The nature of riding

I find it very interesting comparing ideas on riding amongst my friends and acquaintances. Some of us enjoy riding as a journey (learning to ride in harmony with the horse) and as a spiritual partnership with our horse. Others are more passengers, enjoying the recreation that a horse provides - the scenery and environment. Yet more are purely sports or competition based, they tack up and ride but little more. That's not to say that this latter group don't care for their horse, but the relationship is certainly different from that of the first group.

I'm surprised by people who don't constantly think about their riding, when riding. Perhaps this is a peculiarity of adults who learn to ride, but I think about everything when I ride. The feel of my feet in my boots (and the balance of my boots in my stirrup), knees, toes, hips, the balance of my body, how much spring and stability I have, during each and every stride, change of pitch and direction. How responsive my horse is to each change in weight, or cue... At the same time I enjoy the environment, the smell of the trail, the sunlight through the trees, the plants and animals along the way. My brain is both relaxed and ticking along with numerous observations at any time. I get the impression from some riders that they almost never think about their riding, or what they are doing on the horse. I don't know how this can be... how do they improve if they aren't constantly comparing themselves to an ideal of balance and harmony?

I think about this all the time when I ride. Some days I have rides where I finally think "this is it, this is true harmony, this is riding." I can think, and Imp changes speed or direction, I move with him effortlessly - we are one.

On these rides (or sometimes it may only be part of a ride) you feel weightless on your horse. There is an odd thing that happens when you are no longer putting any particular weight on your stirrups or your seat - instead you are hovering 'around' the horse. So balanced, that you seem not to touch anywhere in particular and it intrigues me (even while doing it) because I wonder where the weight goes?? I must be putting it somewhere yet there is no part of me that seems to be putting more pressure on the horse (or gear) than any other, all are just a fraction of an inch from the horse and yet all are connected.

This feeling of harmony is what drives me. Each ride I want to feel that feeling all the time, no matter how fast or difficult the terrain. So I constantly compare my riding to this 'ideal' feeling, and strive to attain it. Simply staying on the horse is not enough, nor jumping a certain height nor any of the other measures that some seem to use.

Spring is on the way

It's early yet, and I hope I don't jinx its coming but I swear I smelled spring in the air over the last couple of weeks. The plants agree with me plenty are getting rid to bud or bloom, and there are new lambs and calves bouncing around the fields too. Some people bemoan the lack of seasonal change in New Zealand, or at least in the northern temperate parts. But the seasonal changes are there, they are just more subtle and I like them like that. The pines are already flowering and some are releasing their pollen. Most people probably don't even know that pine trees flower but they are spectacular when they release pollen enmasse and the flowers are quite lovely.

Imp and I have been having some great fun rides recently. Having been on the big cow paddocks over winter, the old boy is looking nicely rounded and is full of vigour. We haven't even started feeding out hay this winter yet, I've cut right back on any hardfeeds and the grass will be growing again soon. This has certainly been the easiest winter we've had in a while - effort wise that is.

On the down side, the ticks are biting and as well as the nasty itchy lumps on his body, he's scratched out quite a bit of mane. I had thought we'd gotten through winter without mud fever - then it struck a few weeks back. All up his legs and currently on his face. I think the tick bites were the killer, once one of the little beggars bites its a perfect site to let in bacteria. Fortunately I've been waiting (as you do in winter) for it to appear, so I have caught the scabs early and we don't seem to have had any of the really nasty stuff- hot swollen legs or total hair loss. Just little scabs.

I guess if I have to choose, I'd rather have fat happy slightly tatty looking horse than skinny, hungry horse with beautiful skin. :)

Winter sets in

After having a very warm and pleasant autumn and start to winter, the cold and wet have arrived in spades. As always the weather has closed in on the weekends rather than workdays, so I haven't ridden for a few weeks now.

Imp has been keeping himself fit having fun with his herd mates in the new paddocks. Each time they are put into a new area they all have a great time charging around the place.

The new paddocks are full of grass still and this has made a huge difference. He's also putting on some nice condition in preparation for the next few months of harder living coming up. This is such a luxury. Normally we would be feeding out hay (as the others are now) and keeping a constant vigil on weight and how much extra feed is required. Although Imp is quite a good dooer, he is an older thoroughbred and can lose a little condition in a hard winter if you don't keep an eye on him.

