Sunday Downward Transitions and Canter - Oh My

Finally a good weather day.

Because vet says its not hocks etc but likely hormones bothering Try, I decided that I can go back to active learning goals for Try and I.

One of our issues is downward transitions.
1. I fall apart especially from canter to trot.
2. Try: it is a goal for her to be using her HQ and to have smooth transitions
3. Dawn suggested think forward in the transition--I have probably been thinking halt.

A basic exercise
1. On the rail from a standstill, my life up, lean back a little, bend knees to signal Try to back. Yes she gets that--the issue is a good energetic back--we backed (carrot stick) until we got the energy. Then repeated twice and it got better each time. Rest, treat.
2. On the rail, walk then halt and back--some progress here as well.
3. Next time: trot, halt and immediate back up with energy is the goal.

Riding: Warmup on the rail walk/trot--good energy. Lots of activity in the ring--good looking geldings etc! Try had plenty of energy--in fact they were all really fresh and full of energy--too much except for Devon who Bethanna was riding--perhaps because Bethanna was the rider.

Next went into dressage ring and put cones down and played with transitions walk to trot to walk to trot. Up and back--point to point from A to C etc. Try only missed one downward transition--we stopped and backed back to the cone with energy--some stick to cue--then turned away went back to start over and from then on she had it.

Just a little walk trot with soft feel and one nice leg yield.

Then canter--Try was wild, Ramone in the adjoining paddock was wild, Gretzky was wild, etc. Decided I needed more space to work it out and went to the rail. Wow. No sign of LBI! I have never thought of Try as ever running away from me but in effect she did. She felt angry, would not settled into a rhythm with little 1/2 halts, and finally took off after Gretzky and I had to pull on the reins to bring her to a trot. WOW!! So we played circing variations on line in the dressage ring. Try settled nicely and was the horse I know. I opted not to go back to riding the canter and left the ring for a long passenger walk.

Upon reflection--the depo shot has not had time to have any effect--I will likely put off getting a nice canter rhythm in the western saddle on Friday as that should give time for depo shot to have some effect and Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday will be bad weather days.

Nutrition

Yesterday I downloaded nutrition software and did an analysis of what I ate:
I was not surprised to find that my carb % is slightly higher than ideal and protein and fat slightly less.
I also was pleased that if my body is absorbing the vitamins I take that I am getting what I need including calcium and vitamin D. I was worried about the recommended overload of vitamin D recommended by my GP and Ob/Gyn this past week but did research on internet and am OK with it. Also I can see why my weight is remaining stable. Although it would be "nice" to be 5 pounds thinner and super "tight" muscularly, both doctors think my current weight of 127-130 is smarter for my age. I think its ok mostly because I don't have to be concerned with dieting! Thus, moderate and balanced physical conditioning is a goal and being aware of eating and vitamin intake.

Caveat: days indoors with cold weather--not enough exercise!

January 27: The goal now is to find recipes and healthy food that I can really enjoy eating. With cold weather Tue-Thur that would be good time for the search.

January 30: planned meals for February--meals that will work for DH and sometimes for me. Have collected a few recipes to try.

January 31: much healthier eating today--I find it strange that the tension of the weather prompted some yucky mindless eating i.e. pretzels and pimento cheese.

Vet visit

Karen Bullock checked Try yesterday.
1. She did not find pain or any hocks issue. WHEW
2. She suggested this time of year/hormone cycling begins and could cause periodic pain and discomfort in her hind end. Gave her a depo shot and we will give it 3 weeks and see if this effects her crankiness and discomfort.
3. Eye discharge--apparently not related to nasal/rhino stuff--flush out was too easy. May be related to dry eyes/age--watch it each day and continue antibiotic on a day with a lot of discharge. (Let BA know.)
4. After using up Lubrisyn and Cosequin, will switch to Platinum Performance CH, apple flavor.

Comment/Update 1/28/2014--still waiting to see if depo shot has effects--Try still tense, angry and strange part of the time.

