What To Work On When It's Too Hot To Work

One of my goals is to contribute posts on a regular weekly schedule. It's sometimes a challenge for me since I feel like we don't make enough progress that warrants creating a post for anything interesting or noteworthy. At least, the more frequent posts will be shorter and less verbose out of necessity!

As I write this, it's 93 degrees F in the shade, and all horses are inside with fans on for the rest of the day and night. Despite the heat, Levi and I had our lesson this morning as usual, and as we were working I thought about how cleverly our instructor has woven teaching intro dressage movements into these hotter days where we are only asking for short bursts of energy. Currently, Levi is learning lateral movement under saddle. While he is getting it, it is by no means easy for him, physically or mentally. It would probably help if I could actually ride as well. Now, he is learning how to extend a turn on the forehand into forward movement through stepping underneath his body to cross his hind leg, paired with moving the opposite shoulder one step to the side, and repeat. The movement is a not-quite-shoulder-in/not-quite-side pass, alternating hip to shoulder as the horse tracks laterally down the long side of the arena, while keeping his body straight from poll to tail. My job is to sit tall and straight, cue with my outside leg or whip, and immediately release the shoulder with my rein while the hind leg is still in the air, all while keeping the horse's neck and body as straight as possible through the side-step movement. It's really subtle and difficult for both of us to master, and results in a fairly hard workout without over-taxing the horse. Doing this pattern on repeat in the indoor arena today, we were both absolutely drenched with sweat afterward. After correctly executing the lateral movement, the final piece which is perhaps even more important than the correct sequence, is to help the horse use the energy he has just generated by bringing his hind leg underneath his body and lifting his shoulder, to send it forward, right into a trot or canter. Today, Levi did exactly this and even used that energy to initiate a canter in both directions despite me not specifically asking for it. In any case, forward is good- so good job, Levi!

I also intended to ride yesterday, but the flies had other plans. When I arrived at the farm, happy to take advantage of the cooler weather for once, I noticed the geldings were running around willy-nilly in their fly sheets like a group of terrorized ghosts. An army of greenheads was busy picking them off one by one. When I brought Levi into the barn and removed his fly sheet, he was absolutely soaked with sweat across his chest, shoulders, and some parts of his hindquarters, panting like he'd been running a marathon all afternoon, so I set aside my time in the saddle to tend to him. Looking at the naturally-occurring sweat patterns in horses, which result from their movement at liberty, is informative in learning which muscle chains are being recruited at faster gaits. Levi's revealed just how much more of a natural "shoulder mover" (relies on pulling himself with his shoulder "engine" vs. propulsion via the hind legs, back, and hind end) he is, which gives him less natural ability to generate the kind of impulsion he needs to stay in balanced movement under saddle. A large part of early dressage training is teaching the horse how to recruit the right muscle groups, through introducing and performing specific activities tailored to this; just like a targeted body weight routine, these activities are intended to build strength but also to feel good for the horse, as he can stretch those same muscle groups through the full range of movement. I was taught that good riding should also feel good for the horse as well, and that horses that are properly ridden will be much happier in and look forward to their work under saddle. Levi really does seem to appreciate his training - he tacks right up like a dream, ears forward, goes right into the arena to the mounting block, and will even begin pawing impatiently if I am a minute overtime based on his calculation! He does not appreciate his time being wasted, apparently! It helps that I am consistent with that process regardless of his behavior, never impatient, emotional, or rushed. Working on exploring and understanding nuances of smaller but critical movements, and reinforcing neuromuscular memory, are elements of riding training that can be done at times where temperature extremes prohibit harder conditioning, while still providing a lot of benefit to the horse (and rider!).

During our lesson today, we used the energy gained from those early (albeit imperfect) lateral maneuvers to carry forward into smooth and well-connected circles at a trot, in both directions. While making subtle adjustments to my seat, leg, and core to spiral in and out of the circles, our instructor mentioned that these same lateral movements were fundamental to the idea of inside leg to outside rein, helping me make the mental connection before translating to physical cues. The over all goal of this kind of training is to facilitate balance, rhythmic movement, and ultimately, collection, all leading to greater benefit and well-being for the horse. At least, that's what I have learned. However, as I will share below in an amusing anecdote, not everyone shares this sentiment!

While Levi and I approach lessons with a serious and focused attitude, we do have many fun moments. And to be honest, lately I have been looking for anything to laugh about, although seeing photos and videos of my riding is surest of all to fix that! While we were walking a bit to cool down between activities, our instructor off-handedly mentioned something she saw on social media that made me laugh so hard I almost fell off the horse! Apparently, someone created an ad featuring a photo of their horse offered for lease with a list of things it could do (e.g. trail riding, picnics) but with a strong caveat clearly specifying no dressage! Now, I know this person, and they are hilariously funny- think horse-related physical comedy like Pontus Hugosson - and often feature their horse in fun photoshoots or memes. Anyway, the thing that made me laugh so hard is that nobody remotely familiar with dressage, and the horse in the ad in particular, would look at that horse and think, there's the horse that's gonna get me my USDF bronze medal - see ya in Ocala, suckers! Even funnier to me is the implication that our local equestrian scene is somehow under siege by an ominous cohort of dressage trainers waiting to get their grimy little hands on Mom's old mare or gelding, lurking in the bushes and waiting for the chance to jump out and... school your horse according to the training scales, or... maybe teach it to lift its back and... stretch its topline? I don't know. Anyway, watch out for those dressage riders- they're a hidden threat and they're coming right for your horse!

I was inspired enough by this (not to mention the need to have something I found truly funny to laugh about) that I made my own meme: here is an unhinged, social media-coded ad featuring my two adorable AI-generated "lease horses" who are super talented and needing jobs (but not, under any circumstances, dressage)! Hope I can find the right person to bring them along in the Facebooks. (If this doesn't give you a chuckle, just imagine me driving these two, or better, just watch me ride Levi sometime, and you surely will!)