There's quite a lot of water running through the new paddocks, so I will be interested to see whether this affects hooves and legs over the next few months. Some areas are like a marsh and in others we have mini streams in the paddocks. Its not muddy because of the excellent base of grass and because of the varieties of grass. Normally we have to deal with a lot of mud fever in winter but even though in some areas they will be walking through water a lot of the time I'm not sure it will be as bad as constantly standing in mud with its abrasive properties. Hooves should be able to cope, regulating their own moisture content as long as owners don't get in the way and start applying grease or oils.

Autumn\Winter Riding

We're just starting to get the first bits of nippy winter weather now. Had a few windy days (which is always quite exciting to ride in) but the temps have been fairly mild till now. Imp was clipped recently. He turns into a fuzzy teddy bear and sweats copiously without being clipped. The only thoroughbred I know who grows quite such a soft shaggy coat.


We've had some autumn hi-jinx. I think the combination of fresh autumn grass and some additional feeds went straight to his head. Quite a bit of spooking and shying and the occassional outburst of straight speed. I did find that the rope halter is no substitute for real brakes - but I took that too as a learning curve. When your belting down a track unexpectedly and your horse flips his nose as if to say 'you think a bit of string is going to stop me?', you can either get on with riding or get off...(unceremoniously usually) I chose the riding option :D Very good to have to cope outside of your comfort zone sometimes. After the initial 'oh, oh' it is kinda fun once you realise that you can actually cope and just go with it, plus its nice to know the old boy still has quite a bit of life in him yet.



Have been riding in some new forest areas, from the usual lately. I enjoy exploring and its great to be able to get off familiar tracks and check out something new.

Its also a good time of year to have somewhere with more 'road' riding to help fitness (trot, rather than canter or gallop) and keeping his feet tough. The forestry tracks in this area are not the terribly sharp stones in some other places and quite nice to ride on.

Since I trim Imp's feet myself it's also a fairly cheeky way to get out of work - letting him pretty much self-trim. But also a good way of checking my work - after a decent ride you can look at his feet and tell exactly where his breakover is and have a pretty darned good idea of dynamic M\L balance too! Just based on chips and wear from the tracks. Been pleased to see that he and I seem to agree on what his feet should look like ;)

Playtime

Sometimes there is no one around at all and it seems to good an opportunity to lose so instead of travelling to the forest or beach we have a little play in the paddocks.

It's an opportunity to pretend that we still know how to ride like civilised 'people' instead of bush bashers. I can check my riding position, Imp's responsiveness to the aids and work him through some suppling exercises all without having to get too formal on him. My friend Helen took some photos of us today. It's always interesting and revealing to see yourself when you ride. It's one thing to think that you know what your body is doing but photos never lie.

In a rope halter I have discovered more about the 'outside rein' than I think I did after years of patiently listening to and working on dressage lessons using a snaffle (of a variety of types). Weaving down a line of cones with no direct rein aids is a great test of whether your horse is listening to you.

The old boy still steps out smartly when asked to
What's so funny?

Apparently some people think a saddle is held in place by a girth... fancy that as a novel idea. Just proves if you sit in the middle of the horse you don't need a tight girth.

The Round Pen

The Round Pen Blogsite from another 'mature' owner\rider. The trials and tribulations of new horse ownership seem all too familiar ... :)

Am very glad to have not had to deal with such severe temperatures on a regular basis though, one brief stint in Canada was enough to make me know that I don't like real cold

Hot Days

It's been really hot and humid recently (more humid than absolute heat I guess) which makes riding a bit of a problem. Simply because you (or at least I) do worry about your horse being put under too much stress in such conditions.

Yesterday, we managed to have a really great ride which combined some fun fast action with lots of relaxed mooching around, which both of us quite enjoy. Rode through the forest at Muriwai to make our way up the slopes of Kopuakai (which I have recently learned is the name of the tallest hill at the back of Murwai) through the little bits of eucalypt plantings and around some really fun tracks that run along the sides of this hill.

We then made our way to the water troughs that lie about half way up to give Imp a drink and on up to the summit.

I love it up there, the views are fantastic and the peace is always welcome.

