Lesson #143: Communicating Through My Hands

Oct 30, 2014

There isn't a doubt that winter is coming. It is cold and I've officially broken out the winter/cold weather riding gear. As a result, the warm-up took a little longer than it's been during the summer. Once we got going, I'm told to make my way to canter around to further loosen Ariel up. The left rein was fine but going on the right was really off. She was stiff and doing more prancing than cantering. I was pushing and pulsing her with the inside leg but my problem is (and she knows how to take advantage of it) that I have a tendency to lean in myself, with the right thigh/knee. In turn, she just leans right back and since she's a great deal heavier than me, ends up cutting the corners and leaning us in.

I find myself a little frustrated and am immediately reminded that riding takes work and that each ride is different where sometimes you're stiff one side or the horse is stiff. We riders have off days and good days just like our mounts. So, I pull myself together and anticipate the bad behaviour and correct Ariel so that I can regain some control. The other thing that is giving me trouble is that Ariel likes to lift her head up (even with a martingale) and avoid my hands. This is frustrating because there is no way for me to communicate and support Ariel through my hands. I also find that the transitions up to be messy and drawn out and I can't effectively nor precisely initiate the departs I'm looking for. I remember reading posts about contact and how it's an important way to communicate with our horses. Ariel is already sensitive to more significant contact so I try to keep things light but sometimes it's too light and I end up with absolutely no contact at all. But, I remember that I start to wonder if the contact is really as important as the other aids such as the leg aids and a proper seat; I decide to try by regaining some of the contact by shortening the reins and bringing my hands back. And like that, she takes off with all the other aids. To be sure it wasn't a complete fluke, I try the same thing  the next time around and the same thing happens and there is a significant shorter delay when I keep contact with her mouth. It's not perfect by any means, but I have confirmation that she needs the contact regardless of what I might think. The tricky part though, is giving enough contact where I can maintain it while she's moving as well as bring it back a bit, if I need to. That fine balance is actual execution of the theory and it is not easy.

We move to some low jumps where the ride out could be taken either right or left so the purpose of this exercise is to right out straight and make the appropriate turn. Lately, the ride out has been weebly and wobbly and not straight at all. Tonight, I learned that the reason is due in part to me not providing enough direction prior to the jump and so she lands on whatever lead comes to her and she just heads in the direction she thinks is best--with a cut corner, to boot. So, I try something we did in an exercise a while back: flex Ariel getting into the base of the jump while turning my head towards the direction I will be heading towards. At first, I thought it was just dumb luck that I was getting things right but a few more tries confirmed that I was getting the lead correctly and a straight ride out (with lots of inside leg too.. hahaha).

It's not like any of these details are new but having the actual eureka moment on my own acts as an amazing reinforcer. It's going to take plenty more time but I'm learning to use my hands appropriately when I ride with Ariel.

Lesson #126: Invincibility Star

Since I took Thursday off, I decided to move my lesson earlier in the day after I picked up my new Tipperary vest. The weather and temperature were amazing and the skies clear and blue. I took the scenic route from King City to Hillsburgh and enjoyed some of my favourite parts, ranging from the incredible country estates to the hilltop view approaching Caledon.

Vast expanses of countryside green: my favourite stop point

As I was approaching the stable, my heart skipped a few beats as I thought: "... I'm wearing my flip flops... did I bring my boots?" I reach back and immediately feel nothing--I had forgotten my boots!!! I was so upset that I caught myself let out a scream. My heart sank but I was so close that I knew I didn't have another chance to turn back... I was stuck. My only option was to ask and see what might happen.

G arrives and I share my lapse in memory and she helpfully offers her street shoes to at least be able to get tacked up. We search various boxes as well but no luck. We both decide it best to leave that in the hands of Sheri (and fate, to a degree) when she would arrive. I got Ariel put together and in strolled Sheri with her own boots in hand! Thank heavens!!

In addition to G, J was riding Texas in the lesson and we worked on a jumping lesson. My flat work was fabulous because I took control of Ariel, rode each stride and we were bending in the corners and she wasn't giving me much lip. It's like in a video game when your character powers up, and like any other video game, your character is going to take several punches or even lose a life.

As we complete our warm up and the many bending and circles and changes in direction, Sheri puts up the first X jump at approximately 2'6". I wouldn't say this was easy but I was able to get through it okay. My "power up bar" is still full at this point. She eventually adds the second bounce and we take turns. It's my turn and as I'm approaching, I feel myself tipping forward instead of moving into the 2 point and then disaster strikes, I topple over onto Ariel's neck as we get over the first jump and my power bar is quickly being depleted as I am draped over Ariel's neck and she continues to pick us both us and get over both jumps. It is a miserable experience to have your whole face and front being jostled up and down on the horse's crest.

