Lately I've seen some pretty amazing drill team exhibitions on youtube which gets me excited about working with the drill team riders here. Not that we'll be jumping through hoops of fire like the London Metropolitan Mounted Policemen (or will we...?) but there are other ways of getting the crowd's attention, and keeping it.
Drill team has always been something I loved coaching, but I think I've only ever ridden in two of them. One was during college when some classmates and I were chosen to ride a Quadrille for an open house. We rode to "Bolero" and my mount was a gorgeous TB gelding named Star Trek. He was a stunningly good looking horse with an unfortunate name and severe lack of coordination. The cantering parts of the drill were always a bit hair-raising for me.
Despite all raised hairs, I enjoyed it tremendously and from then on, wherever possible, I worked drill rides into lessons. First were the little Summer Camp riders who managed to learn a drill within just a few days. Then there were Quadrille teams that rode a pre-determined test, and then larger drills with 6 or 8 riders and smaller drills with only two. I rode in the two horse drill (technically a pas-de-deux) with one of my students. I rode Raffles and she rode Dancer. Raffles is a 16.2 hh beefcake Swedish Warmblood. Dancer is a 12 hh Welsh Pony. Taking their sizes and personalities into consideration, we performed our ride to two songs. One was Fred Astaire's "Dancing Cheek to Cheek" for which we rode very sweet patterns where we would ride apart, come together, part again and finally sway through a series of intricate circles. Then the music switched over to "Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better". Cue the hilarity. With spunky little Dancer upstaging him at every moment, Raffles and I wove a pattern of diagonals, leg yields, and changes of direction. A few years later, I did a reprisal of the ride with a different student (student #1 had outgrown the pony) and with a different horse. Raffles was stricken with a hoof abscess so at the last second, Vanessa had to pinch hit. She was also a big horse so the visual was similar, but without Raffles' machismo the effect wasn't quite the same. Also, I made a few mistakes. And Dancer wouldn't go through the puddles in the ring. Overall, it was not a polished performance. Let's just leave it at that.
Choosing the music is a big part of having a crowd-pleasing drill ride. Hoops of fire don't hurt either, but as I said earlier, we're not doing that (or are we...?). The music has to have the same tempo and rhythm of the gaits used, and it has to be recognizable and lively. In the most drills, we rode the drill to fit the music. The pre-determined Quadrilles were tricking because we couldn't alter the ride to fit the music so we had to find music to fit the ride. Fancy-schmancy computer programs are available to edit music to the length of the ride, and to blend different songs together to fit the different gaits, but my computer skills are neither schmancy nor fancy so I always had to adapt the ride to the music. Which meant that all the riders had to put up with last minute choreography changes.
"Hey guys, that last part that took you two weeks to learn.... that's got to be longer so we're going to add two more circles. Right in the middle. In the other direction. At the canter. Ready?"
Without fail, every drill rider learned their pattern, with all last minute changes, better than I did. Even though I was the one that made it up and coached it every week.
Some of the choices we've made for music were; the theme from Top Gun, music from the movie Jurassic Park, a 1980's techno remix of Puttin' On the Ritz, Hawaiian music from the movie Lilo & Stitch, ragtime music from the movie, The Sting, and one piece of music by a veritable deity of British rock & roll - Gary Glitter. We had some classic drill moves like the Wheel, Obliques, and Thread the Needle, but also some I dreamed up and labeled as Crashing Diagonals, the Shuffle, and the Roll-back Reverse. I wish I had video of each of the rides my students have done over the years. There are a few on youtube, but most were done before youtube was mainstream. I'm sure there is a rider or two that is secretly not too sad about that.
Without fail, the day of the actual performance, one of the horses would get overly excited by the pomp and circumstance of the occasion, and flip his lid. Usually, that horse is the same one that was too slow to keep up with the other horses during the 3 months of practice thereby catching his hapless rider completely off guard. My efforts at keeping my mouth shut, as the drill was performed, gave way with shouts of "Stay in line! Stay in line! Sit back! Hang on! Stay in Line!"
Every ride has been memorable for me and at every performance, I've had more jitters than my riders. Every ride had me bursting with pride (and relief) at the end, and applauding like a fool. I look forward to many more opportunities to applaud like a prideful, relieved fool.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
It's been a while since I wrote anything here. The holidays kept me busy and I also started a new job. It's not exactly a new job, because it's still teaching and training horses and riders, but new in the capacity that I will get paid for it. At my stable, every penny I earn goes right back into the stable in the form of hay, grain, shavings and the like. At this job, there is no overhead so it's actually profit. The money still goes back into my farm, but at least it came from somewhere else.
The new job is slightly different, in that I will be specifically teaching students about training horses. Whether we like it or not, every time we are in the presence of a horse, we are training it. Horses constantly learn from people. They learn good stuff and they learn bad stuff but they are always learning. A horse is never "trained". You can say he's been trained or had training, that is all true, but a horse is never done being trained. Horses never lose training either. Training can get buried, but it's still there. Horses don't forget but they need constant reminding of skills they've learned.
