Classic Eventing Nation

Losgelassenheit: How Do You Keep Your Horse Relaxed?

By on Jan 10, 2014 9:00 am -
Valonia ... always trying to preserve her losgelassen! Valonia ... always trying to preserve her losgelassen!

I’ve been riding with Denny for over seven years now, and the word “losgelassenheit” has come up in conversation maybe 4,368 times, more or less. The first time I heard this word, I thought to myself, Huh … come again? Basically, this German word refers to relaxation. When a horse is losgelassen, he is without tension, active without rigidity, and allows his or her energy to be manipulated by his or her rider without starting World War III.

Seeing how I spend most days in the winter riding and training by myself, I have an endless amount of time to think about these various concepts and how they apply to me and my horses. Most of us are familiar with the German riding scale: Rhythm, Suppleness, Connection, Impulsion, Straightness and Collection. Losgelassenheit directly corresponds with the second layer in this pyramid, or the “suppleness” category.

Thousands of riders, trainers and coaches will argue that the most important thing a horse must do is go forward from the leg. I couldn’t agree more. That being said, I think this idea of relaxation and calmness almost ties for first place. For me, one of the most challenging pieces of the riding puzzle is dealing with a horse that demonstrates physical AND mental rigidity. Trying to calm, or coax a horse into relaxation can be easier said than done, and some riders are simply better at this than others.

I have ridden my fair share of tight, nervous and/or aggressive type horses. I think my borderline type A personality actually clashes with these particular types, and I am more drawn to naturally calm and low-key types of horses, which has taken years to discover. Both horses I am riding right now are pretty low key. Skybreaker is a very relaxed and calm horse, which he shows me every time I sit on him. My mare, Valonia, possesses a slightly similar attitude in that she is not frantic, nor high strung, but has a bit more gas stored away in her tank. Still, even with two fairly relaxed horses, I feel as though my job is to not only preserve that natural state of relaxation, but to combine that calmness with more energy and more liveliness. I never want to get rid of their losgelassen, but rather meld their relaxation with more aliveness.

So, where does your horse fall under the “relaxation” category? Is she or he generally pretty calm or hot to trot? Depending on your answer, how do you deal with relaxation and calming your horse down or gearing your horse up? What types of horses are you generally drawn towards, and why? I think it’s really important to realize and understand what type of horse you work with the best and why. It’s great to be well rounded and have the ability to ride all types, but finding your type helps tremendously. Regardless of your dead quiet or hot ticket horse, relaxation will always play a dominant role, and learning methods that help with relaxation or that will help preserve calmness is key in our horse’s training.

Throwback Thursday: And the Rider Is …

By on Jan 9, 2014 6:00 pm -

Welcome to Throwback Thursday! Each Thursday, we will be bringing you some vintage eventing photos and posts. Do you want to show us your first horse or a photo of your early riding days? Email [email protected].

Thanks to everyone who guessed this week’s featured rider! The rider pictured below is…

Even as a tiny tot, she had her eyes on the prize... and possibly an earlier naptime.

Even as a tiny tot, she had her eyes on the prize… and possibly an earlier naptime.

…Colleen Rutledge! Many thanks to everyone who participated in this week’s challenge, and a big thank you to Colleen for supplying the adorable photo of her as a wee one!

There's that smile! Photo of Colleen Rutledge and Shiraz by Jenni Autry.

There’s that smile! Photo of Colleen Rutledge and Shiraz by Jenni Autry.

Thursday Video: British Show Jumping in the 1960s

By on Jan 9, 2014 4:30 pm -

In this excellent short film on the show jumping lifestyle of the 1960s in Britain, we get to follow the trial, purchase and training of a cheeky Irish horse named Beethoven, as well as watch some great footage of the old-style Hickstead courses. Fun fact: Beethoven went on to win the 1970 men’s individual World Championships with David Broome! It’s always fun to see the original horses and riders who tackled those insane obstacles and even more fun to watch them train at home over enormous open ditches and scary upright vertical gates. Actually, I think the narrator is my favorite part — do you think we can get him as an announcer at competitions?!

Have You Seen the Official EN Store?

