Finn's jumping form is really starting to improve!
Two hours after my last blog post, a decision was made: Finn
is competing at the introductory level at Fair Hill on May 5th.
Although I was excited (jumping up and down), I was also extremely nervous. It
has been awhile since I was judged on my performance and I had to accept that
with this being Finn’s debut, I might not do very well. Finn’s jumping has
improved immensely in the last week, many of my lessons have ended with me
skipping up and down the barn isles and singing show tunes because I am so
happy. Our flatwork is different. My favorite part of eventing has always been dressage.
Nothing in the world can compete with the feeling of a perfectly in sync dance
between a horse and rider. Lately though, Finn and I have not felt so
beautiful. Our warm-up is always good, there are moments where I swear I can
feel every muscle in his body respond to mine, and then comes the lesson. When
Finn is nervous he has a tendency to root pretty enthusiastically on the
bridle. Up to now we have tried three different bits with very little
improvement. Going into the event, this is not very comforting.
We practiced loading on and off a trailer this week!
Although
it is very easy to blame the horse, sometimes as a rider we have to look at
ourselves. It is easy to change bits, it is easy to tighten martingales, it is
easy to pull as hard as you can on the outside rein when your horse roots that
you convince yourself he will listen, but it is hard to change yourself. My dad
(best barn dad ever) has videotaped close to every ride I have had with Finn
since I bought him and I decided to consult the videos. It seems that the issue
with Finn’s head is not curable with magic tack; instead it is cured by me
learning how to use my arms. I don’t mean yanking and pulling and tightening, I
mean learning how to use my arms and make it look like I’m not using my arms.
One of the hardest things about riding is learning how to be soft but still
supportive.
When I
started this blog, it was about horse training. It was about taking a horse
that was at the end of his career and giving him a new one. I wanted everything
to be glorious, everything to be beautiful and everything to follow a schedule. I
now realize that for every lesson Finn learns, I must learn one too. There is
no horse training without rider training and there is no beauty without a
little bit of pain. Going into this event, I must realize that my only goal
should be having fun. The last two weeks have been up and down. Finn jumped his
first cross country jumps and we have started to improve our flat work. This
weekend we will be going cross country schooling and I am sure that will come
with its own challenges. Until then, I will continue to work on myself in hopes
of helping him.
On a positive note, Finn's feet have improved drastically! Look below for pictures of his feet. Note the glue on shoes on his front feet.
In the
last three weeks Finn has improved immensely. Although we are still working on
our dressage, after talking with my trainer, we decided it was time for Finn to
start jumping. After schooling what seemed like endless ground poles of various
colors, we decided it was time to make the leap of faith. We started with a
small cross-rail at the trot. Finn calmly trotted right over the cross-rail and
seemed to figure out the exercise quickly. We jumped a couple different
cross-rails from the trot during the lesson, switching colors and directions to
give him a varied experience. By the end of the lesson he was trotting calmly
through a line made up of two cross-rails.
After
another flat lesson that went splendidly and another cross-rail lesson, we
decided to venture outside to the outdoor ring and try some more jumps. Finn
was amazing once again and he easily popped over various cross-rails and even
one or two verticals. We placed flower boxes and colored poles under the jumps
to help him get used to fillers. At the end of the lesson we set up an oxer made
out of two cross-rails and Finn happily jumped it!
Because
Finn was doing so well we decided to take a lesson with Sally Cousins (USEA
Leading Lady rider for 2012). The day before the lesson, my normal
trainer had me trot Finn over a couple new jumps, including a gate and a
vertical with a brush box underneath. During the Sally Cousins lesson, Finn was
on his very best behavior! We jumped a bunch of verticals and were able to put
two of them together in the canter. At the end of the lesson I jumped Finn
through a four stride line with a cross-rail to an oxer. Finn jumped flawlessly
over the oxer and we decided to call it a day and shower him with attention.
Finn really
seems to be improving. His feet are in great condition (pictures to come in the
next post) and he has gained weight and muscle. At the canter, Finn no longer
loses the lead behind and he is beginning to carry himself very nicely. We have
decided to switch Finn to a different bit in hopes of eliminating his head
shaking. We will be working on our flat work over the weekend and preparing to
go x-country schooling at Plantation Field the last weekend in April.
