Reinsmanship: A Photo Tutorial

As an exercise towards enhancing my curriculum for teaching reinsmanship, I decided to post a few photos on what is admirable and what is far less than correct to illustrate my philosophy.  I always try to find a clear way to communicate to each whip on the cause and effect of their own bodies on their horse's ability, so this might be another way of defining it.

These photos were shot on a numbered cones course, by my dear friend and professional photographer, Tobin Bennett.  I think they give a very unique reference for judging my reinsmanship and I thank Tobin for his skill in capturing them.  I am driving The Major General, a Morgan and Caddy That Zigs.

Approaching Start/Finish: Good collection, contact, shoulder to hands angle is open and allowing.  Major is soft and alert.

This course was mostly short and tight, on the side of a hill.  I knew I needed to let Major go long and low as much as I could.  I open the angle of my shoulder to hands, and he opens the angle of his nose.  He seeks contact, so he lengthens his top line and stride to find it.  His cadence is lovely.

I have driven the outside line on the turn through this set of cones very nicely.  We are on the side of a hill turning down fairly sharply.  Notice we are starting the bend without the wheel completely clear of the cone.  It is tight.  The gig is high.  To keep the wheel on the ground, I am leaning.  When the whip drops the shoulder, so doth the horse.  You can see this in the photo: horse mirrors whip.  One saving grace for me as whip: my hands are still fairly level.  In the gig, you must drive the horse and ride the vehicle, or you will end Up. Side. Down.

BAD, BAD, BAD, BAD, BAD.  When I first saw this photo, I screamed, "NO!" And almost deleted it from record.  But then I decided to keep it to remind me NEVER to do this again.  This is an epic fail.  I misjudged our speed and the distance for the turn.  See how far under himself Major is with his inside hind leg.  Fail.    My shoulders are telling his body to go straight.  Fail.  My inside hand is bending his head around the shaft. Fail.  My outside hand is not supporting him through the bend.  Fail.  I am bending him front front to back.  Fail.  Cadence is completely lost.  Fail.  What I should have done was check his speed two strides before the cones, raise my hands slightly to rock him back on his hindquarters, support him through the turn with the outside rein, while bringing his shoulder back to his properly supported inside hind leg.  He then would have pivoted through the turn [two strides sooner] at an angle to get straight through the cones on the left.  Only Major's supreme athletic ability got us through this.  I beg his forgiveness.

This is more like it.  We serpentine right to go left.  Notice Major's properly supported right hind leg.  He is rocked back on his hindquarters, bending from behind.  His cadence is still somewhat compromised: look at how uncertain he appears.  My shoulders are somewhat [could be better] open to the direction I want him to bend- right, but I am looking left to judge the change of rein...

..which he does beautifully.  Bless him, he has forgiven me already.  Again, his inside hind leg is near vertical to support his weight through the turn, he is light on his forehand as a result.  If you have been paying attention you will see I have again dropped my weight over the wheel to balance the gig, but my reins are level to balance Major.  Cadence is restored.

Asking him to go long and low to the Finish, but gave the contact away too quickly and lost a little cadence in the process.  He is more than ready to stretch out, though, after a grisly drive...

And we're done.  Asking Major to transition to the walk, I have dropped my center of gravity by my hands are a little too low and I'm applying too much front brake: using too much bit, ergo, throwing him slightly on his forehand [that common front to back problem].  He is trying hard to get his hindquarters under him to transition correctly and if I had lifted my hands to allow him to finish getting underneath himself, he wouldn't be slightly behind the straight pull of my hands on the bit and the transition would have been great.  Instead, what probably happened was as his stopping leg [left hind] hit the ground, he hollowed out his back for relief of the bit and popped his nose up.  If I realized my mistake, I may have lightened my contact to give him the relief he needed as he stepped on his left leg.  I am focused quite intently on his frame, but there is sadly no photo proof of what happened next.

