Two firsts in one lesson.

September 27, 2011 2 Comments

We got some really nice work tonight.

We had such a fun ride tonight.  Going into my lesson, I mentioned to Christy that I wanted to work on “forward” first, because it’s dang hard to connect a horse that isn’t moving.    Once I had warmed Derby up and trotted a few laps, we cantered a few times – just a lap or so, because neither of us have an excess of fuel in the tank.  However, Derby still wasn’t in front of my leg, so Christy had us work on some exercises to get us there.

First, on a circle, she had me do trot-walk transitions, only walking two strides before picking up the trot again.  Initially, the transitions were mushy – indistinct and not prompt.  Christy had me remedy this by *requiring* a crisp, “trot NOW” transition.  Derby replied enthusiastically on our next attempt, stepping straight into a canter.

Not the prettiest moment in equitation, but I like how he's stepping up underneath himself.

Okay, so our first walk-canter transition was an accident, but it felt awesome.  I allowed Derby to roll for a minute, because an enthusiastic forward response is a very good answer.  The last thing I needed to do at that moment was to jerk him in the mouth and punish him.    From there, quickly tallied our second “first” of the evening.  Christy had us do trot-canter-trot-canter transitions, with just a few strides of each gait – and Derby responded with alacrity.  And after that, the overall quality of our work improved.

Best of all, we were able to get the transitions both ways. I still need to work myself into balance going right, but I’m able to get there, and able to generate good work that direction.

To wind the ride down and let the horse stretch (he’s been stuck in his stall for the last two days due to torrential rain and thunderstorms) we just trotted some laps – but I was asking for a big, reachy trot and also asking Derby to work over his back.  Building top line is still a top priority, and this is a good way to do it.  I was happy with his responsiveness and overall, it was a fantastic ride.  We need to keep him in front of my leg but we really are making progress.  He’s a good boy!

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Straighter & Better

September 26, 2011 Leave a comment

Finally, I'm sitting up straighter going to the right.

Over the weekend, I worked hard on my balance going to the right.  As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been feeling twisted and icky going this direction, and I failed to pick up the canter going this direction in Thursday’s lesson last week.

So over the weekend, I did lots of stand-stand-post-post and standing work.  I paid attention to how my legs felt when standing, and how they laid against the horse.  I made sure my shoulders were back, my hips open.  And I stopped working so damn hard, focusing on balance instead.  And it worked like a charm.  The transition to the right was better on Saturday, and on Sunday, Derby stepped neatly into the right lead canter when I asked.  I was also able to produce a decent trot going to the right – a far cry from the inverted, braced, counter-bent hot mess I produced a couple weeks ago.

We're getting better contact, too.

I attribute these improvements to the continued focus Christy’s giving my seat and balance.  I’m definitely sitting up straighter, especially to the right – my earlier tendency was to collapse. Today, as we warmed up, I was sitting on my seatbones, with my legs entirely off the horse.  As we talked, Derby started to step out, and swing.  I kept my core soft, my hips loose, and stayed on my seatbones, sitting up straight.  I had really found the balance sweet spot at the walk.

Christy had me try to find it at the trot going right, and I think we came close – as we tweaked my position and my leg, Derby showed his approval by moving more easily.  And as a bonus, I started to get a really strong, steady connection from him too.   Things are headed in the right direction.

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The Horse is a Mirror

September 22, 2011 Leave a comment

He has a really nice canter. It will be nice when I can ride it effectively.

The canter transition is definitely improving.   Derby is responding quickly, and to the left, at least, I’m fairly well balanced and he steps right into  the upward transition.

I’m still struggling with my position when going right, and this was clear when we changed direction.  Our failure to pick up the right lead was undoubtedly my fault, not the Derbster’s.  This was one of those “the horse is the mirror” moments.  Derby has no problem picking up the right lead canter. It’s not a training issue.  The problem arises when I’m unbalanced and it feels off. At those moments Derby says “Nope.  It’s better for all concerned if we keep trotting.  You get your act together, and we’ll canter.”  I really can’t blame him.

So Christy had me work on getting a good connection and improving our trot going right.  We started out with focusing for a minute on my control of Derby’s shoulders.  Doing developed some steady contact, and then added a little leg yield and the trot really improved.  I could feel Derby’s back come up and best of all, he really stretched into the contact.

Piece by piece we’ll put this back together!

