"You partied three strides too early" - and a glimpse on how things should/could be

Time to go back to school for Remy today. He didn't object to boarding his school bus, and I made sure my precious cargo had a smooth ride (as much as that's possible if you deal with car-eating pot holes).

After my last ride I had thought a lot about what I could do differently and my overall approach to the changes. So today my goal was to focus on canter departs (prompt, smooth, on the aids) and working on an overall good canter, with me sitting in balance and quiet. The left canter is usually the better one, so would I be able to get the right lead as good?

I had told Judy that I'd rather not try the changes, let's just get good canters. Judy, of course, was all for it and very encouraging. It must be frustrating for her, too, to see how things can disintegrate from change to change. Especially as Remy obviously has no problems doing the changes for her (big sigh here - what's wrong with me??).

Well, we had very good canters, overall Remy felt soft, smooth, supple - obviously, the Monday Blues stayed away today. So, while on a happy ride I thought I'd throw in a change, and it was clean. Alas, as Judy pointed out "you partied three strides too early" as in my happiness I let Remy come on the forehand and he didn't push from behind as he should have.  When we talked about the lessons afterwards Judy pointed out that I was less tense today going into the changes. My problem is that I want so badly to have them clean and checked off as "got it" I get tense and my muscles are tight, confusing Remy. Take-away from today is that I need to relax (duh!), deep breath, keep the good canter, sit quiet, and then ask. It will come, after all, Rome wasn't built in a day either.

As a sage Frenchman pointed out "It's not how fast you get there - it's the quality of how you get there". Oui, chef! (said with a grin to JP).

No more avoiding coloring books - and is he cow-hocked or bow-legged?

While Remy enjoys his weekend goofing off with Chambord, copiously covered in mud, I am working my way through anatomy assignments. Even as I child, I never took to coloring books I'd rather read stories. So now all of a sudden I'm finding myself coloring - at last.

Actually "The Horse Anatomy Workbook" by Maggie Raynor is excellent, and the coloring definitely helps with the learning. At least I hope I'll find the Olecranon Tuberosity again!

After coloring I got to label Chambord. Luckily he was pretty amenable to have stickers placed all over him (there must have been a cookie or two or three in it for him..). Then it was time for the conformation analysis. That one I had to do in the privacy of my office. After all - I don't want to hurt his feelings by pointing out some of the flaws.

But on second thought, Chambord's self-confidence probably wouldn't take a hit if he knew his butt was not ideal!

A 'bitchy' lesson - I was on the wrong foot before I started

Ah, well, the ups and downs of riding. Today's lesson is best shelved under 'sucked but I know why (mostly)'.

When I got to the barn one look at Remy's stall and my mood already plummeted, it was just disgusting. Plucking out a muddy Remy from the pasture was easy, as it was time for his lunch. Alas, no lunch? I hurriedly scooped something together so he could eat before our lesson. Heaven forbid, the kid would have to work 'le ventre vide' (on an empty stomach). I know you can't expect the same horsekeeping standards as at home and I've been spoiled by the best barn manager ever: JP!

So my mind wasn't really in the game when I started, and sure enough nothing seemed to go right. Our changes went from late to worse. In hindsight, I should not have continued to try doing the changes, it would have been way better to regroup and do other exercises to get Remy better off my left leg (like turns on the forehand). My bad. I was able to finish with some decent trot work, but as a whole it left me pretty frustrated.

Luckily, Remy is easy to cheer up: All it takes is a bucket full of soaked hay cubes topped with some extra large carrots and life is good (again). As for me, I had to prematurely kill a chocolate Easter bunny and top it off with red wine. Hay cubes and carrots sure would have been the healthier choice - obviously the Happy Vegan Couple didn't entirely 'convert' me.

Yay, we didn't need an 'intervention' - and learning new vocabulary

After 10 days we went back to work under Judy's watchful eagle eyes. Did we stagnate, or -heaven forbid- regress? Some of the other clients ran into issues working alone, and I know that when I'm on my own I'm a bit more lackadaisical than usual. I do need a certain positive! pressure to be my best (only when riding, JP, only when riding).

Aside from getting reminders that Remy "needs to be comfortable on his hind end" (meaning he needs to honestly push from behind) overall it was very positive. I was really happy, especially because it was a Monday - which means Remy was just coming off a three day weekend at home. Mondays are usually his 'warm up' days, he needs time to get back into the swing of things. So yay, all things considered we weathered our alone time quite well and whew: No "Judy Intervention" needed.

On the study front I finally got the field work entrance exam done with 95.74%. It was a tough one, and it's like learning a new language. If you want to give it a whirl, here are some of the questions:

1) What does the biceps femoris do?
2) Where is the biceps brachii muscle located?
3) Which muscle moves the scapula cranially?
44 more questions to follow...

