Ride Report: Getting Back In The Saddle

Getting back in the saddle after limited riding this Spring and Summer is both a relief and a challenge. I’m finally feeling back in the swing of things. 

I mentioned a few days ago that injury, illness and school being out for the summer put a damper on my riding plans. Last week, my son was in a summer camp so I took the opportunity to jump back into some saddle time.

That first ride back

Elf is many things but “dead broke” is not one of them. The first ride back after some time off is always a little unpredictable. Usually he’s a bit stiff, sometimes he’s over-reactive and sometimes he shows up to work. On Tuesday, we tacked up for the first time in two weeks. I was counting on the heat to keep him a bit lazy and that certainly helped!

With temperatures hitting 90+ degrees before 10 am, it didn’t take much to break a sweat. A quick walk, trot and canter in both directions was enough to show that it was too hot for Elf to consider causing too much of ruckus. Like is normal for him when he hasn’t been working much, he was very stiff on the left rein. It took a while to get a smooth transition – without him throwing this haunches to the right and popping his shoulder out the left – but we managed. As soon as he was listening, forward and reasonably with me, I called it a day and we went for a trail ride.

Bringing Elf back into regular, purposeful work is both a mental process and a physical one. On the physical side, he needs dressage pony yoga focused on relaxing and lengthening his back. On the mental side, he always needs a little reminding that he can’t hissy fit his way out of work. This week we got just the right start.

One foot in front of the other

As much as I enjoy riding (and I do), getting back in the saddle regularly after time off feels a little bit like those first couple of workouts. It feels great but you get a little sore, it can be hard to rearrange your time and it’s easy to make excuses not to.

But momentum is so important. I’d decided earlier in the week that I would ride Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday to give both Elf and I a day off in between. On Thursday, I had a moment in the morning of wavering between sitting down to work and pulling my breeches on. Once I was on my way, though, I was glad I had. He had a few moments of his normal fussing, but settled down quickly and went to work. The arena was quite busy but he handled it well. We were able spend a little time working on his canter diagonals & counter canter. We worked harder than Thursday, but as soon as he started feeling tired – where he was trying to do what I asked but struggling a little to do it – we stopped.

At this point in bringing him back into regular work, I have to be conscious of his fitness. The heat here in Texas compounds the issue. Tired and trying is a recipe ripe for injury, especially the soft tissues. So we’re keeping the focus on on work ethic and ending on a good note.

Finding A Groove

Saturday, I was able to get out to the barn earlier in the morning to enjoy the slightly cooler air (it was only 87). The earlier start made for a slightly more energetic horse, which definitely helped to get things going quickly. The arena also hadn’t started getting busy so we had a little more room to work with and Elf had an easier time to focusing.

For the first time this week, we were able to put in a solid start to finish ride. My goal for the morning was to improve canter transitions and do some haunches in and out on a 20m circle at the trot and canter. These are two exercises that consistently help both Elf and I with our individual straightness challenges. I tend to drop my right hip, letting it come forward which makes my right leg dramatically less effectively. I also bring my shoulders up towards my ears – a side effect of the pulling battles that Elf likes to bait me into to avoid work. He favors his right rear leg, which was probably the result of soft tissue injury or soreness at one point but became the way he traveled. Canter transitions force my to keep my leg back and hips actively engaged (and not falling forward). For whatever reason, it is also the single most effective way to plug in to Elf’s “happy brain”. He finds canter work  easier than trot work. In particular, it is much easier to get him stretching and engaged through his back in the canter. For such a stiff horse, it is remarkable easy for him to canter on a 20m circle with his nose between his knees, soft in the bridle and a rounded back. From there, we move to haunches in and out work. I have to be more precise and specific with how my upper body influences Elf and it is the best way to access straighter movement for him. Going to the right, a slight haunches out puts in correct alignment. Going to the left, thinking haunches in helps to keep his neck from becoming too bent and the curve in through his barrel.

He worked HARD on Saturday, and it was wonderful to feel that ability to ask for something and it just be there coming back.