Experiencing a new level of intensity - and a promise

 Yesterday Vanessa got on Remy to get a feel of how he is under saddle, which obviously helps her helping both of us. The good news: She is a beautiful rider, and Remy looked amazing. The "bad" news: JP couldn't stop raving about her all through dinner. Remy probably told Chambord the same over their dinner. 😀 Ah, well, I did join in, too!

It is a different level and intensity of riding than I'm used to. We both are asked to step up our game considerably. When I say intensity it doesn't mean "hauen und stechen" (and old German term for hitting and using spurs). Remy understands now that FORWARD means FORWARD, and a medium trot or canter is not a half-a**d effort. The boy is smart and it's almost like the genie is out of the bottle and he found his turbo. Hand me the racing goggles, my eyes are watering!

However, with all the excitement and intensity I made Remy a promise to always keep the following in mind:

Col. Christian CARDE

QUOTES

"The most important thing which is lacking today is humanity.

Riding became a technique more than an art.

The horse has to obey more than to understand. And all too often it is just there for achieving personal glory and success."

(Christian Carde in an interview with Eurodressage, 2010)

Trying to stay motivated - the difference a year makes

 The difference a year makes: January 2020 versus January 2021:

January 2020 - Wellington, Florida

January 2021 - Milford, Michigan

I admit to not 'digging' the cold, and it is hard to stay motivated without regular access to an indoor arena. Yes, of course, I know - I'm "complaining on a high level" - there are way more serious things in life! We are in the midst of a pandemic, with no vaccination appointment in sight until August 2021 (latest estimate).

This week I have been longing Remy in the snow. Luckily our outdoor arena footing was covered by a nice layer of snow, without ice underneath, so Remy could have fun letting off some steam. Yesterday we tagged along with JP and Chambord for their lesson, but the crowded arena didn't do much for both of us. The best I can say was that we got some exercise. 

Today we are heading to Ferris' for a lesson with Vanessa. I know she shares my issues with working in the cold, so I appreciate her even more. It's 18F (about -8C) as I'm typing this. Yesterday morning I had horses to work on in 10F (-12C)  - and wouldn't you know it, the kids that had lessons at that barn were still cheerful. I do recall riding in the cold and snow in Germany, but then, it really never got to the deep freeze we have here. Most of the time I could ride in a sweater in the (unheated) arena in the winter. Ah, the good old days and/or to be a kid again! 😉

Old man teeth - and my kitchen looks like a drug lab

 Poor Saumur had his dental surgery this week. No fun at any age, but at 27 it's pretty worrisome! Saumur all his life has never been a fan of trailer loading (to put it lightly), and his last trip off the property was to Michigan State University for his colic surgery four years ago. We practiced loading a few days before the trip to Hadley Hill Equine, and with Remy as emotional support, it worked.

Remy traveled with Saumur to the hospital, but then Saumur had to content himself with a 2 year old stud colt in the stall next to him. The first injections went reasonably well, but once in the stock (a padded stand) Saumur's adrenaline went into full flight mode and Dr. Turner had a hard time keeping him sedated. To add to the nail biting situation was that the tooth was cemented in, and had to be chiseled out in pieces. It took over two hours, and it was pretty nerve wracking (at least to me). Dr. Turner had warned me before "there will be a lot of blood, so if you can't handle it don't stay". I felt Saumur needed me to hold his hoof (figuratively, of course) so I stayed - and I didn't faint! Unfortunately, the procedure took longer than expected, so the second tooth couldn't be extracted. We earned ourselves a return trip ...

I have to say Saumur is the most resilient horse I've ever encountered. When I checked on him in the afternoon and hand-walked him he was all chipper, dragging me along, and rolling in the clinic's indoor arena. He went home the next day, loading himself on the trailer.

Now at home we have quite the drug regimen: 32 antibiotic pills a day, plus pain killers, plus pre- and probiotics, soaking his food, and salt water rinses of the wound.

