Refinement

I really believe that so much of riding is about the details. I'm not a perfectionist in every day life, but when it comes to dressage I'm a bit of a freak about everything being as close to perfect as possible. Yes, I realize I will never be perfect in the saddle, but there's no reason not to try for it. So, here is everything I see wrong with my riding and how Beefs is going. If you see something I don't in this boring as hell video, please feel free to tell me :)

1. I am still sitting off to the left and it's making my entire left leg pretty much useless.

2. I'm way too tight in my back and shoulders, which is probably part of why I'm sitting so damn crooked. I'm carrying one shoulder higher than the other. In all fairness, I hurt like hell and this was with a painkiller and four ibuprofen. Beefs isn't very big and he's hard for me to ride. I don't have this problem as bad on bigger horses. Ugh! Sit straight and relax, heifer!

3. Why the hell am I looking at my horse's head? Look up, damn it!

4. Beefs needs to stay more forward and through in the canter. I'm not going to be too hard on myself with this because the footing out there is pretty crappy and I'm not all that excited about sending him really forward while I have to keep an eye out for rocks/holes on uneven ground. There were parts of the canter work that were still really good and I was actually moderately pleased with the counter canter. It's far from perfect, but then he's far from a second level horse still. We'll get the canter work better when we're on better footing in Albuquerque.

5. The canter transition to the left was over dramatic and ugly. I didn't set him up enough for it.

6. I need to keep my fingers closed better and not let the reins slide through or get too long.

7. I'm still occasionally breaking my wrists, though this has gotten better.

So those are the main issues I see. I'm not trying to just focus on the negative. Beefs has been back to his normal, sweet self lately. He's getting better and I'm so proud of him. Riding him helps my balance and keeps me quiet since he responds to every tiny movement. He will make me a better rider in the long run. I realize we're probably never going to score eights as far as movement goes, but I'll take brains and athleticism over huge movement any day. It's so fun learning from Beefs and teaching him at the same time. I think, all in all, I'm very lucky to have him.

Anyone have any tips or advice?

The Return of the Brains

The fiancé made it back from Boise last night. The filly, CD, didn't run nearly as well as I had hoped, but that's how horse racing goes. She was pretty good in the paddock and the post parade (Boise gets HUGE crowds at the races and I was a little nervous how she would handle it). She broke extremely well from the gates. Dennis, the jockey, said that when she saw the stands turning for home she got distracted and backed out a bit, then she got a little tired. She was plenty fit enough, but maybe the trip and the heat knocked her out some. CD is the type that has to experience something once and then she's good to go, so I'm not discouraged with her first race at all. It's not like she didn't show any talent. She made it through, didn't make any mistakes, and came out of the race in good shape. She's two and still a little butt high, big for her age. There will be more races.

Colinda Dawn and her owner. 

With life and the weather returning back to normal, I was able to ride Beefs again today. Honestly, the idea of riding him today wasn't that appealing. He had six days off (between the weather, the extra workload, throwing my back out AGAIN, and Beefs needing shod pretty bad, I didn't ride him) and had been acting like a psycho for four of them due to the arrival of a goat at the barn behind ours. The little heathen decided to get loose from the walker and take himself for a nice run out where I ride him. I was up watching a horse go, but my groom said she looked up, the halter was still hanging on the walker, and Beefs was trotting away. Apparently, he was an ass to catch, but she managed to get it done before he killed himself. After that little escapade, he was so stressed that he started acting just a bit colicky. I gave him a couple of ace pills and put him on the walker until they kicked in. He was fine after that, but he's still been a nutcase in his stall since. So yeah, I figured the ride was going to be interesting.

My shoer came and put new kicks on Beefs this morning. His feet looked great after and I always find it interesting to feel how they go after they've just been shod, which gave me a little more incentive to be happy about climbing on. He was really relaxed while I tacked him up and things were looking up by the minute. I was really insistent that he stayed focused from the second I got on and the ride went really well. I guess I should say that Beefs went well, I rode like a proverbial sack of shit. Anyway, I did notice a difference in how he traveled after being shod. He was hitting the ground much better. Beefs was a little tight through his back and slightly stiff in the right hind, but that is normal for him when he has had a few days off. I was really tight in my back today too, which probably didn't help. Beefs still felt better, especially in the front end (good job shoer). So, the ride ended with me being really happy with Beefs and pissed at myself.

On another note, yesterday marked the one year mark for my blog! I was hoping to get to 100 posts within a year, but didn't quite make it. I was a little slow getting rolling with it. Anyway, I've loved discovering your blogs and learning about all of you and your horses. You are all amazing! Thank you so much for everything over this last year!