 

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Crisp evening

September 21, 2011 Leave a comment

Gazing (thankfully not riding) into the sunset

The weather is getting crisp.  So were my canter transitions tonight.  Derby was much more responsive, and I rode them a bit better too. I didn’t do as many canter-trot-canter transitions as I wanted to – it was a busy night, but after a couple canters we had a pretty decent trot going.  The connection is still lacking.  I’m not sweating this at the moment.  Right now, installing “forward” is key.   Staying balanced and executing the transition with grace is still a challenge but it will become even easier as Derby becomes more responsive and steps into the canter when I ask him.  Reducing the wishy-washiness of my aids will help greatly in this endeavor.

Lesson tomorrow night.  It’s going to be a little chiller, even.  Here’s hoping for a report of even more crisp work tomorrow.

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This too shall pass.

September 20, 2011 2 Comments

On some days, riding is empowering.  On others, it can be infinitely humbling.  Tonight, as I bumbled around in my lesson, it definitely was one of the latter.  My position is feeling good, my balance has certainly improved, but a lot of other things have slid.  And they all begin with good contact, which comes from generating power behind and catching it in the reins when the horse stretches forward into the bit.

Needless to say, Derby generates about as much jet wash as a butterfly flapping from daisy to daisy. He creates little to no cosmic disturbance.   So tonight we worked on resetting the gauge on the working gaits.  We rode canter transitions.

Okay.  The next time I hear some uninformed twit say horseback riding isn’t work, isn’t exercise, I swear to God I am going to drag them by the collar to the barn and plunk them down on my saintly horse, and have them ride trot-canter-trot transitions.  Without bracing on the reins, while sitting softly in the saddle and not gripping with the legs.  In other words, holding one’s self up with one’s core.  It is hard work and my Lord, we have a long way to go.   I rode like the proverbial “soup sandwich.”

But it was really fun!  Half the time I wasn’t listening to Christy (sorry, Boss) because my inner voice was saying “Dang, he has a niiice canter.” As we did transitions, Derby started to really pick up his feet and roll, and he became a lot more responsive.

So this needs to be the new normal.  I know these moments of flopping incompetence will pass.  Probably not soon enough for my tastes, but soon enough we’ll start achieving some harmony and some grace.

And some power!

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The seatbone is connected to everything

September 8, 2011 1 Comment

Empric evidence of my imbalance.

A few weeks ago, had you asked me to find my seatbones, I probably wouldn’t have been able to find them with both hands.  Due to some new exercises, however, I’m now very much in touch with the aforementioned bony structures.

As part of the work on my postition, Christy is taking square aim at an old problem of mine.   I tend to sit crookedly in the saddle, and weight the left side – especially my left seatbone and the left rein – a lot more heavily. We know this because I got an Equisense analysis last fall, which was revealing to say the least.

One thing has become evident to me throughout this tedious process of fixing my position – and building the requisite muscle memorty to hold it.  If you’re in balance with the horse, and are sitting correctly, the hose will move correclty.  But if you find yourself in a situation  where you’re desperately trying to muscle the horse into doing what you want it to do , chances are good the problem rests with you, not with the exquisitely sensitive and responsive creature on whose back you’re siting.  At least, this is the case with me.  As soon as I am inclined to use force, that’s a red flag that something is wrong with my position.

In order to encourage me to be more balanced in the saddle, Christy first had me get acquainted with my seatbones.  Atanding at the halt, with my feet out of the stirrups, she had me raise my knees.  Voila.  I could feel my seatbones, and clearly.

Next, she had me loosen my hips by gently scissoring my legs back and forth, from the hip, not the knee.  Doing this encouraged me to lengthen my legs,  and also caused my seatbones to move forward and backwards.  Next, I repeated the cissoring at the walk, holding my lower leg off the horse.  Turning to the right, I pushed my left leg back.  Then I straightened, and as we started a right turn, I pushed the left back.  This wasn’t a drastic move.  But I could definitely feel the pressure shifting from seatbone to seatbone.

On a loopy rein, Derby serpentined down the long side, guided by the subtle pressure just from my hip bones.   Cool!

We moved into a trot, and the first time I tried this , it was a struggle, as I got stuck in my left hip and wasn’t able to rebalance to the other side quickly.  Tonight, however, was better.  My body control was better, and serpentined smoothly.  Best of all, I started making these shifts instinctively, without thinking.

This is nit-picky stuff.  It’s basic.  But let’s face it – I have a lot of bad habits, and unless I conquer them, I’m doomed to mediocre scores at the lowest levels. I’m glad I have a trainer who espouses a deliberate – and very correct approach!

 

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One week, redux.

September 7, 2011 4 Comments

My improved poster lets Derby move more freely

I’m continuing to pick at my position and posture with Christy, but the quality of our rides continues to improve. On Monday, Derby and I unveiled the “new us” to Christy, and she was very happy with the significant progress she saw.  The improvement in forward and energy is evident when compared to my work prior to the show last month (“One Week.)

