All along in our dressage adventures I’ve always felt that the majority of Henry’s shortcomings are a reflection of my own. And in a way – they are. Of course they are. But he did come with plenty of baggage himself, and I’ve tried like hell along the way to do what I’ve felt is best for him and his brain and his future, to the best of my ability. Lately in particular I’ve felt like there are a couple things that Henry has been juuuuuuust on the edge of grasping, but I’m not quite educated enough to really help him make that last little step. I asked Dressage Trainer to ride him this week so I could watch and see how he handled certain things, and so Henry could be helped a little bit more. This is a first for us, so I really wasn’t sure how it would go. On one hand you’re like “maybe this’ll be the magic bullet” but then you’re like “Oh crap, that would mean I really do suck.”. And then if you’re like me you curl up in fetal position and chant “Dressage is too hard” over and over again. But back to the trainer ride…

So Trainer hopped aboard and got to warming up. Henry did pretty much the exact same things for him as he does for me. First thought “Oh thank god, I’m not totally retarded”. Second thought “Well this means we still have a ways to go”. Henry isn’t bad. He’s never ever bad. But he’s tense, he’s an overachiever, he’s very sensitive, and he comes undone pretty easily if he feels trapped or confused. He’s very simple to ride, but he requires a lot of tact and precision. The mental baggage from his past shows through a lot in the tension. It was awesome to watch this happen with Trainer so that I could see what he did to work through it, and be able to see the exact moments of change in Henry. Feeling it is one thing, seeing it is yet another level of education.

Of course Trainer said he liked him and he was a talented horse and he thought I’d done a good job getting him to this point, etc, which were nice things to hear. It’s easy to get so bogged down in progress that you forget where you started and how far you’ve come. A year ago this horse was in a hackamore because a bit sent him straight nose-to-chest and made him very nervous. I have to give him a lot of credit for that, and need to do a better job of keeping our journey in mind. He tries hard, his canter is lovely, and he has definite moments of brilliance.

Trainer got more true shoulder in and shoulder fore work than I am able to get – I can tell I’m doing too much with my reins there. He also got better trot-canter transitions than I do. I suspected those two faults had a lot to do with me and I think this confirms it. Something else to work on. Otherwise I think, and Trainer seemed to agree, that we’re on the right track but he’s just gonna take time. We’ve got to get him to relax more and connect better and really give his back and his ribcage – he’s still protecting himself and hesitant, and who can really blame him. He’ll get there one step at a time. It’s a lot harder to undo and redo than it would have been to start from scratch in the first place.

I do however feel more confident that I’m doing the right things, and that eventually I will have a pretty nice horse when we get through all that. For now I’m happy with where we’re at and know that we’ve just gotta keep chipping away. Trainer ride: success!

Jen’s post yesterday about snakes reminded me that I haven’t yet told the story of Rattlesnakepocalypse 2015 to the readers here. Maybe because just thinking about it makes me shudder and triggers severe PTSD. I should start off by saying that in the 19 years I have lived in Texas, I’ve seen ONE rattlesnake. ONE. And that was a few years ago. Granted, I saw it only because after it bit my lease horse Kai on the nose, the grooms went and found it and killed it.

We know the snakes are there, but we basically never see them. It’s really rare to find them near any place with regular activity (like a barn) and if you do stumble upon one, they tend to want to get the hell out of dodge just as much as you do.

This year however… this is the end of times. Pretty sure the Bible was wrong about the plague of locusts, it’s a plague of rattlers. First the Barn Owner found this little guy in the garage

Which – ok, the garage, I can give him that. It’s pretty quiet in there and he might have found something to eat.

But then one showed up at the barn. This is ultra strange because #1 – there’s a lot of horse and people activity. #2 There’s cats. #3 I have never seen a rodent or even a hint of a rodent in that barn. They stay out in the fields in their own little world and we never see them. WHY ARE YOU HERE, SNAKE?

