This past Saturday was the first day Tillie was allowed back into work after her injections. I fully expected there to be some interesting moments...so much so that I even lunged her lightly to let her sort out some wiggles.
Extremely fit horse + 4 days off of work = pshyco mare
Except this is the horse I got
Ok she did let some sass out on the lunge. But when I hopped on her, there was no tension, no jigging or bracing...not even the usual goading me into argue with her when shes been out of consistent work.
She showed up ready to work and was shockingly good...so bipolar in a good way.
Such a hard life
I was so freaked out about how good she was, I even took her temp a few times...all was normal! Poor Tillie. I do not give her enough credit, but seriously up until this, if I even gave her a day off I would be riding a very opinionated horse the next day.
Tillie isn't sure what the fuss is about
Her canter felt AMAZING. We were in the smaller ring, so she naturally tends to balance herself better in this one...and tends to stay straighter and better about not throwing her shoulders around. She was slightly down with her left shoulder when we tracked left, but that was also her more positive hock, and the side she is more downhill on.
Sleepy mare...and looking very tiny in this picture
It didn't take too much to get her to lift that inside shoulder when in the past, it would sometimes be an open door for bolting, head flicking or any number of her antics. She felt really nice and balanced, even willing to sit and engage.
Donkey Ears
Now, I don't think the injections work THAT fast. I have been told they can take anywhere between 10 days to 1 month before feeling the effects. So I am not really sure why the drastic change.
Her canter has been what we are trying to improve the most lately...and she certainly has given me nice moments, but an not usually an entire 2-3 circles.
At any rate, I am excited to get back into our lesson routine and prepare for our dressage debut next weekend. Here's hoping Tillie stays on this end of the spectrum!
Where do I even begin? I feel like this season, compared to previous ones, was so jam packed with events and things that it makes my head spin...and probably why I sort of called it a season slightly early.
I am a bit disappointed I will not be doing any more events, but with the hard ground lately and my feelings of my own riding...I decided that digging into lessons and really smoothing out the wrinkles is what we need to focus on right now.
This time last year, we still had this happening frequently in every ride
Its incredible to think back to this time last year, where we started this year compared to where we are now. Even with that knowledge, its easy to get caught up in the now and think we still stink...which relatively speaking, we still do in many ways lol. There will always be more to work on.
But back to the point: Our show season in review.
March:
We started off with a dressage fix-a-test trying out Novice USEF tests to see if moving up to novice was even feasible. (Full recap here)
Great way to kick off the season!
April:
Next up, I entered in a Dom Schramm clinic (conclusion and recap here) pretty last minute on a whim and boy did it pay off. I truly believe this clinic was the catalyst to our season and the HUGE confidence booster needed.
Then we had our first event of the season at Beginner Novice at Olde Hope where we finished 2nd! (Recap here):
May:
With the success of the BN event, we moved up to our first novice at the middle of May at EEHC horse trials where we got FIRST!! (Full recap here)
Schooling at home right before our show, this is prob the most confident jumping I felt all year
Then at the end of May we did our second Novice at Loch Moy where we got 5th and finished on our dressage score (recap here):
June:
I decided to try out recognized shows at novice then to start prepping for down the road. Since only a handful of Trainings are starter events...and so we wouldn't have to worry about both that and a move up when the time came. I remember the time penalties being a bit of a shock, but a good learning experience. If I recall, we were 4th after dressage, but stadium time penalties bumped us down to 7th (recap here)
July:
We did a training level derby at Fair hill...which I sadly had no media of, but it was a test for the bigger fences. Tillie ate them up and I felt good about it. We went to another starter Novice event at fair hill and it was probably the most confident I have ever felt (recap here)
Later in July we went to our second recognized event...and I just wasn't on my A game. Tillie carried us through dressage despite my errors and forgetfulness, we woke up a bit in stadium only to run out of gas in XC and misread a fence we both took a spill at (recap here)
So we pressed on with encouragement from our trainers, and it really did feel like we bounced back as we prepped for our big move up to Training.
I returned to loch moy and conquered the fence we fell at plus a few more in POURING rain...definitely made for an interesting story. But I decided to do a CT before we gave our move up a go.
