I have been starting to apply what Dawn taught me Saturday (see the prior post). I've now had at least three rides on each horse trying to use the core-to-core feel. I can tell in my body that I'm doing something different - on Saturday I hurt under my ribcage and I couldn't figure out what that was all about - but then . . . I realized I was exercising my core in a way I hadn't been before. Right between my shoulder blades hurts too - my posture is having to get more open and, and although I've been working on my posture all year, 50+ years of very bad posture takes its toll and getting rid of some of the last bits of that hurts as things stretch and rearrange themselves. The soreness is starting to get a bit better - and one nice side benefit is my stomach is already starting to look a bit flatter!
But all I can say after my experience so far with core-to-core is . . . wow . . . and a big thank you to my wonderful horses who teach me so much. The feeling of this is incredible, and the results are amazing.
I'm trying to think of other/better ways to describe core-to-core and how I "do" it - although it's more like "be" it - and the feel of it. To do it, I have to "settle in", both mentally and physically. I do this, as we're doing our walk warm up, by concentrating on the feel of the horse as the horse moves, and try to duplicate that same feel in my own body, making sure I follow and "go with". This concentration on the movement and feel of the horse has a meditative quality. If my focus strays, or I lose the feel, I just gently bring it back - the same thing if the horse's attention or feel of me strays. Once I have that "going with" feel, I try to extend that feel to the horse's hind legs - my goal (I'm not fully there with this although the moments are more frequent as I practice) is to feel the horse's core and hind legs as if I were the horse - to become the horse's core and hind legs. I think at some point I'll be able to expand my awareness to more of the horse, but the core and hind legs are key and I'm starting with that. Sometimes I can feel the core but lose the hind legs - but I can't feel the legs without feeling the core.
As we finish our walk warm up, I add in some small circles, serpentines and/or simple leg yield, still at the walk, to test our core-to-core feel. Once that's working well - it's usually immediate if the rest of the warm up has had the connection - we move on to trot work. The good thing about working from a feel - trying to replicate that during a ride and from ride to ride - is that once you've got it, you know (in a feel rather than intellectual sense) what you're looking for and finding it becomes easier. Much easier than following a list of "dos" - aids, cues, etc. Feel doesn't come from that, it comes from . . . feel. This of course means it's darn difficult to describe in a way that makes sense to others.
Anyhow . . .
For those of you who are Star Trek fans, having my core connected to the horse's core and hind legs is like having warp drive (as opposed to impulse power) available - it's a completely different state from not having it and enormous power is available. As I'll describe in a moment, this takes less is more to a whole new level.
One of the nice things about joining my core to the horse's core and hind legs is that I can't do it if my position or posture is wrong, or if I'm bracing or blocking - the core to core connection evaporates and I'm left with my aids and cues operating on the outside of the horse. (There's nothing wrong with that and a lot of good riding can be done there, but, to extend the Star Trek metaphor, that's impulse power only.) To get the connection back if it's lost, I have to lift and open my posture, focus up and out where we're going, maintain softness in my body so I'm with and "in" rather than on the horse, and softly engage my core. This also has the benefit of straightening me out, which directly affects the horse's ability to move and balance. I've discovered that I've probably been previously dropping my right seat bone, making my right leg longer than my left, with my heel down farther on that side to compensate, since my stirrups were level. Since I was used to that, sitting straight means I started to have trouble keeping my right stirrup - but that's pretty much gone away after a few days. The core-to-core engagement also reduces both the horse's and my distractibility and using it can bring us back together after a moment of distraction.
It's pretty darn magical - the horse just softens and rounds up, coming up and through me. And I'm not holding with my hands or pushing with my legs or seat - I'm just there with the horse and can ask the horse to do anything in terms of energy or movement that I want. The horses are telling me how good it feels by responding so dramatically - I expect they appreciate not being pushed or pulled or blocked. This is just one good example of how willing our horses are to meet us halfway if we offer them the best we can - they've got it all available for us if we can just tap into it. Of course it still comes and goes, and sometimes we fall out of core-to-core and end up using our aids and cues as backup, but since it starts with me and I'm working on presenting that feel to the horse more consistently, the percentage of time in core-to-core is increasing. Since the objective is to feel the horse's core and hind legs as if I were the horse, the horse is ready and willing to mirror that feel back to me if I can connect with it. In core-to core, there is really no need for cues or aids - seat, leg or hand - if you think about, horses don't need to cue themselves to do the things they do on their own, and all we're doing with core-to-core is connecting into the engine of the horse and directing the energy and feet by using our joined core to lift and direct the whole horse through the hind legs.
