Snack of the day: 4/21/15

In 2011 the option to ride first level tests at the posting trot was introduced.  My first reaction was...

But a sign of becoming older and more mature is to put your gut reactions aside and consider an issue objectively.  I still haven't decided whether this, overall, a good or bad thing, so in order to do so, let's look at the pros and cons.

Pros

- Allowing riders to post encourages horses to stay rounder over their topline and not drop their backs.

- Many riders are not ready to sit the trot by the time they are ready to move on from training level and forcing them to do so prematurely can have adverse impacts on both their development as riders and their horses' development.  Eliminating the requirement of sitting trot could prevent this.

- First level classes will attract new riders that were previously afraid to attempt a level with sitting trot requirement.

Cons

- The seat aids for leg yields are less likely to be used and perfected when posting trot is allowed.

- At a point in the horses' development when they are suppose to showing the beginnings of collection, the seat will be made less effective and riders will rely more on their hands.

- Riders will just put off developing their seat even longer.

I'm still not sure how I feel about this issue, but would love your input.  Discuss!

Be vewy quiet!

Let's imagine you're at a crowed party trying to have a conversation with a friend.  Music is blaring, there are many other people talking and laughing, and you're having trouble communicating over all that noise.  You can make basic points by yelling like "I like this song!" Or "want another drink?" But more complex thoughts are lost in the background chatter.

Now, let's imagine your friend is your horse. The blaring music is your seat that hasn't quite figured out how to move with the motion, and the conversation and laughter are your hands and legs that haven't developed the ability to become independent from your seat.  You can make basic points like "stop" and "go" with loud aids, but more complex thoughts are lost in the background chatter. 

We use the word "quiet" to describe good riding for a reason.  A quiet rider makes very little "noise" unless he or she has something to say, and when it comes time to communicate, a quiet rider can whisper instead of yell with the aids because there is is no background chatter with which to compete.  So next time you're on your horse, imagine you're hunting wabbits and...

Snack of the day: 4/19/15

Sometimes after a long night's sleep, I have trouble getting myself going in the morning and often like to blame it on inertia.  This is one of those mornings.

For those of you who may not remember from physics class, inertia is a concept explained by Newton's first law of motion.  Objects at rest tend to stay at rest unless acted upon by an outside force, and objects in motion tend to stay in motion unless acted upon by an outside force.  Well after being in bed all night, I'm in need of an outside force to get me going, and today (and everyday) that outside force is a big cup of black coffee.

Inertia is also a useful concept to apply to riding if you remember that the motion aspect of it is directional.  So in order to clarify this a little more I'm going to use a visual.  Let's imagine your horse is a wrecking ball hurtling down the long side.

Not quite the visual you were looking for first thing in the morning?

Now imagine you need to make a 20 meter circle at E.  It's going to taking a lot of energy to redirect that wrecking ball and as you redirect it, it's going to lose some of the energy carrying it forward. The smaller the circle, the harder the initial redirection will be and, and the more forward moving energy will be lost during the redirection.

So what does this mean in terms of riding? Well I like to think of the "redirection force" as the combination of inside leg and seat bone that initiate increased bend, as well as the outside aids that hold the desired level of bend and initiate the turn.  So the smaller the circle, the more redirection aids are needed. Then in order to keep your speed constant and not lose forward energy, a positive seat (and potentially leg if needed) must be employed.

For all you science nerds out there, I've left out the variables of mass and velocity to simplify the concept a bit, but if you knew to think of them in the first place, I'm sure you can figure out how they come into play.

I hope the image of a naked Bobby Moynihan hasn't made you completely lose your appetite, and that you've enjoyed this morning's snack.

Snack writing

I would like to write more and I've figured out that the only way to actually write more is to...well... write more.

When I was in grad school, I adopted a habit called snack writing for which I would spend 15 to 20 minute time blocks writing scattered throughout the day as opposed to multi-hour writing smorgasbord.  This worked fairly well for the most part until thesis deadlines and massive editing tasks came into play, but I figured for something as low pressure as writing about horses, this strategy should work quite well.

So here is my plan:  Every morning, first thing, spend 15-20 minutes producing a "snack piece" that I will then share with you, my readers. These "snacks" might be training tips, conversation starters, or maybe just weird musings. I'm aware that doing this first thing in the morning will probably lead to some half awake ramblings, but I'm kind of counting on that to add some entertainment value.  My hope is that this will create some inertia that will lead to longer, better, and potentially HorseNation.com worthy pieces

So now that I've awkwardly explained myself, here is your snack of the day for 4/18/15:


Whenever I hear the Lady Gaga song, "Applause," I change the words to the chorus and sing along:

"I live for the dressage, dressage, dressage.
I live for the dressage-sage, live for the dressage-sage.
I live for the way you piaffe and passage.
I live for the dressage, dressage, dressage."

One day I will rewrite the lyrics to the entire and make a music video.  It will be magical!

Go ahead.  Give it a try for yourself. It fits perfectly!

This snack is proudly brought to you by Biz's inner-crazy

Equestrian anxiety dreams

You know when someone is like, "OMG.  I had the weirdest dream last night!"  And you're like "OMG. No one cares!" Well I'm about to be that narcissistic jackass with the audacity to believe that the ongoings of my slumbering brain is a topic you all want to hear about :-D

I've been having anxiety dreams lately.  Horse related anxiety dreams.  This is more than likely because show season is here (at least for those of us not living in the arctic tundra) and as fun as shows are,us type A, DQ's, will ALWAYS sweat the small stuff.

