Great ride at the walk...

I rode yesterday, finally, after two weeks off! It was a muddy mess so Lady and I just did a lot of walking, practicing what I learned at the clinic. We did lots of zig zag loops and it was amazing how quickly she picked up on it, all I had to do was change my position for the next loop and she flowed into the movement, I didn't have to urge or ask or anything. We even tried some baby shoulder in and she was doing it better already!


We did trot a little and tried the zig zags at the trot and they went very well too. She's so smart and responsive...a dream horse to ride really! We also worked on turn on the forehand, just getting a step or two of sideways with her haunches for now. I'm really excited by how well she responded to those simple exercises, especially since it doesn't seem like the weather is going to improve much anytime soon and we'll be limited due to footing. When we trotted she did much better on keeping contact and staying on the bit, hardly ever ducking behind or anything.

Eddo Hoekstra Clinic Notes...Day 2...

I didn't take as many notes for day 2. For two reasons...one...I was really late. Apparently an Airman in Craig's command decided it would be awesome to deal large quantities of drugs with many clients in the Active Duty Air Force. He thought it would be super fun to not give up any names of his clients to the authorities so the response was to call in *everyone* on a Saturday morning for a drug test. This meant that I had to wait to go to the clinic until Craig got home so that Logan was supervised at all times. And the second reason, a lot of the exercises were the same, just having a greater response on the horse. Or some exercises used yesterday were used on different horses today.


After your horse has gotten good at doing SI, HI, SI, HI, SI it is good to start adding renvers and half pass on the long side instead on shallow loops. It's more like you're showing an understanding of the idea of half pass and renvers but not actually going all the way there. Then you can do half pass, half pass, half pass, just changing the direction while staying on your shallow loops. This is good prep for canter from the walk and good prep for flying changes.


At trot try asking for shorter/softer steps for three sides of the ring and then letting the horse out to lengthen for one long side.


If it doesn't come easily it probably isn't worth asking for (this was said in reference to a canter transition from the trot that wasn't so great). Also, if you wait too long to make a correction then the correction is too big.


Combine shallow loops with transitions between the walk and the trot (before adding in actual steps of SI/HI).


To work on your collection trot a 10 meter circle, transitioning between walk and trot, just after walking change bend to circle in the other direction (like starting a figure 8) and trot again.

Eddo Hoekstra Clinic Notes...Day 1...Horse 4 and 5...

I didn't take a lot of notes for horse 4...mainly because I was too busy drooling over the amazingly gorgeous black Trakehner mare in the ring. The epitome of dream horse for me. The big thing they did to start was stretchy circles, give with rt hand, drive with rt leg, give with left hand, drive with left leg, and so on, slowly feeding the reins to the horse one side and a little bit at a time.


When doing walk to halt transitions stop your body and wait for the horse to lessen forward movement; if it doesn't in a few steps then use your hands to ask too.


Practice using your seat bones to ask for the walk.


After doing walk-trot-walk transitions ride while thinking of rebalancing for the walk but don't actually walk. This helps to improve the trot tremendously! You can also shift your inside hip forward and ask for the canter during one of these rebalancings.


The next horse they worked on managing the go of the horse without trying to stop it. While they did shallow loops they added in walk/trot transitions on one long side. Then the next long side they would just trot with lengthened strides. After around 3 laps they would change directions.


There will never be spring without swing!


Walk-trot transitions on a circle, ride the horse "slightly in" when walking (without steering though, steering is blocking) after this reverse directions on a new circle through the canter like previous horse.


After the horse has become good at the shallow loops (or maybe more accurately, once the rider is proficient at guiding the horse through shallow loops) then you can do shoulder in, guide back to the wall, haunches in, back to the wall, etc. Very small SI/HI, so the horse doesn't realize it's doing it.

Eddo Hoekstra Clinic Notes...Day 1...Horse 3...

