Growing Spurt

Posted on October 11, 2016 by Britt

Among all my frustrations about saddle shopping was a nagging fear that all of my blankets, nary a season old, would also not fit the lanky new pony. So of course I stuck my head in the sand and decided I would just pull them out when it was cold, and pray they would fit. Because nothing says fall like ~~pumpkin spice lattes~~ ~~scarves~~ ~~leaves changing color~~ dropping a few hundred dollars on new blankets.

But praise be, the blankets fit. Apparently Smitty’s length makes up for Foster’s breadth, so we won’t have anything to worry about for the time being.

And then my farrier showed up to do another horse, and while Smitty was in the cross ties, happened to point out- “you know your horse is bum high, right?”

And sure enough, he is. No wonder he’s been looking a bit lanky again this last week. I was hoping he’d go wide before he went tall, but looks like that’s not to be. My farrier assured me, my dreams of a 16.2h horse are basically shot.

Please don’t grow too much- k, Smitty? Please?

Just part of the baby-horse journey I suppose!

Let’s Discuss: When are you a partner?

Posted on October 10, 2016 by Britt

One thing from my dressage lesson that really stuck with me (beyond how to get my tail out from between my legs), was my trainer stating that it was likely going to be a year before I felt a real partnership with Smitty.

It’s 2 months in, and though I’m getting to know him a lot better, I’d have a hard time describing him as a partner. Right now, much of our relationship seems to be focused on what happens on the ground, more so than in the saddle. Our communication feels like it’s constantly “please stand still,” or “give me your hoof” and more often than not, “don’t eat that,” followed by, “no, seriously don’t effing eat that!” (especially when it comes to my PS of Sweden reins!) Rather than partner, I feel like my role is teacher and often disciplinarian, and he is the unruly pupil with ADD.

In between admonishments I’m trying to remember to praise any and all good behavior. So when he does stand, he gets a pat and a verbal congratulations for not being a prat. When I don’t have to grab something from his gob he gets told he’s a good boy. Right now, because of the latter issue, treats are basically a no-go unless it’s to help me mount up. (More on that later)

Get that out of your mouth Smitty!

Our time in the saddle is getting better, in that transitions are coming easier, he’s coming on to the bit more consistently, and we survived our first jumping lesson together. All accomplishments that I’m proud of, to be sure.

Is it the groundwork and our relationship out of the tack why I don’t feel the partnership yet? Not to say that I don’t like Smitty, I do, he cracks me up and I think he’s got all the tools to help me accomplish my goals and more. And I think we’ll get there. It’s all about the journey for now, moving towards that partnership one little step at a time.

What is it about your horse that makes him feel like a partner? Was there a transitional moment that made you feel like a team? What is your greatest accomplishment together? If a partnership didn’t develop, what made you realize this?

Goals for Smitty

Posted on October 6, 2016 by Britt

How has it been two months since I first met Smitty? How time flies! But now that I know the ~~little~~ fella a bit, I can make a list of goals, of both the pie-in-the-sky and realistic variety, for us to aim for before the end of the year.

The Horse

Mouthy baby is mouthy- reduce the inclination to have to be pacified in order to behave (this includes chewing on reins, stealing my dressage whip, and even hinting at putting parts of the human in his mouth)
Get his mane pulled without antics
Jump off-property
Meet a dressage court [and stay inside of it]
Jump the first cross country jumps

The Tack

Find a [cheap] dressage saddle with smaller blocks
Get the jumping saddle [and possible dressage saddle] professionally OK’d/fitted
Bust out the old Stubben bridle
Sell the former dressage saddle
Ditch the dressage whip for jumping, introduce the bat
Find a shimmable mattes pad without breaking the bank?
Get a nameplate for his halter (because who doesn’t want a fancy smancy halter!)

The Human

Stop being a freaking weenie about the outdoor ring
Order photos of the new pony
Make up a damn stable sign, already!
Install quieter legs (any suggestions here?)
Make a basic lesson plan for the baby pony

Being brave in the great wide open

Lesson Recap: Smitty’s first jump lesson

Posted on October 5, 2016 by Britt

Smitty is getting edjumacated this week!

Last night we did our first jump lesson, which focused on a pole exercise to get his brain engaged and allowed me to work on using the outside aids to make turns and find an appropriate rhythm.

A lot of the evening was of the get-to-know-you variety, so we started over a basic ground pole and added more as we went along, ending up with three poles in a row and 4 options for single rails so that I could continuously change direction and create patterns over the poles as he needed.

This exercise not only got him thinking, but it engaged my brain too, and was really helpful in helping us both relax (but mostly me).

A main objective was asking him to lower his poll and use his back over the rails, and for me to use the turns to establish bend and use my outside rein and inside leg. I also worked on keeping my hands low and trying not to get too short with my reins. I can see that I need to be quieter with my leg, but that is a work in progress for certain.

We eventually built up to going over the three ground poles followed by a cross rail. Smitty basically just cantered over, so I got the added responsibility of “creating flight” by squeezing on takeoff and encouraging him to jump. Guide rails were also placed on the ground to help with straightness and the jump.

Next time less jumping ahead though, OK self?

Overall it was a good lesson and allowed me to conquer some demons that I had trouble with even the night before. I have the feeling that Hurricane Matthew is going to impeded any other jumping lessons before next weekend, but it was good to get at least one under our belt before the show!

