A quick trip to Dirtsville

Well, it finally happened...

I fell off Calvin. I knew the inevitable was bound to happen and well, it did.

To get a few things out of the way first: we're both okay and no serious injuries to report. Normally I wouldn't make a post about falling off since I've fallen off more times than I can count, but since this was my first fall off Calvin I felt that I should commemorate it.

The day started rather nonchalantly. I got Calvin out of his pasture and noticed he looked very tired. I brushed him up and he stood there more calmly than usual. I thought since he was so tired, I'd do a bareback trail ride with him instead of arena work (red flag #1). We head out on the trail with Heidi in tow. The weather started to change about halfway through and the wind picked up (red flag #2). I noticed he was getting amped up and staring at more "scary" things (red flag #3). We got to a brushy area and he stopped in his tracks and snorted (red flag #4). I knew he thought something was terrifying so I prepared myself for him to take off. I asked him to walk forward and he startled and spun 180°. I got off balance and tried to pull him the opposite direction but he was running sideways. The horse at 2:37 in this video shows a good spin, while we weren't jumping it's the same duck/spin move. My bareback pad doesn't have hardly any grip, I use it primarily for cushion, so it quickly got to the point of no return so I braced for impact. I held onto the reins for too long which caused me to land on my hip/ side and I realized that if I kept holding onto the reins Id end up under him. I made a conscious decision to let go of the reins and he took off running for about 100 feet. 

I fell off about 5 minutes after this picture was taken. I think Calvin is just choosing where to dump me at this point. 

It was by no means a bad landing and I was able to get up and catch him. But not before he stepped on the reins and snapped them :( At that point I was just happy he didn't run all the way home. So what do we do when we fall off the horse? We get back on. I had to endure another 20 minutes of him spooking at things he's not normally afraid of. Luckily I kept him busy (no more ms. nice girl!) and kept moving his feet sideways back and forth so he was forced to focus on me instead of the ghosts (i.e. plastic bags).

 

Oh the irony...

Could this fall have been prevented? Probably not. My bareback pad has 0 grip so I slid to the side quickly. If I had a saddle I might have been in better condition, but who knows, falls happen! Calvin wasn't being malicious, he was just a baby horse. So what was in the brush that made him so scared? A duck flapping its wings on the water. Sigh. 

Lessons learned: 1. Use a saddle on a trail ride while he still has baby brain. 2. Use my trail bridle that was cheap and the reins don't break 3. Never overestimate your horse's maturity

The worst part about falling off a horse? How sore you are the next couple of days...ow! I've been limping around because I guess Calvin clipped my heel when taking off. Also I'm bruised something fierce on my landing side. It could be much worse and I'm glad this wasn't an ER visit horse fall!

How can I stay mad at this face? 

Mustangs: The Ultimate All-Around Horse

I figured it was time to mention other mustang ambassadors that have been rocking their various disciplines. Mustangs are often viewed as the ugly stepchild, too "wild" to ever be really good at anything other than trails. Much of this is due to the disciplines' stereotypes and preferred breeds. For hunter/jumpers it's warmbloods, dressage prefers warmbloods, western prefers quarter horses, endurance prefers arabians, eventing prefers thoroughbreds and warmbloods. Hence, many of these disciplines view mustangs as the "outsider" without any real potential in any sport. I've experienced this myself when saddle shopping even, people would ask what type of horse I was buying for and when I said mustang, they would look perplexed and respond "really?" Any thought that I was serious about that discipline went out the window when I said my horse was a mustang.

Hunter/jumpers are probably the worst culprits for perpetuating the warmbloods-only stereotype. Many of the events are scored by judges and therefore *very* subjective. Many people I know have seen first hand that celebrity children and well-known riders will place better due to the bias the judges come in with. This is not how it should be and surely not all h/j judges are this way, but it happens more than it should. Therefore the question isn't "are mustangs good enough" but rather "will I even be competitive due to the judges' biases."

