Progress

Today I had planned to surprise my mom with a half hour lesson with Amanda and then a short ride around the property. The weather was perfect and I still think it would have been marvelous, but she wasn’t feeling up to it and was really worried about her knee. So, instead I took a lesson.

We started with our lateral work: shoulders in, haunches in, and leg yields. He was moving pretty good, but there was a little something nagging. Not sure if it was the left front or right rear, although we were thinking left front. I think a major part of the hint of something I could feel is related to his feet. He is due for a shoe reset and his hooves are long (common issue right now amongst all of the horses). He gets done on Tuesday, so he will be off until they are done. I told Amanda that it felt like he was on his tip toes. He got better as we went into the more difficult movements, which makes no sense at all.

After our shoulder in and haunches in, we worked on the leg yields at the trot, then did canter serpentines which he did really well, then segwayed into canter spirals. Those kind of suck. Or I kinda suck at them. We did them better today than we have done them in the past, but I still don’t feel like I am very good at them. Ashke is getting better, although his only hitch with his hind end came during that exercise. I think moving outward, while maintaining inside bend while on the left lead really stresses his right hind and he cross cantered a step. 

We did some more leg yields, zig zagging back and forth three or four steps between each bend. Then I asked for the trot half pass. He was very solid at that movement in the trot, so we tried the canter half pass.

Moving right to left - this is the more difficult side for him to get his bend and body correct.

This is his *easy* side. You can see he maintains his straightness better and the bend

Much better the second time moving to the left

I did a better job of setting him up before asking. I had him in a haunches in as we turned the corner.

In case you were wondering, Amanda is coaching me. We were wearing her headset so I could hear everything she was saying.

We ended the lesson with two drum patterns, ridden to the left first. The rules changed this year and the drum pattern can be ridden in either direction. I completely FUBARed the pattern the first time through, because we’ve ridden it so much to the right, that reversing the pattern takes conscious effort on my part. The second time was much better. Then, because the boy was tired, we used the cones to help shape our turn on the haunches for the test, switching it up with turns on the forehand to make Ashke listen to my leg. Then we were both done. 

Dressage is hard.

I am getting better about not leaning forward, but that is what Amanda is referring to when she tells me to sit tall. I have to really concentrate to maintain the body position and to not give away my hands.

I am also completely ignoring his attempts to sidetrack the conversation. He gave a bit of a jump when we were starting some of the canter work, and I just rode through it and kept asking him to do whatever it was we were doing. He gave it up after that. He’s such a funny guy.

Another Lesson

So, long time blog followers may remember when I have stopped the Smartpaks in the past with catastrophic results (me scratching my head and wondering why he is short striding all of a sudden). This time, it was a deliberate decision, in part because he has stopped eating the supplement, sometimes leaving it for a couple of days, and in part because I need a new baseline. There is no sense in Smartpaks if there is another option that might work better, such as Adequan or Legend or SI injections.

The good news is he isn’t unsound, just a little stiff. He is still on the MSM, since that seems to be the one supplement that actually helps, but that is the only one. I have the chiro coming out the end of next week, with the regular vet on the. 28th. Depending on what we find with the chiro, that information will help shape my questions for the regular vet. I’m leaning toward injections, since the ones we did on his right hind have had a terrific impact.

I have to share something that happened as I was tacking him up. I am always very careful of the girth, which lays across the seat of the saddle while I put the saddle on his back, to not have the girth fall off and hit the ground. The last time that happened he completely freaked out, dumped the saddle and shredded the halter he was wearing at the time. I did work with him in the round pen for a couple of weeks, letting things fall off of his back, but even after that work, he just never really relaxed. He always reacted. Last night I was trying to ensure the half pad I use as a blanket was sitting under the saddle correctly and had the left side flap of my saddle raised. It was enough to cause the girth to slither off the far side and thump into the sand under his barrel. In the past that would have precipitated an explosion of terror, which would have dumped the saddle and caused trauma for both of us. This time, I quickly put my hand on his shoulder and said “whoa”. Talking to him softly, I could feel the tension in his shoulder and he had his head cocked a bit to the side with an ear on the girth, but he didn’t pull back or react other than to get tense. I picked up the girth and then scratched his shoulder, telling him what a great boy he was. He tipped his head toward me and we had a moment of communion. That was huge.

