Return of the Spurs

During our burst of warm weather, I was able to squeeze in a couple rides. DaVinci and I worked long and low to stretch out his tight muscles and mine too. We both enjoyed being able to move without slipping. It was short, but sweet. I think it took me longer to chip his head out of the mud than to complete the ride. Of course he promptly went out and replaced all the mud I removed. He strongly believes there is a reason God made him a blank canvas :)

I wish he were even this clean :/

After the ride, I went on a hunting mission. Ever since the Welsh Show in September, I have been missing one Spursuader. They were in my car, then got put in the truck. I saw them at the show, but then at home only one was found.  I knew the other one must be in my car somewhere. I just needed time to search. I moved stuff around, looked under the mat with no luck. Then I picked up the bag of ribbons from the show and felt a weight. Inside I saw a black spur strap. Sure enough the spur was in the bag. I guess when Peggy's husband picked up the ribbons he did not notice the stow away.
Comrade was in for a reminder. Of course, when I got to Peggy's we had to find the other spur. Yep, that's right I find the missing one only to lose the other. Finally we found it in a drawer. Suited up we headed out.

Still love these, so glad I found the missing one.

He was full of it in a good way, but there was a chink going to the right. Comrade would travel soft to the left then brace to the right. I started looking for the issue. Hind end, stepping under and activated. Torso, bending around my leg both directions. Neck, round to the left, but ding ding tense and raised to the right. All the power he was generating with truly awesome movement from behind was being blocked at his neck.
I started working a series of correct bend, straight and counter bend on a circle while asking him to consistently step under and forward from behind. I set the boundaries, stayed consistent and let him figure it out. Boy did he figure it out. The right began to flow like the left. Even Peggy sitting on the sidelines was amazed at how active Comrade was moving, especially behind. He tends to be a bit lazy. Not this day though. I had a tough time doing a sitting trot.
The icing on the ride was when I glanced down and realized that both directions my inside rein had a loop. Comrade was in my outside rein, carrying himself. I think the combination of his energy and the spurs to help move his rib cage we released his neck allowing for a complete cycle through his body. Definitely one of those perfect moments.
That will have to hold me until the weather gets better. Maybe tomorrow, fingers crossed.
Have a great holiday everyone!

Into the Fire

Well I did it.
Comrade and I will go to a Combined Test on Saturday. Just cross rails, but it will be interesting. Plus I decided to go for broke by doing the BN-A dressage test. I could not see doing Intro A. It was to much of a step backwards. Maybe if they offered Intro B, I would have done that test so I only had to stress about the jumps.
So we did some cross rail courses at the canter. He tried to get strong and strung out, so I shortened the distances to the jumps for some and put a nine rail by another. That helped him compress enough that he jumped the jumps instead of taking them in stride. He knocked down one jump and busted one PVC pole before he finally started listening to my cues. We ended by completing the course entirely at canter while he waited for me. The show will see how he reacts to painted poles. I just have to keep my head and ride him right.
Today I rode DaVinci and ran through the dressage test. He is a completely different horse, but the ride allowed me to see how the test flowed and where the transitions happened. We have a dressage arena at our barn which was another reason for the ride. DaVinci was a little confused by the weird start, but soon figured out it was a test and clicked into dressage pony mode.
Then I went to Peggy's to put Comrade through the test. He greeted me covered in sweat already warm due to the hot day. Can I just say, I am already missing my dressage whip? This heat made for a very lazy pony. So for the show, if I get sluggish canter transitions but no bucking I will be happy. I did pull out the Spursuaders to help make up for not having the whip. They help get him stepping under and pushing. The run through was not horrible, though I felt like I was working really hard. Hopefully the show day will be somewhat cooler.

Hot pony

Product Review: Spursuader

Over the weekend I rode Comrade twice and DaVinci and Rosemary once with these spurs. None of them had a negative reaction and they responded really well.
For me the spurs seemed so big compared to the micro spurs I have used previously, but they actually were easy to engage. The nice rounded edges and wide surface made a gentle but firm contact with the horse.
With Comrade, who you all know is not shy about bucking, it was amazing. He did not take offense when I used the spurs and actually had a bend through his rib cage. That bend released the tension in his neck creating the nice floppy top line. I was also able to work on his lazy right hind leg when asked to step under and push. He likes to shuffle sideways instead of crossing. With help from the spurs he did achieve the cross over, though it still needs work.
With Rosemary, my drama queen, I got a little swishy tail action, but that is normal whenever you tell her what to do. I did get a much better bend through her body, which we have been working on.  I can't wait to see Mom use the spurs while working her.
With DaVinci, I had fun. He is our lateral king, but I am not so good. With the spurs, my timing was working and DaVinci gave me some awesome half passes. Then I turned my foot out so the flat side contacted his side, not something I would normally do, but he was fine with the pressure. And by keeping the correct bend our lateral work was much better than I normally achieve.

So overall, I have been persuaded. I know that was bad.
Three different horses at different levels of training and all had positive reactions and better work. They sell for about $55. I do not know what other spurs go for, but these are worth the price. And for those of you who ride western, they have a western version.