bitless lesson ha ha

Well... I had an 8:45 am lesson scheduled and was planning to take Dan. But.. he was lame yesterday and even though I shockwaved him... I worried that I was going to overdo it in a lesson. Although it was tempting to get Kelly's input, but.. I just felt like maybe he needed to rest a bit. So I took Funny instead. I figured it couldn't hurt... especially after the spicy ride we had yesterday!

 

So... she got to go. I took the nathe bridle, but also threw her regular bridle over my shoulder just in case Kelly didn't like her in the nathe. We hacked over to the covered (Lucky us!) and she was already feeling a bit spicy! But she was a good girl. We got there but Kelly was running late with Kelly and Quantico, who is now a gelding but was recently a stallion. So I stayed out of the arena and walked around the warm up area. We went up the little hill a few times too. I kind of wanted to trot but she was feeling spicy so I didn't want to. And then I had the bridle on my shoulder... I finally set it down and then trotted a circle but... she was tight and spicy, so I brought her back down to the walk. And then Kelly said they were ready for me anyways. So.. in we went. 

 

I told her basically that I was just talking myself in circles about the connection. So we warmed up at the walk and she had me take a soft feel with wide hands... no need to make them close and equitation pretty. She had me follow Funny but really there wasn't much of a feel. Just the slightest of feels. She had me think more of "setting boundaries" and putting limits on things than creating a specific feel. It was more of a "If you maintain your head in this particular area, there won't be any pressure on the reins and you can be comfortable". And it's not that I made it uncomfortable out of the box... I just had more pressure and she didn't get a release. And I'm still not 100% satisfied in my answer but... how does one encourage a horse to reach for the bit, if there's never a release from the soft pressure on the bit? I guess in my opinion, it needs to be more of a relationship to contact like Celeste teaches. I put slight pressure on the bit and when the horses softens, I drop the contact. Then... as time progresses, when I ask for a slight contact, and they soften, I don't drop the contact, I just keep it slightly soft. And then I can encourage them to go into it with riding the hind end. But maybe first they need to learn that they can get a release. But.. I don't know. I don't quite understand how to teach them to go into the contact without a release but then I also am confused how to progress then into actual contact. But I feel like I like this method better than the hold pressure no matter where they go without a release ever... Although I do understand that there is a fine line between softening vs a full release and I also understand that if they go behind the vertical and you soften, that's rewarding them going behind the vertical so I don't know. Maybe it's way more simple than I'm making it out to be. Anyways... so back to my lesson. I had a very soft contact but basically kind of ignored what her head did other than to maintain a very soft contact no matter where she went. And when she softened, I gave a little. And then we added to it. Once she went soft for a tiny bit, I gave the reins and encourage a free walk. But not just any free walk... a marching *8* free walk. She gives me alllll the stretch but not the activity behind. So, to encourage her to reach into the contact and to help strenghten her hind end... when she gets soft and "submissive" in the walk... soften, then feed out the reins but insist she gives me that marching forward fluid free walk. Which, is actually kind of hard for her. I had to kick! And keep kicking. But I have to be careful I don't nag. So, I can kick/nudge every quarter of the circle but not every stride. So then we go stretch... then go back to our medium walk with contact. And rinse and repeat. Repeatedly! For almost the whole lesson. It got ugly at times. We also talked about how activity is what is going to fix her lack of longitudinal suppleness. And while I agreed, I also said that it was hard at times to encourage more activity because she was already feeling so explosive and like she was running. But Kelly reminded me it's a balance thing. She's quick and running because she's on the forehand. So by asking for more energy/activity behind, I'll encourage her to balance better and be more uphill. Obviously there are times I have to half halt with the reins, but mostly try to use my core, my seat, slow my post, etc. 

 

So that was fun...ish. She threw some moves my way. The stop and balk... threatened to rear. She slung limbs every which way... flung her head every which way. But... she also had some really lovely moments here and there. So then we took it to the trot. Same thing, but... harder! And we didn't discuss whether I should try a stretchy trot... because we just went back to the walk and then the stretchy walk. I think perhaps we're not quite ready for a stretchy trot. So we'll keep practicing. 