In the lesson, we started with shoulder in to haunches in along the rail. It’s such a fun exercise and makes Ashke think about what I am really asking. Moving his hips and shoulders both independent of each other can only help as we go forward. After doing that in both directions at the walk, we moved to the trot. Changing up the request half way down the long side is great for Ashke, because he gets predictive. He thinks he knows what I am going to ask next, so he offers it before the ask. By starting with Shoulders In and moving to haunches in half way down the rail, he has to listen to what I am asking. That’s really good for him.

He still wasn’t really reaching with his inside right hind leg, so we moved to the 10m circle and then leg yield from X to the rail (from the Intermediate A test). That got him a lot looser while helping us work on straightness. I have to be very clear in my request for the leg yield, since we’ve also been working on the half-pass and he is so enamored of the half-pass that he wants to offer it. After the trot, we worked on the canter. I am trying to develop a solid seat for the medium canter, then supporting with my legs while we transitioned to the collected canter. 

Then, because circles, Amanda put up five cones in a double slalom pattern. However, she had me start with the single slalom.

Like this.

Then we did

So by making our last circle at the end of the single slalom bigger, we could ride directly into this pattern.

We did that twice in both directions and then Amanda added the figure 8 to the end of that pattern around the two bottom cones. We could have circled and added the triple barrels, using the cones as the outside of our circles, but both Ashke and I were pretty tired at that point. We went back to the trot and worked on the half-pass. Ashke tends to stall out in that movement, so I borrowed a dressage whip to hold. I don’t have to touch him with it, but just holding it is a signal to move forward. It also helps to direct his shoulder forward just a bit so we are moving shoulders fore in the half-pass. It’s a tricky thing, but he loves doing it and it helps our side pass so much. 

Amanda changed the cones to a diamond pattern and had us try an exercise her trainer makes her do. The exercise is to lengthen the gait between the cones, then contract the gait at the cone, executing a quarter pirouette on the sides, and a half pirouette on the ends. That was hard, primarily because Ashke was expecting a transition down at the cones, rather than a transition within the gait, but he did it really well once we were on the same page and he understood what I was asking for. Especially given we were at the end of our hour lesson which had included. a lot of collected work. 

I just fall more and more in love with this horse every day.

Spring

Friday, the temps were in the upper 60's, with a few non-official spots pushing over 70. Friday night, as the sun disappeared, rain-sleet mix started to bombard the Front Range. J and I went out to dinner and then swung by the barn, since temps had plummeted. I wanted to put Ashke in a light-weight sheet for Saturday, rather than the turn-out sheet he was in. I switched blankets, cleaned his stall, and then realized there was fresh blood smeared on his cheek.

There was a small scrape just above the left knee, with a small scab. No swelling. No heat. I cleaned up the dried blood, but since it seemed pretty insignificant, I didn't worry. I figured I would ride on Saturday, giving Ashke two days off in a row.

Saturday, when I got to the barn, this is what I found:

 After cold hosing to bring the swelling down, it felt like the strike (I'm assuming here, but he does go out into turnout with a mare and it is spring) grazed the bone and I was dealing with a bone bruise.

A lot of swelling, but very little heat.

After fifteen minutes of cold hosing, I asked for extra eyes and tried a trot on a circle to test for soundness. He trotted out sound in both directions. 

I opted to not ride, just to be on the safe side.

Instead, T, his Godmother and myself went to see A Quiet Place. Hands down one of the best movies so far this year. It's touted as a horror movie, but other than three jump scares, I would class it as a suspense thriller. It's really good. You should treat yourself.

Sunday, although the knee was still swollen and the edema had spread (and he didn't want it touched at all), he was playful and forward on the lunge line. Completely sound. We hauled out to Boulder to ride the trails at Marshall Lake.

 Leaving the parking lot headed uptrail

Vantage point. Such a lovely viewpoint.

Ashke is uptrail in the distance. We were very impatient yesterday.

Marshall Lake and canal

The crossing over the canal is a bridge with slick rock and rock steps going up hill from the bridge.

The water was low so we crossed at a cattle ford.

Not sure we could manage that if the canal was full.

Top of Greenland Mesa, being impatient.

 Ashke and I were playing bite face while waiting for Tia to refuel.

I use my hand and try to stick my finger in his nose.

Most of the swelling was resolved at this point.

