Lately, when I stress about Tillie (and non) related things I seem to have a habit of seeking out a dressage lesson with C. Sometimes it was unconscious other times it was not...but it seems to do the trick and get me and Tillie both relaxing. Who knew that by me being able to relax ends up producing a horse that is lovely and willing.
Tillie relaxing into a bigger trot in yesterday's lesson
I managed to convince C to fit me and thankfully she had some room...so off we went. Tillie wasnt nearly as back sore as she was the few days around Christmas so that put me at ease a bit. But Silly mare still can not stand up in my trailer around turns. She ripped part of the outer layer of her BOT mesh sheet from slamming her shoulders side to side :(
It is really quite a miracle she loads because it looks unpleasant....
At least it isnt affecting getting to work on a more uphill trot!
Tille started off a bit ticked off initially, but C encouraged me to relax and let her slowly warm up not just get on and go. She stayed fairly inconsistent in the bridle in my opinion, BUT I am attributing some of that to the fact that dressaging on our own hasnt been happening much outside of one or two rides between jump lessons and my last dressage lesson.
She was especially fussy with the left side and C suggested possibly mouth sore...and to check my pelham. I am in need of a slightly larger size for it so could be causing some issue there for sure...at least i hope that is all it is. Fortunately, I feel OK with the double reins enough to only use it for jumping her for now.
Fancy schmancy!
Here is where we started warming up...notice in the remaining videos I post that she consistently inverts or fusses tracking left towards this side of the ring which is closer to the trailer and other horses so not sure if that is related or not or if it is just C's mouth theory.
Warm up tracking right...shes always a bit more consistent and easier to ride to the right:
C had us start keeping the rhythm around the larger ring and try some leg yielding to get her a bit softer and trying to get her more comfortable relaxing when moving her around.
We started to get to the meat of the lesson and talking about getting her sitting more on her hind end since I expressed my concern about this with Tillie and with jumping. C gave us a great exercise that i can also do at home:
When we opened up to more trot it was shockingly hard for Tillie to trust her balance going forward, but once she did I felt like her trot looked quite nice!
By this point, Tillie felt really nice, but watching back videos notice she is inconsistent a bit in contact...but I am not terribly concerned with that nearly as much as I am about the tracking left, twisting and bobbing head thing. The bend was there so that is improving, but this head thing kills me.
C says its my left arm being really tense and not moving...and while it could be, I cant imagine why now? LOL and logically I know horses evolve and change and of course it can happen. I just dont want to get down this slippery slope and rein lameness which I have seen happen. I REALLY need to figure out what it is i am doing that causes this. Even when I concentrate on it, it doesnt seem to "feel" different.
*Le sigh*
At this point we ran out of time to canter, so C invited me to stay in the ring and continue practicing. My student who was filming managed to snap some of this too...
Well, there is my dressage lesson recap. Hope you all have a happy new year!
In my last post, I brought up some health concerns regarding Tillie that may or may not be as big a deal as I am making them out to be in my head (ok probably most definitely not). I finally caved and texted my vet who likes to call me the worry warrior because without fail I worry about everything and anything even when its fairly normal. I realize this makes me a bit neurotic...
To bring a few to light:
Almost every Sunday after trailering to my jump lesson saturday, she goes off her grain. I can go haul to a dressage lesson and she eats just fine though (I will admit though she is a lot less looky at the dressage barn then the jump lesson barn).
She has gotten progressively more aggravated brushing or tacking up...especially girthy.
She has been so incredibly back sore she buckled so low Christmas even I thought I might cry
She yawns a lot...like abnormally a lot.
Maybe if I dont look at her she wont notice I am here...
#1 and #2 most definitely sound like ulcers to me but its just a bit abnormal, in my experience, for a horse to go off grain for one specific day and not consistently on and off when they have them. She used to always be a good eater and would eat pills out of her grain no problem, but now any small change as of late she takes a bite and wont touch it all. She will eat her hay, treats etc eagerly though...
So my initial attempt to treat the ulcers with Abler's pop rocks isnt working with her now being so picky. So plan B...I ordered their Stable Pack tubes in the hopes that will do the trick.
