Dino six months after I got him, May 2010.I guess a quick recap is in order. On March 2, Dino met my trainer, Mandy, for the first time. It was a lunge lesson to evaluate him and assess where we would go from there. We dropped the side-reins onto the girth and passed the lunge line through the bit ring to the lowest ring on the surcingle. Dino needed to learn about going forward into contact and to bend. We used this method because Dino had a habit of pulling on you in one direction, running you over in the other and choosing what speed to work. Within three weeks, Dino was staying out on the line and no longer pulling. It was also vital to put a "whoa" on him before we proceeded to anything under-saddle. It would take a few more months before Dino could regulate his speed on the lunge, mainly because he was so unbalanced and leaning heavily on the side-reins for balance.
On March 9, Dino moved home. :)
From r to l: Dino, Angel, & Sancho.It was more than two months before my trainer saw Dino again. During this time I continued to lunge him and work on increasing his flexibility, moving forward, and perfecting our voice commands. Dino's schedule was, and has remained, off Sunday and Thursday, work the rest of the week with one day devoted to only walking for 40-60minutes to encourage relaxation. At this point Dino was still jigging into a trot and not truly walking at any time during our works.
May 13 was our first under-saddle lesson. Mandy put up four cones on a 15-meter circle for us to ride through. The corresponding cones were set up just wide enough for us to pass through. This was a tough lesson because Dino just locked onto the left rein and would not give to the pressure. He kept his nose rooted in one position and kept popping out his left shoulder. I was truly discouraged.
May 18 and I brought my spurs with me. During the five days between lessons I lunged Dino like crazy and got him to unlock on his left, I foolishly thought I had won the war. Same exercise, accept this time Dino locked onto the right rein and kept popping his right shoulder. Too bad for him that I had spurs and this was probably his first experience with these nifty little training aids, because he promptly turned around and bit my right foot when I applied them.
June 1 was probably our best lesson. We did a whole slew of changing directions while remaining balanced and connected. By the end of the lesson we had a new motto: rhythm + balance + connection = harmony. The reason we were so on our game for this lesson was because we had worked like crazy during those two weeks on everything we had learned. I'm the type of rider that I take the tools given to me in a lesson and apply them at home on my own, this way at my next lesson I/we are ready to move on to the next task. I personally feel like I don't want to waste my time, money, or energy if I don't work and I would feel horrible to waste my trainers time. She's there as my eyes on the ground and gives me the tools to succeed.
June 10 was a bit of a break down, but we were able to get through it and for the first time we experienced reaching over his back and down into the bridle. For Dino to do this, he had to have a completely loose back. It also seemed as if Dino and I are still struggling with connection going to the left and this is something that we will probably always struggle with. Like humans horses are also right-handed and left-handed, Dino is probably right handed...or right hooved. Another great experience about this lesson, the barn was holding a schooling show two days later and the arena was already set-up. Even though we haven't shown in an *official* dressage arena, we have at least schooled in one - yay!
June 30 was a monumental lesson for Dino and I -- we cantered for the first time under-saddle. Okay, an experienced horse person is thinking to themselves, "Why'd you wait so long to canter?" It's very simple, Dino needed to unlock, bend, develop some self-carriage, and he didn't have the strength to hold himself in a rhythmic canter. "But he was a racehorse, how could he not have the strength?" Dino has the strength to run full out and run faster when I pull on him. He needed to become balanced and develop the strength to hold himself in a trot before cantering. There were lessons that my lower back, shoulders, and upper arms just killed me after a lesson -- because I was carrying him. Not exactly how it works. By cantering sooner, I would not have been doing Dino any favors by allowing him to canter badly, or myself for that matter. It was not the prettiest canter, by far, but we cantered and now we have a new goal to work towards. Oh, and pick up the right lead...but he does does have a nice flying change. ;)
July 7-10 Dino and I participated in the Flatlanders Dressage & Combined Training Association's camp. We hauled in the night before, really too late to school or do anything, but I was still confident that Dino would handle the change well. For the most part he did.
Day 1 of camp it was hot and muggy. This was just a day for the instructor's to evaluate you and your horse, as well as get an idea on where you were in training. Lucky for me, my trainer was one the trainers as was her trainer, so I felt like I already knew what to expect in the instructions. As opposed to someone knew who didn't know my riding style or my horse's inexperience. Everyone also all had a 30-45min private lesson that first day. Our private lesson went okay, we worked on counter-flexion and for the first time leg-yielding, we also started preliminary work on haunches-in. The goal was to work on Dino's suppleness, improve his impulsion, and strengthen his hindquarters.
Day 2 it was hotter and muggier, if that was possible. The day started with a 45min semi-private and ended with an hour group lesson of five or six. My semi-private went well. We were again working on a 20-meter circle with the cones, which was difficult because there were two of you and you had to regulate your horse to keep equal distance at all times. This was also our second time cantering and it was so much better than before. I felt going to the right that I was gripping with my thighs and not relaxing, but going to the left I was able to sit into the saddle. This was probably more mental on my part. I was happy that I could flex Dino and maintain the canter without him running off with me. My trainer told me then that, "Dino has a natural canter, so we have to work on getting his trot to that level." The hardest part of this semi-private was when we worked on downward and upward transitions. As of right now, Dino still has a hard time coming down off his "high" when cantering. He doesn't relax and constantly jigs. So after our canter work, asking him to halt within three strides was nearly impossible - he would just root me down his neck and start jigging into a trot.
