Some lunging problems and solutions

Some problems I have encountered while lunging and what I have done to rectify the situation:

The horse is:

-          avoiding contact and the line is slack – or feels ‘empty’ in your hand

o       drive him forward with body language or use the whip and at the same time take contact with the rein by shortening it until feel him in the other end

o       when he responds by taking contact and line is not slack anymore, give him more line and take the pressure off

o       ready to repeat, if he decides to avoid contact again

-          sluggish and does not want to move forward properly (but is not ill, unlevel or have badly fitting tack, just lazy)

o       touch him on the hind quarters with the whip

o       start jogging or running with him, but keeping contact at the same time – no slack line… Jog or run also as in driving him on, not dragging him as in leading…

-          looking out and bringing his hind quarters inside the circle

o       take more contact on the line, bring him on a smaller circle, drive him on more, ask him to yield his hind quarters

o       this may at first produce a horse that is running faster than really required, but adjusting the aids and staying calm in the middle will eventually make him soften

o       the moment he softens and yields his hind so that the hind legs follow the front legs on the circle, release to a bigger circle or start walking around a bigger circle yourself

o       if he returns back to pushing hind inwards, repeat immediately

-          not staying within the gait you want

o       ask him to move on in the gait he gives and work well within it

o       after some rounds, ask to come back to the gait you were wanting to work on, if he refuses, drive him forward and work more, and then ask again

o       eventually he will want to come back a gear

o       important bit is to remain calm and not get irritated, just think:”ok, you want to trot instead of walking. Fine, then we trot and trot properly.”

-          leaning in and making the circle smaller than you want

o       use body language to drive him onto a bigger circle

o       may have to accept a slacker contact for a wile until he is established on that bigger circle

o       again this problem may need patience and staying calm

o       if he is cutting you off while you are walking with him on a bigger circle, stop walking or trying to push him off, just stop and take him on a small circle for a round, then ask for him to move on again to a bigger one – if he again cuts you off, repeat – eventually he will think it easier to do what you want… which is to stay on a bigger and more comfortable circle

-          running like an eejit head high and not listening at all to you

o       stay calm and let him have a really big circle to run around safely

o       keep him going, if he has decided to gallop around, then he should stay in the gallop or canter until you let him to come back to trot – he may have taken the initiative to run about like an eejit, but you take the control over when he is allowed to slow down

o       at some point he will start to want to slow down, keep him going still just a half a circle or so, and then ask for downward transition – don’t let him drop to slower gear on his own, it is vital that this is your decision, not his

-          keeping his head high and does not want to stretch it down and forward

o       asking for long and low on the lunge requires feel and lots and lots of lunging experience

o       with me it works such that I take a better contact on him with lunge hand while at the same time drive him on more, but this is not as easy as it may sound here… you have to be very observant and sensitive to remove any extra pressure immediately when he gives you better stretch so that he knows what you are asking him to do

o       in the very beginning I just waited until he lowered his head on his own accord, and this will happen, you just have to be patient, first time it took indeed something like 20min

o       later on, when he was used to the new lunging style, I took him to a small circle, creating more contact and more forward pressure, and when he gave his head, I released him to bigger circle immediately

o       nowadays cues are far subtler and just taking a certain amount of contact and more forward pressure usually does the trick

o       a chambon may be of a great help here, if the horse just does not lower his head at all. Chambon has been a vital part of our lunging success since our boy was that ex harness racer and learned to run fast with head high.

o       if using chambon, please do watch the video from Will of how to use it correctly

o       side reins used correctly (loose enough for the horse to be able to take contact himself as well as stretch) may help as well

-          spooking

o       ignore as much as possible and work on

o       if there is a spooky area in the school, take the horse there and lunge around there  in a smaller circle until he is calm – obviously if he is very spooked, don’t go too close to the spooky site, but gradually move him that way

o       however, do remember to stay safe yourself, don’t go too close to the horse’s kick area and be ready to collect any possible slack on the line, and never hold the line in you hand in such way that it may trap your hand or fingers in case the horse bolts; I always keep my line looped back and forth, not in a round loop, this way it is near impossible for me to get tangled in it with my hand.

These are things that I learned in practice during this year and a bit of lunging several times a week. Thought to jot them down in case my experience would be of help to someone out there.

I’ll finish this post with five things you should always mind in my opinion while lunging:

1. Always move only forwards. That is, never ever step even one step backwards. This shows submission to the horse and you are immediately below him in the hierarchy. Do Not Step Back! If the horse is coming towards you and makes the line slack, instead of stepping backwards, step forwards on a semi circle following him. That is, drive him forward. This he understands and it is not submissive from you – quite the contrary.
2. Always keep the horse going the direction you want. That is, never ever let the horse change rein on his own. Block him, and turn him immediately back to where you wanted him to go. You decide the direction of the movement, not him. Do not let him change rein and just do it without consequences, not even once!
3. Always when changing rein, ask him to stop on the circle, then walk to him, praise and pat him, then move to the other side and ask him to move off on the other rein. That is, never ever change rein via an S on the hoof… when doing ground work, fine, or long lining with two reins, fine, but when lunging and working with him this way, don’t do it! Teach him to stop and wait for you. Cues that I use are to put the whip away pointing away from him under my arm, stop walking myself, body language relaxing and of course the customary voice command. If he does not stop immediately, fine, you ask again, if he does not want to stop, ask him to move on, up one gear, then after a while a gear down and again ask for halt. Repeat in calm manner until he stops. Then great praise…
4. Always continue the session until your horse is calm. That is, never ever stop a session if the horse is still wound up or spooky etc. If you lead the horse out while he is wound up and unruly, he will most likely repeat the same next time. Always take your time (never be in a hurry) and take the horse back in only after it is calm – no matter how long it takes. This will pay off very quickly.
5. Always keep your and the horse’s safety foremost in mind – use common sense. 