After a
time change and some slightly warmer weather I realized it was again time to
update the blog! It seems that Finn and I have finally had a big breakthrough.
Last week Finn and I rode outside for the second time since I purchased him and
we were able to walk, trot and canter! To start the ride I brought Finn into
the ring and led him around; allowing him to sniff and glare at anything
potentially scary. He seemed fine so I had my dad drag the mounting block over
to the ring and hold Finn so I could get on. Right away Finn seemed ready for
work! To my surprise there weren't any spooks so I decided to go up to the
trot. With quiet hands and a bit of inside leg Finn went right on to the bit
and glided around the arena like an old pro.
After
coming to the conclusion that Finn was ready for a challenge, I decided to
stand in my stirrups and allow him to canter out. I started up in 2 point with
my hands resting on the fuzzy part of my new half pad and then decided to sit
down. Finn automatically slowed down and arched his neck (yay!) with little
protest. I repeated this simple exercise in both directions with pretty even
results.
With
such great results in the ring I decided it was time for our first hack out!
Next to the farms outdoor arena we have a cross country field so I decided that’d
be a great place to start. I kept him walking forward and I reminded myself to
breathe as we encountered some scary things like cones and jumps! At first Finn
shied away from the big jumps scattered about the field, but by the end he
seemed cool as a cucumber. I am hoping that this nice weather will last and
help me achieve more great rides! The date of our first event is set for June
9th at Plantation Field and we hope to practice a bit in the dressage arena
before then.
In the last two weeks Finn has made some huge improvements.
Not only is he now trotting around happily in a frame (chronicled in my last
post: http://ottbretrainingproject.blogspot.com/2013/02/week-14-making-adjustments.html)
he is now beginning to round his back at the canter too! I have been working
Finn over ground poles to help him establish a more careful rhythm. Although
Finn sometimes trots and canters a little faster than I would like, it is more
important the he is able to sustain a set rhythm at any speed.
At the
canter I normally stand up in the stirrups in order to take my weight out of
the saddle. By removing some of my weight from Finn’s back I am able to make it
easier for him to canter. Young horses in training have not yet developed the strength
in their backs to handle being “sat into” at the canter. When a rider sits on
their horse at the canter, the riders hips must open up and sort of swing with
the horses motion. On a young horse, sometimes that pressure can be conceived as
a driving force, similar to leg pressure, and can result in an unorganized
scrambling canter. Up until today I have been careful to obey this principle.
As a
rider I have developed a bit of feel for the horse moving underneath me. Today
I began to feel Finn moving freely and easily at the canter. I made a decision
that after a couple months of work it was time to sit down (not all of the way)
at the canter. It seemed that the moment I sat down Finn responded by balancing
himself and even rounding his neck and back! Finn is starting to move like a real
event horse, using his hind end and swinging his shoulders. Hopefully by the
next post Finn will have jumped his first cross-rail. It is sad to think that
so many horses with similar potential end up in kill pens and auction houses
around the country.
On May
12th I am going to be giving a TED talk at a nearby school. I plan
on sharing more about my journey with Finn and thoroughbreds in general. These
horses are amazing creatures with distinct abilities and I hope to inspire
equestrians in community to consider adopting an OTTB as their next show horse.
Now that Finn has been in training for a little over a month
I am beginning to see a huge improvement in his movement and physiology.
Although I struggled with Finn’s poor hoof quality in the beginning, it has now
become obvious that his feet have healed and he is doing well! Finn is still
calm and easy to handle on the ground, but he has adopted a spunkier attitude
under saddle now that he is no longer sore. In the last week or two I have
begun working Finn on the lounge line; asking him to walk, trot and halt. This
exercise is good because it forces Finn to balance himself and use his own hind
end to maintain the circle.
When I adopted Finn he was lame in his left foreleg and we thought there was a chance he would never be able to stand up to eventing. In the last couple weeks, I have been thoroughly impressed with the way Finn moves in his new glue on shoes! Watching him go it is hard to believe he was three-legged lame a month or two ago. Now he swings his shoulders in the walk and trots happily.
Finn was completely lame when the vet evaluated him in November
Under
saddle, I have begun asking Finn to maintain a contact in the bridle, instead
of pushing him to carry his head low and travel more like a hunter than a
dressage horse, I have started pushing him to be round and use his hind end.
