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| Some lake time was had... |
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| B had a little vacay too...look at that face, dinner time is her happy time lol! |
So, that's why I haven't been too keen to blog. Although the blogging community and horses are two of my more favorite things in life, I've started more than one post lately that sounds way too negative/defeated/sad and I'm like "Who is this Debbie Downer person writing on my blog?" I guess it's time to admit that she seems to be me, right now. But, the good news is, I don't like her, so she isn't welcome to stay long term :)
I've been riding and working as normal the past few weeks. I've had some good rides, and some really no so good ones. B had her teeth done, which had the result of making her extra tough and fussy in the contact for a good two weeks. This happened last year too, so definitely something to think about and schedule for. Her mouth/teeth are normal, so it's not like there are any big changes being done, just routine maintenance....still, something must happen that she doesn't agree with!
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| Happy trail outing ears |
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| Bored arena ears |
I've been struggling too, with finding the magical place where she's in front of my leg and pushing through and steady in my hand. Unfortunately, I've developed a bit of a habit of kicking her forward every time she's crooked, above the bit, or just generally 'flat' which I'm now learning is just making her rush and evade more. I'm running her off her feet, and there is nothing in my hand, no power coming over her back. So tricky, and of course I feel bad for it - making her job harder isn't really one of my riding goals. I feel like the base problem is that she isn't trustworthy to carry herself or go at a consistent tempo in any gait. I need to do some reading, because quite honestly, I thought all this time the answer was to let her be, until she started evading or slowing, then correct it, usually by asking her to move up and give me more power from behind. Currently, that results in giraffe racing in the trot (walk and canter are better) She really, really, does not want me in contact with her mouth. At a walk it looks OK, but really she's wanting to be a bit behind the contact and I am needing to ask her to move up every few strides. At the trot, it's messy unless I really add some bend to help get those hind legs under. At a canter, she's less balanced so we run into problems with bracing and leaning because it's still a bit 'all or nothing' power wise. I'm unsure about just what I should be doing to fix things and not at all sure what I'm doing with my body isn't the problem. Previous feedback was that I'm fine, pony just thinks work is hard and forward is the answer to all the things, but I think I'm just not understanding my coach because that seems to not be the case now.
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| Gorgeous trails calling our names! I hiked this loop with G and it's pretty much all easy like this...but it's a really long distance and took us about 3.5 hours. Next time a bike or a horse is going to have to be the mode of transport. |
I didn't end up doing any showing this past month because I'm trying to cut back on the insanity that is my schedule, not to mention the above back-to-basics struggles making me feel the timing wasn't right.
In related time-out-to-think-it-through news, wish me luck...I have a request in for a short term leave of absence from work in order to recharge and spend some time at home with G (Bridget will of course come home too for a trail riding time out). I like my job and the barn I'm at, so I'm a little worried my work will say no and I might be forced to make some bigger life decisions. Fingers crossed they accept my proposal, but I'll look at it as an opportunity, either way :)
In the meantime, I can't wait to catch up on everyone's blogs. It looks like September has held a lot of well deserved successes for many of you!
Glad to hear from you :) Fingers crossed your LOA is approved!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I will hopefully know by next week!
DeleteI'm so happy you are back!! I am glad to see you blogging again. Sorry things aren't going 100% - but hopefully work will approve your time off and you can get your head above water again. That feeling really isn't fun :/
ReplyDeleteI have no hard and fast suggestions for B, but figured I'd offer some unsolicited advice lol. Feel free to tell me to buzz off or "you don't know my horse", because I really don't and it might not be the info you are looking for. Anyways, have you guys tried a different bit on her? Annie was pretty bracy in a copper lozenge snaffle and is excellent in her french link - ugh go figure.
That's super helpful advice, thank you. My coach has commented she likes her in her current french link...me, not so much, but I attribute that to my riding vs hers. She is away for a month, so my schedule is free to try new bits, perhaps there is one out there that she is not so tricky for me to ride in.
DeleteWelcome back. it sounds like B is behind the leg- before she was slow behind the leg and now she's trying fast behind the leg. Carmen's go to is to be fast and behind the leg which means she giraffes and is stiff and generally not smooth. For her the answer is tons of transitions, circles and not giving up the contact. When she finds the place we both breathe a sigh of relief. The nice thing about fast-behind-the-leg is that now there is energy to harness. Not sure if that is helpful.
