There hasn't been a lot to report on, in the last couple of weeks. That, and I spent an afternoon in the local ER due to a health related concern that I don't have answers to, quite yet. I'm not the type to worry until I know what there is to worry about... we'll know when I demand some tests from my regular doctor. In addition, whatever it was took me out for a week and I'm still having some difficulties being 100%.
But enough about the boring stuff that remains a mystery and out of my control; let's talk about the last 3 lessons! We focused on flat work. I hadn't been feeling up to any jumping and I wanted to gain some mastery with the sitting trot rather than continue to bounce around on top of Ariel. So away I went... lesson after lesson doing nothing other than sitting trot.
J pointed out that he knew when I was doing it wrong (that is, absorbing the motion incorrectly) when the pony tail hanging down my back was bouncing along with me. He reminded me to sit back (which feels like I'm leaning right back) and to absorb with my hips and abs. Apparently it's a momentary "on/off" contraction of muscles; as solid contraction or lack thereof would result in the incorrect motion. So around and around I went... with and without stirrups. Sometimes it was successful and other times (often) it wasn't. I also got into some canter just to keep things interesting and I practiced the dreaded figure 8 exercise that would have the transition of the lead at the centre of the figure. I determined to do the simple change since that was what I was struggling with in the past. I would say things were getting better since I was able to accomplish that when I asked (and when I was late, Ariel did the autochange for us). I also mustered the courage to canter without stirrups since several lessons ago, Sheri asked me to do it but I totally chickened out. I did it!! It started out as me losing my stirrup and going around without them. I came back down just fine so figured, this might mean I can do it without, period! It is tricky though... because it's easy to grip with your knees and curl forward because the horse is speeding up or you're getting nervous.
One of the things I did struggle with remains the smooth and consistent canter transitions as well as my own twisty body. Transitions remain tricky as I tend to lean forward when asking and thus putting Ariel on the forehand. I also wanted to get the transitions without the need for artificial aids like the bat/crop. Like most horses, Ariel sped up when her rider is holding one but I that meant that i was doing something wrong when she would speed up the trot or simply ignore me. I spent my lessons determined not to use them until I was pretty beat fighting with the mare. My twisty body added to the complications and I would torque outwards and so Ariel was doing the same counter bend. Actively telling myself to open up my chest and keeping my shoulders down and back was really challenging since all the other stuff needed my attention too.
During the last lesson, +ADW and I swapped things up again and I hopped on Molson while he practiced his sitting trot on Ariel (apparently the easier of the two). J teased me and said that if we were to do that, I'd need to jump on Molson. I felt more myself and confidently accepted the challenge. We didn't do anything exciting since anyone jumping with the "King of the Long Spot" usually would crap their paints after riding a horse like Ariel. Molson and I went off just fine even though he did his usual power up 3 strides into the jump and I did my usual "omg I'm going to die". We didn't do half bad considering I was crapping my pants up there but I needed to give him more of a release. Yea right. Give more release to a horse that tends to drop his front end. The trick to try? Place both my hands on his neck as we are coming into the jump to give him the release and to get my into the right position over. Worked like a charm! If you can maintain the courage not to pull back and just go with it.
So while it wasn't back with me jumping the 2'3" course, I did pull myself together enough to progress with the sitting trot and got over the fear of riding jumps with the Molson.
Showing posts with label lessons with molson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lessons with molson. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Lesson #189: Switch Up
The lesson on Saturday consisted of just me and +ADW puttering around the indoor. He got this idea to switch things up. Which isn't a bad idea as I have ridden Ariel pretty consistently and don't really get on any other horse. And of all the horses to do this with too, Molson. Not a bad idea. I've ridden Molson just once previously and I did so in the dressage saddle. ADW rode another pony named Angel once but the pairing was... awkward.
I hopped on all of the 16hh or so and ADW got on all of Ariel's short stubby 15.1 or 2 hh. He giggled and said he hasn't gotten on such a small horse since he started learning at the previous school. Ariel also has a short little neck so there is even less horse underneath you! The most noticeable difference is in the amount of contact that Molson demands of his rider. Ariel is most content with maybe 1-3 lbs of contact but Molson can take upwards of 20lbs. Talk about a big difference to adjust right at the get go.
