Learning the Mary Way

 I love my trainer, but I also get a lot out of working with different people, who might focus on a different aspect of my ride or explain something in a new way.  Plus I have some extra flexibility in my schedule while unfortunately my trainer does not, so I took the opportunity to sign up for some lessons with a local biomechanics specialist.  She is a student of Mary Wanless, and for anyone reading who is better versed in MW than me (I'm brand new to it!) if anything sounds wrong it is probably my misunderstanding or doing a poor job describing it and not a fault of the trainer.  And I have to admit, I've read several other blogs where the bloggers discussed Mary's teaching and there was a lot I didn't really understand but after my first lesson is starting to make sense!

My mount was a cute little quarter horse. I got on him and the first thing my instructor did was shorten my stirrups, to a length that is actually comfortable for me but shorter than what I think of as traditional dressage length.  Then she watched me walk as I normally would for a minute or two before having me stop for my first adjustment.  Now I've heard before that you need to rotate your leg in from the hip, and I thought I had been doing that, but it turns out I wasn't!  After the adjustment I saw the difference in how my upper leg was lying on the saddle, especially looking down comparing the two legs after only one had been adjusted.  I could also see my toes were pointed more forward.  And then the next step was she put her hand kind of behind my heel and told me to push against it, and keep that feeling.  

She also put her hands under my feet and told me not to crush them, and that is how much weight I should have in my stirrups.  I worry about losing my stirrups, so often jam my feet way in and try to keep really heavy.  My instructor said with keeping my legs more still, and letting the light friction between the stirrup pad and soles of my boots, I won't need to worry about losing my stirrups even though I have less weight in them.

We talked about how I need to carry more weight on my seat and upper legs.  One thing she said that particularly resonated with me was that the stirrups are very unstable, they can swing or bend.  On the other hand the torso / girth band area of the horse is one of the most stable parts of his body, so I that is where I want to put myself.  

I walked some more trying to get used to the new feeling, and it definitely felt different.  For the next adjustment, my instructor put her hand in front of my knee and told me resist against it and keep that feeling.  It should feel almost as if though I were kneeling on the ground.

Resistance points (imposed on old position!)

Then after another brief period walking my next adjustment was to resist against her hand with the back of my ankle, without taking my entire leg off the horse.  My toes were already more forward but this corrected it further, and hopefully will help with my "nagging" legs.  By which I mean my lower legs tend to swing and bounce a bit, when I ride Cupid it often looks like I'm nagging him to go when really I'm not trying to do anything at all.

Next we moved up to the torso, and my instructor reminded me to engage my core.  She asked me what other sports I do, and when I said kickbox she said basically to ride like I'm about to take a punch to the stomach.  So that is the "bear down" I've heard other bloggers refer to, lol.  

Finally, she told me to keep my elbows bent but have the feeling like I'm resisting against something in front of my hands.  

The lesson ended we me trying to do all of this at the trot.  It did feel weird and different, and also just weird and different since I don't ride new horses very often.  But in the two rides I've had on Cupid since, I think my leg has felt steadier so I'm hopeful!

Fleece Blinkers for the Spooky Horse

Cupid is generally a fairly straightforward horse, but one of his biggest quirks is his spookiness in our outdoor arena.  He's lived at the same barn for all 6.5 years that I've owned him, and has been in this arena hundreds of times but as I've mentioned probably many times before, he is often spooky and distracted in there.  Some times he's totally fine, but the past few weeks he's almost always been spooky, by the corner where the gate is.  (I would have expected him to like the gate corner and try to move towards it not away!)  There are some props on the ground, but nothing unusual and they've been the same.  He does it both directions.  Luckily he doesn't do anything terrible, he just scoots away and gets tight.  So not dangerous, but very frustrating!

In the past I've tried, to little avail:

- ignoring the behavior aside from a little half halt, and try to keep him straight and moving on as best we can, and just doing the most important work in other parts of the arena;

- turning circles as soon as I feel his attention drift;

- walking up to the sides where he gets distracted (he doesn't seem scared, and will walk right up to and put his nose on each of the various things lying there); and

-working hard away from the spooky area and resting there.

Also I didn't notice any difference when he was on magnesium or ulcergard for unrelated reasons - still about the same number of days he was totally fine versus spooky.