The pills are the biggest issue, who wants to eat 16 pills in a setting? I tried to grind them with a mortar and pestle but that was way too tough. Enter a coffee and spice grinder, purchased while having to see some guy's underwear at the Walmart checkout. Yuk! The things you do for your horse!

Now the kitchen is transformed in a 'drug lab', I am wearing a mask because grinding the pills is a dusty business (and I don't want to absorb all the antibiotics). The powder gets mixed with water, put into a giant syringe and tag teamed (JP and I) into Saumur's mouth twice a day. 10 more days... I think I'll ask Dr. Turner for some 'Happy Pills' next time around, at least I'll get something out of my 'drug lab', too 😋

Saumur's daily dose of antibiotics

He got his beer after the ride - and what's the safe word?

Sometimes watching other rides is not helpful - there were some incidents that had me really worried before I even got on. I am not a fan of repeating exercises ad nauseam, and hearing "you are so fricking disorganized" (said to successful surgeon) did nothing for my confidence.

I fretted all morning before my ride, and sure enough, my nerves were pretty blank. Add to that an intimidating lady carrying a bamboo, and later a longe whip, and you are on a horse with a tendency to bolt when the whip comes up and you have a recipe for a rattled rider.

Despite all that Remy worked well, and he definitely filled in for me. He more than earned his Guinness! As for me, I'm still a bit rattled. Leave it to my friend Stephanie to cheer me up: I was telling her what happened and she said "Well, when people go to a Dominatrix there is usually a safe word to make her stop. You should have asked for one!" 😀

Too bad that I saw the post about the "Confidence Button" (FB post from Rudy Horsemanship) only today:

Rudy Horsemanship

January 4 at 8:03 AM  · 

The Psoas Muscle and the Confidence Button!

The psoas major is the "fear muscle". It connects from your spine to your femur and it closes your hip angle when you get scared. You can't directly keep this muscle from contracting- if you are scared or nervous, it WILL close your hip angle. This is why you see so many riders leaning forwards, pulling on reins, and no matter how hard they try, they CAN'T sit back!

So what can we do about it?

Well, all our muscles have opposing muscles. Muscles work in sync- as one set contracts, the opposing muscles must extend. So if you can contract the muscles opposing the psoas, you can get the psoas to knock it off! your opposing muscles are the muscles in your butt that open the hip. But those muscles can contract in all sorts of ways, and we need THE specific movement that will re-open the hip! The best visualization I've come up with is to "ENGAGE THE CONFIDENCE BUTTON"!! Pretend you have a button, right at the top of your butt crack, that when you press it down into the saddle, will flood you with sticky seat super powers! Because it does! When you tuck your tailbone, lift your pubic bone, and engage your lower abs, it opens and relaxes your hip joints, enabling you to sit most evasions or spooks that your horse may dish out. It also puts you in a position where if you really HAVE to pull your horse's lips to his ears, at least you are able. Your seat will be in a strong position to both keep you on, and to influence your horse.

(These are my sketches, you can share the whole post, but don't steal my art.)

"It's not for me - it's for my horse" - prepping for an intense weekend

The look of the cashier's face when I said "It's not for me - it's for my horse"😀. I was at the self-checkout and my purchase got flagged for age requirements. Guess the face mask and hat are not helping the automatic scanner to figure that out. 

Remy is ready for the weekend with Lilo

So, why did Remy put Guinness on the shopping list? We have a clinic with Lilo - and previous experience tells us it will be intense. Our local grocery store doesn't carry 'Doppelbock' (i.e. Loewenbraeu Triumphator - brings back memories of skipping school and drinking - but that's a different story..), so Guinness it was. I grew up with horses getting dark beer after strenuous exercise; The understanding was that dark beer has a lot of minerals and vitamins, and replenishes fluids.

A bit of checking into the benefits of Guinness for horses -thanks to BioStarUS.com- revealed a lot of interesting facts:

Components of Guinness:

Guinness is made from yeast (Saccharomyces cervisiae —strains of which are often found as probiotics in feed and supplements). Yeast provides much of the B-vitamin complex, an important nutritional component in helping horses recover from stress, and provides important probiotic support.

