Echoes of Crownie

Crownie was a very special horse in our lives.  When she was in full health I used to explore all the plantations and state forest near our farm.  I used to ride for hours no matter what the weather, exploring new tracks, nooks and crannies.  Galloping wildly.  Walking on a loose rein.  Sometimes I would cover 30km in 3 hours.  We were a team, Crownie and I.


When she started showing signs of wear and tear I semi-retired her.  I didn't ride her any more, but I would listen to squeals of delight as friends rode her on trail rides, and I would smile to myself.  But, eventually, Crownie was gone, and we kept reminiscing how nice it would be to own another horse like Crownie.


When Echo arrived - being the same colour and height (although he wasn't quite as long - thank goodness) - we unintentionally started making comparisons.  I like to take each horse on it's own merits, but the similarities were just too frequent and too many and we couldn't help ourselves.


He could spend hours at the hitching rail being brushed and patted - just like Crownie.  He is easy going and understanding, just like Crownie.  He seems to prefer people company to horse company.  If Echo has been put in the yard and you can't see him, then he's bound to be in the stable - just like Crownie.  And when a boot drops down too far over his coronet, he will try to kick the boot off, just like Crownie.


And so, I like to think that our wish for "another horse like Crownie" has come true.

Saving Crownie

I've been busy.  Not riding.  Trying to save my horse.  My husband's horse.  Crownie.

She hasn't looked "right" for about a year now.  But with my own recovery from illness, I haven't had enough energy to do much more than standard care.  This year, in about April I got more serious though.

First, I ensured her diet was sufficient, and full of the right minerals.  But she did not improve.  Her worming program and teeth were up to date.

Then when she got what looked like an abcess in her eye, I called the vet out.  We looked at everything.  We reviewed her diet.  The vet checked her teeth.  We took bloods.  We took poo samples.  The vet left me with an oinment for her eyes.

Everything came back clear.  The bloods were excellent, except for low protein content.  The poo came back clear - that's right, no worms at all!

The eye ointment helped a bit, but the swelling around the eye remained.

I started reading.  Was it a Gutteral Puch infection?  Could it be Crohn's disease?  Or were her tear ducts simply blocked?

Then I started injecting her with vitamins.  25ml of vitamin C, 10ml of B complex, 10ml of vitamin B12 and 10ml of VAM.  I wanted to inject her with 10ml of B15 (DADA) as well, but this was very hard to get hold of.  That's a lot of needle pricks per day.  And on a poorly muscled horse you soon start running out of neck room.

I also washed out her eyes daily.  The whole routine took me about 1 hour.  I couldn't do it every day, but I did it about 4 to 5 days per week.

At night I paddocked her in the only paddock that has a stable.  And during the daytime I allowed her to graze the fresh, clean grass along the driveway.

After four weeks I called the vet out again.  He looked at her eyes, then started feeling further down her body.  Under her jaw, at her chest, in her groin.  In her groin?!  Panic!  He was checking her lymphatic system.  Finally, he called me over, and asked me to have a feel of a lump on her chest.  A lymph node.  It was enlarged.  Very enlarged.  "I think it's Cancer", he said.

I can't say that I panicked, or felt like crying, or felt gutted.  I had suspected as much.  And so, as much as I have tried, I may not be able to save Crownie.  There is only one way out of life for all of us, and Crownie isn't "young" any more.  She will be 20 in November.  Of course, many horses last longer than that, but she always seemed more fragile.  Even her coat was always softer than that of other horses, much to the delight of people who patted her.

For the time being I'll keep my routine of paddocking and feeding, although I will probably reduce the injections to once per week.  As my horses come back into work, I just won't have the time to do daily injections, and Crownie's a bit sick of them too.

When she is grazing the driveway she has direct access to the shed where I make up the horses' feed.  It is beautiful to be in the shed measuring out oaten and lucerne chaff, and to hear the click click of Crownie's shoes on the gravel as she comes to investigate.  It's priceless to hear her sniff the air as she approaches the shed door, and then to see the soft black nostrils poke gently through the doorway.

The Trail Ride Test

I thought I'd push the envelope a bit and I took Lilly for a trail ride today.  My cousins came up for the weekend, and they were keen to go riding.  Since the last two rides I did with them were rather short (as they were just getting used to their horses), I was determined to do a longer ride this time.

So off we went, into the state forest.  Walking, and trotting, and cantering and even going for a short gallop.  My cousins loved the gallop.

