Horse Lingo (In My Own Words)

It has been pointed out by someone who reads my blog that some things I write about are unclear and confusing. So I'm here to help explain some horse terms to those of you who don't ride or just don't understand in general. Hopefully I'll clarify some things and not just make you more confused. And I'm warning you now - I tried to make these definitions as simple as possible, but some things were really hard to explain. Well, here goes:

Tracking right/left - If you're going clockwise around the riding ring, you would be tracking right. If you're going counter-clockwise, you would be tracking left.

Right Lead - This would be the sequence of footfalls (it's a three beat gait): 1. Hind left leg 2. right hind and left front legs 3. right front leg. This means the right front leg will be the last foot to fall and the foot that reaches out the farthest. A horse would be on the right lead if it's tracking right. Click here to see the right lead canter. Notice how the front right leg reaches out the farthest. I also posted a YouTube video at the end of this post that you can watch. The right lead is the lead that both Captain and Annie have trouble with, and it's actually the lead that I'm the least comfortable with as well.

Left Lead - This would be the sequence of footfalls (it's a three beat gait): 1. Hind right leg 2. left hind and right front legs 3. left front leg. This means the left front leg will be the last foot to fall and the foot that reaches out the farthest. A horse would be on the left lead if it's tracking left (Basically the same thing as right lead but the other way around).

Walk-halt Transitions - It is what it sounds like: it's when you're walking and then you ask your horse to stop, then keep going. Pretty straight-forward.

Inside - When I talk about my inside leg, I'm talking about the leg that is closest to the middle of the riding ring.

Outside - Opposite of inside. The leg (or anything, really) closest to the outside of the circle.

Two-point - I talked about this a little in a previous blog post, but it's when your butt is out of the saddle and your body is leaning over your horse's neck. Your back should be straight, and your heels should be firmly placed in the stirrups because they are your main source of balance. Two-point is used for jumping.

Posting or Posting Trot - A sitting trot is when you just sit in the saddle at the trot (I find it to be too bouncy, so I'd rather post). A posting trot requires you to rise out of the saddle on every other stride. Often people think posting is just standing up and then sitting down, but it's really not. All you really have to do is move your hips forward and slightly rise out of the saddle. I mean, that makes it sound easy, but it's more complicated to actually do. It takes some practice before it feels comfortable.

Diagonals - When posting, there is a certain time when you should be rising and a certain time when you should be sitting. You're supposed to rise out of the saddle when your horse's front outside leg moves forward. Apparently it helps the horse's balance somehow. This took me a long time to figure out how to do correctly, because I couldn't tell what diagonal I was on. Eventually I learned how to switch diagonals (this involves sitting or standing an extra beat) and I figured out what it looked like to be rising with the correct leg. I would say that the best way to learn your diagonals at first would be to have someone tell you if you're on the correct one or not. After that you should be able to look down at your horse's shoulder and be able to tell.

Bending - When a horse moves with a curve in their neck and body. Your horse bends when going around a turn or in a circle, and if you want to pick up the correct lead at a canter, you have to be bending around the riding ring.

Counter-bending - This is when a horse is bending in the opposite direction of a circle or riding ring. If your horse does this their head will be looking towards the outside of the riding ring, rather than looking to the inside. It's also really difficult to pick up the correct lead if your horse is counter-bending. Captain and Annie do this often. They counter-bend and end up picking up the wrong lead, especially when they are going counter-clockwise around the riding ring.

Switching Leads - Basically this means switching from a right lead canter to a left lead canter (or the other way around). You need to do this when switching directions or if your horse picks up the wrong lead. There are advanced moves that high level dressage riders do called flying changes, which is when you switch leads without returning to a trot first. It's very cool to watch, and you often see them in high level or Olympic dressage tests. Obviously I can't do these (yet) Maybe some day.

Well, I hope you learned something today, and maybe now you won't be so confused when you read my posts. Thanks for reading!