Flatirons under a spring sky

 Crossing back over the creek

 Coming down trail to J. I worked on keeping my feet under me, going downhill, and not bracing them out in front of me.

 Almost back to the parking lot.

We had a great ride. Mostly, walk with some slow trotting (mostly on the way back) and a couple of canters including one flying change. I let Ashke pick the pace, I let  him look around when he wanted. Mostly it was just about being one with him and enjoying ourselves.

It's been six years and I have a rock solid trail horse, a mid-level and learning dressage horse and an Intermediate A level Working Equitation horse. He just continues to impress me. The only thing he was worried about yesterday was the Bermese Mountain Dog we met at the end of the ride. It must have set off "danger, will robinson, it's a bear" signals in his brain. I got off and we let them sniff noses, after which I'm pretty sure Ashke wanted to groom the dog. 

Today, it is snowing.

Lesson Recap

So, it was pretty obvious from the get go last night that the work we are doing with Ashke's body is making a huge difference in what he can do. I got some really nice half-pass at the trot at the very beginning of the ride. He is able to step up and under himself much easier going in his "hard" direction and was pretty proud of himself when he executed it effortlessly.

Before the lesson started we were walking the rail around the arena and he stopped to snort and inspect one of the "scary" areas. I squeaked and jerked in the saddle in pretend fright, which caused him to jump a little bit the first time and then just get irritated the second, third, fourth and fifth time. I was laughing my ass off, because if he is going to be silly, I will be silly right back at him. He gave up the ghost and just ignored those areas for the rest of the ride.

My Prince of Unicorns does not like to be made fun of. LMAO.

We did shoulder in and haunches in at the trot, which he did effortlessly. We went to leg yields at the trot, which he was a bit confused about, and kept offering the half-pass. We reestablished the leg yield, and I worked on slowing the trot, while still moving sideways, which helps with the whole balance thing and getting strung out. It really helped improve the leg yield moving from the right to the left. We will continue to work on that going forward. (It's not a race.)

Then we started spiral circles at the canter. I don't know why that exercise is so difficult for me, but it is a hard thing for me to do. When he started showing signs of fatigue, he would tip his hip to the inside of the circle to try and compensate. Amanda had us stop the spirals and move to cantering square corners, which forces him to use his body correctly. It was easier for us both on the right lead square, mostly because his right hind is still fatigued quickly. The square corners were good in both directions.

After a bit of a walk, we worked on modulating his canter from a smooth, free medium canter to a slower, more collected canter, focusing on making the transition very clear on the circle. His medium canter is much better and he was struggling less with the transitions. We were doing three to five steps in each gait then transitioning to the other speed and then back again. I really had to work to remember not to lean forward or throw my hands away. It will be a good exercise for me to work on while maintaining my body position.

After another walk break, we worked on slowing the canter as much as possible, without breaking to the trot for two or three steps and then moving forward again. This is what Amanda called a "schooling" canter and is a precursor to the canter pirouette. We could get two or three steps before he began to struggle. Amanda says its a really hard gait to hold and we should try two or three steps before moving forward again. After that exercise he was too tired to try any more canter.

We did some serpentines one handed at the trot, some half-pass at the walk (so hard to do at a slower gait) and then worked on the medium trot across the diagonal. That was enough for the night.

He did great. He was listening and trying too hard sometimes, but what can you do with an over achiever?

Gotcha

April 1, 2012, was the day we gave Ashke his first bath, after an 8 hour haul from Amarillo.

I will not share those old photos any more. You can go to the first three posts in this blog to read about the start of our journey.

When I walked in the barn last night, I was greeted with: "Your horse . . . . "

(He was doing Levades in his stall because Ardee was outside)

Last night, he felt amazing.

His hoofbeats finally sounded like they are supposed to.

(clip, clip, clip, clip vs clip, clip, clip, thud)

His trot was floaty.

His canter was spot on.

His walk was free and swinging from the first step away from the mounting block.

The ride was short, since I didn't want to push.

Tonight we lesson.

Follow Up

Yesterday morning, I met the chiropractor/vet at the barn for a recheck of his right hind/SI area. Amanda had suggested at our last lesson that perhaps he had a rib out still, since he did not really want to bend to the right. If you watch the video from Sunday, our turns to the right are much wider and not as straight as the ones in the other direction. I was also really worried about his right hip, although after our ride on Sunday, I was pretty sure it was better than it had been.

