Arena Vacation

With knowing that some of our issues are saddle fit, I’m a lot more easily frustrated lately.  Training and crookedness are expected problems and something I enjoy slowly chipping away at over time.  Not being able to sit well is killing me inside knowing it is at least partially saddle fit and not issues that I can improve with training.  My frustration generally leads me to drill sergeant mode where neither Mort nor I have fun. 

Looking back, it’s been a while since we’ve had a really fun, good ride.  None have been awful or horrible, but none have been wonderful either.  You know what they say about doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results, so Mort and I are taking a vacation.  To the best of my ability I am going to avoid the arena for this week.  This is hard for me when I have set goals that I want to work toward.  But if riding isn’t fun I know that I’m not getting Mort’s best work, and we'll both end up sour.  

He got all weekend off because the husband and I went away on a mini-vacation this past holiday.  Yesterday when I hopped on we immediately headed out to the trails (with Emma).  We spent the majority of our time walking and looking at the small sticks/branches that fell during the last storm (because scary).  When we reached a big open stretch I let him stride out in a big, fun, swinging trot.  He was up over his topline and just about as lofty as he could be.  In other words, it was a fun trot. 

After yelling at Emma some for wanting to swim in the stinky pond, we did two long stretches of canter.  He was uphill, balanced and listening (mostly) when I wanted a longer or shorter stride.  It was a touch harder on our left lead, but we ended with an awesome, powerful canter.  At the very least we were having a good time.  Ideally we were also working on building him to be more even over the topline and straight through his body because that is easier for us outside of the confines of a small arena. 

I plan on getting in a few more romps along the trails and in the field to just relax and have fun.  I’ll hit the arena next week a time or two in prep for our clinic next weekend.  I’m really looking forward to that as a kick in the butt to get us out of this rut.  Meanwhile I continue to experiment with pad/saddle fit.  

May 10 Questions

      What are your summer goals?

Goals would be to really step-up Mort and I to second level work—better connection and thoroughness in all things. 

Start training for my half-marathon this fall. 

2.      Do you have any tips or tricks for fly control?

Not really anything new or unusual.  Mort wears a fly mask and fly sheet (with a hood and belly band).  I use a couple different kinds of fly spray; my go-to is UltraShield usually.  I’m currently trying out horse leg bands that have insecticide in them.  I’ve not had them long enough to decide how I feel about them yet.  I may do a review later. 

How often do you bathe your horse?

I hose him down after most rides in the summer, but full on baths usually only happen when we go out in public or if he just super dirty.  

3.      Do you have any upcoming travel plans?  Equine related or otherwise?

My last post had Mort’s travel plans.  We’ve got a couple clinics and schooling shows.  Steven and I will undoubtedly camp a handful of times this summer.  We also want to visit my sisters (Chicago and Ohio).  Plans aren’t set yet, but we’ll be out and about taking a couple long weekends. 

4.      What is your favorite way to beat the heat?

Fantasize about moving north or to the mountains.  A cold beer does me good.  Fishing on the river.  Float trips. 

As far as working my horse and running—try to get some early mornings in and keep an eye on our heat/humidity fitness. 

5.      Do you do anything to prevent your horse from sunbleaching?

Not on purpose.  They go out at night during the summer and Mort has a lot of fly gear that for sure helps. 

6.      How hot is too hot for you to ride?

If I’m planning on riding I’m probably gonna ride no matter the heat.  However, I will for sure take into account my horse and potentially do some simple/easy work.  I run throughout the summer in Missouri with temps in the upper 90’s and stifling humidity so I think that we adapt fairly well to our environments if given the chance.  Early summer is always the hardest and I take it easier.  Getting early morning rides in on the weekend is better though. 

7.      How important is sun protection for you riding or just in general?

I have a moisturizer with sunscreen in it that I put on every day.  If I’m just out for a regular ride I’m not gonna put sunscreen on (though I fully know that I should).  If it’s longer than an hour or so I’ll make sure to lather up.  Outside of horse activities has the same rule-of-thumb—anything longer than an hour or so. 

8.      Have you ever gone swimming with your horse?

Nope.  Mort takes convincing to go around puddles while I’m on him, but also LOVES swimming in the pond in turnout so I honestly have no idea how it would go if I tried, probably not well.

9.      And because shopping is always on my mind, what’s on your summer wish list?

I always have an ongoing list of horse items that I want; this is my current one.

White show breeches (Most of mine are getting off-white)

Roller spurs

Schooling pads

Bell boots (any suggestions on some that don’t break after a few months?)