Just because a horse has learned a certain behavior from one person does not mean he will exhibit the same with a different person. For example, one of the school ponies, Dancer, is a perfectly pleasant, polite pony when I lead her around the farm. As soon as she gets a small child at the end of her rope, she turns into Thomas the Tank Engine and drags the unfortunate victim from one food source to the next. It doesn't even matter whether or not it's a standard pony food source either. Dancer has been known to devour the duck food if the bowl is within child-dragging distance.
With consistent one on one training, a horse may maintain that level of training for a short time when presented with a new handler/rider. If the new person doesn't keep up the level of leadership, the horse will start to learn other behaviors. A horse will always rise or sink to the level of it's trainer.
There is no such thing as an un-trainable horse. A horse always has the capacity to learn. There are horses who are not physically or mentally capable of learning what it is the trainer is trying to teach. A frantic, nervous horse is not going to learn much of anything in that state so he first needs to be calm. A 10 hh pony is not going to learn to jump a 5' oxer. Even if he is calm. Not all people are cut out to help a horse learn how to be a good citizen or accomplished athlete. Some horses take more time, some take more patience, but they all learn. They learn even when we are not actively teaching. Horses don't take time-outs from learning. Training doesn't just happen in the saddle. Training happens from the second that horse notices you're there. In the paddock, on the crossties, being groomed, being tacked up... it's all training, all the time. If a person expects the horse to consistently behave a certain way, than it is the person's responsibility to allow that to happen. Carol Lavell, an Olympic medalist, once told me in a lesson, that the training process is like a teacher with a classroom full of children. That teacher can not let those children do as they please for two days, letting them climb the bookshelves, throw pencils, scream and run, punch each other, dance on the desks and so on, and then on the third day tell them they must now sit quietly at their desks and pay attention to their long division. There is no routine, no respect and no training going on when you let the horse do as he pleases for 30 minutes and then for the next 30 expect him to obey your every whim. That doesn't fly with horses. Or children.
As a trainer, you can't even allow an unwanted behavior to carry on for several minutes before you decide to do something about it. If you let a horse nip at you 3 times before telling him to quit, all he's learned is that he can bite you 3 times, but not 4. He does not associate the correction with the first bite because it didn't come immediately following the first bite. Even worse, is rewarding a horse for a behavior that is unacceptable. When a horse is pawing on the crossties and his handler settles him down by petting him and giving him a cookie, he's just learned that if he paws, he'll get attention and a cookie. If he's pawing and I go to him and immediately ask him to back up and then come forward and then back up and then come forward... for a little while, he'll associate the pawing with having to work a little harder and will choose to stand still instead. Then he can have a cookie.
If I could get a cookie for standing still, I don't think I'd ever move.
The new job is slightly different, in that I will be specifically teaching students about training horses. Whether we like it or not, every time we are in the presence of a horse, we are training it. Horses constantly learn from people. They learn good stuff and they learn bad stuff but they are always learning. A horse is never "trained". You can say he's been trained or had training, that is all true, but a horse is never done being trained. Horses never lose training either. Training can get buried, but it's still there. Horses don't forget but they need constant reminding of skills they've learned.
Just because a horse has learned a certain behavior from one person does not mean he will exhibit the same with a different person. For example, one of the school ponies, Dancer, is a perfectly pleasant, polite pony when I lead her around the farm. As soon as she gets a small child at the end of her rope, she turns into Thomas the Tank Engine and drags the unfortunate victim from one food source to the next. It doesn't even matter whether or not it's a standard pony food source either. Dancer has been known to devour the duck food if the bowl is within child-dragging distance.
With consistent one on one training, a horse may maintain that level of training for a short time when presented with a new handler/rider. If the new person doesn't keep up the level of leadership, the horse will start to learn other behaviors. A horse will always rise or sink to the level of it's trainer.
There is no such thing as an un-trainable horse. A horse always has the capacity to learn. There are horses who are not physically or mentally capable of learning what it is the trainer is trying to teach. A frantic, nervous horse is not going to learn much of anything in that state so he first needs to be calm. A 10 hh pony is not going to learn to jump a 5' oxer. Even if he is calm. Not all people are cut out to help a horse learn how to be a good citizen or accomplished athlete. Some horses take more time, some take more patience, but they all learn. They learn even when we are not actively teaching. Horses don't take time-outs from learning. Training doesn't just happen in the saddle. Training happens from the second that horse notices you're there. In the paddock, on the crossties, being groomed, being tacked up... it's all training, all the time. If a person expects the horse to consistently behave a certain way, than it is the person's responsibility to allow that to happen. Carol Lavell, an Olympic medalist, once told me in a lesson, that the training process is like a teacher with a classroom full of children. That teacher can not let those children do as they please for two days, letting them climb the bookshelves, throw pencils, scream and run, punch each other, dance on the desks and so on, and then on the third day tell them they must now sit quietly at their desks and pay attention to their long division. There is no routine, no respect and no training going on when you let the horse do as he pleases for 30 minutes and then for the next 30 expect him to obey your every whim. That doesn't fly with horses. Or children.
