I really enjoy having two lessons a week (and I'd like even more, to be able to ride more frequently *hint hint*) but how could I possibly keep up with all the blogging? This post alone is detailing the accounts of two lessons because I forgot about posting Thursday's lesson. Getting right into it...
Thursday's lesson was focused on jumping. I tend to do a lot of jumping when G rides. It makes sense since she's been riding for well over 5 years and that's her main focus. So, today's eventual aim was a small course of X's at a controlled pace. G's horse, Molson, (the same one that +ADW rides too) likes to rush his fences and Ariel speeds up and just "wants me to shut up, sit there and let her do her thing". We started in pieces with a single jump first at the trot, then cantering out and coming back. Then we proceeded to add one jump after another where we would canter out and trot in until we finally have 4 jumps set-up throughout the arena.
The rides in and out continue to be issues for me to get Ariel listening to what I want and once, she almost threw me because I wasn't looking where I wanted to go and she insisted on going the other way and I wasn't prepared. I was fortunate that I didn't land on my butt. My 2-point was also lacking some where I would occasionally jump before Ariel or got left behind. It's as if I have to stop anticipating the jump and just let things happen... it's what Sheri said to us before... "...a jump is just another stride. Don't think about it as anything else." When I don't, I over-think and the anticipation interferes with my position. I need to work on my ride out to ensure that Ariel listens to me and doesn't get any of her bossy-pants ideas about what SHOULD be done. I'm reminded that I should be the boss and whatever I want, I get. A tough lesson to think about because she's mostly good but there are occasions where I let her do the thinking and that's exactly when we get into trouble. It's kind of like when you and your partner both are doing something and say nothing about the next steps but expect the other to know and when it doesn't go as you (and they) anticipated, then things get messy because you're trying to fix the incorrect outcome.
That was just Thursday's lesson and now we talk about today's lesson... I went in reminding myself that I am boss and what I want, I get Ariel to do for us. So, while she was falling in on some corners, I take the next return round to ask her to do exactly as I wanted. I went into this lesson thinking, every movement is an opportunity to reinforce what I want her to do. Plan, prepare, execute and sometimes reinforce (PPE-R). I notice that the lesson started out a bit messy but each time I took to PPE-R with Ariel meant more success the next turn and she was indeed, listening to me. We still disagreed some--especially at the more complicated exercise but she was doing as I asked and control was regained on my part.
The exercise we did today was a continuation of the simple changes we were doing last week and the objective was to have them do a couple trot steps over the trot poles places on the diagonal and the simple change would be executed. My transitions were pretty good today because I managed to set Ariel up for the canter transition up and the only problem was that she was getting snarky about falling in or cutting corners so I had to remember to remind her to do the correct action (e.g. staying straight instead of falling in). It was certainly a tough lesson but I realized one thing: I have to employ my process of PPE-R at all times and anticipate when Ariel might try and do something tricksy so I could appropriately act with "R" before she got her way.
Showing posts with label leg aids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label leg aids. Show all posts
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Lesson 99: I got 99 Problems but a Horse Ain't One
I don't like to use controversial phrases as titles but let's take it literally in this instance. I'm sure that I'm not the only one who has what seems like a bazillion other problems or difficulties I contend with regularly. But, I'm glad that the horse I ride isn't one of them. But then again, that depends on your perspective ;)
We had Sunday's lesson indoors with the big door wide open so the horses were being tempted with running straight out into the outdoor ring or their paddocks. I don't know if Sheri did that to add a distraction for our horses and thus, to really test our control. It was a good test though... because the first few times Ariel wanted to go running straight out that door and she'd speed up towards it and actually slow down when we were going the opposite direction. What a pain that mare can be! :P
We started with lots of trot exercises... collected working trot and lengthened trot. Ariel hates lengthened trot... literally, it was as if nothing at all changed when I pushed her to do the lengthened trot. Sheri reminds us that while we squeeze them onwards, we had to be careful not to let them break into a canter and to just lengthen their stride; breaking into the canter would be a "release" for them because the lengthening requires more work, of them. I love that Ariel is coming along so well because when things are right on my end, she frames!
During the trot exercises, we are asked to change from posting to sitting trot... and to calmly sit the trot without disturbing the horses' pace. Sit up and breathe, we're reminded. I do notice that my thigh contact is way better than it used to be and my lower back is loosened some where I can comfortably ride that trot for extended periods. And, as I've noticed before, Ariel's always been able to trot just fine (:P) but when I do things correctly, she also comes together and does them as she's supposed to. The only thing is my wacky left arm and wrist is not always under control so I need to take more notice.
