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In Memory of Roxi – May 10, 1998 to August 10, 2010

sharon — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 04:48:07 +0000

This week we lost our beloved Shepherd, Roxi, at age 12. I wrote this for her.

There is a hole in the Universe where you used to be.

I go through my day tripping over the impressions you left in my routine.

Like a photograph negative I see the outline of you.

But it is not you.

At the door.

Under the coffee table.

At my feet under my desk.

I get out of bed – late because you didn’t make me get up.

I wander aimlessly in the morning thinking there is something I’m supposed to be doing.

You would have told me.

You knew our every move. Time to go out. Time to eat. Time for pop tart.

We were so predictable. So trainable.

I know with time the tide will wash over your footprints.

Soon the movement of the Universe will fill in those holes.

Too soon routines without you will feel normal.

But I’m not ready to let you go.

I leave your dish with three bits of kibble from that Tuesday morning where you left it.

I leave your nose prints on the windows unwashed.

The dog hair un-vacuumed.

We want you back home.

But not like this, in a metal box with the inscription “Until we meet again at the Rainbow Bridge”.

by Sharon Foley

The Right Way

sharon — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:54:07 +0000

On the DressageDisgrace.com site there is a discussion about some videos which have been posted as representatives of the ‘right way’ to do dressage. The idea is to identify riders who are not using rollkur as a regular part of their training program and support them. Interestingly, one of the videos posted was of a rider who has taken a stand against rollkur. YET, the horse still showed signs of the same disconnection seen in the rollkured horses. What gives?

This is my theory. What really is the difference between “deep and round” and “hyperflexion”? Where is that line that makes one OK and the other not? Just blue tongues? I guess. But really the only difference is degree because as the second video demonstrates (or demonstrated since it has since been removed by the user) the result is the same–disconnected toe flinging trots and no real collection.

So, we need to see riders who really follow the actual facts of classical training. I submit Cathy Morelli as one person who is competing very successfully and who does not just talk the talk, but walks the walk. If you head over the the DressageDisgrace.com site you’ll see that I posted a link to a video of Cathy on her horse BeSe. What’s interesting is that (unlike the rollkur crowd) she warms up her horse the way she rides the test–up, open and showing that collecting actually involves bending the hind legs. If you can’t wait to see the video just check it out right here…

Cathy also has a great DVD where she explains her system for training, titled “The System: Understanding the Neck”. You can buy it on her site as well as see a preview there. It is also available for rent on Giddyupflix.com. Worth every penny!

Gerd Heuschmann Clinic Review

sharon — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 04:00:09 +0000

Gerd Heuschmann is a German veterinarian who is also a dressage rider. After years of seeing the damage inflicted on horses as a result if incorrect riding he began to change his own riding methods and starting ‘treating’ horses by first asking owners to change the way they ride. He does clinics around the world now helping people to help horses become more supple and move more freely.

A member of the Ultimate Dressage forum posted her notes from a recent symposium. Let me just say that I agree 100% with everything he says.

Check out the full report here.

Classical Schooling with Kalman de Jurenak

sharon — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:16:00 +0000

Right now, I don’t know if I’m inspired or just plain envious. Lovely horses, ridden beautifully. This was an interesting video because it begins with a rider on a 3 year old horse who had just been ridden a few times. The horse is calm and relaxed and quite frankly looking “like a million bucks”. Clearly not the average 3 year old! So that is the envy part.

Part of me questioned asking ‘so much’ of such a youngster. Was the neck too shortened? But the proof is in the pudding. The video continues showing the same horse a couple months later, looking quite steady and improved. Other horses are featured as well, each a little older and further along in their development–all the way to beginning piaffe/passage and one-tempis. Each ridden according to the same principles. The concerns I had about the neck being short just didn’t pan out. Every horse even the most advanced horses were able to and were asked to stretch forward out and down. No curling, no rollkur/hyperflexion–ever. All the horses show correct muscle development, so in the end I had to let myself enjoy it all.

One particularly interesting segment showed a very talented and nicely trained 5 year old. First ridden by the trainer, and then the trainer’s student. The student rider was built to ride (tall and leggy) but had only been riding one year. The transformation in the horse was remarkable. In the matter of a few minutes the horse began to look quite ‘average’ because he was no longer properly engaged, he was rushing and out of balance. At one moment the horse got a little upset and took off on the rider for few strides. It was very easy to see how poor riding can ruin a horse’s gaits and attitude. The horse (and I ) breathed a sigh of relief when the trainer got back in the saddle!

Another thing which was refreshing was that ‘baubles’ were left in. So, we get to see the 3 year old’s little spook and what happens when the older horse working on canter pirouettes struggles with the pirouette to the right. We could whine about these little mistakes hardly being worthy of mention since so many are dealing with much worse than that! But, the truth is, when the riding is so clear and supportive of the horse from start to finish it should not really be such a surprise that these things happen infrequently. Anyway, it was still good to see that even these fabulous horses are still horses with their own mind and opinions.

