The Best "Welcome Home" Gift

I returned home from a week-long visit to Dallas to see my Dad. It was a good trip and the timing was between my new job transition. Did I not tell you? I officially resigned from Costco and tomorrow am starting my new job with the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (PSNS), one of the best places to get into in my neck of the woods. Sorry I hadnt told ya, its been crazy around here.

Anyway, the trip to see family was fun, the weather was hot, and the atmosphere Texas-western. I avoided thinking about the hard goodbye the whole trip, knowing that this trip would be the last for a long time, with starting this new job I have no clue when I might start receiving vacation or an opportunity to even use it for some time. When the morning came to finally leave back home, I was eager with a touch of melancholy - for leaving Dad, but homesick for the Peninsula. I kept it together though throughout the fast hug and goodbye at Security, through the metal detector, the pat down, additional screening on my hands (for what Im not sure, never had to do that before), and through having to throw away my hair products because they were apparently more high-risk then the empty shot gun shell in my purse. I waved goodbye to my six-foot-three father as I saw him just overhead in the back of the crowd. I headed around the corner to my gate. I continued to keep it together even after I realized it was Daylight Savings and I was now an extra hour early for my flight. I finally lost it however when boarded on the plane and feeling that moment when the aircraft is no longer touching ground. That instant brought on the waterworks and I tearfully said goodbye to my Dad and to my scary but exciting future.

A stop in Albuquerque and four and a half hours later, I was arriving in Seattle - home. The sudden descent from the cloud-filled sky into airspace just above treetops and roofs was a surprisingly unemotional moment. We touched ground, unloaded, and I met with Boyfriend outside the terminal. We headed home.

He dropped me off before making some necessary errands (he is leaving for one of his two annual big Idaho hunting trips), knowing I would want to zip out to the barn and see Milo without waiting any longer. He was right. I dumped my bags in the front door, loaded up with Angie and headed to the barn, butterflies in my stomach.

Milo was filthy. Boyfriend had been checking on him nearly every night while I was gone, giving reports of him being "ok". I dont think he groomed him in the week I was gone though! Milo had dried and still wet mud encrusted in areas underneath the blanket I had yet seen him accomplish. I scrubbed and brushed, Milo tried to be patient but week-long prison and lack of work made him anxious to go and he chewed eagerly on his lead line. This time I allowed him to.

I carefully wrapped his legs in my black and orange polo wraps and we headed to the arena. Outfitted in the snaffle bit, I thought it would be wiser to stick with some basics to get him back into work. I mounted up, then quickly dismounted to adjust my stirrups.

Whilst in Dallas I had an acute realization about my body. I had been told on multiple occasions about the difference in length between my two legs. Sarah had felt it, noted it, and changed my stirrup length on the right side one hole shorter. I always figured from my broken leg as a five-year-old it had just grown a touch shorter. I had never truly felt a notable difference. But there I was, walking down the aisle-way of my Stepmother's tanning salon when I noticeably felt the harder step on my longer left leg, and the imbalance of my hips and the general way I was walking. Just one of things you can be told about, but dont truly understand until you feel it. Kinda like when I saw the sign in Texas for "Texarcana" just like the song "Eastbound and Down" from Smoky and the Bandit. Never making the connection before until seeing this song, I now truly understood the geographical meaning from "the boys are thirsty in Atlanta, and there's beer in Texarcana, we'll bring it back no matter what it takes. Eastbound and Down". Just a side-note.

I readjusted the stirrups I had just situated the week prior after my clinic with Mario (post still yet to come..one thing at a time), now making the left length one hole longer to accommodate the uneven feeling I now realized when saddled. I climbed back into the saddle again, stirrups feeling even, and walked Milo around the arena on a loose rein about two or three laps each direction. I then bumped him into the bridle, focusing again on really using my leg to push him into the bit and only use my hands as a means to hold him there, rather then use my hands to put him there, just like I had been working on late this summer. But today I had a further realization with my legs. I realized I was bumping my legs in a motion that not only meant "go forward" but also "lift up, push into the bit". No wonder I was having communication issues with my legs, especially while at the clinic. I had two meaning for the same cue!

So I focused on maintaining a bumping leg cue only for lift, and a squeezing motion only for forward. With this in mind, as well as a more correct use of my hands, I schooled Milo at the walk and trot maintaining beautiful mostly consistent contact on circles and straight-of-ways. The visible difference in Milo was notable - the arc in his neck a soft and fluid curve from wither to poll, nit bulging in the center or top showing breakage in the spine, but a continuous, flowing arc and a lovely connection on the rein with push from the rear.

After the trot we moved into the canter-depart exercise, learned from the Mario clinic. What he really showed me was two things: the importance of practicing the canter-depart (or any maneuver, really) in the same location of the arena (utilizing a wall in this practice for instance) to help teach the horse the maneuver properly with a good level of anticipation. Obviously, you then start weaning away from the singular spot in the arena to being able to perform the maneuver in any location, but starting from one location helps teach the horse the maneuver in a way he can be confident with. Secondly, the importance of keeping Milo soft of the bit and engaging from the rear through the entire maneuver. This is something Sarah had been telling me about and we were working on even a year ago. But hearing it in another way and from another person really made me realize the importance of it.

Mario got on Milo at the clinic and really showed me how much Milo evades staying consistent on the bit into the canter depart. I explained that I can just keep my hand forward and on a loose rein he can pick up the canter depart nicely. He further explained that although that method is not technically wrong, in the eyes of a judge, which he is, he questions what exactly it is that I am hiding by not showing the judge my horse's response to bit pressure. He continued that we are riding in reining, afterall, and he personally as a judge wants to see what the horse does when you pick up the reins. He concluded that a truly broke horse will allow you to pick up the rein, stay soft and go right into the maneuver. By having to tip-toe around the issue only proves that the horse and maneuver arent fully developed.

Fast forward two weeks now. Milo and I have been working in the particular canter depart exercise, which is simply riding a circle at a walk or trot (preferably aiming for a clean departure from the walk, but we are working the trot now, then the walk to ease him into it), and as you approach the wall at a forty-five degree angle, sit into the outside seat bone and ask the horse to canter. Now, with Milo, I need to maintain a bumping motion in my legs and steady contact with the rein to encourage him to stay in the bridle and not flip out of it. Usually the first go of the ride is a bit sloppy, but by the second or third attempt, he makes a beautiful canter depart, and he did today.

I also learned, thanks to Mario's clinic, how to ask for a canter departure without feeling overwhelmed. It still follows the same general principles in Sarah's method, but I dont get very overwhelmed thinking about each component. I still maintain hold on the outside rear leg, the driving leg, but instead of "loading the hock" like Sarah had me do by slightly pushing the hip out on the hock, I simply sit on that outside seatbone, holding the leg with my seat. Theres far less for me to micromanage, but its the same general concept I have learned. It also allows me to ask for the canter depart without having to lay my outside leg back, another obstacle I recently was shown from my last lesson on Wesley with Sarah, one I had struggled with for weeks afterwards.

So anyway, my ride was excellent, my horse felt ten feet taller (maybe just from not riding in a week, but he really felt good today), and the best part was that I truly knew that Milo was happy and enjoying his work. The fact that he was a little mouthy and a little anxious in the cross ties when we started was forgettable. I really knew he was happy Mom was home by his happy demeanor and appetite for work in our ride. It was truly a splendid and most rewarding return back home.

Lackluster Spins ... No More?

We all know that probably our greatest weakness in our reining patterns is in the turarounds. Some might argue the stops, but I feel that the spins are what need the most work.

I work on spins almost every time I ride. I certainly dont drill, but I do work on them. The last week or more I have been focusing on perfecting the small circle (and by small I mean small, not reining pattern small) to encourage Milo to be more on the outside rein and in a true arc in the circle. I have been trying to keep his inside hind to the inside of the circle, and his body arced (but obviously not overdone) for the circle and turnaround. With focus on this area I felt we were getting somewhere. Then when we went to the show it all blew out the window - our turns were pretty poor (especially from what I knew we were capable of practicing at home) and what I felt it really came down to was that Milo just wasnt trying very hard in the spins.

