Philosophy in the Tackroom: August 24, 2007

Reader, being an American through-and-through, and, therefore, essentially a product of the Age of Enlightenment, I try to employ scientific reasoning when making decisions, including those regarding Nicole.

In America, we are encouraged to question authority and to question what we know, and I believe I uphold this democratic principle in such a way that makes George Washington proud. Some call me argumentative; I call me patriotic.

In a move that would make Alexis de Tocqueville shudder, the horse world eschews notions of egalitarianism and, often, scientific thought. Perhaps the first is a product of the horseworld's Europhile tendencies (let's face it, the Germans and the Dutch are the Vito and Michael Corleone of dressage society, and these are societies with a long history of aristocratic tendencies).

Besides being the land of opportunity, America is also the land of unending paradox. Specifically, America is a country that is the product of the Age of Enlightenment but also glorifies the backwoods, folksy kind of citizen such as Abe Lincoln, Davy Crockett, et al. The good ol' boy being the sine qua non of American history, American equestrians, of course, tend to revert to backwoods logic when caring for their horses. It's only tradition to do so.

There are always shining exceptions to the broad brushstrokes I paint on Of Horses and Humans, but this is a trend with which I have become very familiar in my local habitat. Let me explain.

Lately, I've received much advice about this or that issue that I've faced with regards to the mare. In all sincerity, I do appreciate the concerns expressed. Again, being American, I believe strongly in the "checks-and-balances" system of government, and view these opinions as a method to ensure that every possible avenue is explored to arrive at the best answer to the issue I face.

Some of this advice has been, oh, shall we say, clearly unresearched, and, at times, a little scary. Typically, I keep my opinions about other's activities to myself, because it's their horse and they can do as they wish. But, hell, this is my blog, and I need to fill up these pages with something entertaining.

Just so you know I'm not entirely full of crap, I will tell you something about myself. Without going into too much detail (this is a public blog, after all), I'm in a position to receive some of the best advice and research one can get about drugs, both prescription and over-the-counter, for both humans and animals. I've done my research on different horse products, and talked to medical professionals "in the know."

My two biggest pet peeves are:

1.) horsepeople who take for granted that the list of ingredients on a product lends authenticity to the claims on the label of a product

2.) horsepeople who use products for off-label use to the detriment of their horse

For example, one I'll never understand: the use of liniment (such as Vetrolin) to cool a horse down on a hot day. Reader, put some liniment on yourself, then return to me in a 1/2 hour and try to assure me that you are most definitely cool. Go on, I'll time you.

A brief perusal of any medical textbook will enlighten the reader with this knowledge: Liniments such as Vetrolin are counter-irritants; that means they draw blood to the area they cover. When blood comes to the area what happens? Anyone? Anyone? Beuller? That's right guys, the area becomes hotter (Think: drinking hard liquor and what happens to your face). The result? Using liniment to cool your horse only makes it hotter.

I don't care that one of the main ingredients is alcohol (which is the general justification for using it as a cooling agent), and that your mom, first riding instructor, Billy Bob down the road, and Jesus Christ told you the product will help cool your horse - alcohol is in the product as a vehicle and any cooling properties it may provide are overridden by the active ingredients. Your active ingredients are the menthol and (if included) methyl salicylate. Using liniments for its label use, to ease muscle soreness, obviously makes sense. It's a good product, and I'm not picking on the product, but rather the people who use it for off-label purposes and fall short of logic in doing so.

I've also been told that when Nic turns up with leg edemas (stocking up, to you horsepeople), to put liniment on the swollen areas. Oy veh! I can hear Hippocrates turning over in his grave as we speak.

My next favorite? The assumption that creams used to keep flies off of open sores have antiseptic properties, similar to Neosporin. I heard this one last week when Nic developed sores on her belly from scratching itchy skin, and not just from one person, but several. Guys, pesticides aren't antiseptics. The producers of these products don't even make those claims. Sorry.

Reader, please just look up the ingredients of your product in Wikipedia.com to see what they are. Don't just take for granted what your product is comprised of just because you've "been doing using this product your whole life" and because someone 1 million years ago told you the product did x,y, and z.

