Asking for More

Today I took Grace to a schooling show and maybe for the first time ever at a show, I felt totally in control of my horse in the show ring. I can directly trace these results back to a lesson I had with Sarah almost two weeks ago.  Prior to the lesson we had a conversation where she told me that I needed to ask more out of the mare at home so that I could get more out of her at shows. If I asked for 75% consistently at home, I could ask for 25% at shows and still be ahead. When I wrapped my head around her concept it occurred to me that I had been hauling to shows still expecting it to just all fall together in the show ring when we still didn’t really have it all together at home. My expectation of Grace was not only unreasonable, it wasn’t fair at all. I am the epitome of the amateur rider, while my intention is to always be “nice” to my horse; i.e. not asking too much of her, it often creates more problems like my horse deciding that she had to be in charge since I won’t take the lead.

During our lesson I asked Sarah to get on Grace to show me the new cues she wanted me to use for getting control of the shoulder and hip. I knew that if I could put the trainer on the horse for even 5 minutes that my job would be that much easier when I got back on. I expected the usual “I couldn’t possibly!” fight from Grace when Sarah asked her for something new. To my surprised it was short lived and within minutes Sarah had my little mare jogging around the arena better than I had ever seen the mare carry herself before. The horse I saw in front of me was even better than the one I have been hoping would miraculously appear at every horse show. I’ve always thought the world of my mare, but I really didn’t think she had it in her to move as nicely as Sarah had her going. Over the next two lessons Sarah worked with me to make sure I was getting the feel, keeping Grace’s shoulder upright, knowing where her hip was at all times and correcting as soon as a mistake was made. It is the kind of riding that I shy from, it feels like micromanaging at first, but my real reason for not doing it is my fear of failure. What if I don’t “feel” my horse drifting to the left? What if I correct at the wrong time and accidently reprimand my horse for something she didn’t do?  This time I was willing to take the risk and do the work, I had to get that same ride that I had seen Sarah get out of my horse with what looked like very little effort.

For the last two weeks each ride has been better than the one before it. I do less micromanaging than I had expected as Grace is more comfortable in her body and quick to respond to a correction. I do feel when she drifts to the left, and my fears of asking more of her are slipping away. I put her on the lunge line one day last week and was blown away by how much better she carried herself on her own. She kept her shoulder up and was telescoping her neck on her own and would step into the lope with her head level each time. In typical fashion this breakthrough has occurred right before the show season. I have a zone show planned for May 5^th, and nothing freaks me out more than to totally change the way I ride right before a show. So I took Grace to a schooling show today at the same place the zone show will be held next weekend. I went with a plan, to school at 75% in the warm up and ask for 25% in the class.

During my warm up at the show another rider stopped to tell me how beautiful my horse was. I only mention that because it has NEVER happened before. Plenty of non-horse people tell me how amazing my horse is, but to hear it from another rider gives real meaning to it, something had changed in my horse. Our first class was trail, and while we did well (ok we won the class), I felt that Grace was rushing more than I would have liked, she needed to wait on me. I went back to the warm up and asked for more body control. Our next trail class was the same pattern but with a lope element added. That class was EXACTLY was I was looking for from the mare. She waited for me on each obstacle, and surprised me by how nice her turns on the forehand and haunches were. We also won that class. Our first rail class was not so good. I had ridden trail one handed, and was doing the same for the rail classes. Grace went back to being flat and rushing off her feet in the rail class. I knew I needed to fix it, but was at a loss for some reason. I knew this wasn’t the ride I wanted. In the next class I picked up both reins and asked for 75%, oh right SCHOOLING show! Grace broke into and unasked for jog, I stopped her and backed her up. When we walked off she lifted her head and broke into the jog again, I backed her up again and did not let her walk off until she gave me her head. We walked off nicely this time and the lope was called. Grace tried to launch into the lope; I stopped and backed her up. I loped her off from the back up and my nice soft horse appeared again. As the day went on, she was better with each rail class and I was able to ask less of her.

We ended the day with a pattern class. By then the show had thinned out and I was the only entry that would be riding the pattern. It was labeled as a Western Pleasure pattern and started out with lope circles with lead changes, similar to a reining pattern. There was then a back , turn on the forehand to a counter lope halfway around the arena, a halt, jogging, halt a turn on the haunches more lope before ending with a jog circle. I had never seen a pattern quite like this, it covered the whole arena. It was the perfect pattern to prepare us for Western riding next weekend. Lots of loping, lead changes and a pattern that Grace doesn’t know. I rode all but the counter lope one handed as it was on the left lead – give us another week for that one. Grace gave me the best lope she had offered all day and her lead changes where just wow! The judge even commented out loud on how nice they were. Grace was in her element on pattern and at the end the judge said “very well done!” I was thrilled with how consistent the mare was throughout the pattern.  She was an absolute joy to ride on pattern at a horse show!! Amazing things happened when I listen to the trainer.

