Relocating IRIDE

IRIDE has relocated to the mountains of northeast Alabama.  Specifically, to 66 acres on Lookout Mountain, near Mentone, AL.

We have been working on the property to build a stall and pasture for Jelle, and I am happy to report that he is settled in nicely and loving it here in the mountains.

Getting used to the differences in philosophy in the horse culture up here has been a bit of a challenge, but I was forewarned of it with my experience at a stable/summer camp a few years back.  And quite frankly, the quality of the professional equine services has improved since then.
More about the specifics of that later.

I have found that I have about 15-20 acres of good quality hay.  I was quite happy about that, until I discovered the difficulty in getting someone to come bale it for me.  So, my husband and I are cutting a row at a time, and drying and gathering the hay the way I imagine the Amish do it.  The hay is thick and good quality, so the job is not that difficult.  And bottom line is that Jelle has great quality hay that is ultra fresh, organic (we haven't had to fertilize OR herbicide the field), plentiful, and cheap! 

The only expense we have incurred is the diesel for the tractor to cut it, and the personal man-hours of labor for my husband and myself.  Good thing it only takes about 20 minutes for the two of us to gather enough hay for a couple days.  I figure that a bale of this hay only costs us about $2.00 or so.

I have also had an influx of new students from this area (I travel between Chattanooga, TN; Huntsville, AL and Rome, GA during each week for regular lessons).  I am grateful for the warm welcome I have gotten from the dressage community up here!  There are quite a few talented, serious, and committed riders in this area!  I am also pleasantly surprised about the quality horses that they have.  Another thing that surprises me is the number of showing opportunities here.  There are almost 20 USDF/USEF recognized dressage shows within 2-1/2 hour's drive from me between the months of April and November.  That is plenty of competition opportunity for the students as well as for Jelle and me!

Do You Have a Plan When You Ride/Train Your Horse?

Someone posted a question similar to this in one of the online groups I follow.  People have asked me this before, but as I mostly lurk on this particular group, I didn't add my two cents.  But many other group members did comment.
To paraphrase, most people said they start with a plan in mind, but let the horse dictate what actually happens.  As I read the the replies, it started to occur to me that I USED to take this tack, but not anymore.
Let me explain...
When I train a horse, I have a plan with several components.  I have the Master Plan, which is the Training Scale.  I also have the "Plan of Attack", which takes into consideration the overall picture of the horse--his conformation and his personality.  Different horse-types require different focuses of the training scale at different times in their training.  Those are my general goals.
Then I have more specific goals, based on the long term goals--such as, a general timeline for progression (usually month to month), and this part of the plan is the most flexible, even after the idea is set.  The reason is that I initiate this timeline on a "best-case scenario", which doesn't take into consideration any hiccups (lameness, sickness, unanticipated weaknesses that need more time at a certain point, etc.).  The timeline usually gets longer, as we take into account any interruption, unforseen circumstances, or slow-down in the training.
Then we have the benchmark plan.....that is specific points of progression (apart from the timeline), and is used for competition purposes. Such as, as the purpose and elements of "Training Level" get easy for the horse, we should already be flowing into the concepts of "First Level" (where impulsion is introduced), such as the lengthening of the trot and canter. Then as all the elements of First Level are becoming easier, begin to introduce the notion of collection through some steps of the shoulder-in and other more sophisticated lateral work, and so on.
And to answer the question of a daily plan, yes, I do have a plan for each ride.  And I expect to be able to execute the elements of my plan.  If the horse is dictating something other than I have planned on a regular basis, then I believe the failure is mine!
If I don't "get to" the elements of the plan I lay out for the day, I have to wonder--"is my plan unrealistic"? Or, "do I really understand the training scale"? Or, "am I skipping ahead of where my horse truly is in its training"?
I believe that if I am not able to execute my plan for the training session at least 98% of the time, then there is something wrong with the master plan, or of my execution of the master plan, plan of attack, or timeline (the big picture).  If you are not able to execute the daily plan, it is just a symptom of a bigger problem in your training.

Do You Own a Dressage Horse That You Want Trained/Shown?

I have an opening for one training horse in my barn in Vero Beach, FL.  If you have a quality dressage horse that you would like to have campaigned on the WEF Circuit, call me after visiting my website.  

http://www.iride.at

I will speak with you about your candidate, his/her care, the specifics of the training and showing programs, and set up an evaluation with you.

Serious inquiries only, please.

Senor Wimbledon von Mule (We call him "Wimbley")

Wimbley the first month

The title of this post is a link to my official website, where my resume can be viewed.  It gives a run-down of my experience and qualifications but I want to share a bit more personal background before embarking on the training journal for Wimbley.

I have a pretty common beginning in the equestrian experience, and I won't bore you with the details, but suffice it to say that I have started and trained quite a few young horses over the course of my career.  I stopped doing it for three reasons: 

1. If it was a horse that I bred, people bought it before it was old enough to be trained and either didn't bring it back to me for training, or wouldn't leave it with me for long enough for the training to be set (people want "90 day wonders") 

2.  If it was a horse that was owned by someone else, they never wanted to commit to the actual time it took to really train a horse for an amateur to ride safely and reliably or they put competition pressure on the horse before it was ready. 
3.  If I owned the horse that was old enough to be started, I succombed to the pressure from potential buyers to sell before the horse was finished.  Of course, in dressage, "finished" is relative, but if you have a horse for sale, it is not cost-effective to keep it until it reaches Grand Prix, so my horses generally sold when they were solid Training Level or First Level, tops.  I got tired of making horses for other people, so I concentrated on teaching people on their own horses to make them better, and bought a lesson horse for those who were just starting to ride or were without their own horse.  So I haven't had a "prospect" for many years.

Wimbley the second month

Then came Edie.  She came to me for dressage lessons in April of 2010, and we hit it off right away.  I had known her for longer, but she was the student of  a friend of mine.  My friend had a (human) baby, and moved farther away than was feasible for Edie to drive for lessons, so she came to me on my friend's recommendation.

A couple of weeks later, Edie said she would like me to evaluate a horse that she had that was started for polo but would be too tall.  She wanted to know if he had any potential for dressage.  I said that every horse benefitted from dressage training, but how far they can go in their training depends on many factors, including their gaits and temperament.  Most important is whether the owner is willing to take as much time as needed for that particular horse to develop their strength and understanding of the job, and to not rush things, and be willing to stop or adjust the training at any point in which the horse indicates that it is too much.  I told her that the training process takes years, not months, and with the most talented horse and the most gifted trainer, and the stars aligning in the heavens the road from training level to grand prix would take at least 5 or 6 years.  With a horse who has any conformational, strength, or temperament issues it can take much longer, or s/he he may never get there at all.  Her response was "well, if you think he has any talent for it at all, let's see what happens".

I started riding Senor Wimbledon von Mule (“Wimbley”) for Edie in the beginning of May 2010.  I thought he was 3 years old, almost four at this point, but later (in November) I found out he was 2 years old, becoming 3 in April 2010.  He had been backed in October of 2009 by Edie’s Polo Trainer, Manuel D’Avila, and Manuel started riding him in January 2010 to prepare him for polo.  Manuel owned him at that point, but he felt that Wimbley would be too tall for polo, and Edie really liked his disposition so she asked me if I would evaluate him for dressage.  Manuel rode him for me, and I told Edie that he would certainly make a good lower level horse, since he had three good gaits, and a very good nature.  Edie bought him from Manuel and put him in training with me for dressage.  There is a story behind his name, too, which I will tell in the next post.
                                                          (to be continued........)