A different way to consider horse equipment - Is leather OK?

This not exactly directly riding related but it totally made my day:

Two of our program mangers just came back from a business trip to Mexico. One of them shyly told me they bought me a gift in Mexico but now have second thoughts about it --

Well, as it turns out, the gift is a whip. But that’s not why they had second thoughts… it’s because I am a vegetarian. They wondered if I would take anything made out of leather. Hmm, I’m wearing leather shoes, riding in a leather saddle – and I’m not going to eat it: So I guess it’s fine!

This whole exchange just gave me many more laugh lines! First the humor in it, but I really was touched by the thought process. Just in case, though, I might keep the whip in my office.

Time flies - when you spend your weekend with horses

The weekend was chock full with activities. Saturday I got up at 4:30 a.m. (!) to watch Judy’s lesson with Jan Ebeling. Due to Jan’s travel schedule, the clinic started at 6:15 a.m. Well, at that time of the day I had the auditor’s section to myself. It was important for me to see Jan and his work with Judy, as she works closely with him and naturally this has a ‘trickle down effect’ into her own teachings.

 

Jan is a very soft spoken, kind and laid back clinician. I enjoyed watching and listening. His comments were easy to assimilate, like: “firm muscles, soft joints”. He used shoulder-fore a lot for half-passes, changes, etc. The riders I watched were all upper level, and I have to admit to some pangs of envy when I saw straight, clean lines of flying changes (my nemesis).

 

Later the morning I lifted my frozen body out of the chair to drive home and get my boys worked. JP and I decided on a trailride, by then the sun had come through and it was a nice first day of fall. Remy was a bit of a brat, he sure is starting to test his boundaries. Thankfully we didn’t have any major disagreements, and finished well.

Sunday dawned way too early for my taste, but then: horses to ride, lessons to take! Saumur and Remy got to make the trip to Judy’s for our lessons. I rode Saumur outside, despite blustering winds. He was good, me… same old, same old – those darn rounded shoulders! We focused on keeping him in the correct frame, neither to low nor too high. Still struggled with the flying changes to the right. He doesn’t bring his right hind all the way through (always the issue) and the straightness needs to be improved.

When it was Remy’s turn somebody out of sight but within ear shot had started to rev up power tools, which Remy in turn used as an excuse to play on the longe line. It seemed more prudent to move to the indoor for the riding part. Starting out Remy was fussing and not paying attention. We worked on shoulder fore, leg yields, and then shoulder in. Judy encouraged me to continue even when things got dicey, instead of going to a walk break. “He has to earn his walk break”. Key is to keep moving Remy forward, and having my legs on all the time. As soon as he gets fussy in the bridle put the legs on, less rein. As Judy pointed out, one key difference in my horses is that Saumur would never try to consciously upset me, while Remy full well tests the waters and doesn’t worry too much about the consequences. We finished with some nice shoulder ins, and Remy ended up in a lovely frame.

By the time we were back home it was time to take the dogs and Teddy for their run, then on to cleaning the house. Ugh! Window cleaning! Amazing how ‘motivating’ the upcoming visit of houseguests can be. Antje and Axel, my former babysitter and her husband, will be visiting us this week. Very exciting, it’s their first trip to the US. And, needless to say, it’s been ages since she babysat me J!

A different kind of teamwork - let's go to the other side

We are truly fortunate to have great neighbors and not only in the spirit of “great fences make great neighbors” everybody is taking interest in our fence project. It’s been rather slow going, at least for my taste. I’m right in line with the song from Queen: “I want it, I want it all, and I want it NOW!”.

Today I checked in with Gabriele and Virgil, our neighbors downhill, to see if the work crew showed up. They seem to rove between different projects, which needless to say is not conducive to fast progress. It makes me nervous, as the boys sure are not happy being confined in a small area (which a lot of horses would still consider very large!).

Sure enough Gabriele told me that she watched Remy and Chambord tag-teaming on the old fence. She said it looked like the guys made an agreement, and then both of them leaned next to each other on the fence, pushing on it to see if it would give in. Luckily so far the fence has been holding up, but I wonder for how much longer it will last? I told Gabriele to call me if she has three and a half visitors (or 16 hooves) knocking at her door!

