Duke Rides the Field

Saturday, January 7, 2012

            Duke is turning 15 this year.  I raised him and he became our farm stud.  He and Finny had the same dam, Blackie, a granddaughter of Boston Mac.  Finny’s sire is Red Dee Hobby.  Duke’s sire is Good Asset.  They both were bred for the pleasure showing.  They both are slow legged, deep hocked, with a strong, true lope.

            We rode Duke as a 2 year old, and showed him as a 3 or 4 year old.  After many foals, and a few rides on him the past 10 years, I realized that the time was right to geld him.  I thought of gelding him a few years ago, but then decided to breed one more time.  Now I have 2 beautiful fillies, which will be my replacement mares.  I know gelding at an older age has more complications, with increased risk of bleeding.   Duke did very well, didn’t start swelling until day 3, then only swelled as much as younger horses.  He was to have a lot of exercise, and we had him in the indoor arena.  After 3 days, we put him back into his pen, but he didn’t exercise himself as much.  He started to get abdominal swelling, so during the following 3 or 4 days, we put him back into the   12^th, it will have been a month since his gelding. 

I may not get some of the behavior out of him, but now I’m riding him.  I’ll expect him to act like a gelding, which he is now.  I just hope that one day, he will be able to go in with the other horses.

Duke is riding beautifully, after just 4 days of riding.  The first day with the saddle on, I lunged him about 15 minutes, first in the indoor arena and then in the outdoor arena.  He could have cared less being in an area that the hadn’t seen much of.  He wanted to buck a little, but being fat and out of shape, that didn’t last long.  I put my helmet on and I rode him about ½ hour that first day, mostly at a trot and lope.  He wanted to lope around and I left him.  But he was too out of shape to do more than that. 

Day 2, I took him to the grassy area to lunge about 10 min, then rode him 15 min in the outdoor arena.  I rode him in the grassy area, then took him to the field. I only rode about 10 min in the field, just long enough for him to get used to the corn stubble and to see the culvert at the road.

Day 3, repeat of day 2.  Then we rode about ½ hour in the field, back and forth the corn rows and up and down the slight hill, getting used to different terrain.  He’s learning to pick up his feet over the corn stubble.

Day 4, repeat of the previous days, except I went an hour to the field.  We went over to the CRP land and rode the tree line.  His trotting improved as I put him in an extended trot to trot the grassy area.  He acts like a broke trail horse.  He didn’t startle as birds flew out of the trees.  He carefully walked over downed tree branches.  He perked his ears and went forward.  He rode beautifully by himself.

I may give Duke a break today. 4 days in a row after years of leisure, I may just give his legs a break today.  I have Savannah to take to the field as I have someone coming to look at her tomorrow!  I may take Shaggy out as he had yesterday off.

            I know winter is coming, well it’s here, but we’re having beautiful weather.  I think Thursday was 68, and that’s unheard of.  But each day since, the temps have been dropping. Today is to be in the low 40’s, but I don’t know if it’s going to make it.  This next week is supposed to be back in the high 40’s.  I’m sure the snow is going to hit us one day!

Relaxed Shoulders and Thighs While Riding

            Yesterday while riding, I was able to have very relaxed shoulders.  Normally, I think I ride relaxed, but when I think about it, in the past my shoulders used to be up or tight or tense.  Without me even realizing it, I rode with tension in the neck and shoulders.  Many of us ride like that.  I thought I rode relaxed until the Centered Riding and Alexander Technique instructors taught me to drop my shoulders.  When I rode Shaggy in the field, my shoulders were down.  My arms were moving freer.  Even when I trotted and post, my shoulders stayed down.  It was a great feeling to think about it while I was riding and to realize that my shoulders were relaxed.

            Another Centered Riding tip that I was visualizing was that of Stubby Legs.  This concept is a little harder for me to analyze and figure out.  It became one that I could understand as I rode yesterday, and I felt what my legs were doing. Granted, my 2 horses are a little heavy, making their barrels a little rounder.  My thighs did lay on the sides of the horse easier.  While maintaining a grounded feeling in my feet, I rode with light contact with my thighs, allowing my thighs to move with the motion of the horse.  In the past, I think I stayed grounded in my seat, and my legs hung relaxed, but were not active.  Now, I’m maintaining a light contact, and not only moving my seat and hands as the horse moves (at the walk and canter, only elbows at the trot), my thighs are moving with the horse’s motion.  And I’m feeling it today, after 2 very active riding days.

           I had just read an article in the Centered Riding Newsletter before going out to ride.  “When Sally Swift taught us the Following Seat, she also talked about the Following Hand.  We should allow the reins to draw our hands forward. Our elbows straighten and bend to maintain consistent contact on the reins.  A rider’s hands stay with the horse’s mouth.  At the canter, the hands and seat follow the horse’s head and body forward during the 3 beats as the horse’s legs move and land again.  The rider’s hip joints open and the elbows open.  The both bend again during the suspension phase.  The Following Hand is actually the following elbow!!!”