The interesting thing has been that, while riding in core-to-core, the issues my horses and I have struggled with pretty much evaporate. Back to front connection is built-in, since we're directing our back legs from our core, so straightness, lateral work and bend just fall into place by stepping the hind legs where they need to be. Dawn used to have trouble travelling straight when tracking right - no more. Pie used to fall in around corners and have trouble maintaining a consistent bend on circles - no more - his circles when we're in core-to-core are geometrically perfect with no effort on my part. Pie can also carry himself beautifully in soft, round canter much more consistently - he's still developing the muscles in his core that are needed. Red used to fuss on canter transitions - now he lifts effortlessly into canter from the walk when I use our core to step the hind legs into the first canter stride. In fact, all transitions are much more balanced and easy. We can bring our energy level up and down by just thinking that jointly from our core. And in fact the whole horse can lift from the core and back an exact number of steps, just from our core.
Now, I'm a long way from being in that place consistently, but what I've felt so far is pretty wonderful, and my horses are cheering me on, which is a big help.
* * * * * *
My (very) exciting news is that I'll be taking a private lesson with Mark Rashid on Wednesday, May 29, up in Cedarburg, Wisconsin. Mark is doing two back to back three-day one-on-one clinics in southern Wisconsin before that - starting today - that I can't even audit, much less ride in - I have a (very important) conflict - my younger daughter is graduating from college this Friday out of town.
The private lesson with Mark will be a great occasion for me to test how far I've come on the tasks he set me at last year's clinic - to develop my own style and to ride all my horses the same. I'm going to be riding a horse I've never ridden before, and trying to apply what I've learned in the past year from my three horses - particularly core-to-core. Riding an unfamiliar horse will be the perfect way to test all this all out, and I'm very excited and also grateful to Mark and the clinic hosts (my trainer Heather and her family) for making this opportunity available to me. Stay tuned . . .
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Core to Core
Dawn and I had an outstanding ride this morning. Even though Dawn is no longer as physically capable as my two boys, and even though she's got her limits - she hates riding around other horses and I don't choose to ride her on the trail (although at this point in our journey she might well be OK) - she's still one of my most important masters in the art and practice of horsemanship. By this I mean that she's my teacher, and often shows me the way to a new understanding of how to more effectively work together with a horse, any horse.
Today she and I worked on using our core. My position, the horse's position, our ability to move together and to communicate through thought and energy comes from our core. I'm using "our core" in the singular because that's what we were working on today - connecting my core to her core so that they were one thing, together. This is much more a matter of thought than it is of physical action, although to achieve it I have to be moving with the horse without any blocks or braces.
I'll describe what we did and see if it makes any sense to you. As we were riding, I would mentally "lock in" to her core - it's a bit like me sinking into her and her rising up into me - so that we became one unit. Then to achieve what I wanted us to do together, we used our core to feel what the hind legs were doing and change that if necessary. Our objective for today was to activate the hind legs to get more engagement and lift at the trot, with our core engaged so the the trot would as a result be soft and round. As we were working, we took breaks, still trotting, where the trot wasn't quite as engaged or elevated - this work was strenuous for her. We also took a number of loose-rein walk breaks.
With our cores connected, all it took to change the engagement and elevation of the trot was to change the feel of our energy flowing to the hind legs. Transitions to and from trot came from our energy. We also did some shortening and lengthening of trot just by changing the feel of our hind legs.
Dawn responded beautifully to my attempts - she's an exceptionally fine teacher, although I believe all horses can be if we're prepared to listen. She and I did some of the most beautiful, engaged, round, soft trot work we've ever done together. We only worked for about 20 minutes of trotting, which was enough considering how strenuously we were working. The proof was in the freshly dragged arena dirt - there were entire series of hoofprints where we'd been using our core to activate the hind legs, with no toe dragging by the hind feet at all.
A big thanks to a wonderful mare for doing so much, so often, to improve my horsemanship!
Today she and I worked on using our core. My position, the horse's position, our ability to move together and to communicate through thought and energy comes from our core. I'm using "our core" in the singular because that's what we were working on today - connecting my core to her core so that they were one thing, together. This is much more a matter of thought than it is of physical action, although to achieve it I have to be moving with the horse without any blocks or braces.
I'll describe what we did and see if it makes any sense to you. As we were riding, I would mentally "lock in" to her core - it's a bit like me sinking into her and her rising up into me - so that we became one unit. Then to achieve what I wanted us to do together, we used our core to feel what the hind legs were doing and change that if necessary. Our objective for today was to activate the hind legs to get more engagement and lift at the trot, with our core engaged so the the trot would as a result be soft and round. As we were working, we took breaks, still trotting, where the trot wasn't quite as engaged or elevated - this work was strenuous for her. We also took a number of loose-rein walk breaks.