August:
We did a Training level CT at loch moy to determine how things felt and boy did Tillie knock it out of the park. Again, jumping her never felt better and our dressage was one of the best feeling tests Ive ever ridden (recap here)
But then I think the fall started to creep in and by the time we got to our first ever training event at our old stomping grounds (a farm we visit almost weekly) and I slightly panicked when walking the course leaving my headspace not where it needed to be (recap here). Funny thing is, the XC portion was the most laid back and easy thing of the entire day...when it was what I was worried about the most:
So I realized at this point, on an off day, we can no longer squeak by...the higher fence height, width and questions in stadium tattled on me...We were consistently jumping this height and here at this farm without ever touching rails so to knock two, and then blow by a jump all together...well rider error sucks.
So I decided to try again this time at waredaca (recap here). Once again, HUGE rider error in that I totally had prepared the wrong test...and it didn't help the test I needed to have prepared I hadn't even seen ridden before...compounded by the fact that they pushed up all our times but neglected to tell me so literally had 5 minutes to warm up and as the rider before me was halting and saluting, I was trying to learn my new test. Once again, stadium was ok with some weird out of sync stuff...but XC Tillie owned it and it wasn't exactly the easiest XC course!
Sure we went around soooo slow accruing a TON of time penalties, but Dom reassured us that is what we need for right now and we would work on adding the speed. Which I am pleased after last weekend, I think we found the ticket to do it.
So we aren't doing any more events this year...I would have liked to, but because we ended so strongly XC the dressage and stadium we can iron out in this off season as well as me getting my crap together and learning how to read omnibus'.
I haven't clipped Tillie the last few years because the last time I did, she turned into a fire breathing dragon. In her defense, she was also 5, just off stall rest...and back on and off some more.
But this year I started noticing her coat got long pretty quickly which meant her sweating when being ridden. Tillie has always been a sweater...she sweats when she gets mentally worked up or is thinking really hard too even if the ride itself isn't physically challenging.
All clipped!
Quite quickly, Tillie has made a turn around and started behaving herself again...but for a little bit there the dreaded fall friskies came out.
Its also been very warm again...so I'm sure its a combination of the warmer front and me riding a lot more.
Looking awfully cute all clipped
I made the leap and clipped...I first did a trace clip hoping it would allow her to dry faster or not get as sweaty. But riding the next day and STILL needing a cooler and having to wait 2 hours for her to dry...I decided to finish the clip out into a full body clip.
I just left a little bit of love
The heart is pretty basic...Ive seen some way cooler clip jobs
So what makes you decide whether or not to clip? If you do, do you do any fun designs?
I am still catching up on blog posts since I have been a bit MIA on here for a while. But basically in our land, we are filling in holes and re-assessing basics.
Going back to basics often is a good thing, but it can often times feel like a step back. I am trying not to allow that feeling to creep in because basics are, after all, the foundation. Without those building blocks everything else will come crashing down at some point.
So we can get killer jump form like this again
My last jump lesson with Dom last week, we kept the jumps low...we tried a new bit and wanted to work on some of my own frustrations and to iron out my own inconsistencies. Like being able to see a distance.
We warmed up over a x-rail - simple enough right? But it was a great way to establish how this new bit felt:
Pretty quickly I felt a difference and Dom and I discussed saving this bit for competing only, or schooling XC. He recommended we keep schooling in our snaffle bit in the hopes she would learn from the gag and carry it over to the loose ring snaffle.
So Dom sent us through a mini course with a line which has been giving us the most trouble lately since she locks on and gets flat through them. Basically not giving me any response to a half halt at all...but she did and it was more or less me needing to work on finding the right canter and then leaving it alone:
It would help if we didn't almost run into someone
Dom sent us through the outside line a few times to feel how riding different approaches to the first jump and how it changes the ride to the second. So here is getting the chip in, which isn't the ride we want but tends to be what I do as a rider when I cant see a distance:
So he reversed the course and had us run through it again this time we found a slightly better rhythm:
Now I need to learn how to keep her forward through the turns with her responding better to the half halt so we can get the better distance. As Dom says "Getting to the base or deep to the fence doesn't always mean by adding a stride, it sometimes means pushing the stride out to get closer"
I recently had a cross country lesson with Dom this past weekend. Overall, I walked away extremely excited but can't deny there were some hard moments that opened my eyes to how hard this sport can be. Dom reassured me that there cant be growth without pushing the limits and that I shouldn't stress about where we struggled and that the good news is, her reaction is very typical of a green horse at the level...I just need to put on my own big girl riding pants and learn how to help her better.