The bonus on hot days is that there is always a good breeze coming off the sea up there. Yesterday was fantastic - a really good cool wind coming through the shade of the pines on the summit to help us both cool down after the long hot climb (I got off and did the last bit on foot).

While we had a breather, I took a few photos of the views down to the beach and Imp enjoyed a nice graze on the grasses.

halter knot for riding

Having experimented extensively now I have settled on the following configuration for my rope halter knot while riding.

It starts with a 'normal' quick release knot, I then tie a half hitch above it and bring the remaining end back through the loop of the original quick release knot. Works well, doesn't slip under pressure, is easily untied and uses up most of the free end of the halter that otherwise dangles annoyingly.

More on the bitless riding experiment...

Been out several times with just the rope halter now and so far no major calamities. Today we went to Muriwai and had a lovely time. Think I may have gotten to the bottom of the spooking and generally twittiness - a little lack of confidence in our new arrangement. Today, after the first few episodes of snorting, dodging and swerving stops that would make most cutting horses green with envy, I put my legs on and got a bit more hands on with the steering. After only a few rark-ups we were back in the groove again. Big sigh from him and no more twitting about. It was like he just needed to know I was still there (hello, giant lump on your back is a bit of a hint) .

Also tested some limits today, a couple of steep and difficult downhills gave me a bit more confidence in our brakes - am a bit dubious about whether the current arrangement would be enough to control a homebound journey on the beach. Sometimes these are calm and happy - sometimes they are quite 'strong' shall we say.... good fun if you have a bit of control but I dunno whether using the leadrope loops really gives me those sort of brakes. Guess we'll find out in time.

In the last few months I've made it my habit to walk a few kilometres of our ride - to try and get a little fitter myself and also to give Imp a break\proper cool down (I usually jump off in the last couple of kilometres from home for my walk). During this the halter is great, Imp much prefers it to the bridle. The bit definitely creates some minor resistance. Albeit very minor, its there and so its nice to even be able to jog along together and know I'm not going to bang him in the mouth even by accident.

Will need to improve my knot tying skills I think. My side knot does tend to slip, particularly if I am putting pressure on. Not a lot of movement, in a ride of 2-3 hours it's allowing the halter to slip back along the neck (as shown in the photos above) but that's about it. I have been tying a quick release knot and then looping the end back through to make sure it can't release but there's probably multiple variations on this that are more or less secure, just a matter of finding the right one.

Bitless Riding

Well I finally did it. I have been faffing about looking at bitless bridles for ages and none of them seemed to really give me anything I wanted. Some were 'plastic' which is very annoying to Imp (as I found after buying an endurance bridle a while back) and some included leather with strong (too rough) nylon. So I bought a nice rope halter and then had a play session in the paddock to check out where to put the reins and how Imp would react. He was completely unfazed and seemed to respond best to just attaching the reins to the leadrope loops.

Today I went out in the forest and was really pleased, we walked, trotted and cantered and Imp responded somewhat better in most cases than he had to his normal bridle. It helps that I rarely use the bit anyway, so most of our signals are legs,seat, weight and neck reining when normally out in the forest. I checked brakes a couple of times and found that cantering seemed to be more controlled rather than less - none of the racehorse reaction that becomes conditioned to taking up the reins in preparation and no 'go faster when there is pressure on the bit' reactions.

I think the halter I bought is slightly too large, for some reason 'full' must mean - horses with heads the size of tree stumps' and I never think of 'cob' as actually having smaller heads than Imp but since it seems to work just fine I'll live with it for the moment. We even had a fairly major adrenaline rush with invisible monsters in the bush (I still have no idea what was so scarey) and yet control was maintained and we went on for nearly half an hour (shying and spooking and generally being a git - but we'll gloss over that bit) without any problems in steering or speed control.











The photos were taken at the end of the ride - no I don't have my girth that loose when I ride! :D

Weird Spring Weather and Forest Riding

As usual the weather can't make up its mind what to do, howling wind, snow in the south, cold one day, tropically hot and humid the next.

It was hot riding today, even within the actual forest with very little breeze to get any relief from the humidity.

Coatesville ORD 2006

My friend Kim kindly took some photos at Coatesville ORD. We didn't get anything - well one 4th - but we had a fun day out. Gave up early as the judge was incredibly slow and there was an awful lot of hanging about. I went to get coffee and Imp was well pleased to get chips, orange peel and coke at lunchtime - Score!

