Welcoming September

Levi and his pasture mate Oliver were moved to the upper paddock on the hillside, and both they and the heavens rejoiced.. until the dreaded greenheads made their appearance again. I like to explore with Levi and he is used to me running with him all over the place when I take him out of the paddock, so our little trot here in this video reflects the energy that I hope to bring into our other endeavors. His expression is so cute and funny to me: "We're going, right now?! Gosh, I'm not ready. Okay, let's go. Are we just trotting or are we running? Ollie are you coming too? Mom.. let's wait for Oliver!!" We see how Ollie swerves Levi back after realizing we aren't running for our lives, and Levi protests at first, after which they both race right back down to the gate because Ollie hates these flies with the fire of a thousand suns and wanted to go right back inside the barn. Oliver has spent considerable time in this upper pasture and understands it (and many other things) very well. Heeding his wishes, I took both horses into the barn shortly afterward where they both promptly relaxed in the cool, fly-free atmosphere and had a nap. Poor horses - these flies are an abomination and I look forward to the rest of the cooler weather where we can all be more comfortable.

September will be a very busy month for us. On the 10th we will attend the local Rowley show again. Since we have been focusing so much on driving, I will probably just show Levi again in one in-hand class and not push it further. Levi can certainly do more, but I have very limited time to get him in good condition or frame for one activity or another, and I have to choose what I think will be the best option for him. This horse is very open and accepting of anything we wish to teach and ask of him, but performing in another venue and asking the same effort in multiple directions is perhaps more than we need to do now. Let's work with what we know, and set him up for success. I have no ambitions outside of that at this time. Regardless of how well he shows, his comfort and ease with new situations is my blue ribbon.

We have been working steadily under cart for the entire month of August, and I am proud of our work. So far, we have accomplished very subtle success, but it matters greatly to me. This horse can comfortably navigate either a wide or sharp turn in his new cart, putting together the pieces (lateral movement, shoulder movement, bending at the rib cage, response to the tap of the whip, yielding and responding to the inside and outside reins and voice, etc.) that he has carefully been brought into understanding since he was very little. With every work session he becomes better at anticipating the physics of the cart, and more fluid in his body; he remains unconcerned with the 'test-drive-test' element of what we are doing to balance the cart, seeming to understand that we are attempting to solve a problem first before we ask him to do anything athletic here. His slow and careful movement reflects our sentiments with this, and we love him for this! Our current framework in the Frey, outside of his other training, is a one hour under-cart session on Mondays and Fridays, where Joe can help me head Levi. We currently do everything in the indoor arena, meaning that I bring the harness and horse right in there, we do our 30 minute walking warmup in whatever pattern I wish to work him that day, and then I harness him while Joe heads (and Levi catnaps). I then ground drive or long-line him for 10 minutes to help him understand the pattern, pace and tempo for the next session, and after this preparation he is ready to hitch. I drive him right up to his cart and he actually self-selects his position which we did not teach him - this was his own intuitive intelligence during this process - as to where he should stand to be hitched most easily. We hitch in about 3-5 minutes, with Joe heading Levi and also helping me slide the right side shaft into the right tug loop, and I hitch the horse from there. We use a modified "pre-flight checklist" style format of communication during this process to let each other know what we are doing, and when. When I feel the horse is ready, I step into the cart and take the reins and whip, cueing Joe when I am ready to go, after which Joe unclips his line, and slowly fades away to the safety of the side of the arena observe and film our workout. Levi is extremely attentive during this time, so I do not need to alert him to the next phase of moving out as he is keen to go, but he is quite still and never moves if I do not ask him first. He really gets it. It is this aspect of his personality, and evidence of his trust in me through calm and consistent training, that I deeply revere. Before we begin, his ears are always back, focused on my voice as his body registers the change in weight as I position myself, and then I ask him to walk out. He always does willingly and stretches out very beautifully. It is a really beautiful moment, every time.

We currently work mostly on building and fostering his comfort, both in the cart and with me moving him in a new dimension, and also on fostering tempo and rhythm under cart. Consider that the young dressage horse in training should understand tempo and rhythm first, by coordinating sequence and speed. This is taught, and is not instinctive, particularly when pulling weight in a carriage. The horse should have a good and lively, willing, bright expression and a strong forward walk that is also relaxed and calm. If that is all we achieve in the next several months, I will believe we have succeeded in the earliest efforts. For teaching Levi more precise dressage movements going forward, we will seek out advice from professionals as I do not have this expertise. As I mentioned before, I will be exceedingly cautious about whom I choose to ask for help or recruit as a trainer, as I feel that my promising and sensitive young horse deserves the kindest professional.