Neepitudo Maior
Apr. 2nd, 2006 03:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dancinghorseThe week's lesson neep for your delectation. I'm zoonked unto exhaustion, but the Shattered Dance revision is all done but the last quick look-through before l'editrice gets it on Thursday, and other projects are bubbling along. This week will be about first draft plus mentees plus horsies plus whatever else pops up.
I went to see keed on Wednesday, which was his 11th birthday. I love the drive over there. It's 45 miles across the diagonal of Tucson, past the Desert Museum and through the Tucson Mountains and Saguaro National Park West. Keed was looking clean, as in newly bathed, and mellow and content, hanging out with the boys: wise old red QH, wise old Lusitano, and younger Andy gelding almost his age to the day, whom he instantly took to. Poor Gaudia was in purdah because she kept reminding said gelding that he was a stallion until rather recently, but she was also clean and clearly happy to have her human to herself at last. (Teacher reports that they're having wonderful walks out all around the area, just hanging out and being together.)
So keed got his birthday baby carrots and hugs and a nice visit, and didn't get all upset when I left. He was hanging with the guys, you know. Keed has never had geldings to hang out with before. He likes it.
Meanwhile, back at Hormone-Soup Central, I've been doing lesson homework and noodling with various of the locals. Camilla has matured tremendously of late, has gone from a frankly scary, often explosive IED to a wise and kind mare with a real inclination to teach. She feels solid and reliable and, who'd'a thunk it, trustworthy.
Ephiny (who will be 4 this month) is now on the roster in a very low-key way. I brought her in yesterday to groom her and work on manners. Very interesting to see how she reacts to Trainer Bod--if I go at her with what she considers aggressive body language, and by this I just mean basic firm and clear "I am the alpha here," she goes into alpha mode herself, even as far as shoulder-slamming and threat-kicking. Whereas if I walk in softly, keep everything quiet, keep my center of balance low and myself centered, barely brush her with a finger to move her over, and ask gently, she's eager to obey. The quieter I am, the more willing and obedient she is. Fascinating.
This morning was about the lessons, as it usually is. Pandora got the nod this time, as Pook is probably three months away from being ridable (but his feet, says the Wonder Shoer, are doing great) and on that timetable, she's probably going to Dallas. She was in screaming, squatting, peeing heat, which made grooming and tacking up interesting, but the minute she got out in the arena, she was 100% business and so was Pooka. I was proud of them both.
She was as stiff as a board. Nothing to do with soundness--it was a difference of opinion as to whether, and why, she should reshape her body after all these years and go straight instead of being a left banana. She had been thinking about it, but clearly decided she's not in favor. So, we did a lot of wiggly bits in walk and trot, and a lot of me keeping my eyes on the viewfinder, and that defused every spook (magic!) but didn't loosen her up. Finally Teacher got on with Seat of Steel and much more knowledgeable rein aids and discusssed the situation, and decided to do something most horses would never tolerate: she tightened the noseband as far as it would go. Normally this is a bad idea, locks the jaw and upsets the horse, but Pandora sighed and immediately relaxed. She wanted the bit stabilised and she wanted her jaw ditto. I need, when I'm in funds, to find her a nice, soft padded crank noseband--far too often an instrument of torture, but used properly it's highly adjustable and very soft and comfortable for the horse. (She also needs a somewhat wider bit, but we're working on that.)
At any rate, she was much happier with this arrangement, and did good work. And Teacher was pleased. And wrote
Sunday 4-2-06
Pandora
-ears AND neck as viewfinder a la last week--review and continuation
-by keeping "viewfinder" as soft peripheral focus enables rider to straighten to and focus on line of travel without too much thinking
-easier practiced in walk
-requires more attention to combining seat, leg and rein in trot
-Keep Pandora as true as possible to line of travel. Keep her from drifting through aids.
-Remember (VERY IMPORTANT)
-viewfingers (ears/neck) NOT the main focus
-Focus only half horse length ahead
-"draw a mental line in the dirt half horse length ahead of ears/viewfinder and focus there
-It doesn't matter if you find your attention wavering--gently bring focus back to line of travel--no matter how often :)
-The vertebrae of the neck must stay straight on line of travel--no bend--yet--just keep neck straight
-noseband snug--makes for lighter more effective rein aids
[Visible in practice and contrary to common belief; it's the in thing to be anti-noseband. But what it does is stabilize the jaw and quiet the bit down, which in this horse with her mouth melanomas means she isn't getting bumped irregularly by the bit. She was seriously fussing when I was riding her, and my hands weren't all that bad. With the tighter cavesson she relaxed in her whole body, relaxed her jaw, and went almost totally quiet. Still had some fussing but it was experimentation rather than yawing and fighting. She also stopped going hollow, raised her back and came well up under herself. Very interesting. Teacher said with her like this, it was much easier to use the rein aids and she took much softer, lighter aids.]