Sheri says that the first part of our lesson was focused primarily on stretching and lengthening the horses from front to back. Next, we move to lateral movements from side to side. We work on leg yields. It's a good exercise to make the horse more flexible (particularly their shoulders) and it is helpful in practical terms. This is a tricky exercise because it depends on the horse's experience with that sort of movement.
Although Ariel complains about it a bit at the end, she and I manage to get a few correct steps of the leg yielding with the correct bend and I'm really pleased with what she's able to accomplish because I've been told she loves to jump but isn't a huge fan of these types of suppling exercises. Despite that, she does wonderfully and I'm very happy because I think we could have done more once I get the feel of knowing when to counter with my outside leg so I can keep her straight.
Posting Diagonal Jar Tally = 3 x $2.00 = $6.00
To date = $201.00
We had Sunday's lesson indoors with the big door wide open so the horses were being tempted with running straight out into the outdoor ring or their paddocks. I don't know if Sheri did that to add a distraction for our horses and thus, to really test our control. It was a good test though... because the first few times Ariel wanted to go running straight out that door and she'd speed up towards it and actually slow down when we were going the opposite direction. What a pain that mare can be! :P
We started with lots of trot exercises... collected working trot and lengthened trot. Ariel hates lengthened trot... literally, it was as if nothing at all changed when I pushed her to do the lengthened trot. Sheri reminds us that while we squeeze them onwards, we had to be careful not to let them break into a canter and to just lengthen their stride; breaking into the canter would be a "release" for them because the lengthening requires more work, of them. I love that Ariel is coming along so well because when things are right on my end, she frames!
During the trot exercises, we are asked to change from posting to sitting trot... and to calmly sit the trot without disturbing the horses' pace. Sit up and breathe, we're reminded. I do notice that my thigh contact is way better than it used to be and my lower back is loosened some where I can comfortably ride that trot for extended periods. And, as I've noticed before, Ariel's always been able to trot just fine (:P) but when I do things correctly, she also comes together and does them as she's supposed to. The only thing is my wacky left arm and wrist is not always under control so I need to take more notice.
Sheri says that the first part of our lesson was focused primarily on stretching and lengthening the horses from front to back. Next, we move to lateral movements from side to side. We work on leg yields. It's a good exercise to make the horse more flexible (particularly their shoulders) and it is helpful in practical terms. This is a tricky exercise because it depends on the horse's experience with that sort of movement.
Although Ariel complains about it a bit at the end, she and I manage to get a few correct steps of the leg yielding with the correct bend and I'm really pleased with what she's able to accomplish because I've been told she loves to jump but isn't a huge fan of these types of suppling exercises. Despite that, she does wonderfully and I'm very happy because I think we could have done more once I get the feel of knowing when to counter with my outside leg so I can keep her straight.
Posting Diagonal Jar Tally = 3 x $2.00 = $6.00
To date = $201.00
Monday, May 5, 2014
Lesson 94 & 95: More Inside Leg
It's been a tough few weeks with work where it's affected my sleep and then the sleep has in turn affected my ability to concentrate at work and the cycle goes on. I was pretty tired for Thursday's lesson and it might have been the first time I actually thought that I didn't really feel like going *gasp!*. But, as usual, once I get there and I see Ariel and start brushing her, whatever was bothering me melts away and I'm just at the stable to learn.
I started flat work at the trot with circles, and straightness. Not just straight on the long side of the rail, but straightness during turns and circles. I was trying so much, trying to remember to sit up with my open chest towards the sky and my shoulders down my back but giving with my hands as much as possible. It sounds like a total oxymoron! Going straight was not working out as well as I wanted.. Circles had Ariel falling in and I wasn't keeping her to the edges of the circle. It was "more inside leg!!". The last exercise I was working on was a simple X jump... and I was having problems keeping Ariel straight, into the jump! We'd turn okay but then she'd veer off to the right and I'd try to over correct her with the left rein and then we'd jump crooked. I am telling you, jumping straight has suddenly become a challenge. It was a tough last bit and I think both Sheri, Ariel and I finished the lesson a little crabby.
