Tempo Run – 6 km

We gave Gamble the day off yesterday, but today we were right back at building his cardio in preparation for Cross Country.  My original goal was to go out at a trot for 1 kilometre, then pick up a fast canter (2:15/km) for another kilometre, and then do kilometres of gallop at 2 minutes per kilometre (500 m. per minute) or better.  Here are our kilometre splits: 4:43 (trot) 2:22 (fast canter) 2:04 (gallop) 2:05 (gallop) 2:12 (had to stop GPS while we crossed the bridge at a walk) 1:52 (gallop – faster than Prelim) 1:50 (gallop – almost Intermediate) 4:32 (trot) We then walked around for a good 20 minutes to let him cool down. We were working along the side of the roads on the shoulder, so Gamble had to be very careful where he stepped.  A bit to the left and he’d be on the asphalt (slippery in shoes) and a bit to the right and we’d be in the ditch.  But he was good and careful. I was particularly pleased with how well he opened up on that last gallop.  Without really pushing him, we were able to get to almost-Intermediate speed after already galloping 5 kilometres. We’re not there yet, but with less than a month to go until the first Event, we’re getting close.  


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3′-6″ Jumper Course. Gamble finishes without pilot…

Highland Green had their third and final Jumper schooling show this weekend and for the third time, Rachel Mutton got on board Gamble to take him around the courses. She won the first class (3′-0″) with an excellent first round and quick jump off.  She had a knock down in the 3′-3″ division so had to settle for 2nd place.  But it was the 3′-6″ division where it got exciting! There were 11 fences (including combinations) and she and Gamble popped over the 9th fence (#7b) a little high and Rachel lost her stirrup.  She kept going though trying to get the leg back into the iron — and while she didn’t recover the stirrup in time for fence the 2nd-last fence (#8) she and Gamble still got over it okay.  But now they had to make a sharp right turn to get to the last fence.  Gamble made the turn, but Rachel kept going straight and fell off. Gamble, being the trooper he is, kept going and did the last fence anyhow.  We had to stop him from looking for more to do! When we got to Rachel, she was lying on her back and blinking.  So far so good.  We started chatting with her. She knew she’d come off.  She knew her name. She squeezed Kim’s hands with each of her hands, and she could wiggle her toes.  She eventually straightened her legs and when she felt comfortable, she sat up, and eventually stood up.  Everything seemed pretty Continue Reading →


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First Speed Work of the Season: 5 x 1 km Repeats

We finally had a nice day in which to do speed work because the ground was finally soft enough to have a half-decent workout without worrying about damaging Gamble’s legs.  I wanted to get up to a kilometre of faster-than-intermediate pace (1:49/km), so the plan was to do a kilometre of trot and slow canter, followed by 5 kilometre repeats at increasing speeds, each separated by a 2 minute rest period.  Here are our splits: 2:12 (aiming for 2:15) 1:55 (aiming for 1:55) 1:37 (trying to keep him to 1:45) 1:35 (aiming for 1:35) 1:32 (aiming for 1:35, but then aimed for 1:30 at the end.) I’m quite happy with how Gamble did.  I could have asked him for another, but I didn’t want to push it.  But he definitely had the ability and the will. The only downside was that one of his overreach boots rubbed him raw on his left fore, and his withers were rubbed raw again as well.  I’m breaking out the old “holey” saddle pad (with the withers cut out) and I’ll look for some gummy overreach boots that are a bit lighter than the Supra ones I was using.


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Canter Cardio for Gamble – 2 km Trot, 6 km Canter

Gamble and I did an 8k tempo run today since the weather was so nice (hovering around zero C. but with sunshine)! Here are our splits per kilometre: 5:09 (trot) 2:59 (slow canter) 2:15 (Training level canter) 2:16 2:08 2:09 2:02 (Prelim level gallop but with a stop in between to go across William St.) 5:04 (trot) Gamble had quite the sweat on him when we were done, as did I.  It didn’t take long to cool him out though. My longest CIC** will be 3.6 km at a speed of 550 metres per minute (1:49/k.) which shouldn’t be an issue for Gamble.      


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Canter Cardio for Gamble – 3 km Trot, 5 km Canter

Gamble and I went out for some cardio today.  While it was a bit cool (-4 C.), the sun was shining and there were soft spots along the shoulders of the road.  I went around the block — almost exactly 8 km — so I trotted the first 2 km, cantered (targeting 2:15 per K) for 5 km, and then trotted for the final km.  Here are my splits: 5:17 (trot) 4:48 (trot) 2:17 2:18 2:16 2:03 2:12 5:54 (trot) Gamble was good as gold along the side of the road.  Cars didn’t faze him although he did take a look at a tractor going by us.  You could tell that he was getting a bit tired by the end of the 5th kilometre, but not enough that I had any trouble keeping him at pace.   That’s 11:06 in total canter time.  The most I should have to do this year (CIC** level)  is 3.6 km at 550 metres per minute (1:49 per km).