Better

I finally got to ride Beefs again yesterday. With trying to get the fiancé ready to leave and everything else going, I haven't had much time or energy. I'm glad I rode him yesterday because it started raining yesterday afternoon and hasn't stopped since.

I was completely determined to have a decent ride. I went in with the mind set that we didn't have to be perfect, but he was going to focus and behave. Any disobedience was going to get stopped the second it started and not be allowed to escalate. I have a tendency to be too laid back when it comes to him misbehaving. In the past, I could just ignore him. Ride like nothing happened and he would get over it. However, that hasn't worked lately, so I need to start being more strict with him without taking it personally and getting mad when he is being less than stellar.

Beefs warmed up fairly well, but it was pretty obvious that he was going to attempt something at some point. Then he pulled the dropping the outside shoulder and trying to run sideways thing. I popped him on the ass to try to send him forward. That just made him run sideways more. I got him on the shoulder, he still didn't stop. I used the whip harder on the shoulder and he finally decided that he should probably give it up. I hate having to use a whip as punishment. He's a little jumpy about it as it is and I prefer to use it for refinement, but I'm also not going to let dangerous behavior go unpunished. It's not like I hit him hard enough to leave welt and I wasn't using it out of anger or fear. I wasn't beating him because he wasn't going perfect and I lost my temper. I didn't have to use it again for the rest of the ride, but I did keep it in my outside hand just in case.

After that little fiasco, Beefs was pretty good. He didn't go as well as he was going a couple of weeks ago and that's fine. Horses plateau or even regress sometimes. That doesn't bother me. All I wanted to accomplish was for him to stop being resistant, to focus on listening instead of testing me. When he is done with being evasive, I will worry about moving on. Until then we will just keep it simple. His brain staying in tact is the most important thing to me.

I think one of the most valuable things I have learned at the track is to know when to push and when to back off, to follow my instincts instead of force something because I want to or because it's expected. The worst thing I could do with Beefs right now is cave into rule of thumb expectations. To be fair to both of us, I have to adjust to the horse I have at the moment. Trying to force the horse I want won't get me anywhere.

I was going to go buy the things to set up a temporary dressage arena yesterday since my friend and I wanted to video our tests today. This rain isn't letting up anytime soon and the entire backside is a muddy mess, so our chances of getting out entries in for the Dressage Anywhere classes on time are pretty unlikely. There is always next month, I guess. That's what I get for waiting until the last minute. Not that I had a whole lot of choice, but still.

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Horses Gone Crazy

I've been a little short on time the last few days and probably will be until next Tuesday. I'm trying to keep up with everyone's blogs, but will definitely get all caught up mid next week. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Loving on Gigantor and wishing I owned her so that I could throw my dressage tack on her. Just out of curiosity.

Beefheart decided he was all of the sudden barn sour yesterday and tried to run sideways to the path back to our barn. When I got after him, he figured hopping up and down might help him get his way. We worked through it and I didn't lose my temper, so that was good. Then on the way back to our barn I made him weave through other barns, taking a different path than normal back. He was prancing, but not getting stupid until we turned the corner to go home. At which point he decided to spook at absolutely nothing, grab his ass while we were on concrete, slipped, and then bolted. I got him pulled up fairly quick (knowing how to gallop race horses comes in handy off of the track too) and he continued to act like a dumb ass. We made it back to the barn. I was seething mad, he thought he was done.

I knew if I kept riding we were going to have a full out war, my limit had been reached. I told the fiancé to get on him. It seemed like the best option to keep the ride from ending on a bad note. I also wanted to see if he would try it with the fiancé or if it was just me. Beefs tried it. I felt better that he wasn't just being rotten with me. The fiancé was actually very patient with him and just made him go back out on the grassy area to keep working until Beefs finally gave it up. It all worked out.

On another note, fiancé brag:

He is a very good rider, but has never had any formal education. Everything he knows about dressage, he has learned from watching me ride during lessons and clinics. So yes, he could use some refinement, but I think he does really damn well. For Beefs to be this good after getting so pissed off is pretty impressive. The bad part is that I didn't get the figure eights with the perfectly balanced counter canter on video. Yes, that one did hurt the old pride a little. Especially when the Fiancé asked what is so impressive about it. Hmph. 

