What's Up

I've been a somewhat neglectful blogger this last few weeks, I think. Especially because there's actually been quite a bit of "excitement" going on here, what with the arrival of the Thorowgood T8 Jump saddle I ordered from SmartPak. It arrived on Thursday and has been the main focus of my existence ever since.

Tell me that isn't a thing of beauty. Go ahead and try. It's a synthetic/leather hybrid, but I think it could easily pass for leather to anyone who doesn't look close. Don't you? It also feels lovely (especially the leather parts) and the workmanship appears excellent. For a $895 saddle, I am definitely impressed.

Beauty is as beauty does, of course, but half the beauty of this saddle is it sits on Finn's back like it belongs there. Oh thank heavens; I think I almost forgot a saddle could do that! While I'm still not 100% confident of the fit (will I ever be?), there is no doubt that it is the best of the saddles we've tried. I'm still unresolved on the finer points, but the basics are correct.

I had R come to the barn to take some photos and video of me sitting in the saddle so I could get a better perspective on how it fits me. I'm no expert, but I think it looks darn good. No doubt in my mind it feels stellar. When I tried the Barnsby on him a few weeks ago, or the Balance saddles a few months ago, it felt awful. I wondered if I was so used to riding treeless that anything else would feel weird. This, though, does not feel weird. It feels absolutely natural.

Holy cow, am I really gonna jump this horse one day!? Yes, my friends. The answer is yes. The jury is still out on how exactly this saddle deal is going to resolve itself, but I'm confident at this point the end result will be a Thorowgood in my possession. Huzzah!

In other news, I rejoined the Dressage, Naturally Classroom and have been catching up on the videos I missed since my membership lapsed. While there are MANY things I could share about the videos I've watched, my primary observation has been that the information in the classroom is presented in a more fluid way than the book. Watching some videos of Karen herself riding has made me realize I am probably being too much of a perfectionist and dwelling too long on the very basic basics.

This is a tough balance for me to find. Yes, I want to do things thoroughly, but being too much of a stickler can really be counter-productive. If I expect that Finn must come out every day with perfect responses about energy, relaxation and balance before we're allowed to move on, I'll really be holding us back. As long as we can have and improve the conversations through our rides, they'll continue to improve on a more fundamental level over time.

So, I'm resolving to be a little less of a stickler... to play and experiment more freely... and allow Finn to show me the shining, healthy, powerful pony he's always had inside!

GoPro!

First off, I am disappointed to report that my Tekna arrived broken! Everything was in perfect condition except one of the clips that fastens the interchangeable gullet system. I did take the opportunity to set it on Finn's back and the fit wasn't great either. Potentially workable, but not great, primarily because the panels are too steeply angled at the back of the saddle, and it rocks on him. I am so bummed, but figure there's nothing for it but to move on.

Today I took a GoPro to the barn with me to see if I could get useful footage without a camera operator. I clipped it on the arena fence and captured about 15 minutes of video before it ran out of battery. (It was not fully charged when I started.) Here are a few highlights:



It's already late here, but I want to point out a few things about the video... First off, I put that part in the beginning in on purpose, because I thought it was kinda funny.

On a more serious note... The next two clips are showing what Finn offered as a "default" walk and then what I got when I tried to bump him up one "notch." So, if the first walk was a four, I tried to bring my intention to a 5 and have him match and sustain that. It was VERY helpful for me to see the difference I was feeling. Also helpful to be reminded that Finn offers his bigger walk in the form of a longer stride and more "swing," instead of a quicker tempo.

Next up, the HQ/FQ exercise. I only included the last of several that we did. While I see a lot that could be improved, both in my position and Finn's footwork, this is notably improved over the last time I took video. Finn's commitment to the turn on the HQ is much stronger. In this example, he actually does pivot on the outside hind. In others from today, he pivoted on the inside hind, but at least he is pivoting! That's something.

I feel I need to work at getting the HQ part of the move sharper, because I am getting too many steps before I feel ready to ask for the FQ. Maybe if the initiation of the HQ was more clear, this wouldn't be such an issue?

I included a bit of short serpentine that felt really nice to me. Finn really nailed that one from the get go today, at least so far as I know.