As a trainer, you can't even allow an unwanted behavior to carry on for several minutes before you decide to do something about it. If you let a horse nip at you 3 times before telling him to quit, all he's learned is that he can bite you 3 times, but not 4. He does not associate the correction with the first bite because it didn't come immediately following the first bite. Even worse, is rewarding a horse for a behavior that is unacceptable. When a horse is pawing on the crossties and his handler settles him down by petting him and giving him a cookie, he's just learned that if he paws, he'll get attention and a cookie. If he's pawing and I go to him and immediately ask him to back up and then come forward and then back up and then come forward... for a little while, he'll associate the pawing with having to work a little harder and will choose to stand still instead. Then he can have a cookie.
If I could get a cookie for standing still, I don't think I'd ever move.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Meaning in Christmas
At this time of year, when I am struggling to get gifts for everyone I want to get a gift for and working with a shoestring (a ratty, worn out, threatening to break shoestring) budget, I always think of the greatest Christmas gift I have ever gotten that had almost no monetary value at all, yet was the most precious.
There was a family that became a part of my life through horse camp. In previous years, our city offered scholarships to children in public school grades 3-6 to go to a Summer camp of their choice. It was only through this scholarship that most of the children I had in camp were able to attend. That certainly applied to this particular family. It was a family of 6; 4 children, stay at home Mom and a Dad who was working and taking college classes so that he would be able to get a better job. The oldest girl came to camp one year, then again the next year along with her younger sister. They were lively, happy, beautiful girls that loved every minute of their camp days. With no extra money for lessons, that was the extent of their riding experience except for those times that they would come out and help with chores in exchange for extra riding. Regardless of horses, their Mom and I talked often, sharing Mom stories with all of the happiness, stress, pride and humor that goes along with having children.
During those few years, I was trying to adapt to being a single Mom as well as keep the business going and the work and worry wore me down often. The absolute joy that this family had in just being around the horses reminded me of why I was doing what I was doing; that horses were part of my soul and I believe in all the magic they represent and healing they impart. I was meant to work with them and for them. I wasn't always doing things right but slowly and surely learning from my mistakes and trying to improve perpetually. Most of all, this family gave me the inspiration to keep going.
My son was maybe 4 years old at the time of this particular Christmas. At 4, he was just becoming aware of the fun and surprise of Christmas. In order to share that enchantment with him, I got up extra early to feed horses and get them turned out before he woke up. Mission accomplished, I was able to make breakfast and watch Tristan open his presents. At 7 am, when I normally would have been heading out to the barn to feed horses, there was a knock on my door.
At the door was Mom and all 4 kids. They came bearing some handmade, personalized gifts but more astonishingly, had come to help with the barn work. They had left all of their gifts at home, unopened, to come out and help me for that morning. They had foregone their own Christmas morning so that I would have help. These 4 small children, ages 9-3, were here, happily and eagerly ready to do whatever I needed them to do. Their generosity touched me in a way that I can't describe.
Having told them that I had already gotten chores done earlier so that I could spend the morning with my son, they were almost disappointed that there wasn't any work to do. I invited them in to share our cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate and the children played with Tristan and his gifts while their Mom and I talked a little. Not once did any of the 4 children whine about wanting to go home to their own stuff. They never complained, never sulked, never said "Can we go now?". They were just as cheerful and exuberant as always.
After about an hour they went home to their own Christmas. Hours after that I was still reeling from the shock of their completely unselfish act and the good will that they shared. That gift was the most valuable one I could have ever received, especially during that year of trial and strife. They had no money for fancy gifts but what they gave me that day was absolutely priceless.
That family moved away from the area years ago and I have lost touch with them. Every Christmas since then, I think of them and the sacrifice they made to try and make my life a little easier. Melanie, Tinsley, Missy, JJ and Julianna, thank you and I will never forget your gift.
There was a family that became a part of my life through horse camp. In previous years, our city offered scholarships to children in public school grades 3-6 to go to a Summer camp of their choice. It was only through this scholarship that most of the children I had in camp were able to attend. That certainly applied to this particular family. It was a family of 6; 4 children, stay at home Mom and a Dad who was working and taking college classes so that he would be able to get a better job. The oldest girl came to camp one year, then again the next year along with her younger sister. They were lively, happy, beautiful girls that loved every minute of their camp days. With no extra money for lessons, that was the extent of their riding experience except for those times that they would come out and help with chores in exchange for extra riding. Regardless of horses, their Mom and I talked often, sharing Mom stories with all of the happiness, stress, pride and humor that goes along with having children.
During those few years, I was trying to adapt to being a single Mom as well as keep the business going and the work and worry wore me down often. The absolute joy that this family had in just being around the horses reminded me of why I was doing what I was doing; that horses were part of my soul and I believe in all the magic they represent and healing they impart. I was meant to work with them and for them. I wasn't always doing things right but slowly and surely learning from my mistakes and trying to improve perpetually. Most of all, this family gave me the inspiration to keep going.
My son was maybe 4 years old at the time of this particular Christmas. At 4, he was just becoming aware of the fun and surprise of Christmas. In order to share that enchantment with him, I got up extra early to feed horses and get them turned out before he woke up. Mission accomplished, I was able to make breakfast and watch Tristan open his presents. At 7 am, when I normally would have been heading out to the barn to feed horses, there was a knock on my door.