My latest idea was to try fleece blinkers.  I got these kavalkade pads, which have velcro and were very easy to attach to the bridle: https://www.ridingwarehouse.com/Kavalkade_Pure_Lambswool_Crown_Poll_Nose_Chin_Padding/descpage-KPLP.html

Kavalkade Pure Lambswool Padding

Cupid didn't mind the blinkers and didn't have any sort of reaction to having them on.  He raced with french cup blinkers, but luckily this didn't bring back any memories for him!  I rode him as normal around the property to warm up.  (He is totally fine everywhere else, there's just something about that arena.  And not always the same spot in there either, recently it was more halfway up the long side.)

The current spooky area

The blinkers did seem to help somewhat, but not as much as I hoped.  He was still squirelly but it did seem easier to refocus him.  But that may be in some or large part because by putting the blinkers on I kind of made this ride about working on this issue so I think I rode him even more proactively then usual.  

So back to the drawing board, but thought I'd share this experience in case anyone else has thought about trying it!

Dressage Boots for Short People - Cavallo Stanford

I've been riding in my trusty Ariat field boots for the past several years, and they are very comfortable and totally fine for what I do.  However, with my trainer's encouragement I've been contemplating getting real dressage boots for a while.  Who knows, maybe they'll even help with my bad habit of bracing on the stirrup and shortening my leg!

Unfortunately I don't have the nice long legs desirable for dressage riders.  I measured my height from the ground to the back of my knees at about 17" or 43 cm, and my calves at the widest part, with breeches, at about 13" or 33 cm.  I usually wear a 7.5 shoe, sometimes 7.  My Ariats are a 7.5 short height, regular calf.  They are a bit big all around, but I love the footbed enough I would have bought a dressage boot the same size if they had them - unfortunately they don't seem to have any dressage models at present.  Since I've never worn stiff boots I didn't really want to splurge on my first pair and find out it's not for me - I was hoping to spend around $500 (black Friday deals preferred!)

I previously bought Tredstep dress boots, and just didn't love them so I wasn't interested in that brand.  I've heard some people really like Mountain Horse, and others say they don't last long, but since their Serenade dressage boot doesn't seem to come in a short height it's a moot point.  That left me with several European brands and the ones I looked into were DeNiro, which I've heard are pretty comfortable, and Petrie.  Well Petrie was out immediately because they don't seem to come in short at all.  And DeNiro only had regular dress boots in short at my pricepoint.

Then I landed on something on Dover's website I wasn't familiar with, the Cavallo Stanford.  It only had one review, but at least it was 5 stars.  I couldn't find much more information or reviews on it.  But they have a size 7/7.5, 45 cm height (XX short, lol!), 33 cm (X slim, which is not something I ever would have called my calves), at $399 and with Dover's free returns I figured it was definitely worth a try.  

I receive them a few days later, and was very excited to try them on!  I was wearing workout capris and ankle socks, and the boots felt a bit big in the feet (probably not ideal for someone who is a true 7), and zipped up easily.  I was worried they might rub the ankles a bit, but overall they seemed to fit pretty well.  They zip on the inside, and don't have elastic.  They are stiff on the outside, but soft on the inside.

Because I'm impatient, and/or a masochist, I only wore them around the house for about 3 minutes before my first ride.  At my friend's suggestion I wore tall socks and thick winter breeches under them, so they were definitely more snug!  I rode for about 20 minutes before taking a walk break with my feet out of the stirrups when I started to worry I might go numb, then finished up with about 15 more minutes work.  

I used my Soloshot, and even though my feet still alternate between heels up and down I think overall I did have them level more of the time than usual.  

So far I'm quite happy with my purchase and first stiff boot experience!

Happy Halloween!

We had a dressage judge come to our barn on Halloween to practice ride dressage tests.  Cupid was a unicorn, and I was a butterfly.   

My unicorn!

Warming up

We did Training test 2 as a warm up. It was going well until almost the end, when just as we picked up our right lead canter Cupid spooked coming out of the corner.  Mind you, he had been perfect the whole time with my wings flapping (we had a dress rehearsal a few days ago, and even hopped some jumps with the wings on!) but he spooked at seemingly nothing, go figure.  