This guy was BIG. Not as big as I’ve seen online, but BIG when you’re standing there staring at it. He was slowly making his way up the back of the stalls behind the barn when we found him. Brandy and I tried to kill him with a shovel but he managed to wedge himself into a small space so instead we just babysat him until the BO could get down there and kill him. And when I say Brandy and I tried to kill him with a shovel, I mean Brandy tried to kill him with a shovel while I ran backwards at a high rate of speed. And when I say we babysat him I mean Brandy watched him while I said “HE DIDN’T MOVE, DID HE? IS HE STILL THERE?”.

This is Brandy: “Wow he’s so interesting looking. Wow it’s so LOUD. Wow I’ve never seen one before!”

This is me: DIS BITCH AIN’T GONNA DIE TODAY

And then, a few days later, the BO almost stepped on one just hanging out in the barn aisle when she went down to do night check.

A neighbor a mile or so down the road found a little one on their driveway, so it’s not just us.

That was bad enough right? Snakes in the barn. Snakes near the horses. Snakes everywhere. But wait, it gets worse. A few days later Dressage Trainer, whose barn is about 10 minutes away, sent this picture of a visitor he found in his barn bathroom.

Yes that’s the shower. Yes that’s a giant freaking rattlesnake wrapped around the shower curtain rod.

My most sane and logical response to this picture was pretty much that we should just burn down the entire place. That’s the only reasonable thing I can think of.

Then I decided I’m not safe inside OR outside and now I’ve got this new habit of checking around the toilet for snakes. And the shower. And the bed. And the closet. And my tack trunk. And my car. And basically everywhere I go or think about going. Yes I live in the city and the snakes seem to prefer the country. Don’t care. They could be anywhere. Rattlesnakepocalypse 2015, y’all.

If anyone needs me I’ll be moving to Canada.

Brandy and I audited an afternoon of the Charles de Kunffy clinic at our dressage trainer’s farm this past weekend. Our trainer works pretty regularly with Charles and has a lot of the same teaching philosophies and style. Honestly, my brain was total mush by the end of the 3 hours, that’s about as much dressage as my brain can process at a time. I jotted down notes as Charles talked – mostly things that I thought would be helpful to me, but also just general wisdom as well. Hopefully others can find something useful in here too!

– “You can’t do anything without trust – the horse has to want to work for you.”

– Adjustability, adjustability, adjustability. He said that word about 1000 times, along with suppleness.

– He is not a fan of the dressage training pyramid.

– “Shoulder in strengthens the hocks, haunches in strengthens the stifle, half pass strengthens the hips.”

– “What you can’t accomplish in a 30 minute ride is for tomorrow.” Anything more than 30-45 minutes is mentally taxing, and continuing to work after the horse has given you good work is punishment.

– Lots of walk and stretching breaks for body and mind.

– Constantly change the length of the neck, the tempo, and the length of stride throughout the ride. This creates a supple, adjustable horse.

– For a horse that tends to travel with it’s haunches in when going “straight”, the inside rein is too strong.

– To help improve the connection through the topline, give alternate reins for 4 strides at a time (give left rein 4 strides, then right rein 4 strides, etc). When you give the rein it raises the ligament in the back. This exercise worked really well.

– Inside seatbone down into the canter, outside leg back, keep the toe in, “scuff” the horse with the leg.

– The rider has to advance as much as the horse. The rider should constantly be seeking education.

Charles de Kuffny clinic from amanda chance on Vimeo.

– “There are 3 evasions of a horse: crookedness, inversion, and speed.”

– “Speed is the enemy of impulsion.”

– To help improve the seat, he suggested riding sometimes with the shoulders behind the vertical to help build abdominal strength and feel how the ab muscles should engage. This strength is what helps create a good vertical position.

– To fix overflexion: slow down 3 strides, drop the contact, double the inside leg drive and then go forward again.

– “The horse is where his tail is, not where his head is.”

– Jigging in the walk is a rider problem caused by unclear aids and rider tension.

– To help learn to drive with the seat, he had one woman alternately rock her shoulders (NOT hands) back – left, right, left right – which put her more into her seat aids. This actually really worked to get the horse forward from the seat and the rider sitting more “in” the horse.

– “By perfecting the rider, we perfect the horse.”

– A rider with a good seat in sitting trot is much lighter for the horse than a rider with a bad seat in rising trot.

– He really hated a toe out leg position because of what it does to the rider’s pelvis. See video below (hopefully you can hear his explanation, but if not you can see what he means).

Charles de Kunffy from amanda chance on Vimeo.

Overall he was big on position (leg, seat, body, and elbow in particular were very common themes), having a good effective seat, and rewarding the horse through walk and stretch breaks. He wanted to see a leg that draped on the horse’s sides, with the toe behind the knee, seat IN the horse, and an elbow that hung by the rider’s side. He is not a fan of heavy contact and never wants to see a horse behind the vertical.

Whether you are a fan of Classical Dressage or not, I feel like there was a lot to be learned from Charles. He seemed like a true horseman first and foremost, with a lot of compassion for the horse and for rider education. The horses and riders that I saw come into the ring all improved under his tutelage. I really agree with him in that a horse is truly a reflection of how it’s ridden, and we as riders must always ask ourselves what we can do better in order to get better results. I was inspired enough by his philosophy to come home and buy his books “The Ethics and Passions of Dressage” and “Training Strategies for Dressage Riders”. We’ll see what I think about those!

Many of you may remember that Henry’s condition (or lack thereof) was the major factor in leaving our previous barn. He lost a lot of weight in the fall, to the point where you could easily see all his ribs and his hip bones. I treated him for ulcers and moved him to a new barn where he gets significantly more hay. About a month ago I switched his feed from Safe Choice to Triple Crown Complete.

This is what he looked like in January. When the vet took his coggins he said he’d put him around a 3.5 on the Henneke scale. Embarrassing.

This is mid February, shortly after the barn move.

He filled out a little bit in those first couple months, but at a certain point he just seemed to plateau, so I switched to TC Complete. This is about a week into the TC. His body had filled out a little and the ribs were covered slightly more but still easily visible.

And now here he is after about a month on the TC Complete. Most of his ribs are well covered although the last couple are still slightly visible in the light. His hips have filled out a lot and his neck is looking more normal.

You can still see a hint of a rib, more so when he’s in motion than standing in the barn, but not much. I think he’s finally pretty close to ideal weight again, I’d put him at a solid 5 on the Henneke scale now. His neck and butt are coming back too, and he has the look of healthy weight, not a pot belly.

I’ve been really happy with the TC Complete. It’s a little bit pricey (about $25/bag after tax) but the quality is great and it’s supposed to be very good for ulcer prone horses due to the fact that it’s beet pulp (forage) based. Henry has shown no change in his general demeanor, even on the 8lbs/day amount. Soon we should be able to start backing down to more like 5-6lbs a day for maintenance. I’ve been pretty impressed with how quickly it’s helped bring the condition back, plus his coat looks great! Between good feed and plenty of hay he’s bounced back pretty well.

I’ve revamped several items in my collection lately, clearing out old things and adding new. I’m not totally ready for full reviews on anything yet, since I haven’t worn/used them a whole lot and don’t have much media. I’ve had a lot of people ask about a few items though, so I figured I’d offer my initial impressions. For now I’ll touch on the Equiline Alice coat, the Pikeur Lucinda Grip breeches, the Asmar Equestrian polo, the La Valencio Chelsea breeches, and the PS of Sweden Olympic Revolution.

Equiline Alice show coat

I hope you’re prepared for some major gushing, because this might be my new favorite clothing item. I stumbled upon this coat when I was browsing through Calevo, looking for anything I “needed” so I could take advantage of the dollar and euro being almost equal. Admittedly I bought the coat because it’s navy with golden yellow piping (although it does come in black as well) and those are my colors. Plus it was on sale so after you take off VAT I only paid about $150 USD for it.

From the stock photo it looked a little boxy and maybe a little thick, so I wasn’t expecting to be wowed. But when I opened the box, pulled that thing out, and tried it on – I was more than wowed. The fabric is the perfect weight, the color is amazing, and it fits like it was tailor made for me. The fabric has lots of stretch but still has enough structure to be flattering to less than perfect body types and there are lots of great little details. I’ve worn it once, this past weekend at our event, and I absolutely loved it. New favorite coat ever, especially for only $150. We’ll see how it washes up and wears over time.

Pikeur Lucinda Grip breeches

These were another Calevo purchase, taking advantage of the euro/dollar exchange. I wanted a pair of sticky butt, but not TOO sticky butt, breeches for cross country. The truffle color looked pretty good online, and they were a good deal ($150 from Calevo – they’re $300 at Dover) so I decided to try them.

Sadly, I forgot to be real with myself about how much I hate fabric with a high cotton content. It’s almost identical to Tailored Sportsman fabric, which I don’t particularly like and don’t find super comfortable or flattering. The fit is pretty perfect but the color is darker than it looked online, closer to chocolate. I do really love the grippy butt – it’s just a little grippy, not “omg I’m stuck” type of grippy. If these were made from Animo or Aztec Diamond fabric I would love them, but they aren’t and I don’t. I’ll be selling them.

Asmar Equestrian Polo

I’ve always really liked the wide range of colors in the Asmar Polos, but I had never seen one in person until AETA. On the hanger it was just a regular looking polo shirt, but the rep urged me to go try it on and I’m glad she did. The fit is perfect, the cut is amazing, the fabric is high end, and I absolutely love it. I got a Marigold one from Luxe EQ to wear for XC, although I’ve worn it for some lessons as well. The sleeves are the perfect length and the collar is cut perfectly as well – it isn’t too tall, it isn’t too floppy, it doesn’t curl, it’s just right. The body length is great for me too – long enough to stay tucked if I tuck it in, but not so long that I have to tuck it in.

At $80 retail these are a little pricey for a polo, I will admit. Normally I’m the $10 Old Navy or $25 RL on clearance kind of girl, but the fabric is what takes these to the next level. I usually don’t get a whole lot of wear out of those cotton polos before they start looking faded or grungy or get stretched out, but so far this one washes up looking brand new. Big bonus that the fabric is anti-microbial, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and UPF 50. They’re MEANT to be sweated in and worn for sport. The funky smells and stains easily just wash right out. I think if you want a nice polo that is lesson or clinic or show appropriate, very comfortable, and will last a long time, these are a good option.

La Valencio Chelsea breeches

These were another European purchase brought on by the euro/dollar exchange, but this time from Divoza. I have decided that my Devoucoux calfskin dressage saddle is quite sticky enough without adding full seats to the equation, so I wanted some regular knee patch whites. Sadly (very sadly) Aztec Diamond was out of white in my size so I decided to try these from Divoza on a whim instead, since they’re styled pretty similarly to ADE and Animo.

I really like the design – they have a little bit of fun pocket decoration but not too much, and the silicone knee patches, euro seat, sock bottom features that I prefer. The fabric is definitely not to my preference as much as the ADE or Animo fabric, this is a little bit thicker and stiffer – again a higher cotton content than I prefer. They fit well though and for white breeches they’re flattering. If ADE still doesn’t have white in my size when I place my next order from them, I’ll just keep these since I wear white so very rarely. If I can get ADE then these will go. Still, for only about $80 these are a good buy and definitely worth a look, especially if you find that Equine Couture or Pipers are gappy in the waist for you. I think they’re comparable to those two brands but better for me with the fit. They also come in gray and navy.

PS of Sweden Olympic Revolution

There’s not a lot to say about PS that I haven’t said already a thousand times, but this might be my new favorite model of theirs. I love the simplicity of the Olympic – classic look but with a modern design. This is also my first item from PS with the new upgraded leather and it’s really beautiful. If you’re a fan of top of the line English leather, you’ll love it. It takes a little longer to break in than French or American leather, and you can’t treat it the same way (put the oil down), but once it softens up it’s really rugged and stays beautiful forever. I will say that this cob size runs a good bit smaller than either of my other two cobs from PS, and it barely fits Henry, so if you’re borderline I would opt for the next size up.

I also got the Go Sweden browband (exactly my colors! And no it was not intentional that my colors are also the colors of Sweden, but it works out) and I’m quite happy with that as well. I’ve typically never been a big fan of blingy or colorful browbands but this is my second one from them and I really like them both.

Eventually I’ll do full reviews of everything I’m keeping, once I get a better idea of how they’re going to work out long term.