Naturally, the show environment changes how I ride and my horse performs (and I will get to a post about the show, Im waiting on an upload of video from Boyfriend's phone, which has since caused some problems). I didnt think a whole lot specifically about the spins and then I was cruising YouTube and found this video:

What first caught my attention was what he said a lot of people tell him; "My horse will spin but not any faster". My ears opened up a little more. He explained that the whole time they are spinning the rider is pulling on the reins and kicking with their foot. While I like to think that I ride better then what the average person is doing, I knew that that was the scenario Milo and I were playing. Throughout the turnaround I have to ask him to keep going and once I stop asking he stops. Seems logical, but this guy was emphasizing making the wrong thing hard and the right thing easy. He said that "the horse is looking for the stop," and that feels like the boat Im in with Milo. 

If you watched the video, you saw that he didnt keep asking for the turnaround. When the horse stepped out, he put pressure on it, but when the horse did what he wanted there was no pressure. I really liked this idea and it made more sense then what I have been doing. 

I tried this simple exercise with Milo yesterday, and I tell you what it works. But I was surprised to find that it didnt take long for Milo to catch on, in fact, I think I had been doing this to a degree, unknowingly, at least at home. But at the shows I throw it out the window and ask for more more more. 

When I tried to turn to the left, our good way, within moments Milo caught right on and spun spun spun with no pressure on him at all. It was pretty cool. But the test would be to the right where he not only drags in the turnaround, but also tries to turn on the outside foot. Initially, Milo was just figuring out to stay in the spin with no pressure, he fell out, I put the pressure on. It was working but he was on the outside leg. So when I could feel he was spinning but on the wrong foot I lightly bumped him forward, if he stepped out, he got pressure to go back in. Once he changed to the wrong foot again, he got bumped forward, if he stepped out he got pressure back in. 

We worked on it for a few minutes, keeping him in the spin and on the inside leg. There wasnt speed, but there was correct cadence, and Milo was freely turning around without my asking for each step. I was really happy. I got off then and he licked and chewed. I hope to get video of our second try at this exercise so you guys can see too. :)

Riding Above the Current

I havent been able to have Sarah come out for the last month and a half or so due to cost. Its not for lack of wanting a lesson, it simply comes down to the price factor.

Remember how I told you that my boss (who is actually not my boss anymore, she manages a different department) keeps her daughter's horse with Sarah and trains with her? I asked her, in a joking fashion, if I could have her daughter come out and watch me ride because even just that would be better then no lesson. She told me that she thought it would be a great idea. I mean, her daughter keeps her horse with Sarah, leases Wesley, and has a lesson at least once a week with Sarah. And from knowing her for a while now, I figured it would be a good idea, at least having some eyes on the ground will help point out my position flaws and let me know whats going on that I cant see.

So we scheduled to meet yesterday, and when we arrived at the barn the first thing she talked to me about was Cranial-Sacral therapy. I had heard her Mom telling me about this when she first learned about it, and Melissa had made a post about it too. I had been eager to learn but didnt have the opportunity to learn it from Sarah directly. It seems complicated, but its really just a series of different places to touch the horse that aids in not only finding areas of stress and tension, but releasing those areas. And it is an extremely light touch, just barely making contact. Important too is your body position when applying these touches; keeping the lower back soft was important and even breathing was a way to help encourage the horse to release.

When K tried this on Milo we found some of the most tense areas were the cheeks, the zygomatic process, and the ears. There were other locations for touch as well along the face, such as the forehead, the nose where the halter rests, the poll (another good area for Milo), and even the dock above the tail. Most interesting when gently placing the hand on this area was finding the "wave" current in Milo's body. It took a moment of really tuning into the small motion within Milo's body, but it was a current coming back into my hand, then back forward through his body. K said this is the fluid traveling in Milo, something very similar to what Sarah has talked about in our bodies, and the importance of posture to allow this fluid to travel up and down without resistance. While Sarah talks about moving with the fluid/energy, whichever helps you visualize it, when riding, K said she finds that riding over it, or above the current helps her allow it to stay in motion.

Sounds like a lot of foo-foo, doesnt it? But I have come to find that really paying attention to the horse's energy, on the ground or in the saddle, has made progress for us. Let me explain with a little less "foo-foo" to help explain how you can say, "ride above the current".

First off, when K watched me get on Milo and walk around we first addressed what I have considered getting his shoulder lifted and his front end light. Although sometimes it's correct, I think I may have trained Milo to the wrong lift, K made it clear to see that when the center of Milo's neck is the highest point, thats not correct, its when his shoulders are the highest and his neck isnt "bulged" in the center, because then he's only breaking at the C3 vertebrae and not elevated in his shoulders or back. Once I found the correct feeling and look of what is really elevated on the shoulder, I tried a turnaround at her request, and she noticed right off the bat that my hips are all over the place in the turn. He cant possibly hold ground when my hips arent allowing him too. I never noticed that before - I figured if my left or right seatbone was down, then that one was holding the hock down, but in reality, it really was "down" and driving, something seatbones arent supposed to do. And that driving on one seatbone, causes an imbalance in the other and my seat is constantly shifting back and forth, even if most of the pressure if on one seatbone.

K suggested that I try and sit light, by engaging the inner thigh muscles just like Sarah has had me do. The problem is when I do that, my legs come forward, I lose my lower leg contact, and I tend to tip forward as well. She suggested something she finds to work for her - my riding off the toe. Visualize a line running from the inner thigh down to the toe, this is the line of engagement. By thinking of engaging from the toe up, it helps to align the leg in proper position and doesnt allow my body to tip forward. It truly allowed my seat to become light, but engaged. This is where she referred to "riding above the current". Once I was aware of this position and the unevenness in my seatbones during a turnaround, when I tried it again it was far easier for Milo to hold ground with the pivot foot and not only not try to step out of it, but maintain the same foot without switching back and forth.

Next we went into a trot and I had issues finding that good elevation in the shoulders and back. I explained that I have a hard time finding the perfect amount of pressure on the bit between hanging on it, and simply bumping it for a cue. I cant seem to get to that point where Milo can accept carrying the contact and maintaining his elevation. She showed me the position of feel where I can just feel his mouth but not have direct "contact" to it. She suggested working on holding this feel because it isnt exactly cuing him for something, just asking him to maintain himself, and if needed, I can easily ask for a cue and go right back to this feel.

When I put him in a lope, I warned her there would be a lot as I know I fall apart at the lope. I cant get into my left seatbone and she suggested my turning completely around in the saddle and looking over the back to physically force me onto the left seatbone, which it did. She also noted that I really need to get back on my seat in the lope. What she had me do was collapse my ribcage but maintain my upper body position. I needed to sit deeper on my pockets, but not drive with my seatbones. Riding above and on my toes was essential, otherwise I would be driving. So riding above, then getting back into my back - OMG! When I was in the right position suddenly my horse could hold ground on his hocks and for a half circle, the lope was exceptional. Now I just have to figure out how to maintain that.

Using this same idea of sitting back in my turnarounds further enabled Milo to hold ground better and not walk out of the turnaround, it was really cool.

Last thing we addressed was our stops. Time and time again I would sit down - hard - and my legs would go forward. What K noticed was that my upper body was collapsing, not my lower back. I needed to really focus before stopping on engaging that line through my legs to my toes, and not so much just sit back into the saddle, but to actually rotate my pelvis back. Instead of focusing on my back I need to be focusing on the rotation of my pelvis. When I did this, our stops were phenomenal!

Although it wasnt a "lesson", it was definitely as productive as one, and I really appreciated her coming out and pointing out some of the things she saw. She recommended a lot of really cool tool, in the saddle and out, to work on. She even recommended taking my seat-bone shim off the saddle and seeing what that might do. Having ridden in the shim for over a year now she thinks maybe it's hindering my ability to get into the left seatbone and my body may just be getting accustomed to it. Good suggestion, but I think Ill wait to try it after the next 2-day horseshow this coming weekend. :)

No Stamina?!

I discovered I dont have half the stamina that Mr Milo does. Here's the scoop:

I was going through my archives of Horse & Rider magazine, (as I love to do) when I came across an article saying how important long trotting is for muscle, wind, and stamina in horses. I thought, well Milo has stamina, but maybe this will help come show day and he's pooped after one class. Their suggestion for working on this is to long trot (at least, for Milo, briskly trot) for three whole songs (about nine minutes). Then to gradually work up to five entire songs (so thats like fifteen minutes). Its a great exercise to work on rider strength too (as I found out!) and listening to music can help keep the mind from getting too bored.

I walked Milo for the length of one song, then jogged for half the length of another before moving into our working trot. I didnt really get a good estimation of how long we really worked because we had a half song, a full song, then part of a commercial break. But my goodness, I can tell you I was getting way more tired then Milo!

