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Navigator's Progress

47K views 794 replies 16 participants last post by  NavigatorsMom 
#1 Ā·
I thought keeping a journal of what I work on with Nav would be a good way to track our progress and keep in mind that even if we have bad rides, we also have a lot of good going for us. So here we go!

Started our work today by lunging in sidereins. This is something I used to do more frequently last fall/winter, but stopped in the summer. I felt it really helped Navigator figure out how to carry himself so decided to start it up again as a supplement to our riding.

He did very well, reaching forward and pushing from behind. We didn't do too much because I didn't want to tire him out when I was going to ride. During the ride he was very attentive (aside from a small buck when he got excited about seeing the barn cat - he loves cats, silly horse!) and pretty soft, though he did get heavy at times. The main thing I'm working on with him is getting him to carry more weight on his hind end and not lean and pull into the bit.

We did some trot poles and he finally figured out how to place his feet, which was a nice small accomplishment. Afterward I had two very clear moments of trot during which he was definitely lifting his back and had his weight shifted back, and so we ended on that note. I was so happy with him though! It's always hard since we don't take lessons or have a trainer, so I have to do a lot of self-teaching and self-evaluation (when I can get someone to come out and record me). Things are a little slow going but at least they are going forward!

I think for next ride I will again do a bit with the sidereins, and then work on our turns on the haunches to shift his weight back.

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#233 Ā·
So the ride today was not as great as I hoped... not as bad as it could have been though, so that's a positive.

Nav started off pretty nicely, was responding well to my legs for turning and we had some good trotting moments, though bend is still off. Then I decided to do a little bit of canter, which I got a short clip of going each direction just for evaluation. I actually feel like his left lead was nicer than his right. In the video the right lead is first, and you can kind of see him not responding when I ask for the downward transition to trot (it's around 37 seconds or so when I first ask him to trot), he just keeps pulling and cantering well past where I initially ask for it. On left the transition is off screen but it was very prompt.



Anyway, after that I thought I'd try my idea of letting him "canter it out" and then see if he'd be a little more prompt to come down after. Well. That didn't work at all. I took him down to a farther side of the field, and intended to canter him back toward where we started, which was a bit uphill. I planned to take him up and back, in a kind of large loopy circle thing. As soon as I cued him for canter he took off at a very strong canter that quickly morphed into a hand gallop. He wasn't bolting, but he was definitely wanting to go, bearing down and just running very recklessly and out of control. I sat up and half halted, closed my thighs, and he didn't slow down. I did a lot of give and take on the reins to slow him which didn't exactly work. He actually slowed a bit when I put some slack into the reins, and then that coupled with my voice and some half halting got us back to a trot. He was huffing and puffing, though it was only a couple of minutes, but he was working hard. I thought that now I could try again, get a couple strides of nice canter and then call it good. Nope. He again took to a very fast and unbalanced canter. When I turned him I could feel that he was not straight up and down underneath me. You know how you aren't supposed to lean with the horse, like you would on a motorcycle? He was definitely leaning a lot, it felt like I was sitting a bit on the side of my saddle rather than in the seat because there was such a discrepancy between our balances (I think...).

Anyway, it was very frustrating. I did stop him again, and this time when I asked for a nice canter, we got about five good strides and then I stopped him very easily. I ended it on that because it was decent. I feel like the exercise didn't work how I wanted it to, but I also feel like if I had had him canter on the rail around the arena it would have been similar, except he would have been taking tighter turns. Not sure what to do about it :/

After that nice canter I walked him because he was pretty sweaty and breathing heavily, and when he cooled out I gave him his supplement.

Also, can I get an opinion on his bit placement? This is the new one that fits his mouth better, but I think the rings might be a bit big and it's causing the bit to sit lower than the old one. Not sure how or if this affects us too much, but opinions might be helpful.
 
#235 Ā·
I'll look at raising the noseband for next time. I'm glad you think it fits. I was always taught the two wrinkle rule, though that seemed too tight with his last bit so it wasn't quite two wrinkles. With this one, the rings are bigger and so even though everything is done up as high as it goes, there is barely even one wrinkle. Just thought a second opinion would be good.

It's a Stubben loose ring with the French link. Still a little more than I would have wanted to spend on a bit, but the only one in my local tack shop that was even six inches! And I figured returning locally would be easier than ordering one online and returning if it didn't fit so I went with it.
 
