Shine bright like a diamond

He looks so pimp here.

After working hard in the sandbox this morning .... in a t-shirt ... 60 degrees in Feb?!! OK !!!! .... I decided to reward Hamper by taking him to the jump field. The footing is finally safe to ride on (it's all grass and has been too muddy or just too slick recently).

He was pretty pooped from dressaging but we jumped a vertical and the gymnastics line from the Dorothy lesson. He wasn't as zoomy as usual, but he jumped quietly and was very obedient. I let him open up his canter around the field, too! So fun!! It's so nice to let him canter big and open after all our collected work recently. He seemed to enjoy it but was tired for sure. :)

It's really a shame that this perfect day has to be ruined by my office job.

Boo, hiss.


More Hamper photos ...

Body shot. He's looking a bit more fit. But not in the mood for photos. :)

Snout!!! Oink!

Gorgeous, gorgeous day!

If you play Howrse ...

My name on Howrse is limerancetrace if anyone wants to add me as a friend.

Nose to the grindstone

Nothing super exciting to report at the moment. Although, for winter in the midwest I have been doing really well on the riding front. Still getting in 3-4 rides a week - impressive considering we don't have an indoor.

We have been plugging away at second level. Straightness, strength, collection. Rinse, repeat. Hamper's canter has already made noticable improvement. Here's what else we have been working on:

• Transitions. Many MANY trot - halt - trot transitions. Pretty boring ... until you finally start to feel the results. That happened this week. He will give me 2-3 steps of big, lofty fancy trot. (please note that when I say fancy trot, I do not mean Hampton trots off like Totilas. But yes his very average trot is greatly improved) We also do trot-walk-trot. And trot - almost walk - just kidding TROT. Oh and canter - walk - canter. These have really started to improve. I just have to be careful that he does not shut down and just stop, but canter and then step into a forward walk. Lots of transitions within the gaits, too. Boring work, but vital.
• Leg yields. A straight neck = more engagement. We have the dramatic crossover (Hampton is good at it), but he needs to be a touch more responsive to my leg. Leg yield zig-zags have helped. We do a lot of leg yielding from the wall to the other side of the arena - that gives me the entire arena to do zig zags, or the "step ladder" excercise in which you leg yield - go straight - leg yield again. Also throwing in some leg yielding at the canter, too.
• Shoulder-in. Upping the difficulty a bit here. We have been doing shoulder-in at the trot, walk (keep the shoulder-in) and then back to the trot. Hampton will really step underneath himself here. Plus - more transitions! Yay! Shoulder-in at the canter really helps straighten him. Sometimes I throw in ranvers or travers to mix up the lateral work.
• Counter canter. This has been the key to improving Hampton's canter. It truly has taken his canter from a lovely First Level type canter, to a Second Level canter. Sometimes I just counter canter 'round and round' - asking him to flex his neck to both sides, but really asking for straightness. Sometimes I do serpentines. Sometimes we do true canter - walk - counter canter - walk and back to true canter (I think this is in Second Level Test 3).
• Half steps. Apparently this makes perfect sense to Hampton. I would have never predicted that from him. Maybe it's the in-hand work I have done with him - but admittedly I don't know what I'm doing there. His half steps are pretty good. I really have to resist the temptation to bounce on the spot for an entire 45 minutes. It is SO fun! I do a million trot-halt-trot off transitions and then for halt steps I half halt, lift my hands, slide my legs back a bit and cluck softly and Hampton goes "Boing? ok!!" Makes perfect sense to him! Whowouldathunkit? Even my instructor was impressed. I like messing with half steps because it helps bring his poll up.
• Super collected canter. Hampton has had a near gear installed. He has Working canter, collected canter and now super collected canter. He can maintain this for maybe 3 or 4 strides before he either breaks or gets pissy about it. It's not really fair to ask more of that from him at this point anyway. BUT it's in there. I play with that only a few times a week at this point because I don't want  him to stress out every time we canter.

So we have been working hard. There is a small schooling show at the end of Feb. that we may go to (depends if we can get a ride). It's maybe 3 miles away. If we do make it, I plan on doing First 1 and First 3. They do offer an adult lead-line class in which The Boy really wants to show Hampton. He is really excited about it and I think that is because he has no idea what he is in for. He keeps asking if he can wear a costume. I think he will provide entertainment for the horse show crowd if nothing else.

Positive vs. negative reinforcement

Teaching half-steps/piaffe in hand uses both negative
and positive reinforcement (via sugar cubes).

Quiz

How do horses learn?

A)  Positive reinforcement
B) Negative reinforcement


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ok, so I suppose the answer is C) BOTH. :)

Anyway, the point is that many people really do not understand what negative reinforcement is. It is crucial to horse training as horses learn extraordinarily well via negative reinforcement. I think the term is misunderstood. Since positive reinforcement involves "reward," then negative reinforcement must involve punishment. That is just simply not true.

