Neepity!

[dancinghorse]

Yes, an actual entry as opposed to quizzage and memeage.  Rewrite continues but needs to be done preferably last week.  Book should end up having mutated from "sucks rocks" to "it rocks."  Or so we hope.  Computer hell is being held at bay, but I'm writing on one and e-mailing on another and it is complicated.  I have earlier comments that haven't been responded to, and definitely wanted to welcome bettym  to the crew and thank you for the lovely words about Kingdom of the Grail.

Anent your question, Berber or Barb horses are north African horses--ram-nosed and sturdy, usually--and Spanish horses are the horses of the Iberian  peninsula, which are distinct from the Arab and have a different look.  They're usually bigger, stockier, and have convex heads--a lot of them have been bred for fighting bulls, so they're big on sitting down and zipping out of there.  There's a whole pura raza thing going on now (claiming that the Spanish horse is "pure" and has nothing else in it), but older texts note that the Iberian had Arab and Barb blood crossed in during the time of the Moors.  The Arab is the desert horse of Arabia, with imports into Egypt--basically it followed the Islamic expansions.  This is a small, light, fast animal with a distinctive dished head and big eyes and nostrils, adapted to being a desert running machine.

Life has consisted primarily of farm work, riding, and rewriting.  We've had lessons, and those have gone well.  Keed is doing ever so nicely for Joni.  Camilla is still figuring out this forward thing, but she will now trot beautifully alongside me in hand, matching my speed exactly, which is very cool and a very good sign that she realizes she has a forward gear.  When I sit on her, she'll offer some forward steps.  Today she was a bit wild with the wind and a threat of storm, but she settled down very nicely.  It's slow, but it's working.

Pook and I have been having Discussions about my aids.  Outside aids, specifically.  Mine aren't there, he says.  He needs them there.  Or he's going to go sproink! and veer off toward the fence.  Last week Joni put us on the longe so I would stop being anxious about the whole thing, and relax and let him move, which he kindly did.  In between lessons, I got into another pulling match with him (outside rein gone, inside rein with me locked on it, blocking inside hind, sending him veering off).  So, today Joni worked on  that outside hand and told me,  wincing as she said, "Pull him!" Adding that she would never ever tell anyone else to do this, but since I've been dropping the rein, if she says pull...my hand stays put.  I feel as if I'm pulling, but what I'm actually doing is keeping my hand steady.   Et voila. 

Amazing how our paradigms work, and how what we think we're doing may the opposite of what's actually happening.  I think my hand is steady when it's creeping up his neck and he's losing his balance.  When I think I'm pulling, all I'm doing is not letting go.  Very odd.  But effective.  Pook said, "Now you're talking!", relaxed, chewed, and settled into the circle. 

Oh yes.  This horse is sub-Intro only because I am.  Once I get a clue, he'll be headed up the levels.  (Now if someone would just offer a nice batch of clues on ebay....)

It's been interesting too to work with Camilla and Pooka pretty much one right after the other.  We've talked about this, how their issues are identical but their responses are diametrically opposite.  Joni happened to mention a conversation she had with a Lipp client who worked with a very good trainer recently (with great results), but the trainer had this thing that "With all Lipps you must keep a clear contact at all times."  Joni had been training the horse using no contact at times--releasing rein and letting him find his own balance.  We've realized that it's a matter of mindsets--forward or not-forward.  Keed, not-forward, needs a very open door in front.  Ditto Camilla.  Offer a contact and, in the early stages, they feel shut down.  Whereas Pook and Capria, being very forward-thinking horses (in times of stress, instead of growing roots, they beat feet out of there), have to have the clear sense of support on sides particularly in the front, so when they start to lose balance, they've got that barre to touch (barre, bit, very similar in effect here).  They need a very supportive seat and aids and a lot of encouragement to sit down and lift the front end, then they feel balanced.  Whereas keed will sit down and get stuck.  He needs to feel a lot of freedom in front of him.   Camilla, being totally green, quite simply backs up and won't stop. 

It's illuminating to consider these different methodologies and see how they fit different horses.  Whether the horse thinks forward/run or stop/freeze has so much to do with how she responds to training.  So with Pook, we did a lot of longeing under saddle.  With Camilla we do free longeing (a line makes her feel constricted) and we're letting her figure out her own  forward with me on  her.  I do the forward work with her in hand--and she's really feeling different, as if she's opened up to what's in front of her.  (And oh my is she beautiful when she moves.)  With Pook we could have Joni in the middle urging him on, but that would be a bad idea with Camilla.  It needs to be her idea.

In other notes--Pook had a serious attack of the whees today.  No camcorder handy, of course.  He just had to cut loose.  Then he was Mr. Perfect Riding Stallion.

And--this will have the proper effect on horsepeople, but sound very odd otherwise: Since last week, he has peed under saddle.  It's a huge thing.  Means he's relaxed and comfortable to da max.  Of course now we have to train him to do it in warmup and not stop at X and whizz the judge, but we'll work on that.

Further news: Arizona is on the Lipizzan evaluation circuit in mid to late September.  We have a venue in Elgin (Lipizzan Park, about an hour from here) and we're working on a program.  Evaluator will be the former director of the SRS and the state stud at Piber.  Naturally I'll be there with bells on.  In recent years, evaluations have been restricted to the PNW and, occasionally, the East Coast.  This is the first time they've been in Arizona, as far as I know, and the first time in eight years that they've been in the lower left corner of the US at all.  I hope we can get enough horses and auditors to make it work.  We'll have demos as well, and maybe a small show, though that needs some serious logistical work.

And now Rewrite Hell is calling.  Also, horses, who want their dinner.  Someday it will be a book (version 2.0) and my life will revert to...more deadlines!

