And now, a word from our sponsor…

I’m gonna get on my soap box for just a minute. I respectfully ask for all my adoring fans (all 5 of you) to please read this, educate yourself through the links I have posted or through Google searches of your own, and then share this information with everyone you know, “horsie” or not. (I’m gonna paraphrase Lloyd Dobbler here–I assume that most horse folks buy, feed, or know someone who produces, buys, or feeds alfalfa; so we may be a bit closer to the loop than the general public). This is an issue that has the potential to effect everyone. I have also included links to tell our elected governmental officials, including our president, that this is NOT OKAY and hope that you will take a few minutes to voice your opinion to them. This current issue (I have a lot of issues, ha!) was brought to my attention by my friend Janice Aquino, and I thank her for the information to get me started…

Just a couple of months ago, Monsanto, a HUGE ag-biotech company, began distribution of their GE (genetically engineered) Alfalfa seeds and is proceeding with getting this stuff planted nation-wide completely unregulated by the USDA or APHIS. This new Alfalfa has been altered to be “Roundup Ready”–resistant to the herbicide Roundup (which, not coincidentally, is a Monsanto product as well)–so that weeds can be easily controlled by dumping it on the whole crop to destroy the weeds without destroying the Alfalfa.

There are a few problems with this:

• Roundup has potential to be EXTREMELY harmful to people, most importantly the workers using it with the GE seed, if not used exactly according to label directions.
• It is EXTREMELY harmful to organic farmers (of crops and animals/milk) because cross pollination from bees will occur between organic and this GE  crop.
• It was BANNED by the Supreme Court in 2007.
• Prominent scientist Don Huber in this and related fields have SERIOUS concerns and reservations about its safety (unclear whether due to the modification itself, or the increased use of Roundup as a result of it’s planting)

The letter from Dr./Col. Don Huber really clinched it for me.  This letter (and the associated link above) was sent to me by Janice. When scientists who have spent their life studying a subject consider something in their purview an “emergency”, I tend to sit up and take notice. Even if worst case scenario never happens, we all know it’s not nice to fool Mother Nature, and there WILL BE ramifications to this altering of “God’s green Earth” whether we can quantify it in the here and now or not.

I hope you have made it this far.  If so, I hope you are at least curious enough to click through the information links below. Once you’ve formed an opinion, I hope that you will also use the other links and let that opinion be heard.

• Send an email to President Obama and Secretary of the USDA Tom Vilsack.
• Send an email or call (800) 685-8916 Senator Burr (NC). Or find your state’s senators here.
• Send an email or call (202) 224-6342 Senator Hagan (NC).
• Find your US House Representative and email them too.

Information on GE crops (a bit long, but very informative, lots of references if you need ‘em–this website is awesome for general information about food/water safety and accessibility).

Information FROM Monsanto about GE Alfalfa (I’m trying to be fair, but I can tell you that some of this information is actually misleading (aka FALSE) based on reading the EIS from the USDA).

You can read the USDA’s EIS statement on GE Alfalfa, here are a few points that make me scratch my head…

• Genetically engineered alfalfa will increase the use of herbicides containing the deadly toxin glyphosate (found in Roundup): “The net effect on alfalfa production with the increased adoption and planting of GT [glyphosate-tolerant] alfalfa will likely be some increased use of the glyphosate with an increased use of herbicides.” (p. vii) This is particulary interesting because as of right now, 90% of all alfalfa is grown/harvested WITHOUT ANY herbicide needed–why do we need it now? Could it be so Monsanto can control the RoundUp Ready seed and the RoundUp?  Or is that cynical?
• Glyphosate is highly toxic to plants and could affect plants close to the GE alfalfa:“Glyphosate exposure could occur through aerial drift, runoff of surface waters containing glyphosate, or leaching of glyphosate into drainage systems. Plants exposed to glyphosate via aerial drift might experience impaired germination or growth characteristics.” (p. vi) Mmm…RoundUp leaching into ground water–that can’t be bad!?
• As a “non-selective” herbicide, glyphosate kills almost all plant species when enough of it is applied (p. 3) and glyphosate is currently used to remove entire alfalfa fields (p. vii) So, basically, it can kill any plant–but I’m sure it’s perfectly safe!
• If the USDA confers non-regulated status, it would no longer require permits or notification of the introduction of the GE alfalfa (p. 10). Therefore there will be no oversight on the production or the long-term environmental impacts of GE alfalfa. Who needs oversight? I’m sure Monsanto is thinking of the global environment and human health and the balance of the two, and not their profits.
• If GE alfalfa is unregulated, there is the risk on contamination with non GE crops:“Although the probability is low, GT alfalfa genes could be found in non-GT alfalfa at low levels. (p. v). This is a problem for producers of organic meats and dairy, as well as organic crops.
• “unexpected and unintended compositional changes arise with all forms of genetic modification, including both conventional breeding and genetic engineering.” (p. 74) Furthermore, the report bases its safety data regarding allergenicity and toxicity on similar genetically engineered crops—but there is no evidence on the long-term allergenicity and toxicity impact of specifically GE alfalfa on humans and animals. (p. 175) So something that is not really “out yet” has not yet proved to be toxic…we’ll just have to wait and see…sound reasonable!

