Glorious Gridwork

After Prairie's lovely behavior at the show on Sunday, she got Monday off (save for that bodywork and trimming tutorial), a light hack on Tuesday including us heading out to the back fields, and the intention of not schooling "dressage" for the rest of the week in the name of mental fatigue.  

(I'm not sure basic transitions and 20 meter circles are exactly fatiguing, but I wanted to shake it up a bit)

That left us with the always entertaining option of setting some jumps.  Now, if you'll remember I've only jumped Prairie twice.  Once through a chute free, and once through a small grid with me clinging to her back.  Not exactly a wealth of experience, but both instances were fun, light and P2 seemed to be engaged.

P2 makes the jump look even smaller.. but it was a respectable fence!

While I swapped tack to S's jumping saddle (and our obviously necessary open fronts), S headed to the outdoor to set up a little grid for us.

She set a ground pole to a bounce to a one stride (the bounce is set at 12' btw, I measured Prairie's stride the other day using hoof prints from a gallop she had in her paddock... came in at a scary 26' from front leading leg to front leading leg.... which explains why I feel like we go so damn fast...)

Anyway,  Prairie was oddly not terrified of the magical moving standards (stationary standards are fine, but when being moved they transform into monsters), so I took that as a good sign of focus and rationality for our ride.  I weaved in and out of the standards, slowly starting to work the ground poles into our warmup and Prairie was extremely unimpressed.  Eventually S started putting poles up one at a time, which P2 always jumped first, then realized she could trot over without much effort...

I worked really hard on trying to stay tall (man, I want to duck down), and setting Prairie back on her butt going into the line.  Then I really tried to stay off her until we hit the other side.  We had a few times through where the mare got off balance, but she always corrected herself, and HOLY LORD that girl can jump.  There were a few times through where I'm pretty sure she nearly cleared the standards.  Her jump is a really big, fluid movement, but surprisingly easy to ride..  Something I appreciated since the the only time I've "jumped" in the last 7 years was that baby grid we did a while back... (in my mind I could still take down a prelim xc course, which is nothing short of self delusion)

One of our first few times through...



Here's one time through where I dropped her a bit over the first (baby) fence and she did a really good job of sitting back and pushing through.  I was grinning after that ride... felt like she could have propelled us over the moon...


Once the mare got her groove, we kept raising the rails and I focused more on using my weight to sit her back in the one stride.  P2 was a great girl, she was forward and interested to the line without rushing and listened pretty well to my half-halts setting her up.  I never once felt her waver or question herself and by the end she was confidently eating up that little 2'9" vertical at the end.

I don't have video of the final height for the line, but this was close and you can see, she's barely making an effort...



Of note is the fact that she didn't land and bolt away on the other side.  Also of note - I anticipated her being freaked out of the PVC poles and the noise the make when you bonk them - but the mare kept her head and never scooted away from me.  What a star.  I think she really enjoys the change in routine and having to be a bit more responsible for her body. 

One thing I became very aware of was my left stirrup leather pressing into my shin... while my right one didn't at all.  Since I'm pretty sure the saddle isn't built unevenly I think it's a giant flashing neon sign that my hips aren't exactly straight... darn it.  But it does stay consistent with the fact that my right leg has a habit of creeping back.. so I need to figure out how to straighten myself out.  I think my dressage saddle keeps me locked in a bit straighter but still doesn't fix it.  The more open seat on the CWD doesn't hold me in, which means that poor stirrup leather ends up showing me how twisted I am.

Trimming the Toes (ammy hour)

OMG, ow.

I cannot convey the level of body soreness that I have today - which I'm pretty sure it entirely to blame on my trimming lesson that I received Monday.  I had my favorite vet out for some bodywork and since she also works on feet (and has trimmed P2 well in the past) a while back I asked if she thought she could give me some pointers on how to maintain P2's trim myself.

Trimming toes terrifies the ever living crap out of me because I don't trust my own eyeballs and the notion of crippling my horse from total ignorance is enough to make me nauseous instantly.  BUT I also think that being able to evaluate and trim her myself would be a hugely valuable skill to develop

After several (several!) coaxing conversations, my vet finally convinced me that P2 has good feet.  They are pretty well balanced, hard as nails, grow fast and don't require much in the way of "correction."  In short she all but beat me over the head with the fact that I couldn't ask for easier feet to maintain on my own (panic panic panic).

So after watching (and reading) and watching some more, yesterday was the first time I put rasp to hoof for anything other than smoothing broken flares/torn hoof/etc.  We started by me watching her trim Prairie's left front, then I replicated to process on the right front (her more upright hoof).

I was pleased that from the beginning to the end I developed a much more effective stance and grip and things started going much smoother.  But holy god - I was dripping sweat.  P2 was being very patient, but not exactly holding herself up, which made my life slightly difficult.  It also took me a while to really get her leg locked down well enough that I could get several strokes of the rasp off without having to constantly readjust.

