Permission to Fail

 We said goodbye to Karrigan at our last lesson as she moves with her military spouse. She definitely pushed Roscoe and I to be better and I felt she was invested in our progress. Unlike previous trainer exits, this time there is not an assistant trainer to take over. I was mildly panicked at the thought of no lessons the winter before I attempt rated shows. Enter Lauren who worked it out that I can ride with her until an assistant is hired.

Now was nervous for a whole other reason. Which turned out to be for nothing. Lauren is a completely down to earth, tell it like it is person. I found myself calming and feeling like I could do this dressage stuff. And that transferred to Roscoe. He did not get upset or tense. 

I included all the working portions of the lesson. Lauren is clearly heard, so you can get an idea of how she teaches. 

The lesson was centered on the basic principle of him being "on the bit" at all times. He still fakes it or uses his under neck at times and I have not been tough enough. So after warm up she put us on a circle to begin spiraling. Left is our hard way and it was obvious. He would pop up when I gave the inside rein. But we kept asking him to lift his back, cross his legs and move forward. Slowly,  Roscoe moved differently.  

When we stepped up to canter, Lauren specifically stated if he dropped down to trot it was okay. He is allowed to fail. Success is built on failure. Even if he fails the exercise, he still worked the muscles in the process. Permission to fail made for some of the best canter work we have ever done. And when he did trot, he was balanced instead of splatting. Rescuing him in the canter could result in him sacrificing quality. Roscoe definitely thought it was hard and he did not like the new transition parameters. He did try though. 

My pony felt fancy! We were by no means where we need to be, but the stronger base was definitely being built. And my ride at home the next day was almost as good. So fingers crossed we can keep it and strengthen him over the winter. I can tell other movements will be easier once we firmly establish him working over his back.

Even after only one lesson, I am already thinking I will need to plan to pay the extra to take an occasional lesson with Lauren in between regular lessons with the assistant. 

A Difference of Degrees

Well on top of all the virus fun and event cancellations, I found out my trainer was leaving. Though we have had our rocky moments, she has still moved Mom and I forward in our riding. So I signed up for two lessons the weekend my camp would have happened.
The way Sprieser is set up, I could pay online and we could go straight to the indoor limiting exposure. Rosemary was up to doing the lesson and Roscoe was hot to work. We ended up riding the whole hour and a half and taking turns. This allowed Rosemary enough breaks to catch her breath.

Lauren had both of us start over poles set in the corners and two in the middle. Roscoe decided the poles were going to eat him. He did eventually find his working brain. We slowed him down and put him into a longer Training level frame. When he consistently stretched over the poles, we put him together and picked him up. Man the quality of trot was amazing. He was coming through.
After a break for mom to work, we played with canter. Lauren wanted canter half halts. Last time we did this, I ran out of steam. This time we actually were able to work it. She had us do a working canter, which was bigger than I normally get at home, and then engage my core to help a half halt. Typical for Roscoe, right was better than left. His overall response was better. At times I could feel him sit and lift. He can't do it long, but what a difference.
Then the fun began, leg yields. You all know I have battled these for awhile. Lauren finally seemed to hit on my problem. I keep Roscoe too straight. She had me let his shoulder lead by five degrees. This immediately unlocked his movement. So we tried three degrees, but with less fluidity. Four degrees was the best of both. We finally could move forward and sideways. Hard to believe it was only a difference of degrees preventing our success. And I was able to get the same results at home.
It really stinks to make progress and have to pause lessons. But mom and I have taken advantage of our time to move Ember forward. He will get his own post. Stay well everyone!

Looking forward 

Unlocking New Levels

This year I am not planning to show and if I do it will probably be combined tests so I can jump. I really want to do more lessons and set us up for the move to 1st. Camp was the beginning. It jump started the process. Now Mom and I are doing two semi private lessons a month which works out to each of us paying for one lesson each month. This gives us both a chance  to advance.

We planned for a lesson at Sprieser for a Sunday Mom had off work. Roscoe and I both had a session of PEMF the day before. Roscoe's injury has been less inflamed after a couple sessions.

 Sara the therapist, wanted to let him know that the therapy can feel good too. He thinks it tickles. So she did a bit of body work on him. Roscoe soon figured out he really liked the effect. He demanded she work the spot on his upper right hip.

