Thrills!!

My first outing with Lou was everything I had hoped for! She was quite worried and wired to start with so I did about 30 minutes of in hand work with her, while people rolled their eyes, haha! However it did the trick and on I hopped. She did a bit of spinning and running and gawking at things, but she tried hard to listen to me and all in all, I had a GREAT time with her. It was incredibly rewarding to find that we were able to work through resistances and objections out in public as well as at home in the arena.

I was so, so proud of us both!!!

It was icing on the cake that the judge liked her and awarded her champion. I think this photo says it all!!!

so much...

There seems to be so very much to take in, and I am very aware that I am still paddling in the shallows of the knowledge I seek. Sounds a little trite, but it's all about the concepts, the whys not the hows, as I search out directions. The reality is that I don't have a classical dressage instructor at my doorstep - nor do I have the funds to just throw myself at coaching full on right now. I do, however, trust my own ability to absorb information, and have the patience to try new things without barrelling forwards so fast I miss the details. That doesn't make sense, but I know what I mean, and so far, no one reads this!! So, the internet is a TREASURE CHEST. I search and I read, and I slowly compile a list of people who I can refer to as I go down this path.

This week, I have been SUPER inspired by Manolo Mendez. I first of all found some very practical, informative articles on a site called Ozhorse, and further investigation led me to his own website. He is a beautiful, beautiful rider and I love his message. This is the first thing he has to say, and as every sentence resonates, I have to share it in full.

My style of training places emphasis on a soft, swinging back and making sure all the joints in the hindquarters are moving freely and evenly, making sure we have even diagonals in all paces. I will ask for this before I ask the horse to seek the bit. It is a conscious decision rather than an error of riding on my part. I am encouraging my horse to distribute the weight evenly, to become a partner. I encourage him to be free with his head and neck carriage level with the hip in those early stages of training so his muscles build from strength to strength. The horse learns to relax through the poll and jaw and can carry himself and me with ease.

This early work I use to develop straightness, balance, rhythm, flexion and regularity in all paces -- crucial basic foundations. I encourage the horse in-hand to make use of its entire body.
Before I ask a horse to work, I want to know its history. Has it had problems or an incident that would leave it mistrustful of people and resistant or defensive? If the horse does not like me at the start, I spend time to be a friend. Only when the horse trusts will it work in a positive way being relaxed in body and mind.

I only take the next step when the previous one is well established and the horse is physically and mentally comfortable with the work. Then and only then I ask for more. If the horse becomes confused, the rider must not add to the confusion, instead he takes a full step or half step back and allows the horse to re-establish confidence and balance before progressing to the next step.
I adhere to the principles of traditional dressage and Article 401, which preserves the horse's body instead of wearing it down, and gently nurtures mental growth, so that the physical and mental aspects work in unity.

Many horses today have become so far separated from their essence, or the harmony that comes from the mind and body working in synchronicity, that they suffer needlessly each day of their lives. I witness this damage as part of my work.

I wish to pass on the understanding of the importance of the partnership, the joy of the dance that can be experienced by horse and rider when body and mind are working in a shared partnership. I want people to understand that the horse is an athlete, a partner in dance and as such, should be treated with the greatest respect.
The purpose of such training should be to allow the horse to reach his full potential with his full and willing cooperation and without pushing him beyond his mental and physical abilities.
-Manolo Mendez


His full site can be reached at http://www.manolomendezdressage.com/#!__home

Reading his words today, and a conversation with a young friend of mine (who is hugely suspicious of 'classical' dressage, in fact, any 'quack' idea that deviates from Winning Ribbons - sounds awful, but she is a lovely girl, just young, and I am sure she will one day see the light!!!) led me to watching some You Tube videos. What an amazing resource! I watched, in delight, Klimke's gold medal ride at the Los Angeles Olympics. I enjoyed comparing the jaunty Ahlerich (sp?) with the extravagent, accurate dressage Uber Horses of today. I LOVED that his performance was so different from modern horses. He looks out through his bridle, his eyes are bright. His paces slightly vary at times - his balance and suppleness does not. He appears to be having fun, and I will never tire of his extended canter in that test!!! I compare him to superstars such as Tortilas - who, to my constant amazement, doesn't track up. This boggles me. All the international grand prix horses behind the vertical, poll NOT at the highest point - it is not only insane that this is happening, but insane that the people are are like WHAT THE FUCK are considering the minority.

