Iris time

[glenatron]

Since my contract ended, I have tried to take lots of opportunities to ride, both on Iris and out with my student Anne, who I have been doing frequent lessons with. As she has a really nice arena and we have a slightly sandy swamp, I have been taking Iris over sometimes when I'm teaching there, which gives an opportunity for us to work, new experiences for both horses and a chance for me to use Iris as demonstration horse.

While we were there in the fine weather the other day and my dad had a new tripod head that he wanted to try out, I thought it was a good chance to get a bit of video of Iris and I together, as a marker for our progress after ( very nearly ) six months.

As ever, I carefully think through want I want to get filmed when I do one of these then totally forget the minute I get on my horse and just trot around a bit.

I think Iris is looking pretty nice- her ability to follow the bit is a work in progress and I need to work to keep her in front of my leg but generally I'm well content with where we are at for the amount of work we have done. I'm particularly happy with how much more relaxed she is now.

We have also ridden out a few times in the pleasant weather. The other day Sari was with us so she got some pictures that show a few of the things that I love about Iris:


She is so careful over terrain that is new to her- this was our first crossing of this little ditch and she just walked very steadily and with great care over it.


She likes splashing! She's very good in general about walking into and through water, although weirdly she seems to prefer muddy water to clear. On the way back from this ride she threw in one out-of-the-blue buck which I think was trying to escape from a suspiciously clear puddle at the side of the road.


Trotting off down the track.

Yesterday we made our first expedition up the hill to the Punchbowl. Again she was super-good in the light of all the people we met including large groups of walkers, dogs and cyclists.

The track is rocky but worth it for the views:

I think Autumn is at its very peak now. A few people are now offering stark warnings that winter is coming.

On the way home we go around a couple of big fields and at one point the electric inner fence of the field was ticking and Iris had a bit of a morale failure. I hopped off and lead her past and then was glad I was walking as these guys came scampering over to say hello:



Iris was actually super adorable about this, she just walked along with me whickering quietly to them. If I had given her leave I think she would have gone to say hello, but as it was we ambled around the end of the field and then, just as I was about to get back on, one of the babies zinged themselves on the fence and everyone went bucking and galloping off around the field. I was quite glad to have waited at that juncture.

It took a little while to get Iris brain back in her head after that, but I calmed her down enough to be able to get back on and aside from a bit of passage down the steep hill beyond the field the rest of the ride was pretty good.

Today we went out for a short loop on the common in the afternoon. We were a little short on time but I think it was our first truly seamless ride- we had to stop and look at some cows and snort a little at a cyclist, but in general we just kept going smoothly and comfortably without any big drama. We had some nice trot and canter that didn't accellerate unnecessarily, it was just all really nice.


Walking home in the afternoon light. We're at the time of year now that I really wouldn't want to leave the yard without hi-vis in abundance.


The day ended with the moon taking charge of a pastel sky.

Comments

[joycemocha.livejournal.com]

I forget--how many rides does she have on her now?

She goes nicely forward for her current condition and experience, I'd say. Still working on muscle tone and balance, but that comes with time and work. She's moving like I would want to see a nicely started greenie move.

(That said, I'm not wild about the rope reins with the slobber straps because I feel they add a bit more noise to the signal on the rein. But that's a mileage-will-vary thing--I ride my snaffle with latigo leather reins that are reasonably broke in now, and I prefer that feel in my hand. Mileage varies. I don't even like round lunge lines, so it's definitely a mileage thing).

ETA: Just wanted to add that the forward thing is a really, really big thing in my book. I see a similar level horse at my barn who does NOT go forward, does NOT move from pressure easily, and is not afraid of crashing into other horses/doesn't respect their spaces when being ridden in a lesson group. However, he's much improved from before the owner started taking lessons again! (the "before" stage was scary. He's a tough one.) So Iris is doing very, very well! I think with regular work, you'll see some good stuff.

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

I think she's doing great too- I don't know how many rides she has, but it's less than a hundred for sure.