#3 is still up in the air on causes...so next steps on remedying it will have to happen as I check things off the list...below is what possible causes could be:
Harder work schedule/jumping more so is sore in that those muscles are working harder right now
New bit is making her way of going a bit different using new muscles
Saddle Fit
Ulcers (recently did some reading that ulcers can cause backs soreness)
I think its possible all of those things could be attributing to it, but I am hoping its the Ulcers...Ill be interested to see if it changes anything after treatment. Ill also be having the chiro/accupuncturist out next month so hopefully shell be able to provide more insight as well.
Doesnt Tillie just look so amused
#4 Is an odd one...I felt a bit moronic texting my vet asking him about a horse yawning a lot but I really do notice it quite a lot. Its always after we ride without fail, but sometimes I see her do it in the field, after eating or just hanging out in her stall. I have a never ending collection of yawns from Tillie because of just how often she does it.
Just hanging out in her stall
My vet's initial response is not to worry...but lets not forget I am the worry warrior. So in true worry wart fashion, I start researching why horses might yawn and those findings seem to be debatable and nothing really set in stone and that, like us, horses can yawn for various reasons:
Some believe horse yawn with abdominal discomfort or when colicking (makes sense if she has ulcers...)
To release tension (when done after riding or a chiro/massage treatment)
Stretching their jaw after the bit comes out or if they tense their jaw when riding
not a yawn, but stretching after chiro and just adorable.
Of course I cant help myself and continue reading more and more as there seems to be no shortage on the theories of why horses yawn....
another source says horses yawn when they are stressed as a calming effect to release endorphins and then associate that nice feeling so do it when they arent...Thats super helpful right?
Drowsiness or rather they will when starting to wake up from snoozing
To catch their breath if they have been holding their breath or not getting enough air intake
After something pleasant happens (lol way to contradict everything else I have read right?!)
Yawn when their state or arousal changes pleasant or unpleasant...after being stressed or frightened or after something they enjoyed (again super helpful....)
Last and most frighteningly least, yawning can be a sign of neurological issues which is caused from a liver disease
Some articles adamantly insist is it stress and pain related while others insist it isnt and its simply a change in arousal (waking up) and drowsiness and some say all of the above.
**head desk**
I must walk away from google now...
My vet did question her ability to sleep and if her environment allowed for that. I truly think she can sleep just fine since many times in late afternoons Ill get pictures from barn mates like this:
So, in short, I have no idea why Tillie yawns. I may be turning this into a mountain when its a molehill...but in the meantime Ill try my best NOT to worry. Silly worry warrior just doesnt want to lay down and leave me alone!
Its hard to remember the fact that my first jump lesson with Tillie was less then a year ago. It was in an indoor when we could only ride 1-2x a week with the frozen ground...I also have to remember that, in the not so distant past, most rides where more "exciting" then not, even when we only flatted. They were riddled with a rushing and non-rhythmic trot, exuberance in the canter and just general over the top sass. The trot rhythm and tempo being the hardest thing for us.
Still trying out this double rein thing.
I say this to remind myself because I often get stuck in where we are now and feel defeated that progress isn't happening - at least not fast enough in my mind. While I am feeling a bit less excited at the moment in both Tillie's progress and my own, I must admit that being here in the land of boring is O.K.
Sure, we are not uphill enough yet...our canter isnt balanced all the time...she jumps too flat and from the shoulder, BUT at least at this point, we are doing these things with much less attitude and more understanding of our job and what is expected.
The only sass moment from our lesson...so things are 100% boring ;)
For Tillie, trying to get her to chill the fuck out and be boring has seemed to be my number one objective all along. It has caused me to ride very defensively and Tillie to get angry which starts a viscous cycle. I watch some of my videos and tear us both to shreds and hone in on every last bit of feedback we get to the point of agonizing over it. NOT GOOD and it really isnt helping me by doing this.
What I am currently agonizing over, yet again, is her jumping form over fences and her general way of going which has the tendency to be downhill. We had our weekly jump lesson with P and she remarked how quiet Tillie looked, but she was still jumping too flat and not really pushing like she should be.
