Jack and Missy are my role models

What makes YOU smile this holiday season?

Here’s to carrying it with you all through the coming year.

Happy Holidays, y’all!

(I haven’t forgotten about the “Horse Headaches” cranial sacral series. Editing video and posting after Christmas! This just came in and made too perfect a holiday greeting not to share)

http://youtu.be/hWGrr1y4xNY

Just wanted to post a quick thank you to all involved — and all present! — for the opportunity to take part in last night’s webinar sponsored by US Rider. It was great fun to get to talk to so many people at once about all that has happened and continues to happen in the wake of  The Smart Woman’s Guide to Midlife Horses was both gratifying and recharging! Thanks to all who asked such good and reflective questions and I hope you will keep listening, learning and gaining all the wisdom you can from your midlife horses experience!

We love our midlife horses — and maybe even as much, we love what these giant catalysts bring into our lives! If you missed last night’s webinar, here’s a quick recap. If you want to know more, please feel free to post your comments and questions here and I’ll be delighted to answer them! I do believe all horses should come with this interaction precaution:

Common Side Effects of Working With Horses may include:

1. Increased clarity
2. Enhanced confidence
3. Higher level of fitness
4. Better sense of your own power/authority
5. Amped up time/life management skills
6. Humility
7. Gratitude
8. Connection with others
9. Connection with your own spirit

If you experience any of these side effects, you are on the right track. If you don’t, slow down, take a deep breath and dig a little deeper!

I’m sure there are more, but these are the ones I’ve heard the most about in all my speaking, corresponding and visiting with those who have responded so well to this book. If you know of others, by all means, add them to our list! This, after all, is meant to be an interactive discussion – and I, for one, have love the responses you have been so generous to give. Keep it coming! When the webinar is available for replay, I’ll be sure to provide a link so you can go take a listen yourself!

Happy Trails and Happy Friday!

What's your pre-and-post-ride fitness routine?

Why do we lunge our horses before we ride? To warm them up and get the kinks out of their muscles, right? And to make sure they’re moving OK, paying attention and ready to work, right? Well guess what? We need to do the same things for our own bodies!

As you will see in the upcoming video posts, it takes only a few minutes of the right kind of focused attention on each major muscle group to get your body loosened up and ready to ride. In so doing you perform for your own body the same kind of pre-flight check you do for your horse when you are lunging him and doing your groundwork. In essence, you are giving your all-important core muscles the same kind of attention you give your horse:  ”Hey, wake up! Do you remember your job? Are you ready to work?”

If  your muscles, like mine, answer with a chorus of knotty complaints, you know its time to get more serious with your overall fitness regimen. And if you, like me, tend to rush around all day, and then screech up to the barn with just an hour or two of precious “horse time” before you go zooming back into the rest of your life, it will make a big difference in how you ride — and how much you enjoy it —  to add a little  breathing, stretching and loosening  to your tacking up routine. And more than likely, your horse will appreciate your taking the time to get yourself together, mentally and physically.

As promised, I did go visit Cassandra Thompson of ABSolute Pilates and the up and coming ABSolute Equestrian program recently to shoot some quick videos  of a few good pre-and-post-ride stretching and limbering exercises we can all do to make sure our muscles are unknotted, awake and ready to work. I’ll get these posted once I have a chance to clip, title and upload them to my YouTube channel — and will embed them here, one at a time, for your convenience as I highlight and explain them (thanks to Cassandra!). But meanwhile, here’s what I learned about the whyfors and how tos of pre- and- post- ride stretching and loosening.

First, by  beginning each pre-ride exercise with deliberate and timed breathing (always breath out on exertion), activating your core muscles by “putting your abs on” (grooming and tacking  up present great opportunities to work these into your normal routine — nobody even has to know you’re exercising!) and relaxing and  ”breathing with your ribcage” as you let your shoulders settle back and down (take a deep breath and feel your ribcage expanding outward to take in as much air as possible, and then, on the exhale, imagine sliding your shoulder blades downward toward your back pockets). Do this a few times and you’ll have your body calm, relaxed and centered to take on whatever challenges come your way.

And, while you wait on my remedial video editing skills to blossom, here’s a cool chart I found to show you the major muscle groups you’ll want to stretch before and after you ride — along with some simple stretches to do to get them loose and stretchy. Elastic bands will give you a much deeper and more targeted stretch, but if you’re not used to stretching at all these will get you started down the right trail!

Do you have any good pre-ride stretching and loosening routines to share? Look for Cassandra’s videos coming soon, and please let me know if you have any other good ones to add — or if you know of any good stretching routines, DVDs, or workouts that target these same areas — or some good, yet subtle things you can do at the barn. We’ll get to some good home routines a little bit later, but for now let’s just commit to doing a little bit of stretching before and after we ride to put this great habit into place. Send me your progress reports!