#236 Ā·
It's so hard to find a good bit at 6 inches. really hard. are you also having trouble finding good reins that are long enough? when I used to ride that Irish sport horse, a 'normal' bridle just didn't give me much freedom to give him a long rein, for a big stretch. I had "Nutty Saddler", a member here, make a set of gorgeous, English leather reins with buckles. superb worksmanship and very fair price.

I really don't know where that old 2 wrinkle rule came from. as long as the bit is not banging them in their canines, the lower it can be, the more freedom they have to position it a bit themselves. the western riders who use snaffles talk about it as having the horse able to 'pick up and carry the bit" himself. he uses his tongue to lift up and kind of 'mouth' the bit, instead of the bit being pulled back to tight against the corners of his mouth that it is 'engaged' even when the rider is not putting any pull on the rein. when there is some freedom, the difference between engaged and not is bigger. some horses don't like that. they don't like a bit change in how the bit feels in their mouth from nuetral to rider engaging the bit/rein. they feel more secure with things less dynamic. other horses feel choked and panicked with the non-stop upward pressure of a bit set to high.
my limited experience is that once they get used to it, even horses that have worn a bit high for years , come to be more relaxed in the bit that they can position a bit themselves.
 
#237 Ā·
It was quite a pain finding the bit! First tack shop I tried didn't have anything 6 inches at all, and like I said that was the only one at the second. It is good quality though so it should last. I actually have really long reins, they are rubber which is not my favorite, but they just came with a fairly inexpensive bridle from Smartpak. He can stretch all the way down and still have a tiny bit of slack. That said, I don't think his neck is much longer than average. For a draft cross he's not really big and tall, just kind of thick and chunky all around.

I've heard a similar thing about letting the bit hang a little loose so that the horse can pick up the bit and carry it himself, instead of having the rider carry his head. I know Nav is smart and I think he's "tricking" me a bit into holding on to his head more than I need to, fidgeting around with it and pulling so that I pull back, instead of just pushing him forward. Even though we're having this trouble lately, he's definitely not as heavy in the hand as he was years ago, so he is improving. But he likes to pull different little tricks like that out every now and then, and sometimes I fall for it.
 
#238 Ā·
Went out with plans for an easy walk/trot ride in the arena, but I knew we were off on a bad start before we even made it to the arena.

As we passed by the cow field, it turned out that one was kind of near the fence. Nav was not having it. Head shot straight up and he locked onto it and just tried to run past it. I stopped him and turned him around and walked him past it again but he just kept prancing and spinning. Meanwhile, of course, the cow was not even that interested in us. He was getting too dangerous so I got off and led him back and forth in front of that area a couple times, stopping every now and then to try and get him to leg yield or do a turn on the forehand. And he more or less did but he also kept his full attention on the cow too. It was ridiculous. This little clip is after he settled quite a bit, and you can see that he is still very tense (and that in reality the cow isn't all that close to us).



Anyway, walked back and forth a couple more times, and I let him stop and look at the cow as it walked away. This seemed to calm him some more, and when i asked him to walk on again his head came down and he was fairly relaxed, so I took him up to the barn at that point. Once at the barn I was just not even in the mood to work him anymore, so we mostly just did figures at the walk. We figure eighted for a long time, and not lazy figure eights, but very forward, not falling in on the turns. He did nicely. Then we did some haunches in/shoulder in coming off of 10 meter circles. We ended with working on downward transitions off of my seat. Nav is very dependent on reins (my fault, of course), so it was good practice. He's getting better at it, it will just be a thing to continuously practice. On the way back to his pasture I took the bike path route so we didn't have to go by the cows again because I was in no mood to deal with that.

Really it wasn't a bad ride. That cow thing is just awful to deal with.
 
#239 Ā·
Not much to say since I haven't ridden since the last post. We had a big change in weather - big temperature drop and a lot of rain/snow. Not ideal for riding or even being outside! But I did go out the last couple days to make sure he got his hoof supplement.



Anyway, I went out today to give him his supplement, and on my way I saw that the cows were somewhat near the fence. So I decided I'd take Nav over there and walk him a bit and see if he would calm down at all. I figure exposing him to them should help somewhat right? So we walked up and down a bit and he was definitely scared and did his "dragon sounds" that he almost always does when he sees the cows...