Lilly's soundness was maintained throughout the ride.  What surprised me was her willingness to be brave and go forward!  In the past, on these sorts of rides, she would sometimes have "chicken" moments, and I had to ask Crownie (and her rider) to take the lead.  Not so today.  Lilly led the whole way, without ever putting a foot wrong.

She loved all the fast work, and by the time we were doing the last canter she had enough sting out of her to just sit in and enjoy.  Enjoy the rocking motion, the fresh air in my face, the green trees whizzing by.

The hoon horse

I have realised something really important. Horse riding, in my life, fulfills two distinct (and almost opposing) purposes. One purpose is time out. The other purpose is the art of training.

When horse riding is used for time out I head out bush and get lost for three hours, and I gallop. This behaviour is also known as:

• hooning
• fanging it
• racing with the wind
• flying, reins loose, arms out to the sides, screaming "yeeee-haaaar!!!"
• using up the juice
• letting it all out
• burning rubber
• sending sparks
• getting a breath of fresh air
• creating dust
• kicking up mud

(Rest assured I don't gallop for the full three hours, and my horse is well looked after, both throughout the ride, afterwards, and in between rides.)

The long and short of it is, that I need a horse that's my "hoon horse". A reliable steed that I can just jump on and get out there and enjoy the wind in my face. I might still take my hoon horse to competitions, but his primary purpose is to be the hoon horse. The fun horse. The everything horse.

Crownie used to be the perfect hoon horse. She is now happily retired, although we often reminisce about those days as I scratch her wither under the shade of a tree.

Now Dingo wears the title.

First canter

The cousins have left, and the place feels so empty it's eerie. "Do you want to ride your pony?" I suggest to Sabina. She nods.

We get the pony and Crownie as well. For brushing pleasure. Then Sabina suggests I saddle up. Ah, what the heck.

"Mama, let's go in the state forest", suggests Sabina. "But you don't lead me." Oh no no no. I don't think we're up to that yet. So I propose we practice in the paddock first.

Crownie is a long striding horse, and the pony is tiny, so it looks a bit like this. I am up ahead walking, and Sabina keeps falling behind. Then I stop, allow her to catch up, and then we move on again. I encourage Sabina to have a bit of a trot to catch up.

So there I am, in front. I've just come to a stop, and take a look behind me. Oh! My! Goodness! There is my little girl cantering on the pony down the long side of the arena, with the biggest smile across her face that you have ever seen.

She pulls up to a screeching stop, all excited. I praise her immensely.

Lizard's Lament

When you're training for competitions, it's hard to find the time for a really long relaxing ride. So today, I take Crownie out to do one of my absolute favourite's - Lizard's Lament.

Firstly you head out along the road. It's nice and peaceful. There is an option to head along the ridge track, via the quarry. It's been raining. It's slippery. So I skip that option, and continue along the road. Finally, you hit the bottom of the valley, where the road forks. I take the left fork, and within a few strides I am at the bottom of Lizard's Lament.

Crownie pricks her ears, ready to gallop up the steep hill. The motorbikes have left a few deep grooves in the track, and I hold Crownie at the walk, until we are on smoother ground. Still steep and slippery though. Then I let her take off. We gallop along wildly, enjoying the freedom, wind rushing through Crownie's mane, and whistling through my helmet, trees rushing by on either side.

At the top of the rise we slow to the trot. Lizard's Lament leads us on. It twists and turns gently. We trot, we canter, we gallop. Crownie clears the puddle in her stride. We canter. We canter right to the top of the hill, to the end of the track, into the sunlight.

The sun blinds us, as we dash out of the forest and into the second plantation. Acres of pine trees stand below us, like an army of faithful soldiers. We snort and head home.

TTT Horse Trials - Day 2

The morning starts with a cross country pace. Delicious cooked breakfast, thanks to Anita's camp cooking setup. Then, within minutes, the whole camp setup is put away, and replaced by two horses happily munching on hay.

We walk the cross country course. "Which is the hardest jump?", I ask. "Well, the first one", answers Anita. "I actually think it takes about three jumps for your horse to really get going. So the first three jumps are the hardest", I add. We are standing at jump number three - the dredge. I put my foot on the edge of the boxy wooden jump. "This will be your hardest jump. Make sure you drive." The rest of the course is pretty basic. As it should be, at grade 5. Although I think the water and the slide might sort out a few combinations.

Later at the float, Anita makes a comment that it's really the dressage, which determines how you place. I've now been to enough competitions to know that's not true. "I think you will find that there will be a lot of place shuffling after both the cross country and the showjumping".

