Another Day, Another Ride

Logged another lovely ride (and another three hours) on Finn yesterday. Much to my dismay, I ended up out there during the heat of the day, but we made the best of it. I was feeling seriously low-energy, so parked by the pasture and tacked up out of my car, planning to work on encouraging Finn to sync with my focus while riding out and about, and ask for more responsive transitions.

We ended up riding from the pasture to the hill behind the arena on the hill (confusing, I know) three times. We practiced having a more energetic walk and then transitions to the trot. As usual there were a few things that caught Finn's eye, but he was willing to pass by them with hardly any fuss. His transitions are definitely not as available on the roads as they are in the arena, and when we get to the arena I can always feel Finn take a big sigh of relief... which I take to mean he's still a little "on alert" when we're riding out. That's fine, and is exactly why I'm trying to do it so much! I want him to feel like he can be calm and relaxed ANYWHERE!

A few highlights... you may recall that last time I rode around the farm, I was working on getting Finn more confident to go up the road past the arena on the hill. Well, I am pleased to say he was very confident to go up there yesterday! By the second time we went up there, he had no hesitation. I once again allowed him rest and finally dismounted up there and let him eat some grass, to further reinforce that it's a good, safe and pleasant place to be.

Also, on our last climb up to the arena, I had Finn trot up the hill for the second time and he really stretched his neck down and got to work. (Instead of keeping his neck UP so he can keep an eye on everything.) It felt absolutely lovely, as he felt like he was really pushing from behind and I could feel come flow through his back. The beginnings of having a horse who really uses himself well!! That'll keep me coming back for more.

I might have ridden longer, but all the irrigation ditches on our route were dry and poor Riley seemed like he was on the verge of over-heating. I paused once in the middle of our ride to give him a shower and a drink, then did so again on our walk back to the car. Here's Finn taking a break while I cool the dog off:

 

Tonight I'm going out in the evening. Hooray for finally getting smart and avoiding the sun! The fact that shade comes in early is one of the best features of this property during the summer, and I haven't been taking advantage of it since we had the long stretch of storms late every afternoon. But the weather has shifted and the evenings have been lovely, so time to use them again.

In other news, I can hardly believe it, but I bought a Tekna jumping saddle off eBay yesterday. I've heard great things about them, and after doing as much research as I could online, I decided to chance it because the price was very right. I'm crossing my fingers that it fits us beautifully and we love it.

I really debated the necessity of having a jumping saddle right now while I was trying to decide whether or not to bid yesterday. I feel like having the right saddle for the job will help me develop Finn in a way that will build his confidence and enthusiasm for jumping. While it's certainly not impossible to jump in my Ansur dressage saddle, it isn't a great base for a stable jumping position. Since I want Finn to learn to be brave and forward to the jumps, I want to be able to ride in a way  which supports that and be more able to stick with him when he fumbles.

Ultimately it comes down to this: I am not planning to just "play around with jumping" with Finn. Which is not to say I don't want it to be fun, just to say that this is a main part of our hoped for future, not a side thing. So from the beginning I want to do it as well as I can, and having a jumping saddle is important for that. Anyway... hopefully the saddle will get here soon! I'm impatient to give it a try.

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.

Beautiful, Breezy, and Brilliant

This morning was beautiful and breezy, perfect for a ride... though not that long ago I would have considered it unfortunately windy. Not only am I getting increasingly acclimated to weather in Nevada, Finn is getting more consistently dependable. Although he was certainly a little more alert because of the wind, our connection remained solid.

We actually had a really lovely ride. I tacked up near the pasture and was pleased to find that the 'druthers we'd been addressing in the session detailed in Rainy Day Riding were completely absent. I rode all the way to the arena on the hill, focusing on getting Finn in sync with my intent and responsive when I asked for a longer walk. I ignored the handful of things he wanted to be a bit spooky at, just encouraging him to follow my intent and praising him generously when he succeeded. After a few minutes in the arena, I decided to repeat the trip, riding back to the pasture and then up to the arena again. He did great both directions, still a little cautious, but very willing.

We had a little ride in the arena, working on our transitions, HQ/FQ turns and backing circles. I am super pleased with how our backing circles are coming along! At first, Finn was quite confused about what I was asking for, but now I feel like he gets it. I'd really like his flexion to be a little softer... namely, for him to roll his jaw softly so his head is tipped slightly to the outside when I'm asking, but I think that will develop soon now that he's starting to get the idea.