The judge spoke to everyone after their ride with some additional comments.  She said the best part of my test was actually the right lead canter departure, which she said was very balanced and uphill, right before the spook.  And she said something to work on was our stretchy trot, and to think about a bit of shoulder fore feeling in the corner before it to get him lifting his withers.  She said since he does a nice job stretching at the walk she thinks we can get it in the trot too.

Then for our final test of the year I finally got to ride First level test 1!  I know we're not quite show ready with it yet, but I thought it would be a good opportunity to practice.  The test started out okay with the trot 10m half circles.  Our stretchy circle was a bit better than the first test, and the walk as usual was fine.  For our canter to the left it went okay, though we need to show a bit more in the lengthening.  But then the test ends almost the same, with picking up canter at C (instead of between C and M as in Training 2) and down the long side, and Cupid spooked again in the same spot, worst this time.  And then went into the wrong lead, so instead of lengthening we were trying to fix the lead.  So the end was a bit of a mess.  

The judge said the best part of our test was our second 10m half circle, to the right.  Obviously the canter was the worst.  She said I need to be a lot quicker about fixing an incorrect lead if it happens, which is true.  She also said we need to be just a bit more consistent in our connection, but I told her my goal was to show it early next year and she said we can definitely get there.  She suggested a lot of circles and serpentines, and also leg yields.  Big leg yields as well as just a hoof's width over then straight again.  The feedback was helpful and encouraging, even though it was frustrating having Cupid spook in both tests, at our home barn!

We went first in the day, before most people got there and a few people asked to see my costume.  So after everyone was done we got dressed up again and did a little loop around with some of the other people who had costumes. 

Our First 8! =)

Cupid and I went to a show at a new to us venue.  It turns out he does not love this venue, and was pretty tense.  I knew it was bad when he wouldn't even eat a carrot the whole day, which is very unlike him!  I'm not sure why he was so tense, he's been handling other new places fairly well and I thought this place was pretty inviting in that the warm up was adjacent to the show ring, so you always had other horses around.  

We did Training 2 and 3 again.  I wasn't thrilled with how it felt because Cupid felt tense and braced.  He kind of leapt into the canter both directions.  But there weren't any major mistakes, and the judge was seemingly in a generous mood.  So I was thrilled to see two 7s on our first test.  And our first ever 8 in our second test!!  It was for our first halt, with our final halt earning a 7.5.  I was equally thrilled to see a 6.5 for the canter circles both directions, which I think is also a first. 

Photo purchased from show photographer Artistic Equine

I think the scoring was generous, but I was ecstatic nonetheless!  Kind of made up for our last show, which felt a lot better to me but our scores were dismal.  We earned a qualifying score in case we want to think about pointing to championships next year, though I'm not sure if it's worth it for us.  My main goal will be getting ready for First Level hopefully early next year.  I'm a little sad we weren't able to finish the year there but now that I'm finally starting to understand dressage I can see we're not quite ready.  Haha, the more you learn the more you realize how little you actually know!  (or something like that)

Can a Thoroughbred Work Cows?

Obviously the answer is yes, but can Cupid?  This weekend we went to an Intro to Cattle clinic to find out!  Cupid has seen cattle from a bit of a distance, and ridden through cow pastures without problem, but I wasn't sure how it would go being in close quarters or if they take off.  Luckily, Cupid handled it really well!  This clinic was organized by our regional Working Equitation group, and led by Heather Kornemann. 

The day got off to a bit of a rough start, as I had packed my trailer the night before but couldn't find my keys in the morning.  I spent some time looking for them, then gave up and grabbed all my back up tack so I could still ride, but unfortunately not with what I planned to use.  So instead of the comfort snaffle we've been riding in, we had our double jointed snaffle (which led to a bit of chomping), and instead of my jump saddle I had my dressage saddle (having recently sold my western saddle, which Cupid hated anyways).  And instead of my short boots, I luckily was able to zip my tall boots over my jeans (but also confirms what I have been suspecting, that I should probably go with slim boots next time).  So a bit behind schedule, and without my preferred gear, we missed the orientation but  made it just in time to ride in our group.

