Dressage Saddle - Reflocking

A couple of lessons ago, Debbie mentioned that she thought I needed to have my saddle checked.  She noticed that I appeared to be having trouble keeping my position, and at the canter she noticed movement in the back of the saddle.   A few others at the barn also needed a check up so I volunteered to set it up with their favorite saddle fitter.

This is the first time I had Patty Barnett (East Crow Saddlery) work on my saddle and I have to say I wasn't disappointed.  She starts out with general information on your horse - age, breed, disciplines besides english/dressage, any medical issues, etc.  I was happy that she didn't notice any asyemmetrical issues, which means we're doing a good job working both sides of the horse.   What she did find was that he was ever so slightly tender in the rear thoracic.   Exactly where the rear of the saddle would've been bouncing.  She also found that the panels were beginning to pinch and rock at the stirrup bar.  So to fix she added wool to the rear 2/3rd of the panels to firm and raise the cantle and added just a smidge of wool to the panel fronts to firm up and alleviate the pinch/rock.  When she was finished she said although she didn't make any major adjustments that I should notice the difference immediately.

She wasn't kidding.  The minute I sat in the saddle my positon was perfect.  My legs fell exactly where they should and no shifting to find my seat bones.  Off the the outside track we went.  I'm thinking this is great, I feel more balanced I hope G feels it too.  We walked a few laps to warm up and then I asked him to step it up into the flat walk and what he did next surprised the heck out of me.  His beats were so even I started clicking my tongue softly and within a minute or two his ears started flopping back and forth along with his funny little grunts he does when he gets chugging along.  G has never ever flopped his ears when gaiting, never ever!  Yeah he'd flip one back here and there listening to me, but this was pure relaxation.  Big heavy sigh~ lol.  I just figured he wasn't one of those horses that did that!  Ya know some click their teeth, some flop their lips.  So now that I've seen it, I know it's there!! It didn't last though, because as we were riding along they started taking horses into the barn for dinner.  Well, you've heard stories, Mr. G is all about food.  Food is his life, and with each pass I could feel his body change - he would turn his head toward the barn, head and neck would raise, ears forward, body tense.  I got him to refocus on me a couple of laps, but he never got back into that relaxed groove and as we rounded the corner by the thick bushes he dropped his shoulder and spun to the left.  I remember when moves like this would've unseated me.  Part of the reason I started wearing full seat breeches.  But lo and behold I was wearing my new Fuzzy Logics that don't have full seats and I still stuck like glue to my boy.  Another heavy sigh.  So I asked him to pick up a canter and completed the oval and brought him back to a walk.  I was having such a good time I hadn't realized that we had been out there 40 minutes.  So I called it a day and walked him back to the barn.  Now it was his turn for a heavy sigh. 

So six months from now I will have Patty come look at the saddle again, as now that I've seen how it should fit, and how well it works when done right I'm all about saddle adjustments!

The Rear Cinch

Until I met this gentleman over the phone while purchasing one of his beautiful saddles, I used to keep a rear cinch loose.  Why?  Cause that's the only way I'd ever seen them, especially in western classes.  Once I got my ATH home and cinched it up as he shows in the linked video, the stability of our saddle was very noticible.  I just stumbled upon this short video and thought I'd share it here.  David is the maker of the Black Rhino, and now AboutTheHorse saddles.  He's also one of the original designers of the Crates Tennessean saddles made years back.  Not trying to say David is old, he's not....just want to share his knowledge of saddles with everyone I know.  Enjoy!

Link to video:      The Rear Cinch and its True Function

Rockin S Raised Snaffle Bit

I made a decision today to put dressage lessons on hold for a little bit and simply work on G's softness and my leadership with him under saddle. So tonight I brought the dressage tack home and took my western tack back to the barn - totally opposite of what I generally do come late fall. But since I'm going to be pushing G to the limits of frustration (I'm sure) I prefer to have the ATH saddle and bucking rolls....just in case :)

After dinner I went to the barn and tacked G up. He was a little hesitant to open his mouth for the bit (kinda back to his old ways) but a simple tickle to the corner of his mouth and he said "AHHHH". We started at the mounting block and G lined up perfectly the first time. And then I went to put the reins over his head and his butt stepped over. Okay, round two - DING! He lined up perfectly again but this time I didn't ask him to step up so far so I was able to put the reins over his head without him moving. I brought the inside rein up toward the saddle horn and held. He immediately braced against it, so just as Mark showed me I held fast and waited til he released. Really released. No "okay I give, oh wait no I don't, changed my mind - ha ha". We repeated this until he released and relaxed. Once he was there I mounted up and we stood there for a good full minute before I asked him to move out.