With our cores connected, all it took to change the engagement and elevation of the trot was to change the feel of our energy flowing to the hind legs. Transitions to and from trot came from our energy. We also did some shortening and lengthening of trot just by changing the feel of our hind legs.
Dawn responded beautifully to my attempts - she's an exceptionally fine teacher, although I believe all horses can be if we're prepared to listen. She and I did some of the most beautiful, engaged, round, soft trot work we've ever done together. We only worked for about 20 minutes of trotting, which was enough considering how strenuously we were working. The proof was in the freshly dragged arena dirt - there were entire series of hoofprints where we'd been using our core to activate the hind legs, with no toe dragging by the hind feet at all.
A big thanks to a wonderful mare for doing so much, so often, to improve my horsemanship!
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Sometimes Stressful to be Red . . . and Staying Ahead of the Curve
Lisa from Laughing Orca Ranch made a perceptive comment on the last post - she said that it must sometimes be stressful to be Red. I've been thinking about that, and about different horse personalities and the suitability of those personalities for different people.
Red is a very interesting little horse - I call him my little red horse (his nickname is Red Man), since he's the shortest of my horses at about 15 hands, although he probably outweighs Dawn (who's about 15.1 hands) by several hundred pounds and is very muscular and well-built - he's certainly littler than Pie has turned out to be - Pie's matured into quite the tank and now is about 16 hands (and I certainly hope he's stopped growing).
Red is actually a bit of a marshmallow - very sweet and interested in people, and loves to socialize and find out what's going on. He's extremely curious about everything and everyone, and is particularly curious about other horses and what they're up to. He's extremely intelligent - in fact all three of my current riding horses are. He's quite affectionate and is very protective (and possessive) of Pie and seems to be quite attached to me.
But he's also got a strong personality - he's very dominant in the gelding herd, although not nastily aggressive, and he can have strong opinions and also makes his views known - he's not reticent about expressing himself and he can decide he wants to do something without any input from me - to go see someone or something, for example. He's capable of saying no - to going somewhere he doesn't want to - wash stall and trailer come to mind - but since I'm patient and also persistent, we get through those situations a lot faster than we used to and I expect they'll be non-issues in due course.
He's also by far the most vocal of my horses, in lots of different situations - Pie only nickers for food and rarely calls for other horses, and Dawn can affectionally nicker to me but she doesn't do it that often. Red talks constantly - to other horses and to me. And he really doesn't like being ignored - he likes attention. He's the only horse I've ever had who will leave his food and demand to come out of his stall to do something with me - and he never gets any treats. He stands at his door and nickers at me continuously or sometimes even paws. When I take him out of his stall, if we haven't done enough (in his judgment) he resists going back in his stall. Some days, "enough" is just a thorough grooming, other days it's a walk around the stable aisles, but most days "enough" requires that we go on a ride together, even just a short one.
I think Red feels very responsible for things - he feels like he has to be sure everything (and every horse) is all right. He's learned that he can safely accept my direction - this was a huge step for him and took a long time - he's able to let go of some of the need to be responsible if I give him direction and guidance. We're slowly expanding his envelope of situations where he feels comfortable with me, rather than him, in control. We're expanding where we ride, what we do together and the level of distractions. Some circumstances are still too much - being in the arena when a lunge whip is snapping is one - and we're taking our time with those. When I got him, he didn't trust humans to be in charge at all and felt a very strong need to be in charge and make the decisions himself - probably because his humans proved themselves untrustworthy by forcing him into situations he couldn't deal with, or in the opposite way by failing to give him any direction at all - we believe he may have experienced both situations. When he feels this way, the big brace, together with spookiness/reactivity, comes back - those are outward signs of his inward anxiety about whether he needs to take over to be sure he's OK.
Both Red and Pie had long groomings yesterday - they'd both had baths the day before - the first and likely only shampoo baths of the season (I rarely bath to preserve coat oils, although I rinse off sweat with plain water) - so their tails got brushed out for the first time since late last fall. I only brush tails when I can use ShowSheen, to avoid breaking hairs, and in the spring only after their tails have been washed. So each horse's tail took about 30 minutes to carefully brush out - I did break a bunch of tail hairs but a lot fewer than I would have over a whole winter. Both boys have beautiful long tails - Pie's is very thick and Red's is so long it trails on the ground.