-set up "destinations" when riding--ride a straight line towards an object, practicing centering horse over it
-crookedness begins under seat and then ends up in shoulders and neck
keeping soft focus on "viewfinder" enables rider to feel this sooner, and therefore make connections sooner with lesser intensity
[Also it stops the rider from thinking--if she's concentrating on that spot framed by the ears, she's less likely to stiffen up and try to hard; she makes corrections automatically and the horse is dramatically straighter and less fussy.]
Pandora is a challenge, as you can see. She's 19, she's spent half her life bumping around a pasture, she has her own clear ideas about how she should move. But she's coming along and she's really willing; if we can convince her, she'll do anything we ask.
After Pandora, Camilla was all ready and set to be next. We did the usual: jaw massage and poll-flipping, neck flexions until I had the soft, sleepy eye we want to see, then I did a long session in hand. Never did get on her. She was telling me I was leaning in toward her, which made her lean in toward me, go off balance, and start trotting. I had own my space (and not own her drama, no matter how histrionic she got), walk straight and grounded and quiet no matter what she did. And keep the outside rein firm and the inside rein helium-light and trace figures until she softened and stayed in her own space.
Teacher left at this point, but I brought out a very happy Pooka and did more in-hand work. He's much easier, knows how to balance himself and stays in his space, and he was very good about being groomed and bridled directly in front of a quite tempting (and noisy) Pandora. She was 10 feet behind him in the run. Apart from some Harley noises as I brought him into the grooming area, he was completely focused on getting ready to work.
We ended up in-handing outside, up the driveway and around and down and into the holding pen where he stayed with hay while I turned the mares out. It was good practice and he was happy. He can have as much of this as he wants, the shoer says, and in a few weeks he can get boots and be ground-driven and long-reined and longed as well. And this is good.
And now I am lesson-comatose. But it's a good coma.
I went to see keed on Wednesday, which was his 11th birthday. I love the drive over there. It's 45 miles across the diagonal of Tucson, past the Desert Museum and through the Tucson Mountains and Saguaro National Park West. Keed was looking clean, as in newly bathed, and mellow and content, hanging out with the boys: wise old red QH, wise old Lusitano, and younger Andy gelding almost his age to the day, whom he instantly took to. Poor Gaudia was in purdah because she kept reminding said gelding that he was a stallion until rather recently, but she was also clean and clearly happy to have her human to herself at last. (Teacher reports that they're having wonderful walks out all around the area, just hanging out and being together.)
So keed got his birthday baby carrots and hugs and a nice visit, and didn't get all upset when I left. He was hanging with the guys, you know. Keed has never had geldings to hang out with before. He likes it.
Meanwhile, back at Hormone-Soup Central, I've been doing lesson homework and noodling with various of the locals. Camilla has matured tremendously of late, has gone from a frankly scary, often explosive IED to a wise and kind mare with a real inclination to teach. She feels solid and reliable and, who'd'a thunk it, trustworthy.
Ephiny (who will be 4 this month) is now on the roster in a very low-key way. I brought her in yesterday to groom her and work on manners. Very interesting to see how she reacts to Trainer Bod--if I go at her with what she considers aggressive body language, and by this I just mean basic firm and clear "I am the alpha here," she goes into alpha mode herself, even as far as shoulder-slamming and threat-kicking. Whereas if I walk in softly, keep everything quiet, keep my center of balance low and myself centered, barely brush her with a finger to move her over, and ask gently, she's eager to obey. The quieter I am, the more willing and obedient she is. Fascinating.
This morning was about the lessons, as it usually is. Pandora got the nod this time, as Pook is probably three months away from being ridable (but his feet, says the Wonder Shoer, are doing great) and on that timetable, she's probably going to Dallas. She was in screaming, squatting, peeing heat, which made grooming and tacking up interesting, but the minute she got out in the arena, she was 100% business and so was Pooka. I was proud of them both.
