A Wonderful Ride

It seems unbelievable, but my time of leaving for Sweden has almost arrived.  The move will be bittersweet, because I'll miss the friends that I have in America, and I'll miss being a working student for Laura.  It has been so wonderful to know her, work with her, and learn from her.

On Wednesday, I had my last lesson with her and my last ride in America for a long time. I was given the privilege of riding my choice of mule.  I chose to ride CR Moxie J, the mule who won Dressage, Western Dressage, and English Pleasure at Bishop Mule Days last week.

The only way I can think of to describe what it was like to ride him is amazing.  He is the most trained animal I have ever ridden, and as such, he wasn't just a pushbutton lesson horse like many of the animals I have ridden.  He has the most amazing gaits I have ever ridden.  When I set him up properly and rode him in front of my leg, his walk was loose and free.  He's a big mule, so I was able to ask for large trot strides.  Perhaps his most amazing gait, however, was the canter.  The transition to the canter was always smooth.  All I had to do was making a kissing sound, and he would roll into the canter.  His strides had a lot of bounce to them, and they felt almost effortless to ride.

As I rode, I focused on keeping my body balanced, since any unbalance could affect my riding. When that was in place, I asked for forward, rhythmic gaits. I tried to keep an elastic connection between my hands and the bit, giving to Moxie slightly when he gave to the bit and became soft and round.  It was so amazing when he did so.  Because of the soft connection and roundness, I could allow him to stretch when I took a few moments to walk and catch my breath.  He stretched so nicely; it felt great.

I worked on a lot of circles.  At one point of the ride, after I had ridden each gait many times,  I rode each 20 meter circle in the arena one after the other(not a serpentine; I stayed on the same rein in this exercise).  I started at the walk worked up to doing the exercise in the canter.  When I kept a soft connection and the right amount of bend in Moxie's neck and body, things felt extraordinary.  It was amazing how effortlessly Moxie could do things.

I'm so happy that I had such an amazing last ride in America on an amazing mule.  I'll miss riding mules when I go to Sweden.  They're such amazing creatures, and I hope to tell European equestrians about them.

Braiding Practice!

These last two times at the barn,  after doing my usual chores of feeding and grooming, I began learning how to braid.  I have wanted braid for a while now, and since I got a wonderful braiding kit a couple of weeks ago, I decided to watch a few videos and practice.

The amen after being pulled.  Trust me, it was much longer before.

The first day I worked on braiding Lucky.  Lucky's mane was extremely long, wild, and unruly: it went almost all the way done her neck in some places. Before braiding her, I pulled her mane, but did not shorten it nearly enough, I soon found.  Even though it is much shorter, it is still quite long.  when I braided it, the braids ended up out being about an inch long instead of the desired bauble.  Nevertheless, they turned out better than I expected.

Round one of braiding 

The second time I worked on Moxie, the big black dressage mule.  His mane is the perfect length for braiding.  My braids were much rounder this time around, although they could have been just a bit tighter.  I'm pleased with how they turned out.

Princess Lucky poses to show off her braids.

I also went for a quick ride on Lucky.  Like I had done when I first started riding with Laura, I rode a pole exercises in which I made a figure eight with the pole at the center.  My accuracy had improved since the last time I did this exercises.  I was able to keep Lucky in between my legs,  ride her to the exact center of the pole, and turn her using my legs.  Furthermore, my upward transitions were succinct and smooth.  Before making them, I asked Lucky to be round to prepare her for a smooth transition.

Round two is much improved.

Finally, I cantered on Lucky for a few minutes.  My canter transitions come much more readily now than they did in the past, because have fill confidence that they will happen, and that they will go smoothly.  Unfortunately, I have been falling forward when Lucky stops.  I really need to remember to keep my legs on, especially when riding without stirrups, so I can prevent this from happening.