Found this gem from last winter...yes its a bit over exaggerated and Tillie taking the long spot, but its a good example of the jumping flat and not round.
Instantly I get myself all worked up because who wants to have a horse that cant jump? I mean she jumps and is super willing (sometimes way too eager) but as an eventer you want a horse that jumps well and safely for both of your sake. Ill give her credit, she is athletic enough that shes gotten by at this point and clears fences fairly easily but we are only jumping max 2'11 right now...most days closer to 2'6 or 2'7. My fear is that there will come a point this poor form will make or break whether or not shes can do this.
Leave it to me to take a perfectly fine lesson or ride and freak out...things calm down, get boring and I get all edgy and jumpy from the residual PTSD I have from the first year of owning this horse when I constantly had to look over my shoulder for a phone call she was injured yet again.
I do not like drama yet I seem to create it for myself.
The moment you forget to finish a portion of the exercise
There will always be something for us to work on. Horses and training are never ending, but I have this awful way of taking what that next thing we need to work on is and turning it into my this anxious worry that my horse wont be my partner in crime.
I want to reach my top goals on her. The far out ones like getting to a 1* and I would love for her to be a horse people see and go, man what a nice horse that is. I know the latter of that statement is me looking for validation...but I do still feel as though Tillie doesnt really get noticed when we go places and it makes me feel like maybe she isnt something special.
My weird tense riding at its finest.
I know that is my downfall and its something I should make a goal every month for the rest of the year to work on.
It doesnt help that I recently noticed a few things that are causing some concern (which seems to just make me that much more edgy and prone to being over anxious on all other things Tillie related).
Tillie has intermittently been off her grain. She always will eat her hay in her stall eagerly..but she has never been a picky eater or one to do this.
She is incredibly back sore. I feel like such a bad mom for not noticing because she hasnt been...back sore to the point I just lightly touch her and she buckles and dips so hard I worry she might fall over
Horse cant balance and stand in the freaking trailer
Tillie still seems eager to work and quiet.
I attribute #1 to the increased amount of work and more frequent hauling...I already started her on ulcer treatment BUT with her not eating her food that has it in it doesnt really do anything. I unfortunately think I need to invest in some of the paste which is like 2x more expensive.
#2 I have no idea yet what the cause is but talking with Emma shes talking me off the ledge and we are sort of leaning towards the fact shes been in much more aggressive work and jumping the most frequently she ever has. So basically like us when we start using new muscles get sore. I want to believe this to be the case with her still going so well and jumping so quietly. I fear it may be saddle fit issue, the new pelham bit or, worse yet, the hind end lameness I delt with last year possibly coming back to haunt me and its showing up here first. I have not decided my next course of action yet for this...I think I need to calm the fuck down before making any decisions or spending money of a vet if its isnt needed.
3 I will elaborate more on below...
When your horse canters over fences rather then jumps.
So back to our lesson Saturday, I had to haul us there with Emma being back in business on Izzy! Woo!! But Tillie HATES my trailer and cant stand up to save her life around turns...In another friends that is wider it isnt an issue at all. In Emmas she would mostly for slower turns after being stopped or really slow. BUT for some reason in my little straight load is the worst and you can see her shoulders flying all around, her head goes flying side to side and it just generally looks unpleasant. I have no idea why she still even loads because I KNOW how much she hates not being balanced. I have started using shipping boots for fear shes going to slice herself open in her scrambling.
I have no idea how to remedy this other then keep hauling and hope she figures it out.
Bitch please, Im fabulous
Other then that we tacked up with a lot of her looking around and just disregarding my space (a few good checks on that she was fine) and hacked up to the ring like a pro. I am so pleased with how well shes gotten this part down since the first few times she was so jumpy and jigging the entire way up there.
This was my first attempt to jump in double reins. It is really apparent I need a curb rein and my current one is way too bulky/uncomfortable, but it was good enough to attempt and P commented that this bit has really seemed to mature Tillie. She know seems to understand her job and despite occasional sass its usually when shes calling me out on something I screwed up.