Just 4 weeks ago, a suit was filed over the approval of GE Alfalfa despite the Supreme Court ban. Hopefully this will bring this and other GE crops to a screeching halt. In the meantime, let your elected representatives know how you feel–they are supposed to working for US after all, not Monsanto.

I know everyone is busy. But I also know you all care about the stewardship of our horses and those who work and farm so that we can enjoy them! I have tried to make it as easy as possible to have your voice heard–I urge you all to exercise your right to have our elected officials know our opinions. And please, PLEASE, share this blog post with anyone you know so that this can reach as wide an audience as possible.

A busy weekend

Oh, Super Pony, I love you like you were my child. My unpredictable, anxious, petulant, obnoxious child.

The clinic with Anne did not go according to plan (leave it to animals and children to remind those of us with borderline OCD that you absolutely CANNOT plan anything with any degree of certainty). Suffice it to say that despite being in Wilson MANY times by this point, some combination of factors or alignment of the planets had Bravo wigged out. For Bravo, wigged out = poorly behaved = defensive rider = defensive horse = diminishing returns. There was lunging, there was a VERY accommodating Anne splitting my lesson in 2 so that we could try to get B’s head on straight, there was a tiara awarded for my riding through it (aka cajones).

It wasn’t all bad. By the end of the second lesson on Saturday I had shown Anne our changes. She thinks we’re largely on the right track and can proceed with emphasis to be on the canter and not the preparation (I focus so much on preparation for the change–i.e., correct bend, perfect aids, etc.–that I lose the forward momentum and the quickness of the hind legs). Excellent, as predicted I will need to just channel my inner 12 year old and kick on! The second day when little shit B was more rideable (but still not his normal) we focused on bringing up the wither and lengthening the neck into the contact. Words of wisdom (homework) were imparted and we got on the road to hit a schooling show on the way home at MacNair’s.

Bravo was the poster-child for calm once out of the trailer at MacNair’s schooling show. But I’ve been fooled before, and knew the droopy lids and yawning did not mean the riding would be all sunshine and roses. I hopped on with about 45 minutes before my test (first time at Second 3) and proceeded to the super sloppy, very full warmup. “I’m awake!” Bravo seemed to say, head up and ears pricked, as we picked our way around at the walk for a few minutes. When I gathered my reins there was some perkiness, but we tromped around in the slop like the veterans we actually are (finally) and he was attentive to the aids, soft, and very compliant. Ahh….. I immediately began to rewind back and play the tape from the weekend’s lessons: slow the trot, quicken the canter, out in the neck, up in the wither, bend ribs left, bend ribs right, don’t over bend the neck, hind feet in line with the front ones, breathe. Even though this was the fourth ride in two days, Bravo had plenty of power and energy, and I was feeling really good about the test.

We entered the covered arena right after a break to lengthen the ring from 40 meter to standard 60 meter sizeand proceeded around a few times; Bravo getting a few looks in from this new vantage point (but easily redirected because he was still ultimately listening to me) and then started the test. It went something like this: A enter collected trot, X halt salute, proceed track left, HXM medium trot, M collected trot.  Oh wait, that’s what was supposed to happen…for us it went H turn onto the diagonal and begin medium trot, X abruptly JUMP INTO THE AIR OVER THE IMAGINARY HOLE CREATED BY THE COLOR DIFFERENCE FROM THE RING FOOTING BEING WATERED IN PATCHES, proceed with rest of test as though nothing ever happened, X halt salute.

It felt something like this:

I think it probably looked something like this:

It was good for a hearty laugh right there in the test, which considering my defensiveness the day before (and even earlier that day) was a very good thing. This was a legitimate spook, not a misbehavior for any reason. Overall, the test was fluid, and I was VERY happy at the end, and I was proud of myself for being able to ride my horse through the test while thinking of Anne’s coaching the entire time. I admittedly rode a bit more conservatively than my other tests this year, and that coupled with the huge ding I got for that mark, the associated mucked up transition score, and the harsh submission score (the judge thought this was a huge buck apparently), we ended up with a lackluster 58%.  C’est la vie!

A special thanks to my “cheering section”, who came out to MacNair’s to watch us: Karen Young, Keni and Lynn Kerin, and Brian and Ruby Davis. Ruby gave Bravo a big hug and kiss before she left and told him he was a good boy.  All’s well that ends well.

Why do we fear (the) change?

Flying changes have become the first Holy Grail of dressage. How on Earth did this happen? When people are horse shopping, one of the first questions is “Does he have a change?” We stand on the rail and analyze the changes on Third level horses, disregarding, for the most part, the other 95% of the test. We talk about late changes, flat changes, crooked changes, croup-high changes, and drop changes with the fervency of an obsessed movie star fan.

Meanwhile, over in Hunter Land where I grew up, almost every horse–from lesser quality New Holland finds to the purpose-bred warmblood–has a change. People don’t talk much about them (and they certainly don’t obsess), except in the rare case where a horse consistently cross-fires. The only descriptor you might hear is “auto” as in the horse who will automatically change to the correct lead after a line of fences.