So, there you go, the dynamics of reinsmanship on an obstacle course, where it matters most.  Ultimate communication through the reins is achieved by understanding how to use them to support and balance the horse to allow him to be brilliant, instead of solely as a means to control him.  If you have photos that you would like me to evaluate for you, let me know.  I am also available, in person, for carriage driving lessons, and carriage driving clinics on this very subject.  The best way to improve your horse's performance is by improving your own.

Again thanks to Tobin for these great reference photos and to Major for his greatness.

Please leave a comment or contact me with your questions/suggestions.  I greatly appreciate everyone who stops by to read this blog and Google Analytics tells me how many of you do and approximately where you come from, but I am old fashioned and still like know faces or names.  So, thanks for stopping to read Accidental Sagacity and please don't be anonymous!

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

Turning Sibling Rivalry Into Harmony?

The Major General, Don Pecos du Cheval and Chevals Topp Mentor are half brothers.  I have wanted to put together a show pair for almost a decade and just can't find a fit with these three.  This is my dilemma:

Major
Confirmation: Round
Way of Going: More Hock than Knee Action
Height: 14.2HH
Color: Black

Ace
Confirmation: Angular
Way of Going: More Float than Bounce
Height: 14.3HH
Color: Brown

Don Pecos
Confirmation: Very Round
Way of Going: Supercharged on all Four
Height: 14 & 1/2HH [the half is important!]
Color: Applevale Orange

Maybe I'm splitting hairs.  They all look pretty round in the above photos.  But I know them.  They don't look, move or match each other.  But, this is what I have and I want a pair.

Major and Ace match the best in size and color.  Major is a stud.  Ace hates him.  Ace kicks and bites and generally beats the snot out of Major.  Major just wants to be friends.  Ace does not.  Oh, well, color is the last determination for a pair.

Major and Don Pecos grew up in adjoining paddocks.  They sort of get along.  Don Pecos tolerates Major. Just.  Pecos clocks Major with both hind feet when Major pushes his buttons too far.  They match in conformation.  Sort of.  Pecos is just so bloody short.  But we don't tell him that.  Ever.  Major has a longer stride because of his extreme hock action.  Pecos can keep up, though.  They just don't match.

I've been working Major and Don Pecos together, free lounging in the indoor arena.  This works out well about three quarters of the time.  Until Major's AD/HD clicks in and he leaves the tandem formation they have assumed and runs off to the far corner of the arena to sniff some sweet smelling something.  I run after him and Don Pecos stops, rolls his eyes and waits for me to herd Major back behind him.  

We get the whole thing going again and I study them.  I watch them move.  I do a lot of observing horses movement to determine how I can adjust the conditioning regime to get the best performance from the horse's potential.  After about 20 minutes, I see their cadence beginning to match.  After some sprinting, I can see their strides balancing.

Maybe.  Just maybe...

When we finished today, they decided to groom each other.  Major got a little too enthusiastic and Don Pecos wheeled and plowed him in the gut.

Brothers.

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

Major Quality Time

The Major General and I at Columbus Carriage Classic where we were Open Horse Division Champions in 2002.

After a considerable period of time, I am now reunited with The Major General, my beloved black Morgan god.  With a nod and a wink to his long time foster family, I am happy to have him back in my daily life.  Major gives you a reason to stop in wonder everyday, and often more than once.  Not all these wonders are the most pleasant, but many of them are.

We were doing some serious barbershop the other day.  Major has this foot long forelock, which I have secretly always detested.  But it keeps the flies out of his eyes and lends him a rock star air.  He has rubbed out almost all of his once shoulder length mane and so we pulled it to be even.  Which Major did not one bit appreciate.  Maybe that will teach him to rub out his lovely mane.

While I was trying to clip his whiskers, unable to see anything, I lamented to him about how old we'd become.  "Ten years ago, Old Man, we were in our prime," I said.  "And now look at us.  I am flabby, mostly blind and desperately trying to hold on to the final remnants of beauty.  You are losing your mane, and really out of condition."  He let out a sigh.  A tear fell down my cheek.  "But you are still beautiful, Laddie.  And I'm so glad to have you back."