At the door was Mom and all 4 kids. They came bearing some handmade, personalized gifts but more astonishingly, had come to help with the barn work. They had left all of their gifts at home, unopened, to come out and help me for that morning. They had foregone their own Christmas morning so that I would have help. These 4 small children, ages 9-3, were here, happily and eagerly ready to do whatever I needed them to do. Their generosity touched me in a way that I can't describe.
Having told them that I had already gotten chores done earlier so that I could spend the morning with my son, they were almost disappointed that there wasn't any work to do. I invited them in to share our cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate and the children played with Tristan and his gifts while their Mom and I talked a little. Not once did any of the 4 children whine about wanting to go home to their own stuff. They never complained, never sulked, never said "Can we go now?". They were just as cheerful and exuberant as always.
After about an hour they went home to their own Christmas. Hours after that I was still reeling from the shock of their completely unselfish act and the good will that they shared. That gift was the most valuable one I could have ever received, especially during that year of trial and strife. They had no money for fancy gifts but what they gave me that day was absolutely priceless.
That family moved away from the area years ago and I have lost touch with them. Every Christmas since then, I think of them and the sacrifice they made to try and make my life a little easier. Melanie, Tinsley, Missy, JJ and Julianna, thank you and I will never forget your gift.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
You Must Be Mistaken
As a person who doesn't like to re-do anything and doesn't like to make mistakes, learning to accept an occasional "Ok, that didn't work..." was a difficult task. Having to let go of the fear of failure, the fear of messing up my horse, the fear of looking like a fool and a certain amount of perfectionism was like having to cut off my arm.
I still harbor those thought,s but now they skitter around the edges of my consciousness rather than clobbering their way to the forefront. It takes a little bit of wanting to do things right in order to succeed, but we have to able to accept mistakes and be willing to experiment. The only rule is that above all else, we try not to get hurt and try not to hurt our horses.
We could read every book ever written, take thousands of hours of lessons, watch zillions of videos and we will still come across that horse that makes us go "Huh, what is that all about?". Every horse is different and has it's own personality and quirks. There is no set-in-stone formula that is going to work for every horse. There isn't even one that will work for every Thoroughbred, or Quarter Horse or Arabian or anything else. There is no one way to work with a mare or a stallion or a gelding. Every yearling is different. Every 3 year old is different. And so on. Even when working with the same horse day after day, there are days when that horse will give you a different challenge. Our job is to be willing to experiment and to accept defeat.
We don't have to win every battle. There's nothing wrong with changing the subject or re-directing an exercise, as long as it will end up being positive and it's on your terms. If something isn't going right, there is no need to drill it until it does go right. What usually happens is both horse and rider end up exhausted and cranky.
If you are trying desperately to get a leg yield to the left and it's just not happening, examine why, first. Are you sitting too far right? Are you restricting with too much rein? Is your horse sore? Has he lost interest in responding to your aids because he just did 48 leg yields to the left and that ought to be quite enough? Rather than battle on, there is nothing wrong with taking a time out and walking on long reins for a minute. Or you could go and do something that you know both of you can do well. Do a canter circle. Do a turn on the forehand. It doesn't matter what, as long as it has a positive outcome. Most of the time, taking a break, or doing something different is enough to break up the tension and redevelop harmony so that the previously frustrating exercise becomes more productive.
When working on something new, the only way to figure it out is going to be to try it. You can not learn to do half-pass by reading a book. It may help, but you've got to be up there, applying aids and gauging your horse's reaction to know if you've been successful. Doing it wrong, or sloppy is not necessarily a bad thing, as long as you take note of what needs to improve and work on that the next time. It's akin to a child learning to write. There has to be practice. There has to be a bit of going outside the lines and being crooked. Certainly no one expects a small child to write her name perfectly the first time. No one expects you or your horse to do every transition perfectly the first time or every time. Mistakes happen.
Mistakes are okay, they are part of the learning process. I tell my students that a mistake is not a mistake unless you repeat it. Otherwise it's just practice. If you are supposed to end your trot lengthening at K, and you continuously let your horse drift left and miss the letter completely, then you are making a mistake and doing yourself and your horse a disservice. If you miss it once and notice that you were slack with your outside rein, then you can ride it again and make the correction. Of course, then you will finish your diagonal with counter flexion because you had too much outside rein. But it wasn't a mistake! Because it was a NEW problem. There was an effort made. Congratulations. Now, go try again.
In my dance lessons, I have put pressure on myself worrying about making a mistake during an upcoming performance. My teacher has told me. "You are going to make mistakes. Just accept it and go on. Everyone makes mistakes." Good advice, even if it is from someone who doesn't know a hoof pick from a Hanoverian.
The amazing thing about horses is that they not only allow you to make mistakes, but they forgive you for them too. Unless, they get hurt. Even then, there are horses who will put up with the pain and discomfort and continue to try. They shouldn't have to, but most of them will.
So make a mistake. Recognize it, give your horse a pat and then correct it. Mistakes are all part of the learning process. Those that don't learn from their mistakes are the only ones making them. The rest of us are just practicing.