Here is a basic definition:

Negative reinforcement occurs when something already present is removed (taken away) as a result of a person's behaviour, creating a favourable outcome for that person.

When you put your leg on your horse - asking him to trot perhaps, and he trots off, you take the leg pressure away. THAT is negative reinforcement. When you halter break a baby, you give a slight tug on the lead. He learns if he gives to the pressure and steps forward, the annoying pressure goes away. Negative reinforcement.

Maybe your husband or boyfriend snores at night. You cannot sleep so you put earplugs in. The annoying snoring stops. Don't you think you would be more likely to use earplugs again? That is also negative reinforcement. The behavior of inserting earplugs got rid of something unpleasant for you (your hubby's obnoxious snoring).

NR (Negative reinforcement) is not punishment. It is not mean or cruel. It is simply a principle of behavior. A PUNISHMENT would occur if the outcome was NOT favorable for the person (or horse). Also, NR is not when someone engages in bad behaviour and gets something from it. If your rotten little kid throws a tantrum at the mall, and you give him a candy bar to shut him up - that is not negative reinforcement. That is actually POSITIVE reinforcement for the little brat.

Here is an example I see A LOT with inexperienced riders. Say you come in to the middle of the ring to stand and chat with a friend or something. You halt, but don't release any contact on the reins as you are standing there (maybe you are nervous your horse will spook). Your horse is standing quietly but wondering why there is still pressure in his mouth. His starts to toss his head, or root. You release the pressure on the reins because you don't want your arms to be ripped out. You have just rewarded your horse's head tossing or rooting via negative reinforcement. Great job, you have taught your horse to root!

Often, positive and negative reinforcement occur at the same time. Which I why I believe horses learn from both principles. We all have horses who will do just about anything for a treat. (eh-hem - Hampton!). That is positive reinforcement. In horse training, I believe you really have to use both principles. Infact, that probably applies just about everywhere: raising kids, managing employees, etc. etc.

What do you think?

It's not me, it's you.

I miss summer.

Last week I fell victim to the Flu. I cannot even remember the last time I had it but holy cow it took me down. It lasted a good 6 days. Today I was able to clean stalls and not feel like I was going to collapse! Yay! Still have a gross cough but I can deal with that.

Meanwhile, I made J - my instuctor - ride Hampton while I sat on the mounting block and coughed on Saturday. I was just as impressed with her riding as I am with her teaching. Hampton was not that impressed, however. He threw all his tricks at her to try to get out of work. There was a lot of kicking out at the leg and pig-rooting. Bad pony! But there were some nice moments in there. I may have her ride him once a month. It's good for him.

... but unfortunately, having a beginner ride him once a month is NOT good for him. He is not dangerous, but I should have known better. He is not comfirmed enough in his training to throw a beginner on him twice a week. He has developed a few bad habits as a result and his training has suffered a setback. It will all come back, it's not like he is ruined, but I have had a nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach for a while about this lease situation and I am so glad it's over. Yes I did "break up" with this person and there was no drama. But boy do I feel better. She had texted me once about how he was "running into the railroad ties around the arena." This did not sit well with me. Our arena has railroad tie things around the edges. He was running into them because SHE WAS NOT BOTHERING TO STEER HIM. I gritted my teeth at that but I should have stopped it there. Two weeks ago she casually mentioned that she has draw reins "just sitting in her car" and maybe she could use them with him? .... yeah I kept my cool, but barely.

(my stance on draw reins is that they are mostly not needed ... are downright dangerous in uneducated hands ... and create more problems than they solve. However, I do believe there are some circumstances where they may be appropriate. Hampton is NOT one of them.)

Just not a good match. I am not the perfect rider by any means but he needs someone with independent seat and hands until he is a wise old schoolmaster. I might sound snobby, selfish and bitchy but I feel so much better now that he is not being leased anymore.

This week's schedule: Work on collection. Collection. Collection. Straightness. Straightness. Use the outside aids until I am blue in the face.

Dressage, grids, random news.

On Saturday we had a dressage lesson with my now regular dressage instructor down here. We worked a lot on collected canter and the canter-walk transition. Our transitions were OK, but I wasn't collecting him nearly enough. J had me really challenge the Hamper until he offered me a TRULY uphill, bouncy canter. It required some grunting (mostly from me). It was a breakthrough for both of us to be honest. Now I know he is capable of it. We also did some shoulder-in and leg yield work - working on that connection to the right rein. We had some bobbles, but also some really nice leg yields all the way across the arena. I was super proud of the beast.

On Sunday our "reward" was another lesson with Dorothy Crowell. :) She started us off doing some flat work. I really like Dorothy because she has such a different approach to things. I really like taking new tools from different instructors and finding what works for me. Dorothy had me really turn my chest to the inside - so that my "headlights" (or boobs, but I don't have anything close to an impressive rack so ...) ...were almost facing Dorothy who was at the center of the circle.

She also nailed me for using my left hand way too much (*guilty here*) and had me raise my left hand obnoxiously high in the air so I could not use it. It was more difficult than it sounds but I started to figure it out. haha.