August 22, 2007

And just for kicks (only tangentally horse related, since it's a cowboy):

"L'Histoire de Nicole" OR "Good Conduct Well Chastised": August 18, 2007

Reader, you may have realized that I have not posted as much in August as I did in July. Rest assured, there is a reason for this. In the beginning of this month, BM was trampled by one of the horses (no, not Nic), and activities at the barn have rivaled the stratospheric, acid-reflux-inducing drama of Beverly Hills, 90210. I don't know about you, but I hated that show (ok, I secretly love it, but I do have my sardonic reputation to maintain, so keep it on the down low).

BM is left with an L2 compression fracture, and the boarders are left trying to piece together some semblance of normalcy. I won't go into the who, what, where, when, or why of the event, but suffice to say, I've been a little stressed and more than a little annoyed lately. Maybe September will be more auspicious.

There's an old joke in the horse world that goes something like this:

Q: How do you build a small fortune in the horse business?

A: Start with a large fortune.

Yuck-yucks aside, the only thing in the horse world you will get for free is advice. Lots and lots of advice.

Well folks, I hate to say it, but the worst vice is advice. Once one trots down that garden path of tossing out opinions like so many rose petals, it's kind of hard to turn it off.

I have been urged, nay, nagged, a little too frequently this month, also, to find a permanent trainer for my horse by well-intentioned outsiders. The good conduct on my part, namely voicing my neurotic concern for the horse's training in an attempt to seek resolution, has been well chastised by this blathering, and maybe someday I will learn to keep my big mouth shut. In this area, decent trainers run between $1200 - $1800 per month, although when dishing out this prescriptive advice, my urgers have a sudden onset of amnesia, and forget I am flesh, not legal tender. Donations, anyone?

Moving on.

I had another lesson this weekend, with a local trainer. I like her a lot, and will have another lesson next weekend. She gave me some advice that I like, and that I hope to follow. Among the advice is:

1. When I sit in the posting trot, that is the time to half halt. That makes sense, since when you rise is the time to activate the hind leg.

2. Nic isn't on her outside rein enough (I did know that), so ride her on a square to make her listen to the outside rein. The result is a more connected trot.

3. Release my right rein.

The Wonderful Wizard of WAZ said the same, which I find interesting, since no one said it before. I guess I have a "kung-foo" grip on the right rein, when what I really want is a "To Wong Foo" sort of grip. I've been trying to do so, and have had good results, mainly with the mare dropping into a frame and connecting better. It's a hard habit to break, but a necessary one. I've often wondered if this is why both BFF Steph and myself have chronic shoulder injuries to our respective right sides.

I sort of knew this, but something that's come to light in the past couple weeks is that I don't use my outside rein enough to encourage the horse's poll down. I rely too heavily on my inside rein, which results in a disconnected mare that cannot push into the bridle. On the flip side, WAZ told me to ask for roundness on the inside rein (see my previous post with the video URL for reference). I haven't figured out the disrepency, but the two seemingly opposite notions have to dovetail somehow. My puny brain just hasn't sorted through it yet.

(I apologize to my non-equestrian readers for the technicality of this post.)

The freaking story of my life is keeping this mare relaxed. Reader, I am well aware of my part in making the mare tense. I am a tense person, that's just how it is. And honestly, for reasons I won't expound on here, I'm not willing to change. So, the result is, I have to find a way to keep the mare relaxed despite me. We were doing good on daily 4oz of magnesium, and in accordance with the directions, I reduced the mare's intake to 2 oz daily. Well, that was a mistake. She returned to her normal crazy self. So we have gone back to the 4oz, and are calling it a day with that. She was quieter today.

August 16, 2007

Ok, so it seems I spoke too soon about the magnesium supplement helping the mare calm down. Here is a little snippet of one of her finer moments yesterday:



I hope she learned her lesson after the trip. She was very much on her forehand in that canter, and it finally caught up with her.

Speaking of her canter, it has become much more balanced the past few weeks. I know it doesn't look that different on the video, but she is holding herself up now, as opposed to relying on impulsion, as she did in the past. She is also starting to gain a lot more muscle on her hind legs.

I have no idea what sparked the large spook. I think it was just sheer mareness.

Nicole, 12 MG 24.3050(6), and the Wonderful Wizard of WAZ

As promised, I'm providing an update post-Quiessence withdrawal. What the hell am I talking about, you say dear reader? Well recall my post of Friday, July 27, in which I discuss my concern regarding Nic's spooks, and their escalation to a dangerous point.

