Back on the same page

 For the moment at least.

all about soft foamy mouth pics right now

Yesterday I managed to sneak in a ride before the contractors were supposed to show up--and then they didn't for the second day in a row. Well done, guys. This construction work is going to be done in no time!

I couldn't resist the allure of my squishy, pretty double anymore and was still riding the good feel vibes from Sunday. I played around a little with the fit of the curb bit again because it looks weird from the outside, but when I opened his lips and wiggled things around inside it looked right how I wanted it. No complaints from Dopie once we started going.

We started with ten million walk-halt transitions with a quick discussion at the beginning about how we do not halt by throwing all our weight down. Good from there, and then into the trot where I spent a few laps letting him coast while I focused on my equitation...which actually is starting to feel like something I can control finally! #whatareabs

I moved into the sitting trot fairly quickly once we started doing trot-walk transitions, and his back stayed soft and round. 

A little SI, some HI, 10m circles, and finish with a medium trot across each diagonal. On the second/last one I actually giggled out loud because it was perfect. So balanced and rhythmic and I could tell he just got it.

FINALLYYYYYYYY.

Not sure I'm ever going to quit riding the high of a real medium on this horse. I feel like it's our biggest win ever. Maybe one day the changes will make that transformation LOLPLZGOD.

We finished there because he was on point for the whole ride and I didn't want anything to spiral out of control.

Nobody Panic

OK, good news, my horse isn't permanently an anxious rage monster that's resistant to life and everything being asked of him under saddle. 

I mean, we've had one whole ride where things were super casual and relaxed so I guess you could say he's totes fixed. 

soft, happy, foamy lips

Normally I wouldn't ride the day after a show, but the way things were set up over the past week and the tense shit show I was sitting on while "huntering", it felt like it needed to happen. And I'm so glad I got on again. I pulled out our dressage tack, spent fifty hours grooming beforehand, and headed to the outdoor for a bare bones flat ride. 

He's really come a long way in the steadiness in the connection--when he's relaxed. This ride reiterated how much his tension comes out in his mouth and the bobbing up and down off the contact. When he's relaxed, he's metronome. I'm not sure where to go with that because I can't just w/t/c without asking one single other thing for the rest of his life. The work gets harder, the questions get more complex, he's got to work with me a little bit on the not building and building until we're throwing Bobby tantrums around. 

bobby level posing

We did accomplish some counter canter serpentines both directions that didn't involve ridiculous theatrics for the first time in eternity. We finished on those after about a twenty minute ride.

I decided to bite the bullet and do a month of lessons with BM--one a week. I want her to work both of us hard on the basics. More push, more connection, more forward and suppleness in the lateral work. I'll also have the chiro out as soon as he's available.

I have the funds set aside for those two things, and then I'm maybe going to reach out to a local-ish dressage pro about bi-weekly lessons. I have to work myself up to that. And hope that she's not too expensive. And that she's still down with trailer-ins. 

The barn is under construction all week so no riding unless I go back in the evening. We'll see what my motivation level is.

In-barn Hunter Show

 A repeat from last year's in-barn hunter show, and while we did quite a bit of jumping the month leading up to this year's edition, I also got on my horse for the first time in a week the morning of. I had actually planned on him having a couple more days off on top of that, but at the last minute we went out on the barn's hunter pace with Easy. 

Fortunately that was (as planned) very low key. We only jumped a couple things and never picked up the canter. Opie and I were both pretty blah about the whole thing, and I was more than ready to leave everything in NY behind for our vacation. 

I got to the barn Saturday morning and my horse was standing at the back of his stall weaving instead of eating his hay because the barn was bustling and his routine was changed and his life was ruined. I washed his tail, scrubbed his fresh poop spots, and we headed over to the barn on horseback with H and Puck (The barn is directly behind ours, separated only by a couple of fields.). He spent the entire walk over snorting like a dragon, and then wanted to challenge the other barn's horses that were turned out to a duel, but we made it over without issue. 

He was super strong on the flat warming up, but I just kept him trotting and coming round while controlling the rhythm if not the pace until he settled. Our first few jumps were a certified shit show. At one point he biffed the distance so badly that he tripped on landing, hit the ground face first, and then launched up and bolted with his head in the air as a wad of chewed grass went flying by my head.

H told me it looked like he kept putting in canter strides over the jumps instead of jumping them, but he did eventually settle in and we jumped down the lines straight (did not happen on our first attempt), and were able to come off the long approach to the diagonal singles.

always a good time when our back legs don't work

I quit once I felt like we were in a good spot, and we hung out for about twenty minutes while everyone else finished warming up before going in for the hack division--three flat classes.

I felt like Opie was pretty solid for the first hunter flat, but we placed 4th out of 5. For the next flat, an equitation class which is hands down my absolute weakest point as a rider, Opie spent the whole ride gnashing his teeth and occasionally cranking his head sideways. He did enjoy the "extended" trot portion though. We won that class.

"lengthen stride, yes, thank god i know this one!"
--opie, probably

We finished the hack division with a hunter pleasure flat where Opie felt very chill and responsive and we once again came in second to last--fifth out of six. 

We had to wait around awhile for our turn to jump in the 2'3 division that was actually most definitely only 2'. Opie snoozed for most of that wait and was not at all pleased to be woken back up and asked to go to work. The first round was hunter and it was awful. 

We went from zero to Rage Monster in 2.5, took a rail in one of the lines from trying to do the aforementioned canter over the jumps instead of jumping them, and were just generally going about ten thousand miles too fast. We got a fourth out of 10 for that class.

