The End of the Lounge Line

One of things Shorty struggles with is bending and going forward at the same time. He will stand still and allow me to gently guide his head from one side to the other, and he has mastered going straight on the racetrack, but clearly my horse is not a multitasker.

Today, I free lounged Shorty for a few minutes at the walk and trot in both directions. Normally, at this stage, I would have the horse in his bridle, reins removed, with the lounge line through the inside of the bit, over the crown piece at the poll, and clipped to the other side (clip facing out, of course). Even that is too much for my large and stiff friend. So, we started with the basics.

I attached the lounge line to the center ring of his halter, put on my riding gloves and asked Shorty to walk. He almost immediately stopped and questioned what I was asking, so I encouraged him to continue walking out on the circle with clucks and a wave of the excess lounge line in my hand (whips are too much for Shorty and I get tangled up in them anyway). We walked for minute one way, turned around, and walked the other way. Shorty started to get the hang of walking and looking to the inside, which made me happy.

I started to think about some of the other uses for lounge lines. Here are some of the ways I've employed my 25 foot friend:

1. Putting timid or inexperienced students on a lounge line for their first time trotting or cantering allows me more control of the horse and lets my student concentrate on feeling what the horse is doing.
2. The benefits of balance exercises and stretches while working on a lounge line are amazing, especially in developing your seat or working on maintaining or correcting your equitation. It helps to have an instructor holding the lounge line; he or she will see some of the minute asymmetries and tense points in your body that could use a bit of attention (if said instructor knows what he or she is doing).
3. This probably sounds awful, but I once put an unruly camper on a lounge line. I clipped it to his belt loop and told him to pretend he was a racehorse until he was so tired he didn't have the energy to kick at me or slap the little girls in the camp. I lounged that kid harder than I've ever lounged a horse.
   
4. The first time I taught safety to my campers, I sat them down and lectured them on horse behavior and barn rules. They fidgeted, didn't pay attention, and didn't learn a damn thing. Now, I pull the kids in the arena and do role playing before they get to work with the horses. My tacker is great at pretending to be a horse and gently kicking at the kids when they go behind her. To teach spacing in the arena, I took a few frayed, awful looking lounge lines that were sitting around and clipped them together to make a 100 foot line. Using my trusty tape measure and a sharpie, I marked 15 foot sections with a black band. I then lined my campers up and had each one hold the long line at the black marks. I then sent them off around on the ring, and the kids had to maintain the slack in the rope- if it was on the ground, they were too close. Its a great way to get your students to look up and pay attention, and they understand what 15 feet looks like. During lunch breaks, the kids would ask if they could keep playing follow the leader with the long line!
   
5. Getting horses in the trailer. Sometimes, a 12 foot leadrope isn't enough for the horse that pulls back suddenly. One horse nearly dislocated my shoulder before I figured that one out.
6. Rope gate practice. The first time I set up a rope gait for my students to work through, I found they quickly ran out of rope and got discouraged. Before I realized that could buy 15 feet of nylon rope at Wal-mart for a couple dollars, I used a lounge line and bundled the excess line to the "gate" with a bungee cord to keep it out of the way.
7. Blocking off a driveway for a horseshow. My lounge line is a brighter shade of green and made an excellent barrier across the driveway between two jump standards. To complete my road block, I taped signs to the standards and hung one off the line itself. It was very effective and required all of two minutes to set up.
8. Diagnositics. I use lounge lines to evaluate lameness, especially when I'm on my own. I like to lounge all of the school horses and observe how they move. I've learned a lot about the schoolies I work with and know when they're moving normally, when they're thinking about bolting, and when they're feeling arthritic and sore. (I like to ride the schoolies every now and then as well, but observing them on the line has really helped me understand them from the instructor's viewpoint on the ground). Some lamenesses are more prevalent on a circle as well.
   