After lunch we had our group lesson and that went from bad to horrible. After our semi-private earlier that morning, Dino started acting colicky and I wasn't sure what was going on with him. I took him for a walk and he perked up, so after talking with my trainer and my trainer's trainer, Janet, it was decided I would ride him and he was probably just experiencing ill-effects from the weather. The lesson prior to ours was running over, so we all gathered outside the arena to wait. Dino started fidgeting, getting anxious and breaking out in a sweat. When we got into the arena, Dino and I were last in line to mount. It took 20mins to get on as Dino just would not stand. Even Janet, who came over to assist, couldn't get him to stand. Dino would almost just head-butt her. Finally I was able to get on and Dino wouldn't walk. It nearly came to a confrontation between us and I could feel Dino was on the verge of a massive meltdown/explosion. Janet saw this and told me to go ahead and trot him, he wouldn't even trot out just did a "bunny-hop" trot. When I applied my leg to him to push him out, he would root down and try breaking into a canter. Within a few minutes Dino was pouring from sweat and Janet told me to just hop off, but I couldn't because he wouldn't stand still. It was more like a moving dismount. As I left the arena, close to tears, I asked Janet why were we moving backwards. Janet assured me these things happen.
Day 3 of camp had my trainer out and Janet handling all 17 riders. The lessons were reworked to private, semi-private or group. I had a semi-private towards the end of the day. This was also the first day where the weather was finally cooling and less muggy. I really didn't want to ride in the large indoor again and wanted to ride in the small indoor. Janet told me on to lunge Dino in the large indoor and see how things go, if he's bad then we'll move to the smaller indoor where he was comfortable with my trainer the previous two days. In my mind I had already decided that if Dino was bad, we were pulling out that night and going home. I just felt like maybe I was asking too much of Dino too soon. Surprise-surprise Dino was good, it took me a few minutes but I was able to mount him on my own. This lesson really focused on supplying and flexing the jaw, as Janet had setup cones that we had to leg-yield around or to if they were placed on the quarter line. We also worked on straightness and coming down center line. At the end of the lesson, Dino was on the buckle walking. I felt so good that we had worked through this, together.
It also turns out Janet had an idea as to Dino's poor behavior the day before. Janet pointed out everything I did was reminiscent of a racetrack. I brought Dino to the ring to wait with a bunch of other horses, i.e., a saddling paddock. Dino was last in line for the mounting block, i.e., a starting gate. Janet held Dino as I attempted to mount, i.e., a walking ring. My trainer pointed out that Dino has never been in a group lesson before, i.e., warming up before a race. Maybe it was true, maybe in Dino's mind he thought he was going to race again.
Day 4, and last day, of camp, we had the best weather yet. This time I had a semi-private right after lunch. I didn't want to differ from the day before, so I again lunged Dino in the large arena and got on immediately afterward. This lesson was the toughest by far. Janet had setup cones to form two 15meter circles back to back of each other and out of the second 15meter circle, she had five or six cones evenly spaced heading on a diagonal toward each corner. It was all about flexion of the jaw and suppleness of the body. We started on the first circle, developing a rhythm and connection, we then moved to the second circle were it was a change of direction and again working on rhythm and connection. When that was established, we'd come out of the second circle and weave through the cones working on flexion and suppleness. The first few times through the cones was difficult, but as we continued to work Dino kept loosening up. Janet then moved the cones we had been weaving through closer together, Dino became so supple and attuned to me that I could literally move him through the cones off my thighs. It was definitely a moment for us. We ended the lesson by working on impulsion, which Dino is already a forward moving horse, he'll just fall heavily on to his front end and loose the connection. So Janet had us push a stride, flex and supple the next, push a stride, flex and supple the next, etc. We did this all the way around the arena and then across the diagonals. It was an amazing feeling!
In the end, camp was fantastic! It was Dino and I's first real outing together in a strange environment with strange horses, we survived and next year will be even better! I already have a plan in my head on how to work on our cantering issues: loosen up with trot work and then canter. Everytime we come down from the canter, we walk a good 15mins and then we start over; trot work and then canter. Just like how Dino needed to learn to walk and not jig into a trot, he'll need to relearn to walk after cantering. This will probably take a while for Dino to grasp and completely relax into to.
Now while I have a plan for the cantering, I don't have one for the halting. It is something I really need to sit down and contemplate. The halt probably has more to do with me than Dino, where I need to work on my half-halt and really plan on the halt, not just ask and immediately expect it. Remembering to open up my shoulders and not allow Dino to haul me down his neck would also really help.
So this is where we are at, we are beginning work on training level and this time next year I hope to be schooling first level. After camp Dino must have sweated off 50-lbs so he was originally given a week off to rest and recoup. Sadly Dino has remained on "vacation" as the weather turned unbelievably hot and muggy again and the population of horse and deer flies multiplied. I've seen him buck, it's one of those jaw breaker bucks, so I'm now on a mission to find a spray to keep us both in one piece. Dino also had a feed change, he is now on timothy/alfalfa hay, roughly 20-lbs a day, off of the straight alfalfa, and Purina's Ultium, where he gets about 3.5-lbs a day. I do feed less than the recommendation, mainly because I don't like feeding a lot of grain, I'd rather feed more hay but so far I just LOVE this feed!
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