Not Really a Retrospective (avec Neep)
Sep. 17th, 2009 12:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dancinghorseIt's been not quite a year since I got the hell out of dressage and listened to Pooka about what he needed. This has been on my mind a lot lately as I work with the horses, because a year ago? Was riding them finally, after a period of not riding much if at all, but my confidence was in the crapper and there were some (Camilla notably) whom I just didn't have the confidence to ride.
Then I got, rather painfully, dumped by Teacher, because I hadn't committed to the dumpage myself--I hadn't actually ridden with her in months. I kept thinking I'd start up again anydaynow. But I never did. Then came "I don't have time to bother with dilettantes"--pretty much a straight Toxic-Trainer talking point--followed by the truth: "I'm holding you back." And right after that came the newsletter from the massage therapist in the next town over, and it turned out she did ridden sessions as well. So on October 3rd, I tried something new.
Today we had a group lesson. There is Camp, which means two other lessons: a mini-clinic. And we did: massage and checkup for da Pook, then a whole lot of suppling via haunches in/out, shoulder in/out, and all three gaits. Left lead! Yes!
Compare last year, when Pook was stiff, locked, could walk, but trot was a challenge and canter was not happening. And my self-doubts and second-guessing went on as far as the mind could dither.
We didn't come to today's lesson easily, either. Tuesday night I thought I broke him. I had done a Lot of canter. Only one left lead but he wanted to canter everywhere. "Can I? Can I, Mom?" I finished the ride on a high, cooled him out nice and slow, went to feed him, ran my hand down his back...and found a hole.
A gap between spinal processes right where the withers merge with the back, like what happens when a horse gets kicked and the muscle breaks down and turns into a pitted hole. About the size of a quarter. A little fluid-like crackling at the head end. Symmetrical--no sidedness. Zero pain, heat, swelling, or reaction of any kind to palpation. Definitely not a saddle-fit problem: his back was glassy smooth with a nice even sweat pattern. It was just there.
Freakout time. There's a hole in my horse! We did too much and I broke him! It's right where I sit! I can't ever ride him again! Our life is over!
I emailed S, who calmed me down, told me to breathe, and said it sounded/felt like an opening up of the spine. He did, after all, grow withers, and he's getting muscles on his muscles. (I mean that. His hind end is getting really ripped.) So I kept an eye on it for negative changes (there wasn't a one), and this morning we had lessons scheduled.
He got a lookover. "He's developing new muscles forward of the loin," S. said: "Making a better connection back to front." He got some massage. Unreeled his neck another three inches and resolved more of the bulgy left atlas. Zero movement deficits, pain reactions, or anything else on the negative side. Lots of happy sighs and floppy tongue. Then S said, "Saddle up and let's see what we've got."
What we've got is more suppleness and openness around the center of balance, which is exactly where the little gap is, and a real sense of comfort with me on his back. So S had us work on enhancing that: more bend, more freedom laterally, through haunches in and haunches out. This required that he be solid with shoulder in and out as well, not lean on his right shoulder, not ignore his left hind, and not convince himself he couldn't bend in the poll to the left. From there we moved to haunches in with a clear, consistent bend all the way through from the hindleg to the bit.
Old-tape time there. I locked solid. "Danger! Danger Will Robinson! Lateral work ahead!" So we got lateral with the concept. "Make a burrito. You roll up the middle and tuck in both ends. If one end isn't tucked in, you lose the filling." This burrito was shaped more like a croissant, but hey. It worked. Bend through the seat, outside aids in place, fluff up the inside hind so the back is up and the horse is forward and balanced. Right was easier. Left, we got the I-can'ts from him. I had to do various things including take reins in left hand and cross whip over from the right to stroke his bulgy atlas until he remembered he could relax and have a normal bend.
We rode transitions this way. Walk, get the haunches in ("roll the burrito"), from that position transition to trot, roll it again, repeat both sides until soft, then up the ante to canter. That took some doing because he has a huge canter and he's not totally sure he can do it under saddle on a circle--though he can on the longe. No rider to pack along. Needs a Lot of leg and balance and encouragement and seat, but he got it to the right. So S said, "Now go left. Just because you can." No wrong answers. That whatever he gives, but expect him to give canter.
Et voila. Left lead.
And then he got to trot big around the area, just let go--and his first question was, "Moar Canter Plz?" No, relax and trot, I said, but the fact he asked for canter was significant. It's not awful scary don't wanna any more. It's fun thing that feels great and we got to GOOOOO!
He was a pooooooped pony. Happy as I've ever seen him, but pooooooped.
Oh, and? Ephiny got a massage session two weeks ago. Resolved some issues she's been having. She's a different horse. Soft, fluid, begging to work. I lay over her back the other night--she was standing at the mounting block, I had my helmet on, what the hey. She kind of went oof and eventually moved off, but it was a very nice, positive first-weight-on-back reaction. We can work with that.
