Brave
The focus of last week's lesson was "scary" jumps - ones that Trainer designed to throw our horses off. There was a picket fence, an oxer with demonic horse-eating flowers camped under it, a liverpool, a corner made from those plastic blocks that you can stack to make jumps, and (most terrifyingly of all) a vertical covered in a green cooler that apparently emanated portents of certain doom.
Spring had the entire week off leading up to this lesson, which took place last Friday, because of her stupid shoe.
I was not expecting it to go well.
She warmed up okay but was tense, and instead of cantering like a sane horse she wanted to gallop full force like the racehorse she used to be. Thankfully we were outside, and I was able to incorporate many circles to help remind her that her legs can actually move at a pace slower than warp speed. Then the jumping began. Trainer did not allow us to approach anything before attempting it.
And...my mare jumped every single thing that she encountered without question and with only the occasional flicker of hesitation. (the following photos are all screengrabs taken from videos that one of the barn moms was kind enough to take for me!)
Spring had the entire week off leading up to this lesson, which took place last Friday, because of her stupid shoe.
I was not expecting it to go well.
 |
| But she looked fabulous in her new (Lund) clothes |
And...my mare jumped every single thing that she encountered without question and with only the occasional flicker of hesitation. (the following photos are all screengrabs taken from videos that one of the barn moms was kind enough to take for me!)
She jumped the picket fence
 |
She jumped the oxer |
She jumped the liverpool
 |
She jumped the corner (and almost jumped me out of the saddle)  And she jumped the terrifying green cooler jump. |
In a lesson of 5 horses, Spring had the least amount of jumping experience, was the most out of shape, and was the only one that had never been to a show. She was also the only horse that jumped everything on the first try (the one exception being her first time over the corner, which I didn't set her up for - she didn't see it until the last second and almost tripped over it) ((S and her mount for the evening, Ringo, came in a close second on least number of refusals!)). I was absurdly proud of her, and everyone was quite impressed with her performance - a few weeks ago she'd duck out of a simple vertical if it seemed too intimidating, and now she's jumping fences that give experienced lesson horses a pause. I'm not entirely sure what's clicked for her, but I like it!
Spring managed to keep her shoes on while I was gone over the weekend, and S took her for a flat ride on Sunday, which apparently went really well. On Monday, I rode her in another lesson - this one focusing on lead changes over fences - and again, she did very well. She still has a hard time holding her leads around tight turns, but she's getting much better.
 |
| I own an obnoxious amount of teal t-shirts. |
Today, Assistant Trainer A rode Spring for a lesson - same exercise, but the rain forced them inside - and had a blast on her! I got to watch most of the lesson before work, and they looked really great together - A had nothing but nice things to say about my little mare.
 |
| that hind end though |
There are two main things that I want to focus on while moving forward.
The first is my freaking position over fences because omg, it's terrible right now. Taking most of the summer off riding thanks to the surgery and the accident set me back A LOT and my position has gone to shit. Hopefully 2ptober will help with that (baseline recorded yesterday - 4:07 (Trainer tortures us with two point regularly)).
The second is figuring out Spring's slowly manifesting tendency towards headshaking. It's worse in the indoor, where dust is the heaviest, so I've ordered her a nose net to see if that helps, but since it's started to become prevalent every time she's ridden (regardless of where she is and who is riding her) I've also ordered a month of SmartPaks using their 50% off code - Quiessence and MSM, both of which have shown some effectiveness in the treatment of headshaking syndrome. Jordyn was a headshaker, and much worse about it than Spring is, so I'm at least used to riding a horse that has that tendency - but hopefully I'll find something that helps alleviate it! If you've ever dealt with headshaking and have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them.
It sounds like she's figured out the answer when faced with a jump - what a good girl.