Next up was a super cute Pinto mare. This horse was very helpful in giving me ideas on things to work with when riding Lady. Namely the first exercise, which involved doing a stretchy circle to help the rider find the correct tempo for the horse. You ask the horse to stretch by giving with one rein, then squeezing with that leg, then releasing some with the other rein, using that leg, and alternating sides while doing that until the horse has a nice stretch. Once the horse is stretched down and out it will begin reaching and letting go...and as a result, slowing down to its ideal tempo. Once this happens you can begin taking up contact again but keeping the same tempo. This can be done at the canter as well.


Next they worked on trotting a big circle, asking for a walk while coming into the center of the circle, trotting, walk and come in, and so on. Then after a few iterations of this the horse would change direction out of the circle and canter on a new circle (like beginning a figure 8).


Eddo's method for teaching shoulder in and travers was really simple and actually relaxing for the horse. He instructed the rider to ride shallow loops on the long side of the arena at the walk. Focus on directing the horse, not steering the horse, keeping it as straight as possible in the neck during the exercise and focusing on the outside ear for when you're at on the loop. Then repeat at the trot once you have the hang of it. As the horse progresses at this you can start doing a very, very small shoulder in, then haunches in. The movements are so small that the horse doesn't even realize she is doing it.


Eddo said that after 3 weeks of doing the baby SI and HI the horse would be able to do it for real. Not only do the shallow loops build toward doing SI/HI but also improve the trot as well.


The final thing I wrote down from this ride was that the more you want your horse to come back (aka collect) the more side to side (aka lateral work) you need

Eddo Hoekstra Clinic Notes...Day 1...Horse 1...

Yesterday was the first day of the Eddo Hoekstra clinic. It was a cold, dreary day in Bulverde, TX. The clinic is taking place at Providence Ranch and the facilities are amazing. The large ring where the rides took place was huge with really nice footing that held up to the rain. They also have a dressage ring and a large grass field with jumps in the grass and a dirt track around the outside. Definitely my dream Texas place to board, too bad it's 45 minutes away!


I arrived just as the first horse was finishing up, but I did catch Eddo talking about looking to the right for shoulder in (when tracking right) and looking to the left for the travers, he was having the rider alternate between SI and HI and then riding forward for a few strides. I wanted to audit the clinic due to the fact that I love Walter Zettl and his style of teaching (and horsemanship) and I knew Eddo is a longtime pupil of Walter's. The exercise was very familiar from the Zettl clinic's I've been to in New Jersey and would become very familiar over the next two days.


The next horse was a darling Appaloosa mare with a sweet rider. The start of their ride was spent focusing on the horse and ensuring she was fulfilling her job as the horse in the partnership. To start Eddo had her walk on a loose rein and evaluate if the horse was going with purpose, not hurrying, but with purpose. She wasn't quite there so he had the rider walk on a loose rein and squeeze with the inside leg as the inside hind foot was leaving the ground in order to activate the walk a bit more.


When backing up the leg with the whip he said that if the horse is irritated by the whip on the hindquarters than use it on the shoulder instead. And of course, once you get a response, back off so that the horse knows it fulfilled your wishes. When the horse is more foward then you ask yourself if the horse is moving forward with purpose and relaxed. For the rider that likes to really ride every stride he said "the horse does the walking and trotting and cantering, you do not actually do those things".


One thing he really emphasized for this exercise is that a jog does not coung as a trot. When the horse breaks into a jog while trying to activate the walk it's going from a non-forward walk to a non-forward trot; it's the horse making life easier for herself. So if she breaks into a jog turn that jog into a real trot. Once the horse is moving with more purpose you need to do lots of changes of direction to test if she keeps her sense of purpose.


The more the horse goes with purpose the wasier your job gets. Once the walk was improved they began working on transitions, lots of walk/trot transitions with only a stride or two of walk before trotting again. Basically considering the idea of walking to be a possibility, not a promise.


After that they worked on Turn on the Forehand and Turn on the Haunches at the halt. Eddo said that the nice thing about working on things at the halt is that it lets you know what you're doing too much of and not enough of (for example, if you are asking for TOF and the horse steps backwards, you are using too much hand). Once a few steps were possible from the halt he had the pair start trotting foward, walking, stopping, doing a few steps of TOF, and repeat.


