Whats up with Elton

Elton easily attended his shows in Florida and with aplomb warmed up in the “big” rings with lots of horse traffic with “the big boys”. His scores ranged handily  from 66 to 72 % at Training level. 

There was only one difficult day where he succumbed to a dehydration colic on the arrival day of his third show.  It was  the  first really hot day  of the season and neith horses or riders were really expecting it.  It was hard to determine what brought it on as Elton is generally a good drinker but whether it was the trailer ride, change of water or unusually hot day so early in the season  is hard to say. The vet came and gave him fluids through the night and his first day of show Friday was scratched. By Saturday he was feeling well enough to be “fresh” and a little spoiled from me hovering over him.   The vet said she thought he should be ridden . He appeared to have no aftereffects and put in an errorless test. I must say he was fine.. I was exhausted!

I had given up measuring Elton as he had not grown from the time I had picked him up  from his breeders,  Tylord Farms as a two year old. I hate to admit it but I was starting to get discouraged. Mid-way through the winter I tried it again and there was no change so I gave up and stopped measuring him. Exactly 30 days later one of the participants of the Florida Dressage Experience program insisted he had grown!   Since I had measured him just 30 days ago I KNEW there couldn’t be a change…. But one should never say never!   In just 30 days he had sprouted ¾ of an inch! Amazing! Thankfully  The Saddle Doctor,  Gary Severson called on us in Florida and adjusted all our saddles including Elton’s!  It was clear that his body had become longer and he looked rangier. Thank fully his shoulders were developing and coming up-hill. I also had to let his bridle cheek pieces out a hole. His head had grown. 

Elton finished up his last Florida competition In February and I had decided to just work on training in March and April. He had no issues with the environment at competitions  and I felt he is “show broke”. It was amazing to me that one day we were working on getting a good trot-canter depart in the corner for Training level test three ..( struggling with   balance trying  to get a 7 in the test )   and less that 30 days later after this growing spell Elton EASILY accomplished  walk/canter/walk  in ONE DAY. In fact the very first day I  asked for it .. He did it and he has done it every time.  No mistakes. No problems .

  Since Elton is so supple I had never forced a lot of discipline on  him a about his canter leads as he can counter canter as easily as true canter. Therefore in the competitions I needed to be sure his flexion and balance was correct or we might get the counter canter in the trot/canter transitions.  I felt that I might have to work a lot on him  taking the correct  leads in the walk  to canter but he accomplished that in one day also. It was the same scenario. He has never taken the wrong one from the day I first asked.  

Elton will have his fourth birthday June 26 so he is not technically four yet. Since I school so many horses for the flying change and  I had been focused all winter on getting several horse to that point where the canter  felt “ready”  I nearly asked Elton for a change one day when I ‘forgot” I was riding him. He felt like one of the older horses. . He feels balanced and I have actually been holding off asking him. Just yesterday I again did all the second level counter canter to be sure that he would do it willingly because I am going to ask him soon  for a flying change if he continues to feel like this.

Elton has settled  into  Winterberry Farm in Maine well . The weather transition was tough as we went from  temperatures of 88 day and 70 nights to  60 days and 35 nights here in Maine. Blankets went back on and our Florida horses are sleek… very little hair! Maine needs rain and it has been raining a lot since we got home. Fortunately the footing and drainage at Winterberry Farm is fantastic. Work continues.

Elton’s routine while we were in  Florida was  still under saddle only 4 days a week  , weight bearing not more than 45 minutes ( weight not to exceed 150 plus tack). .  The 5^th day long ling or other work.  Here at Winterberry Farm I am thrilled to have some long grades up hill on dirt road   and trail riding for him. For the next two months my judging will be demanding. The flights across the country mean that Friday and Mondays as well as the weekend can be lost  (no training) so he  actually has a lighter training schedule  here for a bit. I am long lining him over cavalletti – some flat-/some raised to develop lift and strength ,  joint articulation as well as push from behind. We are going out long lining down the country roads to deal with environmental training and will follow up with trail riding. I will need the long grades of the hills to trot and canter in a round frame to develop impulsion and back strength. It will take a least a month   to be ready to do that  easily and confidently.  At this point he does regular ring work for his dressage two days a week and cross training 2 days a week.

In addition, twice a week I ask Elton for a few steps in- hand of piaffe. During our move to Maine he had had three  weeks off  from this and when I asked him for it the other day he had an epiphany.. one of those ”uh huh “ moments and just snapped out 3 or 4 steps easily and crisply. Since then he has been doing just the same thing. The piaffe  is at the point where it is clear diagonals, the whip gives very gently taps on his legs,  no stress involved and we will be able to develop it to have more lift and brilliance as he gains strength and grows.

It is an exciting time and Elton is developing faster than I can write to you all about it!  Until next time…. J .