I have always had a ton of respect for good farriers/trimmers but man - I think I seriously underestimated the physicality of the job...

Anyway, I'll take pictures, but really all I had to do was back her heels down a bit (they pretty much want to be at widest point of the frog), even out her wall, take a tiny bit of flare down and bevel the edge.  My eye is getting better at sighting high points and with both hands on the rasp, it was easier for me to "feel" the high sides...

I'm lucky in the fact that Prairie's toes are pretty balanced front to back and I don't have to make any judgement calls with really backing her toe, which is something that still scares the ever living crap out of me.

Last night I ordered my hoof stand and rasp and am under strict orders to touch all 4 feet every two weeks so that I don't have to make any huge adjustments.   My vet makes it out about once a month so shouldn't be able to go too far off track without her being able to guide me back easily...

I splurged and got a HoofJack.  No nippers - but if I do actually touch each hoof every 2 weeks I shouldn't need them...

 I'm nervous but really, really excited.   I am trying to take comfort in the fact that I can always call her out for a trim, or just throw my tools down and wait for our regular farrier... It's not like I'm stranded on a desert island and need to reinvent the wheel.  I just need to remember that.

I got some seriously weird looks from some of the younger riders in the barn yesterday while I was wrestling with P2's feet.  One (very sweet) girl stopped and asked if I was trying to save money.  I suppose if this works out, in the end I will end up saving my $50 a trim... but as I was standing there, sweat in my eyeballs, legs shaking and hoof slipping lower and lower... I was thinking "honey, this is the hardest damn way to save $50 on a horses I've ever encountered."  I'd rather cut back on au natural SPF spray, or get the cheap rice bran, or I don't know... reduce the tack 'ho tendencies.  But I would never subject myself to this delightful process in the name of saving a buck.... All in the name of being an informed, capable owner, right?

hooves crossed....

10!

I thought maybe I would write this post in some sort of cool, calm, collected state, but the fact of the matter is WE GOT A 10.

A TEN!

10!!!!

look! a 10! and it's accompanying blue ribbon...

I couldn't believe it, and apparently the Judge couldn't either as she congratulated me on our (one) perfect score after our final salute so I didn't even have to wait to get my test back to start squealing.  I have never, (ever, ever) scored a 10 in my life.  I've had a few golden 9's that I coaxed, pleaded and beat out of other horses, along with some steady 8's, but never (ever, ever) a TEN!  The judge also said it's been about two years since she handed out her last ten, so that comment plus our very fair score on the first ride made me feel even luckier to have earned an ten!!

(It was on our first trot lengthening, by the way, which is videoed from behind so you miss most of the gorgeousness, though the steady rhythm and balance is fairly evident)

And with that out of the way, I can proceed to discuss the rest of the test... (a 10!).

I really can't complain, but if I had to - it's that both P2 and I ran out of steam for the last half of the ride.  We started great, but by the end of the test we were just a bit strung out, unbalanced and stiff.  All in all, still a huge improvement from June's show since we, umm... oh yeah - finished the test this time.

I know I need to be hugely grateful for that (massive) improvement/completion, but it's hard to know that we were giving points away left and right that would have easily been ours if I had been a bit more centered and assertive.  Our slow demise is apparent looking at the test sheet as we go from 7's, 8's (and a TEN!) at the start to a couple 5's, 6's and 7's from the second canter lead through the end of the test.  (wah).  We still ended with a 68.97% which feels like a huge success (that's so close to 70% I can taste it...) and collective marks showed an improvement over our Training 3 ride:

Gaits:  8
Impulsion: 8 (up one from T3!)
Submission: 7 (up another one from T3!)
Rider Position: 7
Use of Aids: 7
Harmony: 7

Those improvements made me really happy.  For sitting around in 85 degree heat (in Seattle 85 constitutes a terrifying heat), and then going back in for a second ride.. I was thrilled that Prairie was even more focused than our first ride.  Also, really nice to feel an improvement for our second test where last time we came unraveled...

Again we struggled with our canter departs and circles, but still no errors.  I was so proud of the mare I ended up spooking her with my enthusiastic pats at the end of the ride.

Here's the video.  You'll see where the wheels come off the wagon (canter tour), but man, we had some pretty good moments! (namely three 8's in a row for our stretchy trot, walk transition and free walk).


All in all I came away from the day feeling like we addressed some of our biggest issues from the June show (although who knows if they will stick for our next outing) and that much more pulled together.

The next little schooling show on the calendar is for August 12th... and I might scrap my Training level tests and go for First 1 & 2.  Not that we can't improve our scores at Training Level, but I think the things that are hard for us don't change much with First Level and those tests are just more fun to school and ride.

Things that are on the list to work on:

Getting off our forehand in the canter
Getting off our forehand in the canter
Getting off our forehand in the canter
Canter departs (still)
Straightness in our Halts (we had haunches to the right every time)
Returning to Working Canter from a lengthened stride
Staying lifted through the shoulder on smaller circles/turns

Proud of herself and ready to head home..

