Sunday, June 25, 2017

1st bareback lesson with Katja

I just got done  having my 3rd lesson with Kati here (I'd had 4 lessons with her in Wuppertal over Winter). She's so great. I wanted to work on a few things, and had a few other things in mind, but forgot to bring them up, and she thought of them without me saying anything.

Mag was in some sort of zone today. The zone of perfection. It blows the mind.

When she stepped out of her Russian jeep, I brought Mag up to say hello, "Look Mag, it's your favorite person!" and I think he just melted into her calming presence. I really like this trainer, and although it's expensive, and we can only have bi-monthly lessons, I hope to continue a long time with her.

Why was I riding bareback (with pad)? Well, I'd just washed both saddle pads and he still has medicine on his back so I didn't want to mess them up. And it's bloody hot out and I didn't want to put breeches on.

Katja was very proud of me, she said, "It's courageous of you to ride him with no stirrups." I said, "I think I might regret it, let's see!"

I told her my concern about Mag's balance issue on hills, and how my riding partner (Ani) said he was walking strangely down hills with his hinds. I said, "I was hoping you could watch from behind, I'm never back there. I want to know if he's broken."

She rubbed Mag's face, "Broken!? You?!" She noticed Mag's sunscreen-covered nose, to which I said, "We're both coated in sticky sunscreen, poor us."

Katja accepted the problem very seriously, she spent almost the entire ride behind Mag today, even when the ground was flat, to get a baseline on his movement.

Before I got on I showed off how we'd been practicing the energy exercise, with Mag trotting as soon as I raise my energy while still walking with him on the ground. It works so well, but she said, "Funny how he always has 'treat?' face when he does it" I said, "Well you told me to reward him......" Yah, Mag likes the game because there are treats involved. But he also loves trotting with me.

Then I took her to the steepest downhill I could find nearby, my favorite switchback trail, and we attempted to go down it very slowly. She studied his hind end and said "If you're used to watching broad-based horses, he does seem different because he's narrow." I said, "Cow hocked, it's his biggest conformation flaw."

But in the end she said he walks just fine, nothing to worry about.

As we passed houses in our neighborhood, we came across many people bent over gardening, and one man, Bernd, was weed whacking almost naked. He had only short-shorts on, and shoes, and was thoroughly brown from the sun, as he weed whacked right next to us. Then he saw us, and stopped his tool. Katja said to him, "Thank you, but there's no need to stop!" She was surprised that Mag could walk through that without reaction. 

Then there was this brand new herd of newly-shorn sheep, all looking at Mag suddenly. Mag went, "These were not here before!" I did my enthusiastic greeting to all animals we encounter, "Hi there! Nice to meet you!" Mag stared and stared, but the sheep were busy eating and laying flat out in the heat.

Katja praised my Saddle Pad of the Future, saying she has one and it's what she rides in almost all the time. I love this thing - my girth is actually too long but it sticks to his back like glue. Perhaps it's the form, I don't know. It simulates riding in a saddle more than any other pad, but you still feel the horse's back (and Mag told me again today whenever I needed to relax, by stopping).

I wanted to work on stopping mid descent, but had forgotten to mention it, and she suggested it anyway. Then she said we should also back up a step or two after stopping on the hills, which was my other idea. We seem to have the same agenda with Mag.

Suddenly on our descent there was a large tree across the trail. I laughed when Mag noticed it, "Yes, what catastrophe occurred here in last night's Summer storm!?" (LOVE Germany's Summer storms! It's like the weather gets so hot it goes all the way to the end of the thermometer, starts again, turning into disaster weather!)

It would have been nice to have had a saddle, but Mag was in the zone and he calmly stepped over it, but then got stuck, and jumped a little, and Kati reached out and grabbed my right rein to try to keep him from hurtling.

Coming back up the hill, he was much better about that fallen tree, but still, it was a challenge. Katja was down there trying to pry off a jagged branch that could have hurt him. She also removed a soccer ball-sized rock.