Fitness for Riding

I have decided to keep fitness notes with this blog post instead of posting daily to avoid confusion:
Summary as of 1/28/2014: Janice Dulak's new pilates dvd is perfect for me right now plus taking the time to do other stretching, strength building etc for overall fitness. This frees me up to shift my focus to other things once I get to Rollover and Try/Devon.

Some Initial Thoughts

Strengths: legs, grounded from hips to floor, body awareness and knowledge, background as an athlete

Weaknesses: abs, opening chest, shoulder girdle—flexibility

Known memorized old routines and exercise resources:

·        Pilates dvds 2-3, side lying series I currently do and book

·        yoga notes, books, dvds

·        physical therapy exercises—see notes

·        Cheryl’s abs and Katie’s upper body weights—these I do now

·        Jazz dance isolations for neck and shoulders—also ingrained

·        Stretches—lie on the floor and do whatever feels like it needs attention

·        Relaxation various methods and book for body parts

·        Study: Eric Franklin, Also Sally Swift Centered Riding

Assessments:

·        For Strength: lower body strength always, quads tho are too tight and need to be stretched, hamstrings are weak, knee stabilization for bends and ability to hold a plié without rolling isn’t there anymore and likely relates to knees rolling in when I do no stirrups posting trot

·        Flexibility: hamstrings more than ideal—quads tight, biceps/triceps are so-so—I can find them and use when I think about it. External hip rotation is fairly open, twists and sideways—much less flexibility

·        Aerobic capacity: needs work and I prefer to do so in posting trot and occasional short distance run/jog/walk—preferably with Try at the farm. True running is not a good idea.

·        Relaxation, breathing and meditation: always does wonders

·        Old injuries: Achilles tendonitis, torn ligaments and broken bone in feet, hamstrings pulled numerous times, lower back, groin, one elbow from fall, both shoulders, one wrist from a fall.

Priorities:

·        upper body flexibility in case of falling from a horse

·        abdominals for stability riding.

Consider being “tight” Just do it

Positive self talk: I have always been able to make physical changes in my body easily. My body responds quickly and well to exercise and conditioning. Be aware and get rid of negative self-talk.

Where and when issues:

·        I am not willing to commit to a gym membership and take time away from horsemanship. I truly want to take the knowledge I have and make it happen at home.

·        Time allotted: The best timing now before warm/hot weather is 8:00 in the morning.

·        Duration: Between 20-40 minutes and I am undecided on this.

·        I hate the physical therapy exercises—awkward, don’t feel good, etc.—just do em and track how it feels

·        Plan, picture, feel???

·        I could use more abs ideas than pilates and situp stuff.

Thursday, January 23 – 20 minutes

·        PT exer: quad stretch, ball/wall stretch for knee stability, rollups, lunges

·        Cheryl’s abs

·        My moment to new moment whatever my body felt like it needed

·        Relax, diaphragmatic breathing

·        Isolations and stretches especially shoulder area flexibility

Friday, January 24, 2014

·        New pilates dvd has arrived. 57 minutes—did the tape for the first time  Adv. Good corrections—looks like it can put a lot of body parts together as one piece  Disadv. Some terminology confusing, images not as helpful as could be possible.

Saturday, January 25

Today is a perfect day to exercise--another cold day. Issue repeat the new pilates dvd or cross train with something different. I spent a lovely 1/2 hour or so with basic abs, lots of easy stretching, tension release, breathing and some knee stabilitiy and upper body strength exercises. I sat at my desk and thought what does my body need today.

