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We Are Flying Solo

February 23, 2013

Balancing The Classical With The Practical

Such are the words from Camp David.

Encore and I were able to sneak in two excellent lessons before the snowstorm hit, although I did most of my jumping with snowflakes in my eyes, gah!  Friday evening, we allowed David to torture us in Death Circles on the flat, and Saturday, we attempted to brush the rust off my jumping skills.  Rebuilding of my left leg is DEFINITELY not complete, ugh.

Two things emerged as themes, though, as we worked through unlocking all the parts of Encore and reminding my battered body that it is NOT supposed to be on my horse's neck (who knew?).

(1) It was with great enthusiasm that David pronounced Encore worlds sounder than he was last year.  This news was received with equal enthusiasm, as the amount of money, energy, and time we have spent with Dr. Bob and his crew is not small.  Every bit is worth it though when I ride his left lead and he feel like one horse instead of two ends of a horse suit loosely tied in the middle, doing their own thing.  While I expressed that I wasn't sure if this was a compliment, David assured me that there is a difference between unsound and lame -- lame is limping, unsound is just...not right in the body.  I certainly can't disagree that between his back and his injury in 2012, Encore needed "rightening."

Last year:  a better haircut and less fat, but greener
(2) Traditional wisdom and training dictates that we ride our horse forward forward FORWARD into a steady, receiving contact and simply (simply....HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA) wait for him to offer the roundness we seek as he becomes supple through lateral exercises and transitions.  However, almost immediately on Friday, David had me slow my horse down and work his neck and poll in flexions and bending while moving off the inside leg.  My favourite instruction was, "Flex his poll to the outside while keeping his neck bent to the inside and his body bent around your inside leg."  Ooga booga, is that even possible and how the heck does one do that?  Apparently I did something correct by thinking about it, because he said, "GOOD!"

Our goal was to get him super round, even if he got slightly behind the vertical in front, and then let him carry the bit forwards and down.  When we did, I IMMEDIATELY felt his whole topline unlock and become soft and delicious.

This left me confused, though; this would seem to contradict the FORWARD and waiting thing.  One of the greatest things about David is that you can talk to him, so I asked him about this on Saturday.  His explanation:

Training is not black and white, it is all shades of grey (oh, goody, just like life).  With this horse, because he has a tendency to go tight in his topline and he stays locked in his poll and jaw, he has overdeveloped the muscle at his poll.  This in turn makes it even harder.  Were we to just run him along off his feet, he would spend most of the time working incorrectly.  We have to unlock these spots and supple him first and then ride him forward over his back.   

This makes sense to me.  In January and early February, I had been riding him simply forward in lateral work.  While we could eventually achieve some softening, there was a lot of back and forth, fighting, and a lot of time spent impersonating tense llamas.  Every step doing that is definitely not producing good results.

Using David's process, the difference was dramatic (although much harder work, so I guess it must be right).  It also meant I had a softer horse the second I got on Saturday morning, which caught me by surprise.  He continued to emphasize riding what was underneath me in the moment and keeping the focus there, creating the feel, instead of wasting time hoping for a horse that may or may not appear in the future.  This is why I keep stalking David around the region -- his tailored approach to the horse in front of him brings out the best in my partners, the way a generic program never would.  Drawing lines in the sand never gets us anywhere but frustrated when it comes to training horses. 

15 comments:

  1. This is a fantastic post, sounds like not only did you get a lot out of it but you're teaching the rest of us too (I know its something I'll think about)

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  2. My coach says the same thing about slowing it all down, when they are not getting it or are tense, etc. Slow it down so they can actually learn, then once they have it you can work on getting it while going forward.

    I don't think horses learn as well when they are going very forward.

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  3. You're welcome, LW!

    T, I agree. David is all about methodical, I swear he must have a tattoo of it somewhere.

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  4. This was a very interesting read. I am glad you were able to get a ride in before the snow.

    I am not sure that you really had to sacrifice the classical here (not sure if that was what you meant exactly). I took a couple lessons with a classical trainer (Dr. Thomas Ritter) years ago and he had me do much the same thing. He said that my horse's neck was flexible, but he was locked in the poll. This was actually preventing him from coming through with his hindleg. After isolating and stretching the muscles around the poll (very gently at the halt), my horse was able to stretch his entire topline like never before. I held the reins and rode him forward as you described and he just put himself on the aids. It was gorgeous and remarkably simple once the poll was free. The idea of riding simply and treating each horse as individual has stayed with me ever since.

