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Hi All,
I’ve always been grateful to have an amazing support team. And I needed my “team” more than ever on my 1,700-mile trip from Florida back to Vermont last month.
Early Tuesday morning, May 13, we pulled out of the driveway in Florida with our trailer loaded to the gills. We had a smooth, uneventful trip. When we got to our first layover spot in Florence, South Carolina, I took Moshi off the trailer. He walked about 3 steps and then couldn’t move. At the time, I wasn’t sure if he had foundered or was tying up. Anyhow, I managed to get him another painful 4 steps to a stall. He could barely move, and all his muscles were in visible spasm.
As you can imagine, I was frantic. Enter my rescue team.
- First Responder-Dr Rob Boswell from Florida. I called Rob, and he told me to give him 10 cc’s of banamine right away. (I can do I.V. shots, but I always like to be supervised. When I’m in Fl, JJ Hanna-Buzzeo supervises me. When I’m in VT, Ruth Hogan-Poulsen watches me.)
- My first frantic phone call was to JJ. “I have to do an unsupervised IV shot.” JJ’s calm voice reassured me. “Jane, you can do this. You’ve done it tons of times.” I whined, “But not unsupervised!” JJ simply said, “I know you, and you’ll be fine.”
- Next, I called Ruth in VT. I filled her in on Moshi’s status. We then put her on speakerphone. My husband, Rhett, held the phone up to my ear while Ruth “held my hand” from 1,100 miles away as I gave the IV shot.
- The banamine stopped Moshi from visibly shaking, but he still couldn’t walk. We had to wait for my angel from Camden, SC, Dr Nicole Swineheart, to drive 50 miles at 7 PM to give Moshi fluids and meds. She also took blood to check for possible muscle damage.
- In the meantime, Ruth called Dr Steve Soule, who was in Kentucky at the time, to fill him in on Moshi’s symptoms. A lot of brainstorming went on over the phone between KY, VT, and SC.
- Rhett kept me calm (relatively!) throughout the crisis. My brother-in-law, Rory, who was driving our car, pitched in with all the heavy work. (Rhett had had surgery the week before and couldn’t lift anything or he’d rip his stitches out.)
- Two days later, we were given the go ahead to travel. Moshi had a lot of drugs on board to keep him from going into spasm. Our destination was Maryland. In case Moshi got into distress, Ruth had made a gazillion phone calls to find layover spots every hour or so along I95. That way we could stop at any time if we had to.
- I rode in the trailer with Moshi. (I know you’re not supposed to, but try to stop me!) He did great except for the last hour. I watched his chest and right shoulder go into spasm, so I gave him some more drugs. They helped, and he got off the trailer very well in MD.
- We decided to only go half way to VT the next day. Vicki Hammers-O’Neill from Meriden, CT came to our rescue by giving us a place to layover for the night. That way Moshi only had to do 4 hours the next day to get back to VT.
- Throughout the whole trip, Dr. Soule called Ruth every 2 hours for updates.
- Thank God Moshi is now home in his own bed. He’s doing well, but we’ll be doing more diagnostic work to try to figure out what happened.
There’s no doubt that this was the trip from hell. But without my “team”, it would have been a nightmare.
Sooooooooo….Have you thanked YOUR team lately?
Best,
Jane
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I get so many awesome emails from people giving me great ideas for articles. Charlotte Borghardt made a special request for help with the free walk. So, Charlotte, this one’s for you!
1. What is the free walk?
The free walk is a gait of relaxation.
2. What should it look like?
- Your horse should lengthen his frame and lower his head and neck so he looks like he’s going to graze. His poll is lower than his withers.
- He should open the angle at his throatlatch so his nose points a bit forward, and he looks like he’s stretching toward the bit.
- His strides become longer so he overtracks to a greater degree.
3. How should you do the transition at the beginning of the free walk?
PREPARATION is the key to getting a good free walk. You should prepare for it the same way you prepare for the “stretchy” circle in the trot.
- Use a “connecting half halt” for 3-4 seconds on the short side while you’re still in medium walk.
- To give a “connecting half halt”, create energy by closing both calves as if you’re asking for a lengthening. But don’t let your horse lengthen.
- Instead, close your outside hand in a fist to capture, contain, and recycle that energy back to the hind legs.
- Keep your legs and outside hand closed for 3-4 seconds.
- While closing your legs and outside hand, vibrate or squeeze and release on your inside rein so your horse doesn’t bend his neck to the outside.
- As you turn onto the diagonal, relax your legs, and open your fingers so your horse can chew the reins out of your hands.
4. How should you do the transition back to the medium walk?
- Use the same “connecting half halt” you used to prepare for the free walk.
- While the reins are still long, press lightly with your calves.
- As you shorten the reins, keep your new outside hand closed in a fist and squeeze and release with your new inside hand.
5. What if your horse is lazy?
If your horse doesn’t march with good energy, “breathe” your legs during the free walk. To “breathe” your legs:
- Take your legs off of his sides.
