LOADS of great reads this week!
A more effective warmup & riding for better scores from Wyvern Oaks
Warmups and ringcraft are two of my favorite things to think & talk about related to shows. I'm weird like that.
Horseback riding in Mexico from DIY Horse Ownership
Amazing vacation. It looks so warm...
How easy it would be from A Gift Horse
"What do riders who have kids do?" my husband asked last week. They work their asses off and provide inspiration for the rest of us, is the message of this post.
(Actually I think I said "they are miserable all the time and they have to sell their horses and they hate everything and IT IS THE WORST" but I am over-dramatic and also really really really don't want kids.)
Moonlit Snow Galloping from In Omnia Paratus
<3
Non-horsey (sort of) read of the week:
The High-Cost, High-Risk World of Modern Pet Care. This was an unsettling and thought-provoking read. I've been lucky to work with locally-owned vet practices for all of my animals, and I try hard to have informed conversations. But what about people who don't have those options?
Bel Joeor: Life + Horses
Saturday, January 14, 2017
Friday, January 13, 2017
Boston Public Library Photograph Collections: Horse Sports, Part 1
Massachusetts - and, more broadly, central/coastal New England - used to have a much bigger tradition of horse sports than it does now. Not for nothing was the USET based out of Hamilton, MA, one of the earliest international three-day events was at Ledyard Farm, Myopia Hunt is one of the oldest in America, and equestrians like Karen O'Connor and Bobby Costello grew up in the area.
So here are a selection of photographs from the Boston Public Library about the halycon days of eastern Massachusetts as the center of the equestrian world.
So here are a selection of photographs from the Boston Public Library about the halycon days of eastern Massachusetts as the center of the equestrian world.
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Lesson Recap
One of my 2017 goals was to take more lessons, and when my trainer was in town for a few days and did a clinic, I jumped on board.
I honestly can't remember the last time I took a lesson. Summer, maybe. In another life, old me took lessons weekly, and sometimes twice a week. If something came up that made me miss one, I'd handwave it away with a laugh and say, oh, I'll make it up later, I have plenty of credits! Old me was an asshole.
So: lesson. I'm going to take down a few bullet points as things I need to work on, and have been working on since.
1. Get my goddamn hands out of my goddamn lap. Shorter reins, more over his withers. In order to encourage him to come up and lift through his withers and the base of his neck, in order to create that space between hips and hands to hold collection, THERE HAS TO BE ACTUAL SPACE THERE.
In order to really work on this, I need to let go of the part of my brain that feels like I'm tipping over, leaning forward, not following with my arms enough, because what I need to do is follow WAY more, because it is one thing to follow with long reins and your hands in your lap and another entirely to follow with a careful regular contact and short rein.
2. Stop providing resistance for him to meet. This is one of my old, favorite traps: Tristan is hard-headed and uses his under neck muscle to grind out his frustration, and hoo boy do I take that bait. I've risen to that bait for a decade now. We're like an old married couple except instead of arguing about the dishes we argue about him softening his mouth for, like, one half second, asshole. The thing is: he knows better, I know better, and miracle of miracles, when I refuse to hold up my end of that pattern everything falls apart...and comes back together much better.
3. FORWARD FORWARD FORWARD FORWARD FORWARD. 'nuff said.
4. Canter transitions! These were something I'd specifically asked to work on. So, we spent a lot of time breaking down the idea of transitioning on a half-halt, first picking moments and then creating moments in which he was surging up through his back to ask for a canter transition, so that we went forward into the canter with a bouncing, bounding energy. Keeping that in the canter, more half-halts, more encouraging him to lift and carry, then keeping it back down through into the trot.
5. Part and parcel of everything: setting the bridle out in front of me and then sending him forward into it. Elementary, and yet: sigh. Still working on it.
Sometimes, honestly, I despair that I have been riding this horse for ten years and I still more or less suck at it, but other times I think of everything else I've learned and - it's probably even.
I honestly can't remember the last time I took a lesson. Summer, maybe. In another life, old me took lessons weekly, and sometimes twice a week. If something came up that made me miss one, I'd handwave it away with a laugh and say, oh, I'll make it up later, I have plenty of credits! Old me was an asshole.
So: lesson. I'm going to take down a few bullet points as things I need to work on, and have been working on since.
1. Get my goddamn hands out of my goddamn lap. Shorter reins, more over his withers. In order to encourage him to come up and lift through his withers and the base of his neck, in order to create that space between hips and hands to hold collection, THERE HAS TO BE ACTUAL SPACE THERE.
In order to really work on this, I need to let go of the part of my brain that feels like I'm tipping over, leaning forward, not following with my arms enough, because what I need to do is follow WAY more, because it is one thing to follow with long reins and your hands in your lap and another entirely to follow with a careful regular contact and short rein.
