Wrap Up...

Well, I don't know if anyone actually reads this blog, but I remembered it and figured I might as well finish it up. First of all, Jessie is doing great, he's just doing great at my parent's farm. He was wonderful after his hock injections. We had a bunch of lessons in December. We started working on the travers. We could do a mean collected canter (and even baby canter pirouettes). Flying lead changes were pieces of cake. Kim thought we would be showing Second Level at some point this summer.

After Kim left for Florida I kept riding. Jessie reintroduced two friends to riding, despite confidence issues, and my heart nearly burst with pride from watching him carry them safely through their first rides, demonstrating that once again, rideability is *very* important. The Black Stallion fantasy is nice, where your horse can be ridden by no one but you, but in reality, it's not a good idea.

Anyway, things were going great. Jessie was great, I was great, building new horsie friendships and everything. And then he came up lame. We spent a month trying to diagnose him, and the closest we came was that he injured his cruciate ligaments, like the horsie version of the ACL, but not just the "A". He had his hock and stifle injected on that side, which helped a little, but not a whole lot. So he went to live on my parents farm after almost two months of lameness, where he's recovering nicely.

Due to his age and my goals, I decided to leave him at my parents, rather than bring him back to work. If we could easily afford to board two horses I would bring him back because it would be nice to have a second horse that any intermediate rider could ride (and my husband could learn on, even) but it's just not a good idea, financially. So, he could be started back under saddle now, strengthening that stifle, but it's not prudent, so he's enjoying himself. I still miss him, and going through, reading these posts brought back a lot of memories.

So, I just thought I'd share what was going on with Jessie, in case anyone was reading this blog, I know that I hate it when blogs don't update at least once a month, lol. However, I did buy a new horse, Sophie, and started a blog about her, located here: http://ararabella.blogspot.com/ so feel free to continue following my dressage journey there. And of course, check my website: http://www.jesterjigger.com/ for continuing updates (at least in picture format).

Thanks!

Ups and downs...

Well, it's been a tumultuous month, that's for sure. The lesson after my last post was a lesson from hell. Jessie wasn't coming through at all. He wasn't tracking up, he was being very resistant and we were just having a bad day. Since it was a Monday during the day Kim's husband was there (since vet clinics don't follow government holidays, thank goodness!) and he came and looked at Jessie while I was riding him. Turned out things were very bad. Their suggestion...joint injections. LOTS of them. Two in each hock and one in each stifle. To the tune of a LOT of money. It was like a punch in the stomach. The money...the fact that they needed done...everything. It was the first time it hit me. Jessie is getting old. Old. I won't be able to ride him forever. He may never be able to do dressage. He may, in reality, be in too much pain to be ridden without the injections. I was heartbroken.

Liz, another of the vets, came and watched Jessie while I rode as well. At the end of my lesson she flexed him and it was bad. It was interesting, because she did it while I was sitting on him. So when she did his right hock he was three legged lame trotting away. The left wasn't nearly so bad, and the right stifle, while noticeable, wasn't anywhere close to where the hock was. So I decided then and there that Jessie would get his injections at the end of the week. And that set forth a profound change in me. I went home and started putting models up for sale...resins, bodies, OFs. Liquidating everything that I don't absolutely love so that I can devote all of my resources to my real horse.

Jessie got his hock injections on that Friday, Liz had to practically knock him out just to prep the injection sites because of his seperation anxiety. The injections went well and we managed to hobble him across the arena back to his stall. I was going to my parents that afternoon, so C and I stopped by and saw him on Sunday, to see how he was doing. We trotted him around the indoor a little, just to watch him move. I had my first lesson on him that Tuesday. And I nearly cried. He was lame. Very off in his right hind. I was devastated. What if the injections hadn't worked? What if we were really done? What was I going to do? I went home and cried. I was so worried and heartbroken.

We left the next day for Thanksgiving at C's parents house, and I didn't ride at all the week after that because Kim was in Florida closing on a house and honestly, I was too scared to go out and risk Jessie still being lame. Plus, school got a little busy, finals are this week so things will be nice for the next three weeks. I'll have to finish my recap tomorrow, as a break from studying for Org Behavior (tonights post is a break from Statistics).

Half halts are us...

Today's lesson was fun. Alando was gone (to a lesson with Kim's daughter I think) and Glory was still in heat. Jessie was easy to catch still, he came right up to the gate as usual, as did Glory. She was especially hard to shoo away today, but I got her moved away and we got ready. It's been nice not having to deal with a muddy horse before a lesson, it hasn't rained for two weeks. Of course, now that I said that, it will probably pour between now and Sunday.