When the tack moves into your house - and takes it over

It started with the saddles, we didn’t want to leave our Schleese saddles in the unsecured tackroom in the barn. What to do? Bring them into the house, of course! So JP mounted saddle holders into our sun-/mudroom. Well, then of course, what to do with the boots, especially in colder weather? I have, uh, four pairs of tall riding boots, plus paddock boots for both of us. And so it went… the show bridles came next.

Years ago JP built a beautiful large tack box for Crissy (like the ones the sell for $900+ in stores). With winter boarding looming, JP recently spruced it up. Well, now it looks so nice I didn’t want to put it back into the barn! So, guess what? The tack box moved into the house, too.

Perhaps I should start moving the furniture from the house to the barn?

Georgeous weather - and riding in a fish bowl

Saturday morning JP and I decided to make the best use of the perfect weather by going on a trailride with Remy and Chambord. The four of us enjoyed ourselves on the beautiful trails.

In the afternoon it was time for more serious work, we had lessons at Judy's. On the way to Clarkston we had one very close call, as all of a sudden the cars in front of us came to a dead stop and we barely missed the car in front of us. I was more worried about somebody hitting us from behind, though, but luckily, the driver swerved to the side. Nothing like a near miss to get the adrenaline up!

Once safely at Judy's we decided to see how Saumur and Remy would handle the work in her indoor arena. It is huge (larger than the 20x60m regulation size arena), and one side is all windows to the observation room. It looks a bit like being in a fish bowl. Add Saumur with his many phobias and well, it could make for 'interesting' rides. Once again, Saumur surprised me: he was looking around but not spooking, and settled into the work calmly. Judy guided me through some changes in my position (those darn shoulders going forward!), reminding me that I need to hug Saumur with my legs, and also keep looking up. I don't know what exactly happened, but the entire ride felt great. JP told me afterwards that he rarely has seen me riding so relaxed and well! We creatively used the sun ray pattern on the floor for shoulder in exercises. The canter work focused on keeping the energy, or actually getting the energy 'up' (upwards) when collecting the steps.

Due to Remy's natural curiosity I didn't worry as much about him in the arena. With Remy it's not the fear that has be overcome, it's the "Oh, look, people!", "Did you see the dog?", "Hi there, do you have a cookie?". We had one 'hairy' moment when Remy humped up his back and threw in a bit of a buck. It was on a bending line and I thought he had lost his balance. Judy suggested that he might feel some tightness in his back. Can't wait to get the the 'airbags' (flair system) for my saddle (they are on-route from the UK). The rest of the ride went well. Judy asked if it was OK with me if she'd get on to see how Remy feels. I enjoyed watching them, it so different to actually see how the horse looks. They both looked great together.

Afterwards Judy confirmed, "Wow, your two horses really are the complete opposites". Where Saumur is timid and easily frightened, Remy is bold and tries to question authority. So, if I remember correctly from the few physics classes I didn't skip, it would mean that I have to be the 'balancing pole' in the middle.

All I hope is that this will make me a better rider and that I do both of the boys justice in bringing out the best of them (and me!).

Progress on the fence-front - and surprising calmness

Last night when I came home the fence people were still very much at work, ramming the posts into the ground. I don’t know exactly what to expect, I guess post hole digging? But these days seem to be over. The round posts get sharpened on one end, and then the Bobcat-type machine pounds them into the ground. They look massive – no comparison to what we had.

The boys are less than enthused having to stay in their rather small paddock. We try to keep enough hay in front of them to keep them occupied… but… the hay outside the fence looks just too yummy. I see a ‘jail-break’ coming if we don’t move them soon.

Saumur surprised me yesterday. With all the pounding and machinery noise going on I thought I better just longe him; full well expecting him to be a wild man, frightened and jumping around. Last year at the Traverse City Horse Show he was barely manageable, having been thoroughly upset by the construction that was going on. And then this year at Sandy’s he ran through the fence when huge farm equipment was used in the hayfield next to his turnout.

