Pictures and questions

Graduate school is seriously limiting my time for blogging (who knew!) and winter is limiting my time for training. I am trying to enjoy the little time I have with Bodhi though, and I hope all the walking we are doing in the snow is keeping him some what conditioned. I have had 2 things on my mind lately and I would love to hear your thoughts:

I have decided I do not need to use a bit right now. Bodhi is bit educated so if he needs to go in one for some reason he is equipped. I feel that teaching him to be balanced, supple, and connected is more interesting without a bit right now. I have been riding him all winter in his side pull I talked about here. My issue is that it puts all the pressure on the top of his nose, and that it slides around. I think I want to try a cross under bridle like Nutural. I rode in one last weekend and he was much easier to bend and turn. My fear is that it will put too much pressure on the poll and under the chin. Has anyone ridden extensively in steady contact in a cross under bridle?

I am going to go to Africa this summer for my master's research. I think I would like to lease Bodhi while I am gone (6 months). I am hoping to lease him to someone who will take him to some shows and give him complementary experiences to what he already has. Knowing what you guys know about him, who should I market him to? What type of rider would be interested in a horse like Bodhi, and what should I work on in the short amount of time I have between the thaw and my departure to make him more marketable?

Also, here are some picture from the fall that were taken by a photographer the barn owner hired to document the new arena that we happen to be in. I was really happy to them because right now he looks like a yak. It is nice to be reminded what lives under all this hair!

This picture had to be blown up because we were in the background. It is signifigant because it caught him in what I call his baby extended trot. I have this photo labeled as "baby's first extension"

This picture is what I would like to think represents our best of 2010, and of him as a five year old.

We have a Ring!

and man is it a nice one!
It was just finished on Thursday and so I am in a rush to enjoy it why it lasts. Also tried out a new bit. It had copper rollie thingies and no middle piece (so regular snaffle) Bodhi seemed to like it. He was soft, droolie and we had some really nice moments including some walk canter transitions. I am still heading towards the bitless though. I am planning on buying us a Nutural Bridle for Christmas.

I feel like going bitless is like going vegetarian. My transition has not been a straight one. Just like when I was first going vegetarian I kept balking at taking the final plunge, and then falling of the wagon when I promised myself that it was what I wanted. Some people are the jump in with both feet kind, but I am not.

So for those of you who are thinking of going vegetarian or bitless: Take your time, do your research and don't feel like you have to throw your current life style away in one day. Take steps toward your goal and know you are doing something good. Been a vegetarian now for 10 years- I say I did it right.

ok...

good!

best!

I need canter position help...

I also need funny face therapy...

A lesson at last!

Well I finally had a lesson with my favorite instructor. She has stopped riding and training due to an unrelated and unfortunate injury and now works in a different field. I really miss having her as an instructor. She is amazingly observant and well educated in both dressage, and the bio mechanics of horse and rider. She is also good at explaining her insights and observations to the rider. To top it all off she is positive and encouraging and I have accomplished more with her than any other instructor. I started training with her when I decided to switch over from hunters to dressage with that 2 year old haflinger I bought. She was there as my support during the initial training process and I don't think I could have done it without her sage advise at the key points in our training.

So yesterday she came out and gave me one last lesson for old times sake. I was nervous because I felt like I had gone back to a lot of my old habits and I also did not know what she would think of riding without a bit.

The lesson was amazing and afirming. She was really impressed with Bodhi's canter work-- it was much more balanced and off the forehand than last she saw. He also could not get his left lead last time so I was happy to show we now had both leads!

We worked on flying changes and lateral work at the canter. To my suprise Bodhi executed both of those tasks effortlessly. She says he looks very happy and balanced and forward in the new bridle but did admit she wished to see him a bit more round. So for the remainder of the lesson we worked on my position at the sitting trot to see if we could get a more round frame. Like magic when I fixed my position Bodhi was happy to give to the bitless! Yay! I am so happy that my trainer came out. She always pushes us just a little bit and shows me that Bodhi is always ready for more than I think he is.

I am having such a proud moment with recpect to Bodhi's training. No horse is finished but he is definitely close to where I wanted him to be to feel satisfied that he has the basics. He has a balanced walk, trot, and canter both directions with an abulity to regulate the tempo in each gate. He has a firm grasp on lateral movements and will stretch and collect his frame on cue. He works well in a snaffle and in a bitless bridle. He is now comfortable and balanced over fences. He is an amazing liberty partner. He is safe enough for children and beginners but is still a little squirt on the trail. I love that pony.