I told her about our almost fall on Weds, and she checked his right shoulder, which was a little out. That was a quick adjustment. Then she checked the base of his neck, which has been holding for six months or so. It was fine. There was a rib out - the last rib on the right side which is influenced by what she called the intercostal joints - and his SI joint was a little off. The rib was sore and Ashke actually kicked out when she finally got it adjusted. Not at her, but just in protest, almost like a reflex. She checked the hip joint and it was moving much better and closer to normal, so she left that alone. She adjusted the SI area, and then put needles in. Ashke was a bit unhappy about the needles at first, until the energy slowed down, and then he finally relaxed.

The visit wasn't helped by the fact that it was pretty cold in the barn and he was shaking. The vet's assistant ran to my box and grabbed his Rambo fleece (nice and thick) which we used to cover from his poll to just in front of the needles. His relief at being warm was palpable. When I walked him back to his stall, she said the right leg was moving even straighter and freer than the last time she was out. I'm hoping that, like all of the other things,

Over all, most of the adjustments were minimal, and she didn't feel that she needed to see him until her next visit to the barn. I gave him last night off and hope to ride tonight, depending on the jump lesson schedule at the barn.

Play Day

Yesterday, we did a play day at Circle Star Arena for anyone who wanted to come. The focus was working through obstacles (with trainer help from KM and CS, if needed) and then an opportunity to ride a course. One of my unstated goals is to get Ashke out to as many different places as possible, to work on the whole spooking-at-all-the-things. The only way I am going to be able to get him to not be reactive, is to put him in the position of riding in unfamiliar places and still expecting him to listen and be obedient. He did really well with everything except the table at C in the indoor (which is always a scary point) which was covered with bright blue plastic tablecloth. We were finally able to trot past that without a huge fuss, but it took a while.

When we got to the outside obstacle arena, There were eleven obstacles (plus the jump) set up to practice on. One of the obstacles was a fixed gate. This was a HUGE issue for us at Expo, especially in reverse. I decided to address it first, in case I deemed it necessary to get off and work it from the ground. We went through forward the first time and Ashke managed it with only a small reaction to the gate swinging toward him as we were working it closed. After that slight flinch, it was no big deal. Such a good boy.

Then we went to do it backwards. The first time, I swung the gate away from us, wide open, without trying to hold onto it, and then backed him through. Once we were through, I picked up the gate again and sidepassed him to close it. I swear to you I heard him say "oh, THAT'S what you wanted me to do? That's easy." That was the only time I had to let go of the gate. The next time we tried it in reverse, I was able to keep my hand on the gate and he did it calmly and quietly (although you can see him working his mouth as we were doing it).

Once he know what is expected, it's a no brainer for him to do.

We took a short break for lunch and then came back to ride the course. I was asked to go first, since I have the most experience and am riding at the most advanced level in the group. We located all of the obstacles, and their order, but didn't really have a lot of time to think about approaches. There were a couple of approaches I would have changed, and some questions I would have asked, if it had been a show. I thought, given the brief look I had, that we did a pretty good job of putting the course together. 

The break in the middle was due to T calling my cell in the middle of my ride. I was very pleased with the lines that we chose and found that I didn't feel panicked or rushed during the ride. Ashke listened very well, and only had two small spooks which resulted in the break in gait going behind the livestock pen and another at the end of the single slalom. Overall, he felt relaxed and engaged and really happy to be riding the obstacles. 

While I was chatting with the other riders after my ride, I was explaining that Ashke likes to be shown to a woman who thinks her horse would hate being in a show (she does WE for fun and the training experience). I realized at that moment, that Ashke was bred to be shown: he wants to be a show horse. He's resented not being shown when he was young and I think he really wants to preen under the admiration of us silly humans in a show environment. I think he is a bit relieved to know that I want to show, even if I feel nervous and timid during the process.

One of the things I can say about our ride yesterday, just like the dressage test at Expo, the ride has slowed down enough for me mentally, that I am able to think and plan. I was able to come off an obstacle, see the line for the next obstacle, plan my approach and not feel rushed or pressured. Yes, part of it is the non-show environment, but other than a score, I probably had more people watching my ride yesterday than I have ever had at a show. I just didn't feel stressed. And that allowed Ashke to move without feeling stressed. 

I'm so happy.