Redemption

Sir was due for a win in his column, and he finally earned some this week. But first we did have another ride where I had to get off and put him on the longe to maintain a small shred of my sanity. 

Sunday started off well. We had to have a couple of hand-to-knee left spins to unlock him from being stuck in the void of his own rage, but overall warm up was uneventful. Right lead canter was really good--we've been doing lots of transitions within the canter itself. We'll do our super collected "pirouette" canter, and then get out of it by blasting down the long side in medium canter which--because he just loaded his tush to the max--is getting huge and bounding, good boy. And he comes right back at the end when I sit deep again because we just worked on collecting all the way up from me sitting deep. 

See? Complete star!

9 years together got him a 2 second photo shoot (and candies)

Now let's shame him.

When we went back to work, now tracking left, the wheels fell off the bus. Well, they would have fallen off if the bus had moved. But the bus was stuck in park and no sideways or turning or kicking could get the bus to become unstuck. So I hopped off, had a little CTJ on the ground about not running me over as we walked into the barn to grab my longe line, and back into the ring we went. Where guess what? The bus could in fact make left hand turns. 

The last time I had to get off to longe, I ended up keeping him on it because he just kept finding more ways to spiral, but he got the point pretty quickly this time around. I mean, the whole ask was just to turn left. We're not talking advanced stuff here. 

When I got back on, I put him on the circle we'd just worked on and although he was a little tight he did go to work without issue. We eventually managed to get back to working around the whole ring. He even had a moment where I was asking for a little counter canter, and he started anticipating a change and sucked waaaay back, but he let me boot him forward and carry on without giving in to the imaginary doomsday scenario in his head. 

we've had the best hacking weather lately

Monday I wanted to reinforce that we can do the things I'm asking without anticipating and getting worked up over nothing. We had only one left spin to get him unstuck, but other than that he did his job like a grown up. He got his PEMF that afternoon, and had a quick stretchy ride Tuesday that he was 10/10 for before getting yesterday off.

Which brings us to this morning's lesson!

We warmed up with lateral work in the walk--SI to renvers both ways. To the left he struggled more (Do you sense a theme here? Just wait, we'll mix it up!), and I really had to focus on elevating the shoulders first and foremost, and then his little neck could come out. It couldn't go the other way because then his squirrely body started shooting every direction. Collection is a must-have for Opie. 

Quick trot warm up where the neck got to be longer because the back was so lifted and he was cruising along without needing his shuffley warmup. We were already going left so we went into the left canter first. Lots of w-c-w transitions, we showed off our medium canter to collected canter transitions, and then gave MB the razzle dazzle with a transition into the walk where he simply stepped into it from the collected canter and walked off like an UL level horse. Yay, Opie!

looking like an absolute unit right now

That was enough showing off for her though because then we went to pick up the right lead canter and instead got stuck and had a menty b this way instead. Variety is the spice of Opie's life. This way, it's not about being mad about being a straight horse or my right leg like it is to the left. He just didn't wanna for whatever Opie reason. We re-directed with some trot work, some lateral work, and then ope we're magically cantering like it wasn't a big deal after all. Some counter canter serpentines this way got his shoulders sky-high and we wowed with his monster medium canter that comes right back now. 

We still had a ton of lesson time left at that point, but I wanted to continue his confidence-boosting week by not fucking with the changes. MB suggested looking at his HP since we hadn't worked on those in awhile and he loves a HP. Trot and canter both ways, MB fixed the angle of them for us in two seconds, no other notes. Except that it was really fun that we wanted to give him something easy to end on and that was HP. Like, take a moment and appreciate that for him. 

When he's good, he's really so good. The problem is, when he's bad, HE IS SO MOTHER FUCKING NAUGHTY. 

doesn't care, just wants candy

The Missing Piece

Poor abused Opie has been going through it the past week. He's been told he's rude, that he's a bully, that he has a submission problem, that he's pushy, and there has been a lot of loud sighing on both our parts.

Because you know what? 

HE IS ALL OF THOSE THINGS.

apocalyptic skies a fitting symbol of opie's brain 

Sir is going through a bit of a toddler tantrum phase right now. Is it the colder weather? That he's getting quite big and strong and sound again? We've reached the final week of tapering from a long round of ulcer treatment (to help him out during round two of EPM treatment followed by his Lyme treatment), so does that maybe need to be stretched out a little longer?