I still have a ton of work to do, but I’m struck by how my position influences the horse.  Really, it’s probably no surprise.  These animals can feel flies land on their hides.  The shifts in weight and balance that we riders think are subtle probably aren’t, in reality.

Now that I’m better balanced, Derby is moving forward much more freely.  And without a lot of help from me, he’s also moving uphill.  I tell you, once I get my act together, I’m going to have some fun with this sweet, lovely horse.

Christy shot some video so I could see how we’re doing, and one thing really jumped out at me.  While I sit fairly nicely circling left, the same cannot be said going right.  I am reverting back to the tendencies I exhibited earlier on Maddie – weighting one rein more heavily (the left one) and sitting crookedly (and unevenly) in the saddle.  This video doesn’t lie.  You can see me start to lean forward and close my hip when I change directions.

This unfortunate shot sums up what we started to tackle in tonight’s lesson, in which we worked on overall balance and took aim specifically on correcting my crookedness.  I have my homework for the weekend, and I hope to report good progress within a few days.

I'm starting to collapse.

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Puzzle pieces

September 4, 2011 1 Comment

He *can* stretch down and out.

Finally.  Finally finally finally.  We had a really decent ride today, following a nice effort yesterday.   Things are starting to come back together, and I’m relieved.

When we started picking at my position a couple weeks ago, one of the things I was struggling with was getting Derby to move forward beyond a sluggish trot.  Christy theorized that my closed hip angle was actually sending Derby “whoa” signals, even as I was asking for “go.”   As we worked on my position, Derby started moving out when the situation up on his back improved.  That was great but those moments were fleeting.

The good news is that things are definitely better.  Yesterday we had a very nice ride.  Derby was a lot more forward and I worked hard on staying balanced, especially as I circle to the right, since I’ve noticed that I tend to collapse to the right, causing Derby to lean inward.  I rode lots of patterns. paying attention to my balance, position and aids going left, and then maintaining those going to the right.   The quality of Derby’s trot and our balance through the turns improved.

Losgelassenheit

This long German dressage term doesn’t have an exact English translation.  It means looseness, but with suppleness, energy and throughness.  It’s hard to describe in words, but I see it now when I watch Christy ride Remy, or when she lets Liam stretch after they’ve been working.  The horses go forward with enthusiasm, but with balance.  They are on Christy’s aids, and work beautifully over their backs.  I want to do that.  And today, we came close.

With images of Christy’s recent beautiful rides on Remy fixed in my mind, I mounted up today, determined to build on my good ride yesterday.  Right off the bat, I had a really nice, swingy walk.  Derby was marching along with purpose and energy.  After walking around on the buckle, I  gathered up the reins and started to work on suppling.  We flexed left, flexed right and did some shallow serpentines. The contact improved, at least it felt like it did, so I decided to check.  Turning onto a long diagonal, I fed Derby some additional rein, and he stretched nicely.  I sponged the outside rein, and pushed with my inside seatbone.  He stretched a bit more.  This was a real improvement.

Circling right, I asked Derby to trot, and got a prompt response, and a decent trot. I repeated some of the suppling exercises we did at the walk.  The contact improved even more,  as did Derby’s trot.   Taking advantage of the much-improved and steady contact, I decided to work on adjustablity within the trot.  Heading into a turn on the short side, I half halted, and asked Derby to hold a smaller trot, and he did.  Turning onto the long side, I kept the contact, and increased my my post. Derby responded hugely, stepping out into a really solid, forward, ground-covering trot, pushing from behind.  I half halted into the next corner, and felt his back really come up.  Down the next long side, his trot increased in power.    For fun, we did some nice shoulder in, and Derby responded easily and willingly.

I was thrilled. Around we went, changing directions, getting quality and power both ways.  We repeated the shoulder in.  Derby’s back was up, and it felt great. so I fed him a bit more rein produce a stretch as we trotted.  I did dump him onto his forehand, but I sat up, half-halted, and we recovered.

This was, by far, the best ride I’ve had on Derby to date.  I think Christy really nailed it when she spotted the fact that my old position was blocking Derby’s forward gears.  I’m excited for my lesson tomorrow night to show the boss what we’ve found!

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Love the one you’re with.

August 31, 2011 5 Comments

Derby and I are making it official. The lease is up and I'm completing the purchase this week. We're also renewing our committment to the Albion.

I had a lesson last night, and rode in the old Barnsby that I have out on trial.  It is such a different feel than a dressage saddle. It’s wide, flat and open, and doesn’t restrict any movement.  And it’s slick.  No suede knee rolls.  It’s old school.  And it’s beautiful – I love old, well cared-for leather.  It has a lovely patina.   But it doesn’t work for me.