Reality is that mustangs can excel at other disciplines because they come in all body types from draft size, to smaller mustangs with Spanish influence, to more thoroughbred/sport type like Calvin. The military even uses mustangs for things such as border patrol and at Arlington national cemetery.

US Marine Mounted Colorguard use Palomino mustangs to represent

Draft type mustang in Arlington National Cemetery

Not only are mustangs used in the workforce, but also in the competitive horse show world. Elisa Wallace is famous around the mustang community for competing in the Extreme Mustang Makeover. A 100 day challenge where a random mustang is chosen for the individual straight out of the holding pens, never been touched. The contestants then have 100 days and at the end they compete in a competition showing off the horses' newfound skills. Here is Elisa on her first mustang and how she caught the mustang community's attention:

Elisa and Fledge

Elisa is originally an Eventer and therefore brings her mustangs up in a more typical English style. She has a new mustang named "Hwin" that she is actually competing in eventing with: Elisa & Hwin XC. She's also giving mustangs national attention by performing at top events:

Elisa on Fledge doing very technical work without a bridle or saddle

Here's the very successful mustang "Ladybug" and her owner Janet Tipton competing in endurance:

"Mustang Lady" is a hall-of-fame endurance mustang shown here doing Tevis, a 100 mile ride:

Padre, a mustang stallion, won a very prestigious dressage competition called Dressage at Devon:

An absolutely beautiful mustang!

There may be famous mustangs in the Western disciplines, but I don't follow western as closely. I do know that mustangs are used in ranch settings very frequently including working with cows and other misc. duties. 

Mustangs are the "mutts" of the horse world and have the reputation to go along with it, unfortunately. Many people are working on changing this stereotype, whether just by adopting mustangs for companion horses or using them for competition. Those with mustangs praise the breed for a number of factors:  mustangs are generally very healthy, they don't come with bad riding habits, mustangs are pro-social, and they have the street smarts that come with growing up wild. While the competitive horse show worlds are still heavily dominated by other breeds, Mustangs have proven that they are competitive. Yet mustangs have added benefit of being, for the most part, more genetically sound than their domestic counterparts. Instead of buying into the hype of what type of horse you "need" for whatever discipline you're doing, consider a mustang! 

Pick Mustangs!

Karl Niedersuss Saddle Review

My Christmas present from my boyfriend was a dressage saddle! Well, more specifically the "green light" to try out used dressage saddles. Trying out saddles is a complicated affair that involves a number of different factors. However, these factors all fall into two categories: How the saddle fits me and how the saddle fits the horse.

Thanks to the internet, buying a used saddle is much easier than when I was saddle shopping 10 years ago. I've heard mixed results with people buying on eBay, some landing amazing deals while others getting ripped off. I've personally sold saddles on eBay with great results, but buyer beware. Other websites have garnered a reputation for used saddles on the internet including St.Croix Saddlery and Pelham Saddlery. I'm lucky to have a great tack store about an hour from where I live that has a number of used saddles from all disciplines. 

I decided on a used saddle for a number of reasons. First, you get a better used saddle for the price than if I were to get a new saddle. Second, I'm new to dressage and want to make sure it's something I really do enjoy before spending a fortune on a custom saddle. Finally, Calvin is still young and growing meaning that his body will develop and change as he gets older and builds muscle from regular work. I might have to buy a new saddle when he stops growing and "filling out" at around 7 or 8 years of age. 

Anyway, since I'm not part of a dressage training barn I did not have the option to borrow others' saddles to try out on Calvin. Therefore I had to try out used saddles for sale. Most places let you put a refundable deposit down and then you can try the saddle for ~7 days, which is what I did.

The first saddle I've tried is this Karl Niedersuss (KN) "Symphonie" Saddle. KN saddles are made in Austria and were chosen to be used by the Spanish Riding School in Vienna. KN was also the official saddler for the 1988 Olympics and have been making saddles for over 200 years. 

First impressions in the store were that the seat was stiff but it fit me well and was under budget, time to see if it fit Calvin!

