The Riding Journal – Pt. III

 

I’ve long been an advocate for writing it all down. Learning comes to us in different ways but for most of us, hearing and seeing, then doing… all become a part of our thinking when we actually put it into words.

I’ve kept my riding journals since the age of eight. They are among my treasures now and I still come home from my own lessons, park the truck, put my horse away, fire up the kettle and reach for the latest journal. I write while I can remember.

Every single lesson has at least one golden moment that deserves to be kept safe.

Here are a few more of the truths my teenage self wrote down, early on in the dressage lessons with my German teacher. I was riding my new off-track Thoroughbred, Eclipse….

 

June 22, 1980. For the first time, we tried the turn on the forehand.

The horse is halted squarely before we begin. Actually, the horse is halted squarely every single time you halt! Canadians, I am told, are very lazy about this… and then whine when they score poorly in dressage.

 

Anyway, The horse is halted squarely, the the inside leg is at the girth, reminding the horse to not move sideways, while the leg that energizes the quarters is placed behind this. Each horse has an area that holds – that stills him – and another area that energizes. It is up to us to discover these zones on each horse.

 

The leg that is placed further back must give a vigorous push before each step so that the horse understands that he is to move forwards energetically… and not just drag his hind feet sideways.

 

One half-turn only is required. After this exercise is completed, the horse is halted before moving off again. In this way, the exercise will be crisp and not allowed to become ‘wishy-washy’.

 

Also today, we spent a lot of time working on something that will be expected of us in a dressage test. Yes. The halt at “X”.

 

I’m having some trouble coming down the centre line absolutely straight. Now that we’ve got him unafraid of the rail, he is lost without it! We spent much of our lesson coming down the centre line, coming down the quarter lines, trotting into the halt. Just as Eclipse takes the last step, he swings his quarters right.

 

Am I weak in the right leg, sitting crooked, or just pushing too strongly with the left? I am finding that just being aware of my own left-sidedness is enough to help us out. As always, I get the feeling that there is so much to think about. One or two things, fine but not dozens all at once!

 

Also, I get crooked riding down the centre line because in my wanting to go perfectly straight, I kill all the forward. Mrs Boerschmann reminded me to think of riding a bicycle. The only way we can stay upright, stay on a line, is to keep pedalling! Ah….

 

I got upset today. Riding the 16:2 horse is a lot different than riding the 14:2 pony! It seems that everything I knew before, that I could do before, no longer works. I can only sit Eclipse’s trot when I am actually hanging on to him a little bit, to make him move more small. When he is encouraged to really swing, when my pelvis is moving forward to stay with the saddle, everything seems to fall apart.

 

I am sore, I am discouraged, I am wishing it wasn’t so hard.

 

June 30, 1980. On stable management.

This morning was my first at Rivercrest. I am going to be a part-time working student now that I have my license. This will be after the school day and on Saturdays. My regular lessons will be on Sundays.

 

I was told very clearly in the first ten minutes that I am to forget all that I think I know about keeping horses!

 

I watched Mrs. Boerschmann’s full-time working student for the first two stalls, then I went to it. The horses are taken, two by two, out of their stalls and over to the turn-out pasture. The young Warmbloods and Thoroughbreds in training here are high-strung and I just pray that I don’t let go of them in the yard.

 

If I walk in a calm and long-strided way, really moving out, they tend to put their heads down and match my movement. When I dawdle, or tell them to slow down, they get on the fight. I learned today that as a student, it is not my job to discipline the horses!

 

Anyway, the horses are led into the field and the lower in the pecking order is let go first. No matter how hard to catch, the halter must come off. There are a few that are so wild with excitement that they will wheel and kick out, these are held quietly and given a bit of carrot when the halter comes off. They stand, chomping happily, while I can walk away and release the second horse. Once they get out of the habit of wheeling and kicking up, the carrots are no longer used.

 

Halters are hung up, out of reach of the horses but near the horses, in case of emergency. The poll strap is buckled but not tucked in for quickness, the shank is doubled up twice and tucked through the jowl strap. Every single time.

A barn will only appear neat and harmonious when all halters, all blankets, all brooms and forks, are stored and hung the exact same way. It takes no longer than throwing them in a corner. There is a rhythm and art to doing all things well. The horses notice and relax. This also means that there are no radios playing in the aisle. Because all the schooling sessions are set to music… the time of eating and sleeping is for quiet calm. If music is played around horses, let it be light classical music, so that it soothes them.

When all of the horses are out, it is time to quickly do the stalls.