Some more groundwork photos

Managed to work out how to get stills out of some video that a friend kindly shot of me working with Imp on some clicker exercises.

'Step Up' is an old exercise that I developed before starting clicker training. I'm hoping that we can string it together and get a Spanish walk.












The bow of course is now looking really good. I'd still like to see him work out how to make this easier on himself by dropping down onto his knee and foreleg but this is a recognisable bow and I have a more discreet cue than having to drag a carrot between his legs.

Free lunging has been something we've done for a while, but previously it was of the 'roundpen' type. Where a smallish area created the outer perimeter. Now with clicker we have lunging on various circles without any gear. We've even moved on to using trot poles. For a horse that despises poles and jumping this is quite a decision to make but it is very interesting to watch the thought processes going on and to see the results of his having made a choice rather than me directing him with a lunge line.

The original point of this free lunging was to rehabilitate his hindquarters after an injury. It was a way to teach him to go long and low, stretching over the back and pushing the nose out and down (not sucked back like some devices cause). The lack of lines or devices meant he could find his own balance and not be afraid if\when he lost his footing (his hind legs we dragging and often caught or slipped under him).

More Lessons with Ramon

Spent some more time taking a couple of lessons with Ramon recently. We worked on a couple of exercises with flexion and moving the shoulder to improve Imp's suppleness and have him use his hinquarters more correctly. As usual when you start something new I felt like I had no idea of whether I was doing the exercises correctly and had to concentrate really hard to feel what was going on. By day two I actually started to feel how when you managed to control the amount of weight being put on either shoulder you could achieve a weight shift to the hindquarters.

With more practice transitions, especially up into canter became so much easier. I have often struggled with right canter transitions and it has become a bit of a mental block for me. Even once we cantered I was poorly positioned and Imp cantered crookedly. It seems incredible to me to have changed this within a couple of days. Our canter transitions on either rein are now 'easy' - provided I prepare correctly and he feels so much straighter its almost unbelieveable that I could be riding the same horse.

Ramon Guerrero's Website

Greenhithe ORD

Went to Greenhithe Open Ribbon Day today.

It was only our second time at the local shows. I can't say I'm a huge ribbon chaser ;) but we did OK this time, having entered Maiden Open. It was even quite a pleasant experience, everyone was very polite and considerate of others and it made quite a change from the novice class where every over excited and uncontrollable horse in the region seems to turn up.

Photographing clicker sessions

I have just discovered how difficult it is to clicker train and take photos at the same time. I wanted to update my photos of Imp's tricks but hadn't counted on my total lack of co-ordination. When training using a clicker you are totally involved with your horse, your concentration must be on what the horse is doing in order to ensure that you get exactly the right moment to reinforce. When this is a new behaviour or a potentially difficult one it's almost like you hold your breath and will the horse on to success... oddly I hadn't noticed this until I tried to do something else at the same time. Several bows went un snapped because I hit the power button instead of the shutter - turning the camera off at the vital moment!

Clicker Training

I've been using clicker training with Imp for quite a while now. As with most ground training I'm fairly sporadic with my efforts. I tend to spend a few weeks putting in regular sessions, when I get some new behaviours started and then let it drop for a little while, using these lulls in the activity to ingrain the new cues or to polish off well known ones.

We've been doing much more recently. Partly because of some NZ spring weather (wind and rain) and partly because of some information swapping with other clicker trainers at Julie's Barn. Having the ability to swap ideas, experiences, books etc with others is really helpful to keep you motivated.

We had a particularly animated session yesterday. It was raining, the farrier was working in the barn and most of the horses were up. I thought because of all the distractions Imp may not be particularly interested in playing but instead he was incredibly eager to get his goodies.

I had been working on simply getting him to drop his head and keep it on the floor. So when I started with 'head down' he'd bob his head to the floor. As I began to withhold the click to ask him to keep his head down a little longer I began to get some 'questions' and then suddenly I got a flurry of quite good bow attempts. The cue I had started with was too similar to a cue I had presented for 'bow'.


