Solid Schooling

Saturday we went to the Meadows for a final XC schooling before our show in 2 weeks. Unfortunately, no photos or videos as it was a quick, efficient affair and I wasn't able to wrangle a friendographer. But let me tell you. We. Freaking. Rocked.

There weren't any stadium jumps set up, so we did a quick warm up and went straightaway over some logs. Hemie was very game but not silly at all. He was down to business.

We started over a teeny tiny little log, then Laurie directed us towards a larger log next to a shadowy pile of stuff. We've had run outs at that particular jump before, so I was a little nervous on the inside. But I just rode it forward and supportive, and he didn't think twice. We proceeded to hop over all the intro and BN jumps we could find. And (drumroll, please) we hopped some novice jumps too. =)

I felt confident throughout the schooling. Hemie did question a few things, but I was able to ride supportively and we had zero run outs or refusals. 3 special moments I'd like to share:

1. Downhill to a jump.
We galloped up a nice hill (gallop is a generous term - it was a forward canter but I still haven't really flown on Hemie yet) then we trotted downhill. We've been practicing hills at our facility, so Hemie is really learning how to hold himself up. There was a jump at the bottom that looked to be quite inviting, so we headed towards it. This would be our first jump off of a significant downhill slope. I could feel Hemie lock on to it. A few strides away I realized the jump was actually much bigger and wider than it had looked from the hill, but at that point were committed - and he flew over it like he'd been doing big jumps off of steep hills forever! My trainer about fainted and Tynan (also schooling with us) said that jump was at least Novice sized, but that off of a downhill like that it was possibly a Training level question. It says a lot that both Hemie and I felt ready take that one on.

2. Straight into the water.
Hemie's been good with water generally speaking, so this time (with our trainer's permission) we decided to trot right on in it (rather than walking in). It went perfectly. No hesitation whatsoever.

3. The Meadows Jump.
We did it. Our first time doing a jump with such tall sides and a top/header. No issues. =]

Photo from my former trainer, Taurie of Kings Corner

Separate note, check out a special post on Horse Junkies United by one of my favorite bloggers, Carley!

EV 118

As I was going through my show binder the other day (post coming soon!) I realized my set of eventing rules dates to 2011. So I did some googling and found yearly updates which I printed, reviewed, and included in my show binder.

Which brings me to a story. A story from my very first derby competition.

Unlike many people, I'm not intimidated by paperwork. I deal with leases and contracts all day long, so reading and understanding large amounts of text doesn't phase me. So when my first instructor told me to read through the Eventing rulebook before my first competition (a little local derby), I did.

It was June 2010, before I started this blog, that Spirit and I participated in our first combined test at the Meadows of Moorpark. This outing was memorable for many reasons, not least being that I had a broken toe. Combined with boots that were used and ill-fitting, this made for a miserable time walking anywhere.

I remember that our dressage test felt pretty darn good. We didn't make any of the typical rookie mistakes (going off course, accidentally hopping outside of the arena), and I was proud of both Spirit and myself. When the score sheets were put out, I asked a friend to get mine when she went to get hers (to avoid walking on the broken toe), and I found it only mildly curious when she returned with only her test saying she couldn't find mine, even though we were in the same division.

Oh well, I'd just look at it later.

An hour or 2 later, after our jumping round (clear!) I finally dragged myself to the score board and picked up my dressage score sheet. And experienced my first eventing competition heartbreak. The score was bad. Much worse than I had thought it would be. I realized that even though my friend had gone off course twice, and had not felt good about her test overall, she still managed a better score than me. Ouch. Disappointing.

Feeling a bit depressed, I watched the other derby rounds go (at the higher, more exciting levels) with my trainer and friend. Afterwards I went through the sheet movement by movement and I thought the scoring looked fair. So eventually I realized that my low total score was due to an arithmetic error on their ticker-tape calculation. They forgot to add in one of my test movements, essentially giving me a zero instead of the 6 we had earned for the movement.  Aha! It's not that we did poorly - it was just a math error. Whew.

When I brought this to the attention of the show office, they said that there was nothing to be done as the 30 minute time-frame had expired. Excuse me?? Apparently I hadn't read the rules quite detailed enough to remember this gem.

http://useventing.com/competitions/rules

Which brings me back to the Eventing rules. Specifically, to rule EV 118 "Inquiries, Protests and Appeals" in Chapter EV-1 General Rules for All Eventing Competitions.

As of our first show (and still effective today) you have only 30 minutes following the publishing of the results to bring up a mathematical or transcriptional issue.