To keep us working on both directions and not getting bored, we did circles, straight lines, diagonal lines, anything besides just working on the rail (although we did spend some rail time too). I let Milo have a long loose rein so he could work however was comfortable (and for him it was having his head down - go figure). But I didnt worry about trying to lift his shoulders or anything. I just wanted him to trot freely (since the day before we worked a little more constricted and I figured he could loosen his back up), and I focused on staying strong in my core, keeping a soft back, and being light in the saddle, as well as thinking of light footfalls, as suggested by Kate in the comments. After the first full song was over I was really feeling it in my core. But I was determined to keep going, after all, my horse wasnt breaking a sweat or puffing yet! Finally after a few commercials I broke us down to the walk, abs not taking any more.

Milo was content as can be. I was certainly the one who needed a walk break.

But it was a good thing, this is an exercise I would like to use at least once a week. I think that this proof of my stamina (lack there-of) and how it effects our lope work. Often I find it very hard to stay in proper position (especially loping to the left) and my legs want to swing out in front. I think working on my own stamina should help me stay more balanced and strong in the canter work, which should subsequently help Milo's lope improve.

We did end up going into the lope and wouldnt you know, we got one of the best stops we have had in a long time. Why? Cause at the lope I wasnt poking with his position or face either. I made sure he help his shoulders up in the corners and made him stay balanced, but I didnt focus on that. This ride was all about me, and at the lope I focused on my position and how my seatbones effected our ride, my hand stayed at center and I directed us by seat and leg, shaping and whatnot where needed. When I decided to ask for a stop, I let my seat deepen and my hips follow with the movement of Milo's stop. He dug into the dirt and traveled with the front. It was beautiful, I had to get off then.

So...dont think about it to much (ya, super easy when that is a focus area to work on), work on my stamina, and, within reason, let Milo be.

Finally broke that 70 barrier!!

I was really looking forward to this upcoming show. Three reining classes were being offered at the Olympic Peninsula Zone show, at a location I really enjoy showing at and in classes that are my favorite. This show would could towards PAC points for Milo as well.

The show grounds is about an hour and forty minutes away, and with reining the first classes at 9 am, that meant an early start, considering I wanted to get there with time to spare. I quickly got Milo ready Saturday afternoon, as that evening I would be selling my jewelry at the local rodeo and would be there until late. I took Milo on the trail with a friend earlier in the afternoon and was able to secure four nice lead changes and a speed change, enough to still feel good about leaving for the show.

We woke up bright and early at 5am with about five hours of sleep before. Milo had been locked in his stall due to the weather and mud outside and when I arrived at the barn in the early morning I saw that the adjacent horse's automatic water had again leaked all over the floor and into Milo's stall. I was happy I had decided to dump a little extra bedding into his stall. Despite the conditions, he had some dried shavings stuck to his sheet on both sides so I felt confident that at least he had slept well, unlike myself.

From the activities the night before, I hadnt had the opportunity to pre-load my trailer which meant I had to remember everything the morning of. I almost forgot my hat box at the house with not only my two hats, but my show shirt, my numbers, safety pins and Milo's registration papers all inside, but did actually forget all of my brushes back at the barn. Thank goodness for having a back up brush that lives in my trailer so at least I had something.

I mildly slept on the haul up north, and we arrived just as scheduled at 8 am. I checked in with the show office to make sure they had received my pre-entry, and to show my registration papers. I was groggy and barely awake (also hadnt had coffee) but already the atmosphere was cheerful and friendly. The arena had been scheduled to close at 8:30 to offer the last half hour to exclusive use from the reiners, so I figured to avoid over schooling, I would get on by 8:30 and spend the next half hour slowly getting things ready and giving Milo and I both a chance to breathe.

After I realized the brushes were missing, I unpacked my white polos and realized I had never washed them since last summer's shows at this same location. The ones that had been used on the rear had been defecated on and I knew none would be better then dirty. However, the fronts were still nice and clean so Milo sported polos on the front. I took my time wrapping them perfectly, then got the saddle positioned just right and my show numbers pinned to my saddle blanket. I touched up the quick bands from the day before and put the bridle on, getting in the saddle right at 8:30.

We walked the perimeter of the arena a few laps, letting Milo check out the arena he hasnt been to since last September. But he didnt mind anything and eventually we moved into the jog. I felt pretty good in my body once we started moving, and I tested our buttons for shaping. Everything I needed was there. I moved him into the lope and he was slow and a little sluggish, even breaking to the jog and needed coaxing to get going again. But the lope quality was really nice and I figured slow and correct would be our pace for the day.

They wanted to drag the arena because most of the reiners had been practicing for nearly an hour and the show management figured they had enough time. I had only been in the arena for about five minutes, and when they announces us to clear the arena I really quickly cut the diagonal to ask for a lead change. We got an ok one to the hard direction, and although it was delayed I seemed to be able to get my right seatbone out of the saddle. I figured even if thats all the warm up I got, at least I had a general idea of what horse I had today. I wondered if the long haul and gloomy day put him in his pokey mood. He cared most about his hay bag.

I had written down the three patterns I needed to memorize a couple days prior to the show. Although I never practiced them with Milo, I made it a point to remember them ahead of the show (but still brought my patterns to the show with me). Although I can remember patterns pretty well, my strategy is to only focus on the one at hand until that class is over - fortunately (or...unfortunately maybe) reining patterns are all pretty similar of course, with only the sequence of the elements changed. My first class in I was last draw, but didnt need to watch the others to ensure I knew the pattern - it was the same one I ran for this same class last year (twice) and was a fairly easy pattern anyway. 


I jogged Milo back and forth across the grass alongside the arena, noticing Milo was kind of everywhere with his shoulders. I opted to go in two-handed for the class thinking the novice class would be the best to treat as a "schooling run", especially with no speed change in our circles and no lead change to get Milo excited. I was finally called in after the other four riders (which I was so happy there was actually a good turnout), nerves not taking over like I had expected. The slow pace of the morning and the quiet atmosphere, combined with a pretty low-key warm up really kept me feeling calm about the classes.

He sure jumped into that first set of circles! And I thought, wait a minute!! Where was the super pokey quiet horse from warm up? But I was happy with the run and felt that we got out of the way what we needed. After the second set of circles we came to center and Milo prepared himself to change leads. Unfortunately for him, we were stopping at center, fortunately for me because it was an excellent opportunity to school him on waiting for lead changes. Although all of the spins in the day were lackluster, I felt the rest of the pattern went smoothly. We actually scored a 68 1/2 (pending 69 1/2 as they added the score wrong...) and a 71 1/2!! Can you believe it?? We actually scored not only a perfect 70, but gained plus halves as well! Combined score: 140 (pending 141). Heres the breakdown:

We are #17 - you can see on the left that the score was added wrong, I am working with show management to correct my points for OPZ and PAC

We were draw four for the next class, and I briefly went over the pattern in my head, but was reconfirmed of it by watching the other goes. I was really excited for this class for a couple reasons - it asked for lead changes and I really hoped we would get them but seeing as he had been so consistent at home I was hoping it would work out well, and we also had never ran this pattern before (pattern #5). 

My hear was still pounding when I was done with the pattern - it was so much fun!! Milo clearly got some energy in this run and overall I was happy. We just started working on clean speed changes this last week, which I think helped some, but its definitely an area to improve on and help get some pluses in circles. He has been a real tricker on his turnarounds and clearly is on the outside leg...its so hard to correct at home when I cant see that hes doing that!! Our lead changes were spot on and he didnt rush out of them I was so happy with that. And our second stop wasnt half bad but I didnt smooch to him out of it so there were a few trot steps. Again, overall I was really happy and got some compliments as we headed out of the arena. I had no time to lose though as I was draw #2 for my last class, Open Reining. I quickly looked at the pattern again and walked Milo to keep him ready for the last class. I was unanimously 4th of 6 from both judges, but was happy with our scores of 68 1/2 and 67 1/2, combined for 136.

I knew Open Reining would be really difficult to place in because there was actually a good turnout of real reiners there, but I wanted to make the most of the reining classes offered, gain some points, and support reining wherever I could. I enjoyed watched the really nice runs too. 

Things were going pretty well, I could tell in our large fast circles that Milo was losing steam and for the first time that day he changed front to back on our second lead change. Our first stop was horrible. For whatever reason I cued at completely the wrong time and flew backward in the saddle as a result of it and my weak back. But we recovered ok was we rolled back and made up for it in the second stop, until the rollback. I not only didnt smooch but worse, I sat on the left seatbone which made him pick up the right lead. By that point I was losing my balance I had maintained in my seatbones and when I asked for the lead change back, just could not get on the right one. Eventually he changed, but that greatly effected our score. Before that we were at 69 and 69, but after the two poor rollbacks it gave us final scores of 63 1/2 and 62. Interesting to see because it appears one judge gave us a penalty of -2 while the other penaltied a -5...anyways combined score of 125.5.