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  5. No, Val, it wasn't about sacrificing anything at all. It was just about being flexible within that model and adapting it to my horse because they are all individuals, as you state. About adapting my ride to the horse instead of trying to fit the horse into the ride.

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  6. Oooh. He rides like Cuna. We do the same thing--slow down and supple, then ride forward out of that. Each time, we try to build more correct strides. Yay David and Solo Jr!

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  7. I love sitting in on your David sessions - they always make me think. Thanks!

    I remember being asked (at my only BNT clinic) to turn my horse - who was way over-bent to the outside + keep his neck straight + not pull him around with the inside rein... simultaneously. I thought my head would explode.

    The reality seems to be that there are classical principles + your horses' physical issues + your physical issues + how to solve problems (how to be) in the moment.

    That's why dressage is so challenging and so satisfying...

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  8. SB,definitely, after riding through the equine version of whining today, he had many more strides where he was chewing the bit and not locking his jaw and staying soft through his poll. My shoulders might break, as his whining is rather bull-in-a-china-shop, but if I can just stick with it, I think we are going to see some rapid change.

    CFS, that is definitely a good equation -- we're not going to talk about my physical issues on this one, ROFL!

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  9. Hey there! I also trained with David (several years back- and funny thing, my big macho recently gelded Irish Draught was TERRIFIED of David!) and remember him working the same thing through with us. Fast foward a couple years, and Mr. Dressage himself Jim Koford insisted that we incorporate slower, deeper work into the warm up of every ride.

    I think slowing things down gives them a chance not only to process things but also balance themselves so they can use their body- then once you have achieved the balance, connection, and therefore roundness, you can pick up the tempo and ask for more..

    Just my thoughts! Love reading your posts by the way!

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  10. Hey there! I also trained with David (several years back- and funny thing, my big macho recently gelded Irish Draught was TERRIFIED of David!) and remember him working the same thing through with us. Fast foward a couple years, and Mr. Dressage himself Jim Koford insisted that we incorporate slower, deeper work into the warm up of every ride.

    I think slowing things down gives them a chance not only to process things but also balance themselves so they can use their body- then once you have achieved the balance, connection, and therefore roundness, you can pick up the tempo and ask for more..

    Just my thoughts! Love reading your posts by the way!

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  11. Well! I admit to sometimes - okay, often - struggling with these dressagey-concepts when you're explaining them, but I *think* I'm getting the drift of this. YOU obviously do and that's what is important! Glad Encore is feeling better this year. Now you just have to whip his mom into shape, LOL.

    Looking forward to more cool stuff via Lessons with David.

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  12. BG, thanks and that's so awesome you are with our Carolina boy, Jim now! Tell him hi from Priscilla (she's our dressage trainer and has known and worked with Jim since he was about 14)!

    You are spot on about the balance -- when being pushed forward, Encore will lose the balance and that only leads to more tightness. Slowing down lets me keep that in control better, at least till my body gets tired, LOL!

    RW, it IS hard. I mean, geez, I've been riding for 30 years, you would think I would have it all figured out by now -- NOT!!!!! This is a great conversation though and has helped me clarify things in my head even more!

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  13. I have a 4 1/2 thoroughbred who's been under saddle about 9 months and have been trying this "simply forward" thing, too. But I kept reading these articles about being straight before forward, and read another good chapter about it in "The Elements of Dressage." My trainer also had me do *slow* lateral movements and flexion. I think part of it is loosening his poll, and another thing is all the flexing and lateral work is actually 'straightening' him up, making it much easier for him to hold himself on the bit and GO FORWARD. I thought 'forward forward forward' for the first five months with my boy, but then I gave up on that and just focused on lateral work and bending and let him get slow. Well, now he's starting to "get" straightness and- viola! The other day we were floating- on the bit, AND FORWARD! I think the forward comes after they learn flexion and straightness. But who knows. Love hearing about you and your boy :)

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  14. I agree, lyndz -- if they have tight areas in their body, it seems unreasonable to me that those will unlock without targeting them.

    Straightness is also definitely achieved by lateral work, lots of time in shoulder fore, shoulder-in, yielding, changing bends, etc. I don't think Solo EVER found straight, but it IS a process measured most often in years rather than weeks or months. Well, unless you ride like Klimke. Which of course I always do.

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