Western Pony Meets Western Trainer

I'm casually hunting for the perfect western saddle for us. By casually, I mean I don't really have the money for it right now, but I'm exploring options and price ranges and trying to learn a little about brands and types and models. You know. The usual obsessiveness.

Last winter when we were playing western pony, I noticed that Izzy was very flat at the canter. I wasn't sure if it meant that her saddle was wrong or her balance was off, but it was probably also related to her teeth being all wonky. Anyways, I wanted to see her canter in that saddle today to see if correct teeth had changed anything. I finally finagled Terri, the western trainer, into riding her for a few minutes to see how things went.

Western pony! Izzy ambled around, lazy as could be.

Trotting! Despite how good they look in this picture, Izzy had a head flipping cow. I did not expect that, especially since Terri wasn't picking up much contact or really even asking her to do anything. I've seen Izzy do that under various circumstances, but my perspective was always from the saddle, so I could feel how to address the issue. I'm not familiar with this whole watching thing.

She was cranky, unfocused, and unwilling to be forward at that point, and neither Terri nor I wanted anyone to get hurt. Instead of trying to push her through it and see if she would make good on her threats, we came up with a new plan of attack.

Round pen! Ms. Mare didn't know what hit her. She got all gussied up and had to lunge like a western pony and pay attention. When she finally got the hang of that, the next stage began.

OMG long lining!! Yeah... basically, Terri wanted Izzy to work through her issues on the ground. Izzy was actually a really good girl for the most part. She learned not to ignore Terri and run through her aids and only had one mini meltdown. It was good to watch. Although Terri's style is a bit different than mine, she's very clear with pressure and release, so Izzy figured it out quickly.

All in all, it went well. I think it was good for Izzy and I was glad Terri was willing to work with her.

That said... I think part of the problem is that for 2.5 years, I was pretty much the only one who ever did anything with Izzy. Thus, she learned everything my way. There's nothing wrong with that, but everyone does things differently. Having so many different people work with her is probably good for her in the long run, but it also frustrates her. There isn't a lot of day to day consistency because it's always something new. She's doing well with S now that they're getting used to each other, but even that took time.

Poor mare. 13 more days til I can ride.

Alternatives

I was willing to give the studdy geldings one more go, I told myself. I'll go out and get Izzy, but if I have anything close to the drama I had last time, I'm just done. I'm not even putting her back out there.

It was Monday afternoon. I'm always alone at the barn, especially on Mondays.

As soon as I had sturdy boots and a helmet on, I picked up Izzy's rope halter, my lunge whip, and a couple of treats. Not taking chances here. As I walked over to the pasture, studdy gelding #1 who thinks Izzy is his soul mate, was taken out by his owner.

Nuts. I am totally done with this guessing game and I am not going to wait out another day, wondering if I'm dodging serious injury just to get my horse out for a ride. I put everything down and go clean stalls while I wait for studdy gelding #1 to return.

Literally as I take the last wheelbarrow out of the barn, studdy gelding #2's owner shows up. All I can think is wtf? These people never come, and now they're both here when I least want them? Oh, and they wanted to be chatty. I was -not- in the mood. Hey, if their stupid geldings can be hormonal, so can I. Leave me alone, people who have horrible horses.

Oh well... both geldings are out, so I just go and retrieve my pony, sans whip and helmet. She's just quietly waiting--no crazy meltdown because the studdy stud studs are gone.

This is funny, because they are both having huge fits, screaming, acting up, being dumb. Like 5 minutes after I took Izzy out, studdy gelding #2 was returned to the pasture because his owner didn't want to deal with his fit. Yep, great training guys. Any thoughts on why studdy gelding #2 is so awful?

I hand walked Izzy for a while so we could just hang out, then tacked up and went to the outdoor, which is directly across the road from the drama pasture. Studdy gelding #1 was back by now, so he proceeded to scream and run the fence. Fortunately, Izzy mostly ignored him, and I actually had a decent ride, though I did work her into a lather... We stopped to visit with Teri, our western trainer, and discussed the studdy stud studs. She agreed with me that it was a really bad situation and recommended some alternatives to talk over with the BO.

Long story short: Izzy is moving to a smaller private pasture today. It has certain drawbacks, but at least we'll both be away from the awfulness that is geldings.

Success story: I hosed Izzy off after our ride. She stood still and didn't have a meltdown. YAY!!!

First Western Lesson!

That's right, Izzy and I had lessons on two consecutive days. I feel like one of those cool rich people who can have more than one or two lessons a month, except I didn't pay for either of them. (Cathy is letting me use up residual credit with lessons and Teri doesn't charge for lessons).

This was our first ever western lesson. Heck, it was my first ever western lesson. The truth is, whoever put 30 days on Izzy before I got her probably rode her in a western saddle, so Izzy probably has a better understanding of what's going on then I do. Then again, she probably doesn't really remember it.