On the trot poles, the first go is what Finn was offering as a "default" trot, while in the second I have bumped him up a number on the energy scale. It is an interesting contrast to see... in the second clip he is definitely quicker, where if he was more relaxed with the energy I thing he would lengthen his stride more. Interestingly, after the camera ran out of battery, I ended our ride working on getting Finn to commit to maintaining a more active trot... I'd say maybe a 5 or 6 out of 10... and he actually started stretching through his top line much more than he had been at the 3 trot he was offering. While it took a bit to feel like he really committed to 100% the energy I was asking for, he was certainly not resistant... it MUST have felt better to him to push from behind and lift me on his back instead of plodding along letting everything be hollow!

Finally, I did canter the line of poles today. While you see a 3.5 stride line in the video, I did get off and shorten the distance to better match his natural pace. We got several neat 3 strides after that. I tried to put together a little course of canter poles, but that proved challenging because Finn told me we had no precedent for needing such sharp turns at the canter. He's right, really, so I just took note and we'll work on getting that better as we go.

That's pretty much all there is to it. Overall Finn felt really willing today; I was so pleased with him! And in the end I think the GoPro footage is useful, even if it is somewhat frustrating at times to watch myself be sooooo tiny! I'll keep experimenting to see what it can do.

Even More Excellence

I rode Finn at Clear Creek with S yesterday, and he was so wonderful there's pretty much nothing else to say about it. Once again, I felt I could just get on and go without a problem. On the trail, we played a bit with having a higher energy walk available when I asked for it (on the way up) and responding softly to a transition to back-up (on the way down). In both cases, though, I was playing to "play"... to develop better communication rather than working to maintain an emotionally stable horse, if you catch my drift. It was glorious and relaxing!

We had another excellent ride this morning. In an effort to keep things brief, I'll try to focus on the highlights...

First, Finn got a little spooked on our way up to the barn because one of the ranch employees was expanding a ditch beside the driveway. Even though the ditch-digger moved on shortly after Finn saw him, this put Finn ON ALERT! The reason this is a highlight is because I was really pleased with how I handled it. I've been really practicing my positive, patient, and kind attitude and it served me well today. I stayed calm and focused, and thanked Finn for every attempt he made to reconnect with me. His extra alertness lingered through grooming and the first half of our ride, but I just kept my intent on the relaxing time we were having together and he eventually joined me in that, yay!

Second, our turn on the HQ is continuing to improve in leaps and bounds! Earlier this week, I asked for the transition from yielding the HQ to yielding the FQ while looking for a clean, correct turn on the HQ on the ground for the first time. Today, Finn actually offered an exactly perfect one! The outside hind landed from it's step out, planted, and the turn on the HQ was initiated with no excess steps or "static." From the saddle, this is also continuing to improve. We had a couple iffy ones in our difficult direction (to the left) but even those were MUCH improved over where we were a few weeks ago. In each direction, I quit on one where he offered several lovely steps in a row... AND I checked after we stopped and confirmed that the outside hind had been pivoting! It's still a long way from perfect, but we're making progress!

Finally, we played over ground poles again today. I had a set of 3 trot poles and one single pole for cantering. Finn was excellent. I was really proud of him on our first approach to the trot poles... he got caught a bit off-guard and did a little double-take in front of them, but didn't break his trot and proceeded to negotiate them perfectly. I consider that progress, since he was able to process on-the-go instead of feeling like he needed to stop and look. He was excellent over the canter pole as well, maintaining a lovely rhythm. I'm pleased that even when we fumble the distance he doesn't get worried about it. I'm also pleased that he seems willing and eager about the poles. I've always known that Finn has talent as a jumper, but wondered if I'd be able to get him confident and relaxed enough to let that talent shine. Well, so far, so good! I know we're only just beginning, but this beginning seems very promising to me.

It was pretty hot today and the sun was really baking me, so it was wonderful to sit down in a shady place while Finn snacked on some grass after our ride. He has been so stupendous lately and I feel very appreciative of all his efforts; I can only hope he hears me when I thank him.

The Week in Review

So far as riding goes, for me and Finn this week is done, and I'm calling it a success. When isn't it, really? But I was able to stick to the plan quite closely, which we all know doesn't always happen. Living in the land of sunshine helps.

