Fimbulwinter 4: Fumblewinter

[glenatron]

Today was sunny and people were going out skiing or playing with toboggans mostly. I had to walk to the shops ( the delivery lorry had arrived with milk ) and later walk to the ponies.

Later I did something really dense,


The main road not far from our house. Quiet and somewhat snowy...


Much more pleasant being an Exmoor today...


The Surrey Hills resembling a ski resort. Not something that one sees frequently.


Proper winter robin! On the way through the valley we got buzzed by a pair of them - they were hopping around us and then even flying up and hovering right in front of us momentarily. I assume someone has been feeding them by hand because i've never seen them so naturally tame.


Zorro has become increasingly obsessed with eating halters lately. Today it transpires he even plays tug-of-war. Is this what Gerd Heuschmann was writing his book about?


Zorro using the snow for it's required purpose...


If it were possible to tire of pictures of Small Pony looking adorable I'm sure it would have happened by now.

Now one thing that has happened so far in my life is no snow since I have been around horses much, so I've never ridden in snow. And nobody had been in the school, so it was absolutely pristine, which really only left one option...

A bit on the ground to see how punchy he's feeling. Quite punchy as you can tell from the way he's thinking of biting my face off here.


Riding my pony! In the snow! Not terribly well, but I didn't want to spend the time on tacking up or change my boots, which would have compromised my binbag and gaffa tape gaiters.


Zorro claims that he is not a riding horse if there is snow on the ground. His front feet were just landing...

So I went with that idea and once he had offered me a few nice steps, I figured we could stop and go back for his dinner. And then when we stopped I noticed the snow looking soft and deep and inviting and figured there might never be a better time to try a rolling dismount. So, with the immortal words "Check this out!" I tried.


Fail. A correct roll would have landed shoulder first and turned from there to absorb the momentum of the fall. I landed right on my coccyx, which sank straight through that soft soft snow and landed hard on the frozen floor of the school.

I suspect some of you might have been in a similar situation and be able to imagine the language that followed. I'll be honest, it does hurt a lot, but it is so absolutely my own stupid fault that I'm not going to blame anyone but my big fat stupid self, as I stumble around in pain for the next few days...

Comments

[makoiyi.livejournal.com]

I'm not laughing. I'm really n-n-not. Glad you weren't seriously hurt. It's just... smug horse expression. Hee!

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

The following picture has Zorro with a look of "dude, srsly, wtf???"

He was very good about me writhing around in pain.

[makoiyi.livejournal.com]

It's the ears! *dies*

[teadog1425.livejournal.com]

Oh no!

What a fab picture though - I too love Zorro's expression here - all 'these monkeys are crazy...!'

I feel your pain with the hard landing - I hope the bruise is impressive and the pain wears off quickly!

I don't think I'll get a chance to ride in the snow - though Marco is Icelandic in breed and Swedish by birth, so is apparently quite used to snowy conditions! Not sure I'm brave enough for it though... :-/

Tam

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

I just feel that if real working horses have to work in most kinds of weather I should be able to as well, or at least know how it feels. It would be really nice to actually feel those paces when he's going nicely through the snow because much like running in the sea it just necessitates elevation. But mostly I just got grumpy cob rearing/hopping and a few steps of walk...

[teadog1425.livejournal.com]

Yes, his paces looked beautiful in the photo from the other day when he was rampaging through the snow behind Small... You did well to stay on through all the grumpyness!

I was going to ask whether you have any advice - I'm always very impressed with your bravery about your riding, even when things go a bit pear-shaped, and, having had a long stretch this year when I finally felt pretty confident in my riding, I've suddenly hit a real anxious patch again - I fell from my friend's horse before xmas (just got unseated by a buck and landed hard - not that the pony was being naughty even) and then got run off with by Marco a couple of weekends ago when he spooked as some other riders (not with us) suddenly started cantering hard close behind us. And last weekend when I went to ride out on Marco I just felt really panicky - worse than I've been before when I used to get anxious beforehand but then feel fine once on the horse - and then I make it worse by worrying that the horse will pick up my anxiety. :-(

I feel really ashamed about this, because it's not as though either of these were bad incidents - I got Marco stopped after a while and stayed on and I _know_ that both of these horses are generally really sane, sensible citizens, but it's a really physical reaction and logic is not helping. (My palms are sweating typing this - which is just ridiculous) I wondered if you have any tips about how I can work through this without upsetting my horse?!

Sorry to dump all this in your comments - I'm happy to put it in email if you prefer.

Thanks for any tips you can think of!

Tam

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

Well I have a couple of things that I do which really help, so I'll talk through them and hopefully there will be something you can follow.

First up, there is no question of being able to get Zorro stopped. Our indirect rein / doubling is pretty much perfect and if he sets to bucking or to run off or whatever else I know I can catch him up in a few strides and get us stopped. That doesn't mean it's the right thing to do or that I always need to do it, but I know I always can. If he's really anxious it won't help to stop because he will need to move his feet but I can use the stop if we get out of control. Also I have got Zorro really good with the bit, so he won't pull on it at all and I can sometimes just jingle it a little to get him to lower his head, which will typically help him to relax. Tom Widdicombe actually sets up head lowering on a rein cue which can be quite helpful but if your horse is truly soft and not braced on the bit this will probably be enough. Often as tension grows in the horse it shows around the poll so if you can help them to flex that may assist in releasing it.