Overall, I was really really happy with the show. My horse worked well even after a nearly two hour trailer ride, a longer night locked in the stall, a trail ride the day before, and gloomy weather. Everything came together really smoothly even though I forgot a couple things and nearly forgot a few essential things. I managed to keep myself together for the majority of the time and honestly didnt have any nerves once I was in the saddle. I had the horse I knew I had and even though he wasnt as round or cadenced as he can be at home, he was responsive and wasn't pissy. Most of all, we finally got a couple clean runs with lead changes under our belt and we marked a personal milestone of not only that but finally breaking that 70 milestone - and exceeding it with +1 1/2 over. I couldnt have been happier with the show and my horse. Not to mention we earned a few PAC points along the way (which I have yet to actually break down and calculate). Thanks hugely to Boyfriend who hauled the pony and I up there on an early morning when he could have slept in, taking video and being supportive. All in all, super great day!!! :D

Good Ponies

Things still hectic here, but good. Cayenne did really well this afternoon when I rode her, as did Milo. I am preparing for the WSQHA Rookie Show in All Breed classes and after working in the wall reins on Saturday, today I wanted to go back into the lifter bit and give him a bit of a break. I noticed his back was a touch sore which I attributed to all the hip in, elevated shoulder work, and really working over his back (as well as counter canter work). So today I opted to work on a loose rein and just make sure we had good guiding from the seat and leg. We did, I was so happy.

Milo felt like he could lope for days going to the left. We linked onto our line in the circle every single time and his rhythm never changed. I could direct him with my seat and leg, (touch of the rein to his neck if needed) and hold his body together with my seat position too - he was really keeping his shoulder lifting and driving off the rear and it was so rewarding especially on a draped rein. I could direct him anywhere including the quarter line, the diagonal, and an easy and clean lead change.

Working to the right was a little harder - he was more stiff and didnt hold ground with his driving hock this direction. I have a tendency to feel less balanced this way too (probably from still sitting hard on the right seat bone). When I became aware of it I tried to maintain balance between each, and was then finding that my outside leg wanted to stay forward instead of back at the rear cinch, asking for the bend. Just another thing to be aware of, but Milo did well, considering. He was starting to get a little tired (we did a LOT of loping - I couldnt help myself!) and got a lead change on the third try (the first two were feeling rushed and unprepared for so I took him back to some hip in control, but didnt want to over do it with his back being tired of it). I got a nice change and loped only a few more strides before stopping.

All was well, I was really happy with the amount of control I had over my horse's direction, when I am actually in tune with where my own body is positioned. I was really happy with Milo, and really appreciative of how well behaved (and well trained if I do say so myself) that he is.

A Miracle on the Trail

I wasnt expecting anything remarkably special to happen as I set out on the trail Tuesday afternoon with my friend riding Middy. Until we snaked our way around the blue trail gate onto a new trail we hadnt yet explored. A single car wide rode, it was nicely groomed with minimal foliage overhang and wide enough for us to potentially ride side by side.

I shot my friend a mischievous look over my shoulder, which only meant one thing: eat my dust! My leg set back on Milo's side and my hips cued him to take off at a standstill. Dust creation was minimal, surprisingly, and happily, as my horse loped down the trail in a calm and balanced manner. I was so surprised and pleased with the quality of the lope as we cascaded down the trail. His ears are pricked forward in eager anticipation, but nervousness or tightness were absent. The trail began to bend to the right, and we were on the left lead. A few strides before the bend, and I cued for a lead change. I half expected it wouldnt happen - the other day was a fluke right? And being on the trail meant that we couldnt possibly get a nice change...?

My horse surprised me with an effortless lead change; all I had to do was change the direction of my legs and hips into the new arc and he changed with no fuss. I loped him for a couple more strides then slowed to the walk, but friend coming up behind us. I turned around in my saddle to see her and exclaimed, "Did you see that?! Did you see?!" A goofy broad smile was across my face and I patted and loved on my horse. She hadnt seen the miracle that happened, and mentioned she only noticed that he did something. But I knew what we did. And on the way back down the trail, we did it the other direction as well.

Two Sorrels Make Big Strides

Today could not have gotten much better.

After school I headed north to work Cayenne. Her owner had recently underwent a somewhat minor surgery, who, while still able to be outside with us, would not be able to assist. Which was fine, just on Saturday she was fresh out of surgery and couldnt even be outside with us so I had worked Cayenne entirely on my own. It was a good thing for her to stand quietly as I groomed, saddled, and booted her up. It was eventful as well with the footing in the roundpen being soggy so I headed to the arena - her first time out of the roundpen. This would also test her steering skills without having someone in the center of the roundpen to help direct her as needed as we had been doing. She did very well on Saturday.

Today, she did even better - completely retaining everything we worked on the ride before, and going beyond. Where previously she was nervous of the treeline next to the arena and the noisy hidden goats on the other side, today she only needed to pass by a few times before just keeping a watchful ear on the area. On Saturday, we stayed on a circle most of the time with some direction changes and figure eights, since the circular roundpen was a familiar pattern. Today, we worked everywhere in the arena, some straight lines, on the rail, circles, and even down to the far end of the arena where previously she had absolutely no interest in heading towards.

But further, her steering skills greatly improved from the ride before and I had stopped on Saturday with introducing her to the outside leg and moving away from single leg pressure, instead of speeding up with both leg pressures. Today, we further expanded on this and she began to nicely step her shoulder away from the outside leg pressure, following her nose in the direction pointed. Her rate of speed is progressing as well, I can slow down the pace of her trot, and even her canter! I was so excited when we loped along and not only could I slow her down, but I for the first time felt I had control over her direction - not only was she not freight training and gaining speed with every stride, but as I expanded the size of the arena there were a few moments were I felt we could have just continued down the length of the arena. She really impressed me and I could not have been happy with the quality of the ride - and it only being the seventh one!

I arrived in Seabeck at Milo's barn a while later, eager to spend time with my own horse. I sang praises about Cayenne to a fellow semi-self-care boarder (who owns the Fjords) as I cleaned Milo's stall. She reminded me that Milo can still do things that Cayenne cant, which I couldnt deny. I still love Milo beyond measure.  I groomed him and saddled aboard, then headed to the arena.

I had no real "game plan" in mind as I walked him around. I focused on my seatbones for our direction, going from circle to rail, rail to diagonal, and keeping his shoulders and hips in line. If I felt his hip drift to the inside instead of moving his shoulders away, I used my seat bones to redirect his hips back into line. I focused on using my hands to lift Milo's front end, but remembered Sarah's warning to not hold him up. Pick him up, then let him go - test to see how long he can stay there. When he deviates, bring him back up, then let him go again. I focused on this in the walk and trot and tried to make a mental note distinguishing the feel between when he was lifted on the front, or falling forward. Then we moved into the lope.

He was a little quick, but I still focused on picking him up, then letting him go and testing where he was. When he sped up, I brought him back. When he drifted his hip in, I (attempted to) put him back in line. I got unbalanced and when trying to push the hip back to straight, turned my hips out. What did Milo do? Change his lead! But only the front changed and we cross fired for a half circle or so. I asked him to change his hind, which he did. Then I wondered, as we counter cantered a couple circles, if I could change him back to the correct lead?

I loped him down the long side (haha! long side...) and tried to focus on my hip placement as I redirected the direction of my hips, and changed my legs to the wanted new arc. Milo changed his lead! Hmm...I wondered. Could we change leads now .... when I asked? I loped him a couple circles, then sent him across the diagonal, then asked for the change. I tried to not lean forward, remembering Sarah reminding me to not fall forward and ask with me hands. I sat on my pockets, but stayed square in the saddle, and redirected my hips and legs. Squoosh! Milo changed his lead! We loped the perimeter of the arena, and I wondered if we could do it again. Without ever breaking down to the trot, we loped a couple circles on this new lead, and I sent him down the diagonal once more. I asked for the change, and he changed once more! A few strides later I stopped him lightly, and patted his neck eagerly, singing praises, a smile spread broad across my face. After only a few strides at the walk, I dismounted and lead him back to the barn, slapping his neck with nearly every stride.