But surprisingly after that I was able to get him to calm down and he actually started grazing, completely ignoring the cows! So I feel like that was progress, although I don't know how he would have been if I had been riding. We will see next time!
 
#240 Ā·
Finally rode again last night. It had been six days I think since my last ride, which is about the longest I've gone without riding, without good reason (being out of town or sick, etc.). Lately the thought of going to ride has felt like the thought of going to work out. I know it will be good to do, but I don't really want to do it. Kind of sad that I feel this way about it.

Anyway, I just wanted to do a short ride, and keep it simple so that we wouldn't get frustrated. We mostly walked, and I did quite a bit with leg yielding him and some good circles without falling in on the shoulder. Then we did a little bit of trot on a fairly loose rein. I didn't want him to think he was able to brace. He actually trotted pretty nicely, though going left is still as it always is. Right was nicer. I hadn't been planning on cantering but thought I'd try it. He wasn't great, but didn't run off with me like last time and I was able to bring him back to trot pretty easily. I ended after a very nice left canter transition that felt upright and not rushy. It was only about a 20 minute ride.

I do feel better about things after this ride. I think partly it's the time of year that makes it hard to get motivated, and the bad weather. But I have hope that we'll get through this issue.

I was visiting with my thesis adviser and mentor after my meeting with her this morning (she is also a dressage rider) and she recommended transitions. Which I know that I know, but it was a good reminder to hear it from someone else. I will probably leave canter mostly alone for now, maybe just a small bit every ride (like a circle both ways, or a couple transitions) and work mostly in walk and trot.
 
#241 Ā·
Yeah, at least you ended the ride on a good note. The weather is definitely a factor. :( I hear you. I haven't rode since Saturday! :( Not sure I'll get to ride maybe Sunday, but the arena/fields are full of snow & ice.

It's definitely hard to get motivated during this time of year.
 
#242 Ā·
So, I went out to ride yesterday and today and had two relatively decent rides which is a nice feeling!

Of course there is still a lot to fix...

Worked mostly on relaxing and having a nice calm and steady trot, and did a tiny bit of canter. Also focused on transitioning down and stopping off of my seat and legs more than the reins, and a bit with walk-trot-walk-halt-etc transitions. Yesterday's ride I was also able to trot him out for some nice long stretches on the trail without him sticking his head up and rushing away which was really great!

Nav was *awful* at canter though, just pulling and refusing to do a downward transition to trot. He was not responding to my seat at all and I had to use much more hand than I was comfortable with. However, today when I rode I had a much easier time, and didn't have to use much rein at all. He was very responsive to my seat and legs today which is an improvement!

I was able to get my boyfriend to come out with me to video record, so here are clips of the canter we did today. I didn't do a lot, and you can see I tried to wait to cue for canter until he was softer and calm at the trot, and I don't think it looks as bad as it feels. It feels very crooked, especially to the left, and it's hard to see but he was definitely looking outside when we come around by the driveway and barn. But he's getting there.


 
#243 Ā·
Today was a good ride. My boyfriend mentioned to me that instead of going to ride with these high expectations that seem to always leave me frustrated, I need to change my expectations. Not necessarily lower them, just make them different. So I tried that out today. Instead of trying to get Nav super straight and cantering nicely, the goal today was just getting lighter in general - lighter in the bridle, using lighter aids.

Anyway, today the plan was to work on transitions between walk/trot and halt and to make them off of the seat and legs as much as possible. Nav is way too dependent on the reins. Like, today I asked him to back without any contact or pressure on the reins. He knows the verbal cue, and I used my seat and legs the same way I always do for a back up, but I didn't touch the reins. He was so confused, and tried shifting left and right, put his weight back without taking a step, before he finally took a step backward. As soon as I picked up contact and gave a little wiggle on the reins (along with the other cues) he backed right away. Just an example.

So after warming up we did some trot and walk transitions, at random so he couldn't predict, and then after he started getting that we did trot-halt-back-trot's. He did really well, listened to my seat and I didn't have to use much rein at all. We probably only did about 10-15 minutes of that total, and with breaks. The only other exercise we did was the raised trot poles, to get him lifting and using his haunches. I didn't want to try cantering today because I knew that it would take more work than I had time for today, and everything was going so nicely I didn't want to do something frustrating for both of us.

