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Are You Smarter Than A Pony Clubber

By will.groom.for.food. on July 26, 2010 3:23 PM, Filed Under Classroom

This week we delve into the mysterious conundrum of colics. Anyone who's ever had to stay up an entire night or ship a horse off to the hospital for a bout of colic knows it's not a fun ordeal. So, get out your Pony Club manuals and see how much you know.

What are five types of colics?

What are some symptoms of colic?

What do you do if your horse colics?

Answers

Types
1. Spasmodic colic: this is caused by cramps or spasms of the bowel.

2. Gas colic: this is caused by a build up of gas in the intestines. Eating spoiled feed or grass clippings can result in fermentation, which produces gas.

3. Impaction colic: this is caused by indigestible material collecting and blocking the bowel. This can be caused by swallowing sand, lack of water, or enteroliths. An enterolith is basically a stone that is found in the intestinal tract. It typically starts with a foreign piece of material and then minerals (that are found in feed) form around it to produce a rock.

4. Thromboembolism: (this is fun to listen to Pony Clubbers try and pronounce at their rating) this type of colic is caused by worm larvae that invade blood vessels that supply the intestines. A clot can form and block off blood supply to part of the bowel. (Part of why a consistent de-worming routine is important.)

5. Obstruction: this type of colic is caused by a twisted bowel, or when it "telescopes" on itself (intussusception). Lypomas are often a concern as well. A lypoma is a fatty tumor that is connected to a thin fibrous tail, the tail can then become twisted around parts of the bowel and cut off blood supply.

Symptoms
When horses are just beginning to colic the symptoms are usually relatively mild. They may start to look at their barrel, stop eating, or begin to act restless. They may also start to paw, curl their upper lip, stretch out as if to urinate, or lie down and get up multiple times. Pulse rate will be slightly higher.

As the pain becomes more severe, the horse can become violent, progressing from simply laying down and rolling, to thrashing. The horse may begin to look anxious, paw, kick or nip at his belly, and break into a sweat. Some make it really easy and just lay lateral and groan...loudly. Pulse rate will also elevate, as will respiration rate.

Your horse's mucus membranes (gums) can tell you a lot about his condition. A normal color is pale pink; some horses will be slightly injected (meaning you can see smaller darker veins). If his gums are bright red this could indicate mild shock or toxicity. If his gums are slightly blue it could indicate severe shock. Normal saliva is runny and slippery; a sick horse will often have thicker, sticky saliva on his gums.

Knowing your horse's capillary refill time is helpful also. If you firmly press a finger to your horse's gums for 2 seconds (long enough to create a white mark), how long does it take for the color to return? A normal time is 1-2 seconds. Any longer could indicate dehydration or shock.

Gut sounds. If you have a stethoscope, use it. Place the stethoscope behind the last rib and listen for sounds. Typically a lack of sound is more indicative of a colic than an excess of sounds.

Every horse is different, so their reaction to pain will be different. It's very important to know your own horse and his vitals. Some horses can be incredibly painful, but so stoic that their heart rate and respiration rates will barely change.

What do you do?
Record vitals (because I can never remember them) and call your vet. In cases of mild colic, Banamine will often be prescribed. Typically it's best to wait until your vet tells you to give medication otherwise you risk masking the pain that could help diagnose your horse. While waiting on your vet, walk your horse slowly and record vitals periodically. If he starts to pass gas or manure and vitals seem to be improving you can put him in a small paddock or stall and continue monitoring vitals. If condition worsens, its up to you and/or your vet to make the call on a hospital.

How'd you do?

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Are You Smarter Than A Pony Clubber

By will.groom.for.food. on July 8, 2010 1:57 PM, Filed Under Classroom

This week's quiz is about feet! Perhaps I was inspired by an enlightening conversation with my farrier, or the fact that this is the month that my poor horse's feet start to fall apart. Either way, with out further delay, I present the (very late) Are You Smarter Than A Pony Clubber quiz!

Parts of the Hoof

Farrier Tools

Bonus Question: Name the 5 steps in shoeing a horse

Answers
Parts of the Hoof
1. Heels                                          5. Sole
2. Cleft                                            6. Wall
3. Bar                                              7. Frog
4. White line                                    8. Commissure

Farrier Tools
1. Shoe puller or pincers                 5. Clincher

2. Hoof trimmers or nippers            6. Clinch cutter or buffer

3. Rasp                                           7. Hoof knife or draw knife

4. Farrier's Hammer                        8. Pritchel

5 Steps in Shoeing
1. Preparation - Excess foot is removed and hoof is leveled and balanced.
2. Forging - Shoe is manipulated to fit foot.
3. Fitting - The fit of the shoe is checked.
4. Nailing On - The shoe is nailed on.
5. Finishing - Clinches are tightened and made smooth. Clips are tapped into place and hoof is smoothed by rasping.

The best way to learn about feet is to be involved. Talk to your farrier, ask why something is done a particular way. Your farrier can teach you a lot, you just have to ask.

So how did you do?

