Another month has passed with more clinics and even my first event for the year!
Lucky for WA, hard worker Sophie Warren and Portland Jones organised our first ‘Super Clinic’ comprising of living legends Andrew McLean and Lucinda Green. I got in quick and nabbed a few lessons – both of which were money very well spent!!
I went to Lucinda, day 1, on Saturday and learnt a lot about how to simulate the ‘disasters’ us event riders often come across. This including things like walking over drums on their side, to get used to being left behind. As well as riding on ‘emergency contact’ that long rein where leaning back is the only way to make a connection, which often happens at a water jump. Having to do a whole show jump round on emergency contact was hysterical! I had a good laugh, with Lucinda yelling at me “that’s great, it’s nice and ugly!” – There was no pretty riding allowed at her clinic!
At the Lucinda clinic where it was all about confidence building, jumping smaller skinnies, whilst still making the rider react and think
Photo: RedFoto
The following day we went out on the cross country course at out State Equestrian Centre. There was a big emphasis on encouraging confidence and learning to make mistakes over smaller fences. I took Felix along and we worked on trying to get him to jump into water a little quieter, whilst keeping confidence. She also worked on riding small bounces, great for him, but even better for me as it is something I can carry across to Murph.
I also dragged Murph along see Andrew McLean. Murph has a serious banner/flapping things/gazebo phobia, after having a couple go flying through his dressage arena in less than desirable weather conditions. So we started talking about this and Andrew asked if I use a whip and I said no that is also another phobia of his. Well this was the root of all the problems.
Andrew worked with Murph on overshadowing his phobia, with me watching intently. His research shows that when horses go into the flight mode no ‘backwards’ muscles are engaged. So by engaging backwards muscles (by asking them to step backwards) you can override the flight response. We did this with Murph, by making him take 3 steps back, 2 steps forwards, 3 steps back continually moving his feet where we want them, all the while rubbing him down with a dressage whip and his favourite scary banner.
In the indoor arena at the State Equestrian Centre with Murph and Andrew
Photo: RedFoto
Another problem he also highlighted to me was how we often reward horses that take a step when our feet move. I am majorly guilty of this, as I do my trot up that way, when my feet trot Murphs trot – only to find out from Andrew how wrong this is. He said, imagine how many times you want them to stand still, and then you move your feet. Like tying them up, we want them to be still while we walk all around them. There are so many examples in handling of horses where this is the case. This actually causes much anxiety to the horse as they don’t know when to move and when not to. So by using his bridle/halter to ask for him to move forward, we can eliminate our feet as the initiator. It was very interesting, something that is very hard for me to retrain in myself! A lot of practice and discipline and I hope soon my stables are a much less confusing place for all my horses!
Felix going cross country at Serpentine
Photo: FastPaced
I also got to the first event of the year – coming home as always with lots to work on. Felix was leading after dressage on a 27! Very happy…he went clear xc, with some time but the fastest round, but then the showjumping came…we had one stop at the first of the double, where the B element was a Swedish oxer, so I think visually it looked a bit confusing to his baby brain. Somehow he ended up with a mountain of time penalties so we finished in 2nd. Still, not a bad result for his first event of the year.
Bradley also went super, scoring a 39 in the dressage, but having a mountain of time XC put him down the placings – a totally different ride for me XC, he is far from the ‘forward-a-holic’ attitude that most ex-racehorses are, so I must remember softer halt halts are required! He finished in 5th.
Next up is a big weekend of Showjumping in Albany – the new Goosenecks first outing all things going well!
Like a butterfly emerging for a cocoon - the new Gooseneck coming out of the sea container.
Photos by Lisa Possingham