I cranked my stirrups up for Dorothy's lesson. My thighs BURNED.

 We moved on to a line of THE MOST FUN GYMNASTICS EVER. Basically, it was a bounce, two strides (with 2 placing poles) to a jump, 2 strides (with 2 placing poles) to a bounce. So Hampton had to pick his way through this. He figured it out immediately and his cute face just lit up when we approached this exercise. He absolutely loved it and I felt him "lock on" and pull me to the first bounce every time.

Almost too cute to handle.

I was doing a little better about NOT jumping ahead but I realize that a big part of the problem was that I still grip with my knees. (Damn you saddleseat land!!). This causes my lower leg to slide back. So .... perhaps some no stirrup work for me. Or like Dorothy said, "pretend you are at the gynocologist." ... hahaha she is my kind of lady. But despite my mediocre riding, Hampton jumping like a BOSS. I think I may hit up some little hunter shows this summer as he is getting to be quite sylish!

Call George Morris?

ME: "Dammit why do I always jump ahead."
HAMPTON: "Did you see me jump like a badass?"

So a super fun weekend with my poneh! :) I'm a lucky girl.

In other news:
I think I found the reason why Hampton had a little spell of misbehavior (the rearing episode) and I just had a sense that he was "agitated." He wasn't being bad, but when you know a horse really well you can just tell when they are not 100% right. Also, Hamps had developed a habit of jerking his right hind up when I was tacking him up. At first I thought maybe it was his stifle of hock bothering him, but then I realized it occured at the exact moment I went to tighten the girth. He has been on Ulcer Guard pellets for 2 weeks now and that behavior has vanished. He is also back to his normal relaxed, peaceful self. (see above photo, haha). Glad I caught it early before he started to act out further. He probably got a little stressed from moving to a stall which changed up his routine. He is otherwise happy, wolfing down his food and drinking lots. His weight looks fantastic.

Also ... I have decided I no longer want to lease him out. For a couple of reasons, but none of them are a super big deal. How do I break this news to his leaser? She is a very nice person but it's just not a good match and in about a month we need to start getting into "competition mode" as far as schooling goes. I don't want to confuse him with 2 riders at this point. I don't want to hurt her feelings so I'm not sure how to break it to her? Advice appreciated.

Well hey good job if you read all of this!

(WAY) Back in the Day ... Bar

This is another installment of the Horses of my Life series in which I feature those special creatures who have taught me the most. The previous blogs are listed in my sidebar.

Bar

For Christmas this year, my mother gave me one of the best gifts ever. She took a bunch of old VHS tapes of me riding and compiled them onto 1 DVD. It is funny. It is scary. Some moments gave me goosebumps. An all-around super awesome gift.

I think my favorite is the footage she found of me riding Bar. (circa 1992 ... I was 12)

Adjusting my stirrup.

Bar was an old-style type Quarter Horse, about as wide as he was tall. I believe he was a barrel racer and pony horse on the track before he landed as a school horse in Indiana.

He was "the most difficult horse to ride in the barn" according to Mrs. K. If you were assigned to ride Bar, it truly meant you had graduated to "advanced rider" status around Kaufman Stables! He was very sensitive, and was nicknamed "The Tank" for obvious reasons and also because he was known to just run straight through fences. I never experienced or saw that, but that was the legend. lol. If you could even get Bar to walk, you might as well have Horse Whisperer status. Looking back now, I see that he was just overfed and underworked, but whatevs.

Anyway, the first time I rode Bar I fell instantly in love. He was, in fact, the easiest horse to ride in the barn because you did not have to do anything but sit there and chill out!

He was my favorite right away. He is perhaps the reason I have fallen for a number of big bay geldings in my life.

Bar taught me a very important lesson in horsemanship, and that is how to "sit chilly." Some people never really get this aspect of learning feel and how to sit "in" the horse and not "on" him. Bar taught me how to relax and wait ... to sit with him and bring the energy down a notch.

Seems my jumping form was better when I was 12 than at 33.

He was pretty fun to jump, too, although at 12 years old ... (if you think I am scrawny now, take a look at 12-year-old Karen. Good grief) ... I basically had no hope of trotting to a jump. Bar wanted to canter and I let him. No use fighting. He enjoyed jumping so much that he tried to buck me off a couple of times during that lesson!

I didn't know "Oh shit" when I was 12, but if I did, I would be saying that
here when Bar's head vanished and he wanted to buck.

Enjoy this short little clip from the lesson video. As you can see, Bar only had 1 speed and that was Mach 10. Also, I did not grow up riding at a fancy lesson barn. We learned much like this - in a group, horses and people flailing around for a while. My hair is smashed and escaping from my helmet (which I doubt was even approved), and I love the stone wash jeans and untucked shirt. But Mrs. K was pretty strict about safety and there is something to be said about learning to ride like this.

And thanks to the DVD my mum gave me, I have plenty more where this came from. :)