Applying the Fire Hose of Information

I returned late Sunday night from the L program. I was not in a good place physically, and honestly not all that good mentally either. What I thought might be allergies all weekend turned into a full on unpleasant cold at the PHX airport as I waited for my late flight to take off. As I flew my ears started to hurt and I was so miserable the rest of the night. 

I worked from home on Monday to save my coworkers from my illness and so I got to ride TC for a normal amount of time. I did feel better that day and at this point, I just have a lingering cough. 

Absolutely bursting from knowledge over the weekend, I actually did manage to have a good ride without completely flinging myself off our pathway. I rode in the covered arena and there were things that I really liked and things that I realized were going on that I hadn't noticed before. 

Best pony

New realizations:

TC doesn't want to connect to the left rein, but I think he is connected because I pull on it so much. I started to really notice when he was connected vs when I was just filling in the gap in the connection by taking back on the rein.  

TC's lazy leg isn't his left hind, it's his right hind. It doesn't want to push as much and so it pops off the ground early. At the program, the instructor REALLY emphasized the need for two even hind legs (crookedness is apparent in all movements, so I'm basically giving away a point per movement, that's 10%!). I've known that TC has that unevenness in his pushing, but this is where it really needs to start going away. 

LOOK AT THIS CAT, he's so cute

All the tiny little bobbles need to go away. It makes a huge difference in each movement AND in the collectives if TC doesn't need bits of communication like a slight wiggle of my inside ring finger or a poke with the spur to keep him on the left rein. A 9 is attainable even for horses who are 7 movers, we just insist on riding too much to earn them. 

Along with that last note, I began to notice all the weird shit I do to keep things together in the harder movements. We are not showing ease of movements in the simple changes or the counter canter. He labors a bit and I move my body around to accommodate him. It's not ideal and I need to continue to build his strength. IMO we're coming into this show with very weak canter work. I'm not expecting more than a 6 on either of those movements. We are weak at this level. I'm choosing to go anyway, and it's not like I'm beating him on a regular basis to get the movements out of him, but this is borderline unfair to him and he's going to get himself a lot of sugar and maybe a trail ride or two next weekend. 

Early morning ride before I left for the program

Tuesday I also got a good ride in and I chose to test ride again. Again, I don't normally test ride this much coming into a show but I really don't know how things are going to go and it's making me nervous. Plus, I haven't had a clean 2-3 yet. 

This time we had a beautiful 2-1! His canter medium was stellar, trot medium was on point, shoulder-in felt free and steady, halt was a bit too close to the rail so hitting it disrupted the rhythm but whatevs, the transitions were all so good, the ten meter circle is easy and fun. My main complaint was that he's anticipating a lot in the walk work and ruining his beautiful walk. So we're going to walk on contact a ton this week. 

We got through the trot tour at 2-3 and through the walk work and I did the stupid thing of thinking "is this going to be our first clean 2-3?" and then he BOLTED down the long side in the canter medium. He just gets so excited about them. 

He got in trouble but we kept going, had a good serpentine and simple change, then bolted in the second serpentine and then bolted coming up centerline. Fun! It was mostly because they were working with a tractor near the arena, so I get it, but still frustrating. 

Pls don't bolt in the medium canter thx

I took him into the covered and checked on the walk pirouettes. They feel slow and sticky but they're solid. I just can't feel his hind legs, remember? So I just have to trust that they're fine and not override them like an idiot. 

Then we cantered a bit and did a ton of counter canter. I don't like over schooling it because of Third level, but I really want this to go well. He was a good boy about it. A few solid simple changes later and we walked a bunch on contact to get him to stop anticipating. Then we were done! 

Generally I love how he's feeling. I'm able to ride the canter in a way I've never experienced on him (at least, not consistently) before. His trot is active and rideable as well. I think Tracey is really onto something and I can't wait to see her after this show and throw everything I've got into transforming his gaits.

Down Centerline

Today was an awesome day! For the morning at least. Now I'm facing hours and hours of work that I don't want to do. And I'm procrastinating by watching Friends and writing this blog.

This morning I headed to crossfit. I've been feeling okay about crossfit recently, my wrist is still really shitty and has almost no range of motion, but I do feel like I'm improving despite the injury. I'm still not where I was in October of last year, which was my peak. I haven't really gotten back there yet. BUT today I reached my old PR for a hang clean! So that was fun. I also got my first double under last week but that wasn't as fun because I hadn't been working on them and it was kind of a fluke.

From my old crossfit. For the record, calling it
Flan didn't make Fran any more fun

My afternoon lesson was canceled so I dawdled about at the barn with TC.