Here's what I don't use lounge lines for:

1. Wearing out the energy of a horse. Yes, I've lounged to take the edge off a horse that I know has a lot of extra energy and is considering bucking me off, and I've used it to build communication with a horse, but I never lounge a horse down to totally tired and dripping in sweat. I feel that the horse doesn't learn anything, and it sure as shit doesn't improve your image in the horse's eyes when you wear them down like that.
2. Long lining. The few times that I've long lined a horse, I used real long lines, although they did suspiciously look a lot like a pair of lounge lines. :)
3. Ground work. There's too much of a possibility of getting tangled up when you are working closely with the horse.
4. Tying up the barn manager and locking him away where he can never touch a horse or "clean" a stall again, although I've been tempted at times. He's the only person my horse truly hates, and there are many reasons for that.
   

On a related note, I never use a lounge line with a chain. Ever. Period. How does using a chain teach a horse to come forward?

Also, if you lounge in a saddle, don't subject your horse to pain via stirrups banging on his sides. Remove them or, if you can, run them up. A western trainer of mine used to flip both of his stirrups over the seat of the saddle and put a short bungee tie around them and the saddle horn so they would not come down and hit the horse's ribs, although Cashel makes a stirrup keeper for western saddles and it really shouldn't be hard to take the fender, or at least the stirrups, off your western saddle (if it is, you might not be cleaning your saddle enough).

Also, for Pete's sake, wear gloves. Rope burn is a bitch and really slows you down when you work with your hands. Some of those nylon lines will chafe right through your skin, sometimes causing a deep, four inch gash along the palm of your hand.

Above all else, use common sense and take it slow. Loungeing is a wonderful training tool, but don't use it as a regular substitute for riding and don't overwork and overburden your horse with it.

P.S. I've seen a lot of ways to spell "lounge" and "lounging." I'm not entirely sure which spelling I've used, so forgive me if I spell it differenly.

An Entry That is Long Overdue

Sorry for the lack of writing lately. I got married on May 24th, Memorial Day weekend, and I've been playing catch-up ever since. I was also feeling a bit depressed, especially since my co-workers decided that referring to me as an old, crotchety, married hag and making snide remarks about my sex life were okay now that I've tied the knot after seven years of dating. But I digress.

On the morning of Sunday, May 24th, I was not preparing for my wedding. The individuals at the barn that I would have trusted to take care of my wonderful horse were either out of town for the holiday or refuse to do work on Sundays. I woke up early, donned my one pair of faded jeans and an old sweatshirt and headed out to the barn, thinking I'd turn Shorty out, clean his stall and do other chores, give him a good brushing, and have a few hours to put together those last minute details before my 3 pm ceremony.

I got to the barn right as it opened at 9 am. I immediately put Shorty's boots on (splints in front, bell boots on the hinds and the fronts (he interferes and overreaches)), put on his turnout halter, and put him out with his turnout buddy Oliver. I cleaned Shorty's stall, cobwebbed, scrubbed his waterer, and added to the "Shorty Instruction Manual" that I left for the novice riding instructor that agreed to take care of Shorty and cover my lessons during my honeymoon.


At 11 am, I decided that it was time to bring Shorty in. Normally, I put my horse out for much longer than 2 hours, but I was getting frantic phone calls from my soon-to-be in-laws and my future hubby, all adding to my long list of overlooked items that needed to be tended to. As I walked out, Shorty heard my footsteps and met me at the gate. Normally, he waits for me to approach him, especially on a cool day devoid of insects, so I knew something was wrong before I fully made it to the gate.

Sure enough, Shorty had a long, oozing gash right above his right knee. Although there was little blood and the gash was actually very shallow, the swelling had already poofed out to the size of my fist. Forgetting all about nagging phone calls, I brought Shorty in, went back for his buddy, rolled up my sleeves, and got to work.

I cleaned and clipped the cut, and cold hosed for about twenty five minutes. Hose in one hand, bottle of betadine in the other, I cradled the phone between my jaw and my shoulder as I explained to Eric that I would not be able to make it to the park right away to set up. As I dried off Shorty's leg, I glanced at my watch and realized that it was 12 pm, and in three hours I would be getting married.