So.. how did your answers stack up?
1) Flexes the stifle
2) Cranial side of humerus
3) Trapezius

Repurposing myself - and OMG, I don't know much!

The Purpose Driven Life is the title of a book (I haven't read). It came to mind after I had lunch with Bill, one of my favorite people from my 'former life'. Bill is one of the managers I mentored in my position as VP in the automotive industry. Bill is bright, energetic, and just an all around good guy. He and Mike (another manager that reported to me) are now sharing my former job.

Bill mentioned that I prepared him so well for his promotion that he had no problems jumping in and doing the job. That made me happy because it meant I succeeded. I always saw my main purpose as a leader to give everyone in my team the mentoring, tools and opportunities for growth.

So now, without a corporate job, I have to reassess my purpose - or 'repurposing' if you will. It's not me to just sit back and relax, I do need challenges and yes, the ups and downs that come with them.

Enter the Masterson Method (MM). I am defining my purpose as helping horses through bodywork so they can do their jobs without restrictions, and therefore improve the relationships with their riders (hopefully!) . At the same time, I will use the knowledge to help the Detroit Horse Power students to connect better with the horses.

Before I can 'repurpose' myself, the MM people have created a few hurdles, and these are not cross rail size. The entry exam for the field work felt like I was jumping a course of at least 3.6" - or trying to ride a FEI test on a Third Level horse. Should have paid more attention in those Latin language classes long ago. "Ave Cesar, nos morituri te salutamus"* won't help.

Time to crack the books: 'The Horse Anatomy Workbook', 'The Horse's Muscles in Motion', 'Anatomy for Performance' ... Looks like 'The Purpose Driven Life' has to wait!

*Roman gladiator greeting "Hail Cesar, we who are about to die salute you"

The name might be a bit plain - but it captures the essentials

On to the next steps in my journey towards the Masterson Method certification: Fieldwork and Anatomy course. Pretty intense times ahead, but I am looking forward to tackle the challenge(s).

As I am getting ready for my first five fieldwork horses I've also contemplated if I should have a LLC set up. Even though I can't hurt a horse by doing the appropriate bodywork, you never know... the US is a very litigious society. After quite a bit of discussion with JP we decided on the name "Horse and Sense". Perhaps the name is a bit plain, but it focuses on the two essential areas: The horse - and the sense(s).

Logo lovingly designed by JP

The cat is away - and the mice played.. but also worked

With Judy being gone this week the thought of 'just play' with Remy did cross my mind, even though I had promised to try to stay on the straight and narrow. This just means no lounging on the forehand, being on the aids, overall just a good equine citizen. Play we did a bit, in the form of me riding Remy like a hunter, lots of posting trot and two point in the canter. Remy enjoyed it, I was waiting for him to say "Let's just ditch Dressage, pretty please?" He didn't lose is Good Equine Citizenship.

Cindy gave us a lesson on Wednesday, which was great. She reminded me of the things I get a bit complacent about (i.e. accepting Remy's "That's good enough, thank you very much"). I took my takeaway from the lesson into my ride the next day, and wouldn't you know it, we managed clean changes (at least they felt clean). The trick for me was to ask for a ton of simple changes before, to make Remy really listening to my aids. As I was riding in my soft boots, no spurs, it was important to have him right there with me.

Note to cat: The mice played but also worked!

One relaxed Hafi Blondie - one happy human Blondie

Alienore, one of the instructors (and a super nice lady) sent me the pictures today, with the caption "Two beautiful babes" :-) Thanks, Alie, you made my day!

I spent most of the day studying and putting things on Ebay as I couldn't venture out to go riding due to major snow accumulation. Needless to say, it was hard to mope around a bit - or have my hand in the Nutella jar! JP and his tractor are truly becoming BFFs.  I took the dogs out for a few miles, but then got quite concerned that Jaas (the small female) would be literally stuck in the snow and we trudged back.

So, the photos and message couldn't have come at a better time!

This cute Haflinger mare was quite stiff when I evaluated her, and she had sore spots in the saddle area and in her neck. Alienore took the pictures right after she coached me through the bodywork session. I think there is no question that "Blondie" was very relaxed afterwards!

One relaxed Hafi Blondie - one happy human Blondie!

Temper tantrums - and thinking warm thoughts

Starting out Remy felt really good, soft, supple and on the aids. Quite a feat in 15F, and no turnout before the lesson. Judy worked hard on having us tuned up enough so we can fend for ourselves during the next 10 days. I told her that I'll ride with my imaginary Jude coach on the shoulder, stern voice in my ear saying things like "corner! corner! you missed the corner! forward! keep him round and coming from behind! You need a good canter for clean changes!..."