No, you’re not on the wrong blog. And I didn’t get my avocations mixed up. This was just a happy coincidence, and too good not to share, especially since we’re still on the kinder, gentler fitness track.

Behold the tennis ball. Your tight riding muscles’ new best friend. Now, I’ve played tennis most of my life and I thought the only good use for used tennis balls was making the day of an obsessed Golden Retriever (of which I have two).

But wait. There’s more.

At a Pilates class I attended a couple of weeks ago with Cassandra Thompson of ABSolute Pilates (now about to branch into a program just for equestrians called ABSolute Equestrian — and Cassandra has promised some video samples!), we were talking about how muscle tightness in shoulders, lower back, hips and quads can hamper our riding.

Apparently you have to get the knots out of your muscles before you can create those long, strong, flexible muscles we all want and need to be effective in the saddle while still moving fluidly with our horse. What’s more, if you try to strengthen knotty muscles they just get knottier — and the knots get even more deeply ingrained.

So out came a basket of old tennis balls. Apparently a used tennis ball is best because it has more give. There are, of course, more expensive ones you can buy just for this purpose. Or you can ask a tennis playing friend for a couple of castoffs.

The technique is simple: just roll the ball around on your trouble spots (hips, IT band, calves, shoulders, lower back, etc.) until you find an ouchy spot (that’s a medical term . . . or it should be) and then roll it back and forth, all around over that spot with as much pressure as is tolerable (you can use a wall or the floor if you can’t get enough pressure just pushing the ball into the spot with your hands. You might want some privacy for this if you have to get on the floor. It looks pretty weird. But it works!) A trigger point therapist once told me that you want as much pressure as you can stand before you start tensing up to avoid the pain. It’s a fine line and you have to cross it s few times to get familiar with how to flirt with it.

The steady rolling pressure from the tennis ball will get those spots to release in much the same way as a deep tissue or trigger point massage . . . except this kind is free! And even better than that, relief is immediate, and you can address any tightness (even a crick in your neck) right when you first notice it. Best of all for our purposes, loosening up tight muscles before you ride will make your cues, connection with your horse’s movement and comfort much better.

With a little further investigation into this matter, I learned that many dancers consider a used tennis ball a necessity, and they often carry this low-tech therapy in their dance bag to deal immediately with tight, overworked muscles. Pilates instructors (who often work with dancers) often keep a basket of them on hand for clients when they first arrive for a Pilates session to coax a tight muscle into releasing so they’ll get more benefit from their session. I’m thinking riding instructors should insist on this before a lesson!

One note of caution, however. This is not meant for injured, inflamed or acutely painful muscles. Those are probably best treated with an ice pack or a doctor visit; you are the only one who can judge the line between ouchy and injured. Working gently can be effective, however, in bringing blood flow to an irritated area to loosen up tight muscles and break up fascia.

Here’s what to do:

Body:

Lying on the floor — or up against a wall or in a chair if floor pressure is too much, position the ball near where the sensitive area is most acute. Work your way down your whole body, from head and neck to calves and ankles. Begin by slowly and gradually rolling around on the ball to find the exact spot. Increase or decrease the pressure to achieve the sensation of a deep tissue massage. And remember, if you feel yourself tightening your muscles to resist the pressure, ease off that spot, but continue rolling around it with less pressure.

Once you find the trigger point and the right amount of pressure (work right up to the edge of discomfort), hold that spot and take three or more deep breaths; then ease off. Repeat on the same spot until the muscle releases and pain decreases or disappears. After working on one side of your body, rest for a minute or two to get a feel for how much that side has improved before repeating the process on the other side.

Feet:

For a lot of reasons that have more to do with reflexology, working the bottoms of your feet with a tennis ball is an amazing help for promoting circulation and flexibility in those hard-working extremities — and this will help you keep your legs long and heels correctly positioned in the stirrups and for more effective cues.

Starting at the ball of the foot, step on the ball and curl your toes downward as you roll back and forth and around the ball of your foot. Add as much pressure as is comfortable, working up to standing on the ball as you do this (Be sure to hold onto something though. You don’t want to have to tell people you got bucked off a tennis ball.).

Now, moving to the arches, stand with feet shoulder-width apart and step on the ball, rolling it around until you find the ouchy spot, then put as much weight as you can onto it and take a few deep breaths.

The heel can also be a sore point, and can be worked in much the same way. Be sure to work both heel, one at a time of course. Please note, however, that a sore heel can also be a symptom of a heel spur, a medical condition that requires a doctor’s care and can be aggravated by any pressure, especially tennis-ball trigger-point therapy. So if your heel is especially painful, stop immediately and get this checked out!