Good sorrel horses. :)

Trail Rides are for More then Just Pleasure?

On Friday it was beautiful out and with the added persuasion of two people already in the tiny arena, I decided to take Milo out on the trail by myself. And I discovered something: that the trails really are another great place to work on training. Of course, I know this, have been told it, and practice it (sometimes...) but that day I really understood the value of using the trails for practice.

Milo and I went down the trail that really is the only one around (everything else is logging roads and such, not really "trails" in that you weave around trees on a narrow pathway) which has some nice stretches for trotting or loping. We trotted for a while and I was able to sit back, breath, and focus on my body in response to Milo's. I could feel my core muscles start to get sore and I knew I was riding properly. I kept my back soft and my ankles relaxed - which, I found, I often on the trail try and lock my legs out in front of me, probably because Milo tends to have a more sweeping stride on the uneven ground. Realizing this allowed me to put more focus on that area and remain soft and let my core keep me in place.

As I further focused on my body I noticed my hips were tight, so I relaxed ever so slightly in that area and allowed the angle of my hips to open. Once I did, it was like a switch went off for Milo and suddenly he started reaching with his back end and his back really came up and he worked in those strides.

I found a good place to lope and we did, the game changed a bit now and I once more had to relax my ankles, engage my core, and open my hips. Once I did we got a few beautiful strides before the trail made us slow down. At the end, we turned around and began to lope back the way we came. Milo got quick and rushy, and with the benefit of not riding with a friend I was able to school over and over in that spot until our lope heading back home was cadenced and not increasing in stride. We spent a short amount of time going back and forth on that stretch, working on a stop, a rollback, transitions, anything that arose. We ended with a really nice lope.

The next day my friend wanted to go on the trail as it was again a beautiful day. I conceded as once more there were already two riders in the arena. Plus I figured we would only benefit from more work on the trail. We explored to the end of the development and in the areas were we trotted and loped, I only had to remind Milo a few times to stay even in stride and lifted. At one nice soft stretch I slowed him down from the lope and he actually parked it on the dirt. I hadnt asked for a hard stop, but couldnt help but turn around to my friend and squeal as I pointed at the tracks in the dirt.

Uneven, but he was trying!

Maybe He Felt Bad...?

I think it might have been Milo's gift to me from his poor behavior the day before, but I had a fantastic ride yesterday. The last few weeks, I must admit, I have not been working Milo to the schedule I had been previously. From snow and weather, to sudden unknown swelling, areana flooding, school starting back up again (and now as a full time student and part time worker) and time constraints, its been at least a month since we were in a regular work schedule. In the meantime it's not like I hadnt been seeing Milo or spending time with him, I was mostly going on at least weekly trail rides (which we have really been enjoying. In fact, last week's ride was the first time I really let Milo loose on the trail: he and I loved it!), and when working in the arena mostly just longing. I had ridden bareback a few times, but have lacked enough time to really work him between school and work. I'd hate to get on with only 35 minutes and end up not working him properly.

So anyways, when I have been longing him, I've been using a pole to help get him thinking about using his body properly again, and adding in my wall reins to further aid in that desired posture. After yesterday's ride, I was really happy I had been doing so.

I added the wall reins onto my tack when I went to the arena. I started with a short longing, with the wall reins, then got on. I decided to use the wall reins when riding too because I figured after a few weeks of not asking for the correct posture, Milo would probably need more shoulder control and some aid in lifting at the wither. I used my regular reins as well though as I wanted to be able to have a feel on the bit directly, not just through the indirect wall reins. It turned out to be a good combination.

We started with just getting familiar with the wall reins again, and finding out where we were at as far as circles, shoulder and body control, and lifting his back. Milo worked beautifully, and with the addition of the wall reins an exaggeration of the nuchal flip was present, aiding me to make sure the correct arc in the neck was acquired. From walk to trot, and finally lope, the work was great. Transitions werent beautiful, although ironically the trot to lope transition was much nicer than the walk to trot. Only once did I really need to correct Milo's shoulder with the wall reins at the lope, but for the most part the work was excellent, a little fast our first go, but very nice. As we worked on circles a bit more we finally got a couple of solid ones that were cadenced and with a lifted shoulder. As I sat deep and asked for the Woah, Milo parked his booty beautifully, leaving a somewhat nice pair of elevens (they were more in a triangular shape then real elevens, lol). I dismounted then and there and praised Mr Milo.

Was this an apology for his behavior the day before? Or is Milo trying to tell me he's got the arena work and wants to spend more time on the trail? :)

Lets See How Far We've Come

I have been thinking lately about the changes in both Milo and I in the last year. While I have been working with Sarah through saddle fitting for well over a year, a year and half to be more exact, its only been a year last November that I have been working on my horsemanship with her through taking lessons. Somehow, it feels like it has been so much longer than that. Probably because not only has my way of riding changed, but the way I view my horse, my equipment, and myself in this whole process. I take more responsibility for myself in effecting the way my horse is, not simply blaming our shortcomings on Milo. I have learned how paramount my role is in our partnership. Milo truly mirrors me, and sometimes I have to accept that the difficulties we have are a reflection on my shortcomings as well.

Moreover, my entire way of thinking around horses has changed. From a very dominant-based belief system, to one that encourages working in a partnership, fluidity, and open-mindedness. One of the best ways I could think of to give "outsiders" (those that are not directly involved with Milo, myself, or Sarah's program) a visual change, I thought comparing between the first reining show I competed in after working with Sarah, to the most recent one in September. See if you find the most visual changes that I did (because you cannot see the non-visual ones where I have changed).

November, 2010 - one lesson with Sarah

September, 2011 - nearly a year after working with Sarah

I chose the Dave Reaume class over the Novice because the pattern is much closer to that used at the winter schooling series. 

I want to first compare some of the differences in me and my body, because I know it subsequently had/has a great effect on the way that Milo's moves. Firstly, my body position. From most basic being the position in the saddle, more upright and on my seatbones, to the strength in my core and raised sternum. At this show I was also using (and still am) my diaper, aka, a shim on the saddle under my left seatbone, helping to keep my seatbones level. In turn, the correct position in the saddle allows my legs to fall more "correctly" underneath myself, while I try and maintain relaxation in my ankles. Moreover, I think as an entire image, I look far more quiet, and much more engaged than in the early video. While I still see things to work on, I also see things that have improved since just Septemeber, thanks to continued lessons on Milo and lessons learned from Wesley. 

Now onto Milo. Again, aside from the obvious that Milo's "frame" looks prettier and his head is down, I see a much more relaxed and complacent horse. While Milo still maintains some of his 'tude through tail swishing, it is much less frequent and mostly shows up from a request of mine. But note on the circles he keeps a relaxed and swinging tail, much different than before. This, to me, shows a much happier horse in his work, as well as a much more comfortable horse as well. Continuing onto movement, Milo is traveling much more balanced and unrestricted then before, starting to use his body instead of dragging himself along. This comes from two reasons, I believe; one, the change in my body, as I too am trying to use my body more effectively, rather than sitting atop Milo and asking him to do all of the work while I just enjoy the ride. This easily provides reason number two, which is that Milo's body has physically changed. Just look at the two videos, would you not agree that Milo looks like an entirely different horse (except for the similar markings)? A powerful large hind end with impulsion lifts the developed and stronger back, aided by an engaged core as well. This flows into a lighter and more fluid shoulder released of a lot of tension and allowed the move more freely, which releases the tension in Milo's neck as well, showing off a well toned head and neck. 

These different qualities all come from some of the same few changes that follow with Sarah's three "F's": Feet, Feed, and Fit. First, we started with Fit, that of the saddle. It has truly been amazing to me so see how hugely the fit of the saddle effects the movement and well being of the horse. I look at Fit as not only that of the saddle, but of all of the equipment used; from a proper bit for the job that the horse enjoys as well, to the fit of the human on the back as well. A properly fitting saddle does nothing for the horse so long as the human is not riding the horse in a way that benefits him. While Feed has not been a huge change as far as hay goes (I have no control over the hay the barn feeds), I have changed the supplements and nutrition that Milo receives. I believe that the Dynamite products have helped my horse in more ways than I have even noticed. From a shinier coat, to a stronger body, the high quality products I have used from them, all natural too I might add, have definitely changed the overall well being of my horse. Last to change was the Feet. This was one I was reluctant to change, mostly just to the fact of human ego and embarrassment. I wasnt sure how to tell my kind farrier that I simply did not like the way Milo's feet were being handled. Moreover, however, I did not truly see the problems that his feet were creating, it was simply the word of Sarah that there was a problem. I am glad that I trusted her knowledge to change, otherwise, I believe a lot of the progress we have made would not have happened. The feet really make the horse, and Milo's previous hooves were not helping his body at all, they were exacerbating problems in the shoulder, ribs, and back, and not allowing our progress to move forward.  