It was such a nice ride with good changes (note to self: going right to left keep the stick in the left hand for a small tap) that I never thought something might be "im Busch" ("lurking in the bushes").  All I wanted to do is finish with a nice forward trot. Remy apparently wanted to finish WITHOUT the nice forward trot. Just after C he got startled (JP said it was a loud bang from the outside), came too close to one of the arena markers and he hit it with his hind foot. Well, why waste a perfectly good excuse for a temper tantrum, Remy said. He humped up, bucked and tried to take off. Luckily (for me) he wasn't 100% committed to the bad boy act. After another -rather half-hearted- effort we went back to work and sure enough, we ended with a nice forward trot. Score one for Birgit!

After the very inspiring Advanced Masterson Training I am motivated to move on. But no use starting fieldwork when your fingers are freezing off - let alone when only a tractor gets you to the barn. For right now I'll review my material (preferably in the sauna) and think warm thoughts of  heatstroke in Arizona.

The week just flew by 

San Xavier del Bac

Welcome back into the snow - and the Sixties can't come soon enough

It was almost today by the time JP picked me up last night

at the airport, welcoming me to a snowy Detroit. I couldn't sleep most of the night so I was reminiscing the awesome experience and also contemplating some things.

We all agreed that the four barns we spent the week in training had different vibes, from a bit 'charged' to relaxed and positive, to 'ugh!'. The 'ugh' didn't apply to the barn per se, it was a beautiful setting, but the training... A quite ugly example of how dressage shouldn't be, no less given by a German 'trainer' that sat crooked on the horse, rode in tennis shoes, heels up, while cranking on the horse's mouth, hanging on the curb rein. Off the horse teaching she was yelling at the horse. Very unpleasant.

Vanessa reminded us that it is important to focus on making the horses better while doing our best to be tactful with the owners when we see things we don't like. That will be a challenge for me, I do have a habit of going right to the point. (I now picture my close friends rolling their eyes and thinking that comment was a 'slight' understatement.)

The next challenge will be to find a way to practice in arctic temps. Yvonne suggested some movements under the blankets to keep the fingers from freezing. Ah, the Sixties can't come soon enough - temperature wise, I mean!

An awesome week - despite heatstroke and some brain fog

The week of advanced Masterson Method training was a great experience. Starting with my first Airbnb stay ever, I lucked out with my hosts Denise and Georgie. They are devoted Vegans and have a cooking show called "The Happy Vegan Couple". Super nice and interesting people. Georgie made me breakfast every morning and Denise took me hiking yesterday to see the sunset in the desert.

My five fellow students turned out to be very interesting women: Cassie from Nevada, Kim from Wisconsin,  Ceiridwin from Oregon, Sarah from Minnesota and Trish from Maryland. Trish and I were the only 'corporate types' all others are already practicing equine sports massage. The instructors Vanessa (lead), Allie and Yvonne (assistants) were super; knowledgeable, positive, always there to help and cheer on.

What I hadn't counted on that all the work was done outdoors. Barns in Arizona differ from Michigan in that usually the horses have a stall/paddock combination, and in order to have space around the horses we took them to the paddocks. Well, over 80F and sunshine got to me -as well as not drinking enough- and I ended up with heatstroke on Wednesday, vomiting and nausea kept me from class. I tried to study in my room and Georgie plied me with ginger tea. Thursday I had to catch up, and Yvonne expertly coached me through all the techniques. My head was spinning and I felt am case of "brain fog" coming on. Which technique is for evaluation, which for bodywork?? Facing back or front when doing lateral cervical flexion/front leg back?? Danke, Yvonne, for not losing your patience!

After class on Thursday we headed to the Saguaro National Park for a trail ride that Cassie had arranged for us. It was fun, and my QH/Draft mix "Old Fellow" safely carried me up and down steep and narrow paths, keeping us away from the cacti.

Yesterday it finally clicked for me and things came together during practice. Allie was super helping me getting a very stiff and stoic Haflinger mare more soft and supple. It is so cool to see the improvement in the horses and I can't wait to practice at home.

Speaking of practice at home... I should find a way to take the horses into our sauna...it's 10F in Michigan - a 'slight' difference in temps of 70F!

Off to Minneapolis and then on to Detroit. Delta didn't endear itself to me, they messed up my reservation and I am now in the back of both buses, with my carry on bag checked. JP promised to set the alarm as I'll get in around midnight. 

Remy had school all week and Judy kept me abreast of the work, I was happy to learn that all my boys (JP and Chambord had a lesson) were good students. Despite the Arctic temps I am excited to go home.. But I am planning to get back to Arizona in April for a program on therapy horses - remembering to drink plenty of water!