Improving

Things have been going well, we have trot and canter and despite the surface wound on the hock still healing, the swelling that remains seems to respond well to a workout and her ice boots. So, have been working her! Has been a bit on the quiet side the past few nights as I was unwell myself, but enough to continue feeling positive even though we missed our projected first show on Saturday! Plan B has become a pony club show next Sunday. (Hopefully it stops raining! Forecast to be gloomy for ten days, typical)

Last night had a great, great ride. Starting to get some really nice shoulder in, and working so straight! Lateral bend is getting WAY more automatic, and when I ask for more on her stiff rein, she really tries to give it to me, and there is no head tilting or shoulder bulging to avoid the bend like before. She literally bends into her stiff side as best as she can, which is obviously awesome! Now that we have straightness and bend, am starting to get a really engaged trot, much more toe pointing and elevated than before. Am resisting all desires to try to push more out of her!!! She willingly is going up and down within the pace, and really sits back on her hocks and gives me some turbo at times, so I can be patient for what will come.

While she continues to improve, I feel that although I am def sitting taller and straighter, and my hand and arm position is much better, I have lost the feeling of exactly where my lower leg is. I have been doing some standing trot to check if I am at least aligned which I seem to be... but do suspect that my heels are creeping up again.

Revelations at the walk

Last week, my dear idiotic mare put her back leg through a fence. LUCKILY the damage was minimal compared to what it very easily could have been - rather than shredding and stitches and open gaping wounds, we had mainly bruising and swelling to deal with. A week later and she is sound at the walk, and the swelling seems to go down with a bit of exercise. So I popped the saddle on last night for a 15 minute wander.

It would have been a lovely night to go for a quiet hack - but, alas, the joys of living in a "Rural Residential" zoning, where you take your life into your own hands at the hands of speeding truck drivers by leaving the front gate! I settled for some arena work.

When all you can do is walk, and you don't really want to push a swollen hock with anything lateral or the like, there is LOTS of time to pay attention to things like POSTURE!

It was quite a revelation, playing with and pushing my basic posture at the walk. Slightly tweaking things when I concentrated on individual muscles, paying attention to how things felt when I changed them, and to how Lou noticed.

Upshot was, although my intention was to wander around on a loose rein getting the blood flowing to a swollen hock, that I sat astride the most glorious forward, fluid, silken walk.... I HAD to shorten my reins to meet the frame she rounded into... it was the most fun you can have at a walk, and it seemed awfully unfair that we couldn't test out an upward transition! I'm disproportionately excited about getting on my horse for a walk around the arena tonight!

In pursuit of Losgelassenheit

Over the last couple of days I have been thinking much of, and reading about, calmness. Of the horse that is!

"Calmness is a part of Losgelassenheit, but correctly understood, Losgelassenheit goes far beyond mere calmness. Some well meaning riders make the preservation of the horse's calmness under any circumstances their highest priority. They tend to back off as soon as their horse shows any sign of nervousness or discomfort without investigating thoroughly enough where the reactions are coming from. The horse in turn learns within a matter of days that he is rewarded with a reduction of the demands if he displays any displeasure at the rider's aids. One could say that it is the horse who is then teaching his rider to yield to pressure, rather than the other way around. Loving owners with the best intentions can train their horses to become veritable little monsters this way.." Dr Thomas Ritter

I wish I could pronounce Losgelassenheit so that I could use it more often to describe what I am in search of each time I get on my horse. Not only is it more technically accurate, in context, it allows one to more accurately convey ones understanding of it being a process, a journey, rather than smugly feeling as though I am doing the right thing and others are doing the wrong thing. The subtle difference between working with your horse so that they yield to your request happily and completely and all their energy goes towards their obedient response; and the desire to instill obedience to your demands. Thomas Ritter reminds us that a horse can be obedient without being calm, and they can also be calm without being obedient - Losgelassenheit is where the horse accepts your aids - your seat, your legs, your hands - without question. Classical dressage, in my interpretation, is the commitment to attaining this through an understanding of how your seat influences the horse, the biomechanics of the horse, and the psychology of the horse. A horse is no more dualistic in the connection between mind and body than the human, no matter how many people would like to remove the connection for convenience!

I have so much to learn from here but feel that I am in the best place to start - I have a true 'beginners mind' where I am open to this learning. I also have the confidence and relationship with my horse as I have, through trial and error, muddled my way through with the best intentions, come to this place with both of us ready.

Competition

As I start to make plans to enter Lou in shows, I naturally think to the differences in my approach since I last competed a horse in the ring. In my last season on Pilot, I was trying out the McLean approach and trying to change things - but in hindsight there was much more going on in the dynamic with that horse, so there wasn't the same opportunity to really build the balance and connection that I already have with Lou.

I also think to the comparisons between a 'classical/ethical' approach to riding and the 'modern' approach. Although the following article is specific to competitive dressage, it is thought provoking and there are many similarities. It is written by the wonderfully knowledgeable and articulate Dr Thomas Ritter.

http://www.artisticdressage.com/articles/competition.html

"In the past, the divide between classical dressage and the competitive establishment was not as wide as it seems to be today, because the content of the teaching as well as the competition rules and judging guidelines were largely controlled, or at least heavily influenced by, the military"

I like the term 'competitive establishment' - it is more accurate than 'modern dressage' because in some ways, just using the term 'classical dressage' reinforces the perception that it is outdated, superseded by 'better' modern methods. People tend to think newer is better, changes must be improvements... it is a cultural antithesis to think that something was better BEFORE, that someone in the past got it right.

