Busy Days, Busy Nights

Unfortunately this weekend is turning out to be a little more hectic than I anticipated. I rode Halo this morning and will ride again tomorrow, and I have some thoughts to share on those rides. They're going to have to wait until tomorrow, though. I shouldn't let so much freelance work pile up on the weekends!

In the meantime, here's Halo, not sure about this whole being awake and getting ridden at 8 am thing:

I took her saddle blanket, girth, and fly mask home to wash today. She had a little eye infection a couple of weeks ago, so I'm going to be more proactive about making sure her fly mask is clean in case that was part of what contributed. But without her fly mask nose panel, her nose always burns and blisters. Here she is sporting a nice thick coating of Bull Frog sunscreen.

More to come!

Leasing Can Be a Good Thing!

There are a lot of horror stories in the world about leasing out a horse. People don't pay, or they ride your horse with twisted wire bits and draw reins without permission, or they teach your horse bad habits you get to spend months trying to undo.

I did not expect to put Halo out on lease, though I was open to the thought knowing I would be off for a month from my surgery. I didn't advertise her. The thought of weeding through the masses until I found someone with appropriate experience and goals seemed like a ridiculous task to undertake. As a young horse, she needs someone who is confident and experienced enough to handle her baby moments. Sometimes just keeping her in a straight line is like trying to herd squirrels through an open field. None of that is surprising when you consider that she's only 4, and I've only been riding her 2-3 times a week for about a year.

Also, while Halo is a pretty color, she's also hony-sized with no discipline-specific training. If I were going to lease her, I needed a rider with achievable goals, like working toward a lower-level dressage test or starting her over crossrails. I also needed someone who didn't mind that they weren't going to be riding a big fancy horse.

Boy did I get lucky!

Through a friend, I met Allegra, who happened to fit the bill perfectly. Her background is in eventing, but she also has natural horsemanship experience. Her approach is a good balance between the two, and she has been working to get Halo more comfortable with contact and more consistent in her gaits. She's also great about communicating with me regularly about any issues Halo has and how she is progressing.

While I've been out of commission I've given Allegra free rein to ride as much as she would like without any additional cost, so she has been going out every other day. I finally got to go out and see their progress last weekend, and I was very happy. Halo is starting to muscle up nicely with the regular work, and her consistency has dramatically improved at both the walk and the trot. She's more comfortable with contact and not sucking back behind the bit anywhere near as much as she used to. I took a video last weekend that hopefully Allegra will post at some point.

I get lots of fun picture updates like these:

Round pen at sunset:


Post-ride snack:


Treeeeeeats?


Allegra has been doing a few things differently from me. She always rides with a dressage whip and is also using some very gentle spurs. Both have been a big help in keeping Halo between the aids and moving forward. After all, Halo's favorite evasions are popping her shoulder the wrong direction, stopping suddenly, or refusing to go forward. The extra aids are insurance that if Halo does not respond to the initial cues, Allegra can escalate the request to an order.

From what I understand (and she can correct me if I'm wrong), Allegra approaches Halo's issues by firstly working on forwardness, and then using mini-half-halts to encourage her to stretch down into the bridle. Halo's improvement has been tremendous, and I'm excited to get back on and work to continue applying what Allegra has taught her.

Overall, I have to say that I've been pleasantly surprised by the experience of having Halo out on lease, and I hope Allegra continues to work with her for some time to come. They are a great team, and I think the work is good for Halo. It's also a great learning experience for me - both the opportunity to watch someone else ride my horse, and also the ability to discuss how best to further her training.

Visitors and Progress

Well, the foot surgery went well, and I'm back on my feet. Kind of. I still have a pretty significant limp and quite a bit of swelling. I'm definitely not ready to ride, at least not more than just bareback poking around. I was already having horse withdrawals by the end of my first week at home, but luckily I was provided with a convenient excuse to go to the barn. A friend came to visit!

I hadn't met Abigail before, but she is a member of a horse forum I've been on for a long time. We hit it off well, and she got to meet a lot of my friends over the course of her 24-hour stay in Austin. We spent the morning of July 9 at the barn visiting Miss Halo, and got some fun pictures.

It is always fun to see other people ride your horse. Halo is definitely a tester. She makes sure every new rider is going to MAKE her do something. If she thinks she can get away with not listening, she'll try it. She and Abigail had an initial discussion about going forward, but once they got that out of the way (with a rein smack and a couple of little butt hops), Halo was a good girl.

These are a couple of my favorite riding pictures of them from that day:





Abigail also found Halo's special itchy spot:





I was able to ride, but only for a few minutes just walking and a little trotting. Halo figured out very quickly that my right foot didn't really work, so I didn't have much leverage if she wanted to bulge to the right and run through my leg. It still felt great to be on her, though - it was the first time all week that I was able to move faster than a slow hobble.

It was a fun visit, and we had a great time! I have more to post soon about the work that Halo's leaser has been doing with her. They are making tons of progress, and I'm hoping I can get out to watch them work in the next couple of weeks.

Out of the Saddle

My ride this past Wednesday was bittersweet.