“Tennis Ball Trigger Point Massage” is most effective when followed up with gentle stretching of these muscles. (Stay tuned for some good stretches for riders to do before and after your ride.) It often has the added benefit of increasing range of motion and making your strength training more effective.

But I’ve gone on far too long. Can you tell I’m excited about this? Have I been spending too much time with that aforementioned Golden Retriever?

We’ll get to strength training next . . . and some interesting ways to sneak it into your barn routine without drawing too many stares OR going to the gym. And if  you don’t know anyone who plays tennis, email me (mkfolse@gmail.com) your address and I’ll send you a tennis ball. I happen to have more used tennis balls than even my dog can chase. I’ll be happy to share!

Give this a try and let me know how it goes!

I admit it. I’ve been lazy this month. Summer is winding down, fall busy-ness is looming, and for the life of me I can’t seem to work up enough motivation to do any of the things I know would help. Like exercise.

Anybody else feeling that way about now? Has your fitness program, like mine, slid beneath organizing your sock drawer on your list of priorities?   Earlier this summer, when I was laying out my upcoming blog topics and themes, I thought I would designate August as fitness month. But, since here it is  the middle of said fitness month already, let’s just agree to ease back into this fitness thing and hit it hard in September. Deal?

I don’t know what derails your personal fitness routine, but for some reason I can’t identify, mine is way too hit-or-miss to do me (or my horses) much good. And I know better. With all the research and writing I’ve done on the subject of owning and enjoying horses, I truly believe that as horse owners,  it’s our responsibility to make sure we are strong, flexible and have enough stamina to do our part, both in and out of the saddle. It just makes good sense —and keeping ourselves strong and healthy is a major key to being safe and riding well.

But even so, I struggle. And usually, this is due to too many choices, not enough time — and no real plan. Which exercises will I do today? What if I don’t have 30 minutes . . .or even 3? What if all I can manage to do is get to the barn, do enough groundwork to get my horse’s attention, and then ride for just long enough to say I rode, but not nearly long enough to do myself or my horse much good? What if I just don’t FEEL like exercising with all the other stuff pulling on me today? Have you ever spent more time trying to decide what to do than it takes to do it?

If so, take heart.

After a lengthy chat with Rebecca Slemmons, Fitness Director at Colonial Country Club who rides AND designs fitness routines for all kinds of people to meet their specific goals and priorities, we arrived at a plan that incorporates key elements of conditioning for riding and working with horses as it takes into account busy schedules, conflicting priorities and wobbly motivation. The plan is simple. First, using Rebecca’s Midlife Horses Daily Rating Sheet, rate how you feel today and what else you have on your plate. She cleverly uses horsey terms: “walk,” “trot,” “canter,” and “gallop” to describe your energy level, not your horse’s gait. Just to be clear.

Then, see where your exercise opportunities are just for today. Got an hour between appointments? Cooking dinner at home tonight? Taking a kid to the orthodontist? How long do you have at the barn? Now, considering your energy level and time frames and location opportunities and preferences, choose:

Something from the aerobic category (walk, jog, hop in place, go up and down stairs, dance, muck a stall or mop the floors . . . whatever gets your heart rate up and engages your big muscle groups) for at least 30 minutes,

Something from the strength category that you can do for 8-10 reps; three times; and

Something from the flexibility category while engaging your core (we’ll get into some great examples of these in coming posts!).

For ideas and specific exercises, check out Rebecca’s Midlife Horses workout template. Use this as a starting point. Add your favorite exercises/activities as you find them. We’re going to be exploring some of the best ones for our purposes here in the coming weeks–feel free to make suggestions!  The idea, of course, is to keep it on a day to day focus, making sure you do something in each essential category every day. Just this simple decision and day-to-day awareness builds your determination muscles. The flexibility of it keeps you from feeling locked in to a specific workout or routine — and it completely derails that all-or-nothing thinking that stops most of us when we hit a snag in our time, our schedule and our energy levels.

Chances are, you’ll find yourself doing more than what you schedule, but by following this simple plan, you’ll be making sure you’re doing something in each category every day. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how quickly the results add up. Trust yourself. You’ll know what areas need the most work. You’ll know when to up the intensity and duration of what you’re doing, but no matter what, stick with the minimum of one small thing in each category, every single day. And let us hear how it goes! (There’s really nothing like peer pressure to keep us going — especially if others are sharing their success stories!)

Meanwhile, what’s your favorite fitness routine? What are your obstacles?  How do you overcome them? What challenges do you need help with? Let’s help each other get back in the fitness saddle and stay there!