June 22 - 27th session
 

In reviewing my sessions from 1-27 something has dawned on me. Chris has systematically taken me through a very definitive process, and it's all about language. If language is defined as aids, which is defined as body positioning at any given time and space.... then

First he determined if I could speak "Horse", corrected my diction, gave me new words... Then he let me start "talking" to the horse and ensured that I was being as succinct as possible. Once that was done, we moved on to using the horse's "hearing" (reaction) to see if the message I was delivering was being received in the same spirit and meaning all the time honing my communication skills.

I left this session with no homework. Mario and I were talking "turkey" (ok "horse") from the first moment. I started this session at the point where I left off last session. Chris stated that it was time to move to the next level. He said that the only difference between him and me now was the data bank we both had to draw on. His being much larger. ;) Now I'm nervous. His expectations are going to be huge.

Other things of great interest: You have to be preapred to push past the limit of possibility into impossibility in order to discover what is really possible. Example: a horse can only walk so fast. But you'll never know just how fast, unless you risk asking for a faster and faster walk until he eventually trots. That wasn't a mistake on the part of the horse, - he was asked to walk fast, but he trotted - that was him saying "I've reached the limit of possibility".

Horses are information gatherers. They have it down to a fine art and are experts at it. They can break information down to it's smallest parts and are incredibly sensitive. You may think you are using a rein aid the same way every time. But in fact, the horse recognizes a dozen different rein aids to your "one". Once again, if we could deliver our messages to the horse in exactly the same way every time, a horse could be trained to Grand Prix in no time.

Going to a huge dressage show today, will see horses to Grand Prix level. Wow.

Originally Posted by LC Sponge:


When someONE or someTHING or someTHING YOU DO brings all these feelings to the fore . . . I call that JOY!

Thanks for the vicarious "ride," LC!

Yours ever,
Homegirl

Spoken like a person who knows the true meaning of the word!

Thanks Homegirl! :)

Monumental occasion
 

Milestone. Bought "the" horse :) of my dreams.

Okay, so where's the requisite "baby" pics???????

Oh yeah, and congratulations :D .

Waiting to hear about all his/her little quirks . . . .

"Back in the Saddle, agaaaaaiiiin...."
 

Actually, I never left the saddle :)

I spent the summer doing fun-bonding with my new horse here at home, and I dropped my dressage lessons back to once a week to free up my weekends. All that has now changed. This Sunday my horse is being moved to the facility where I train and he and I will undergo 7 months of intense training together under my instructor. I can hardly wait.

His call name is "Oreo" his show name is "Skiand'hu" - very keeping with the Scottish Clydesdale influence. He is a 16.1 (still growing) - 4 yr old black overo, with all the right combination of Clydesdale, Thoroughbred, and Paint Horse. His conformation is excellent and he would be an amazing candidate for either the hunter or dressage disciplines. I'm starting him in dressage, and we will see about the hunting in a couple of years. He has a terrific personality and is completely SANE - thanks to the draught in him. He is a blank slate with NO vices, poor training, health problems, or structural issues. It is almost unheard of to find a 4 year old who meets all this criteria. Most have been started to early and have all kinds of issues. I really lucked out.

Last night's lesson was on my instructors top schoolmaster (which gives you an idea of how much I have graduated over the summer :D ) and we were quite brilliant together. He was certainly an absolute JOY to ride.

When I got to the stable last night, Oreo's stall was already prepared and they had put a name plate on his door! I thought that was so sweet. He will have lots of people to fawn over him, there are 2 new apprentices at the stable, and he will certainly be getting the best of top level care. There is an indoor arena, outdoor arenas (more than one!) miles of hacking trails, lots of paddocks. The next 7 months is going to cost me an arm and a leg but will be totally worth it.

Can hardly wait.

So Oreo now has a fancy schmancy show name!

Wow! I think I've said this before -- I never realized so much went into riding. I've always thought horses are magnificent animals but never really gave a lot of thought to how the breeding, training and stucture of a horse affects the riding. I am really going to enjoy your descriptions of Oreo's training.

Isn't it great to be doing something that brings so much joy and enrichment to your life?

. . . even if it is gonna cost you an arm and a leg! :daze:

Oreo Cookie's move went extremely well.