ReplyDeleteThat is super helpful, and describes exactly how it feels, thank you. It makes sense then that transitions and circles are helpful for us also. I wonder if I rephrase it that way when I talk to my coach, we might understand each other better. I think sometimes B is a suprisingly big/fancy mover (for how she looks) that it's not always apparent to judges and coaches on the ground that she's really not working as correctly as she should.
Deletei miss your posts so much and checked daily (FOR A MONTH WOW) to see if you posted again LOL (Dedication right??) And we all have Debbie Downer days, weeks, mnths and years. At least you are facing it head on....I too agree with trying different bits and/or a hackamore to see how she does. If you can borrow those at least you can 'try something
ReplyDeletedifferent with little effect on your wallet. Things will get better. Just keep riding (and blogging) Welcome back. I hope your leave of absence gets approved (How intriguing an idea god i need a time out too at work HA)
I am glad the ponies are doing good!
Oh my, so dedicated! Thank you! Leaves of absence are something our HR dept advertises...now let's see if it's something they'll actually approve. (I may have to leave out the part about planning to use part of the time to ride my ponies every day, lol)
DeleteWelcome back! Not that I comment, but I've missed your posts too! I completely understand the work struggle! I hope your leave of absence gets approved. Sometimes a longerish break is just needed to really recharge.
ReplyDeleteI'd definitely suggest trying different bits to see if you can find something that works better. Years ago I tried several different bits for my TB at a friend's suggestion. He was quiet, but never truly ON the bit. We tried several things and found 2 that he loved (this super flexible rubber mullen mouth and a myler comfort snaffle) and 2 that he HATED HATED HATED (nathe - HOLY HATE and a rubber coated snaffle - strange considering he was indifferent to a traditional single jointed snaffle that he went in for years) and a couple that he was indifferent to and didn't have any impact to the way he went. So, it might be worth playing around with bits. I didn't have as dramatic results with my appendix (he shows no hatred towards anything), but he definitely goes better in certain bits as well and show preference towards either his oval mouth copper loose ring snaffle or the myler comfort snaffle.
Thank you! I think I'm going to write a post about bits! We've tried a few with mixed results, but I think you've made an excellent suggestion - it can't hurt to try again.
DeleteGood luck with the time off request! Good for you for recognizing that you need to recharge, I feel like there's a lot of pressure in our world today to just keep going until complete burnout and that isn't good for anybody
ReplyDeleteI DO feel guilty for asking, even though logically I know I shouldn't, because I agree, I think there's an expectation that we should be able to do all the things, all the time. There's also still so much judgement (at least in my workplace) surrounding anything mental health related, which is just ignorant in this day and age.
Deletealways good to hear from you again :) the time off sounds refreshing -- good luck with your plans for a leave of absence too!
ReplyDeletethank you!
DeleteIt's good to read your blog again, my sister in pony'tude!! So funny to read about B's new evasion... it looks VERY similar to Dino's current method for getting out of hard work! That "fast behind the leg" is so tricky to deal with. We've been having some success with focusing on installing a proper half-halt, as well as me not totally giving up the contact when I think I'm "releasing". A bit change may be due, too, as others have suggested! Glad to see you back in the blogosphere, and I hope your LOA is approved!!
ReplyDeleteI hope you can have the time off you need to recharge!
ReplyDeleteI found really good luck with lateral work for aiding in solving connection issues. I think video of my most recent lesson is on my blog. We did tons of nose to the wall leg yielding (some haunch to the wall as well). It made an incredible difference in the connection. Experimenting with the bit is also a good idea. So glad you are blogging again, even if you are feeling negative.
ReplyDeleteWelcome back!! I also have my fingers crossed that you get the time off you need.
ReplyDeleteWelcome back! Desperately trying to find a solution to this problem as well. Savvy is poll low and behind the vertical in the trot and 'pushing her into the contact' rarely works--she is just too light in bit contact, if that makes sense.
ReplyDeleteI hope you get your time off work!
Welcome back! I hope your LOA gets approved so you can recharge. Being burnt out is zero fun!
ReplyDeleteI hope your work grants your reprieve.
ReplyDelete