Tillie went through every exercise like it was no big deal...watching back the videos from this lesson though it is really apparent just how flat and low she is jumping AND just in general my lack of equitating even on the flat. WTF?! Just a few lessons ago I felt like it was better and now my heel is up and my back is hunches and my shoulders are so tense I look like a tool.
All in all the lesson was long!! a good 2 hours at least with a lot of standing around and catching up which was wonderful...it was a solidly boring ride from Tillie made not boring from all of my woes.
so anyway here is the video mash up of some clips a student of mine capture (sorry for the poor quality, Emma and I are definitely going to put her in videoing boot camp!)
I am a bit late in posting, but I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and happy holidays!
I was in a flurry of prepping and cooking so havent been able to post as much...
Presents all wrapped!
I went all our as usual cooking since I come from a big polish family so Christmas eve dinner is a kind of a big deal.
About 3/4 through the cheese in this picture...soooo much cheese!
cheese sauce for mac n cheese and gouda bacon mashed potatoes
Hand making the perogies
So back on to horsey things...
I did manage to sneak in a ride Christmas eve and boy was it wet out and muggy. I was really hoping to be able to hack out or do a trail ride but the non-stop rain we have had prevented us from going. I didnt want to take my horse out in slippery treacherous footing when she freaks out when she slips anyway.
Poor Tillie got herself all out of break walking up the hill out of the pasture. She was sweating before I even got on. It sorta freaked me out and I kept asking people if there horses were doing the same thing. I contemplated not even getting on, but some barn mates encouraged me to just see how things went.
Tillies favorite thing about this day, her little window.
I get on and she instantly feels tight through her back and body. Being my second ride in on the double reins, I still tried to keep the curb looser and encourage more stretch, BUT I guess with all the rain and standing around, she was a bit eager so my warm up plans of stretching had to evolve a bit.
Still looks like a lot of reins to me!
I focused on just getting her moving, not quickly, but moving to settle in. She was a bit bracey especially to the left but settled in ok. Once I asked for canter though she was just not having any parts of being supple. When I would close my leg to ask, out came the old Tillie I know and love complete with the head tossing and shoulder throwing hissy fit.
WHAT?! Me...? Never!
I worked her through these episodes just to make a point but also chose to listen a bit and stick to trot work and not push it too much with how hot it was. Who would have thought it was possible to SPONGE a horse off in DECEMBER in MD!?
Upon dismounting, my anxieties were in high alert once again when Tillie's back muscles were fully going into spasms. I never have seen that before and in my mind was flipping out going through all the things it could be from tying up to some weird muscle disorder...rather then the more logical thought of oh hey shes just sore. **roll eyes**
I also have to remember shes a bit of a diva, so her reaction to the back soreness may also be REALLY not stoic and a bit more then normal. It didnt help when I put absorbine gel on it, she herself hated the sensation of it and tried to lay down and roll it off.
I did my best to listen to Emma and miseventer who were there and go with the fact shes been in harder work lately and its no different then when we are a bit sore.
My last post was just a bit silly and just to have something posted since I didnt get to ride Monday (yesterday). But I will try my best to ride tonight despite the rain...yes more rain. At least its pretty warm out so it shouldnt be too miserable.
But in the meantime, I need to be better about setting shorter term goals so I will try to set monthly goals for myself. So here is for the remainder of December:
Learn how to ride in double reins in the pelham
Ride at least 4x per week despite work being nutty this month
Convince Emma to show me how teach me and Tillie to self load
Improve auto/crest release
Get Tillie more maneuverable in canter
Ill happily take any suggestions from any followers!!!
Despite the poor weather forecast, the rain subsided to allow for a cloudy, yet warm evening. I chose to put off some freelance work a bit longer and go put in a ride I have been putting off...trying the double reins on the pelham.
The pelham has been a bit we have been using over fences as of late in P lessons on Saturdays...it really has helped to get that rebalancing half halt even with the bit converters. P has recommended playing with the double reins to really get the full action of the bit so we can try it XC weather permitting once I feel ready.
Note Tillie's excitement.
Now, fellow blooger and barn mate Emma, has been an awesome cheerleader and reassuring it would not be as bad as I was making it out to be. So I planned a night I knew she would be there for moral support.