 

Morning is the big clean, then they are kept picked through the rest of the day. The bedding is straw because that is what is plentiful on the prairies. Wheat straw is healthier than barley because it doesn’t have the awns that can hook and puncture the horses coats. These can infect and make the horses very ill. In forested areas, shavings make sense.

 

The soiled bedding is thrown in the barrow or manure spreader; the reusable bedding is forked into one corner of the stall. Horses do best on natural clay floors with rubber over top. Periodically, the mats will be removed and the floor filled and leveled. Failure to do this means that the horses will eventually go unsound! For this reason, horses must not be stalled on concrete.

 

Once the floor is quickly swept, non-burning lime is sprinkled over the wet spots. The lime absorbs the moisture while the stall is airing and it gives the place a sweeter smell. Be careful about getting lime on the walls or in the corner where the horse eats his hay… and just sprinkle lightly.

 

Now, yesterday’s reusable bedding is used to ‘bank’ the stall. Banking is out of style but is beneficial for three reasons: it prevents a horse from getting cast against the wall; it prevents the horse from getting a leg caught under a door; it prevents draughts hitting the horse.

 

Bank the stall quickly by heaping the old bedding high around all the walls and across the door. Beat it into submission with the curved fork against the wall, then down from the top to really pack it. Repeat.

 

After the banking, which only takes moments when one gets really aggressive about it, the clean, dry straw is brought in and fluffed up in the centre of the stall. I’ve heard the other working student be told, “Don’t get mad, get banking!”

 

Skimping on bedding….

People do, thinking it will save time and money. Skimpy bedding gets sodden and must be replaced daily. Skimpy bedding is poor comfort to a tired horse. Skimpy bedding is recognizable because you can see and hear the floor… and also, the horses will have calloused elbows and hocks.

 

“Horses that are uncomfortable won’t sleep well. Horses that don’t sleep well don’t work well. Horses that don’t work well get sick!”

 

Water buckets are removed, scrubbed well, dumped on the flower tubs at the barn door and refilled with fresh water. A horse easily drinks up to fifteen or twenty gallons a day, more if it is very hot or very cold. Many horses will drink better if there are two pails side by side. We all enjoy choice.

 

Horses are fed hay in a clean corner where they do not manure, urinate or dunk their hay in water. Horses are not left with hay nets or bags unattended, so never overnight. They should not be fed hay in mangers or bags because long-term use will result in breathing disorders, like heaves… and because we want them always, to stretch their toplines.

They should eat with their heads down because that is the way God made them and their jaws and teeth only work correctly in this way.

Also, a word on stall fronts. Grills along the fronts and over the doors on stalls look impressive. They keep the aisle clean. They do not create happy horses! Horses are gregarious by nature. They like to see and know what is going on. They must be allowed to have their heads out in the aisle to eat and to visit. Visitors to the barn must be taught to only stop and pet the horses with permission. It is the people who must be taught!

 

The young or working horses are left out until it is time for their next meal or their schooling. If it is cold, they are rugged up warmly. Bringing them in for feeding is the best way to teach them to be easily caught. Bringing them in for work is not!

 

The horses are led carefully up the cement aisle and made to halt before their doors. They are made to turn on the forehand with help from our free hand to cue them and this way, they learn again that the aids ask their quarters to move away. When they are straight in the doorway, they are moved into the stall. They step over the bank in the door and the door must always be opened fully. Once the horses learn, it takes no more time than leading them along carelessly through the doorway behind us.

 

A young horse that bangs his hip, or catches his blanket or saddle will take a long time to forget. He will always tend to rush through crowded spaces. It is our job to make sure the horses never bang their hips or skin the backs of their heels on doors or the edge of the concrete aisle-way!

 

Turn the horses so that they face the door, pull the door closed and then let the horse go without fuss. He will not throw his head or rush away once he learns that this step is always taken. Leave him alone to eat but be aware of how he is eating. It is our job to also know when things are not right.

 

Latch the door. Hang up the halter with the folded shank. Check that the door is latched again.

 

When the horses are all in and mostly finished their hay, they can be groomed for the evening.

Mrs. Boerschmann grooms the horses before work and again before lights out at night. They are groomed carefully and gently but the coats of all the horses are amazing.

 

For stabled horses, only a soft body brush and a circular rubber curry comb are used. Stiff dandy brushes are only used on hairy horses that are running out in mud. The horses are never washed to be made clean, other than white socks and tails for showing. Cool water is sponged on their backs and girths after hard and sweaty work.

