Dolly at home Ainslie Sheridan copyright 2011
Dolly: Following in the the Paths of John Quincy Adams and Henry David Thoreau
Since that frigid February day when she first came to us, Dolly and Team Windflower have been working hard to undo the previous four years of neglect, starvation, and injuries she suffered at the hands of a cruel--or, best case, stupifyingly ignorant--owner.
These past several months we've been hand-walking her on the trail or ponying (leading her from another horse), as well as doing groundwork in the round pen and dressage arena, all this in order to build up her muscles. Occasionally, just to let her become accustomed to the feeling of a human on her back, Juliane sat on her while I briefly led them around the property. That in itself was a very big step. She apparently had little or no experience with humans until they shoved her, and her herd mates, into a stock trailer for the two-day drive from their Mississippi "home" to an east coast slaughter auction.
This reinforced for Dolly what she and all horses instinctively know, that human beings are predators: our eyes are in front, ears far to the side, and, for the most part, travel in straight lines. Horses are particularly protective of their tails, ears, and legs, and, of course, abdomens, which house vital organs unprotected by their skeletons. And they are wary of anything that might want to launch onto their backs. Horses know that there are some creatures--mountain lions, for instance--whose preferred method of attack is to take them down by leaping from a cliff or boulder. Dolly--with less than a year of positive human experiences to off-set four years of negative ones--would have to take her own leap, the metaphorical leap of faith, with us.
We accustomed her to the saddle and girth by having her wear them while we worked her from the ground and took her for her hand walks. She was already used to a human towering over her: when I groomed her (always a pleasurable encounter) I would stand on a little step ladder and lean over her back, sometimes putting my full weight on her. Head-trainer Juliane would occasionally sit on her bareback giving "Mother Strokes" (seven year-old Amalia's coinage for large strokes) while I led them around the front paddock.
Two weeks ago equine vet/chiropractor extraordinaire Dr. Liz Maloney gave us the long-awaited green light: Dolly could now be ridden. So with the help of Juliane last week we began the real work that we hoped would lead Dolly into a full, rich life that would include the show ring. First, I led Juliane on a saddled Dolly through the woods on a local trail. It went without a hitch. Dolly seemed to enjoy her outing, and she didn't give Juliane a second thought, which at this stage of her training was exactly what we wanted. She had taken the first leap of the faith. More leaps to come.
Because the trails that abut my property are narrow and often rocky I decided it would be best to trailer Dolly--and Tica--to the beautiful Red Rail Farm in nearby Lincoln, where Ice (formerly Nitelite) boarded. The wide trails there are relatively rock and root free. The farm and abutting fields and woods were originally owned by John Quincy Adams, and it is just beautiful. I also brought along our mule Brit for our friend Ben to ride. This just a few minutes after our arrival:
Dolly, Brit and Tica Ainslie Sheridan copyright 2011
We ventured out: I on Tica ponying Dolly (ridden by Juliane), followed by the shorter-strided Ice and Brit. Dolly was a perfect lady, happily walking forward while taking in her new surroundings--Adams Woods. In fact, she was so good that Juliane and I decided to do something I'd never done so early on in training a young horse: I unhooked the lead. Here is the result:
Dolly and company Ainslie Sheridan copyright 2011
Dolly was even happier without the modest impediment of the lead, and couldn't have comported herself better. And this in no small part to Juliane who has a great seat, is brave, sensitive, and supporting. She also brought some additional knowledge she'd gained while training with natural horseman Roddy Strang at his Pennsylvania facility. When we turned right, Dolly would naturally follow Tica. At that moment Juliane would open her right rein and press lightly with her left leg, giving the aids for a right turn so Dolly would form an association. Juliane did this for all subsequent turns as well as halts.
We stopped here (see below) for a picture, forming a circle so that Dolly would feel secure with a horse both in front and behind her. Just above the set of railroad tracks on the right you can glimpse the famous Walden Pond (Thoreau complained about the train coming so near his cabin by the pond). We hied out of there as soon as Anne took a picture. Had a train come through our horses' body language might have seconded Thoreau's complaint in a far more physical manner.
Circle halt Anne Dykiel copyright 2011
As our ride continued Dolly went over bridges and up and down numerous hills, balancing herself and Juliane incredibly well. We trotted on a few straightaways and Dolly even broke into a balanced canter for a few strides. Then it was back to Red Rail. She had been out nearly an hour and done exceptionally well. That was enough. She loaded into the trailer without hesitation. And how wonderful that Dolly's first truly liberated ride should be on trails frequented by the abolitionists Adams and Thoreau.
For those of you who have recently joined The Windflower Weekly, here is a YouTube I made about her life up until last May:
Firefly and Elementa in Adams' Woods, Too!