Moxie Ride No. 2

For my second ride on Moxie, I mostly worked on slowing his trot to a leisurely jog, and on getting him to become round.  I also rode one-handed for the first time, which was a little difficult to get used to. To ride one-handed, I held the split reins in my left, with my middle finger between them.  My left fist pointed down and was almost close enough to touch Moxie' s withers.  My other hand stayed where it usually is, as if I was holding reins in that hand.  Mostly, I steered with my legs, neck rein. if necessary.

  To make him round, I lifted my hand, which applied pressure to the bit and caused Moxie to become lower his head and lift his back.  It was important to use leg as well, because simply pulling his head down does not create proper engagement.  The bit is just there to "catch" the roundness and to give him something to come round to.  Therefore, you need both leg and hand in the formula.  Once he became round, I lowered my hand until it almost touched his withers, giving him a release.

I also worked on collecting his pace to make it like a jog; I wanted his steps to be small, but with proper engagement.  To this, I made him round, jogged off, and worked on collecting his stride by squeezing my fist and sitting back slightly when his stride became faster and bigger than I desired.  It still needs some work, which I will do soon.

Lesson on Moxie(3rd Level Mule)

*Long, word heavy post without a lot of pictures, but there is a lot to tell!

Yesterday, I rode Moxie, Laura's big black john mule.  It was a great privilege to ride him because he is very well trained, and because of that, Laura doesn't let many people ride him.  Since he has a lot of training, he is extremely sensitive to the small nuances in the rider's position and aids.  Every aid means something to him, and he's always looking to his rider to be the leader, and to make all the decisions.  He is constantly asking what his rider wants next and he wants the rider to take initiative and control everything. This is the reason why he is not a lesson mule(and why high level horses don't always make great lesson horses).  It's difficult for novice riders to focus on controlling the horse/mule while still working out their own body, which is why most lesson horses are horses that will make their own decisions when the rider can't/doesn't.  It was a real privilege to ride Moxie, and I appreciate the opportunity because it shows that Laura trusts me.

For example, when I looked down and to the left before taking off, he went that way.  I can't just look down and squeeze him to make him go off like I might do with another horse; I have to be prepared, have a game plan, and look exactly where I want to go.

 I rode Moxie in a western saddle and bridle because I can possibly do a mule show at the end of the month(instead of the dressage show).  According to Laura, mule shows always have a very fun, relaxed atmosphere, even at rated ones like the one I might do, and the people are very friendly, so it will be a great first show experience.  Plus, Laura knows most of the people there–the horse world is small, and the mule world is even smaller.  If I go, I will enter a novice western trail course, and possibly a pleasure class.

 While riding, I had to be extra careful with my hands because like I said, he is sensitive, and curb bits can be strong and harsh in unsteady hands.  I rode with split reins and kept them long, with only a light contact on his month.  My hands stayed close together because in the show I will have to ride with one hand, which shouldn't be too much of a problem since I have been learning to turn with my legs and upper body instead of my hands.  However, if I did need my hands I was told to move my hands slightly to the inside so that the outside rein touched his neck, making him turn.  This is what is called neck reining.

 I struggled at first, using too much hand and becoming tight.  I walked him around a bit, then asked for the jog.  However, I was too tight and leaned too far forward, resulting in a tight, bigger than intended trot.  Laura got on for a few minutes to school Moxie and to demonstrate just how light he could be, then let me back on again.

 A western position is about relaxation, not tightness(no position should have a lot of tension but Laura told me to be relaxed and loose in western).  Also, I was told to sit more on my seat bones.  In my head, I kept a mental image of a reiner doing a sliding stop to help me to see how my position should be like. One mental image she used that was helpful in causing me to relax was to imagine that I was riding the best mule in the nation–the king mule.  It really helped me to sit upright and proud.  It should also be noted that riding western, I focused on having my legs more loosely at my side rather than keeping a hold Moxie's side.

Picture of Moxie from the first time I went to Laura's
ranch, back in January.  I miss the green grass!