- Move them an inch or two back, and place them on lightly again.
“Breathing” your legs does two things. If you’ve been gripping, your horse is probably numb to your legs. Taking your legs off allows you to put them on again lightly so he feels them. Moving your legs back puts them closer to your horse’s “engine” and reminds him to use his hind legs actively.
6. What if your horse wants to jig?
- If your horse wants to jig, do several transitions to the halt.
- Praise your horse after each halt.
- Soon he’ll learn to anticipate stopping or slowing down.
- Then you can use just a little bit of your “stopping aids” to remind him to stay in a four-beat flat-footed walk as you make your way across the diagonal.
- If he tends to jig when you pick up the reins at the end of the diagonal, halt first. Then, pick up the reins in the halt. Doing so will train him to stay slow when you do the transition for real.
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Dear Jane,
Thank you for the information about the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). I have only been practicing for about 10 days, with the most remarkable results!!!
I am bringing along a lovely 5-year-old Dutch/Qt filly. Starting one from the beginning is a first for me. And at 58 years I don't know how I missed the math 5 years ago. We are ready to address the canter work, and I have been making every excuse in the book to avoid cantering in my arena. I re-read It's Not About the Ribbons, visualizing a perfect depart and 20 meter circle, but I just could not put my leg on and ask. After only 10 days of practicing EFT, we canter on a loose rein, trail ride without a bit tension or fear. What a gift for us both.
My first question is that I have been using a positive affirmation instead of a negative one. I say, "I am a brave, confident rider". I say this 3 times out loud, tap (on the acupressure points), and away we go. Is it okay to use a positive phrase?
My second question, if we were to "tap" on our horses, where would the spots be? Is anyone experimenting with EFT for horses?
Geraldine Davidson
Oregon
Dear Geraldine,
You can use a positive affirmation if you want. It's all about your intention. Some people alternate positive phrases with negative phrases. You can get as playful with the process as you like.
Such as:
For the set-up: Even though I have this canter fear, I deeply and completely accept myself. (Say that 3x as you tap on the karate chop point.)
Then you can use reminder phrases like the following as you tap on each of the points:
"This canter fear"
"This irritating canter fear"
"Oh...I feel my fear dissolving"
"No, I don't"
"Actually, I do."
“Who do I think I’m kidding?”
"Actually, I'm feeling quite brave and confident"
"I'm definitely becoming a brave and confident rider!"
To tap for your horse, put your hand on him, and tap on yourself as if you're the horse.
For example, for the set-up, you could say:
Even though I get nervous at shows, I'm a really good horse (say this 3x)
Then your reminder phrases could be something like:
"These show nerves"
"I'm well prepared and feel less nervous"
"I trust my rider completely "
“I feel relaxed and confident.”
“I love horse shows!” |
Dear Jane,
Do you have any ideas about how I can incorporate clicker training into your Happy Horse training program? Your first lesson is so valuable to me, because I've been taking the responsibility to keep Sunshine moving, and I get worn out real fast. I appreciate the concept of moving her into the next gait when she doesn't keep up her own speed, but I'm not sure that I can keep her trust when it seems like I'm punishing her.
How can I look at this so that I can see it in a more positive way?
Greta Johnson
Hi Greta,
The correction doesn't seem negative to your horse because you NEVER leave a question about "thinking forward" with the correction. You ALWAYS end up with reward. Reward her (praise, use the clicker, patting etc) for every stride during which she takes responsibility for her gait and keeps going on her own.
If you’ve taught her that the clicker is a reward, you can use it as readily as any other form of reward. I often ride with a clicker attached to my whip so I can instantly reward my horse. Sometimes I’ll click to reward something as simple as a square halt. Sometimes I’ll click to reward something advanced like a step of passage that is really lofty.
Hope this helps!
Jane |
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How many times have we hurried to the barn, rushed through the aisle, tacked up and quickly mounted, without taking a single moment to first check-in and warm up ourselves? Here’s a practical exercise to help you tune in before you turn out!
Lead Rope Lunge
Riding Application: Lengthens the entire body and improves posture- opens chest. Encourages the rider to stretch hip flexors to allow legs to lengthen down around the horse.
How To: Begin in a long parallel lunge position with arms forward at shoulder height- palms down. Grip lead rope slightly wider than shoulder width, open chest and focus your eyes on the horizon.
Exhale and slowly reach both arms overhead moving just beyond vertical.
Take a few deep breaths and slowly return to start position. Repeat arms three times then change to the other leg.
Tips: Stay evenly weighted. Keep weight down into both heels and energize both arms. Scoop abdominal muscles in and up (navel toward spine). Tuck tailbone slightly forward to target hip flexor. Have a great ride!
Submitted by: Dan Weltner & Kristi Weltner Redd
Equi-StretchÆ, Strengthening and Stretching Techniques for the Rider
www.equistretch.com
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From reader Janet Stone:
Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...
It's about learning to dance in the rain.
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© 2008 Jane Savoie. All rights Reserved.
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