A Little Patience

Levi is my only horse, and will probably always be, so in many ways I've brought him along as an equine Swiss Army knife of sorts capable of performing many activities and endeavors under saddle and harness. He may compete in a combined driving test one weekend, and go out on a 25 mile trail ride the next. He might be asked to pack gear and pull a travois through backcountry as part of training for search and rescue, for which, given his confidence, steadiness, and quiet nature, he is well-suited. We may ride a dressage test at a schooling show and then load up in the trailer and head out onto the beach for some fun in the surf. We may explore other riding disciplines in his lifetime, including endurance or even Western dressage. While his training started early on, he was not fully "started" as in backed, until age 5.5, approximately a year ago. His first hitch to cart was similarly done at a later stage, on his 4th birthday. I undertook these milestones myself, with the help of people close to us and who have supported us. These time frames are well outside of the norm for many if not most trainers, but the rewards for waiting have been immeasurable. I know I did right by him in giving that extra time and space to grow up, mentally and physically, while nurturing, protecting, and preparing his physical body for the demands of sport.

As such, we have now reached a moment together that is both amazing and bittersweet; I think everyone who has brought a young horse along in its training to adulthood finds themselves in this formerly liminal space where it is suddenly apparent that the horse beside or beneath you is now fully an adult. This is bittersweet, because the baby you fell in love with, carefully guided and grew to understand, is now an independent, proud, sentient adult with all systems online, and when you look into the eye of that adult horse, you can witness everything you hoped, worked for, strived after, in its true manifestation. It's humbling, and deeply emotional. It's like you've been in a room all this time lit only by tiny, twinkling lights, whose playful glow over time slowly grew brighter, and that increase was so incremental that you barely paid it any notice until suddenly one day it appears that all the lights are at full strength... and there you are, fully engulfed within it and part of it. Riding in that light in co-existence is wonderful, powerful, and comforting - we're ready now to leave the lessons of foalhood and his early youth behind, and move into an era welcoming the peak experiences of this horse's life. From now on, as he is now 6.5 years old with one year of training under saddle and 2.5 years under cart, I will refer to him as a green horse instead of a young horse. He has earned this title.

So, green horse, what's next?

With much focus on the canter transitions lately, we have also improved our trot due to increased accessibility of power from behind, and it is much more regular and forward. I don't pay too much attention to Levi's frame or the position of his head; is he focused, responsive, moving in rhythm and articulation from the hind legs? Is his back lifted, and is he interacting with my hands without pulling or leaning on the forehand? I don't use auxiliary aids or devices for establishing the frame, as roundness is supposed to be a natural consequence of correct riding, that the horse will learn to seek over time. While these devices have their place (for restarting and rehabbing horses or for young horses who may need early support in lateral balance), I like to see how and when I can feel he is in the right frame as a result of seeking comfort in his position within the movement. By not hassling him about anything as long as I have the basic blocks in place, it really avoids introducing any resentment or tension. Levi is a horse who can really blow up on you if he is pushed too hard and too quickly, and he carries a grudge like it's part of him; I see no reason to create that kind of atmosphere if 80% of what I want is already in place.

Here are a few longer (~ 5 min.) clips from our riding videos from recent workouts. Both show his movement, mostly at a trot and canter, in both the indoor arena which is where we have worked until the recent cooler weather, as well as in the outdoor space. As you can see, he's much more forward albeit quite distracted outside, and was very interested in both our trailer parked along the arena (we practiced trailer loading right afterward), the deconstructed round pen with uneven footing, and the children's afternoon soccer practice ramping up along the right side of the sand box. I also left the sound in these videos so you can appreciate the sudden noises (planes, traffic, screaming, someone pounding a metal stake somewhere in the distance) he has to contend with as well. I used these welcome distractions to give whatever was needed in the moment. I like that he can access a big, forward trot, but can also make that trot smaller when asked, even on a loose rein.

In the second video, I thought we'd put his distracted mind to use through a serpentine pattern in the cones. There's a funny little moment that deserves some context: at about 2:45 in the video, as we trot through the remains of the round pen which was in pieces, he noticed that the little soccer kids he'd been keeping tabs on the entire time were lining up to do some wind sprints, and decided he wanted to join them. As you can see by my smile as we rounded the corner, I could feel he was gearing up to canter, so I reorganized him and sent him forward. Challenging little children to a footrace is really on brand for Levi, so while I had not planned on cantering, I went with it. His canter is much improved, don't you think? It is actually his most comfortable gait over all - I don't have to do much but steer and balance him. Otherwise, I feel like I can just put my feet up and grab a book while he does his thing.