Why do we keep on lunging so much?

Many may be wondering why an earth do we keep on lunging so much. Also why lunging and not long lining/reining. So, I thought to just jot down some reasons why we are doing this and what the aim is in the end. And (of course) it’s all Art2Ride…  

As I wrote on one of my earlier posts, we learned to long line over a decade ago and preferred that since you have immediately better control on both sides of the horse. In fact we may have lunged our old boy Jack only once or twice. Of course we started long lining our new chap as well here in Sweden. However, that never really worked well… As I have told earlier in my long lining post, it was due to him having been a harness racer. When I found Art2Ride nearly two years ago, we switched to lunging work and do get a lot more proper work out of that. Long lining work has been on the backburner, just because it needs so much more work to get it right with our boy. 

To me lunging is riding from the ground but without the riders weight on the horse.

It requires as much concentration and coordination as riding. Since I don’t keep the horse on a small circle the whole time while lunging, but use sometimes even the whole school, I can keep on going for far longer than you would traditionally lunge. That is, the horse’s legs won’t get overly strained from lunging this way, in fact the legs get less wear and tear with this type of lunging than riding, since there is no weight on the horse’s back. So, instead of staying put in the middle of the circle, I keep on (most of the time) walking with our boy. This allows me to lunge on an oval or rectangular as well, if I want.

When lunging, I keep a contact to the horse with the lunge line as my reins and use the lunge whip as my leg aid. This means that the lunge line should not be slack and he should take contact with the bit.

Aim with all this lunging is of course to build up our boy’s topline muscles (back, upper neck and abdominals). The optimal working position for doing this is when he has his head long and low. That is, when he reaches towards the ground with his nose and stretches it forward. The lower the better. This position supports the back and allows the muscles to work and relax – not just contract all the time.

Now there are many out there saying that doing this will put the horse permanently on the forehand and one will never get the horse up and collected. And yes, if you let the horse slouch and don’t ask him to work properly through his hind and back, you will not get anywhere with this method. However, if you make sure that the horse works properly, that is, steps under from behind in good pace and rhythm, you are working his muscles. It is the optimal way to work a horse that does not yet have proper topline muscles. Once the horse has developed some muscle on the topline and can maintain a nice rhythm in the gaits while stretching on a long and low outline, you can start asking for a higher head position when riding.

That is, the final aim is really not to keep the horse always on the long and low position… it is just a tool to build up the topline so that the horse can keep on working optimally through it even when his head is higher. Have a look at the fourth video of the work from Amber and Legolas, this is where I'm also aiming at. 
The cue to get back to long and low is when the horse loses impulsion and rhythm. The long and low work will in time get less, but you return there after any harder work to relax the muscles. It is also best to start with long and low to warm up the muscles before getting into any harder work.

Did not realise here June 2013 that his back was dipped,
he did not use his belly and was moving forward from
his forehand... Quickly seen, this photo may thus look ok,
but looking at it more critically, you will spot the
signs of no topline... 

The difference is very clear between a hollow back horse without topline muscles and a horse with his back up and using the topline. Everyone can see it, if they just know what to look for. When the horse lowers its head, you can start to see the back (behind the saddle) muscles visibly move. He also steps under immediately more when the head is low than when his head is high. Lower neck relaxes and upper neck muscles become visible. Later on in the process these upper neck muscles pop out even clearer. And further down the line you will start seeing the belly muscles working (a muscle line starts to show up along his belly).

Here working thru topline and with the back up September 2014.
Movement does not yet come all from the back end,
but we are moving the right way... ;)
and collection is perhaps a year away (fingers crossed..). 

With our boy the first thing I noticed (well over a year ago now) with the long and low work was that the hind legs did suddenly not drag along scraping the ground, but were lifted up and placed on the ground… and that change was immediate. After about 6 weeks or so of systematic long and low work the next big change in him was that he lifted his back up while I was riding him. That is, it took about that long for his back to develop enough muscle to start carrying me on his back. It was a day of revelation alright. And made things very clear to me. This work was paying off alright.

So, the matter of ‘being on the forehand’ while stretching him on long and low outline.

Yes well, if I would train him any other way, he would still be on his forehand… This way I am in fact eventually getting him off his forehand through building up his topline optimally. When he has enough muscles, he will start pulling up through his withers and automatically release his front end. But this requires a lot of muscle building work. According to Will, it will take between one and two years of systematic work to get into that position. Work without set-backs such as injuries… ;) A year to build up the topline sufficiently with mainly long and low work, and then another year to reach true collection. Since we had the set-back in the form of shoulder muscle injury, we are still working on our first year of muscle development at the moment.

