's a very tense, reactive horse and exhausting to ride. He is making riding not particularly fun and more like work, which is hardly the point. I keep trying to see all the progress we've made - he's so much quieter on the ground, he stands fairly well, he actually eats his dinner (admittedly, I've halved it so he will), he stands well while I mount and will trot rhythmically in general. We've even got some good calmish jumping going.
But he is still prone to becoming very excited, very nervy, and prances and stuffs around, cantering sideways, rearing when he doesn't get his way. It's confidence-sapping to say the least. And I haven't really once felt like I'd come off. Go figure! I've got a lesson with Manu coming up in just over a week, followed directly by the Canberra HT, so I think I'll see how that goes. Then I've got the Intensive Clinic at AEBC in Clonbinane, VIC, a month later and I'll use that as a re-training masterclass. I'll re-evaluate my work with Tux after that to see if I think I can take him on from there.
Moving on to the uber cuteness factor....meet Uno:
Jellybean you'll just have to read about in the next post! I haven't even taken photos of her yet with all the excitement about Uno. But she's probably almost as cute.
Had a great morning judging out at Lynton on the weekend. The atmosphere was a little tense with smoke from the bushfires casting a bit of a weird light over all the quality horses warming up for the stressage. Some riders had fires close to their homes and had to dash home to get other horses just in case. Amazing that they came back, I say! Not the best pic as I had to wait til we'd finished, but the smoke is visible....
A really great event. Can't wait to ride there - maybe next year!
Monday, 7 October 2013
Tuxedo's Barefoot Adventure - next installment
So, it's been about 6 months since Tuxedo came to live with us and got his shoes taken off. I'm going to post some pics to see if we can see much of a change....
Straight after taking his shoes off:
Near Fore:
Off Fore:
Off Hind (the boxiest foot):
Near Hind:
Off Fore:
And now, 6 months later:
You can see the big rings halfway down his hoof that show where the shoes came off. The hoof above the ring is a lot tighter, with less flare and no abscesses.
Off Fore - you can clearly see the flare below the big ring line showing where the shoe came off:
Near Fore: More concavity, frog is really prominent, still a bit to go at the toe
You can see the abscess hole below the line showing where the shoes came off:
And another one here on the off fore (the boxy one is still boxy but much improved):
So, huge changes and that's in a horse that we think didn't have shoes on for very long! His feet are much smaller, stronger and don't chip at all. Very proud. :)
Straight after taking his shoes off:
Near Fore:
Off Fore:
Off Hind (the boxiest foot):
Near Hind:
Off Fore:
And now, 6 months later:
You can see the big rings halfway down his hoof that show where the shoes came off. The hoof above the ring is a lot tighter, with less flare and no abscesses.
Off Fore - you can clearly see the flare below the big ring line showing where the shoe came off:
Near Fore: More concavity, frog is really prominent, still a bit to go at the toe
You can see the abscess hole below the line showing where the shoes came off:
And another one here on the off fore (the boxy one is still boxy but much improved):
So, huge changes and that's in a horse that we think didn't have shoes on for very long! His feet are much smaller, stronger and don't chip at all. Very proud. :)
What a month!
Well, it's been a while and so much has happened since my last post it's hard to know where to start! In fact, there's so much to talk about I've decided to post a separate post just on Tuxedo's feet with some pics I took at the last trimming, just to show the amazing changes in his feet since the shoes were removed.
So, first things first, I have finally finished my damn law degree. It's been eight long, boring, tiring, frustrating years. Some of my friends who started years after me finished years before me. But none of that is important. What's important is, I did it. Woohoo!
Since my last post I've managed to still squeeze in a bit of judging and a bit of riding, but not too much of either. The highlights have been judging at a local Pony Cub ODE and then following that up with judging a local dressage event with other judges the following day. I hadn't judge with another judge before so it was quite helpful and more than a little intimidating as both the other judges were very experienced. This obviously means they were also very opinionated!
I came away from that day with a slightly bruised ego, but also a much deeper appreciation of the attempts by EA to standardise judging as much as possible. It's all very well for me to have taken up judging with the idea of doing it my way, but that's in reality quite unfair and arbitrary. It leads to frustration and grumpiness on the part of riders who are training and riding thinking judges want to see certain things. Like 'roundness' or 'collection' or 'in a frame' or whatever the hell judges call it when the horse has its head tucked in like a knight's charger. At the lower levels I judge, this can be a recipe for disaster and the majority of horses I see are not in the correct frame at all, being forced into a very stiff and hard contact and completely jammed up in front.
