Train like an eventer

Even though I use to event in my younger days, it turns out that at my advanced age of 28, I'm perfectly happy to ride volte circles, shoulder-ins, and leg yields all day long.  I find riding dressage to be to most fun and rewarding thing out there.  Unfortunately my horse, Kalvin, is of a different opinion.  If he is over-schooled on the flat, he becomes bored, cranky, and resistant.  It is for this reason that I'm going back to my eventing roots to develop a training plan with a bit more variety to keep him happy in his work. 

I've already started hacking a couple times a week and added a "Sunday jump school" into our training regimen.  This has had such a positive impact on Kalvin's attitude and work ethic that I've decided to go all out on the eventer training plan.  This means added fitness work on top of the dressage and jumping work.  Who knows.  If Kalvin hasn't sold by next year, he may be going beginner novice at the the Inavale Horse Trials. 

So as for the new training schedule

Sunday: Jump school
Monday: Dressage lesson
Tuesday: Hack (with fitness work)
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Gallop
Friday: Dressage followed by trot sets
Saturday: Off

While I personally may not ever take Kalvin to an event, I'm hoping that whoever he ends up with will give him the opportunity to shine in this discipline.  He really seems to love the work, and can already do all of the dressage movements up to preliminary :-D  His jumping is coming along very quickly and I'm sure will catch up with his dressage in no time.

Hello again

Hey there, readers.  I know I've been a bit of a blogging slacker lately, and I blame the crazy folks over at HorseNation.com for taking up all of my writing time.  Be sure to check out my "Fit to Ride" column which runs every Wednesday. 

A lot has happened since last we spoke. I've graduated with my masters from OSU, discovered my love of teaching while instructing biology at LBCC, taken a "real job" at the OSU seed lab in order fund my dream of owning my owning equine facility, and acquired a horsey sales project.

That's right.  You heard correctly.  I have a new(ish) horse.  I'm trying not to get overly attached because he will be for sale this winter, but here's his story.  Kalvin is a 6 year-old, half-Arabian, half-mustang gelding.  He was very kindly given to me by his owner with the agreement that I would keep and train him for at least 6 months before reselling him. He has been quite challenging for me, but I am learning a lot in the process of training him, and I think he has learned a lot from me as well.

Selling horses has always been a tough thing for me.  While rehabbing and re-homing OTTB's, I cried each time one was adopted.  They were partially tears of happiness, but a lot were tears of fear and uncertainty about what would happen to them once they were no longer under my care. The owner of the rehab center, John, was really good about screening adopters, but it was still a really difficult thing.  One day John explained to me his thought process on selling/adopting out horses, and it helped me cope with the process much more effectively.  He told me that training horses was like raising children.  We had to do our best to make them "good citizens," and when the time was right, turn them loose on society with the hopes that they could make a beneficial contribution.  I will keep this idea in my mind while I continue to train Kalvin, and hope that it will bring me some peace of mind when the time comes to sell him.

Until next time, go mustangs!

Predicting the height of a young horse

Recently, I've been obsessing over the height of my little horse and how tall he will be once he matures. I think this week alone, I have measured his height twice. I feel like I should be marking his height on the wall somewhere like parents often do with their human children. I guess I would have to make two different marks: one for his withers, and one for his haunches. His two ends are growing at drastically different rates with his withers at about 13.0 hh and his haunches at 13.3 hh. I know this unevenness is very typical for a horse of his age, but the paranoid mother in me can't push the image of children using my horse's downhill sloped back as a slide.

I'm really hoping that Helix will break the 15 hh mark and need to remind myself that measuring him more often will not make him grow faster or taller. The fact of the matter is that Helix is going to be as tall as he's going to be, and there's not much I can do to change that. In order to curb some of my obsessive behavior, I am pledging not to measure my horse until his first birthday in April.

I know two things for certain. Regardless of how tall Helix will be, he'll certainly be wide enough to fill up my leg. I've already started saving for the custom saddle I'm pretty positive that he'll need. I also know that even if he does turn out to be under 15 hh, I'll love him just the same, and make him into the greatest dressage pony he can possibly be.