I also noticed significant improvement on the HQ/FQ turns, particularly the FQ part, where we've been struggling. I attribute the difference to the work we've been doing on the ground helping Finn figure out a more appropriate way of organizing his feet for what I'm asking. Where we'd been a little stuck was that we'd developed a pattern of only asking for a step or two of the FQ moving, so Finn was quite sure that what he was supposed to do was make those two reaches, then fall on his face a bit and hurry out of the turn. Which was not wrong, but when I started asking for more FQ steps, that pattern was not terribly helpful! Today, I felt like he was much more mentally committed to the idea that he should step the FQ across until I stopped asking, rather than thinking he knew how many steps he was supposed to take. No surprise, this resulted in a much smoother and more consistent turn!

I am really trying to be conscious of feeling what his feet are doing during the turn, and today I was able to feel his front feet quite well. The hind feet are tougher, but I guess it will come with patience.

The last big thing I incorporated into our ride was re-opening discussion about the trail that goes off behind the arena on the hill. Finn has been reluctant to go there, and last time we did the weather turned nasty quite suddenly and he really got unsettled. I wasn't able to address it very thoroughly then, because the storm was really looking troublesome, and we hadn't been up there since.

So I broke up our ride in the arena with a few rides over the crest of the hill to rest beyond Finn's comfort zone. We worked on some trot to canter transitions in the arena, so after we'd been moving for a while, I would ride him out, up the trail and stop and rest there like it was a great reward:

We did this three times, and by the third time I felt like he went much more readily and was willing to cock a leg there and accept the rest. I also felt like he'd been wonderful the rest of the ride, so I went ahead and dismounted there, unbridled, and let him enjoy a little grass:

 It's a bit of a hike back to the pasture from there, but one I'm willing to make to help Finn realize the sweet spot is wherever my focus takes him. The end of a ride is a big reward for a horse, one they certainly learn to hunt... so if you always end the ride in the same place or the same way, don't be surprised if your horse is mentally leaning towards that pattern all the time! In the case of Finn and I this morning, I wanted to really reward him for following my focus to a place he wasn't confident to go. That way he learns that making the effort to sync with me pays off!

Wake Up Call

Among my goals for August, I listed mastering a correct turn on the HQ from the ground. What I mean by that is teaching Finn to pivot consistently on the outside hind leg, while the inside hind backs a small circle around it. This causes the horse to bear more weight over the hind end than the alternative of pivoting on the inside hind and stepping forward in a small circle with the outside hind.

Now, I'd like to point out that "correct" here is a relative thing, because there is a different correct for different disciplines. In a reining spin or rollback, the horse is supposed to pivot on the inside hind. In dressage, the horse should not pivot at all in a turn on the HQ, instead maintaining a regular walk pattern of footfalls, lifting and placing the hind feet almost in place.

In any case, what was coming naturally to Finn was pivoting on the inside hind, so I decided to try and "re-program" that from the ground. How, you might ask? Simply, releasing for that instead.

I asked for the turn on the HQ (which, incidentally, I had never really "developed" more than a few steps at a time) and watched what was happening to figure out where we were starting from. I diagnosed the fact that in order to pivot on the outside hind, Finn needed to feel more "backwards" in the movement. So, if he took a step forward (or out) with the outside hind, I asked for a few steps backwards, then continued asking for the turn on the HQ. Initially, I released anytime he made one step back with the inside hind while planting the outside hind.

Within just a couple of sessions, though, I started asking for (and getting) more steps. I started to really look for the moment he struggled -- where it was difficult to hold on that outside hind and Finn made the effort to find a way to do it -- and released for that. I admit, though, there was part of me that wondered: is this really working? Is a horse really aware enough of what he's doing with his feet to figure out what's going on here?

Well, after returning to this after four days of being away braiding, the answer is a resounding, "Yes!" When I asked for the turn yesterday, it could not have been more apparent that Finn has processed and understood this new request. I could feel his commitment to the task, and he was easily and consistently making 3/4 turns without any reminder from me. His steps with the front feet aren't uniform or correct yet, but I can only imagine that will come with more accurate practice. Once his hind feet are really committed and comfortable making the turn correctly, they will provide a stable base for the front feet to develop more coordination and consistency.

But the thought I really wanted to share is, don't underestimate the horse! This is just another reminder for me to give Finn credit for his smarts, willingness and awareness. My whole journey of studying natural horsemanship began with understanding the horse as a mental being instead of just a physical body and interacting with it as such. Instead of just controlling the horses body, I learned to engage its mind. And when the mind is committed, the body follows, trust me.