It was much hotter than usual today and since Nav is still shedding out we kept the ride short and simple and I think it paid off. :)

On Saturday the local dressage club is having their first meeting of the season and a riding fun day with trails and stuff, so I'm hoping to take Nav to that as long as I still have a ride up there. Should be a fun outing and some good experience for Nav!

 
#244 Ā·
Awesome, glad you had a good ride. :)
That's good you stopped at that point, I do the same if I'm working on something & it ends well, I'm like let's not push it! :lol:
Love the photo. That'll be a fun Saturday for you. :D Definitely will be good experience for Nav!
 
#245 Ā·
@PoptartShop, yeah, I'm really bad about trying to do more than we are capable of sometimes, and then it just leads to Nav getting strung out and runny, me getting frustrated, and the ride feeling ruined - even if the majority of the ride was good! I'm trying to be more positive and if that means stopping before things get too hard then that's what I'll do for now. :)

So, unfortunately the woman I was going to haul up to the fun day with this weekend isn't planning to go anymore. She suggested another woman that we're friends with who was planning to go might be able to haul me but looks like she might not go now either. It's pretty short notice, so I don't think I'll be able to go to this one. :( I did go ahead and ask her about hauling to the April show (assuming Nav and I are ready for that, we could certainly do the Intro test at least), so if she isn't able to do that I can hopefully start asking around in the group since there's some time. Pretty disappointed about this weekend though.

Today is the spring vet visit. Typically he comes to us, but this time they rescheduled our group quite a bit so we're hauling in. It will probably be a long day, and I won't get a chance to ride, but it will be nice to spend time with Nav and my barn people anyway. Hoping it's a nice day tomorrow so I can ride!
 
#246 Ā·
Vet visit was a success!



I have to say, this whole trip really made me realize how good a horse Nav really is, and made me appreciate him much more. We had to take two trips to get all six horses there, and Nav was in the first group. When the second group arrived I helped unload. The first one refused to back out, the next was kicking the side of the trailer like crazy and seemed to be contemplating coming through the window, and the third sped backward as soon as I began to loosen the lock on the divider. They were all covered in sweat and antsy. Nav entered and backed out calmly, and didn't even break a sweat. What a good horse!

Since I have set the goal of doing some dressage shows (one in April) I am going to print off the tests and take them along with me for my rides. I want to do training level, but I'll also take the intro tests along, just in case. If our canter isn't ready in time for the April show then we can do the intro tests.
 
#247 Ā·
Pretty uneventful lately.

Yesterday Nav got moved to the weight watchers field with his sister and another pony he's been with before. Of course, the mare is definitely the boss and she chased him around quite a bit when I let him go in, but I stayed to watch them settle down and by the time I left she was letting him have some of the hay (not from her pile, of course). So they seem settled which is good. They always get along together after the initial excitement.

And I do have a ride for the April dressage show! So it's time to really get going on the tests. I'm hoping to do Training 1, 2, and 3, but if I have to downgrade to only two of those or the intro instead then that will be ok too.
 
#248 Ā·
Today was a good ride!

I went and got Nav and after I had him halfway tacked up, I went and set up the arena. For months there have been standards and poles set up right in the middle of the arena, and I had been using them for a raised pole grid, but today I wanted to put the dressage letters out and work without the poles in the way. Took a couple minutes and was a bit of an arm work out, but the arena looked nice empty.

Took Nav up and we started with lots of walk and some lateral work. I looked over my old dressage tests from the last show (almost a year ago!) and the main things we need to work on as a result of that are geometry, uphill balance, and not falling in. We have been doing a lot of work on not falling in on the shoulder, and our transitions and poles have been going toward uphill balance, so I decided to focus a lot on geometry of our circles. Instead of thinking of it as a circle, I thought of it as a diamond. It really seemed to make our circles much more even! But it will be something I have to remind myself to do because I know I'm prone to just going back to my old ways and lumpy circles.

