Author Archives: Katie

Let’s put the “working” back into working trot

23 Monday Apr 2012

Posted by in Training

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“Working trot.”  The phrase still exists, although often times, I’m not sure why.  It’s rare these days to see a horse working at the working trot.

Horses are trotting all over the place, certainly, but it’s hard to see them exerting the least bit of effort to do so.  It might be more accurate to call the gait we see the “holiday trot.”

Most horses trotting along (that seems to better capture what’s going on) are definitely on holiday.  That means no work.  What do you and your horse do on holiday?  You (or your horse) probably get out of bed (the stall or paddock), maybe do a little sightseeing (that looks like good grass to eat…wait, was that chair there yesterday?)…but basically relax (forward?…not sure what you mean by that…).

The biggest defense of the holiday trot — which includes trotting under tempo — is that it is the way to create balance, which is necessary before the horse can do anything well.  To my mind, there’s way too much emphasis — or should I say, misplaced emphasis — on balance and what you need to do to help your horse learn how to balance or balance better.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for balance.  I’m just not impressed by a horse that is balanced while basically doing nothing.  And I’m not sure how that prepares the horse to do anything more challenging and do it well.

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“I know this defies the law of gravity…

22 Sunday Apr 2012

Posted by in Sunday Photos

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…but I never studied law!”

— Bugs Bunny

Mrs. Esther Stace (why can't I find the horse's name?) riding sidesaddle over a 6'6" fence at the Sydney Royal Show in Australia in 1915.

The Yankee-Irish horsewhispering boyfriend’s father’s horse

21 Saturday Apr 2012

Posted by in Uncategorized

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Her name was Sugar.  She pulled a wagon during the Great Depression, delivering bread and baked goods in the small towns east of Springfield, Massachusetts — Palmer, Three Rivers, Thorndike.

That’s the real New England says my Yankee-Irish horsewhispering boyfriend (YIHB for the purposes of this post), contrasting it with the state we live in, Connecticut.  Even though where we live, it certainly looks like New England — antique farmhouse, dirt road and driveway of cinders, ancient maples and miles of stone walls, and the reticent charm that comes from not spending money.

This photograph does not come from a family album.  There are no photographs of Sugar, just stories passed down.  I have an image of Sugar in my mind — dapple grey, with large, round hooves that clip-clopped down the paved and unpaved streets, a thick ivory tail, fuzzy ears, a soft, plump muzzle and large, brown eyes that said she knew more than she was telling.

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Hearts for horses at my alma mater

20 Friday Apr 2012

Posted by in Inspiration

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The Spring 2012 issue of the Baldwin Echoes — the alumnae magazine of The Baldwin School in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania — arrived in yesterday’s mail.

I’m glad I don’t have to wear those blue tunics and bloomers anymore.  But I did love Baldwin — an all girls’ school that taught me to believe that anything was possible in my life.  Inspiration is still the name of the game at Baldwin, according to the school’s mission statement, a portion of which follows:

“The Baldwin School…develops talented girls into confident young women with vision, global understanding, and the competency to make significant and enduring contributions to the world…forming women capable of leading their generation while living balanced lives.”

Even though I’m no longer a young woman, I still think all of that is within reach — even the balanced life part.  If I’m delusional, so be it.  Because this marvelous mission statement also says that “Baldwin aspires to cultivate in its students the desire to remain learners throughout their lives, the compassion to extend themselves to others, and the strength of character to act on their beliefs.”  (Note that there is no requirement that the beliefs be rational.)

More interesting to you, I’m sure, than the mission statement of my alma mater is the fact that one of my fellow Baldwin alums — Helen Runeyon Hills of the Class of ’46 — recently wrote a book called Still Riding at 80. Delusional?  Not according to Helen, who is herself still riding at the age of 80.

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How to ride a circle

19 Thursday Apr 2012

Posted by in Equitation, Training

≈ 4 Comments

There’s a lot to be said for riding in a circle, but like most wonderful things, it’s easy to overdo it.  It’s best to think of your circles like chocolate.  You can enjoy chocolate every day without making yourself sick (or fat).  But only if you don’t gorge yourself on it.