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10 Questions with Denny Emerson

By Leslie on June 21, 2010 8:47 AM, Filed Under Classroom

He was named one of the 50 most influential horsemen of the 20th Century by the Chronicle in 2000. He is also the only rider to have won both a gold medal in Eventing and a Tevis Cup buckle in Endurance. Denny Emerson was inducted into the USEA Hall of Fame in 2006 carrying honors including team gold for the US at the World Championships in '74, Rider of the Year in '72, and acting as President of the USEA for a total of five years. He has also received the USEA Wofford Cup for lifetime service to Eventing. Denny runs Tamarack Hill Farm with his wife, May, in Strafford, VT and Southern Pines, NC. (Above: Denny and Core Buff [out of Royal Core] in Blue Ridge, VA in the late 70's.)

1. What are 3 essential skills you stress to students?

One of them goes back to something Jack LeGoff preached all the time. To jump a fence correctly you have to have a canter that combines speed, balance, and impulsion. The problem is balance and impulsion are not compatible qualities. It is easy to get impulsion without balance and vise versa. The trick is to keep a canter with both that is active enough to go forward and back as needed. One thing said about Margie Goldstein-Engle is her body is a tuning fork for the right canter. Within two strides after a fence she recognized the canter she had and knew immediately if and how she needed to adjust it. So one skill is to make your body a tuning fork for the right canter and to learn to combine balance and impulsion. How do you take a horse running long, flat, and on the forehand and get him to bring his hocks under him and his body up? So another skill is to have the ability in the last few strides before a fence to take a canter that is forward and down and turn it into something that is over and up. That's a real skill. If you watch Bruce who rides with a bit of a half-seat and Phillip is standing straight up-every rider achieves this goal differently, but this skill is very important because it is related to safety. Not being able to make this adjustment is what leads to horses catching a knee and these darn rotational falls. So many Eventers aren't foxhunting, steeplechase riding, and learning to "ride by the seat of their pants." They don't gallop, set up, and jump up, they just gallop and keep galloping. Jack LeGoff said the key is three things: 1: a good seat; 2: a good seat; 3: a good seat. In other words, having an independent seat.

2. Why are gymnastics jumping exercises so important?

Because you put the horse in jeopardy where his job is to get himself out of trouble. You have to say "Here, Horse. Sink or swim." The distances are already set right so you don't have to worry about that. The best exercise is this: Jump a cross-rail, 18 feet to a Swedish oxer with a false ground line in the middle, then 18 feet to another X. The Swedish oxer will be slightly confusing and will encourage him to really jump up and round; you want his withers to hit you in the sternum. All you have to do is look up, smile, and close your legs. Gymnastics give the horse a chance to learn how to save his own ass. You'll get it wrong sometimes. It doesn't matter if you're Mark Todd. Even the best will get it wrong, and that is when your horse has to have survival instincts.

3. In a sentence (or several), what makes a four-star horse?

Especially with the short format you've got to have...well...what you can't have is weak links. In the long format, a horse who is a little flat in showjumping or dicey in dressage but is a mega machine on cross-country could get away with having a slightly weak link. Not today. A four-star horse must be bold. He has to be fancy enough to get good scores but quiet enough to ride correctly. He must be brave, agile, fast and scopey and still sound enough on Sunday to pass the jog and leave all the rails up. What a four-star horse really needs is a four-star rider.

4. Do you support bringing back the long format?

It isn't going to happen. The world has changed. There is no land, no foxhunting, no steeplechase rides. It is also a different group of people. This is my 57th year competing. I've been Eventing since '62 when judges were military guys so the sport was still close to its military roots. Technically it was a great test, but it's not going to happen. The Training and Preliminary three-days are great opportunities to ride horses that want to jump all day. He's on fire on XC if he's the right horse. Do you know how nervous you get before showjumping? Imagine doing a second showjumping round almost immediately. You'll be a lot less nervous and it's easier; that's what it's like on XC after doing steeplechase.

5. How does a conditioning program change from the short format to the long format?

They had to be such a bloody rock to do 18 miles. When I was at Burghley in '74 the endurance test was 17.7 miles. You had to have a horse that could go all day and had to be at almost Tevis Cup fitness. The heart, feet, and lungs had to be fit. Like Iron Man. I think the short format is harder because it is easier to run at a steady pace for a long time than run like a scared rabbit, set up, showjump a fence, run, SJ, etc. That's really hard on a horse. I don't think people have quite figured out how to get ready for the short format.

6. How did you become an Eventer?

I watched the Wofford Cup in 1961. I was riding Morgans and doing 100-mile endurance races at the time. I had never jumped. I was 20. I wanted to do it because I did not know how. (Left: Denny and Paint at his first competition, 1954 -- times are different and these days cool kids wear helmets all the time when riding)

7. Has your experience in Eventing affected your approach to Endurance in any way? Or vise versa?

I was 15 years old when I did my first 100-mile race. Everybody used to do Endurance. You learned how to get horses fit the long and slow way. There are two kinds of fitness. The heart and lungs get fit the fastest before the muscles and tendons which get fit before the hooves and bones, which are the slowest to get fit. To get rock hard fit, you had to do tons of long slow miles on pavement and up hills. The fitness of an Endurance rider is to gut it out, not have the iron quick reflexes of an Advanced Event rider.