He was kind of an idiot to be tacked up, which is his MO these days. He just wants to help me. All the time. I brushed him and his face was right next to my hand, not trying to bite or nibble, just staring at me and sniffing my hand. Then I went to pick his feet and he blocked me with his face at first, then stuck his nose on my ass the whole time. I put his boots on and he stared at me, his nose against the boot, then when I stood up, he bit the boot (so bit his leg... wtf) and I told him to stop, those are Rico's boots and I'm not buying new ones!

I put the saddle on and he put his face on the girth while I tacked him up, then on my arm, then he licked me. Weird. He wouldn't let me put his chambon on his neck because he was too busy watching my hands and every time I lifted it up, he stuck his head too high up. Finally, I managed to bridle him, but only after he put the noseband in his mouth several times.

Hi my name is TC and I have a problem with wanting to help
people ALL the time

He was kind of a spaz on the longe line. His version of being a spaz is shaking his head and hopping a bit. Once the chambon was on, he was a pro, trotting quietly around stretching forward and downward.

I got on and my goal for today was primarily to ride the introductory tests that I'm planning on riding at the show in a few weeks. We picked up the trot and he was a little hollow to start, which is pretty normal for him these days. I worked primarily on figures, circling at A, E/B, and C, and going across the diagonal. I also tried to focus on my position, I definitely want to get to the back of the saddle and my elbows aren't as soft as they could be.

Back at the walk, we did some leg yields, which I want to really focus on this month, and turns on the forehand. He's not thrilled about the new regime, which requires him to stay on the bit in the turn on the forehand and the leg yield. BUT he definitely stepped it up, which I was happy about.

I also started riding smaller figures at the walk, teaching him to really come through on the outside reins so I could turn him tighter off the outside rein and thigh. He took to that pretty well on the right side, but struggled a bit to the left.

D'aww love the baby horse

I touched a bit on the free walk too, which needs work. When it's good, it's really good! But sometimes it's just staring at stuff and wiggling. By the end, he was totally understanding the concept.

After the walk work, his trot work was excellent! So we started the tests.

My main concern has been the centerlines, it's hard to get him turning on a smaller figure (half a ten meter circle is totally unreasonable!) and he struggles to be straight on lines that aren't on the rail. BUT our first centerline was surprisingly good. The turn was pretty balanced and only a little overshot.

In Intro A, you don't even halt, you  just walk, so that was good. The transition at M, from walk to trot, was kind of terrible. He needed quite a big kick to get into it, but then was good. Both circles (one to the right, across the diagonal, one to the left) were great! He isn't able to make the circles totally round yet so they're just going to be lopsided and I'll look like I can't steer despite the three medals on my jacket (which I ordered, yay!).

The free walk was excellent! And then you just walk up centerline and halt so that was easy. I worked a tad on the halt, getting him to stay round while I saluted. Good pony.

So good!

The other test is a bit more test-like. The centerline was great! But the halt was kind of questionable, he swung his haunches way off to the right, but he DID stay on the bit. I corrected him by straightening him, then trotted off. The transition is kind of wiggly but more prompt than they have been. The first circle was good, as was the walk transition soon after and the free walk.

The trot transition was excellent! But he saw a horse during the second trot circle so he got distracted for a few steps. Finally, the last centerline was excellent, with a perfect halt by the end- he stayed on the bit, was square (at least in front) and kept his little butt behind his shoulder and not off to one side.

I was really pleased with these tests, he is so much more rideable now so the tests are feeling more doable.


Last time I rode him, TC was looking a little ribby. I like my horses to be kind of obese plump. I pointed this out to Ali and she said that I could give him some rice bran after each ride.

We dumped a big scoop into a pan and when I walked over, TC was beside himself. He couldn't believe that he got an ENTIRE pan of grain to HIMSELF. Normally he isn't fed anything but hay and the occasional carrot/apple/sugar. He was SO happy.


As he ate, I talked to Ali about the plan for the show. She has been encouraged by her trainer to get into some shows, so we're going together. I told her that I wanted to get TC out to some new places, and she agreed and wanted to get her horse out too.

The first place we're going to is my parents' ranch. It will be the first time TC is there, the first time he has to go to a different place to ride in an arena (rather than on the trail), and the first time he's in a different rig.

Next up will hopefully be one of two local barns with dressage courts. It would be nice to get to a place where we can do a warm up in one arena, then walk over and do a test in a dressage court. TC has never seen a dressage court and never really warmed up in one place and ridden in another. I think he'll find the letters and judges booth kind of scary, and I'm definitely worried that he'll simply jump out or leave the dressage arena... But those are always funny stories so I don't care either way!

We also need to hit the trails again but some unexpected rain from today is going to delay us a bit.

My home arena has had some pretty excellent work done in it,
TC had better try to live up to this weird animal

Overall I'm pretty pleased with him. I'm also pleased that I get to read all of your beautifully written blogs in between reading some really questionable papers written by freshman statistics students. I can't wait to never grade another paper again EVER.