The next time I asked for the jog was a bit better.  When I focused on leaning slightly back(really I was upright but it felt like leaning back because I had been too far forward in my upper body) and relaxing, Moxie jogged off really nicely.  To return to walk, I was told to lean slightly back, relax my body by breathing out, and to close my fingers slightly.  This is where the stopping reining rider imager proved useful, because my position should be similar to that, though perhaps not as pronounced.  The first few times, it took several dribbling strides to return to the walk.  However, after doing walk-jog transitions every few strides, and focusing on breathing out even more quickly, I began to get sharp transitions between the walk and the jog.  There were a few times throughout the ride when I became tight again and leaned forward.  Guess what?  It caused the faster, tight trot.  All I had to do to fix it was to sit up more.






 At the same time, I worked on steering without my hands.  To do this, I put my outside leg slightly forward and squeezed to push his shoulders over.  As the ride progressed, I had to do less and less with my hands.

 After a while, I tried one of the obstacles that had been set up around the arena.  There were walk-overs(cavaletti that are walked over in trail course), cone serpentines, a rope gait, a side-pass pole, and four poles arranged in a box, though I only worked on the box this time.  I jogged over it, turned around, and jogged back several times.  Moxie is surprisingly maneuverable in spite of his large size(17 hands).  Laura could almost turn him on the dime when she rode him!  I was able to turn fairly tightly when turning around to go back over the box.  I didn't make a large circle; I used leg to push his shoulder over and turn him around.  Unfortunately, one of Moxie's hooves dinged each pole when I rode over them, which would have resulted in a 1/2 point off for each ding had it been a competition.

 Next, I practiced the turn on the haunches because they always show up in trail courses, and are performed in the box, but I did it outside of the box.  To perform a turn on the haunches, I had to lift my inside leg to "open the gate," put my outside leg forward to push his shoulder over, and be prepared to close my fingers should Moxie decided to surge forward.  At first, I didn't close my fingers in time and he made a small circle instead.  Then, Laura told me to break it down step by step.  Doing this, I was able to get him to turn bit by bit, though he did go forward a few times before I could stop him.

 Then, I incorporated the turn on the haunches into the next exercise, which was to make a square at the walk.  At each corner, I had to do a quarter-turn to make the 90 degree angle.  Starting out, I used way to much rein, and I didn't close my inside leg in time to stop him from make a turn more than 90 degrees, causing him to cut in.  Consequently, I over-corrected and used the reins, pulling him too far to the outside.  After a bit, I breathed and decided to take my time.  I kept my hands at the horn and applied outside leg to push him shoulders over, then quickly blocked his body with my inside leg almost before he was finished turning, which worked out well.  There were a few times when I slipped into letting him make round turns again, but after I was doing the exercise well, Laura decided it was best to stop on the good note.

  I will continue to practice on Moxie and soon tackle the other obstacles.  If I can keep Moxie round, which I worked on too but didn't focus entirely on like I do with Lucky(he didn't have a martingale or training aid I might add), go through the obstacles without touching them, and ride one handed,  I should be prepared.  The key to trail course is for me to take my time; it is not a speed event like show jumping.  Lucky will get the month off as I get to know Moxie, but the next step with her is to ride her roundly without a training aid.

Trot Poles and Show This Weekend

Monday was a very busy day, with preparations for the coming show and donkey clinic underway. Laura and I spent most of the day deconstructing the dressage arena and moving the metal corral fences that aren't being used. A tractor came Wednesday to level the ground, and then we will set up 12X12 and 16X16 stalls with the fences with mules going to the show to stay in. t was a lot of hard work, but I didn't mind it. 

