Ending the week on high notes - and what has Goethe to do with riding?

Aside from our blip on Tuesday, Remy and I had a really good week. Yesterday Roz checked him out and warmed him up before I got on and it was like riding on a cloud. OK, that sounds a bit weird, but it was one of those elusive times where things just clicked. I thought it and Remy floated into it.

Saturday is our "Joint Riding Day" - JP, Chambord, Remy, and I have a standing 'date' with Lisa, the H/J trainer. It also means getting up very early to feed to boys so they have time to digest their breakfasts. Today was one of those lovely late summer mornings, and looking at the barn in the mist I -once again- told myself how lucky I am. (Feeling even luckier after my 2nd or 3rd cup of coffee!).

Lisa does a beautiful job motivating and challenging her students while keeping it fun. JP made a lot of progress since he started riding with her. I got to see first hand how he and Chambord conquered the 'Circle of Death' exercise, and they showed us how it's done. Remy and I had so much fun, I even forgave Lisa for making me follow JP :-)!

Two that have each other's back

Reflecting on the ups and downs of riding and training made me think of a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe "Freudvoll und Leidvoll":

Freudvoll

Und leidvoll,

Gedankenvoll sein;

Hangen

Und bangen

In schwebender Pein;

Himmelhoch jauchzend,

Zum Tode betrübt—

Glücklich allein

Ist die Seele, die liebt.

Full of Joy

English Translation © Richard Stokes

Full of joy,

And full of sorrow,

Full of thoughts;

Yearning

And trembling

In uncertain anguish;

Exulting to heaven,

Cast down unto death—

Happy alone

Is the soul that loves.

Translations by Richard Stokes, author of The Book of Lieder (Faber, 2005)

Three different lessons - Three very different experiences

Yesterday Remy and I  -accompanied by JP and Ziggy- went to ride in a clinic with a well known dressage judge.  From time to time it's nice to get the judges experience - but yesterday was not our day. Remy got rattled by the resident stallion grumbling at him, and from then on he just sucked back. It was like he deflated. I did switch out bridles, from the double to the snaffle, hoping that might help. It was a bit better, but not much. Through all this the clinician just said "I don't know what your problem is". Lots of forward trot and canter work did help and we finally got moving - or so I thought...

From the horse to me "You are riding sloppy", "What is this supposed to be?", "A shoulder-in? Well, you have to tell me", "Your back is awful", "That wasn't a nice flying change". What I didn't get was what I had come for: Constructive tips on how to improve. Basically in the end, Remy and I left with our respective tails between our legs. JP and Ziggy had their work cut out with us on the way home -ok, mostly me - Remy was happy munching his hay on the trailer.

Thankfully, we had dinner that night with our friends and neighbors Ed and Angie, and the lovely evening with them, the Koelsch, and delicious food cheered me up considerably. Fun facts: A group of Americans of German, French, Polish, Hungarian descent drinking German beer and eating Mexican food :-)  Later a Tylenol PM did the rest and today was a new day.

And indeed a new day it was, like a switch had turned. Remy was just cooking along in the outdoor arena, happily working in his double bridle (I wanted to see if that might have been the issue), no problem with our shoulder-ins, and especially the canter felt great. Later Roz sent me a video clip from the lesson with the comment "this should cheer you up".  And yes, thank you, Roz, it helped restore a great chunk of my confidence.

And then there is the 'third experience': JP and Chambord had their lesson with Lisa today and they both came home super happy. JP's chest was puffed out and he seemed to have grown a few inches :-) Chambord swaggered off the trailer and I swear, his chest was puffed out, too!
JP  proudly told me that they mastered  Lisa's "Circle of Death" exercise with aplomb and Lisa called him her "star student".  That explains the puffed out chests and swagger...

This made me very happy and I thought with a tiny bit of envy: "These guys know how to have fun". JP doesn't get rattled when he and Chambord have a bad day, and they do have those, too. Stormy weather and rain pounding on the roof of the indoor arena translates into "better get off  NOW and call it a day" for JP as Chambord gets super charged and adds 'airs above the ground'. JP and Lisa are able shrug it off - next time will be better. Note to self...and if I can't shrug it off, there are always JP, Ziggy, friends, beer, and food to the rescue!

Today he filled in for me - and the turnout conundrum

It's been a busy few weeks, but all good. Ingrid and Gerhard made a detour from their East Coast trip and visited us for a few days of  "country experience". Sometimes we tend to forget that our lifestyle can be quite foreign to city people. Still, they were good sports and seemed to enjoy it - dog, cats, horses, and all.

Remy has been nicely trucking along in our lessons. Today was a bit more 'interesting' than usual: The place next door is undergoing major renovation and there was one heavy truck whizzing by every few minutes, using the air brakes for good measure right next to the outdoor arena. To my surprise Remy remained more focused than I was (no eye-rolling here, JP!). He felt more 'stuck' than usual, but I'm pretty sure that this was due to might tight seat. It was super that he filled in for me today, that doesn't always happen, so I take it when I get it - and dole out lots of treats afterwards!

The not so pleasant surprise was an email from the farm owner in Florida where we are supposed to be staying. I had mentioned that Remy loves his turnout, and I got a terse message that turnout is limited to two hours a day. Well, that really is a deal-breaker for us. Of course, the check with the substantial down payment had been cashed - so I am quite upset about the whole situation. And it seems even if we could arrange a half-day turnout for Remy, he would have to come in immediately if he were to run. He is a horse, for heaven's sake! So, looks like we might be wintering in Michigan...