 

It was hard work but also helpful. Oh!! And about 1/3 of the way through my lesson... I was walking (luckily still only walking) and suddenly noticed my right cheekpiece had come undone. It's the western headstall so they use chicago screws to hold the bit in place. Um.... ack! I tried to keep the connection and hold the bit in place and it was mostly working, but... I felt like I needed to actually fix it before Funny realized and took advantage. So I stopped and hopped off. Kelly said she actually quite liked her in that bit, but unfortunately I didn't have a screw driver so we couldn't pull the other cheekpiece off to put it on her other bridle. Which, thankfully I had brought!! So we finished my lesson in her regular metal bit and bridle. I did laugh and tell Kelly that she had mentioned a "bridleless, but still with a bit" lesson at my last lesson. Although I believe that was on Lyric. Hee hee. Funny was super good about it and Kelly commented on how good her ground manners were. Ahhhh, yay! 

So then we went for another short hack around pyteradactyl lake to get to the trailer. I had to meet a friend later with Dan and had already been on long enough, so while it was tempting to do more and/or get some hills, I figured that was enough. 

 

So we'll keep playing with it. I think that the stretchy walk was what Liz was saying she suggested when she wanted to get behind the vertical. And Kelly said don't "pull her up" with the bit by raising my hands when she gets behind the vertical. Fix it with leg and ask for more energy/impulsion/activity. So.. that's the plan. And I'll keep working on our relationship to contact. And I think... I might go back to the whole Celeste way. Slight pressure than a release when she softens... and like now with Dan... I can squeeze, he'll soften and then he'll go into the bit. I think. So we'll keep at it and see what happens. 

Spicy?? Challenge Accepted!

 I don't know if Funny got wind that there may be another redheaded sister who is touted as "spicy" and felt she had to up her game, but HOLY MOLY she was a keg of dynamite today!

I opted to ride her after I worked on Beth's horse in hopes that it would have cooled down a little. So I rode at 6:30 instead of 3ish. Not really helpful. And probably a worse choice! It was just as hot... and the sun was going down just enough that it was creating massive glare in half the arena, which made Funny extra spooky I guess. And then someone showed up at Jean's farm and had a very excited yippy little yappy dog that was carrying on...  It did not make my life easier at all!

Luckily she was in her stall when I got home so I didn't have to chase her or have her pull free and run off. I decided to ride her in the nathe today and see what happened. I did take the regular bit up with me just in case. And I almost put it back on but... I'm glad (ish) I didn't. We started up the hill and she was flinging her head around and chomping way worse than usual before we even made it to the arena. Does it taste like boy drool? Gross!!! We got in the arena and she was on edge and jumpy. But we started out okay. She was just more fussy and chompy than usual. Just as I was about to pick up the trot, that dog started yapping. And that made Funny freak out. She kept spinning to look that way...  I think the weird glare was making it hard because it was hard to see.... and as an alpha mare.. especially when you add in unusual yapping noises.. fair..  But she kind of got overly extreme with her annoyance at the dog. We spent a good chunk of time looking, spinning, running, avoiding, etc because of that. And she was inverted and hollow and running and threatening to bolt/spin/etc. At one point I got mad and just smacked her upside the poll. Not my finest moment, but... I was starting to fear for my safety a tiny bit. Especially when I realized that my girth was literally gapping at the side! So, props to me for not coming off acutally. And... yay that my saddle doesn't seem to be sliding around anymore, even when it could be! 

I finally gave up and just let her sit at the fence and stare for a few minutes... and then luckily the dog simmered down and quit yipping and carrying on. So that helped. We kept riding and it was a weird ride. Like... she was so tense earlier that she was practically jigging in the walk and her walk was super lateral... she was hollow. It was awful. And she was super fussy and chompy again. And rooting some. BUT... there was also some moments where it felt like she was almost reaching for the bit. So... I'll ride her a few more rides in the nathe and see what happens. I can't decide if she liked it better or worse. I can't decide if I liked it better or worse. But I do think that I felt a little less reluctant to ask for contact with the rubber bit... for whatever silly reason. So.. I don't know. We'll see. We had some good moments where she felt nice... even though she felt explosive too. And she definitely was strugging bending left today.. .she kept slinging body parts. And twisting her head. So... yeah... it was a weird ride because when I think about it... it was rather awful, but.. I do feel like it was good too! Like... the few moments where she wasn't feeling like I was about to get launched to Texas... she felt lovely.