"An issue that has become all too obvious in the last 15 years is that mainstream dressage is always subject to fads, new 'discoveries' of questionable value and unproven novel methods".

While the show-ring seems luckily immune to horrors such as rollkur you do see a veritable smorgasbord of gear being used by people with little idea of why they are using it, what they hope to achieve with it, and what consequences they may produce with it! Running reins are an obvious favourite, more often you are seeing tight running martingales. And of course double bridles in the hands of riders who have little concern for the intricacies of their action - because it is 'the look'. Yes a refined look, and elegant look - EXCEPT when an uncomfortable horse has their gob open, they are on the forehand, or they are mincing behind a horizontal curb!

And I couldn't put this better myself - in terms of judges, or more inexperienced riders and producers -

"a current widespread problem is that many judges seem to be so used to seeing horses that are on the forehand, with short, curled up necks and high croups, that they think this is correct..."

But just as one starts feeling despondent, he closes his article with -

"In the big scheme of things, it is not so important that the classical trained horse/rider combination always wins. It is far more important for the classically educated rider to represent his teachers and the classical heritage with dignity and integrity by riding well and placing the horse's well-being above all other considerations."

It brings me back to mindfulness - if you can't feel proud of what you have done - what joy is in that achievement??

Reinforcment!!

This weekend, three things have happened to remind me of how fervently I feel that I am on the 'right' path for me and my horse.

1) I am riding a pony for a friend at shows. Lovely lovely pony, very good friends. Very different way of schooling; the buttons I go to try not only don't work, but are frowned upon. Good example is the indirect turn - if Lou pops her neck a quick indirect turn not only restraightens her, but calms her. An indirect turn on a horse who hasn't been trained with ethical equitation turns into 'crossing the rein over the wither' - not only totally ineffective, but also a cardinal sin!!! It is a challenge for me to adapt and try to do what they want. The biggest lesson I have learned from the exercise is - other people's expectations are WAY more stressful than your own!!!!

2) I taught a lesson today. I haven't coached in awhile - it was taking up so much time, and to be honest, most people (esp young people) don't want to hear what I have to say anymore. Too much patience, too much effort! All good. Everyone has their own journey. Anyway, I have one client left pretty much, whose horse has been out with injury. This young girl approached me via a referral, and it was with a fair amount of trepidation that I turned up to the lesson. Pleasent surprise!! Girl had enough natural balance and horse had enough natural willingness and flexibility that some basic exercises produced the sort of work that gets a second lesson - straight lines and turns - let go of his head and trust - showed her how to lift her ribcage, engage her core and 'pinch her bum cheeks'. Oh, and I made her throw out her flash noseband! Horse was mega relieved. All in all, a fabulous reminder about how taking things back to the correct basics can have immediate results. And thank goodness for that horse, that their were immediate results!!! Most people don't have the patience to work through more than one lesson of not results. I probably didn't when I was younger.

3) Final thing that totally reinforced my approach was an awesome, awesome ride on Lou tonight. We had as much of a hoon that you can manage in a paddock, and after a good 5-10 minutes of cobweb blowing strong canter/hand gallop, she came sweetly back as soon as I asked and we trotted on the buckle while she cooled down. Lots of snorting and happy nose blowing, super relaxed. I want to take her to the beach and really let her go!!!!

A good weekend.

To ride mindfully, for me, is to slow down and pay attention to what my horse is telling me, to pay attention to myself and what I am feeling and doing, and to continually juggle the balancing act of striving for goals vs being patience, having expectations yet being being flexible, having focus and concentration but not shutting out new experience. Riding mindfully is about living mindfully; you can't get on the back of a horse for an hour a day and apply things that you do not do in your day to day life.

Like everyone else, I have made plenty of mistakes and will continue to make mistakes. Sometimes my enthusiasm overrides my ability, sometimes I underestimate myself, sometimes the disappointment of setbacks is overwhelming. To make a conscious decision to try to set my ego aside without the expense of my pride, every day, in this learning process takes effort every day. I remember a quote I read many years ago, I think it was "Sark" who said "trust is the high swinging bridge we walk with our eyes closed". This is so true!! Whenever I doubt myself or my path, I remember this quote, and remind myself of the things I have achieved so far by TRUSTING.

Breathing. Posture. Pressure-Release. Patience. Zen. Confidence. Relaxation. Determination. Understanding. Science. Art.