Festivo

I love the whole enchilada here, by Fürst Wilhelm - De Niro - Rubinstein I. He may be a little heavier, but he has a delicate head and neck, I think he'll be very pretty -- so much power, and that round action in front!

Much-loved Vinici Saddle for sale

Now that I have my new Hennig, I find that my beloved Vinici saddle is sitting unused. As much as I love it, the longer Hennig flap and slightly more generous seat make a more comfortable fit for me. Rather than let it grow old in the tack room, I am opting to offer it for sale. It's on Ebay, but I will give interested BTB readers a better deal. Here it is! Width is a MW/W, with this saddle accommodating a range of sizes due to the wool underside which is so friendly to horses' backs! The seat is 17.5, condition is absolutely fabulous. I'm asking $2,999 on Ebay. New it is about 4K. Email me at behindthebit@gmail.com if interested.

Training an elite young dressage horse

I love this mare, and I wish I could ride like this young professional. I think Scott Hassler's commentary is interesting -- hoping one day I can spend a lesson focusing on such subtleties.  I like how Hassler is so tuned in to the rider's state of mind. When he says "relax," he's not talking to the mare :-).

Joystick

Love the name -- don't know the sire Temptation (Temptation - De Niro - Freiherr ), but to me he looks like he has nice lift in front.

 

Britton: If I could pick...

Of all the foals I've seen, here is the one I would love to own. I love the way he moves, so loose-jointed and look how he lives at the shoulder when he transitions to trot. I don't know if it is "desired" but I love it. More importantly, look at that beautiful, calm eye. He's an old soul...

BNTs or Clinicians: What you should know...

Dear clinician:

I just wanted to make some comments on our training session. Thanks, first of all. Second, during our session a few thoughts may have crossed your mind. Thoughts like "Can she not hear me?" "She looks so tentative." "Why can't she just follow my instructions?"

There are some answers. I'm...

1. Too starstruck to ride. I'm riding in front of someone I admire or hope to impress--but things are not going how I'd dreamed they would go.  I'm trying too hard, and I care too much, which is a near-guarantee that things will go pear-shaped.
2. Having some karmic payback. I'm aware of others watching, and I know what kind of comments get made among clinic auditors. Worse still, I recall my own behavior as an auditor, making smug statements about the poor chap riding in front of a BNT. When seated in a chair in an indoor arena, with no chance that my riding will come under scrutiny, it's easy to feel superior and make pronouncements. I've done it, so it's even harder to be at the other end of the stick.
3. Not yet transformed. Somehow you think that the clinician's mere presence will make you better. Alas, not so. They're only human, and a lot of the time they are saying the precise words you have heard dozens of times from your regular instructor.  

But here is my assurance. It may seem that I'm mentally making my grocery list during my time with you, but I am absorbing every word. If I can't act on your words, or make your instructions HAPPEN in the session, you need to know that I will think about every syllable you utter for the next several days, and I will incorporate your instructions and advice in my riding. I'll drive my regular instructor, my husband, and my friends and acquaintances nuts by recounting the points you made during our session. Your clinic will change me, and it will change my riding. 

Your words are having an effect -- you just might not see it.

Oh, and a special note to Catherine Haddad: Real teachers know that their impact is far greater than they realize -- from people who audit to people who encounter the people who audit and participate. We're all so hungry for advice from people in the know! 

How to hold the reins

Charles De Kunffy: Gentleman and Scholar
and my "most interesting man in the world"

"So, my trainers, don’t wear me out teaching someone how to hold the reins." Catherine Haddad, recent blog post.

How to hold the reins. Sounds pretty simple, yes? If someone asked me how to hold the reins, I'd show them the position and grip. But ask Charles De Kunffy how to hold the reins, well, I suspect you'd get what amounts to a chapter in a book, or more, on the wonderment and subtleties of reins, their use, the feel, etc. What does it mean to the horse? What amount of tension? What should it feel like?

Certain big name trainers have lamented that they have to teach how to hold the reins. Instead of lamenting your misfortune, here is a suggestion. If the question is boring, use the question as an opportunity to make the subject interesting! Talk to the rider's trainer, and their trainers, and the other auditors, and show them how to answer the question the right way. Help them understand the right feel, and how the way you hold the reins helps that to happen.