We had never gotten much further than the head curling under and the knee lifted. A good bow but not completely down on one knee. But here he was offering the best bows I'd ever seen - he suddenly understood to shift his weight backward (talk about latent learning!). Then - the full one knee bow! I immediately rewarded him with a jackpot (a clicker term for a really big or good treat reward) and then ended the session by giving him his dinner.

It was really quite thrilling and I am particular pleased that he was a willing participant. I have a trick training book which shows how to train for a number of tricks but when it comes to bowing, shaking hands and a number of other tricks they use ropes to 'help' the horse to 'understand'. In many it looks more like restraint where the horse has to 'give up'. I've never been particularly keen on this and don't even use a whip to 'tap' Imp for his groundwork. For a start it doesn't work - I have tried 'tapping the legs' but the poor sod just stands there and wonders why I'm hitting his legs. Despite this I have successfully (if sometimes slowly) trained him to shake hands safely and now partly through patient treat training and now with clicker we are getting the full bow.

Treeless saddles

I'm almost constantly on the lookout for a saddle that will fit Imp more correctly. At the moment I use a Wintec with cair panels, shims to adjust the bend of the saddle and a padding system to get a 'best fit'. I also have a dressage saddle that is pretty much right (99%) . So recently I have been riding out in a treeless saddle to see if that offers me a different option.

There's a Torsion Hydro saddle sitting unused at the barn so I've had a few rides in it now and carefully tried to check Imps reaction and the sweat patterns after a ride. As a rider it does take some getting used to. It is very comfy and quite secure but the twist (or lack of one) is very wide and therefore your hips have to stretch more than they are used to. For the first couple of rides I had some serious muscle spasms! But I've just completed another ride and it seemed very comfy and no real protests from the body.

Imp seems comfortable in the saddle - he no longer makes any protest about girthing. I still have some concerns about the stirrups - on a treeless the stirrup rings (there are no bars) are attached to the leather of the saddle by webbing as per a treed saddle. But of course there is no tree to distribute the weight - so you have to rely on the construction of the leather 'pad' to do this.

I'm also a little wary of the wooden blocks used in the pommel and cantel. I have decided that I will purchase one (probable a Trekker Talent) but I would replace these with a firm foam or rubber instead of the wood or fibreglass to ensure that they don't create problems. I'll also be using a pad that ensures a spinal channel - Imp hasn't shown any signs of discomfort along the spine so far and I'm not sure that anything does actually put pressure on the spine. In a treeless there is much more support (weight) sent through your thighs than in a normal saddle.

The one thing that really put me off purchasing the Torsion I am riding in at the moment is the constant squeaking! It drives you mad! I guess this model is synthetic to make it lighter but having every movement of the horse and rider announced by loud squeaking and creaking does not make for a peaceful ride.

Equine Physiotherapy

Imp has received the services of a local Equine Therapist, Rachel Phillips on a number of occasions over the years. She is worth her weight in gold when trying to find someone who can sort out where your horse is feeling pain.

I've been really interested in learning more for quite a long time now and so this weekend I'm taking Rachel's Stage One course. By the end of day one, I think we were all feeling quite physically and mentally spent. Most of the morning was spent on theory and in the afternoon we got to grips with our first hands-on attempts at finding sore spots and how to do a couple of basic massage strokes.

It's definitely not as easy as Rachel makes it look. It's all very well looking at the pictures in the books but then trying to find those same spots on a 3 dimensional horse is a rather different matter. Imp became our rather patient model when we were shown how to identify the various bony prominences which must be our landmarks when beginning to work on the muscles of the horse. I'm really looking forward to the next 2 days and can't wait to get some more practical experience under my belt.

Rachel performing a thoracic lift on one of our course guinea pigs

Wow, wow wow - I think I'm starting to understand this riding thing

Had a great ride on Saturday. Imp and I haven't been near an arena for months. A group of us went down last week and had a bit of a play about - I wasn't great. OK, but as always seems to happen in an arena, my feet weren't securely in my stirrups .. after months of riding securely I started to tilt forward arrghh! Fortunately a couple of us had set up video cameras in the corners of the arena and I caught myself looking like so many other dressage riders - head tilted forward and down. Preventing my legs from flowing down around the horse as my weight got stuck in my torso and tipped forward by my head. It's odd because I have never ridden in that position before - curled up like a jockey was my natural (bad) position.

