Manners

Manners is a term often bandied about by horseman when referring to a horses behaviour. As in, a horse should have good ground manners, Your horse should be respectful, your horse should be polite...yadda yadda. Yet no one thinks to mention that manners is a two way street. The question no one seems to ask is " Am I being polite to my horse?" Answers to this question run the gamut from eye rolling distane to cavalier choruses of "why, yes! yes, I am."
Maybe I should start by clarifying what manners toward your horse are. In a world where the horse must submit, get on board, deal with,obey,and just do( cause we said so) simple common courtesy is often not even considered. Manners toward your horse are as simple as speaking softly to him as you approach to using brushes and brush strokes that he or she likes. More thought and mannerly behavior on our part will carry over into say something like warming a bit before putting it in your horses mouth. Many times some manners are incorporated in what I call the honeymoon phase of horse training/ownership. This is the time where horse and person are getting to know each other. Where the problem begins is when the person feels the horse should have these things learned. Then manners go out the window. How many of you have seen a horse in cross ties, being "groomed". The horse is fidgety, hollow backed and high headed, in some cases his ears are pinned and he might even kick out. The person is either oblivious or can be down right vengeful. Then there are those horses tough to bridle, again horse signaling that bridleing is difficult, uncomfortable, scary even and person pushing on because the horse"needs" to be bridled. A break down of manners can come at virtually any point in our handling of our horses, with often undesirable results. Aside from being present and observant when dealing with our horses...that means check your bad day at the door and put down the black berry thank you very much....I often revisit two of my favorite Lyonisms: "Any time you are with your horse you are either making him better or making him worse." and "Go back to the point in his training where you can ask for and get the response you want." I find from feet handling to lead changes these two missives apply.
My little rehab mare is one such example of a horse who has been handled with a certain lack of manners, her first answer is generally "wait! what are you doing?" followed by either a reaction like balking or spooking or a response that is grudging and sour in appearance such as grumpy ears ,tense lips and drawn down lower eyelid. She is a very hard worker, and for praise/reward repeats behaviors with the tenacity of a terrier. Her rehab is causing her to have to adapt to a very unnatural living environment, the grace in which she has accepted it thus far tells me all I need to know about this little girl. Next time you are at the barn and your horse seems a little less tolerant of your behaviour take time to see if your horse manners are still intact. Remember, partnership is an agreement between two individuals. Setting the horse at ease is a simple as slowing down and taking the time it takes.....consistently.

A poke in the eye with a sharp stick....

I have had as much fun as I can stand here in Lexington! With four days to go on this show Ive gotten a little punchy. Two days ago I managed to bop myself in the cornea with a key fob. Sending me looking for an optometrist when I couldn't keep it open for more than seconds at a time with out severe discomfort. After driving around the city using only one eye and a GPS that could not locate the optometrist. I actually landed at walmart where to my amazement there was an eye doctors office. He fixed me right up with a steroid laced eye ointment and whole eye contact. Which , while giving me immediate relief was like looking through a glass covered with Vaseline. So still one eyed, I managed to arrive back at the Lexington center. Having missed my busiest time I decided to close up early and drown my sorrows in some wonderful Thai food just outside of town. The next morning my eye had absorbed the ointment and I could see almost normally, so I left early to finally see the goings on at the horse park. For one dollar I caught the bus in front of the expo and was deposited right outside the main gate at the horse park. Twenty five dollars bought me a grounds pass and I was inside soaking up the ambiance. Shopping was fun,I must admit and the different exhibits where very well done. Especially the taste of Kentucky tent where beer samplings and bourbon sipping where readily available. The amount of walking required to visit all the clinicians and parade of breeds was enough to work up a powerful thirst( over 1/2 mile one way). With the only available options being NINE dollar lemonades and FIVE dollar waters. A three dollar beer sampler that supports the local economy was alright by me. Because of the distance and wonky maps I missed the two presentations I had hoped to catch. But I did get to say "Hi" to John Lyons and have a nice chat with him. On the subject of "its a small world", I ran into an old client from San Diego who had a booth supporting the pure spanish horse! It offered some really tasty olive oil and a continuous loop of the musical freestyle dressage. Something I had heard alot about but missed on TV do to the hours I keep here. It was a thrill to watch the spanish horse Fuego! I hope competitive dressage has turned a corner at these games and will offer people options in types of horses out side of the warmblood, a fabulous group of horse breeds no doubt, but not ones easily/beautifully ridden by everyone. Despite the grind of a 14 day , three full weekend show, I was glad to be a small part of this event. I would however like everyone to smack me if I ever try to do something this big by myself ever again........I will be home early next week and most likely curled around two spaniels and one husband until the following Sunday, with forays out to the horses and chickens!