Jessie was calling a lot for his pasture buddies so we worked on a lot of showmanship while getting him warmed up. After he was focusing on me I took the opportunity to undo his girth and move the saddle forward a couple of inches and tighten the girth again. The showmanship made a huge difference in his demeanor though, he was quiet and easy to walk on a loose rein. So we warmed up, having trouble with long and low because he was tense and fast, but overall pretty nice.

Once Kim arrived we started the real work and began with working on our trot around the whole arena. Jessie wasn't bending well so we worked on sidepassing arcs, but making sure to take a step that was both forward and sideways each time, not just sideways and not backwards in any way. We added the whip, though I only had to use it once, just to remind Jessie that he was to respond to my leg. Then we worked more on trotting and bending...

Jessie was a little fast, so we worked on BIG half halts. Basically I was to think and ask for halt, and then asking for the forward trot again. Once he got his rhythm down and to a more reasonable rate we were able to concentrate on bending and started doing a 10 meter circle once we reached the wall. After doing a good circle we would stay on the rail in shoulder in.

We have progressed enough at the shoulder in that I am no longer allowed to celebrate doing it right after we finish and just let him go. Now I need to continue riding and straighten him back onto the track so that we can ride deep into the corner. No more riding forward quickly and not caring what the short side looks like, lol. After doing that in both directions we went back on the 20 meter circle, alternating between sitting trot and canter. I worked on getting him to be more responsive and more quickly. Most transitions were done while crossing the centerline on the 20 meter circle at B. The big focus was not bracing with my hands, allowing him to stay round and supple, while also making sure we kept the proper bend and sinking my weight into my seat for the downward transitions. Then for the upward we got to the point where I would just weight my inside seat bone and think about sliding my outside leg back a bit and he would canter. Our upward transitions were much nicer than the downward transitions. We worked on that in both directions and then we were done.

We only had one walk break, so I think it was a good sign that our fitness is improving. Next week will be a real test, there are no classes on Monday so I'll be doing a lesson on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Craig is going to come video/photograph Monday's lesson so I should be able to post pictures. We'll play with the videocamera so that hopefully I'll be able to video my own lessons after that and get screenshots for pictures.

Counter Canter Fun

Well, last night's lesson was interesting. Jessie started the evening out thinking he was the Black Stallion. Apparently his girlfriend is in heat, and his buddy Alando and him were running her around the paddock. So he was NOT happy to be coming in to the barn to get tacked up. He was calling his head off the whole time I was tacking him up. Fortunately as soon as I got on him he chilled out other than feeling like he was going to explode at any moment. He was quiet at least. It felt weird period because I was wearing my new polar fleece breeches (thanks QH Congress!). We got warmed up, though didn't accomplish much long and low because he was ready to defend his mare that wasn't present.

We started off with trotting some circles and working on spiraling. He was very tense and not bending well at all, when Kim and I had a discussion about my inside leg. I just wasn't getting it far enough forward, trying shoulder in at the canter down the long side was a disaster in the sense that Jessie would do a flying lead change rather than maintain the inside lead and shoulder in. So after she tried putting my leg in the proper position for me to see we realized that I couldn't get my leg ON him even if it was far enough forward. That's when we decided my saddle was too far BACK. Who would have thought it possible?!?

So I hopped off and we moved the saddle forward and I remounted. It was amazing, Jessie bent just with my leg being on him with the saddle in the new position. I was able to ask for the bend at the beginning of his rib cage, instead of the end of it, where my leg was naturally. So we tried more circles and then shoulder in along the long side. It became very obvious very quickly that even with the saddle in the correct place I still had trouble keeping my right leg far enough forward, because we were nearly perfect to the left and he kept changing to the right. So we got it better and then moved on to a similar exercise. A shallow loop along the long side of the arena, at the canter, staying on the same lead the entire time.

We started going counter clockwise and it was apparent that now was not the time to be an over-achiever. While the goal (from First Level Test 4 I believe Kim said) is to meet the centerline at X there was no way we were going to get it right out of the gate. After I finally accepted exactly how shallow my loop had to be we did very well on the left lead. So we reversed and tried it to the right, where the degree of forwardness my right leg needed became very apparent. One thing this exercise taught me is that flying changes are VERY easy for Jessie. We ended after one final good go to the right. Leaving us with a lot to work on, mainly me, lol. It was a great lesson. Afterwards I continued my trend of cleaning my tack after every ride. Fortunately the barn is pretty warm so between that and my polar fleece it wasn't too bad. I also checked out the ponies that Kim had bought over the weekend.

