Say Yes To The Dress

 Ok I know I said the Foal Pool would be next, but this just happened so it jumps the line. Plus I needed another post because my bad news post was number 666, talk about coincidence.

Well Wednesday I had a long awaited lesson where I updated my trainer on Roscoe's issues and the need for a saddle. She mentioned that Sprieser was having a saddle fitter coming Friday and Saturday. Convientely Lauren Sprieser came in riding one of her fancy boys. She quickly agreed to fit me into the Saturday schedule. My pony is a hard fit and I really needed a used/demo saddle due to my finances. She was going to ask the fitter is she had anything close.

My lesson was the first time riding in draw reins. Roscoe was not sure about them, but quickly figured out he had to deal. He has a tendency to pop up in the transitions especially the canter. We worked on those with my trainer critiquing. 

Then at one point a different voice commented that the transition was better. Turns out while Lauren was half passing she blocked my trainers view, so she filled in on the commentary. Imagine being able to ride lateral movements and assess someone else's transitions. It was a bit startling to be watched, but at least we did not embarrass  ourselves. 

Afterwards I looked up the saddle fitter and the philosophy was different and refreshing. Here is one point:

The more complicated the horse’s back, the simpler your solution needs to be in order to work. Some horses are much more complicated to fit than others. In the face of weird body proportions, think sweatpants, not skinny jeans. Think generic horse- shape and please put the notion of “custom” way out of your mind.

I also figured out from the website, I would not be able to afford their saddles in new condition. No prices listed. So on Saturday we loaded a slightly confused Roscoe and went to Sprieser. He was even more confused to have his bridle on and go to the indoor, but not begin to work. He was really well behaved. It was a long process, two hours, filled with education and sinking feelings of what my pony has been going through with his current saddle.

He has had a hollow spot along his back that has worried me for a while. Turns out the saddle is curved so when he tries to lift, he hit the curve and was blocked. The saddle fitter tried a bunch on but they were not quite right. Roscoe is deemed a hard fit and needed a flat saddle.

Then Lauren brought out a brown saddle which had previously belonged to a dear friend of hers who passed away. The saddle was now being sold by a former Sprieser trainer. The fitter put it on his back and said "voila." I could not believe it was close enough to ride in and try. 

The goal is to make the saddle neutral for Roscoe, like a good pair of underwear. I felt a bit out of whack, it was a different feel. Plus my stirrups were a bit too long even though they are my normal ones. When I say the change was immediate, I mean right away in the walk it was noticeable. He was coming through the shoulder freely and stretching down. Even at the trot he stretched and was more open. Lauren, who has seen him a few times, could see the difference. At the canter, it was like a rocking horse. The fitter took some slow mo video and you could see him finally come through at the canter and lift his back. Sadly she had an iphone and could not send the video to my android.

Another telling sign of success was Roscoe stood square and did not immediately cock a leg. And he was quiet. They said I could take it for a trial, but I needed to know the price. I was having a total Say Yes to the Dress moment and worried that it would be too expensive. How could I walk away from that feeling?

 The fitter did the math and came up with a price and Lauren checked to see if I could make payments. I inwardly cringed at the price which was higher than I liked, but low enough I could swing. Once I agreed the fitter worked on fitting it to Roscoe. She does not believe he will outgrow this saddle and it comes with a lifetime guarantee.

When we got back to the truck, we noticed the blue welt

So I said yes to the 3yr old Detente Spencer for $2880. By August it will be all mine. Fortunately the Bates Isabell sold today and will cover a payment and the stimulus check will be a big help.

Hopefully Roscoe's saddle saga is over. Now to save up money for Ember and for brown tack. All my stuff is black because I am a bit traditional. But just like you don't ride the color of horse, the saddle color does not matter either. I will learn to love red on red. At least it is a darker brown.