I don't know why I doubted... I guess because this is something so detailed, I wondered if Finn would pick up on it. Well, I suppose this is a wake-up call to me to realize that the horse is far more aware of his own feet than I am. He knows what they're doing... and if I knew what they were doing more accurately from the saddle, we would probably have developed this correctly in the first place. It's not like Finn was making the turn incorrectly because he didn't know what he was doing - he was making it incorrectly because I didn't know what he was doing, so I wasn't being clear on what I wanted him to do.

Striving for greater awareness of Finn's feet has been a huge part of what I've picked up from studying with Buck Brannaman... and I have such a LONG way to go. It is so easy to neglect this skill because it is so difficult to grasp in the beginning, and that's still where I am. But I am committed and I will persevere.

Hobart Road

I found out at 1am Wednesday that there was work for me in Menlo Park that night if I could make it, so I'm away braiding again now. BUT, I refused to let that stop my planned ride with S Wednesday morning. It meant we'd have to keep it to less than 3 hours, but I figured that'd be perfect for our first shot at Hobart Road.

Open to hikers, bikers, horses, and dogs, Hobart Road also serves as an access road to Hobart Reservoir and the irrigation systems for properties below, including the ranch where I board Finn. From the trail head, it is 4.9 miles to Hobart Reservoir with an elevation gain of nearly 2,500 ft. In short, it's quite a climb! I'd like to ride to the Reservoir this year, but I think it might be best if we build up to that over the course of a few rides.

This time, we rode out about an hour and then back. Unfortunately, we don't know how far we went... it was definitely slow going, but boy was it worth it! The views from the trail were positively glorious!

Looking down over Miss Me Not Farm, where I board Finn.

Breathtaking!

Taking in the view of Carson City before turning around.

Finn was absolutely stupendous for the whole ride. He felt super grounded and relaxed from the moment he got off the trailer. In fact, he unloaded REALLY well. Although he has been loading and riding really well all summer, he had still been sucking his front feet off the trailer quickly instead of calmly stepping off. Not so on this ride; he stepped off like a true old pro.

I don't know what else to say about him, other than he felt about as much like a seasoned trail horse as any horse I've ever ridden. It was really nice to be able to just get on and go... we didn't do much by way of grounding or connecting exercises, we didn't have to. I was so thrilled and thankful for how wonderful he was, and I'm happy to say I passed those feelings to him freely with lots of praise, loving, and the occasional grass snack.

I was definitely aware throughout the ride of my ignorance of exactly HOW much I was asking of him in terms of physical exertion. He barely broke a sweat and his breathing never seemed too labored, but I'm sure each step was an effort! When I turned him back out after the ride, he exuded tired. Which is not at all a bad thing, I just wish I was more knowledgeable about how to avoid over-doing it.

Anyway, S and I plan to return to this trail frequently. Besides the fact that it's a lovely ride, we are both stoked about the fitness benefits for our ponies. Ultimately, I look forward to a nice ride up to the reservoir, including a picnic lunch and maybe even a swim!

Intrepid horse and rider in the foreground; Washoe Lake in the background.

Rainy Day Riding

It has been raining for most of the last 48 hours, which is both VERY unusual in our high-desert climate and really excellent for everything... except riding. Nevertheless, I took a chance and drove down to the barn this morning, and I was rewarded with a solid three-hour stretch without rain.

It was actually quite lovely for riding... foggy and overcast and cool enough to wear a jacket! You can see how it was in this quick clip I caught of Finn coming up to meet me at the gate, which ALWAYS makes my day. Seriously, there is very little better than a horse who responds eagerly when you call his name:



Since it seemed apt to start raining at any time, I tacked up and rode out of my car by the pasture gate. In an effort to make the most of whatever time we had, I didn't even brush the mud off Finn's rump and head, just cleaned up the saddle area and got to it. We had a very productive session, working on our goals for the month. We also worked on reversing Finn's 'druthers. Initially, he was reluctant to head up the driveway towards the barn, so I gave him more work to do near the pasture and more rest time closer to the barn. By the third trip back towards the pasture, he was no longer so sure that's where he wanted to go... which is exactly what I was hoping for.

It's actually really late, and I'm getting up early to go for a ride with S in the morning, so I think I'll leave it at that. We ended our ride today with a nice graze (away from the pasture, of course) and then a good grooming since the rain was still holding off. Finn was looking so handsome, I decided to see if I could snap a decent conformation shot of him, and ended up with this:

 

Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. He is really looking mature these days, at least to my eye. As you can see, his mane has "officially" gone back to the left side now that I've stopped practicing my braiding on it. I briefly considered making an effort to keep it on the right, but ultimately decided it wasn't worth wasting time on.

