I'rish you could see us ride!
Horse heaven? My mare is getting better and while I wait I get to ride an adorable, fun young horse for freeeee!!! While this all meant that I was out at the barn until 8:45 last night it was all worth it.
I am having a little roommate drama this week. Dont get me started! She is moving out. It has nothing to do with me thankfully but it is disappointing because I liked having her around and I liked the extra income. However, last night I got to forget about all of that mess and just focus on my three furry critters.
After a longer than usual day at work I headed out to see Pongo at 6:15. I mucked his stall in the dark (ever tried that?) and attempted to use my laser vision to discriminate between dark spots from lighter colored ones in the shavings. I have no clue how adequete of a job I actually did, but he'll survive...He was just happy I came to say hey/hay.
From there I dashed over to the big barn and rode Irish. Her owner was actually there and got to see us go. Nervewrecking a little bit. I actually really didnt mind her watching because having a few lessons under my belt with the mare means I have a set of things to work on. Irish was a little fresh so it took a while to get the edge off. In my last lesson Alexis talked to me about being very black and white with her. He said that while my instincts were very correct, my timing was accurate and my aids were soft, that I was riding her with a little too much finesse. Sometimes baby horses need to be told "GO HERE" and then we as riders need to get out of their way. I think where I was getting stuck on Irish in particular was in the bend and moving off of my leg aids. When I open up my hands (and offer then forward so she doesnt curl up her pretty neck) and then use a guiding rein and a thump once or twice on her side with my leg, she gets it. She wants to do what I'm asking of her but when I ask too softly, she doesnt get it.
The catch here in this seemingly simple exercise is balance. If you have abs of steel I imagine it is much easier to move your seat, arms and legs independently. If you're like me it's all you can do to kick and not pull back on the reins at the same time.
Here are my 3 key issues and what I did to solve them last night:
1. Curling behind the bit
Solution: I worked to push her more forward to cover more ground than she really wanted to and offered my hands softly forward towards her mouth. Nothing exaggerated but more so just being conscious that my hand wasnt coming back towards me and towards my seat.
However, this lead to a few bouts of...
2. Speed and imbalance...when I asked her to reach out and go forward her natural reaction is to go faster, which is also not what I want. I want her to push with her hind end, not grab the ground and run with her front feet.
Solution: incorporating circles (small and large) into the work as soon as she increased her tempo from a push to a run. This way I could stay soft and let the circle do the work of slowing her down. I still pushed her forward but it forced her to rock back because she cant rush around a small circle and stay on her feet.
But then...
3. The circle highlights very quickly that I dont have her off of my outside leg. As we worked to circle, I had to work way too hard to keep her hips and shoulders tracking in alignment.
Solution: Here is where the black and white part comes in. I would soften my hand and give her a little thump with my outside leg. At the same time I would then open my outside rein to counter bend her for just a couple seconds. That disrupts her balance or I suppose actual lack there and breaks up the leaning in or popping out of the shoulder. But as I said before, it takes a lot of body coordination. I didnt get it right every time but when I DID, she responded correctly every single time. I spent the remainder of the ride reminding her over and over about my outside leg and her balance.
I know as I get stronger (not riding for a few months really weakens the body!) I will get more accurate in these corrections. It's a fun process!
And I am happy to report that Miss P has been drug free and proud for 3 straight rides in a row! Whoo hoo! I started incorporating some lateral work into the mix, I'm not sure if I'm supposed to or not but it keeps her busy and her brain focused . She gets spooky if I walk her on a long rein and annoyed when I walk her around on the bit around the perimeter of the arena...so I've added in the shoulder ins and shoulder outs to spice up life and keep her happy.
I am having a little roommate drama this week. Dont get me started! She is moving out. It has nothing to do with me thankfully but it is disappointing because I liked having her around and I liked the extra income. However, last night I got to forget about all of that mess and just focus on my three furry critters.
After a longer than usual day at work I headed out to see Pongo at 6:15. I mucked his stall in the dark (ever tried that?) and attempted to use my laser vision to discriminate between dark spots from lighter colored ones in the shavings. I have no clue how adequete of a job I actually did, but he'll survive...He was just happy I came to say hey/hay.
From there I dashed over to the big barn and rode Irish. Her owner was actually there and got to see us go. Nervewrecking a little bit. I actually really didnt mind her watching because having a few lessons under my belt with the mare means I have a set of things to work on. Irish was a little fresh so it took a while to get the edge off. In my last lesson Alexis talked to me about being very black and white with her. He said that while my instincts were very correct, my timing was accurate and my aids were soft, that I was riding her with a little too much finesse. Sometimes baby horses need to be told "GO HERE" and then we as riders need to get out of their way. I think where I was getting stuck on Irish in particular was in the bend and moving off of my leg aids. When I open up my hands (and offer then forward so she doesnt curl up her pretty neck) and then use a guiding rein and a thump once or twice on her side with my leg, she gets it. She wants to do what I'm asking of her but when I ask too softly, she doesnt get it.
The catch here in this seemingly simple exercise is balance. If you have abs of steel I imagine it is much easier to move your seat, arms and legs independently. If you're like me it's all you can do to kick and not pull back on the reins at the same time.
Here are my 3 key issues and what I did to solve them last night:
1. Curling behind the bit
Solution: I worked to push her more forward to cover more ground than she really wanted to and offered my hands softly forward towards her mouth. Nothing exaggerated but more so just being conscious that my hand wasnt coming back towards me and towards my seat.
However, this lead to a few bouts of...
2. Speed and imbalance...when I asked her to reach out and go forward her natural reaction is to go faster, which is also not what I want. I want her to push with her hind end, not grab the ground and run with her front feet.
Solution: incorporating circles (small and large) into the work as soon as she increased her tempo from a push to a run. This way I could stay soft and let the circle do the work of slowing her down. I still pushed her forward but it forced her to rock back because she cant rush around a small circle and stay on her feet.
But then...
3. The circle highlights very quickly that I dont have her off of my outside leg. As we worked to circle, I had to work way too hard to keep her hips and shoulders tracking in alignment.
Solution: Here is where the black and white part comes in. I would soften my hand and give her a little thump with my outside leg. At the same time I would then open my outside rein to counter bend her for just a couple seconds. That disrupts her balance or I suppose actual lack there and breaks up the leaning in or popping out of the shoulder. But as I said before, it takes a lot of body coordination. I didnt get it right every time but when I DID, she responded correctly every single time. I spent the remainder of the ride reminding her over and over about my outside leg and her balance.
I know as I get stronger (not riding for a few months really weakens the body!) I will get more accurate in these corrections. It's a fun process!
And I am happy to report that Miss P has been drug free and proud for 3 straight rides in a row! Whoo hoo! I started incorporating some lateral work into the mix, I'm not sure if I'm supposed to or not but it keeps her busy and her brain focused . She gets spooky if I walk her on a long rein and annoyed when I walk her around on the bit around the perimeter of the arena...so I've added in the shoulder ins and shoulder outs to spice up life and keep her happy.
Sounds like a very technical ride! You are going to learn a ton from riding this horse. I love riding greenies for that reason, they really call you on your aids.
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