And yes, unfortunately a horse is on his forehand automatically, if he doesn’t use his topline to move forward. Things may look fine and the horse may seemingly be on a good outline, but if the back, belly and upper neck are not up and working, things are not what they seem… 

I have also found it very useful to lunge before I ride. Lunging this way warms up his topline nice and well without my weight on his back. Then when I get on him, riding is a lot easier and I can start working immediately. Everybody is happier. :D He can be ridden and warmed up without lunging, but still, he is better with the lunge warm-up at the moment.  

The only lunging aids that I would consider using are the chambon and the side reins. Chambon has worked wonders with our ex-harness racer, who has been so used to running around with head high... With side reins you just have to make sure that they are long enough so that the horse can stretch down and out and not get restricted or pulled backwards when stretching. We have had to add new holes on our side reins... But if we use something, we mainly use the chambon, since it works so well with our boy. Not having to be at all tight - in fact it's pretty loose, it just somehow makes him be more concentrated on the work. 

Lokakuun työskentelyt

Käyntiä lokakuun alussa.

Ja tässä minä ajattelin, että kirjoittelisin tänne nyt vähintään kerran viikossa... hahaa... eipä oikein semmoinen vielä ainakaan onnistunut. Töitä on tullut tehtyä enemmän, olo on ollut vähän väsynyt koko kuukauden ja muutakin hommaa on ollut. Mutta katsotaas nyt sitten, mitä on tullut tehtyä lokakuun aikana.

Käynnissä venyy kivasti puomin yli. 

Pojulla on ollut kuusi täysin vapaata päivää, seitsemän päivää ollaan ratsastettu kentällä, kolmetoista päivää juoksutusta, kolme oikein rauhallista maastopäivää, yksi päivä irtohypytystä, ja yksi päivä vaan maastossa maastakäsin kävelyttämistä.

Ravissakin on ok, vaikkei chambonia

Ollaan juoksutettu chambonin kanssa ja ilman, vain vähän laukaten, kunnon laukkapäivin, puomityöskentelyin (yhden ja kahden puomin yli), ja jopa pienien esteiden yli. Eli todella vaihtelevaa juoksutusta ollaan harrastettu tässä kuukauden aikana. Juoksutuksen aikana alkaa nyt tosiaan näyttämään siltä, että tuolla rupeaa olemaan tosiaankin nostetta menossa – ilmaa alkaa tulla kavioiden ja maan välille ravissa.

Puomityöskentely on parantunut ja Poju venyy myös kahden puomin yli. Tosin jos on ollut jäykkä lavaltaan, on tuo ollut myös vaikeaa... eli puomityöskentely on noin yleisesti ottaen parantunut, mutta on meillä ollut myös huonompia päiviä. Ollaan myös ruvettu nostamaan puomeja maasta himppusen verran, kun on mennyt niiden yli hyvin ensin niiden ollessa maassa.

Lennokkuutta alkaa löytymään... 

..vaikkei venytys olekaan aivan ok...
mutta selkä ei ole notkolla kuitenkaan

Laukkatyöskentely liinassa on ehkä sillä samalla tasolla, millä se oli viime kuussa. Filmattiin laukkaa yhtenä päivänä, ja taidan kirjoitella erillisen jutun siitä myöhemmin. Eli haluan näyttää eron laukassa silloin kun Poju käyttää yläpuolen lihaksiaan ja silloin kun se ei käytä niitä. Todella mielenkiintoista, siis ainakin mun mielestä. 

Sitten yhtenä päivänä päätettiin tehdä jotain aivan erilaista ja laitettiin pieni este sille hypättäväksi. Siitähän se tykkäsi! Oli todella innoissaan ja kun sattui koskettamaan puomia kerran pari, niin kyllä oli harmissaan... Ja saatiin sitten tehtyä vähän enemmän laukkatyöskentelyäkin. ;) 

Ratsastuksessa ollaan pysytty siinä ihan perustreenissä, eli kävelyä ja ravailua.

Pohkeenväistö on paranemassa ja Poju on alkanut pitämään venytyksen ja rytmin paremmin väistössä. Suunnanvaihdot toimii myös paremmin silleen, että venytys ja rytmi eivät muutu. Olen kokeillut laukkaa muutaman kerran ratsailta. Ja vaikka luulin, että ihan sama huono laukkahan se on, niin kyllä se onkin parantunut sitten vuoden alusta! Huomasin sen katsoessani ratsastusta filmiltä... eli tässä taasen yksi syy, miksi on hyvä videoida menoa aina silloin tällöin.

Eli laukannosto onnistuu paremmin, voin nostaa monta laukkaa samalla ratsastuskerralla ilman ongelmia, ja vaikka tuo jäykistyy laukkaan, ei se ole läheskään yhtä pahaa kuin vuoden alussa. Alkaa myös näyttämään siltä, että Poju rupeaa pikkuhiljaa rentoutumaan alakaulaltaan laukassa ja käyttämään selkäänsä.