By on Jan 9, 2014 3:00 pm -
The Insanity T-shirt! The Insanity T-shirt!

Official EN gear — it’s one of the most consistent requests we’ve received over the years. And it’s always been a difficult one to fulfill due to demand. John would post small quantities of hats and T-shirts, and they’d sell out faster than you could say “chinchilla.” So one of our main goals with the redesign was to finally get the proper infrastructure in place to offer EN merchandise for sale.

In stepped Leah Anderson of Dapplebay fame. A talented graphic designer with an eye for quality, we knew she was the perfect person to both design and manage inventory for us. In additional to designing the new EN logo and working with the web developer on the new EN layout, she designed all the merchandise you’ll see for sale in the Official EN Store.

And here’s the best part about showing your EN pride through purchasing merch: All proceeds after expenses go to support charity. Since we’re all OTTB addicts here at EN, we chose CANTER Mid Atlantic as the inaugural beneficiary of the Official EN Store. Going forward, we’ll let you all vote on which charities you’d like us to support.

Orders have already been pouring in since the store launched yesterday, and the Insanity in the Middle T-shirt is by far the most popular item. There’s also an EN technical polo shirt — perfect for cross country! — two types of EN hats and an EN sticker — ideal for plastering on your tack trunk or truck.

As we run out of each type of product, we’ll continue to develop different items to add to the store. Many of you have already emailed us with what types of products you’d like to see — saddle pads are the most popular request so far — so feel free to leave a comment with what you’d like to see us develop next. What are you waiting for? Go shopping!

[Official EN Store]

Thoroughbred Legends Presented by Cosequin: Duane’s Country

By on Jan 9, 2014 1:30 pm -

Thoroughbred racehorses that go on to second careers are unique in that they have two retirements in their lifetimes: the first from the track and the second from the show ring. Thoroughbred Legends, a new EN series presented by Cosequin, seeks to honor off-track Thoroughbreds that went on to accomplish great things as upper-level eventers and now enjoy a second retirement in their golden years. If you know of a great Thoroughbred for this series, email [email protected].

Carrie Meehan & Duane's Country. Photo by Tom Gibson.

Carrie Meehan & Duane’s Country. Photo by Tom Gibson.

Duane’s Country was born on April 4, 1990, as a bay Thoroughbred colt with absolutely no white anywhere on him. From a modest background, the plain gelding raced in Oklahoma at a small racetrack, never winning a single contest and retiring as a 4 year old with little to no prospects. Luckily for him, he was purchased by Bobbi Pratt and brought into the sport horse world after awhile out in a field for some down time.

In 2002, Carrie Meehan was searching the country for her next mount. At the age of 13, she had outgrown her childhood Quarter Horse and was looking for an upgrade. On the way to Texas with her family, she made a quick pit stop in Oklahoma to try the plain bay gelding, and it would change the course of her equestrian life forever. “I’m sure Bobbie got a good laugh when I rode him the first time,” Carrie said. “Neither Country nor I had any idea what we were doing, but I remember the feeling of his jump; it was so amazing! We even jumped around a few small cross-country jumps that day, which was the first time for both of us. I was totally hooked.”

As soon as Carrie fell in love with the tall, leggy Thoroughbred and brought him home, she realized she might have overestimated her ability to deal with a young, fresh horse straight off the track. He round-house kicked her within the first week and broke so many halters in the cross ties that she had to get a stock of them in the tack room. Country was so head shy from his experiences at the track that Carrie could barely get a bridle on him, even with help from treats and step stools. Two months after the purchase, they discovered that Country had bone chips in a hock and a fetlock and had to have surgery to remove them.

Carrie & Country on course. Photo by Tom Gibson.

Carrie and Country on course. Photo by Tom Gibson.

Despite all these struggles, in 2003 Carrie decided that they were ready for their first eventing competition. Ever since those first few cross-country jumps, she had been itching to get out there, and Country seemed like a willing partner. “I had cross country schooled him maybe once before, but he hopped around the Beginner Novice course and never batted an eye!” she said. “He was a huge boost to my confidence. I’m pretty sure I just hung on, and he’d jump anything I put in front him.”