I got a few nice circles and called it quits. I was so tempted to do more... but I decided that I should be thrilled I stayed on and she didn't really try to get me off or get combative... we finished on a good note... let's keep it that way! Besides, I didn't want it to get bad again and have to keep going longer and longer. So we halted... then did another halt and it was better! So she got a cookie and we headed back to the trailer for a bath. 

Jeepers.!!! I did laugh a little because when we first got in the arena and the dog started I started whistling for Dan... just like I used to do for Fleck when Dan was being naughty. Please come up here and be near so I don't die.. please! And just like Fleck, Dan moseyed on ever pretty quickly and kept us company. Good boy! And honestly... ha ha.. he was probably better about it than Fleck because I remember having to tie Fleck to the fence a few times because he would keep wandering back to the barn.  :) Golly I miss him!

  

Hopefully one day I'll look back and remember how feral she was and be thrilled at how tame and sane and ridable she is.  Just like with Dan. Although, I really don't remember Dan being quite this extreme!

Lunging Day

 I'm not sure why but I decided today would be lunge day. Funny didn't run from me today, although she very briefly thought about it. I decided that I would lunge her with the equiband and also with her bit on, but I wanted to use the cavesson instead of the bit so... it was a lot of equipment. 

She was good though. She let me put the equibands on without any fuss or explosions. I ended up just looping her reins through the grabstrap to keep them from getting too loose or stuck, and... it sort of worked like a side rein in a way.... there was a tiny bit of tension at certain times, so... I rolled with it. And Funny didn't seem too upset with it, so... yay for that. 

We started out with some in hand work. I wanted to make sure we had a good relationship to contact... so we walked and I asked for some softening in the mouth, and when she did I released. And... she stayed pretty soft the whole time, so... yay for that. Except for the very beginning of our session... she almost exploded over the top of me. Those darn baby deer moved in the woods and scared her. Then the third one bolted out and she almost got loose a second time. Doh! But she saw what they were and then settled pretty quickly. But I figured it would be harder to get the good relationship to contact at the trot, because under saddle.. it's harder in the trot. So we jogged together and she's definitely more fussy in the jog, but... we got some good softness. She got quick though, but I could "half halt" her by waving the whip in front of her so she rocked back instead of having to pull on her face. I am not fit though so we didn't do too much trotting. 

 

So then we went to lunge. And she did one little canter explosion but other than that, she was quite nice. I tried to not lunge her too long because of the equiband. We did the trot poles a few times and we did enough that I was able to get some really nice work. She looked like she was comfortable with a soft light contact and she wasn't curling behind the bit. She was maybe a bit on her forehand and maybe a hair quick, but we had some times where she was more uphill too! I did try a canter both ways. The right lead was much more explosive but we got an acceptable canter that way. And the left lead canter started rowdy but settled nicely. And then we finished with some really nice trot!

(she got better after... this was in the beginning and I was better able to encourage her without videoing)

I was tempted to get on her and just do a tiny bit but I was good and didn't. I didn't push for anything else or do anything else... just told her she was super and pulled off the equiband and cavesson and then we walked (in hand) back to the trailer to finish untacking. Good pony!

 

Back to the field!

 We tried to go back to our happy place today! And it was a beautiful day for it!! Fall is coming!!!!

I caught her pretty easily today although at the last second she tried to dip out. Once she was caught she was good though. We headed to Ashland and hit the trails. We started out just hacking the hills and then we did a little trotting in the field. She was super quick and runny. I tried to not get in her face but I had to a little bit. But she did kind of settle a tiny bit. We did a little canter too. It wasn't a soft dressage canter... but it wasn't a gallop either. ;) I let her stretch out though... I just didn't ask for a full gallop because I was in the dressage saddle. 