She was as stiff as a board. Nothing to do with soundness--it was a difference of opinion as to whether, and why, she should reshape her body after all these years and go straight instead of being a left banana. She had been thinking about it, but clearly decided she's not in favor. So, we did a lot of wiggly bits in walk and trot, and a lot of me keeping my eyes on the viewfinder, and that defused every spook (magic!) but didn't loosen her up. Finally Teacher got on with Seat of Steel and much more knowledgeable rein aids and discusssed the situation, and decided to do something most horses would never tolerate: she tightened the noseband as far as it would go. Normally this is a bad idea, locks the jaw and upsets the horse, but Pandora sighed and immediately relaxed. She wanted the bit stabilised and she wanted her jaw ditto. I need, when I'm in funds, to find her a nice, soft padded crank noseband--far too often an instrument of torture, but used properly it's highly adjustable and very soft and comfortable for the horse. (She also needs a somewhat wider bit, but we're working on that.)
At any rate, she was much happier with this arrangement, and did good work. And Teacher was pleased. And wrote
Sunday 4-2-06
Pandora
-ears AND neck as viewfinder a la last week--review and continuation
-by keeping "viewfinder" as soft peripheral focus enables rider to straighten to and focus on line of travel without too much thinking
-easier practiced in walk
-requires more attention to combining seat, leg and rein in trot
-Keep Pandora as true as possible to line of travel. Keep her from drifting through aids.
-Remember (VERY IMPORTANT)
-viewfingers (ears/neck) NOT the main focus
-Focus only half horse length ahead
-"draw a mental line in the dirt half horse length ahead of ears/viewfinder and focus there
-It doesn't matter if you find your attention wavering--gently bring focus back to line of travel--no matter how often :)
-The vertebrae of the neck must stay straight on line of travel--no bend--yet--just keep neck straight
-noseband snug--makes for lighter more effective rein aids
[Visible in practice and contrary to common belief; it's the in thing to be anti-noseband. But what it does is stabilize the jaw and quiet the bit down, which in this horse with her mouth melanomas means she isn't getting bumped irregularly by the bit. She was seriously fussing when I was riding her, and my hands weren't all that bad. With the tighter cavesson she relaxed in her whole body, relaxed her jaw, and went almost totally quiet. Still had some fussing but it was experimentation rather than yawing and fighting. She also stopped going hollow, raised her back and came well up under herself. Very interesting. Teacher said with her like this, it was much easier to use the rein aids and she took much softer, lighter aids.]
-set up "destinations" when riding--ride a straight line towards an object, practicing centering horse over it
-crookedness begins under seat and then ends up in shoulders and neck
keeping soft focus on "viewfinder" enables rider to feel this sooner, and therefore make connections sooner with lesser intensity
[Also it stops the rider from thinking--if she's concentrating on that spot framed by the ears, she's less likely to stiffen up and try to hard; she makes corrections automatically and the horse is dramatically straighter and less fussy.]
Pandora is a challenge, as you can see. She's 19, she's spent half her life bumping around a pasture, she has her own clear ideas about how she should move. But she's coming along and she's really willing; if we can convince her, she'll do anything we ask.
After Pandora, Camilla was all ready and set to be next. We did the usual: jaw massage and poll-flipping, neck flexions until I had the soft, sleepy eye we want to see, then I did a long session in hand. Never did get on her. She was telling me I was leaning in toward her, which made her lean in toward me, go off balance, and start trotting. I had own my space (and not own her drama, no matter how histrionic she got), walk straight and grounded and quiet no matter what she did. And keep the outside rein firm and the inside rein helium-light and trace figures until she softened and stayed in her own space.
Teacher left at this point, but I brought out a very happy Pooka and did more in-hand work. He's much easier, knows how to balance himself and stays in his space, and he was very good about being groomed and bridled directly in front of a quite tempting (and noisy) Pandora. She was 10 feet behind him in the run. Apart from some Harley noises as I brought him into the grooming area, he was completely focused on getting ready to work.
We ended up in-handing outside, up the driveway and around and down and into the holding pen where he stayed with hay while I turned the mares out. It was good practice and he was happy. He can have as much of this as he wants, the shoer says, and in a few weeks he can get boots and be ground-driven and long-reined and longed as well. And this is good.
And now I am lesson-comatose. But it's a good coma.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-04-03 10:18 am (UTC)That crank noseband you pointed a link to does look nice and squooshy.
no subject
Date: 2006-04-09 09:32 pm (UTC)