Through their willing attitudes and zest for the sport, the green horse and green rider progressed through the levels. Dressage wasn’t really their thing, but cross country certainly was. “I’m sure if I had been able to train him on the flat correctly from the start, it wouldn’t have been an issue, but by the time I got the proper training myself, it was always a battle,” Carrie said. Through the years, they worked their way up the Preliminary level, and even notched a second place at the 2008 AECs in the Training Amateur Division. Country was also responsible for bringing Carrie out to the East Coast to train with some of the top professionals in the sport, exposing her to the wonderful world of upper-level eventing.

As time went on, it became apparent that Country was limited to Preliminary level, and Carrie had higher aspirations. As hard as it was, in 2010 she found a wonderful teenage girl in South Carolina named Kendal Bryan who bought Country and stayed in touch with Carrie consistently. There, he went on to instill great confidence in Kendal and brought her up through the levels to Training once again.

Country with his young rider, Kendal Bryan. Photo by Carrie Meehan.

Country with his young rider Kendal Bryan. Photo by Carrie Meehan.

Like many of the wonderful Thoroughbreds that we hear about in this series, Country was single-handedly responsible for igniting Carrie’s passion for eventing and keeping her love of horses alive throughout her life to this point. “Country taught me that you don’t have to have a horse with a big price tag to be successful, as long as you’re willing to work hard,” Carrie said. “Eventing is so much about having that close partnership with your horse, and so much can be overcome if there is that special connection.”

Sadly, in July 2012, Country was struck with a severe case of colic, and the decision was made to euthanize him. Kendal was at his side as he passed. “It gave me a sense of comfort knowing he lived a wonderful life with two little girls who loved him more than life itself, and that’s all I could have really hoped for him,” Carrie said. “He may not have gone to Rolex or won a bunch of blue ribbons, but there is nothing that can replace a horse who gave his heart for the dreams of two little girls who loved him, and for that, I am forever thankful.”

Cosequin TB Legends Banner

Barn Work Boot Camp: Winter Edition

By on Jan 9, 2014 12:00 pm -

Since the holidays have passed us by, we’ve officially transitioned from the most wonderful time of the year into those couple of months when many of us wish we could hibernate during the deep freeze. I always like to think of January and February as being the “lost months” — the time of year when the weather is crappy, the footing is crappy and it’s dark by 5 p.m. And quite a few of us have been facing the infamous polar vortex over the past few days. When it’s cold enough outside that you feel like your eyeballs are going to freeze and your fingers are going to fall off, I give up. I don’t really do the whole freezing in the saddle thing. Just cue my riding withdraw.

With the recent decline in my own time spent in the saddle, I’ve challenged myself to get creative. Since I feel like I’ve relocated to some sort of frozen tundra, my main equine related activity has been in the form of barn work. The pathetic amount of in-the-saddle time that I’ve logged has been spent going out for hacks — which, I’ll admit, is a nice mental break for both myself and for the horses. But since I’ve caught a premature case of spring fever, I’ve been feeling jittery. Relocating further south for a few months just isn’t in the cards for me. But surely I shouldn’t just be taking a vacation from training over the next couple of months; there just has to be some way to get myself ready for training once the warmer weather (finally) arrives. Since the barn work never stops, I think I can work with that. I feel an idea coming on …

Sure, I’m no fan of setting my alarm for 5 a.m., so that I can get up to do barn chores in the pitch dark, but maybe just a simple paradigm shift is in order. I’m going to (try to) stop looking at my chores as work. Instead, they are going to be part of my own newly devised Barn Chores Boot CampL Winter Edition. I’ve assembled a list of skills that I need to keep well-honed during the winter months so that I am ready to get back to business in the saddle when favorable conditions return. Here’s the training plan that I devised for myself:

1. Strength Training

Not all of us have automatic waterers at our barns. Or heated buckets. I have neither. So one of my daily chores is swapping out frozen buckets for fresh ones — filling water buckets and carrying them to hang in each stall. Optimal training conditions include carrying two buckets at once. The goal? Don’t let the water slosh out onto your legs and feet. The number of reps really depends on how many horses you have. Difficulty may be increased by filling the bucket more or by walking across difficult footing without falling. I also have opted to use six-gallon buckets as opposed to the normal five-gallon ones. After you are used to the six-gallon buckets, anything smaller feels like child’s play.

