Last night, I met my best friend Meghan and our awesome dressage rider friend Kymmy for what has become our weekly evening of dressage schooling. It is great!
Usually, I get on and warm Homer up while Kymmy rides the older Orion (Megg's horse), but last night, we reversed it (Kymmy thinking that maybe she would catch Homer in a better mood if she got on him first - see previous posts for details). Homer was absolute perfection. He didn't fight, didn't buck, didn't try to run Kymmy into any of the jumps. I was completely astonished; Kymmy said that she had been expecting him to have a breakthrough day like this. Wow.
We had been told not to ride them too hard, since they'd just gotten booster shots - their 2nd of a three-part vaccination for strangles - so she did not ride him for too long before I got on. We worked on cantering. This is the hardest gait for both of us right now, since Homer needs nearly as much work in it as I do.
A short history of my life with Homer. When I got him, five years ago, he had been off the track for less than a year. He was brought to the farm where I had been riding with the trainer who coached the West Chester University Equestrian Club by my trainer's sister, who snapped Homer up when it became glaringly apparent that his racing career was over (four lifetime starts; four last place finishes). When he'd first arrived at the farm and we curious onlookers crowded around his stall, what we saw was completely unlike the horse that he is today - he was skinny and depressed and oddly sad.
Horses just coming off the racetrack have huge adjustments to make. They are unused to turnout, and especially to turnout with other horses, having been in a stall for most of their careers; they sometimes have vices, like cribbing (here's looking at you, Homer), or stall weaving, or wood chewing, or anything else that they developed to break the boredom; oftentimes they have drugs in their system that need time to filter out; ulcers from stress; and deeper psychological issues.
There are many benefits to acquiring a horse off of the racetrack (in my one-horse experience with Homer). First, they generally don't mind crowds. Homer's one exception was the first show that I took him to (complete disaster), though for most of the shows since that he's been very well behaved. They are used to seeing a lot of equipment, and are usually traffic broke. They are used to training with a bunch of other horses, and are usually okay - in fact, usually more comfortable - with other horses in the ring.
There are, of course, a zillion other things that they have not seen and that they need to get used to, but they are a hard-working and intelligent breed, and mine has soldiered through with aplomb.
When Homer and I first started training in dressage, we had no idea what we were doing. I had mostly ridden him in walk, trot and canter in the ring with his nose poking out (collection? what was that?). We'd jumped some. Gone trail riding a lot. Gone fox hunting once (to cross it off of our bucket list), and to a couple of paper chases (those were exciting). Made it to a few hunter shows, and even received a few ribbons. But I had wanted to teach him more, and didn't have any more to teach, so I joined up with a local dressage trainer to become a working student on my summers off, and it was exactly what we needed.
We had a long road ahead of us - truthfully, we still do. We spent most of the first summer working to get him thinking forward, and then on flexibility, and on building his topline. Basic stuff. I think we cantered a handful of times (he enjoyed launching into the canter with a good buck - there are still dents in my dressage trainer's indoor). Intro level. Last summer we built on everything, and started to really ask him to get on the bit and stretch over his back. We learned his favorite movement so far (extended trot), and worked on lateral stuff, on more complex movements, and finally fixed that awful buck-to-canter transition (a life changer!). We moved to Training level.
Over the winter, after Homer's obligatory cold weather injury (each year it is something different - this year he stuck a few together into an exciting popped splint - thrush infection combo that left him work-free for two months), we worked on first getting his confidence back (which was surprisingly a big issue for him, to put the try back in to his movements), and then catching up on lost training time. We worked on transitions, that canter, flexibility, and staying on the bit. For me, I had to work on sitting up, and on keeping my right leg back and straight, and my left leg pressing down into the stirrup (it sounds worse than it looks, I think). We developed flying changes, and a decent stretch-down circle at the trot. Sure, Homer had a few Thoroughbred days, but overall, progress was made, though about the beginning of March, I really start to pine for dressage lessons!
Enter our professional dressage riding friend Kymmy. She rides our horses for nothing, after her long day of work. She schools them, and then schools us, and we are the better for it. She is a great instructor, and when I watch her ride my horse, I think back to the days when we first poked our noses in to dressage, and realize how far we've come.