The first few days of WEG have past in a blur. Amerika seems to be a hit with the crowds which while sparse by most expo standards are relatively steady by my booth. My head is fairly spinning with the different styles that dressage is taught and practiced. If there is one universal thing that Amerika offers her riders it’s a clear view of what the live horses of these fine folks are experiencing. Of course this information is accepted differently by each individual but at least they have it to ponder if they wish. Not all my riders here are dressage riders of course. I have had my fair share of reiners, trail riders, saddle seat, jumpers and even one gaited horse gent who quipped that Amerikas gaits would never do for extended trail riding as he would spill his beer all over the front of his shirt! Never thought of that.... ;0)
There have been many memorable moments I would like to share but I will limit my self to just a few for now. A young boy who has several ponies at home got to experience a canter on Amerika. A gait that had him really frightened at home. He said to his dad after grinning his way through both canter speeds “ I’m ready to go ride Upsey Daisy now.” A lovely woman was moved to tears by her effortless downward transitions. Accomplished with eyes closed and an expression of pure bliss on her face. A girls school from Chattanooga TN that utilizes adopted mustangs to help reach their at risk youth had their whole group of gals ride. A first time experience for all of them on what I would think is a field trip of a life time.

I hope I actually get to see more of WEG than my little corner of it. By the snippets I overhear it sounds as if its been well worth it for those attending. Across the board the smiles on everyone’s faces tell the story.

"Agendaless" reminder

This morning I planned on running Lacey through her paces in the big field. We have been working on standing still for mounting and tooling around the small paddock working on follow your nose( instead of turn the feet and the nose is the opposite direction) and how fast can you walk/how slow can you walk on a loose rein. All three things where so fab yesterday I was ready to move onward and upward with her. Our pre ride check hit a tiny glitch on the mounting but after three trys she stood admirably. So we sidled up to the gate to the big field and ....that's where we stayed. Working on standing still by the gate and relax. Laceys over achiever tendency is to just get the job done, no matter what the job is or what her understanding of it is , JUST GET IT DONE and at a smart clip! That's her motto! I'm sure its tattooed on her bicep under all that golden fur! Probably in some black script with a pretty butterfly accenting the last letter. So the gate was a serious challenge for her as she had to place her head in a tight spot between a round pen panel and the fence. Clearly she couldn't go forward so the answer in her mind was to back up or turn sharply left away from the gate. We covered the standing still and relaxed away from the gate and then closer to the gate and even along the fence in a corner away from the gate to get the idea that a tight spot is nothing to be anxious about and that movement on my part did not mean "go" unless it was a direct cue. Lacey figures "go" is a good bet when solving problems. It was a quick 10 minute procedure and we where out and seeing the sights in the big field. She was really walking out, which is great, but as we all know speed ads to distraction and her "follow her nose" abruptly went in the toilet, so we spent the next 30 minutes following our nose right to left and back at various speeds of walk. Just like in the small paddock. She caught on very fast but her consistency was about 50 percent. And provided us with our last bit of challenge for the ride where I thought I would be cantering and such. Maintaining the same speed and "bend" (ie following the nose) no matter where we where in relation to the gate that provided all the fodder for the first half of our ride. It was really alot of fun and I had to smile at myself for planning a ride in my imagination before seeing where the horse was today. I have no doubt we will ride my imaginary ride soon. But not before I check out where we are and where we need to be to both enjoy ourselves.