 Tuesday was more of the same thing, but since we had finished most of it the day before, we had time to ride. I worked on riding through a line of trot poles to work on rhythm. The two pairs of cones were there, like last time. I rode in a four leaf clover pattern, trotting over the poles, then going to the outside of either of the cones, make a rollback to go between them, and repeating the pattern. This is also a good exercise to prepare for jumping. When turning around the cone, I need to: 

• Make a wide enough

• Find a good, straight line to the poles

• Keep Lucky moving with enough  impulsion and reaching underneath herself her hind legs

• Prepare to make the next turn around the cone

As you can see, a big part of jumping(or going over trot poles in my case) is the preparation before the jump. Starting out, I did not prepare for the turn around the cones in time, my turn wasn't wide enough, and Lucky wasn't moving with enough impulsion and reaching underneath herself with her hind legs. I had to start over several times. After a few times, I began to really focused on preparing and lining Lucky up for the turn. As early as when I was heading over the poles, I looked for the cone I would circled and prepared to go there. 

 I also had trouble making a wide enough turn around the cones, especially to the right, Lucky's hard side. Each time, I started out wide, but made a sharp turn right after the cone. I had to really work on using my inside leg to push Lucky out onto a wider circle. It wasn't until near the end that I managed to get a nice, wide turn to the right.

 What I really had trouble with, though, was getting Lucky to take long enough strides to get over the poles. I have been working a lot on asking Lucky to move forward with light cues. When she didn't respond, I would kick her. I didn't get enough of a response. Since I wasn't getting her to open her stride more, her hind leg didn't quite reach over the second pole, and as a result, she stumbled over it. 

 It wasn't until the end of the lesson that I achieved a nice, rhythmic trot over the poles. Approaching the poles, I squeezed Lucky with my calves to get her get her moving forward. When she didn't respond, I gave her a tap with the whip I had been handed. She responded by lengthening her stride and trotting beautifully over the poles. I headed to the right cone, applying inside leg and flexion to make a nice, wide turn. I made sure to have enough calf on to keep her forward motion. 

 The driving show is this weekend. I can't wait!

Bath Day and Mane Clipping with Laura

 Thursday, when I went to help Laura I learned how to clip a mule's mane. Mules have manes that stick straight up, like donkeys do(just like Fjords too). For shows, it is conventional to trim the mane to abut an inch long, rather than braiding. Laura demonstrated on BB first. To begin with, she clipped along the neckline of the mule, heading the direction the hairs go. For shorter necked horses, like BB, you clip further done the neck to make it appear longer(similar to adding more braids). Then she began shaving off the outer hairs of the mane to make it thinner. BB has chestnut hairs along the outside of her mane and grey hairs in the middle, so Laura clipped the red hairs off. Next she let me try. It's really easy and simple, and I had no problem doing it. When I had finished, Laura decided to leave BB's mane long because it looked really cute.

 Next, we gave BB and Moxie baths because it was a warm day and we wanted to take advantage of it. Laura showed me how to do it first, and then I did it myself. We used a special horse shampoo that attaches to the hose to spray them down(we gave BB a bath first), then I sponged BB down with a shampoo made for palominos, put the same shampoo in her mane and tail, and finally rinsed her off and put conditioner in her mane and tail. I did the same process with Moxie. BB was a much brighter, golden color by the time we were down, and both mules were soft and clean. Laura trimmed both mules tails, demonstrating how to do it. Bathing horses or mules takes a long time, so by the time we were done it was evening.

  Laura explained how important it is that your horse is well groomed, even if you are just trail riding with friends. You want to give a good impression and show how much you care for your horse. You also want to give a good representation of horses in general, or maybe the breed you have if you have a rare breed, a breed maybe most people have misconceptions about, or in Laura's case a mule. She wants her mules to give a good representation of mules since mules have a bad reputation to some people. She wants to always groom her equines like they are going to be photographed for the Olympics she says.

 We organized the tack room for a few minutes too. I enjoyed giving the muse a bath, and the next warm ay I might be able to give Lucky a bath too. I also might be able come when the veterinarian comes Monday, which will be great because I someday want to be an equine vet so it will be interesting to talk to and watch the vet work.