There were about a dozen cows in the arena, all huddled down at one end.  There were 4 horse and rider clinic participants including Cupid and me, and our trainer Heather and I think 3 mounted assistants in the ring.  The participants took turns letting our horses approach and get used to the cows, with Heather staying close.  Cupid was interested in the cows, and not scared to walk right up to them.  We walked among the herd, between the herd and the fence, and started playing a bit with pushing them.

All photos courtesy D. Clayton

Investigating these strange creatures

In working equitation, you have three minutes to cut your designated cow from the herd and move it into a holding pen.  You are on a team of 3 or 4, but your team members have to stand behind a line until you get your cow past that line, at which point they can assist with getting the cow into the pen (but also have to keep the other cows behind the line, I believe.)  

In this clinic, our objective was to pick a cow, cut it from the herd, and move it down the arena across the line of other horses and riders.  We each took turns, and while you were waiting your turn you did not assist but stayed out of the way, and moved aside when necessary to create a hole for the cow to go through.  It was kind of like a group jumping lesson, which we haven't done in a very long time so it was also good for Cupid just to practice standing.  Sometimes starting out he is a bit antsy, but he was on his best behavior today (aside from some bit chomping, which I think was because I haven't ridden him in the double jointed bit in a long time.)

Waiting our turn

Not all cow horses where western saddles!

After making sure Cupid was comfortable, we gave the cutting and sorting a try.  Our first few turns I made the mistake of just going for the cow closest to the line we needed to cross.  And also trying to move them along the fence, thinking it would be easier because then I just have to watch one side.  But apparently these are bad strategies!  We did manage to get it done, if not gracefully.  Back to my original question, Cupid doesn't really have the instinct to cut a cow or anticipate where it's going to go, so he lets them get away but then seems to have fun chasing after them!  (Haha, maybe he wants to be a roping horse?  Let's try that next!!)

After a few goes, he seemed to start getting a bit anxious.  Heather said it seems like he is a very task-oriented horse, and to just forget our task for the moment and just relax and let him play.  Just before she said this, I had been thinking that it seems like he knows I want something, but can't quite figure out what it is and might be getting a bit frustrated.  I let me reins lengthen and let Cupid walk among the cows, sniff them, and trot after them - as long as he was remaining engaged.  Occasionally if he started to wander I would turn him back.  So some of our turns we cut and sorted, some we just played. 

Get 'em!

Success!

This clinic was a ton of fun!!!  I'm really glad I got to try something new, and build my relationship with Cupid in a different way!  It will take a lot more practice for us to learn to read the cows and really get the hang of this, but I'm definitely looking forward to trying again.

DIY Dyeing Breeches for Us Mere Mortals (Fail!)

I read some blog posts and comments online about people dyeing their sunshirts and breeches.  And they made it sound pretty easy!  I had a pair of white breeches I got for shows, that just wasn't show quality anymore but I still didn't want to wear white to school is so I figured I'd give this dyeing thing a try.  And I'm here to say, for us mere mortals that are not particularly crafty, it is not idiot proof.  My hats off to those of you who were able to do this correctly!

My breeches were 95% cotton, 5% spandex so I got the "all purpose" dye not the one for synthetics.  Mind you, this is supposed to be the easier one because you don't need to do it over the stove.  I just dumped the dye into a large plastic tub with hot water and some dishwash detergent.  Then I put in the breeches, which I ran under water first.  I used gloves to submerge the breeches in the dye water, and gently moved it occasionally as I let it soak for about an hour.  Then, as per the directions I ran the breeches under running water until the water ran clear, and then put them in the dryer with a towel.

Clearly, I shouldn't quit my day job to pursue arts and crafts!  The results are far from perfect.  There are light colored blotches on a big section of the front.  And then a dark colored stain on the leg.  I'll keep them for schooling because I'm not one of those gorgeously put together people you see on other blogs, who look just as nice leaving the barn as they did when they arrived.  Sadly that is just not me, as hard as I try usually I leave the barn with the frizzy messy hair and smudges of dirt or horse hair. 

Overall the color is much brighter and lighter than I expected from the "dark green" dye.  (The picture below is a better representation of the actual color than the ones above.)  As you can kind of see in the picture above, the sock bottoms stayed white and the silicon is white as well.  This I kind of like.  The stitching on the seams stayed white as well.

I have a bottle of blue dye for synthetics that I was going to use for a lighter blue sunshirt I wanted to darken, but I don't think I should bother...