Another Day, Another JW Lesson

My trainer, her working student, another boarder and I all traveled down to JW's barn Monday and Tuesday to take lessons (and the boarder was trying out one of her ponies). It was my first outing with Lines since I brought him home in September. When we went to pick him up the first time, it took 45 minutes and 5 people to get him into the trailer, so we left plenty of time to coax him in if needed. I was prepared with lots of treats and a stud chain. It took him one step up and one pull back, and then he hopped onto the trailer with just a little pressure on the chain, and two people behind him with brooms making a back barrier. On the way home, it was just me and trainer loading him, and he hopped immediately in. Good boy! He's learning trailer rides mean I stuff his face with treats.

Getting ready to kick some loading butt in our fancy pink wraps! Under the wraps, he is wearing homemade pillow wraps- navy blue with pink anchors. A man's gotta have nice things!

We were a little nervous heading out as there had been snow over ice down south, but it was supposed to heat up to a balmy 40* by the time we went down there, so we ventured out. The drive down was thankfully not too bad. We took it slow as there were some slushy areas, but we made it in just over 5 hours. On the way home, it took us nearly seven as we hit Seattle rush hour traffic at just the wrong time. And let me tell you- city drivers do not realize that trucks pulling horse trailers cannot stop fast. They just pull right in front of you. We will squish you like a bug!

Anyway, onto our lessons... Because I am not always super good at organizing my thoughts, I'm bullet pointing my highlights. Sadly, we didn't get any canter video and it was some of our best work! The video I got is super helpful to me, but not super pretty...so I'll use screen-shots instead ;)

• Keeping "drag"on the reins. Not dragging on the reins. I struggle with connection on Lines. He is a funny dude. Too much pressure and he'll curl behind the bit, too little and he'll giraffe his neck up into the rafters. The feel in my hands should be as if I was dragging a fishing line through the water. Just enough to keep a consistent feel, and allowing my elbows to be the "end of the reins" or that the reins are an extension of my arms. Connection is the name of the game right now. If I can't keep it, I don't have Lines where he should be. 

  

  Trying to keep consistent contact and have him reach for the bit. Not so easy.

• Get your effing right leg back. Pretttty much the theme of both lessons. I finally started to get it at the end of the second day. There's so much drilling on "heels down" in the equestrian world (especially hunters, where I started), that I tend to jam my heels down and push my leg forward, which makes my leg (especially my right leg) stick out like a sore thumb. I can see it in almost every picture of me riding. JW had me swing my legs back and forth to loosen up my hip, and keep my right leg back as if I was asking for canter or a haunches-in. It finally clicked in when she had me do nose-to-the-wall leg yield and then slowly change that to renvers. Finally, my right leg was on and where it was supposed to be for appropriate bend. I am now sore today as I actually had to use my leg effectively. 

  

  Yikes. Those legs. Not cool.

• Put your effing hands down. JW is not shy about using strong language. I need to invest in a bucking strap so I can hold my hands down. Some of my best steps of canter came when JW told me to keep my hands on my saddle pad and bend Lines with my legs. Apparently she knows what she's talking about or something... 

  

  Lower than that. But getting better...

• "Rear up" in canter/walk and walk/canter. I need to feel as if Lines is rearing up in both the upward and downward. It puts me in the backseat and then I can set him down (or pick him up) nicely. Also more leg. No really, MORE leg. That's not enough leg. Canter to walk or halt uses the most leg of anything. 
• "Could you turn right?" in half pass. I tend to hear "half pass" and get frantic and drop my outside rein. I need to keep enough of a feel on the outside rein that I could turn the opposite direction in counter canter. We had our very best half pass at the end of our first lesson. I was getting frantic, as I do. We were going to the right, and broke gait. JW had me pick up the left lead on the long side, turn in counter canter up the quarter line and then flow to the wall in half pass. Boom. Perfect. She was like "Walk, you're done. That's it." We both had big smiles on our faces. She said "That's not just a good half pass for Emily and Lines, that's a good half pass." Success! I'm still super green at the level, and Lines is NOT an easy horse (he has so many little evasions and quirks that are hard to figure out), so that was a HUGE compliment. So happy! 

It was a pretty exhausting two days! We made it back and my poor old man was pretty stiff. I let him run around in the arena. Lets just say that Lines at liberty isn't exactly the picture of elegance. Ahem. What can I say? He's an awkward dude! I've got a video, but I need to wait until it's backed up. Tomorrow will be video day :)

My Other "Hobby"

I'd say my two hobbies aren't really hobbies, as much as they're a real part of my lifestyle. You can't just set horses down and pick them up later (well, you can, but I know from experience that it's tough). They kind of take over your entire life.

My other "hobby" is art. My dream is to have my own studio and to make a living between commissions/artwork sales and private art classes. Someday! For now, I take on a few commissioned drawings a year. I don't have a ton of time to devote to drawing anymore with a full-time job and the horses, but I try to fit it in when I can (lunch breaks, after dinner while watching tv, etc). 

One of my favorites that is sadly no longer in my possession. 