Red is always extremely alert to everything that's occurring around him. Keeping him focussed and on task has been a challenge for both of us. He's also very forward and energetic, and getting calmness and relaxation at the same time is also a challenge. Dawn has been a good teacher for me on this - she has somewhat the same personality, although she's a bit more standoffish and doesn't usually have as much of an agenda of her own. Yesterday with Red was a good example. We went out for a ride in the big pasture with three other riders, and there was also a lesson going in in the adjacent outdoor arena. All of us were moving around, doing different things. Although it was quite warm, he was very up and pretty revved, although he looked calm and was very well behaved with no bracing - there was a lot to look at and a lot going on, and he was constantly having to shift his attention to something new that was happening as our point of view changed and the other horses were moving around - visual distractions were everywhere. We worked in the pasture and also did some work in the outdoor - with horses trotting and cantering and passing each other going different directions. The other riders said he looked cool as a cucumber, and he certainly didn't put a foot wrong, but I could feel his energy level - one sign was that he really didn't want to stop and stand still for more than a moment - he usually stands still easily for an indefinate time - he needed to keep his feet moving so that's what we did.
Red's a horse where staying ahead of the curve is essential. Yesterday, with the level of distraction and excitement around him, if I hadn't been giving him active direction - guiding him to do certain tasks with focus and precision - his anxiety would likely have increased and we would have been back in the land of bracing and spookiness/reactivity, because he would have felt a need to take control. Yesterday, since we kept working and focussing together, he got more and more engaged in the work and less anxious, and by the end of our session, we did some very nice trot work and our first canter work ever in the outdoor arena, and he was happy to stand on a loose rein and relax and take things in. There was quite a spring in his step as we went back to the barn, but he didn't try to break into trot and even wanted to explore a bit in the pasture after the rest of the horses went inside.
I think a lot of people might find a horse like Red too much work - I have to always remain focussed and provide him leadership, or otherwise things might well get out of hand - and he's very fast and very agile. He hasn't got a mean bone in his body, but he's a powerful, intelligent and sensitive horse. I love building a relationship with a horse like him - they make me a better rider - and I believe if you bond with a horse like this, they would be willing, if you asked, to take you to the moon and back.
Red is a very interesting little horse - I call him my little red horse (his nickname is Red Man), since he's the shortest of my horses at about 15 hands, although he probably outweighs Dawn (who's about 15.1 hands) by several hundred pounds and is very muscular and well-built - he's certainly littler than Pie has turned out to be - Pie's matured into quite the tank and now is about 16 hands (and I certainly hope he's stopped growing).
Red is actually a bit of a marshmallow - very sweet and interested in people, and loves to socialize and find out what's going on. He's extremely curious about everything and everyone, and is particularly curious about other horses and what they're up to. He's extremely intelligent - in fact all three of my current riding horses are. He's quite affectionate and is very protective (and possessive) of Pie and seems to be quite attached to me.
But he's also got a strong personality - he's very dominant in the gelding herd, although not nastily aggressive, and he can have strong opinions and also makes his views known - he's not reticent about expressing himself and he can decide he wants to do something without any input from me - to go see someone or something, for example. He's capable of saying no - to going somewhere he doesn't want to - wash stall and trailer come to mind - but since I'm patient and also persistent, we get through those situations a lot faster than we used to and I expect they'll be non-issues in due course.
He's also by far the most vocal of my horses, in lots of different situations - Pie only nickers for food and rarely calls for other horses, and Dawn can affectionally nicker to me but she doesn't do it that often. Red talks constantly - to other horses and to me. And he really doesn't like being ignored - he likes attention. He's the only horse I've ever had who will leave his food and demand to come out of his stall to do something with me - and he never gets any treats. He stands at his door and nickers at me continuously or sometimes even paws. When I take him out of his stall, if we haven't done enough (in his judgment) he resists going back in his stall. Some days, "enough" is just a thorough grooming, other days it's a walk around the stable aisles, but most days "enough" requires that we go on a ride together, even just a short one.
I think Red feels very responsible for things - he feels like he has to be sure everything (and every horse) is all right. He's learned that he can safely accept my direction - this was a huge step for him and took a long time - he's able to let go of some of the need to be responsible if I give him direction and guidance. We're slowly expanding his envelope of situations where he feels comfortable with me, rather than him, in control. We're expanding where we ride, what we do together and the level of distractions. Some circumstances are still too much - being in the arena when a lunge whip is snapping is one - and we're taking our time with those. When I got him, he didn't trust humans to be in charge at all and felt a very strong need to be in charge and make the decisions himself - probably because his humans proved themselves untrustworthy by forcing him into situations he couldn't deal with, or in the opposite way by failing to give him any direction at all - we believe he may have experienced both situations. When he feels this way, the big brace, together with spookiness/reactivity, comes back - those are outward signs of his inward anxiety about whether he needs to take over to be sure he's OK.