Whatever it is, no one is feeling it. No one is feeling it, OPIE.

Fortunately, while he's been pushy coming in from turnout, he's still taking correction immediately. He does know he has manners for the kind people that feed him. For me...ehhh.

On Sunday, I was warming up at the walk and there were a few poles scattered around the ring--a single on the short side, and a pair down one of the long sides. The goal was to walk over these while lifting his little feeties and then not shooting off on the other side. Neither of those things got accomplished, and when I tried to help get my point across by halting on the back side, he did his infamous "drop your back so far into the earth it is now physically impossible to get moving again without flinging yourself sideways."

Don't love that for us tbh. Quite frankly I wasn't in the mood, so I hopped off and took him into the indoor for a lunge--after having to do some groundwork on the way over there because dragging me across the driveway just ain't cute. 

He went right into cantering and snorting laps around me once he was on the line. Which, fine. Get some stupids out. It's not like you don't get 16 hours of turnout with equally dumb friends but what do I know. Once he had quieted down some, I sent him over the fan of ground poles at the trot. He. Was. Wretched. Paying zero attention, flying through them, skipping the first pole entirely half the time, etc etc. 

I pressed pause on that and took him in-hand where we did a bunch of lateral work, played with the half steps, and insisted on good posture. Back to the trot poles and with a much more collected horse (with no gadgets, this horse thrives on in-hand work and I wish I was better at it because I'd be teaching him changes from the ground lolol) he could suddenly pick his way through the poles with a working brain cell. 

I went to halt him when he'd gone through both ways successfully and opened up that can of worms. Yes, hello, it should not take you three business days to acknowledge my existence, and then when you DO halt you stare into the distance to see if there's anything more interesting going on. We worked through that for awhile, and managed to finish with his attention solely on me. And both of us thoroughly over each other. 

He had the next day off, but I got on Tuesday with a clear head. Zen Ninja here, you will not bait me into your bullshit, good sir. But also have some fucking manners. He ended up being a good boy--we had our usual "Your right leg lives on planet BULLSHIT" tantrum, but those have been short lived lately. Same ride Wednesday--obedient and boring, though lacking some steering which is always a hit or miss.

"only almost dumped you, but didn't succeed
so i should def get some candies."

This morning was our lesson where MB was excited to dive back in to some exercises to help with the changes. We had a nice long walk warm up, got a good trot right off the bat both directions, and then into the canter we went.

His transitions are getting so much better. I'm getting better about being faster in asking for them so we're not picking at each other, but also he's getting better about suppling quicker. Like, what do you mean I can just pick up my reins from a free walk and he just comes up onto the bit instead of bracing and throwing his body in ten different directions?

I've been playing with his pirouette (ish) canter, and today to the right MB was like, "Sit DOWN down!" and when I did....omgwowamazingwow this neurotic fucker took the cue and heaved his huge ass bulldog shoulders up and around for a good three REAL pirouette strides and MB and I were giddy with delight. 

Well done, Opie! That was the last time you were a good boy for this ride!

Our flying changes exercise was simple changes on the counter canter loop from 1-3.

Tracking left, you do your first simple change at 1. Carry on in the right lead canter, and then another simple change at 2. Repeat the same thing at 3 and 4. Eventually at 2 and 4, you ask for the flying change. We never got there. We couldn't get past our flying change blockade--that is, my damn right leg.

Opie figured this exercise out pretty quickly and got right to work on figuring out how to best cheat it. Break into the trot when you get into the general area of the simple change. Lose steering. And best of all, adamantly refuse to keep your body straight. If they tell you that you can pick the left lead canter back up without letting you swing your haunches in, or if they refuse to take away the abusive right leg that won't get off your side, absolutely do not acquiesce to their request. Slam on the breaks. Start rearing. Start spinning. Start rearing and spinning. Almost dump your rider. Run backwards. It's all on the table!

