Lightness

I wanted today's ride to be a big focus on getting Opie rocked back and off his forehand without me holding him up, and making sure the canter didn't feel like complete shit. So definitely a ride firmly focused on the basics, even if it wasn't going to be one that felt like a vacation to either of us.

the muscle needs to fill back in in front of his withers (long and low).
also i feel like his boobs are too overdeveloped? is that a thing?

He started off on a fucking mission, power walking but rushed, so we did lots of walk/halt transitions with some rein backs thrown in. Leg yields, circles all over, and then into the trot. Same in the trot, lots of transitions within the gait and down into walk and halt until he was feeling settled, responsive, and light.

Feeling good about the ride so far, into the canter we went.

It all went right down the shitter from there.

brain melt

It started with him not wanting to step into the canter from the walk without throwing his head up and jumping up in the transition. STILL. STILL THAT IS A THING. He quickly got into a tiff over that, so I shifted directions and got a soft sitting trot to ask for it out of instead. He was kosher with that at least.

Then, while we were on our big circle in the middle of the ring that we weren't deviating from, he decided we were going to do flying changes. We were not. They were never in the picture. And yet out of nowhere he'd tense way up, start to shift his balance like we were going to change direction, and then launch into a tantrum like I'd ask for one when I hadn't actually moved an inch or asked for anything at all.

Ughhhhh, I got sucked into the drama at first which devolved into losing everything we'd already established and suddenly we had no nothing. No bend, lightness, steering, control, etc. Of course I wanted to pull mightily on him to yank him around onto a circle which obviously did absolutely nothing, but once I talked myself through it to start shoving the reins at his giant head and gritting my teeth while regulating and directing with my seat and legs, we finally got back to where I could once again pick up the trot to ask for the canter.

Left lead accomplished and checked off, on to the harder right lead.

It started off well, and I was like, "Maybe I did all the hard work the other way so now I'm just going to get this nice canter as a reward."

Wrong.

Once again he'd would randomly have a freak out about being asked for a change (wasn't happening) and lose his shit. I learned this way at least and just kicked him and chucked the reins at him until he got cantering forward again. Still, there were a couple times where he went completely off the rails and we had to go all the way back to a walk to fix the basics of bend.

I did learn the other day while fucking around trying to get him to soften his rib cage that leg yields head to wall get him to cross his front legs way over and loosen his shoulders. We threw a couple of those in at the very beginning of the ride, and then while I was over-exaggerating getting his haunches in on the circle every now and then it would become almost a half pass--at which point I was like, "These haunches and this bend feel super even though this is very much not a circle. Let's try for the turn on the haunches!" And what do you know, huge cross over up front, super bend, on the bit, no crossing the hind legs!

So we'll take away that win lol.

We did finally get a right lead canter that was alright, and we stopped out of it directly into a square halt. I jumped off there and we did a couple seconds of in-hand half steps before calling it quits.

He got a hose down and then hung out grazing in his cooler while he dried. Overall it was a hard ride, but one that was needed. You have to bend and you have to be obedient. For all the drama, he stayed with me even with Shit For Brains screaming nonstop outside, and when we were done he was mugging me for candies. So no feelings hurt, he just doesn't like to work hard--and in typical horse fashion ends up working harder the more he tries to evade what I'm asking.

Ride Notes 9/28/21

Didn't want to stretch at the walk warming up so picked up more contact. In the trot he was more willing to stretch down and loosen up.

Easy was in the front field across the parking lot having a full on tantrum/scream fest and right when we picked up the canter Opie finally called back. Had a CTJ to get his brain back. Did changes on a figure eight on back half of ring because I knew it would take his full focus and he'd forget Easy.

Let him take a peek at the barrel since he can be randomly spooky at them and then around to the flower vertical. He picked up the pace a tiny bit which was just enough to let me take a hold which is my happy place even though I've been doing so much work on being in half seat and not moving an inch. Definitely didn't have complete faith that Easy wouldn't set him off, but he was completely fine.