Day two: Adult Camp Comrade

Sunday brought cooler temperatures by like twenty degrees. Much cooler than we expected, but better than the freezing temperatures we dealt with Roscoe. Mom and Peggy set to work on Comrade. They massaged and stretched him, working those sore muscles. Peggy put in his running braid and Mom wrapped his legs. He seemed happier wrapped in the first lesson than just front boots in the second. That will be something to explore at home since I have never wrapped him before camp.

For this ride, Mom had me bring my little spurs to see if they got more reaction from Comrade. As I walked him to warm up, he felt tired. I felt crooked. Which made the first trot, blah. I decided to just stroll around more until our lesson.

Fortunately when I gathered him up, the awkwardness disappeared. The best part about this camp is getting two perspectives from trainers who compliment each other. Lisa built on the work we did with Natasha. Now that he was moving, we worked on straight. I have battled with his crookedness to the left for ages. She had me open my inside rein to invite him to bend, but catch him with the inside leg before he fell in. The change was noticeable. I had even contact in both reins and his hind end was following his front. Similar to the cavaletti work, she had me occasionally activate his hind end with the whip. When Comrade connects his parts, magic happens and he grows. I swear he moves like a 16h horse.

We took our newfound  straight and did leg yields on the long sides. He inverted a little, but overall they were nice and steady. The whip helped remind him to keep his butt moving in the right direction.

Timing the use of the whip is key at points with him. Especially when we moved to canter. She wanted working trot to canter with no running in between. Comrade actually did a super right lead transition the first time. Then the subsequent times were rough. My timing was off or he did not connect right. He did have moments where I could feel the transition was correct, but he could not follow through. With consistency and a smaller circle we did manage another good right lead transition. He needs the strength and confidence to pick it up and carry. His left lead was much better and even had some great sit and push in the transition.

The photo that says it all about this weekend :)

If I can keep my shoulders back and leg long, we might actually get somewhere this year. Overall, I could not be happier. Comrade unlocked a part of himself and reached a new level.

Day One: Adult Camp Comrade

Saturday Comrade and I went to Adult Camp at Sprieser Sporthorse and melted. Seriously, it was crazy hot after the cooler temperatures we have had recently. But through the sweat and red faces, we had a great couple of lessons.

"Uh, how can I break out if I can't reach the clip?"

The first was with Natasha and Comrade really impressed me. All photos are from the second lesson because Mom and Peggy were too engrossed to remember to take pictures. He was willing to work from the beginning. I told her he was out of shape and his issues with his canter departs. She wanted me to work on getting him working from behind by pushing him with my legs forward into the outside rein. Comrade does not want to carry his back and activate his hind legs. Just behind the saddle he has that weak spot which gives him away. I needed to put my shoulders back and ride his butt. Plus lengthen my leg and put my calf on him fully.

At first, I really felt like I was carrying him. Then as he started to lift his back, bend through his body and stretch his neck, he began to carry himself for periods of time. His trot felt amazing and full bodied. If that makes any sense.

We also worked on his downward transition to walk. This too has been a tough one for Comrade. He was western broke and did the sudden, immediate stop when I first started working with him. We have worked that out of him, but he still hollows his back as soon as I ask for walk. So she had me slowly ask for the transition, while wiggling my ring fingers to try and keep him softer. Over the course of the lesson they improved, but definitely need more work.

Finally we attempted canter. I opted to work the right lead first while he had some energy left. It was not a total train wreck, but it took some time to set him up. Comrade was getting sucked into the wall and I was not quick enough to catch it. We had to come to an inside track and try again. Once we managed to get the right lead, she wanted us to do a smaller circle to get him to step under. He still inverted, but that will come. Left lead was better. We worked the transitions for a bit before moving on. She ended the ride with having us ride a big three loop serpentine both directions. That trot was so cool and he was carrying himself for about 75% of it.
Natasha was glad I came back and thought she would see Roscoe again, but was thrilled with Comrade. Comrade was happy with all the people he got to show off for since some of the other riders came and watched. Both of us were dripping in sweat, but what a rush to finish the best ride we have had in seven years.