It was fucking exhausting. Catch me disassociating while occasionally reassuring MB, "I'm trying!" while she called out suggestions on how to do damage control. Bro. It is LIT ER ALL Y just my right leg laying against your side. And it is just me not letting your haunches swing ten feet to the left. I feel like that's not quite the slave labor you're making it to be. 

We did have some good transitions. When he could calm himself and let me ride him, the work was a delight. It helped his canter quality tremendously. I didn't do a good job at riding him super forward between each transition, and that's something I need to work on. The work comes up so fast and on top of each other in these higher level tests, and I need to get a lot better about being sharper and tuned in. There isn't room or time to waste a single stride in sorting things out. It has to be good from the first step. 

But mostly it was drama drama drama. We finally finished on a left lead canter circle where I was allowed to steer him with my right leg. So generous. 

So in conclusion, we're right on track with what we need to fix to get the changes. He needs to be straighter. Which means he needs to accept my right leg. So simple and easy!

Submission

I have riding pictures to share with this post so look out! I mean, sure they're not from any of the rides I'll be writing about, and also they are from several weeks ago at this point, but beggars can't be choosers.

just out here stretching and not falling down

I tried to use Pivo's new Arena app for our lesson this morning, but wow does it suck--to the point that I couldn't even get it to start recording. MB said one of her clients who was trying to switch to virtual lessons hadn't had any luck with it either so in Pivo fashion I'll check back in with it in another year and they'll probably have it sort of going by then.

so much stretchy work

Regardless, let's get into the fun stuff of what we've been working on. The overarching theme has been that as we get back into more serious collection work, I have to make sure he's maintaining a long neck from the shoulders/withers. He loves to curl himself into a little basketball because he thinks his fake frame is the right answer and will get him out of doing the real work--like lifting his back. But then I have to do the hard work and not settle for too much in the other direction. Warm up is there to work towards collection. A slower, cuter trot is fine to start, but we can't stay in it.

warm up trots

To establish forward, I need to think of it as allowing a break from the collection to let him naturally move out. I can't ask for forward because he'll take advantage and go jetting off and then get mad when I tell him that's not the right answer. 

Our main focus has still been the canter because damn it, if you're going to be sound we're going to keep pushing for Fourth. Which means we need to get these fucking changes sorted out for real. 

not that the quality of canter isn't already exceptional ofc

For the left lead depart, in our lesson this morning MB had me thinking haunches in and shoulder in. So basically half pass. He wants to get super crooked this direction and swing his haunches way in. Instead of fighting to get the haunches pushed back out--and then taking my right leg off which is forever and always Opie's goal in life--make the shoulders join the hind end and sneakily he's straight. 

We did a million and a half transitions in and out of the canter. Some were down to the trot and some were down to the walk, and poor Opie didn't get to choose which one we were doing. MB says Opie has a submission problem lolol. 

In our lesson before this one, we had a straightness problem once we were in the canter. Fortunately that wasn't an issue today. In that lesson, MB had us ride SI down the long sides in canter, and wow that made Opie big mad, too. It also worked really well. 

In the trot work, we did the snowman exercise from the Amelia Newcomb clinic our GMO put on last weekend that MB audited (I was on vacation, booo). It's basically riding a figure eight with a 10m circle on top of a 20m circle. We added a fan of poles on one end for Opie. 

Opie found this super hard because he was too busy trying to con me into riding him his way to try my way. Switching the bend from right to left was, shockingly, the main issue. He was making my right shoulder scream until MB reminded me it's not a right rein issue, it's a right leg issue (it's always a right leg issue) and I booted the shit out of him. He reluctantly got on board, and wow things magically turned around. 

you're a bad dog, opie

Once he got off my right leg, we were able to ride the exercise quite easily. He went from flinging himself through the poles to actually holding the collection and bouncing through them lovely. In turn, I was able to sit super deep by drawing up my front line and activating my abs, and that made an insanely fun trot to ride. It's almost as if...I'm here to...help you? Just throwing that out there, sir. 

MB and I agreed he is progressing in his own Opie way though. He's still throwing tantrums to see what he can get out of--that's just who he is, and probably always will be--but he's coming out the other side faster. And the work is better and more correct because he's more willing to trust that my way is the right way.

got one whole clean change so needed a victory lap