That rule is changing. Effective December 1 this year (the official start of the 2014 show calendar), you have until 3:00 pm the day after the last day of the show! What a difference!  For all the 2014 rule changes, click here.


I still took home a ribbon from that first derby - white or pink, instead of the red or yellow I'd have gotten if they'd calculated my score correctly. But it doesn't matter: it was our first show and I was happy just to not get eliminated! More importantly, I came away with some vital lessons:

1. It is always better to be self-sufficient at shows. Period. 
Broken toe or no, I should have gone to get my score sheet myself. No one else will look for it as hard as you will (it had been stuck behind someone else's).

2. If it feels wrong, investigate immediately. 
No matter what other people say, if you know something isn't right, check it out personally right away. I knew the score wasn't right, but my trainer and friend didn't take my gut feelings seriously and I let emotions delay me.

3. Keep the rules handy. 
There's a reason they're in my show binder nowadays!

4. To finish is to win.
I'm borrowing this from endurance, but this experience first showed me that no matter the placings, finishing the competition and feeling good about my performance is truly what matters most to me. I honestly didn't care that my ribbon wasn't what it should/could have been - I was relieved and satisfied that the judge saw what I felt in that arena.

More hay it is

After 500% more rumination than was necessary, I finally decided to add more hay to Hemie's diet. He's getting 1 flake of alfalfa hay for lunch in addition to his AM and PM feedings of 1 flake oat + 1 flake alfalfa. For supps he's still on beet pulp, rice bran pellets, and CA Trace multi-mineral supplement.

The hay piles at the barn.

Thank you to everyone for commenting on the feed posts - you brought up excellent points and helped me reach a decision. It really is helpful to know what everyone else is feeding their horses. Hemie gets more hay and feed than the other horses in our little area of the boarding facility, so knowing that some of you guys are feeding 6+ flakes of hay a day helped me to commit to the extra flake.

And now for some randomness. Because it's Friday.

Yes, I make my gelding wear pink and sparkles.
I named the blog Eventing In Color after all. 

 

I'm starting to suspect Hemie's summer activity of hoof soaking is going on. Note the left side rope handle cut and tied to the side panel. Note the blue twine tying the right handle to the pipe. Note black twine near water spigot - appears to have tried (and failed) to hold water bucket previously. Note white twine off to the right which also appears to have tried (and failed) to hold water bucket. Silly pony. But I love that he does that - I think its healthy for his hooves!

Getting Ready

T-minus 17 days until the horse show. I'm feeling happy and excited. The obsessive part of me is really honing in. I'm already sorting my clothes and saddle pads and show gear that I keep in the garage (there's only so much space at the barn). I'm making lists about cleaning tack and clipping and packing, and even brainstorming paleo-esque show food.

As to riding and training, we're sticking with our 2 lessons a week but I may add an extra one if scheduling works out conveniently. We're doing a cross country schooling at The Meadows of Moorpark this Saturday as one more outing opportunity.

For practice rides my plan is to make every ride count. Hacking around is great, but there's no reason I can't throw in a solid work session too. Even when going bareback or on trail rides - leg yielding, square halting, and spending time on the bit are ways to make sure I'm putting every ride to use. And note to self: I need to stop using my voice during dressage practice rides! Those -2s are too pricey.

Something that Laurie said last week has really stuck with me. As I was running through our dressage test Laurie said "Come on and ride him - don't be shy!"

I realized that I've been treating dressage tests too much like a saddle seat pleasure class* rather than the riding exam it really is.  I need to be just as active, demanding a rider in the test as I am when in a lesson. I've been acting more like a passenger, trying to make our test smooth and incident-free. But the idea is to get the job done. Each test movement is a new opportunity, so instead of cruising through and focusing on geometry and my posture, I need to really focus on getting Hemie's hind end engaged and connecting through the bridle. I need to really ride the whole test. Every step.

been playing with picmonkey.com

*For my non-saddle seat-informed riders, just like in other disciplines a saddleseat pleasure class judges the horse's performance (rather than rider, which would be equitation). However, the rider is expected to make it look like the horse is truly a pleasure to ride, typically achieved with a nice smile, calm and confident poise, and minimal use of whip or kicking.

Jumping Training Update

As seen in our last few videos, our jumping training is coming along. We haven't really upped the height of the jumps, but Hemie's form is improving well. He's also getting better in both the approaches and landings. No more squiggles, shoulder bulging, or hip swinging. At least, not regularly! Our current areas of focus have more to do with me than him


#1. Speed. Even though we're no longer having the up-and-down-bunny-hop issues, I'm holding him back to a short stride and slow pace. He doesn't seem to mind, but my trainer sure does! Its one of those things that I can't work on too much on my own, since I don't *feel* like we're going too slow. But we are working on it during lessons, and Hemie is game. Laurie will have us do combination lines, first going our slow speed and counting strides, then she'll ask us to get it in one less stride (sometimes even 2 less strides!).