I still harbor those thought,s but now they skitter around the edges of my consciousness rather than clobbering their way to the forefront. It takes a little bit of wanting to do things right in order to succeed, but we have to able to accept mistakes and be willing to experiment. The only rule is that above all else, we try not to get hurt and try not to hurt our horses.
We could read every book ever written, take thousands of hours of lessons, watch zillions of videos and we will still come across that horse that makes us go "Huh, what is that all about?". Every horse is different and has it's own personality and quirks. There is no set-in-stone formula that is going to work for every horse. There isn't even one that will work for every Thoroughbred, or Quarter Horse or Arabian or anything else. There is no one way to work with a mare or a stallion or a gelding. Every yearling is different. Every 3 year old is different. And so on. Even when working with the same horse day after day, there are days when that horse will give you a different challenge. Our job is to be willing to experiment and to accept defeat.
We don't have to win every battle. There's nothing wrong with changing the subject or re-directing an exercise, as long as it will end up being positive and it's on your terms. If something isn't going right, there is no need to drill it until it does go right. What usually happens is both horse and rider end up exhausted and cranky.
If you are trying desperately to get a leg yield to the left and it's just not happening, examine why, first. Are you sitting too far right? Are you restricting with too much rein? Is your horse sore? Has he lost interest in responding to your aids because he just did 48 leg yields to the left and that ought to be quite enough? Rather than battle on, there is nothing wrong with taking a time out and walking on long reins for a minute. Or you could go and do something that you know both of you can do well. Do a canter circle. Do a turn on the forehand. It doesn't matter what, as long as it has a positive outcome. Most of the time, taking a break, or doing something different is enough to break up the tension and redevelop harmony so that the previously frustrating exercise becomes more productive.
When working on something new, the only way to figure it out is going to be to try it. You can not learn to do half-pass by reading a book. It may help, but you've got to be up there, applying aids and gauging your horse's reaction to know if you've been successful. Doing it wrong, or sloppy is not necessarily a bad thing, as long as you take note of what needs to improve and work on that the next time. It's akin to a child learning to write. There has to be practice. There has to be a bit of going outside the lines and being crooked. Certainly no one expects a small child to write her name perfectly the first time. No one expects you or your horse to do every transition perfectly the first time or every time. Mistakes happen.
Mistakes are okay, they are part of the learning process. I tell my students that a mistake is not a mistake unless you repeat it. Otherwise it's just practice. If you are supposed to end your trot lengthening at K, and you continuously let your horse drift left and miss the letter completely, then you are making a mistake and doing yourself and your horse a disservice. If you miss it once and notice that you were slack with your outside rein, then you can ride it again and make the correction. Of course, then you will finish your diagonal with counter flexion because you had too much outside rein. But it wasn't a mistake! Because it was a NEW problem. There was an effort made. Congratulations. Now, go try again.
In my dance lessons, I have put pressure on myself worrying about making a mistake during an upcoming performance. My teacher has told me. "You are going to make mistakes. Just accept it and go on. Everyone makes mistakes." Good advice, even if it is from someone who doesn't know a hoof pick from a Hanoverian.
The amazing thing about horses is that they not only allow you to make mistakes, but they forgive you for them too. Unless, they get hurt. Even then, there are horses who will put up with the pain and discomfort and continue to try. They shouldn't have to, but most of them will.
So make a mistake. Recognize it, give your horse a pat and then correct it. Mistakes are all part of the learning process. Those that don't learn from their mistakes are the only ones making them. The rest of us are just practicing.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Happy Halloween!
It's almost Halloween, which is one of my favorite holidays. Overlooking the major candy benefits, Halloween has a few other bonuses. In trying to figure out why Halloween is such a fun holiday (again, other than the candy factor) there were two reasons that I came up with. First of all, there's no pressure; no big family dinners, no gift giving, and no cooking. A few hours of encouraging my child to go door to door and basically asking for a hand-out, is the only obligation. Second to that is the costume factor. Dressing up as someone or something else has always been a big thrill for me. I think I get that from my Dad. He would surprise people, being kind of a stoic guy, by putting on a goofy costume for Halloween. I remember one year when he dressed up as the scariest thing he could think of. A 1040 tax return form.
The great thing about going to horse shows, is that sometimes, they offer a costume class. It's like Halloween all Summer long! Occasionally, there will be a half-hearted entry that isn't really discernible beyond being a kid on a horse with some graffiti thrown in, but sometimes, there will be that entry that's gone full bore, all out, to the hilt so that the horse and/or rider are unrecognizable. That's awesome!
The most awesome thing abut it, is that the horses put up with that nonsense. They patiently bear the Rudolph noses, picnic blankets, or giant candy bar wrappers as if it were an everyday occurrence. I myself, am terribly guilty of desecrating my horses' dignity with costumes. Some were appropriately decorous, such as the Medieval and circus costumes, but most were just silly. By no stretch of the imagination am I any sort of seamstress, so my costumes have always been more accessory laden than actual outfits. One of the horse show moms, who was without a doubt, a fantastic seamstress, made elaborate clothing for her daughter's mount. Usually that mount was Pooh Bear who was as steady as they come as far as school horses. Pooh wore, on different occasions, a Raggedy-Andy outfit complete with a shirt, trousers and a little hat, a Wizard of Oz Scarecrow outfit, again with shirt, trousers and a little hat (except this hat had a little bird on it too), and a police car outfit with license plate, a set of wheels and a sparkly blue "light" instead of a little hat. Those outfits rightfully earned a handful of blue ribbons for his little rider.
