The Natural Dressage Forum

When I worked for Paul Belasik, they told me about a cat that would watch them work every horse. This cat never followed them around unless it was to watch them work a horse. So they named him Pluvinel. Later he disappeared.

At Justamere Farm, where we run our training business, there are the two most vocal cats I have ever seen. (well, heard) The one really really irritates me- I am not a cat person!!! Last night he follows me into the indoor and is just bawling, so I try to chase him out, but he keeps running behind this board so I can't get to him. Ok, whatever. I go to work. I ride Rave, concentrating on basics. We start doing more and more- more collection, more transitions, more bending- but always keeping a strong focus on good solid basics- round, relaxed, lifting the back, etc. I am doing a million transtions, and got a lot of collection, so in trot I feed him the reins and let him go low and low for awhile. We are coming down the longside, toward the cat's corner. RIGHT after I let me reins out, this cat perks up and meows at me- really loud. It was so uncanny that I had just totaly changes the focus of my ride when he jumped to attension and so obviously addressed me. Weird. Whatever. A few circle and I let Rave walk "MEOW!!!" I don't know if he was saying "You just got good collection and now you are throwing it away" or "It's about time you give that horse a break" but he seemed to definitly have an opinion!! Again, very odd coincidence.

After our break I started back in again, similar to the start of our ride. The cat seemed comtent with that. So on I go, gradually adding more and more but focussing on good quality basics. I did an exercise in trot that I have been doing for awhile... SI down first ten meters of long side, then medium to X, then leg yield the rest of the way across the diagonal. No big for how well all was going. Then I decided to try it in canter- I bit harder. I have not really done SI or mediums in canter- at least not lately. So I come around teh corner and try the exercise. It was a little rough but not horrible (or so I thought) But the dang Cat gave me the worst and loudest meow of the night and immediately sat up and looked at me scornfully. "Yeah, I know! I'll clean it up the other way!" I shouted as i rode past the cat and did a simple change to come up the other diagonal. Despite being our bad way, I thought it was much better, but when I looked at the cat for his opinion he pretty much rolled his eyes, got up and disappeared. I did not see him the rest of the night.

When I decided to try it in canter, it was a moment of change in my mental process. Instead of focussing on doing whatever I could within working on just basics, I decided what I was going to do where, period. Whether the cat is a reincarnate Pluvinel or not, he most definilty brought my attension to this aspect of my session. The rest of the ride still went well, but I can see where the first half of the ride is the type that really builds a great foundation, where the second half of the ride was more a test of the foundation. And we just started this level of work, so I should probably let it cure a bit more before I go testing it!!!

It's great to hear you're doing so well with this! Very uplifting. I'm looking forward to after the holidays when everything should be settled enough to get into training again.

I find it hard to maintain enthusiasm sometimes, working away in a vacuum as I often am. Coming to this forum, even just sifting through the old dead topics, always makes me look forward to training, teaching, and learning.

If nothing else, this post has inspired me to name every one of my future barn cats after past riding masters. ;-)