Clinic Recap: Centered Riding and 2-Point

No riding photos 😦

The more I learn about Centered Riding the more I like it. The clinic today had a recurring theme of analogous parts – our own body parts all have synonymous parts on our horse, and those parts link up. Hold tension in your back, your horse holds tension in her back. Hold your breath, your horse holds her breath. I’ve learned this lesson before, but seeing this illustration really made it click for me:

Thank you for the illustration, Pony Club!

A year and a half ago, I wrote about how Adriene identified the tension in my chin, neck and jaw. That was causing tension in Robbye’s neck and jaw. Well apparently I’ve released the tension in my jaw (I HAVE been working on it for…a while), but I’ve intensified the tension in my neck. When I hold tension in my neck, it shortens up. When Robbye holds tension in her neck, it shortens up. Completely the opposite of what I’ve been working so hard to fix the past few months.

So I’ll be practicing lengthening my neck and releasing the tension from it so that Robbye can work on doing the same thing.

That was my main takeaway from the lesson, but of course there were others!

• I need to put float my hands (like there are balloons attached) a little more and put more weight back into my elbows. This is something I think I’ve improved a lot on in the past year, but still needs more.
• I reverted back to pulling on Robbye when she’s being distracted or silly. I thought this was a habit I had finally broken, so I’m disappointed in myself. I always feel more comfortable with her silliness the more forward we go, and I need to remember to let that forward out!
• I need to steer more with my seat and less with my hands. Another habit I’ve been working on but needs more training on my part.

The lesson was supposed to be a jumping one, but we spent so much time dealing with tension that I ran out of time. However, I did get to express to her my frustration with my jumping seat: although I know that my position is horrible, and I know academically what 2-point is and how to achieve a nice one, I have struggled and struggled to actually translate to my own body. It’s gotten to the point where I dislike jumping because I feel so ugly and ineffective in the air.

Standing 2-point. Eugh.

So with the time remaining Adriene coached me into a nice 2-point (on the flat). First, she lowered my stirrups (interesting – this is the second time in a row she’s lowered them…and she was the one who put them all the way up in the first place. I wonder if my body is changing from all the dressage? Is that even possible?). That made a huge difference in where my thigh and lower leg hung. Plus, I no longer feel like I’m launching myself out of my saddle when I post!

Next, she changed where I place my stirrups on my feet. She showed me that there’s a specific place on the foot where the “springs work best”; the ankle knee, and thigh flex easily and naturally, but the position isn’t compromised.

This photo looks better, but I’m excited that I can critique exactly what I’d change instead of just knowing that it’s wrong. I need to establish a steadier lower leg so it doesn’t swing back. I need to open my thigh so I’m not pinching. And I’d like to tighten my airplane seat-belt so my hips are pulled further back.

Finally, she showed me what the position is supposed to be like. I don’t know why it’s so hard for me to achieve it – goodness knows I’ve read enough articles and watched enough videos, but I think I finally understand what it’s supposed to feel like. I let my weight sink into my lower leg without letting it wander forward or backward, pulled my thigh off the saddle (no gripping!), imagined I had an airplane seat-belt on to pull my hips back, and let my upper body naturally go where it would.

I think that may have been my misunderstanding – I was trying to fix my upper body without knowing what my legs and hips were supposed to do.

(Analogous parts! A nice front will follow a correct hind! Full circle!)

After trying to commit the feeling to memory, I walked and trotted around in my new 2-point. I started to feel the muscle ache, which I was very happy about – my standing-in-the-stirrups version of 2-point took zero effort (and was ugly and I’m sure Robbye hated me for it). I also felt my legs turn into springs – something Adriene said will help my sitting trot as well. YAY.

Even though the lesson was a whole lot of talking, standing, and walking, I came away with more tools to deal with tension and with an epiphany about what 2-point feels like. I’m really really really excited to get back to jumping now – finally.

Wordless Wednesday: Desensitization Clinic

A few weeks ago, we hosted a ground desensitization clinic at our farm. I didn’t feel like it was something Robbye would particularly benefit from, so I decided to photograph instead. I hadn’t had my big camera out in probably a year, so I was definitely rusty. But boy, did it feel good to be behind the big thing again – and for three hours!

 

Clinic Recap: Ground Desensitization

The barn where Robbye is boarded is a small, private farm about ten miles outside of the city. I am so lucky to have an incredible facility: indoor and outdoor with great footing , impeccable care, no drama, and a clean and safe environment. But we only have 11 horses total, and my club of three compromises a full half of the boarders.

So weird to see our indoor fill up!

What I’m trying to get at is that we don’t get the kind of bustle that a big barn does. We had, until last week, only one trainer, who usually comes once a week. We don’t all haul to shows together. Usually there are only one or two of us riding at a time, or even in the barn at a time. And we have never hosted any events.

That made last weekend even more special: my club-mate, Kathy, and our barn owner, Carolyn, organized a clinic at our farm!

Robbye didn’t participate, so I photographed instead.

We ended up having 11 horses and half dozen or so auditors for a three hour clinic on desensitization. The clinician was a local trainer named Helge (pronounced like “Helga”), who is a trainer popular with the trail riders because of his natural horsemanship-inspired trail rides. He emphasizes confidence above all else while riding, which many re-riders obviously appreciate.