Although I most always participate in the costume classes myself, there is rarely a time when even my most creative of costumes will not be bested by a cute little kid on a pony. The fairy/princess/butterfly on the unicorn/flower bedecked, shaggy pony will always take the blue. It's an unwritten rule somewhere that the amount of audible "Awwwww...'s" sways the judge's decision.
My own child has been a harbinger of "Awwww..'s" himself, in costume classes. When he was still young and malleable (as well as being free of encumbering embarrassment), I entered him in several costume classes. With the help of my Mom's and friends' seamstress skills, I was able to put together some seriously cute costumes. He's been a '50's rock & roller, a knight, the Tin Man and a pirate, and since I had to lead his horse for each class, I too was dressed up as a bobby-soxer, a squire, Dorothy and a parrot. At every show, he managed to win the blue ribbon. I take that back, there were a few shows where he wanted the red one instead (being his favorite color at the time) so he traded.
Costume classes require tremendous effort and creativity to be done well and for all the weeks of preparation, it comes down to 5 minutes of glory. Is it worth it? For me it is. The thrill of presenting myself and my horse as something completely different is like recess to a Second Grader. It's a chance to be outrageous, unexpected and silly. As a training side, it's also a chance to show how complacent your horse is. There are definitely some horses that won't tolerate drapery, trappings and little hats. It takes a horse that is unflappable and tolerant with a dash of silly.
Fun is where you find it. Some riders find fun galloping cross-country while their horses fling themselves over logs the size of Volkswagens. Some riders find fun in chasing down a scampering calf, roping it and then wrestling it to the ground. I like dressing my horse and myself up as thugs and trying to snatch the first prize out of the hands of a four year old girl dressed as a lollipop. Now that's fun.
The great thing about going to horse shows, is that sometimes, they offer a costume class. It's like Halloween all Summer long! Occasionally, there will be a half-hearted entry that isn't really discernible beyond being a kid on a horse with some graffiti thrown in, but sometimes, there will be that entry that's gone full bore, all out, to the hilt so that the horse and/or rider are unrecognizable. That's awesome!
The most awesome thing abut it, is that the horses put up with that nonsense. They patiently bear the Rudolph noses, picnic blankets, or giant candy bar wrappers as if it were an everyday occurrence. I myself, am terribly guilty of desecrating my horses' dignity with costumes. Some were appropriately decorous, such as the Medieval and circus costumes, but most were just silly. By no stretch of the imagination am I any sort of seamstress, so my costumes have always been more accessory laden than actual outfits. One of the horse show moms, who was without a doubt, a fantastic seamstress, made elaborate clothing for her daughter's mount. Usually that mount was Pooh Bear who was as steady as they come as far as school horses. Pooh wore, on different occasions, a Raggedy-Andy outfit complete with a shirt, trousers and a little hat, a Wizard of Oz Scarecrow outfit, again with shirt, trousers and a little hat (except this hat had a little bird on it too), and a police car outfit with license plate, a set of wheels and a sparkly blue "light" instead of a little hat. Those outfits rightfully earned a handful of blue ribbons for his little rider.
Although I most always participate in the costume classes myself, there is rarely a time when even my most creative of costumes will not be bested by a cute little kid on a pony. The fairy/princess/butterfly on the unicorn/flower bedecked, shaggy pony will always take the blue. It's an unwritten rule somewhere that the amount of audible "Awwwww...'s" sways the judge's decision.
My own child has been a harbinger of "Awwww..'s" himself, in costume classes. When he was still young and malleable (as well as being free of encumbering embarrassment), I entered him in several costume classes. With the help of my Mom's and friends' seamstress skills, I was able to put together some seriously cute costumes. He's been a '50's rock & roller, a knight, the Tin Man and a pirate, and since I had to lead his horse for each class, I too was dressed up as a bobby-soxer, a squire, Dorothy and a parrot. At every show, he managed to win the blue ribbon. I take that back, there were a few shows where he wanted the red one instead (being his favorite color at the time) so he traded.
Costume classes require tremendous effort and creativity to be done well and for all the weeks of preparation, it comes down to 5 minutes of glory. Is it worth it? For me it is. The thrill of presenting myself and my horse as something completely different is like recess to a Second Grader. It's a chance to be outrageous, unexpected and silly. As a training side, it's also a chance to show how complacent your horse is. There are definitely some horses that won't tolerate drapery, trappings and little hats. It takes a horse that is unflappable and tolerant with a dash of silly.