The next session she brought the big butterfly loops and did both sides. Roscoe yawned and cocked his hips and chewed. He really showed his appreciation.
For the lesson I took off his noseband so it would not bother his stitches. He acted the goof and promptly got his tongue over the bit and his full cheeks in his mouth. I ended up raising his bit a hole. He snorted at the drains and acted like he had not just seen them a few weeks ago.

I began to wonder if we had pulsed his brain away. But as always he found it once I sat on his back. I could not let him look in the mirrors too much since he wanted to challenge the horse he saw. Gotta love a stallion.

 The big surprise came when I asked him to trot. He had this ease of motion with a control that was not there before. Lauren right away mentioned that he looked amazing. When she put us on the circle and had us do shoulder in, Roscoe seemed more willing to try. We slowed to micro speed, but the movement was correct. When we went straight, his trot opened up. Lauren really felt like he had unlocked new levels of trot. Instead of the regular 1-10, he had 1-20.
She wanted to save his energy for canter work which did not disappoint. We continued to work on walk to canter transitions and then in the canter, worked on half halt and sit. The left was our tough side. I have to figure out the balance of getting him to lift his back, sit into the half halt, but still keep moving forward. We did actually manage more this time then we did in camp. To the right we not only managed half halt with forward, we also worked on opening and closing his stride. Adjustability is pretty cool. I really wish I had video, so I could see what we looked like. Hopefully it was not one of those " this is what I think I look like" vs " this is what I actually look like." Roscoe felt together and we clicked.

We ended the lesson with a mental challenge for both of us. Lauren had us half pass four steps, then leg yield four steps, then repeat. Lateral is a weakness for me. My coordination is awful. Lauren had to talk me through the steps. Roscoe is not a fan of shoulder control. We slowly did two lines. I seriously doubt we did anything correctly, but he did move his shoulders. Homework will definitely involve working on those shoulders.

And all the foals seem to be taking their time being born this year, but the first grandfoal finally came.
Welcome Ffrewyn Miss Ffame, PC Jen Robertson

She is Roscoe's youngest son's daughter. I really thought there would be more white since he has the biggest belly spot, but she just has the four white legs and a blaze. She got her mom's light eyes.
The family tree is blooming!

15m Front, 20m Back

We have had a slew of rain and thunderstorms, which made getting a lesson at home precarious. So I asked Lauren whether we should reschedule or trailer in. She was up for either and we opted to trailer in. With their indoor the lesson could happen.

Uh, do you realize it is raining out there?

And thundering and lightning

As we drove closer and closer, the clouds got darker. I asked for it to wait until we had them tacked and in the indoor. Ha, joke was on me. It poured, thundered and lightning lit the sky as I tacked up Roscoe. My saddle was soaked by time we made it to the barn. I really need a rain cover. Roscoe was hyper reactive... for a Cob and spooked at a bunch of stuff. He gets that way when his hormones are high. I took him over to start walking the indoor. Peggy went to rescue Rosemary out of the trailer and tuck her in a stall Lauren let us use.

Camera hog :)

I planned to have Lauren tune up Roscoe, but I ended up riding him the whole time. She asked what we were working on as Roscoe and I spooked around the arena. I told her our focus was getting him off my inside leg. She laughed as Roscoe was scared of the stallion in the mirror. Lauren said I needed my "cozy" leg rather than my normal "off" leg considering his mood. Once we were warmed up, she put us on a 15m circle in the middle of the arena.

Mother and Son

Then the fun began. She told me to ride him straight on the 15m and then once the circle was established, I had push his hind end out to the 20m circle. That was hard. At times I had to tap him with the whip and/ or turn my heel. The hardest was to ride "ugly" and do things that are only for schooling. Lauren told me to over bend him to the inside, then release. I knew when Roscoe and I were getting it when he slowed and swished his tail. I don't know if we managed what Lauren wanted, but the change was amazing. Roscoe was better in the poll and stepping under with the inside hind. Lauren said he was straighter in his nose. He was energized by working away from home, but the humidity took its toll. We only touched on canter since he was running out of steam. When I asked him to step under at canter, he realized how hard he had been working. Still Lauren was able to see the winter work we did and the improvement in his transitions. So now she wants him to pick up canter out of different  trots. This way he will learn to transition from slow or quick. Now if the rain would stop, we could actually do our homework.