I am a different story of course... I have a lot to work on:

• Elbows! I need to keep my elbows bent and not throw my reins away in transitions
• not to drop my hip when asking for lateral movement
• Ask him to come to me into the bridle not go to him
• Keep my upper body still durring the canter and give through the pelivs
• Keep my shoulders open and upright
• Not lock the small of my back but support my upper bodyi instead with an engaged core.

Duuuuude... Chill........

We interrupt this post to share two relevant links for my fellow bloggers.
Check out Behind the Bit's post about the new Horse blogger group she started

Check out the latest post from Dressage Mom about the contest she has entered. Support a fellow blogger and vote!
Ever wonder what Mr. Golden is up to? I convinced him to write my blog entry last night over at Ethical Eats.
It is June in the sunshine state. Temperatures in the mid 90's with the humidity bringing the heat index up to unspeakable numbers. Everything is sticky and simple tasks outside have now become trials. Why is it then, my fabulous followers,my rotund little golden pony has grown rocket boosters?

Bodhi has always had more whoa than go at the best of times. He is also not a fan of Florida summers, turning into an itching(allergies), sweating, groggy mess. One of my constant training challenges has always been to keep him "light". I would say he varies normally between average to very heavy and slow in his responsiveness. He can be slow as malasis on a hot day. I have ridden him with spur buds and a dressage whip (with my trainers insistence) before. I have been working lately on his responsiveness to my legs with clicker training as well.

When Bodhi was up and charging forward on our conditioning ride in the big pasture I thought that was normal, but on Sunday during our ride in the ring he jumped three caveletties at once (!!!) and leaped into the canter at the slightest leg. Monday I decided to work on tempo regulation and only did trot work but he was super sensitive and as forward as forward can be! We are still in the learning stage of the new bridle but Monday I finally got his head and neck more relaxed and his back more rounded but I had to continually remind him to slow down!

Is this a real problem? I am not sure. If it is, it is a nice problem to have. I have no fear of getting run off with. He still stops on a dime. Yes the haffie power trot is a little exhausting to post, but to actually have a forward horse-- I'll take exuberance even if it is a bit over the top.

So causes of this sudden shift? Here is what I have so far...

• Bitless bridle a) he feels more free to move forward. I have heard that "lazy" horses can become more forward when you remove the bit? b)he does not like the new bridle and feels anxious about it and wants "to get it over with"
• He is in shape - we did a ton of rehab and he may be in better shape than he has ever been before.
• A Maturity thing -young horses go through phases, maybe he is feeling more confident with his better balance and muscle
• Flax seed=rocket fuel?? he is now on flax seed to help his skin allergy.
• My upper body= crap. He could be running forward because my upper body is a wet noodle lately.
• Clicker training; I have been rewarding exuberance and responsiveness lately, especially at the canter. Could this account for his new and improved work ethic? That is what it *feels* like to me. That he is trying really hard to get that click. Unfortunately he is trying too hard.

I am sure it is a combination of several of these things. He definitely feels like he is jumping to conclusions and rushing to answer questions I have not even asked yet. It feels wonderful to have such a enthusiastic student but my role as his teacher now is to ask him to just relax! My challenge will be to find balance in this new issue. Ask him to soften and balance his body off the forehand without loosing that exuberance. If we can shape this wave we will definitely be at a break through.

-- 

New Bitless Bridle!

Got a new bitless bridle for Bodhi in the mail yesterday! We have had two rides so far and I have nothing but good things to say. It is a rope side pull, that I got from ebay from Knot Just Rope
I am sure I will invest in a Cook's Bitless or Nurtural Bridle when I can afford one but for now I thought this could be a nice alternative.
What I like

• You can atatch it to any existing bridle you have
• It comes in many different colors and styles
• Soft rope ( I hate when it is stiff!) well tied and secure knots
• The price!
• How it is custom made for Bodhi's nose
• The service : I ordered it on Friday- I got it on Monday

What I don't like

• Nothing really so far!
• It is a very simple design, I am sure someone handy could easily make this, but I am not one of those people
• It may turn out to be too harsh with the two knots, if so I will put one of those fuzzies on. They have "gentler" designs though.