I gave Beefs the day off today and rode Gunner instead. I figured it would be nice to have a fun, peaceful ride on Gunner after Beefs having a rough few days. I figured wrong. Gun was just as pissy as Beefs and worse going back to the barn. In all fairness, we gave him some time off after he fell and he's only been ridden once since then. It had just finished raining. He's fresh. I think he may have pulled something in his shoulder when he fell because he just didn't feel quite right on it. We also rode right after the races which still and probably always will get him a little amped (I'd never attempt ponying races on him in the afternoons). I'm not sure that warrants him loping sideways and hopping around with his head straight up in the air all the way back to the barn though. My friend that I was riding with started laughing and told Gunner that he was supposed to be the steady Eddie of the group. I laughed a little too and asked her if there was something in the air or if I just had a talent for turning my horses into psychotic idiots this week. There's nothing better than having a layed back friend to help keep the mood light when your horse decides to act like an asshole. Anyway, we made it back alive.

We have three horses in tomorrow. Sunday, we have to get things ready for the horses that are shipping to Albuquerque on Monday and the one shipping to Boise on Tuesday. I might survive the next few days since the fiancé is doing all of the hauling. I feel sorry for him. Of course he gets several days of only having to take care of one horse, while I stay here with eleven or twelve, depending on how many go to The Downs at Hellbuquerque this week. So, I guess it all kind of evens out. Pray for me...

Getting the most out of a bad ride

Beefs just wasn't into getting ridden tonight. Honestly, the ride was pretty damn bad. When I think about it, we've gone about a month straight with really good work and he was about due to have a bad day. So instead of getting upset or down about it, I'm going to focus on what I learned.

There were good moments. Not many, but some is better than none.

1. If he doesn't seem quite like his normal self, adjust. I knew it wasn't going to go well from the second I led him out of his stall. From the beginning I should have just gone for an easy laid back ride instead of trying to force what I had planned. It wasn't the day to try for perfection. I knew better, but ignored my instincts.

2. I kept my patience and didn't let him talk me into a fight. Because of this, the ride may have been
ugly, but Beefs finished with his brain still in tact and I'm not going to have to go back and fix it tomorrow. I need to remember that one bad day isn't worth loosing my normally willing and happy horse over.

3. He was pissed off, tense, disconnected, and pretty much just in a bad mood. But then, so was I. I need to clear my head of everything else before I ride. If I can't, then it is probably better to just skip riding him that day. Beefs is smart and extremely sensitive. He's not going to miss the fact that I was in a crappy mood (I'm blaming it on the fact that it was so hot and miserable today).

His REALLY pissed off moment. Pretty, no?

4. It doesn't matter that we both looked like crap out there. The ride ended better than it started. Other than one tense moment where he started to get behind my leg and just a little too light for comfort in the front end, he really didn't do anything bad. He was grumpy enough and is more than capable to plant my ass if he wanted. He didn't. Beefs really is kind and tries hard. He doesn't have to go perfect every time.

He's still my rockstar!

It's possible that I may have learned more about myself and Beefs from the ride tonight than I have from the last month of good rides. In a strange way, I might be more proud of how we managed today than I am when things are going well. There is a bright side to everything and tomorrow is another day.

Irony at it's finest

Last week I posted  The Unknown where I talked about entering the show and how I didn't know wether or not I could go due to the combination of possibly having to run a horse in trials in Boise and then having horses run here. Then in Whatever I posted about how the show was cancelled and that it was probably good because I really didn't need the added stress.

Here's exactly how convoluted my last week and a half has been:

7/8 I enter a show for 7/19 and then freak out because we might have two horses in at two different tracks. I pray that the trials don't go so I can go to the show without having to jump through a bunch of hoops.

7/13 I find out that the show has been cancelled. However, the fiancé enters two horses for the 18th. One horse, we have never run before and the other is a big pushy oaf of a three year old that can be a bit of a handful. We also have two others to enter for 7/19 in Denver and one for the trials in Boise. I order Bionic gloves with part of the money that will be returned from my show fees to cheer myself up.

7/14 The fiancé decides that it would be better for me to haul a first time starter the fifteen hours to Idaho rather than run the two(for sure) to four(possible) horses that we may have in here. I begin wondering if Gastro Gaurd works as well on people with ulcers as it does for horses. I get a message from my stepdad that my mom had to go to the emergency room and I start thinking that going to Boise might not be a bad thing. My mom has had a really rough last couple of months between surgery, two emergency room visits, an injured horse, and having to put one of their dogs down. I wouldn't mind being able to go home to cheer her up some.

7/15 I go through all of the two year olds that are nominated to the Idaho Cup (even after the owner sent me an e-mail summarizing which horses will likely be running) and find that there are nine that could realistically run with two others that have a slim possibility (like the owner had already said). If there are ten or less, they won't run trials.