But I have a moment of realization in my body that my legs are still in a good place and I pull myself back together and am able to get back upright just as we are coming out of the second bounce and heading towards "home".

Power Up!

While I was more or less physically fine, I felt pretty bad about myself. I was glad that Ariel didn't drop my butt over the bounce and committed to carrying me over with her. It was enough for me to take it down a notch and just reexamine what might have gone awry. I blame my poor form over the jump to be my primary issue, among others. But I'll be sure to work on a better 2-point.

Lesson #115: Learning to 'Just Trust'

I had the day off yesterday to do some wedding related things and horsey stuff (some enh, balanced with hooray!). Right to the hooray stuff, I started in King City where I made a visit to the Tipperary (Phoenix Performance) head office to pick up a protective riding vest. Then, I headed over to my usual week night lesson in Hillsburgh. And let me tell you, even though the drive was ~1 hour, it didn't bother me one bit. Driving in the country can actually be RELAXING! Who would have thought that, eh? The highlight of the drive (I forgot to snap a photo!) was at the corner facing west at Kennedy and The Grange Side-road when you come to a stop at the intersection and you just see a breath-taking vast expanse of land covered in trees, estates and farm plots; it's not called the Hills of Headwater for nothing! The view was stunning and everything that has been stressing me out for weeks (if not months) momentarily melted away. Good thing the side-roads aren't busy ;)

To top off the great drive in, I got to casually stroll into the stable and calmly put my stuff down and get myself together. There were 2 other 'students' in the lesson. I say 'students' because one of them Sheri's companion, who's been riding since he was a boy. We started with a lot of flat work. Ariel seemed sleepy when I found her but better than the last time I went to get her when she defiantly made a dash for the other end of the paddock. The first exercise was a shallow serpentine pattern across the quarter line. We had to get our horses to bend and flex... not Ariel's forte. Needless to say, we both spent a lot of the lesson arguing about what to do.

Eventually those 'lines' became a ground pole, a low X and 3 trot poles. I would say the need to be thinking ahead of the next obstacle while as you're coming into the immediate one was critical. Lots of leg yielding, bending and flexion. All things (again) that Ariel loathes doing. My right shoulder was falling forward and I was torquing my body to the left again so I had to make an extra concerted effort to be in control at all times because let's face it, if I give even a second to this mare, she's taking over and doing it her way. Which actually only means that I need to be on her more consistently and to prepare ahead of time for what I want--not new, I know... we've been working on this for what seems like ages and I suppose I may continue doing so for a while.

That final exercise is tough! Because I doubt myself and Ariel to get through the obstacles that are so close together! And the directions offered Ariel are actually rather minor so in my mind, I can't quite figure out if it's effective or not! Ugh... I'd need to just trust... another example of how the rest of my life is connected to my horsey lessons.

Lesson #65: Aiming for Zen

December 8, 2013

Yoga is by far one of the best training tools for riders. I’ve been doing yoga for many years now; when I first started, I was doing it during my lunch hours at work (wouldn’t I be excited if I was riding over lunch instead!) and I found my progress was really fast. My goal at the time was to touch my toes and I surpassed even that and ended up being able to get into Salamba Sirsasana (supported headstand) in less than 4 months’ time. Talk about progress at its best! The same type of schedule can't really apply for riding because for most of us, riding daily is just not feasible; be it due to location, finances or time.

Sometimes I complain about not seeing the progress and thus feel like I'm stuck. But, reviewing my posts, I recognize that things are in fact progressing (albeit slowly) but pieces at a time. Kind of like how our lesson was teaching us that miniscule changes add up to the bigger picture and that we need to pay attention to those little changes. ADW and I spent the entire lesson in trot while focusing on leg aids, seat position and body awareness; it felt like a lesson spent practicing our forming full sentences with the alphabet. Having done yoga, the concept of body awareness and recognizing that minor tilts or adjustments of one’s body can mean the difference between doing the pose properly versus not.

I was practicing the leg aid and dropped seat bone to ask Ariel to turn. I have to remember though that she will eventually ignore these signals if I don’t release after she’s accomplished what I’m asking her to do. Lucky for me, she’s still very responsive. It takes little for her to turn a nice small circle.

Next, we use the flexion I was practicing last lesson but this time, we use flexion during turns by flexing the opposite way to straighten out on the long side of the arena. The motion is rather miniscule and has nothing to do with pulling but rather twisting (in a way) so that their heads turn just ever so slightly into the direction you're asking. This is certainly helpful for turning Ariel around when she's likely to be mostly distracted with something outside or otherwise.