As usual Kati doesn't let me ride on trail the whole time, she directs me off the trail and tells me to make decisions about where to go, so Mag must listen and comply, even though the ground is strewn with fallen trees. She said, "Ride through that Gerumpel!" I asked J later what Gerumpel means and he said, "a pile of stuff."

Only at one point did Mag say no, but I think he didn't believe he could climb that little embankment. Or lazy. I asked again and he did. Kati said, "This is how he builds trust in you."

I answered, "Except for when he falls in a rabbit hole and breaks a leg and the trust is only a memory."

She kept noting how Mag was not snatching trees or grass to eat. Indeed, he was much better, although I yanked a few blades of grass from his mouth twice. I showed her how I could stop him in "temptation zones" and he would not think of eating. She pushed me, "Park him between those two beech bushes, see what happens." And Mag did not think of eating. 2 weeks ago this would not have happened. Kati was thrilled. She said, "Amazing, the progress you made!"

I said, "Well, I did what you told me. I praised him when he looked at me, or away from the temptation."

I had to tell her my problem with speed walking with horses, that I've had for years now. When leading, I march so they don't get distracted and eat. But today we walked normal, human speed, and I told her what a challenge it is for me, cuz out of habit I'll start speed walking again.

I told her how when I was leading Mag, if horseflies started attacking me, my energy changed (obvs) and Mag would start to trot as if I asked him to. Good boy, but ...just flies.

Oh, I almost forgot, she whipped out her iPhone and started taking photos of me bushwhacking with Mag! I hope she will mail them to me. I told her how much I love natural photos of me riding my horse through the woods.

She was amazed at how 100% Mag was today for us. It's not nearly as hot out as yesterday, so it wasn't heat exhaustion.

I just texted her, "Based on our success today, we should try that difficult trail again next time, the one where Mag is always upset. I realize not every ride will go as well as today, but I'm basking in it, so thank you."

She wrote back "You should be proud of yourselves. You (plural) are on the right track."

Since I have no photos from today (yet?), here is my first ride on Mag, Nov 2015. When he was still sick so I didn't bring him home til January 2016 when he finally stopped coughing.

I miss Mag's darker coloring, but I like his mind a lot more: )



Me, "Split reins!"
Him, "Who are you!"

I find it odd, because I know nothing of Western, how this saddle is almost entirely behind the girth. It looks wrong, perhaps it needs a second girth?


Thankfully he did not dump me like he had previous two buyers.

8 comments:

Kitty Bo said...

She sounds like a perfect fit for you for a trainer. She seems sane and practical. I'm so glad you found her. And yes, you should be proud. :)

Camryn said...

Oh what fun! I surely miss the riding SIGH. Love the mini's though. Having a hard time blogging or even reading blogs. My iPad keeps farting. Took five attempts to read your most. Glad I persevered.

Liz Stout said...

Good boy, Mag, showing up 110% for the lesson.

lytha said...

KB, she's a bit of a hippie, but that's OK. I also sometimes get the feeling I have more experience than she, but she has great ideas and a natural gift for teaching, so that's why she gets the money.

Camryn, I miss riding a horse I trust implicitly.

Liz, 110%, exactly. I feel so full of hope today.

TeresaA said...

I am so happy that you found a good instructor to help you! That is so exciting!

AareneX said...

A good teacher is so awesome. Glad you got some work. I am terrible at bareback--partly because Fee has shark fin withers, but also because I didn't learn to ride as a kid and don't have that secure seat. So I'm really jealous when people can just hop on bareback.

Cow hocks are not a terrible conformation flaw for an endurance horse--if they bend their hocks and push with their rear engine, the angle of cow hocked legs will allow the rear feet to travel outside the front feet at speed without interfering!

lytha said...

Aarene, rear feet outside front: CABBY!

AareneX said...

Cabby, yes. Also: FIDDLE!

Fee is not completely cow hocked (not nearly as much as Story was), and when we are doing collected work her feet line up. But when we kick in the gear labelled "Big Thang" the rear feet are outside the front feet (and up under her chin...!)