Both Red and Pie had long groomings yesterday - they'd both had baths the day before - the first and likely only shampoo baths of the season (I rarely bath to preserve coat oils, although I rinse off sweat with plain water) - so their tails got brushed out for the first time since late last fall. I only brush tails when I can use ShowSheen, to avoid breaking hairs, and in the spring only after their tails have been washed. So each horse's tail took about 30 minutes to carefully brush out - I did break a bunch of tail hairs but a lot fewer than I would have over a whole winter. Both boys have beautiful long tails - Pie's is very thick and Red's is so long it trails on the ground.
Red is always extremely alert to everything that's occurring around him. Keeping him focussed and on task has been a challenge for both of us. He's also very forward and energetic, and getting calmness and relaxation at the same time is also a challenge. Dawn has been a good teacher for me on this - she has somewhat the same personality, although she's a bit more standoffish and doesn't usually have as much of an agenda of her own. Yesterday with Red was a good example. We went out for a ride in the big pasture with three other riders, and there was also a lesson going in in the adjacent outdoor arena. All of us were moving around, doing different things. Although it was quite warm, he was very up and pretty revved, although he looked calm and was very well behaved with no bracing - there was a lot to look at and a lot going on, and he was constantly having to shift his attention to something new that was happening as our point of view changed and the other horses were moving around - visual distractions were everywhere. We worked in the pasture and also did some work in the outdoor - with horses trotting and cantering and passing each other going different directions. The other riders said he looked cool as a cucumber, and he certainly didn't put a foot wrong, but I could feel his energy level - one sign was that he really didn't want to stop and stand still for more than a moment - he usually stands still easily for an indefinate time - he needed to keep his feet moving so that's what we did.
Red's a horse where staying ahead of the curve is essential. Yesterday, with the level of distraction and excitement around him, if I hadn't been giving him active direction - guiding him to do certain tasks with focus and precision - his anxiety would likely have increased and we would have been back in the land of bracing and spookiness/reactivity, because he would have felt a need to take control. Yesterday, since we kept working and focussing together, he got more and more engaged in the work and less anxious, and by the end of our session, we did some very nice trot work and our first canter work ever in the outdoor arena, and he was happy to stand on a loose rein and relax and take things in. There was quite a spring in his step as we went back to the barn, but he didn't try to break into trot and even wanted to explore a bit in the pasture after the rest of the horses went inside.
I think a lot of people might find a horse like Red too much work - I have to always remain focussed and provide him leadership, or otherwise things might well get out of hand - and he's very fast and very agile. He hasn't got a mean bone in his body, but he's a powerful, intelligent and sensitive horse. I love building a relationship with a horse like him - they make me a better rider - and I believe if you bond with a horse like this, they would be willing, if you asked, to take you to the moon and back.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
In Heat, Chiropractor and Borrowed Herd Order
Dawn's been in heat for the past two days - not just a regular heat but a full, raging, spring heat. She used to be difficult to handle when in heat but since she's been on raspberry leaves (I use MareBerry and Mare Magic is another brand) she's been much better. But the first real spring heat is a whopper. I knew things weren't promising when she was peeing in the barn aisle when there wasn't even another horse around. She's also particularly taken with the big gelding who's in a pen next to the mare's pasture, but he seems confused by the whole thing and doesn't seem to have a clue what she wants - I expect Red's reaction would be quite different. Anyhow, I haven't been riding her - she can be very distractable and also very touchy when she's in heat like this, so discretion is the better part of valor, at least this time. She's just been coming in at my usual early morning riding time for a nice grooming, then I turn her back out.
Pie had a visit from the vet/chiropractor yesterday. I'd been noticing that his back seemed a bit tight when I was grooming - he wasn't ouchy and hasn't been doing anything noticeably different under saddle - in fact he's been moving exceptionally well. I was concerned about saddle fit since he's grown so much and really has filled out and muscled up recently. But fortunately for my pocketbook, when the chiropractor looked at it, my About the Horse saddle still fits him well - we did it both with and without the pad. Since he'd had a little neurological flare up a while ago from his vaccination for eastern and western encephalitis plus tetanus, she did neuro tests on him and the right hind was just very slightly different. We drew blood to recheck his EPM titers, and will also run a C reactive protein test.