I do not have flat curb reins yet in order to make sure this bit really is going to stick around...so I used some old dressage reins which are in desperate need of a cleaning and very stiff. The snaffle reins I stuck with what I was familiar with - my thinline reins.
Warming up a bit...pretty sure I am laughing at myself at this point.
We head down to the ring and Emma did a brief overview of different ways to hold the reins and gave some pointers...thank goodness because I got on, looked down and thought: "Oh my god, that is a lot of leather"
Trying to figure out the feel between the snaffle and curb was a bit odd, let alone trying to shorten one or the other independently. I guess that will come with time, practice and technique. Other then that, it wasnt all that strange to have both sets once we started walking around.
I think she looks quite grown up and like a real dressage horse!
Tillie instantly felt really supple and easy to maneuver...Not sure if it was the bit or not, though I am hoping I wasn't using the curb rein action yet. So we moved up into trot and she again was super responsive despite the flurry of activity around us (There was a lesson and a few lease riders in the ring). Clearly, Tillie is more agreeable in the warmer weather.
I played a little at this point shortening and lengthening the reins trying not to catch her too much with the curb. Once I felt it was as good as it was going to get for the evening there, I warmed up into canter. Her canter depart has felt a bit sticky as of late...I partially think its my cue timing issue and her missing my cue. I also feel like her canter isnt strong at all (or I am finally realizing/able to feel it) and she really isnt sitting. She gets by on being naturally balanced to a degree, but its definitely something I need to work on in coming rides.
Hey there uphill trot...where have you been all year!?
Besides that, her canter felt really easy to navigate and keep inside bend unlike usual. So yay for a win there! I tried really hard in canter and trot to have soft elbows to open and close...but rewatching some of these videos I realize it still isnt enough.
Despite that, she seemed pretty darn consistent. I was having way too much fun and almost called it a day when Emma suggested trying some ground poles both at the trot and canter. By this point the double reins werent too noticeable, but I did frequently try to check where the tension was and be sure it was off the snaffle so I only had tension on the curb IF needed. It came in handy with the poles...
The trot I fully expected her to build which is a tendency of hers through poles...often times leaving in canter. Not sure if she knew I had the pelham on or if I was accidentally using the curb but as you can see in the video below, she held it together and looked like she knew what was up.
So to make things interesting we tried in canter. She got a bit forward the first attempt on each lead and the first try on left lead she did a flying over the last pole to land on the incorrect, right lead...I figure that was a weight placement issue on my end because the next time through she handled it beautifully.
At this point I was having so much fun I sort of just threw in a mixed bag of sitting trot/changing rein then posting trot across the diagonal to see how well she would handle "building" but coming back. At one point in the video you can see how smart she is and catches on, tries to go ahead a build across the diagonal without me asking to which I quickly shut down and asked for a smaller trot instead.
Love how canter poles create the front end lift for me!
What was so wonderful about this ride was Tillie had so much try and willingness it was almost freaky. Any small amount of resistance I got was simply a lack of understanding, strength or just unsure. With some insistence on my part, she quickly would go OK fine.
Left bend still REALLY gives me a hard time to get her straight, without twisting her poll, just bending the neck or her losing the right side. I do believe it stems from my crookedness because as soon as i concentrate on evening my seat bones and watch my twisting it seems to remedy itself.
YAWN! Worked sooooo hard.
It is uncharacteristically warm - which I am NOT complaining about, but it did mean having a super sweaty Tillie by the end of our ride...so I got to blow dry her for the first time using our electrogroom! Tillie has been vacuumed with it before, so was a bit shocked at first at the different sensation and was a perfect lady standing for it...just was very expressive in her faces to tell us how she felt. She was so extremely cuddly too it was hard to resist.
So cuddly after the ride with Auntie Meri (Miseventer)
So there is my recap on my night of a few firsts....here is some footage of our ride towards the end:
Sunday was quite stressful for me and I wont bore with the details...but it was filled with a lot of good things too. I am choosing to focus on the positives :)
I FINALLY got my truck back from being fixed! YAY!! After months of it sitting because I was going off of a dealership quote that was ridiculously high, I finally found a trustworthy mechanic through word of mouth that was able to do it at half the cost. I am so beyond happy to have it back I almost cried.