Non-equestrians have several common anxiety dreams including: Driving a car in which the breaks don't work, being naked in front  of a large crowd, forgetting to go to class for an extended period of time and then showing up to an exam etc.  Assuming that there are also common, horse related anxiety dreams that run amok in the equestrian community, I'm going to share mine and take a stab at interpreting them in order help those of you experiencing the same crazy, nocturnal musings.

The "I don't know my test!" dream
My most common horse-related anxiety dream by far is the "I don't know my test!" dream.

From The Idea of Order

This dream can also appear as the "I don't know my course, reining pattern,  or equitation pattern!"  In one version of this dream, I not only don't know my test, but when I look at the test book, the pattern is far more complicated than I could have ever imagined.

Interpretation:  You are feeling underprepared for some upcoming event.  Notice I said "feeling."  While you may, in reality, be unprepared for a challenge in your near future, it is equally as likely that you are just lacking in confidence and doubting your own abilities.  Regardless of the root of this anxiety, the only way to ease it is to prepare, prepare, and prepare some more.

Horse in the crossties
Every so often, I'll wake up in a cold sweat thinking that I've left a horse standing in crossties overnight. This is something I have never actually done, but I'd put money on the fact that if I did ever leave my horse in the crossties overnight, there would be no barn left in the morning.

"If I have to stand here much longer I will tear this barn down to the ground."

Interpretation: You are clearly forgetting or ignoring something, something that if not dealt with now will cause you even bigger problems down the road.  Are you bottling up your feelings regarding barn drama, or are you attempting to work on collection without establishing rhythm and relaxation first? These are just a couple examples of things that can lead to the horse in the crossties dream. Deal with issues as they arise and save yourself some trouble in the future.

Ride time in 5 minutes!
You arrive at the show only to hear over the loudspeaker that you're on-deck. You're hoping that you can get your horse unloaded and tacked up in time.  You can forget about your warmup.

unnecessarilysumie.com

Interpretation: You are feeling overwhelmed. It may be time to look into some new time management strategies, or assess whether you might be taking on too many responsibilities.  Just remember, it's better to do fewer things really well than more things half-assed.


I hope this helps and I'd be curious to hear about other horse-related anxiety dreams out there.  Until next time go, riding!

Biz Stamm is the 31 year old trainer and instructor of Stamm Sport Horse, LLC, specializing in pure dressage, as well applied dressage for riders involved in other disciplines. Originally haling from Hudson, NH,  She is now living in Corvallis, OR. Biz started riding lessons at the age of 6 years old when the Dr. recommended that it may help with her bad balance and lack of coordination. While she is fairly coordinated and balanced on a horse these days, she is still somewhat of a mess on her own two feet.  

Biz currently owns two horses: her lesson horse, The Kalvin Cycle (Kalvin), a 9 year old half-Arabian gelding…

Kalvin and Biz

… and her personal horse, Alpha Helix, a 4 year old Kiger mustang gelding.  Biz has had Helix since the day he was weaned, and considers him her “heart” horse.

Biz is also the proud owner (more like ownee!) of a 7 year old standard rex bunny named Pi Rex Rufuse (Get it!?  Pi r-squared!!!). Biz has always wanted to have some sort of mini horse to live in the house, and since the current landlords won’s allow any kind of equine on the property, Biz opted for a rabbit, which evolutionarily speaking, is very closely related to the horse.

After getting a Masters degree in Plant Pathology, and pursuing a career in the scientific world, it became clear to her that she was only truly happy when she was interacting with, or talking about horses (and sometimes rabbits). Now that she is riding full time, Biz still keeps her scientific training close at hand, focusing on correct biomechanics and physics involved in riding. 

Things Equestrians Say Taken out of Context

Have you ever wondered what non-equestrians think we're talking about when they stumble upon us mid conversation?  Here are a few things that can be taken horribly out of context.

I can't wait to get back in the stirrups!

What they think...

photo from www.tressugar.com

What we mean...

photo by Jean Johnson

I rode him real hard yesterday. I think I wore him out.

What they think...

What we mean...

photo from britannica.com

I love the smell of leather!

What they think...

photo from manualahorn.com

What we mean...

photo from mecnita.com

I'm going to jump Johnny this afternoon

photo from galleryhip.com

What we mean...

photo from softgreen.com.br

Are you (mentally un)fit enough to marry a horse girl?

Let's be honest, dating a horse girl is no easy task. Please refer to last year's Are You Fit to Date a Horse Girl article for the required list of skills. Last May, my ex-boyfriend (now husband) and I decided it was time to get hitched.  Marrying a horse girl is something reserved for the very rich...

 the equally horse crazy...

The gorgeous Boyd and Silva Martin.  Picture from horseradionetwork.com

 ...or the certifiably insane.  My husband, Dave, does not fall into either of the first two categories, so that only leaves one option.  See exhibit A:

Exhibit A:  Because behind every great woman, there's a man dressed like Norman Bates?  Wait...what?!

So yes, my husband is a bit crazy, but I feel like his insanity is the one thing that allows him to deal with my horse obsession so effectively.

Here are some of Dave's crazier traits that have allowed him to not only survive, but thrive in a horsey marriage.

#1 An uncontrollable "BABY ANIMAL!" reflex.  Because of this trait this...

...this...

....and this...

...are now permanent members of the family.  

#2 A complete lack self preservation.

For those of us that began riding as kids, we never really thought about the fact that by riding we are drastically increasing our odds of a premature death.  Or at least I never did.  An intelligent adult, on the other hand, is aware of this fact and willingness to overlook it is a sure sign of insanity.  Just this past year, Dave has taken the ultimate step in embracing the horsey lifestyle by learning how to ride.  He says he would like to event (another clear sign of insanity).

#3 His manic enthusiasm all things horsey.

OK.  Maybe that last one is all in my head.

Go riding!!!