Sunday's lesson was just a continued extension of what I had been working on with lots of turns and straightness. This applied to both the canter and the trot. My body control at the canter is much better than it was before and I don't feel as insecure. But, I also recognize that your body has to be "on" or you'll fall right off. We worked on lots of circles and even the figure 8's at the posting trot. Sheri reminds me that I need more inside leg to keep Ariel from falling in, taking a short-cut or shrinking the circle/turn.
We finished up the Sunday lesson with a simple X jump which we were taking on turns... be it away or towards the barn. The turns were either gradual or sharper where you needed to know where you were going well in advance and had to get your eye on the prize, commit to it and keep watching it as you rode towards it. There was no going back, once you were heading towards that jump! I'm told that although my turns and my route in isn't as clean as it could be, I'm doing better to get through the jump and able to sit up once we land. This is a huge improvement from falling all over the place or being left behind. I finish with the last exercise with a canter into the single jump. And talk about incredibly satisfying when we flew over it cleanly and without a hitch!
Posting Diagonal Jar Tally = 5 x $2.00 = $10.00
To date = $185.00
I started flat work at the trot with circles, and straightness. Not just straight on the long side of the rail, but straightness during turns and circles. I was trying so much, trying to remember to sit up with my open chest towards the sky and my shoulders down my back but giving with my hands as much as possible. It sounds like a total oxymoron! Going straight was not working out as well as I wanted.. Circles had Ariel falling in and I wasn't keeping her to the edges of the circle. It was "more inside leg!!". The last exercise I was working on was a simple X jump... and I was having problems keeping Ariel straight, into the jump! We'd turn okay but then she'd veer off to the right and I'd try to over correct her with the left rein and then we'd jump crooked. I am telling you, jumping straight has suddenly become a challenge. It was a tough last bit and I think both Sheri, Ariel and I finished the lesson a little crabby.
Sunday's lesson was just a continued extension of what I had been working on with lots of turns and straightness. This applied to both the canter and the trot. My body control at the canter is much better than it was before and I don't feel as insecure. But, I also recognize that your body has to be "on" or you'll fall right off. We worked on lots of circles and even the figure 8's at the posting trot. Sheri reminds me that I need more inside leg to keep Ariel from falling in, taking a short-cut or shrinking the circle/turn.
We finished up the Sunday lesson with a simple X jump which we were taking on turns... be it away or towards the barn. The turns were either gradual or sharper where you needed to know where you were going well in advance and had to get your eye on the prize, commit to it and keep watching it as you rode towards it. There was no going back, once you were heading towards that jump! I'm told that although my turns and my route in isn't as clean as it could be, I'm doing better to get through the jump and able to sit up once we land. This is a huge improvement from falling all over the place or being left behind. I finish with the last exercise with a canter into the single jump. And talk about incredibly satisfying when we flew over it cleanly and without a hitch!
Posting Diagonal Jar Tally = 5 x $2.00 = $10.00
To date = $185.00
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Lesson #66: Don't Look Down!
First major snow fall for the season and we're supposed to ride the following morning. It's a slow trek out that way but we surprisingly make reasonably good time. I do love the winter out this parts though... it's so peaceful... kind of like those Christmas cards that you see in the mail sometimes.
We worked long and hard today, on leg and seat aids again to remove the tendency to resort to hands (i.e. reins). The exercises we used were shallow serpentines, full serpentines (with ground poles) and lots of circles. ADW's moved up today... he's moved from pony to sport horse! This beautiful (and diva of a gelding) is a Trakehner whom our instructor owns, loves (of course!) and trained from foal/colt. Her original intent was to train him as a dressage horse but her comments today indicated that he both hated doing it and wasn't physically well suited for it (i.e. his confirmation wasn't great for dressage). He's a bit of a fussy boy and when he's around his Hanovarian "brother" but he's wonderful to ride. First, he's a beautiful animal, a fabulous mover and impeccably trained.
It was super cold today (the night before, it was snow and -20-ish temperatures) so warm-up was a long time so that everyone was in good shape before we started to get into the real work. Our first exercise was lots and lots of circles around the arena to get them supple and "bendy". Once things were coming together, we moved to a shallow serpentine to work on bending as we're moving forward. This was not a concept I grasped, at first... it's not a turn of the horse so much as their bodies bending away from the forward direction and "drifting" in and then back out of the rail.