The HJ Hampton Story: an update

As I mentioned in a prior post The HJ Hampton Story, Peter Atkins, owner and rider of arguably one of the best cross-country horses of all time,HJ Hampton (Henry), has invited me to come visit :-) Well I am flying down to Ocala, FL(courtesy of my amazing parents) the last week of February to make that visit happen. EEEEEEEEEE!!!!! I'm not sure that properly portrays my excitement, but it's the best I can do. Henry had a huge impact on my development as a rider, and I am thrilled at the prospect of seeing him again. I am also very excited to meet Peter, who has truly worked miracles with that horse.

Peter and Henry at the Fork 3*

So, being as excited as I am, I have already started to think about things I should pack for the trip:

* Boots and breeches of course: While I wouldn't think of asking to ride Henry while he gears up for an intense 2012 season, and possible trip to the Olympics, I'm thinking there must be a horse I could borrow for a jumping lesson or two from Peter.

* A camera: because I'm sure there will be many memories I want to capture.

* Tequila: Because I hear Peter's a fan...especially before his dressage tests :-)

* Carrots and treats

That sounds like just about everything I'll need! I'm hoping that after all the carrots and treats are gone, I'll have room for some Run Henny Run gear that I can wear while watching the livestream of the big events and cheering the two of them on.

Ok. So maybe "excited" was an understatement. I can't thank Peter enough for the invitation, and my parents for making it happen. Yay! :-D

About the kiger mustang

As I have previously mentioned, my little Helix is 3/4 Kiger mustang. I was going to spend lots of time writing an extensive blog post on Kigers, but then I found this fantastic video (minus the frantic piaffe) on Youtube with an in depth description of the breed. Since free time is something I have very little of, I'm taking the easy way out. Here's the video :-D

My first west coast training gig

If you may recall, I have mentioned in previous posts that it essential that I pursue an equestrian career to truly be happy, and I'm pleased to say that Stamm Sport Horse is open for business. While I have done some training back on the east coast, it was always within the context of some larger farm at which I was employed. This is my first time acting as an independent contractor, and venturing out into the often crazy horse world on my own has been very scary.

Last month I started working with my first training horse, Scotchgard G, better known as the goofy and lovable Henri. Henri is an extremely powerful and talented half-Arabian gelding that has the ability to make me laugh and lift my mood when I'm in the foulest of states. He is owned by Gina Bressler, a very talented and very well-respected trainer in her own right who wanted to give Henri a shot at a new discipline, and me a shot at training (THANK YOU!). Gina also owns and manages the farm where I keep my little munchkin (Gentle Oaks Stables), and has kindly allowed me to base my training business out of her farm.

While I was thrilled to get Henri as a training horse, I also felt a tremendous deal of pressure training for someone who I regard in such high esteem. So... First independent training job working for someone who is a fantastic rider/trainer... color me terrified!

One month later, the feelings of self-doubt still creep in here and there, but I am starting to trust myself, and slowly but surely, I am starting to have confidence in my own ability. I couldn't have asked for better horse/owner combination to get started with. I also feel extremely lucky to be at a place like Gentle Oaks. While I don't technically work for the farm, being surrounded by all of the wonderful people there makes me feel a lot less like I'm on my own. Oh jeez.... Now I'm getting teary-eyed.

That's how I roll!

Dressage saddles with giant knee rolls seem to be a requirement these days for anyone wanting to look legit. This trend is something I refuse to accept, and here is my anti giant knee roll manifesto.

I have ridden in saddles with oversized knee rolls on a few occasions and can say emphatically that I don't like them. I understand that they are suppose to keep the riders leg in a correct position, but chances are, unless the saddle was custom made to fit your leg exactly, you will be fighting the saddle to achieve good position. Since I ride a variety of different horses and leg position is never exactly the same from horse to horse, a big knee-rolled saddle seems like a bad option for me.

I have also noticed that riders that choose giant knee rolls have a tendency to brace against them, especially at the sitting trot. While this may be an effective way to stay in the saddle, it is also an equally effective way to interfere with the horse's back.

The two saddles I use are the Neidersuss Symphony which have small knee rolls that suggest rather than command where your leg should go, and...

the Stubben Tristan which lacks a knee roll all together.

I love both of these saddles, and feel that they have a wonderful impact on my riding.

How do you roll?