8. Who are three up and coming riders to watch out for?

Like Jimmy says, you always go to the "usual suspects"...the two Wills [Faudree and Coleman]. Michael Pollard, I think he's a sleeper who just doesn't have the stock right now. Rebecca Howard is a good girl. She has guts. There are 10 or 15 of them out there who just need to catch a break with the right horses.

9. Do you have a favorite horse from your career?

I think the best horse I've had is York, who I bought from New Zealand in the mid-70's. The American Eventing community didn't know how susceptible to worms the horses from New Zealand and Australia are. So I lost two years with him to worms. Then he came back and won Chesterland and was USEA Horse of the Year. York would be a horse in 2010 who could still be a big time horse. Victor Dakin was a cross-country machine, but he wouldn't be good today because he was bad in dressage. (Right: Denny and York at Groton House, 1979. York was bought sight-unseen from NZ through Lockie Richards)

10. What are your interests besides horses?

I write some, I read, garden, build stone walls...but I'm pretty interested in horses. I like breeding and jumpers. I have a theory that in the next 10 years if Eventing doesn't keep changing....When I started 48 years ago, the speeds were identical but the courses were more flowing. I think they could try slowing down the speeds by 20 mpm or so. See if it allows the riders more time to gallop and set up where they don't have to run like scared rabbits in between fences. There is going to be a Congressional hearing if we don't stop losing riders and horses. Someone will come down on us like a ton of bricks. Last year, Phillip had two rotational falls and lost one horse. Zara had a rotational fall, broke her collarbone and lost her horse. That is not a fixed sport. Somehow we have to figure out how to make it safe without gutting it. You are going to be the ones to figure it out; I don't know how to do it. We should start trying new things. [Here Denny quoted from the poem "Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson] "Theirs not to make reply / Theirs not to reason why / Theirs but to do & die / Into the Valley of Death." That's what our riders are like. They don't analyze, they just do it. The upper-level riders need to be more advocates for fixing the sport. They don't make waves but they have the most invested. I don't know if it's the shift to the short format or if it's because the sport is more suburbanized. No seat-of-the-pants stuff. Kids learned to be clever and ride in the backseat by going out and being defensive, aggressive riders. Kids need to get savvy. Imagine Buck's experience compared to 99% of the riders. He rode ponies, foxhunted, steeplechased, all because he was Bruce's son. It's not their fault, it's just a different world.

Thanks Denny for educating Eventing Nation, and thanks for reading!

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Run Henny Run: 10 Questions with Peter Atkins

By John on June 2, 2010 11:30 AM, Filed Under Classroom

Peter Atkins and HJ Hampton "Henny" have stormed onto the eventing scene this spring by combining great rides, quality horsemanship, and awesome technology. Henny and Peter have developed a loyal base of fans who love the helmet cam videos--hint hint sponsorship companies. Peter was kind enough to answer a few questions for Eventing Nation. Let's take a moment to get to know Peter and Henny.

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1. Tell us about Henny's personality.

He is a very complex horse, as are most "special horses". He came to me quite brain fried from the Hunters and wouldn't even canter a cross rail happily. He is the bravest XC horse, yet he is scared of anything different on the ground especially the shadows of power lines on the road, changes of color in the grass, even tire tracks after the arena has been dragged! He has a weird tongue fetish, he'll see you coming, whip his head in little circles until he gets his tongue out the left side and then will ask you to scratch it. Though the thing he loves the most is looking after our son, Owen. Whether he is in a lead line class, or Owen is just holding him, Henny just loves him.

2. Whose idea was the helmet cam?

I asked one of my owners, who doesn't get to many events, if she would like to see what I see going XC, she said yes and paid for the camera, www.equicamhd.com. I put the first one on youtube for her to see and it started. I was actually quite surprised how cool it looked and how quickly it caught the attention of everyone.

3. How is Eventing different in the US than Australia? Likes and dislikes?

When I was a younger (not sure if I have grown up yet) my father was a MFH and I was on staff from when I was 12 or 13. As well as eventing our family did a lot of show jumping, point to pointing (races for fox hunters over hunt type courses), trained steeple chasers, I rode in a few professional hurdle races and steeplechases. Most riders didn't just event they rode in multiple disciplines. Here most event riders just event and (in my opinion) try to be too technical and controlling on XC. I see too many people trying to show jump every jump, especially combinations, then going really fast in between. I feel more riders need to get out of the ring and gallop/jump unknown jumps, ie fox hunting, before they start going XC. I learnt to jump the most "unsafe' jumps in the world, when the hounds headed off in the bush you go where they go, if there is a four strand, 4ft, barbed wire fence in the way you jump it! That is how I learned to be defensive in my body position. I think too many Americans treat XC jumps like stadium jumps, they aren't, XC jumps don't fall down.