Lokakuu alkoi todella hyvällä työskentelyllä, mutta ensimmäisen viikon jälkeen tuosta tuli tahmea ja väsyneen oloinen – ei ollut energiaa enää. Ja sitten yhtenä päivänä tuo kompuroi oikein todella pahasti.

Oikein kunnon kompurointi... ja se paheni vielä tästä...

Oikeastaan oli aikamoinen ihme, että pysyin selässä, koska tuo meni alas ihan kaikilta jaloiltaan ja sen täytyi tehdä todella paljon töitä, ettei mätkähtänyt kokonaan nenälleen. Kaikki tuntui olevan ok jälkeenpäin kuitenkin. Ei könkännyt mitenkään tai ollut edes epäpuhdas, ja pystyin jatkamaan treeniä. Mutta, lavan jäykkyys on nyt tullut takaisin... Kenttä on ollut todella huonossa kunnossa sään takia, se on raskas, märkä ja epätasainen, ja Poju on kompuroinut sekä liinassa että ratsastettaessa... Eli ei tykkää tuollaisesta pinnasta yhtään. Ja kompuroi myös sen takia, että kaviot kasvoi ennätysvauhtia nyt syksyllä... Kengittäjän käytyä kompurointi jäi vähemmälle. Ja huomattiin myös se, että lämmittyään Poju kompuroi huomattavasti vähemmän. Siinä siis näkyi todella selkeästi ero yläpuolen lihasten käyttämisellä.

En ole uskaltanut ratsastaa siis chambonin kanssa kentän ollessa tuollainen epäoptimaalinen. Venytys on ollut ok, mutta ei niin hyvä kuin mitä se oli syyskuun lopussa. Pojulla on tosin paljon enemmän voimaa taas menossa, eli toisaalta kyllä työskentelee hyvin ja kunnolla, mutta koska venytys ei ole ollut täysin optimaalinen, edistys ei ole mitään huippuluokkaa.

Me pidettiin yhtenä päivänä myös irtohypytys! Oli todella hauskaa, ja Poju tykkää! No, saattaa olla, että kaurasanko linjan päässä nostaa motivaatiota myös huomattavasti... ;) No oli miten vaan, tuo ei tarvitse mitään rohkaisua tai yllyttämistä esteiden ylittämiseen. Aloitettiin neljällä laukkapuomilla, jotka sitten nostettiin ylös vähän. Kun näytti hyvältä, otettiin kaksi estettä keskeltä pois ja nostettiin viimeinen okseriksi. Sitä nostettiin vähitellen ylöspäin, aloitettiin jotain 50cm, sitten nostettiin noin 80cm ja viimeiseksi noin metriin. Eka yritys metristä epäonnistui, kun tiputti puomin alas takajaloillaan hipaisten. Ärsyyntyi siitä ja seuraavalla kerralla nykäisi takajalkansa paremmin ylös ja selvitti sen hienosti.  

Koska Pojulla oli energian puutetta kuukauden alussa, ruvettiin antamaan sille enemmän kauraa. Se auttoikin, kuten myös se, että tuli nyt sisälle öiksi ja sai lounasheinää tarhaan. Hikosi ihan mielettömästi normaalissa liikutuksessa koska oli kasvattamassa myös tiheää talvikarvaa. Ehkä sekin sitten tosiaan söi sitä energiaa. Klippasin ensin vaan vähän pois alakaulasta, sivuilta ja takapuolesta (trace). Auttoi vähän, mutta ei tarpeeksi. Ja sitten klippasin lähes kaikki pois, jätin vaan jalat ja satulahuovan kohdan. Se auttoi. Mutta sitten tuli seuraava ongelma eteen: kuinka loimittaa.. Ennen pärjäsi ihan vaan loimetta sisällä tai sadeloimella ulkona suurimmaksi osaksi. Mutta ennen ei oltukaan klipattu näin paljon. Ja jäykkyys tuli nyt sitten todella selväksi... Ensiksi hankittiin lycrainen lapasuoja. Ja laitettiin sitten kevyttopattu loimi kaulapalalla myös ulos päälle. Ja nyt viimeksi sitten alettiin loimittamaan kunnolla myös sisällä öiksi. Pari viime yötä on kyllä tosin ollut niin lämpimiä, että tuo hikosi... jotta nyt on sitten ollut nakuna yhden yön... Mutta nyt taas sää kääntyy kylmäksi, että eiköhän taas laiteta vaan yöpuku päälle tänä iltana. Ovat myös menneet kaverin kanssa takaisin kesälaitumelle aina silloin tällöin, jossa liikkuvat enemmän kuin pienemmässä talvihaassa. Koska Poju on ollut jäykkä lavaltaan ainakin sessioiden aluksi, ollaan treenattu vähemmän intensiivisemmin viimeisen viikon parin ajan. Enemmän juoksutusta, ja vain rentouttavia kävelyjä maastossa joko maasta käsin tai ratsailta. Kentällä ratsastusta lähinnä käynnissä. Juoksutus myös mahdollisimman suurilla ympyröillä. Toivottavasti tuo jäykkyys nyt lähtee taas pois tässä lähiaikoina. 