Lesson 7/18/11

Tonight's weather was hot, hot, hot. I was not prepared for that kind of heat when I stepped outside my air-conditioned house. But considering the awful weather, it was a very enjoyable lesson.

After calling the barn owner, my instructor informed me that I it was my choice on who I wanted to ride. I was happy, because I wanted to ride Annie again. I went to go get her out of the paddock, and as soon as I put on her halter, Annie refused to move. It took a lot of convincing and some help from my instructor who came down when I was taking too long, I guess. At least now I kind of know what to do when she does that again.

When I was grooming Annie, my instructor pointed out these huge welts on Annie's side. I had noticed one before, but I didn't really think much of it. Apparently, they were bug bites. What's scary is that some bug bites I've had in the past have gotten as big as Annie's! Anyway, when I was ready to go up to the riding ring, Annie decided she didn't want to go anywhere just yet. I tried to move her, but nothing was working. Then my instructor realized that I forgot to put on bug spray. I guess Annie knew I had forgotten! But even after I sprayed her, she still wouldn't budge. It was very frustrating because I wasn't getting what my instructor wanted me to do. I got it eventually though. Sort of.

We started this lesson with some walk-halt transitions because Annie was walking painfully slowly. That wasn't really working well, so my instructor got me a crop (for those of you who don't know what a crop looks like, look at the picture above). Now I know what some of you are thinking - 'Don't those hurt the horse?' But the answer is no. And that's because I don't hit Annie with it, I only tap her lightly. My instructor gave me a little exercise to do with the crop at the trot to get Annie moving faster. She told me to tap Annie on the shoulder, and then right behind my leg. Sounds easy right? Yeah, well try doing that while posting. Not so easy. I thought I had pretty good rhythm before I tried this exercise. I was supposed to tap Annie with every stride, alternating between her shoulder and right behind my leg, but I just couldn't seem to keep that up for long. After maybe eight taps or so I would lose the rhythm and have to stop and start over, which my instructor didn't like to see me do. On the bright side though, she did say my alignment looked very nice, which was a good thing to hear.

After a long while of tapping, I finally got to stop and take a break. Then I got to canter, which I was excited about. Since it was so hot though, I was only allowed to canter around half of the ring at a time, which was actually okay because I didn't want to canter that much at first. I cantered on the left lead without too much trouble (except for nearly hitting a barrel because it was too close to a jump that I had to go around to complete my circle), but as with Captain, Annie refused to canter on the right lead. And, again, I had trouble keeping her on the outside of the ring while still keeping the bend in her body. Hopefully one day I will get that right!

Overall, it was a pretty satisfying lesson. I'm glad I decided to ride Annie again, because I really like her even though I struggle with some of the things she does. Unfortunately, the lady who rides after me has also been riding Annie, and Annie can't do one lesson after the other because it's too hot, so I assume that means we'll be taking turns each week. I guess next week I'll be riding Captain again, which is more than fine by me!

Lesson 7/9/11

I went to the barn today expecting it to just be me and the other girl who was there last night. But there were about four other people in the barn too. And according to a list on the bulletin board, I would be riding Annie. I found this out later, but apparently maybe five minutes after we left the rain stopped and the instructor called and had the lesson anyway. Oh well! I guess it was better that I rode today, because I got to ride Annie.

I was actually glad I was riding Annie as opposed to Tuffy. Annie's a lot more similar to Captain than Tuffy is, I think. But once I was on Annie, I could immediately see she might be challenging to ride. She would not move forward when I asked her. My instructor (not my regular one, but the owner of the barn) told me she has some bad habits and can be very pigheaded, but that's she had basically all the same training that Captain's had. So eventually (with the help of a crop) I got her to move. My instructor told me Annie has the bad habit of moving her shoulder to the inside, causing her to counter-bend and walk towards the middle of the ring, kind of like Tuffy's weird diagonal walk, but not as bad.

