Sally Ede lessons

Time for a more upbeat post, and luckaly we have something upbeat to blog about :)


Sof and I have started lessons with Sally Ede who is a riding instructor who focuses on biomechanics. She helped us out with flatwork not so long ago and started us on the path to straightness training, but now we are back in the saddle I thought she could also help with my terrible riding position.


Sally is brilliant! Instructors are horses for courses really, some work for you some don't, but Sally deff works for us. The way she explains things makes total sense and she is brilliant at spotting the subtal changes which make all the difference. She is also very attuned to the rider and horse relationship, and can instantly see where my and Sofies real issues lie.


First two lessons were in the field. I have been a bit nervous of the school since the side-saddle lesson. I know it is my nerves that set Sofie off, but until I have them under control I didn't want to ride in the school. I felt this would be a bit of a vicious circle. Plus the field means Tonto can graze whilst we work which is a bonus.


First thing we discovered was that I collapse and arch my back, which totally blocks Sofie's movement. The moment I engaged my core and sat properly Sofie transformed into a beautiful outline and started stepping through. Sally was very impressed with her, I have a beautifully schooled horse - I just need to know how to ride her!


The next thing to note was Sofie is not keen on using one of her back legs.. annoyingly I can't remember which one it was, I think it might be back right. She is not lame, just one sided.


Boyed by the success of the first two lessons I decided it was time to face my fears and ride in the school. I have been doing some ground work in the school to try and overcome the spooky end with Sofie and we are getting better. I have been giving rewards and treats in the scary end to make it a nice place. We started the lesson by getting me to walk round with Sofie on foot. Sally instantly noticed that when I was looking at the floor Sofie was on high alert, but when I was looking up she relaxed. Conclusion, Sofie wants me to lead.


We then did a grounding exercise to calm my nerves. I had a few butterflys in my stomark so needed to settle these down. After a few focused breadths and conscious lowering of energy we all started nodding off so it was time to get on.


Sofie was brilliant, didn't put a foot wrong. She was a bit more looky at scary end, but provided I didn't loose my focus and stayed calm and confident she was fine. She just needed me to take control a bit more. We worked a bit more on my position, I found it harder to concentrate in the school but got there in the end and she started to float around. Again I did notice that she was a bit of a banana on the corners on one reign. Again I can't remember which one.


We go so brave we trotted past as the pigs were squeeling and went down over trotting polls. She didn't give a monkeys about the pigs. Sofie only worries if I worry. The polls she tried her hardest over, she has a big trot when she chooses, but she did rush a bit at the end when she started to loose balance. Sally's conclusion is that Sofie worries when: a) I fret and stop leading and b) when she looses balance.


So the key things I want to focus on now with her are: my confidence, her strength (via straightness training), our ridden balance. So nice to have some clear goals.


I am a bit worried about her hind leg, I'll see if straightness training works, if not I'll get it investigated for arthritis.

In other news Tonto is bloody rallying again - just as soon as I made the decision to put him down! He has gained weight and seems more comfortable of late.  He also managed a ride and lead walk to the dear farm, striding out the whole way and even doing an awkward canter back at his field. So I have booked Lucy Chester in to come and see him to see if we can improve the separation anxiety stuff. Lucy is another haffy addict so I have been wanting to meet her for ages anyway and thought it would be worth a punt. I am not convinced we can cure Tonto of his infatuation with Sofie, but it would be very helpful if we could go for a hack without him panicking, especially if he is going to stick around longer (which is still a might not a definite).


ooo in other other news, I got the start of haunches in from Sofie the other night. So pleased.

Exhausted

Apologies for the pause in blogs, once again life got in the way.


Tonto has continued to deteriorate, he now struggles to put his hind feet back down when I pick them up, has repeated skin infections and has lost a lot of weight. Its has been a real worry for me. I have now put him in a pen next door to Sofie so that I can feed him more whilst keeping Sof from ballooning.


I have been doing some straightness training with Sofie, there have been a few bumps on the road - rearing and resisting, but of late she has really started relaxing and trying and I think it is helping our relationship. I think we have almost cracked LFS, shouldering in is getting there and I have just started haunches in - we get a few steps but then she gets confused. I think I am going to go back to shoulder in next week to see if this helps progression. Below is a little clip from a few weeks ago.