Since that time, I've put her back on the Quiessence (which is mainly comprised of magnesium), and the amount of dangerously stupid spooks has reduced tremendously. So, I guess the horse is officially deficient in magnesium, and needs to be on the supplement in order to function sane by her standards (sanity being merely relative, of course).

This week we had the pleasure of having a lesson with Walter Zettl (for the uninitiated, one could make the argument that this is the most respected dressage trainer around). I've uploaded the lesson (45 minutes long) and the interested reader can view it. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9204320389161285374&hl=en

I videoed it just for you, dear reader! Just teasing: My memory stinks and I wanted the audio of his comments so I can refer to them in the future.

The things I need to work on regarding my position are: 1. Look up more 2. Keep my back flat and "don't stick my 'poo-poo' out" (I'm not making that up, I swear. I caught it all on video) 3. Make sure I use my inside hipbone more when I ask for canter. We had a hard time with halt/canter transitions because I wasn't using the inside hipbone enough.

Regarding the horse, he said I need to do more transitions with her. He also said Nic will have no problem with piaffe or moving up the levels. The horse and I received a lot of positive comments, so I guess I'm doing something right with her, despite not having any real lessons to speak of in almost 2 months.

Nicole, Star Wars, and The Ultimate Fighting Championships: August 13, 2007

Something not commonly known about me is that I have a passable amount of knowledge in the martial arts field. I studied jiu-jitsu for a number of years before taking up dressage. I dabbled in other martial arts disciplines as well, but mainly focused on jiu-jitsu, which, along with kickboxing, is the bedrock of UFC fighting. I don't discuss my martial arts years often because there basically is no need to; the subject only comes up with regards to self-defense.

Jiu-jitsu, obviously, is a male-dominated field of study. Being a woman in this milieu put me in an interesting position, namely because my opponent was usually a man. I was marginalized in a way that men aren't in the sport, not because of any conscious actions, but simply by the nature of my gender.

While on the surface jiu-jitsu appears to be about a show of force, the paradox, especially for women, is that the force the discipline provides isn't about strength at all. Fighting on a pure strength basis just wears the fighter out, creating an opening for your opponent to beat you. The forceful fighter (meaning the fighter that uses strength) most likely will be the loser; most women just cannot match men on a pure strength per strength playing field.

Instead, the successful fighter is one that knows how to use their own energy, and the energy of their opponent, effectively. It's in this arena that jiu-jitsu and dressage intersect, but in a way that is not necessarily obvious to the casual observer. I think you see where I'm going with this.

I never really thought about these similarities until yesterday, but dressage is founded on a similar principle. Using force, for the most part, gets no one anywhere when it comes to horses. The forceful rider just fights with herself. The horse weighs 10 times more than a human; it's ridiculous to think we can match them strength for strength.

The rider who uses the horse's energy to focus it and redirects that energy will eventually get somewhere. That's why you can see Debbie MacDonald (all 100lbs of her) riding Brentina, this huge mare, without being tossed into the next solar system. And that's why an untrained horse like Nic, when the rider tries to use force to subdue her, can run the show.

I've had to learn this with the horse. Sadly, it's something that should have been apparent to me all along, considering my past experiences.

For the past 3 months, I haven't been attempting to use force with the horse because 1.) it's just counterproductive to my efforts, and 2.) i'm lazy and it hurts too much to fight. And FINALLY, after 3 months of sorting ourselves out, I got an elastic connection for about 10 minutes yesterday.

(For the uninitiated, an "elastic connection" basically means the horse is more receptive to receiving aids from the rider. It means the flow of energy is such that the rider and horse are moving more as a unit and thinking on the same wavelength, rather than just being 2 separate entities. Think: the Force in the Star Wars sense, rather than in Fight Club sense. It's the foundation of dressage; nothing more advanced can be accomplished without it).

Interestingly enough, despite the Cult of Beauty aura that surrounds dressage, the discipline actually began as part of equestrian military training; dressage, after all, exists to make the horse more rideable. The "elastic connection," and all the suppling of the horse involved in the training, evolved in order to make the horse more useful in battle.

Dressage and jiu-jitsu have similar beginnings; just as dressage evolved to aid fighters in battle, any martial art is just that: martial. It's only natural the two would be founded on the same principle.

This isn't an earth-shattering revelation for the ages, but, regardless, I think it bears mentioning.

Nicole and Nicole's Progeny: August 3, 2007