It will be my last ride for at least two or three weeks, but probably longer than that. I had surgery yesterday to correct a hereditary bunion exacerbated by a riding injury I got when I was fourteen. My right foot has always caused me some pain, especially in the winter, due to the bunion along with the four fractures and dislocated bone on the top of my foot. I know that surgery is not going to be a cure-all since many of the issues in my foot will still be there, but I think it is a step in the right direction. The bunion has been my main source of pain over the past few years. Additionally, a bunionectomy is a very standard surgery, unlike what my podiatrist called the "hero surgery" that it would take to fix the dislocation and other issues.

So here I am, parked out on the couch with an ice pack on my ankle, thinking back to the ride I had on Wednesday night. Halo has been doing her best to teach me lately. I've been riding bareback some, and occasionally without stirrups. She's been reminding me that if I lean forward or don't drop the correct hip when I ask for the canter, she'll take the wrong lead. She's been teaching me that her ADD is mostly my ADD - if I quit focusing on her, she'll fall apart. She needs me to be there as a steady partner, with consistent cues. I have to keep breathing, keep moving with her.

On Wednesday I braided her mane and tail just for fun, and because I needed the relaxation before my surgery. I'd been getting more and more nervous throughout the day.

I may not be the braider I was ten years ago, but I don't think it's bad for someone as rusty as I am. It felt good to use my hands to create something pretty.

I took a few pictures just for the heck of it, and as a reminder of where we are right now. Maybe it is just me, but I feel like Halo has grown up a lot in the past few months. She's become stockier, and is slowly filling out. It's no wonder we ended up with an XXW saddle.

Mostly though, she's becoming more and more the horse I need her to be. When I got on Wednesday, I just threw on the bareback pad and sidepull. There wasn't much time left to ride. The sun sat low on the horizon, making her seem even more golden in the dying light. We went up to the big arena and walked around to warm up, eventually trotting some and then moving on to canter. Along one side of the arena I wove my hands through her mane and asked her for a hand gallop. She flew down the fenceline, and I could feel the wind stinging my eyes. But the best part about it was how easily she came down from it into a steady lope, and eventually into a smooth trot and then a walk. This is a horse who doesn't make me worry. I don't feel scared on her - I feel free.

Halo helps me remember that what matters is loving to ride. It isn't about blue ribbons or reaching a high level of competition. Of course I still plan to work toward doing more little open shows, and getting her over some small jumps. I'd love to do some more cow work now that she was lightly exposed to it at the SHOT clinic we did in April. All those things will make her a better horse in the long run. Despite all the different things we've worked on since I started her, what I'm most amazed by is that this is a horse I can get on bareback, with headgear that is basically no more than a halter, and gallop around with no trace of fear. Just joy. How lucky am I?

Although I can't ride for a few weeks, I still feel good. I am fortunate enough that someone was introduced to me in late May who is going to be leasing and riding Halo. I've given her free rein to work with Halo in July since I can't ride anyway. She is a thoughtful, conscientious rider who puts the horse first. I can tell from talking to her and watching her work with Halo that she truly cares about Halo's progress and is committed to making her a better horse. Sometimes I can hardly say that about myself, since I'm happy galloping around the arena bareback! Either way, Halo and I are fortunate to have her, and I'm excited to see how Halo improves over the next month while I'm completely out of commission.

Professional Saddle Fitting

I apologize for the lack of pictures in this post, but there will be many forthcoming in the next week as I try out new saddles.

Lately my little horse has taken to fussing and dancing around during saddling. Thanks to the forums I frequent and all the other reading I've done online, alarm bells went off in my head. Last Tuesday we got a saddle fitter out to take a look at several horses at the barn. It was an AMAZING experience, and I would suggest working with a saddle fitter if you ever have the opportunity just for the pure educational value of it, even if your saddle already fits. I learned a lot about the biomechanics of the horse in addition to detailed explanations about what a saddle does to impact those biomechanics.

One of the most interesting things I learned was about the way the horse's shoulder works. The fitter showed me how a saddle that is too tight in the shoulder limits her scapula from being able to rotate back, thus reducing her range of motion in her front end. He explained that horses experiencing that are likely to have trouble with canter transitions and tend to run into the canter because they can't move into the gait correctly. Instead, they have to speed up enough that they can fall into the motion. Obviously, that also makes it almost impossible to get a truly collected gait. Guess what Halo has been doing lately? Rushing into the canter! I thought she was just being a normal greenie, but he said that is likely only a small part of the issue.

He also took a look at my western saddle and showed me that even the FQHB are not wide enough and are pinching her under the yoke. He also didn't like how far the skirt came back, noting that she was extremely short-backed. Though he noted that the long skirt does not pinch, he said that it may irritate her and prevent her from being able to fully flex her body and turn on the haunches. Guess what we've been having trouble with when riding western? Turns on the haunches! His recommendation was that I look for a barrel saddle or reining saddle with a rounded skirt or single skirt that doesn't extend back as far as the current one. I'm heartbroken, because I loved my western saddle. But what is right for the horse is a heck of a lot more important than what I like. I know I will eventually be able to find something that fits both of us, but right now it seems like a daunting task.