I used to be cross with the riders, but now I find myself a little cross with a lot of the judges I meet, too, who penalise riders who don't have their horse in these tight, stilted and unnatural frames. At the Prep, Prelim and even Novice level, there should be no evidence of 'collection'....just a relaxed outline with the back swinging rhythmically and a soft contact between the rider's hands and the bit. But, since many judges knock off two marks for being 'above the vertical' (which is perfectly correct, by the way) or 'resisting', riders feel pressured to simply pull the horse down and make it stay there. This produces tense horses with inconsistent head carriage who simply cannot use their hindquarters. Shouldn't happen, but that's how it is.
Anyway, enough about judging already! We have a new pony called Jellybean. The cutest, tiniest, furriest member of our family by far, Jellybean arrived this morning. She's a little Shetland and she'll be training the kids about horses. :) Pics to come!!
Tux and I have been coming along in leaps and bounds since the Andrew Mclean clinic. I've been working very little in the arena and a lot out in the paddocks, on the slopes to help build strength through his core and stifles. We've had less and less blow ups and the last ride featured nil blow ups and lots of great slow trot. We're really nailing the stop button with lots of repetition, not holding for more than two beats, increasing the pressure very rapidly when there's no, or too slow, response to the initial very light pressure. And he's really responding.
I've also been doing a lot of groundwork (well, a lot for me!!), using the dressage whip to tap him to ask him to move calmly and promptly away for two steps. He's really quite reactive around his hindquarter which tells me he's been whacked with a dressage whip before I think. But we're getting to the point where he will semi-reliably move the right way without freaking out about it.
I've also noticed that, after the groundwork, he's a calmer and much more pliable horse to ride. He used to shake sometimes as I mounted him, start plunging around like an idiot as soon as my bum hit the saddle, and take 5 to 10 minutes to get his act together. Now he will, 8 times out of 10, stand still while I get on, not move until I ask, and be quite calm once I do ask him to move. Goes to show that groundwork has quite a big impact on the horse when you're on.
Had a really fun saddle adjustment today with Super Julia from WOW. Apart from Tuxedo throwing in some whopper bucks when I asked for canter, it was a really great visit. We actually went down a headplate size which is not unusual, but that probably won't last long as he keeps developing muscle across his topline. At the moment he's a lean, mean fighting machine and carrying no extra fat at all. That should change as he relaxes more and the spring grass does its thing.
And poor Rose is going to foal any moment. She's massive, ungainly and lumbering around over at Piplyn Lodge like an elephant. She's primed but the right moment obviously hasn't presented itself yet. I'll keep you posted!
Next event isn't til the beginning of November now - Canberra Horse Trials. I'm judging at the NSW State Eventing Championships in a couple of weeks, though, which should be seriously fun. I'm also judging at Canberra which should be seriously interesting! And at Berrima a month later, where I'm also planning on riding. Will have to see how that all works out. :)
Happy riding!
So, first things first, I have finally finished my damn law degree. It's been eight long, boring, tiring, frustrating years. Some of my friends who started years after me finished years before me. But none of that is important. What's important is, I did it. Woohoo!
Since my last post I've managed to still squeeze in a bit of judging and a bit of riding, but not too much of either. The highlights have been judging at a local Pony Cub ODE and then following that up with judging a local dressage event with other judges the following day. I hadn't judge with another judge before so it was quite helpful and more than a little intimidating as both the other judges were very experienced. This obviously means they were also very opinionated!
I came away from that day with a slightly bruised ego, but also a much deeper appreciation of the attempts by EA to standardise judging as much as possible. It's all very well for me to have taken up judging with the idea of doing it my way, but that's in reality quite unfair and arbitrary. It leads to frustration and grumpiness on the part of riders who are training and riding thinking judges want to see certain things. Like 'roundness' or 'collection' or 'in a frame' or whatever the hell judges call it when the horse has its head tucked in like a knight's charger. At the lower levels I judge, this can be a recipe for disaster and the majority of horses I see are not in the correct frame at all, being forced into a very stiff and hard contact and completely jammed up in front.