My favorite part about creating these portraits for people is their reaction upon receiving them (although I don't often actually give them in person). Many times there are tears, often with memorial portraits and people remembering their horses or pets that have been lost. 

One of the few times I've seen my trainer cry was when she opened this.

The holiday season is my busiest, with orders being sent across the country. I didn't take on very many this year, as I knew I wouldn't have the time or energy to put into a ton of drawings, but I think I'm ending up doing 5 or 6, plus a couple of Secret Santa things and I always give away a drawing in the barn Christmas party gift exchange.

 So, that's what I do with all of that "free time" I have (hah. hah.). Shameless plug for my website: emilydieleman.com . And more pretty pictures, because it's too cold to ride right now!

Tony!

Justice, the horse I rode in college.

Another dog. This one I kept and it travels to art fairs and such with me,

One of the few of my drawings that I still own. Another art fair traveler.

I also do these fun Paint Your Pony events where I sketch out a horse (or other creatures...I've done cats, dogs, goats, parrots...), and then guide people through painting it. It's super fun and everyone's always turns out nice!

Tony again!

The Difference a Saddle Makes

Tony is not overly-sensitive about saddle fit. He's pretty much the same no matter what you put him in. I thought Lines was much the same, as I had tried about 10 (!!!) different saddles on him over the course of about two months. He was kind of his same old self in everything- quite hollow through the back, neck swanning up, but willing to do the work.

Then I tried the magical saddle. It's the weirdest saddle I've put on him, but he's a weird guy. It's a Jaguar XKC, which my research says was made by Harry Dabbs for the Jaguar car company (yes, my horse rides around in a Jag, and I drive an older Honda).

Because I forgot to take pictures when I was at the barn, you get my super fancy MS Paint sketches.

The saddles I had been trying had panels like this:

They lay flat on the horse's back and kind of spread out. I tried a few Albions that were shaped like this. A couple I tried on I couldn't even fit two fingers in the rear gullet while I was sitting in the saddle. No bueno on an old man back.

The Jaguar has funky upswept panels that look like this:

On lots of horses, this would mean the saddle rocks back, or there's not enough contact through the rear of the panels. But for some reason it works for Lines. 

This week, he has been so loose and round and relaxed. It's been amazing! Now that we have that figured out, we can start pushing more. Starting with a last-minute trip down to JW's barn for lessons Monday and Tuesday!! 

Winter!

Up where I live in Washington, we don't get much snow (except on the mountain). And we rarely get snow before Christmas. It's snowing today though, and it snowed on Friday as well. I'm super bummed that I'm stuck in my office today with the snow coming down outside, so I'm going to share my favorite snow pictures! All of the ones of Tony are from February 2014, which was the last time we had enough snow to ride in! This is what I'd much rather be doing today:

Marlee! I miss this little mare so much! 2012

Marlee 2012

My house!

All I Want For Christmas Is....

In both my and my husband's immediate families, I am the only horse person. In both of our extended families, I am for sure the only English rider. I have a cousin who does some Western riding, and a great aunt and her daughter have a few horses (daughter used to be pretty serious about barrel racing...she has a family now, so not sure how much she still does). On my husband's side, I think there might be a cousin with a farm horse or two? Unsure on that one.

Anyway, what that all means is that around gift-giving times I usually have to come up with non-horsey wishlist items. I don't think my parents have gifted me with anything horsey in my adult life (besides cash, because cash always goes to the horses, of course), and my in-laws prefer to buy things in like real stores or something? Anyway, the top of my wish list is a gift card to Smartpak. Can't go wrong there. Or Riding Warehouse. I'm not picky!

Since they want to buy real things, I put a Noble Outfitters grooming tote (with a mesh bottom!) and some Under Armour wear (thanks CobJockey for the suggestion!) on my Amazon wish list. But now I need to come up with general things. We never made wish-lists growing up, but my husband's family is big into that. And surprises. I think I can remember 2 gifts growing up that were actual surprises on Christmas morning- paddock boots and riding lessons when I was in 4th grade and an iPod touch when I was about 19. My family tends to do small stocking stuffers and then have an experience (usually an overnight in the city and something like the aquarium, a show, etc).

All that to say- I can't figure out what general things I want. Maybe a puffy vest (for wearing to the barn). Or long warm socks (for under my riding boots). I really just put down three things I wanted and don't care if it's a surprise or not. I will of course appreciate anything they give to me. I love my in-laws, and they tend to be good gift-givers. I just don't need more "stuff" this year! I'm sure they are just as much at a loss on what to get their horse-obsessed daughter-in-law ;) I rarely wear jewelry, I have way too many hats/scarves/gloves, and I don't really like getting clothes as gifts since I can't try them on.

What non-horsey things are on your wish list?