I haven't really done any with T - I started but he resisted the forward down and I didn't like pulling him around.


I have also been trying some alternative therapies with Tonto - mainly out of desperation and also to rule out all 'what-ifs' in my mind.


One of these was to have Suz from the straightness training workshop down to do cranio-sacral, equine touch and Reki healing on Tonto and Sofie. Now we already know my views on Reki from the trust technique stuff - but I figure never knock anything until you try it. Tonto seemed to enjoy the treatment, Sofie seemed more sceptical. I then also got Suz to work on me, more out of curiosity then anything else. It was very odd, as soon as she put her hands on me I felt a series of strange sensations all over my body. Then when she touched my problematic left knee I burst into tears - no idea why. Suz said that emotions are often stored in the knees - I don't believe this for one second... and yet since the emotional left knee incident it has actually felt better. I cannot explain this. I am almost annoyed by it because I can't just rule out raki and such like, expect I am just so damn pleased not to have a hurting left knee its hard to stay irritated for too long.


Tonto is also now wearing magnets - again I don't think they will work but I would be delighted to be proven wrong.


And today Silka has started working with Tonto and Sofie on her straightness training like program she has started with LaYarda Reha. With gentle encouragement I could see Tonto was moving more freely. Here is an interesting case study that gives me a bit of hope with T.

and a short vid from today

I should be delighted that some of these things show promise of helping Tonto, but to be honest I am just exhausted. I am exhausted by the constant worry and heartache of watching him slowly crumble in front of my eyes. I am exhausted by the emotional turmoil and guilt at having to balance Tonto and Sofies needs. I hate that I can't do anything with Sof without Tonto either being there or screaming in fear when she is separated from him. I'm shattered from the silent tears I cry at night unable to sleep at the thought of Tonto's pain and the horrid decision that looms over me. And now those dark thoughts are increasingly encroaching daylight hours and I find those silent tears fall frequently in the quiet times of the day. It is like a marathon in grief.


I want to see Tonto well, of course I want to see my beloved Tonto well and happy but that isn't going to happen.


It is going to take a lot of effort to get Tonto more comfortable but not completely well. It will be a lot of effort for a compromise. He might feel a bit less stiff, but he will still have hock pain. He might feel a bit more energised, but he will still have a reduced immune system. He might feel a bit happier, but he will still, most likely, be entirely dependent on Sofie. And the effort won't just be to get to this compromise, it will be to keep it and sustain it whilst he gets older, in inevitably fades again. And I am so very tired.


And of course its not just Tonto. Sofie needs my help to get better, although at least bearing her lameness is not as hard a burden as I think she is perfectly comfortable most days in the field and it shouldn't deteriorate.


And to top it all off the cat might have cancer.


I feel so guilty writing this but I am not sure I am strong enough to keep hoping and trying with Tonto. Equally I am really struggling to make the alternative decision, to put him down. I had said I would do it this summer - I even asked a friend to help. But I can't bring myself to set a date. At this point I just don't know what to do.


I guess I was hoping Silka would take Tonto on as a project and fix him for me. This is unrealistic and probably a bit unfair. I think Silka intends to show me some exercises and leave me to do them with the horses. I am not sure if I am going to manage it.


So given my exhaustion, and also my inability to make a decision I am going to defer it until the end of summer. I will try my best with Silka's training - one last push, and if there is no meaningful improvement then I will know that it is OK to let him go. Safe in the knowledge that I could do no more.

Side saddle lesson

All things in moderation they say - and there has been a lot of ST on the blog so here is a short post on the side (pun intended).


Today Sofie and I had a go at being ladies, via a side saddle lesson. The side saddle association came to the yard to give lessons. Luckily for me they had a saddle suitable for barrel ponies which fitted Sofie pretty well. I was strangely worried about the lesson. I had visions of Sofie dancing and the saddle slipping off with me powerless to stop it. It probably didn't help that I nearly came out the side door last time I schooled because our saddle slipped, and that was when I had too legs to counter balance myself. Also Sofie has gotten more spooky and nappy in the school, plus I have been tunning her up to be more responsive to my aids - I wasn't sure how she would cope with just one leg on.