In the indoor, we have less room and he is less rush-y, but still forward and capable of executing good upward transitions. Our right lead canter still needs improvement, of course, and you can see I am using my right leg and whip on his right shoulder to remind him not to fall in to the right. Many horses will drift in over the right shoulder when asked to trot and canter to the right, and although he is getting much better at this, he does need a lot more support from me on the right. Still- I can't complain about the improvement here!

I wish that I had good news on both the driving front as well as show reports. Sadly, due to how insane my summer has been on every level, we have competed in exactly one show and received exactly one blue ribbon. Sure, it's something, but it's clear that our plans for this year are an absolute bust. There's hope for a driving clinic locally happening in October - fingers crossed that we can participate if it's still going to be held. I actually did not drive Levi for the past two months! This was intentional, as we were avoiding greenhead fly activity and focusing on work under saddle. I decided to drive again last week, only to discover that somehow, this guy is still growing - his skull has somehow grown over the past couple of months and now his driving bridle that I just bought last Spring no longer fits across his temples! I can't easily swap out the crown piece for this bridle, and it would be just as expensive to replace the parts as it is to buy another bridle. Oh well. I measured him carefully and ordered a new ComfyFit bridle from Chimacum tack to match his (mostly) ComfyFit harness. Once the new driving bridle arrives, we will be back in that business, and I am glad. I've grown addicted to the physical challenge and increased fitness from riding, but I've really missed driving! My plan is to immediately take Levi out on the trails near the farm - free-ranging cows be damned - with an entourage of riders and footmen along for the journey. It's time to start introducing the next phase of life as a driver: navigating small hills and uneven country.

I had mentioned in a previous post that Joe and I are working diligently on plans to relocate with Levi to our own property in the near future. A large part of my almost non-existent 'free' time this summer has been eaten up in developing infrastructure and prepping at the site. All of that has been hard, physical work. If you can believe it, I did this with my family as a young person, so it's not as daunting a prospect for me, but I did learn that I am apparently very allergic to the acreage of invasive weeds and plants we are in the process of removing to create viable gardens and pasture. My new-to-me brush mower, appropriately called "Dr. Power" is an epic beast and yes, we did mow the full acreage with a walk-behind mower. The hills are my favorite feature of the property; just try being fat now, Levi. The goal is to create a training space for combined driving that will help facilitate healthy, fit horses year-round. I don't want to own other horses, as I said, so we will be reaching out to local rescue organizations to foster some companions for Levi, or to trainers who may need a place to board that is proximal to a popular local show venue. I'll share a bit more about this epic project as we get further along in the process; by this time next year, Levi's landscape will look very different, and he may be building a new 'motor' of his own! At the very least, once I have created a dry track around the property, I will have the option to help keep him off of grass when necessary while still promoting healthy movement and behaviors.

It's too easy to be round, if you're Levi. I've joked that he's the "hardest working fat kid" you will ever meet, but beneath the jokes there is a real concern. After some research I invested in the Thinline Grazing Muzzle, which I'd heard was the best on the market; hopefully this will work for him. If not, he will have to go back on weeds in a smaller paddock until the sweeter Fall grass is gone. Of course, I am just a big meanie apparently, putting a muzzle on and working him so hard. In fact, in the video clip below, just look at how obviously stressed and upset and checked out our poor boy is! Clearly, he's hating being stood in cross-ties for grooming and compliments and treats. Over-burdened by the demands placed upon him, the poor colt is misunderstood and obviously longing for some lone Yoda in a cowboy hat and spurs and armed with a flag and a drinking problem to come along and save him from those people in tights. In seriousness, I don't think we could be any kinder to this horse if we tried. Too much kindness, in fact, has him rounder than a barrel. We're working on it!

For next week, I want to devote a post to trailer loading - what we have been challenged by, and how we overcame it. I think it warrants its own entry and discussion, which are hopefully relevant to a larger equestrian audience. As a sneak peak, I have taught Levi to self-load. Stay tuned if you're interested in that topic, and as always, thanks for joining us on this journey.