Then I got, rather painfully, dumped by Teacher, because I hadn't committed to the dumpage myself--I hadn't actually ridden with her in months. I kept thinking I'd start up again anydaynow. But I never did. Then came "I don't have time to bother with dilettantes"--pretty much a straight Toxic-Trainer talking point--followed by the truth: "I'm holding you back." And right after that came the newsletter from the massage therapist in the next town over, and it turned out she did ridden sessions as well. So on October 3rd, I tried something new.
Today we had a group lesson. There is Camp, which means two other lessons: a mini-clinic. And we did: massage and checkup for da Pook, then a whole lot of suppling via haunches in/out, shoulder in/out, and all three gaits. Left lead! Yes!
Compare last year, when Pook was stiff, locked, could walk, but trot was a challenge and canter was not happening. And my self-doubts and second-guessing went on as far as the mind could dither.
We didn't come to today's lesson easily, either. Tuesday night I thought I broke him. I had done a Lot of canter. Only one left lead but he wanted to canter everywhere. "Can I? Can I, Mom?" I finished the ride on a high, cooled him out nice and slow, went to feed him, ran my hand down his back...and found a hole.
A gap between spinal processes right where the withers merge with the back, like what happens when a horse gets kicked and the muscle breaks down and turns into a pitted hole. About the size of a quarter. A little fluid-like crackling at the head end. Symmetrical--no sidedness. Zero pain, heat, swelling, or reaction of any kind to palpation. Definitely not a saddle-fit problem: his back was glassy smooth with a nice even sweat pattern. It was just there.
Freakout time. There's a hole in my horse! We did too much and I broke him! It's right where I sit! I can't ever ride him again! Our life is over!
I emailed S, who calmed me down, told me to breathe, and said it sounded/felt like an opening up of the spine. He did, after all, grow withers, and he's getting muscles on his muscles. (I mean that. His hind end is getting really ripped.) So I kept an eye on it for negative changes (there wasn't a one), and this morning we had lessons scheduled.
He got a lookover. "He's developing new muscles forward of the loin," S. said: "Making a better connection back to front." He got some massage. Unreeled his neck another three inches and resolved more of the bulgy left atlas. Zero movement deficits, pain reactions, or anything else on the negative side. Lots of happy sighs and floppy tongue. Then S said, "Saddle up and let's see what we've got."
What we've got is more suppleness and openness around the center of balance, which is exactly where the little gap is, and a real sense of comfort with me on his back. So S had us work on enhancing that: more bend, more freedom laterally, through haunches in and haunches out. This required that he be solid with shoulder in and out as well, not lean on his right shoulder, not ignore his left hind, and not convince himself he couldn't bend in the poll to the left. From there we moved to haunches in with a clear, consistent bend all the way through from the hindleg to the bit.
Old-tape time there. I locked solid. "Danger! Danger Will Robinson! Lateral work ahead!" So we got lateral with the concept. "Make a burrito. You roll up the middle and tuck in both ends. If one end isn't tucked in, you lose the filling." This burrito was shaped more like a croissant, but hey. It worked. Bend through the seat, outside aids in place, fluff up the inside hind so the back is up and the horse is forward and balanced. Right was easier. Left, we got the I-can'ts from him. I had to do various things including take reins in left hand and cross whip over from the right to stroke his bulgy atlas until he remembered he could relax and have a normal bend.
We rode transitions this way. Walk, get the haunches in ("roll the burrito"), from that position transition to trot, roll it again, repeat both sides until soft, then up the ante to canter. That took some doing because he has a huge canter and he's not totally sure he can do it under saddle on a circle--though he can on the longe. No rider to pack along. Needs a Lot of leg and balance and encouragement and seat, but he got it to the right. So S said, "Now go left. Just because you can." No wrong answers. That whatever he gives, but expect him to give canter.
Et voila. Left lead.
And then he got to trot big around the area, just let go--and his first question was, "Moar Canter Plz?" No, relax and trot, I said, but the fact he asked for canter was significant. It's not awful scary don't wanna any more. It's fun thing that feels great and we got to GOOOOO!
He was a pooooooped pony. Happy as I've ever seen him, but pooooooped.
Oh, and? Ephiny got a massage session two weeks ago. Resolved some issues she's been having. She's a different horse. Soft, fluid, begging to work. I lay over her back the other night--she was standing at the mounting block, I had my helmet on, what the hey. She kind of went oof and eventually moved off, but it was a very nice, positive first-weight-on-back reaction. We can work with that.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-09-17 08:36 pm (UTC)I think you've found it. ;)
w00t!
no subject
Date: 2009-09-17 11:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-17 09:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-17 09:50 pm (UTC)My cats are very jealous and want to know why horses can have massages.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-17 11:35 pm (UTC)yum.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-18 02:35 am (UTC)