State of Affairs

So as it is right now, I tend to ride in the evenings after work when no one is around. It means I have no photos. I really need to bribe my husband into coming down so I can get some new media. I have videos from the JW clinic a couple of weeks ago, but I really felt like we were embracing the suck that weekend, and it's a lot of not super pretty moments. Helpful for me to watch, but not really anything I want out in the world ;)

That's not to say we didn't have any nice moments. We actually did. But I've been having trouble figuring out what I'm doing (I'm very green at this level), and Lines isn't exactly the easiest horse. I am learning so much from him, but he is NOT a push-button schoolmaster! 

See? A decent moment!

At the clinic, I had wanted to work on our changes and see what we can do to improve them (he is late behind and runs off every single time). JW watched a few, tried to give me some tips and basically said to have my trainer work through them with me and my time would be better served doing something else. So the following week, I had G get on after I warmed Lines up so she could get a feel for his changes. Late behind. Every. Single. Time. She tried a few things, and finally we decided that it would be best right now to just ignore the changes and go for 10's on everything else. Perhaps they will improve with some strength building, but we think they won't be improved by schooling them. I watched his competition videos from last season and it's the same there. Late behind. 

With that being the plan, I am working on getting Lines' neck down and relaxed. He has this long swan neck, and on one hand can be sensitive to the curb, but on the other won't put his damn head down (yes, yes, yes...working on getting his back up, hind end under him, correct training, etc.). 

Looking good for an old man!

In other news, I FINALLY found a saddle to fit his weird old man back. I've tried well over 10 on him in the 2.5 months I've had him, and finally settled on a Jaguar XKC. It's got funky upswept panels in the back, which seems to sit well on his back. The seat is slightly small for me at 17.5, but the seat itself isn't terribly deep, so it seems to be working. I'll ride in it another week or so before I make a final decision. 

Not mine, but the same saddle.

And because I am buying a saddle, Lines just had new shoes put on, and board was due: 

True story. The struggle is real.

And finally, just for funsies:

Onward, noble steed!

November 10 Questions

*So....I wrote this last week and then never posted it because...well, I forgot. So three days into December, let's take a moment to remember the November 10 Questions*

One of these days I'll get into the swing of things and actually post interesting content. Maybe. I have a clinic coming up this weekend, so I'll have a report on that! I'm also waiting until after then to do the TRM Before and After Blog-hop, since I don't have any good media from the last month. I'll get to Tony's too, although he's not doing much these days, poor pumpkin.

But until then, I'll let Viva Carlos provide my content (again).

1. How old is the youngest/greenest horse you’ve ridden?

That would be Tony's younger full brother, Sacha, or Weissach BCH. I was the very first person to put saddles on both him and Tony, and was the very first person to get on Sacha as a three-year-old, although we did send him away for a couple months to get started once he turned four. Poor thing doesn't do much these days, but he is actually quite talented.

Wee baby Sacha.

2. How old is the oldest horse you've ridden?

Something like 28 or 29, I think. That would be Arron, a friend's Haflinger who was competing in eventing and dressage until nearly 30. He was trained in upper level dressage.

3. Were you scared of horses when you first started riding?

Nope. Not when I first started. I did end up getting scared at the second barn I rode at when we lived in Maryland. They left the saddles on the horses and had the riders go in and bridle them. There were a couple of biters/kickers, and one of the trainers was a yeller. It got to the point where I was scared of the horse and scared of the teacher. I didn't quit though!

Not nervous! I think I was no longer riding at the scary barn at this point though.

4. Would you say you're a more nervous rider or confident rider?

I'd say I'm fairly confident. I do get nervous with new horses since I broke my leg a couple years ago. Although I did get on one of my trainer's sales horses last week and it was amazing. He's only been in the barn a week and a half and two people have come to see him.

I used to be super confident!

5. Biggest pet peeve about non-horse people around horses?

When they don't think things should take so long. Like I don't just show up to a magically clean and tacked horse, and I can't just toss him back in a stall when I'm done. There's care involved!

6. A time you've been scared for your life (horse related)?

Oh yeah. The time a horse reared and rotated back onto me. That was fun. I was legit scared for my life and it really is a miracle that I only broke my femur and minorly fractured my sacrum and pelvis. It could have been so much worse, and I try not to think about that because it scares me! I was not wearing a helmet, which was the worst decision ever. Someday I'll tell the whole story.

Ah, good times. This really put a damper on my summer that year.

7. Have you ever fallen off at a show? What happened?

Nope! However, my horse has jumped out of the dressage arena multiple times and bolted like a nutcase, so I probably should have ;) 

8. What's a breed of horse you've never ridden but would like to ride?

Hmmm...good question! I can think of a few. Friesian (I've ridden a half-Friesian), Icelandic  (tolting would be fun!), Welsh Cob (um, major cuteness), or a really big draft horse. I've ridden part-drafts but I don't think I've ever ridden a full draft horse!

9. Describe the worst-behaved horse you've ever ridden.

Ahem. Should I just desrcibe my pony? He's given me the worst behavior over the longest time. The horse that flipped over on me was the worst behaved in a single moment though. Tony's just add up slower over time.

10. What's the most frustrating ride you've ever had?

Oh, I could think of a few with Tony where we just weren't getting it. He's reduced me to tears on more than one occasion.