Well, Saumur is always good for a surprise. He was a calm as could be, didn’t get bothered by the Bobcat coming close to the outdoor arena, noise, workers, posts being dumped on the ground, etc.  – go figure! Tonight there probably will be something small (like a bucket in the wrong spot) that will absolutely fluster him. Just to keep me on my toes…

Looking at 'naked' pastures - and a good start for JP and Chambord

Where have all the fences gone? Or, more importantly: When will the new fences come??

Looking out of the window, I see only green… most of the old fences are all but gone. There is only a small area left where the boys are turned out. It looks decidedly strange! The old fence posts are laying in piles, the boards have already been picked up. Now of course I worry about how long it will take until the new fencing is installed! So far we haven’t had the best of luck in terms of communication with the fence company. Good thing I don’t have the habit of biting my nails, otherwise they’d be chewed to the quick by now.

JP and Chambord had their first lesson with Judy yesterday, and came home very happy – which in turn made me happy. After all, the five of us are more or less a ‘package deal’ :-) To stay with the motto of the musketeers: One for all - all for one!

Battle of the wills - and hacking, not trailriding

The recent rain left out outdoor arena too soggy, so I decided to longe Remy on grass. He's been pretty fully of himself lately, frequently throwing in 'airs above the ground' on the longe line. Prudently I won't get on before having checked on the 'mood of the day'.

Remy thought being on grass was a splendid idea - working and snacking at the same time! He actually managed to trot nicely with the nose all the way to the ground, trying to snatch some greens. While I like him to be stretched down, that wasn't quite the idea. So, I pushed on, getting his head up - he pushed on, putting his head down. Well, Remy, you might be a cocky 4-year old from Out West, but you are dealing with one stubborn German ... and so he finished really nicely and got to go on a pleasant walk afterwards.

When I got Saumur ready for our trailride today I noticed he had a huge stone wedged into his hoof, stuck between the edges of the shoe. No way I could dislodge it with a hoof pick. This was a two person job. Good thing I have "JP the toolman" who came to our rescue. Saumur stood patiently while we sweated on getting the darn rock out. Luckily he didn't get a bruise and was perfectly sound to hit the trails.

So, here we come to the part of "Hacking - not trailriding". I was thinking today that I need to use the British expression 'hacking'. It happens frequently that I get funny looks when I tell people that we go on trailrides. Until today I was always wondering why, after all, even Carl Hester rides Uthopia cross country! The light bulb went on when we crossed trail riders today: Outfits better suited for the bar, bling, some wild looking hats ,... reins in one hand, beer can in the other. So, could it be that people think JP and I go out like this?!

Having fun - worrying innocent bystanders

Saumur got me thinking of the rather silly song Isabel Werth used for her freestyle “Ein bisschen Spass muss sein”.

By the time I came home from work I was thoroughly exhausted and decided to rather longe the boys than ride. Saumur is very good on the longe line, I only use a cavasson (no bit, surcingle etc). Saumur started out nice and relaxed. All of a sudden he went down, grinding himself into the sand, rolling over and over, loudly groaning. Just as some people came by – of course they wanted to know what was wrong with the “poor horse”, that looked like it was in agony.

Well … absolutely nothing. It wasn’t agony – it was ecstasy! Saumur simply had decided it was time for a good roll, one of his favorite things to do (never mind he didn’t need to wait to be on the longe line, he had all day in the pasture to do that).

So going back to the song: Translated it means “You have to have a little fun”!

Cross training - adding gymnastics and cavaletti

I’ve been ‘lusting’ after the Blok system for years – Finally a sale! Yay! Nothing to stop me (and my credit card) now. I am sure Remy will enjoy the cavaletti work. We have already started with ground poles and he tackles them with gusto. Our training is modeled after Ingrid Klimke’s (who I absolutely admire) cross training system. The idea behind is to keep the training varied to prevent boredom to set in, and also to work different muscle groups. Take for example dressage horses, most of them only know stall – indoor - stall. If they are lucky they get worked in an outdoor arena from time to time. That’s it – and the same applies of course to all the other specialists, too, jumpers, equitation horses, breed exhibits, etc.

