Cold Weather, Clipping and Riding!

     Stryker has been bundled up to his nose, he is now the hairless pumpkin. It may be a typically indecisive Kansas winter here in the midwest, but it looks like its been sunny, warm and humid in Florida so I clipped last week. I decided to wait on clipping his legs and face because last week it was a whopping 16 degrees out (not including wind chill). This week is much better for him, in the 60's and sunny. When I first finished clipping I stood back and could have slapped myself I thought he looked so horrible. After taking off his blanket on Saturday, however, the clipper tracks all seem to have smoothed out and it turns out that I did a damn good job!

Before: At his fluffiest

After

     I still haven't heard about whether or not Galaxy is coming with me to Florida. It depends on two things, can my parents afford to ship two horses to Florida and back, and can the Poulin's spare another stall for him.

     As far as riding has gone, OMG breakthroughs! It's like we've hit the reset button on my boys. The way I'm approaching picking up the reins and putting contact on the bit is completely different. With Stryker I have a horrible habit of falling into his traps and succumbing to fighting with him. He gets me forgetting about his hind end and then 10 minutes later I'm staring at his head with a backward hand and tight shoulders. What I've been doing recently (with Stryker) is picking the reins up so that there is no contact, but the reins aren't completely loose. From there on out, it is the horses responsibility to seek out the contact on the rein. I only make sure that the hind end keeps moving and that the front end isn't out running it. Now don't get me wrong, this is some tedious work. I have been working on this for the past three weeks, and I am still spending about 10-15 minutes at the beginning of my ride simply reestablishing my point. What do they say, it takes 6 weeks of consistent work to make it a habit for a horse? I don't know, maybe I'm making that up. However, it's yielding great results, Stryker is giving me this cadence in the trot unlike anything I've ever ridden, and his self carriage looks and feels effortless.
     With Galaxy I have a slightly different approach, I have to keep him on a much shorter rein and do need to take the contact sometimes (primarily on the outside rein) and he is much more apprehensive about really lifting his shoulders and working his hind end, but he is responding and he will get stronger so that it's easier. Galaxy is older and him and I have a much stronger history, which is beneficial most days. However, we also have much older habits and trust me when I say, this horse would rather walk around with his neck inverted and back dropped like some kind of llama then use his hind end. He doesn't give in as easily as Stryker and that's because of our history, we have learned to work with each other in a way where we have compromised things and have negotiated what I will let him get away with and what he will let me get away with. Now, he is a wonderful horse, often described as a "worker bee," but he is also smaller and not built as well as these Warmbloods you see born climbing an imaginary ladder, so dressage is hard for him. With this new approach though, he is accepting this new level of harder work since I am giving him more freedom in the front but also applying more pressure on his hind end.
     It's amazing how quickly horses will respond when they understand the question, and when it is a fair request. I think that may be the most important thing to think about when riding a horse. You must know what you want from the horse, otherwise there is no hope for the horse to understand what you want. There will be no progress made and in most cases I feel that I fall backwards in my progression when I don't have a clear and focused idea of what I want to be doing and achieving in a ride. One of the most important things I've learned while riding Dressage is that if you are having a bad day and you feel rushed and flustered and you're frustrated and anxious before even getting on your horse, then don't. Either go on a trail ride or just bring your horses into the barn and groom them and give them some treats then put them back out, quality over quantity. I find it very important to always  remind myself that I am the thinking part of the relationship, so it's up to me to make decisions based on the health and happiness of both me and the horse.
That's all for now.

xoxo,
Caitlin