When we got back to the barn, a couple of the grass paddocks that have been "resting" were opened up so I let the mare go roll around and pig out for a few minutes before I had to head home.  I hope she knows she did a good job... and I hope she remembers to do it again!

rockn' her post-braid curls...

(P2 got grass, and I got this...)

July Dressage Show - Part 1

I finally made it home with time for one ride on Saturday before we loaded up for our second schooling show on Sunday... which was enough to leave me with some slight anxiety about not being exactly... prepared. 

But, such is life, and some of my best rides have come on the heels of total procrastination which is what I was telling myself all morning while I was trying to bathe/clip/braid/tame my somewhat feral looking beast.

S had the ride for the week, so I knew I wasn't dealing with a wild mare, but I was still feeling a bit... disconnected while I scrambled about waiting for The Boy to show up with the rig.

But Prairie was a good girl.  She (mostly) stood nicely while I put her braids in.  This round of braiding was light years ahead of my last attempt, which makes sense.  It's sorta like painting your nails... when you do it all the time it's quick, easy, and looks better than when you started.  But if it's been a while I typically end up with more paint on my clothes/table/skin than on the nails themselves and it all looks moderately tragic.

I opted for a few more braids this time (maybe 10 instead of 7?), and I think that was a good call.  They still looked nice and "chunky," but they were tighter, more even and looked a bit more proportional to the mare's body.

Our ride times were almost identical to the last show - Training 3 at 3:05 and First 1 at 3:40.  So given the lack of focus/attention at the last outing my plan was to get on about 10 minutes before my first ride and have a quick, tight warmup, then ride my test and hop off until 10 minutes before my second ride.

Great plan, except that they show was running about 20 minutes ahead so about the time I was ambling down to the warm up area the gate girl was running around asking everyone if they were #103.... (oops).

Since I had time, I still hand walked Prairie around the whole place, then hopped on, tested my gas, my breaks and both canter transitions and headed into the ring....

Instead of letting Drama Llama/Loch Ness monster crane her head all about, I kept her frame as tight as I could, and asked for leg yields, shoulder-in's and haunches in/out.  The theory being that when I let P2 look around, she convinces herself that there are things worth looking at... like cougars... and tarps... and horse-eating children.

All in all, I felt like I had way more control as I tootled around the dressage court.  The bell was rung pretty quickly so I barely got all the way around before circling back and heading for the Centerline.  P2 was alert and listening, but already heavy on her forehand, which is what I struggled with the entire test.

But.

BUT!

We didn't have any errors.  We completed the test.  What's more - we completed the test without any major breaks/omissions/freakouts.   Our canter work leaves a lot to be desired, but we did it.  And overall the test felt much, much, much better than our first outing a month ago.

The Judge gave us lots of positive feedback after our final salute and asked a lot of questions about Prairie.  She was surprised to know it was only our second outing and that we were a new partnership (I guess that's a good thing?).  We managed a 2nd place against much stiffer competition and our score was a 66.4%.  (a whopping .2% less than June)

In terms of the scorecard - it made more sense to me than June's test.  We only got one 8 (on our medium walk) whereas in June we got 8's on the same medium walk, our second trot serpentine, our right lead canter circle and the final centerline.  Buuuuut, we also totally eliminated those dreaded 4's and I managed only one 5 (that damn right lead canter that squeaked out an 8 last time..).  Otherwise it was mostly 7's with a few 6's sprinkled about where they were well deserved.  Big improvement on the back side of the test (as far as I am concerned) with an 8 again for Gaits, a 7 for impulsion (we had 7.5 in June), 6 for Submission (same as June) and all 7's for Rider Position, Correct use of Aids and Harmony (a 7, 6.5 and 6 respectively in June).

P2 was a bit sticky, so I wasn't expecting to see the glowing feedback in impulsion, and we were still fighting over focus and harmony so 7's seem fair.  All in all, we got 6's on everything that we struggle with at home, and 7's/8 on everything that feels a bit more solid.  I came out of the arena really pleased that Prairie held it together and listened for all five minutes of the ride...  That made the little bobbles not very important in my book.

I was really proud with how well Prairie bucked up and listened.  I knew we were heavy, and I really didn't do much to fix it.  Instead I sort of just hung on and hoped that somehow magically she might get lighter on her own (because that always happens...).  Also, she's still overly interested in things that aren't related to her test... in the video you can see us pop up a few times (particularly in her free walk), but it's a polite "what's that?"  which is a far cry from her inability to trot past the Judge's Booth a month ago.  I don't quite feel like our score reflects the massive improvement, but I am pretty sure our score was too high last month anyway. :)

Anyway, here's the video.  Not bad for 3.5 minutes of warmup!  I'm going to try to replicate such a quick warm-up at the next show too...



After the ride I hopped off as soon as I could, loosened her girth and found some shade to snooze under until we were one rider away for our second ride... More on that tomorrow, we had a BIG success in that test, stay tuned!