I noticed the same thing with the rein leathers, I think I had my reins at just the wrong length there too- they either need to be shorter or longer. I'm working with this at the moment. I really like the mecate rein though, having that lead is so useful if you're doing much trail riding where you might need to get off and lead a bit, way better than regular reins and harder to drop than split reins...

[joycemocha.livejournal.com]

I would shorten up the slobber straps. The original McCartys were horsehair which is a stiffer rope--I've seen them on a bosal. Mocha's leather snaffle reins attach to the bit by a strap which looks like a slobber strap but isn't, and is much shorter. Here's a picture that I have right now (when they were shiny new), I can take another one this coming week which shows more detail if you would like. It's a nice little braiding with a piece of thin latigo leather which holds pretty solid.

With the splits, you cross the rein ends over the neck. That has a bridging effect that is much more secure than with the ends dangling down from each hand, and you can ride with a longer rein. Those reins Mocha is wearing in the pic are seven feet long. After eight years, they're nicely broke in, and I love to ride with them. I have my romal for her curb and I wouldn't ride one-handed in anything else (even with the snotty comment by a trainer at the last show that I couldn't cheat easily like she could in splits because of the difficulty of doing hand adjustments. Ahem. Practice). But I like the feel of a good solid leather rein in my hand, and get fussy about anything with webbing on it.

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

I actually have a horsehair mecate but I tend to use the rope one on snaffle horses because it's longer and I like the rope in my hand. The horsehair one stays on the bosal, which I haven't used with Iris because she really hated it and it didn't seem worth arguing about.

I've noticed that people like Buck tend to actually use longer slobber straps which maybe are a little more stable with their point of balance further back - effectively like the rein-chains on a romal. I'm trying to find some video of them in use so I can see how that works in practice in faster or bouncier gaits.

[joycemocha.livejournal.com]

Shorter rein length. But I also don't use rein chains on my romal, so again, it's a stylistic piece.

I'd use rein chains on a spade bit-trained horse, because that's part of the package. But for a regular curb--bit balance and signal isn't as crucial. Some of those other trainers also have pretty darn good seat and leg control as well, which is a prerequisite for that to work. I just don't have the hip flexors to do that.

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

The other reason I understood for rein-chains was so on a long day's work your horse could take a drink without getting water all over your fancy rawhide...

[puddleshark.livejournal.com]

Wow! Hasn't she come on! To be calmly cantering across open country and quietly stepping over ditches is a fantastic achievement.

I'm even more impressed by the fact you could lead her past a field full of all the horses in the world, without fireworks. Even Charm, who is 23 and generally a delight to lead, would be bouncing up and down on the end of the reins if confronted with that lot...

Lovely pics as always!

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

Thank you, I'm really pleased with her. It's reassuring after the last few years that when I have a normal, willing, physically able horse we actually make good progress. Makes me feel as though the last seven years of working relentlessly on my horsemanship was not entirely wasted.

Interestingly the better I get at training horses, the less training they see to need.

[siberian-angel.livejournal.com]

I really like this. Iris seems like such a sweet-tempered, steady mare that it makes me curious what she was like in the beginning?
Also curious, how many years of horsemanship do you have under your belt?

Most of my horses either had problems with water crossings or not running off with horses on the other side of the fence. Well, I'm not perfect and neither were my horses.

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

I've been learning to ride and be around horses for a little over ten years, but things got really serious around 2007, which I guess makes for about six years of genuine progress. The biggest jump was when I spent a month in the US learning to start youngstock with Martin Black - that type of immersion really allows you to make rapid progress if you have the right support, which Martin certainly was.

I'm still learning and I have way more to figure out than I have currently grasped, but I have the kind of experience now that is enough to be teaching people on an occasional basis not because I'm particularly good, but because the average standard of horsemanship in the UK is fairly poor, so by local standards I'm relatively competent.