After lunch and a break, it was time for cavaletti with Lisa. We were paired with the WelshX paint that came the last time. His owner is working toward Second Level this year and he is a cute guy. I had no idea what kind of energy Comrade had left. The heat was taking a toll on me, but we pushed on.

We started out over a fan of poles. Comrade had his moment of "why are there lines on them" and kept going. At first we kept to the inside with the shorter distances. He wanted to pop up a bit and pull through inside of sit and push. A reminder from me helped him start to adjust. As we added the partially raised poles along the perimeter, he tried to be a bit daisy cutter. Lisa wanted him to bend his hocks. Before the poles she had be tap him with the whip to activate his hind end. If I felt him suck back in the poles, I was to tap him. They are great about asking and then letting them be.

Comrade wanted to be lazy, but did not get upset when I said to move on. His work ethic was superb. We ended doing a big figure eight: over the fan, long side poles, middle poles to end poles and reverse.

I had some rider errors that Comrade sucked up well. He felt great and Mom said he was showing great step under. Lisa gave him the love and props he enjoys at the end. She took a picture at some point and sent it to her Mom saying that this was the dream pony of her youth. Comrade gathers fans anywhere he goes. Such a good Cob ambassador.
I was excited to see what our next lesson would bring. Comrade was giving me so much more than I ever expected. He got another shower and a roll in the sawdust afterwards.

"Where is the sawdust?"

"More please, keep going"

Though he complained more than Roscoe about the lack of sawdust. Mom took pity on him and moved some more down. We left him with his hay net and his dinner. His neighbor was a cute Connemara. I guess he was on the pony side of the barn :)

Lesson three, Sprieser Sporthorse Adult Camp

After Saturday anything that came on Sunday would be icing on the cake. We had to get up at 4am so we could leave the barn by 630. I had a ride time of 8am.
Sprieser had Roscoe fed and ready to be tacked up by time we arrived. Mom and Peggy put him in the aisle while I went to get ready. I had a surreal moment when I came back out to find Lisa cleaning Roscoe's stall. Never before had my instructor cleaned my horse's stall, especially with me standing right there. I did not have time to ponder though.

As the first rider the indoor was quiet and the lights still off. I had a quarter sheet on Roscoe since it was still cold and we enjoyed a quiet warm up. I was pleased to find I had more pony left then expected. Which turned out to be a good thing.
This was a lesson about boundaries and come what may, Roscoe and I were on our way. Lisa had me set my hands low, like side reins and push Roscoe forward. I had to stay that way no matter what drama Roscoe threw at me. Head ringing, foot stomping and suddenly stomping on the brakes were all his evasions. I had to take the quarter sheet off so my whip could be effective before carrying on the battle. Ten minutes, people. It felt like so much longer. Roscoe softened and began to move easier.

My favorite shot of the weekend

Both of us were tiring. Lisa wanted more trot from Roscoe and I literally could not manage more. My pony tried what he could. Amazing the difference even with his lack of fitness. It was way more than I expected to get out of this weekend. I laughed inside when Lisa said I was unemotional and that was good for a young horse rider. That is not something  I attribute to myself. I think the fact that she told me the method and his reactions were okay, allowed me to do what was needed.

No....MORE...LEGS... LEFT

We had a walk break and Roscoe saw the next horse at the arena door. Oh boy, did that knock everything we did out of his brain. It seemed we would end with another battle, but I was not sure we had enough time to end on a good note. Roscoe made me wait till the very end before just barely giving in. I'll take it to end soft. Roscoe received positive attention from the trainers and other riders. They said they had joked about starting Sprieser Sportpony and that he would fit right in.

I asked a lot of Roscoe this weekend and he responded accordingly. I loved the fact that he gave me some of his evasions because it gave the trainers a chance to teach how to deal with it. I could not wait to get home and see what kind of pony I now had away from the distractions.

So Tired!