I used to be cross with the riders, but now I find myself a little cross with a lot of the judges I meet, too, who penalise riders who don't have their horse in these tight, stilted and unnatural frames. At the Prep, Prelim and even Novice level, there should be no evidence of 'collection'....just a relaxed outline with the back swinging rhythmically and a soft contact between the rider's hands and the bit. But, since many judges knock off two marks for being 'above the vertical' (which is perfectly correct, by the way) or 'resisting', riders feel pressured to simply pull the horse down and make it stay there. This produces tense horses with inconsistent head carriage who simply cannot use their hindquarters. Shouldn't happen, but that's how it is.
Anyway, enough about judging already! We have a new pony called Jellybean. The cutest, tiniest, furriest member of our family by far, Jellybean arrived this morning. She's a little Shetland and she'll be training the kids about horses. :) Pics to come!!
Tux and I have been coming along in leaps and bounds since the Andrew Mclean clinic. I've been working very little in the arena and a lot out in the paddocks, on the slopes to help build strength through his core and stifles. We've had less and less blow ups and the last ride featured nil blow ups and lots of great slow trot. We're really nailing the stop button with lots of repetition, not holding for more than two beats, increasing the pressure very rapidly when there's no, or too slow, response to the initial very light pressure. And he's really responding.
I've also been doing a lot of groundwork (well, a lot for me!!), using the dressage whip to tap him to ask him to move calmly and promptly away for two steps. He's really quite reactive around his hindquarter which tells me he's been whacked with a dressage whip before I think. But we're getting to the point where he will semi-reliably move the right way without freaking out about it.
I've also noticed that, after the groundwork, he's a calmer and much more pliable horse to ride. He used to shake sometimes as I mounted him, start plunging around like an idiot as soon as my bum hit the saddle, and take 5 to 10 minutes to get his act together. Now he will, 8 times out of 10, stand still while I get on, not move until I ask, and be quite calm once I do ask him to move. Goes to show that groundwork has quite a big impact on the horse when you're on.
Had a really fun saddle adjustment today with Super Julia from WOW. Apart from Tuxedo throwing in some whopper bucks when I asked for canter, it was a really great visit. We actually went down a headplate size which is not unusual, but that probably won't last long as he keeps developing muscle across his topline. At the moment he's a lean, mean fighting machine and carrying no extra fat at all. That should change as he relaxes more and the spring grass does its thing.
And poor Rose is going to foal any moment. She's massive, ungainly and lumbering around over at Piplyn Lodge like an elephant. She's primed but the right moment obviously hasn't presented itself yet. I'll keep you posted!
Next event isn't til the beginning of November now - Canberra Horse Trials. I'm judging at the NSW State Eventing Championships in a couple of weeks, though, which should be seriously fun. I'm also judging at Canberra which should be seriously interesting! And at Berrima a month later, where I'm also planning on riding. Will have to see how that all works out. :)
Happy riding!
Thursday, 19 September 2013
Slow trot, hills and bloody stifles
Well it feels like forever since I spilled my random horsey thoughts on the screen of the trusty old MacBook. And the last couple of weeks have not been without horsey action!
I'll start with the Andrew Mclean clinic. Basically, Andrew was pretty complimentary of young Tux. But used words like 'rehabilitation' and 're-training' when he saw his antics and tension levels. Here's what we worked on:
I had Robyn the bodyworker out the afternoon after the clinic and she told me in no uncertain terms that his stifles were a major problem and he has significant muscle weakness in the thighs and hindquarters. He really does look like two different horses. A lovely, quality jumper in the front half, and a skinny TB with no fitness in the back half.
So, more of the same as I did with Rose all those months ago. Poles every day, carrot stretches every day, hill work as often as possible. Sigh. At least Rose was waiting at the gate every morning. Tux takes one look at my eager face with my carrot outstretched and simply walks off in the other direction. With purpose. All the way to the bottom of the paddock.
Rose is looking so pregnant she might pop. Robyn is concerned her pelvis is quite crooked but shouldn't interfere with foaling. The foal is literally kicking the crap out of her - huge thumps now! I had a great visit with the lovely Larry Greetham from the Celtic Stud (he bred Rose, incidentally) and we have a revised possible due date of 2 October, rather than 20 October, mainly due to the fact maiden mares often go early. Rose is showing intermittent signs of imminent motherhood, but then the weather turns and all her hormones pack up again. When the warmer weather returns I reckon it won't take long for her to have it.