Like this happened...maybe the dap on horseback can be a new in thing?
Upper level riders certainly make riding through those tricky combinations so easy, but what we don't usually see, is all the training it took to get a horse to that point that they can skip through the questions so smoothly. So it was nice to have the reassurance of Dom telling me this is all par for the course and I will start getting better at reacting quicker the more we do them.
I realize I have been incredibly spoiled to not have ever had a stop or run out on this horse. So this lesson where we had not just one, but a few was mostly due to my lack of knowing how to ride it and just not reacting quickly enough. I thought for sure after the first one, it would throw me off a bit more...but I was so excited about the recent bit change that it didn't deter me one bit.
OMG an actual uphill canter
So onto the bit update: I was practicing galloping Tillie last week which resulted in some not so fun moments including Tillie bolting, getting her head low and bucking when I would try to half halt. It isn't the most warm and fuzzy feeling in the world, and this issue with her has been a recurring one.
It also has been nagging at me. With our move up to Training, going faster needs to be able to happen out on XC, without all the fighting. Its been something I have been talking to Dom about and other trainers, which resulted in the conversation about having her vetted in case it was a pain related issue.
Locking on!
After her vet evaluation, we know we would like to try injections, but it is so mild that it this isn't 100% physical and its the dreaded training issue. At least that's good-ish news right?!
So Dom schooled Tillie for me a few weeks back and had some discussions with Tillie about the half halt. It means NOW, not in five strides and not lean more on my hands...when I say balance or rate yourself it means do it now.
So we can avoid jumps like this
After our galloping incident, I had a horsey friend suggest trying a different bit. Not necessarily a harsher one, but one that applies pressure differently than the Pelham since the Pelham tends to promote lower the head when that's the last thing we need.
Most horses raise their heads when they get hot...mine likes to get down. So after some research and asking around, the gag bit was what came up. I did even more research and looked up some videos of Clayton Fredericks using one with his 4* mare Be My Guest. Low and behold the mare tends to gallop a bit like Tillie tries to and this bit allows him to let her gallop like her natural way of going and set her up before fences without needing to fight with her the whole time.
I read a bit more about it here: http://www.horsenation.com/2012/06/07/a-bit-of-advice-gag-bits/
Yea, no more of this....taken this time last year
Dom was kind enough to let me borrow his (which my inner fan girl almost died when he said it was the one he used on Boly - the horse he just got 6th on in the FHI 2*) and left it with me to play with for a few days leading up to our XC lesson.
Right away, as soon as I took a spin around the track and windurra, I knew it was exactly what we needed. Tillie didn't lean on it at all...and when she would try to test it, all she could do was slightly root, but would quickly come back up when she caught herself in the mouth.
I was able to let her gallop and bring her back...for the first time I felt comfortable keeping my leg on.
All smiles even when going really fast
Dom was quite excited about the change too and was pretty impressed with how quickly I could get her back again.
So now onto the actual XC lesson!!!
Dom had us warm up first in the field inside the track. It was a blistery cold, wet and windy day so we knew it would be a good test for the new bit...also since Tillie had a light two days prior (one day off, one day of 20 ish minutes stretching).
He reminded me to use my turns to get good lines to the jumps, look sooner at my jumps and to not mess with our canter....find a rhythm and stay there. So he had us do a figure 8 exercise to sort of establish where we needed to be.
Once we warmed up, we put a few of the jumps together...Tillie just got a bit funny to the one table resulting in my losing one rein, but we got it together to keep going:
And youll see we had our first run out at the skinny...and let me tell you, it surprised me how large it was as I approached it, so wasn't all that surprised Tillie wasn't sure. Especially since we haven't xc schooled in quite a while.
So we circled back to school the Skinny:
Not the prettiest, but we made it happen.
So next we moved on to a ditch and skinny log...which apparently Tillie doesn't care about ditches anymore and just runs through them:
This run out was totally my error...I was too busy chuckling about the ditch to properly present this skinny, also with brush and quite large. Dom gave me a bit of a talkin to on this one saying I needed to sit down in my tack, widen my hands and not allow her a way out.