October work

Walking in the beginning of October.

And here’s me thinking that I would from now on do an update over here at least once a week... haha. Well, lets see what we have been up to during October…

He’s had six complete days off, seven days of riding, thirteen days of lunging, three days of very quiet hacking only, one day of free jumping and one day of just walkies out.

Nice stretching in walk over the pole. 

We’ve been lunging with and without chambon, with minimal cantering, with more intensive canter work, over poles (one pole and then two poles) as well as over jumps. So, very varied lunging work. And we can see that he is starting to lift off the ground on the lunge.

And good enough in trot as well, no chambon here... 

Lift, but not really a stretch...

Polework has improved and he is stretching himself also over two poles now. Although when he is stiff on his shoulder, he finds this difficult… So, polework has in general improved, but we have had the not so good days as well. We have started to lift the poles off the ground as well after he has been going well over them on the ground.

..although at the same time not really dropping his back either.

Canterwork on lunge has maybe stayed where it was last month. We did some filming of the cantering one day, I think I’ll post another story of that later on. That is, to show what the difference is on his footfalls when he is working through his back and when he is not. It is pretty interesting to see – I think.

Then one day for a change in the regime we decided to lunge him over some small jumps. Gosh, he did like that! Became hugely enthusiastic and when he happened to touch the pole once or twice, he got well annoyed of himself. And we got some more canter work done as well.

Riding has been your basic training with walking and trotting work. Leg yields have been improving and he is starting to maintain his stretch and rhythm more consistently when yielding. Also changes of rein via figures of eight are now more consistent without changing of stretch or rhythm. I have tried cantering a couple times and although I felt on the saddle that he was just as bad as ever, he has in fact improved! Noticed it when viewing it all from the film…

This is why you should film regularly. He picks up the canter a lot easier, I can do several canter transitions without problems, and although he is stiffening up for the canter, he is nowhere near as bad as he was in the beginning of the year. He even shows the first signs of starting to relax his lower neck and use his back instead.

Almighty stumble, and it got still worse than this... 

The month started with pretty good work, but after the first week he became slow and sluggish – out of energy. And then he had a massive stumble one day when riding. It was a bit of a miracle that I stayed on, since he went down with all his legs and had a real struggle to stay upright and not fall over altogether. Anyway, it seemed then that all was well. No lameness and I could just keep on working him. However, after that he has had his stiffness returning again… In fact not straight after that one massive stumble, but then again he has had several other minor stumbles in the school both while riding and while lunging; the surface of the school has been suboptimal with the weather… it has become heavy, waterlogged and uneven. And Usko found that really difficult. He was more liable for tripping also because his hooves were growing really fast… After farrier we had considerably less tripping. Also I noticed that he could be stumbling at first but stopped it, when he was warmed up. Thus clearly showing the difference in his going when he was using his topline more efficiently.

I have not dared to ride with the chambon on since the footing is not that optimal and his stumbling. Stretching has been ok, but not as good as it was in the end of September. He has more power yet again, so is working properly most of the time, but since the stretch is not that brilliant, the progress has not been exactly huge.

We also had a day of free jumping! He loves it! Well, it could also be the oat bucket in the end of the line... ;) Nonetheless, he needs no encouragement to take the jumps. We started with four canter poles, then proceeded to put them up a wee bit. After that was looking fine, we took away the two middle jumps and put up the oxer in the end incrementally something like 50cm, then 80 and then about 100cm. Not sure about the exact figures, but it was something like that... First attempt at that about 1m failed since he touched the pole with his hindlegs. Got annoyed about it, and pulled them hindlegs up more with the next attempt and cleared it fine. 

Since he was out of energy the first part of the month, we started to feed him more oats. That helped, as well as the fact that he started to come in for the nights and get hay in the field for lunch. He sweated also quite a lot since he was growing his wintercoat. So, I first clipped him a trace, but when that did not help that much, I clipped him further leaving only legs and a saddle cloth area unclipped. That helped and he does not sweat excessively anymore. Clipping produced though another problem; how to rug him. At first we just had a rainsheet on him and nothing on during nights. But then he started to be really stiff and becoming slightly uneven… Obviously stumbling had not done any good to his shoulder, and the damp cool weather, standing in the winterfield with newly clipped coat would not have helped matters either. So, we got him a lycra-antirub vest to get a bit more protection on the shoulder area as well as preventing any rubbing on the chest, then changed the rainsheet to a lightweight with a neck piece, and had jammies on in the night. They also have been back to their bigger summer field for at least some days so that they will move a bit more instead of just standing around. He has still been stiff to start off with, so we have now brought the training intensity down a notch. More lunging of late and just walkies out in hand or very relaxing hacks. Riding done mostly in walk. And lunging done in bigger circles. Hopefully he will improve and loose his stiffness one of these days. 

Update on the past couple weeks' training

Almost two weeks have just flown past... We have done very varied work each week and that seems to really suit our boy at the moment. He is happy to work in the school, while previously when we were mainly lunging, he had started to slightly resent entering the school... He would work fine, but of course if you do the same day in day out, it eventually gets a wee bit boring. Now we have had one complete day off per week, one day of pole work, a day or two of riding in the school, one day of hacking out, and two or three days of lunging work, some days easier some days with harder cantering exercises.