4. Do you have a good luck charm? Rituals? Superstitions?

Not really. I hate luck. I have had a lot of bad luck in the last few years. I would hate to come off a course and have someone say, "you were lucky to get round". I prefer no luck, no bad and not needing good luck. I just want to ride well and have fun. Isn't that why we do this? To have fun! I hate it when people say good luck, how about saying "have a great ride!" I seem to have a knack for finding 4 leaf clovers anywhere they grow but every time I have ever picked one, I've had terrible luck. Every time I have given one to a friend/client, they have had terrible luck. I saw a lot of them walking the course at Rolex, I left them all there. I guess the only superstition I have is to never pick 4 leaf clovers!

5. How did you begin Eventing?

I was born into it. My mother was on the Australian long list for the LA Olympics.

6. What are you doing when you're not at the barn?

Not at the barn? Hmmm, now there's a concept. I feed the boys every morning and night and ride them in between. When I stopped riding for a few years in '04 and '05, I got pretty competitive in IPSC pistol shooting. It is very much the same concept as eventing, various kinds of courses with 6 - 32 targets that have to be shot as quickly and accurately as possible. HUGE adrenaline rush, equal to running around Rolex XC. Unfortunately I only get to shoot 3 or 4 times a year.

Link: full Henny Rolex course at www.runhennyrun.com

7. What is the hardest lesson to learn with horses?

Humility, every time I think I have figured something out, something else comes up. I discovered a long time ago the more I learn about horses, the more I realize how little I really know and much more I have to figure out.

8. I love how verbal you are with your horses on cross-country! Do you find it makes a difference?

YES, I walk out in the morning to feed them and they say Hello, if I don't say hello back they look unhappy. Henny especially is very verbal, he loves to be talked to. Training all my horses I am always telling them what I want them to do, it seems to work, after a while I just have to think it and they generally are trying to do it.

9. What do you tell your students about communicating verbally with their horse on course?

In all my training I teach my students to verbally "tell" their horses what to do. Just like when you are lunging a horse, if they are connected with you and you say canter they canter. If you are on a horse and set it up so they can do the correct thing, then verbally tell them to do it, they tend to do it. My whole riding philosophy is to figure out how to make it easy for the horse to do what you want him/her to do. If we make it easy for them to do what we want them to do they will make our life really easy. The next step is to figure out how to make them think it is their idea to do what we want them to do.

10. You and Henny now have a huge base of fans from the helmet cam videos. Did you expect such a big reaction when you made the videos?

No, it has been amazing. I had no idea it would take off like this. I am extremely excited at how many people are having so much fun riding with us. Henny is the coolest horse and you can see how much he loves his job by watching his ears. I can't thank all of our supporters enough.

Thanks Peter and go eventing.

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Living a Charmed Life: 10 Questions with Jim Wofford

By Leslie on May 13, 2010 12:05 PM, Filed Under Classroom

James C. Wofford, or as many of us know him, Jimmy, has represented the US at the Olympics three times, winning two team silver and one individual silver medal. He is a member of the Hall-of-Fame for both the USEA and the Culver Military Academy. Jimmy is widely sought after as a clinician, and his skills as an instructor are well known. According to his bio at the USEA Hall-of-Fame, "at least one rider on every US Olympic, World Championship, and Pan American team since 1978 has been a graduate of Jim's program." Jim not only is an accomplished Eventer, but he was also an active Foxhunter, Steeplechaser, and Hunter. Don't forget he has also written numerous books, including the hard-to-find "Training the Three-Day Event Horse and Rider."

When I first approached Jimmy about an interview, he told me "It's Jim, not Mr. Wofford." Jim is full of insight and experience, and I was completely tickled to talk to one of my personal idols and bring you the wise words of one of the biggest heros in our sport. Thanks Mr. Wofford, l mean Jim, for being a part of Eventing Nation.

1. What is your preferred breed of horse and why?

The Thoroughbred for several reasons: they have been bred for athleticism, heart, and speed. In the short format, there are moments when riders jump much faster than they ever did in the Classic format. Horses with partial TB breeding can find themselves at the end of their capabilities close to the end of a course, while the TB is still galloping within himself. However, there are downsides to the Thoroughbred, such as temperament and finding a good mover.

2. What are the three most important qualities in Event horses today?

Intelligence, athleticism, durability

3. What is missing from modern Event rider's training programs?

Broad exposure to activities that rider and horse can engage in. Riders today do not Foxhunt, go to horse shows and show Green Hunters, or exercise racehorses. They have a program and stick to it, and that's all they do all the time.

4. What is one thing you find yourself always saying to people at clinics?

Keep the rhythm. Dressage, showjumping, cross-country: keep the rhythm.

5. What is your vision for the future of Eventing?

This should be a two-part question. For the upper levels, more of the same without rotational falls. At the lower levels, there is a growing interest in the Classic format. Upper-level competition has been so professionalized, amateurs know it is beyond their wildest dreams to ride at Rolex. There will not be many amateurs with one great horse getting to Rolex. There will be some, but fewer as the sport is professionalized. The preparation necessary for a three-day makes the Classic format desirable for amateurs. Two separate career paths are emerging in the sport.

6. What made your bond with Carawich so successful?

We suited each other. I purchased him untried. He arrived late December 1977. I gave him a couple days off and when I got on it was like putting on a glove. Throughout his career I never did not understand why he did something. He was a delight and a pleasure to ride all the time. He would not be successful these days though, because his dressage was good, but not great, and his showjumping was good, but he would not be as successful at the showjumping heights today. He would have laughed at our cross-country courses these days, because he was so intelligent.