Comments

[plutosonium.livejournal.com]

Several questions:

1) Lipizzan evaluation, you say? Would I count as an auditor without a horse? My folks live in Prescott Valley, so I could conceivably visit them and combine it with Lipizzan activity.

2) Congrats on the peeing under saddle. We have not reached this stage yet. In fact I'm not sure that I've even seen him pee at all. Maybe he's shy. (Ho ho.)

3) How do you go about getting a youngster to trot on the lead? Pluto has so far failed to understand what I want. He'll do it on the longe, and under saddle, but try to get him trotting beside you and he becomes a walking anchor. Or maybe he understands and he just doesn't wanna.

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

1. We would love to have you come and audit. It's not limited to people bringing horses at all. There are people coming from all over. If you feel a need to adopt a Lipizzan for the weekend, I'm sure we can find you one. 8)

2. Capria and keed have never peed under saddle while I've had them (and keed was born at my feet). Pook is a much more relaxed organism. Also much more organic.

3. With Camilla, Joni had keed behind her, making nasty faces. Keed is having a living ball being Torture Assistant and the Camilla-training project. With Pook, we had a person at his head and a person behind him with a whip, encouraging him. One thing I learned was not to look at the horse while running--look ahead and project my body ahead. If I turn and look at him, he thinks I'm telling him to stop. It's hard, cruel hard, because he and Camilla both are so gorgeous when they move. But we do what we have to, she said with quivering lip.

[green-knight.livejournal.com]

Joni happened to mention a conversation she had with a Lipp client who worked with a very good trainer recently (with great results), but the trainer had this thing that "With all Lipps you must keep a clear contact at all times."  Joni had been training the horse using no contact at times--releasing rein and letting him find his own balance.  We've realized that it's a matter of mindsets--forward or not-forward.  Keed, not-forward, needs a very open door in front.  Ditto Camilla.  Offer a contact and, in the early stages, they feel shut down.  Whereas Pook and Capria, being very forward-thinking horses (in times of stress, instead of growing roots, they beat feet out of there), have to have the clear sense of support on sides particularly in the front, so when they start to lose balance, they've got that barre to touch (barre, bit, very similar in effect here).  They need a very supportive seat and aids and a lot of encouragement to sit down and lift the front end, then they feel balanced.  Whereas keed will sit down and get stuck.  He needs to feel a lot of freedom in front of him.   Camilla, being totally green, quite simply backs up and won't stop. 



I haven't really found the connection to forwardness or nonforwardness; but I've ridden horses who wanted their hands held - they needed the rider to be there at all time, if the rider was missing, anything might happen (one panicked and bucked - and he bucked big); while other horses prefer the rider to be invisible. Misjudgeing a horse can have, err, _interesting_ effects.

Most of the stonewallers I've ridden came down way on the 'invisible' end of things - aid too much, too often, and they'd shut down completely; do nothing and they'd open up; but the mare I learnt the technique from was whizzy as hell, she just couldn't cope with restriction from either seat or hand; and being whizzy, her riders always took a firm hold.

My horse, of course, lies right in the middle, so I can get it wrong in both directions. Hrmpf.

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

We've found a connection in the way the horse wants to be closed in or left open--if he's not forward, he gets claustrophobic about blockages in front. That's where the support has to come from the seat with a lot of opening and allowing and showing him the way forward. You have to let him find his own way to the bit. The forward ones are more likely to want the contact so they don't go blasting out the front.

It's not about a firm hold or a tight rein but a complete circle of aids. Capria can go like a demented hamster if she doesn't have enough support, but if the rider isn't sitting exactly right, the tighter the rein, the more demented she gets. It's not just rein contact--it's the whole classical shinola, seat-leg-hand and you better have all the elements right where she wants them. I found the key for me was threefold: a clear, consistent contact, absolutely solid outside aids (with all the trimmings), and the thigh aid that collects her and gets her completely in front of the leg and lifting her forehand. She is diehard about that, and with her long, naturally hollow back, it's a challenge.

Pook is a complete stinker about outside aids. The slightest slippage in that department (and I slip a lot) and he's gone. Give him that outside connection and that inside leg and he's perfect. Relaxed, soft, chewing the bit. If I can get my aids together, this horse will be doing good second-level walk-trot work and starting basic canter--just right for a "training level" Lipizzan.

Oh my you should see his canter on the longe and at liberty. Hubba. I've ridden it when he's offered it and it is heaven. But--until I have those aids exactly in place, I won't be getting it because I'm the one asking.

[plutosonium.livejournal.com]

Hehehehe.. Demented Hamster. That'd be a good name for a band.

[betty-m.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for clearing up those questions regarding Berber, Arabian and Spanish horses. That was very helpful and prevented me from making a great mistake on my WIP.

And thank you for welcoming to your community. I'm not a horse person (although I always wanted a pony as a kid), but I find the discussion on horses (and writing) fascinating.

[sfmarty.livejournal.com]

What do they do when they evaluate a Lipp? Do they require the horse be at a certain level of training, or do they have them longe about?

What is the criteria?

When in September?

[hippoiathanatoi.livejournal.com]

Outside aides are one of my problems too. Just one of many, admittedly, but with the half-horse, half-snake I've been riding lately, framing him properly with all available aids is crucial. Next dressage session, I'll have to try to at least think pull on the outside, to see if that stops me from giving too much. :)

We used to have a pony at the riding school who took every opportunity to pee while ridden, but he was just lazy rather than exceptionally relaxed. They even had a vet check him out, to see if he had some medical condition, but no, he just used to as an excuse to stop with the kids.