It was SUPER windy the night I had R out to video, so things were a bit rougher around the edges than they might otherwise have been. Still, I learned a lot. For one, although my HQ/FQ turns have improved, they have a LONG way to go. In the FQ turn, Finn still isn't planting his outside hind for a pivot foot... and I can't tell that he isn't. So my feel needs work, and we need to keep working on it.

For another, although our soft feel has a long way to go, it is really developing nicely! I wanted to make sure I wasn't rewarding Finn for over-flexing, and after studying several minutes of video frame-by-frame, I am pleased to say I am happy with what I'm releasing for. Case in point:

If you look closely, you will see I have JUST let go of my reins in this photo... you can still see the coil falling out of my left hand. And I am happy with what Finn is offering - to my mind, his flexion here is very appropriate for his level of development. And doesn't he look adorable?!

Watching the video of us playing with the soft feel, in addition to other thoughts I've been thinking about, has made me more committed to the idea that I want to develop Finn's dressage primarily via Karen Rohlf's approach. An open mind, however, can see that Buck's concept of the soft feel, applied correctly, is not so different in many ways, so I don't feel like what we're practicing now has been counter-productive. I just think that adding in the Dressage, Naturally insight and approach will result in a horse more appropriately developed for my goals.

Another boon from the night we videoed was this little clip of Finn trotting some ground poles:



I'm really pleased with this, mostly because he is so relaxed and maintains such a consistent rhythm. He also directs a good bit on my focus and leg, with the support of a light rein cue in some cases, and for the most part, stays straight as an arrow over the poles. We could use a bit more energy, but I'm happy with where we're starting.

The next evening, we had a lovely little ride around the farm. Finn's confidence and willingness continues to expand, and every time I ride out I take him further from his comfort zone than the last time. We took a long trot from partway down the driveway up to the arena on the hill, and Finn handled it superbly.

Wednesday we hit the trial for real, with trail buddies S & T. We rode at Fay-Luther Canyon, a great trail and a lovely view:

Finn was a little over-attached to T at the outset, but a few leap-frogs and he was feeling much more connected to me. The trail we chose was a bit of a climb, not terribly steep, but consistently uphill. It was probably the hardest Finn has ever worked! Going uphill, I had a hard time keeping him in front of my leg... something we really need to work on improving. On the way back down, he felt much more forward, no surprise there!

Finn's forward walk is still no match for T's ground-covering march, though, so we got left behind a little on the way back towards the trailer. No mind, it was a great opportunity to test out connection. While Finn definitely got a bit concerned about T's disappearance, he kept his cool rather well and I just felt the need to calmly remind him that he needed to stay with me both physically AND mentally.

All in all, it was a great ride... although Finn made it quite clear that he is NOT a fan of the horseflies that were hiding out up in the woods. We headed back to S's for a bit, and Finn got to have another great learning experience, standing tied at the trailer quietly, even if your buddies "leave." Although he got a bit worked up about that, he settled down in a few minutes. That's what I like to see.

 

I planned to ride this morning, it's true, but the ride yesterday really was something far beyond what Finn is typically asked to do, so I decided to give him the day off. He'll have another three days off as I'll be gone braiding this weekend, but you know, he's earned it. He's been trying really hard and has progressed a lot in the last couple of months.

So this morning, I fed him his supplements, gave him a good grooming, red-lighted the scar on his knee and hand-grazed him for 20 minutes. I also washed his sweaty, smelly pad and girth from yesterday's ride. It feels good to know everything is in order before I go. I think Finn enjoyed the lazy morning, even though the wind was blowing like crazy out there!

Next week, I'll have Monday and Tuesday morning to ride before I go braiding again. Then I should be back in time to have a ride Saturday, as well. I might be able to squeeze rides in Sunday and Friday after my returns, but I'm typically pretty useless those evening after I've driven home from braiding on only couple of hours' sleep. So the next few weeks will be lighter for Finn, but I am determined to make the most of the days we will have together!

Ready, Set, Jump!

Foundation before specialization is a fundamental tenet of my approach to horsemanship. My intended specialization for Finn is eventing, but a person might not guess that by observing our day-to-day work. The process doesn’t look like the product, but it results in a product that tastes all the sweeter.