So, competing has been suspended for a while, it seems. I'm doing quite a bit of judging over the next few months, but there isn't a lot on competition-wise. I'll post pics as soon as Rose has that big baby of hers!
I'll start with the Andrew Mclean clinic. Basically, Andrew was pretty complimentary of young Tux. But used words like 'rehabilitation' and 're-training' when he saw his antics and tension levels. Here's what we worked on:
- Controlling both front legs equally. We identified that Tux's less under control leg was his near fore, so at a nice slow walk (which I actually achieved!) we worked on halting on an even number of steps to keep stepping off on the same side, then an odd number to change. Interestingly, even when his off fore was the last to move, he would sometimes step off with his near side, despite that being quite unusual. The rule is generally that the last leg to stop is the first leg to move.
- His head tossing and rearing is directly linked to his incorrectly trained 'stop button'. That is, he has been held with very strong rein contact in the past and is quite freaked out by it. He pulls when he is excited. The key is not to maintain any pressure on his mouth for more than two beats. Two beats being two front leg footfalls. If he fails to slow from a light but brief rein aid, release but give it to him a lot more strongly the second time - but just as briefly!
- Tux needs to learn how to change tempo within a gait - go faster and slower not just longer and shorter. We worked on slow mostly as he's pretty good at fast already!
- Tux needs to learn self-carriage. We worked on having almost no contact with his mouth and asking for a veeerrryyyy slow trot. After a while, he actually started achieving that surprisingly well.
- Until we establish a very reliable and light stop button, and self-carriage and change of tempo, jumping is not to be overdone (or really done much at all). That being said, Andrew encouraged training in and around jumps, occasionally popping over them.
I had Robyn the bodyworker out the afternoon after the clinic and she told me in no uncertain terms that his stifles were a major problem and he has significant muscle weakness in the thighs and hindquarters. He really does look like two different horses. A lovely, quality jumper in the front half, and a skinny TB with no fitness in the back half.
So, more of the same as I did with Rose all those months ago. Poles every day, carrot stretches every day, hill work as often as possible. Sigh. At least Rose was waiting at the gate every morning. Tux takes one look at my eager face with my carrot outstretched and simply walks off in the other direction. With purpose. All the way to the bottom of the paddock.
Rose is looking so pregnant she might pop. Robyn is concerned her pelvis is quite crooked but shouldn't interfere with foaling. The foal is literally kicking the crap out of her - huge thumps now! I had a great visit with the lovely Larry Greetham from the Celtic Stud (he bred Rose, incidentally) and we have a revised possible due date of 2 October, rather than 20 October, mainly due to the fact maiden mares often go early. Rose is showing intermittent signs of imminent motherhood, but then the weather turns and all her hormones pack up again. When the warmer weather returns I reckon it won't take long for her to have it.
So, competing has been suspended for a while, it seems. I'm doing quite a bit of judging over the next few months, but there isn't a lot on competition-wise. I'll post pics as soon as Rose has that big baby of hers!
Sunday, 25 August 2013
When crazy works on the day.
Well what a weekend! Our last weekend of four straight with things on. Amazing we made it to the end - and what a way to end the month!
After our interesting clinic with Sam Lyle last weekend, I felt very confident with Tux's cross country abilities. As Sam put it, he's "very bold"! That really translates into being highly-adrenalised and pretty much galloping at whatever I point him at. Over the course of the clinic with Sam, though, I managed to find a good balance of letting him roll on to the jump but trying to set up a good speed well before we get there. There is no point mucking around with Tux much more than 5 strides out as he seems to get quite worried about that and starts head tossing and swinging his quarters, taking his eye off the ball. That means, however, that if I get the speed wrong (ie too fast) we're in for a bumpy ride!
There were a few hurdles to getting to Wagga and I was very close to pulling the pin. My poor husband had been sick (and turns out to have pneumonia!), my kids were sick, I was sick, and Tux didn't get ridden all week. Then I got the draw and I was supposed to be riding at 8:30 Saturday morning!! That wasn't going to work and the wonderful Wagga organisers were luckily able to fit me in to a slot in the afternoon as someone had scratched. Note to self: next time ask for a late draw when you enter! And finally, my good mate who lives in Wagga had gone to a funeral and wouldn't be there.