Pole work:
We do this now with one pole and then two poles. So, first walk over the singular pole, when this goes fine, we trot over it. When that is going fine, we start trotting over the two poles. It has gone really well. By no means perfect all the time, but he is improving. And when the two poles are working ok, and before he is getting tired, we'll trot him over a raised singular pole.
So, trotting him over those three poles a couple weeks ago was really a pole too far... ;) Two is totally enough for him at the moment. And the slightly raised (5-10cm) pole gives just that bit of extra difficulty to the singular pole in the end.
I haven't done any pole work while riding this time. Well, actually I did go over a pole yesterday a few times. It just happened that the people that were in the school earlier had a pole down in the centerline, and I used it in the latter part of the workout. I was surprised that he went over it very nicely a couple times. Mind you, he got tired pretty quick out of it, and I got some not so good work as well... So, I could introduce the singular pole again into my ridden work at some point. I just think that I should definitely not over do it. That is, I think it still is hard work for him to lift his legs higher while working through his topline and carrying me. But easy does it...

Riding work:
Yes, by golly, power is increasing. I don't think I have lunged to warm him up these past week and a bit! We have noticed that he can now be warmed up fine from the saddle. That is, he strides on beautifully in walk straight from the get go. Such a difference in that as well! My short notes on our calendar say almost in every riding day that he has more power... And I mean that he has this lovely powerful walk and then increasingly good trot. It is getting more regular with head position being stable and him staying relaxed. I still need to work at it though, but it is getting easier. Especially on the right hand. Left hand is as I described earlier; very good as well, but tends to fall in and stiffen up in corners and I'm in trouble with my legs and seat.
Last week I noticed that he was stumbling at first in the wet school, but it disappeared as soon as he was properly warmed up! That was such a clear indicator that he was lifting his legs better and had his balance established. When it has still  been light after working him in the school, I have taken him out on a cool down walk around the hayfield as well. Nice to have such a cool down with power walking...

This week Monday I had the most fabulous hacking experience! :D I was planning to just have a relaxing walkabout around the field once or twice for an easy day, but he felt energetic and ready to trot. So I thought, ok, lets trot. And what a trot! Oh my. You know such a trot that just powers on by itself while the horse is on the bit, head low, very slight contact... Yabbadabbadoo... He has never given me such a fine trot outside the school. We didn't even slip or stumble, since he was so balanced. Furthermore, he was so happy and calm, no bother when a car went past beside the track, or the ponios started careering about in canter in the nearby field or when the sheep gave him the look (sheep and cars have been a bit of an issue before this year). We still walked most of our hacking rounds, but there were several happy trotting sessions mixed in. The only backless wired time we had was when the hubby went and called for him from the end of a lane... Ye gods, we wanted to get there asap alright! Head high and back dipped alright... After some of this wired trotting, I decided to call it quits and returned to a proper walk. At least that was fine and he calmed down. Just to test, I then still trotted him away from home and hubby for some couple tens of meters, and by golly, he was perfection again.
And then as I have already written, I had an epiphany yesterday about my legs... And today I started my exercise regime again. If I could just keep it up between work, dogs and so on...
Otherwise we have had a nice and long walk out to the forest in between things. So, it's been harder work and then easier and more relaxing work.

Lunging:
Well, have been actually lunging him about half the weeks. So, a lot more riding going on. I keep the lunging work one day your basic lunge with walk about 5min, then trot about 10min. Concentrating on the forward motion, so that he will over track at least by one hoof length in walk and at least tracking up in trot. Left side I still will do more spiraling to get him yielding with his hind quarters. A couple canters mixed in. Lunge time is generally that 30min in total. And it is pure work, I don't let him slack very much I have to say...
Some days I have done harder work by doing far more canter transitions. But the lunge time would still be the same. And then of course the pole work as I have mentioned earlier.

Very happy in general with the way he is going and how things are progressing. Long may it last! Really fingers crossed that there will not be any setbacks in form of injuries in the paddock or such... It is now such a joy to work with him, since he is so happy and settled and calm.
This is really the huge advantage of working him this way... no fighting at all, and a calm horse. I ask him to do things that he can do and do them well and proper. And then to make the progress, also introducing harder things gradually. It is a long way, but it so is now starting to truly pay off.

I leave you with an apparent quote from the master itself, Nuno Oliveira:"...you must learn the difference between 12 years of learning and one year repeated 12 times..."
(from a comment from someone else in a forum in 2008..)

Lamppu syttyy...

Tajusin jotain itsestäni eilen ratsastaessa.

Siis poju oli todella hieno muuten. Hyppäsin suoraan selkään myös eilen ja lämmittely sujui erittäin hyvin satulasta käsin. Hieno, letkeä ja isoaskelinen käynti heti kättelyssä. Nyt näyttää siltä, että ei enää tarvitse lämmitellä tuota liinasta käsin! On onnistunut satulasta käsin niin hienosti parit viimeiset ratsastuskerrat.

