Horses & Other Interests
“Behind The Scenes: Charles Tota, Dressage Specialty Retailer and Designer”
USDF Connection
September 2017
United States Dressage Federation
A short interview with the owner of The Dressage Connection.
©2017 United States Dressage Federation. Used by permission. Reproduction prohibited without prior written permission of the publisher.
Previous Posts [Behind The Scenes]
Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
We have a driving horse. No training wheels. We hitched our horse, to our cart, by ourselves. Twice.
No worries. We were cleared for this at Greg’s lesson last Saturday. On Sunday, we went back to SSF and did the exact. same. thing. The only difference was that Miss Courtney was not in the middle of the ring … and we were trying really, really hard to act calm. If Milton noticed, he figured, ‘Meh, it’s a people thing.’
We went back on Monday and did it again. Milton buckled down and worked diligently all three days.
What a star.
Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
For the past four years, the beginning of September has meant the beginning of boot camp.
2016 [Let the Madness Begin, Again]
2015 [Let the Tune-Up Begin]
2014 I can’t find a post. September that year was all about Milton’s arrival & the sequela.
2013 [Boot Camp Begins]
Not this year. No double sessions. No being too tired to get from the car to the house. No learning. No goals to strive for. Do I still want to win Nationals? Of course. In some alternate universe where I am not a hot mess.
I’m burned out.
Not with saddle seat. There, I did get a return on my investment of time and energy. However, it ultimately wasn’t enough to compensate for the slow psychic drain that is the rest of my horse life.
Short term. Rodney & Milton. Insert much whining.
Long term. Riding well is the only thing I’ve ever really wanted, since I was a kid. It may not be a noble goal, but it’s the one I have.
I’m a good rider. Yet, as I’ve said before [Grip], I’ve never gotten past the Academy-equivalent in any discipline. Not for a lack of opportunity. Not for lack of effort. Why? Dunno. If I knew, I wouldn’t be burned out.
In the cosmic scheme of things, this is barely a paper cut. But paper cuts still sting.
Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
I’ve mentioned it passing [CAA Repercussions]. I want to state it outright. We have solved Milton’s NQR. (Greg modifies this with – to the extent one ever can with a horse. He doesn’t want Milton to feel the need to rise to a challenge.)
For years we’ve been wondering if Milton is Not Quite Right. The problem is the “quite”. Not right is easy. Lame. Losing weight. Radical behavior change. These are easy to spot. Diagnosis might be problematic, but you know you are looking for the root of a problem. We didn’t even know if there was a problem to find the root of.
The answer is Alabama.
But seriously folks. Current thinking is that something in our grass/soil/whatever either caused or aggravated a hind gut ulcer. Was it a serious problem? No. Is he a drama queen? Yes. It was just enough to make him a little bit cranky, degrade his movement, make him a little bit touchy.
Would he have been 100% way back when if we’d gone straight to this [Sand Colic]? Who knows. Perhaps some of the other stumbles of our drunkard’s walk took care of other issues. I know Fairy Godmother has been wondering what we did to the nice horse she sent down. Well, we finally found that horse.
Now – cross fingers – Milton’s only problems will come as a result of being a green racehorse owned by amateurs. That was also the case with Previous Horse, and he didn’t have a bad life.
Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
Once again, Rodney takes years to master what other horses handle as a matter of course.
You may have missed the important part of this picture [Trailer Training]. Or perhaps you were wondering about the 2-rope system. Until now, we have not been able to put a chain over Rodney’s nose. He would get hysterical, making the situation worse instead of better.
Then, I noticed when he was misbehaving about the trailer recently [ibid], he was being pushy rather than upset. Hmm. Time to try a chain again? It took some convincing to get it on the first time: alarm, head tossing, running about. I moved slowly and finally got it on and wrapped around the halter. FWIW, I like to run the chain up the side of the halter rather than just over the nose. That way the halter isn’t pulled into the off-side eye when you tug – ever so gently – on the leadshank. Rodney did not like the rattling sound, but he lived. I guess 7 years have built up some trust.
The second line is plain rope with a snap, used – in essence – as a snaffle lead, with the leather-and-chain as the curb lead. Sigh.
I wished we lived in a unFallen world wherein we could direct horses with the power of love alone. We don’t. When 1/2-ton of horse has a hissy fit about cows next to the show ring, the only thing that keeps the kite on the ground is control of the snoot. I’ve noticed that the first thing the warm, fuzzy horse gurus do is put a chain/rope over the nose, or sell you a special halter that does essentially the same thing
One year, we had just arrived at Nationals. I took Alvin for a walk to stretch his legs after the trailer ride. All we had were chain shanks. I dislike holding the bare chain, so I put it over his nose, even though I didn’t need it. This was Alvin. How bad could he be? HA. I barely kept control even with the chain. Old man was ready to party!
So, we are one step closer to taking Rodney places. I had been reluctant to step out into the world without emergency brakes. Will this lead to anything? Will he ever become my awesome show horse? Who knows. At least it’s progress.
Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
A sign and t-shirt that I “printed” – with much oversight, rather in the manner of a child helping to make cookies. “Nice…” is, historically, a city slogan and, lately, a mural. The Yellowhammer is the Alabama State Bird.
Today is even more off topic than the usual run of Sunday posts. Late last week, I took a screenprinting class at MAKEbhm. I figured I’d use a blog logo as my print and the result as a post. Turns out making your own design is the intermediate class. Oops. No time for plan B.
Did learn a few things that I already knew.
I work better when I know why. Once I understood the relation of the screen to the surface, my paint scraping became more effective. Why do I need to ride with my heels down? Why do my hands need to be up [Dueling Disciplines]?
I am more technical than artistic [Put Down the Hammer, Pick up The Paintbrush]. Years ago, I took a workshop at SCAD. I was miserable. I don’t speak artist. At the MAKE workshop, the instructors were happy to indulge in minute discussions over the behavior of the paint, the thickness of the screen, and so on. Ride Hard. Yup. Fix your body position. Yup. It’s a matter of style. Huh? Flair. What? Je ne sais quoi. Moi? (Did you know David Ogden Stiers was on Broadway before he was in M*A*S*H?)
No matter where you go, there you are. [Spring Fitness]
Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
Virtual Brush Box 