Lesson Recap: Dressage Lesson Numero Dos

Posted on October 4, 2016 by Britt

October is officially a big month for Smitty, and last night was the first of several lessons planned before his first show. Sorry in advance for no new media, and for this being a brain dump so I can remember all the things next time.

We rode out in the outdoor ring, which I have been avoiding since my confidence took a hit last month and I’ve been sticking to the more enclosed covered arena. But I want to power through some of my anxieties, and for me that means having an instructor there to get me out of my head and focusing on the saddle. Speaking of saddles by the way, the Amerigo Vega monoflap is officially the winner of the trial period, and though it was odd to have a dressage lesson in jump tack, I’m grateful to finally have a saddle that fits my gangly boy.

Winner winner chicken dinner!

We started our lesson by warming up with a forward walk, and getting me to focus on staying relaxed until I trusted that I could really lengthen my reins to a semi-free walk length and allow him to telescope his neck out- a main focus for the next hour. Once I was able to do so without crabbing up, we introduced transitions between medium walk and free walk. I haven’t yet attempted medium walk, as we were focusing on the forward motion of the walk primarily, but it was a relief to see that he seemed to understand the concept fairly readily. For now though, we don’t want to keep him in medium walk for more than a few strides, since it’s hard for him to hold at this stage.

Just trying to break up walls of text here…

Moving into the trot, again the focus was on transitions. We started asking that the walk to trot transition be from back-to-front, meaning that the push was coming from behind. Again because of the baby status, that meant that it was a small effort, a few small steps before moving into the proper forward, working trot. I now realize that I have been holding my reins too short, and I need to focus on keeping them long enough that he can reach out with his neck at all times. If he comes up in the poll or above the bit, I am allowed to widen my hands to keep the contact with his mouth, but not allowed to shorten the reins in response. Then when he lowers his neck and stretches out again I can slowly bring my hands back together. And if Smitty were to become resistant, or attempt to dive down into the contact and drag me along, it is my job to ride with a strong core and back and lower leg. Then I don’t run the risk as much of being pulled over the handlebars and I can trust in myself to stay balanced should anything happen. Similarly, I need to stay strong and balanced into the downward transitions and keep him marching, instead of going splat into the walk or trot like he wants to do.

Probably ~~our~~ my biggest challenge during the lesson was keeping myself loose and pushing him through any distractions. The outdoor ring is horrible for this, being surrounded on two sides by a trailer park, a third side by a neighborhood under construction, and the last side by a spooky hay barn. I feel like I am constantly watching to see if dogs are going to pop out, or cars, or trailers, or deer… you get the picture. So when one of the neighborhood residents closest to the arena started up his Harley Davidson, and preceded to let it warm up for 5 minutes just out of sight, I nearly lost my shit. Riding can be so much of a mental game, and truthfully, last night I had some fail moments. While Smitty handled it quite beautifully for a youngster, I was a tense mess until the motorcycle left the area and confined us to the furthest end of the arena, clutching my neck strap for dear life. Now looking back on it, I realize that I really need to push through and find some trust in Smitty, or fate, or what have you, and not lose my game face any time the atmosphere becomes challenging. Because as Eliza reminded me, you can’t control the weather, or the atmosphere, or even the footing sometimes, but you can always control or focus on your line, or your tempo, or your bend when those things become annoyances, and that it’s best to just keep riding through.

We found a really good note to end things on, cantering in both directions, and Eliza praised us for our progress with the quality of our canter departs and for the overall picture. It was a good lesson for reminding me of the positives and for getting an outside perspective on myself and my abilities as well as how Smitty actually is a very good baby and that it’s going to take time for us to develop a partnership. Tonight, we squeeze in a jump lesson with a new-to-me trainer. Hopefully I can build on some of this retrospective mental mojo and get some good points to boot!

Let’s Discuss: Your First Show

Posted on October 3, 2016 by Britt

With Smitty’s competition debut looming in the oh-so near future, I’m trying to get together a mental game plan. But the first time out, it’s hard to make a plan at all, since pretty much everything is going to be a gamble as to how he will take it in. I do know a couple things that I hope will help though- he doesn’t seem to get attached to other horses, and based on our one off-property adventure so far, I think he will take in a new venue fairly well.

But how will he handle masses of horses? Loud speaker systems? Horses galloping cross country, bikes, scooters, cars, dogs, etc? All of this is a total unknown. But the only way to find out is to try!

Foster’s first show was a smaller occasion, a local dressage show with a distinctly casual air. He handled it beautifully, winning first and second in his Intro tests (video below). It was a rousing success, and I can only hope for the same with Smitty, even if our goal is just to stay in the tack.

I chose the Carolina Horse Park because I’m very familiar with it, and because it allows us the get there the day before and expose him to the grounds, the arenas, etc all while slowly increasing the number of people around (rather than arriving at a show in full swing). Hopefully by introducing these elements the day before, riding the day of the show will be less of an ordeal. We’ll find out when we get there if a bigger venue for his first show was a big mistake, but I’m hoping the both of us will put on our game faces and get it done.

What was your horse’s first show? Was it a success, a disaster, or somewhere in the middle? Why did you choose that particular competition as a debut? If you have a baby horse, what is your plan for introducing them to the show scene?