Do you see some of the same things that I do? Lets see where we are in another years time. 

Updated Video

So I got some recent self-shot footage of working Milo. I wanted to compare to the last time I had self-footage done of Milo and I, and I have to say (without touting my own horn) we look so much better than we did over the summer! I feel like Milo is moving much more fluidly and over his back than before. Progress is being made! I also wanted to watch my ankles and position and see if I am where I should be. The video looks like my toes are out (which they sorta are actually), but there was no tension in my ankles and if you look closely they bounce and bang around loosely.

I also have to note after watching this, I never realized how low Milo carries his head. He really looks like a peanut roller. At least I know he isnt forced there, but thats where he is comfortable and capable of rounding up his back. Silly Milo, its just where he wants to carry it.

This first video shows some trot work, with the recent serpentine exercise from Sarah, as well as a bit of the figure eight circles we are coming back to as suggested from Sarah. Milo did well on both exercises! He is staying more straight through the serpentines and with me looking up, I can feel when he fishtails his rear out and I can block it with my outside leg. The figure eight circles went well too, even though I didnt catch on video when we worked on more complex parts of the exercise than just changing back and forth on the circles.

I picked up my stirrups (after being dropped a hole from my last ride) as I need to find a way to keep my ankles relaxed while in the stirrups. I felt I did a better job than last time, we are getting there. The first part of the lope Milo was feeling super fresh and freight-training around the arena. I am sad to see how much I had to use my hands, but eventually he came back to me, as is evidenced in the second video. I had to school him a bit at the lope departure as he has been getting anticipatory when I try and put him onto the outside rein and push his hip out. But eventually we got it.

I got a nicer lope the other direction, but the video didnt come out very well. This second video is a little bit of the turnaround work for strengthening his hocks. A couple of times I turned around to look at the footfall patterns in the dirt. Since I ride by myself the majority of the time, its the only way I can seem to determine if Milo is doing it right. After this video was shot, I got a nicer turnaround, and took a picture of it. :)

Oh Milo, we are getting better. :)

Not Forcing Things

I really took the information given to me during my Monday lesson with Wesley to heart. I can't express how badly I wish the tension in my ankles would just vanish. But years of equitation riding, instructors barking for you to shove your heels down, and using it as a balance point has made reversing those habits very difficult. But I have been trying.

After my lesson on Monday, Heather and Missy and I went on a short trail ride. Milo hadnt been worked in four days, but I just wanted to allow my horse to move freely and find some real relaxation in my ankles. Just before ditching the stirrups, I noticed that they felt oddly short. I had ridden Wesley with stirrups set at Sarah's setting -one hole longer than mine. My stirrups now felt far too short and although I was riding without them, I logged away the knowledge that the next time I needed to lengthen them. Which is ironic because at the last lesson Sarah thought the stirrups needed lengthened, which I had disagreed to feeling the extra hole made me lose my stirrups.

We enjoyed a nice quiet trail ride. Milo was certainly not over his back and I had to keep a conscious effort o stay relaxed and allow my leg to swing and bump with rhythm. I tried lifting my knees as I had been earlier, but continued to find it difficult to maintain soft ankles in the meantime. I also noted after the ride that the saddle has slid back an inch or so and there didnt feel as though there was much clearance for his shoulders. I didnt think much of it knowing he had not been working over his back, but kept the observation close at hand. I also noticed that he needed increased one hole on the rear cinch and two on the front, but thats a whole 'nother bag of worms I will not discuss on the blog.

The next day the same thing happened after our ride: the saddle had slipped back. I had been trotting and turning, no stirrups, and although trying to remember to stay soft in my ankles, things werent panning out as I was so desperately hoping they would. Just about the same mediocre ride played out the following day and I then texted Sarah suggesting that the saddle fit might need looked at again. Maybe it could just use a shim or a different pad? The saddle certainly doesn't fit wrong! She responded saying that it was clear Milo was not coming over his back. I had to get him forward and engaged. She told me to leave the trotting and turning alone for a bit and get him over his back. I felt as if we had hit another serious wall - I couldnt even get Milo to lift his back by applying pressure to his belly after the ride. I was feeling dismayed, frustrated, and incompetent ... again.

I took Thursday off from the barn to get some errands done. Friday morning was a whole mess of a morning. Without going into too much details, I was late for my exam, truck wasnt running, and I had left my riding boots in my truck, not transferring them to the other vehicle. Upon realizing this after class I was sad at the notion of not being able to ride now.

But...why not ride without spurs? I could ride in the Georgia Romeos I was wearing now. I had actually been considering lately about riding without spurs, knowing I dont want to have my horse reliant on them. Without any real reason why not to though, I simply hadnt approached that subject. Although it had been nearly three years since I had ridden Milo without spurs, I mounted up anyways. Staying religiously stirrup-less, we mosied around a bit free of spurs. But I wanted to see what my horse could do. He was, in fact, responding well to my aids already. Why not trot?

Into the trot we went and my horse was still listening to the gentle poke of my heel against his sides to lift his back (ever so slightly). As the ride progressed, however, it was taking more and more leg to keep him coming over his back. He must realize there is no spur behind my leg now, I realized. I'm screwed.

Then I thought about the last few words from the text message from Sarah. Get Milo over his back without force. I thought about this as we trotted around. "Without force." I had no spurs, I certainly couldnt make Milo lift and engage. What Sarah was emphasizing was that Milo had to find the lift on his own. How could I do that? I thought some more, then I thought maybe lifting my seat would work. Just as Sarah had shown me to do this last summer, ask Milo to lift with my seat first, then spur if ignored. I seemed to be missing this first step lately. Lift with my seat. So I did. And Milo lifted up underneath me. Without leg, without spur. This was a real concept for me here. We trotted around longer, I tried to stay diligent in allowing my legs to swing back and forth. Strong in my core, lifting my seat. This was working.

Into...the lope? Eventually, yes, it did. Some support on the outside leg, remembering to stay soft everywhere in my body and still lift with my seat. Eventually, we did get some beautiful lines of loping. Downward transitions were not good. But I had just made a breakthrough. Riding without force. Finding my seat again. Next is what my boss suggested: back to bareback. No spurs. Let's see what we can accomplish.

So, How Are Things on the Food Front?

I said there was more to come on the pasture update. That is inclusive of the food issues we were experiencing.

To refresh your memory, Milo had been exhibiting bad food aggressive behavior at meal time towards others. This had been an ongoing issue since I got him four years ago, but things seemed to be resolved between he and I. However, with him living on a pasture with another horse, there was always someone else (or another horse) involved between him and his food. A confrontation between he and a feeder at the barn made me really try and figure out how I was going to "fix" this issue towards others.

Since then, I had been volunteering to feed him as many times as I was able to try and see what kind of attitude he would present to me. I wasnt sure what to expect, but was assuming he wouldnt show any ill behavior towards me when feeding. I was right, but determined to work on the issue anyways. What I did was enter the pasture with the grain buckets and proceed to go into the stalls and feed the horses (namely Milo to work on this exclusively). Now, the feeders never have a reason to go into the pasture to feed, but on the rare occasion (like with the aforementioned confrontation), and to better work on close-quarters feed time for anyone else who might handle Milo during feeding (ie, someone feeding at a horse show, like when Melissa fed him at the last horse show).

Entering the pasture with the grain buckets (and longe whip in hand initially), I would insist that Milo stay away from me while I held the buckets. He never tried to come into my space and quietly followed behind me at a distance towards the pasture (I was vigilant, however, in knowing where he was so at no time could he suddenly advance to me). I would dump the grain into the stalls, and continue to maintain Milo outside of the stall. He had to wait patiently, quietly, and without any sort of bad behavior before I would exit the stall and let him enter. I would leave, he still had to wait until I verbally said, "OK" and pointed him into the stall. No issue, and I would let Milo eat a few mouthfuls of grain, then I would loudly demand, "OUT!" and point him out of the stall. I never had to use the longe whip, but I would raise it for him to know I meant business if he didnt listen to me first. I could not exit in a scramble or with his hind towards me. This continued to work fine.