When she did the chiro work, he told her that the inside of this right thigh was crampy - probably due to the earlier issue with the right hind - and that this had caused a corresponding tightness in his sacral area - this was the tightness I'd been feeling. The way he "tells" her what needs most attention is by offering her those areas of his body to work on - he's got it figured out and knows she can help him out. His neck had a few crampy areas - this is pretty common for him. He also had very slight digital pulses in his front feet, although he's moving well on hard surfaces and even the rocky parking lot. The only time he's had any foot issues was two years ago when we think he had active Lyme disease. We can't test him yet for that, since he isn't yet 6 months out from completing his treatment for Lyme. There are a lot of ticks around right now, although I haven't found one yet on my horses, so we will be rechecking everyone for Lyme in July when Pie is due to be checked. The slight back tightness may also be due to the harder work he's been doing in canter lately and also the slight changes in my position I've made recently. The gelding pasture does have some grass sprouting, but not a whole lot - the big pastures with more grass are still closed off. I'll be slowly introducing Pie to some grazing and keeping a very close eye (and hand) on his feet. We're also upping his chromium/magnesium/selenium/vitamin E supplement to see if that makes a difference.
Pie very much enjoyed his chiro - there were many yawns and much stretching and chewing - I was too busy to get any pictures.
As usual, when I went to get Pie out of the pasture for his appointment, Red came trotting and cantering along to catch up with us - he always comes in when I get Pie. I left Red behind in the pasture, and there was a lot of calling and pawing on his part for a while. Finally Red wandered back out to the pasture. A little while later, I was out in front of the barn waiting for the chiropractor when I saw a red streak galloping up from the far back of the pasture, screaming at the top of his lungs - it was Red, apparently responding to a call from Pie, who was out of sight in his stall. Red was clearly on a mission to save him. During the whole chiropractic appointment - we were in the front parking lot in view of the geldings' pasture - Red either was at the gate or just a bit up the hill, keeping an eye on us and calling to Pie from time to time.
Today when I walked out to the pasture to greet the boys (and several other horses who insisted on greeting me), I got to observe some herd dynamics relating to Pie and Red. Red is very high in the herd order - I don't know if he's the alpha, but he's very high-ranking, despite his relatively small size. Pie is more mid-pack, but he sometimes gets to "borrow" Red's status. Pie and Red were at the bale, and Red wandered off a ways to nibble some grass. A feisty little gelding came up to the bale, pinned his ears at Pie and Pie moved around to the other side. Red came over, herded the little gelding away, nipping him on the butt to keep him moving. I've often seen Red do this - he will either herd other geldings away from Pie or interpose his body between the other horse and Pie - I've even seen Red squeeze himself right up between Pie and another horse. Red's clearly protecting/guarding Pie, and Pie benefits from his "borrowed" status in terms of access to things like hay and water troughs. I expect Pie appreciates having a loyal friend like Red!
Pie had a visit from the vet/chiropractor yesterday. I'd been noticing that his back seemed a bit tight when I was grooming - he wasn't ouchy and hasn't been doing anything noticeably different under saddle - in fact he's been moving exceptionally well. I was concerned about saddle fit since he's grown so much and really has filled out and muscled up recently. But fortunately for my pocketbook, when the chiropractor looked at it, my About the Horse saddle still fits him well - we did it both with and without the pad. Since he'd had a little neurological flare up a while ago from his vaccination for eastern and western encephalitis plus tetanus, she did neuro tests on him and the right hind was just very slightly different. We drew blood to recheck his EPM titers, and will also run a C reactive protein test.
When she did the chiro work, he told her that the inside of this right thigh was crampy - probably due to the earlier issue with the right hind - and that this had caused a corresponding tightness in his sacral area - this was the tightness I'd been feeling. The way he "tells" her what needs most attention is by offering her those areas of his body to work on - he's got it figured out and knows she can help him out. His neck had a few crampy areas - this is pretty common for him. He also had very slight digital pulses in his front feet, although he's moving well on hard surfaces and even the rocky parking lot. The only time he's had any foot issues was two years ago when we think he had active Lyme disease. We can't test him yet for that, since he isn't yet 6 months out from completing his treatment for Lyme. There are a lot of ticks around right now, although I haven't found one yet on my horses, so we will be rechecking everyone for Lyme in July when Pie is due to be checked. The slight back tightness may also be due to the harder work he's been doing in canter lately and also the slight changes in my position I've made recently. The gelding pasture does have some grass sprouting, but not a whole lot - the big pastures with more grass are still closed off. I'll be slowly introducing Pie to some grazing and keeping a very close eye (and hand) on his feet. We're also upping his chromium/magnesium/selenium/vitamin E supplement to see if that makes a difference.