Make it a memorable, teachable moment!

Friedensfuerst

Love the type of Friedensfuerst, by Fürst Romancier - Stedinger - Rubinstein. This will be a modern warmblood!

Dark Diamond

A foal by Dante Weltino - Ferro - Rohdiamant. I like the way he uses himself. I've never heard of the sire but he is a DeNiro grandson.

      Compare to the sire -- think he has his daddy's gait mechanics... 

Dressage whips in and outside the ring (ick)

So I posted a picture of this lovely custom dressage whip on Pinterest.

 

I got an email notice today from Pinterest -- it was "repinned," or reposted on another person's Pinterest board. Great! But the repinner is not necessarily a dressage enthusiast (see below).

Leave it to a guy to use Pinterest to track erotic toys.

Del Bosque

Bloodlines here are Donnerschwee - Stedinger - Brentano II. He is on springs, and what a neck! Great rhythm and powerful elegance. Head is handsome, but not "pretty."

Der floppy ears!

The judges gotta love those ears!

Big name dressage clinicians: Is it as we fear?

A few weeks ago, Catherine Haddad wrote a blog post for the Chronicle of the Horse -- It's time to train the trainers. While it's hard to argue her main point about the need for trainers to understand and know the best way to train people to advance in dressage.

Well, fine. For some reason, though, Haddad chose to give her personal views and feelings on teaching beginners in her clinics. She certainly let her hair down! She's not too keen on teaching people early in their dressage journey. One memorable statement was that she feels it's "disrespectful" to the clinician (her, I think).

Are there more like her?
The first time I entered a clinic, I was afraid that the trainer would be dismissive.  I was green as grass and wondered if I belonged there, so I asked my trainer to check with her before entering me. The clinician took time at the beginning of my ride to tell me that she loves working with beginners and more specifically, training level horses. "If you don't get the foundation right, nothing beyond that will work." I had a wonderful ride. Maybe this was just a way to bump up attendance and line her pockets, and underneath it all this clinician was contemptful. If so, I'm thankful she hid it so well.

I want to tell those clinicians who are willing to work with novices -- thank you! I won't be clinic-ing with Catherine Haddad, and hope that other trainers who feel the same will just come out and say it. Let's don't waste each others' time.

No mo' drama: Harvey

First of all, let me tell you Harv is okay.

Harv has an abscess, or as we often hear people say, it's "just an abscess."  Abscesses usually involve hobbling for a few days and then resolution. If you're afraid your horse has a bad injury, it's always a relief when it's "just an abscess."  I know this.  On Friday, I panicked a little when I found him three-legged in the pasture--but he put weight on the leg as we walked to the barn, so I knew nothing was broken.  Also he was bright and wanting attention as usual.

But when I hand-walked Harv this morning in the indoor, I watched him struggle to walk and almost hyperventilated. He would step, and lurch, and rock back on his hocks. His back hunched. He'd slightly buckle his front legs like he wanted to roll. I stood with him in the indoor and wept.

Can I help it if I'm a drama queen?

I did what I almost always do when one of my horses is uncomfortable. I called the vet. In my defense -- he is old, and arthritic, and if one leg is compromised, well, the other legs are arthritic and old, and it ain't so easy to compensate with the other 26-year-old legs.

Poor Harv! His posturing was so odd and wobbly, I thought he might be foundering. He couldn't seem to find a way of walking comfortably, and he was shifting his weight around without finding a sweet spot. If you'd seen what I saw I think you would have been concerned too.

I called for the emergency vet visit -- it's always the weekend when the crisis happens, right? While waiting for the vet to arrive, I honestly wondered if I was going to have a heart attack.   Finally, the vet came. She came, she saw, she probed. There is a very clear focal point to the pain in his hoof, but a moderate amount of digging yielded nothing. So the game plan doesn't change -- we soak, wrap, and wait.

I'm a little embarrassed at my behavior today -- but only a little. With older horses, it's a slippery slope -- one chink in the machinery, and other parts start to go too. I wonder how he'll lie down and get up, I wonder if he'll fall. I worry he'll colic from the pain. I have meds on hand if I decide he's too uncomfortable -- I have the bute and SMZs.

 Bob and I went to check on him tonight -- he was turned out with a big boot and was grazing with his buds. At Bob's insistence we took him out to the tall grass for a bit where food was in easy reach. Then we went home.