Sunday, January 26

Today I am undecided--looks like I can get a ride in weather-wise from 1-3. Also if I want to get as much out of the pilates dvd as possible that I should do that as well. Monday is going to be a zoo with chest x-ray, bone density and mammogram test and riding sandwiched in between.
Did the dvd: I learned--good news--the abs trio I can really do with the dvd and fully understand. The upper body three i.e. triceps, open chest and scapula muscles (back of arm pit moving down)--is much the same as ballet BUT I have lost more of this than the abs--some osteoporous and rounded shoulders and sunken chest--was better with the dvd today and I do understand. Third part: seat muscles, adductors and hip extenders--I am still working to understand this. 1. Double check that my understanding of seat muscles is correct, 2. Interesting that adductors are not just pressing to each other but in combination with lower abs/lifting pelvis and seat muscles are rotating outward. This is interesting as its used in a parallel position rather than turned out legs as in ballet. Hip extension is long thigh and the angle is how close the thigh is to the upper body. Hmmm.
Riding today: I started with the 9 muscle groups really there without thinking aout it and thought about it periodically as well. By the end I was tired and losing it--thought about the process as we went for a passenger walk.

Monday, January 27
Today I am tired and sore with waaaaaaaaay too much to do. I will not do the pilates dvd and hope to have some casual riding time midday with Try. Back to dvd tomorrow.

Tuesday with Try

I really didn't want to go to the barn today as I didn't think Try needed to see me and I could have used the day differently myself BUT with three days of bad weather coming decided to do it anyway.

When I drove in I could again see the tension and unhappiness in her just standing in her pasture near the fence. Later when I went to get her, she saw me from a distance and walked away to hang out at the side fence with the yearlings in the next pasture. It was obvious she didn't want to do anything with me. But I went ahead with the catching game. She did not come to me! I went to her, gave her a treat and stroked her a bit. When I went to halter her she walked away! So not like her. So catching game--she actually took off with a couple HUGE bucks and galop to the gate and when I changed direction repeated that to come back to the yearlings. Then started again with catching game (never in all this matching her big energy--even tho I love to play that way--my intuition said it was not the thing to do if she is not well.). This time she came to me from 6 feet or so away after thinking about it. Haltered and went in to groom and tack up.

My goal was to have a very light easy ride walk and just a little slow trot to loosen her up while we wait for the vet to come Thursday. Lots of activity in the ring. MH was finishing up a dressage lesson and BA was riding Frank with Jocelyn filming flat work and jump course. So I walked Try staying out of the way.

I was able to play with what I am exploring as the big 4 (can't remember 10 all at once LOL)
1. Seat pad muscles/abs/grounded/alignment sh/h/h I can handle as one
2. Feet grounded in the stirrups sharing some of my body weight with my seat.
3. Knit ribs. If played with rib to ab connection as a way to ask Try to lift her top line.
4. Thumbs--Kelly and Dawn have both talked about this and I did practice it last spring--even driving in the car--then forgot. Actually its not all thumb as the thumb presses on the first finger to hold the reins then the remaining fingers can be soft.

Also played with
1. standing in the stirrups with stacked alignment. with that saddle I find I can stand and be stacked correctly but I had to pitch it all forward just a little to be balance at a walk.
2. windmilling my arms: I have a pilates warm-up routine I do that involves connecting ballet porte de bras with inhale, exhale engaging my lower abs. I did that and played around with variations.

While walking I was able to also play find my focus or ride the line with a soft feel (All the above was riding on the buckle.) The first few were great--then Try lost interest and I had to use the soft rein aid.

Next after everyone left a couple laps of loose trot, on the buckle, letting Try pick her tempo.

We finished by leaving the ring and having Try choose where she would like to go, if at all and she chose to leave the farm and walk up the road a ways and then chose to return. After groom, treat and turn out she was so much more relaxed and soft in her body.

She had several moments today where she seemed to leave the planet--she had gone so internal I did not feel the connection. It really scared me--she was just gone. Sooo hoping Thursday I can find out what is going on and have a fix so she can feel good!

Tuesday phone conversation with Dawn Roth

bNotes: Conversation with Dawn 2014 1 21

1.      Cueing list

a.      Do for ground tasks as well

b.      Be consistent

c.      Rethink these as I pull together my ideas of how I want to use my body riding.