Pie very much enjoyed his chiro - there were many yawns and much stretching and chewing - I was too busy to get any pictures.
As usual, when I went to get Pie out of the pasture for his appointment, Red came trotting and cantering along to catch up with us - he always comes in when I get Pie. I left Red behind in the pasture, and there was a lot of calling and pawing on his part for a while. Finally Red wandered back out to the pasture. A little while later, I was out in front of the barn waiting for the chiropractor when I saw a red streak galloping up from the far back of the pasture, screaming at the top of his lungs - it was Red, apparently responding to a call from Pie, who was out of sight in his stall. Red was clearly on a mission to save him. During the whole chiropractic appointment - we were in the front parking lot in view of the geldings' pasture - Red either was at the gate or just a bit up the hill, keeping an eye on us and calling to Pie from time to time.
Today when I walked out to the pasture to greet the boys (and several other horses who insisted on greeting me), I got to observe some herd dynamics relating to Pie and Red. Red is very high in the herd order - I don't know if he's the alpha, but he's very high-ranking, despite his relatively small size. Pie is more mid-pack, but he sometimes gets to "borrow" Red's status. Pie and Red were at the bale, and Red wandered off a ways to nibble some grass. A feisty little gelding came up to the bale, pinned his ears at Pie and Pie moved around to the other side. Red came over, herded the little gelding away, nipping him on the butt to keep him moving. I've often seen Red do this - he will either herd other geldings away from Pie or interpose his body between the other horse and Pie - I've even seen Red squeeze himself right up between Pie and another horse. Red's clearly protecting/guarding Pie, and Pie benefits from his "borrowed" status in terms of access to things like hay and water troughs. I expect Pie appreciates having a loyal friend like Red!
Thursday, May 9, 2013
"Thinking" the Feet, Fun Outside, and Getting Sore
Dawn is getting older - she'll be 16 in a few months. She's having her usual winter/spring difficulties maintaining her weight, despite getting adequate calories. She just had a blood draw for an ACTH and insulin test, so we can determine if she's got anything metabolic going on. She's shedding out a bit better than she did last year, and her eyes are bright. But her gaits have gradually lost their "spring", even in the pasture, although she moves well and is sound - yesterday I saw her do a beautiful canter all the way across the pasture. I expect her joints are getting a bit stiff, and I've got her on some aspirin (when I can persuade her to eat it) to help with that.
She's in very regular work - 5 days a week - and all day turnout, both of which I believe are good for horses with arthritis. I no longer do strenuous work with her, like flying lead changes. But we motor around, usually in forward trot, for at least 30 minutes each time we ride. She seems to enjoy it. I've noticed recently in the freshly dragged arena that she tends to drag her hind toes slightly at the trot, the right hind more than the left. The fronts of her hind feet also show some wear from the toe dragging. She doesn't trip or stumble, just doesn't push with the hinds like she used to - it's probably hock arthritis.
So to help her out I've started doing some "thinking" the feet when we trot. This was something Mark had me do at the clinic last year with Pie. As we were trotting along, he told me to "think" the feet lighter - to have the impact of each hoof not be as heavy. He said he wouldn't tell me how to do it, that it was up to me to feel it and transmit that feel to the horse - it isn't really a mechanical/aids thing, it's more a matter of energy and "being" the feet. It was a pretty interesting experience and very effective.
So I've been trying that with Dawn, to help her lift those hind legs and drag her toes less. I was thinking "lift" for the hind feet to push and lift more - I was trying to "be" the hind feet. I was pleased yesterday that after the arena was dragged and we were trotting, I could see a visible improvement in the toe dragging in the sand - there was a difference between our trot work before I was "thinking" - I let her warm up without asking for anything extra in trot - and after - the drag marks were absent or much shorter. I could feel the difference when riding, too - her trot was more animated. Getting those hocks moving is probably the best thing for her, so long as she doesn't get sore.
Pie and Red both have had lovely rides in our beautiful weather. Someone was going to the outdoor arena for a lesson, so Red and I, after a good bit of nice work in the indoor - the brace is now completely gone - took advantage and went with them. Red's only been in the outdoor - which is several hundred yards from the barn or from any other horses - a couple of times last year. He was outstanding - we did some lovely trot work and he remained relaxed and happy - I think he really enjoys being outside.
Then Pie and I also had a wonderful session in the outdoor - by ourselves all alone up on the hill. The outdoor isn't level - the short sides have some slope - and Pie now easily goes up and down in balance at both trot and canter. We did some really nice trot and canter work - his gaits have improved enormously as he's learned to balance and use himself from behind. He was forward, and round, and the drive and lift were impressive - this was really nice considering the short-strided, hollow, shuffly gaits he came to me with.