Iris had a few rides on her and she has always had a really gentle and steady nature, but she was very anxious at first- she tends to tense up completely and grind her teeth a lot - even when I was riding her in a halter or sidepull I was getting that for a while. It's also quite hard to keep her mind with you because she thinks she has to go out and worry about every distant thing that happens ( to the point that I wonder if her eyesight is a bit poor and she's trying to make out what is going on in the distance ) so I have spent a lot of time just helping her to understand that the job is the thing I'm asking her to do and that I can worry about things in the distance. I've also had to really learn not to buy into her anxiety, so if she starts to stiffen up and get anxious I have to be relaxed enough for both of us and not anticipate something going wrong because almost always nothing does and when I start fiddling I always make matters worse. I have just been amazingly lucky to get one of the sweetest horses around.

[siberian-angel.livejournal.com]

Wow. I never would have thought that you got into it comparatively late. From both your seating and your manner around horses I would have thought you were on the back of a horse before you could even walk.
Yeah, the US is pretty stellar with horsemanship. Frankly, I've never come across German horses anywhere near as calm as most of the steeds in America...
I had a few nasty incidents with horses, so after a while it didn't come as easy to me not to buy into their anxiety. That's when I stepped down from breaking in young horses - I realized that I couldn't help them become a steady mount when I was worrying about something going awry. You're doing a great job, though! Iris - and Cash - can consider themselves lucky!

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I realised very quickly when I got involved with them that horses were something I needed in my life and that if I could possibly make them my work, then it would never feel like work. That remains true, though the facility to make them into my work seems to elude me with every turn.

I think actually Germany is one of the best places in Europe for trainers- I know Steve used to teach there a lot and had a whole lot of good students around the place. Probably you guys have better people than we do around, but I suspect they are also hard to find, much like here...

[kate sandel (from livejournal.com)]

Hi Ben, really nice to see Iris looking so calm and willing - she really is a lovely mare, and you guys have obviously already progressed massively as a partnership already.

I have a question (really a question, not a criticism!). I am interested as to why most people from the more 'Western' approach to horsemanship only ever sit to the trot? I have always believed that particularly with young horses, or horses who do not yet have a strong ridden posture, that you should rise - as it is much easier on their back and frees them up to develop their posture more easily. However, I see a lot of western/horsemanship trainers riding sitting trot from the moment they start a horse. Do you know why?

Kate

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

I have two reasons- firstly, it is a lot less dangerous in a saddle with a roping horn, especially on a horse that is likely to stop suddenly.

Secondly, when I am rising to the trot I only really have full use of my legs half the time. With a horse that needs a lot of guidance, that simply isn't enough.

I would be interested to know what evidence there is for rising trot being easier to carry- I haven't noticed that in particular among horses I have ridden.

In a more general western trainers will not rise because there is no tradition of posting to the trot in western riding- indeed there isn't much tradition of trotting in western competition discipline, although of course if you're working a large area of ranchland it's the most practical way of getting around - if you ever get the chance you should chat to Martin about this.

[http://users.livejournal.com/blitzen_/]

so great to see you out and about enjoying your girl.

she is looking great too.

the music is lovely!

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

I don't think The Courage Of Others is close to Van Occupanther but Midlake were still pretty good. I don't know about their newer stuff but I think the singer quit, so they are probably kind of a new band at this point...

[kate sandel (from livejournal.com)]

Thanks for that Ben, I hadn't thought about the saddle thing! I think my lower legs are secure enough (apart from a bit of an issue I have on one rein in canter!) that I can use them in rising trot regardless of what stage of the rise I am at. My experience certainly has been that if I am rising, and my young horse has assumed a pretty nice 'weight bearing posture' , and then I sit - they can contract their back against me and become a little hollow. If you watch PK's latest DVD he describes the same thing happening with his warmblood, and Manolo Mendez also suggests rising trot should be used for young horses - I think it is something quite a lot of people have discovered. That may be in part due to the strength and inclination of the horse, and certainly my horses don't have naturally the strongest abs and most easily lifted backs.

When my boyfriend was learning to ride in Portugal recently they taught him to trot with sitting trot initially, so it must be the most secure and easy way for the person. I am just not convinced it is the easiest thing for the horse, but maybe that depends on a number of factors...