Maybe just a few

It’s tempting to gorge, because it’s chocolate — oh, wait it’s circles were talking about.  Yes, circles.  There are so many wonderful things you can accomplish — or think you’re accomplishing — when you ride a circle.  Your horse is bending.  Your horse is on the outside rein.  Your horse’s inside hind leg is engaging.  Your horse’s rhythm is perfectly regular.

Of course, if that’s so, you don’t need to spend a lot of time on a circle.  If it’s not so and you want to make it so, you need to get off the circle or you’ll end up drilling your horse on that circle.  And we all know how successful that is in training horses.

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A Clicker Training Tale

17 Tuesday Apr 2012

Posted by in Training

≈ 13 Comments

Once upon a time, not so long, long ago, in a land of sweeping hills and secret valleys, there lived a silver-haired lady and a herd of horses, often tame and sometimes wild.

One special horse was the color of milk caramel, and glimmering flecks appeared on his coat when the sun shone upon him, as if he had been sprinkled with gold dust.  His muzzle was as soft as the softest velvet.  When he stood alert, listening to the sounds only he could hear, he was as still as a statue.  When he ran, it was as if the air itself ran with him.

The golden horse was strong and brave, a willing partner to the silver-haired lady.  But though he trusted her more than anyone else in the world, she was unable to ease his fear or tame his spirit when he caught sight of a syringe.

Twice a year, the horse required a syringe of medicine to keep him healthy. He tried so hard to flee when he caught sight of it, that the lady feared danger would come to both of them.  It pained her to see her brave horse so fearful, and she vowed to help the golden horse be as brave with a syringe as he was with the woods.

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Notes & quotes from a clinic junkie: Steffen Peters

16 Monday Apr 2012

Posted by in Notes & Quotes

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“Matching expression with suppleness — that is dressage!”

                                                                         — Steffen Peters

Big wins, small world

15 Sunday Apr 2012

Posted by in Sunday Photos

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The American Invitational has hosted show jumping’s winningest pairs. Rodney Jenkins and Idle Dice.  Greg Best and Gem Twist.  Ian Millar and Big Ben. Melanie Smith and Calypso.  Lisa Jacquin and For the Moment.  Beezie Madden and Authentic.

Chris Kappler and Katie Monahan (now Prudent) were both three-time winners.  Molly Ashe (now Cawley) won twice on Kroon Gravin.  Michele McEvoy (now Grubb) was the first two-time winner ever, with back-to-back wins on Sundancer in 1975 and 1974.

That’s the year that Doc Severinsen, leader of the Tonight Show orchestra, and his daughter Nancy performed together at the event in Tampa.

Doc 'n Nancy 1974

Did you know that Michele McEvoy was trained by Carl Knee (who coached the Canadian Equestrian Team at the 1976 Montreal Olympics) and so was Allen Severinsen, Doc’s son?  Small world, isn’t it?  Allen is now a racing trainer, with 4459 starts and earnings of $7,870,025.

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How to improve your canter departs

14 Saturday Apr 2012

Posted by in Equitation, Training

≈ 9 Comments

As Leo Tolstoy said in Anna Karenina:

“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.“

And so it is with canter departs.  All good canter departs are alike.  Each poor canter depart is poor in its own way…or is it?

Of course it’s not, anymore than every unhappy family is unhappy in a new and never-before-encountered way.  There are not an infinite number of problems that result in an unhappy family, nor are unhappy families more complex than happy families.  The lauded line that begins Anna Karenina, despite its popularity, speaks more of Tolstoy’s outsized ego than it does of a universal truth.  The Diaries of Sophia Tolstoy (Leo’s wife) draw the curtains aside.

Similarly, there are not an untold number of reasons why canter departs are poor.  Setting aside the disunited depart, the fundamental struggles for horse and rider are to eliminate the problems that stand in the way of the happy canter depart — strong, springy, upward and balanced.  Which means getting rid of those unhappy problems — the horse is on the forehand, the horse is rushing, the horse is crooked.

If you’re struggling with unhappy canter departs, take heart.  Because, unlike Tolstoy’s marriage, all is not lost.  We’re dealing with a question of balance (the secret to all happy relationships).  A good transition requires good balance.  Physical and mental.   From horse and from rider.

Riders are usually the problem (we all wish that were not the case, but unfortunately, it is).  So if you’re less than enthusiastic about your horse’s canter departs, let’s take a look at what you might be doing that’s preventing you from getting the canter transitions you want.  Here are some common problems:

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