The musical freestyle and lyrics

My absolute favorite aspect of dressage is the musical freestyle. I love it so much because I feel that it truly has the potential to blur the line between art and sport. It is probably the major reason I choose pure dressage over all other equestrian disciplines. Currently, using music with lyrics, while not prohibited, is strongly discouraged because it is "distracting."

Often times popular songs are redone on synthesizer to create lyric-free versions that sound like circus music at best, and elevator music at worst. How is that not distracting? Other riders opt for classical pieces , which can be very beautiful, but can also come across dated. I mean, it is the 21st century!

Aside from the cheesey sound the is often the product of eliminating lyrics from a song, the sound of a singer's voice, the words they say, and the intention with which they say them can make what was just a pretty melody into an emotionally moving song. Add the brilliant performance of a beautiful horse, and there you have it. Art!

Opinions?

The Handmade Horse

Blogging has been a bit slow for me while the whole thesis writing thing is happening, but I promise I will be better as soon as I am done. If you're in need of a blogtastic horsey fix in the mean time, a friend is diving into the world of sewing her own riding clothes and sharing her experience with all of the blogosphere. My friend will be sharing her sewing shenanigans on The Handmade Horse, so be sure to check it out. She is one funny girl, and her blog is bound to be both instructive and hilarious.

Adventures in baby training: Episode 1- Baby's first hoof trim

Today was a momentous occasion in the life of the young Heliodoro. Today, baby got his very first haircut hoof trim. He was a good boy, relatively speaking... so long as your relative perspective considers the spawn of satan good. It's a miracle that between the rearing up, striking out, kicking the farrier, and attempting to trample all who got in his way, that his feet got done at all. I have to give Jason Peacock, of Jason Peacock horse shoeing, a ton of credit. He was the perfect combination of assertive and gentle. I highly recommend him to anyone with a young horse. He really was wonderful.

The main issue with Helix's behavior is that **** WARNING! APPROACHING EXTREME NERDDOM**** he wants to be an alpha Helix, and in this situation, the beta configuration is preferable (Sorry. I had to.). More simply put, Helix has to learn that people are in charge, and it isn't acceptable to try and boss them around. Towards the end of the trim session, his attitude changed dramatically. While he didn't seem defeated, he was definitely mulling over the pros and cons of putting up a fight for something so silly as a hoof trim. And let me be clear. I never want my horse to feel defeated. I never want him to lose that edge in his personality. That edge is what makes him special, and it's what will make him be great in the future, but I'd also like him to be safe to handle.

I like to think of myself as a strict parent, and seeing as I've only had him for just over a week at this point, I won't go blaming myself for his behavior just yet. This was, however, a bit of a wake-up call to just how dangerous he could be if I let him grow up without demanding respect and obedience.

Helix the Bold!

Helix is not the first horse I have ever owned, but he is the first horse I have owned as an adult, and the first horse that Mom and Dad (thanks for the first three!) did not buy for me. As a result his purchase means that much more. One week later, I feel less like a new horse owner, and more like a new mother. I spend as much time at the barn as possible, obsessively cleaning his stall, playing with him out in the pasture, and spending lots of time grooming his scruffy, baby coat. Mom and Dad as well as Dave's mom are playing the role of the extremely supportive grand parents, asking for updates and pictures of the new baby.

While I quite enjoy babying Helix, it has also become quite clear that he requires a as much discipline, as the love and attention he demands. He is a bold little horse that fears very little, and he likes to remind me quite often that he sure deosn't fear me. Initially, when I began handling him, his attitude toward me was that of a step child telling their step parent "How dare you tell me what to do! You're not my mother!" The tactic I've adopted to handle his attitude is to be annoyingly persistent. Dave employed a similar tactic when initially trying to date me, and I figured it worked for him, so why not give it a try.

For example, the first time I attempted to brush his legs, he responded by kicking me in the back of the hand. After giving him a little tap on the bottom to let him know that kicking was not ok, I placed my hand on the top of his leg and left it there while he fidgeted and gave me irritated looks. The second he stopped fidgeting, I removed my hand and patted him on the neck. After about 20 minutes of placing my hands all over his legs and patting him when he was calm, he became accepting of my touch and relaxed.

Hopefully, over time Helix will get to the point where he doesn't constantly question authority, but until then it's going to take some tough love, and a lot of patience.

kiger mustang auction

The kiger mustang auction is coming up next month, and I am fairly determined to come home from it with a new horse. I'm extremely interested in the kigers because, aside from being beautiful and having obvious Spanish ancestry, they are well known for being extremely trainable. While good conformation is extremely important, trainability may be the most important quality in a good dressage mount.

The one downside to getting a kiger is that the auctions are highly competitive. At the last kiger auction in 2007, the highest bid was $7,800. That being said, there were also 29 horses that went for the minimum bid of $125. Another thing to consider is that the last auction took place before the economy completely tanked. Perhaps low consumer confidence will keep the bids reasonably low.

I have picked out several horses that I would be interested in taking home, and now I'm interested in what everyone else has to say. Visit the BLM kiger adoption website, and vote for your favorite by commenting on the blog (FB works too). Use the horse's ID number when you cast your vote.

Living the dream

A wise man (William Shatner) once said "live like you're gonna die....because you're going to." Using this reasoning, I have made the decision that I would like to need to pursue a career as a professional rider/trainer/and possibly instructor. This has been my dream ever since I was a little girl, and I'm not sure whether it was people telling me that I was too smart to just ride, or the seeming financial impossibility of becoming an equestrian professional that dissuaded me, but it has become quite clear that I will not be happy doing anything else. If I don't at least try to make it happen, I will regret it for the rest of my life.

While I'm still not able to train a horse through Grand Prix (though I'm confident that with Doug's help I will get there one day), I can train a horse to walk, trot, canter, jump, and move off the the leg as well as anyone. With most horses in the area being general english or western horses, my abilities suit the needs of potential clients just fine.

This, of course, will require a great deal of planning, and some source of income to get everything started, but I am truly committed to making this happen. If I don't wake up and start living my dreams now, chances are I never will.

My crooked nature: an update

As riders, we expect our horses to be strong, flexible, relaxed and balanced. Why not expect the same of ourselves? I started doing yoga to improve upon my equitation, and in the process have found that I am now holding myself to the same standards to which I hold my (hypothetical) horse. After about a months time, I am starting to see several benefits from the practice.

Mental benefits:

1. A greater sense of body awareness, especially concerning my overall posture. It turns out my position flaws on horseback are also present on the ground.

2. The ability to induce a relaxed state of mind. Or more specifically in my case, the ability to effectively deal with stress-induced insomnia.

3. A sense that I can be in control of each part of my body.

Physical benefits

1. Greater muscle definition over my entire body.

2. The return of that thing I used to have in my early 20's. What's it called again? Oh right. A waist.

3. Greater flexibility in my legs, hips, and abdomen.

Is my position perfect now? Absolutely not. Is it improving more quickly than it was when I was just making corrections on horseback? Most definitely! The increased body awareness allows me to recognize when there is a problem with my position, and as I get stronger, I am more able to make the proper correction.

Because yoga is helping me so much to develop into a more effective rider, I have decided to write a series of posts addressing common position flaws, and yoga positions that can be used to correct them. Feel free to chime in with your particular position flaw.

Gus practices "sideways facing cat" as I practice "downward facing dog."