I warm up Crownie for the cross country. We do a nice walk, trot, canter and then over the cross country warm up jump. She's a touch hesitant. We do the jump again, this time following another horse. She gets a lot of confidence from this. Once more - she powers over the jump. That's what I am looking for. Attitude. And she's got plenty of it.

We're off. Crownie lacks confidence, but she gets over one and two. At three she seriously doubts herself, but I give her no options. She bangs her legs but gets over it. And from there on it just flows. At jump 7 I slow her down because I know the photographer is on the other side. She stops at the water, zig zags left and right but doesn't actually step back. We're through. She finds the slide easy, and we bound over the last two. About 30 seconds over time. What a hoot! Best 5 minutes of my life!

The showjumping round is beautiful and flows really well. Crownie gets a rail down on the double. That's fine, since she's not really up to doubles yet. But we're under time, and it rides splendidly.

Anita also has lovely rounds in cross country and showjumping. Also a rail down.

I finish 10th. Anita is 8th!!! And she gets a sash! But the best thing is, Kris wins her grade 4 division! I think we'll be opening a bottle of champagne tonight!

TTT Horse Trials - Day 1

It takes me forever and a bit to get ready, but finally the show - me, float, horse and more gear than you can imagine - are on the road. I sms my team member. She's already there and replies that it's wet, muddy and slippery. Great.

When I arrive, Wandin is buzzing. Cars, trucks, floats, horses, makeshift yards. I have no idea where my team member Anita might be, and park myself where it looks suitably dry.

There must be well over 600 people here, but somehow, within minutes I manage to find Anita, friends Kris and Jen and an assortment of other eventers that I now "know". That's a big change from last year. But my fan club of Dad and Christine aren't here this time around. Never mind. I've had a shocking week and am happy to just get ready by myself.

I gaze at Crownie, and consider plaiting. I guess I have to start at some point, Crownie is probably the right horse to start with, and the occasion sufficiently momentous. Six plaits in, and Kris comes over to show me how to saw up the plaits into bubbles. Man, she's a pro at this. The little bubbles come out looking fantastic.

Saddle up, get dressed, and start warming up. I must admit that I am nervous. After all, it was at this very same place, that 3 months ago I competed on Gally and things slowly went out of control. At least that's how I view it now. But since then I've had two very significant lessons with Mark. I apply his teachings in my warmp up, and within minutes I am at ease and focusing on how well the horse is going, rather than whether the horse is in control.

The dressage test goes well. I probably would have like a bit more relaxation, but it's done and I am relieved.

As the day crowd retreats, we put the horses in the yards, I move my car next to Anita's, just a cooee from Kris and Jen. We put up the tent in between the cars, and the bonfire in front of the tent. Perfect!

Dinner is delicious. Sleep is blissful.

Tuck your seat in

A while ago I came up with the concept of tucking your seat in, and I have stuck to this dilligently in 3 point position. And it has improved my riding.

Today I take Crownie for a ride in the state forest. It's an amazing morning (see the photos below), and I am glad to be wearing my winter coat. On the way back we gallop up a track. I really let Crownie take it away, and since she's had extra feed yesterday, she pulls out some speed.

As I am sitting there in two point, feeling the powerful galloping strides, holding my legs still, I think "and what is my seat doing?"

"OMG!!! It's somewhere up in the air, dangling around like a two bun target! Tuck your seat in!", I scream at myself.

I tuck my seat in. Wow! If I have ever had any problems in cross country, or in jumping, this is where they were. My seat dangling uncontrollably out behind me, unbalancing me on take-off and landing.

Cross country training

Time to test The Flummery.

I lead Crownie up to the float. She takes a look around. "That doesn't smell like a horse float" she seems to say. She gets on. Ploomps. "Now it does".

We're off to the local pony club to do some cross country training.

I do a solid jumping warm up in the arena, then we head out to inspect the jumps. It's very wet and boggy. The approaches to some jumps are totally waterlogged. I don't feel confident at all about the normal warm up jumps, so I take a good look around and find some nicer ones.

This pays huge dividends as I feel relaxed and confident, and as a result, so does the horse. We can do a nice canter on approach and the jumping goes well. I get a good feel about the sort of jumps she finds easy, and the ones she questions. There is the odd jump where she stops then scrambles over it. This is obviously something we need to work on, in the future.

Today we cover off the necessary basics: ditch, drop, bank, water, log, tyres, and artificial drums of an odd colour.

Jumping canter

Today I start off Crownie's work by lunging her first. Over trot poles, then over jumps.

I am really pleased with her work over trot poles now. It's rythmic and steady, and she's lifting her legs. Nice.