I love using the rope reins simply because you can easily hold them softly in the hand rather than the feeling that I need to "grip" the rein. Maybe this has to do with the fact that I have big hands, I don't know. G was relaxed from step one. Maybe every 10 steps or so I simply had to squeeze my pinkie and ring finger on the inside rein to remind him to relax at the poll. Toward the end the reminders came fewer and farther apart. We worked on backing. I find that when the arena is "choppy" like it was tonight he doesn't back up as freely as he does on solid ground, like outside or on the outdoor track. But backing came easier and freer with far less resistance on his part. I think we're both starting to "get it".

I was never a big believer in a bit being a cure all, and I'm almost afraid to say this outloud, but the Rockin S Raised Snaffle is G's bit. After all the different bits and bitless rigs we've tried the past 6 years, this bit is a real hallelujah event in our lives. I realize that we still have a long slow road ahead before we tackle his confidence issue on the trail; but it brought tears to my eyes tonight to feel and see how relaxed G was under saddle. Since I'm not supposed to look down, I instead kept looking at his profile shadow on the wall. Not only did he feel great, he looked great. His ears kept flicking back listening to me and at one point looked like they were getting a bit floppy. G with bunny ears! No way!

I was going to send Mark & Krissi an email thanking them again for all their insight and coming up with the concept of this bit (and of course marketing it) but I think I'm going to wait until I see them in person at Equine Affaire in a few weeks. Then I hope to have hubby take another video of G at the walk and then put a before and after video together. I think everyone will be surprised at the difference....heck I am and we're just getting started!

Tomorrow is another day.....a new beginning.

Back to the Bit

It’s been awhile since I’ve updated our blog. I’ve been busy doing a lot of scrapping, card making and working on the interior of our house. Anyway....

A couple of weeks ago I set up a lesson with Deb, but rather than me riding I asked her to ride G. I thought it would give her a better understanding of the lack of communication we’ve been having with the current bit. I have to say it was interesting to watch her ride him. At first you could tell he was a little uneasy – not only was there someone different on his back but there I was standing in the corner. Whatz up with dat? He quickly learned that when Deb asked for something he was to comply. But it sure was fun to watch him test her the same way he tests me. Definitely a challenging personality ~ luckily not a “mean” one.

She agreed that we needed to address the bit and see if we could find something he was a little happier in. So into her car’s tack trunk she went and came out with our first one to try. So I’ve been riding G the past few weeks in another Herm Sprenger KK snaffle. It’s basically the same as what we were using it’s just 18mm rather than 12mm. At first I wasn’t sure G would accept a bit this fat, but after mouthing it for a couple of minutes he settled right in with it.

To me he seems more comfortable with the larger diameter mouthpiece and seems more content in staying on contact. Deb dropped off two more bits this past weekend. Both single jointed snaffles, one 14mm and the other looked like a 21mm. The later being too fat for Mr. G’s mouth. I tried the 14mm snaffle which was a stainless Kosteel bit and was surprised that he went okay with it. However, he wasn’t as content as he’s been in the HS bit. Argh...of course he likes the crème de la crème of bits. His nibs has taste like his mom.....champagne taste....beer budget, lol.

We’ve got a lesson on the 29th so I’ll have Deb check us from the ground and possibly get her to ride him before the lesson is over. The weekend calls for sunny weather with highs in the 80’s! Egad we went from early spring to middle of the summer overnight! Hopefully we can get G to shed a little more before Saturday so we can get in a nice long trail ride.

So its not me, it's the bit!

I asked hubby to go ride G tonight and Thursday as I have a zillion things to do between scrap projects and the routine stuff.