Finn has done a great job of retaining new lessons day to day; a great example
of his willingness to learn.
Finn trots well into the bridle
Physiologically,
Finn is beginning to gain muscle as well as weight. At the time of adoption
Finn only weighed about 900 pounds, while average weight for his height and
breed is around 1200 pounds. As of now, Finn has gained about 100 pounds and
has grown about an inch. To help Finn continue gaining weight, beyond adding another 1/2 quart of pellets to his feed, I have also added a weight supplement to his diet. Finn's changes in height and weight is typical of a 3 to
4 year old thoroughbred in his first 3 months off the track. As time goes on I
expect to see an increase in his height and weight. In the last couple months
Finn has also gained muscle in his top-line (picture below) and hindquarters,
which are improving his movement under saddle.
Recently
I have introduced sets of ground poles to Finn’s lessons. By placing sets of
three or four ground poles on one side of the ring I am able to work on straightness
as well as pacing with Finn. In the last month or two, Finn has gone from
three-legged lame to completely sound and on his way to jumping soon. With
every success comes a new set of goals. In the next 60 days I hope to bring
Finn to a dressage show and begin jump training with small x-rails and verticals.
The last two weeks have proved difficult due to a
combination of lost shoes and bad weather. In the last 2 weeks Finn managed to
pull off 4 shoes causing us to consider other shoeing options. Due to Finn’s
Pedal Ostetis we made the decision to go with glue-on shoes instead of hoof
boots or other barefoot options. We decided to go with Sigafoos Shoes. These
shoes were originally designed by the farrier at The University of Pennsylvania
as an alternative to direct glue –on methods. The shoes are aluminum with a
urethane rim pad and fabric cuff. The fabric cuff is coated with acrylic and
applied to the outside of the hoof. If put on correctly these shoes have been
proven very successful for horses with poor hoof condition as well as horses
who tend to yank of traditional shoes. So far Finn has had the shoes for 4 days
and they seem to be doing their job.
In the
last two weeks Finn has also begun group turnout. He seems to really enjoy
playing with the other horses and playing in the mud! I have found this extra
play time makes him much happier and, thus, much easier to work with under
saddle. In the ring we have begun some harder trot work. I have started asking
for a stretchy circle at the end of each ride to help loosen his back and
shoulders. Although I have seen some improvement it is hard to make too much
progress due to the shoes.
Overall,
Finn seems to be learning fairly well despite the constant hiccups we have
experienced so far. I hope to get some newer footage of Finn over the long
weekend as well as updated photos of his feet!
Now that Finn is sound it is important that I create a plan for his training. Young horses thrive on a schedule; especially OTTBs. I have decided to put him in three riding lessons a week with one of those lessons becoming a professional ride every other week. I have also come up with some basic goals for all three gaits. I have put them into a table below.
As you can see, my goals for each gait are very similar. The
most important thing is that I do not progress to the next gait without first
perfecting the gait before it. For Finn, I need to ensure that he respects my
four aids at the walk before I can expect any type of response at the trot or
canter. Beyond that, straightness is key! Instead of asking my horse to collect
and bend for the get-go my goal is going to be to develop an elastic back and a
horse that knows how to travel straight.
A lot
of this training methodology comes from the Pyramid of Training used in
dressage. You must first develop a strong base before you move to more
difficult movements. I would not ask my now 4 year old ottb to perform a
collected sitting trot if I had never ridden his trot before. I plan to use
this training pyramid throughout my time with Finn.
Today
Finn and I had our first lesson where we preformed all three gaits. At the walk
I asked him to stretch towards the bit and slow his pace (he tends to get fast
and stabby) and I worked on speeding up and slowing down using my seat. When I
want him to move forward and extend his stride (not always just go faster) I
engaged my seat, opened my hips and became more elastic in my elbows. In order
to slow him down I closed my knee and tightened my stomach. Finn was extremely
responsive at the walk so we decided to move to the trot. At the trot we worked
mostly on straightness and getting Finn to loosen his back. At the end of the
lesson we decided that it was time to try Finn at the canter. We managed to get
one canter circle going each way on the correct lead. In order to give Finn
freedom in his back I rode all canter work in half seat.