So with that information in my head we went out on Saturday and had another play. There was another rider working on one end of the arena and we started out just 'wandering about', working on getting my feet, legs and hips open. Imp spooked at one stage and I have to admit I nearly came off as he spun around. It was a real wake-up call to ride properly. I sat UP - looked up - it felt like I was looking up at the sky in comparison to my usual head position. But everything just felt good - I was tall and relaxed and open, my feet stretched into my stirrups and my legs draped softly around Imp.

Then we started to really play - I got the most beautiful canter I've ever had. I asked for more and it came, a great rolling, straight, uphill canter that was both light and incredibly powerful. I could almost feel Imp's joy that I had become this light, centred, controlled rider that could give him confidence and direction and not get in his way. He skipped and slightly bucked at an obstacle at one point and it was fun! We leaped over it and I could immediately (and subtly) ask him to relax and round again afterwards. I have never felt such control before. I smiled inwardly for the next 48 hours just thinking about this ride.

Hitting the forest trails again
posted by Viv

Be careful what you wish for

We're back in action in the forest now. I've tried very hard to make sure that we started out slow and carefully worked back to a good level of fitness without putting too much strain on the recently injured (and atrophied) muscles. Unfortunately, no one has explained this process to Imp and he's proving quite a handful. He seems to have boundless energy and enthusiasm for the outdoors again and the 2 months off is showing up my lack of riding more than his lack of exercise.

It's fantastic to be back on a horse that can in one moment wander on a long rein and the next bound up a track like a freight train (although at the moment there is a tendency for the freight train to be rather like a runaway with a full head of steam up , but we'll gloss over that). That feeling of having a giant, bouncing ball of energy under you is like no other - when with a squeeze of a finger you can ask your horse to sit back on his haunches or let that same energy loose.

Cantering in the forest is really something extraordinary, I had forgotten just how much fun it is - high speed, the change of weight and direction as you twist and turn around the trees, propping back to take a sharp turn and then stretching out again.

It's such a great combination of adrenaline and calm. There is a balance and harmony with your horse, both mentally and physically, that is quite special when you're both working together. The energy is more through you than under, since you have to surround and encompass it - almost drop into it to keep your centre of balance exactly with the horse's.


Hitting the trails again - looking down on Woodhill Forest and Muriwai Beach from Pulpit Rd
posted by Viv

Ready to ride

When Imp was first injured I felt anxious and worried about his progress and a little selfishly I really missed riding. I had another horse to ride every so often, but he wasn't Imp, he was more of a project than a partner.

Now, we're 8 weeks down the track I guess and Imp has just been given the go ahead to get back into some more strenuous work by the physio. I had already come to that conclusion when he cantered gleefully down to me bucking and kicking yesterday morning. But then we all know that horses can be right as rain in the paddock and not ready for the saddle or still lame to trot up. However, he's also been looking more relaxed and confident during our little rehab sessions, even happily offering me extended trot and canter if I jogged during our work.

When you have your own horse its hard to explain to others about the bond you build up. How you can tell that your horse is 'happy' or worried in his work, playful or anxious. Many people don't even seem to think that horse's have emotions at all and certainly not capable of the subtle interplay with a human that we can achieve.

As part of the rehab process I use a long line with Imp and rather than sending him in boring circles (which is actually too hard on weakened or damaged muscles and ligaments) the line is a connection between us, rather like having an oversized dog on a leash. We use trot poles or rough ground or any article that comes to hand in exercises to help rebuild the mind<>muscle connection and later to restrengthen the muscles themselves.

Its fun to work with your horse in this way, stimulating for both of us because I have to think up 'games' that will get the various body parts functioning in a safe way and he gets to marvel at the wierd and wonderful things I want from him ;) As well as the usual trot poles, I use TTouch type exercises, mazes and long reining to remobilise his muscles and joints. Its also fun to have your horse walking or running beside you - using your body as his cues for how to move. When on the lunge a well trained horse will tend to change gaits because he's obedient but when you're trying to assess whether he's ready for certain exercise I would rather that he 'tell' me how he's feeling. On the long line with me walking or jogging beside him he seems more able to choose whether to play along and follow my cues or to decide 'nah, that hurts or doesn't feel right, I'm going to walk' You could then use these responses to change the session back to exercises at the walk which would still As he got stronger he'd actually start to show off and pop into canter or extended trot if I jogged. It's very rewarding when your horse wants to play with you and matches your 'gaits' (such as they are) with his own, even using the same leg for transitions and staying in stride.