We start the lesson with trotting and then canter. Molson's canter is bigger and is just different and I need to consistently take more contact so he knows what is being asked of him. There were moments that my contact would just disappear because he pulled me forward so I have to focus on maintaining that contact or he'd pull me down in the corners. I have never had to give more contact than Saturday. Not only do I have to consistently sit up and maintain the contact while encouraging him forward, I needed to remember that the falling on the forehand is a gradual process.
I was nervous, needless to say. But, J has a bunch of confidence in our abilities and the opportunity to try something different led to him say "let's jump this". I wasn't feeling hot about the idea since I was struggling with the contact thing and fighting one of my biggest issues: leaning forward into the fetal position. Riding Molson brought a lot of attention to that fault of mine. We went over one nice low X jump at the trot and my pace was crawling so much that by the time he reached the base of the jump, he was practically at a stand-still and took off anyway. I am impressed I didn't go flying off. Sitting up REALLY does do wonders. We tried it several more times and each time I had to consciously make the effort to keep sitting up and thinking "we're going up hill" with the increased contact. He also has a reputation to power up just before the jump and that's just one more thing to consider and take into account. Riding him literally feels like you're riding a rocker launcher that pulls you forward. My two point didn't feel like a two point since I felt simply like I was sitting up... but I think it might have been the start to addressing some of my issues and gives me an idea of what I should be doing.
ADW on the other hand was puttering around on Ariel and he got the opportunity not to have to deal with the heavy forehand and the powering up towards the jump. They did really well too! He has the opposite problem from me where he has to reduce the contact BUT maintain the light contact which I find trickier than the opposite. It's easy to lose that contact or jossle the reins and that too, annoys Ariel. LOL.
That said though, Molson wasn't a big fan of me and did give me a few disagreements with his ears turned back and his shaking his head a few times. Perhaps another time I'll see how things go... it was a good change up that required each of us to change the approach we're used to.
I hopped on all of the 16hh or so and ADW got on all of Ariel's short stubby 15.1 or 2 hh. He giggled and said he hasn't gotten on such a small horse since he started learning at the previous school. Ariel also has a short little neck so there is even less horse underneath you! The most noticeable difference is in the amount of contact that Molson demands of his rider. Ariel is most content with maybe 1-3 lbs of contact but Molson can take upwards of 20lbs. Talk about a big difference to adjust right at the get go.
We start the lesson with trotting and then canter. Molson's canter is bigger and is just different and I need to consistently take more contact so he knows what is being asked of him. There were moments that my contact would just disappear because he pulled me forward so I have to focus on maintaining that contact or he'd pull me down in the corners. I have never had to give more contact than Saturday. Not only do I have to consistently sit up and maintain the contact while encouraging him forward, I needed to remember that the falling on the forehand is a gradual process.
I was nervous, needless to say. But, J has a bunch of confidence in our abilities and the opportunity to try something different led to him say "let's jump this". I wasn't feeling hot about the idea since I was struggling with the contact thing and fighting one of my biggest issues: leaning forward into the fetal position. Riding Molson brought a lot of attention to that fault of mine. We went over one nice low X jump at the trot and my pace was crawling so much that by the time he reached the base of the jump, he was practically at a stand-still and took off anyway. I am impressed I didn't go flying off. Sitting up REALLY does do wonders. We tried it several more times and each time I had to consciously make the effort to keep sitting up and thinking "we're going up hill" with the increased contact. He also has a reputation to power up just before the jump and that's just one more thing to consider and take into account. Riding him literally feels like you're riding a rocker launcher that pulls you forward. My two point didn't feel like a two point since I felt simply like I was sitting up... but I think it might have been the start to addressing some of my issues and gives me an idea of what I should be doing.
ADW on the other hand was puttering around on Ariel and he got the opportunity not to have to deal with the heavy forehand and the powering up towards the jump. They did really well too! He has the opposite problem from me where he has to reduce the contact BUT maintain the light contact which I find trickier than the opposite. It's easy to lose that contact or jossle the reins and that too, annoys Ariel. LOL.