Riding first meant that once Roscoe was settled, we could watch the rest of the lessons. Not everyone in the camp did this, but to me that is another way to learn. Only one horse/rider pair I missed watching each day because she was right before/after my ride. To be fair, the indoor was freezing. The trainers sat in a chair wrapped in a heated blanket while the observers wrapped up in coolers.
It was a great mix of people and was a positive environment. Everything together made $150 a total steal. I would definitely do this again. Plus I am going to try lessons there once a month.
Of course it would not be a trip without something going awry. When the time came to load up and leave, we had to deal with trailers everywhere. Got that figured out and then I could not find my car keys. With no time to search, I used my Mom's and we headed home.

There was quite the welcome home for Roscoe. Lot's of running and checking in with everyone. He was so happy to be home. The next day I made sure to take him for a trail ride and stretch out his muscles. We both needed the mental break. The real work starts now.

Lesson two, Sprieser Sporthorse Adult Camp

For the second lesson I did not plan on any separate warm up. I figured he was tired enough from the first lesson that I could manage just hopping on at the indoor. Natasha laughed at Roscoe's "Pit Crew" (Mom and Peggy), but they were needed since he could not stand still in the cross ties. You may have noticed he did not have wraps on in the first lesson and that was for the same reason. I did manage to get boots on him for this one. Until going places like this gets boring he is allowed some silliness as long as he respects our space.
Roscoe had to call as we walked down the aisle to the arena just in case there was anybody who did not know he was in the building yet. As we waited outside the indoor, the stud came out. I don't know if the horse in the nearby turn out was a mare or if he saw the two in the indoor. So he did a studly piaffe with his "tackle" out and we told him to put it away. Fortunately, that handling is normal for me.

"Why are there lines????"

When we mounted and entered the ring he was interested in the other horses, but he did not drag me to them. As we neared the back mirror I let him stop and look. I wanted to know if it was a scared or interested reaction he was having. Well Roscoe kept poofing up to the horse in the mirror and moved to challenge which answered that question. No more interacting with his reflection, ha, ha. Our group included 1 OTTB mare, 1 Quarab, 1 Arab and the Welsh Cross paint. The trainer for this lesson was Lisa Hellmer who holds cavaletti lessons every Sunday and used to event.

She started us over the outside lines which had two 3 pole sections each. Fair warning the pictures are screenshots since Mom only took video.

Roscoe had to stop and look at each group to make sure the painted lines were not going to eat him. Our poles at home are white or natural so that was a new thing. After the first time, he was good to go. He only had issues if he got distracted by say the horse in front pooping. Then we tripped and scrambled through. The other horses gave him the extra oomph to work, but that withered away the more poles we did. That cold of his did a number on his fitness.

Roscoe's favorite set of poles

I settled as it became apparent he would not charge anyone and he settled as the work continued.

From the outside line we went to a circle to include the 4 trot poles in the center. She put us with the Quarab to do the exercise. All during this I had to try to keep his stride boring and together. Not always easy to do.

Sometimes Roscoe decided that meant slow as sludge and we barely made the poles. At least my position felt better with shorter stirrups. Mom and I still forgot to stretch my hips beforehand.

Lisa moved us on to a figure 8. I was proud of Roscoe standing still while the other three did the exercise around us. On our turn he started to have moments where he would stretch over the poles and his drift was reduced. I did put the spurs on to help with that issue.

Finally Lisa had everyone do the figure 8 at one time. Right away the third horse rolled the first pole causing the Quarab and Roscoe to circle, which made spacing and timing the crossover fun. I was able to sit and slow Roscoe for the first without him running up on the Quarab. The next cross we had to walk, then pick up trot for the 4 poles. The final cross, the Quarab rider was way to nice and stopped to let all three go first which barely left me room to trot the poles before halting behind her. Roscoe handled it all. That gives me hope I will be able to warm up at a show.

The calvaletti was a good mental break for both of us while still challenging. Mom said people kept asking how big he is since he did not look too small compared to the others. After the lesson I thanked Lisa for allowing me to bring him. She said that he made good choices during the group lesson. He has the manners and now he is ready for direction and refinement.