Of course, now that our canter is improving, we need to work on collection, impulsion, a steady rhythm, straightness...
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Running races
I started running last summer, when I was motivated to stay as fit to further my horseback riding goals (and nominally to impress my dressage instructor when she came back from Florida in the spring...). I would puff out a couple of miles and then return home, satisfied that I was doing the best I could. Then a high school friend moved back to PA, and when she suggested running a 5K on Thanksgiving, I said sure. I mean, three miles is really close to two, right? Sounded fun!
It was fun. So we signed up for a 5 mile relay on December 17. Then our third runner (my marathon-running younger brother) had to drop out, so we were left with a choice - either run the whole thing together (I had never run that far before) or divide up the running somehow. We did the former, and managed to squeak out 5 miles. It hurt, and it was frigid and snowing, but our success gave aforementioned younger brother an idea - how about I run a half marathon?
Thirteen point one miles seemed like a whole lot of running, but his enthusiasm and my competitive nature made training for it kinda fun. I would listen to lots of audiobooks while I ran (I know, nerdy), and would be in great shape for another summer of dressage training. Win!
We picked a half marathon that was flat (ish) and far enough away from my house that if I passed out on the course, nobody I knew would recognize me. Also, my 5K and 5M buddy would be joining me (yay!). April 15, at 8am, we set off running in the Bucks County Half Marathon. The weather was perfect for running - overcast, cool, and a little drizzle-y. We finished in 2 hours and 30 minutes. My next one will be faster!
Of course, now that it is over - and has been over for more than a week - I feel a void. I mean, I just finished this months-long goal, training four or five days a week, and now, poof, nothing. Sigh.
Then yesterday, I re-discovered the Dog Jog Run that is taking place in a few weeks, on May 12, very close to my house. It benefits the SPCA, which I like, and involves running, which I like very much. It also involves running with a dog.
I may have mentioned preciously, but I have two Welsh Corgis, ages 10 and 4.5. The younger one, Ripley, already plays a few dog sports for which we have a training regimen of sorts. We play flyball and agility, and have daily walks, weekly agility practice, occasional runs, bi-monthly flyball practice, strengthening exercises, and sessions of catch. Oh yeah, and we throw in a competition or two every now and then.
I mentioned competitive nature, yes?
So I decide that we will try the 5K. Three miles. The most we've done is two. In flyball, I calculated that Ripley sprints about 3/4 mile over a weekend of racing (10 races, 4 heats each). That doesn't count warm up runs, walking back and forth to the crate, the car, on walks, etc. He is a pretty fit little dude, and I am hoping that we will be able to rock out our first 3.1 mile run sometime next week. Last night, we ran 1.65 in about 16 minutes, which is pretty good, and he didn't seem very worn out at all.
But try to talk to that dog about pace. Ha!
It was fun. So we signed up for a 5 mile relay on December 17. Then our third runner (my marathon-running younger brother) had to drop out, so we were left with a choice - either run the whole thing together (I had never run that far before) or divide up the running somehow. We did the former, and managed to squeak out 5 miles. It hurt, and it was frigid and snowing, but our success gave aforementioned younger brother an idea - how about I run a half marathon?
Thirteen point one miles seemed like a whole lot of running, but his enthusiasm and my competitive nature made training for it kinda fun. I would listen to lots of audiobooks while I ran (I know, nerdy), and would be in great shape for another summer of dressage training. Win!
We picked a half marathon that was flat (ish) and far enough away from my house that if I passed out on the course, nobody I knew would recognize me. Also, my 5K and 5M buddy would be joining me (yay!). April 15, at 8am, we set off running in the Bucks County Half Marathon. The weather was perfect for running - overcast, cool, and a little drizzle-y. We finished in 2 hours and 30 minutes. My next one will be faster!
Of course, now that it is over - and has been over for more than a week - I feel a void. I mean, I just finished this months-long goal, training four or five days a week, and now, poof, nothing. Sigh.
Then yesterday, I re-discovered the Dog Jog Run that is taking place in a few weeks, on May 12, very close to my house. It benefits the SPCA, which I like, and involves running, which I like very much. It also involves running with a dog.