The final exercise was to work on connecting the horse to the seat at a standstill. This was done by at the halt, asking for flexion while squeezing with your seat until the horse chews. Then you can ask for TOF or TOH.

A video of what's going on...

My last post I mentioned how Lady was doing something new, going BTV when I applied inside leg. This last ride she started alternating between stretching down and bracing. When I would half half with the inside hand/leg (and by hand I mean flexing that ring finger) she would try to stretch down or come back. I experiemented with asking for more forward and riding without doing anything with my hands, even half halting and ended up with this video...




After watching the video I see that the tempo is too fast, but she is such a good girl and trying. She's also trying to figure out how to interact with the new contact and way of going. The Eddo Hoekstra clinic is definitely giving me a lot of ideas for exercises to do in helping her accept the contact and relax. I'm excited to ride her again and try out what I've been watching...and that's after just one day of the clinic! I'll be posting my clinic notes once I get them typed up, probably starting tomorrow night.

Another nice ride...

Today Lady and I had another nice ride. She is much more up and forward than when we started just a few rides ago. As soon as I pick up contact and pulse my inside leg she flexes at the poll and softens. I'm a little worried that she's flexing too much and can't wait to get another video to see what's happening. For now I'll just work on keeping her forward and in front of the vertical. I think right now she's just trying to find her balance and where feels "right" to carry her head. I just need to help her there, which is kind of hard since I'm not particularly worried about her head and where it is, but I don't want her developing a habit of going BTV.


She was much straighter going to the right this time, instead of doing a renvers the whole time of her own accord she was basically straight. I was even able to leg yield her to the left toward the side of the arena she doesn't care for. She was able to bend better on circles as well. Not only that, but we were able to leg yield from the quarter line to the wall going in both directions fairly easily.


We worked on transitions and due to her dropping her head I lost my focus and didn't go with the plan of transitions every 6 strides. I'll stick to the plan tomorrow though, and see if the head issue resolves itself as she gets used to being forward and ridden from inside leg to outside rein.


I think the best part of the ride was the end. I was letting her walk on a loose rein and thought to myself, why not try a little baby shoulder in, just to see what she did, because she was doing so well with leg yielding today. So we went to the left first, did a small circle and I kept my positioning for the shoulder in, and like magic, she glided into a smooth shoulder in! She did great compared to last time we tried. We did it a couple more times and then switched directions. She struggled a lot going to the right, but actually did pretty well consdering just our last ride we were needing to travers and leg yield in order to not bend to the outside!

Before I forget...

I wanted to write down what we did on our last ride. It was very, very windy and I almost didn't ride, even after spending a while getting Lady cleaned up, but I decided to try it despite the cold and the wind...and I was glad I did! First of all, Lady has the perfect temperment for a windy day, nothing phases her and she didn't care about *anything*. I think the wind bothered me more than it bothered her.


We started out by walking a few laps around the ring to let her warm up and get synovial fluid flowing in her joints. After the walking we began trotting on a long rein, letting her get even looser and ready to work. She was doing great, foward and energetic and picking up the trot very quickly when I asked. At this point I mostly focused on myself, sitting straight and tall, staying relaxed and not tensing or gripping with anything and most importantly, looking *up*.


After I was satisfied with myself and that Lady was warmed up we started working on the meat of the ride...transitions. My goal was just to do lots of walk-trot transitions (it was a little slick to be cantering). I wanted to get her forward and thinking forward, ready to flow into the trot from the walk and back into a forward walk from the trot. At the same time I stayed super focused on my position and staying relaxed and not blocking her (or nagging her). I wasn't worrying about her frame or how round she was, just maintaining a nice connection and doing our transitions.