By coincidence the other day I ran into Michele at the tack shop. She was our ‘short-lived’ jumping instructor years ago. While Saumur’s natural jumping style is impeccable (knees almost over his ears, round bascule) his bolting after the jumps did not endear him to Michele.  Good thing though that we didn’t scare her away altogether – she actually offered to come to our place to help us with the gymnastics exercises for Remy and Chambord. Saumur is off the hook!

While Remy will be like a kid on a trampoline, I predict Chambord doing the equivalent of shrugging his shoulders, as if to say “Oh-Kay.. let’s get it over with.. and you better up the ante on the treats for this!”

The best compliment: "He is a normal horse"

I was a bit apprehensive about our initial lessons with Judy; she also knew about the accident Sandy and Saumur had. In addition, I sensed the unspoken question “Why Morgans?”

Saumur was first to go. We went to the outdoor arena and I gave Judy a quick synopsis of Saumur’s past and present. Aside from a small hop Saumur was fine, no spooks. I kept the warm up low key. Then Judy asked if she could get on Saumur. They both looked great together. I could see that she rode him on a much softer contact that I usually do. After Judy got off she pronounced him “a normal horse”! Yay! I felt relieved and also very happy –all those years, trying make Saumur a ‘normal’ horse…

Remy, the social butterfly, was very interested in his surroundings and all the horses adjacent to the outdoor arena. It was a bit of a challenge to keep his attention, but overall he put in a good effort. Remy even kept it together when some of the horses started to run and play. Prudently, though, I skipped the canter while the fun was going on.

As we talked afterwards we commented on the interesting facts of Judy going to Germany to buy German Warmbloods - and me in America having American Morgan Horses… and let’s not forget the French guy with his American Quarter Horse.  And we agreed that it works for all of us!

Changes - and a new chapter

Labor Day was a reminder that fall is just around the corner, with winter looming behind (yikes). In addition to spending quality time with the boys (two and four-legged) the long weekend also gave me time to finalize a rather big decision.

I had been pondering the situation about what to do for quite some time. One trip from work to Sandy’s and home it’s a whopping 113 miles (181 km)! With two horses I would have to make the journey at least four times a week. Even with the best intentions, that’s just too daunting. Or – as some of my friends and family say – "plain nuts" (especially considering my work and travel schedule). Previously it was feasible because I only had Saumur that needed serious work, and Sandy was riding him also.

I will always be grateful to Sandy for all her help and support, she was instrumental to our success over the last years. Unfortunately, things have changed and we need to adapt to the circumstances.  

 

So, what’s next?

I have decided to work with a very experienced and highly recommended professional, Judy Kelly. Judy’s farm, Topline, is much closer to home; and on a personal level I think we will work well together. A new chapter … still onward and upward we go!

One Equine Social Butterfly - and one Intellectual

What a fantastic weekend - and and holiday weekend to boot! Just perfect weather, sunny, warm,  with the early morning crispness that tells you fall is almost around the corner.

On Saturday Saumur and Remy got to go for a visit at a different barn - part of my 'exposure to new things' program. Two very different goals though: For Saumur it is to overcome his shyness, for Remy to keep his focus. Remy's talking to friends (whinnying) and his need to socialize unfortunately do not help produce good tests at the shows. Both were very good, Saumur only had one tiny shy.

Remy also kept his focus, even when horses in the adjoining paddocks were running. Taking him by other horses, though, is quite funny. It goes like "Hi, my name is Remy - what's yours?". I can see him being the center of attention at any party, the good looking guy who easily makes conversation with just about anybody, and who is quite the player. Saumur is the shy one, but once drawn into a conversation he will attract an audience with his intellect.

Yesterday we had a just lovely trailride with Chambord and Saumur. And to the earlier point, Saumur is now so confident that he stays right up with Chambord, and when Chambord comes too close Saumur bares his teeth and threatens him.  Brains, Beauty and Brawn - Go Saumur!