I almost never get sore from riding, but all of a sudden my knees and the tops of my shoulders are hurting like the dickens, and I wondered why. And then I remembered - I changed my position slightly when I'm riding Red and Pie in my About the Horse Western saddle - Dawn goes in my Kieffer dressage saddle. The About the Horse saddle, unlike many Western saddles, is designed to put you in a balanced seat position. The change I made was to move my seat slightly forward, away from the cantle - this makes a subtle change in my leg position and allows me to drape my legs with less bracing in the stirrups, and it also makes my upper body posture more open and "up". It's a better position, and puts me more "in" the horse where I interfere less with the horse's movement. But my muscles and joints aren't used to the new position yet . . . and I'm getting older, just like Dawn! I'm expecting that pain to lessen a bit as my body adjusts . . . It's a good reminder that, whenever we ask our horses to use themselves differently, they may experience soreness as their bodies adapt and build different muscles - such changes have to be made slowly. Pie in fact is having a chiropractor visit this week for precisely this reason.
More riding today . . .
She's in very regular work - 5 days a week - and all day turnout, both of which I believe are good for horses with arthritis. I no longer do strenuous work with her, like flying lead changes. But we motor around, usually in forward trot, for at least 30 minutes each time we ride. She seems to enjoy it. I've noticed recently in the freshly dragged arena that she tends to drag her hind toes slightly at the trot, the right hind more than the left. The fronts of her hind feet also show some wear from the toe dragging. She doesn't trip or stumble, just doesn't push with the hinds like she used to - it's probably hock arthritis.
So to help her out I've started doing some "thinking" the feet when we trot. This was something Mark had me do at the clinic last year with Pie. As we were trotting along, he told me to "think" the feet lighter - to have the impact of each hoof not be as heavy. He said he wouldn't tell me how to do it, that it was up to me to feel it and transmit that feel to the horse - it isn't really a mechanical/aids thing, it's more a matter of energy and "being" the feet. It was a pretty interesting experience and very effective.
So I've been trying that with Dawn, to help her lift those hind legs and drag her toes less. I was thinking "lift" for the hind feet to push and lift more - I was trying to "be" the hind feet. I was pleased yesterday that after the arena was dragged and we were trotting, I could see a visible improvement in the toe dragging in the sand - there was a difference between our trot work before I was "thinking" - I let her warm up without asking for anything extra in trot - and after - the drag marks were absent or much shorter. I could feel the difference when riding, too - her trot was more animated. Getting those hocks moving is probably the best thing for her, so long as she doesn't get sore.
Pie and Red both have had lovely rides in our beautiful weather. Someone was going to the outdoor arena for a lesson, so Red and I, after a good bit of nice work in the indoor - the brace is now completely gone - took advantage and went with them. Red's only been in the outdoor - which is several hundred yards from the barn or from any other horses - a couple of times last year. He was outstanding - we did some lovely trot work and he remained relaxed and happy - I think he really enjoys being outside.
Then Pie and I also had a wonderful session in the outdoor - by ourselves all alone up on the hill. The outdoor isn't level - the short sides have some slope - and Pie now easily goes up and down in balance at both trot and canter. We did some really nice trot and canter work - his gaits have improved enormously as he's learned to balance and use himself from behind. He was forward, and round, and the drive and lift were impressive - this was really nice considering the short-strided, hollow, shuffly gaits he came to me with.
I almost never get sore from riding, but all of a sudden my knees and the tops of my shoulders are hurting like the dickens, and I wondered why. And then I remembered - I changed my position slightly when I'm riding Red and Pie in my About the Horse Western saddle - Dawn goes in my Kieffer dressage saddle. The About the Horse saddle, unlike many Western saddles, is designed to put you in a balanced seat position. The change I made was to move my seat slightly forward, away from the cantle - this makes a subtle change in my leg position and allows me to drape my legs with less bracing in the stirrups, and it also makes my upper body posture more open and "up". It's a better position, and puts me more "in" the horse where I interfere less with the horse's movement. But my muscles and joints aren't used to the new position yet . . . and I'm getting older, just like Dawn! I'm expecting that pain to lessen a bit as my body adjusts . . . It's a good reminder that, whenever we ask our horses to use themselves differently, they may experience soreness as their bodies adapt and build different muscles - such changes have to be made slowly. Pie in fact is having a chiropractor visit this week for precisely this reason.
More riding today . . .
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