In the beginning I did two transitions on each long side of the arena, and the change in Lady was amazing...she took notice, started marching in her walk and smoothly going into the trot when I asked. Her head also came up a bit but she flexed at the poll, without me doing anything to encourage it other than supporting her through the transitions and keeping her forward. We started adding in some large circles and doing transitions on the circles as well.


I always start our rides to the left, because it's my better direction, and it's Lady's better direction. To the right she tends to bend to the outside, from head to tail. I've been working on developing more straightness in this direction and during our last ride discovered that if I ask her for travers to get the correct bend (at least a bend to the inside of the ring instead of the outside) and then leg yield her back over to the wall whe would move straight. We did that a few times and when we circled after doing this exercise she gave me an amazing trot, it felt like we were floating and reminded me of riding Jessie, my Appendix QH gelding. I definitely look forward to creating this trot in future rides.


After the floaty trot we did one more long side where we traversed/leg yielded for straightness and then called it a day. Right now my focus is on ensuring the work we do is as correct as possible, so I stop on a good note and without really drilling what we did home and making her sour or burnt out. One of my favorite things about Lady is how much she enjoys being groomed...it's very gratifying to curry a horse that enjoys it, and lets you know she enjoys it! That was one thing I missed with Sophie, she seemed very standoffish when it came to grooming, other than having her mane brushed and her udder cleaned.


I'll ride again tomorrow, and possibly Wednesday and Thursday since I can't ride on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday due to the Eddo Hoekstra clinic I'm going to be auditing. My plan for tomorrow is more transitions, like every 6 strides transitions, and doing more travers/leg yielding to work on straightness. Once she's straighter I'd like to start introducing shoulderfore, but right now it's much easier to move her hindquarters over to get the start of straightness than her forehand!

Big Changes

Where do I begin??? Well, addressing where I left off...Sophie had a total of three Bowen treatments and they did wonders for her. I highly, highly, highly recommend Bowen. Jilly, my Papillon also had three treatments for her stifles and she hasn't lifted a hindleg in pain since then. Logan, my son, was born February 12th, 2010 after a month of bedrest. I rode a handful of times while on maternity leave and realized that while my husband was deployed there was no way I'd be able to ride regularly. So I made the difficult decision to sell Sophie. I put her in consignment training with Lisa Smit at Brevard Equestrian Center in Grant, FL and it was one of my smarter decisions. I highly recommend Lisa if you are looking for a trainer or instructor in Brevard County, or if you are looking for help in buying or selling a horse.


Soon after Sophie sold my husband, Craig, was offered a great job at a different Air Force base, the only catch being that we would move in July 2011, not July 2012 like we previously expected. However, the icing on the cake was that I would be able to get out of the Air Force early. So he accepted the job and I am a civilian after 8 years in the Air Force. We also live in San Antonio, TX now. So it ended up being a blessing that we had already sold Sophie.


After moving to San Antonio we had a garge sale and I sold some horse items on the garage sale. One of the shoppers was Jennifer, who keeps her three horses at a facility less than 2 miles from our house. I traded a baby swing for a lesson and had my first ever hunter/jumper lesson two weeks later. I told Jennifer that I was really interested in riding, so if she knew anyone that wasn't able to ride or needed help keeping their horse ridden to pass along my info.


Well, as fate would have it, just one week later it was Jennifer that needed help with keeping her lesson horse exercised, as she'd been rear ended in a pretty bad car accident and couldn't ride. So I am currently exercising her American Warmblood mare, Lady, until she is able to ride again. Jennifer has given me permission to teach Lady dressage. As a result I've decided to resurrect my old blog to record my new adventures. I've renamed it Dressage Nomad since we move a lot and I'm not sure when I'll have a dressage horse of my own again, so I'll be basically riding whatever horse I can get my hands on in the future.


This blog will serve as a training record and a place to keep notes about riding, especially since I'll be auditing an Eddo Hoekstra clinic in a couple of weeks and plan to audit other clinics in the future. I miss Sophie a lot, she was so much fun to ride and taught me more than I ever thought possible. And while I wish I still had her, I am excited about the opportunities the future holds as well.