That's my Saturday! I'm so glad Bob accepts how I spend my time. Harv is my boy, my numero uno.

I'll keep you all posted. Thanks for listening!

Bluecher

Okay I picked this one because I love the markings. Bluecher is not a name I would give a cute little one like this -- what would you name this guy (name begins with letter B)? For some reason this colt is not in the Oldenburger list...

Zuckerpuppe

What a neck on this one! By Zhivago - Sunny Boy - Donnerhall. To my layman's eye he looks long in the back, or as they say at inspections, "we would like to see a longer leg."

In honor of Project Runway!

As an avid fan of Project Runway, I can't help but like this one. This foal has the runway strut! Info here, pedigree is For Romance - Wolkentanz II - Andiam.
 

Hanoverian inspection: Nice thoroughbred mare!

Thoroughbreds, like any breed, have to be evaluated as individuals. On a listserv recently someone posted a question: Is it "worth" getting a thoroughbred if you want to do dressage?

I'd say so! Look at this lovely thoroughbred mare, presented at  a Hanoverian inspection this year.

Rocky Mountain Rider's Rescue Rub GIVEAWAY!

Right around the time I fell off Riley, I was contacted by a woman about a product she had developed: Rocky Mountain Rider's Rescue Rub.

I felt like it was fate -- I'm in good health and normally have no aches and pains. The weekend after I fall off my 17H goober and can barely hobble around, I get a call from someone with a rescue rub for riders. By the time the salve arrived I was well on my way to healing, but I did use it at the tail end of my recovery.

It smelled wonderful. It was quickly absorbed. and while I was getting better anyway, I can believe that it helped. My husband, Bob, has some knee problems and he tried the rescue rub on one knee, and Surpass (yes, the horse rub that requires a prescription) on the other. He felt that both knees felt better -- about the same -- and that is significant, if you ask me.

At $22 for 60 ml, I think it is a good buy.

I have used arnica products before and they really do make a difference. RRR has arnica, and MSM, and seabuckthorn, and well,  read the rest of the ingredients here.

CONTEST!
Would you like to get a free tub of rub? Enter this contest kindly sponsored by the folks at Rocky Mountain! To enter, just leave a comment on my blog or Facebook page describing your worst horse injury ever, or your funniest horse mishap, or something like that, and a winner will be selected. Remember to provide a means of contact. The last few contests, people   entered and while some were finalists, I could not find their contact info anywhere. Also, U.S. and Canada mailing only...

Good luck all!

Oldenburg elite foal auction highlights: Totillah Bling!

There are some awesome Oldenburg babies this year. This one stands out from the 89 other foals primarily for bling, but he can move too. I'll be posting my faves...

Nicest Totilas foal to date!

In my humble opinion. Check out that passagey trot!

Mental toughness: Do you have it?

I apologize if you have seen this already -- it has been making the rounds on the net, and no wonder. This is one tough pair...

New OCD-index for KWPN stallions

I recently read about this new OCD Index for KWPN (Dutch) stallions. It's an interesting concept to express a stallion's tendency to pass on OCD.  The index values are such that under 100 means that a stallion is more likely to pass on OCD; over 100, less likely. All of this assumes a reliability of 55% or over.



The stallions they discuss seem to have OCD themselves -- Bretton Woods, shown above, is an example. Here is a quote from the article:

Bretton Woods has an OC-index of 96, with a reliability of 63%, 96 may not seem much but it is a clear indication towards heritability in OC. Bordeaux has an OC-index of 101, 64% reliability, which means he neither improves the status nor burdens his offspring with heritable OC. Ampère (born 2005 by Rousseau- Flemmingh) has received an index of 103 with 65 % reliability. His index is leaning more towards improving the status of his offspring.

 Some breeders I have spoken to have indicated that the X-ray portion of the stallion tests are not always as stringent as the typical vet check. Pronouncements about the X-rays can be rather -- er -- well --political? It was an off-hand remark, so take it for what it's worth.

Mounted police: The best PR for law enforcement there is

BMP at work

Where I live (Bethlehem, PA) there is a big annual event called Musikfest. It has evolved into something really, really big, and there are a lot of people there, and there is no admission charge for most events, and the beer is freely flowing. You can imagine what this means for an event that is designed to be family-oriented. There is a goth crowd, there is a hip-hop crowd, and there are guys and women that imbibe a bit too much. In the last few years, there have been a number of incidents that require police intervention.