Back to work. A little dab of tri-care wound ointment, a few squares of guaze held in place by a roll of flexi-gauze, held in place by a knee wrap, held up (a little bit) by a stall bandage became the matroshka doll of equine first aid. Although Shorty was not lame when I walked him in from the pasture, I wrapped the opposite front for good measure. By then, it was 12:15. Turning my attention to the rest of Shorty, I brushed him and looked him over for any additional cuts, swellings or abnormalities. Finding none, I put Shorty in his stall, measured out his afternoon grain and added bute to help with the swelling, leaving notes for both the barn manager and Shorty's babysitter. I finally left the barn at 1 pm, 2 hours before my wedding.

Since I was expected to set everything up (my parents are useless when it comes to caring about stuff like that and Eric's mom did the best she could and was a HUGE help), I didn't have time to shower, pack for my honeymoon, or iron my dress. I washed my hands and face, hastily put on some eye makeup and a bit of lipstick, brushed my hair, and dashed out the door. 2 hours and a hasty change in a park latrine later, we don't look too bad, no?



Notice the farmer's tan?

Fast foward to 8 pm. The reception pretty much over, I started cleaning up and gently kicking out drunk people (making sure they had rides home, of course). I asked Eric if we could postpone the rest of our wedding night so I could visit my horse and make sure he was doing okay. I got to the barn to see that Shorty's knee wrap was still on, but was sagging a bit. Initially, I was diasppointed that my square knots hadn't held, but as I removed it I realized that the swelling was down significantly. Yay!

I cold hosed him again for twenty minutes, gave him lots of kisses, and decided to leave the wound unwrapped. It looked a lot better, and leaving the wraps on meant that the skin was soft and wasn't making a nice, hard, protective scab. I knew it would probably swell up again with the wraps off, but decided that letting it air out was more important, given that Shorty showed no signs of lameness or impeded movement as a result of his little boo boo. As I gave Shorty is cookies and walked out of the barn, I felt guilty for leaving him for a week, but knew that his babysitter (in charge of turnout, cleaning chores, and brushing only) would be fine- she's a college professor in the sciences and currently leasing a horse, so she has a good understanding of what healthy means and how to maintain it, in spite of being a novice in this industry. To help her out, I'd fully inventoried and listed the contents of my first aid kit and left her ten pages of info on Shorty including abnormalities that are normal for Shorty and ways Shorty tells you he isn't feeling well. (For example, I wrote down that Shorty is normally stiff when he first comes out of his stall in the morning as a result of arthritis, but if he has a significantly noticable shortened stride or refuses to bear full weight on a leg he may have hurt himself sometime in the night).

On the plane ride home, I wanted two things: 1. to snuggle with my cat and 2. to hug my horse. I missed my critters while I was away, and when I got back everyone was still happy and healthy, just as I had left them (Shorty's cut was down to a minimal scab). A week after my wedding, I drove up the gravel driveway and glanced at my horse's window as a backed into my parking spot next to the barn. Not only was he at the window, he was nickering as I got out of the car. I gave my horse a big hug, after which he turned to me as if to ask, "Okay, can you put me out now?"

A Million Miles Away

Shorty and I have been taking it easy these days. Most of this is due to the fact that I am getting married on Sunday, so I've been busy running errands to prepare for the big day.

Shorty got a massage last week. It didn't really create any miracle transitions, but I think he felt a little better. Shorty and I went out for a ride a few days ago in the field after a day or two off. Normally, Shorty would be all over the place. Fortunately, he was tired from running around in the field while on turnout. Instead of taking off at the gallop, he took a lovely extended trot. I didn't ask for it, but heck, I'll take it! At the canter, his strides didn't increase in tempo, but he did increase stride length and elasticity (which felt lovely).