We actually did very little riding and a lot of talking about theory--specifically, the biomechanics of how a horse moves and how it effects the rider, which leads to how the rider can be most effective with the horse. I felt a bit overwhelmed by the volume of information, but I did better when we moved to applying it. Oh, how to summarize... I'll just highlight the main points that I plan on continuing to practice until our next lesson.

1) Halt. This is important. (Der... for most of you, I'm sure.) In order to achieve a quality halt, we need to focus on preparation--set the horse up to succeed. It is a 3 beat count. One, prepare your body, two, say "whoa", three enforce with the reins only if necessary. I think I have the sequence right. In order to allow the horse to lift her back and use her back end properly, I am to put my weight into my stirrups instead of my seat.

2) Back. This is an important step following the halt. There is a pause in between, as the horse must only back when asked. In order to ask for the back, push your weight into your stirrups and move your legs in rhythm with the horse. I need to understand and influence which legs she moves. Thus, if I want her to back starting with her right front, I need to lift my right rein, while pushing my weight into my stirrups and using my right leg. Then left leg for left front, and so on. On one level this made sense and I like understanding which leg the horse will use and being able to influence that, but it's different than what I've learned before (close the leg to engage the haunches, close the rein to block forward motion, allow backward motion).

Izzy had no problem with it. We're still ironing out my aids as far as selecting which leg she starts on, but when I do it right, she responds correctly. So. Weird. I'm barely grasping the concepts, and she's like, "Ok, now what?"

3) Jog. I was glad we spent some time on this, because it's been a struggle for us. I had been asking Izzy to jog directly out of the walk, which she would do for a little while, but then fall forward and either run on the forehand or break to walk, both of which are non-desirable. Teri explained that I basically want a slow collected trot (also not our forte). In order to get it, I take Izzy out on a loose rein (encouraging the long and low outline) in working trot. I am posting. Then, I sit and half halt, bringing her back to a collected trot. Right now, I also need to shorten my reins. We hold the shortened trot for a few strides (<5), then I give her the reins and we trot on, continuing long and low.

It worked so incredibly well. We had some of our best work ever, and Izzy only broke to a walk once. It makes so much more sense... slow collected work, then forward as a reward. Plus, it keeps Izzy thinking forward and should alleviate our stickiness problem. It only took a few circles for her to get the idea, and then she was fabulous.

Overall, Izzy was really good, though she did get bored of the standing and learning part of the lesson. It's good for her, right?

The only bobble we had was when a couple at the barn (who are very nice) brought their horses out in the indoor. They are Clinton Anderson followers, so I guess they were doing Clinton Anderson stuff. I don't know; I don't keep up with all that. Anyways. One of the horses got popped with a whip a couple of times (I wasn't watching, but it didn't seem excessive). The horse reacted rather strongly. Izzy and Panache (who Teri was riding) both got pretty worried and acted a little silly, but we kept things under control and they settled down quickly. Fun times.

A New Adventure!

One of the ladies at the new barn used to be a western trainer, specializing in pleasure and reining. I've been teasing about Izzy under western tack, and she took me up on it. So adorable!

We started out with another bareback/bitless ride in the indoor, in which we primarily worked on mounting. Izzy does NOT like that part, I think because it's so different from what she's used to. She was getting a little better (and I was getting better at not surprising her), so we rode around the indoor.

That's when Terry came in and I mentioned how adorable Izzy looked with her western sidepull on. She said she had a saddle that would probably fit her, and off we tramped to the other barn to find it. It fit quite well, I think. I don't know a lot about fitting western saddles, but Terry said it looked good and Izzy did not object. We are going to try a different pad next time, though.

Izzy celebrates the lack of a 'real' bridle.

I just rode around the round pen both directions and did w/t/c. Haha, maybe I mean walk/jog/lope. ;-) I laughed pretty much the entire time because it all felt so weird and Izzy knew I didn't have much control so she pretty much just went where she wanted to.

I have not even sat in a western saddle since I was about 8 years old, so the whole thing felt really weird. I spend most of my time lately either bareback or in a treeless dressage saddle, both of which allow a really good 'feel' of Izzy's back. The western saddle puts me up off her a bit and the stirrup leather (fender?) even keeps my leg from laying on her side. It's very different.

Here's Izzy when we first put it on her. I was letting her wander the round pen with it on and she just looked goofy.

We should have more western adventures coming up--the footing in the indoor is not conducive to serious dressage work and I want to keep Izzy moving. Plus, Terry offered to give us lessons. How fun would that be!!

I've always been a teensy bit embarrassed that I live in Idaho (you know, serious cow country) and I don't even know how to put a western saddle on. I guess that's another thing Terry needs to teach me. ;-) I now how this silly urge to go check out western tack and other exciting goodies online, though Terry assures me she has all I've ever need (and her tackroom definitely backs up that statement).

Still, I am in dire need of new paddock boots. Perhaps I'll get a western version this time around. Next thing you know, we'll be doing... um... something western.

Actually, I have a dressage lesson this afternoon.