 

Grooming is always started on the nearside of horses. Nervous or cranky horses can be calmed by relying upon a routine. Head-shy horses should be started at the shoulder, then worked ahead up to the face, then back again to the rear. Don’t start at the head and don’t make a big deal out of it.

 

Horses should be comfortable being groomed in cross-ties, while being tied in a regular fashion and while standing loose in their stalls. Horses should be tied to stout posts and on rubber non-slip matting, particularly young horses.

 

While grooming, the hand closest to the head holds the body brush and the other hand holds the curry comb. Start grooming by using one long stroke with a flick at the end. Work with the hair, including whorls. One stroke on the horse, one stroke across the curry comb. And repeat. Keep a rhythm. You should be puffing but gentle. When the currycomb is full of dirt and dandruff, it is banged on the aisle floor to be swept up later on. A good goal is five currycomb dumps per side… and the cleaner the horses, the longer they are stabled, the harder this gets.

 

Care must be taken to remove all mud and seedy things from the elbows, legs and pasterns. Go around and groom the off-side of the horse. To groom a pulled mane, use the body brush and never a comb. Really brush the roots of the hair so that the horse is less inclined to rub there.

 

Now, on to the tail. A tail may be brushed by a body brush, especially along the dock and if it is fine, or to be preserved for showing, by separating the hairs, just a few at a time by hand. After this, the long-bristled dandy brush is used vigorously along the tail bone to lie the hairs and really get to the roots. Again, to prevent itching.

 

This is all I can remember from today. I am dog tired.

 

July 1, 1980. Lesson day for me and it was really, really hot. My horse was cranky and I guess, so was I.

We warmed up with serpentines today. Eclipse was a little more bent each way but I judge my change on the centre line differently each loop. Being inaccurate doesn’t seem important but what it does it make the changes of bend less smooth and flowing. It means that the curve before and after the bend can’t be the same size, which is the whole point of riding this figure in the first place. We want always to straighten and equalize the horse.

 

Then, because all trot work is best followed by canter work, we worked our walk-to-canters. Interchange walk, trot and canter because they all work the horse’s back differently. He will not become so tired if we change pace, occasionally, just enough to let him settle into the one before we change gear. He will then learn to relax.

 

Trotting will improve with cantering. Sometimes, though, with hot or unfit horses, we have to stay longer at the trot. The rider must learn to feel what is best for the horse. Some horses, especially those with harness breeding, settle and train best in the trot. Other horses, like most Thoroughbreds, will not relax until they are cantering, even early on in their training. This makes for some scary rides!

 

Our walk-to-canter is getting better, kind of. Eclipse used to bolt ahead whenever he got the canter cue and now he just swings his quarters, instead. He’s swinging his hind end in because I am pushing him with my outside leg! This leg is supposed to be a light cue that tells him which side is the first step of the canter…. The impulsion leg, the one that drives the motor, is on the inside at the girth.

 

It surprised me to know that the first step of a right lead is the left hind leg!

Mrs. Boerschmann made me stop and explain the footfalls to her until I got it in my head. Not understanding the footfalls means that my transitions will never be smooth, nor my flying changes.

Very green horses need to canter from a slow trot. We can help them find the correct lead by rising the trot all the way into the canter – but get this! – by changing our diagonal just a few strides before we ask. Why? Because the back is free without burden if we don’t sit… and by changing to the ‘wrong’ diagonal, the outside hind leg is freed up for the first canter step. The young horse gains confidence by always taking the correct lead. No fast trotting first, no unbalanced cross-cantering or wrong leads…. Life changing. Oh, wow!

 

But back to cantering from the walk. If the horse takes a trot step into the canter, it means that you threw the reins away and forgot the half-halt. I struggled with half-halts, sort of pulling on him, until Mrs. B told me it was just like holding his hand. “Not yet. Not yet. Are you ready? Yes, now.”

 

Then, just when things were looking good, Eclipse threw his head up and we were off to the races! I bounced all over like a sack of potatoes, my arms flapping, just trying to stay on and get him stopped. More tears tonight.

 

To be continued.

 

Reading, writing it down, I am struck by my teacher’s insistence that riding was only a small part of horsemanship…. That a good rider knew how to keep his charges healthy and willing, wanting to work…. That this knowledge of horsekeeping was as important, if not more so, than being in the saddle.

 

Of all things, I am left wondering if we are not sliding here, if we haven’t somehow forgotten this. Your thoughts?