Guinness beer contains the herb hops. Hops became an important component in beer making back in the 1200s when English monks (who had a monopoly on beer making) discovered the antimicrobial actions of the hops flower that grows in marshy hollows all over Europe.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, hops are used as a digestive aid, and a treatment for dysentery. The ancient Greek and Roman physicians also recommended hops for intestinal ailments.

Recently, French researchers have identified that hops appears to relax the smooth lining of the digestive tract in humans.

The phytochemicals in hops include Quercitin, a powerful anti inflammatory antioxidant, and RIAA (rho-iso-alpha acid) that has been shown to modulate insulin signaling and decrease the deleterious effects of lipotoxicity in vitro and in a human clinical trial on patients with metabolic syndrome (published 2010, Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism).

Guinness beer also contains malted barley, produced from whole barley grain. Malted barley is a good source of B-vitamins, and the minerals iron, copper, manganese and selenium. Iron and copper help make more red blood cells, which can increase the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood. Manganese and selenium are powerful antioxidants, helping to protect cells and tissues from superoxide free radicals.

Last but not least among reasons to consider beer for horses, is the component of water in Guinness beer. The water comes from springs in the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland. It’s important to note that Guinness beer is brewed in Ireland and then imported to the US. It is not made by a licensed brewery in the US as some other imported beers are.

Recommended feeding of beer for horses:
High Performance horses: 12 oz (1 bottle) once a day.
Horses in moderate work/training: ½ cup once a day.
Guinness can be fed as needed after a hard training session, after a competition, or during a period of high heat and or high humidity.

"Bye-bye winter blues - Hello Motivation" - and "do you want the heat on?"

Wehorse.online held the free "Festival 21" online yesterday. I caught Christoph Hess' presentation "Bye-bye Winter Blues - Hello Motivation". I mean, with a title like that, how can you not watch this??

I definitely suffer from the winter blues, especially after having experienced training in Florida in the last two years. But I'm motivated to make the best out of it in Michigan!

Christoph Hess is an expert in dressage, he worked 40 years for the German FN (Equestrian Federation), and was the head of Education and Training. 

So here are some of the highlights of his presentation:

- Success is made in the winter

- With a clear goal before you and a well thought out plan, you motivate yourself

- Develop a long-term goal

- Create weekly schedule that leads you in small steps to your long term goal

    - Pay systematically into your goal

    - Provide variation for horse and rider

    - Consider mental and physical aspects 

    - Balance training with an alternate program

    - Check up on your training progress

    - Keep a diary/workbook for daily notes

- It's important to have a riding instructor, or better coach, as a coach usually is more than a riding instructor (trainer)

- The rider needs to discuss plans and progress with coach

- If possible, ride outside of the arena as much as possible

Use the winter training to:

- Learn how to swing with the horse

- Ride independently from your hands

- "It's a feeling sport", use the time to "Get a feeling for Feeling"

- Focus on Durchlaessigkeit (so much more than the English translation Throughness)

- Use that time to learn good flying changes, so you are ready for the season. It takes at least a quarter of a season to get good at changes. 

Here is a sample training plan that Christoph Hess' discussed:

I can't say that I won't get the blues this winter, but so far, so good. The winter hasn't been harsh yet, the worst is yet to come. It usually hits us end of January, and goes through February and March. Better come up with my plan now!

It will help to be able to work the boys in good conditions. This morning we took them to Berwyck. The footing in the arena is always in great shape, the arena is very bright, and the temps were in the high 20sF, so for us actually pretty decent (anything below 20F and my enthusiasm wanes considerably). Imagine our surprise when a woman walked in and asked "Do you guys have something against putting the heat on?" Yes, the arena is heated by big overhead pipes, and the heat is included in the arena fee we pay, but we try to be frugal. On second thought: Bring it on!

Winter training with some kicking up of the heels - and a fitting quote

I thought it would be a good idea to longe Remy today in the snow in one of the pastures we had closed for the winter. What great exercise, as we could incorporate hill work on safe footing. Well, the best laid plans.. While Remy was treading carefully in the outdoor arena due to spots of ice, he went into YeHa! mode on the soft ground in the pasture, kicking up his heels and putting me into the snow in return. What can I say: He got his exercise - and nobody got hurt.