Winter, Injuries and downtime

We've been a bit accident prone this year. Normally both Imp and I are pretty impervious to the maltreatment we dish out to our old bodies but we seem to have been a bit patchy this year. Imp's currently got a pulled muscle - well he's almost over it but I guess the injury has run the typical course of many horses and their owners.

The injury was initially caused by some very innocuous lunging over a small caveletti - trot height - he went over and I could tell on takeoff that he'd pinged something - he then hopped on 3 legs (which astonished me because I didn't a horse could trot on 3 legs!) for a couple of strides before I pulled him up. I walked him off and then started the usual diagnostic process - what exactly had been pulled or strained? Was it a muscle, a ligament - how serious. Ahhh the great horse owners guessing game.

Of course I couldn't find any heat or swelling, that would be far too easy. Left him to recover for a week in the paddock before paranoia took over and I called the vet out. The vet freaked me out - advising that he had badly torn his sacro iliac. I was in that special state that affects horse owners when confronted by the vet, and couldn't remember which way his pelvis normally slanted. I did at least remember that he had an old injury and that we were possibly barking up the wrong tree... but you know how it is. I was at least relieved that his hoof, pastern, hock and stifle were all cleared (it looked like the stifle to the group of interested horse owners that had gathered to pass judgement in previous informal diagnostic sessions) these would be 'new' and potentially serious injuries - whereas his 'dodgy' back was something I had managed for the last 3 years.

So the vet left, having imparted dread and removed a large number of dollars. Next week the accupuncturist\chiro was up so she had a look at him and pronounced him very sore through the lumbar and other regions. I meanwhile was more concerned by the appearance of hind foot dragging - to the point of knuckling over. I had begun some very gentle rehab with him, involving some hand walking and light lunging and had noticed this new development and devised a plan of light walking over groundpoles and obstacles to 'cure' this and get the back end working again.

Second visit from the accupuncturist a week later pronouced my horse 'recovered' much to my relief but also surprise since he didn't seem 100% recovered to my eye and I certainly didn't like the instability in his hock(s) and occasional foot dragging that I still saw. Fortunately, I had a scheduled visit from my regular physio, who found the original injury (the adductor muscle on the inside of the hind leg) and all the pieces fell into place. We're still on a rehab programme but I've been surprisingly happy pottering around. Normally I would be rather impatient without being able to ride but I think that the rest has done us both good. I also think that previously I felt that any break in riding would see my position or confidence (or competence) in the saddle relapse to hideousness, whereas now I feel like I can ride.

First local show

Went to our first local show in the weekend. Here in New Zealand, Pony Clubs run what are called "Open Ribbon Days" (ORD) to earn some extra money and this makes up the majority of the local ridden shows. There are usually no inhand portions to this type of show, although they may decide to throw one class in to the morning session. So this is not like a breed show or 'best conformation' type show. Instead riders bring their horses to compete in flat work and\or jumping. Classes on the flat are held in the morning and jumping takes place in the afternoon so that competitors may choose to compete in either or both sessions. In the UK this would be most familiar as a 'round the ring' competition I think.

Riders range from lead inhand classes for toddlers and junior riders right through to Masters, or as they are more unkindly known Geriatric competitors (anyone over 22 years old!). Different pony clubs will have different types and numbers of 'rings' the most common being; 'kindy' - for junior riders with both leadrein and rider classes for very young riders, pony and hack rings. Both pony and hack rings are usually further split into novice and open competitions.

I was hoping for a geriatric ring on Sunday but we were bundled into novice hacks. Within each ring you then compete through a number of classes according to a program - common classes include 'best presented', best trot and best rider but more fun and innovative classes such as best bareback rider, best trail hack or fancy dress (for kindy rings) also take place.