2. Stop providing resistance for him to meet. This is one of my old, favorite traps: Tristan is hard-headed and uses his under neck muscle to grind out his frustration, and hoo boy do I take that bait. I've risen to that bait for a decade now. We're like an old married couple except instead of arguing about the dishes we argue about him softening his mouth for, like, one half second, asshole. The thing is: he knows better, I know better, and miracle of miracles, when I refuse to hold up my end of that pattern everything falls apart...and comes back together much better.
3. FORWARD FORWARD FORWARD FORWARD FORWARD. 'nuff said.
4. Canter transitions! These were something I'd specifically asked to work on. So, we spent a lot of time breaking down the idea of transitioning on a half-halt, first picking moments and then creating moments in which he was surging up through his back to ask for a canter transition, so that we went forward into the canter with a bouncing, bounding energy. Keeping that in the canter, more half-halts, more encouraging him to lift and carry, then keeping it back down through into the trot.
5. Part and parcel of everything: setting the bridle out in front of me and then sending him forward into it. Elementary, and yet: sigh. Still working on it.
Sometimes, honestly, I despair that I have been riding this horse for ten years and I still more or less suck at it, but other times I think of everything else I've learned and - it's probably even.
Monday, January 9, 2017
Tell me more: spurs?
I wear spurs for every ride.*
*well, except when I forget and then end up hating myself.
Tristan is the epitome of the kick ride. Getting forward is our #1 problem, and nearly always has been, except for the early phase in which "stay all four feet on the ground" was our biggest problem.
So: spurs. Every time, every ride. Spurs, whip, helmet: without these things, riding does not happen.
Mind you, I am not digging into him with every stride. They're a pointed reminder that I need to have in my toolkit to remind him that this shit is for real, they help give an edge to our transitions, and basically my life is much better when I have them on my feet.
So I'm not rethinking the actual wearing of spurs.
But I am rethinking the spurs that I have.
*well, except when I forget and then end up hating myself.
Tristan is the epitome of the kick ride. Getting forward is our #1 problem, and nearly always has been, except for the early phase in which "stay all four feet on the ground" was our biggest problem.
So: spurs. Every time, every ride. Spurs, whip, helmet: without these things, riding does not happen.
Mind you, I am not digging into him with every stride. They're a pointed reminder that I need to have in my toolkit to remind him that this shit is for real, they help give an edge to our transitions, and basically my life is much better when I have them on my feet.
So I'm not rethinking the actual wearing of spurs.
But I am rethinking the spurs that I have.
They're 1/2" Prince of Wales nubs. Bog-standard, except they do have fake crystal thingies on the side which, um, is the only way I can tell which way to put them on. Also, half the crystals are missing now, BUT I DIGRESS.
Do you ride with spurs? What type of spurs? Should I try a longer spur for a more effective aid? What about swan's neck spurs? (Keeping in mind I am 5'9" and he is 15 hands, and keeping my leg on properly is definitely a consistent challenge.)
Please, talk me through this. It feels like this is an area I could make a small change that might pay off in dividends.
Sunday, January 8, 2017
House Post: The Man Cave Abides
My in-laws are up this weekend, which means huge progress on the man cave!
See: my husband does not do home improvement. He's not that guy. He hikes and skis and plays video games and loathes anything like tools or work on the house. (Which is why these posts have been about what I do; I'm the one who works on the house 98% of the time.) His dad is the opposite of that guy, which means that when my father-in-law is here, so much shit gets done.
Last time, we ripped out the old insulation, old sheetrock, old ceiling, old floor, and put up new insulation, new vapor barrier, and new walls.
Then, when my dad came to visit, we replaced the old fluorescent lighting with recessed lighting.
In the interim, I have not touched it except to add spray foam to the gaps around the windows, because the space is my husband's and I have loads of things to do in other rooms.
This past weekend we've put up vapor barrier in the ceiling, put up sheetrock on the ceiling, and done two layers of mud. One more layer of mud and we start primer!
Then, the remaining list for the space is: paint the walls, figure out the floor (some combination of carpeting + tile), put trim around the windows & door, and decorate.
See: my husband does not do home improvement. He's not that guy. He hikes and skis and plays video games and loathes anything like tools or work on the house. (Which is why these posts have been about what I do; I'm the one who works on the house 98% of the time.) His dad is the opposite of that guy, which means that when my father-in-law is here, so much shit gets done.
Last time, we ripped out the old insulation, old sheetrock, old ceiling, old floor, and put up new insulation, new vapor barrier, and new walls.
Then, when my dad came to visit, we replaced the old fluorescent lighting with recessed lighting.
In the interim, I have not touched it except to add spray foam to the gaps around the windows, because the space is my husband's and I have loads of things to do in other rooms.
This past weekend we've put up vapor barrier in the ceiling, put up sheetrock on the ceiling, and done two layers of mud. One more layer of mud and we start primer!
Then, the remaining list for the space is: paint the walls, figure out the floor (some combination of carpeting + tile), put trim around the windows & door, and decorate.
a reminder of the before-before
where we left off on this blog
and following: this weekend!
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