I do some strange things in that saddle, specifically, I tended to push my feet out forward, to the extent I poked Derby’s elbow with a toe at one point.   In some respects, the balance felt pretty good.  But, as Christy noted, it wasn’t perfect.

So tonight, I rode in the Albion.  And I’ll tell you – after riding for the last week on that slick, hard pancake, I sighed in relief as I settled into the Albion.  It is, as Christy says, “excessively comfortable.”

As we walked and loosened up, I stood in my stirrups to check my balance.  I stood easily, and straight, and we walked halfway around the outdoor like that.  This was a bit of a surprise.  Last time I tried standing in the Albion, I teetered, I listed, I leaned.  I could not stand.  Clearly, the lessons are paying off – I felt pretty good in my saddle tonight.  And Derby was nicely forward,  no miserable, shuffle-y cow pony trot, and he had a nice swingy walk.    We trotted around, over poles, did a little canter, then really covered some ground at the trot, and then called it a night on account of bugs.  It was a nice ride, best I’ve had in a while.

I’m glad I can give the Albion another chance.  I do like that saddle, and so does Derby.

In other news, my lease on Derby ends today.  Tomorrow I”m handing over a check, and he’ll be mine, all mine. 🙂

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Finding some balance

August 27, 2011 2 Comments

An ancient Barnesby all-purpose saddle

As soon as we caught our breath from the show, Christy and I started to zero in on the (myriad) problems in my ride.  One glaring issue really popped out – my posture.  In almost every moment, I was tipped forward, with a closed hip angle and my lower leg creeping back.

Drat.

So we started working on my position, which isn’t fun.  Fundamentally changing how you ride is tough.  It feels awful.  You feel out of whack and it’s tough to be effective. It’s no fun but having reaped the benefits of this sort of work last winter on Maddie I know that the payoff is worth it, even though it feels like you’re riding like total crap for a while.

The work started in my first lesson post-show.  Christy had me work on finding my balance in my new saddle, starting with asking me to stand in my stirrups.  I stood, briefly, then teetered and collapsed.  Stood again, swayed, grabbed the bucking strap, and collapsed.

We played with my leg position, but it was clear that that I wasn’t going to be able to balance myself with my legs behind my knee blocks.   With my legs wedged behind the blocks, I was pushing against them, and they were acting as a fulcrum, causing me to tip my upper body forward, and my lower leg aft.

So we started over.  Christy had me lift my knees up – waaay up – to isolate my seatbones.  Once I was sitting properly on my seatbones, she had me bring my legs softly down, draping them over the blocks, in order to keep my hip angle open.   She asked me to stand again, and I was able to stand more steadily in my stirrups.

We picked up the trot, focusing still on finding and keeping my balance.  It was a struggle but eventually I was able to find the ‘sweet spot’ and suddenly, it felt like I was floating above the horse.  Derby responded, rounding his back and striding out.  The value of riding in balance was undeniable.  On subsequent rides, I worked through my mental checklist, starting with my seatbones, and working on finding my balance, which frankly didn’t get much easier.  I was able to bring myself into alignment for brief moments, but I’d rapidly lose it and start over.

In my heart of hearts, I realized an ugly truth.  The Albion’s balance isn’t great for me. It’s very comfortable, cushy even.  But the balance is off, and the deep seat and grippy leather make it tough for me to move.

Drat. X2.

Today, when I was running errands, I wandered into the local tack shop and poked around amonst the used saddles, surfacing with an ancient Barnesby all-purpose similar to that pictured at the top of the page.    It was in lovely shape despite its years, with a shallow seat and teeny-tiny blocks.   The seat and flaps were hard and slick.  In other words, it was the polar opposite from the Albion.   After a quick consult with the saddler’s apprentice, who pulled Derby’s wither tracings and confirmed that the narrow Barnsby was potentially a decent fit, I tucked the saddle under my arm, doubled back to my house for a longer girth, and headed to the barn.

The saddle did indeed look like it fit Derby pretty well, so I tacked up and got on.  It felt pretty good – hard and slippery – but balanced and solid.  I stood in my stirrups to test that aspect of the balance.  And I stood easily.  This was a good sign.

I had a decent ride but this saddle will definitely take some getting used to.  I do like how flat and non-restrictive it is, enabling me to move and find the right position, versus holding me in one spot.

I think the Barnsby will work well for now, as I re-build my position.  Heck, I don’t mind showing in brown tack, either, so if the saddle ends up being more than a temporary thing, that’s fine too.  (In fact, I found – and ordered – a brown bridle with a dropped noseband tonight.)

To be continued….clearly.

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