ReplyDeleteIrish is head shaker. It is triggered by sunlight and more recently by bits. Well not bits exactly - if your ride with a soft hand and the bit doesn't 'bounce' he's fine. My theory is that the woman who rides him occasionally is too tight in her shoulders and when he moves the bit hits his gums and triggers the nerve. All that said, I have greatly reduced the head shaking by adding Magnesium Oxide to his feed. There is evidence that it helps reduce the symptoms in approximately 50% of horses so might be worth a try. I don't buy the ridiculously expensive Max Ox from horse stores- I get it as a cattle feed additive. It comes in a 25 kg bag and costs about $30. One bag lasts at least a year and it's very stable so won't go off. I add about a tablespoon to his two grain feeds. I have to dampen his feed to help it stick. It has no taste so he doesn't even know it's there.
There is also medication for head shaking that is somewhat successful. Linda at Beautiful Mustang writes about it on her blog: http://beautifulmustang.blogspot.ca
Kaity if you want to try MaxOx, I have a huge bag at home that I bought and am not using!
DeleteMagOx. Oops. Haven't had my coffee yet.
DeleteI'm hoping the Quiessence helps - I'll definitely invest in something like MagOx if so! I didn't want to start off buying magnesium in bulk so that I didn't end up stuck with a ton of it (like Leah, apparently ;) ). Thanks for the advice!
DeleteYou can never have too many teal shirts! ;) Spring looks very... spring-y! Glad that she is getting brave and that you're having such a good time with her. And she does look very fancy in her new Lund clothes! :)
ReplyDeleteI think I have like 5 or 6 from various things. :P We still need to figure out a time for you to come play and actually ride her!
DeleteI hope you can find a lasting solution for the head shaking; I love MSM as a feed additive, though I mostly feed it for it's anti-inflammatory properties. It's my favorite supplement! Elisa Wallace was just talking about magnesium and it's effects on her horses in a video - it seems like its another super useful supplement. Spring looks fabulous, both in her new tack and over fences. She's definitely blooming :)
ReplyDeleteHopefully it helps - if not, I got a month of SmartPak for $20 so no big loss! Ideally the magnesium will help some with the muscle tightness that she's still struggling with as well. (:
DeleteHi there! Found your blog through 2ptober and looking forward to following along. Sorry to read about the headshaking, interesting its more prevalent inside since I thought it usually was due to photo sensitivity. Hoping the supplements work!
ReplyDeleteHi! Thanks for following! I thought that was interesting as well - makes me think it's more likely to be related to allergies than to light, as the indoor is definitely significantly darker than the outdoor even on the sunniest of afternoons.
DeleteOoh fun jumps!! Bummer about the head shaking tho. I've heard it can be seasonal and it can be triggered by various things (like sunlight sometimes!), but that quiescence and nose nets can work wonders. Maybe worth trying a uv fly mask too. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteWe'll see! (: It's definitely not to a point that I'm overly concerned about it - she's completely rideable and I think it bugs me more than it bugs her. Hopefully one of the little "trial remedies" helps out. If not, half price SmartPaks and a Cashel nose net definitely weren't overly expensive investments, so I won't be too distraught.
DeleteMy friends mare headshakes - but usually it is an emotional reaction to something...like being asked something difficult or if she's frustrated. I'm so glad Spring is settling in and loving her new job!
ReplyDeleteMy trainer thinks it might just be an obnoxious response to pressure on her mouth/riders getting too handsy, which I think is definitely a factor - but I also think if that were the only thing, she wouldn't be consistently doing it with different riders, different bits, and different bridles. Trainer also mentioned that she'd never done it with her in the irons, but she hasn't ridden her since it's started, so I'm thinking a trainer ride is in the near future to test that theory out!
Deleteholy crap she is adorable!
ReplyDeleteno real headshaking advice, as i do not have experience with the actual disease, but when i thought Spud had head shaking syndrome it just turned out to be he had a lot of plaque and hair in his ears and his poll was out.
Thanks! :D I think so, too. :P
DeleteShe does have very hairy ears..I've never clipped ears and don't own clippers, though, so not sure when I could bribe someone into trimming them for me to see if anything's going on in them. She definitely doesn't care about her ears being messed with though, and our one gelding with aural plaques HATES anyone touching his ears (or even looking at them wrong).