To accomplish the bend, it was a matter of using your "outside" (without getting into great detail) leg to push, your same seat to drop, your opposite leg to keep them from drifting in and then a little bit of flexion through the hands. We had to switch this 3 times! I sure hope I got all that right :S
Then we moved to wide loopy figure 8's that looked more like 2 large circles next to one another and had to remember to change our diagonal when we crossed the middle and added 3 ground poles. I was a mess. I wasn't asking Ariel early enough to turn and she would nearly crash and then just pick left or right. It wasn't pretty and I spent a lot of time looking at the ground. I have a bad habit... even when I'm walking, I have a tendency to look down. This is even worse because I can't help but look down at the ground poles but then I get obsessed about it at the moment and nothing else happens.
Our last exercise is a 2 loop serpentine that crosses 3 sets of 3 ground poles that are laid across the long length of the middle of the arena; as if there was a set between F and K, B and E, and H and M--all along the axis of A to C (above diagram). This is tough stuff my friend. If I thought that the figure 8 was tricky and it took me way too long to figure that out, this one was a HUGE mess. Ariel was confused and I was physically everywhere because instead of 1 set of 3 poles for me to fixate upon, there was THREE(!) sets of three, plus I wasn't giving her the correct signals (or timing it well). She was pretty annoyed with me and threw up her head several times. Eventually, something clicked and I managed to get through it a couple times at the end (finally!) and we ended that lesson on a great note!
Posting Diagonal Jar Tally: 2* x $2.00 = $4.00
To date: $47.00
*I only counted the ones where I should have known better and not the ones where a bazillion things were going on at once and I would have been lucky to not be caught with the incorrect diagonal*
We worked long and hard today, on leg and seat aids again to remove the tendency to resort to hands (i.e. reins). The exercises we used were shallow serpentines, full serpentines (with ground poles) and lots of circles. ADW's moved up today... he's moved from pony to sport horse! This beautiful (and diva of a gelding) is a Trakehner whom our instructor owns, loves (of course!) and trained from foal/colt. Her original intent was to train him as a dressage horse but her comments today indicated that he both hated doing it and wasn't physically well suited for it (i.e. his confirmation wasn't great for dressage). He's a bit of a fussy boy and when he's around his Hanovarian "brother" but he's wonderful to ride. First, he's a beautiful animal, a fabulous mover and impeccably trained.
It was super cold today (the night before, it was snow and -20-ish temperatures) so warm-up was a long time so that everyone was in good shape before we started to get into the real work. Our first exercise was lots and lots of circles around the arena to get them supple and "bendy". Once things were coming together, we moved to a shallow serpentine to work on bending as we're moving forward. This was not a concept I grasped, at first... it's not a turn of the horse so much as their bodies bending away from the forward direction and "drifting" in and then back out of the rail.
 |
| A shallow serpentine |
To accomplish the bend, it was a matter of using your "outside" (without getting into great detail) leg to push, your same seat to drop, your opposite leg to keep them from drifting in and then a little bit of flexion through the hands. We had to switch this 3 times! I sure hope I got all that right :S
Then we moved to wide loopy figure 8's that looked more like 2 large circles next to one another and had to remember to change our diagonal when we crossed the middle and added 3 ground poles. I was a mess. I wasn't asking Ariel early enough to turn and she would nearly crash and then just pick left or right. It wasn't pretty and I spent a lot of time looking at the ground. I have a bad habit... even when I'm walking, I have a tendency to look down. This is even worse because I can't help but look down at the ground poles but then I get obsessed about it at the moment and nothing else happens.
Our last exercise is a 2 loop serpentine that crosses 3 sets of 3 ground poles that are laid across the long length of the middle of the arena; as if there was a set between F and K, B and E, and H and M--all along the axis of A to C (above diagram). This is tough stuff my friend. If I thought that the figure 8 was tricky and it took me way too long to figure that out, this one was a HUGE mess. Ariel was confused and I was physically everywhere because instead of 1 set of 3 poles for me to fixate upon, there was THREE(!) sets of three, plus I wasn't giving her the correct signals (or timing it well). She was pretty annoyed with me and threw up her head several times. Eventually, something clicked and I managed to get through it a couple times at the end (finally!) and we ended that lesson on a great note!
Posting Diagonal Jar Tally: 2* x $2.00 = $4.00
To date: $47.00
*I only counted the ones where I should have known better and not the ones where a bazillion things were going on at once and I would have been lucky to not be caught with the incorrect diagonal*
Monday, December 9, 2013
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
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
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
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
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
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Lesson #60: More Leg!