I may have mentioned preciously, but I have two Welsh Corgis, ages 10 and 4.5. The younger one, Ripley, already plays a few dog sports for which we have a training regimen of sorts. We play flyball and agility, and have daily walks, weekly agility practice, occasional runs, bi-monthly flyball practice, strengthening exercises, and sessions of catch. Oh yeah, and we throw in a competition or two every now and then.
I mentioned competitive nature, yes?
So I decide that we will try the 5K. Three miles. The most we've done is two. In flyball, I calculated that Ripley sprints about 3/4 mile over a weekend of racing (10 races, 4 heats each). That doesn't count warm up runs, walking back and forth to the crate, the car, on walks, etc. He is a pretty fit little dude, and I am hoping that we will be able to rock out our first 3.1 mile run sometime next week. Last night, we ran 1.65 in about 16 minutes, which is pretty good, and he didn't seem very worn out at all.
But try to talk to that dog about pace. Ha!
Monday, April 23, 2012
Library
I am sitting here at my desk at work, and admiring the work that I've done over the last few weeks. It has been a slow few weeks, library-wise, with everyone working too hard to get through materials for APs and SAT subject tests to come and do any research in the library. So, what is a librarian to do?
A couple of years ago, I decided that it was time for an extensive weeding and catalog clean-up. It was an intensive project that took up most of my time for the better part of a year. It was not the most exciting of tasks, but it was something that had badly needed to be done, and when it was over, I sat, much like I am sitting now, resting on my laurels. I admired the clean MARC records in the database, the images of book covers that now appeared in the catalog, and that the number of old and decrepit books downstairs that had been greatly diminished. Weeding is like pruning, in my opinion. It may seem harmful, to cut away what outwardly looks like healthy growth, but in the end, it makes the whole plant (or library collection) stronger.
Last year, I guess I was still resting on my laurels, since I had no major, year-long project in which I immersed myself. This year, however, I made up for it (without meaning to). In the fall, I took an online class in what was billed as a dabbling into website design and information organization. It ended up having much more to do with build a website from code than how information was organized, and I was very, very glad it was over.
In the spring, I decided that I needed another project to keep me going, and zeroed in on another slightly dreadful task - cataloging the six shelves' worth of books that had been sitting behind my desk for the last few years. Cataloging is not a very labor-intensive task, at least, not anymore. We have program that we use to search for the electronic records, and then import them into our library catalog. While it is not strenuous, it is time consuming. Very time consuming.
It took a few weeks (and as soon as I get the shipment of paperback book covers in, I'll be completely finished!), and now I have six lovely free shelves behind my desk. I also decided to move the nonfiction collection around downstairs to create more display room. A previous librarian's efforts had left a huge gap in the collection, which I filled in and dusted and put displays in. It now meets the librarian ideal of 3/4 full, with a display book at the end.
Now I am sitting here, surveying my work with a sense of pride and accomplishment. The books are organized, weeded, displayed and cataloged. The shelves behind me are clear, and my desk is clean an organized.
As the year winds to a close, I wonder - what can I get my hands on next year?
A couple of years ago, I decided that it was time for an extensive weeding and catalog clean-up. It was an intensive project that took up most of my time for the better part of a year. It was not the most exciting of tasks, but it was something that had badly needed to be done, and when it was over, I sat, much like I am sitting now, resting on my laurels. I admired the clean MARC records in the database, the images of book covers that now appeared in the catalog, and that the number of old and decrepit books downstairs that had been greatly diminished. Weeding is like pruning, in my opinion. It may seem harmful, to cut away what outwardly looks like healthy growth, but in the end, it makes the whole plant (or library collection) stronger.
Last year, I guess I was still resting on my laurels, since I had no major, year-long project in which I immersed myself. This year, however, I made up for it (without meaning to). In the fall, I took an online class in what was billed as a dabbling into website design and information organization. It ended up having much more to do with build a website from code than how information was organized, and I was very, very glad it was over.
In the spring, I decided that I needed another project to keep me going, and zeroed in on another slightly dreadful task - cataloging the six shelves' worth of books that had been sitting behind my desk for the last few years. Cataloging is not a very labor-intensive task, at least, not anymore. We have program that we use to search for the electronic records, and then import them into our library catalog. While it is not strenuous, it is time consuming. Very time consuming.