2.      Internal/external rotation of hip/thigh

a.      External – I have this stretch and it is not my focus

b.      Inner spiral of the thigh knee and calf—I have learned this in yoga—review

c.      Think of draping thigh

d.      This will assist me, by not being turned out, to have my heels under my shoulders instead of under my shoulder and hip.

e.      Also helpful with this is to think of grounding (not grinding lol) into the stirrups as it grounding my feet in the dirt. Draping down.

f.       Leg in front and external rotation cause me to lose stability. (I think I have thought that the goal was to just balance on my seat bones and not have my legs on or use reins.???)

3.      Recommended exercises:

a.      (Colleen Kelly) Stand in stirrups to walk, trot and canter as part of the warm-up. Trick is not to lean forward to balance but to be in sh/h/h/ alignment including angle of leg. Try this with dressage, close contact and western saddle and photo/video. (In playing with this I had to lean forward to be balanced even holding onto the pommel. Also, I did not like the idea of doing for very long as it put all my weight in the stirrups.)

b.      Another warm-up exercise is wind milling the arms—forward and up, nice and easy, will help to open the chest. Again videotape.

4.      Try and I playing—the monotone

a.      Be unexpected, surprise, tag her, erratic, canter—stop face wait, ok here we go, E off, E on. Short periods of time. After vet visit.

5.      Circling game

a.      Traditional, send/allow/bring back—maintain gait and direction vs driving game

b.      Driving keeps horse engaged, flexible, hocks stepping under.

c.      Use to create rhythm (remember old mastery dvd—young horse Pat and ?) plan, picture, feel. Send until we get the quality of gait I picture and then allow so she knows she has got it. Don’t overdo—pepper in more effort. Should help Try with stiffness. After vet visit.

d.      Allow ut send if she loses it.

6.      Other good games on line for rhythm

a.      Point to point and stop

b.      Use visual of obstacles

7.      Riding warmup

a.      “Ride the line” in open space. I focus eyes and body on a point and stay on it with a soft touch. The goal is for Try to keep her NOSE on that line. Use soft rein connection to put her nose back on the line.

b.     Vary with straight line, circle, zigzag, serpentine. Try knows this—the issue is her desire to play the game.

8.      PC article: horses heart energy connecting with us. Read the article. Magnetic. Energy fields.

9.      Rhythm-forward and relaxation

a.      Let’s be forward—do not nag, ask and allow. Plan pic feel.

b.      Use if necessary thump, thump tap on shoulder.

c.      Goal long top line. Do NOT need contact with reins.

d.     Freestyle—I thought relaxation most important and scale of training should start with relaxation and not rhythm. NO—forward first, Try needs to find her OWN relaxation.

e.      Engaged seat for coming up thru topline—knit ribs to core. Don’t need contact to do it.

f.       See check list that I want to put into an holistic image that works (plan,pic,feel)

g.      Linda stresses pressing the thumb on the reins energetically while fingers remain elastic to soften the connection.

10.   Fitness and nutrition projects great for cold weather to establish habit/practice.

11.   Barrel or ball, yoga, awareness—plan HOW to make it happen once I have the plan and pic.

12.   Downward transitions from canter to trot. Think forward—I feel sure I have been thinking slow and back. Of course, I still need a lesser energy, slowing in seat for a few strides before asking for the transition. Sitting more with HQ engaged and the thought process of forward. How much should my seat move in contact with the saddle in the canter—it moves more with Devon than Try.

13.   Pictures—don’t quit until we get close to the picture or Try will think the wrong thing is the right answer.

14.   Use pommel for stability in posting trot.

Monday - Devon

Today was the first day I rode Devon is at least a month. Katie videotaped but I didn't get all the footage I wanted. I only have walk and canter and the posting trot was what I most wanted to see in terms of stability in my body and syncing with Devon's movement.

I also spent some time with Try and have Thursday appointment for vet to come see if it is time to inject hocks again. We did just a little light trot and then went for a passenger walk off the farm.

photos for me to study my alignment and position:

 Note: yes my legs are turned out from the hip.

Yes, I am comfortable with my heel forward of my shoulder and hip.