As for the current situation I try to learn from Hermann Hesse*:

*Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962) Hermann Karl Hesse was a German-born Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. His best-known works include Demian, Steppenwolf, Siddhartha, and The Glass Bead Game, each of which explores an individual's search for authenticity, self-knowledge and spirituality. In 1946, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Winter barn - and Dr. Tooth for the horses

 The snow definitely makes for pretty pictures. The boys "daytime hangout" gives them shelter with a buffet, and they can come and go as they like. Pretty nice digs, n'est ce pas?

The boys live the good life

Our annual dental appointment for the boys showed that all four needed some work. Minor for the three of them, a major one unfortunately in the cards for Saumur. He needs a tooth to be extracted, which will be pretty scary at his age (27 this year). We have to take him to the clinic, which starts with another hurdle: trailer loading! Ugh! Last time he was in a trailer was his trip to MSU for colic surgery. Guess we better start practicing getting on again - which he'd rather avoid at all costs. Flashback to the time when it took 8 (yes, eight!) hours to load him. This time we are planning to have Remy go with him as emotional support. First we thought about taking Teddy, he is small and 'handlich' (handy), but not an experienced traveler, either. Wow fact about Teddy: Dr. DeWitt estimated his age to be sometime in his Thirties!

Remy's training is a bit 'on and off', on Monday we went to Berwyck to ride in the arena (we pay per use). Usually the mornings there are quiet, but this time we encountered some not very welcoming people. Oh well, the boys did a good job, and got some exercise, that's what counts.

Due to the dental work he had a few days off, but luckily I was able to longe him in the snow. He is barefoot, has good balance, and we were careful, so it worked out. Today's lesson with Vanessa was fun and educational (what more could I want?). She is greatly helping me with my position (the tendency to be too far in front), and Remy's issue of not always being honestly in front of my leg. When both click we have harmony - and darn good changes, if I may say so. Better get in shape, Lilo is coming next week, and I am already pulling up the big girl panties (which I will dearly need). 

The political climate, culminating in yesterday's events, have left me quite shaken, and I might need Dr. Tooth myself soon from all that clenching of my jaw. Wonder if Saumur and I can get a two for one? I'm sure his drugs would make me feel very mellow ;-)

Happy New Year - an icy and relaxing start. including the Msketers

All the best for 2021!

Our New Year started with an ice storm. Not very surprising, it is winter in Michigan, after all. I had hoped that we could work the horses in the outdoor arena a bit, but the ground was and is frozen. At least their turnout is OK, and the boys hang out mostly around the hay bags.

So, while the boys enjoyed their buffet I cuddled up and watched old movies I found on YouTube: Edgar Wallace in German, and Agatha Christie's Miss Marple in English. It was like slipping back in time, these were already oldies when I was growing up. I did balance it out with some 2020 episodes of "Tatort". I think I'll like the oldies better.

JP dug into his artist side and is working on our farm sign. The old one fell apart, so JP bought new cedar wood, cut and carved the outline, and is now painting it. It'll be beautiful!

JP creating our new farm sign
The Msketers (spelled like this so it could fit on our truck's license plate):
Saumur, Chambord, Remy, Teddy
And yes, there were four: Athos, Porthos, Aramis, plus d'Artagnan😊

*The Three Musketeers (French: Les Trois Mousquetaires [le tʁwɑ muskətɛːʁ]) is a historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight for justice.

Set between 1625 and 1628, it recounts the adventures of a young man named d'Artagnan (a character based on Charles de Batz-Castelmore d'Artagnan) after he leaves home to travel to Paris, hoping to join the Musketeers of the Guard. Although d'Artagnan is not able to join this elite corps immediately, he is befriended by three of the most formidable musketeers of the age – Athos, Porthos and Aramis, "the three inseparables" – and becomes involved in affairs of state and at court. [Wikipedia]