Well he came home a little while ago and said boy is he a gaiting fool with the Dr. Cooks bridle. My first reaction was to say "oh, you didn't want to try the bit" and he told me that he did at first and found that G just kept fussing with where he was carrying his head. After 10 minutes he went in and switched to the bitless and from there on he gaited his fool head off.

So I guess the good news is, it's not my hands (cause I know hubby has even lighter hands than me). Now the question is...is it this particular bit and contact or is it any bit and contact? Argh...I guess I could just keep using the Dr. Cooks bridle, but G being G, I'm not sure I will feel 100% secure with him on the trail with it. But I suppose I could simply ride western on the trail since we neck rein and he has no problem with that bit? I'm just not sure how to proceed at this point.

p.s. Just wanted to update this. Turns out that hubby wasn't using the Dr. Cooks with him but the Liz Graves sidepull, lol. So either way he's telling us he likes being bitless!

Back to the Bit (kinda)

I haven't had much opportunity to keep my blogs updated (bad me). I rode G in the dressage bridle with the HS bit and it was like we were beginning anew.

He definitely is more responsive to light pressure as I work on flexion from the ground then before. I taped my reins to where he was the most comfortable with the contact as I wanted to be sure that I was keeping my hands in the same place so I could concentrate more on softness in my hands and requests. We just worked on walking and he was above the bit and behind the bit and just couldn't seem to be happy in between. So after about 20 minutes I switched over to the Dr. Cooks bridle and he just flat walked along with his head steady and his neck was a shaking. I'm beginning to think that it's either the bit we're using or he's just a horse that will never be happy with a bit in his mouth. I remember David from ESF telling me he went through about 10 bits before he found one G was happy with. However, I don't think I want to go back to that type of mouthpiece, as I think he has progressed past that at least.

At this point I'm going to continue working with him on the lunge line with the HS bit and side reins and see if we can find a comfortable place for him. I may even tap into our barn's DQ to see if she has any ideas. Since she brought her WB through his training she may recognize something that I'm missing. But at this point I figure some of the work will be easier without me on his back. We'll see.

The Bitless Bridle

December 15, 2008

Through GHS (thanks ride2glory) I was able to borrow a Dr. Cook’s bitless bridle to try with G. Not being a cheap purchase I thought we should play with it for a week and see how he responds to it.

Tonight was the perfect opportunity as we had the arena to ourselves. I spent about 5 minutes on the ground using small pulses on the reins to solicit responses in both directions. He seemed a bit confused at the first request but the light bulb clicked and he remembered how to yield to pressure. I mounted up and he stood quietly while I got myself situated and then asked him to walk on.

We spent the next 10 minutes fine tuning my contact while he got used to the feel. We did some small serpentines off and on the rail and then a few circles. I was real happy with his response so I did a few passes of shoulder in and out and then decided to ask for a flat walk.

So nice! He was so relaxed and seemed truly happy to flat walk along with very little prompting from me. We did this on and off in both directions for another 10 minutes. Flat walk to walk, and transition back up. Okay, things are going nicely. He’s happy and relaxed, he’s breathing in time to his gait and his ears are paying attention to me. On the next long side I asked him to pick it up into the running walk and by George did he ever! I can honestly say I have never experienced the true pull and push of the running walk on G as I did last night. He truly did feel like he was climbing a ladder. It was so exhilarating. After a good 5-6 strides I brought him back to the flat walk, then stopped and I just laid down across his neck and praised the dickens out of him. He was probably thinking “what’s the big deal lady?” I’m just walking!

When we worked with Diane Sept we did have him in a running walk, but not to this degree – a horse definitely needs to be relaxed to hit this gait. Yes I felt his power from the hind, but I didn’t feel the combination of the back and front pushing and pulling at the same time as I did tonight.

I talked to our instructor the other day and on Wednesday we’re going to work on exercises to build his abs and back muscles. We’ll work with cavelettis for one, and maybe some canter transitions. I’m very excited though as I can’t wait for her to see G in forward motion. I do believe we’re finally moving in the right direction after all this time. Of all the things I want, I want G to be happy doing what I’m asking first and then I want him to be a good athlete.

I won’t be running out to buy the Dr. Cook’s bridle quite yet though. We need more time to play with it, and I really want to ride outdoors with him when he’s on high alert to see if he continues to respond so well. Stay tuned......