December 27, 2012

In Which I Once Again Prove That I Am Daft

I've been working with Amber and Solo, teaching her how to dig out his trot from beneath the turtle shuffle veneer.  In the process, I have her with very little contact, just riding his butt forward.  And we all know that if you ride the hind end forward correctly, the back and withers lift, the neck becomes soft and round, and the horse reaches into the bit, right?  Which is exactly what I watched my horse do today.

Aww, I miss Muscle Solo
Which is exactly what I've been trying to get Encore to do.  I even said it out loud to Amber:  "Well, damn, looks like I can teach it, but I can't ride it..."  I spoke half in jest, but....

When we were finished, I got on Encore.  Thoughtfully.  I've watched David ride him.  I've watched Foy ride him (see Micklem review post below).  What did they have in common?  Both rode from the seat and leg with a longish, very soft rein.

I know it in my head.  I know it in my body.  I got another rider to do it on my own horse while I was on the ground.  I even get it with Encore, but can't keep it consistent.  But it didn't all mesh together and I wasn't riding it.

Idiot!

I was riding Encore into contact, but I began to wonder if it was too heavy.  Was I using too much rein?  I often feel as if I am in his face more than I would like.  I am not heavy-handed and I have become consistent and following with my hand, but I still feel like I am doing to much in the bridle.  David had said, both after riding him and watching him in our lessons, "The key to this horse is going to be a very light hand."

So even though our footing resembled a cranberry bog after yesterday's rain, I gathered up my reins and asked for a trot.  I rode almost entirely off my lower body, my contact barely there, just at the level of okay, I can lightly feel you but I shall remain passive and just give you the space where you should be.

Yes, yes, we know how this ends -- SURPRISE!  It clicked into place, even in the ten minutes of squishing around that we squeezed in.  When you ride correctly and thoughtfully, you get correct results.  It is slower in the beginning than pushing them into the shape that you want, but -- I know, ever more surprise *insert dry sarcasm here* -- you lose the tension in the horse's body.

Oh, we are SO getting that left lead back!
It's hardly epiphany -- if you've ridden for any length of time, you hear "ride back to front, don't worry about the head, ride the hind legs and the front will take care of itself."  Basic equestrian gospel.  Yet so counter-intuitive to let go and trust the process.  To REALLY let go and do it right.  We think we are doing it (or at least, I thought so) but then something causes me to make a tiny shift in my approach and I realize what I WASN'T doing.

It seems too obvious to even write about.  But one of the biggest challenges of being the (financially challenged) adult amateur who cannot do consistent lessons is that your training is a slow process of trial-and-error.  That starts over when you have an entirely different type of horse.  Encore is able to physically give so much more than Solo could, that to get more, I need to do less.   

From the Master of the Obvious, you're welcome.

18 comments:

  1. I feel ya girl! Well written/said!

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  2. It's amazing how much teaching can speed that process along. :) Amber is useful in more ways than one.

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  3. Ditto what SprinklerBandit said! I have been doing a little instructing lately and I have a girl who has some VERY familiar bad habits. I kept hearing myself say things my trainer has said to me a million times (it feels like) and then one day as I was watching this girl ride I had that lightbulb moment of "damn! that's what my trainer means! I get it now."

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  4. SB -- Amber is so much more than useful, I think I am in love.

    Amanda -- exactly.

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  5. Talking through the 'how to' out loud (via teaching, in this case) can be SUCH a breakthrough!

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  6. Now on to self carriage! {{{oh, that's my quest!}}}

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  7. It is such a basic concept but so hard to fall back into, I struggle with it too and I find it even worse when you ride firey Thoroughbreds. At least you know what you are doing now...it will get better!

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  8. Suzanne -- psh, that doesn't exist, I don't believe you! ;-P

    BeBe -- it is, and it's such a feel thing. I THINK I am being light and then I realize I can be even lighter. It is sooooo subtle and such a tiny change, but such a marked difference in how the horse responds.

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  9. I love it when everything falls into place like that!

    Teaching is a great way to learn and relearn. I used to love getting out there to reteach a lesson that I had received over the weekend. It always made so much more sense to me after explaining it to someone else and watching the results.

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  10. There really is nothing like an image for a visual learner like myself -- if I can picture it, if I can SEE it, it's so much more powerful to me.

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  11. I ride this horse, I know how you feel. The sheer physical capability is mind blowing but the strong natural struggle to sit and use the back end is a tough ongoing battle. Keep on Fighting the good fight.

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  12. It's like the fact that you have put your leg on when you approach a fence when your body says no slow down! But if you listen and slow down, you'll screw it all up!

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  13. Maybe we should all just do a shot or two before we get on--then we'll be more relaxed and "light." The foxhunters do it, maybe they're o to something! ;-)

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  14. I've contemplated that, Frizz. But when I drink, I start talking. Loudly. Randomly. I think I might get kicked out of the dressage arena....

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  15. Practice no reins...that will really get you to concentrate on seat/legs. Of course, my neighbor must think I'm nuts...I'm riding either one of my horses...arms straight out in the air aka Sally Swift...and my horses walking around the arena, circles, spirals, with me occasionally thumping sides or grabbing a rein to get my horse to turn. Mastering the walk, done some trotting...gotta get brave for the canter! Oh, use a small area like an arena...a pasture can lead to some interesting riding.

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  16. HAT -- that is definitely an excellent exercise. It never worked well with Solo because frankly, he doesn't care, but I would probably have better luck with Encore once he understood the question!

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  17. I've found that if I'm having a bad ride and getting frustrated, what helps most is for me to stick my knuckles on my horse's neck and FORGET about my hands. Maybe just a tiiiiny half-halt for bend. Inevitably, things start going 100% better when I stop riding the front of the horse and start riding the back of the horse. Truly a "duh" moment for me, but it's definitely one thing to hear it and another thing to actually make it happen!

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  18. Ok, so how is it NOBODY has EVER told me to ride a horse from back to front? Is it because I've never had a dressage lesson and have spent my entire career in H/J land? Seriously, I kind of understand what you're saying but having never actually tried it, I really don't know. Guess I'll have to show up and steal a ride on Solo to find out. :-)
    Or, next time I'm up on my friend's big WB boy who back in the day was a pretty good dressage horse, I'll give it a shot. Or at least what I THINK you mean!

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