 

Then we headed back to the hills and back to walking. We ended up in the cross country course and did some more trotting. She was borderline bolting so... I had to get a bit tougher than I was hoping. I tried trotting in the water complex to see if that would settle her. Nope, not really. I mean, maybe she slowed down a hair but she was still braced. Ugh. We went back to the field and did some small circles and she eventually settled a bit and we got some nice work. We did lots of serpentines and smaller circles. And then we got some decent work with a soft contact and then we trotted up the hill and she stayed soft! Win! 

   

Then because I'm me... we headed to the dressage arena and went in and did a BN test. Or something close to the test. I couldn't remember it exactly but it was it more or less. She was fussy and inconsistent but not terrible. But not that good either, so we did a few more minutes of trotting and managed to get some nice work so we quit. 

 

I think I may go back to incorporating some lunging into her routine to see if I can help get her more balanced again and help her neck topline again. But that won't necessarily do anything for her connection distrust... unless I break down and use sidereins. 

 

Ooof.... for shame...

 Ugh.... 

 

I had a half day today. Yay! And the weather was quite lovely considering it's August. Lower humidity and a cool breeze at times. Still hot but much more pleasant! So.. I grabbed Funny and we headed to the arena for a ride. I was talking to a friend today while working on her horses and she mentioned using a running martingale on Funny, just to help keep her from flinging her head so much. So.... I thought maybe she had a point, so I put it on. Super long... so it would only engage when she really flung her head at me. 

I'm not so sure that was a smart choice. But maybe it wasn't a wrong choice. It just... didn't really seem to help and we ended up fighting in the beginning of our ride. Maybe it had nothing to do with the martingale.. maybe it was my mindset.. maybe it is because Funny is still in heat a little bit.. maybe it's because we were in the arena and haven't done field dressage in a bit.. maybe it's because we jumped yesterday... I don't know. But it wasn't a good ride. I resorted to getting handsy and being "insistent" that she yield to contact... She was fussy and bracy and more combative again. We tried.. both of us. But both of us also resorted back to our bad habits. Sigh... I did take the martingale off pretty quickly but the ride didn't really get any better. Our canters were better... and there were no rears. And at the very end we had a fairly pleasant few circles, so.. we called it quits. And we did side pass over the pole at the very end of our ride which was impressive. It wasn't a lovely side pass, but she did it without getting too angry or me having to be too handsy or leggy. 

 

Sigh... It's just so hard... I can't figure out how to ride her. I saw a post about how someone said after watching her warm up, in which she was doing "shock and awe" type stuff to her horse, the trainer said "When you're done chasing your horse away from you, let's talk about how we want to get her to move WITH you instead". And... ahhhh, I want that. Funny is reactive yes.. but almost too reactive. I don't want her to be afraid of my aids... or resistant to my aids.. I want her to seek them. But me yanking on her face or insisting she give to the pressure and yield to contact... that just doesn't seem like the right way to teach her to seek the bit. YET... I can't figure out how to teach her to seek it and without any contact she's just running on the forehand and/or getting quicker and quicker. Because I did try that today... what happens if we pick up the trot on the buckle. She runs! That's what happens. And... maybe it's a lack of balance... no self carriage? Maybe it's true that she does need to learn a relationship with contact first and be willing to give to pressure and be soft and then I can encourage her to seek the bit?? I don't know. I just don't know. And my pride pretty much refuses to let me send her to someone... partly because I don't want her to get hurt or "break her spirit"... partly because I want to freakin figure it out on my own... and a lot of it is that I can't send her away now because then I can't take Dan or Lyric anywhere to ride. But really, I probably wouldn't send her away anyways. Part of me thinks that it's not just me sucking... that she's just really hard... she's a red alpha mare... But then maybe it's just not true. Maybe I do just suck and had I sent her off, she's be floating around like a lovely dressage pony now. Sigh... I do think I need to pick a path and stick with it instead of floating back and forth, but... I just can't figure out which path is best. Poor pony. No wonder she's combative. I keep changing the rules slightly or not so slightly.