But, screw it, I thought. This will be the last event til October and we've worked pretty hard over the last month so it would be good to see if we've improved. And my friend Nicki had offered to come over Saturday morning and plait up!
So, off we went to Wagga. When we arrived, Tux seemed more tense than usual. And that's saying something! But he pulled it together and actually did a much improved test. Tense, yes, but no rearing and jogging (there was actual walking!). Unfortunately, it was extremely boggy and slippery, so I tried to shave off half a meter on the circles to keep us out of the bog. The judge was pretty harsh and seemed to simply ignore the conditions, despite the slipping and choppy trot. She even knocked marks off for my circle being too small! Ah, well, everyone had the same judge so you can't really bitch too much. The only thing I really have a problem with is, once again, I have met a judge who is mainly negative, with no encouragement and no constructive criticism. I don't mind the marks, we're definitely not up for 8s and 9s yet, but the comments are very important to riders and I don't think many judges consider that.
With our crappy dressage, we were running 19th out of 25. Kinda takes the pressure off, being that shit!
The showjumping seemed big and was also very slippery. Tux has gotten slightly better over the last month in terms of simply jumping then cantering and slowing (albeit with some serious rein aids!). He still stood off fences as we would accelerate into them like cross country jumps which we really need to work on, but all in all he feels a lot less crazy.
He was a complete champion in the jumping as it was incredibly slippery and he is very green. He jumped about half of them really nicely and the other half were a lot less scary than they have been! We ended up with a rail (it was really the whole jump!) down and no time penalties. Most of the class copped a rail or time penalties so we were doing ok.
A nice night's sleep in a cute little motel and I walked the course again on Sunday morning. The going was boggy and slippery and the jumps were great. I was excited about riding it as it was challenging and interesting. There was a testing double of logs on angles so a straight one stride required a decent angled approach. A good trakhener (our first), a couple of decent drops behind logs and tables and a couple of skinnier jumps to test straightness. I thought Tux would eat it up. And he did!
To be honest, Tux had been much more tense this weekend than the last two, and I do think that was partly the atmosphere - it was much louder and busier than Harden - and partly the lack of work the week before. I could not get him to settle in the warm up and I wonder whether he is starting to learn the signs of impending cross country and is starting to anticipate the galloping.
He was very strong across the country, almost out of control. It was not the most pleasant or easy ride. Every time I just sat quietly he would get faster and faster, not just maintain his speed. It was way to slippery for that kind of speed, and it took quite a lot to pull him up before jumps. Still, he jumped like a champion, never looked twice, did come back to me when I really needed him to (ie before the two doubles) but was really just a speed machine the whole course.
But it worked brilliantly - we got only 1.6 time penalties and a clear round which bumped us from 17th after showjumping to 7th overall. Bloody amazing. The only person to go clear on time and jumps ended up winning. From 15th!! Says a lot about the conditions. Most rode much more slowly to deal with the slipperiness so there were even a couple of eliminations for going over the maximum time!
A great end to the weekend but quite a lot to work on, as always. I'm planning on putting in 6 weeks of solid work with him at home, taking him to a couple of local days, and aim for Wallaby Hill in mid-October.
I need to work with Kirsten our awesome trimmer on the traction issue. I doubt studs made much difference in that going, and it's interesting that we pulled one of the fastest times in our class. I do want to explore the options available to barefoot horse owners regarding filing ridges in to the wall. I really don't know if that would have made a huge difference but every little thing helps!
Looking forward to a quiet weekend next weekend!
After our interesting clinic with Sam Lyle last weekend, I felt very confident with Tux's cross country abilities. As Sam put it, he's "very bold"! That really translates into being highly-adrenalised and pretty much galloping at whatever I point him at. Over the course of the clinic with Sam, though, I managed to find a good balance of letting him roll on to the jump but trying to set up a good speed well before we get there. There is no point mucking around with Tux much more than 5 strides out as he seems to get quite worried about that and starts head tossing and swinging his quarters, taking his eye off the ball. That means, however, that if I get the speed wrong (ie too fast) we're in for a bumpy ride!