When it was time to trot, I ran into the same problem. Annie refused to walk faster, so I had to use the crop again. It's very helpful sometimes actually! Annie's trot was nice though - smooth, and not too bumpy. Then we (meaning me and the two other girls with me - who I learned were also going to be attending Advanced Camp with me, so that was nice!) were told to do trot figure-eights. Normally, with Captain, they are no problem. But with Annie's bad habit, it was more difficult. I kept having to use the crop to tap her shoulder back into place, something that I haven't really had to do before so it felt a little weird to be doing it. Anyway, once Annie got moving into a nice trot, she wasn't much of a problem, except for the occasional turned in shoulder and counter-bend.

After that we played what our instructor called "Catch Up", which meant all three of us were to get in a single-file line behind each other, about a horse's length away from the person in front of us. Then our instructor would tell the person in front a task to do. Most of the time the 'task' was to get our horse into a canter, although sometimes it was just to trot (for the other girls though, not me). So we would canter (or trot) until we caught up with the person in the back of the line.

My first impression of Annie's canter was pretty much, Holy crap. It was a whole lot faster than I'm used to riding Captain. I didn't feel very graceful because I wasn't used to going that fast, so I kind of felt like I wasn't really connected with Annie. But about halfway through my third turn to canter, I felt I really got it. I finally just let go and let her canter that fast, instead of holding on for dear life. And it felt amazing! Our instructor was very impressed, saying I looked very nice. She even said she wished she could videotape me cantering to show me and everyone else! She also commented that all of my instructor's students always had a good seat (my regular instructor, that is). Compliments aside, that was the best canter I've ever had. It was fun and it felt really smooth and was even relatively graceful! That's why when the lesson was over, I asked her if I would be riding Annie in my next lesson. She asked if I would like to, and I said I would like to try. I think if I stick with Annie for a while and really get to know her, I could really enjoy riding her as much as I enjoy riding Captain. Annie will be a challenge for me, I know, but I think it'll really help me in the long run.

I uploaded a picture of Annie so you could see what she looks like. She's really pretty - she had brown and white splotches with a black and white mane. As you can see in the background, this picture was taken in the winter, when I rode her one night when Captain wasn't available.

Arabian Horse Characteristics

Some of you might be wondering why I haven't written a blog post on my lesson this week. Monday was the Fourth of July, of course, so my lesson was rescheduled. We originally agreed on tonight, Friday July 8th at 5:00, but it has been raining fairly steadily this afternoon, and it was still raining when I was at the barn an hour ago. I had tried to call the barn owner before we left for the lesson, but I kept getting voicemail so we decided to just go to the barn and see what was up. Well, we got there, and another rider was there, waiting to see if we were going to ride or not as well, and then my stepdad got a call from my mom. The barn instructor had called a few minutes after we left, and they decided to reschedule my lesson for tomorrow at 11:00am. I'm actually happy about that, because it shouldn't be too hot at that time (I hope). So I'll blog when I can, hopefully tomorrow, after my lesson. And sorry for not posting since last Monday!

Anyway, sorry for rambling (it tends to happen a lot, I know), but the main reason I'm writing this blog entry is because I was looking at a horse book, and I saw something that kind of interested me. The book is called The Ultimate Guide to Horse Breeds, by Andrea Fitzpatrick, and it has sections for each horse breed and includes breed characteristics, pictures, and history. I flipped through and immediately went to look at Arabian horses, because that's what Captain is. I read the 'Characteristics' section, and here is what it said:

"Arabs are famous for their intelligence and responsiveness. They are also affectionate and respectful of other animals and human beings, being especially good with children. The reverse side of their character is fiery and courageous; they can also be stubborn if asked to do something against their will."

Sounds a lot like Captain to me! He is very smart and responsive, and quiet and respectful (I wouldn't necessarily say affectionate though), but also very stubborn sometimes. Of course, he is pretty old now, so I've never seen him be "fiery" or "courageous", but still, I thought it was very interesting how the characteristics explanation sounded almost exactly like Captain. It makes me wish I had been around to see Captain when he was a lot younger, because I bet he was even more of the 'classic' picture of an Arabian that he seems to be now.

