Laser Amulet 17.5 medium setting

I tried this saddle -- what a great-feeling saddle, with thinline padding on the seat and underside. I wanted it to work, but it didn't feel super stable on his back no matter where I adjusted the tree. Ri seemed to like it well enough, but it slid forward onto his withers within ten minutes. To be fair, the county does that too, but I have a mattes pad to keep it in place...

Dressage instruction is hard because...

I'm learning a few hard truths about myself these days -- I'm not much of a student, apparently.

Maybe I'm just not a good listener. Maybe I can't multitask.  Maybe it's hard to are over the buzz of the arena lights. Maybe I'm just not a quick study.

Maybe all of those things are true. In a recent instruction session, I got the impression that the instructor felt I was not engaged in the process. I dunno, maybe I wasn't. Here's how I see it.

1. There are always two conversations going on -- the instructor, and the horse.  
2. I am certain that instructors want riders to think for themselves -- they don't want to have to tell you to do every little half halt.
3. Given that you have to listen to your horse. You're sitting on 1200 lbs of muscle, how can we not give them priority? Their conversation seems much more immediate than the distant voice in the background.
4. As a result, my fastest response is about 3-5 seconds behind in responding to the instructor. Or all too often, I miss the instructor comment entirely. 

Am I alone in this?

 How many times have you felt exasperation when an instructor says "circle at E" -- and by the time you've processed it, you're passing E? I feel dense as a post, and I can only imagine how much my instructor would like to throttle me by the neck. 

I rode in a clinic over the weekend. It was useful, and I received a clear message about what I need to work on as a rider. I failed to deliver on the goods when the clinician asked for things, though -- IMHO it was partly nerves and partly the problem of dueling conversations (described above).

The clinician is not at fault; other people manage. My only defense is that failing  to deliver the goods is not the same as not trying. The spirit may be willing, but the flesh is weak!

Shackles and chains: Why I use chains

Thanks to sam_j98 on Flickr

One of my readers recently sent me an email asking why I used chains over both my horses, even Harv who she observed seemed "mellow" and "old." Harv might take issue with that last descriptor! He's mature.

It's true that most of the time they're pretty easy boys. The keyword here is "most."

Most, often, usually, seldom -- but not "always" not "never"
Some people don't think a loose horse is a big deal, and "most" of the time it isn't. The farm where I board is basically safe but here are a few things to think about

• It is near a curvey, tree-lined, county road that sees a lot of traffic. 
• There are drainage spouts (with sharp-edged PVC pipe) and holes around the property. 
• We are adjacent to a small church where children play regularly. 
• There are animal holes everywhere.

If this doesn't spark some dark imaginings of what could happen, I'll be a bit more explicit and expansive...

• I have seen a horse get injured on a drainage ditch pipe -- he severed tendons on the metal corrugated pipe, and it was a career-ending injury for a spectacular working hunter. 
• Horses that run out on the road not only endanger themselves but carloads of unsuspecting people. A loose horse can equal a lifetime of litigation.
• Imagine a big scared horse running into a yard full of unsupervised kids. More litigation, to say nothing of psychological toll on everyone involved if a child is harmed.

 Now a bit from the personal histories of my boys...

• The barn owners where I board are energetic, vibrant people but they are in their seventies, and they handle my horses often. One of the owners was bringing Ri in from the pasture a year or so ago, and there was a freakish event that no one could have predicted. Ri bolted and left  the barn owner on the ground with a broken arm.
• I was walking both my horses out to the pasture one evening, and out of a treeline a herd of deer came running right at us. Riley would have been okay, but Harvey (my "quiet oldster") had a meltdown, and Ri followed suit. I dragged them back to the barn but it was scary. Had I not had the chains on they both would have been long gone.

The blog reader who emailed me was nice but in her questions there was an opinion too -- she even said point blank that a chain over the nose is a crutch. I disagree. Chains are floppy and harmless until you need them. These animals weight thousands of pounds and when they get loose you have to think about a) an injury and b) the fact that you have a galloping liability on your hands. 

Jumping form critique!

So normally we look at dressage talent, but this jumping video merits a look, I think. My thoughts? Built a little downhill, and a little dive-y at the jumps, but overall I'm impressed!

You kind of wonder what prompted this, doncha?