There were a few hurdles to getting to Wagga and I was very close to pulling the pin. My poor husband had been sick (and turns out to have pneumonia!), my kids were sick, I was sick, and Tux didn't get ridden all week. Then I got the draw and I was supposed to be riding at 8:30 Saturday morning!! That wasn't going to work and the wonderful Wagga organisers were luckily able to fit me in to a slot in the afternoon as someone had scratched. Note to self: next time ask for a late draw when you enter! And finally, my good mate who lives in Wagga had gone to a funeral and wouldn't be there.
But, screw it, I thought. This will be the last event til October and we've worked pretty hard over the last month so it would be good to see if we've improved. And my friend Nicki had offered to come over Saturday morning and plait up!
So, off we went to Wagga. When we arrived, Tux seemed more tense than usual. And that's saying something! But he pulled it together and actually did a much improved test. Tense, yes, but no rearing and jogging (there was actual walking!). Unfortunately, it was extremely boggy and slippery, so I tried to shave off half a meter on the circles to keep us out of the bog. The judge was pretty harsh and seemed to simply ignore the conditions, despite the slipping and choppy trot. She even knocked marks off for my circle being too small! Ah, well, everyone had the same judge so you can't really bitch too much. The only thing I really have a problem with is, once again, I have met a judge who is mainly negative, with no encouragement and no constructive criticism. I don't mind the marks, we're definitely not up for 8s and 9s yet, but the comments are very important to riders and I don't think many judges consider that.
With our crappy dressage, we were running 19th out of 25. Kinda takes the pressure off, being that shit!
The showjumping seemed big and was also very slippery. Tux has gotten slightly better over the last month in terms of simply jumping then cantering and slowing (albeit with some serious rein aids!). He still stood off fences as we would accelerate into them like cross country jumps which we really need to work on, but all in all he feels a lot less crazy.
He was a complete champion in the jumping as it was incredibly slippery and he is very green. He jumped about half of them really nicely and the other half were a lot less scary than they have been! We ended up with a rail (it was really the whole jump!) down and no time penalties. Most of the class copped a rail or time penalties so we were doing ok.
A nice night's sleep in a cute little motel and I walked the course again on Sunday morning. The going was boggy and slippery and the jumps were great. I was excited about riding it as it was challenging and interesting. There was a testing double of logs on angles so a straight one stride required a decent angled approach. A good trakhener (our first), a couple of decent drops behind logs and tables and a couple of skinnier jumps to test straightness. I thought Tux would eat it up. And he did!
To be honest, Tux had been much more tense this weekend than the last two, and I do think that was partly the atmosphere - it was much louder and busier than Harden - and partly the lack of work the week before. I could not get him to settle in the warm up and I wonder whether he is starting to learn the signs of impending cross country and is starting to anticipate the galloping.
Tux watching the other horses go over fence 1 before we headed out
He was very strong across the country, almost out of control. It was not the most pleasant or easy ride. Every time I just sat quietly he would get faster and faster, not just maintain his speed. It was way to slippery for that kind of speed, and it took quite a lot to pull him up before jumps. Still, he jumped like a champion, never looked twice, did come back to me when I really needed him to (ie before the two doubles) but was really just a speed machine the whole course.
But it worked brilliantly - we got only 1.6 time penalties and a clear round which bumped us from 17th after showjumping to 7th overall. Bloody amazing. The only person to go clear on time and jumps ended up winning. From 15th!! Says a lot about the conditions. Most rode much more slowly to deal with the slipperiness so there were even a couple of eliminations for going over the maximum time!
A great end to the weekend but quite a lot to work on, as always. I'm planning on putting in 6 weeks of solid work with him at home, taking him to a couple of local days, and aim for Wallaby Hill in mid-October.
I need to work with Kirsten our awesome trimmer on the traction issue. I doubt studs made much difference in that going, and it's interesting that we pulled one of the fastest times in our class. I do want to explore the options available to barefoot horse owners regarding filing ridges in to the wall. I really don't know if that would have made a huge difference but every little thing helps!
Looking forward to a quiet weekend next weekend!
Wednesday, 14 August 2013
Hi-ho Silver!
What a whirlwind of a week (or ten days) since my last post. We've had a saddle fit for our brand new bespoke (and bloody gorgeous) jump saddle from Julia at Wow, a dressage comp, a ride at dawn and the Hendra vaccination policy from Equestrian NSW buzzing around the traps like a blowfly on a window.