Speaking of turnout, at home the boys got rather unusual pasture mates recently: A flock of wild turkeys comes everyday, hangs out in their pastures, and even sleeps close to the boys. There are at least a dozen of them. Interestingly, Saumur, who usually defends his territory with all he's got (front feet and teeth) doesn't even bat an eye when they are close.

Horses and wild turkeys: "Living in Harmony"

Everyone needs a pat on the back - horses included

It's amazing how happy a 'pat on the back' can make me. I am usually pretty sure of myself (JP begs to differ) but without the 'big wins' from my former corporate life I admit I sometimes crave some validation, or at least positive feedback. No, Remy, your feedback of giving me the hoof doesn't count!

Today I received a super nice email from a participant of the workshop I gave, telling me how much she and the other participants enjoyed it.  In addition, Sarah also rides Major, the therapy horse I have been working on. Major went from tense, tight and sometimes crabby to relaxed and happy. That just made my day! I am celebrating with a glass of champagne as I am writing this :-)

Yes, I should know that I am doing a good job, but still - it's important to get that positive feedback.

How often do we see horses that try their heart out and it's never good enough? One more time, one more time... until frustration sets it. I read the analogy of the rider asking "What day is it?", the horse answers "Tuesday". Rider asks again "What day is it?", horse says "August 13th". Rider asks "What day is it?", Horse says "August 13, 2019".... all correct answers, and still the rider asks. And one wonders why the horse gets frustrated! A pat on the back for the first answer "Tuesday" would have gone a long way.

Remy and Chambord got more than pats on the backs today. They each had a full bodywork session. Now my champagne clouded mind asks... what about me?? I knew it's Sunday :-)

Is the onion finally peeled? - and a fun evening

Well, Roz and I have been carefully peeling the onion (Remy), and it seems we finally have a nice, clean result - without even shedding tears!

Chiropractic: Check
Bodywork: Check
Adjusted training: Check
New Bit: Check

The last layer was addressed yesterday: Saddle fit. I had the inkling that it was too tight in his shoulders again, as Remy was a bit reluctant to reach out. It also put me in a position I didn't quite like. Nothing dramatic, mind you, but Remy and I are just such "Princess and Princess on the Pea". So Luanne to the rescue! And sure enough, she confirmed that Remy had gained another centimeter over the withers which skewed the saddle fit. The difference the adjustment made was astonishing.
Yay, we might just be in full business again!

Last night I gave an "Intro to Equine Bodywork and Bladder Meridian Workshop" at Therapeutic Riding Inc. in Ann Arbor. What a great group of staff and volunteers: Interested, engaged, friendly, fun. And my demo horse, Major, was just a ham. He clearly enjoyed the audience of about 30+ people. I had worked on Major before, so I was familiar with him. Nevertheless, working with a horse in front of an audience is never a guarantee that things go according to plan. But Major was game (actually he seemed disappointed when it ended) and I left tired but very happy.

Check out www.therapeuticridinginc.org to learn more about this wonderful organization.

Barn improvements before home improvements - and practising LSD on the trails (no, it's not what you think!)

JP LOVES barn improvements. While the inside of our house is patiently (way more so than I) waiting for paint improvements, the barn not only received a completely new color scheme (from 'Michigan Barn Red' to grey with black accents), the boys also got large windows. Well, what can I say... if the two and four-legged boys are happy life is good!

Barn door with the new color scheme 

Horse portraits carved in wood - just one of JPs many talents

"What's JP up to now??"

"Hey, what's going on out there??"

So, what's up with "LSD"? you might wonder. It's what we did today and we had a great time :-). It stands for Long Slow Distance, and it's part of our riding/conditioning program. Growing up in Germany it was standard for everyone at the barn to go  "ausreiten" (hacking), in addition to the dressage and jumping lessons. The Sunday group outing "Sonntagsausritt" was always a lot of fun (we added SF to it: short, fast work) and the ride concluded invariably in the "Reiterstuebchen" (riders' bar).

So when I read about the importance of LSD (in preparation for SFD) in Denny Emerson's new book "Know Better to Do Better",  I thought about how I wished that some of my clients would add that to their horse's program also. Lots of horses hardly ever get walked into fitness, and IMO a lot of injuries could be prevented with the right conditioning. As Denny states "It's hard to injure a horse at the walk".

The key idea is that the longer slower miles build the base so that by the time the horse is asked to do shorter, faster work, he is fit and strong and able to do so without getting hurt. Of importance is that the horse still marches forward and doesn't amble around on the forehand.

Note to Remy and Chambord: Treating the trails like the buffet line on a cruise ship is not the idea either!

This is an excellent read

When you know it's the right decision - and it still breaks your heart

I haven't felt like writing much as we have had to cope with the loss of Jaas, our Viszla girl. We adopted Jaas 14 years ago from the Viszla rescue, as companion to our shy boy, Max. She was feisty and independent, fun and loving. Lately, though, we had watched and worried about her declining health (no surprise at her ancient age of 15 - in human years it would be about 105).

Jaas' had good moments and not so good ones, especially getting up was harder and painful for her. We were just so scared that the time would come where she couldn't get up any more and we would have to put her through a lot of pain and stress until we found an emergency vet.

So - I made the appointment for Dr. Molle (our regular vet who does house calls) to come last week. The animals know and like him, so there was no stress involved. He gently gave her the first sedative, then a stronger one, and then the final. Jaas passed away gently, and I hope she felt our love until the end.

It was the right decision, but still, it broke our hearts. Yes, our animals shouldn't outlive us, but that is just a small consolation. The bigger one is that we took her out of a kennel and into our home, and she had a happy life. Godspeed, Jaas. We miss you.

Jaas adored JP, and was nice to Julius (the cat), even if he sometimes annoyed her.