Fun is where you find it. Some riders find fun galloping cross-country while their horses fling themselves over logs the size of Volkswagens. Some riders find fun in chasing down a scampering calf, roping it and then wrestling it to the ground. I like dressing my horse and myself up as thugs and trying to snatch the first prize out of the hands of a four year old girl dressed as a lollipop. Now that's fun.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Horse of My Dreams
This is not really about the "horse of my dreams" but rather a dream I had about a horse. The real horse of my dreams is a PRE (Spanish Andalusian) weanling that I could train from the ground up to be my next Dressage horse. Barring winning any lotteries, that will continue to be a fantasy for me. Hopefully, the horse in my dream will also continue to be a fantasy...
It began, as far as I can remember, with a horse dealer talking Bin & I into taking the last two horses for $300 each. I went out in the paddock to look at my horse and there she was, a white mare, cast (unable to get up) in the paddock, because she had rolled and was so fat that as she lay on her side, her legs didn't touch the ground so she was stuck like that. The sight of my horse stuck there didn't prompt me to get help but rather to figure out what I ought to be feeding her.
Back in the barn I went. John (from Stony Hill) was there and was some sort of feed rep. He was recommending taking her off the Senior feed and giving something else. He sent me to go check out the different feeds so I could shoose. There, in front of several open bags of feed I contemplated my choices. There was a bag of pellets, a bag of Senior feed and two bags with chunks of feed that looked just like Lego bricks. One bag had green bricks and one had pink bricks. Thinking one of those could be a good choice, I asked John what the difference was between the two. What would have been funny is if he said "The difference is that one is green and one is pink." but he didn't say that. Instead, he explained that those were sweet feeds and showed me the protein percentages of each. There was some discussion about a basic bare-bones pelleted feed and then I was suddenly back at the horse's paddock.
The poor horse was still on the ground but now I was filled with a sense of urgency and called to someone to help me roll her over. Then she was on her feet and I could see what she looked like. Her head was finely chiseled like that of an Arabian and her neck was fairly long with a nice arch. The rest of her... She was shortish both from top to bottom (I could drape my arm over her back) and from front to back (I could touch both ends of her at the same time) and very wide. The good news was that she only tried to bite me once.
Somehow, then I was back inside and describing my new horse to Bin. I said: Now that she is right side up I can tell you what she looks like. As I started to describe her beautiful face, the horse dealer interrupts and said that both of our horses are half-Arabs. In fact, Bin's horse was sired by the reigning World Champion stallion. There was no mention of my horse being any relation to a World Champion. The dealer did say that my horses was named after her deceased owner. The horse's name was Bessic Park.
Then, as often happens in dreams, I was suddenly back outside with Bin, to have another look at my horse. Bessic Park was up near the fence this time but instead of being compact and wide, she was built like a dachshund. Her legs were stubby and her back was a mile long. She trotted away with a fling of her head and a snort, her tail flagging behind her and her little legs going like pistons while the middle part of her kind of swayed. She looked like the Slinky Dog from Toy Story.
As far as I can remember that was the end of my dream. Thank goodness.
It began, as far as I can remember, with a horse dealer talking Bin & I into taking the last two horses for $300 each. I went out in the paddock to look at my horse and there she was, a white mare, cast (unable to get up) in the paddock, because she had rolled and was so fat that as she lay on her side, her legs didn't touch the ground so she was stuck like that. The sight of my horse stuck there didn't prompt me to get help but rather to figure out what I ought to be feeding her.
Back in the barn I went. John (from Stony Hill) was there and was some sort of feed rep. He was recommending taking her off the Senior feed and giving something else. He sent me to go check out the different feeds so I could shoose. There, in front of several open bags of feed I contemplated my choices. There was a bag of pellets, a bag of Senior feed and two bags with chunks of feed that looked just like Lego bricks. One bag had green bricks and one had pink bricks. Thinking one of those could be a good choice, I asked John what the difference was between the two. What would have been funny is if he said "The difference is that one is green and one is pink." but he didn't say that. Instead, he explained that those were sweet feeds and showed me the protein percentages of each. There was some discussion about a basic bare-bones pelleted feed and then I was suddenly back at the horse's paddock.
The poor horse was still on the ground but now I was filled with a sense of urgency and called to someone to help me roll her over. Then she was on her feet and I could see what she looked like. Her head was finely chiseled like that of an Arabian and her neck was fairly long with a nice arch. The rest of her... She was shortish both from top to bottom (I could drape my arm over her back) and from front to back (I could touch both ends of her at the same time) and very wide. The good news was that she only tried to bite me once.
Somehow, then I was back inside and describing my new horse to Bin. I said: Now that she is right side up I can tell you what she looks like. As I started to describe her beautiful face, the horse dealer interrupts and said that both of our horses are half-Arabs. In fact, Bin's horse was sired by the reigning World Champion stallion. There was no mention of my horse being any relation to a World Champion. The dealer did say that my horses was named after her deceased owner. The horse's name was Bessic Park.
Then, as often happens in dreams, I was suddenly back outside with Bin, to have another look at my horse. Bessic Park was up near the fence this time but instead of being compact and wide, she was built like a dachshund. Her legs were stubby and her back was a mile long. She trotted away with a fling of her head and a snort, her tail flagging behind her and her little legs going like pistons while the middle part of her kind of swayed. She looked like the Slinky Dog from Toy Story.