That said though, Molson wasn't a big fan of me and did give me a few disagreements with his ears turned back and his shaking his head a few times. Perhaps another time I'll see how things go... it was a good change up that required each of us to change the approach we're used to.
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Lesson #162: Dressage Saddle
It's finally starting to warm up this way (yea, watch me type that and then a polar vortex head into town). Show season has started and the students competing at the schooling show are doing very well! That said though, Ariel is one of the horses at the shows so I'm riding Molson for a full dressage lesson. I've never ridden in a dressage saddle before so I thought this was a great chance to try something new.
All I know about dressage saddles is that they keep you more in the seat and you're meant to sit deeper and your leg is 'longer' and straighter than in a jumper saddle. First things is first though, Molson's rider doesn't have to be as crystal clear with their body and he rides with way more contact. One of those things I'm thankful for and the other, I'm rethinking whether I like that better or not. It takes some time for me to understand how much contact I should be having with his mouth because I'm used to such light contact with Ariel that I hesitate to push more on Molson. J tells me that Molson can be ridden with a lot more contact so I spend the better part of the lesson trying to figure out what that might be. I also work on trying to get him to frame up.
The entire lesson was spent on me going around and around (Molson must have been okay to go on autopilot!) at the sitting trot because I found posting trot to be more difficult to accomplish in the saddle. We spent time on trying to move with their bodies at the trot which remains elusive even at the best of times. I found moments where my body was absorbing his movement and going with things but the second I tried to do something else or when Molson sped up, I'd lose it and had difficulty getting it back. We were told to include half halts (checks) at each letter in the arena to rebalance the horse and to ensure that we're where we're supposed to be. I'm also trying to get Molson into a frame which proves to be challenging. That full body half halt is elusive because timing it with Molson is also imperative so I don't lose my seat. But, it is particularly effective and he does compact more. Another exercise we try is to half halt them into a transition down and a stop where the objective is to get them to compress into a transition/halt versus falling onto the forehand to transition down. Molson is particularly accommodating but he isn't schooled nearly as well as Bons and it proves to be difficult.
Due to my determined nature (that's what I'm going with!), I rode the sitting trot for the ENTIRE hour while transitioning up and down (no canter this lesson) throughout the arena. Not often gracefully but I kept at it for the whole of the hour trying to get that position and the movement that I needed to get for dressage. It isn't easy but I totally can't wait to get back to lessons twice a week!!!
All I know about dressage saddles is that they keep you more in the seat and you're meant to sit deeper and your leg is 'longer' and straighter than in a jumper saddle. First things is first though, Molson's rider doesn't have to be as crystal clear with their body and he rides with way more contact. One of those things I'm thankful for and the other, I'm rethinking whether I like that better or not. It takes some time for me to understand how much contact I should be having with his mouth because I'm used to such light contact with Ariel that I hesitate to push more on Molson. J tells me that Molson can be ridden with a lot more contact so I spend the better part of the lesson trying to figure out what that might be. I also work on trying to get him to frame up.
 |
| Order this print through Fine Art America |
The entire lesson was spent on me going around and around (Molson must have been okay to go on autopilot!) at the sitting trot because I found posting trot to be more difficult to accomplish in the saddle. We spent time on trying to move with their bodies at the trot which remains elusive even at the best of times. I found moments where my body was absorbing his movement and going with things but the second I tried to do something else or when Molson sped up, I'd lose it and had difficulty getting it back. We were told to include half halts (checks) at each letter in the arena to rebalance the horse and to ensure that we're where we're supposed to be. I'm also trying to get Molson into a frame which proves to be challenging. That full body half halt is elusive because timing it with Molson is also imperative so I don't lose my seat. But, it is particularly effective and he does compact more. Another exercise we try is to half halt them into a transition down and a stop where the objective is to get them to compress into a transition/halt versus falling onto the forehand to transition down. Molson is particularly accommodating but he isn't schooled nearly as well as Bons and it proves to be difficult.
Due to my determined nature (that's what I'm going with!), I rode the sitting trot for the ENTIRE hour while transitioning up and down (no canter this lesson) throughout the arena. Not often gracefully but I kept at it for the whole of the hour trying to get that position and the movement that I needed to get for dressage. It isn't easy but I totally can't wait to get back to lessons twice a week!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)