Firefly and Elementa had visited Red Rail a few days earlier that same week. We were joined by Anne and Ice. Here we are, less, Anne who took this:
Adams Woods, Lincoln, MA Anny Dykiel copyright 2011
I love dressage but I also love trail riding: and the two are not incompatible. When I was in Germany and Holland several years ago, I saw much of what I had already read and heard about. In many barns, riding horses--particularly dressage horses--only get out of their stalls to go work in a ring. They are seldom turned out with other horses or in large areas. This is partly out of fear that they may hurt themselves. Horses are a commodity. The great dressage horse Totilas, who rose to stardom under the expert hands of Dutchman Edward Gal, sold to Germany for more than 13.5 million dollars (well over ten million Euros.) Additionally, some professionals believe that letting a horse run around in a pasture and riding it out on trails and beaches will interfere with the development of gaits for the competitive dressage ring. If you have been reading this blog for a while, you know that I think that is absolute hogwash, as well cruel. The goal of dressage is to make manifest those gorgeous natural moves a horse exhibits when he is riderless and completely at liberty. It's a travesty to take that liberty away for purposes of artifice, vanity, and profit.
Of course, many trainers are true horsemen and women and do not subscribe to these beliefs. They have competed and won at the highest level of dressage by letting their horses be--well, horses. Please view the training methods of the amazing German rider and trainer Ingrid Klimke--daughter of late Olympian Reiner Klimke. She has excelled at the top in both dressage and eventing. Ms. Klimke is a firm proponent of cross-training: her jumpers do dressage and cross country, her dressage horses jump and do cross country and her cross country horses, of course, do all three. And they all school cavaletti and do hill work. Please check her recently released DVD series: "Training the Young Horse." Her horses are the picture of mental and physical health. The DVDs are themselves well-presented and informative. I watch them frequently and recommend them highly.
Fear, I think, is another reason riders won't take their horses out of the riding ring. Many amateur dressage riders are over-mounted; that is, their horses temperament and/or abilities exceed their own ability to safely control them. I'm always taken aback at a dressage show when I see a rider, some even at FEI level, being led by a person on the ground to the arena where they will perform their dressage tests. Dressage is in part a measure of the partnership of horse and rider. When a mount is so out-of-hand that another person is required to get you where you want to go, then something is very wrong.
These same people--as well as numerous professionals--won't lead there horses anywhere without a chain over their noses. They would have more energy for performance if their horses were taught to behave in-hand as well as under saddle. Resorting to leads with chains to prevent horses from rushing ahead or pushing into them handlers is indicative of serious gaps in training. It's not fair to the horse to permit such bad and easily remediated behavior. Horses are either looking to lead or looking for a leader. Much of the time the chain only "works" because the handler using it yanks down hard when the horse tries to be assertive. By allowing an ongoing tug-of-war, the "trainer" gives the horse the feeling that he (the horse) is neither the leader nor the truly led. It's a kind of purgatory.
In my own small backyard way I try to emulate Ingrid Klimke's methods. With her lovely gaits, four-and-a-half-year-old Elementa is just on the threshold of a dressage career. But here she is taking a cross country jump with Juliane in Adams' Woods:
Elementa and Juliane Anne Dykiel copyright 2011
We almost lost our six-year-old Haflinger Firefly to Potomac Horse Fever two years ago. She ran a fever of 107.5 (just under 42 degrees centigrade) and lost over three hundred pounds (136+ kilos) in less than a week. She also foundered in both forelegs. This is what she looked like then:
Sick Firefly with Dana Juliane Dykiel copyright 2011
And here she is a few weeks ago:
Firefly Ainslie Sheridan copyright 2011
The following shot is of Firefly in Adams' Woods this past week. It was getting dark so the original image turned out quite blurry. Photoshop can only do so much, but I hope you can see Firefly's considerable athletic ability:
Firefly and Juliane Ainslie Sheridan copyright 2011
It's been a fun week: To walk the paths that John Quincy Adams and Henry David Thoreau frequently traveled underscored how lucky I am to live in this history-rich area. John Quincy Adams--our sixth President and son of John Adams--is considered the greatest diplomat and Secretary of State in U.S. history. As I mentioned earlier he was ardent opponent of slavery, and in the twilight of his life, successfully argued the case to the Supreme Court on behalf of the slaves who revolted aboard the slaver Amistad.
Henry David Thoreau perhaps known best for Walden Pond,
is a favorite son of Concord. Author, teacher, scientist, environmentalist, and political activist, Gandhi and Martin Luther King acknowledge that Thoreau's essay Civil Disobedience, together with his non-violent protests against government policies, were of profound influence. And last, and certainly very least, I too, was influenced by this great man. His writings were de rigueur in my English, history and civics classes in both high school and college. My dorm room wall bore a Sierra Club poster of a beautiful stand of California redwoods with the following Thoreau quote, "In Wildness Is The Preservation of the World."
Like some people, however, I also find Thoreau's writing on occasion a bit insistent and preachy. Here's an example:
Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify, simplify!HDT
And so, as I was thinking about this week's blog, I couldn't resist devising this response:
"Hey, Henry David, to the thine own quotes be true,
Why three "simplify"(s) when simply one would do."
Well, that's it for this edition of The Windflower Weekly. In the next day or two I will release an extra edition which will catch us up on our new pup Clem's activities including a brief You Tube of his obedience class with Jim. I will also introduce you to "Tommy" a sweet. beautiful boy who somehow still manages to love humans despite what he has been through. He is available for adoption and will melt your heart when you see him.
Thank you for reading The Windflower Weekly,
See you soon--
Ainslie
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