Full view of saddle in different lighting conditions, slight wear on the flaps and cantle. Saddle came with stirrups and leathers, a good $100 save. 

For a 10 year old saddle this is in great condition. Also, it's lower priced than what others are offering for the same saddle on the internet *and* it's a newer saddle. One good thing about this brand is that it holds its value really well.

Cantle and rear panels

Stitching on seat

Fit on Calvin was surprisingly good. You are supposed to have 3-4 fingers under the pommel for wither clearance (check). The saddle is supposed to keep off the spine (check) and rest on the muscles  before the ribcage begins (check).

The tree (bones of the saddle) angle is supposed to follow his shoulder/body curvature (check). For such a narrow horse he actually fits in a medium-wide tree, I was pretty surprised.

Saddle is even across is back? (check).

Calvin and I in full dressage get up

Calvin and I trotting around testing the saddle out

The first saddle I've tried fits? This was suspiciously easy! My overall impression of this saddle is that it's not as deep seated as some other brands and rides somewhat stiffer. When I first rode in this I remarked how it feels "european" in that it's not designed for comfort, but practicality. It's not uncomfortable and I'm certainly not in pain from riding in it (like I am with Pessoa saddles, so sad). It's just not like riding on a couch. For our first dressage saddle I'm very happy with it.

Goals 2015

My goals for 2014 were to teach Calvin the basics of riding (stop,go,turn). However, he far exceeded these goals since I was able to get on him about a month into owning him! It was time to set some new, realistic goals for 2015 as Calvin is officially 4 years old now! His birthday is listed as 1/1/11. Horses in any registry are considered a year older the first of the year, including racehorses, so I'm assuming this is the case with Calvin and he wasn't actually born on 1/1. 

While Calvin was not born in the wild, his mother was captured as a pregnant lady in the wild and gave birth in the pens. He grew up in the holding pens with other wild horses, he just wasn't out on "the range." I always joke that he wouldn't survive in the wild due to his curious and brave nature. Although he likely would have learned from his mom/other mustangs what was dangerous...but we'll never know for sure.

Anyway, now that he's four we can start doing some more work and hence 2015 goals! 

Goal 1: Finding our motor--impulsion

As I've mentioned before, Calvin has more whoa than go. However, we do know that he has a working engine! The key is to harness this energy into work, when I ask for a trot--he needs to go immediately. When I ask for a canter, I should only need to ask once. Also when he's in a certain gait, say the trot, he's not supposed to stop unless I ask him to stop. I shouldn't need to nag him to keep going with my legs 1000x to keep him going. This has been the hardest part as he's either super tired and dull or wide awake and distracted. 

Goal 2: Straightness, straightness, straightness! 

This is the most important first step in classical dressage, making sure your horse travels around straight. Sounds simple right? Not to a wiggly young horse! Sometimes the simplest sounding tasks are the most difficult. 

What a nice pretty line! 

Goal 3: Building a solid top line

According to classical dressage, it takes a year to build a proper top line in a horse. If you've kept up with this blog you likely already read that this is what I've been working on, but it's an ongoing process that like all good things, it takes time. 

Goal 4: Beginning Piaffe

Toward the end of the year, I would like him to start learning the "piaffe." Piaffe is trotting in place as seen in the first few seconds in the video.  I would only expect a few steps from Calvin at this age. When the horse in the video moves forward it is called the passage. Obviously this horse is very advanced and likely had years of practice:

Piaffe is actually supposed to be in one place, not too sure why this horse is moving backwards for part of it. Also note that the mirrors, which are very common in dressage arenas, typically used to check your position. Unfortunately there isn't a mirror anywhere on the boarding property where we are :(

These are very easily obtainable goals for both of us (barring injury) and some of them are taught simultaneously. While I enjoy goals, I never want to feel "rushed" to accomplish something. I want Calvin to always be willing to work and not burnt out mentally. Overall if I practice a couple times a week we should be in good shape. Of course he'll get weeks off here and there to just be a horse (like this past week!). Breaks are just as important as work, as we all know :)

Here's to a productive 2015!