An Outing!
This weekend was quietly a big deal for us - my wonderful wonderful boy went to a clinic!
I’ll start by saying, the coordination and weeks leading up to it have been no small series of challenges. First there’s been the adjustment at the barn with trainers coming back from Florida, and the additional coordination that brings. There’s lots of adjustments as we move into spring, and for the majority of the riders at the farm that means an active show season. The juniors are abuzz with mane pulling, new show clothes, and coordinating their calendars. It’s an interesting dynamic to watch, but not be a part of, almost like the rituals of birds and small creatures coming back to life the in springtime.
Instead of thinking about show schedules, Factor and I have been discovering more and more about working together. The last few weeks have seen ice slick paddocks, so turnout time has been limited. He’s still getting free time to move around, but in general, he’s been luxuriating in his king-sized stall.
Our rides have been interesting, with me learning as much about what he knows as he is learning what I know equally. We’ll have a series of splendid rides, and then a hiccup appears, a wrinkled, that we want to go back and sort through. He’s always sweet and curious about things, but some days stiffer than others what with the cold, so the rides have needed to account for those sorts of days. The one wish I have is that there was more time to work him when I see him, so that our warm up can be a true warm up, and then there can be a ride of teaching to follow. Too many rides I’m afraid have been more of the short and sweet, or getting him exercised and moving.
In our quest to become more in tune, I’ve noticed a certain carryover from his race training: Factor is competitive.
Or, at the very least, he makes faces like he is! Any time we orbit another horse, Factor’s ears sweep into a practiced face and he signs a clear indicator to give him space. (This weekend was also the first time we’ve ridden with mirrors…he made the same miserable face at himself!) We are, so far, discouraging it with refocusing our energy and a stern noise.
Before I ramble on, let me instead turn to our clinic!
A bit ago, I entered us in one day of a two-day Silke Rembacz clinic. I figured it would be a great outing after a consistent month or so under saddle, both for Factor and for me, and perhaps that doing a single day would be better than two for him as a baby (also…shipping coordination). My hope was that our toolbox would be broadened - and some of my rust hopefully chipped away - and that we gain some confidence off property under the watchful eye of an instructor well versed in young horse conversations.
Part of this, of course, included coordinating a trailer as I don’t yet have my own setup. Another long story to circle around, but what resulted was that Factor spent a sleepover over at the hosting farm, and we had two rides over the weekend, instead of one. Sadly the only photos I got were unrelated to our riding time, but it shows off the experience for me!
We travelled over on Friday, and found ourselves in the most beautiful barn, built by the present owner in 1995.
Nestled into the top of an exposed hillside, the farm was originally purchased to ensure that the land was left rural and undeveloped. The farm cultivates its own hay, and has a phenomenal view of the surrounding areas. It hosts some amazing wildlife (in just the weekend, I saw two deer and a beautiful bird of prey) as well as some amazing gusts of wind!
The barn is a beautiful design, circular, with stalls on the outside perimeter, all looking into the same aisle. The effect is a large, airy stable row, with sunny stalls, and ample working space with clearance. The barn area connects to the indoor arena, a beautifully long, and wide structure. Small details, like washers and nuts on the inside of eyehooks in stalls show the care and attention to horses this place was built with. The atmosphere in the barn was calm, inclusive - and it is evident the horses’ care was paramount.
After a short trailer ride - during which time, Factor managed to work himself into a soaked lather - we arrived at the farm. As we unloaded, he was quiet and observant, despite many days without a chance of heading outside for any sustained time at home. It was breezy (more on this later), but he was calm and quiet and walked with me to the barn without incident. Quietly a radio played when we entered, and he settled into his weekend stall with ease. His stall offered a view of the driveway and a nice breeze through the cracked window.
Our original schedule was to ride Friday night, with a day off for turnout and rest on Saturday, then another ride Sunday morning. In my planning, I had given him the day off on Thursday to get his feet done and do some light groundwork. But the best laid plans are always at the whims of circumstance and fate, and in this case, Mother Nature had other plans.
First, a flight was delayed, meaning our original ride time was pushed back into the evening. I used the afternoon to walk Factor in the indoor, a wondrously airy and bright space with natural light and airflow optimized through the design. He was very good about the windy doors, and the jumps collected on the ground in colours he isn’t used to.
Fast forward to our evening ride plans. We are midway through tacking up with the wind picking up outside. Though the hilltop certainly is windier than the flatland below, there had been weather warnings all talking about high winds overnight. Part of the way into my first polo wrap, the lights go out. They flicker back on, then off again, and again, then off for good. Factor stood more than perfectly still, and though he didn’t understand what was happening, he was solid and quiet.
We got a little light going from phones and flashlights, and untacked the two horses in the dark. We settled in, and rescheduled the rides for the following day.
Between the two rides, and without going into dragged out detail, we had effectively two different horses. On Saturday, Factor did get some turnout for the afternoon, and then we rode at the end of the day. He was, after two days off, very forward. It was, honestly, a fantastic opportunity to put a warmup on him.
The best comment of the ride?
“He has a terrific walk.”
Well, it was followed up - at the end of the ride - with the sentiment that he has three lovely gaits, and of what a terrific boy he was. (Which he was.)
Ride two saw me astride a completely different horse. Another rider complimented us on his quality of hoof, which I took a high compliments. Under saddle, Factor was calm, quiet - one might even say a little logy for my power walker - and only needed a trot warm up to suffice his need to fast. This ride, we didn’t even canter. This ride was much more about how I can be helping him, and by the end of our hour, Factor had been shown the light of giving to contact and started light lateral works!
The things for me to work on or remember, in no particular order:
Trailer loading, and how I ask him to lead on - or tell him, more like. This should be an easy resolution once we have our own trailer, as it mostly seems like a practice need.
Right shoulder back - it wasn’t noted for me, but I could feel myself twisting left.
Sit back into my seat, versus pitching anywhere forward. This has been a steady improvement lately, and after a reminder or two this weekend, I think I have found that more comfortable place in Factor’s rhythm.
Hands lower - I’ve been overcorrecting too much! I was reminded to just let my hands act like the side reins right now, steady and quiet.
Play the bit down, not sideways. This one, I think, is a biproduct of rust. As soon as Silke asked me to change how the motion of my fingers was, it was a lightbulb moment. Especially to the left, Factor was all about the give.
Don’t throw away the outside rein - this one is an old habit of mine that went away with more constant work. The reminder this weekend was to keep the contact and not lose it entirely when we change rein.
Phew, lots of words on this page. With all of that, I have to claim exhaustion after a long weekend, and go find a warm soak. My boy was far less anxious going home, his sweat soaked ride on the trip over a thing of the past. He’s gaining confidence that I’ll be there when he unloads, smart lad.
Oh, unrelated to anything else, I put together a Sep / Feb look at my guy.