I was amazed by the depth of his knowledge and how much he could tell me about how my horse was going without even watching me ride. He immediately identified problems we were likely to be having under saddle, and suggested that I look for an XXW tree english saddle. He specailizes in English saddles, so I didn't get a recommendation for a western one. I may look for a saddle designed for Arabians since they tend to be made with wider bars, wider yokes, and short skirts. I would like something like what I have now - nice enough for open shows or reining, but also casual enough for trail riding.

It seems to me that saddle fitting is a vital and often overlooked aspect of horsemanship that we should all know more about. It occurred to me that when I first started taking lessons, no one ever said, "hey, let's start out by taking a look at your tack and making sure it fits your horse." Don't you think there would be a lot more happy horses if instructors made a point of that?

Manor Parade, October 2010

Here are some pictures from a little parade that Halo and I did in October 2010. There were only four of us in the parade, so it was pretty low key. She did great with all the noise and vendors that were lining the streets.

SHOT Versatility Clinic 4-9-11

Halo and I attended a Stock Horse of Texas (SHOT) clinic this past weekend. I was nervous, but we made it through in one piece!

Halo and I learned a ton at the clinic, and she got a lot of compliments from the clinicians. It was so good to have eyes on the ground. The clinic was almost solely focused on the horse, not the rider, or at least that was my experience of it. I only got nagged once to sit back when asking for the lope, which is something I know I have an issue with when I get anxious. However, from the pictures I do want to yell at myself to get my heels down!

Halo was super herd-bound at first, and screaming for her buddies like crazy when I took her out to longe her in the morning. I was pretty nervous getting on her, because she seemed wound pretty tightly, but as soon as I got her feet moving she settled down to work. We did have a few more herd bound moments, but it was a good opportunity to work on that by keeping her moving when she was being a brat, and letting her rest and stand with the other horses when she was being quiet and standing still. We definitely need to do more clinics like this.

I have a few pictures. Unfortunately the ones in the indoor arena didn't come out too clearly, but you can get the idea.

Warming up at the extended walk in the pleasure class. We made a lot of progress in this portion of the clinic, and it was a great place to start the day. The last horse I trained had a habit of not reaching into contact and sucking behind the bit. I always assumed that it was because I fussed with his face too much, so I've gone the opposite route with Halo. However, the pleasure clinician had me take up the reins about four inches, and WOW it was like I was riding a whole new horse! Halo is no dummy. She immediately started to flex at the poll and look for the release from that pressure. This picture is before he had me take up the slack.



By now she's figured out how to really step under herself. This was near the end of the pleasure portion. She's a little overflexed here, but still hunting for the contact. We spent a good portion of time at each gait working on rating speed, and the exercises were extremely helpful. The main takeaway I got from this portion of the clinic is that I need to not be afraid to take up my reins and help her find balance instead of letting her hunt it on her own.



Next we went outside for the trail class. To be honest, I didn't learn as much from this portion of the clinic as the others. Halo is for the most part extremely good about trail obstacles. She didn't refuse anything, even this very narrow bridge that caused problems for a lot of the older horses. The only thing we didn't do was trot over the very large logs shown below. I didn't feel comfortable doing it, so we stuck to walking them this time.



Here's the narrow bridge, and Halo being a very good girl!



The tilty bridge was also no problem. We have a much smaller one of these at home that she's practiced on, so this one was no big deal at all. We went over it both ways, even the "hard" way by stepping onto the raised part first.



They had some Extreme Cowboy Race obstacles, but this was the only one we got to try. Halo walked into this with zero hesitation, though she did try to grab a bite of grass since her head was right at grass level as we walked through!





The one bit of homework we did take away from the trail class is that I need to teach her a cue to stop when she is backing up. The clinician suggested pressing my hand into the top of her neck. We discovered this hole in our training when she was backing through an L made out of logs, and almost backed straight over the corner of the L. Oops.

Below is the only really clear picture that came out of the reining class. We mostly worked on walk-lope transitions, which I haven't done with Halo at home at all. This was a little stressful, as I didn't feel great pushing her, and she was a bit stressed out by being asked to do something she didn't understand. Even so, I bit the bullet and she improved a lot through the class. We have lots of homework from this class, mostly involving transitions. Can't wait to work on this at home! However, look how nicely she was using herself at the trot by this point:



Lastly, we got to practice tracking a flag for the cutting portion of the clinic. I didn't get to chase a real cow, but maybe we will have the chance next time. Halo was one of the only horses that kept her ears absolutely riveted to the flag at all times. However, I've been negligent in teaching her to turn swiftly off her haunches, so we weren't too clean at this. She did make a beautiful, quick rollback one time and it felt amazing. I feel like I have a much better grasp on how to teach her to do rollbacks now, so it is something we will practice at home as soon as her other transitions are all sharp. I want to have a strong lope depart before trying to teach her rollbacks. I also need to make sure to be able to move her haunches and shoulders in either direction at will. She's much better at moving just her shoulders right now. Need to get the hip engaged!





Anyway, we had a grand time. The clinic was well-run and the instructors knew their business. I'd highly recommend a clinic like this for anyone who wants to improve their horse's responsiveness and training.