I was just finishing putting his sexy shipping boots on him yesterday morning, when Chris pulled up in the rig. Oreo and I strode right over, he paused at the ramp, snorted, and then just strolled up and on board. Bars were put up, ramp lifted, back doors closed. I fastened him to the cross ties and went out through the front door. Closed it securely, clambered up into the big diesel to ride shotgun and off we went. An easy 90 seconds to load that big horse.

Off loading was just as easy. Three horses in the front paddock celebrated his arrival by galloping along the fence keeping speed with the trailer, whinnying their welcome as we pulled up the long drive. They continued to show off, bucking and snorting, as I backed him down the ramp and into the sunlight. Chris was amazed "He's not even broken a sweat!" he exclaimed.

Oreo looked around his new surroundings with great interest, then I walked him over to the stable. He paused at the door, more concerned with the cobblestone walkway than anything else. He watched me put my feet on it then followed suit by putting one of his feet on it and once he realized it wasn't going to give way in we went. He walked right into his new stall without so much as a hitch.

At that point he reminded me of how a kid might act on his first visit to a Holiday Inn. Jumping on the bed, reading the room service menu, looking for the ice machine. Oreo spotted the hay net full of hay hanging on the wall and immediately set about figuring out how it worked. Then, mouth full, stuck his head out the stall opening to look up and down the hallway. The stable hand quickly set about filling his water buckets and he was in heaven. Room service, meals hanging from the walls, housekeeping, his own room piled a foot thick on the floor with fresh clean shavings - who wouldn't be thrilled?

I set about hanging his blankets on the blanket racks on his door, putting saddle and bridle away in our designated space in the tack room, along will the rest of his millions of things. Never such a contented horse have I ever seen. He was home and he knew it.

Tonight in the dark as I walked the dogs, a rain started to fall. I'll sleep well knowing Oreo is dry and comfortable, away from the harsh elements. As it should be.

I love reading your descriptions. You make a person feel as if they are right there watching the whole thing.

Loved the bit about Oreo checking out his Holiday Inn room! What a lucky dog! Oops, I mean horse ;)

Oreo Cookie Starts From Scratch
 

Well, Chris watched me lunge Oreo for a few minutes and then lunged him himself. He pointed out a couple of things I already knew, but had only a basic feel of how to fix.

The horse is nappy. In pigeons it's called a 'homing instinct'. In couch potatoes it's called a 'homebody' and in Victoria it's called 'homegirl'. Ha ha - just poking some fun at a gentle reader. :)

It's a desire to return to the stall when there is still work to do. So on the lunge, he leans towards the outside of the circle when he gets near the exit and leans to the inside of the circle when he is on the far side from the exit. This makes for egg-shapped "circles" instead of round circles. Not acceptable.

Chris fixed it. Or at least set Oreo on the path for a permanent fix. It was extraordinary to watch. He moved Oreo and himself, still lungeing in the egg shape circle, over to the far wall. And on the next round, he loosened up on the lunge line and let Oreo run into the far wall with his back to the exit - where naturally Oreo stopped - puzzled. He then let Oreo make a decision. Turn left and continue working with Chris on the lunge circle. Or turn right and veer back toward the exit. One advantage Chris had was he still had a hold of the horse's head by the lunge line. One advantage Oreo had was that he weighs about 1200 pounds.

Oreo turned his head to go to the right. This was the incorrect decision and Chris instantly cracked the whip towards Oreo's haunches. (Cracking whips never touch horses just in case the reader is nervous.) The horse startled, and then rushed to the left. "Good boy" said Chris. "That was the correct decision". On the next round Chris allowed the lunge to go loose at the wall again to allow the horse to make his own decision, and the horse again did not continue left but stopped at the wall. Paused, then tried to turn right again. Another crack on the whip. Wrong decision.

On the third round, the horse paused, then made the correct decision and turned left. "Good boy." Another couple of rounds where the horse continued to make the correct decision with less and less hesitation each time, and then we stopped and Oreo was given 3 cubes of sugar and a bit of a rest.

This approach to horse training absolutely facinates me. Unlike dog training where we overpower the animal (in most cases) and are able to "show" the dog physically, what is expected, we are unable to do that with horses (and dolphins for that matter). Therefore we must set up the conditions to elicit a voluntary response from the animal and then reward him. We must give the animal the opportunity to make a decision with VERY definite consequences associated with each. A horse will always take the path of least resistance - and avoid things that make him uncomfortable. That is the key to training.