Our next topic is body awareness, broken into two parts: upper body and lower body. Horses move forward freely when the rider's hips move in alignment with the horse; their gait is smooth and liberated. And when you want then to stop or slow down, you inhibit this motion ever so slightly: your hip motion becomes ever so slightly less fluid with the horse. Seated trot is incredibly trying in this area because your lower back and abs are absorbing the motion so you're not bouncing around. Sheri tells me to loosen my lower back (which apparently is INCREDIBLY difficult to accomplish even for experienced dressage riders!) so that it follows the motion of Ariel. I get one or two strides once during the entire lesson. I see when I am not accomplishing this when Ariel raises her head in protest and slows. But it's really interesting because she's so responsive that the slightest incorrect adjustment is felt by her and she isn't afraid to tell me. That's the lower body and is particularly obvious; unlike your upper body which I'm reminded to keep still yet soft. Sound absolutely contradictory yet? For those yogis out there, you know what I'm talking about! Pull and push simultaneously--that's what your yoga instructor will tell you too. During the lesson, my wrists are sometimes rigid and tight or my grip is death gripping the reins--all times where Ariel is quick to tell me by raising her head up and slowing down. Or instances where I find myself pinching with my knee which causes her to either stop or make her gait particularly stiff and bouncy.

I completed the class feeling pretty impressed (and zen!) about the nuances of a rider's body in communicating with the horse. It's literally a language we're learning to speak with our horsey friends but intricately with our bodies. Onwards with the week so that I return to Gosling Stables!

Posting Diagonal Jar Tally: 3 x $2.00 = $6.00
To date: $43.00 

Lesson #64: Technically Difficult

December 1, 2013

It's cloudy, rainy and cold out. All conditions that enhance the challenge of a good lesson. This is all the more reason to consider well, your fitness regimen outside of lessons.... similar to the way I endeavour to practice the piano daily so my biweekly lessons are fruitful. I did a few days where I completed 15-20 minutes of yoga stretches and sun salutations if I couldn't fit in much else.

I have to go to the paddocks to fetch Ariel; I like doing this because it gives me the opportunity to see her before she has to work. It's great that she's trained whereby she approaches you when you head out there, and seems happy to come in. Once all tacked up, we make our way into the arena. There's a new horse today, Romeo. He's a really pretty dark bay.

We actually spend almost half the lesson warming up because we have to; the arena isn't heated and since it's cold and wet, it takes longer for us (horse included) to get warmed up. So, to make use of the warm up and not just have us mindlessly going in circles, we are asked to turn our horses with our seat and legs only. I have Ariel turn smaller circles at the far ends of the arena and weave throughout the arena. At walking pace, it's easy but as you move into a trot, you have to really be diligent about having things come together. To turn on (say) the right rein, we drop our right seat bone and push with our left leg. The purpose... the dropped seat gives the horse something to "pivot" around when they're turning and the outside leg is simply pushing them over. I manage some pretty nice circles.

Stopping without reins! Here, we're isolating our hips and tilting our weight from being evenly distributed on our 3 points in the seat and shift the weight into the back. Our hips also become a little more rigid and there is less movement with the horse/saddle. Success! Ariel stops when all these wonderful aids come together.

Canter is still not familiar for me and I don't ride it well enough to be confident about riding it freely. When we work on canter, I remember to use both my legs this time, when initiating the canter. Ariel must be excited today because she takes off and we go speeding around the arena. I do notice that time and again, if I'm not properly focused, I lose my proper alignment and my knees clench Ariel and she doesn't like that. So I actively have to remember that there is no pressure coming from my knees. We ride the canter well today and I even accomplish a nice (approximately) 20m circle at one end without falling out of the canter and keeping pace. It was so satisfying when that happened because it must have meant things had come together well enough to keep her going.

Our last exercise is the X-jump posting trot. My 2-point still suffers and my weight is heavy on her neck so I have to remember to push my bum out and support myself with my core muscles. I think my anticipation for the jump is really getting me screwed. I struggle with the reins, I pull back or I look down. I find it more difficult to do this during a posting trot because you have to anticipate when you're going to get into a 2-point. To make things a little more interesting, Ariel likes to cut the corners and she's already cutting the corners before the actual jump! One time we almost trotted into a ground pole and she had to deek so she wouldn't trot over it. I almost fell off of her! The little devil! Sheri says, "add flexion away from the turn, while going into it". A little better but note quite yet. I'll need to remember to do that with this mare since she likes to cut corners.

A lot of new tidbits that we worked on this lesson. Many technicalities that most people are not familiar with and don't have any idea what it all means. But it's incredibly satisfying learning, practicing and incorporating these things into the lesson!

Posting Diagonal Jar Tally: 4 x $2.00 = $8.00
To date: $37.00