Secondly I always ride out on a Mecate ( riding with a lead rope would create a similar effect ) and if the worst comes to the worst there is no shame in getting off and walking. Again, I have unquestionable control on the ground and we both know it, so when things are looking really bad ( particularly if anxiety levels are picking up and we're in a narrow or confined path ) I'll just hop off and lead until we're happy again.

Also, if I'm getting nervous I just breathe deep and slow and focus on doing that and feeling what my horse is doing. By using a counted breath ( slow count of eight inhale, hold for a slow count of four, slow count of eight exhale, hold for a slow count of four ) I give myself something to think about to stop me thinking about what could go wrong. I'll also work on stuff like feeling of the feet and generally giving myself things to do. Humans and horses alike can be distracted from things that worry them and it can be very helpful to everyone involved to do so.

The hardest part, for someone like me with a pretty strong imagination, is to stop thinking about what might happen and just concentrate on what I want to happen. I don't need to plan for the worst, I just need to be able to deal with it if it happens- hectic stuff is very in-the-moment at any rate so having a plan ahead of time is usually not helpful. So I know I have the tools I mentioned and I'm ready to use them but I don't expect to need to use them, I try to always ride like we're going to have the best hack we ever did. If I feel my confidence getting too low I am not above giving up and trying again another day but also if something hectic happens and we get through it and get things back then that can really be a help for next time we ride out, so I don't mind too badly when that happens.

[teadog1425.livejournal.com]

Thank you - I've been rereading and thinking over this and there's lots in there that I think I can use to help me - so thank you very much...

Re 1st point - I'm not entirely certain that I understand what the one-rein stopping involves in practice but it does sound like a very useful tool to have in the tool box. I'm hoping to squirrel away enough money to be able to afford a Steve Halfpenny course this year and hopefully I can perhaps learn this to add to my skill base.

Re 2nd point - that's a really good reminder actually - I am very happy with Marco on the ground (we did a huge amount of walking in hand all over the common when he was having problems with his hocks) but I think I get locked into feeling like somehow it's cheating to get off, but you're right that actually it's a sensible way of lowering stress levels and I will definitely remember this.

The breathing idea is a really good point too - I will try and remember to do this and I've noticed in the past that this is helpful but it's difficult to remember in the stressful moment!

The hardest part, for someone like me with a pretty strong imagination, is to stop thinking about what might happen and just concentrate on what I want to happen. I don't need to plan for the worst, I just need to be able to deal with it if it happens- hectic stuff is very in-the-moment at any rate so having a plan ahead of time is usually not helpful.

THIS! This is exactly the nail on the head I think - it's not the hectic stuff itself as much as it is later, once I'm off the horse, that my imagination works overtime and runs disaster movies in my head of all the awful things that could have happened, and that is completely unhelpful. And then when I get back on the horse, the disaster movies keep rearing their heads again too! And I think I worry a lot about making a mistake or doing something I should have known was stupid, and actually that's not particularly helpful either. But I will try and put my imagination to focussing on what I want to happen and I think you're right that is a much better way of approaching it!

I will let you know how I get on...! Thank you very much for your help!

Tam

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

As I recall you're not so terribly far away from here. If you wanted me to come over and talk you through some stuff or to come visit with us one time and just see what I mean about getting the indirect rein working with Zorro you would be very welcome. I'm no Steve, not within a hundred miles of where he is, but I've been learning with him for the last five years and anything I did show you should make a good foundation for the work you'd be doing with him.

[teadog1425.livejournal.com]

That would be very cool... thank you!

I live in Merton, but the yard is in Cobham, which I think is pretty close to you? I would love to come and visit and meet you all and to see a demonstration on Zorro! And if you were able to come some time and have a walk-through with me and Marco that would be just fab!

My email is tam underscore away at hotmail dot com.

Weekends are best for me, if that works ok for you guys? Thank you very much!

Tam

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

It does indeed, when the weather settles down a bit we'll find some times that work out for everyone and meet up...

[penella22.livejournal.com]

You forgot to strap that pillow to your arse!!


Silly noobie. Snow is for Vermonters. ;)

No, but seriously...I have *broken* my tailbone before, hope you didn't do the same? Mine involved ice skates... >|

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

I don't think it's broken because today it's a lot less sore, so I think I just bruised it. Not that there is any mark to show for it yet...

[harnessphoto.livejournal.com]

The tug of war and the roll dismount cracked me up to no end. Good thing I'm here alone. Hahaha. Also... the photo with the tree is STUNNING. Wow.

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I have to say, my neat dismount would have been very funny had it happened to anyone else. It's pretty funny even that it happened to me, except when I sit down...

[spirithorse21.livejournal.com]

I believe Zorro's thoughts on the matter are quite clear... *grin*

Hope it heals up fast!

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

He was just so confused as I lay writhing on the ground. Poor cob. I have resolved not to repeat this, for many reasons...

[skiesfirepaved.livejournal.com]

:P I'm sorry for mocking you, now you describe it it does sound very painful.

LOVE the tug-of-war photo! :D Zorro is ossom-o.

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

He's basically the awesomest cob out, no question...

[oifonly.livejournal.com]

*sniggers quite a lot...*

great pics though! :D