He looked at me, raised his eyelids and pricked those tiny little ears forward.  "Maybe we could make a comeback. Together,"  I offered.  His eyes brightened and he brought his front feet forward, dropped his croup and parked.

"Lets Go!"  Was the voice I heard.

Lets go, Black Horse.  Lets go.

Kind Regards,
Michelle Blackler
Serendipity
www.hossbiz.com
Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

The Major General, A Sire For All Reasons

Friends and fans of Major always go dreamy eyed and then laugh at the mention of his name. He is a rock star with a streak of comic genius. The Black Beauty of all little girls' dreams, he is a magical, mystical figure. He is an equine vaudeville player with physical and cerebral humor. He is about as perfect a horse as you could imagine.

If you ask someone how tall Major is, they will tell you he is 15.2 hands or so. Even if they are standing right next to him. He thinks big. He convinces you to think big. In fact, he is just under 14.3 hands. But no one believes me. They believe Major. It is part of his magic.

Major believes that domestication is his birthright. We are here to serve him. We are here to witness the virtuosity of his frolicking. We are here to love and adore him. In return, he puts on quite a show: always entertaining, awesome and enlightening. And he loves us back. A lot.

Try remembering you are late for an appointment when you spot Major gallivanting around the pasture. Nope. You stop in your tracks and watch until the show is over. Then you applaud. Major will then come bolting up to the fence, perform a sliding stop and give his curtain call. Being late never mattered so little.

Of course, he was bred to be remarkable. A son of Black River Major, grandson of the legendary Fleetwing, how could he not be a star? Throw in some Trophy and you have the sweetness gene, as well. His only hindrance in the show ring has been me, but he always forgives me. At a carriage show, judge Morris Kerr told me, "This horse is outstanding." I replied, "Thank you, sir. I do my best to be worthy of him."

As a sire, Major continues to inspire. His foals have his charisma, grace, talent and his 'fancy pants dance'. They run to the gate to greet you, try to put their heads in the halter and jig joyfully next to you whatever you desire from them. Whether line bred or out-crossed, Major babies have that same indomitable vitality with specially springed hocks and cannon bones.

Again, the only obstacle to populating the world with more of these delightful creatures has been me. I don't know whether it is selfishness at wanting to keep the treasure to myself or just simply incompetence at promotion, but I accept responsibility for failing Major in this task. I will try to do better.

So, if you or someone you know has a mare and wants another one, just like her, only better, send them my way and I will put Major to work creating more legends. But, a disclaimer: possible side affects of a Major offspring may cause tearing during laughter, weakening of the knees, heart flutters, and work related tardiness. Friends and fans of Major all agree: it's worth it.

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

Creating a Show Horse

As a trainer of carriage driving show horses, I am often asked, "How do you get that horse's coat so shiny?" "How do you get that horse to extend like that?" "How do you get that horse to bend like that?" I have a stock of answers, mostly involving variations of "Hard work." Usually the long answer is accidental sagacity.

Show horses are born that way. You can take the most beautifully bred horse with near perfect confirmation and put them in a show ring, but if they don't want to be a show horse, they won't. Conversely, a horse that falls a little short of perfection can be an unusually good show horse. It is a state of mind. Saying that, the trainer must be able to recognize the horse's potential and predisposition and then work to polish it.

Whitmorr Topaz is an excellent example. The dam of my finest show horses: The Major General, Don Pecos du Cheval and Chevals Topp Mentor [Ace], she was a very reluctant beauty queen. She did the job I prepared her to do, she did it well. But she didn't like it. She liked working with little kids, especially working on their self esteem. She didn't care to demonstrate her own in a show ring.

Major and Don Pecos are true examples of horses that were born to show. They thrive on it. They work hard at home to prepare. They never say, "Not Today." Their coats shed off all extra hair and they shine like burnished ebony and bronze. They walk with an air of superiority. The minute they get off the trailer, they are 'on'.

Ace is the created show horse. Like his half brothers, he works very hard. Unlike them, he doesn't believe it's all about him. He is a team player. As a horse trainer and not a soccer coach, this is a challenge for me. I have to make him believe it is all about him. I have to help him discover the superiority complex of the show horse.

"How do I do that?" Hard work. The accidental sagacity answer is: I tell him. Everything I do to train and condition him must revolve around convincing him he is a show horse, that he was born for this, too. When I start to see the elasticity show in his gait, I cheer. When he begins to float, I stand in awe and make sure he knows: "That's my Boy!"

Ace needs to know that he can be a 'good boy' in lessons and 'that's my boy' in the show ring. It is a different attitude, and not every horse can do both. Don Pecos struggles with this: But I am a Show Horse, not a Lesson Horse, he pouts at me, with the exception of his therapy role. Ace is looking at me saying: I am a lesson horse, do you really think I can be a show horse, too? All my skills as a trainer must respond, "Yes, Precious."

That is how I create a show horse.

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

The Horse That Chooses You

Julie Dickie of The Morgan Horse magazine asked me to submit a short essay to support the breed magazine's new by line: The Horse That Chooses You. This is the submission that will appear in the October issue. Thanks to Jackie and the staff at The Morgan Horse and the American Morgan Horse Association.

The Major General [Black River Major x Whitmorr Topaz] Black Morgan stallion and his human, Michelle Blackler

The first time I saw The Major General, he stuck his neck [which at times seems to be retractable] out of his stall and stopped me in my tracks. He looked at me with a deeply penetrating sentience that said, “You are mine.” From that moment, I have belonged to him. Major is one part Medici, one part Mick Jagger, one part Charlie Chaplin, one part Edward Cullen. His beauty is defined by his sense of humor, his dorkiness, his athletic prowess, his creativity. Defying gravity with his frolicking or expressing his perfectly timed comic genius, I often believe my only purpose in life is to witness his virtuosity. To watch him play games [complete with structure and rules] with his first born foal or stand sentinel over his goats is like living alongside a legend. Thank you for choosing me, Major. You have made my life much less ordinary.

Michelle Blackler driving The Major General at the Harvest Moon Carriage Classic, Living History Farms, Urbandale, IA.

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation Company

Serendipity Strategies for Carriage Driving Obstacles

Accidental Sagacity for The Day

1. Know Your Course

2. Know Your Horse

3. Love Your Horse

That is oversimplification, I know, but it's true.

This photo of The Major General and I at the Harvest Moon Carriage Classic in Urbandale, IA, shows something important that I harp on about all the time. Carriage driving clients of mine will say, "Michelle! You are dropping your shoulder!"

Yes, slightly. And notice that Major is slightly dropping his shoulder to mirror me. It is incredibly hard to drive a cones course on a hillside in the gig without dropping your shoulder, but this is what happens. This is why we placed fourth or fifth or whatever.

Second thing I say that sounds like a broken record: Look where you are going so your horse knows where he's going. I know he has blinkers on, but they KNOW. See, Major knows where he's going, he's looking at exactly what I'm looking at. He mirrors me.

Mirroring is a topic that too few people are aware of in their relationship when training horses. It can elevate you from a competent horseman to a remarkable one. It takes a study of body awareness both of the person and the horse. It takes commitment to the process both physically, mentally and emotionally. I constantly work to achieve the level of brilliance that my horses attain. The mirror works both ways.

A photo is worth so many words...

Training Special Horses at Serendipity

One of the many pleasures of training horses for the Serendipity curriculum is the moment when the horse reaches the stage where he believes he's a show horse. The weeks of conditioning take away the sound of his hooves, his step is a spring, his neck sculpts into a crest, he raises his eyelids and looks widely at you. He knows he is special.

Ace has got to that stage. His extension is still a little wobbly, but he is working his heart out on it. The transition from baby sitter to ballet dancer doesn't happen overnight, and it is a credit to his breeding and disposition that he has got so far, so fast.

The longer I know Ace, the more he reminds me of his dam, Whitmorr Topaz. He shares her love of carriage driving obstacle courses: fast, fast trot, downshift, spin, more fast trot, turn, turn turn, go, go, go, stop, fast, turn, faster, turn, fastest trot, yeah! Topaz gave me three impeccable horses-Ace, Major and Don Pecos. They can all spin the gig 360 degrees at a working trot without moving the inside wheel. They love it, too.

Perhaps they enjoy it because the whip is having a ball, you might tell me. Yes, I agree to a certain extent. However, the fact remains that I hate cones courses. I do not enjoy them. And yet I trained all the above horses, and more, who do love cones courses. Maybe it's Morgans. Maybe it's Topaz's offspring. Who knows really.

One thing is for sure, they know they're special. You can see it when they move.

Equines of Serendipity- Major

I have spent my whole life looking for knowledge, purpose and adventure. No where have the rewards of my pursuits been greater than in the company of a horse.

My first word was hoss. I reckon it will be my last. All the ones I speak in between will pale in significance. So, enter the steeds who carry, pull, cradle and fulfill me and many others. They are Major, Ace, Don Pecos and Kitten. I will spend the next few blogs introducing them in detail, starting with Major.

The Major General

Major was born on my family’s acreage west of Des Moines, IA on Memorial Day in 1994. My mother named him in honor of that, and my father who at the time, was a major in the National Guard and for his sire, Black River Major.

Love at first sight is a chemical reaction to an attraction which usually ends very badly for me. In Major’s case is was the first chapter in a new saga. Yes, we’ve had our share of disagreements, but he is quick to forgive my mistakes and even quicker to learn when I am right. He taught me how to train a horse: with my intellect, integrity and sincerity. He has been the personification of the Koran and of Shakespeare showing me “the power of flight without wings”, “for when I bestride him, I soar.” I taught him to be a Ladies Horse: soft on the bit, the epitome of good manners and of good breeding, a true gentleman. And whenever I get silly, too lovey-dovey or lazy, he bites me. Not hard, just a warning: the Major keeping me in line.

The stories of Major could fill a book. Here are some of my personal favorites...

That he prefers to use the people door instead of the livestock door to enter and exit the barn.

His beloved goats, Amos and Andy in his feed bunk, flanking their Major while they all shared dinner.

Playing games of tag, tug of war and fetch the tree branch with his first born foal.

After showing great leniency with a trespassing kitten in his stall, he deposited the repeat offender by said kitten’s tail in the water bucket. Problem solved. No harm befell the soggy kitten, except to his pride.

Standing in his stall every day staring at the radio whenever Doug Brown was reading on NPR's Book Club. One day, I turned off the radio to see what he would do and he shot me a look that said very clearly, "WTF!" I turned it straight back on and he looked at me, sighed heavily and returned his attention to Mr. Brown's honey voice.

“Why do I love the Iowa State Fair? Corn dogs with mustard, onion rings, Dairy Barn Milk Shakes and all the people who come to see me!” Major says.

The time I had to be excused from a Western Pleasure class because he was acting so strangely. Outside the arena I looked at him and said, “What the …was that about?” He looked back at me with pouty eyes, opened his mouth and the heavy silver bit fell out. My young grooms had not got the screws tight after cleaning the bit and they fell out. Major had been trying to hold the bit in his mouth the whole time.

Or removing all the fur from the back end of Donkey Otey, his current pasture mate, in retaliation against the burrow’s chewing off half of his tail.

Oh, I could go on and on. Suffice it to say, this black Morgan stud is indeed a larger than life character with wit, athleticism and elegance to spare. He has been dubbed the Mick Jagger of Horses, which I find fitting, considering his strut, his intelligence and legions of adoring fans. He passes on his charisma, talent and his tiny ears to his offspring. I wish everyone could experience one horse, just once in their lives, as exceptional as Major.

For he has certainly made my life much less ordinary.

PS. Special thanks to the Ely's for fostering my boy and providing anecdotes