Oxer was boring AF and he loped right over, landed on the right lead so we continued on to the barrels which he also did without blinking. 

Quit there and went for a trail ride. Super reactive to everything, but I made him jump two airy jumps out of the trot just to say so. Walk and walked and walked until he was flat footed and had a swinging back again, no grinding teeth and shooting forward every time something did anything.

When we got back Easy was still in the field screaming his brains out, but fortunately Opie only called out that one time the whole morning so I can at least feel confident that I've done everything I can to keep my horse sane/happy/behaved and the work I put in four years ago when he first came off the track with the same problem has worked and stuck around with the herdbound issues. Would be nice if someone would do the same for Easy since he's been off the track for over three years now and still acts like a spoiled two year old with no manners even though he's only a year younger than Opie. 

Back to "work"

Even before show season ended, I planned on giving Opie a full month of light work with the focus on stretching and lots of hacking out. He spent the first half of the year in a rage accomplishing nothing while I tried to figure out what was going on with him, and the second half of the year was six weeks on nonstop horse shows every single weekend. Needless to say he lost some good muscle along his topline from carrying the tension that comes with ulcers and then horse shows, although there was a definite improvement in relaxation for the last two shows when he got separated from his BFFs. 

This "break" also fell in line with our annual week-long vacation so he got several days off, did some trail rides, had a stretch ride or two, and then had two different people get on him. One was a teen who needed a win so I let her ride him and she did amazingly with him. She's such a soft, quiet rider that he was happy to stretch out and float around for her, and then go blasting over a few tiny 18" jumps while she laughed maniacally. 

I then had fellow boarder A take him for a "get to know you" spin right before we went on vacation in hopes that she'd be able to put a few rides on him while I was gone to keep him from using any energy for evil as he seems to do when left fully sitting. She had a much harder time figuring him out as her horse is the exact opposite in all ways from Opie, but I was like, "Eh, whatever, you're not going to screw him up and he could use the attention." 

In the end it didn't matter either way because A wasn't able to make time to ride him which fortunately wasn't a big deal as BM reported he behaved himself just fine for once. 

begging for snackies before i left

I got back late Friday night and made my way over to the barn late Saturday afternoon to replenish his supplements and take him for a quick spin. He was adorable--as soon as he saw me get out of my car he walked up to the fence and was nonstop nickering until I grabbed him. 

He was also solid brown and had essentially one large burdock as a tail, but a bath could come after.

He felt more like he'd had a month off than a week when we got started. Tripping all over himself, falling in and out over his shoulder, suspect steering, and just generally tight and bleh. But he was soft in the mouth and I just let him carry the bit himself and stay long and kept nudging him along into the correct alignment and bend. By the end of the ride he felt much, much better in his body.

We finished up with a bath that took twice as long as the ride did, and then he got to graze dry before going into his house for the night.

cleaning this horse was an epic undertaking

The barn is hosting a hunter pace today so I'm not interested in being there because my brain is still half shut off from vacation, but I am excited to get back into the swing of things starting Monday!

CNYDCTA Fall Wrap Up Dressage Show

Final fucking show of the season! We did it!

final center line of 2021. see ya, fucker.

In the two weeks between this show and the last, Opie had two real schooling rides. He had several trail rides, but mostly he just had the time off. I entered 1-3 and 2-3. First Level was to get in the ring and let him do a test that would allow me to post in case he was super tight and needed the loosening up. Second Level was our last chance to get a 60% on that test at a schooling show for year end awards. I figured he had everything he needed for Second, and the First test didn't matter so having a fresh, happy horse was the best training plan there.

We got to the show, got checked in, dressed, tacked up, and headed over with about twenty minutes to go to our ride time. Only the ring steward was having a meltdown because it was the rider just entering the ring, another rider who was getting bridled at the trailer still, and me. Obviously they were running super early and I always support that, so I was like, "No problemo, I will be ready to go at the drop of a hat."