That said, Finn’s progress in the last couple of months has caused me to reconsider my long-term schedule for his development. While I certainly don’t want to push him too fast, there’s no benefit in holding back for no reason other than he was prepared before I was. It is a horsewoman’s challenge to set goals, but let the horse dictate the timeline. Although that often means slowing down when I’m impatient, it can also mean keeping up when Finn is improving full speed ahead.

In particular, I’ve begun thinking in concrete terms about teaching Finn to jump. Until now, jumping Finn has been out there in the ether… it’s something I always planned to do, but assumed it would be so long before we were ready that I might as well not think about it. That’s no longer an accurate picture of where we are or where we’re going, and so I feel it’s time to take hold of this fuzzy dream and turn it into a plan.

Finn will be far from the first horse I’ve taught to jump, although it has been a while. I’ve taught horses that were quite talented, horses that were rushers, and horses who destroyed whole grids without batting an eye. Once, I taught a horse that was quite talented, but very nervous and easily over-faced. Knowing Finn as I do, I expect that’s the experience I’ll draw on most. I believe Finn will be an excellent jumper, but I’ll have to patiently and deliberately develop his confidence in order for him to shine.

That’s why I think the time to begin is now. I’m still working at getting Finn centered and straight, following my focus on a loose rein, but he’s centered and straight enough that I don’t think adding ground poles into the equation would be detrimental to the process. In fact, I think it might help. And there is definitely no such thing as too much practice at ground poles for this horse.

With the nervous jumper I trained before, my then trainer recommended a different progression than what I’d been used to. Whereas we had usually started our green jumpers with lots of grid work, the nervous mare was mind-blown by that challenge. So, we changed gears and gave her lots of experience jumping tiny to very small single fences. I competed her in four Elementary level horse trials, jumping courses of 18” fences, before we finally returned to her grid work in the Fall. This plan allowed her to blossom into a confident jumper, and I expect my approach with Finn will be similar.

So, over the next several weeks, I plan to incorporate poles into our rides a couple times a week. We’ll start out very simple, and gradually increase the challenge as Finn tells me he’s ready. I’m in no hurry, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m actually jumping this horse before I know it.

Another thing I plan to do is give Finn opportunities to practice cavalletti and small jumps on line or at liberty. While my focus has shifted away from working on the ground so much, I believe there’s great value in allowing a horse to develop his agility and skill over fences without a rider on his back. Although I will still take this only as fast as Finn tells me he can handle, I certainly expect he’ll see complex questions here long before I feel we’re ready to try them from the saddle.

There are also a few elements outside of Finn’s confidence that will also shape our progress. First, my own skill. I haven’t jumped seriously in over a decade, and I’ve gotten very out of the habit of using my leg as my base of support. Considering Finn’s sensitivity, I owe him more than what I can currently offer. Until I feel I’m secure enough to do him justice, even when he falters, I will stick to ground poles and cavalletti.

My Ansur dressage saddle is also a limiting factor. I’ll happily take on the tiny stuff in it, but for a couple reasons I’ll definitely want something more appropriate before we go too much beyond that. For the last year or so, I’ve been dying for a nice western saddle to take out on the trail. Finn’s recent progress, though, has made me realize a jumping saddle needs to be my next acquisition. Conveniently, it will no doubt be less expensive than the western options I’ve been eying!

Lastly, there is the dearth of jumps I have access to. Where I board, we have four ground poles. As tight as my budget is, buying my own toys is not an immediate option. While I will have an eye out for affordable alternatives to regular standards, I will also be very conscious of keeping things safe and secure. With a horse who’s confidence is as tenuous as Finn’s, at least at the beginning I want to stay away from anything so lightweight that a tiny nick can send it flying. Besides, Finn has already shown me he takes more easily to natural looking obstacles -- a log versus a row of plastic barrels, for example. Naturally, I’d like to begin with what comes easy to him, so I’ll be avoiding some of the cheap options I’ve seen employed elsewhere.

Speaking of my tight budget… I would love to take lessons to help Finn and I through this process, and I likely will at some point when my finances are a little more feasible and I find an instructor I trust. Stay tuned for that. For now, I’ll do what I can on my own.

I really look forward to documenting and sharing this process. It’s an exciting development in my adventure with Finn, and will add some pleasant variety to our current routine. So here’s to my little buddy, who’d suddenly feeling very grown up and ready for the future to be here now.