P.S. As a side note, I wanted to remind everyone to check and make sure your horses elbows are not being interfered with by your girths. Even in a horse that does not have a big walk this is a very common problem. And could contribute to the lack of ground covering paces. Check this by having someone lead the horse while you place your fingers on the front edge of your girth in front of the elbow... walk straight and in circles both directions, if your fingers are pinched or knocked, or rubbed really consider changing the rigging on your saddle, the girth or even the whole saddle. A Lacey theory of mine is that her tendency to be hollow and high headed is an effort to not knock her elbows on the girth.

The NEW horse

Lots and lots and lots of questions about Lacey from everyone! So here's the story... about 7 or 8 years ago I "acquired" Lacey in Ca at the boarding facility where I kept my three newly, transplanted, east coast horses. Her owner was an older gentleman who bought her as his retirement horse. What he neglected to consider is that he was a beginner and she was barely broke. So, it went badly. He retired and left her on my door stoop....literally. Its expensive to keep horses in SoCal so when I brought my old Zee home to MD to retire I carted Lacey back east too. She went to live with my friend from horse college, AnnieBannanie. (yes, I called her that!) She became a great gaming pony for Anne's son, a trail mount for her hubby,Mikey, and later a 4H mount for her daughter Kaitlyn. Lacey really blossomed in NJ. Kaitlyn is turning into an eventer extraordinaire, so something a little fancier was needed for this budding equestrian and Anne emailed to see if I knew of anyone who would like to give Lacey a home. Do I know anyone? Why yes, as a matter of fact I do...grin...ME! Having just moved to the middle of NC trail country and not having a sound(Boo) or suitable(Cuervo...yet) trail mount, I had this visceral vision of riding off into the sunset on a beautiful buckskin. So, it was off to Va to meet a good old college buddy and retrieve Lacey. We had a great time in Lexington Va at a uber cool B and B and had a wonderful meal in historic downtown. Lacey stayed over night at a fabulous farm just outside of town. Lacey has become a trooper, she caused very little fuss getting off the trailer in a new place. Walked happily to her stall in the indoor arena after a good turn out and settled in to eat her hay. It was good to see her again, she hadn't changed a bit! Well, OK, she was a bit more mature, but basically she was the same gal I left in NJ years ago. Its great to have her "home" again. I'm grateful that of all the horses I've re homed over the years, this one gets to touch my life a second time. Stay tuned! I anticipate many adverntures to follow.

From the riders point of view......

It was a veritable horse smorgasbord for me this past weekend. I spent Friday attending lessons at a local dressage barn with a new friend who is studying teaching techniques for her budding horsey biz and Saturday at the beautiful Biltmore Estate soaking up as much as I could from Susan Harris, a centered riding instructor. Let me first say, that Susan Harris is a very dynamic teacher. Her delivery is calm, positive and soothing through out. As my new friend so succinctly put it," she has a smile in her voice the whole time."

Centered Riding by Sally Swift, was our bible at horse college as far as equitation went. Her fabulous visualizations seemed to speak to every discipline offered in the program;jumpers, hunters, eventing and dressage. Its a book I pick up often and go over for inspiration. Watching it in action with riders ranging from beginners on school horses, to hunter seat riders who show, to endurance riders on their lively arabs, was a real treat. There is alot I'm still processing but stealing a trick I learned from Susan Harris that day, I will try to stay focused on the most significant thing I learned. ( I know, but if I try to write about all umpteen pages of notes, it will be the longest blog post in history and most likely the worst written....soooooo let me try to spare all of us that fate and f o c u s...) The one thing i was most excited about was something another good friend and I discussed only recently, COLLECTION! Or as she called it " the game of contact" and in Lyons speak, gives.