Today is the last lesson that ADW and I are taking at Greyden. It makes me sad that I won't be riding there any more because I've grown attached to some of the horses, like Trinket. Although this mare is difficult to ride, she's one of my favourite ponies. There's something about her that I am drawn to. Tonight's lesson started out with the usual warm up of trotting around. Already, I'm caught for my first missed posting diagonal.
The class is focused on bending. We use 20m circles at trot to prepare for our bending. I try to ride with a lighter rein with Trinket because the last lesson with Trinket proved that she responded much better when I wasn't heavy with her face. She kept her head up and moved forward. Today she seemed a bit dull and didn't really seem to want to get into doing much. I had to encourage her frequently, even in trot. And, as expected, in corners she'd get even slower and I needed to use more inside leg to tell her to continue to move forward and bend too. More leg!
To incorporate bending and keeping moving, we did trot poles at angles with the goal to continue in the same pace at turns and to keep moving forward. This proved to be a particularly challenging exercise because Trinket was predictably slowing when turning. More leg!
To finish up the lesson, we're moving into canter. I find myself falling forward again with my upper back rounding over and my hands dropping and Trinket getting into a pony trot. I ride the pony trot better than I have in the past but it still isn't something that I'm excited to do. When she gets into a canter, I realize my weight is almost always in the balls of my foot and not in my heels. Hence, the flopping forwards. I always have to readjust myself once I get into the canter but this is becoming a problem because she takes this need to adjust as an opportunity to either transition down into a trot or switch her lead. Both are equally frustrating because I can't seem to get a full go around of the canter. We try several times and eventually get it. I had to really tell her to get into a canter because wouldn't listen to me asking. More leg!
To keep her from drifting into the corners, I'm reminded to use my inside leg to push her out. Learning to get her to do things from leg aids can be challenging too... as many schoolies sort of just tune you out. So the nudges I give her aren't enough. More leg!
We finish the lesson with leg aid riding only. It's tough but I get through it by getting her to turn with my legs only. Granted, it's only at a walk but I'm sure I would probably be in big trouble if we were trotting (or faster) with only leg aids. But, riding is not about the hands; it's about riding with your seat and legs. An incredible performance can be seen in Heartland episode 18 of season 5 when Amy auditions for Dark Horse.
Posting Diagonal Jar Tally: 3.5 x $2.00 = $7.00
To date: $19.00
The class is focused on bending. We use 20m circles at trot to prepare for our bending. I try to ride with a lighter rein with Trinket because the last lesson with Trinket proved that she responded much better when I wasn't heavy with her face. She kept her head up and moved forward. Today she seemed a bit dull and didn't really seem to want to get into doing much. I had to encourage her frequently, even in trot. And, as expected, in corners she'd get even slower and I needed to use more inside leg to tell her to continue to move forward and bend too. More leg!
To incorporate bending and keeping moving, we did trot poles at angles with the goal to continue in the same pace at turns and to keep moving forward. This proved to be a particularly challenging exercise because Trinket was predictably slowing when turning. More leg!
To finish up the lesson, we're moving into canter. I find myself falling forward again with my upper back rounding over and my hands dropping and Trinket getting into a pony trot. I ride the pony trot better than I have in the past but it still isn't something that I'm excited to do. When she gets into a canter, I realize my weight is almost always in the balls of my foot and not in my heels. Hence, the flopping forwards. I always have to readjust myself once I get into the canter but this is becoming a problem because she takes this need to adjust as an opportunity to either transition down into a trot or switch her lead. Both are equally frustrating because I can't seem to get a full go around of the canter. We try several times and eventually get it. I had to really tell her to get into a canter because wouldn't listen to me asking. More leg!
To keep her from drifting into the corners, I'm reminded to use my inside leg to push her out. Learning to get her to do things from leg aids can be challenging too... as many schoolies sort of just tune you out. So the nudges I give her aren't enough. More leg!
We finish the lesson with leg aid riding only. It's tough but I get through it by getting her to turn with my legs only. Granted, it's only at a walk but I'm sure I would probably be in big trouble if we were trotting (or faster) with only leg aids. But, riding is not about the hands; it's about riding with your seat and legs. An incredible performance can be seen in Heartland episode 18 of season 5 when Amy auditions for Dark Horse.
Posting Diagonal Jar Tally: 3.5 x $2.00 = $7.00
To date: $19.00
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