The format is fairly simple - on the day you arrive with your horse prior to start time and go pay your entry fee for the ring you wish to enter and whether you wish to compete for half or full days events. You then tack up, get yourself dressed and appear at the appropriate ring. Start times are usually around 9.30am and competition generally starts with 'best presented' - which is a slightly less arduous version of 'Tack and Turnout' at larger shows. Ribbons are awarded during each class. If you are a winner generally you simply leave the ring for long enough to remove your ribbon before re-entering the next class on the programme (if its applicable). As the classes progress the first and second placegetters for the day will compete in 'best combination' and later for Supreme Champion. There is sometimes a consolation round for non ribbon winners.

Dress and turnout standards are reasonably variable. Generally you are expected to wear a shirt and jacket and senior riders long boots. Horses should be plaited. However, unlike higher level shows there is some leniency in these rules. At our show we were allowed to take off jackets as it was such a hot morning. Horses can compete unplaited or with various types of plaits without disapproving looks and the rules on types and colours of jackets and accessories are certainly not as strict as "Tack and Turnout" for more formal shows.

Footnote: We won 3 3rd places which I was very pleased with for a first show. I also had a hilarious panic attack when trying to pull the zipper on my gaiters and thought I'd broken it (I hadn't) and had several seconds of forlorn panic wondering if it I could ride in short boots. I also managed to get myself covered in road dust from the trailer as I mounted - after all that primping and preening :D

our first ORD
posted by Viv

I was surprised that none of the horses seemed scared of this new stranger in their paddock - but they all gathered to have a look as soon as I threw it in
posted by Viv

He seemed intrigued by his new toy and enjoyed banging it around
posted by Viv

I gave Imp a new toy today - a moonhopper. I've seen the equine 'jolly balls' advertised and this seemed much the same (but bigger)
posted by Viv

Another Ramon Guerrero Clinic

I've been rather quiet on the blogging front recently for the simple reason that I have been equally quiet on the riding front. I hurt my back rather badly at the end of November and have been recovering slowly ever since. I started riding again as soon as I could haul myself into the saddle - but it certainly wasn't riding as I was used to. The initial 5 mins at the walk was excrutiating but each session gave me a little more strength and flexibility - albeit at a frustratingly slow pace.

So here we are in mid-Jan and I am almost back to normal, almost. Ramon Guerrero was back in New Zealand to run some more clinics. I loved the last one so much I attended again this time. This time we used the Red Hills Pony Club grounds, as several of us are members. The groups were a little smaller and I think I probably got as much, if not more, from the 3 days this time as from the 5 days last time. The format included more riding and the emphasis for our group was on learning (and training our horses) about the outside rein and introducing correct bend (instead of the emphasis on flexion from the first clinic). We also managed to get some more pointers on long reining and lateral work.

When we started discussing the outside rein I thought I understood. I had read plenty of books. I had had lessons. I had watched good dressage riders. Surely I knew what the outside rein was about? Apparently, I knew the theory but wasn't good at understanding it on a deeper level or at putting it into practice. Yet again I was confronted with that problem of the body betraying the mind (or at least our conscious mind).

I have a number of items on my 'must do better' list. Fortunately, Ramons clinics are more about giving you ideas, tools, exercises and methods to self-check than they are about critiquing your riding or your horse at the moment of the clinic.


Ramon provides some instruction to riders in the afternoon sessions
posted by Viv

We 'relearn' consistent rein contact - esp outside rein
posted by Viv

My leg is a little forward due to my back injury - but after seeing how bad is is in these videos I am determined to whip those remaining ligament injuries into shape
posted by Viv


Like many horses Imp is uneven. He'll take the right rein (outside for left work) all day long, in fact he'll hang on it a little too much. The left rein is his nemesis. Now we have some tools to try to address these issues and hopefully make us both more even.
posted by Viv

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Links

• Red Hills Pony Club website **updated website!! **
• Ramon Guerrero
  

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Spring Riding - Muriwai and Woodhill, NW Auckland NZ

A spring days ride. Looking from the top of the hills behind Muriwai Beach (Woodhill Forest)

Muriwai Beach, Northwest Auckland NZ posted by Viv

More information on Muriwai - my local favourite riding area

• Muriwai.com
• Visit the Auckland Regional Authority Website for Park information
  
  
• Muriwai Golf Club, Muriwai, Northland, New Zealand
• Muriwai Beach Observatory
• Muriwai Lifeguard Service
• Muriwai Beach Farmstay & Horse Riding