The jumping isn't so good yet. She manages to knock the pole off a few times. This will profit you not. The pole goes back on, and she jumps it. The idea of jumping her on the lunge, is so that she has a chance to work on her own balance, without any interference from me. I like to think that these days I am sufficiently balanced that I help more than interfere, but even experiencing that difference for herself is good.

Then I start riding and just do dressage. That's right. The jumping was good enough, she jumped all her final jumps, end of lesson. At least on the jumping front.

In the dressage we work on getting those hind legs underneath. Walk, halt, trot and canter. Jumping canter. The time has come to work on fitness, and that of course means canter. Lots of it. Good, quality, jumping canter. She does well, and I can see that when we are done she is genuinely tired.

Inside leg

During my last couple of rides on Gally it became really obvious to me that the inside leg does a lot more than just sit there. It asks the horse to step under with his hindqurters, it asks the horse to yield and therefore to flex. When the horse flexes, the inside leg can step under more, then more flexion can be achieved, and the horse can carry himself.

Today I test this out on Crownie, in a bid to improve her dressage. Firstly in the halt. I bend her neck with the rein and ask her to move away from my inside leg. The head goes up as she tries to walk forwards. No, this is not what I am asking for, the lowly held rein bending her neck prevents her from rushing off. It does not prevent her from walking forwards - but then she has to follow the tight circle dictated by the rein. This is not exactly what I want, but it's a good effort.

I repeat the exercise multiple times on both reins, until the hind quarters start swinging out.

Then I repeat the exercise in the walk. Walk straight 5 metres, then do a volte. Drive the volte with the inside leg. It is amazing to see that after we leave the volte, Crownie's neck remains flexed and arched for two strides. That's what we're aiming to get all the time.

Then of course I need to take this into the trot and the canter.

The Chiropractor

Jamie arrives to see Crownie. I haven't seen him for about 8 years. He doesn't seem to smoke any more, but otherwise he hasn't changed much.

He has a good poke around the horse. He presses just behind the wither and the horse tries to walk off. "She's out just behind her wither. That's causing pinching pain down her shoulder." Then he presses a spot on the hind quarters. Crownie's backside dips. "Because of the pinching in her shoulder, she is compensating with her hindquarters, and she's put herself out in the lower back too."

Jamie does some adjustments then rechecks. Crownie stands quietly still as he pokes her in the very same spots that a minute ago caused discomfort.

"Put your hand on the wither", he says. I do. "What do you feel?"

"Heat. But just in here, in this very spot."

"Good. The adjustment causes inflamation. That's what you can feel. That will go away in an hour or two. Then you can ride her."

Jamie also checks her over for arthritis, and gives her a pretty clean bill of health.

Finally, we talk feeding and he suggests adding comfrey to her food, using fresh garlic instead of the sulphur, and adding a nettle and rosehip tea.

Gally's progress

I call my trainer.

"Hi Mark! How's my horse going?"

"Well, we trotted him out and he seemed a bit short in his stride. So I ran my hand down his back, and he almost sat down!", the friendly laugh echoes down the phone line. "I'm having a bit of a problem getting hold of Jamie (horse chiropractor). Otherwise I like him. He'll be a good horse for you. Yeah sure he's a bit green, and there's no lateral mouth on him, and there's no lateral movement on him, and he lacks forward. But, lets get Jamie out to him, and see what happens then."

Sheesh. The conversation made me "almost" sit down.

What bothers me is that I flagged the back problem with Anna when I first started having lessons on Gally. And she just cut me off mid sentence and told me to get on with it.

Of course, that's no excuse. I should have checked the horse's back myself. Lesson learnt.

Crownie ... your horse chiropractor will be coming out to see you as soon as I can get hold of him.

Working on fitness

In order to take Crownie eventing, she has to be fit. We ride out into the state forest, and walk for almost two hours. Towards the end we do a short trot and canter.

Walking is a great way to get horses fit. It strengthens their joints and ligaments. The fast fitness work can come later. But the walking builds a solid foundation that prevents horses from breaking down.

Later in the day I check her legs for heat and swellings. All good.

To jump

Today I commenced teaching Crownie to jump. I've jumped her before, but she's never had much of a formal education.

Now that I understand the concept of "This will profit you" and "This will profit you not", the training takes on a whole new wonderful dimension.

I have setup some tiny cross rails, and the whole idea is for Crownie to jump each one. All I have to do is show her that jumping over the logs profits her. So once she's over the log, I relax and leave her alone.