Nighttime photo...hard to see :(
So some other stressful things happened and when things started settle, I decided to squeeze in a dressage lesson with C to de-stress since her lessons always have a knack for soothing any anxieties (riding and non riding). Lucky for me she had an opening!
Tillie knew what was up when the BOT blanket came out and was not entirely thrilled... maybe if I dont look at her she cant see me?
In my excitement to add some positives to my day, I got the barn a bit early and gave Tillie a spa day complete with trimming her mane and brushing out her tail. She LOVED her tail being brushed and was literally following me with her butt so I could scratch it.
I got done a little early so decided to go help with the first dragging of our NEW footing! This stuff is so cool...it has rubber in it and Im told riding on it is so elastic and wonderful! This is our smaller "dressage" ring and our larger ring is supposed to also get some as well.
New footing!! EEK!!
Once that was done, it was time to load up. This is the first time I hooked up my truck to my trailer...The wiring was all recently redone on the trailer and I was disappointed at first to find the lights not 100%. BUT with some cleaning, they all worked!! YAY! I also noticed I need a bit more of a drop hitch to get my trailer sitting more level. But it was good enough to get us the short ride to C.
Tillie was a bit skeptical to load on this trailer as its a bit narrower then the others we have been in lately. She just sort of hesitated once on the ramp, sniffed around to make sure all was fine and then loaded on. I really need to make a point to teach her to self load...she close, but not quite there yet.
You can see how not level my trailer is here.
Once there, Tillie was a cool calm customer. I think shes starting to get this all down and taking it in stride. C had to go turn out and bring horses in so we had 15 minutes to play in the indoor on our own and I really wish I had gotten a photo...but I had left my phone in the truck knowing I was by myself for this lesson and didnt have my trusty friends this time to get video.
As soon as I picked up rein contact she started trying to root. She tends to go in phases with this it seems...she'll try to do it to evade, realize it doesnt work and it will go away for a while, but it always surfaces again. It irritates me to no end because she'll do it especially when I allow for the free walk or try for stretchy trot which Ill touch on a bit later in this post.
Tillie says its all good as long as I have hay
So after some additional warm up when C returned, we touched on me trying to open and close my elbows more in trot since Tillie now is consistent enough in the bridle, I have to work on being more quiet with my arms and not lock my elbows. It felt a bit ridiculous, but C had me look in the mirror and it was totally normal. LOL funny how that works.
Her right lead canter was on point, left lead she felt a bit down hill and falling in a bit. C wasnt too concerned and decided to have us try running through a few training level tests for an upcoming dressage show in Jan. we would like to attend.
We talked about the differences of test riding - corners vs circles and since Tillie does corners so well, to show them off when not riding the circle portions.
So then went through 2 different ones to see which worked better for us. We went through USDF Training level test 2 first and it worked quite well for us. There is a lot going on in this test, but C liked it because there was a lot of time to allow for preparation for each movement. I liked it because there were a lot of circles, changing rein etc which means I can ride Tillie more forward and start showing off her trot and canter without her building too much.
The stretchy trot and free walk each time she tried rooting which C gave me tips to correct, but said not to over stress it since she thinks its her learning to likes opening her throat latch, albeit rude...yes correct it but by pushing forward not using rein.
C was so excited about her right lead canter and remarked "it is on fire today!" haha. Left lead wasnt as sharp but definitely started feeling better and more balanced by the end of this test.
So then we moved on to try USDF Training level test 1 which C was concerned would invite Tillie to build with the canter being somewhat on a straight line and the transitions happening right in front of the judge.
Shockingly, she did the test quite well and by riding into the corners helped half halt her quite well. We both agree though, test 2 would be the better choice and we would try test 3 next lesson before we go.
All done! Isnt she just the cutest!
I ended up staying for a bit after to watch C ride her new 3 almost 4 yr old baby and it was lovely!
Unfortunately, the weather isnt looking too promising this week, so not sure how many new updates Ill have :(