Let's start with the saddle fit. It was quite interesting actually, as Tux was a complete idiot when we were mucking around with the fitting, doing his old tricks of cantering on the spot, tossing his head and not standing still. I swear that horse raced, even if it was in his dreams!! Julia commented that he looked to have lost weight through his back and wither pockets and that's usually a sign that he's using his back properly. The next stage is 'beefing up' through the same area as he gets stronger over time.
It was a bit crazy hopping on and off as we tried narrower headplates and adjusting the flair panels but I think we got to a good place in the end. Julia said she'll come out in September to assess both saddles and change the headplates if necessary. She's amazing - the H girth she gave me as a 'repeat offender' even matches the colours of the saddle. I told her the pressure was on now coz I had all the gear and no idea - a recipe for people assuming I got game and sneering as they watch my horse 'hi-ho Silver' his way around the dressage and showjump arenas!!
That said, the dressage comp the next day went surprisingly well. Tux was marginally less stressed out compared to the weekend before at Harden and this translated into worse behaviour in the tests but more moments of brilliance too. And that also means we achieved both goals I set us beforehand - finish in the top half of the class and score a percentage over 50% in both tests. I thought they were achievable and reasonable....until I got on! The first test felt quite manageable until he got unbalanced in the left canter (his weaker side) and disunited which always makes him freak out as he knows he's going to be stopped. A bit messy and almost 53%. The judge was definitely better than the one at Harden, but not by much. She at least gave us 6s and 5s for the collective marks! There's really not much to say when a horse is clearly just losing it's shit in the arena, so I don't blame her for the dearth of feedback.
The second test was a bit better. It was also judged by a friend who is very encouraging of lower level riders. She gave Tux a 7 for his paces!!! And told me later he would have won it if he'd just kept his lid on. Since the test started with a canter half pass up the centreline and a little rear at the halt, I figured we had a bit of a way to go with that goal! But she gave us a couple of 7s in the test, too, and some really encouraging comments at the end, including, "tactfully ridden". I can't emphasise enough how one positive comment can really make your day as a rider doing their darndest. Makes me remember that for my next judging gig. All-in-all we got a respectable 58% for the second test and a 7th placing. A great way to end the day.
A couple of days off and I managed to get up at 6am this morning for a dawn ride. Bloody beautiful. Crisp, clear morning with a brilliant dawn and twittering birds. And a bit of frost that I studiously ignored. Tux was working much better this morning. Concentrating for longer periods, responding more calmly to aids for bigger trot, then smaller trot, bigger canter, then smaller canter. We're getting there, just need a lot more practice! His changes of direction are getting really smooth and he generally maintains outline. His leg yield and half pass are generally good - a bit wobbly but he's really willing and tries hard not to lose it which is a great sign. As I said, we're getting there!
Still had a few bad moments, but they're getting less frequent and less volatile. It's very encouraging to see some positive changes after the hard few months we've had. And I think making the effort to ride him just once during the week has been really worth it.
Onwards!!
The Hendra vaccination policy released by Equestrian NSW has been causing all sorts of consternation and concern in my horsey friends, particularly those of us who have several horses they event or who don't event but are wondering if they should vaccinate anyway. It's pretty much a lay down misere for me as I event (and all those will be Hendra Vaccination Events) and I only have one horse to compete, currently. Lots of misinformation seems to be flying around about horses having adverse reactions and vaccinated horses being carriers and infecting unvaccinated horses, and on and on. I get the shits with people who perpetuate that sort of gossip - it's quite unhelpful and not founded in any fact. It also gives people pause when no evidence supports that doubt. Kind of like the anti-vaccination brigade in the human world. Just my two bob's worth - but it IS my blog!
So, we're off for our first jab at the local riding club on Sunday, then another in a month. It'll be a stretch as we have the Sam Lyle clinic in the morning and I'll just drag Tux out to Murrumbateman for the jab, then home after that, hopefully in time to meet the trimmer. Pretty much blows the whole day. As does the stupid compulsory 3-hour workshop on conflict resolution and risk management I'm doing as part of my upgrading to the next level of judging on the Saturday. Considering it's a 4-hour round trip that's the whole day gone there too. Busy weekend!!!