As far as I can remember that was the end of my dream. Thank goodness.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
2 Sides to Every Issue
Traditionally, we do stuff on the left side of the horse. Lead, bridle, saddle, mount, dismount, etc. Tack is made to be handled from the left side. Blankets, halters, bridles, girths and more are all designed to be fastened on the horse's left side. And then we ride and we say to our horses: Disregard everything I have done to this point, now you must be equal on both sides, both leads, both directions.
The left side thing is something people invented. Horses don't care. They don't care, unless they've only had things done on their left sides, that is. When I work with horses, I make an effort to do everything on both sides as much as possible because I don't think it's fair or healthy to only work from the horse's left and then expect him to be ambidextrous in the ring.
Leading horses from the left was developed because most people are right handed so then they would be holding the horses with their dominant hand. Left handed people were out of luck. Mounting & dismounting on the left was started by the knights who were right handed and wore their sword scabbards on the left. It was pretty tricky to mount a horse on the right by swinging a left leg encumbered by a sword up and over the horse without leaving a mark. Plus, since they were already leading their horses on the left, it didn't make much sense to walk all the way around to the other side to get on.
Which is how I came upon the idea of doing things on both sides. Sheer laziness. One day, tacking my horse up in the barn aisle-way, I picked up my saddle from the saddle rack on the right side and considered how I was supposed to walk all the way around to the other side to put the darn thing up. That's just silly. Then it just made me think about the silliness and impracticality of working on the left in general.
I suppose the idea actually started to from way back when I was in college. A friend of mine was graciously allowing me to exercise her Appendix mare. There was one caveat - she would take off as soon as you get a foot in the stirrup. Not having enough experience or knowledge to know how to deal with that, I would cheat by getting on from the right. She wasn't expecting that and so had no anticipation or flight instinct. It worked for me and for her. Not only was it safer for me and anyone else riding in the arena at the same time, but it was certainly healthier for her back. Always mounting from one side means a consistent pull in one direction on that horse's back muscles. It also leads to one stirrup leather getting stretched out more than the other and even twisting in the saddle tree. Not only that, but from the point of view of rider fitness, you'd have stronger quads on the left from the thrust of lifting yourself into the saddle and one hip that was more flexible than the other from lifting over the horse's back.
Can we, as compassionate riders, ask our horses to bend equally, stretch equally, carry weight evenly, while we ride with one strong leg, one loose leg and one dominant hand? That smacks of irresponsibility to me. Not that I'm perfect (far from it) but I try. I do find myself cheating when something is difficult and switching to my right hand, but I try to recognize that and even out.
So for your horse's sake, and your own as well, be responsible and possibley lazy, and saddle up from whatever side of the horse to which you're closest, lead from the left and the right, and try to see both sides of every issue.
The left side thing is something people invented. Horses don't care. They don't care, unless they've only had things done on their left sides, that is. When I work with horses, I make an effort to do everything on both sides as much as possible because I don't think it's fair or healthy to only work from the horse's left and then expect him to be ambidextrous in the ring.
Leading horses from the left was developed because most people are right handed so then they would be holding the horses with their dominant hand. Left handed people were out of luck. Mounting & dismounting on the left was started by the knights who were right handed and wore their sword scabbards on the left. It was pretty tricky to mount a horse on the right by swinging a left leg encumbered by a sword up and over the horse without leaving a mark. Plus, since they were already leading their horses on the left, it didn't make much sense to walk all the way around to the other side to get on.
Which is how I came upon the idea of doing things on both sides. Sheer laziness. One day, tacking my horse up in the barn aisle-way, I picked up my saddle from the saddle rack on the right side and considered how I was supposed to walk all the way around to the other side to put the darn thing up. That's just silly. Then it just made me think about the silliness and impracticality of working on the left in general.
I suppose the idea actually started to from way back when I was in college. A friend of mine was graciously allowing me to exercise her Appendix mare. There was one caveat - she would take off as soon as you get a foot in the stirrup. Not having enough experience or knowledge to know how to deal with that, I would cheat by getting on from the right. She wasn't expecting that and so had no anticipation or flight instinct. It worked for me and for her. Not only was it safer for me and anyone else riding in the arena at the same time, but it was certainly healthier for her back. Always mounting from one side means a consistent pull in one direction on that horse's back muscles. It also leads to one stirrup leather getting stretched out more than the other and even twisting in the saddle tree. Not only that, but from the point of view of rider fitness, you'd have stronger quads on the left from the thrust of lifting yourself into the saddle and one hip that was more flexible than the other from lifting over the horse's back.
Can we, as compassionate riders, ask our horses to bend equally, stretch equally, carry weight evenly, while we ride with one strong leg, one loose leg and one dominant hand? That smacks of irresponsibility to me. Not that I'm perfect (far from it) but I try. I do find myself cheating when something is difficult and switching to my right hand, but I try to recognize that and even out.
So for your horse's sake, and your own as well, be responsible and possibley lazy, and saddle up from whatever side of the horse to which you're closest, lead from the left and the right, and try to see both sides of every issue.
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