I hope you enjoy this picture of Captain that I uploaded! He's a cutie, isn't he? :)

Helping With Pony Camp

A few days ago I sent an email to the owner of the barn telling her that I would love to help out more in any way I can. She responded saying she needed help on Tuesday (yesterday) with a pony camp of nine little kids (ages 4 to 8). I of course said yes - I thought it would be really fun to help little kids ride, and I was going to get to ride as well once all the campers left!

The camp started at 9 am and went until noon, but I stayed until 4. Once most of the campers had arrived, we went to the barn owner's open garage and sat in a circle. Then I got introduced to everyone (much to my blushing horror) since I wasn't there the day before and we were told to go around the circle saying one reason why you love horses and your favorite color. I said my favorite color was green and I loved horses because each one is different. The majority of little kids said they loved horses because you can feed them, which I thought was pretty adorable. We then split into two groups - one group got to ride while the other worked and learned in the barn.

I was first with a little girl named Aaliyah (I think...) and she was riding Lionel, a smallish white horse who was often grumpy. We went and got him from the paddock and started to groom him. Aaliyah couldn't even reach Lionel's back to brush him! So I let her brush a little and then I went over the places she couldn't reach. When it was time to pick Lionel's feet, I told Aaliyah where to stand, and told her how to pick up the hoof, but she couldn't really do it herself so I pretty much picked up his hoof and handed it to Aaliyah. I also did most of the tacking up - Aaliyah couldn't reach Lionel's back, so she couldn't put on the saddle or anything. I was going to let her help with the bridle but Lionel's had some issues in the past with parts of it getting caught in his gums so the barn owner just told me to do it myself.

We walked up to the ring together, with Aaliyah holding the reins on the left, and me sort of leading him with a lead rope on the right. I tightened the girth, which confused Aaliyah because she didn't know what that was and thought she was just going to get right on the horse. Which she did, once I had tightened the girth and the stirrups. Once she was on Lionel I pretty much led him around the ring for a while. I mean, I tried to tell her what to do, but little kids can't really understand it that well, so I just made sure Lionel didn't walk somewhere completely off track. We went into the big ring and circled each jump (four in total). I attempted to teach Aaliyah how to turn, which sort of worked a little. Once we did that we went on a small trail ride, which I think Aaliyah enjoyed but she said she didn't like going downhill. When we got back to the ring, it was time for the second group to ride, so I did the whole thing again. Then we went back to the barn and put the horses a way.

Then all the campers and helpers had popsicles and took a picture on the porch, and went back to the garage to do a craft. The kids all made foam visors with foam horse stickers and markers. The campers left at noon (which I didn't know before then), and all the helpers got to ride. Someone else wanted to ride Captain, which was okay because I thought it would be good to try someone knew, so I rode Tuffy. I can't say my first impression of him was all that great. When I tried to groom him and pick his hooves he kept kicking and stomping. Then, in the ring, he kept doing this weird thing where he would turn his head to the outside and start walking diagonally to the inside - very weird, and annoying after a while. Tuffy did have a completely different feel than Captain. He's bigger and taller, and his steps are longer. His trot was also way bouncier and hard to get used to, and his canter was very fast, but actually pretty nice. I had some steering issues though, so I didn't really get to canter for long. Hopefully, if I ride him again, we won't have those problems.

When we were done riding, we had to clean the walls of the stable, sounds fun, right? We each got a rag and a bucket of water and basically just wiped down the walls to get ride of dust. By the end of the day, my feet ached. It was a fun day though, and I'm glad I came.

Lesson 6/27/11

I normally would have written a post on my lesson on Monday, but I haven't had any time! I was gone all day yesterday, helping out at a camp (which I will also blog about later), and then I was gone in the evening, working at a concession stand with my friend. Anyway, I finally found some free time to blog about my lesson.