As soon as I got on the saddle I felt really vulnerable. We started with walking around, and I was soo worried about the saddle slipping I asked the lady to lead me! pathetic! Sitting side saddle feels pretty alien. For one, you are sitting right at the back of the saddle and two you are meant to turn your hips to the right. I habitually turn my hips to the left so this was a real struggle for me. And then there is the inescapable element - it is actually rather hard to untangle yourself from the leg holder thingies - I was told their technical name but in my blind panic I have forgotten the details. Now for most people not being able to fall off is a good thing, but I have found it makes me feel rather trapped - I guess I have had too many instances of horses falling with me/being dragged behind to find not parting company a comfort. So, feeling rather unsettled I sauntered off on Sofie, making sure our instructor was close next to me.


The problem was, me getting nervous made Sofie nervous and so she started to head shake and dance, napping to Tonto when she got nearer the pig end of the school. I found it very hard to keep my cool because I was certain the saddle would head south. But it didn't, in fact it slipped less than my normal saddle. I guess I was more balanced so there were no twisted hips to set it on the wrong course.


But with every circuit Sofie was getting more wound up. There were two others in the lesson, a visitor on a lovely mare who was high strung but the rider was super confident, and a girl riding the fantastic unflappable Findley, who I was more than slightly jealous of when I was prancing alarmingly sideways past on Sof. The nice instructors did comment that she was being a right pickle.


Then my foldy over leg went numb. That's it time for a breather. It was a with a big sigh of relief I swung my leg over to be astride and chilled in the centre. I watched the other two graduate to a dignified trot and canter. Oh lord we are being massively outdone!


Not one for failure I got back into position as soon as I re-gained feeling in my right leg and hit the outside track. Noting my nerves, the instructors got me to sing 'pop goes the weasel' and then got me to sing in lower and slower. The lower and slower I sung the calmer Sofie got. She wasn't being naughty, she was just reacting to my nerves. I was the problem really. I eventually got enough courage to try a trot at the safe end of the school. surprisingly I felt safer trotting, perhaps because there was more to do so harder to get nervous. It was also more comfortable than I expected, I probably can thank Sof's smooth gaits for this - although the ladies did comment what lovely hind action she had.

So from total fear to success. We managed trotting like ladies. I didn't feel bold enough to canter just yet-  I'll leave that to next time.

STM 1.4 the training session

The first things to note is that we need to be safe - use a hat, do not wrap the lunge line around your hand, don't put your face too close to the head to avoid a black eye - but most of all - pay attention to the horse, read his signals and keep it safe! Of course also practice in a safe place.


The training session should always start with the end goal in mind, should relate to the previous session and with the next in mind and should have a structure - warm up, middle and end (with the newest exercise at the end). You should always end on a high - which is why the new stuff is at the end, as it is the new stuff that you want to embed therefore stop at each little break through relax and let the horse reflect on what they have learnt.


The duration of the training session can vary, it will depend on the goal and the horse. AS Tonto is older all of our training sessions will have a long warm up and I will aim to not do too much with him to avoid hurting him. M encourages us to accept the best for the day, and realise that it might not be quite as good as yesterday if the horse is sore or we are just having an off day. And If I am having an off day, it is OK just to groom if I am not feeling up to it. Unfortunately I have been having a lot of off days atm so our straightness training has been glacially slow!


M then goes on to give examples of training schedules. Here is a basic one:



Looking at this with my L&D head on I think I can make improvements, mainly by including the why, as keeping why in mind is always fundamentally important for success. This is something I do when I plan my human training sessions - normally if I can't describe why I am doing something it means it won't work therefore I shouldn't do it.

training part	time	exercise	number	why
warm up (2mins)	2 mins	walking around the arena	1X left, 1X right	to warm up and relax the horse
ground work (10mins)	1 mins	head low while standing	1X	to relax and stretch
	1 mins	stelling right and left while standing still	1X left, 1X right	to relax, stretch and relax both sides of the horse
	2 mins	circle left	2X	to stretch out the left hand side and start activating the right hind
	2 mins	circle right	2X	to stretch out the right hand side and start activating the left hind
	2 mins	circle left	2X	to stretch out the left hand side and start activating the right hind
	2 mins	circle right	2X	to stretch out the right hand side and start activating the left hind
ect	...	...	...	...