When Oreo turned right - he was threatened with a crack of the whip. When Oreo turned left, he was met with no threat and in fact was allowed to stop work and eat sugar.

My homework (and Chris expects me to be there EVERY DAY) is to start back at zero and start Oreo on the ground walking with me and learning the "go" and "stop" features that are oh so very important when riding extremely large animals.

It occurred to me that my workplace is only 10 minutes from where Oreo is currently living. Guess what my lunch hours will be all about this week?

Oh yes, and I have to call the vet. Chris thinks Oreo's teeth need floating. Unlike when low-carber's teeth are floating, Oreo's situation will involve filing the points of his teeth down so he can chew better.

November 29 2002
 

Well it has been a month that Oreo has been in intensive training. The advances have been very pleasing.

All the work I have done with him this month has been in hand. We started back at the beginning and have now reached a point where he is longeing in a fairly respectable manner and is able to handle some additional challenges.

Like most horses, he is excellent on the left rein. He takes up the contact and maintains a solid contact. We began by getting him to slow his pace at the trot, maintain the contact, maintain a reasonable circle and begin his turns a bit earlier on the nappy corners. I worked on this in both directions. When on the left rein in a stop he stays on the circle and doesn't turn in or out. I am able to reverse direction in the normal way by turning him into the circle.

On the right rein, he is also like most horses. He tends to drop the contact, not as willing to take the contact in the beginning of the session and will stop front quarters inward of the circle. To change direction I must take him out of the circle and reverse him so that I don't perpetuate this problem. Chris says I will have the same issues with him when I start working him under saddle.

At slow speeds I had corrected these issues.

I am now looking for a more forward movement, a bit more energetic and therefore have temporarily set back in some of the other factors. The perfect bends on the circle will need to be regained.

The issues to work on now are:

• 
  Maintaining the same speed and impulsion at the trot.
  
  Fixing my position by anchoring my foot and asking the horse for a perfect circle and a perfect bend within that circle for the full circle. Make sure I'm the one dictating the circle - not him.
  
  When asking for a halt, ensure that the halt is not too "cow pony" as in a skidding stop, but rather a controlled downward transition. If he doesn't deliver, then push him on again and ask for the stop, and again push and ask for the stop. Continue until I get a few walking steps after the downward transition and before the halt.
  
  I must be on the centre line of the arena so that the horse does not come closer to any long side or short side of the arena.
  
  Continue to quietly insist on contact while on the right rein. When he falls in, push him out; when he naps ensure that I am asking for the bend and turn early enough to interrupt this and get a smooth turn. Further, ensure that as we begin, that he takes the contact from me, I don't just feed out longeline. His "reward" for taking the contact will be additional longe line, as smaller circles are more uncomfortable for the horse.

Each session involves some work with the side reins on now. Fastened at normal standing "uneducated" position. I am longeing up to 30 minutes a day.

Last night I saw some inclination on his part to reach out and down for the bit, I am very pleased about this. This horse will be very good about taking up the contact, as he is learning that the only way he can "feel" my instructions is if there is an amount of tension on the longe line between us. If there is slack on the lines, neither one of us can "tell" what the other is doing or about to do. He is also starting to enjoy his work.

His teeth did need floating, and in fact the vet pulled one out - a baby tooth in front that was not letting an adult tooth come in properly. I will have to watch his mouth for a year or so. He has teeth coming in that have not yet broken the surface and the vet may have to cut the gums to allow them through. I am using a curved snaffle on him and he seems to be ok with it, so I'm going to buy one - (I'm using one of Chris' at the moment). This is the second vet to tell me we don't have to worry about his wolf teeth.

The other day Chris paid me 2 compliments - one was on the turn out of my horse. I expect that when I take my horse in front of any instructor I respect, my horse and my tack should be polished and properly presented. Secondly he said that if Oreo continued on this rate of improvement and learning, that I'd have a Grand Prix horse by spring. I know - an exaggeration most likely, but this is not a man to throw compliments out easily.