Consistency and an Outside Perspective

Today I set up a stew in the slow cooker before heading down to the barn to ride some ponies. On the schedule was TC and then Rico! I wanted to evaluate Rico's soundness because Ali has expressed interest in riding him and I really want to let her since she's been so nice about basically just handing TC to me and helping me (hopefully) get to ride little mare soon. She's never ridden a schoolmaster and I would love for Rico to stay in shape for me so I don't have to ride him all the time and get all sad.

I bet everyone is as sick of hearing about how fucking awesome TC has been as my poor boyfriend is. But every day this horse gets better and better. Today, my fifth dressage ride on him, was the best yet. 

I didn't longe him and he was totally fine, so that's done. I hate longeing before riding, but understand that it is unbelievably necessary for some horses, especially young ones. 

This puppy ALWAYS needs a longe, she's going through a phase
right now and it makes me so glad I don't live there anymore
(btw this picture is a year old)

We started out with walking on the bit, riding 10m circles in each corner. After the last ride, it's clear that he needs to be more steerable, so the idea was to start the day with moving him around on a circle. He was very patient and responsive, moving away from my leg easier than he has in the past, and staying on the bit pretty well, I'd say we're at a solid 80% on the bit at the walk unless he's actively staring at things, like when the gate opens or a horse gallops around nearby. 

With this new consistency at the walk, I'm working on lowering his neck even more toward an on-the-contact free walk. The free walk is going to be HARD for him because his neck is a bit short and a bit high set on his shoulders, so I'm going to have him do it every time I ride him. The free walk is a double coefficient and his walk itself isn't that great already, so we're looking at a nice 4 if he walks the way he does now. Let's not. 

The trot is ever improving. I got an entire loop around the arena on the bit in each direction. He definitely wants to retract his neck at the trot too, but because the consistency isn't there yet, I don't want to change the way that he goes round just yet. I think it will confuse him. I want him to build muscle and then ask him to stretch out a bit like a stretchy circle. I'm so glad they took it out of Training 1 for 2015! Definitely going to be difficult for him. 

After all the circles in the walk, I tried some in trot and it was SO NICE! He actually turned right, although it took a bit more right rein than I had wanted and the circle was kind of smushed because he'd ignore my turn aid for a bit and then turn a LOT. But I was just glad to have something that resembled a circle. 

Then at the canter, he went on the bit!! Both directions. Once again, to the right he struggled with picking up the correct lead, and to the left the transition wasn't very good. I think I'm going to bring a whip out with me next time and tap him into it. I want those transitions to clean up a bit more. 

Overall a great ride! I love the progress this little horse makes every time I sit on him. 

And then we do this, right? Maybe a few
more steps in between...

If you follow me on instagram (if you don't: ohwellspotted, it's private but if I recognize your name, I'll accept. If I won't recognize it, just let me know), you saw that I rode Rico today!!

First, Rico has definitely put on some holiday weight from having 5 hours of pasture time every day. He's really embodying his yak-ness right now.  His goat beard has really grown out and his coat remains duck-like in it's ability to repel water and refuse to be brushed. He's basically feral. 

In the arena, he was good, very obedient (although leaning on me a bit in the bridle). I primarily just trotted and cantered around, working on suppleness and letting him do some fun stuff- lead changes and a bit of piaffe and passage.

I got my mom to come down and take a video of him trotting and cantering in each direction and I want to get your opinion on how you think he looks soundness-wise. I'm forever comparing him to the horse he was this fall, so I can't really see clearly how he looks now. I really want to be able to ride him maybe 2-3x per week for about thirty minutes to keep my riding up to par and to keep him less fat. I won't tell you what legs I feel are struggling, since I don't want to bias you. 

This is from today, watch this first (while ignoring him going together behind while thinking about a lead change on the left lead) and form an opinion about what you think of his soundness before you watch the other videos. The other videos are only there to explain where my reference point is. Alright, today's video:

Please don't feel obligated to watch these- I mostly want them here to look at myself for comparison. Skip to the end if you want.

For reference, this is what he looked like in July 2011 when I first started rehabbing him (so sound but not fit):

This is what he looked like in Feb 2012 when I was struggling with him both riding-wise and with his hocks needing to be done:

This is what he looked like post hock injections in July 2012:

(I don't have much other than show videos for 2013)

This is what he looked like at the Olivia clinic in  early-ish 2014 when he was at PSG almost I1:

And this is him at Grand Prix:

What are your thoughts on how he is going now (first video) in terms of soundness alone?

Can you see why I'm struggling with thinking that he's anything close to sound given how he WAS going for me this past year?


Obviously he isn't going to be that horse. He's fat and happy and retired. I'm no longer pouring my money into his joints to keep him limber, but I'm struggling with how-lame/off/NQR-is-too-lame/off/NQR in terms of riding him. 

I feel like I need some outside perspective!