Mutta siis mitä tajusin tuossa ratsastaessa oli se, että mun oikea jalka on todella paljon vahvempi kuin vasen. Eli siis se on myös vähemmän notkea. Eli siis kun olen vasemmassa kierroksessa, mulla on vaikeuksia väistättää se sisäjalasta ja estää sen jäykistyminen ja nojaaminen lavalla sisään... Ja samaan aikaan mun vahvempi jalka/reisi estää pojua liikkumasta oikealle... Kun mulla on vaikeuksia käyttää tarpeeksi voimakasta pohjeapua, eikä poju reagoi herkempään, jäykistyn myös selkä ja vatsalihaksilla ja siten häiritsen pojua istunnallani... Se oli tosiaan 'heureka' hetki eilen. Analysoin siis koko ajan, mitä tein samalla kun ratsastin. Kun homma ei toiminut kunnolla ravissa, palasin takaisin käyntiin ja ajattelin kunnolla, mitä tein, ja sitten se oli selvä kuin pläkki.

Venyttely kroksein ja villasukin...
siis uusi muotivillitys! 

Venytä, venytä... lisää tätä...

Nyt tarttee todellakin ruveta kuntouttamaan itseänsä ja kunnolla! Ja treenata vasenta jalkaa paljon enemmän kuin oikeaa. Ja venytellä oikeaa vieläkin enemmän. Nyt nään sen, että se olen kohta minä, joka estää meidän pojun etenemistä! Siis, ellen jatka omaa analysointiani ja paranna omaa lihaskuntoa...

Eli kuten sanoin, poju työskenteli eilen aivan mahtavan hyvin. Käynti oli iso, rento ja mahtava, ravi todella hieno... mies sanoi, että oli ilo katsella sellaista energistä ja jäntevää menoa. Harmi, että oli siis aivan liian pimeää kentällä filmaukseen tai kuvaamiseen.
Siis, ainoastaan tuo vasemman kierroksen ongelma... mutta kuten sanoin, tää taitaa olla mun ongelma! hupsista.

Moments of realisation

Something just occurred to me yesterday when riding.

Horsey was brilliant by the way. Got on again straight without lunge warm up and he was straight on the ball with good walking. It seems that I don't need to warm him up anymore on the lunge! He is now fine to warm up from the saddle.

But what I realised while riding was that yes, my right leg is a lot stronger than my left. Therefore, it is also less supple. Therefore, when I'm on the left rein, I have difficulties to yield him from my inside leg and keeping him from stiffening up and leaning in through his left shoulder... And at the same time my stronger right leg/thigh is preventing him from really moving to the right... When I have difficulties in using strong enough left leg and he doesn't respond to light aid, I also stiffen up with my back and my belly muscles and thus interfere with his going with my seat... It was like a 'Eureka' moment out there yesterday. I kept analysing what was happening as I was going. When things didn't work out well in trot, I returned to walk and thought about what I was doing, and then it was crystal clear.

Here's me lunging...
woolly socks and crocks
are all the rage in stretching... 

Stretch that right thigh... 

I really need to get properly fit! And train my left leg a lot harder! And supple up my right leg. Now I see that it will be very soon me, who is impeding our boy's progress! That is, if I don't keep analysing myself and improving my own muscle tone...

As I said, he worked wonderfully well. Walk was great, trot very nice... hubby said that it was a joy to see him powering on so relaxed and with such energy. It is too bad it was impossible to film or take photos since it was dark.
Just that slight problem with left rein... but as I said, this one maybe more on me than him! Woops.

Edistyminen vuoden sisällä

Tässä on nyt mennyt reilu vuosi siitä kun aloitin systemaattisen klassisen peruskoulutustreenin Art2Riden mukaan ja Willin silmän alla. Päätin nyt sitten katsoa vähän taaksepäin ja tsekata näkyykö hommassa noin kuvien kautta selkeästi eroa viime vuoteen. Erohan on erittäin selkeä – kuin yö ja päivä – mulle täällä paikan päällä, mutta tämä ei ehkä ole näkynyt näin blogin kuvien kautta. Videoista pitäisi myös nähdä edistyminen aika hyvin, mutta voihan sekin olla ehkä jotenkin vaikeaa havaita jos ei ole vielä silmää näille asioille.

Tässä siis kollaasit videoista...

Valitsin parhaimman näköisen menon ekalta videolta (S1)... eli tämännäköinen meno oli siis sitä parasta heinäkuun lopussa 2013... äääks... :( 

Näät varmaan selvästi noista juoksutuskuvista, että poju ei liiku eikä mene minnekkään. Vähän vaan siirteli jalkojaan. Alakaulan pullistelu ja käyttö näkyy sekä se, että satulan takana on monttu – eli ei ole siellä lihaksia, eikä niitä sitten tietysti käytetä.

Ratsastuskuvista näkee, että tosiaan vaivalloisesti siirteli vaan jalkojaan, lyhyt askel ja mun piti tehdä kamalasti töitä, pitääkseni sen minkäänlaisessa liikkeessä. Tämä viimeinen näkyy varsinkin tuossa viimeisessä kuvassa, jossa olen aikamoisessa etukenossa kun yritän saada tuota eteenpäin... Keventäminen oli kuin kuopasta. Tottakait en tajaunnut mitään näistä silloin. Kontrasti on tullut selväksi tämän vuoden varrella, kun lihaksia ja voimaa on tullut lisää.