Lizzie and Kathy tackle a pipe with empty, rattling cans attached.

Other than the bad rap it gets on CotH, this clinic was actually my first experience with natural horsemanship. I have to say: I was very pleased with Helge. Generally his techniques lined up with what I have learned from dog training (I have much more experience training dogs than I do horses), which I found particularly interesting. The parallels between training predator and prey aren’t usually that obvious, in my experience.

This horse was particularly tolerant.

At one point, he was teaching the clinic how to back their horses. The ask happens in four steps, Helge says:

1. Hold the lead rope slack in one hand the the training stick in the other. Face the horse’s chest and ask for the back by waving the stick between your hip and chest.
2. If the horse doesn’t respond, move to tapping the slack portion of the lead rope with the training stick.
3. If the horse doesn’t respond, move to tapping the metal snap of the lead rope with the training stick.
4. If the horse doesn’t respond, move to tapping the horse in the nose with the training stick.

If at any point in the process the horse backs, there is an immediate release. And, Helge emphasized, the transitions between the steps have to be abrupt and obvious – he believes that faking out the horse, or failing to commit to an ask, is not fair to the horse.

“This tarp is NOT scary!”

He also understands that of course no one wants to hit their horse – or even tap him on the nose. His rebuttal is that he’d rather hit the horse once and teach the lesson, never having to do it again, than ask half-assed every single time. One, assertive, dominant ask.

Horses fail to react while Helge’s assistant shot a gun inside.

Helge used many different “toys” to demonstrate desensitization: a giant ball, a bull whip, balloons and flags, a firing gun, a pipe with empty rattling cans, and more. The approach to familiarization was the same for each toy, however. First of all, the handler must always be calm and confident. Second, if at all possible have the horse follow the scary toy. This makes the toy less intimidating, since it’s not chasing the horse, and also encourages the horse’s curiosity. Finally, a release is always granted immediately after the horse moves toward or accepts the scary situation.

Hoola hoops aren’t scary either!

I think my main takeaway lesson from this clinic is that horses are a lot less flighty than we expect; in a comfortable environment with a calm, confident handler, even something that we, as humans, expect to be scary to a horse is really…not a big deal. There were zero equine freak outs at this clinic. Several miniscule spooks, a couple of hairy eyeballs, but no drama. Even at the gunshots.

Scared of the ball, but not being dramatic.

The clinic was an excellent example of a horse taking his behavioral cues from his handler. If these handlers could replicate their demeanors in a saddle and in a strange place, they’d have virtually bomb proof horses. This is a lesson I’ve been trying to learn for three years now, especially since I’m an anxious person with a mare who is particularly sensitive to me. This clinic was incredible proof that the lesson is valid.

(And it was a great party, too – I can’t wait to have another one at “home”!)

2014 Photo Dump

(Sorry for some of the spacing and formatting issues. Photos and captions didn’t import over from Blogger very well!)

Clip from early 2014

Little brother riding!

 

Bareback and bridleless 2’6″!

Zeke and Paul grooming 🙂

When Robbye was recovering from her bout of lymphangitis this year I went on a couple of trail rides bareback.

Spent a week cold hosing and hand-walking…

The best selfie one can accomplish with such a big head!

Driving Clinic with SPOH-OH

This Sunday, Julie, Yogi and I headed over to the Chillicothe area for a driving clinic with the Ohio Standardbred group. This was particularly special because Julie and Yogi were half of the clinic! There was an awesome turnout and I think people were really into the whole thing. SPHO-OH is trying to offer more events (clinics, likely) this year, and I think this was a great start to that effort. People were even requesting another driving clinic once the weather gets better, which I think would be amazing.

Julie taught a portion of the clinic focused on pleasure driving, and specifically converting the OTT-SB from racing in harness to a purely pleasure and/or trail driving role. There are actually many differences between a pleasure harness and a racing harness, and of course that’s something an OTT-SB has to be trained to understand.

The other clinician demonstrated the harness and carts that a racing Standardbred experiences. I was especially impressed by the racehorse the clinician brought – Standardbreds are truly a special horse. Though this horse was a young, hot, racing horse, he stood absolutely still as he was harnessed, trotted calmly and slowly around the ring, and even let novice drivers take his reins. What a good boy.

Julie and Yogi did a fantastic job. Julie really knows her stuff, of course, and is a good public speaker. As much as I would like to share any knowledge I have, I feel like I would stumble through a presentation and just wouldn’t be a good clinician or teacher. Julie is great at answering questions and at addressing the right issues (whether it be training, safety, money, whatever).

Yogi, on the other hand, is always a total ham in front of people. He loves to show off and treats people he doesn’t know a lot better than he treats me and Julie! He was absolutely perfect this Sunday and even let several children drive him around the arena. His unique personality just continues to blow me away.

I already knew most of what was being taught, and have also been trying to find a way to contribute to the organization, so I decided to break out my DSLR and try to document the event. The light was weird (but dramatic) but my camera and training really pulled through, I think. I’m not sure if the organization will like the photos, since they’re very artsy and photo-journalistic, but even if they don’t, I feel like I’ve contributed. I hope to continue photographing for them, and to hopefully get more consistent photos – out of 350 I took this weekend, I was only really happy with about 30. It was quite a struggle to get any nice photos, I have to admit – but I had a ton of fun with it.