Then I up-ed it to still maintaining a pleasant demeanor when I was in the stall with him. I wasnt sure how to approach this because he could very well get me good being that close to him and his food. But I didnt anticipate anything, and simply would walk into the stall, then loudly demand, "OUT!" and point my arm towards the exit, raising the longe whip if needed. Repeat a few times, and Milo started to sigh and get sort of bored with it all. Then I increased this even more - touching him when eating and even trying to pull his head out of the bucket. I wanted to really try and push his buttons and see what might happen. Again, no issue, and I still would demand "OUT!" when needed and not allow him to turn hind end towards me when exiting.

I repeated this exercise many times during feeding. I was then pleasantly surprised to find at the horse show that he not so much as flicked an ear as I entered the stall with food. I do not allow him to steal food out of my hands as I walk it into the stall, and he never tried to turn his rear towards me either. To hear he did splendidly for Melissa seemed to seal the deal for me.

Now, thats not to say that "problem solved, all things are great now", this will need to be maintained and tested with other people still, but it certainly feels as if things are on the right track. And although I cannot ensure he will always be respectful towards other people, at least I can feel confident knowing that he is quiet and respectful towards me, and that is all I can truly expect from him.

A Pasture Update

Maybe some of you have been wondering what the latest has been with Milo allowing me to catch him. As you might remember, there was about a week there were he would turn tail and run away from me for upwards of fifteen minutes. He and Chica thought the game was super fun, and I was about at my wits end.

Some commented here, and I also talked to fellow local horse people about opinions. Many believed that chasing him was not the answer, but to make him want to be with me, not be punished. Im not sure that I particularly followed that route, but I think a combination of a few things happened:

First, Milo figured out pretty quick that he was working himself in the hot heat twice a day now. When I could finally catch him he would be huffing and puffing and sweating all over. Unfortunately for him, he would still receive a workout as usual from me. I think a week worth of double workouts might have sunk into him that running away really isnt all that fun or productive for him.

I then decided to bring a treat to the pasture with me. Not a bribe, but a reward for when he would allow me to catch him or to come to me. Initially, Milo would simply stand stock still, but let me halter him. After the halter was on, I would verbally praise and rub on him, then give him the treat as a reward. I then started bringing out two treats; one for Milo and one for Chica. Because Chica was the real instigator behind all of this, I wanted her to see me entering the pasture as a positive as well. If she would approach me and let me rub on her, she got a cookie as well.

Next I started dispersing the cookie treats. I would start only bringing a cookie every couple of times, usually one cookie one day, no cookie the next, cookie the following again. This was to be able to start weaning Milo off of expecting a cookie, but rather just greeting me without anything - as things had been before for four years.

I'm pleased to report that there have been no incidents, in fact, Milo as been trotting towards me in greeting (today as an example as well). While sometimes I might have a cookie to reward him with, sometimes I don't, but it doesnt seem to be effecting his willingness to greet me with the halter anymore. I've been very pleased to feel that I have my  good ole boy back again, eager to work and happy to see me. Let's hope his little shenanigans are behind us. But so far, things are looking bright again on the pasture front. More to come.

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

I trudged out into the brisk cold morning, and headed to the barn to feed Milo. To my surprise and pleasure, I found he was already fed by Melissa. I went onto alert and asked her how he acted towards her. The night before he had been perfectly pleasant when I fed him his hay and grain, but I wasnt sure yet how he might respond to someone else. Melissa actually responded saying she hadnt even thought about his aggressive history until just now when I asked her about it. She said he was perfectly fine and waited at the feeder without a pinned ear or curled nose. I was very happy to hear that good news.

I cleaned his stall, ate breakfast, and checked in at the show office. The reining patterns werent yet posted, but I knew my first class was the same pattern as the last show, pattern 12, and Melissa had described the Novice pattern briefly the day before, being pattern 7. I got dressed and then looked at the now posted patterns. Pattern 7 made me a little nervous as it is a run in pattern and a bit complicated, plus I knew I would be trying for lead changes in this pattern. But I tried not to let myself get worked up.

My horse, however, had runny manure, was calling to just about every horse that was now coming into the fairgrounds, and generally was quite stressed. Sarah had some wet clay so he got a half syringe of that. After about a half hour, I realized my horse was quiet. Phew, I thought, maybe he was calming down. But wet poo and more calling came back. I tried not to think about it.

Time to tack up and warm up, and my horse was mouthy and dancing in the cross ties. Boyfriend and a couple we are friends with had made it up to the fairgrounds, and he was acting ornery and rude to them. Again, I just tried not to think about it. I climbed aboard and headed to the warm up pen. No calling, but he still felt quick, and some more wet manure slipped out from his rear. I tried not to think about it. But today Milo was much more fluid in his hocks and could step his hip out and nose in easily. He snake trailed pretty easily too, but I wanted to not go into the lope too quickly. I kept schooling and suppling at the walk and trot, then finally moved into a lope after a few more people left the small arena. He felt good, after I realized that tension in my ankles was causing him to run away from my leg. Once discovering this, I took a deep breath and stayed strong in my core, letting my legs go and not picking up my hand. It took a few strides, and then Milo came up underneath me and loped nicely.

I commented to Sarah about this realization, and she was happy to hear I was in a better mind set than at my ride the night before. She also helped me re-wrap his polos with a better method than I had been using. The big arena was now open for schooling, and we had about a half hour before reining was supposed to begin. I made my way into the show pen and schooled again at the walk and trot, hip out, snake exercises. The pen was busy with not only reiners but pleasure riders too, and Milo seemed somewhat distracted by the heavier traffic. There were also volunteers outside of the arena spraying hoses into it to try and keep the dust down. Fortunately, Milo didnt give much mind to the water cascading in on the rails, and didnt pay much attention to the traffic either.

We went into the lope, and he still felt a little rushed. I tried to remember to stay strong in my core and relax my ankles. When I would, the lope was great, but it wasnt consistent. However, we did school some nice stops, rollbacks, and some excellent spins. I was feeling more prepared, but still lacking confidence. They called the order of go for the first class, the Dave Reaume Memorial Green Reiner. This was pattern 12. I remembered the pattern after looking it over once more, and we headed into the arena.

Although this class allows for two hands, I went in one-handed not feeling like I needed both hands. The pattern didnt call for a lead change either, so I felt more relaxed already. We stepped into our first lope circles to the left. I was surprised by the clean lope departure, and we found a rhythm in the first two circles. We stopped pretty clean in the center. Our first two spins felt fairly good, but I knew I held some tension in my body. We raced into the right lope departure, which wasnt clean, and I had to work a few strides to get Milo back to me. He did, and we loped a couple of nice circles to the right. Although the circles were good, they didnt feel as wonderful as those we had in this same class back in July. I tried not to think about it and we stopped in the center for the next set of spins. Again, I held some tension and after the two spins were over, I was a bit disappointed knowing our spins were much better at home and schooling than we delivered in the pen. Oh well, they were now over, and we loped off for our rollback. We came around the top of the arena and I tried not to over think the stop that was coming. My horse stayed straight and I relaxed my ankles a bit. I even remembered to say Woah as I softened my lower back. For the first time in the show pen, I felt our stop was good. We rolled back up the arena and I was happy with that maneuver as well.  I tried not to think about stopping in front of the judges, but as we came down the wall in front of them, I thought too much about the stop coming up, and I lost Milo a bit only a few strides before the cone. The stop wasnt bad, but it wasnt as good as the rollback. We backed and we were done. I turned Milo and he tried to trot off, still feeling fresh, huh?

They moved the classes around a bit, and instead of my novice class to follow, they ran Open Reining next, then Novice. So now I at least had a class in between to look at the next pattern and give Milo a break in the shade. I knew the pattern now, and waited with a somewhat twisted stomach for the open reiners to finish. I watched their runs and heard scores like 78 and 75. I felt a little discouraged by that, but tried not to focus on it. It was time to get back on now, and as I walked Milo a bit, he felt fresh still and raring to go. I opted to enter the ring two handed. I am happy that I did.

The pattern called for a run in (although where the arena gate is held, you really cant), with a left rollback, followed by a right rollback, than a stop and back. Four spins to the right, four and a quarter to the left, begin with three right circles, lead change, three left circles, lead change, one final run down, no back. I knew the pattern. I just needed to do it now.

