Videos and Progress

Here, for your viewing pleasure, are two videos - one of the first day of the Gredos ride and the other of me longeing Starbuck with two reins - each one attached to one of the side-rings of her halter, then passed through the D-rings on the roller and both held in one hand while the other hand used the whip for impulsion.  I was inspired by Gaby and his son José who both have years of experience starting colts but in very different ways to try this method which just like Vienna reins, a Chambon or Side reins encourages the horse to stretch their neck forward and down (thus working the back muscles in a more effective and relaxed way), but with much more "give".  I really noticed a little bit of difference in her head carriage and all my desensitizing with ropes really paid off - she didn't get worried about all these new lines all over her back at all.

My next step is to be able to work her this way in the big arena with the lines still attached to her halter before finally graduating to attaching the lines to the bit on her bridle.


In other news, we had a fairly nice return to normality after the Gredos trip.  When I got back on Monday I went out to the stable and mostly just played with Starbuck first on the longe line and then at liberty, then on Tuesday afternoon I rode her for a fair amount of time working on lots of sitting trot (still at intervals of 10 strides in posting trot then 11 strides in sitting trot) and getting a little more energy in her walk.  On Wednesday evening we had a lesson but she was so tense and rebellious (mostly sore from Tuesday's ride but a little bit bitchy for bitchy's sake) that I was stressing way out (it's vicious circle time, folks!) and decided to dismount.  But as soon as I got out of the saddle I snapped on the longeline and longed her at a brisk trot and asking for lots of canter transitions until she calmed down and had her full attention on me, then I mounted back up and cooled her down at a slow trot and then walk while riding.  The lesson I want her to learn is that getting me out of the saddle does NOT mean a break for her and that if she'll just chill out and pay attention she gets less homework.

I am noticing how much stronger she is and how much more stamina she has than only a month or so ago, she can work much longer without getting tired.  On the one hand I'm thrilled by this since it means that she can carry me more easily and will have less muscle aches, and that I can ride her for longer periods of time and doing more intensive exercises.  On the other hand when she's hot it takes a LOT longer to cool her down and at some point will just be nigh impossible by "wearing her out".  But luckily I'm also improving as a rider and so will hopefully be able to ride through her crazy patches and tire her out mentally rather than physically.

Friday I got off work late and went to the stable without any plans to ride - I didn't even change out of my jeans, just zipped my half-chaps over them and went to work.  I longed her for a while but she was so tuned into me and relaxed that I decided to end the session riding her at the end of the arena, which was lovely!

Saturday morning I had another lesson but I had to break away from the rest of the group before too long, the rest of the ladies in the class have a lower level than I do (most of them still canter on the longe even with the lesson horses) so when Starbuck acts up I get nervous that she'll spook or piss off one of their horses and they won't be able to control it.  So we went off to the other side and did our own thing which after a while went so well that towards the end of our ride I even took her over to the scary side of the arena and did a few circles there.  She freaked out and did her spook thing but I was ready for it and much more relaxed, and thus able to ride it out and get her back in line.  The best part was at the end of the group lesson when all the students were switching horses and adjusting stirrups and such Marina snapped the longe line on and longed Starbuck and I for about 15 minutes.  Which means that Starbuck gets in the habit of doing some steady work without looking for trouble and I can work on my seat and posture without having to worry about steering.  Marina's even suggested that we could make a routine of this and take advantage of the "class change" time to work a little on the longe line a few times a week, which I'd be thrilled about!

Cristo de la Luz

Although I could probably write a book about it, in the interest of publishing sooner and boring less people I just wanted to jot down some memories from the two-day trail ride this past weekend in the Sierra de Gredos with Gredos Ecuestre, which was an amazing experience I hope to repeat sooner than later.  The first day I mostly took videos which as usual I've been too lazy to edit and upload, which is why there are less photos then on the second day.  When I have the video I'll be sure to publish it here too.

1st day:

Starting out the day with jokes and hugs between long-absent friends.  Finding inner peace while watching the gorgeous panoramas of the Sierra de Gredos come in and out of view as we started on our journey and getting that familiar rush from the first canter of the day.  Hearing only our horses’ hoof falls in silent primeval forests, trusting our mounts to find their way up mountainsides through the brush when downed trees blocked our path and sweating our way down steep rocky descents.  Spying the moss-covered “witch’s cabin” through the trees and overgrown ferns and looking in vain for “the witch”, an old lady who has lived on that mountainside all her life and never goes into town.  Stopping for a delicious home-cooked lunch of green beans, pasta salad and lamb stew topped off with lemon mousse and a home-made digestif for desert in a shady pine grove while the horses rested nearby looking like a herd of wild mustangs grazing in the forest.

Riding down a tree lined grass covered boulevard and through tiny streets winding alongside a mountain stream in Lanzahita on the way to where the horses spent the night.  Earning the confidence of and playing with the month-old blue-eyed palomino filly at Miguel’s finca, sharing an amazing dinner with too many things to mention cooked by his wife and finishing the day with a slightly tipsy sing-along before collapsing into our beds.

2nd day:

Sipping our morning coffee surrounded by the horses in a sun-drenched field. As more and more people joined the Romería we suffered some equine hysterics at the water-trough to see which horse got to drink first, followed by a fun round of spooks as we were overtaken by other riders, donkey carts, wagons pulled by tractors blasting flamenco music, horse-drawn carriages, dirtbikes and even a few 4x4s, all toting festive Spaniards dressed to the nines in their traditional costumes.

The first gallop of the day across an uphill cattle field, letting the horses blow off some steam.  Ricardo’s horse Rif getting one of his hooves caught up in some recklessly discarded barbed wire and luckily standing still for Ricardo to unwind it.  Standing on a hill above Hontanares watching folks canter into town with crowds lining the entire length of the town streets and applauding each group of riders.

Finally taking a deep breath and cueing Lince to canter when it was my group’s turn and being so pleasantly surprised at his self-control in this crazy situation that I was able to relax and enjoy our entrance.  Hearing several people shout out “Vamos chicas!” – “You go girls!” as Ana and I cantered by and feeling a glow and happiness that actually brought tears of joy to my eyes as we cooled down the horses walking through town.

Crossing the Tiétar river with the water so deep that my feet got wet and being so grateful that for once Lince didn’t want to take a swim with me, then enjoying a lazy picnic lunch of croquettes, tortilla española and chilly salmorejo in good company on its sandy banks.

One last thrilling canter up the mountainside and finally the return to La Parra.

Inspiration

After a solid ride on Saturday where Starbuck ended up so relaxed her muscles were like jello (first time ever, I was so very pleased!!!), on Sunday she was just absolutely crazy and spooky and by the time we did a enough groundwork to get her listening to me she was pretty tuckered out so I decided to do a lesson on Rodrigo, one of Marina's lesson geldings - it was fun fun fun!!!  Cantering around the arena without a care in the world, letting go of the reins and stirrups to do some Centered Riding exercises, even trotting over some low jumps... I think a little vacation from "filly-seat" was just what I needed, and I'll get more this weekend at a two day ride in Gredos.

But it's also got me fired up about working more and more with Starbuck, since what I really want is to be able to do all of this with her!  So I've found some videos which really inspire me in some of my (so far) chosen disciplines, which will give the rest of you an idea of what I eventually want to achieve with her and keep me focussed on what I need to be working on to get there.

Groundwork / Natural Horsemanship:

Cross country jumping:

Dressage:

Trail Riding / Agility:

Just Plain Fun: