Wow I blinked and the month was over.
May was a crazy month in the Green Horseman household, and I apologize for my disappearance. Chances are with the return of spring that we will continue a sporadic cadence in posts. In the northeastern United States this is the busy season and you “make hay while the sun shines.”
In the past few weeks since my last post (Crashing (out) but Refusing to Burn) I have been remaining focused on my riding goals while also keeping up with my regular job but also ramping up the pace with Wahbee’s Woodworking.
I’m eager to share with you the latest!
When we left off, I had been struggling mentally with my training of Stanley. I took a judge’s comments too hard. I took a bad ride too hard. I allowed myself to become a victim of my own perfectionist mind.
The arena derby was the beginning of our comeback…though I still gave him some time off as I navigated my way through the thoughts and emotions…but also cranking out three sizable orders that I needed to finish on time for a May 17th Delivery. I felt behind so the time off from riding did us both some good.
A few weeks after the derby I decided to take Stanley on a trail ride to the Albany Pine Bush. I brought a friend and her pony who hustled to keep up with Stanley’s walking pace, but we enjoyed a lovely day. Stanley was happy for most of the ride until the end where he began to headshake a bit.
The following day we had a dressage lesson in our jump saddle, I used his Cashel Quiet Ride (My Review Here: The Sunday Review: Cashel Crusader Quiet Ride Fly Mask…and yes I have and still love the same mask after six years!). As we rode Stanley had his short stepping stride, the struggle to get onto the contact, and he was carrying his head high and headshaking a bit. I did my best to ignore it and my trainer taught me that head shakers often struggle with getting on the contact. I also learned that they can be claustrophobic during their flare-ups too. It felt almost a relief to know that the flare-up was to blame for the struggle…so I allowed my reins to slip a little longer. By the end of the lesson Stanley was not headshaking…and his neck had come down into a more relaxed position. He wasn’t on the bit, but he was suppling a little better and it had improved notably since the start of our lesson.
After this discovery and realization, I began riding with a longer rein…and suddenly the headshaking went away…aside from a normal response to a bug or a little sweat. I was able to stop using the quiet ride mask (though I carried it with me just in case).
**I also want to note that I use a supplement to help with the headshaking and I had begun adding it to his feed about 10 days prior to that lesson…so I don’t know if there is a combination of the supplement making a difference WITH the rein length or not but I am very happy with being able to make him comfortable once again.**
The following week Stanley and I had a lesson with an eventing trainer in our area that we’ve been meaning to ride with for years but could never make it happen. For our first lesson with her we rode in the cross-country field at our home barn. I hadn’t jumped since the arena derby and my expectations of what we could do were low…but Stanley left me with a huge smile as he often does.
Not only is jumping his favorite but field rides/XC are his calling. We were able to keep up with the other students in our lesson just fine tackling some tougher technical questions over small starter-sized jumps.
My trainer also agreed that the longer rein length works well for Stanley even in the cross-country field…and she encouraged me to keep the reins longer and widening my hands on the occasion that I needed to shorten up to steady him towards our track.
On the 24th of May I took Stanley back to Larkin Hill for another combined test. The forecast called for rain showers and we got that…or a bit closer to the rain than showers. It didn’t stop the entire time we were there. Having ridden Stanley in the rain before and seeing how offended it made him I went into this show with a better mindset. I expected nothing. I expected it to be an educational opportunity for Stanley to learn how to cope in inclement weather. I expected him to be emotional and offended.
What I got was an ultimate professional who didn’t bat an eyelash at being wet. He did his job with the same calm relaxation that he did at every show we’ve done so far this year. We laid down a relaxed test and earned a 35.3…one of the best scores we’ve gotten. He was so relaxed I had to urge him to stay in canter until we made it to M!
Stanley’s jump round was clean and clear…and as we finished, I heard Margie, the farm owner, wave to me and tell me we did a good job. The second time in a row at her shows that we’ve heard this…and this woman’s praise is not cheap by any means. I have a special place in my memory bank for this.
Regrettably I didn’t take a photo of the final placings for our division to see how many people scratched for the weather…but out of 14 initial entries we took home a third-place ribbon…something I honestly never really expected to see when showing with a respectable sized division.
The following day was lovely, but the ring was still very wet and muddy. We had a lesson again with our eventing trainer in the mud…and it was a valuable opportunity to practice in these conditions. Stanley was remarkable and once again rose to the challenge.
The NEXT day we had another excellent lesson with our dressage trainer. It seems between the headshaking supplement, the exclusive use of the jump saddle, and the longer rein length are keeping this horse happy.
Due to my work schedule Stanley had the next six days off, but Monday morning I loaded him up and took him to the Albany Pine Bush again; this time for a solo ride. This ride was a mission for us to do some conditioning on the trails…which are perfect footing for doing just that. I was hoping that Monday morning left the trails moderately quiet from weekend bustle.
My prediction was correct and we only passed a small handful of folks on the trails. During hour 1 hour 16 minutes ride we covered seven miles. We trotted 14 minutes and cantered for 8…which doesn’t sound that impressive, but Stanley and I were both feeling it.
When we arrived, Stanley set off at a forward walk…he was alert and ready to go but not nervous. I allowed him to settle for about 15 minutes before we had a long trotting warmup where he really found his stride. After a while I legged him into a canter and we did some short bursts.
Midride we found a stretch of trail that was long, wide, straight, and perfectly sandy (but not too deep). It SCREAMED “Come Gallop Here.” We cantered and we were feeling great so I squeezed just a little and gave him permission and together we went up another gear. Not a runaway racing gallop but a powerful forward gallop that had purpose and clarity. He was with me 100% and as I rebalanced us he came right back to me. We ended up getting “lost” and circling around to that stretch again so we enjoyed that gallop twice.
Towards the end of our ride we had one other notable canter as I worked to tackle the uncomfortable feeling of trotting and cantering on uneven terrain. We went down hills, up hills, and around some turns (not blind turns since I didn’t want to run anyone over). I practiced giving him his neck to balance himself as we navigated our way through the terrain and it felt fantastic. I felt stronger, safer, and more confident. He was also feeling pretty confident and he was incredibly happy. During our stretches of walk he willingly grabbed a mouthful of grass and munched while we traversed wooden bridges.
We finished that week with another dressage lesson and another jump lesson. Both lessons were productive and we grew even more. I’m beginning to feel my hips folding better…and my lower leg is beginning to follow better.
I know just as well as anyone that has been in horses long enough that training horses in non-linear and it takes the time that it takes. I would so easily comfort a friend that was going through some struggles like I did in April…yet still beat myself up for the same things. It must be the human condition. For now, I am ecstatic that we were able to get to the other side and find not one but many great rides in the month of May. As we head into June, I am hopeful that we can continue our partnership in the right direction.
The Green Horseman 
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