Huh? How can something so “important” in the dressage world seem to come so easily to our hunter compatriots? Why do we struggle with something every single horse does over and over again at liberty in the field?

I already hear your counter argument. “But hunter changes aren’t the same as dressage changes. They’re flat. They’re on the forehand. They lack impulsion.” I’m with you– it certainly seems that way, at least with the “non-elite” hunters. Now, thinking back to everything you’ve learned about the canter in dressage–shouldn’t this make their changes harder to get (and clean)? And yet, we struggle while every 12 year old on a pony is blissfully kicking through a clean change in each round.

I don’t know about you, but this all has been making me feel empowered. Of course I can teach Bravo the changes–every horse can do them, he does them in the field, and he is certainly athletic enough! As a teen, I acquired my hunt seat equitation mount when he was a 4 year old–I no longer have recollection of teaching him the changes (although I must have since he was not in any sort of training) and we had a long and semi-illustrious career not-thinking-about-but-managing-to-accompish MANY flying changes over the years.

So work the changes we have! It’s one part correct canter/counter canter, one part change of bend and direction, and occasionally brute force–lather, rinse, repeat. Sometimes they are effortless, sometimes they are explosive, sometimes they are absent, and sometimes everything in between–but I have definitely seen progress in the last couple of weeks. I have my monthly clinic with Anne this weekend and can’t wait to get her opinion, help, and perspective. Her advice so far was the inspiration for this journal entry–whatever happens, do not get negative. Do not have failure as an option in my mindset.

Fair enough. I just need to channel my inner 12 year old.

In dressage, is competency the key?

In the weeks since finishing my whirlwind training tour of North Carolina, the riding has been good. Bravo’s behavior (with few, but profound exceptions) has been stellar and the connection gets more solid every day.  I also put a renewed interest in getting him to truly bend his ribcage to the right as a priority as well. I think it’s paying off.

Due to a scheduling conflict (ie, work, the Anna’s Angels annual gala, and running my first 5K) I was unable to ride in the March clinic with Anne Aloi. That, coupled with a few financial decisions (ie, lack of consistent work hours and the ordering of that D@*% L’Apogee saddle), conspired to my realization that I should skip competing in the March Magic Dressage show in Williamston. But I made lemonade–I traveled to the show to support my trainer and friends and to learn by WATCHING. I also decided that with a now-longer span until my first USDF show of the year (all signs point to Dressage in the Sandhills in May), I would spend time working the flying changes (which have been going surprisingly well, considering I have no idea what I’m doing). This way, if I blow Bravo’s mind, or we succumb to “flyingchangitis”, I will have time to fix it before hitting the centerline in 6 weeks.

Well, Anne and my friends certainly gave me plenty to watch–there were multiple successes and personal bests. There were certainly a lot of blue towels decorating our barn aisle! Anne brought 2 horses: her most advanced horse (Doc), now at 4th level; and her greenest horse (Buddy) in his Training level debut.  The two horses are quite different–Doc is small (not that there’s anything wrong with that–he IS bigger than Bravo, not that it takes much ), very workmanlike, has a great attitude, and good but not WOW gaits. Buddy is much larger (in both height and width–the boy is solid), and also quiet–but with more of a baby mentality (as to be expected), with very impressive gaits.

Buddy scored a mid-60% basically on his gaits alone (steering was optional and there were several “shiny object”! moments), handling the Williamston coliseum very well.

Doc scored over 70% in 2 of his 3 Fourth level tests. They are a fun pair to watch–Anne is a very accurate test rider, and of course she makes it look easy. A few days after the show I was talking to her on the phone and she mentioned in passing about riding Doc–and she said something that I have been chewing on ever since. She described Doc as “competent”. The casual observer might think she is being humble, but when I really think about it, the description is apt. He’s not the kind of horse you pick out of a warm up ring because he’s blowing the doors off. He’s not even the kind of horse that sneaks up on you unassumingly. He “just” goes in the ring and does his job competently and correctly, and in my opinion we (unfortunately) don’t see this very often in the ring.

We’ve all heard about accurate test riding, and how this can improve your score a few points basically by just having correct geometry and movements–I’m not talking about that (and neither, I garner, is she). This is correct, absolutely correct, basics. This is training a horse–and then demonstrating that the horse has mastered–the guidelines of the dressage training pyramid exactly. Doc is relaxed yet forward, he is straight, he is uphill and balanced with his weight on the hind legs, and he is into the connection without bracing against the hand…Doc is, in a word, competent.

Why am I so fixated on this word? Like many amateur dressage enthusiasts, I do not have an expensive horse. Bravo is wonderful in so many ways (occasional naughtiness notwithstanding) and I love him dearly, but he is no world class mover and never will be. In the past, with each of my wonderful dressage partners, I have surrendered to the “compare and despair” trap and convinced myself that I can’t accomplish “X” because I don’t have a fancy horse.

The epiphany is that we don’t have to be brilliant; we don’t have to be world class. We just have to be competent.