My instructor started off the lesson by doing this exercise to help me keep my legs heavy and relaxed. She puts a board under my foot, and just moves it up, down, and around. It sounds really strange, but it actually works. I can't even explain it that well, but when she's done it's like my leg feels ten miles longer, ten pounds heavier, and ten times more relaxed. It really is a great way to start off my lesson.

After that we worked on some figure eights at the walk and trot. The only different thing this time was that my instructor told me as soon as I asked Captain to walk faster or trot, I should ask, and then immediately loosen and relax my whole body. I often stay very tight when I ask him to trot, so this was a very helpful thing to think about. Just consciously thinking about relaxing really made it easier to ask Captain to do something and easier for him to listen.

Then we worked on cantering, using only half of the big ring at a time, again trying specifically to get him on a right lead canter, which he again had trouble with. It's not his fault, as every horse has a 'bad side', kind of like us being right or left handed. I also tried to work on keeping Captain on the rail, and not cutting corners. My instructor tried to teach me how I could ask for that with my inside leg while still keeping the bend in his body that is needed for a proper canter. It's not as easy as it sounded, because a lot of the time I would put pressure on my inside leg only and he would start trotting. I got it maybe once, with my instructor's help. I guess it's just something to work on later!

Once we were cooling down at the end of my lesson my instructor talked a little about camp this summer, and was wondering what camp I was going to. Since I'm going to the Advanced Camp, she said she should probably start preparing me a little for jumping by working on two-point more. Yay! I can't wait for camp! :)

Lesson 6/20/11

I thought tonight's lesson was going to miserable, because of the awful heat. I expected Captain to be slow and myself to be tired. But actually, what happened was just the opposite! Captain was surprisingly not sluggish, and I wasn't tired at all!

The dressage ring is finally gone! Poles had been set up in the large riding ring to make a standard size dressage ring for the show in April. But now, since pony camps have started, the big ring is finally back! I was so happy, because Captain always tried to cut corners and step outside the poles in there, but now he can't anymore.

We started the lesson by doing the warm up, which involved lots of weaving around the many obstacles that had been set up for a jumping course - jumps, poles, barrels, and more. Then we worked on trot-canter transitions to get Captain ready. Captain was surprisingly obedient too. Once I got him into the trot he was good to go. He even picked up the right lead when we were tracking right!

After a stretch break (which involves me giving Captain a super long rein and letting him walk pretty much wherever, except out of the ring of course, which he often tries to do), we worked on walk-canter transitions. The first few were a little rough, because Captain kept going into a trot first and then cantering. I changed my cues a little though and he eventually got it. But then he had some trouble with the right lead canter again. It can get difficult because when we are in the far end of the ring tracking right, Captain want to cut those corners. So I have to try and get him to bend without letting him turn to the center of the ring. I try to push him to the outside with my leg, but that doesn't always work. We got the right lead canter a couple times though, so not all was bad.

Once Captain had another break, my instructor told me to do a walk figure-eight, a trot figure-eight, and a canter figure-eight. Luckily, I didn't have to switch leads in a canter like I had thought before. I just had to come down to a trot in the canter of the ring and then immediately switch to the next lead. Everything went pretty well, even on the right lead canter circle, because this time I was asking for the canter in the center so I didn't have to worry about getting him to bend while staying on the outside of the ring.

At the end of my tiring-but-not-too-tiring lesson, my instructor commented that I was doing "marvelously", which of course was great to hear from her. She also told me that when I was ready I should think about switching from Captain to another horse, for the same reasons I've mentioned before. Captain offers a lot, but another horse could offer a whole lot more. I completely understand that, but I know it will be a huge change for me to ride a different horse. I mean, I've ridden Captain for months now! But I think it will be good for me to get to know a new horse, so I'll keep you updated on how that goes and when I switch!