2. Speed

By the time I’m done the mucking, feeding and watering, I’m understandably feeling frozen. But the good news is I’m coming down the homestretch. So what’s left? Changing (or layering) blankets and wrapping legs. Well, since everything is going slightly numb at this point, time is of the essence. The faster I can throw on or pull off blankets and wrap, the sooner I’ll be able to get inside and have the feeling return to my fingers. Personally, I’ve started to time myself. You could even use your eventer watch if you want — betcha didn’t think you’d have an off-season use for it. The main idea though is to “go speed racer go” to get chores finished up — and when is a talent for speed ever a bad thing?

3. Agility

While outside in the cold, I’ve got layers upon layers on (of everything, and I mean everything), and I find that I have trouble moving with any sort of finesse. Moving bales of hay and bags of bedding can be a little difficult. It is especially awkward to try to climb up stacks of hay to toss down some bales when I feel like my range of movement is limited, what with all of the extra clothing. Never fear, here’s just another opportunity to improve! Climbing up and down hay stacks requires me to be nimble and light of foot; if I can master flitting up and down while I feel like a marshmallow, I can only imagine how my agility will improve!

4. Rhythm

Step, slosh, slip. Step, slosh, slip. Step — you get the picture. Trudging through all weather conditions? Feeling a little blue about it? Well, pip pip! I’ve turned my sloshing into practicing my rhythm. You can never be too on the beat, and here is your chance to practice (your dressage score down the road might thank you). If you need to count in your head when starting out, that’s totally fine! You can even increase your level of difficulty by trying to keep your rhythm while crossing surfaces of mud or ice. Though often necessary in the course of my barn work, it’s not a recommended activity.

5. Hand-Eye Coordination

When I can’t feel my hands and am trying to scoop frozen manure out of the stalls to fling into the muck cart, a certain finesse is needed. When I’m outside and bundled up for work in the cold (remember the layers upon layers we talked about?), I feel a little cumbersome. Not to mention the fact that when my hat slips down, I have a bit of trouble actually seeing. No matter … a true Barn Warrior will not hesitate and will fling that manure right over the cart into the cart each and every time.

6. Mental and Physical Prowess

Is it cold? You betcha. Are you going to complain or try to shirk your barn duties because of it? No way! Having the will power to keep chugging along even when the wind chill is well into the negatives and your eyeballs feel like they are going to freeze in their sockets is really helping to strengthen your mental resolve. Plus, actually being able to run to a heated tack room keep moving and get the barn work done when you feel like your fingers want to freeze and break off? Well, when you’ve accomplished this, you can officially (well … unofficially) call yourself a Barn Warrior.

Cheesy?  You bet you #@& butt it is! Does it actually work? Who knows. What I do know is this — you can make anything fun if you want to. Since I’ll be outside freezing my butt off while doing my barn chores every single day no matter what, it definitely helps to picture myself as working to stay sharp so that when I hop back up in the saddle for real, I don’t miss a beat! Whatever it takes to help get out of bed every morning and stay motivated to face the cold and dark, right? Hearing excited nickers helps too (though I wonder if my horses are happier to see me or the grain buckets I’m carrying). Am I the only one who has to try to entertain myself while doing barn chores in the winter? Did I miss listing any activities that should be included in my Barn Work Boot Camp regimen?

Go Barn Work Boot Camp.  Go Winter Warriors.  Go Eventing.

Throwback Thursday: Guess the Rider

By on Jan 9, 2014 10:30 am -

Welcome to Throwback Thursday! Each Thursday, we will be bringing you some vintage eventing photos and posts. Do you want to show us your first horse or a photo of your early riding days? Email [email protected]. 

Who is this cranky cutie?

Who is this cranky cutie?

Welcome to another Throwback Thursday! Thanks to the polar vortex that invaded North America these last few days, I’ve been making the same face as this week’s mystery rider whenever I check the weather. As always, post your guess in the comments below and check back later for the answer. Happy guessing!