Several years ago, Bethlehem introduced a mounted police unit (Bethlehem Mounted Police, or BMP).  Horse people know that this ain't cheap, and there has been some controversy in the city about the expense. Fortunately, this unit has a lot of supporters. The mounted unit has a blog, and a Facebook page, and t-shirts and mugs, and Paypal account for donations (guess who is a regular donor?), and a lot of citizen supporters. Finally, last year, the BMP some corporate support in the form of a helluva nice tow vehicle and trailer. I think the Bethlehem Mounted Police been marketed brilliantly, and I'm so glad!

A side benefit of the BMP's presence is that children form a good impression of the police, and also animals. A lot of kids don't get to see horses in the course of their everyday lives. I think the BMP is awesome for so many reasons, but I hope they continue to thrive.

My photo from Sat, August 3

Words to live by

From someone who makes dressage FUN.

 Pat the horse, kick yourself -- Carl Hester

Dear Irideon or Kerrits: Make THIS in breeches!

I love ombre anything...

Here's another one to add to my imaginary horse farm

This is one cute horse -- and what nice gaits! I have heard that it's not a bad thing to ask for a flying change once in a while, but I'm not sure why they are asking for it regularly (if this footage is typical of his training). At training level, if he can hang on to a counter canter on the short side, more power to him.

Comanche Moon (Manny) 4 1/2 yo Percheron x Hackney Gelding

Harv enjoys dining al fresco

A good day with Harv, grazing and walking.

You can barely see it, but Harv has a little divet in his neck, where I injected Pentosan and apparently did so incompetently. I have done IM injections for ten years, without incident, but something happened this time around. I slid the needle in, pulled back, no blood, so I started injecting. Harvey is great for injections but a sudden noise did startle him. When I pulled out the needle there was a steady trickle of blood. Without thinking I put a towel over it and pressed to stop the bleeding. Within moments it was the size of a pea, and within five minutes it was half a golf ball. I walked him around a bit, but the wash stall was in use -- I put him back in his stall, watched for a few minutes. Then I had to leave.

Bob and I had a "dinner date" and I kept thinking about that hematoma. What if it was the size of a grapefruit now? I asked Bob if we could go check him -- about a thirty-minute drive, at 10pm. He asked "If it IS the size of a grapefruit, what would you do?" Well, I suppose I would cold-hose, but how much difference would it really make? I didn't know. We went home, and I saw Harv the next day. To my relief, it had already mostly resorbed (see below).

Never a minute's trouble, this one.

Bepinno: Where is he now????

This baby was in the 127th Hanoverian foal auction in 2012. Apparently his color, breeding (Balou de Rouet X Compliment), and good temperament captured the hearts of many -- because he was the top-selling foal.


You can see a glimpse of him in action 1:52 seconds of the video below (or click here to go directly to the right spot in the video)

I'm dying to know who bought him and where he is -- what are the plans for this lovely boy?

Dissassembling my position

Between my trainer (who has great riding analogies and metaphors) and a friend/personal trainer who is introducing me to new core-building exercises, I'm continuing to work on my riding position and esp. the collapsed core and  "floppy belly" phenom. Here is some recent footage that I think shows a little improvement.

A few changes that have helped to make a difference...

1. Sitting. I'm learning to sit a whole lot more forward in the saddle than I am used to. Honestly in this footage I feel like I'm in a two-point.
2. Upper body. Sitting a bit more forward makes it easier to keep my shoulders back, because the mechanics of my posting is different. See this video.
3. The hot-seat metaphor. Many trainers  have told me to sit more lightly on the down-post of posting trot, but it was hard because I was not doing #1 (above). It is more doable now, but also I was given the suggestion to sit as if the saddle were very hot -- just barely touch it. And this made an immediate difference in Ri's willingness to go forward.
4. Plank exercises -- I'd always associated the term "plank" with torture, and it turns out I was right. Plank exercises have made me sore in new places, esp. my back muscles. When I engage the muscles that i have made sore from plank exercises, I know I'm sitting more correctly. 

So, the journey continues...