Black polo wraps

Saddle adjustment 
Bling browband
New show shirts
Fly bonnet

May 10 Questions was stolen from http://liz-stout.blogspot.com/ 

Updates and Summer Schedule

     Mort and I have been trucking along on the half pad experimenting front.  The shims are definitely helping, but I have yet to find a really wonderful combo.  Last night I enlisted the help of BM to try a few different combinations.  We both ended up liking extra shims in the front right pocket of the half pad.  It was easier to get contact with our right seat bone, but it still didn’t feel quite right.  To me it almost felt diagonal?  I’m going to try another shim in the back right pocket to see if that helps. 

     I guess the goal is to find an acceptable shim combo that works until I sell some of my old cull tack and get some money for an adjustment.  My parents brought a bunch of my old tack from when I was younger on her last visit (to get it out of their basement), so I’ve got a lot that I want to sell.  Now I just need to get to our local tack shop to actually get it on her shelves on consignment.  Last week my old Stuebben jumping saddle sold, so I’m one step closer! 

     Other than that Mort and I have just been chipping away at all of our usual issues.  I want him more responsive off of my legs.  I want him to stay relaxed in the lateral work, especially in the walk.  I need to make sure I’m not drilling him because that is so much my personality.  We’ve been working on our canter transitions and his transition to the right is really coming along.  We’re staying connected through the entire transition a lot of the time now.  We’ve got a few events on the horizon that will hopefully help propel us through our summer training and help us reach my goals. 

·         June 10-11 Britta Johnston clinic

o   I really enjoyed her last time and she stepped us up to the next level of riding for Mort.  She really held me accountable for letting Mort get away with giving me 80%.  I’m hoping we get some more of that as well as maybe work on some more second level quality work.  I’m really looking forward to riding two days with her instead of one. 

·         July 8-9 Holger Bechtloff clinic

o   I’ve not ridden or audited with him before, but it’s very close and not very expensive so it is on my list. 

·         July 15 SLADS schooling show

o   This is going to be a more expensive schooling show than my ‘normal’, but it is at the National Equestrian Center in St. Louis and that is where my recognized show is in October.  I really want Mort to get to a big show facility before I drop $700 on a recognized show and he’s too distracted to do really well. 

·         October 7-8 recognized show

o   This is still tentative at this point, but it’s for sure a goal. 

     SLADS has another schooling show October 2^nd at the NEC that I would be interested in if Mort didn’t do well during our first one.  There are a couple of other local schooling shows that I will most likely attend as well.  One of the local organizations that I’m a member of has one each fall as well as WWU.  I know the schedule isn’t super busy, but with camping, vacations, and money that’s about all I’ll do this year.  I’m sure Mort won’t complain about less shows and more trail rides anyway.  

Saddle Issues

My saddle is definitely sitting crooked on Mort.  If you look from the top/behind it sits off to the right—which makes sense as to why my right seat bone is ineffective.  I asked the BM to hop on it and give it a feel and she had the exact same issues, so the saddle is definitely limiting progress at this point.  It’s possible that the saddle is only crooked because Mort is crooked.  The saddle could be crooked as it’s used and has been reflocked in the past.  Either way something needs to be done and I have a few experiments in mind.

·         I want to try my cross country saddle on him.  If it’s at least less crooked, I could potentially school him in that for a little while. 

·         I want to try a shim half pad on him and move some of the extra padding to the right and see if that helps

·         I want to get a saddle adjuster out and fix my saddle

o   This will most likely be $300-500

o   My saddle isn’t a lifetime saddle for me, but another new saddle would most likely have to be adjusted to Mort as well (aka new saddle cost plus adjustment cost = not going to happen anytime soon)

Essentially I want to see if I can squeak some more time out of my saddle so I can save up some to get it adjusted.  Meanwhile I’m not sure what my plans will be if I cannot—I guess I’ll deal with that if it comes.

I rode Mort bareback yesterday and we focused a lot on walk/trot transitions.  He was fussy at first but settled into the game and got really fun and uphill.  He worked hard and we got a nice little sweat going, not fun while bareback.  He got a good two hours of grazing time in the yard while I cleaned stalls and fed the other ponies.  Today’s plan is a lunge and groundwork day because I really want to get a good run in for Emma and I tonight.  

Reality Check

Bad news, I can’t ride.  Seriously my poor horse has to put up with my crap as I flop around like a sack of useless potatoes that leans horribly to one side.  Good news, I can ride without a saddle.  More bad news, I cannot ride dressage bareback forever. 