7/16 We enter the two horses here and the one in Boise. The trials in Boise don't go and the two here get in. I'm relieved to not have to make the long ass drive, but feel bad that I can't see my mom. Then she calls and says she has to go in for surgery tomorrow, so I feel even worse about not going home.

So the general jist is if something went right, it was going to cause something to go wrong. Not my week, I guess. I don't mean to complain, I'm mostly just venting. Maybe I just needed to put everything into words. If you lost track of what went on after a few lines, don't feel bad. It's my life and I can't even keep track of what the hell is happening.

The Beefs challenge

I have Beefs and Indy at the track right now. I wanted to board them where I boarded last year, but between having to buy our new (to us) fifth wheel and the cost of moving thirteen horses, paying $1,400.00/month in boarding isn't happening right now. Not if I want to take lessons and try to show. I'm okay with that. There are plenty of places to ride on the backside. I have friends to ride with. There's a hill to do hill work.

I do love our new "house" though. (Yes, we live like Gypsies.) 

Beefs is always a little tougher when he's at a track, but it's usually manageable. He had been pretty good, slightly distracted and tense, but overall not bad. That is until my dumb ass decided to ride him after the races one day.

I wasn't in the best mood and was thinking that maybe riding wasn't the best idea. Then I figured it would cheer me up, get my mind off of everything else. Well, it got my mind off of everything else when I became more worried about dying than having shitty racing luck. The cheering me up part, not so much.

When I got on Beefs, he mostly just wanted to go. He speed walked to M's barn and we had to walk circles while she finished getting her horse ready because he wouldn't stand still. Normally, I would make him stand there and act like a gentleman, but it would have turned into a fight if I had. One of those pick your battles type of things.

Beefimeus ADD and tension. Yeah, it isn't pretty when he's like that.

M got on and we headed to where we usually ride. Beefs was really wanting to go now. He wasn't getting stupid, just being super energetic at this point. After walking around, M and I decided that the footing wasn't good enough to ride in due to all of the rain. We headed to find a better spot. Beefs began getting more tense. M and I found a spot that looked good enough to at least trot around. Wherein my sweet little horse turned into a total jack ass.

Beefs decided that loping sideways alternating between putting his head straight in the air and then trying to get it down between his legs seemed like a lot better idea than trotting. The footing sucked, we had no control, and I finally just gave up. I was getting pissed and we weren't in a controlled enough environment for me to get after him (wide open area with pavement around). The last thing I wanted to do was a) get run off with or b) him get me off and run off without a rider through the mud and over the pavement. A hospital or vet bill was just what I needed to top my day off. So I did what I hate most, I got off. Oh, the shame.

When I got off, he was still being psycho so I popped him on the neck. Not hard, just enough to get his attention. It worked. He was really focused on me as he ran backwards thirty feet dragging me. Slightly overdramatic, don't you think? I don't know how I didn't turn him loose or fall on my face, other than the vision of him sliding on his side on the pavement kept popping into my head . I've seen it and the damage it causes too many times to let him get loose.

After that he chilled enough for me to watch M finish her ride and then we started to head back to the barn; M riding, me taking the walk of shame. The thought of leading him back to the barn really pissed me off, so I got back on and rode him the rest of the way. We made it back without dying. I considered that as at least one accomplishment on the day.

I got back to the barn, face bright red, grumpy as hell. Ty looked at me, and knowing the look on my face, asked how my ride was. At this point the entire day had just built up and I started crying. A full sentence didn't work, so I rambled out words like idiot, psycho, crack head, combined with a bunch of adjectives that would probably make my mom want to beat me for saying.

I jumped off and kept rambling. Ty didn't really say anything, went and grabbed a buggy whip and got on Beefs. No, he didn't beat the hell out of him. Yes, he did get his attention. Beefs never did relax, but Ty at least got him somewhat focused and steerable. I'm obviously grateful for Ty getting on him and being able to get Beefs listening again. However, it didn't do much to help my pride. Double shame.

Ty came back and said that I can't ride Beefs after the races. Not meaning I'm not allowed, just that it's a really stupid idea. Yeah...that's probably a good point.

 My next ride on Beefs was really good and I was back to loving the little dude. Being at the track and doing dressage is tough for him. He HATES being in a stall all day. It's hard for him to relax and focus. He can do it, but it takes a lot more patience and thinking on my part. I have to ride better to get good work from him. I have to be tactful, smart, and more disciplined to get him working correctly. In the long run, it's good for both of us. Beefs is awesome when he isn't at the track and he's great at shows, new places, etc. However, if I can get him to do things right at the track, I can get him to do about anything, anywhere well. So, life goes on and we'll just keep working.