Happy New Year

It was like a spring day... warm, muddy and the horse who had "go".

Let's start with the mud. He was FILTHY. Blu ground earth into his ears, between his legs, and some how got it up under his blankets... He was very proud of himself as he jigged up the road to the barn. I am sure he was laughing as we sloshed through the puddles splashing cold wet water up my legs.

My ride as always was a very good one. His warm up was really good - plenty of energy, fairly soft in the bridle. The warm-up canter was especially good. It felt really up hill and forward.

When I picked him up for his second set he wanted to get heavy so we did alot of transitions and moving away from the leg. We did shoulder in at the trot to walk back to trot holding the position of the exercise. He really liked it... NOT but it got to the point and our final work was very good.

Working inside is becoming a chore... too many children on school horses they can not control. If I do not get out of work on time on Mondays I can forget riding. Can be very frustrating... The saving grace is he is so well cared for.

Time off was harder on me

Blu had 6 days off during the holidays and while I worried about him I should have been more worried about me. Yesterday we went back to full work and while the ride was great, I paid dearly for it. I slept restlessly, could not find a comfortable spot for my aching body. After 4 ibuprofen I took myself to the barn and did not relish the prospect of riding. Linda came by to give me a lesson but I asked her to warm him up. It worked out very well in that she got to feel Blu from the start and she said he felt terrific and I had obviously done a good job the day before for him to feel so good from the get go. Yay me! Yay Blu!!!

After she rode, I got on and got to feel some pretty awesome stuff. After my body let go, we worked on the canter -- working pirouettes, up in the bridle, canter half-pass to some pretty good flying lead changes. He is getting stronger and instead of propping up behind when changing from right to left he is giving me a much cleaner change. Linda also gave me the very best of compliments... She said I was really following with my hands and not holding... AT LONG LAST!!! How many years have I been riding? Blu is such a gift... he allows me to let go!

Linda did some trot lengthenings on him that were the best I had ever seen. He really lifted in the front... He was just spectacular. I really think we are on the right track. You can see he feels good and he is very happy.

Finally, I was informed by several people who work at the barn that Blu was selected as "Best Horse" in the barn for his handsome face and his exceptional personality... They fight to take him in and out to the paddocks... He really is special!

When will I just learn to listen?

It has been a couple of weeks and there have definitely been lessons learned that I should have captured. First and foremost is never clinic with someone you do not know. EVER... While Blu and I did not enjoy the experience there was an even bigger price to pay and I am not talking about the hefty sum this individual collected. Poor Blu was out of sorts for a good 1-2 weeks after the ride. He reverted to some of the things we had not touched upon in awhile -- not reaching for the contact, not giving me the bend, rushing on his forehand... Ughhhh. He wanted me to know I went to places he was not ready to venture. Dr. Liz told me to be patient and this was outside the realm of reasonable for my blessed boy. Why did I not listen?

Sooo we went back to the basics and he eventually left behind his issues except he continued to look and feel a bit funky with the first canter. It wasn't a lameness per se, just a stiffness and unwillingness to swing through his hip/ stifle. The good news is that it would go away with some work and then the rides would be magnificent -- from canter half pass to canter pirouette he was awesome through his back.

Dr. Liz came to visit last night and said I was on the right track. She had not looked at him in a couple of months. As a matter of fact she did not feel any kind of issue in his back right under his saddle where in May by x-ray she found a couple of spines kissing and up around his wither where he was just plain sore. She felt his only limitation was in his very lower back around the hip region (hmmm, sounds like me...). She adjusted him and did shock wave and tomorrow I will see what we have. (tonight was too bloody cold to take his blankets off - -10 with a wind chill... brrrrrrrr) I lunged him for her and she and another trainer/ friend watched and jumped up and down like school girls who just won a jump roping contest with excitement at how sound he was. It was a beautiful thing -- it brought tears to my eyes to see how sound he has become.

So I have gone out to the USEF website and checked out all the shows I would like to do. So far I have 11 on my list. Ambitious? I think so. I will let Blu tell me what he wants to do. All I have to do listen.