Growing up when I got my first horse all that I had was a 50lb western saddle.  I was a kid and I had nowhere near the strength to put that up on a horse so I spent the first two or so years riding bareback 90% of the time.  I see this as a blessing because I credit it as giving me a good seat.  Nothing fixes a bad seat like riding bareback (it can create its own issues but we won’t get into that).  I’ve always enjoyed bareback riding. 

Yesterday I hopped on Mr. Mort.  I was trying out a pair of those roller ball spurs to see if I could get away with some lighter aids.  He was a touch tense when I first got on and didn’t get better throughout the ride.  I couldn’t get him to relax over his topline.  I couldn’t get him to push into the outside rein tracking left (an ongoing issue, but seemed worse).  I used the spurs a couple times and he did move off of my leg really well, but we had so many other issues I was starting to feel the frustration train pulling in.  I jumped off and pulled off my saddle. 

Mort and I have yet to have a tense, frustrating ride while I’m bareback.  I know I put less pressure on both of us, but I wanted to experiment.  He was almost immediately better.  When I upped what I was asking of him instead of getting tense and tight he did it with almost no issues.  I even cantered him for the first time bareback yesterday and his tricky left lead wasn’t nearly as tricky.  Essentially we went from tension and frustration to relaxation and easily accomplishing some tougher stuff.  I didn’t need the spurs more than twice bareback because he responded so well to thigh and calf pressure. 

Riding a relaxed and happy horse is easier, but I could immediately feel the difference in my body.  I can not only feel my seat as it gets crooked at times, but it pretty much fixes itself.  I don’t forget to support him with my left leg when it’s on the inside.  I also support him with my whole leg instead of just my lower leg.  My left hand isn’t magically fixed, but my body being fixed, making Mort more fixed, helps me give my hand more focus to make sure it doesn’t get stuck.  Essentially I have to actually stay straight and balanced bareback and since my feel is better I am automatically better at supporting him gently.  All of this was awesome and a lot of fun and we played a lot with moving his individual body parts.  But it’s not the final answer. 

Clearly I need to double-check the fit on his saddle.  We’ve had it almost a year and Mort’s body has changed a lot in that year.  I’ll for sure take a look at that tonight before our ride.  But I really do think that most of the issues are me because I feel myself being crooked in the saddle and I just cannot seem to fix it for more than a stride or two.  

I also didn’t realize what a poop I was being with my left leg until I got a couple bareback rides in; I was only really supporting him with my calf and letting my thigh sit there like a dead fish.  I wonder why he doesn’t bend well through the turns that direction?  Poor Mort.  For now, I’ve pulled the stirrups off of my saddle.  I’m going to check the fit and try some no-stirrup rides to see if that helps even out my seat.  I think (hope) that me being more aware of my left leg being a slacker will make me better about using it.  I’ll also most likely do a bareback ride about once a week to double check that I’m doing the right things. 

The good stuff is that Mort is less crooked than I thought, but I’m more crooked.  

A Brief Update

     If anyone has been watching the weather in Missouri lately you’ll know that we’ve gotten like 7+ inches of rain over the last week.  The ponies have been stuck inside since last Friday afternoon.  The BM tries to get them all out twice a day in the indoor when she feeds and does stalls, but obviously the horses aren’t super happy about 45 minutes of turnout versus 12 hours.  To make matters worse, I have been super busy the last several days which means Mort had four days off.  The most days he’s had off since his last injury and my longest time not going to the barn since my last vacation (last fall).  Poor neglected Mort.

     Needless to say when I finally got out last night after work he was a bit sassy.  I decided to up the ante by riding bareback.  When I first got on him he was definitely a bit jig-happy and wanted to toss his head around.  After a good bit of lateral work at the walk he finally settled some.  We played mainly in the trot just getting him relaxed and working evenly into both hands.  I don’t have another show planned until July (I think), so I’m taking these two months to really work hard on getting him more even.  This of course means that I need to ride more evenly as well—his issues are just exacerbated by my issues. 

     I have two clinics in June that I am tentatively planning on going to that will hopefully help us keep stepping up our game.  I really enjoy clinics because they let me take my boy away from home base and give me a new set of eyes.  I need someone who has brought a lot of horses up the levels to show me where I’m putting holes.  As of right now, I just have the two clinics and the show in July—time, money, and Mort’s training will determine how much more we do. 

     Today is the first day with no rain, so here’s to hoping the horses can get back outside tomorrow!