#2. Releasing rein. We're working on my ability to loosen the rein several strides (like 4 or 5) before the jump, to see what Hemie chooses to do. About the same time is when I need to change from 2-point to a deeper seat by sitting down in the saddle and lift up my shoulders. If he starts charging, I need to take back the reins to ensure we have a steady, rhythmical approach. But ideally, he should stick his nose out and take me to the jump in an even rhythm. The loose rein allows him to place his body where he thinks it needs to be (slightly shortening or lengthening the stride to reach a good distance) and also allows him to determine his own take off point without getting hit in the mouth.

We're no longer trotting all jumps before doing them at a canter - we'll trot the first 2 but then be cantering the rest of the ride. We are making sure the jumps are "looky-loo" with decorations when possible. About once each ride Hemie will question a jump and make as if to dodge out, which is a good test of (a) my ability to quickly and calmly encourage him to jump and (b) my body position.

On a separate note I've confirmed Shepherd Ranch HT received my entry, and we'll be competing against a horse named "Tiny But Mighty."   How cute is that ?!

He's a *real* pleasure horse now!

Sometimes you have those special milestones or goals that you don't realize you had until you reach them.

Last night I was able to ride Hemie bareback, outside of an arena, all around the property. I am just tickled pink that we are finally able to do that, I've still got a goofy grin on my face from it.

I've decided that being able to ride bareback outside of the confines of an arena is my personal definition of a true pleasure horse. While the rider needs to have balance, the horse has a big job - he needs to understand that his speed, self-carriage, and overall awareness is different when the rider has no saddle. And he needs to know that he can't get spook-tastic - he needs to look out for his rider.

We've been working on bareback riding maybe once every month or so. Let's just say it did not come naturally to Hemie. But he's a trooper and I'm proud of of our progress.

I give us a gold star.

Horsey Nutrition

In late May/early June I started giving Hemie some probiotics to help put some flesh over his ribs.  I've gone through the whole bag (he got it ~5 days a week for about 7 weeks), and here's how he looks:

Some ribs still visible.

So, not super successful.  In terms of his overall physique, the fact that I can see some ribs is the only issue I have. He has good muscling (for our level) and minimal fat stores.

To use an objective measurement, I would rate Hemie as a 4.5 on the Body Condition Score. Darn close to the "ideal" of 5.

Download the Horse.com Equine Body Condition Score poster here and here's a great article on the scoring system and various components to consider to evaluate your horse. 

This leads me to a few choices:

1. Buy another bag of probiotics and give it more time to see improved results.
2. Instead of probiotics, add more hay to his diet (as many readers suggested).
3. Do nothing. Get over it.

Probiotics helped my first horse gain weight, but to be honest that was so long ago I can't remember how long it took before I started seeing results. So it's possible I just need to give it more time.

On the other hand, maybe I'm just being overly sensitive to the fact I can see ribs. Most other people at the barn don't think he looks too skinny. TBs are known to stay on the leaner side of the spectrum.

As for hay, I've got a few options if I go that route, and would love opinions!

1. Pay my facility an additional $50/month for 1 extra flake served at lunch. I would likely chose alfalfa (he currently gets 1 flake alf + 1 flake oat, morning and night).
2. Keep hay in my car or somehow try to store it at the ranch (pretty sure that's against facility policy) and feed him an extra dinner most nights a week. Would be cheaper but could get me in trouble. Better to ask forgiveness than permission? Ethically challenging to me.
3. A magical idea I have invented (maybe) and would seriously like opinions on: buying a full bale of grass or grass-alfalfa mixed hay and leaving the whole bale in his stall for him to eat free-choice. I've never seen other people do this at any boarding facility I've been at. Not even sure if this would be allowed at the facility, though I could make a case for it. Thoughts?

Another quick note - Hemie has been on the California Trace mineral supplement for about a month, and so far so good. My goal for feeding it is to provide neurological support and help support healthy hooves (healthy everything, actually). I do think it is working. He is not tripping as much as he used to and is better able to really step under himself and cross his hind legs without hesitation or awkwardness. Of course I wonder how much of that is improved balance and self-carriage from training versus the supplement. His coat and hooves look good - more time is needed to really see if his hooves are growing out with a visible difference in quality.