This video demonstrates that a classical progression delivers outstanding results every time. Here’s hoping we all have a chance to work with such amazing horses and more importantly are Up to the Challenge should that chance arrive. Keep riding!

Whole Heart, Whole Horse by Mark Rashid

sharon — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:17:21 +0000

In Whole Heart, Whole Horse , through stories about his days as a kid working for the “Old Man” as well as people he’s met through years of doing clinics, Marks brings the process of building trust between the horse and rider to life. As is typical for Mark’s books, this is not a ‘how-to’ book. Having tried to write something of a how-to book I can appreciate his desire to avoid that. So instead he focuses on our attitude and though processes which I know have a huge impact on our success (or lack thereof) with horses.

Mark sold me on his philosophy about how he wanted to be with a horse way back when I read his first book. Each book since then has added a little more to the story. This book is no exception. Mark is a great storyteller and draws you into his world easily.

If we can read a book and come away with a passage or two that resonates, I think it was a book worth reading. Here’s one that I underlined:

“One of the reasons some folks aren’t sure of the difference between a horse that is willingly available and one that is simply available is that so many horses out there today are light, but not necessarily soft. As a result, a lot of folks at one time or another have probably ridden a light and thought is was soft, when in reality there is a sizable difference between the two (in my opinion).

The difference for me is that lightness is primarily on the outside of the horse and is mostly technique-based, while softness comes from the inside of the horse and is a combination of technique, trust, conviction, and feel that is exchanged between rider and horse and back again. Softness is a conversation and a way to be, rather than a thing to do.”

Words worth pondering!

Danke’s story: solving a perplexing problem

sharon — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 02:30:07 +0000

Danke, a tall and beautiful sensitive chestnut mare, came to me for training with quite a bit of emotional baggage as a result of some unsettling prior experiences in her life. One positive was, though, she arrived quite clicker-savvy because her owner used clicker training to teach her some tricks during several months of recuperation for an injury.

Danke is one of the most sensitive horses I’ve ever met. She has a strong sense of self-preservation. I discovered early on I could not pressure her do anything. Either she bought in or it was ‘no deal.’ If she was feeling vulnerable and other horses were nearby she might just stop and start kicking the unsuspecting victim. I had to be very careful who was riding nearby.

Clicker training was instrumental to her recovery. There were quite a few holes in Danke’s training, so quite a bit of time was spent doing groundwork, longeing, and noodling under saddle in order to get all the little bits and pieces that worried her straightened out. But straighten out they did and now she is such a lovely horse to ride.

One of the most interesting parts of her story had to do with how I resolved a problem she had with cantering, especially to the left. Whenever Danke was asked for canter to the left, she immediately threw her whole body, stiff as a board, to the left. No matter how well things appeared to be going prior to asking for the canter left, as soon as she THOUGHT that we were going to canter she did the same thing.

During longeing, I had discovered that she was quite responsive to a “kiss” signal to canter. I decided that to resolve the problem under saddle I would do “nothing” to ask for canter in any “normal” way (with legs and seat); instead, I would sit upright with a very relaxed seat and just “kiss” for the canter. Before it could go bad, I would click the instant she thought about cantering. I could feel her start to take the first step with the outside hind. Of course she stopped mid-stride when I clicked. I fed her a lump of sugar and then set her up to canter again in the same way as before. Again I’d kiss and again I’d click the instant she thought about cantering. I repeated the procedure, again and again. Each time, though, I let her canter a little longer before I clicked. Again and again, I’d click, stop, and treat for “thinking of cantering,” “a step of canter,” “two steps of canter,” “a quarter of a circle of canter,” “half a circle of canter,” and finally “a whole circle of canter.” I continued in this manner day after day.

Of course, every day I was also clicking her for accepting my leg for forward movement, clicking for slow down, clicking for accepting turning aids. Little by little, when it came time to canter, I would begin to notice that she would accept my leg aid to request that she continue to canter, and I’d click that. Then I started to integrate some downward transitions, and I’d click those. Then upward transitions back to canter using my leg and seat in a normal manner. Of course, I’d click those, too.

I continued like this for no less than three months. Yes to the casual on-looker it appeared that I wasn’t ‘doing’ anything. And I seem to spend a lot of time stopping to feed treats. I was often asked, can’t you just canter that horse yet? I’d just smile and say, nope not yet. Every day, if she said she couldn’t do it, I would return to clicking for one stride. But bit by bit, it got better and better, until one day the problem was simply gone. Today she has a beautiful canter and is happy to pick it up when asked from trot or walk. This is just one example of rewarding the behavior you want and taking the time it takes. And having more than just a “little” faith in the process!