As for next week, I will be in St. Thomas, lying on a beach. I have a fellow instructor taking care of Shorty, but I will miss him terribly while I am away. I'm awfully attached to that horse, and I think he's attached to me a bit, too. At least, he nickers for me and sticks his nose out the window of his stall when I drive up the driveway. He knows the sound of my car. Today, as I hand walked him around, he put his head down and I stood there, gently rubbing and scratching his neck, forehead, poll, and ears to the point where he was leaning his head on my shoulder and drooling in delight. I even pushed on his poll, and he did not react at all, just looked at me as if to ask, "Why did you stop rubbing my itchy forehead?" I seriously stopped for all of ten seconds, causing him to stomp and fidget before I resumed rubbing behind his ears.

Shorty does not allow many people into his life. He decides within a few seconds if he likes you or not. He pins his ears and bites at the bars of his stall when certain people walk by. He likes my business partner, Judy, and my farrier, Holly. He hates Dr. Wade, my vet. He hates my boss, most of the boarders, and all of the tackers (even though these people feed him on a regular basis and are nothing but nice to him... ingrate!). He does not like the girl that is taking care of him for the week, but she's the only one I felt comfortable with in terms of quality care. I just hope Shorty doesn't outright hurt her; he's gotten MUCH better about that, but let's be honest- Shorty is a 1,200 pound horse in great shape with aggressive tendencies and trust issues.

Equine Chiropractors

I was able to get in contact with a riding instructor with several years of experience working with OTTBs. I hoped she would have answers, and she did. She told me that many ex-racehorses have spine alignment issues, causing them significant amounts of pain and stiffness. To prove her point, she put her hand behind Shorty's ears and pressed firmly on his poll. He softened for a moment until she touched the pressure point; he tried to take off her head at that point. I felt his whole back tense up on the right side as soon as she touched it.

We did not do very much in the lesson because of Shorty's alignment issue. She recommended taking it easy until he sees a chiropractor. Shorty's vet is coming tomorrow to do spring vaccinations, so I will ask the vet to recommend someone good if she can. I'm also looking into equine massage to prevent the muscles from pulling his spine back out of alignment again.

We went on a trail ride yesterday. We mostly walked and trotted, rode in a western saddle, and stayed on a loose rein the whole time. I do trail ride in a tom thumb bit these days because my horse can be very strong and very, very fast. The leverage bit allows me to give a little correction with a small half halt without making a big deal out of it. I love my D ring snaffle and use it for anything that requires Shorty to be on the bit, but on trail rides I let him stretch to a long rein, stay out of his face, and use a little leverage to keep my energetic horse from bolting.

Today, Shorty seemed very backsore, most likely because he was racing up hills for the first time this season. He was cranky in general. Opting to keep tack off his back for the day, I let him free lounge with a nice, loose trot for a few minutes each way to loosen up, and we spent thirty minutes doing stretching exercises on the ground. He was a good boy. I hope he feels better tomorrow.

In other news, I am now officially certified with the American Riding Instructor's Associaiton (ARIA) in dressage. Hooray and such.

Retraining the Trainer

Although I teach riding lessons, I do not consider myself to be a particularly advanced rider, nor do I have perfect equitation. I have worked very hard to get myself to the level of riding I am at today, and in the world of dressage I am not very far along at all. I beleive I am a better instructor than I am a competitive rider because I have had to learn, re-learn, and reflect various lessons in balance, equitation, and execution that my more talented peers have picked up apoun almost immediately. I've read countless books, attended thousands of lessons, participated in clinics whenever possible, and constantly search for new teaching material on the internet.

That said, I must admit I have been out of regular lessons for almost two years. I attended two clinics and squeezed in a few lessons with an amazingly intuitive reining trainer in my area, but that's about it. Granted, I rode on intercollegiate teams and competed on a somewhat regular basis. After my intial introduction to Shorty, I was paid to train him for three months. Shorty's progress was slow going but he was improving, but my boss told me he could no longer afford to pay me for training. Shorty does not like strangers and would have been a terrible lesson horse, so I was the only one working with him. I decided to keep on riding and training him for free, and also paid for many of the necessities Shorty needed that his owner refused to provide... but that's another story. Let's just say that even though I wasn't in lessons consistently, I was learning from the horses I rode on a regular basis.