Also, a sidenote...we finally got tivo talking properly to the cable box and we now get Robert Dover's Search for America's Next Equestrian Star! I did see the first episode on youtube and it was great. There are two left, but I'm hoping tivo can find reruns at some point, unless I get episodes two and three on youtube. I highly recommend it for those of you that get the Fox Reality Channel.

Dressage eye candy...

As I begin following a strict budget to save for whatever horse may be in the cards to replace Jessie, I have still been window browsing online. One of my favorite sites I already talked about, and that, of course, is tack of the day. They have dressage bridles ALLLLLL weekend, so that made me wander over to my favorite dressage gear site, http://www.dressageextensions.com/ , Dressage Extensions. I've been good and haven't bought anything, but thought I'd share, since I have no riding post to make. Hopefully I'll get out to the barn tomorrow...and with any luck, might come back with some pictures!

Shoulder in progress!

We had a great lesson today. We rode in the outdoor...first time and it was in the mid 50s so I was expecting a hyper horse since he was calling for his true love, Alando. But he was a good boy, just forward. Not very responsive to my leg though, so Kim brought me a dressage whip and that woke Jessie up. I used it twice maybe, but just knowing I had it got him moving off my leg. We worked some on leg yielding and staying straight doing it, then we moved on to the elusive shoulder in. It actually went very well. I finally *got* my upper body position and Jessie carried himself nicely. I probably should have asked him to be a bit more active, but he maintained his rhythm and forward motion. He was soft and round and bent correctly, so I just let him be and stayed out of his way. It helped that we started in each corner with a 10 meter circle before moving on to do a shoulder in on the long side, so we already had the correct bend before moving "straight". It was like he was gliding...very cool feeling.

I posted about having trouble "feeling" when it was right and this was someone's response, it was a good summary of everything Kim has told me, so I wanted to put it here, for further reference for myself once Kim flys South for the winter.

"Leg yield should be performed with an almost straight body and just a bit of flexion. The rider should think; forward step, sidways step, forward step, sideways step. The shoulder leads slightly in the leg yield...meaning...if you're going from quarterline to wall and someone was standing at the head of the horse, they would see that the horse's shoulder is slightly closer to the wall than the haunches. The horse crosses it's inside fore and inside hind over the outside ones with each step. I've heard different things about the leg aids, particularly the inside leg...some will say that leg is at the girth, others will stay it's slightly behind the girth. The outside leg though is slightly behind the girth. The rider's shoulders and hips face forward, though the aids are 'diagnonal'. The rider may sit a touch heavier on the outside seatbone. Inside hand provides flexion, outside hand controls the bend and pace. The rider asks the horse to move laterally into the outside hand.

Shoulder-in is performed with bend through the ribcage as if the horse is going to perform a 10m circle. The horse's shoulder is moved to the 'inside' track causing the inside front leg to cross over the outside front leg. The hind legs do NOT cross because the haunches stay moving straight ahead on the original track. The rider's shoulders will be turned towards the inside mimicking the horse's shoulders, while their hips remain pointing 'straight ahead' also mimicking the horse, his hips in this case. The inside leg is at the girth to create the bend AND to push the horse laterally into the outside hand which controls the bend. Outside leg is behind the girth to prevent the haunches from fall out and keep the horse moving forward. One might also weight the inside seatbone slightly. "

Tuesday's Lesson...

Tuesday's lesson went really well. Jessie was a little distracted by other horses in the indoor, but I think those distractions are good for him, since there will be a lot more going on at a show! We warmed up long and low and worked on sidepassing a little. I had zero energy and Jessie was playing off of that, so we weren't very forward, especially in the beginning. We added a new exercise to our rides...cantering a 10 meter circle directly off the rail, and then riding a diagonal line back to the wall when only halfway through the circle, breaking down to a trot between the quarterline and the wall. Our transitions period are pretty sticky right now, so it was interesting. That combined with the fact that Jessie thought for sure we were supposed to be working on flying changes. He did some beautiful simple changes though, as we got the hang of the exercise. We did some shoulder in, and had a near perfect go between two letters when going counter clockwise. He was actually carrying himself along, it was *wonderful*!!!

One thing that gave me warm fuzzies was when discussing Jessie's weight Kim commented that he works hard, she doesn't hold back with us and asks a lot more of us than she normally would because we seem to be able to handle it. It was nice knowing that my stubborness pays off sometimes! There have been plenty of times during lessons that we had trouble keeping it together, but I think that in the long run pushing through has helped.

Hopefully tomorrow's lesson goes as well.