Chia Seeds 4 Week Results

I looked in the mirror the other morning and I noticed that something was different. It took me a minute to figure it out, but then I realized that I didn’t have any new breakouts. My skin was clear. I cannot remember the last time I could say that. The constant red blotchy spots on my neck were now even with the rest of my skin tone. The only change I’ve made is eating chia seeds every day for the last 4 weeks. I’ve had acne since puberty in one form or another. For the last several years my break outs have been rather acidic and take weeks to heal. I’m 37 years old and for the first time and over 20 years I have clear healthy skin. I’m not drinking as much water as I was at first, but I am still drinking twice as much as I had been.

Grace has also been eating chia seeds for the last 4 weeks. After comparing prices and wholesalers I went with Equine Chia (please excuse the obnoxious side banner on the blog). Their price per pound beat out the others and when the seeds arrived they were a darker color than the ones I had picked up from the health food store. In the last week I’ve finally come in contact with Grace’s summer coat. It is incredibly soft and smooth. I’m really looking forward to her dropping what remains of her winter coat so I can really see the results. I see her every day so evaluating weight changes over a short period of time is difficult. I think she looks better, but I will have to get another set of eyes on her to be sure.

 Just maintaining Grace’s weight and not losing any in the last few weeks is an accomplishment. She’s had many extra stressors in her world from spring weather changes, hay that she refused to eat and now her new boyfriend. Our landlords have a beautiful farm next door. Their turnout pasture boarders the property and Grace can see but not touch any horse that they turn out. Lately they’ve been using the turnout for their rather majestic German Warmblood stallion. Grace could care less about him at first, even giving him the cold shoulder, but then spring happened. For a mare that I usually cannot tell is cycling, she sure has made fool over herself in the last few days. She even left her grain to call to him last night when he was being led back to the barn. He left for a horse show last night and she seems to be back to normal today. Luckily even in the middle of a hormone rage she is very ride able and gets right to work when I swing a leg over her. I now have hay that she is cleaning up, the stallion is gone for the week and fingers crossed the big temperature swings are on their way out. I’ll get some pictures this weekend so we can compare her summer coat to last years.

Neighbor's stallion - at least Grace has good taste!

Where Was That Ride on the Weekend?

UGH! I had a GREAT ride last night and it kind of pisses me off! Where was that ride on the weekend when we were at the show? The mare and I were amazing! She was soft, supple and connected. I stayed relaxed and fluid. Her lope was to die for even over a pole on the ground. At least I know I am a champion in my own backyard. Maybe this is like the Matrix and my rides at home are reality and the horse shows are just pretend. I think I’ll stick with that story and see how it goes.

In other news; remember when I talked about feeding Grace the best hay money could buy? Well apparently that isn’t always good enough either. A few weeks ago I bought hay from a different dealer, I usually buy from Sarah’s husband as he only brings in the best hay, but he was out. The hay I bought from the new dealer was a 2^nd cutting orchard grass from last year. It was green, beautiful, looked clean and smelled good to me. I still had 2 bales left of the old hay to mix in. Princess Grace decided that the new hay sucked and she downright refused to eat it. At first I thought she was eating less in general because the hays looked so similar I had a hard time telling them apart. When I separated the piles it became very clear that Grace would not eat the new hay. I was able to get a few bales from Sarah to hold me over. Grace is eating every last piece of that hay. Sarah thought that the hay I bought from the different dealer may be dyed green and has a chemical on it that Princess Grace doesn’t like. I tasted both hays and I have to tell you I could not taste a difference. So this Saturday I am delivering the “not good enough for Grace” hay to horses that will eat it and will be picking her up a ton of hay that Sarah’s husband is bringing home from Eastern Washington. I really do want to come back as my horse when I die!

Beating Myself with the Agenda Stick

I found myself getting emotional in the warm up pen at the show on Saturday. Grace and I were just not having the ride I was looking for. First frustration set in and then I felt the tears start to well up. Luckily no one from my barn was around and I was able to talk myself down. I have to ask myself –WHY? Why do I put so much pressure on myself? Why is hauling down the road to a show so darn important to me? And most importantly why do I not have confidence in the one thing that I put more time, energy and money into than any other area of my life?

