Cob Jockey

On Sunday this week, I had a kickass ride I was super proud of, and had written three blog posts based off of it.

Sunday

And then I showed JenJ some video clips from said ride, and she was super supportive and positive, and also asked if she could give me some constructive criticism.  Of course I said yes.  And she proceeded to point out how that ride could be so much better with some changes to the way I ride and warmup.

I was SO EXCITED to get that feedback.  I needed to hear what she had to say.  I am so grateful to her for sitting me down and giving me some (really kind) tough love, and then some really good advice on how to improve.

"Too polite"

The truth is, I am in completely uncharted territory.  That "too polite" trot felt so cool to me, because I thought I had access to his entire body in it and could ask him for anything.  I've since learned that's not true, and I love that.  In riding, in my job, in my life, I love having my paradigm shifted like that.

Two days later

Someone who has gone further than me in Dressage knows that that "too polite" trot isn't enough for what lies ahead of us as we move up the levels.  And I am so grateful to have a friend willing to share her knowledge like that.  I don't know what I don't know, but I do have friends and trainers who know.

Working on forward and freedom

So yeah, needless to say I completely rewrote all of my posts for this week because I've learned a ton and had rides that were way better than that ride from Sunday, and I think that's pretty cool. 

It's been a while since I last posted some Pixio GIFs.  This is not best ride we're had lately (and the Equisense backed me up on that), but he got pretty decent toward the end.  I think he came out a bit sore and distracted after the day before's ride.  Gotta get back into a routine - both of us.

But look at us actually riding on the left rein now!  Maybe too much, lol.

LOOK AT ALL OF THIS LEFT REIN WORK! #ambiturners


At the end, I decided I was going to come up the quarter line, get him as straight as I could, and shoot for a ballin' halt.

For once in my riding career...nailed it.

You may notice all of these GIFs are trot GIFs, because I completely admit the canter is a hot mess right now.  I've made improvements elsewhere, but my default rein length is too long and my default hand and elbow position is "holding", hence the head bob.  You can see it so clearly in the GIF, it looks like my hands move backwards with each stride.  Frustrating to see it on the video and think I'm working on it but not really be making progress - I need a lesson.

Blegh.

At the end of the day, there's always something else to work on.  Gotta savor the good moments and let the "needs improvement" ones motivate you.  Dat halt though...

During one of my rides last week, I was a little bit frustrated with both of us.  Just a smidge.  Mostly with myself, for still being crooked after all these years.  This horse doesn't WANT to pop his shoulder to the outside.  I make him do it.  Accidentally.


We had already had a long hot ride, but I was tired of picking at him and not accomplishing anything, and he probably felt the same, so I let him cruise at the trot of his choice.  He picked a big, strong, forward, consistent, metronome trot that he told me he could do all day.  The type of trot NK had us get at the beginning of our lesson with her last summer.

He still felt pretty balanced, but I guarantee my JLC-following trainer might have raised her eyebrows if she was there.  We did 20m circles and changes of rein across the diagonal in an extremely consistent strong trot, with long-ish reins and his throatlatch open, for probably 15-20 minutes.


I sat that big strong trot.  And in order to sit it, I had to engage my core.  And I noticed my reins were wide and long enough that my shoulders were open and down, so I rolled with that.  Because I wasn't doing any complicated exercises, I was able to focus on keeping my right side tall, my hands forward, and my thighs off him.

And...it was the best he was all ride.  Once I got him forward and pushing, I could supple him and put that forward to work.  And I was sitting more straight and balanced than usual after focusing on just that for 20 minutes.

#besthair

At my next flat ride, my lesson with my trainer, I warmed up like that: a few quick transitions, then put him straight to work developing that same trot before I asked for anything else.  We got it, and we ended up having an awesome lesson.  It goes against what we've been doing for a while - slowing it down so he's not rushing over his chest - this may have been the wrong answer six months ago, but it feels like the right answer now.  And my trainer agrees.

Saturday my trainer scheduled XC schooling lessons in groups of 2-3 on the property (this requires clearing the main turnout field, so it takes some prior planning).  We discussed this after discussing "The Plan", and mutually agreed that I should do a Dressage ride in the field, and end with walking, trotting and maybe cantering over a ground log, but no jumping.

(This post will be sprinkled with photos my Favorite Barn Rat took at the clinic.)


And you know what?  We had an excellent ride.  He came out with his XC hat on (I mean, it IS the XC field), and was all ready to cowboy over some fences and probably land bucking on the other side again, but I shifted his paradigm by asking for the same stuff we did in the arena on Thursday.


After a while he settled in and started giving me good work, so we asked him to go on a 12m circle with the log at one point on the circle, and asked him to keep the bend and keep his back level/not fall apart over the log at the walk.  We want to teach him that fences can be comfortable if he just keeps his shit together.  Harder than it sounds, of course.

Connor says STRIKE A POSE!

After about 45 minutes of work, I remembered to both sit up and lift my hands just a hair at the same time (usually I remember one and not the other...), and he gave me the most insanely amazing trot.  I actually diverted away from the log just to ride it a little longer, it felt so cool!  My trainer was like "Wow, he's really lifting his front end there!  Wow!"  I assume it was like this trot, only with more bend and minus the tension:


We quit there, without cantering.  I could feel he was still a little frisky and I didn't want to start something I would be obligated to finish after 45 minutes of good work already.

Favorite Barn Rat asked me afterward if I was disappointed at being grounded from jumping.  I said, "No way, this is the deal you get when you don't have a 'made' horse.  You do what they need you to do, not what you want to do."

Plus I really really like Dressage.  So that helps.

So, taking lessons.

It's about someone who has "the feel" trying to teach "the feel" to someone without "the feel."  If you have a complete lack of body awareness like I do, your instructor should win a patience award.  Mine has stuck through it with me, and made some massive changes in the way I ride.  One of those moments happened the night of our latest breakthrough, when she said "now, now, now" every time I was supposed to be half-halting.  Last night, when she was trying to get me to relax and go with Connor's motion at the canter, I had another one.

"Your pelvis is tipped forward and your lower back is tense and hollow.  I want you to think about rounding your back."

What she wants me to look like/what she probably feels:

Obviously not Connor.  Or my instructor.

What my lower back normally looks like all the time:

This one is actually me, a few months ago.  That lower back/ab posture is as frowned upon here as it is on a horse.

The mental image that got me from image B to image A and completely changed the way I felt at the canter:

Children of the 80's, represent.

I thought about being a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle and my back being the shape of a shell and suddenly, both of my calves were making contact with him and I was flowing with him in a way that I have never done on any horse before.  Those of you who have been around for a while know that I've always been pretty tense at the canter even after I got over my fear, and for someone with very little body awareness, the canter feels like all my parts are flying in so many different directions I can't keep track of them.  Just like with the half-halts, it takes a real, physical, direct command to make me fix something.  Last night, it was turtles.

(My husband read this over my shoulder as I was typing this and said, "Oooookay, crazy lady.")

The lesson consisted of more of the same fundamental ideas as the last few, but over cavaletti, and we both had a blast and showed more improvement, especially in the hind end drive at the trot and the suspension we're getting with each stride.  Interestingly, the biggest improvements do come when I fix something with my position rather than when I get a point across to him.

Turtles.  Really.