I gave Opie five minutes of basic w/t/c. The rider before me showed up right as the test before her was ending so I told her we'd swap and go in before her so she had time to at least trot around for a couple minutes since I know she was trying for First year end awards and this test meant nothing to me. 

in you go for your warm up

First Level Test 3

Opie wasn't even remotely tense. He was, in fact, a giant fucking slug. The leg yields that are easy as pie at home when he's forward and off my aids consisted of me booting the shit out of him before sitting down and literally shoving his body sideways with my seat. The rest of the test was just a big old MEH.

This judge tho. How do I always get stuck with these fucking joke of L judges?! 

HOW.

She did not want to give above a 5. No sirree. But the thing was.....she'd give a 5, and then give a comment on what you did well next to it. "Straight and active" -- 5. "Better balance" -- 5.5. 

She was very much obsessed with balance which I apparently have no idea wtf that means so shame on me I guess. Again, I had next to no warm up, never once practiced this test, and went in using it straight up as warm up/schooling so I had zero expectations or care about how it went, but other people did. If that's how you're judging and giving feedback, who is that helping?!

We ended up with a 56+% for third out of three. Which took the "omg well I scored at regionals one time so I am a professional scorer and basically should be a TD let me tell you all the rules" volunteer fifteen fucking minutes to pin. FIFTEEN MINUTES TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO PLACE THREE RIDERS. THEY HAD ALREADY SCORED THE TESTS AT THIS POINT. ALL THEY HAD TO DO WAS LOOK AT THREE NUMBERS. Meanwhile she's like, "This is why scorers are supposed to be kept isolated!!!" because there were several of us hanging out in the office waiting for them to place those whopping three tests so we could fucking leave. I kept looming. Because you're being a bitch. Suck it. 

Anyway. 

There were two tests and a ten minute break until our next test so I stayed on. I went right over to the warm up ring and booted up into a real trot. We did a million w/t and t/h/t transitions until I felt like he was alive before giving him a break and chilling ringside for awhile. Once they went on break, I picked him back up, but he felt soft and forward and had a SI so I left it because I wanted enough horse to get through the test without having to kick him every step. 

Second Level Test 3

Opie felt great the whole test. He felt relaxed and willing and on the same page as me. The SI, especially the first one tracking right, was still tense and wanted to lag, but at least he put forth some fucking effort for once. 

Medium canters felt good, medium trot actually felt super relaxed! I knew it wasn't big because it's never going to be big, but I felt his back come up and his stride lengthen without him rushing off or tightening up and I'm super happy about that.

The judge had zero interest in any of it. Or maybe she did? Because the comments were good, but the scores were 5s.

"lacks" 6.5
idk?

She gave us "uphill" for the medium canter. 5.5. "Straight" 5. For this test we switched from not having balance ever to not having engagement ever. 

sure wish you would engage that hind end, opie.

I got done with the feeling of, "We did all we could for a 60%, I couldn't have asked for more." We got a 51%. The other Second rider got a 49%. (Which technically means we were Champion for Second but I was not sticking around to wait for that lady to figure out two whole scores.) 

It was so bad that all I could do was laugh because, I mean, wtf else are you going to do? I keep pulling higher scores at recognized shows and not necessarily feeling better about my rides. So either my feel is off the charts bad, or the L judges used this year need a lot more education. I am kind of frustrated though, because it's less about the scores and more that I want the good feedback. If you're going to give me shitty scores, tell me why. If you're going to tell me what I'm doing well and give good comments, then why aren't I getting better scores to go with them?

So no year end award for schooling shows, but I guess it says more that we earned it for recognized shows. Plus I felt good about our final ride at 2-3 (hopefully ever, that test is so long and hard lol) so in the end that matters more than what a crazy judge doles out.