I talk a lot about not having an agenda when it comes to my horse. I will be the first to tell you that I am not very good about walking my talk. Right now I have an agenda; I want to put AQHA points on my mare before I retire her. I plan to take her to an AQHA show in June that offers both rookie and novice amature classes. I didn’t realize when I put that idea in my head that I was carrying into every ride. Our rides at home have been going really well and I could actually see us getting there by June, but horse shows are not home. It started on Friday night at the show, I was having a lovely ride loping my mare one handed when I decided to go practice the lope overs for the trail pattern. There were 3 poles set on a serpentine that I had watched another rider practice. I headed for the poles just as Sarah entered the arena, she got there just in time to see me hollow my back and stick my legs out in front of my girth all  because I was going to lope a pole. My horse protested at the rider turned puma on her back and started to buck. Sarah told me to stop and pointed out what I had just done. She explained that this is exactly why she wants me in rail classes and not pattern classes right now, because I get so focused on my pattern that I completely change my ride and this is not the experience that she wants my horse to have. It was very clear that I was the one getting in our way. I went back and loped the poles one at a time keeping my low back soft and full. I ended the ride on a good note, but was still incredibly frustrated that I could not keep it together like the picture in my head.

On Saturday Grace just wasn’t coming together for me, I was continually fighting my body to stay soft and support her. I found myself looking at the other horse/rider combinations and asking myself why we didn’t look like them. When the emotional wave hit me, I had the thought that we will just never be that picture I have in my mind. It feels like when I see a drawing in my mind so clear, but only when I put pen to paper I remember that I cannot draw a straight line with a ruler. I wanted to quit, to just spend my weekends back on the trails and chasing cows, why do I torture myself in the show ring? I asked myself “So what? What if this is all there is and I Grace and I will never be that beautiful team I see in my head? What if a blue ribbon at a schooling show is it and there will be no points, no belt buckles, no perfected Western Riding or Trail Patterns, no clapping from the grandstands? What if all the mare and I have are this moment, right here right now?” I have to say with that question a lot of the pressure went away and I finally decided to just ride every stride. I went into my trail classes, let go of the obstacles and focused on what happened in between them. The novice class went really well, the 18 and over started out rough with lope overs, but I was pleased with how it ended. The walk jog classes never really came together, Grace felt flat and stiff and I considered calling it a day. I asked Sarah about it, she felt that Grace needed to lope and that all the jogging was locking her down. The lope classes were better, but it was still not the same horse I’ve been riding all week at home.

So where do I go from here? I know what I need to practice at home, more lope work over poles focusing on keeping my back soft and not riding the pole. I also need to unlock Grace’s shoulders at the lope each and every ride so I can have it securely in my warm up arsenal at shows. I heard what Sarah said about the pattern classes, but I am not willing to give them up just yet. I don’t enjoy rail classes, but I love pattern classes. My hope is that if I let go of the pictures in my head and stop comparing myself to the other riders I will be able to stay in the moment and ride each and every stride. I’m not ready to give up just yet. As for the show in June – it is in June so I’m just going to forget about it for now. At the end of the day I have to remember that I get to spend my time with my favorite horse, and some of my favorite people who accept me for who I am agenda and all.  

Chia Seeds - for Horses and Humans

Sarah told me during Saturday’s lesson that she would like me to add Chia seed to Grace’s diet. I had to agree with her when she pointed out that Grace is looking a little “waspy”. No ribs are showing and she looks good but she has a waistline. Grace’s coat is also not a shiny as it could be – this happens every spring, the winter coat is almost ready to let go, but not quite. The result is a fluffy washed out coat especially on her neck. Sarah explained that Chia seed are a great source of omega 3 and omega 6 plus they form a gel in the stomach which helps with ulcers. While I don’t have veterinary evidence that Grace has ulcers I do know that spring is the hardest season for her. The weather is warm and sunny one day, cold, wet and nasty the next day. I’ve noticed some of the old symptoms crop back up when I treated Grace for ulcers in the past; gaping her mouth before her morning feeding and more touchy when I first start to brush her. I’ve put her back on Dynamite Miracle Clay last week which has done wonders in the past, chia seeds sound like the perfect addition.

My feeding program was adopted from the woman I bought Grace from and by advice from Sarah. Whenever I take advice from a fellow horseperson I always look at their horse’s first. If I like what I see I am more inclined to consider their advice. When I met Penny’s horses, many of which had not been worked in several years I had to ask her what she was doing. Her horses were beautiful, vibrant, shiny and all seemed to have good muscle tone. She pointed out that it wasn’t what she did as much as what she did not do. She didn’t feed her horses anything that she would not mind eating herself. You know that feeling when you come across a really nice bale of hay – one that is so good and clean that you could eat it yourself? That is what she was talking about. She fed her horses the best quality clean hay (Eastern Washington orchard grass) she could buy, dry C.O.B. (no fillers or molasses to cover it up) and top quality chelated supplements as needed (Dynamite products). I’ve tried feeding Grace locally grown hay from Western Washington and it just never works out. She either leaves most of it behind or starts coughing from the local molds. The local hay looks nice and clean, but it never truly dries out enough like the hay from the East side does. The Eastern Washington hay costs more, but in the end she wastes less, doesn’t cough and looks better. I’ve also fed her dry C.O.B and Dynamite supplements for years now. Just like Penny everything in Grace’s diet is food I wouldn’t mind eating myself.