7. How would you sum up your life with horses in just a few words?

Living a charmed life

8. What is your pick for the U.S. WEG Event team?

I haven't seen the long list yet. Like that line from Casablanca, the USET selectors are going to go out and "round up the usual suspects." In addition, I hope they will consider some new names for the team...Buck has Pan-Am experience; this is his time, so I hope his horses stay sound. Every time Boyd Martin comes out, his riding is a little less crude. He has a very modern attitude towards his lessons and training, meaning that he understands the interrelationship between technique and performance. He is one I've got my eye on. I am crazy about his riding, but Will Coleman definitely set his chances back with his unfortunate fall at the Fork. Now he will have to try again at Luhmuhlen. Jan may not recover from her fall earlier this spring; that is unfortunate, as I thought this was her year. Will Faudree did himself a world of good with his weekend at Rolex, and the selectors will probably give him a serious look. Kim is our best rider, but Paddy could let us down badly on Sunday. Mara Dean and Alison Springer didn't get it done at Rolex, and I don't know what their plans are next. Then of course you have the usual suspects- Phillip, Karen, Becky and Amy- to contend with.

9. Any countries that stand out as serious competition?

Oh, you can believe the Germans and British will wind up at the end, beating each other's brains out. The French are not good at producing consistent results. Occasionally they put the right four riders together at the right time; you won't feel them coming, and then they beat you like a baby seal. I'm not as familiar with the newer prospects for Australia and New Zealand, but any team with Andrew Nicholson or Mark Todd as team captain is dangerous.

10. Who was your equestrian idol growing up?

Bill Steinkraus. Individual gold medal in Showjumping at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico. He was a rider who combined classical training and riding techniques with competitive drive and desire. No one wanted to win as much as Bill, but he did it with good training and good riding.

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More information on frangible pins

By John on May 7, 2010 5:30 AM, Filed Under Classroom

Over the past couple of days I have been searching for some definitive information on frangible pins. The frangible pin section of the USEA's Cross-Country Obstacle Design Standards handbook contains some information relevant to the ongoing frangible pin debate.

The Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) conducted film analysis of 100 accidents, including 75 cross-country fences and 25 show jumping fences. It was found that the potential for a crushing injury was related to the rotating motion and landing angle of the horse. A landing angle of more than 90 degrees was considered to provide a significant risk of crushing injury to the rider. This happened when the horse hit a fixed obstacle between its knee and elbow. Below this, the horse was able to scrabble over, but above this, the horse stayed behind the fence with the rider staying seated or ejected over the fence. A mathematical model was developed and a full-scale crash test horse was used to simulate the load conditions between a horse and fence. Based on the results of the test program, TRL established that if the rail anchorage was designed to break at a controlled load to ensure that the rail would fall, this would remove the vertical load between the horse and the fence.

TRL designed a breakable pin with the precise failure strength to allow the rail to drop, thereby stopping the horse from rotating or somersaulting. This means the horse can hit the rail fairly hard without the fence collapsing and still keep its footing, but if the critical load is reached, the pin would fail with the potential of minimizing risk of injury to both horse and rider. The final design and manufacture of the pins has been carried out by Barriers International, Ltd.

Another topic of debate has been the placement of the support posts behind the vertical logs at Rolex, but this arrangement is used in every single frangible pin fence design presented in the handbook, including the flower box below.

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Aiken Training Sessions with Mark Phillips

By John on February 24, 2010 4:19 PM, Filed Under Classroom

Lets jump right into coverage of today's training sessions, with Mark coaching only A&B listed riders.

(1) I arrived just at the end of Jan's flat lesson, but Waterfront looked great and it was all smiles in the traditional post-lesson chat.

(2) I remember my first experience with how spooky Arthur can be. I was at an Aiken training session two years ago and Arthur wouldn't trot near me sitting on the rail. At the time, I offered to move, but Allison handled it patiently and said 'no, he needs to learn.' It seems like that patience has really paid off because he didn't spook once today, and there were a lot more super-scary people sitting on the rails. That said, the lesson started with a discussion between Mark and Allison about how to manage the spookiness when it does occur.

(3) Allison and Arthur started their jump lesson by trotting a vertical. They eventually progressed to trotting probably an advanced sized vertical, which made the crowd gasp. Arthur had one or two crooked jumps, but then looked super as the vertical got bigger. Heck, I watched Bru Maguire trot into the Head of the Lake at Rolex a few years ago, so trotting fences is vastly underrated.

(4) This theme of a great jump not needing a fast approach continued into the canter work. Arthur used a relaxed, calm, and steady canter to jump some very large fences. Arthur really demonstrated that a canter does not need to be 'fast' to be forward. Arthur has really developed a beautiful canter that will really help the show jumping.

what you lookin at?

(5) Rumor has it that The Foreman jumped with Mark later in the day, after I had left.