The next jumping round was an equitation course. It went even worse than the first! Actually the first jump was very good and as we approached and jumped it, I was like, "Phew! Here's my quiet jumping horse I have at home." 

#fakenews

I asked for the simple change to get the left lead after landing from the first jump and it took me the whole length of the diagonal to get him yanked back long enough to switch it over. We came into the first line next and he supermanned that ho:

Launched the jump out:

Got in kind of tight to the next jump, and then refused to be rated enough to change leads let alone slow down even remotely:

At which point we were supposed to jump the first jump in the line, roll back to the other first jump in the other line, and then finish by going down the line. None of which I remembered as I attempted to get this runaway train back on the tracks, and ended up just continuing down the line.

gotta work those courtesy circles

We finished with an equitation flat at which point we were both very much done with each other. I don't even remember specifics. It went fine, we placed 8 out of 10. 

Overall the judging was straight up fucking stupid. I say that not just for myself but for everyone there. None of the placings made sense in any of the classes. 

Another take away is that I need to find a new jumping bit for Opie for off property. The slow twist he's currently in just lets him sit there and lay on it without actually giving me any brakes. Same for the jumper derby earlier in the year. He's just not the same horse to jump at home as he is at shows. 

Discipline Switch

 I brought my brand new double home so it wouldn't get dusty or moldy sitting in the barn unused, and every time I walk past it (It's hanging on the back of a kitchen chair because where else do you store extra tack?), I'm like, "Wow U R SO PRETTY." 

Maybe give it a little pet.

And then forget about it again because this is the month of the jump tack.

The outdoor has had a tiny one stride to one stride grid set along with a single X on the diagonal that we've been taking advantage of most days that I ride--which is not a lot in the interest of not overexerting Opie's ass or my back again. But the jumps are very small and it's been a really good way for him to just lope around staying soft and in rhythm while I work on staying in half/light seat to the jump...and also staying STRAIGHT with my upper body while jumping. 

If there's one thing I love, it's twisting my upper body over a jump to face the direction we'll be turning when we land. Does that actually accomplish anything besides making me look a fool? Negative. And yet still a surprisingly hard habit to break.

He's been great through the teensy grid if incredibly lazy and disinclined to put forth any real effort because they jumps are too small to be worth his effort:

Yesterday we moved to the indoor so I could make use of the mirror to hold myself more accountable in my body position while flatting. Do my hands need to be so wide? Do I need to be posting so high? Will my shoulders ever come back? All the mysteries of switching to a jump saddle that may never be solved tbh. 

I also had a 2' vertical set up a E to finish over once I got done punishing myself by trying to ride like I sort of knew what I was doing. #theworst

Long approaches in half seat and Opie never missed. It was honestly too easy because the jump was so small he was basically just putting in a big canter stride over it and carrying on. Not like that's a bad thing tho! No pulling, no racing, just metronome up and over while I chilled with my ass out of the saddle and worked on doing nothing but being straight.

can't be bothered to put in effort over such boring jumpies

We finished by angling it from off the rail both ways to see if we could land the new lead, and if he didn't then do a flying change before the turn. Yep, flying changes both ways. I know they're in there. I just need to figure out how to bring them over to dressage land.

He had today off in preparation to going to the park with BM and Farrier tomorrow. I'm hoping this goes more smoothly than the last trail ride...

Just a little bit better

 As per my last post, we did finish out the week on Wednesday with a trail ride down the road.

It was not low key.

It was fucking awful.

I was ready to push both Opie and BM off a cliff within about two minutes. I'm not sure who pissed me off more: BM with her constant inane chattering and complete lack of ability to read the fucking room (AKA I am in extreme pain, my horse is being a giant asshole, but don't worry--I am so glad you're having such a great time!), or Opie who was in a halter and yet still gaping his mouth, grinding his teeth, and/or whipping his tongue around in the midst of flinging himself sideways while fake spooking.

new bridle finally came! 

I had to go back to the barn Thursday when the barn girl bringing him in texted me to let me know that he was tight in the LH. Yeah. I bet he fucking was. I rubbed him down with liniment and set out Bute for him for the rest of the week. He was on that for six days with five days off. 

I spent my time sitting standing or laying flat on my back as sitting killed my back. I also stewed over BM and her "help" with the changes. Fortunately I think she finally took the hint last Tuesday to walk away when I was working on them when she was like, "Just take him over a pole!" and I may or may not have very snidely yelled back, "I AM NOT EVER TAKING HIM OVER A POLE."

I finally got back on this morning in my new (to me) jump saddle. Fifteen minutes of w/t/c was all either of us needed/were capable of. 

(And then BM texted asking if I wanted to go galloping around Mendon tomorrow morning. With her and her horse who has been ridden two whole times since the middle of July. After she knew how awful Opie was all last week. And knowing that my back was fucked up. Like, no. Sorry I won't do that to my horse, and sorry when I say I'm in pain I actually am, and not that I'm just trying to one-up everyone.)

finally his own jumpies saddle!

I scratched from the barn's hunter pace this weekend because neither one of us is physically up to it, but two weekends from then is the barn's hunter show. I've made that my goal--the hack division. It's good for me because I'm the type of person that has to have something to work on/towards. This will mentally force me to ride him in a longer frame while still making sure he's pushing for big gaits but a heavy emphasis on relaxation and looseness. 

He was actually really great today. I had to get him loosened up bending left right off the bat, but it felt more like, "I don't trust this" than not able to do it. He finished supple that direction, and his canter both ways was to die for. 

So while I felt very broken all last week and weekend--my back and my brain--a new, easy goal to work on and a vacation to Maine on the near-horizon has me patched back together for the moment. Fingers crossed nothing ruins that.