As I have said I rode Bodhi in it twice so far. He turns, stops and bends just as well in this as he does in a bit. Much better than riding in a halter! Today I played around with some sharp turns and a halt from the canter. It was perfect! I will take him out on the trail and in the big pastures for conditioning soon and try it out some more. The only thing I have lost is head set. That will come with training of course. I just need to figure out how...

As an aside I am wearing boy's pants that are several sizes too big (it is how a roll) They look really funny all bunched up around my waist and legs.... I know not riding pants!




I think the curb rope was a little loose but oh well!

Bodhi goes bitless!

The Picture is of Satin,my barn manager's horse sporting her new bridle. Kathy said she was a very good girl.

Tried Bodhi out in a Cook's Bitless Bridle yesterday. Overall I give it a thumbs up!

First on the quality-- My barn manager purchased the Beta full sized bridle in brown. It looks very nice and the quality seems to be very high. The bridle fit her 16 hh very drafty type Appy's head as well as Bodhi who is bordering between Arab and Full and measuring in at 14 something.

I did some in hand work and some lateral work on the ground first to gauge Bodhi's opinion on the "head hug" action. Bodhi was in a super lazy sluggish mood so he could care less and was practically asleep so I decided to try it under saddle.

I was very conservative with my contact at first and left him alone to warm up. He did his normal routine of stretching though he was very stiff and sluggish. We then moved on to transitions, some serpentines and then a bit of canter work. Bodhi's bad habit is to stiffen his neck and fall on the forehand making it difficult to turn him. He has a very short neck and he is a draft so pulling is an art form for him! Even at the canter though (which is when his vice is worst) He was very respectable of my leg and rein. I was impressed. The one time he got stiff and stubborn was when I wanted to turn him away from the people at the fence line (We had attracted a few curious on lookers to witness our experiment) I gave him a few good tugs and got him going. He did not seem at all offended by the bridle's pressure so that seems to work as well. The only part I did not like was he was very "up" and I could not get a steady contact or any feeling of give. It may be out of confusion since he had not bit to give to or it could have been an off day for him as far as stiffness in the neck and back. In a bit I would have asked him to take some contact and pay attention with louder aides until I got a desired result. With the bitless I did not know what the cause was so was not about to fight about it.
After our ride I walked him around the barn areas to see how he was in the bitless in his spooky areas. It could have been just the day and not the bridle but he seemed much more relaxed around the hay barn and the quarantine cat pen (which he is terrified of by the way-- maybe it is the smell of cats?). If this does in deed turn out to be the case I think his spookiness is related to my nerves translating through the bridle to him. That has always been my hunch. I do have some nerve issues I am working through so the bitless may be a way to spare Bodhi of some of my more subtle stiffness in my upper body in the meantime. A good thing for sure.

Synopsis: I found that our lateral work was pretty good! He turned well and gave laterally with little pressure. He did great in his downward transitions though he always stops well! I am a bit worried that I will not be able achieve the same amount of contact and lightness in order to practice in a more advanced frame needed for dressage. Another few rides are in order to really come to any conclusions though. This bridle may be a great thing for trail, pleasure days, and also to use when other people want to ride Bodhi.

Bareback, bitless and carefree?

Bodhi and I are well. The rain has kept us from doing a lot of riding and the accompanied blues from all these gray days has kept me from posting. Bodhi and I are still struggling with the canter work. We do best bareback so I have ridden the last two times that way and had some nice canter departs. It is really hard for me to sit back and straight at the canter and my trainer thinks (and I think she is right) that it is causing Bodhi to go on the forehand. I think this issue with my posture is the last major cross road I am hitting from my change over from hunt seat to dressage. I have not found my groove yet at the canter so everything just feels wrong! Ech! I am a dressage rider now but it is so hard to let go of the old comfortable ways of riding. Practice is what it will take of course and I seem to find my balanced place better when I ride bareback so I will stick with that.

Since I have been riding a lot bareback I have been getting Bodhi very light with seat and leg aids and really trying to think "reins for headset only" as my trainer always reminds. That got me to thinking why do I need to stick metal in my horse's mouth to accomplish this and would he not be softer if I tried something like a bitless?
SO I am thinking about Dr. Cook's Bitless Bridle

It seems well regarded....Has anyone personally used it?

Although it is expensive and I feel not essential (I already have two nice bit bridles for heaven's sake!) I feel compelled to try it. The website offers a one month trial period so if I do not like it I don't have to buy it. Can't lose right?