Travel safe and happy riding! I promise some pics next instalment.
Let's start with the saddle fit. It was quite interesting actually, as Tux was a complete idiot when we were mucking around with the fitting, doing his old tricks of cantering on the spot, tossing his head and not standing still. I swear that horse raced, even if it was in his dreams!! Julia commented that he looked to have lost weight through his back and wither pockets and that's usually a sign that he's using his back properly. The next stage is 'beefing up' through the same area as he gets stronger over time.
It was a bit crazy hopping on and off as we tried narrower headplates and adjusting the flair panels but I think we got to a good place in the end. Julia said she'll come out in September to assess both saddles and change the headplates if necessary. She's amazing - the H girth she gave me as a 'repeat offender' even matches the colours of the saddle. I told her the pressure was on now coz I had all the gear and no idea - a recipe for people assuming I got game and sneering as they watch my horse 'hi-ho Silver' his way around the dressage and showjump arenas!!
That said, the dressage comp the next day went surprisingly well. Tux was marginally less stressed out compared to the weekend before at Harden and this translated into worse behaviour in the tests but more moments of brilliance too. And that also means we achieved both goals I set us beforehand - finish in the top half of the class and score a percentage over 50% in both tests. I thought they were achievable and reasonable....until I got on! The first test felt quite manageable until he got unbalanced in the left canter (his weaker side) and disunited which always makes him freak out as he knows he's going to be stopped. A bit messy and almost 53%. The judge was definitely better than the one at Harden, but not by much. She at least gave us 6s and 5s for the collective marks! There's really not much to say when a horse is clearly just losing it's shit in the arena, so I don't blame her for the dearth of feedback.
The second test was a bit better. It was also judged by a friend who is very encouraging of lower level riders. She gave Tux a 7 for his paces!!! And told me later he would have won it if he'd just kept his lid on. Since the test started with a canter half pass up the centreline and a little rear at the halt, I figured we had a bit of a way to go with that goal! But she gave us a couple of 7s in the test, too, and some really encouraging comments at the end, including, "tactfully ridden". I can't emphasise enough how one positive comment can really make your day as a rider doing their darndest. Makes me remember that for my next judging gig. All-in-all we got a respectable 58% for the second test and a 7th placing. A great way to end the day.
A couple of days off and I managed to get up at 6am this morning for a dawn ride. Bloody beautiful. Crisp, clear morning with a brilliant dawn and twittering birds. And a bit of frost that I studiously ignored. Tux was working much better this morning. Concentrating for longer periods, responding more calmly to aids for bigger trot, then smaller trot, bigger canter, then smaller canter. We're getting there, just need a lot more practice! His changes of direction are getting really smooth and he generally maintains outline. His leg yield and half pass are generally good - a bit wobbly but he's really willing and tries hard not to lose it which is a great sign. As I said, we're getting there!
Still had a few bad moments, but they're getting less frequent and less volatile. It's very encouraging to see some positive changes after the hard few months we've had. And I think making the effort to ride him just once during the week has been really worth it.
Onwards!!
The Hendra vaccination policy released by Equestrian NSW has been causing all sorts of consternation and concern in my horsey friends, particularly those of us who have several horses they event or who don't event but are wondering if they should vaccinate anyway. It's pretty much a lay down misere for me as I event (and all those will be Hendra Vaccination Events) and I only have one horse to compete, currently. Lots of misinformation seems to be flying around about horses having adverse reactions and vaccinated horses being carriers and infecting unvaccinated horses, and on and on. I get the shits with people who perpetuate that sort of gossip - it's quite unhelpful and not founded in any fact. It also gives people pause when no evidence supports that doubt. Kind of like the anti-vaccination brigade in the human world. Just my two bob's worth - but it IS my blog!
So, we're off for our first jab at the local riding club on Sunday, then another in a month. It'll be a stretch as we have the Sam Lyle clinic in the morning and I'll just drag Tux out to Murrumbateman for the jab, then home after that, hopefully in time to meet the trimmer. Pretty much blows the whole day. As does the stupid compulsory 3-hour workshop on conflict resolution and risk management I'm doing as part of my upgrading to the next level of judging on the Saturday. Considering it's a 4-hour round trip that's the whole day gone there too. Busy weekend!!!
Travel safe and happy riding! I promise some pics next instalment.
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