This brings me back to the chia seeds. After researching the benefits for both humans and equines I decided to try them myself. For the last three days I’ve added a tablespoon to yogurt twice a day. The first result I noticed was an almost instant change in my skin. The skin on my face tends to be very acidic and sensitive to everything. Just looking at makes it red and blotchy. On the first day I could feel my skin loosen up and become softer. With each day it is more hydrated and even smoother. Today I cannot stop touching my hair. It feels like silk, I can feel the oils from the root to the tip and I haven’t changed any of my hair care products. I swear I can breathe better today, which is odd because I had no idea that I wasn’t breathing well. And the BEST part – I’m not hungry at all. I just picked up a green salad for lunch and I’m not sure if I will be able to finish it. My blood sugar levels have never been this steady, I usually crave chocolate and sweets throughout the day especially when I get home. I’ve had zero interest in sweets for the last two days and I seem to actually want to drink water during the day.

I’m now looking for the best price for organic chia seeds online – it looks like if I purchase 25 pounds I can bring my per pound price from over $9.00 closer to $7.00. Grace is eating 2 ounces a day and I seem to be holding steady at 2-3 tablespoons a day. I wonder what else she's eating that I could benefit from?

Cross that off the Bucket List!

Things my Trainer Already Knows

I think I am finally starting to figure Grace out under saddle. It’s only taken 10 years but I am starting to finally feel some of the things that Sarah has been telling me all this time. The difference is now that I am getting my body balanced I can “feel” what it is she was talking about. This discovery like any other that I make with this horse brings me back to the chicken and egg question. Are Grace’s issues a direct result of my imbalance? Are my imbalances a result of Grace’s issues? Is it a combination of the two of us feeding off each other’s imbalances? Here are things that I discovered in the last 2 weeks that my trainer has told me countless times in the past:

1.       Grace’s reaction to pressure is to suck back and slow down. She does this when I ask her to move her hip, her shoulder or her ribcage; she does it in upward transitions. If I don’t correct it she drops her back and dumps her shoulder making the upward transition or lateral movement just downright ugly. I’ve spent entire rides in the last week just working to keep her at one steady pace no matter what I was asking of her. I’d like to tell you she is a lazy horse and is doing it to get out of work, but I can’t help but look at the fact that for years anytime I was under pressure in the saddle I froze, locked my body down and didn’t move. Kind of like a human form of sucking back. Coincidence? – I think not. The good news is that it has only taken a few rides to reprogram the two of us. The right shoulder and left hock issues seem to resolve on their own. It is amazing how nice she moves when I keep my body moving.

2.         Grace has never been taught to just sit and chill. I really want to compete in trail class with this horse, but I get frustrated when she lifts her head, drops her back and takes over on course. We started to get it at the practice show so I wanted to build on that. When it was time to give her a breather tonight I parked her in between some poles to get ready to side pass them. I asked her just to sit there for a minute or two. You would have thought the world had ended. She lifted her head, I asked her to put it down, she lifted her head, I asked her to put it down, repeat. She pawed at the pole, I asked her to stand. She spooked at something in the woods, I asked her to stand with her head down. She tuned into the horses next door, I asked her to stand with her head down. ONLY when she stood still and relaxed did I even think of side passing the pole. Even then it was a step at a time, correct her head, ask her to stand and continue again. After 10 minutes we went back to work in another part of the arena and started the process all over again when it was time for a breather. It did get easier with time and she started to become a horse I would like to sit on at a show. Guess what we will be doing for the next few weeks?

3.       Everything I do in the saddle affects the movement of my horse. If there was one thing that I took away from our Yoga for Equestrians classes it was using the placement of my belly to establish my center of gravity. When we were learning a new movement we were told to put our bellies in the space first and out bodies would follow. I started playing with this under saddle. These are small movements, almost more of an awareness of where my center is and I am just amazed by how little control I had of it. Turns out most of the time my belly is trying to throw itself at my horse’s ears. This throws all of my weight onto her front end; no wonder I couldn’t get her to free up her right shoulder. I have again spent entire rides in the last week focused on my belly. I visualized it sitting on my horse’s hocks. Big surprise my lower back softens when I do that and my horse starts to sit on her hind end. I can side pass and half pass my horse with ease when I think of leading the movement with my belly.

As much as I appreciate the discovery process and amazing journey I’ve taken with Grace, I really look forward to the day that it all comes together and I have something to show for it. Here’s hoping that it comes sooner than later.