September 3, 2014

Rides and Spa Day

Too easy to get wrapped up in the other stuff and not write about the rides.

Love this quirky little guy.

I had a makeup lesson Sunday and a ride on my own on Monday.  Sunday was a drinking-from-the-firehose sort of Dressage ride, she was calling out movements as I got to letters.  It was hard work, but we got some great stuff from Connor because I had eyes on the ground to call me out on bad riding.




It's the type of ride I couldn't ever give him on my own, because I can react to instruction way better than I can think ahead.  This is going to be the theme for a while as I get used to this new phase in our training.

We are SO CLOSE!  Just need to keep those hind legs moving a fraction longer so he's under himself.

Monday was less than impressive, because I'm still struggling to internalize ALL these positional changes (that are working!) that have been discovered in the past week.  If you're keeping score:
- Left leg at the girth (instead of six inches behind it)
- "Shopping bag elbows"
- Left shoulder/entire side of my torso back
- Turn torso around circle
- Do not lean back against him ever


I also had the good idea to ride in the newly mowed across-the-field area, which we hadn't been in all summer since they were growing hay there.  Didn't exactly do much for softness and relaxation.  That probably should have just been a trail ride, but we ended in the arena with some decent work.


All in all, just another up and down of the old training progression.  I'm content.  We ended Monday with some pre-clinic pony spa:

My full tail care routine is here.  It starts with soaking the dry tail in soap designed to remove engine grease (from the automotive section) for 20 minutes!

During the 20 minute Goop wait, Connor got his dinner, since he's still on night turnout for now.


All done, after rinsing the Goop, shampooing with grey hair people shampoo, and banging it.

Not quite dry here, it will fluff out.


15 comments:

  1. Gorgeous tail! I've ben using the 'shopping bag elbows' image since you first posted it, and it's really helped me, too! My forearms/hands tend to be a bit too active, and thinking about heaviness in my elbow joint helps me ride more FROM the elbow - i.e. a steady, following contact instead of changing up the feel all the time with that active forearm. Good stuff!

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    1. That's awesome! That's how it feels for me too. I think that's my worst sin, it's probably the thing I should work on the most.

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  2. beautiful tail! can't wait to hear about the clinic!

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    1. Thanks! I'll do a full writeup. She's always full of good advice!

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  3. There is nothing better than a thick, pretty tail :)

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  4. Come give my giant pony a spa day too

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    1. My list is:
      - Come teach your giant dog how to wait
      - Come give your giant pony a spa day

      Haha

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  5. As per usual the Connor pics make me drool, I had the bubble butt song stuck in my head after seeing the butt shots!

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  6. What a beautiful tail! Reading all these recent blog posts about cleaning tack and pony spa days are inspiring!

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    1. It feels good to take pride in something's appearance, you know?

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  7. sounds like a fun lesson! i'm with you tho - the day that i can get those results on my own will be a great day lol

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    1. Oh no kidding. The quality of my rides on my own has gone up steadily, but it always lags about 6-10 weeks behind what I can get in lessons.

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