The Do’s and Don’ts of Selling Your Horse

By on Jan 9, 2014 9:00 am -
The cool new sales map on Sport Horse Nation The cool new sales map on Sport Horse Nation

Spring is a big time for equestrians to think about buying a new horse for the upcoming competition season, and as a result a large amount of horses that were improving over the winter come out fresh and strong in the spring, listed for sale on many various websites and forums. In this modern day, most horses are marketed through the Internet, and buyers are accustomed to rifling through hundreds of possible equines, searching for “the one.”

As a seller, this is great because you get access to a massive audience at an affordable rate (hello Sport Horse Nation) and your horse is seen by more people than ever before. On the downside though, you now have to compete with every other person who is selling a horse that shares any similarities with yours, and you have to stand out somehow. Just like with anything else, a first impression can be really important, and you want to be sure that it’s a positive influence. So, straight from the collective experience of the chinchillas and myself, I give you the Do’s and Don’ts of selling your horse on the Internet.

DO get somebody to spell check your classified advertisement before you post it in public. There’s really nothing worse than reading something that seems phonetically spelled out by a 5-year-old boy.

DO post pictures … but please make them relevant! If you are marketing a horse as an eventer, include a photo of the horse jumping, as that’s pretty important in our sport. I try to think of the top three photos: flat, jumping and conformation shot. Three photos of your horse trotting is not helpful. One photo of him standing in the field with his butt facing you is really not helpful.

DO take the time to get good photos. Pay a friend with lunch or dinner, and find somebody with a decent eye to help you. It’s the little things.

DON’T use photos that show your horse or the rider in some unsafe situation in order to prove how “safe” or “quiet” he is. Let’s leave that to the Craigslisters, OK? While I’m at it, let’s just categorically say that propping a toddler up on his back really isn’t helping your case either.

DO be honest in your description. Imagine what kind of information you would want to know if you were the buyer. What is the horse’s personality like on the ground? What is his temperament under saddle? What type of rider would suit him best? Does he have any known medical issues? Writing white lies about any of these topics won’t help you in the long run. You will just end up wasting your time, the buyer’s time and potentially hurting your own reputation. Just don’t bother.

DO assume that your horse’s USEA event record will be checked! If you’re selling a show hunter or jumper or dressage horse, many of us clever ones have figured out how to stalk find your horse’s record even if you’re attempting to sell it into a new job!

DON’T take conformation photos of your horse grazing.

DO know that it’s confOrmation, not confirmation!

DO make time to create a comprehensive video or two of the horse both on the flat and over fences. Remember, a lot of people are willing to travel great distances to find “the one”, but they usually won’t make that leap without a video or two. Try to show the different skills of the horse in question, i.e. movements on the flat or different types of jumps. A video of your horse trotting in a 20-meter circle for five minutes and 30 seconds of a cross rail at the end is not what I’m talking about.

DON’T put a really annoying pop song over your sales video. Just please.

DON’T make a video that is of such poor quality or shaky videography that we actually can’t tell what’s going on. Also, zoom is wonderful. If I have to squint to see the speck that is your horse jumping a log two fields away, that’s not working for me.

DO list a price, even if it’s a price range. That way, you can save a lot of time on both ends for inquiries of that nature. When it comes down to it, the final question for the buyer is: “Can I afford this? Is this a reasonable amount of money to spend on this horse?” Be upfront about what you think the horse is worth.

DON’T be offended when people offer you less than you are asking. Haggling is part of the process, and if you don’t like it, that’s just too bad.

DO be prompt and polite to all inquiries. Especially in the digital age, you are bound to receive many emails, texts and phone calls from many different sources with many varied questions. Leaving a message unanswered for days shows that you are disorganized and not motivated to sell.

DON’T take a video of your young horse/prospect being chased around a ring with a plastic bag tied to a whip, four people and 12 dogs, and then suggest that your terrified horse is a fantastic mover. Her tail is over her back, she will need her neck adjusted after this exercise and I will recall that my obese Shetland Pony looked like a Prix St. George prospect under similar circumstances! A video of your horse at liberty can be very useful, but a realistic view of how they move or jump when their brain is still in their head is more useful.

