Around a year ago. I got Gustav Steinbrecht's "The Gymnasium of the Horse" (first published in 1884), one of the truly classic dressage books. I've read the first 93 pages several times, and I found myself coming back to certain passages over and over again, for they introduce and explain a concept that I had not fully understood from my earlier dressage…

Well, I tried yet another bit on Mia on Wednesday, a 3-piece snaffle with a copper roller in the middle. While she was more accepting of the bit I was still getting some head tossing when I applied rein aids. Tear my hair out time, what COULD be wrong? I had lightened my contact, which she liked, I was doing my rein aids lighter and lighter, which met with Mia's approval, Debbie said my hands were fine, and what else could it be? Debbie and I discussed it and…

For the last two months or so I had been driving by this new sign in Midland, NC saying Tack Exchange. Finally I found the store in the rear room of a beauty salon! I haven't entered a beauty salon in around 40 years, but this one didn't smell too bad so I ventured in. The owner of the salon has started a consignment tack store, with bits, saddles, clothes,…

Debbie worked her usual magic on the mare she is training.

She finally found a western saddle that fit the mare's shoulders (a Wintec synthetic). Then she took the mare too the beach (lucky mare) and faced her with new challenges. Debbie said it all came together when the surf crashed into the mare's hind end, the mare…

BRRR. It is COLD outside, when I woke up it was still in the high 20's F with a brisk wind. Since I no longer have horses I could stay warm this morning. I am so glad not to have to carry feed (I always fed more for the cold), hay, warm water (to wet the feed), and break open the ice on the water trough. With my MS this had gotten REAL challenging. Such a luxury to be able to stay inside. No frozen fingers or toes, and I do not have to feel sorry for the shivering…

This month, both on the forum and on video, there have been discussions on whether use of bits constitutes abuse of the horse.

Let me be clear, if the rider does not know how to keep proper contact with the horse's mouth using a bit is abusive. From the pictures and videos I've seen in the last few years VERY FEW riders know how…

Well, I have given up on going back to using regular bits for now, it is back to learning all the subtleties of the Wellep bits! Mia had behaved quite well when I used the Mullen mouthed snaffle, but she communicated to me that she MISSED the mouthpiece of the Wellep. So I got the regular cheeked Wellep snaffle out and sat there trying to figure out how I could use the bit on Mia and still have the stability I needed to keep good contact. Finally I decided on bit…

The last two weeks I was all excited, I thought I would be able to go back to riding with my favorite bit, the JP Dr. Bristol Hunter D. Last spring, when I last used this type of bit, both mares had been going very well, keeping contact well, with relaxed tongues and lower jaws, and we had fun "talking" back and forth with the bit. So I changed the bits on my bridles and went out full of optimism and hope. Both mares decided that since they were 1) horses, 2)…

This summer I decided to try out my Wellep bits and see if this bit really was a new, improved method of bitting. Usually when the weather gets hot the horses start politely refusing contact with my hands, and then I change to one of my bitless systems. My experiment was to see if the horses would voluntarily keep contact with my hands throughout the summer with the Wellep bits. I succeeded in this, I only used a bitless bridle once, when I forgot my regular…

Well, two weeks ago I got to have a lesson at the present incarnation of my old horsie alma-mater, North Fork School of Equitation up in Jefferson, MD. I got there early, and got to see Karen Fenwick, who runs the school, give a group lesson. This was interesting, it was a pretty big lesson, 12 people, from college age kids to a lady who looked like she was in her sixties, with physical shapes running from thin and sleek to quite plump. There was even a MALE…

I am now faced with a minor problem with my riding. I am finally at a point that I can consider riding at an intermediate level more when I ride with my riding teacher, Debbie. It has taken me 3 YEARS to get to this point, because I have had to grow new neurons to replace those taken by the MS. Due to Debbie's wonderful teaching I now have a pretty stable lower leg, my knees are often in the right place, my shoulders are working properly, and I've even managed to…

The end of summer, and the beginning of fall. Beautiful cool mornings that turn into blast furnace afternoons. This time of year can be difficult for me while riding, the cooler morning temperatures mean it is too cold to wear my ice vest, but as my core body temperature rises during my ride the outside temperature is also rising. This means at the beginning of my rides my body works pretty well, but during the ride my nervous system deteriorates, and the horses…

This morning's weather was marvelous, just in the 60's F when I rode. No ice vest, no Cool Cap. It felt odd.

After my last ride on Cider two weeks ago I put a lot of thought into how I could improve things. The first thing I did was change from the Wellep Lever Cheek single jointed snaffle to the regular Wellep Full Cheek single jointed…

I got to ride Mia twice this week, but, since Debbie wrenched her back badly, I didn't get a riding lesson. So I worked on things in my position that Debbie had been getting after me about, mostly making sure that my lower leg did not go too far back. Debbie DOES NOT like seeing the whole girth when I am riding, she wants my lower leg right…

Last Sunday's ride on Cider did not go very well. I have been trying the Wellep Lever Cheek snaffle on her, seeing if I could use the bit while my hands deteriorated in the heat. At first everything went well, I used the bit through two stretches of 18 days of highs over 90 F and on Sunday we were into the third extended stretch of heat and high humidity. Two weeks ago I noticed that Cider was not reacting as well to the bit. On Sunday she lost all patience with…

Captain Federico Caprilli of the Italian Cavalry, the originator of the modern jumping seat, left very few writings, just around 22 pages, that introduce us to the thinking of this revolutionary equestrian thinker. It is very easy to read these articles quickly and to sit back and go--oh yes, I know all that, but I find that deeper study has wonderful rewards. All the quotes in…

This week Debbie was gone to some big show, so I had to ride by myself Wednesday. Waking up vaguely nauseous I got to the barn, groomed and tacked Mia, and with my husband's help got to the arena. Remembering my thoughts about last week's ride, we started off at a gentle walk, with SOFT contact, following every move of Mia's head. Mia rewarded me with a good walk, moving right on out with minimal use of my legs. Then two flocks of ducks started sparing in the…

Lulled by previous successes, I started to make a serious mistake last week when riding Mia at Debbie's last week.

As you know, I have been doing an experiment this summer, seeing how long it will take for the two ladies I ride with to tell me that my hands have gotten too bad for a bit. Part of the reason is that I wanted to see for myself if the Wellep bit is truly an advance in bit technology or just another gimmick.…

It has been SOOOO hot and humid this week. One of the few good aspects of my MS is that when it is hot I am guaranteed not to work the horses too hard for the weather conditions. I can't do much more than walk with an occasional short trot. This weather is not good for vigorous athletic pursuits, and with the pollution it isn't good for the lungs to do deep breathing, for both horse and rider.

I have been working on keeping a…

Summer is hard for most people with MS. The heat reduces the effectiveness of my nerves, and when it is really humid then my body can't cool down and my core body temperature just goes up and up. Since my ice vest was causing days long muscle cramps I switched to the system that works by evaporation, but since the humidity is so high the cool vest does not evaporate very well and I just get hotter and hotter.

I…