So we do it again with some flair:
Clearly it still makes her a bit anxious so her response is to speed up. Dom explained that this is a normal thing and her being green to them and having this reaction is pretty standard so we need to keep skinnies in the forefront of our training. Build some small ones at home in the ring - especially with brush and just do them every so often to keep them fresh.
Next we schooled the corner which I did better and keeping her in front of me even with her anxiety with it:
The next portion of the lesson was definitely the hardest xc combo we both have ever seen...and it certainly gave us some trouble, but it was quite the learning experience for us.
First attempt could have gone better if I was more prepared and didn't lean at my jump:
Second attempt I had to really ride and be scrappy to get her through it...which she basically crawled over the second jump - but we got it done and Dom said that it was the kind of ride that needed to happen:
So he had us come through in reverse and I apparently forgot how to ride all together:
But after a good butt kicking from Dom we went through the whole thing one final time, nicely and in a good place:
WHEW! Shockingly I wasn't super nervous about doing these...even after the trouble we had. But looking back at the videos I cant help but think mayyybe I just turned my brain off because I HATE down hill anything and these are awfully steep downhill!
We moved on next to another line of jumps to a skinny combo around to a half coffin to which Dom basically warned me about the run out and told me to not allow it to happen:
We didn't have a run out!!! woo!! But we didn't quite get the right half halt to the second jump so Dom had us do it again:
Basically, I had the right idea, but I rated my canter a bit too much and needed to keep my leg on and find a more even distance there.
Finally we moved on to the water complex:
Apparently Tillie ignores down banks too! Luckily it didn't phase her from remaining being locked onto the jump in the water but Dom sent us out to try again:
Which resulted in her taking a funny leap into the water again...lol so one more time:
We ended after this with Dom saying he is quite pleased with the progression...I expressed some of my own ability frustrations as well as my excitement for the rideability I now have in the gag.
Dom lectured a bit, saying its all learning and there wont always be pretty moments...but as long as we both learn from them is what counts. So here's to progress! Even when it isn't linear!
Sooo much exciting stuff happening on our end over here that I don't even know where to begin or if I can fit it all in one post.
So for now, all I will say is I have a few lesson posts to update you all on where we are under saddle that will be forthcoming...and Ill have time to finally do it with Tillie needing a few days off starting tomorrow.
Just a preview from our XC lesson last saturday
No worries, Tillie is in pretty darn good health according to my vet. Better yet, she is sound and he couldn't be more happy to see how she is moving. After some flexion tests and discussing some various conversations with my trainers recently we touched on injections.
I knew injections would be needed eventually and have started preparing myself, and bank account for when that time would come. I figured by next year, and wasn't all that surprised with the recommendation that she could start this year as well.
Those hocks get a lot of use
I have had the injection conversation with all of my trainers at this point...and they all agreed that if my bank account was up for it, maybe now wouldn't be such a bad time to give them a try.
I have touched on some recent frustrations with being able to half halt my horse when it comes to jumping. It has improved a lot, but two of my trainers suggested I have her SI, stifles and hocks examined since her answer always seems to be unload the hind end and lean on my hands down...rule out pain and all that first right?
Like this example from sometime earlier this season
So answers have been found and after some deliberation, Ill be having Tillie's hocks done tomorrow. I am fortunate I have two vets I use one being SUPREMELY reasonable on pricing and very affordable. Hopefully shell only be laid up a few days before we are back at it!
At least our lesson Saturday was a good last lesson before shes laid up for a bit
With all that said, I am very excited about it...and nervous because what horse mom wouldn't be!? Dom is also eager to see how it will help us with some of our recent training struggles...although some recent tack changes have seemed to significantly improve some of these. More on that to come soon!
So any one else do join injections? If so, how did you decide on when to start them and how often?
I have used this phrase a lot lately...and when things get tough my usual positive spin on things takes a turn for the south. It is hard to stay positive when things are not going your way. In more than just barn stuff, life has been tough.
But I do have the old saying...
Basically when shit hits the fan, you dont give up. You persevere. When everyone else would walk away, you stay and fight it out.
I need this reminder right now because I am feeling particularly down and out about my own personal riding capabilities right now.