DON’T oversell or undersell your horse. Be realistic and honest about his prospects for the future, his current talents and what kind of life he would thrive in. If he’s a world-beater, say so! It’s okay if he’s not destined to jump around the upper levels, but trying to fool somebody into thinking he will is not okay.

DO realize that the goal is to find the best match for everybody. You want to feel satisfied with the deal — that you got the money you needed and that you placed the horse in a home that will serve him well. You also want a happy buyer at the end of the day because that’s a buyer who will think of you fondly, recommend you in the future and ultimately treat that horse right because he is, in fact, “the one.”

Thursday News & Notes from Devoucoux

By on Jan 9, 2014 12:03 am -
Hat tip to Dom Schramm for finding this gem on the internet.

Hat tip to Dom Schramm for finding this gem on the internet.

Day two of the official new website launch!! I hope you are all adjusting to the new format, because we’re really excited about it. Don’t forget that if you want to hang on to the old scrolling version for a little longer, you can always click the button on the top bar that says “Classic EN” and return to what you know. As always, we value your feedback and want you to let us know if you find any glitches, bugs or weird things while we sort through our first few days, so don’t be afraid to email us with comments!

Events This Weekend:

Ocala Horse Properties Winter HT: [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times]

News From Around The Globe:

The FEI calendar starts early this year, with Pine Top Spring Advanced HT running a CIC* and CIC** on February 21-23. John Williams’ infamous cross country courses have been upgraded and have several new jumps on course, and show jumping design has been taken over by Chris Barnard. Competitors will be glad to know that some work has been done on the show jumping arena, and topsoil has been added to make a better footing. If you can volunteer please email organizer Janet Wilson. [Pine Top Advanced]

Ian Stark is opening a new equestrian center on the Scottish Borders. Ian hopes that creating the center will help local equestrians, as the area has the highest number of horse owners per capita yet has never had access to a proper equestrian facility. So far, the farm has an indoor arena and stables, and they are building an outdoor arena and a cross country course too. The facility will be used for education, therapy, and to harbor Ian’s project of working with a small group of wild ponies that came from an elderly farmer who had over 100 in a field. [Ian Stark’s New Digs]

Area you in Area II and looking for a way to knock off some dust in the dressage ring this weekend? You’re in luck for two reasons. 1) It is forecasted to be in the 60’s this weekend, finally defrosting the ground. 2) Difficult Run Pony Club is hosting a schooling dressage show, with all the new 2014 tests! They are accepting late entries, and you can enter in a snap online. [DRPC Dressage Show]

Eventing 18 riders started the new year off on the right foot, thanks to Team USA coach David O’Connor. When he wasn’t whipping them into shape by forcing them to do push ups in puddles, David was very helpful with their riding and hopes to shape their budding careers into useful team material in a few years time. Twelve riders participated in the camp, learning a lot about David’s detail oriented approach to riding and training the event horse and rider. “It was an amazing opportunity. He stressed establishing a core foundation for riders to advance in equestrian sport, because when you have good basics things more advanced questions become easier. It was great to meet other riders and make connections that will hopefully last a really long time” says Nicole Doolittle. [Eventing 18 Riders Rock]

If you used to be a jockey, but due to an accident you are now paraplegic, what do you do? Ride across Dartmoor on a pony to raise money for the Injured Jockey Fund, of course. Sarah Gaisford is taking part in the Liberty Trails Challenge on March 29 to raise money for the fund, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Before her accident in 2007, Sarah won 50 point-to-point races and 15 other races, and only returned to the saddle in 2012. [Paraplegic Jockey Treks Across Dartmoor]

This amazing little horse rocks out at reining and cow horse competitions, AND competes at Prix St Georges. Haidaseeker Playboy and Andrea Caudill play both sides of the coin, as this cool quarter horse masters both worlds at once. Originally from the western world, Andrea and Matt tried dressage one weekend at a schooling show, and decided to take it on in earnest. They have moved through the dressage levels, and earned their USDF silver medal at Prix St Georges, while still competing in reining competitions on the side. [Haidaseeker Playboy Wears Different Shoes]

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