And herein lies the problem. Riding a strong, crooked horse that tends to lean into the bridle has tipped my already shaky balance off the scale. In the saddle, I feel terribly off. I sold my old saddle, which was too small for me, and bought a beautiful Albion dressage saddle. I bought new leathers, thinking that one had stretched and was the cause of my instability. I am in decent shape, good enough to walk twenty miles and bench press 150 pounds, so I do not think muscle weakness is the cause. My old half chaps bore significant wear marks in distinctly different locations, meaning that one or both of us is seriously off-kilter. Considering that the aforementioned dressage saddle was flocked specifically for Shorty's back after I bought it a month ago, I'm betting the imbalance is due to some subtle asymmetry in my body. However, I do not remember feeling this way four years ago as a freshman riding three hours a day, mostly in lessons.

There are some possible causes to my problem:

• I've been crooked all along, but the mass amounts of lessons I teach has made me more critical of equitation, including my own.
• My rheumatoid arthritis is causing my joints to shift slowly. Yes, I have RA, which is basically arthritis in every joint in my body, but my hands and knees are the worst. As a result of the swelling often seen in my joints, my doctor explained that I will likely experience blood clots, pinched nerves, and instability in one or both sides of my body. Other than non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, there's nothing that I can do to stop this degenerative disease.
• Last year, I broke three bones in my left foot when a horse I was grooming spooked and landed on me. The horse, a Hannoverian tank, knocked me down and stepped on the arch of my foot as I hit the ground. I did not have insurance and the employer did not offer to pay for the medical bills, so I didn't get treatment. Stupid, I know, but I didn't realize how severe the damage was until the swelling went down and I could feel the displaced bones in my arch. By then, the breaks were fusing as is, and I didn't feel like taking time off for surgery and re-breaking.
• I've been out of lessons so long, I've been getting sloppy. Although I hate to say it, and please do not think me arrogrant, I am the most experienced rider in the barn. There are no others around to give me corrections or pointers. In fact, I've had to give the other instructors lessons because they know so little about riding. (I didn't hire them, but I'm stuck with them).
• I have adapted my riding to my crooked horse. Shorty is a lovely boy, but he does not have great confirmation and tends to hang on the right rein. He leans on me quite a bit. I have effectively convinced him to lower his head and relax at the withers, but he still lacks flexion at the poll and jaw. In fact, his entire spine is as rigid as a 2 by 4. There are days when he flexes beautifully, and others were he is extremely stiff- stifle, knee, and hock arthritis is the cause. I have been working on building impulsion and strenthening his previously anorexic hind end.
• My riding has always been crooked, but my old saddle saved my ass. It was a wintec with CAIR panels, and I had to use a big, thick, foam riser pad to keep it balanced. Perhaps the air cushion flocking canceled out my lopsidedness. Now, I have a traditionally-flocked saddle that has been customized to Shorty's back, but I'm still riding the same way.

With all of this in mind, I need to get back into regular riding lessons, maybe even two or three a week at first. All of the things I listed are sadly not quick fixes; I will have to retrain my body to regain my balance, and that takes TIME. It also takes strengthening and increased flexibility. I am strong, but I can't touch my toes to save my life. I have a strong diaphram, thanks to twelve years of playing the trumpet and a lifetime of blatting impressivly long and loud belches, but are my abdominal muslces strong enough remian centered in the saddle? Yes I can walk twenty miles, but can I wrap my legs around the horse without pinching in any one area? Yes I can benchpress a lot of weight, but can I retrain an elestic elbow and a soft hand? Probably not, which means I should start adding stretches into my daily routine, including during the minutes before getting on my horse.

I've looked up a few instructors in my area that specialize in dressage, but very few of them travel and possess the qualifications. I can't tell you how many ads I found for 17 year old girls advertising themselves as experts in their disciplines because they've been riding "since before they were born." I found one woman that specializes in OTTBs and looks legit (nice website, actually literate, certification with ARIA). I will start making phone calls this afternoon; updates will be given soon.