Ja tässä stillejä tokasta videosta (S2), joka filmattiin noin viikko tuon edellisen jälkeen.

Himpun verran parempi, mutta näät varmaankin, ettei paljon mikään ole muuttunut. Keskityin silloin vain pojun eteenpäin kannustamiseen ja liikkeen eteenpäin menoon. Ja liikkuuhan tuo nyt paljon enemmän kuin tuossa edellisessä! Aloitettiin myös työskentely chambonin kanssa. Näät nyt varmaankin, että yläkaulan lihakset alkaa tulla peliin ratsastaessa. Askelpituus on hieman pidempi, ja kintereessä on havaittavissa vähän enemmän taipumista. Selkäkuoppa näkyy nyt hyvin...

Ja sitten kuvia ihan muutama päivä sitten. Nämä on vain ratsastuskerralta. Kerrankin ratsastin suoraan ilman juoksutuslämmittelyä – nyt siis on sen verran lihaksia selässä, että tämä toimii!

Eli toivottavasti näistä nyt näkee, että homma on erilaista...

Jos ei ole selvää, niin otin pari kuvaa edellisistä ja piirsin niihin ääriviivat. Ok, viivojen piirtely auttamattomasti muuttaa joitakin linjoja, mutta olen yrittänyt seurata oikeita kehon ääriviivoja niin tarkasti kun nyt tietsikan linjanpiirtelyllä voi. Ja ylempää voi katsella noi kuvat ilman linjoja.

Kintereet siis taipuvat todellakin enemmän näinä päivinä. Askeleeseen on ruvennut tulemaan ilmaa, eli tuo on alkanut ponnistamaan ylöspäin askeleellaan. Satulan takainen notko on täyttymässä – vaikkei ole vielä kokonaan pois. Ylälinjan muodon erilaisuus pitäisi myös olla selkeä, nyt kun tuo käyttää niitä yläpuolen lihaksia. Yläkaulan lihaksia on myös tullut enemmän ja kaula on muutenkin tasaisemmin venynyt kuolaintuntumaan. Kaikkein selkein ero on kuitenkin askelen pituudessa – poju astuu täysin etujalkojen jälkiin ravissa ja yliastuu massiivisesti (reilusti 2 kertaa jäljen yli) käynnissä. Ja koko hevonen on paljon paremmassa lihaskunnossa. Harmi, ettei esim. vatsalihasten liike tai ’lihasviiva’ näy näistäkään kuvista... Se on nyt nimittäin tullut täysin selkeäksi. Mutta se pitäisi näkyä, ettei vatsa pömpötä, vaan se on käytössä kannattamassa mua ja hevosta itseään.

Ja sitten vielä muutama kuva juoksutuksesta 6.9. Tää on nyt tietysti täysin selkeä ero... 

Erot, jotka tunnen ratsailta itse, ovat: pojulla on paljon enemmän voimaa, tunnen sen selän liikkeen erittäin selkeästi puskemassa mua pois satulasta (helppo keventää – ei tule kuopasta enää), askeleen pituus on kasvanut (tunnen sen varsinkin käynnissä), liikkumisesta oikein on tullut helpompaa, tunnen sen, että tuolla alkaa olla joustoa menossa, ei nojaa kuolaimeen vaan venyy kuolaintuntumaan samalla kun kantaa mua ja itseään. Vaikka mun täytyykin vielä kannustaa sitä eteenpäinmenoon, niin poju reagoi siihen nopeasti ja pystyy hommaan.

Vielä on paljon parantamisen varaa ja treeniä edessä. Kuten näkyy, poju ei vielä veny ihan täysin yhtä hyvin ratsailla kuin liinassa. Siksi meille on vielä tärkeää juoksuttaa vähintäänkin yhtä paljon kuin ratsastaa. Koska siis venyy paremmin juoksuttaessa, ja siis treenaa lihaksiaan paremmin ja nopeammin. Ja mitä paremmat ylälinjan lihakset, sitä parempi on ratsastaa. Luulen kuitenkin, että parempi venyminen ratsailta tulee suht nopsaan nyt.

Olen myös pikkuhiljaa miettinyt chambonin laittamista päälle ratsastaessa kentällä (huomio: älä koskaan ratsasta maastoon chambonin kanssa! tai jos on mitään kompuroimisen mahdollisuutta, katso myös Willin video chambonin käytöstä, ennenkuin rupeat sitä käyttämään) ja se auttaa pojua keskittymään pään alentamiseen kunnolla. Eli siis, poju on nyt ruvennut jättämään kompuroinnit taaksensa. Olen myös huomannut sen, että lämmittyään kunnolla, ei tuo enää kompuroi lainkaan! Mahtavaa... Tää on siis ollut todella selkeää parin viimeisen kentällä ratsastuskerran aikana. Eli jospa tässä joku päivä pistäisi chambonin päälle ratsastuskerrallekin – vaikkakin löysälle... kantsii aina olla varovainen näiden hommien kanssa.