Just before the judges nodded, I remembered to push my hat down, but I didnt gather my reins. I pushed Milo into a left lead and he felt straight and good. We stopped and rolled back, with some cheers from the crowd. It felt good. I didnt ask correctly for the next lead and Milo cross fired. I tried to get a lead change, but didnt really ask, and for some reason I was obsessing about how he was on the wrong lead. In hindsight, I should have focused on a good run down before the next rollback, but I changed his leads with a simple change, and ended up getting a terrible stop. Rolled back for the next run down, and gathered my reins a bit. The stop wasnt too bad, and we backed, but I didnt line him up to center properly. I had been thinking too much about how disappointed I was in our lines.

Four spins to the right, and instead of sitting deep on my inside seat bone, I hammered him around with too much leg. I was again disappointed in our spins. The left spins didnt make me feel any better, especially when we finished them and I saw I was way off center from the judges. Oh well, and we loped off into the right lead. Two large fast, and I pushed Milo for a little more speed. As we came into the small slow, I felt the downward transition was good, although looking on tape now it doesnt look like much. I got halfway around the small slow before I realized I had a lead change in only a matter of a few strides. We came to center, and I asked for straight, then a change. He changed, although front to back. I whispered good boy, happy for the effort anyways and we loped two fast. After the change it took a circle at least to get him to somewhat lift up and lope properly, and the slow circle transition didnt feel as good. I thought about the approaching lead change throughout the three circles, and ended up not getting it. I broke him down and got a simple change. We were almost done. I loped him up the back side for our last run down, and was too afraid to push on the gas. I felt my horse had been flipping me off during the ride and I didnt want to lose all control. We stopped hard and he tried to go into a back. I kicked him out of it.

We left the arena with people telling us what a good job we did and how nice we looked. I heard a score of 62.5 and felt defeated and frustrated. I told everyone how upset I was with my horse, and remembered the bad ride from the night before.

Thinking back now, I really wasnt upset with my horse. I was frustrated with myself. I let a bad ride from the night before haunt my performance the rest of the day. I wanted Milo to perform when I wasnt in the moment with him, and instead got mad at him for it. Instead of thinking about all the bad things I felt we did in the show pen, I should be emphasizing the good parts of it instead:

We scored just as well in the Dave Reaume class as we had at the last show: a 68.5 from both judges. This placed us second under both judges out of four entries.

We accomplished the best rollbacks and stops in the show pen to date. I didnt over think our rundowns (not every one at least) and got stops I knew we had. My horse is reaching up under himself with his hind end much better. As Sarah says, he no longer looks like two guys in a horse suit - he looks like the makings of a reiner.

Looking at the videos, he is much more over his hocks in his spins. Although not well cadenced like we have schooled, he is picking up speed and holding a plant foot better (at least in the show pen, much better at home).

We got one lead change. Although it wasnt a correct one, we got one. This is a first in the show pen too. The secret behind it seemed to be that I was in my body for that moment, and not in my head. I let it happen, and although it wasnt super pretty, now we have a building block to start on in the show pen. Edit to add: I have watched the video over and over, and looking where we lost the second change, it looks like Milo actually changed in the back but before he could change in the front, I blocked him and slowed him down. I wonder, had I just been patient would he have balanced himself and changed? I really must give him more credit than I had been - he really was working for me, everything was just a little more rushed than I expected. 

We accomplished a harder reining pattern than we ever had before. The Novice pattern certainly wasnt novice friendly, but we stayed on course and actually didnt do as bad as I had given us credit for. Come to think of it, just being on pattern for both classes was another accomplishment. :)

Our scores for the Novice class were actually 62.5 and 65 from the second. This gave us second and third out of three. Although one judge threw away his score cards before I got to see them, I did get to see the scores from the 65 judge.

I really should not have been as down as I was after those classes. Milo really did give me an effort, even if it wasnt what I was anticipating for that day.

P.S. What do you think of my "chinks" outfit? I got a lot of compliments on it! And it sure saved me from being hot under my heavier black equitation chaps (and black hat that would have followed!).

Slap that Diaper on me!

A few rasps and clips from the farrier's knowledgeable hands, and Milo had newly balanced pretty footsies - just in time for the horse show on Saturday. I wanted to have every manageable balance provided for Milo for optimum success. I tacked up the eager pony and we headed into the arena.

Not before I almost forgot to tape the diaper onto my rear. The joke, by the way, comes from Sarah reminding me after my lesson on Saturday, to "remove my diaper" after dismounting. I think the term has just stuck now because, well, its a felt shim  attached to my rear and it feels like a diaper when I walk with it on.

Huggie in place, I mounted Milo. We warmed up one handed at the walk and trot, working on the snake exercise allowing Milo to osculate at the poll and follow his nose, coming up over his back and relaxed from side to side. He was honest to both sides as well and not stiff to the left as he had been before. Two and three track work as well, and Milo and I were feeling synced together and things felt terrific.

I put Milo into the lope, working on our one-handed walk to lope departure - which was good. We loped along on an even but light contact on the rein, and my outside leg back behind at the rear girth, a practice I am trying to make a habit to help Milo understand the lead change cue more clearly. This also helps me keep my seat bones level as well.

Throughout the week I have further experimented on the new shift of weight to the inside seat bone through turnarounds, by using my weight on the inside for a typical turn as well. Wouldnt you know, turning, circling, and spins have all come much easier (as well as serpentines and the snake exercise) with this new way of weighting my seat bones. I dont feel like I am leaning at all to the inside, just slightly shifting my weight to the inside, to center, and to the outside where needed. It really has been fun to experiment with. I have been using the weight shift as a single cue as well (not holding in the same position throughout a circle), to not allow myself to "lock" into a position, but I felt it would also keep Milo more sensitive to my subtle seat change needed for lead changes.

We loped along on a steady and nice circle, and I learned the benefit of riding every stride.

As we came to the center of the arena on a circle to the right, Milo anticipated a lead change (I believe) and tried to duck out the other direction, and also started tail flinging and getting hollow. This happened because for that moment, I wasnt riding. I had pretty much taken a back seat and was just enjoying the ride. But this told me two things: one, I had to pay attention to the weight in my seat bones, the positioning of my legs, and staying strong in my core; two, it was a reminder to not work on lead changes in the center of the arena.

I corrected Milo and loped a few more circles, then decided on a whim, to lope him along the diagonal and attempt a lead change. I chose the diagonal because it offered the most space to attempt the change (as I had done at my last lesson as well), and also because we wouldnt be schooling in the center of two circles. I brought my legs to center, for a moment my horse straightened, and then I moved my new outside leg back and slightly shifted my weight. My horse cleaning changed leads, so well in fact, I had to look down at the new leading leg to confirm we had changed leads. It felt so effortless from Milo with no fuss or anticipation and from very subtle cues. I was floored. I praised Milo, but kept loping.

I loped a circle or two on the new lead, and had a crazy thought; why not try a lead change the new direction now - without working on a counter canter before? It seemed somewhat ludicrous, and that I would be pushing my luck after such a nice change. But the horse show would require this, lets see what we've got.

So I rounded the corner and came across the diagonal again, changed my legs, followed by seat and leg again, and voila! Milo changed right over to the other lead. How was it this easy? I was one handed to boot! Then it hit me: one handed or not, a lead change is through the body - the seat and the leg. I really dont need to be hauling on the outside rein, just lifting for a support if needed (which was not these first two changes). I was ecstatic. But could we keep going with this? Would I get three, and maybe even, four clean changes, consecutively? I thought I was pushing my luck too far, but the thrill of those clean changes just tantalized me.

I loped a few more circles, and came across the diagonal again - clean change. Third in a row.  It felt a little rushed and hollow, however, and I should have known to school a little more before trying the next change. The tape from my diaper had failed, and the shim slipped out from under my rear. I knew I should have used a fourth piece of masking tape. But we continued on, and the fourth change resulted in a buck and a dive thrown in. Oh boy, no way Milo can you do that. I schooled him a little more, and Milo started rushing on the diagonal. Remembering Melissa and Grace's extra lead changes, and the suggestion Sarah gave to them, I decided to work a little on the counter canter. To get Milo kicking the hip out again and not anticipating the change. I started wondering if my hip angle was out of wack again now without my trusty diaper (shim), but I was determined to get a change regardless of the support.

Back across the diagonal, and again he threw a buck into the change. Down to simple one step changes I decided to try, and after three or four of those, we got another absolutely beautiful change. I stopped Milo right then and jumped off, giving him a huge and happy pat on the neck, and kisses on his beautiful white face. I couldnt believe how well he had performed. I walked out of the arena with a huge smile across my face. It's coming I remembered the many texts received from Sarah reading. The effort is paying off. Good horse show or bad horse show this weekend, we just achieved the impossible, my Milo and I.