While the execution and verbage differ in all three conversations, I think its great how they all shed light, at least for me, on the same, very intricate, subject. From my Lyons perspective, Gives is a very horse-centric way of teaching collection. "DUH, Beth of course it is!", you say. "Isn't it supposed to be all about the horse and his body and his mind and his decision to turn over control of those parts of his body to you, his partner...." Yes, it is smarty pants, however sometimes, OK, many times when dealing with a system like conditioned response, which as you all know,means many ,many, repetitions I think we humans get a little lost on how to make the question more specific, fun, interesting to the horse and really to ourselves as well. We are so busy counting, we forget about thinking deeply, about the subject we are trying to teach. So are you ready? Here are the four questions that Susan Harris asked her riders to ask their horses while working on contact/collection. Susan called it "finding" the contact. Can you find my, hands? yes? release! can you find my elbows? yes? release! can you find my shoulders? yes? release! can you find my back?yes? release! They used leg to encourage the horse to find these parts. Now , no one I watched had a horse that found the back of the rider but was what neat was how this very act of asking for these different levels of give from a horse made the rider more aware of how hard their horse was actively trying to find anything and where they both where on the journey to find it. It was neat for me to watch a student answer Susan's question of what part of your body has your horse found? and see where they were. A horse that found a riders hands was very different looking from a horse that found the riders shoulders. Also gratifying was seeing the riders face light up when they progressed. They where learning feel! They where also learning to converse with their horse. A first for more than one rider attending. It was very exciting.

The second most significant thing that I appreciated was the definition of Tempo...Which was succinctly put as : how fast or slow the rhythm is...It was an "a-ha" moment for me as it was so simple. The last time I tried to read about Tempo as it related to horses it was several paragraphs long and required a thesaurus. In any case I believe that one word or sentence that sheds light on any thing important in your life with horses or otherwise is worth the price of admission. In this case I feel like I got myself to the front of the sale line and things where buy one half price and get three free!

Forest for the trees....

Boo has been lame, not a wee bit off, not kinda sore, LAME! So much so I had to have the vet out before I left Wilmington. She had throbbing pulses in her pasterns and filling in her lower legs. It was not pretty. She reacted badly to the new trim. Had I been riding, I would have noticed her reluctance to move. That it was not just her tendency during hot weather. Had I been more in tune and less "just trying to get back inside out of the heat/bugs/yuck." I would have noticed sooner that she was not 100%. It was a big old wake up call for me for a horse that is usually not in need of any extras but some cool spray on the hottest days. She had to be booted, and buted and banamined for not a few days. Then we started on herbs and daily soaking in cold water. That was 7 weeks ago. Since then she is off or short or not quite right on days it rains, or days its really hot. We have moved and she has been introduced to real pasture full of mature fescue. I am amazed she has not completely fallen apart.

I have been dithering about the trim, one part grumpy, two parts guilt,and three parts fear. Picking up my tools makes my arm pits sweat. Not just little nerves, hand shaking, hyperventilating nerves! Cuervo is at 9 weeks ( that's three weeks past due) and Boo is at 7 weeks ( that's 2 weeks past due) I have read and reread, perused on line forums and talked to other trimmer friends all who have been great. I have reasoned with my self and made dates on the calender to do something. I have even weenied out and tried to have a trimmer in the area come out and do this next trim on my horses. Well, he won't/can't/ isn't going to. So I have to do it. Its on my calender for today...later...when the shade is covering most of the paddock....after lunch.....when the breeze picks up. sigh. Here is the crazy part, because we have had some big rains up here, I decided to treat her feet for fungus twice a day as a preventative. You know, soft feet due to moisture+ organisms in the ground= foot fungus. Anyhow to my surprise, she improved 100% after one day of treatment. She was striding about the turn out, and trotting at Cuervo( with a very ugly expression I might ad) to pry him off one of the hay bags. HMMMMMMMM..... Now I'm wondering, was it all the trim? Or was it the foot fungus my old trimmer had been ragging me about that took hold from the minute we stepped hoof onto Toad Bubble Flats? I treated it daily there to no avail it seemed until the hoof wall was reshaped via the "big" trim (as its now refereed to) Could all this pain and suffering been avoided if i had only kept up with the fungus treatment, that I stopped as I was soaking and booting and babying said horse feet?

Can't tell ya, all I know is that this afternoon I will trim her again and keep up with the fungus treatment indefinitely. Sometimes the obvious is oblivious!