How to train your dragon

My friend, Dianne, posted this picture on her FB a couple weeks ago. It immediately made me think of how Luba feels to me sometimes - like riding a fire-breathing Arabian.

photo credit: Artur Baboev

A FB conversation ensued about this being why we keep ourselves in good shape (physically and even more important, I would argue, mentally), so we can "tame the beast", or train your dragon.

 My friend, Nancy wrote these wise words to me:

YOU chose to ride an Arabian and do a speed outdoor sport so you have a horse with more hemogloben than the ones around you.  You have a horse that was born to run , so you are not going to have quick stops and complete obedience that you would ask of a Quarter Horse a Morgan or cold blooded horse!    So The Arab needs to slow down slower turn less sharply.  You need to not MAKE your horse do something, rather  COMPROMISE and  with finesse convince your horse that this is what we are going to do. It may take three strides more than other breeds .  Try the gallop with a snaffle and let me know if it works.   I assume you will be standing two point when you canter (This is NOT show ring) .  

She also sent me an eventing article by Lisa Slade from The Chronicle of the Horse, Oct 29, 2012 edition, entitled, "In Search of the Most Balanced Gallop". Two types of rider positions for gallop have emerged among eventers in US: one with a closed hip angle, crouching over the horse and the other with an open hip, standing more upright. Nancy recommends the more upright position for endurance riding. 

Nancy Beacon riding Traverston Sadat at the 1994 World Equestrian Games 

One of the most common faults discussed in the article is galloping more or less in a two-point position, but your bum gently tapping the saddle with each stride."Every time the rider's weight tips back and taps that saddle, it is wearing and tiring on a horse."  I worked on this with Sandra Sokolowski at her clinic in October. Lots of the exercises she gave me were aimed at strengthening the muscles needed to maintain this kind of two-point position. Nancy, bless her,  pointed out that I could strengthen these muscles by riding in two-point. LOL

So practising canter/gallop in the two point and practising compromise is part of my plan for How to Train my Fire-Breathing Arabian. Notice that two-point is also the way to ride a dragon:

Last weekend, the snow finally arrived! So the footing is good again for faster work :) And Uwe just plowed the Paddock Track yesterday, so including the lane way, we have almost a mile for cantering! And lots of snowy trailbreaking in the woods to really work those glutes. Almost makes me sad to leave for Arizona on Monday. Almost.

lane way to the road

paddock track before

paddock track after

Show up and do what you can with what you have

So we are getting November weather in December. Wet and hovering just above or just below freezing. And it is December dark.

The bad news is that the only good footing at the farm is the driveway. The good news is that there is a lot of driveway!

I have signed up for the Ottawa Half Marathon in May as a way of motivating myself to run and get stronger for riding. I started a walk/run program at the beginning of November. Alas, after one week, I had strained a tendon in my ankle. Walking was okay, and we got in a few good Sunday morning family hikes in the Gatineau. But no running.

This week, I saw a picture on FB that made me decide that it was time to try running again. What's your excuse?

It is much easier to run with a partner, so I picked Luba.  We walked/ran up and down the driveway on Monday and Wednesday evenings. Then we did a light ride in the rain on Friday. This morning, we walked/ran on the driveway leading to Forced Road which is a quarter of a mile long. Then I tacked up and we trotted and cantered up and down the driveway for about 15 minutes and then walked in the woods for 45 minutes to cool/dry out.

It's not a lot, but it is better than nothing.

Doing the best we can with what we have.

Half the battle is just showing up!

Letting go

November is typically a hard month for me. Shorter days, often cloudy, cold and wet. Luckily, this November was not too bad. We had lots of sun, no freezing rain and the ground did not really freeze until last weekend.  I went sunrise riding a few times before work too. You don't have to get up that early in November to see the sunrise!

Luba and I also spent November finding our fit with the new farm. It is great to have a group to ride with when we want some company. Friday night riding from 6-8pm is magical. Last Friday, everyone else was sick or thought it was too cold. But it was a marvellous night for a moondance. The forest became brighter as the full moon rose, making moon shadows. No need for a headlamp. There was no wind, so the only sounds were Luba's hooves crunching on the snowy trail and the coyotes singing.

Night riding is great for learning to feel your horse. Last Friday night, I realized that sometimes it is better not to pay attention to every little thing that catches Luba's attention. I can't see what she is looking at, so I don't bother with it. This seemed to help her settle more quickly and bring her focus back to the trail.

I have worked very hard to have a "rateable" horse. We go the speed I want pretty much all the time in all the gaits - which usually translates into slower than Luba's preferred speed. Since our goal is to go faster, the plan is to let her set her own faster pace (after a suitable warm up, of course). Learn how to let her go as fast as she wants and then slow her down. Even teach her a cue for going as fast as she wants, like "Let's go!".  My friend, Nancy Beacon, says the trick is to "feel the horse back", slowing her down just a bit with each stride. 

This reminds me of Uwe's advice to me after Luba bolted (see Run, Bolt, Bail, Walk), to just stay with her and ride it out, guiding her in the direction of my choice until both of us slowed down.

It is going to take some time for me to get used to letting Luba go. We have a 0.4 mile track around her paddock aka the Paddock Track. The first time I experimented with letting her go on this track, my first instinct was to rate her canter. I had to really focus on letting her go as fast as she wants. So going faster is more my problem than Luba's problem :)

Now the ground is frozen and there is just a skiff of snow cover. Today it is raining and it will freeze tonight. So the footing will not be good for canters until the real snow arrives. However, that doesn't stop me from letting Luba pick the pace more often. 

It's Luba's ride too :)