After a good walk warm up we did some trot to halt transition work, to get him sitting back on his hind end, and then we even did some canter. He actually cantered somewhat decently and didn't try to just run, which was encouraging. So then we did a run through of Training 2. Not gonna lie, it was rough. Especially getting Nav to come down from the canter, he just really wanted to keep running. I was a little frustrated at the end but I decided to try it again, and get it on video - though I just propped my phone up on the wall, so it's not the best angle. So here's that:



I was happy that he did much better the second time! I think he kind of got what we were doing and settled into an "oh I know that!" mindset. His canter was still a little rushy but he settled down both ways, and I think the right lead was actually pretty nice! After that we tried the Training 3 test, which we had never done before. The loops were rough, and we had some weird bendy moments but his right lead canter. Oh. My. Gosh. It was so beautiful! I so wish I had been filming it! He was up, I could feel his shoulders lifting and everything was so light! He was not running at all, it was very controlled and he came down to trot so easily. It really gives me hope that we will be able to keep getting better. So happy! :loveshower:
 
#251 Ā·
Not much going on lately. I only rode once since that last ride, and it was good. Nav hadn't been worked in a bit though so he was a little fresh and pully. He settled down pretty nicely though and our ride was decent. That was Saturday, I believe. I've still been practicing those dressage tests and I am feeling better about our canter. He's starting to respond pretty nicely to my half halts and comes down from a speedy canter to a bit of a rounded and slower canter, so I do feel good about trying to do training level tests at the shows we go to. I'm not totally sure I'll go to the April one though, as that's right in the middle of Thesis season - it's actually the weekend immediately before my defense! But we'll see.

I spent the weekend house sitting and took care of three dogs, three cats, and four horses. The house was a bit out of the way so I didn't get to come home and ride very much in that span, except for Saturday. It was quite an experience, taking care of a small farm like that!

And Saturday (April 1) was Navigator's birthday! I don't know his actual birth date, just that it was Spring 2005. So I choose to celebrate it on April 1 because that's right into Spring, and April 1, 2014 is the first day I actually owned Nav. :) He's 12 now!

Birthday selfie!
 
#254 Ā·
Had a really nice ride tonight! I haven't been able to go as often as I want with the how busy I've been, but Nav seems to be retaining a lot of what we work on. He still gets wiggly and doesn't always want to bend correctly at the trot and canter, but it's mostly when he gets excited or starts trying to rush. When he is calm and focused he does beautifully, or at least that's how it feels. We have been working on the dressage tests a bit every ride lately, and he's doing nicely with those too. I'm happy at the moment.

Also, got a video of what felt like a nice canter. There are some moments in it that are better than others, but overall I feel like it's a nice right lead. Critiques are welcome though, I know there are still things to improve! Sorry it's a bit dark.
 
#255 Ā·
Today was absolutely beautiful so I had to go out for a ride!

Overall it wasn't anything special. He goes pretty nicely for me, and will round up and go forward most of the time, but he does stick his head up and run occasionally. I know that head down doesn't always equal round, and that head up doesn't necessarily mean he's going hollow, but I just want us to be a little more consistent.

After our warm up I brought out the trot poles again. We hadn't done them in a while so started with them on the ground and then put them up into a small raised pole grid. We went over them one way, changed direction and went back. Well, Nav must have thought that lifting his legs and trotting was too much work because he decided to jump over the first two instead! Crazy little horse... so we had a wide, low oxer followed by a hop. Of course I took him back over a couple times and he was perfectly fine. Guess we just need to start incorporating some jumping into our routine :)

Clearly not impressed with the grid!


After that I just did a once through of each of the training tests. We do ok on them, lots of good moments, but some weird moments too. The unusual bending happens and he still gets a little rushy on the canter if I don't really half halt him consistently. Two weeks from today is the show and I feel like we will be able to go and be fine, but I don't know if we'll do quite as well as last year. We'll see.

We ended with a trail ride, since we haven't gone out of the arena lately, and Nav seemed to enjoy it. Hoping this weather keeps up so we can get some rides in! I'm basically done with the written part of my thesis project and will just have to edit and tweak from here out, which means I should have more time for riding :)
 
#256 Ā·
Another nice ride today. I took Nav on a long trail along the bike path first, then we just worked on trot-halt-trot transitions in the arena for maybe 15-20 minutes before going on a short trail behind the barn too. I tried to keep it easy for him today and not too much hard arena work. He's doing well and I'm excited about the show coming up!
 
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