Oreo is the most popular horse at the barn, he is personable and nobody EVER sees dressage horses with COLOUR :)

Hey LC,

Wow! You and Oreo have been working really hard. But I must say you are beginning to sound like a new mother--all talk of how special and different your child is! I am afraid to ask if you are now carrying photos in your wallet as well! :D

Okay, so I am just pulling your leg. It must be so gratifying to have all the hard work slowly come together so that you are both working as a team. He sounds like a great horse/kid ;)

Also wanted to tell you that our photo at Murchies turned out really well. Did you get yours developed?

Take care 'til next time,
Bobbie

Hi Bobbie - yes I got the photos developed - you are stunning I am completely unphotogenic :( Thanks for stopping by!

I am so busy, training every day with Oreo - sometimes with 2 horses if I'm riding a schoolmaster. I hardly have time to get here and jot down the occasional revelation. I do keep a written journal of my day to day training, worming, vet, farrier, experiences. Plus I go to the gym almost every lunch hour. It's Saturday at 6:15 a.m. and I'm rushing this because I have a "date" with the neighbours to do a 9k hike at 7:00 a.m., then off to the tack shop, then to the stable, then to the gym, *pant* *pant*. The good thing is that my size 10 jeans are now TOO big for me without a belt to keep them up!!! I'm losing inches :)

Anyway, Oreo is doing great. We have re-introduced the side reins and he continues to be brilliant on the left rein and steadily makes small improvements on the right rein. He doesn't take the contact as willingly and firmly going to the right as he does to the left and I am working on that. His pace is good, he is using more implusion without being frantic. I am working on getting the proper power-speed ratio going to increase this impulsion and balance and roundness.

He is less nappy and more focussed on me and not what's going on around him. I can see him using his back and starting to relax on the left rein in side reins. Last night at the very end, I saw minimal signs of that same relaxation on the right rein. I am working to build up his topline neck muscles as he is going to need them.

Our next big milestone is me riding him. Not sure when that will happen, but the harder I work now, the faster it will come.

He loves routine and he's gotten so that when it's time to remove the bridle, he lowers his head and places his forehead against my belt buckle allowing me to lift the head band over his ears. Then I wait and he drops the bit and moves back. He doesn't like the metal clanking on his teeth and so it's grand that we've worked this out together. Then he gets a piece of sugar.

The horse in the next stall, (Mario) is able to reach the light switch for Oreo's stall. Last night Mario turned out the light 3 times on us while I was trying to tack up.

Originally posted by LC Sponge:



Thanks for the laugh!

Sorta OT for my Passage diary, but at the gym today after a 40 minute cardio on the 'mill, I sat on the floor with one leg straight and the other leg bent, with my left foot over my right thigh, lifting my lower leg paralell to the ground using my forearms. I was only wearing a workout bra and tights.

I looked at myself in the mirror and just about freaked. My upper body development is incredible. My shoulders, chest and biceps were just huge. Maybe it was the cardio pump, I just don't know. I lift 3-4 times a week, and I'm currently using a combination of free weights and hydraulics - I swear by the hydraulics - they let you work in one pound increments and you can increase/decrease weight without stopping.

Anyway whatever, it's helping my riding and working with horses. It won't hurt how I look in a bathing suit come next year either :)

I've heard it said that to be truly healthy and fit, is to be completely unaware of your body. That's how I feel when I work Oreo or ride a schoolmaster- I don't notice a thing about my body. No fatigue, no tension, no soreness. Lets me focus completely on the task at hand.

Oreo and I are almost ready to ride together. He's going so round and nice on the longe (particularly on the left rein - where he is actually lowering his head in response to me tightening my hand on the longe), he's so responsive and delightful to work with. I am simply tickled with him. I can see a truly great dressage horse in him and how he moves in the side reins. He rounds and uses his back, he has great forward movement and is finding his balance more and more every day. He enjoys working with me and is starting to show great concentration - frothing at the mouth as he works is one sign and the constant ear twitching listening for my comands and praise is another.

I longe him at one end of the arena, then as he approaches the long side, I will run with him to the opposite end of the arena as he extends his trot in hand - he has a working trot that most standardbreds would be envious of. Once there we take up the circle again. He is absolutely beautiful - poetry in motion - and he's only just starting!

What an amazing animal he is. I will be taking this horse as high as he can go. I just hope I can keep up with the enormous talent he so obviously has. I thought I found a nice horse, but I think I found a winner.