We're exploring a new trail head tomorrow and it'll be the first time I've been out with S in a while. Stay tuned for the story!

August Goals

Somewhat to my dismay, I did NOT follow through on posting my August goals on Thursday, but I had my reasons. To be honest, I had a temporary emotional crisis of sorts. Thursday morning I had a ride which was really not at all bad, but I was feeling so discouraged and over-whelmed I ended up on the verge of tears and just called it quits.

Why? Well, it’s complicated, but what it boils down to, I think, is simply my lack of clarity as to WHAT I want and HOW I want to go about getting it. Like I’ve said before, all the conflicting input gets to me sometimes… I get why people want gurus; it’s easier! What a relief it would be to assign rightness to the opinions of one other human being and follow without question.

When I started developing Finn, I had a desire to take a “more practical” approach, to spend more time in the saddle and less playing on the ground, and to ultimately make it back to eventing one day. I wanted to do enough on the ground to have a genuine partnership, not to do groundwork for it’s own sake. The course of our partnership has most certainly been shaped by that.

As you know, however, I have recently been exploring more Liberty. In some ways it feels like retrograde movement, because the development of Liberty doesn’t seem very practical. But, it speaks to the part of me which is still yearning for a connection that goes deeper. The idea (or ideal) that with conscious development we can communicate with horses with our thoughts alone taunts me. How much lighter can it get, I wonder.

It’s not like these things are necessarily mutually exclusive, but problems arise when I allow myself to be influenced so strongly by any random thing I hear, see or read without maintaining MY focus on the big picture and the end game. When this dynamic results in a incoherent series of rides that go so far as to contradict each other, of course I get frustrated! How could I not?

So I spent a couple of days asking myself, what do I want? Do I REALLY want Liberty? Do I really want to dive so deeply into a whole different paradigm of interacting with horses, perhaps at the price of delaying my progress towards my goals for Finn’s career? How do I really want to move forward? I spent a couple of days leaning towards the “practical” side… and then I bought a book.

The book is called “Building a Life Together; You and Your Horse” and it was written by Magali Delgado and Frederic Pignon, who are world-famous for an approach most people wouldn’t consider very “practical.” I questioned my logic, but intuition pushed me to make the purchase. The quotes I have already read from the book are so aligned with some things I’ve been thinking, and the title SO exactly synched with a critical underlying theme of my relationship with Finn, reading the rest seemed an absolute necessity.

So what does this mean for me? At first I took the easy way out and jokingly declared, “I want it all.” But I don’t want it all, I just want a true friendship with Finn, to enjoy our time together, and to gradually accomplish our goals. Before writing this post, I reviewed the post I wrote in June about my vision… that depiction of where we’re headed still rings true.

While I don’t necessarily feel like this blog post depicts any great shift towards clarity, I do actually feel somewhat clearer on where I’m headed. Perhaps simply for knowing that I’m pursuing the Liberty and some new thought processes as a means to an end (the end being to have a more genuine friendship and more refined communication with Finn), not so much as an end unto itself… if that makes sense.

In any case, expect some additional reflection when my book arrives. It should be here by Wednesday. And in the meantime, I HAVE spent some time thinking about where to direct my focus for the month of August and this is what I’ve come up with:

1. Prioritize a consistently positive, patient, and kind attitude, always. No matter what happens. Recognize lapses early and be committed to interrupting the pattern.
2. On the ground, "master" backing circles and a correct turn on the HQ, ala Buck... which means pivoting on the outside hind so Finn learns to bear weight on his HQ.
3. In the saddle, focus on feeling the feet through the HQ/FQ turn and improving the accuracy of the movement, and start teaching backing circles.
4. Improve Finn's walk by increasing the energy of his default walk while encouraging him to offer more while I do less. Chase the feeling of him being truly and consistently "in front of the leg" at the walk.
5. Experiment with clarity of transitions between and within the gaits so we can distinguish between faster walk vs trot, or faster trot vs canter.

Initially I was going to keep it even simpler and limit myself to three goals, but I think this is a reasonable amount to focus on for the next 29 days. I am really hoping that keeping this handful of things in the forefront of my mind will really help me feel progressive and productive! Of course there will be other things that come up, and hopefully opportunities to take some of this stuff out on the trail. I’ll still get the poles out a day or two a week, and continue to experiment with some Liberty. But the main focus will be on these five things throughout it all, and hopefully at the beginning of September I’ll have some nice improvements to report!