Tillie meanwhile is quite happy....most of the time
Its one thing to know what is limiting you in regards to progress with your horse and their training level...you know, setting realistic expectations. Which I am notorious for putting the cart before the horse and getting wayyyyy too ahead of myself. However, I do think I have done a much better job this year keeping my expectations in check.
Like going into a training level event, but not give any shits about time
So where am I feeling the hardship?
I have not been one to back off a fence because it is big. I attribute much of that to my extremely courageous partner. Tillie and I have never had a refusal or run out - only 1x schooling xc and it was completely my fault. I feel incredibly fortunate to have such a forgiving horse in that way.
But where I am currently struggling is my own ability when it comes to setting Tillie up so she can get the best jump possible. I kid you not...I can't even jump a beginner novice fence without biffing a distance right now when just a short while ago we could own a training level stadium course smoothly and out of a forward rhythm.
Well we tried to learn how to gallop the other day....Tillie learned fast is fun while Mommy learned that we can go faster than the speed of light with steering being optional and half halting is no where in our definition
In short, it really sucks when the realization hits you that your own incompetence is hindering your progress. I get it. We all face the fact we have things to improve on and will forever be working on something. But I am without a doubt in an existential crisis of "what the fuck are you doing?!"
I can sit here and brag about how far we have come this year and the little things since that are better. But at the end of the day, my recent lessons have felt a bit redundant. No fault to Tillie at all. I know when Tillie is resistant and not cooperating and for a little bit there, she deserved that blame. She sort of kind of did turn into a fire breathing dragon when it got chilly suddenly, but we have since worked that out and the only person to blame is myself.
Yawn - Snooze - Boring says Tillie
OK, OK...I sound like I am being realllllly harsh on myself. Maybe I am. But I hate feeling like I pay for the same lesson more than once....and hate even more what my trainer must think when they repeat the same thing over and over again.
I understand the concept, but implementing it....well thats another story.
oh hayyyyyy
I havent felt this insecure in a while. Last time I did, we were in a rut...and maybe that is it: We are at another plateau ironing things out before a break through. At least I am hoping that is what it is.
Either way. It sucks. ANYONE that rides, I know can relate.
Hacking out is improving...unless is a colder day
Regardless of how hard I am on myself...I can honestly say that I am supremely excited for the leaps and bounds of progress Tillie has made even in these last few weeks when it felt like we werent. While she certainly has her issues and training needs, some newer changes have me quite excited about her future.
I know its been quite some time since my last post on here and I really have no excuse or interestingly profound reason other than life just happened which meant a bit of less consistent riding so less content to write about.
Tillie sharing my sentiments about how we feel about work lately
I also left off mentioning in my last few blog posts struggling to find motivation. I even deferred my last event entry of the season to instead do a dressage show next month making it our first official dressage show where we will ride First level test 2 & 3 as our dressage diva debut.
Dressage diva alright
I know, we are really fucking fancy now guys.
Seriously though, its been nice to take some time to relax and as we start moving towards winter Tillie's workload will lighten but will not stop. The mare can not be thrown out to pasture and hang out on a vacation. So I have been evaluating what is next and regrouping after this season.
Of course I am proud and have made that abundantly clear in my previous posts. But I am my own worst critic so currently growing a very long list of things Tillie and I will be working on now that the event show season is over for us.
Yes, I got cheesy and clipped a heart on Tillie's rump after her full body clipping
I won't delve into a crazy long what have we been up to since my last blog post, because that's just wayyy too much. I have slowly ramped back up again and haven't ever stopped lessoning...at least not dressage anyway...so there is much to discuss.
But in a nutshell:
Fall means fire breathing dragon Tillie on some days, and a really good girl others (basically inconsistent AF)
Body Clipping is my new least favorite thing...but not as much as a sweaty, long haired horse that wont dry for hours even with a cooler on
We may be re-evaluating tack and equipment soon in more than one area **oh joy**
Vet physical was positive and most importantly I have a happy and SOUND horse after this season, but some more support may be necessary.
My inner artist has reared its ugly head again
Off season goals include: learning how to gallop, refining the half halt, my learning how to jump my horse not like a ninny...well the list goes on. I'm sure Ill write an entire post on this later.
I've been starting to draw people's horses because I clearly am not already busy enough
That is all I have for now. Ill be sure to follow up in more detail on some items...but we are doing well and starting to work our way out of a rut so to speak.