It took a few weeks (and as soon as I get the shipment of paperback book covers in, I'll be completely finished!), and now I have six lovely free shelves behind my desk. I also decided to move the nonfiction collection around downstairs to create more display room. A previous librarian's efforts had left a huge gap in the collection, which I filled in and dusted and put displays in. It now meets the librarian ideal of 3/4 full, with a display book at the end.
Now I am sitting here, surveying my work with a sense of pride and accomplishment. The books are organized, weeded, displayed and cataloged. The shelves behind me are clear, and my desk is clean an organized.
As the year winds to a close, I wonder - what can I get my hands on next year?
Friday, April 20, 2012
Homer gets a professional ride!
Yesterday, my good friend and professional dressage rider Kymmy came over to school Homer (and me!), and to ride my best friend Meghan's horse Orion. Ry is 18, bay, and a horse that, in Kymmy's opinion, works hard to please. Their ride was fabulous - within mere moments he was moving out, on the bit, behaving beautifully.
I glanced at them now and then while I warmed Homer up, waking, trotting and cantering in each direction, and then working on some shoulder-in to loosen him up. He was forward, which is good, and behaving well.
Then Kymmy got on my horse.
Homer has a bit of a stubborn streak. He is not mean about it, but he does not hesitate to show his displeasure at something he's being asked to do if he does not feel like it. He also likes to test out new riders. Kymmy's first ride on Homer a few weeks ago was exciting. He tried to run her into a few of the jump standards set up around the ring, using his current favorite trick of cantering sideways, and threw in a few bucks, just for fun.
He was slightly better yesterday. Homer tried to get around trotting nicely for Kymmy (nose in air, hollow back), which she wasn't having any of. Kymmy is a much braver rider than I am, and worked his little Thoroughbred butt right out of it. Trotting settled down pretty well. Cantering, however, was an adventure.
It took a little over a year of dressage training for my horse to realize that he does not need to jump-start his cantering with an explosive buck, but now that we've improved his suppleness and built his topline and strengthened him overall, he's developed new and exciting ways to avoid working. For Kymmy, he tried a hand gallop, and then tried to run her into a jump standard, all of which she handled with aplomb. She turned Homer so that his rear would be the only thing he nailed into the jump, and kept him cantering. And cantering. More trying to drive her into the jump, more turning, and lots more cantering. He tried speeding up; she pushed him through it. He tried dropping into a trot; she picked the canter back up. They cantered for about 10 minutes straight - he was a sweaty mess by the time she was done, but he was cantering, in a frame even, and doing it like a pro.
The verdict? I am babying him too much. As in, I need to push him more, and ask him to do more. I need to let him know that status quo is not enough, because, as Kymmy said, you only get the true brilliance out of a stubborn horse like Homer if you push him to that point.
Fun, eh? Can't wait to ride him tomorrow.
I glanced at them now and then while I warmed Homer up, waking, trotting and cantering in each direction, and then working on some shoulder-in to loosen him up. He was forward, which is good, and behaving well.
Then Kymmy got on my horse.
Homer has a bit of a stubborn streak. He is not mean about it, but he does not hesitate to show his displeasure at something he's being asked to do if he does not feel like it. He also likes to test out new riders. Kymmy's first ride on Homer a few weeks ago was exciting. He tried to run her into a few of the jump standards set up around the ring, using his current favorite trick of cantering sideways, and threw in a few bucks, just for fun.
He was slightly better yesterday. Homer tried to get around trotting nicely for Kymmy (nose in air, hollow back), which she wasn't having any of. Kymmy is a much braver rider than I am, and worked his little Thoroughbred butt right out of it. Trotting settled down pretty well. Cantering, however, was an adventure.
It took a little over a year of dressage training for my horse to realize that he does not need to jump-start his cantering with an explosive buck, but now that we've improved his suppleness and built his topline and strengthened him overall, he's developed new and exciting ways to avoid working. For Kymmy, he tried a hand gallop, and then tried to run her into a jump standard, all of which she handled with aplomb. She turned Homer so that his rear would be the only thing he nailed into the jump, and kept him cantering. And cantering. More trying to drive her into the jump, more turning, and lots more cantering. He tried speeding up; she pushed him through it. He tried dropping into a trot; she picked the canter back up. They cantered for about 10 minutes straight - he was a sweaty mess by the time she was done, but he was cantering, in a frame even, and doing it like a pro.