Mother's Day/ Rosemary's B-day gift

Mom and Rosemary worked on activating her hind end. I missed the start because Roscoe decided the wash rack was too scary. When I made it back, Lauren had them slow the trot, but stay active, on corners and then immediately push forward on the straights. Lauren was greedy and wanted more from Rosemary. Mom has asked her to slow before, but this was more than she ever asked. Rosemary looked great. The work allowed her to have easier canter transitions. Mom improved too as her confidence with Rosemary's canter grew. I wish I took  video, dang rain messed me up. So no lesson media. Rosemary turned 11 years old and she just keeps getting better.

Get your guesses in for the Foal Pool, entries close on the 5th. Eventually this monsoon will end and we can look forward to baby pictures.

2016 Cross Stitch

Learning to Sit

I finally got to have a lesson with Lisa yesterday, but sadly it still contained no jumps. She broke her back coming off a young horse, so she is limited right now. We trailered to a near by farm with an indoor, which Roscoe thought had lots of interesting things to look at. It took a bit before he settled into actual work. This was the first Lisa has seen him, except for cavaletti in October, since the camp he attended last February. He certainly has come so far in that time.

She wanted him to work on bending his body and moving into the rein without his flashy movement and in a longer frame. The fact that he can shorten will come in handy later in his career. To the left his kink in his neck was out in full force. Lisa believes it is how he balances himself. Once he is actually stepping under with his hind end and moving off my inside leg, the kink goes away. He made me work hard for it though.

We moved into canter work which surprisingly started out without me carrying a whip. Roscoe picked up right lead at large. That was okay with him. Then she had me put him on a smaller circle and have him sit, slow and push. I had to let him break rather than run him forward. Then set him up again. The left was tougher for both of us. We both ran out of steam, but we did get some canter work completed. I have to get tough and raise the bar on my expectations. Bad transitions are not allowed. That's one thing I like about Lisa, she pushes me. She believes he has the potential to go far in dressage. She even mentioned FEI Pony classes.

This is an abbreviated write up, but if you have time you can watch the lesson. Sometimes I have to pinch myself that he belongs to me. I have never ridden higher than 1-1, but he may push me higher. I still owe him some jumps though...
And check out Pony Express for a Roeckl glove give away :)

Lazy, Leg Off

In continuation of my last post, my lesson this week followed the same theme. I was having a rough day so I opted to only ride Roscoe. Comrade got the day off and Mom got a private. Mom and Rosemary went first. Lauren and I got to try out our new viewing deck. Also we felt very high tech since Lauren brought headsets so that we could hear her easily.

 Mom and Rosemary worked transitions to get Rosemary engaged and listening. Then they moved onto shoulder fore. Rosemary is funny in that she will do the movement until a certain point before saying "I'm done, move on." They continued to blow her mind by pushing for shoulder in. Then her head really exploded when Lauren asked for half pass. Rosemary said it was hard. Lauren had Mom come about it slightly differently. On the long side she asked for haunches in. Then going across the diagonal, she again asked for haunches in. Making sure that the shoulders stayed on the diagonal. And voila, half pass! Mom said she heard the method years ago when she audited Robert Dover. Rosemary got to settle into some easier work after that.

First you want forward, now you want me to stand still...

Then Roscoe and I were up. Lauren wanted me to get Roscoe to react when I asked him to move on. My poor little kicks were laughed at by Roscoe and my audience. Soon I did figure out a big kick that actually woke my pony up. Lauren did have me carry the whip because she wanted me to be able to immediately have back up if Roscoe ignored me. She said that with a lazy horse you want them to move off when you take your leg off. Translated, they learn to figure out that when the leg comes off a big kick will follow if they don't move forward :) All my thumps and bumps started to pay off as I could literally feel improvement in his trot. Plus I was not working that hard. And even better, my position improved because of it. As we continued, Roscoe's body lengthened and he did this rhythmic huff. His canter was the best yet. He lifted and pushed, then actually kept cantering without me bugging him.













Hopefully I will have a pony who knows what leg means in no time. He has improved every ride since and he takes less 2x4's to get the point across.