Every ride a lesson... a recurring theme

Yes, a recurring theme with a schoolmaster -- always learning. Blu inspires great confidence in me -- so much so that I can let go and listen to what he is telling me. Here is his latest tale:

So we rode in clinic with this young Canadian-American who has been training in Germany the past few years with an individual I greatly admire. So when an open slot in her clinic at our farm opened I took it. Lesson 1: never put money out for a lesson unless you have seen the clinician teach. It just was not pretty. In fact, it was the most miserable ride I have had on Blu and I am including all those really tough rides we had while he was lame. I was pretty clear about our combined history but for some reason it did not seem to resonate with her. She pushed both of us to places we just should not have gone. She wanted more bend from Blu than his body is ready to give. He balked, he swapped his leads at the canter and he bucked every time I pushed at him! She even asked if he did this to me on a regular basis and when I laughed and replied "NO" she did not back off. So it was a very unproductive and expensive lesson from the standpoint that we really got nothing good done. I did learn lesson 2: it is OK to ask for more but do not ask for too much.

Every ride I learn something new

What a terrific ride last night. I took a lesson and got my butt kicked ... in a good way. Blu is feeling oh so good and we did a lot of work on developing the quality of the trot... asking for more lift ... the feeling of passage without passaging. My warm up was very good and by the time Linda arrived we were ready to go. He was loose and fairly supple. I have a hard time judging how straight he is behind so with her guidance I was able to ride him straight and really concentrated on keeping the bend around my inside leg... this is the toughest thing for me to do. By the end of the trot tour Linda said we were really dancing together -- half passing, leg yielding, shoulder-in. What a nice thought ... wish I could have seen it. I did not look in the mirrors... I was too busy concentrating :-)

We then went to work at the canter. While I have always thought of this canter as my "go-to" gait it is now not his best. I do not mean to make it sound like a train wreck. It is still very good it is just that his trot has come such a long way. So my job is to get that suppleness, straightness and lift at the canter. We worked at it and it improved dramatically soooooooo..... we then worked on quarter turns at the canter placing Blu back on his haunches, canter/ walk transitions and then... drum roll ..... working canter pirouettes!!! I felt my first real canter pirouette!!!! WOW... It was awesome. When Linda asked me to do it I was dumbfounded. My mind went blank and I thought "Is she talking to me???" She definitely does not let you move ahead until you are ready so off we went to give it our best. The first one was a bit all over the place but the second was spot on! It was like Blu was saying to me, "Finally she got it right"... He is such a hoot. After that he got lots of praise and hugs but all he really wanted was the sugar in my pocket!!! Several people were in the ring and watched the scene unfold. All stopped to say how wonderful he was... Linda piped in that she thought I gave him a wonderful ride :-) It was a shadbelly ride for sure!

Making strides...

Everyday is a new day and it is better than the last. Big Blu is having some fun with his new feet, swinging happy back, loads of treats and a as much second cut as he can eat. His muscling has changed dramatically... I have to take a picture soon and according to the experts -- my vet, farrier and trainer... there is more to come.

Last Saturday on a cold and blustery day after two days off due to some of my business travel, I took Blu out for a hack with my friend Sandra and her amazing mare Flaine. They got along famously. She did not mind him walking in close proximity either by her side or up her rear end. She watched him as he piaffed and passaged in the fields and when she did not feel quite secure passing something she let him go first. Such a smart mare and such a brave Blu! Never once did he tell me "no" or not listen to me. He crossed small foot bridges, passed by horses in open fields, circumvented large cross country obstacles and walked up and down some pretty good size hills.

The day after a hack is always the best day because he is so up and forward. I had beautiful work in all gaits -- swinging, forward and just plain fun.

We also took another lesson and he was even better than the last. My trainer got on him to feel his ride and she proclaimed him to be a $1m horse. I already knew that :-)

Dressage = patience

Patience has never been one of my virtues. While I am an equal opportunity impatient person being the most impatient with myself, I have learned through animals (especially horses) and dressage if I just wait a moment the most wonderful opportunities and progress can be witnessed.

Just yesterday Blu schooled me yet again in sitting still in the moment. During a lesson our job was to just canter straight down the center line without changing leads. Sounds easy and on any given day we can do it but last night -- not so much. I spent my day sitting at my desk and got up at 4;30 pm to head for the barn. My left hip was aching so dropping my weight into it was not happening. Blu took this as his signal to swap leads. ARGHHHH.... I finally settled my mind and concentrated on distributing my weight so lead swapping was not an option. I rose above the discomfort, found a zen moment and voila it worked!

We had a great lesson. We worked on refining the canter/ walk transition since this will be the key to truly great changes -- we did have some very good ones tonight :-) We also worked on some quarter canter pirouettes all from the seat... he was awesome and as a result so was I! The end was long and low and we were once again FABULOUS!

My hips have been really sore and tight. I hate this cold weather... Yet despite it all Blu still tries his hardest and teaches me the very best lessons with his confident manner and his ever so kind demeanor. He is a true school master and I just have to stop and listen.