I keep repeating the exercise until I feel (intuition at work?) that she no longer looks to run out. That she feels the jump isn't an issue, and it's easier to actually just jump it rather than try something else. I don't increase the jumps in height.

What's missing?

Today, dressage. It was supposed to be jumping, but I haven't had time to bring the jumps up from the amphetheatre. And I can't be bothered schooling in the amphetheatre because I suspect the grass is too long. What a lame excuse.

Anyhow. Here we are. Walk. Trot. Canter. Canter? The canter is awesome. Gally is travelling forwards, and he is just starting to pick up his head and carry himself. This is how it's supposed to be.

So what is missing in the walk and the trot? It's actually hard for me to say what is missing. What I do know is that I have been training the paces differently. In the walk and the trot I have been training Gally in accordance with my coach's instructions. In the canter, I followed my intuition.

In the canter I have not worried at all about whether the horse is on the aids. I have just focussed on driving him forward, and sitting well, enjoying the canter, keeping a long rein and staying in control. And here it is. The horse is on the aids of his own accord.

So now I feel I need to go back to the drawing board in the walk and trot, and ask Gally for the same things as in the canter.

And where does that leave my coach? Do I change coaches, or do I go back to her and tell her about my experience? Schooling without a coach is not an option. The whole coach situation is very frustrating. I just can't seem to find a coach who is close by and who I can truly trust and work with.

Put Gally away and get Crownie.

She goes well, but once again it's obvious that the canter is better than the walk and the trot. I don't need her to tell me that anyway. I know. I can feel it. By riding Gally forwards and on a long rein in the canter, he has taught me exactly where and how I am supposed to sit. And when I sit like that, the canter just works. I guess I need to take the same approach in the walk and the trot and see what happens.

Forwards!

Gally and I go into the haying paddock to do some dressage. The warm up goes well. The work is mediocre. And I am not happy. And why is this horse just not going forwards?!

He hasn't been worked for two weeks and it's all just fallen apart. Having said that, the canters are actually quite good. But once we've finished the canters, stop. One big fat stop.

Recently I've been riding without the whip, to ensure that I am using my legs and seat, but today I bitterly regret that decision. My legs have done all they can, and now I am in need of the whip, and it's not here. Argh!

I put Gally away and get Crownie.

Crownie, hasn't been ridden for at least three weeks. In comparison to Gally, she goes brilliantly. And even without any comparisons, she goes competition ready.

Later in the day I have a good think about my ride on Gally. Going large around the imaginary arena, a few 20m circles, couple of changes on the diagonal. How boring! What was I thinking?! Gally might not be going like a Grand Prix horse, but that doesn't mean we can't do some interesting exercises. Sheesh!

Panic time

My intention was to compete at Grade 4 on Crownie in Peninsula Horse Trials on Sunday 2nd August.

Well, the horse is barely jumping Grade 5, she's never even seen a cross country course, we're not graded and the competition is a mere 5 weeks away. That's 4 weekends of training. It's panic time.

As I see it here are my options:

• Forget the Horse Trials and do an XC clinic instead. Get her graded later.
• Get her graded, and still do the Horse Trials but at Grade 5.
• Forget the whole horse thing, and go fishing.

I am tending to lean towards the middle option. That way, I still get the satisfaction of competing. A Grade 5 course will be easy enough that it will be a confidence boost for the horse. And I get to see yet another course. There is still the problem of getting graded in time, before entries close.

Horses for courses

So apparently I am intending to do Penninsula Horse Trials with Crownie. Why Crownie, and not Princess?

Good question.

Because of the challenge. Crownie and Princess are two very different horses. And a good trainer can train all types of horses. So, lets not stuff around. By taking on the challenge of trainnig Crownie, I am proving to myself that it's my methods that work, and not the horse's talent.

Because the horse needs a rest. Truth be told, on our last three outings (including the event) Princess did not want to get on the float. Physically she was fine, but mentally she wasn't coping. Now, she's had four weeks of holidays, but this may not be enough. She may need two or three outings before being taken to another event. And there just isn't enough time to do that.

Because I am sick of the racing game. Let's face it. Holding Princess under control in open countryside is REALLY HARD WORK! And I am sick of it. And I need a rest. Phew! Glad I got that out of my system. And what if competing on Crownie is much much easier? And she enjoys it more? And I get a better placing simply because the horse is coping mentally? Isn't it worth a try?

If Crownie ends up not coping mentally, then I'll know there's a problem with my method. And I won't blame the horse. Because at the moment, when I read the judges comment on my dressage test "Rider should relax more", I feel like soothingly saying to the judge "You get on and show me how!!!".