The verdict? I am babying him too much. As in, I need to push him more, and ask him to do more. I need to let him know that status quo is not enough, because, as Kymmy said, you only get the true brilliance out of a stubborn horse like Homer if you push him to that point.
Fun, eh? Can't wait to ride him tomorrow.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Why me
So, I'm not sure exactly where this blog will go, since I can't seem to pin down one particular area of my life on which I should focus (which I think is how blogs should work). So here's what I'm thinking: I'll write about everything that I am interested/participate in. This includes riding my 10 year old ex-racehorse Homer, who we are trying, with moderate success - to turn in to a dressage horse of modest skill. He's a blog in himself. I've had him for 5 years now, and aside from a plethora of exciting training issues - more later - he is also a pretty accident prone animal (and he's a chestnut, with famously sensitive skin). Oh, the vet bills...
I am a school librarian, and during the past two summers I have been lucky enough to work with a great dressage trainer near me as her working student. It rocks. If I could somehow make money in it, I would totally do it all year (until we get past the warmish, leaves gently falling part of fall and into the super cold part, then I am glad to have an indoor day job!).
I have two Pembroke Welsh Corgis, yes, those short-legged herding dogs that are in tight with the Queen. Mine are Ripley, age 4 1/2, and Patti, age 10. Patti is a perfect dog, and most always has been. Ripley is a huge bundle of excitable energy, and he is the one that I play most of the dog sports with (though both do obedience, and Patti likes to play on the agility equipment for cookies). More on dog stuff later.
I have a job as an aforementioned school librarian for a private girls' school about 40 minutes from my house. I love my job. I have always been a bibliophile, and part of my job i to actually research books. It is great! Of course, I think that I only have a few more years until all of my friends and relatives are really tired of getting books for every birthday and holiday, but ah, well. The girls are funny (I work in the high school), the people who I work with are pretty cool, and the work is alternately challenging and calm. Also, I can work on my houseplant addiction in a large space.
I love coffee. There, I said it. Not too many vices (is it really a horse "addiction"?), but this is one. Also, and unrelated to coffee, I've started running. For real, sometimes double digit mileage running. I actually ran my first half marathon last weekend (exhilarating, and made me really, really hungry).
I've been married to a great guy for nearly 5 years now. He is a corporate pilot, and supportive of the horse and dog stuff (mostly). Also, he is cute.
I am a school librarian, and during the past two summers I have been lucky enough to work with a great dressage trainer near me as her working student. It rocks. If I could somehow make money in it, I would totally do it all year (until we get past the warmish, leaves gently falling part of fall and into the super cold part, then I am glad to have an indoor day job!).
I have two Pembroke Welsh Corgis, yes, those short-legged herding dogs that are in tight with the Queen. Mine are Ripley, age 4 1/2, and Patti, age 10. Patti is a perfect dog, and most always has been. Ripley is a huge bundle of excitable energy, and he is the one that I play most of the dog sports with (though both do obedience, and Patti likes to play on the agility equipment for cookies). More on dog stuff later.
I have a job as an aforementioned school librarian for a private girls' school about 40 minutes from my house. I love my job. I have always been a bibliophile, and part of my job i to actually research books. It is great! Of course, I think that I only have a few more years until all of my friends and relatives are really tired of getting books for every birthday and holiday, but ah, well. The girls are funny (I work in the high school), the people who I work with are pretty cool, and the work is alternately challenging and calm. Also, I can work on my houseplant addiction in a large space.
I love coffee. There, I said it. Not too many vices (is it really a horse "addiction"?), but this is one. Also, and unrelated to coffee, I've started running. For real, sometimes double digit mileage running. I actually ran my first half marathon last weekend (exhilarating, and made me really, really hungry).
I've been married to a great guy for nearly 5 years now. He is a corporate pilot, and supportive of the horse and dog stuff (mostly). Also, he is cute.
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