            This is one of those “light bulb moments”.  Even though I knew this, I finally “got it” yesterday while riding Duke.  He does not like a unforgiving grip on the reins.  He does not want to be “held” in a frame.  He was all over the place, high and low, with his neck and head, searching for that place of comfort. I know that.  And with this article in my head, something finally clicked. I don’t have very much formal dressage training, just traditional horsemanship training where you don’t move.  Now, over the last 2 ½ years, I have freed up my body to allow the joints to move.  Finding correct posture and balance and letting go of tension that first year helped.  Learning to allow my shoulders to move last year helped.  But all the key pieces fell into place as I rode Duke yesterday.

            Duke has only been ridden a few times in the last few years.  He was my farm stud and after his first 4 years of training and the show pen, he has sat for the last 10 years with minimal rides.  All the training is still there.  Yesterday he told me he needs a lighter hold.  Yesterday, I finally understood exactly what that was and gave it to him. Like my 3 year old grandson says while watching on of his movies, Incredibles, Lightttttt Bulbbbbb.

            That light bulb was shining brighter as I kept a light constant contact on the reins, moving my arms, allowing the elbow to have more action.  The difference is subtle, as I was already following the walk and canter with my hands. The impact was huge, as I allowed the elbows to do the following, and my hands were just there. No tension in my body.  Duke settled down and quit searching for that spot.  I need more practice during his huge, deep canter, but what a difference.

            I also realize now why the CR instructors say I lean back at the lope.  (and like everyone, I thought I was correct until shown the correct way.  I felt like I was leaning forward when I am balanced.  After 2 years, that feels correct now).  But during Duke’s canter, his momentum kept throwing me back! I was leaning back. I was behind his motion, and I need to correct myself.  I went back down to the extended trot and 2 pointed. Then I cantered, keeping that forward feeling in my body.  The balance is better.  Wow, 2^nd light bulb moment was to understand why I learned to do something the way I used to be doing it.  My body had responded to the horse’s motion.  What my body responded to was momentum, but then I didn’t re-correct myself and go back to balance. I learned to ride there, thinking it was correct.  Now, I know where balance is, and I need to remember to keep balancing myself as I ride his deep canter. 

            What a fun guy Duke is to ride.  Wow, I can’t wait to take dressage lessons and ride in my next CR clinic with him.  We are on our way of understanding and learning the next layer of riding skills.

I will talk more about Duke soon, I promise.  His story is coming.  Part of it… he will be 15 this year!

Shaggy's 1st Ride of the Season

Shaggy, Wed, Jan 5th. 60 degrees!

Temps were in the low 60’s, I think.

What a great first ride of the season!

            I know I was going to talk about Duke today, but I didn’t get any riding photos of him, so I’ll do him tomorrow.  But I did get photos of Shaggy at the trailer.  I took a few field shots.  Even though everything is so brown, it was nice to be out. It really did feel like a spring day.  It was very warm here in NE for January, with almost no wind. I was down to a long sleeve T and a hoody, and was almost too warm.  My fleece lined jeans didn’t help, but I’m not wearing those today.

            I groomed Shaggy, saddled, moved him around a few minutes to breathe so I could tighten the girth and got on.  We went right to the field.  With being so busy at the store, and no ride time since maybe late Oct/early Nov, he was a good boy.  He put on some weight though, and it made me appreciate the feeling of “draping your leg” around the horse, as it’s so much easier to do on a fat horse!

            We went to the fields.  He wanted to trot so I left him. He was ears perked and going.  I rode in 2 point most of his trotting. In a few harvested bean fields, I asked for slower speed to work on posting, thinking of my Center floating up and out, lightly and easily. He makes posting easy, with his long, deep strides.  His momentum pushes you out of the saddle effortlessly.

I did work on a few things for a very short time.  I realized, while trotting down the rows of a harvested corn field, that the corn stubble helps to keep the horse straight. If he doesn’t stay straight, then he’s catching himself on stubble.  Shag has a natural straight way of going, so it is easy to work him on a straight away. 

            In the bean fields, you can see the rows, but there is none of the stubble restrictions or hazards, so traveling through these fields, the rider needs to stay more active.  Then I thought that the same feeling should be true for the corn stubble field. Stay active and stay straight.  Shag did pretty well staying light and straight at the trot through the beans.

            Then we were in an open bean field, and the rows weren’t quite so defined.  We were also trotting parallel to a tree line. Shag was a little focused on the tree line and birds fluttering around in there then going straight.  Now I was more involved, posting with my Center and being light, but concentrating on his head and shoulders staying straight while maintaining light contact with elbows bending as I posted.  We were in work mode for that field.  His trot needs to be a little slower and we need work on the extension, and that will come.

            The rest of the ride was just a “let’s just ride” mode.  Trot, loped some, and walked when he got winded or starting to sweat. I did canter one short grassy area and was a little over 19 mph.  A little while later, on top of a grassy hill, I left him run another short distance, and I think we were at 22 or 23 mph.

 I’m having a hard time getting my Garmin to download on Garmin Connect, as I have other rides that weren’t downloaded previously, and it is taking forever to load.  I tried to download just that ride, but for some reason, can’t find how to select just that 1 ride. The program wants me to select all of the past rides that haven’t been downloaded.  I’m going to delete everything out of the GPS and start over.  I’ll try to ride the same way today and post what I get.  I know I rode him for 6.1 miles in 1 hour 20 min.

          

  I rode Duke after and I’ll post about his ride and todays ride next.

            Have a great ride and I hope the sun is shining for you, too!