(6) One thing to remember as we look at selection for the WEGs is that the USET vets have a tremendous say in the process. The vets looked at A&B listed horses today, trying to get a feel for where each horse is in terms of soundness, and to help the riders develop a management strategy for the spring. We might watch a horse win everything this spring, but if it doesn't look good to the vets it will stay home in September. Go eventing.

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Aiken Training Sessions with Oded Shimoni

By John on February 23, 2010 3:16 PM, Filed Under Classroom

Dressage coach Oded Shimoni presided over the training sessions today here in Aiken. Several riders who worked with Oded earlier this Spring told me that they were really impressed, and I saw what they meant today. I have watched training sessions for years the US has a fantastic combination of discipline specific coaches in Oded and Katie, which I would not have said several years in the past.

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(1) Oded gave all of the horses multiple breaks throughout the sessions, whether walk-breaks or stretch-breaks within the gaits.

(2) I'm not sure if most people understand how althletic Woodburn is. Watching Woodburn work reminds me of one of my friends who can pick up any sport and immediately be the best at it.

(3) The other side of Woodburn is that the horse can get tense, and Oded hopped on Woodburn for about 15 minutes. Whenever Woodburn would start to act up, Oded would remain relaxed and patient, never changing what he was asking until the horse gave.

(4) Oded also rode Twizzel and worked on getting him to move more forward naturally, rather than having to be asked from the aids.

(5) When Oded was working with Will on collected trot to working trot transitions, Oded said "I'm more interested to see how a horse comes out of a half-halt than how it goes into it." I won't pretend to understand what that means, but hopefully it will improve my half-halts if I think it really hard before I go to sleep tonight.

who let that weirdo with the camera in here?

(6) Oded mentioned positioning the horse's body parts much more than the rider's aids. Oded also spoke about positioning the horse's chest in the half-pass, which I think is a really rare body-part for coaches to discuss, but seemed to be a great concept for the riders to think about.

(7) I'm not sure what they are feeding Tru Luck, but he is ripped. Milo looks as muscular, strong, and on-target as I have ever seen him. Phillip has two fantastic horses aiming at the WEGs.

Yes, Oded is wearing aviators.

What do you say?... No, aviators are still cool. Really, they are, I have a pair.... No, that does not make your point for you. He's a Grand Prix dressage coach, he can wear whatever sunglasses he wants, get off his back.

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In other news, I apologize if you visited EN this morning and missed our regular morning post. I was too busy playing the addicting unicorn game pushed the wrong button at 5:30 this morning and the KHP post did not publish properly. Since I was in a hurry, I didn't take the time to load the site and find my error. We have had a new post every morning of every single day for months, and we intend to keep the pattern going, along with a new afternoon post each day, and an evening post most days. NBC does not plan their Olympics TV schedule to accommodate us early risers in the horse world.

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Aiken Training Sessions with Katie Prudent

By John on February 17, 2010 12:56 PM, Filed Under Classroom

Showjumper Katie Prudent presided over today's festivities at Three Runs Plantation here in AIken, SC. Katie commanded a strong presence in the ring, was clear in communicating with the riders and crowd (approx. 25 spectators), and the riders seemed to respond well. I watched Jan (Waterfront and Inmidair), Phillip (Tru Luck and Woodburn), and Will Coleman (Twizzel). Click here for the training list from November. Overall impression of Katie's teaching: A+, taking a lesson with her definitely goes on my bucket list.

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(1) Katie worked with each rider on developing a warmup strategy specifically tailored to their horse. She mentioned that from watching Rolex last year she learned that Sunday warmups need to be efficient to preserve the tired horse for the show jumping.

(2) When Katie asked riders to be more forward, she constantly stressed allowing the horse to go forward, rather than chasing. She mentioned that chasing the horse will cause problems when the rider goes to rebalance.

(3) Time, time, time! Katie constantly stressed good technique, such as accelerating after the jumps, as the key to making time. Riders who did not ride in a forward show speed were corrected.

(4) Will and P Duddy Phillip win the official EN 'pat your horse award' as the only riders I have seen at any of the training sessions who patted their horses. I always like to see this, and, frankly, a rider not making his/her horse know they are appreciated is completely inexcusable, in my opinion.

(5) Speaking of Will, Katie seemed more aggressive coaching him than she was with either Jan or Phillip. She quipped at Will several times for taking his time approaching the first fence of the course, and even once for trying to talk to her, and seemed to really be on his case about everything. Will handled it fine, and his horse looked great.

Twizzel

(6) Phillip and Katie spoke about how, when Woodburn does have a rail, it tends to come at the end of the course because the horse becomes more tense as the round progresses. Katie suggested pushing the pace early in the course to make up time so that Phillip can slow and relax Woodburn slightly at the end. With at lease one rail in 6 of their last 9 show jumping rounds, look for Phillip to implement this strategy at events this spring.

Woodburn

(7) Katie made 3-4 key points to each rider and gave them time to focus those concepts. I feel like coaches often just mention everything they see that goes wrong, but Katie seemed to really focus her instructions on the most important concepts.

(8) As I type this up, I have Olympic curling on the TV, and I'm thinking to myself that those giant rocks don't go lame, they don't cost anything to maintain, they don't buck you off or trample you unless you are playing the sport very wrong.

Training Session Calendar

Go curling.

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Mark Phillips Rides at USET Ocala Training Sessions Day 2

By John on February 5, 2010 2:39 PM, Filed Under Classroom

Cross-country with Heather Morris and Slate River: Heather Morris and Slate river hail from Texas and placed 11th at the FHI CCI***. Before going out to the cross-country course, Heather's team brought a variety of very large bits to US Coach Mark Phillips for his selection. But Mark asked Heather to show her transitions within the gallop using just a snaffle. The horse generally ignored Heather and threw its head everywhere. After a few transitions Mark called Heather in and hopped on slate river himself.

The horse immediately improved, and Mark explained that Heather needed to carry her hands several inches lower, with her knuckles pressed into Slate River's withers. That encourages a more forward rider position and means that when the horse pulls or fights it is fighting with pressure on its withers rather than the rider. Mark kept his hands pressed into the withers and his body forward throughout the entire rebalancing process. He explained that Heather was sitting back too much and just fighting with the horse's mouth. Once Heather hopped back on and tried this approach, Slate River was 100% better.

As a rider who does not keep my reins bridged or my hands pressed to the withers through the half-halt, I might start trying that because that method worked really great in this lesson and when Mark had riders try it in the USEA clinics.

Olivia Loiacono and Subway: Many of the pairs that Mark had seen jump before and liked as jumpers did flatwork for a second straight day today. Mark hopped on Subway for a few minutes early in the lesson and commented that he really liked the horse. In the trot, Mark suggested that Olivia balance Subway up and out by asking him to trot on spot for a maximum of three strides, but stressed that this exercise must never be 'backwards.' For the canter, Mark reiterated a point that he has made in several lessons that the horse should not be too bent in the counter-canter. Mark also felt very strongly that flying changes should be schooled on a straight line.

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Karen and Mandiba Impress at USET Training Session Day 1

By John on February 4, 2010 8:00 PM, Filed Under Classroom

I just had 'one of those days' with the vet, but writing this post is a welcome distraction. This morning, I watched a few of the US training sessions being held at Meredyth South. CMP was extremely focused on getting riders to use their leg. Probably 90% of the corrections he suggested involved the leg aid, and he kept saying things like: "leg to go slower," "leg until he comes rounder," "talk to the hind end with your legs to give you the feeling you want in your hands." I think a lot of riders either focus on making horses work off of the outside rein (modern) or seat (classical) and that the leg is getting a bit lost in the process, which might be why Mark put such an emphasis on it today. Everything was about the leg. CMP began every lesson by schooling a principle at the walk, mostly teaching the horse to come round from the leg and develop a solid connection. Here are a few specific thoughts from the rides I watched.

Lauren Kieffer and Ultra Tim: I arrived just at the end of Lauren's ride, but Tim looked great and Mark seemed really pleased. The pair did well at the FHI CCI**, and I bet that when Lauren does her Road to Rolex Blog for us next year, it will involve Tim.

Erika Treis Peterson says "Hi Eventing Nation"

Erika represents the 616 (Holland, MI) with her fancy 3* horse Under the Influence. When Erika started her lesson, Mark observed that her leg was kicked too far out in front. A quick adjustment to the balance of the saddle (by taking out front Mattes pad padding) moved Erika's leg back by about two inches. From personal experience, nothing helps a water-skiing leg position like raising the rear of the saddle, which is often unbalanced and causing the problem in the first place. Mark spent most of the lesson working on Under the Influence's trot work, encouraging the horses to "swing twice as much and go twice as slowly." CMP encouraged Erika to half-halt even when things were going well, as a preemptive measure, which I think is a very hard technique for a rider to implement because we are so excited when things go well that we try to just maintain. In the canter work, Mark asked Erika to canter on the spot, and then go forward in that rhythm and balance.

Karen and Mandiba are going straight to the top

Karen and Mandiba looked fantastic, and I am convinced they have flatwork that can win the WEGs. The lesson was very positive and ended with a high-five between Mark and Max. Karen seemed very confident, and, from a flatwork perspective, the pair seems in awesome shape. Mandiba was focused, relaxed, moving great, and very accurate. In the walk, Karen worked on taking long slow steps with a good connection in the rein. In terms of position, Mark encouraged Karen to stretch up rather than leaning back. Mark asked for more shoulder-in in the canter, and said that being straight was not enough angle for training. Personally, I have never really ever head a coach say "less shoulder-in" in the canter work for training purposes.

Max watches one long side for enough shoulder-in angle while Mark watches the other

Mark watching Mandiba's trot

Hannah Burnett and St. Barths walk it out

Mark worked with Hannah, the FHI CCI** winner and another one of our guest writers, on transitions, particularly the canter to trot. Several horses at the training sessions dropped behind the bit and leg in downward transitions, and Mark worked on this issue each time until it was fixed. In the canter, Mark encouraged Hannah to work Nike's feet until he became more available in the jaw.

Sara Ike using technology to help the US win

Sara Ike, of the USEF, who works behind the scenes to make everything run smoothly for the Team, was kind enough to show me a little about the cool video technology the Team is using which allows each movement to be categorized and broken down. Someday I will write a post on the issue, but my educational background in psychology tells me that visual feedback is a critical component of training. Sarah also wins the best dressed award for rocking a sweet olympic polo. That's all for now, but we will have more tomorrow from the jumping sessions. Go eventing.

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USEA Ocala Clinic: XC with Mark Phillips (not in Indiana)

By John on February 3, 2010 1:40 PM, Filed Under Classroom

Today I ventured over to the USEA Clinics at Longwood farm to watch Mark work on cross country with prelim/intermediate riders. About 30 other people were watching the clinic, and it seemed like everyone appreciated the way Mark involved the crowd with questions, explanations, and jokes. One moment that really impressed me was when Mark admitted a mistake in that he asked a difficult question to a younger horse and then did not make the question easier after the first refusal. In nearly 10 years of watching and taking lessons from eventing coaches, I don't think I have ever heard a coach admit a mistake. Not once. In the unlikely event that a coach makes a mistake, I think us riders would appreciate it if they held themselves accountable and let others learn from their mistake rather than implicitly placing the blame on either horse or rider. Here are a few other key thoughts from the clinic:

1) Jumping fences is about being consistent. Horses learn by repetition, and balancing before the fences to a good deep distance needs to be repeated every single time, no matter what the size of the fences. During warmup, several riders just cantered down to open distances without paying much attention. While that worked fine on the smaller fences, Mark pointed out that the riders were missing important training opportunities. If you have a flier, you need to make sure that your next jump is to a deep distance, otherwise the horse will get used to leaving long, causing problems at the next technical element. Good balance is what gives you the options to pick the spot.

2) Don't worry about your lead. This surprised me a bit, but Mark said to worry about balance and the jump, and if the horse is more comfortable on the wrong lead, don't worry about it. I'd be interested to see if he would say the same thing at the training sessions tomorrow with the top riders. Personally, I've never understood why counter-canter has such a bad reputation.

3) Read the ground. This might have been the most mentioned point in the whole lesson. The course builder in Mark came out, and he regularly spoke about the path before the fences, including the slope, turn, and camber (whether tilted to one direction or the other across the line of travel). Ground that naturally balances horses includes uphill, turns, and camber with the turns (like a NASCAR track). With ground that naturally unbalances horses, such as downhill, and against-turn camber, riders need to balance before reaching this ground.

4) Ride leg to hand (shocking, I know). Mark said that the hardest XC technique with a really forward horse is remembering to put the leg on before using the hand and seat. Using the leg to generate pressure in the hands is the proper technique for holding a horse on the line to corners and narrows.

5) Don't let your leg aid go to Indiana. After one sticky jump at a corner, Mark commented that the rider's leg was "somewhere in Indiana." I'm not sure Mark has ever been to Indiana himself, but I thought it was an amusing phrase and plan to use it for the next few days until everyone around me gets sick of it. Go eventing in Indiana.

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Tuesday Classroom: Back to Basics at Canadian Training Sessions

By John on February 2, 2010 5:30 PM, Filed Under Classroom

Training sessions, whether US or Canadian are a great opportunity to learn by watching top riders learn. I spent some time today watching David work with his Canadian squad on cross-country technique at the beautiful Meredyth South. Not surprisingly, one thing that I have noticed is that the quality of horses and riders for the Canadians has improved dramatically over the past few years under David, and it is only a matter of time before they start winning Olympic and WEG team medals. The only other thing I will mention before writing about the training is that turnout was a bit questionable for a couple of the riders. I will never claim to be a turnout master, but I would hope that I wouldn't show up to a cross country training session for the right to represent my country in old Woof boots.

The training sessions ran in hour long lessons with 4-5 riders in each. At the beginning of the session, David spoke about the importance of good fundamental cross-country technique and repeatedly stressed the importance of drills to build those fundamentals. David identified the five rider responsibilities: direction, speed, rhythm, balance, and timing. Each of these responsibilities needs to be established 5-6 strides before the jumping obstacle so that those final strides can be about maintaining and riding to the fence. David also stressed that a rider needs to teach the horse to balance from the body rather than the hands. Using a good position, a rider should teach the horse by asking first with the body and then correcting if necessary with the hands. Gradually the horse learns to rebalance from the body. This training should be an integral part of conditioning work.

The exercise: David placed a vertical showjump with a small log underneath it (to provide some structure and a good ground-line), and used markers to denote 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13 strides away from the fence. Riders were asked to treat the jump as a galloping fence, and then as the A element of a coffin. Whatever the type of fence, the riders needed to establish proper direction, speed, rhythm, and balance by the last (5 strides out) marker. Gradually each rider found the distance before the fence that they needed to begin to rebalance to achieve the desired result by that last marker. As the position and technique of the riders improved, they were able to wait longer and longer to begin the rebalancing process. According to David, fast XC horses can rebalance from a 4* gallop to whatever canter is appropriate for the obstacle in around 3 strides. Eventually the riders jumped a galloping fence before coming back to a coffin canter for the vertical. So, if you have an open field (or arena) that isn't covered in snow, grab some makers, pace off distances, and go eventing.

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