Elton John TL who will turn four  in June attended his very first show ever  the weekend of January 7/8. He was quiet and amenable. . He made friends cheerfully with the horse in the stall  next door ( a Grand Prix horse  named Travolta from British Columbia who has London aspirations…. We wish him the best J  ) He never batted an eye about the environment  and went out to do his first test ever of Training level test 3 and achieved a 66%. His second test of the first day I knew would be a stretch for his skills and he showed slight fatigue on the footing  of sand  but accomplished First level test one with no breaks , errors or resistances and received  63%. Certainly workman –like for a horse that had not been to a horse show at all. The ladies at the food vendor tent  loved him. While  out for our early morning stroll, I stopped for a cup of Joe. He was rewarded with a fresh banana free from the food vendor ladies  for being so amenable  and hanging around so quietly while we all enjoyed a morning chat and coffee.

What’s Up with Elton?

Maine experienced a lovely mild fall this year and that allowed lots of riding time. Elton who had become a bit chunky on the lush grass this summer needed to slim down. Diligently I worked on increasing his work time without adding to his ”ride”  time. Elton foaled June 26, 2008 so he was only 3 in June . I am still riding only 20 minutes and not more than 4 days a week.

He balanced out his height over the fall and looks level again but when I sticked him he is at 15 hands. Breeder Deb Tyler says he may grow until he is 7. For the first time, Elton showed some strong independence, and began to be more assertive. This fall he started to throw in an occasional buck at the canter depart and totally surprised me one day while I was lunging him outdoors. Elton who is generally even tempered about everything started cavorting around on the lunge line and passaging with his tail over his back. I was surprised as this is out of character. With patience and lots of transitions he finally began to work in a normal quiet temper. It took a while to figure out that the footing was unusually loose and his bucking and cavorting was precipitated by the footing slipping under him and also flinging up on him. He is not a large horse and his feet are not big. Larger footed horses manage differently in soft footing.  Most of the footing he has been worked on is a little firmer and so this was a change for him. Keeping that in mind when we begin to go showing will be important as it points out that he may need adjustment time on footing changes and might not be ‘quiet” immediately.

Elton’s fall work consists of 6 to 8 minutes of lunging in side reins with lots of trot/canter transitions followed by 20 minutes of riding. His under saddle work is warm-up with  the training level test movements and schooling the first level movements. His “new” under saddle work is shoulder-in at the walk and  developing ½ pass at the walk. On the days that he is not ridden I alternate free lunging in the in-door arena and lunging in large oval loops on side reins. Twice or 3 times a week he does 2-3 minutes of developing piaffe against the wall of the arena in his bridle with an in-hand whip.  In reality he is currently worked in a month 18 days ( one week 5 days , next week 4 days -still not more that 4 days in a week  weight bearing.)

 Through the fall Elton  has begun to slim down and gain muscle. Technically he is considered four  starting January 1 and is eligible for the FEI 4 year old tests in competition.  I have been riding the test for 3 weeks but find the pattern awkward and confusing… it is difficult to judge also as it has transitions in awkward places and I do not think it has good flow for a young horse. An example is a transition out of  lengthening trot to walk  that occurs ON  the end of the diagonal… allowing the horse to think that it is ok to ‘break” on the diagonal.  Elton is a fine example of a well balanced biddable attractive young horse . His training is well ahead of most at his age but I do not think I will put him in this test. Elton’s strengths lie in his training and trainability rather than flamboyant gaits. The FEI  test is designed to single out horses with world-class gaits. Elton  will fare well I think in traditional competition. We will begin to take him to competitions in Florida in January to allow him to see everything and to settle in. The fees for non-competing horses are the same as entering a class so we will enter him into some classes but wait to see how he is to decide if we will actually go in the ring. Elton has been to this point an excellent traveler  and has been reliable in his attitude and behavior. It is my hope that he will settle in with aplomb.

More important than going in the ring will be the complete exposure to the competitions, such as dealing with overnight stabling in an unfamiliar place without his barn buddies, seeing the entire grounds which are much like the HITS on HUDSON grounds in Saugerties NY where our regional finals are held and last but probably the most difficult the warm-up arenas. The warm-up at the large competitions have very large rings and may have as many as 30 to 40 horses at once and all levels working. That can be way more of a problem then going in a dressage arena  all alone with just the  judge and the flower pots. Believe me after a busy warm-up it is a RELIEF to get in the ring by yourself and be able to concentrate!

This week Elton has had a body clip- all but his lower legs and head. He was very polite, no drugs or twitch necessary. I was pleased as he had only been clipped once last year and I had not used the clippers this year in between.  I recommend to all the horses arriving in Florida to have their clip 2 weeks before arrival. If their hair is too short when they arrive the horses invariably break out in hives. The soil of Florida has a high salt content and of course different bacteria from what they are used to at home. It is generally a case of contact dermatitis either from different bacteria or from the salt. Either way, if they have had two weeks to grow out hair  after their clip the horses are generally more comfortable and avoid that irritation.

 He has had his shots spread out over a month and the full spectrum wormer ( must be done two weeks ahead of departure and best  after the ground freezes)  so he is pretty much ready for his trip south. Just the last 2  days we will give him paste  electrolytes to be sure he is well hydrated and withdraw his concentrated feeds 12 hours before.  We will keep up a steady work regime until his departure Dec 19 for Florida.