Up next is a dressage show in December. It will be at the same place where his inspection was held, so we will see if he remembers. Then I start the hell of inventory at work and will hand the reins to Lauren for the January show. I am excited to see what test she decides to ride. I have only seen her doing training rides, so I can't even guess. Now I am off to work on my Blogger gift!

"Make My Pony Appreciate Me"

In all the craziness that is life right now, I have not really been able to talk about the new trainer. Lauren (not Sprieser, can't afford her) has come out for a few lessons. She uses similar techniques to what Natasha did, so the transition has been pretty smooth.

Lauren on Comrade

Natasha had said that we needed to start asking Roscoe to pick himself up. Roscoe says that is too much work and please keep carrying him. So when Lauren came, she brought a quiet firmness that pushed his buttons. During her part of the ride, he threw a fit. Stomping feet, head throwing, biting and rearing included. Roscoe will definitely test the boundaries. 2nd ride


Her second ride, Roscoe was less combative. He still thinks picking up his back and stepping into canter is overrated, but at least his work ethic was improved. Lauren said she felt a difference from the previous month. The best part for me is being able to get on after her and reap the benefits. The biggest being my pony appreciates me. Before the show I had her ride and "make my pony appreciate me." Considering the show, my evil plan worked.

3rd ride
Lauren has her ways to reach the people to. Prepping for the show, she told me to ride my straight lines in a shoulder fore. Which basically straightens my crooked little man. Then she told me to use "Beyonce Hips" during my free walk. Roscoe has almost too much forward in his walk, so I had to activate using a side to side hip swing vs a forward hip roll. With help from her, I am starting to feel my green bean sprout some leaves.

Now if only he and the others would magically appear with clips by time I get back from Florida. This heat and humidity is horrible. The last show of the summer series is the 28th. And crazy me, I am already looking at the winter series. I could not resist when I found out the shows would be at the same farm where the inspection took place only 30 minutes away.

"Got You Covered"

Wednesday was our final lesson with Natasha :( My lesson turned into a trainer ride because Roscoe was acting like a teenager. He was in no mood to bring his hind end under his back. After she worked him through his issues, I opted to let him be done rather than get on.

 What was cool is that Natasha mentioned that someone who also rides at Sprieser recognized the Castleberry prefix. She happens to own a warmblood bred at a farm owned by Roscoe's breeder's mentor. She was really happy Roscoe was being trained by Sprieser. I did tell Natasha she nearly got Roscoe's name spelled right when she did a show recap. Though she remembered the capital "F", she forgot he has two "f's."

Farewell Natasha

I was worried about having to start over and find another trainer. Or have to trailer to Sprieser for lessons. Luckily Natasha said "Got you covered." The newest assistant trainer will take us on. So fingers crossed we will click. I have not meet her yet since she was in Florida during both camps. The new trainer did say she is "Pony sized," so that should be great for having her show Roscoe.

Okay back to the lesson. Rosemary was the star of the day. No stomping, no grunting and she listened so well to Mom. They worked on leg yields and she actually did not rush them. Then Mom had a milestone and worked canter.  Natasha said she loved proving Mom wrong.

 Meanwhile, Comrade and Peggy worked on leg yields too. Then Peggy got overheated. So I took over and was promptly put to work on shoulder ins. I lose Comrade out the outside shoulder so this was a way to straighten us both in preparation for canter. When we got it right, everything slowed and I could feel him carry himself on three tracks. To the left he wanted to overbend, causing a kink in his body. I had to use more right leg to move him over. Out of the shoulder in, she moved us to 10 meter circle - shoulder in- canter depart. We seriously nailed the transition a few times and one time it was exceptional. It felt so slow mo since he lifted up and pushed. It was so smooth, I was surprised. So awesome to feel! Now Natasha said I have to work towards getting that feeling on Roscoe.

Next Wednesday is the Jump Chute Clinic and the following I may try to fit in a lesson with the new trainer before the show on the 15th. Another first for me, I am bringing Comrade along for the show. We will stick with Intro B for him and Intro C for Roscoe. I have orders from Natasha to move up to Training at the next show. I am a bit in awe of what has happened so far this year. I never would have expected this outcome. My best decision this year is definitely going to Adult Camp.

Apparently I Have Goals

Two Gemini's and my new boots :)

This month our lesson fell on my birthday. We switched it up and I rode first. I also rode my whole lesson. Since the show, I have felt more solid and Natasha saw some of that. She started with Roscoe's walk. I had to use my core to slow his front end and activate the hind.