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Vertical Training – 3’9″

Kate has been doing a great job of setting up some excellent gymnastics for us.  My favourite so far has been the trot poles into an oxer — which we gradually raised to 3’6″ high by 3’6″ wide. Yes — we trotted into a 3’6″ oxer!  I never would have believed it.  And Kate figures we should be able to get up to 4′ and change.  Just goes to show that you don’t have to rush the fence — the horse can do it from a trot! All that being said, in competition we can’t do fences at a trot.  We need to do them at a canter or gallop and so we also need to practice jumping at the height we’ll be competing and at a canter.  With all the cold weather, we haven’t really jumped much. So since today was reasonably “warm” (around 0 degrees C.), I took Gamble out and did a bit of jumping over a vertical. We know that we need energy, straightness, balance and rhythm and today I was concentrating on energy (getting that “quality canter”) and rhythm — as well as working to set Gamble up for a good fence while letting him take care of the last 3 strides towards the fence. Here is the video of Gamble and me doing a 3’6″ vertical (3 times) and then two clips of me doing the 3’9″ height. I was happy with his straightness, rhythm, energy and balance getting into the fence each time. Continue Reading →


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Gears — Arena Boredom Break!

Winter is STILL here and the arena feels like it’s getting smaller and smaller. After a 1 month hiatus from jumping, to work on my dressage, I decided to create an exercise that would; 1) Practice the turns & rollbacks we have been working on 2) Set up low cavaletti’s to re-introduce jumping 3) Keep the OTTB brain engaged & constantly listening What I came up with was an extension of the ‘Cartwheel‘ exercise. The cartwheel exercise includes 4 poles on an 20m circle. The goal is to get the horse going around the circle rhythmically, bending through his body, lifting his back, and suppling through the turns. When you replace the poles with cavalettis, the exercise increases in difficulty, as now you need the same canter between each pole as well as the same jump over each cavaletti. You either have to have a very consistent horse or a very adjustable one! So what happens when you have 2x the Cartwheel? GEARS: The Double Cartwheel Set Up: 1) Set up 3 cross-rails on the center line, lengthwise at X, D, and G 2) Set up cavalettis near V & P, R & S, & if room permits, between M & C (I set up 1 between M &C to act as an “entrance” into the exercise, so Oz could build confidence over a quadrant of the circle instead of the full circle). Now the fun part! Different Patterns: Simple Serpentine: Complex Serpentine: Figure 8:     AND FINALLY: THE Continue Reading →


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Off Track Eventing tries Schrammo’s Snake Exercise!

Well, we’ve been in a DEEP FREEZE for over a month now. The horses are bored, the riders are frozen, and we’re running out of things to keep us busy in the indoor arena…. But thanks to Evention TV, we got to try something new today! Take a peek at the video below to see the Off Track Eventing team attempt Schrammo’s Snake Exercise. Find the original exercise & video at http://vimeo.com/86065367 or watch it below! Evention Tv Season 2: Episode 9 from Dominic Schramm on Vimeo. With this exercise I really got to test Oz’s adjust-ability and straightness on a bending line. I had to give up some control in order to keep a natural rhythm and Oz had to put his head down and stretch over the poles, figuring out where to place his feet. I already have a million other ideas that involve this basic exercise and can’t wait to try them! Thanks Dom & Jimmie! We love your channel and look forward to more exercises 🙂


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Cardio – 4 KM Canter

Kate and I went out on Oz and Gamble, respectively today and did 8 minutes of trot work (roughly 2 km) and then 4 km of canter work.  Clandeboye Road was wet but mostly bare of snow, so footing was good.  Oz played games a bit at the start, but then settled in.  Here are our splits: 3:55 (trot) 3:38 (trot) (walk break) 2:23 (canter) 2:17 (canter) 2:28 (canter) 2:06 (canter) We were aiming for Training level pace (2:15/km) so, on average, we were fairly close — 2:18.5 on average.  


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“Magic Hands” — Oz and Massage

My horse is tough. Thoroughbreds can be very sensitive, but also very resilient. That’s what makes them such great partners in this sport. They’re forgiving, and they’ll keep going—Even if they’re in pain or uncomfortable. My horse, Oz, has the added bonus of being bred tough. His sire, Skip Away, ran his entire Hall-of-Fame earning career with a known bone chip in his ankle. “And when you’ve got a horse who tries as hard as Skippy does, he’s really special to you. We’re not ruled by the dollar.” – Sonny Hines, Skip Away’s beloved trainer. Because Oz is so stubborn and tough, I often find it difficult to tell when he’s unable to do something or just plainly doesn’t understand how to. That is why once a month Oz get a visit from his sponsor, Carrie Copley, RMT & Equine Massage Therapist, to let me know what’s going on that I can’t see and can only sometimes feel. I thought it might be helpful to readers for me to share why I get massage for my horse. Let me start by saying this: I can only tell you what works for me and my horse. If you don’t get massage for your horse, you are not a terrible person. You’re far from it. The fact that you’re reading this blog means you’re open to others opinions, and interested in educating yourself. If you decide/you’ve decided that it’s not something you’re interested in that’s fine. We can still be friends. I’d Continue Reading →


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