Biding Time until winter is over....so we dressage

So far we have been pretty lucky with winter...its been fairly warm and mild until the biggest snow fall in the history of our state's snow fall happened (and I am not exaggerating...it really was the largest recorded snow fall in the history of my state).

Sooo much snow...and this is from a few weeks later!!!

The snow fall was enough to put me over the edge...because it means not being able to ride unless I haul out and my job has been limiting that happening since no one wants a stranger in their barn later then 8pm. So anyway, I havent been riding nearly as much as Id like to and its sad. Very sad.

BUT once in a while I can haul somewhere and shockingly Tillie has been pretty behaved and, better yet, ready to work with a nice work ethic.

Is it me or does she look eeevvvvilll here?

Without boring you all too much longer on the intro, I scheduled a dressage lesson with C and finally got the opportunity to try hauling with my trailer with the partition open to see if Tillie's scrambling around turns would be better, worse or the same. 

Luckily all of our self loading practice came into to great use here since with keeping the divider open means no butt bar. I did minimally put up a lead rope but if Tillie realllly wanted to run backwards out of the trailer she could break it easily...but shes really good about waiting for me to ask her to back out.

Night hauling makes taking pictures harder :(

Tillie didnt scramble AT ALL...and majority of the time did keep herself fairly straight, but around turns you could see her swing her butt and angle herself. So I think I need to get myself a wider trailer and haul like this in the meantime...

Lesson Time: (sadly had no one their to take pics or videos)
I get on and just start going through the normal motions of loose rein walk around the whole indoor both directions a few times while waiting for C to finish another lesson. Tillie was quiet, had a bit of a speed walk going on, but not terribly looky like she can be. 

I start picking her up in the walk a bit to test her mood and see how much resistance Id be dealing with once C was ready...and Tillie was quite pleasant and even with a longer rein moved right into contact without missing a beat. Typically even after warming up walk trot canter, going from a loose rein to contact isnt as smooth as this! 

Once C started with our lesson we moved into a trot fairly quickly and her first transition was quite nice and she stayed connected without going inverted. Another Win! We treadmilled it at the trot a bit just to let her warm up...and C thought she looked off right front so we did a few changes of posting diagonals and changing direction see if it was worse on turns or a certain direction....but luckily it went away and Tillie seemed not bothered at all so we pressed on. 

C right away when I trotted again said "no bigger trot then this" which was interesting because I felt like we werent covering enough ground....I attribute this to me getting more comfortable riding her trot now and not always trying or needing to slow things down. 

Can winter and the early darkness be over yet?!

Tillie was pretty consistent in the trot and we worked on getting more inside bend both directions...for this ride, her right bend was much harder. My inside rein would end up touching her neck which C pointed out there should be a clear gap and the inside hand should be open and away...so more inside leg to push her away. But do not lose the outside elbow (I tend to straighten it out too much). 

Leg yielding 

Moving on from that we went into riding down the quarter line and leg yielding, but this time rather then using the entire length of the long side of the arena, C wanted us doing them pretty quickly without leading with the shoulder and focusing on a straightness. Tracking left she nailed every one, tracking right we had a few at first where she really didnt want her booty to stay in line, but a tad more inside leg and outside rein fixed it pretty easily. 

Tillie eating ALL the hay

Tear drop exercise
Then C had us ride tear drop formations (trot and at E make a 10M circle and trot a straight diagonal line between H and F and ask to change the bend). Once I got the hang of the actual figure Tillie rode through this exercise REALLY nicely. C remarked she was impressed!

We took a bit of a walk break and chatted about the upcoming dressage show and discussed strategies...when I started to pick Tillie back up again I reminded myself shorter reins and really felt I found that sweet spot (you know when your seat feels solid, your rein length feels right and the stars align?). Tillie on the other hand didnt appreciate the shorter reins and despite another lovely trot transition and half circle started "whip nae nae-ing" with her head when I applied inside leg (tracking left).

She did it a few times when trying to re-establish bend and I wasnt letting the reins out...C recommended I verbally reprimand her for this....that a physical squeeze or crop for her would be too much but I need to at least tell her NO.

I will admit, I felt like the contact in my reins was heavier then I like (I tend to waiver it seems or say this after not riding for a period of time). I never dislike when this happens...just seem to notice it and feel like its not "soft" enough contact which is false. She is soft...just not behind the contact like she used to be more often a few months ago. I think I just need to re-calibrate my feel...

UMMM...wheres my food?

So we treadmilled a bit at the trot again to let her get those out and C said ok, canter NOW! OK it wasnt quite that abrupt, lol, but it felt sort of sudden...as I wasnt really expecting to move into canter so quickly in the lesson. We sometimes only get to it briefly!

Test riding - being smart about placement of transitions

C did set me up for it talking about the strategy of riding in the test and prep for the transition depending on the horse I had that day. If Tillie was more up to ask earlier to use the corner or turn to back her off, if she was going well ask a bit more in the middle of the corner to present the long side of the ring to promote her opening her stride. 

Canter

So we started on left lead and it took a few steps at first, but she did a nice little jump into it I sort of didnt expect. She felt a bit unbalance on it again so I do a poor job being soft in my arms when this happens...but C talked me through it, we achieved inside bend and she felt a bit smoother once that was better. Her downward transition was a bit strung out and as we changed directions on the short diagonal Tillie was a bit fired up and ready to jumping into right lead canter which I promptly did a strong half halt which C agreed with. It sort of took away the rhythm but it was needed...and we regained a nice balanced trot tracking right within a half circle. 

I so good!

We went right into right lead canter once we passed C and it took a half the circle to get the inside bend, but once we did C even said it was a nice canter. She urged me to step more into my right leg so I dont fall to the outside (which would push tillie in and not be able to bend in). Her downward transition to trot this direction was really lovely. 

Center line - test riding

After this, C had us run through a few center line practices again really concentrating on no drifting...especially when you continue the trot on and turn at C. She said most horse and riders will drift before reaching C and to wait as long as possible to make the turn - for example if youre turning left, you start drifting right when over prepping for the turn. 

C said Tillies weight and muscling is looking good! 

Riding Novice A

Once we got the strategy for the center lines down we moved on to riding through a test. I chose to run through Novice A with C since that's the most difficult test I signed up to do for the dressage show. I am debating now on changing that after this ride and talking with Emma...but we will see how the next week goes if I change. I am currently signed up for BN A and B and Novice A. 

C called out the test as I was riding it and for the most part it rode pretty well. USEF tests tend to be harder for us since there is so much ability to build up in the trot and canter...USDF tests are nice since there is a lot more changing directions, circling, transitions etc to distract Tillie.

Her transitions out of canter to trot were a bit rocky...but C said if I plan them accurately the judge shouldnt be able to see it too much. Her right lead canter transition I planned perfectly and C said we would work on the left lead too next time, but both leads she stepped right into without needing a few steps, I just need to time the transition better and stop anticipating the build up so much.

Nicely trimmed tail :)

Her free walk we talked about her wanting to dive when she stretches...like throw her head down and pull the reins from me rudely. She has a habit of doing this when doing anything stretchy or even when letting her walk on a loose rein. C suggested I dont ever let her go around on a completely contact free rein until she breaks this habit and earns the privilege back. When she goes to root give her a boot or slap with my leg. No pulling of the reins, just a bump using leg. 

Aside from those C was really complimentary and said we definitely earned the award for most improved. :) Its really nice to hear!!! 

I seee you barn cat

Is it possible this is our new normal?

There are something about my Saturday jump lessons with P that really seem to make me "centered." Anyone following me at this point can tell I am a ball of just heightened nervousness of OMG my horse is injured or OMG my horse is nuts or OMG my horse cant do this....and it goes on. So basically just a lot of self doubt and doubt in Tillie.

Which isnt really fair to either of us.

Hows THIS trot for ability?! side note: excuse my where's waldo shirt :) Its warm! 

I noticed after only having 1 P lesson in the last month, I was starting to be like the pysh patient losing their minds from lack of seeing their therapist. Not to mention, work has been quite crazy so keeping to riding 4 -days a week has been tough. I did manage to ride 3 days this week so that close right!?

Luckily Tillie hasnt seemed to miss a beat minus the one really crummy ride I blogged about last week. Which is quite surprising since she typically requires full work to stay sane.

I LOVE Tillie's expression here - shes like " I got this"

Saturday morning comes around and Im like a big kid on Christmas - Soooo anxious to get loaded up to go except our lesson wasnt until late afternoon/early evening. **waiting sucks**

Loading Tillie, I was trying to put to practice the self loading session we did with Emma...Tillie has seemed to develop a nasty habit of going crooked now and swinging her butt away from me anticipating the whip. I even reintroduced it to her and rubbed it on her showing her it was fine, but she REALLY gets squirmy with it. As soon as I put it away she goes right on just fine. 

So homework for me - practice this loading thing a bit more. 

Oh hey uphill canter! I think Tillie looks like a fancy upper level horse here! 

We get there and hack out to find puppies/dogs everywhere! Tillie was realllly not sure about them, but I was able to keep her focused and as I started warming up felt this incredible just peace. 

You know when things just go silent and its this quiet, steady feeling of just being in the moment on the same page? I havent felt that ever on a horse. But our warm up I felt this...I said bend left or right she said ok and had these incredible uphill gaits. I felt at first like she wasnt moving forward enough, but watching back I think it just felt that way because she was balanced and where she needed to be where I am usually used to feeling her pulling herself around by her front end. 

It was a bit warmer out so I attribute her quietness to that partially...but it still weirds me out when things feel this nice. Emma always reminds me as of late that this IS our new normal. I just havent gotten used to it yet! Tillie did throw in a teeeeenie sass fit after one fence when I half halted going into the turn and she got a bit offended like I KNOOOWWW I was doing it already mom!!

This lesson we had a much larger group then normal so we didnt get to do as much...but with Tillie and I havent jumped in a while, it was probably for the best. What worked well for it, was it kept things REALLY chill and low key - and Tillie ate all her breakfast Sunday AM!

Anyway, P had us warm up over some ground poles and then some small fences set as a one stride line. I needed to be reminded to release a bit more rather then plant...that is one hard habit to break!...so we can start encouraging Tillie to stretch and jump better with her shoulders.

Then we got to business and P had us run through this twsity turning course that was really fun! The first time we ran through was ok...Tillie was a bit flat but was listening and stayed in a nice rhythm. 

The second run through didnt feel that great to me, but P didnt ask us to re-do anything which normally she will if she feels its necessary. Not sure what it was about it (not just the rail cuz I know rails happen), but I just didnt like it...

P was ready to call it a day and, as always, asked if anyone wanted to run through it one more time. Usually I say no so I dont push too hard...especially when Tillie is being so quiet. BUT shes been quiet jumping lately and its time to start expecting more...but I asked if we could. 

I am really glad we did because it felt pretty good and P had raised the monsters inc jump to 3ft for another rider and left it for when we ran through. I honestly didnt realize/or think to question that height since height **usually** doesnt bother me, but I did hear the fellow barn mates asking, are they jumping THAT?

Yes, yes we did! 

Tillie sailed over it no problem! I loved Emma's WOOO upon landing and you could feel Tillie hear that, and just get this vibe through her body like lets do this. The angle the video was shot makes it look smaller...but P said it was 3ft... 

All in all, I wasnt super thrilled with the lesson at first. Mostly because I still am dwelling on the fact my horse doesnt jump "well" yet. But the more I thought about it the more I realized that our goal has been getting quiet first since that was a challenge - and I think we are there! The fact Tillie could open and compress her canter and adjust without sass is HUGE. 

So I am thrilled and just hope to keep the momentum going! P even suggested trying her back in the snaffle jumping! WOOO!!! 

Teaching to self load on the trailer

As much as I would like to abide by this:

I am such a worrier as I stated in my Worry Warrior post a few days ago. BUT I am trying!!!

New years day I went out to sneak in a ride on Miss Tillie to find her just a muddy mess. No biggie,
I decided it would be a great day for a spa day and clean out my tack area so it wasnt such a cluster of messiness. Much to my dismay I found Tillie threw a hind shoe after only a few days after being shod.

Oh hey...that expensive shoe is lost in the mud somewhere out there.

It worked out because the new footing we received was getting dragged out and worked on in both rings...which means it finally got put down in our larger ring and spread out! YAY!! For a few weeks it was just sorta in the middle and not quite enough to cover the entire surface, but our smaller arena had WAYYYY too much so they took some from there. They didnt quite finish evening it all out, but it is in much better shape then the small ring. 

BEFORE

AFTER

While waiting, fellow blogger Emma was also hanging out and offered to help me work on my December goal of getting Tillie to self load! I should make these first quarter goals and add to them, but hey we are starting to cross some off!

1. Learn how to ride in double reins in the pelham
2. Ride at least 4x per week despite work being nutty this month
3. Convince Emma to show me how teach me and Tillie to self load
4. Improve auto/crest release 
5. Get Tillie more maneuverable in canter 

I let Emma take over since I havent ever gone through this process before and Tillie was a quick study...She tends to be a bit nervous about the backing out of the trailer, especially with the step, so I opted to use Emmas trailer for this session.

Getting started

First thing was to get her used to the dressage whip since she really isnt a huge fan of whips at all. Just teaching her it wasnt there to hurt her and to move forward when the tapping on her flank happened and to back when tapped on the shoulder. Once that was find Emma got started!

Tillie sniffing everything

We started slow and let her sniff and check things out to set the tone and keep things low key. The goal for today was to get her front feet on and whoa, back off and be able to fully load, fully back out and possibly even back out and whoa with only the front feet on. We knew the backing and waiting would be harder with her dislike for backing out but she moved through everything else so nicely we were able to work on it briefly.

So smart.

The only thing she has a tendency to do, which we think is from nerves, it back out crooked where shell step down and turn her butt to the outside of the trailer. That will need some work, but she was getting much straighter by the end. 

Good mare!

 Finally it was my turn and to try to work on self loading. My biggest issue is getting her to slow down when loading and getting out of the habit of helping her too much. We did it a few times though and called it a day so we didnt fry her brain :)

I got to test out this a bit by saturday which Ill post in a later blog this week!

December Goals

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:

1. Learn how to ride in double reins in the pelham
2. Ride at least 4x per week despite work being nutty this month
3. Convince Emma to show me how teach me and Tillie to self load
4. Improve auto/crest release 
5. Get Tillie more maneuverable in canter 

Ill happily take any suggestions from any followers!!!