Slow became the key word for the lesson. He is all for charging forward and out his front end. As we worked leg yields, my timing sucks, we had to slow so he could cross and eventually pick up canter. It was tough and we only managed a few steps. Roscoe's canter transitions have improved since the show. Natasha wanted more and made us do trot/canter transitions around a circle.

No Lesson is complete without the tail monster!

Leg yield

That brought the bucking, since Roscoe could not understand why I was tapping him with the whip when he thought he was going enough. Ah well, he was just checking I could stick with him despite my age.

Happy Bucking Birthday!!!

During my lesson Natasha said "...Training level is the goal this year..." Ha, apparently I have goals I never expected. Can I mention I have not even looked at the Training level tests? We shall see what happens.

After my lesson, we had Natasha ride Comrade. He has been so sticky on that right lead, it is frustrating. Comrade knew right away he could not get away with anything with her on board. He did throw a tantrum though, stomping his feet in one place. I felt better seeing her have similar issues that I do. The difference was she had the muscle to push him through and keep him going. I did not ride him that day, but Sunday he was like a new pony. He picked up the correct leads right away and he moved forward. We still have the left bulge, but the change was lovely.

Mom and Peggy rode the rest of the lesson working the bell curve. They both had some great times where the horses were together, not stomping. Comrade was really glad to have Peggy riding him and Rosemary figured if she was good, we would not put Natasha on her.

Lesson Post: "You make that look easy..."

Wednesday was our second lesson with Natasha. This time we were ready to go when she arrived. I warned her that due to being sick and the weather, not much riding happened in between.

Mom and Peggy started the lesson. Right away Natasha noted the improvement in Rosemary. Mom did her homework and it paid off. Her rhythm was slower and less choppy. I thought Mom looked great and confident. Peggy and Comrade took it slow since Peggy is coming back into riding. Comrade was thrilled. For both of them Natasha had them work leg yield at the walk. Rosemary wanted to rush through her outside shoulder and keep her hips inside. Mom had to slow that shoulder to let the hind end catch up. Comrade had a similar issue, but he would slow too much. Eventually both Mom and Peggy were able to leg yield from center to fence and pick up trot. I hopped on both of them towards the end to work canter. Comrade had to figure out that it was time to work and then decided he was too tired. He kept running through my left rein. We worked to move his shoulders inside the circle and pushing his inside hind out. Spiral in and spiral out. Then I would ask for canter. When we had everything in place, the depart was sweet. When we did not, the wheels fell off... and went way left. All the work Mom did on Rosemary made her canter transitions so much better than normal. Natasha had me use the same exercise of spiraling to set her up for canter. She said Rosemary is at where Comrade was for camp just over a month ago. She described her as liking to sprawl and needing to be more narrow. I can't wait to see what both of these two are like as they build muscle and stamina.

Then it was time for Roscoe. Again I had Natasha ride. The effects last for a couple weeks after and give me time to build the muscle memory I need to be correct. Roscoe tested her and threw baby tantrums. Mostly throwing his head or stomping his feet. It is really hard to move correctly. If he gets too straight to the right, he will pick up the left lead. He had an opinion about her making him move his hind end under himself, but they worked through it. Photo stream time:

Rise of the tail monster

Icing on the cake, my fancy boy

 My turn came and she threw me a bit when she had me do a four loop serpentine. I had to think about how to do that. Three loops no problem, four required thinking. We managed despite the dogs laying in the way. Natasha surprised me by saying we did it well and that she was not sure she could have done it with him. Her comment "You make that look easy" pleased me to no end. Roscoe makes me work hard, so if I look like I am not, that is a freaking miracle. She explained that I know Roscoe and that gives me an advantage. Natasha is significantly taller and he reacts to some of her body movement.

 I really had to work to keep my calves on him. Too many times I want to lift my heel. Yay for the bad habits you develop. Anyway, he needed the same spiraling exercise to prepare for canter. We had our own issues cantering right, but when I brought his shoulders in front of his hind end things worked better. Now we have to work on the sharpness of the transitions. We still have too much running trot before. Even with the work still needed I am pleased with how far he has come.

Love this pony!

Here is the video of part of my ride: