December remained just as hectic as November, and I only had one lesson (today) and very few rides. Mercury's behavior stayed pretty good until this week, then he started to really act up.
However, like usual, Bob explained everything. First, he said that Mercury has also been bucking and acting up when they turn him out - so he's hyper. Second, when he acts up about "mid-way" through my ride, it's because he's gotten tired. I have never heard this before, but when he explained it, it made sense. He said that Mercury usually does his work out in kind of a dull frame of mind (which is my fault - I should be making it interesting by doing a lot of transitions, changes of direction, circles, etc.); and so when he gets tired, he is easily surprised by things - like the wall that has always been there.
He said if I have to keep my riding time low (which I do for the next few weeks), to focus on working with him, just for a shorter period of time. He said in the winter all horses get like this.
So that was huge for me to understand.
Then we worked on putting him on the bit, and my top three things to keep in mind: inside hand short and steady; outside hand half-halts; outside leg pushing whenever I give a half-halt. And Mercury made his neck all round and beautiful and just looked great, until he started getting tired, then he started pulling on my hands and being really hard in his mouth and throwing his head around. Bob said it's because he's had too much time off and he's forgotten he's supposed to work. I definitely don't work him even close to hard enough. I feel guilty that I haven't been out, so I don't make him go on the bit at all anymore. I just ride him around the arena for 45 minutes.
Bob said even with limited time, here's what to work on: bend in his neck; on the bit; crisp transitions; and to work on the bit for 10 minutes, then take 3-4 minutes off (even at the walk); to work him 30 minutes then do 10-15 minutes of walking on the bit; and then gradually, when I can get out more often, increase the 30 minutes.
I asked him about shows, and he said Mercury is a lot better than last summer, and we need to focus on dressage and getting that score up becuase we don't have to worry about Mercury because he loves to jump. I said yes, but it's embarrassing that I can't jump, and he said we'd just tie a hay string around his neck for me to hang onto. He thinks the four unrecognized Lincoln Creek shows will be good for this year (I have limited funds) and that I should plan on Beginner Novice.
Anyway, the other big breakthrough was at the end of the lesson, when I shows him how Mercury is normally "on the bit" when I ride him - with a long, flat neck, instead of the arched, high neck that was during the lesson. It turns out I'm a total idiot, and I've just been teaching him how to stretch his neck low and long because I don't keep my reins short enough.
Then there was a bunch of the repeats: hands still, consistent, don't lurch forward in transitions, adjust my reins more often (Bob said until you reach Grand Prix, for every five minutes you ride, you should be adjusting 4 1/2 minutes), make him work, yell at him when he doesn't work, ride with feeling, not thinking, ...
It was actually a really good lesson, even with him being naughty at the end. Bob said the secret there is to push him forward with my legs. I know it, I just can't get it all together in real time.
I hope my riding gets more regular again. I feel like I've lost a lot of time, and while we're improving, we still have a long way to go before this summer.
Oh yeah, and Bob thinks the chiropractor really helped. And he gave me a bunch of tips for work because he's actually been in more depositions than I have.
Charlie with the long sought after cooler
Spring NWEC 2013 Novice
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Lesson on 11/24
I had my first and only November lesson yesterday. I wasn't looking forward to it because I only rode about 6 times since my (maybe only) October lesson. It went ok, but Bob might have been going easy on me.
We worked on:
1) Moving hips. Bob says my upper body stays pretty still, but I hold my back too stiff and that's why sometimes there's air between my butt and the saddle during the canter. And it's not leaning back, but making my lower back like a spring that makes it stay in the saddle. I tried riding without stirrups, and he said not to hang on like an Indian (don't wrap my legs around and cling). A practice for moving hips only (not legs or upper body) is to put a book on the edge of a table and push it onto the table with hips only. Bob said to think of that when I'm riding. He also said to practice by putting my hand on my hip and feeling it move - that I hold it totally still which means Mercury can't reach forward and makes me behind the motion in the trot and canter which makes it hard for him to balance. This is the same as the legs swinging exercise - when his left shoulder goes forward, I squeeze with my right leg to make his step longer.
2) Bending. We worked on "voltes" and serpentines and bending Mercury BEFORE we start the turn. Mercury "cuts corners" by not bending and moving his body like a plank around the corner.
3) Not spooking at the stupid door that we have been past about 10,000 times. We tried a bunch of different things for this. Ignoring; pushing him past fast; using my leg and whip like another support wall; going past it over and over. This is just stupid. Bob says sometimes he thinks the horses are just being assholes; sometimes they're not paying attention; sometimes they spook themselves once and then just get in a vicious cycle. He said he had a horse that spooked for ten years in the other corner. Every time.
4) Feelings. He says I have to stop analyzing and start feeling. Some things I seem to be getting better at, but he said to think about work, tell a story, sing a song; keep my brain preoccupied so I can ride. He said to think about it like training myself to feel instead of think.
5) Mercury's teeth need floating. Bob is going to check them and try to do it himself. That explains the head shaking when I put on the bridle, the riding with his head in the air, and the bending his head to the right that he's been doing.
6) It's my responsibility to set everything up and keep it consistent. Mercury doesn't know any better, so he just does exactly what I ask him to do. I have to bend him, and keep him between my legs, and keep his head down. We talked about using the martingale as an aid, not THE tool, and how I'll need to start riding him without it to make sure he is learning to use his own neck, not to lean on it.
7) Mercury's progress. Bob says he is a willing, just untrained horse. And I was thinking about how last year, every time we cantered, he'd race around like a maniac and then he couldn't trot normally afterwards. So he has made some progress. And he does seem to be catching onto the head down thing. He is just LAZY, lazy, LAZY.
8) Half-halt warning before I ask for changes. More half-halts to keep him moving properly.
I think that was about it. I am hoping December I will get regular lessons again, if work will slow down. Jan-March are going to be busy too, but they should not be as crazy busy as November was. Because I need to get moving to be ready to show beginner novice starting in the spring with NWEC. Then I think the next shows I'll go to won't be until July/Aug/Sept at Lincoln Creek. I'm not going to Happ's this year because they don't allow dogs and I don't have the money to board two of them all weekend.
Bob also said Mercury could probably go training level but not preliminary, because prelim really requires pushing off with the back legs and he doesn't think Mercury's legs are strong enough. I'm going to take that as an indirect hint that I, one day, will be able to ride Prelim, even though right now I still feel all over the place. Bob says he thinks that's because I'm feeling better, so I can feel everything that's wrong, it just isn't all fixed yet.
I'm going to have a hard time losing for a few years at low levels though. BN and Novice have TONS of riders, and we'd have to be a lot better than we are now to be in the ribbons. I liked winning stuff last summer.
We worked on:
1) Moving hips. Bob says my upper body stays pretty still, but I hold my back too stiff and that's why sometimes there's air between my butt and the saddle during the canter. And it's not leaning back, but making my lower back like a spring that makes it stay in the saddle. I tried riding without stirrups, and he said not to hang on like an Indian (don't wrap my legs around and cling). A practice for moving hips only (not legs or upper body) is to put a book on the edge of a table and push it onto the table with hips only. Bob said to think of that when I'm riding. He also said to practice by putting my hand on my hip and feeling it move - that I hold it totally still which means Mercury can't reach forward and makes me behind the motion in the trot and canter which makes it hard for him to balance. This is the same as the legs swinging exercise - when his left shoulder goes forward, I squeeze with my right leg to make his step longer.
2) Bending. We worked on "voltes" and serpentines and bending Mercury BEFORE we start the turn. Mercury "cuts corners" by not bending and moving his body like a plank around the corner.
3) Not spooking at the stupid door that we have been past about 10,000 times. We tried a bunch of different things for this. Ignoring; pushing him past fast; using my leg and whip like another support wall; going past it over and over. This is just stupid. Bob says sometimes he thinks the horses are just being assholes; sometimes they're not paying attention; sometimes they spook themselves once and then just get in a vicious cycle. He said he had a horse that spooked for ten years in the other corner. Every time.
4) Feelings. He says I have to stop analyzing and start feeling. Some things I seem to be getting better at, but he said to think about work, tell a story, sing a song; keep my brain preoccupied so I can ride. He said to think about it like training myself to feel instead of think.
5) Mercury's teeth need floating. Bob is going to check them and try to do it himself. That explains the head shaking when I put on the bridle, the riding with his head in the air, and the bending his head to the right that he's been doing.
6) It's my responsibility to set everything up and keep it consistent. Mercury doesn't know any better, so he just does exactly what I ask him to do. I have to bend him, and keep him between my legs, and keep his head down. We talked about using the martingale as an aid, not THE tool, and how I'll need to start riding him without it to make sure he is learning to use his own neck, not to lean on it.
7) Mercury's progress. Bob says he is a willing, just untrained horse. And I was thinking about how last year, every time we cantered, he'd race around like a maniac and then he couldn't trot normally afterwards. So he has made some progress. And he does seem to be catching onto the head down thing. He is just LAZY, lazy, LAZY.
8) Half-halt warning before I ask for changes. More half-halts to keep him moving properly.
I think that was about it. I am hoping December I will get regular lessons again, if work will slow down. Jan-March are going to be busy too, but they should not be as crazy busy as November was. Because I need to get moving to be ready to show beginner novice starting in the spring with NWEC. Then I think the next shows I'll go to won't be until July/Aug/Sept at Lincoln Creek. I'm not going to Happ's this year because they don't allow dogs and I don't have the money to board two of them all weekend.
Bob also said Mercury could probably go training level but not preliminary, because prelim really requires pushing off with the back legs and he doesn't think Mercury's legs are strong enough. I'm going to take that as an indirect hint that I, one day, will be able to ride Prelim, even though right now I still feel all over the place. Bob says he thinks that's because I'm feeling better, so I can feel everything that's wrong, it just isn't all fixed yet.
I'm going to have a hard time losing for a few years at low levels though. BN and Novice have TONS of riders, and we'd have to be a lot better than we are now to be in the ribbons. I liked winning stuff last summer.
Sunday, November 05, 2006
I chose Mercury over the puppies
It became clear really quickly after Kevin moved out that I couldn't actually do it all. "All" consists of working (especially with two big cases in), riding Mercury, going to the gym, and taking care of the animal family. After angst and deliberation and a lot of tears and stress, the puppies are going to new homes and my life is going to be lonely and easier.
I didn't have a lesson this weekend, but when I was riding today I started to make a list of accomplishments and things to work on.
Accomplishments in the last year:
Legs don't swing as much
Body not tilted as far forward (i.e. sitting more upright)
Body doesn't pendulum when change gaits
Smoother transitions for both of us (the canter down to trot has improved; trot to canter today needed work; trot/walk has improved)
Hands are more still, though not still enough
Mercury is more on the bit and moving more forward
I have really increased my awareness of my body - I can't always correct it, but I can feel a lot more things that are wrong. And I FEEL them, not know them.
I can also feel Mercury better - I can feel better how to move him and how he is moving.
Things to work on - macro level:
Sitting trot
Still hands
Jumping (everything)
Holding things together for longer
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Lesson after three weeks off - 10/28/06
I ended up with three weeks off this month, and Mercury got a lot of time off. He also saw the chiropractor again last week, and he seems to be moving a lot better. The bumps in his back are also smaller.
So first Bob and I talked about some of the stuff I've read lately in horse books. He said the thing to keep in mind is that the horses in those books have been professionally trained, while Mercury has not. I asked him if Mercury needed training, and he said the problem would be that he could go into training for three months, and then I could ride him differently for a week and undo all that training. He says what needs to happen is that I ride with lessons only while Mercury is being trained, and that way I learn how to avoid "undoing" the training. But also that basically I'll always need a trainer.
The other thing he said to remember when I ride is that now I am not just exercising Mercury, but I am training him. So I need to be very consistent with him and not slack off and be lazy.
I asked a lot of questions (why is my knee so far forward in the saddle? - turns out the saddle is not cut as long and deep as I thought it was) and then we worked again on getting him on the bit. He was actually pretty good about this - for one thing he had some energy but not spiteful fighting energy, and riding in the martingale is soooo much easier than riding him in just the bridle. (Bob reprimanded me again for not putting the bit stoppers on my reins, and I tried to do it after the lesson but couldn't fit them on.)
Then the big thing we worked on was transitions. He needs to go right into a trot - not drag his feet around for a few steps. To do that involves legs, voice, and then a whip to back up the leg. Bob said always use voice for now to train him what I want. Then to go back into the walk is a few half halts, back straight, and a walk within two steps.
What I have a hard time with is equalizing the hands and legs for what I want, and not being too powerful with one. For example, too much hand and he stops instead of walks. Too much leg and he keeps trotting for a few steps.
And Bob said I need to quit obsessing about being on the right diagnol and just feel it.
We also worked for about two minutes on me trotting smaller - up and down instead of forward and back. Bob said I override, but I can't seem to get this under control. He said I need to just feel it instead of thinking it. That I always want to know why and analyze the steps instead of just feeling what is right.
What I'm working on the next two weeks (I miss another lesson next weekend, then start getting regular again) is transitions. He said I can do all three: walk, trot, canter. Work on being on the bit all the time when we're working. And work on feeling.
Bob said I'm hard to train because I take everything so seriously that if he says "your shoulder dropped to the inside" I'll start focusing on that shoulder and let everything else fall apart.
We also talked a bit about my legs. I tend to ride bow legged and point my toes out. That makes my knees open. Bob suggested riding in blocks of time, thinking "15 minuts of shoulders back" then "15 minutes of toes forward" then "15 minutes of hands still" and that eventually I'll be able to do "15 minutes of toes forward and shoulders back" and then he made some huge list of eventually something like "toes forward, knees closed, hips moving, hands still, upper body still, etc. etc." WAY too much for me right now.
I asked him if we could just start over and he could train me like he learned and he said no, it was too dangerous and second, my muscle memory would remember all my bad habits anyway.
It was an instructive lesson, but I feel like I am plateauting and am going to work on these things forever. If I can ever get past it, I'll really be a much better rider.
Bob also said how fast I improve will depend on how much quality riding I can get in. If I can only ride properly three days a week, it will take 2-3 times as long to improve compared to riding for 5 days a week.
And Mercury tends to be lazy and fall asleep and quit paying attention, which is why after we've done a loose rein walk, he either runs forward when I pick up the reins or goes really slow. Bob said running forward is when I surprise him - like if someone came up behind me and touched me when I was walking, and slowing down is too heavy hands with me anticipating him running forward. He said to talk to him, tell him, we're about to work again, I'm picking up the reins, and be soft about it.
Also he said to stretch in the doorway because the muscles in my chest are not long enough to let me put my shoulders all the way back (from years of bad posture) so that they could stretch out and I could get my shoulders farther and farther back. And to have good posture all the time, not just for an hour while I ride.
So first Bob and I talked about some of the stuff I've read lately in horse books. He said the thing to keep in mind is that the horses in those books have been professionally trained, while Mercury has not. I asked him if Mercury needed training, and he said the problem would be that he could go into training for three months, and then I could ride him differently for a week and undo all that training. He says what needs to happen is that I ride with lessons only while Mercury is being trained, and that way I learn how to avoid "undoing" the training. But also that basically I'll always need a trainer.
The other thing he said to remember when I ride is that now I am not just exercising Mercury, but I am training him. So I need to be very consistent with him and not slack off and be lazy.
I asked a lot of questions (why is my knee so far forward in the saddle? - turns out the saddle is not cut as long and deep as I thought it was) and then we worked again on getting him on the bit. He was actually pretty good about this - for one thing he had some energy but not spiteful fighting energy, and riding in the martingale is soooo much easier than riding him in just the bridle. (Bob reprimanded me again for not putting the bit stoppers on my reins, and I tried to do it after the lesson but couldn't fit them on.)
Then the big thing we worked on was transitions. He needs to go right into a trot - not drag his feet around for a few steps. To do that involves legs, voice, and then a whip to back up the leg. Bob said always use voice for now to train him what I want. Then to go back into the walk is a few half halts, back straight, and a walk within two steps.
What I have a hard time with is equalizing the hands and legs for what I want, and not being too powerful with one. For example, too much hand and he stops instead of walks. Too much leg and he keeps trotting for a few steps.
And Bob said I need to quit obsessing about being on the right diagnol and just feel it.
We also worked for about two minutes on me trotting smaller - up and down instead of forward and back. Bob said I override, but I can't seem to get this under control. He said I need to just feel it instead of thinking it. That I always want to know why and analyze the steps instead of just feeling what is right.
What I'm working on the next two weeks (I miss another lesson next weekend, then start getting regular again) is transitions. He said I can do all three: walk, trot, canter. Work on being on the bit all the time when we're working. And work on feeling.
Bob said I'm hard to train because I take everything so seriously that if he says "your shoulder dropped to the inside" I'll start focusing on that shoulder and let everything else fall apart.
We also talked a bit about my legs. I tend to ride bow legged and point my toes out. That makes my knees open. Bob suggested riding in blocks of time, thinking "15 minuts of shoulders back" then "15 minutes of toes forward" then "15 minutes of hands still" and that eventually I'll be able to do "15 minutes of toes forward and shoulders back" and then he made some huge list of eventually something like "toes forward, knees closed, hips moving, hands still, upper body still, etc. etc." WAY too much for me right now.
I asked him if we could just start over and he could train me like he learned and he said no, it was too dangerous and second, my muscle memory would remember all my bad habits anyway.
It was an instructive lesson, but I feel like I am plateauting and am going to work on these things forever. If I can ever get past it, I'll really be a much better rider.
Bob also said how fast I improve will depend on how much quality riding I can get in. If I can only ride properly three days a week, it will take 2-3 times as long to improve compared to riding for 5 days a week.
And Mercury tends to be lazy and fall asleep and quit paying attention, which is why after we've done a loose rein walk, he either runs forward when I pick up the reins or goes really slow. Bob said running forward is when I surprise him - like if someone came up behind me and touched me when I was walking, and slowing down is too heavy hands with me anticipating him running forward. He said to talk to him, tell him, we're about to work again, I'm picking up the reins, and be soft about it.
Also he said to stretch in the doorway because the muscles in my chest are not long enough to let me put my shoulders all the way back (from years of bad posture) so that they could stretch out and I could get my shoulders farther and farther back. And to have good posture all the time, not just for an hour while I ride.
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Good horse quote
"There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man."
-Winston Churchill
I haven't been riding this week and have missed at least two weeks of lessons. Now it is starting to rain, so poor Mercury will need the exercise.
-Winston Churchill
I haven't been riding this week and have missed at least two weeks of lessons. Now it is starting to rain, so poor Mercury will need the exercise.
Monday, October 02, 2006
Other tips from Alice about fall/winter
Alice said that generally speaking when the weather drops below 50 it is time to get out the blanket and cooler. You want him to grow a little bit of hair but not get totally hairy and disgusting. This year Mercury has a summer fly sheet, a spring/summer light weight sheet (not waterproof), a cooler for the winter when he sweats, a fall/spring waterproof turn-out blanket, and a winter high neck blanket. Wow.
Also, today when I rode him - I only rode for about half an hour because he totally got it from the lesson yesterday and remembered. We worked on the walk then on the trot with the proper head position, and while he wasn't perfect, he didn't hang on my hands, and he really tried. It was really cool.
Also, today when I rode him - I only rode for about half an hour because he totally got it from the lesson yesterday and remembered. We worked on the walk then on the trot with the proper head position, and while he wasn't perfect, he didn't hang on my hands, and he really tried. It was really cool.
Lesson on 10/1 - working on the bit
This lesson started with a discussion of my goals (posted a few posts ago), and Bob had a few comments. He said that some of the dressage goals, like the transitions, bend, and impulsion, are more Mercury than me; that he needs to improve his balance before he can do those. He said that Mercury probably physically can't score in the 7's & 8's all the way through a test. In the video of the test (aside from me being on the wrong diagnol which is humiliating), he says while he started looking great, Bob could even see some of the gimp by the time he was near the end.
He also added that I need to have as goals "Be happy." and "Have fun." that it is supposed to be fun for me and relaxing, not work.
I'm making a new goal for October:
Work on maintaining three things: 1) head position (feel the bubble); 2) impulsion; and 3) bend - in two laps around the arena and in circles, and hopefully in serpentines. (I have a much harder time with serpentines because too much happens too fast.)
So then I started the lesson, and Bob first said that I post too forward and back, like I'm launching out of the saddle, and I should post small up and down. So as soon as I tried to do that, my legs started swinging and he said to keep them still.
Then we started working on Mercury's head position, but we weren't sure how much we could do because he appears to have broken his nose in the one day I didn't go check on him. There's a big hard lump on one side, with a smaller lump down where the caveson goes. So he was working in a loose caveson and flash during the lesson which makes him fight more (he opens his mouth, so instead of 1", I have to move 3").
Anyway, Bob had to ride him. He rode for about 10 minutes and made Mercury look fabulous, even though he fought Bob a lot. Then when it was my turn again, I couldn't get him to do it. It is a steady inside hand with some bend, and then half halts on the outside hand. And I wasn't making them strong enough or frequent enough.
As the lesson went on, I got it, and every once in a while we'd have one step where he lifted his back and pushed from behind, and it was really easy to feel the difference. It felt like we were floating and going slower. It was soft. That's the "bubble" I said above.
So we worked on going around for two laps, making circles, and serpentines and that was about it. Bob said not to canter this week because it'll mess up the head set, and that from now on, unless he is being relaxed on a loose rein, he always has the head-set - for walk or trot.
It's hard because it is constant work from me. If my fingers slip or I don't pay attention, his head shoots right back up and it takes several steps to get it back down. He just tests and tests and tests. And I'm not very fast at taking up the reins, so I have to pull my hand back to make the bend, and then adjust my fingers after the bend is finished.
Mercury also hangs on my hands really bad, and Bob said to get him off my hands by strong half halts. The test is (aside from feeling the weight), if I let the inside rein go loose, does his head shoot up or go down? If it goes up, that means he was hanging it on me. If it goes down, it means he is carrying himself.
Also Bob said to yell at him if he ignores me, but I'm not good at that. He also says to talk to him, to keep him calm and relaxed because he feels like he's going to fall when he's got his head down (I think the prior owners rode him heavily in draw reins), and to tell him to put his head down. Mercury is pretty smart about words, and so when I said "down" he figured out to drop his head.
Also, he wasn't doing this in the lesson, but if he goes behind the bit to escape, just push him forward.
Bob said to do one ride a week where we do nothing but walk on the head set for an hour. Do 15 minutes, take a break, 15 minutes, take a break ...
At the very end of the lesson, Bob gave me three goods. A "good job today, kiddo" and a couple other goods. He and Alice must have talked about praising me. It worked.
What's amazing is how much there is going on. Not only controlling my own body, but the constant corrections and then we have to go around a corner.
Oh right, and extra half halts coming into the corners WITH leg to keep him moving forward.
Another side effect of this was that his back legs didn't do the wobbly thing the entire lesson! Bob says not only was he using them more, but he had to focus instead of being lazy.
Bob is a GREAT trainer.
He also added that I need to have as goals "Be happy." and "Have fun." that it is supposed to be fun for me and relaxing, not work.
I'm making a new goal for October:
Work on maintaining three things: 1) head position (feel the bubble); 2) impulsion; and 3) bend - in two laps around the arena and in circles, and hopefully in serpentines. (I have a much harder time with serpentines because too much happens too fast.)
So then I started the lesson, and Bob first said that I post too forward and back, like I'm launching out of the saddle, and I should post small up and down. So as soon as I tried to do that, my legs started swinging and he said to keep them still.
Then we started working on Mercury's head position, but we weren't sure how much we could do because he appears to have broken his nose in the one day I didn't go check on him. There's a big hard lump on one side, with a smaller lump down where the caveson goes. So he was working in a loose caveson and flash during the lesson which makes him fight more (he opens his mouth, so instead of 1", I have to move 3").
Anyway, Bob had to ride him. He rode for about 10 minutes and made Mercury look fabulous, even though he fought Bob a lot. Then when it was my turn again, I couldn't get him to do it. It is a steady inside hand with some bend, and then half halts on the outside hand. And I wasn't making them strong enough or frequent enough.
As the lesson went on, I got it, and every once in a while we'd have one step where he lifted his back and pushed from behind, and it was really easy to feel the difference. It felt like we were floating and going slower. It was soft. That's the "bubble" I said above.
So we worked on going around for two laps, making circles, and serpentines and that was about it. Bob said not to canter this week because it'll mess up the head set, and that from now on, unless he is being relaxed on a loose rein, he always has the head-set - for walk or trot.
It's hard because it is constant work from me. If my fingers slip or I don't pay attention, his head shoots right back up and it takes several steps to get it back down. He just tests and tests and tests. And I'm not very fast at taking up the reins, so I have to pull my hand back to make the bend, and then adjust my fingers after the bend is finished.
Mercury also hangs on my hands really bad, and Bob said to get him off my hands by strong half halts. The test is (aside from feeling the weight), if I let the inside rein go loose, does his head shoot up or go down? If it goes up, that means he was hanging it on me. If it goes down, it means he is carrying himself.
Also Bob said to yell at him if he ignores me, but I'm not good at that. He also says to talk to him, to keep him calm and relaxed because he feels like he's going to fall when he's got his head down (I think the prior owners rode him heavily in draw reins), and to tell him to put his head down. Mercury is pretty smart about words, and so when I said "down" he figured out to drop his head.
Also, he wasn't doing this in the lesson, but if he goes behind the bit to escape, just push him forward.
Bob said to do one ride a week where we do nothing but walk on the head set for an hour. Do 15 minutes, take a break, 15 minutes, take a break ...
At the very end of the lesson, Bob gave me three goods. A "good job today, kiddo" and a couple other goods. He and Alice must have talked about praising me. It worked.
What's amazing is how much there is going on. Not only controlling my own body, but the constant corrections and then we have to go around a corner.
Oh right, and extra half halts coming into the corners WITH leg to keep him moving forward.
Another side effect of this was that his back legs didn't do the wobbly thing the entire lesson! Bob says not only was he using them more, but he had to focus instead of being lazy.
Bob is a GREAT trainer.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Lesson on 9/23 and show tidbit
I either forgot to write this in the show summary, or I like it so much I want to write it again. When Bob and I were driving the course (except for we were on the wrong course), he asked, in his typical Bob way, if he could ask me something without making me mad. I said it depends, and he said that he talked to Alice after my last lesson about whether he was doing something wrong and why I got so upset during lessons. I said "oh, it's not you, it's ..." and he said "good." He said that he wondered if he expected too much from me and pushed me too hard because he expected more from me than his other students. I took that as praise and glowed in it.
Then of course, I rode like I've never jumped a horse in my life. It actually didn't look so bad on video, but that's because Debbie did an excellent job taping, but I'm so far away in everything that you can't see me noodling around.
My lesson this week was on the lunge line. We were supposed to talk about my goals, but I forgot them at home, so we talked in general about goals. Bob said I can't have a goal of "winning at beginner novice" because it is too variable. He said my goals need to be like "In 60 days, be able to do two laps in the sitting trot with Mercury on the bit." So I said next week I'd bring my goals and he could help me modify them.
He also said, again, that it is Mercury who needs work now, and we need to bring him up to my level. I rode him bareback yesterday (well, with a saddle pad because I'm old now), and his back is so bony. I wonder if he needs more muscling before he can move better.
The problem is, I don't know how to train Mercury, and Bob said just to be consistent, which I've tried so hard at, but clearly isn't working miracles.
It's not going to help with Kevin moving out, because I have to cut back on my lessons and the number of nights I ride. And I can't afford a truck. Or a second horse. Or more lessons. Or more shows.
Anyway, once we started working in the lesson, we worked on long legs (heels to the ground), not pinching with my knee, not dropping my inside shoulder, and still seat. We did some two steps sitting, two steps rising; and then two steps sitting, two steps rising while twisting back and forth. That was hard because my brain couldn't do everything at once. We also worked on picking up the canter and then going back down to trot without me leaning forward. I have to think "sit back" before I ask for the down transition, but when it is smooth, it feels really good.
We need to focus mostly on dressage, but Bob said every few lessons we'll do a jump lesson to keep things interesting because dressage can be boring.
I've taken it pretty easy with Mercury last week and this week. I was giving him some time off after the show, and this week I'm feeling pretty down, so I'm just having a hard time getting motivated to go work him. Hopefully the chiropractor is coming tomorrow, but I'm not sure.
Then of course, I rode like I've never jumped a horse in my life. It actually didn't look so bad on video, but that's because Debbie did an excellent job taping, but I'm so far away in everything that you can't see me noodling around.
My lesson this week was on the lunge line. We were supposed to talk about my goals, but I forgot them at home, so we talked in general about goals. Bob said I can't have a goal of "winning at beginner novice" because it is too variable. He said my goals need to be like "In 60 days, be able to do two laps in the sitting trot with Mercury on the bit." So I said next week I'd bring my goals and he could help me modify them.
He also said, again, that it is Mercury who needs work now, and we need to bring him up to my level. I rode him bareback yesterday (well, with a saddle pad because I'm old now), and his back is so bony. I wonder if he needs more muscling before he can move better.
The problem is, I don't know how to train Mercury, and Bob said just to be consistent, which I've tried so hard at, but clearly isn't working miracles.
It's not going to help with Kevin moving out, because I have to cut back on my lessons and the number of nights I ride. And I can't afford a truck. Or a second horse. Or more lessons. Or more shows.
Anyway, once we started working in the lesson, we worked on long legs (heels to the ground), not pinching with my knee, not dropping my inside shoulder, and still seat. We did some two steps sitting, two steps rising; and then two steps sitting, two steps rising while twisting back and forth. That was hard because my brain couldn't do everything at once. We also worked on picking up the canter and then going back down to trot without me leaning forward. I have to think "sit back" before I ask for the down transition, but when it is smooth, it feels really good.
We need to focus mostly on dressage, but Bob said every few lessons we'll do a jump lesson to keep things interesting because dressage can be boring.
I've taken it pretty easy with Mercury last week and this week. I was giving him some time off after the show, and this week I'm feeling pretty down, so I'm just having a hard time getting motivated to go work him. Hopefully the chiropractor is coming tomorrow, but I'm not sure.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Goals for this winter
Dressage:
1. Still hands
2. Smooth, crisp transitions
3. Bend
4. On the bit
5. Impulsion
6. BN & N tests - 7's & 8's
7. Round circles
8. Straight lines
9. Posture
10. Sitting trot
Jumping:
1. Still legs
2. No overjumping (superman)
3. No mouth jerking - keep hands forward
4. Increase height and spread of jumps
5. Jump at canter
6. Correct lead when landing
7. Multiple jumps in a row
8. Head up
9. Heels down - no pinching with knee/lower leg swinging
10. Begin counting strides (5 to 8)
General:
1. Increase fitness
2. Increase speed
3. Balance for Mercury
4. Learn to braid mane
5. Increase leg health & condition
6. Bravery - less herd bound
We'll see what Bob says this weekend, how much he modifies these.
I'd like to ride Beginner Novice next year. If he places in the top 3 in three consecutive shows, then maybe move to Novice or start doing recognized shows. I think I need some new clothes for recognized though.
Odds are I will lose for a while, because there's a lot more competitors in Beginner Novice, and the winning dressage scores tend to be in the low 30's. So I need to work on all 7's with some 8's in my scored tests.
I think one reason I only got 3rd in this last show was because the caliber of the competitors was higher. It wasn't as many people out schooling their 4 year olds. Even though Mercury is 12, he acts like a 6 year old and he has gotten a little set in his ways.
What I really hope is next year (2007) BN; (2008) N; (2009) N rec & unrec; (2010) big maybe Training. Then Mercury will be 16 - if he could go to 18 that'd be fabulous, but I hope I can lease him (keep him at Edelweiss) and get a new horse to start. Maybe a horse who is already Novice, though if I work him up and he is good, that's ok too because there's more to learn.
The beginning novice course looked like so much fun, although intimidating. I was both relieved and disappointed when it turned out Hopeful was smaller and shorter.
1. Still hands
2. Smooth, crisp transitions
3. Bend
4. On the bit
5. Impulsion
6. BN & N tests - 7's & 8's
7. Round circles
8. Straight lines
9. Posture
10. Sitting trot
Jumping:
1. Still legs
2. No overjumping (superman)
3. No mouth jerking - keep hands forward
4. Increase height and spread of jumps
5. Jump at canter
6. Correct lead when landing
7. Multiple jumps in a row
8. Head up
9. Heels down - no pinching with knee/lower leg swinging
10. Begin counting strides (5 to 8)
General:
1. Increase fitness
2. Increase speed
3. Balance for Mercury
4. Learn to braid mane
5. Increase leg health & condition
6. Bravery - less herd bound
We'll see what Bob says this weekend, how much he modifies these.
I'd like to ride Beginner Novice next year. If he places in the top 3 in three consecutive shows, then maybe move to Novice or start doing recognized shows. I think I need some new clothes for recognized though.
Odds are I will lose for a while, because there's a lot more competitors in Beginner Novice, and the winning dressage scores tend to be in the low 30's. So I need to work on all 7's with some 8's in my scored tests.
I think one reason I only got 3rd in this last show was because the caliber of the competitors was higher. It wasn't as many people out schooling their 4 year olds. Even though Mercury is 12, he acts like a 6 year old and he has gotten a little set in his ways.
What I really hope is next year (2007) BN; (2008) N; (2009) N rec & unrec; (2010) big maybe Training. Then Mercury will be 16 - if he could go to 18 that'd be fabulous, but I hope I can lease him (keep him at Edelweiss) and get a new horse to start. Maybe a horse who is already Novice, though if I work him up and he is good, that's ok too because there's more to learn.
The beginning novice course looked like so much fun, although intimidating. I was both relieved and disappointed when it turned out Hopeful was smaller and shorter.
Modified 2-day Event - unrecognized - Lincoln Creek
This weekend (9/16 & 17) was the modified 2 day. It had a lot more complexity than the derby.
Friday started with a heavy downpour. I had planned to drive back and forth, but changed my mind, drove home, and drove back down and slept in the car the first night. I had tried to walk Roads & Tracks before dark, but I somehow got into a pasture with cows, which started following me, which made my already present fear of cows much more intense, so I tried to get away, only to find the next pasture over didn't have an exit and I had to go back through the cows.
Saturday was a nice day while I watched Prelim and Training level do dressage and show jumping. When I got Mercury out to groom him, I got 1/2 of him curried before it started to rain. Then I put him back in the stall, cleaned up all the stuff, and finished getting him ready in the stall. After I worked up a good sweat in my raincoat warming up, it quit raining. Mercury was excellent in the warm-up, but some things fell apart during the test. It was a longer test than last time, but in some ways easier. His transitions weren't very smooth, and a lot of the judge's comments were about him being lazy, even though he was on the bit better, bent better, and more responsive. We got more 7's than last time, but also 4's, which we didn't get last time, and some 6's & 5's. My score was a 41.5.
Show jumping was clear. It turned out it was timed, so I got a little panicked about being late, and I cantered some of the fences. My position was not good. I kept asking him to jump long and throwing my body forward. But he was good and didn't get too excited. We trotted some too.
At the end of dressage we were in 4th place, but actually 5th because a woman with a broken finger rode Hopeful instead of Beginner Novice. Out of 9, I think. Then I think I moved up to 3rd or 2nd in show jumping.
Saturday started with Mercury busting through his stall guard and taking a tour of the property with me chasing him.
Sunday drizzled most of the day. I didn't ride until 1:18, so I watched Prelim (only 1 rider by now), Training (also several scratches), and some of Novice. Their courses looked fun.
Phase A of Roads & Tracks was mostly trotting. Mercury got nervous about all the horses going different directions and being so far away. Phase B was steeplechase without the jumps, and he started making himself spook at things. Phase C was supposed to be a walk, but we had to trot almost all of it to finish in time. He passed his vet check after 7 minutes.
I warmed him up, then cross country was only 9 fences, no water, and flew past. He jumped well, and I think I did ok too. He got a little spooky at some grass, and he was eyeballing some huge jumps like "you've got to be kidding me". He did everything clear, but we were a little slow because I made him trot all but the last jump. The huge hill (for us) we cantered up but walked down because of his weak back legs, and then I pushed him really hard to the end. We did the last jump at a slightly awkward canter, and then I asked him to run for the finish line, and like a little angel, he did. It was great.
At the end of Sunday, we were in 3rd place. I had been in 2nd for a long time, but then someone complained about their time, and they went into 1st. Broken finger got 2nd. 4th was pretty far below me. I had 3 time penalties for being late in xc.
I think next year we'll move to Beginner Novice, but we have a lot to work on. That's the next blog. I had a really good time.
Friday started with a heavy downpour. I had planned to drive back and forth, but changed my mind, drove home, and drove back down and slept in the car the first night. I had tried to walk Roads & Tracks before dark, but I somehow got into a pasture with cows, which started following me, which made my already present fear of cows much more intense, so I tried to get away, only to find the next pasture over didn't have an exit and I had to go back through the cows.
Saturday was a nice day while I watched Prelim and Training level do dressage and show jumping. When I got Mercury out to groom him, I got 1/2 of him curried before it started to rain. Then I put him back in the stall, cleaned up all the stuff, and finished getting him ready in the stall. After I worked up a good sweat in my raincoat warming up, it quit raining. Mercury was excellent in the warm-up, but some things fell apart during the test. It was a longer test than last time, but in some ways easier. His transitions weren't very smooth, and a lot of the judge's comments were about him being lazy, even though he was on the bit better, bent better, and more responsive. We got more 7's than last time, but also 4's, which we didn't get last time, and some 6's & 5's. My score was a 41.5.
Show jumping was clear. It turned out it was timed, so I got a little panicked about being late, and I cantered some of the fences. My position was not good. I kept asking him to jump long and throwing my body forward. But he was good and didn't get too excited. We trotted some too.
At the end of dressage we were in 4th place, but actually 5th because a woman with a broken finger rode Hopeful instead of Beginner Novice. Out of 9, I think. Then I think I moved up to 3rd or 2nd in show jumping.
Saturday started with Mercury busting through his stall guard and taking a tour of the property with me chasing him.
Sunday drizzled most of the day. I didn't ride until 1:18, so I watched Prelim (only 1 rider by now), Training (also several scratches), and some of Novice. Their courses looked fun.
Phase A of Roads & Tracks was mostly trotting. Mercury got nervous about all the horses going different directions and being so far away. Phase B was steeplechase without the jumps, and he started making himself spook at things. Phase C was supposed to be a walk, but we had to trot almost all of it to finish in time. He passed his vet check after 7 minutes.
I warmed him up, then cross country was only 9 fences, no water, and flew past. He jumped well, and I think I did ok too. He got a little spooky at some grass, and he was eyeballing some huge jumps like "you've got to be kidding me". He did everything clear, but we were a little slow because I made him trot all but the last jump. The huge hill (for us) we cantered up but walked down because of his weak back legs, and then I pushed him really hard to the end. We did the last jump at a slightly awkward canter, and then I asked him to run for the finish line, and like a little angel, he did. It was great.
At the end of Sunday, we were in 3rd place. I had been in 2nd for a long time, but then someone complained about their time, and they went into 1st. Broken finger got 2nd. 4th was pretty far below me. I had 3 time penalties for being late in xc.
I think next year we'll move to Beginner Novice, but we have a lot to work on. That's the next blog. I had a really good time.
Lesson on 9/10 - another bad jump lesson, on video
1. Reins shorter in 2-point, so I don't lose contact
2. My head up!
3. When approaching a jump, think (and do): half-halt, half-halt, squeeze
4. Mercury isn't respecting the poles. He ran right through one set about 6" above ground.
5. I need to work on not bringing my hands back too fast.
6. I got really frustrated (and started to cry at the end) because I couldn't even do 2 out of original 5 poles on hte ground
7. Bob said not to work on poles or fences except in lessons for a little while
8. After I got frustrated, he said to think about how far I've come since I started, and Mercury's good qualities - that he never refuses at a fence.
9. In the combinations, we worked on a different approach (with the squeeze and half halt), which is lots more set-up than I've been doing on my own.
Leftover from the last dressage lesson:
1. I need to keep the noseband tighter (flash & nose)
2. I need to work on wiggling my fingers up and down the reins to adjust.
3. I need to switch my whip so it's on the inside for corrections.
4. I wish I was Bob's star student.
2. My head up!
3. When approaching a jump, think (and do): half-halt, half-halt, squeeze
4. Mercury isn't respecting the poles. He ran right through one set about 6" above ground.
5. I need to work on not bringing my hands back too fast.
6. I got really frustrated (and started to cry at the end) because I couldn't even do 2 out of original 5 poles on hte ground
7. Bob said not to work on poles or fences except in lessons for a little while
8. After I got frustrated, he said to think about how far I've come since I started, and Mercury's good qualities - that he never refuses at a fence.
9. In the combinations, we worked on a different approach (with the squeeze and half halt), which is lots more set-up than I've been doing on my own.
Leftover from the last dressage lesson:
1. I need to keep the noseband tighter (flash & nose)
2. I need to work on wiggling my fingers up and down the reins to adjust.
3. I need to switch my whip so it's on the inside for corrections.
4. I wish I was Bob's star student.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Kevin's attempts to jog my memory from last lesson
One thing Bob said was that now I've gotten above what Mercury knows, so I have to train him up.
Bob thinks Mercury might be physically limited to novice level.
Bob thinks Mercury might be physically limited to novice level.
Lesson on 9/2/06 - Bending
I spent the end of this lesson talking about the training level jumps at the show from last weekend, and only the first part riding. I wanted to ride outside because Mercury has been spooking at the gate every time we go past it and driving me crazy. All the things I normally try to do (talk to him, make him do something, go past 100 times in a row) don't make him consistently stop shying. So Bob watched me ride and his very first observation was that it's not Mercury - it's me - that Bob is my security blanket, and when he's there, the reason Mercury is better is because I'm relaxed because he's there.
Later, when Mercury finally acted up, Bob said to be more gentle with my hands, to give him space and push him past, and to talk quietly. He said definitely don't make a big deal out of it, because it just gets Mercury's tiny little brain more wound up.
We worked a lot on bending - on seeing the inside of Mercury's eye in the direction I want him to bend. I need to hold the reins a little shorter - between "2" and "3" on the inside rein and between "3" and "4" on the outside rein. I don't give enough outside rein for him to bend his neck. I also need to practice scooting my fingers up and down the reins.
Bob said I'm still making things too boring for Mercury by just going around the outside of the arena (he's said this one enough now that it's like a broken record, and it's such an easy thing to change). He said make more circles, serpentines, change of direction, and change of speed. The reason I can't is because I'm so busy thinking of the other 50 things, moving him around is just beyond my grasp. Bob said it will get easier with time - the new things will become habits, opening up room for the other new things.
Part of why I just talked the last half of the lesson was because I felt like I had enough to work on for a week, and I wasn't going to absorb more anyway. It doesn't sound like it - typing it out, but it really felt like a lot to handle - wiggling my fingers, keeping him bent, keeping him moving forward, not letting him spook at the gate.
We had the same conversation we always do when I'm feeling insecure. Bob pointed out that the kids riding Training Level probably take 3-4 lessons a week (he named a couple names who do most of the lessons). He said some people benefit from that, and that while I don't need more than one lesson a week, I might benefit from it because what I tend to do is focus so hard on the one thing we worked on that I forget to work on other things. For example, at this lesson I concentrated so hard on bending that I would forget to move him forward.
What I really want Bob to tell me is how good I could be. I know he won't, and I understand why, but I still want to know if my talent combined with hard work is going to get me to Novice and keep me there, or if I can work above that.
I'm writing this too late to capture as many details as I'd like. Some of the stand-out points were:
Don't look down.
Ugh. Hopefully I'll remember when I ride next. Unfortunately Mercury got three days off with the show coming up because we were in Oregon, on the road for 13 hours instead of 8, and then tonight I completely forgot the locker combination and couldn't get in. It makes me want to tear my hair out. I spent a long time today trying to get organized and planning out how to juggle horses and levels and time and lessons and money, so it is frustrating to not remember more of my lesson to get it written down.
Later, when Mercury finally acted up, Bob said to be more gentle with my hands, to give him space and push him past, and to talk quietly. He said definitely don't make a big deal out of it, because it just gets Mercury's tiny little brain more wound up.
We worked a lot on bending - on seeing the inside of Mercury's eye in the direction I want him to bend. I need to hold the reins a little shorter - between "2" and "3" on the inside rein and between "3" and "4" on the outside rein. I don't give enough outside rein for him to bend his neck. I also need to practice scooting my fingers up and down the reins.
Bob said I'm still making things too boring for Mercury by just going around the outside of the arena (he's said this one enough now that it's like a broken record, and it's such an easy thing to change). He said make more circles, serpentines, change of direction, and change of speed. The reason I can't is because I'm so busy thinking of the other 50 things, moving him around is just beyond my grasp. Bob said it will get easier with time - the new things will become habits, opening up room for the other new things.
Part of why I just talked the last half of the lesson was because I felt like I had enough to work on for a week, and I wasn't going to absorb more anyway. It doesn't sound like it - typing it out, but it really felt like a lot to handle - wiggling my fingers, keeping him bent, keeping him moving forward, not letting him spook at the gate.
We had the same conversation we always do when I'm feeling insecure. Bob pointed out that the kids riding Training Level probably take 3-4 lessons a week (he named a couple names who do most of the lessons). He said some people benefit from that, and that while I don't need more than one lesson a week, I might benefit from it because what I tend to do is focus so hard on the one thing we worked on that I forget to work on other things. For example, at this lesson I concentrated so hard on bending that I would forget to move him forward.
What I really want Bob to tell me is how good I could be. I know he won't, and I understand why, but I still want to know if my talent combined with hard work is going to get me to Novice and keep me there, or if I can work above that.
I'm writing this too late to capture as many details as I'd like. Some of the stand-out points were:
Don't look down.
Ugh. Hopefully I'll remember when I ride next. Unfortunately Mercury got three days off with the show coming up because we were in Oregon, on the road for 13 hours instead of 8, and then tonight I completely forgot the locker combination and couldn't get in. It makes me want to tear my hair out. I spent a long time today trying to get organized and planning out how to juggle horses and levels and time and lessons and money, so it is frustrating to not remember more of my lesson to get it written down.
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Lesson 18 - 8/26/06 - Sitting Trot
Bob asked me what I wanted to work on today, and I said I wanted to work on dressage and all the messy things that need to be fixed before I can really do well at jumping. So we went out and I started making my warm up circles, and we started talking about hands, arms, shoulders, and hips, and how they are all interconnected. It resulted in a lesson that had the most improvement, easiest, and left me totally in pain and hardly able to walk. Bob is a genius.
We started at the walk, and Bob helped me stop holding my hips so tight and letting Mercury do the moving. Once I finally got it, it felt all weird and rolling. A HUGE amount of movement compared to what I had been doing.
Next I started sitting the trot (something that thankfully I have been working on a few months, because I've spent my entire riding life (15 years) not able to do it at all until Bob told me how a few lessons back). What Bob wanted was for my belly button to go up and down, not forward and back, and for my hips to absorb all the bumping. He says that you can't really ride a horse until you can sit because you can't really train until you can keep your butt planted in the saddle (my words).
It felt pretty good, and then Bob asked if I felt secure on Mercury, and I said yes, and then he took my dressage whip and put it behind my elbows behind my back. And it was like a miracle. Suddenly I had this deep, secure, planted seat that felt so smooth and soft. It was amazing. I sat and sat and sat, and then we flipped my stirrups to work on lengthening my legs, and then I started rotating my shoulders (look to the left, look to the right, but with shoulders, not just head), to separate my upper body from my hips. It was incredible. I could ride around, looking around, and my hips and legs just did everything.
What it felt like was a spring in my tailbone, that compressed and released on the steps. I could also really feel Mercury's legs, and as we went on, he started to relax and lengthen his stride a little (though he was going really slow, baby steps Bob says). It also felt a little like leaning back, but Bob says it was straight up and down.
So what Bob says is that in order to have steady hands, your hips have to be absorbing the motion. It is like the egg in the spoon race in 4-H. And I could see how nice my hands were when my hips were doing everything.
My toes tend to point out (especially the left one), which opens my knee, but when I try to make them go straight, I overcorrect. Bob says to work on this twice a week, to retrain my muscle memory into this new position.
It felt great, except for all my hip muscles started to hurt and it took a few minutes for them to loosen up after I got off. I was feeling really positive and happy with all the progress we've made, and then I made the mistake of going out to Caber Farms to watch part of the recognized show. They were doing training level cross country when I got there, and the jumps were HUGE and all the riders, who all looked about 14 (then I found out it was Junior Training), had the most secure legs and wonderful jumping position. Except the one girl who fell off. I think they called it an "involuntary dismount". I was mortified at how I'm jostling around trying to master the sitting trot at 30 at a jog, and these kids were zipping around jumping these things almost as tall as them. It was a big, fat slice of humble pie.
A long time ago Alice had told me she thought I could go Preliminary if I worked hard and got a good horse, but now I don't know. I just feel like such a bag of noodles all the time.
When I ride now, I try to focus on the 4 "H"'s: head, hands, hips, heels. I run that through my head with the "1-2-3-4" to shortcut my analyzing brain and just feel what I'm doing.
The one other thing Bob said was that he thinks he is a good trainer (and I totally agree; he is the best I have ever had), and he can take someone to the top and then keep them there. I have read that it is extremely hard to stay in the top, and I can believe it because it looked like there were 250 horses at this show. The Beginner Novice scores were in the low 30's. I think you have to have a certain amount of talent, but you also have to work really, really hard (and maybe I am not working hard enough), and then you have to get a good horse with a good heart and a nice, solid body. Bob might be able to ride anything, but I'm going to need someone to help my handicap a little. Mercury is fabulous, but I don't think his legs will ever do training.
The one other thing I asked about was Mercury running around with his head up like a giraffe on the lunge line. Bob had two suggestions: 1) Let him start without the side reins attached. Then put them on and tighten them up. Don't do too much too fast or show off. 2) If I've been working him hard, don't be too heavy with my hands. He could just be protecting his mouth afraid I'm going to yank on him. Bob thinks its the first, but he knows I think it's the 2nd.
We started at the walk, and Bob helped me stop holding my hips so tight and letting Mercury do the moving. Once I finally got it, it felt all weird and rolling. A HUGE amount of movement compared to what I had been doing.
Next I started sitting the trot (something that thankfully I have been working on a few months, because I've spent my entire riding life (15 years) not able to do it at all until Bob told me how a few lessons back). What Bob wanted was for my belly button to go up and down, not forward and back, and for my hips to absorb all the bumping. He says that you can't really ride a horse until you can sit because you can't really train until you can keep your butt planted in the saddle (my words).
It felt pretty good, and then Bob asked if I felt secure on Mercury, and I said yes, and then he took my dressage whip and put it behind my elbows behind my back. And it was like a miracle. Suddenly I had this deep, secure, planted seat that felt so smooth and soft. It was amazing. I sat and sat and sat, and then we flipped my stirrups to work on lengthening my legs, and then I started rotating my shoulders (look to the left, look to the right, but with shoulders, not just head), to separate my upper body from my hips. It was incredible. I could ride around, looking around, and my hips and legs just did everything.
What it felt like was a spring in my tailbone, that compressed and released on the steps. I could also really feel Mercury's legs, and as we went on, he started to relax and lengthen his stride a little (though he was going really slow, baby steps Bob says). It also felt a little like leaning back, but Bob says it was straight up and down.
So what Bob says is that in order to have steady hands, your hips have to be absorbing the motion. It is like the egg in the spoon race in 4-H. And I could see how nice my hands were when my hips were doing everything.
My toes tend to point out (especially the left one), which opens my knee, but when I try to make them go straight, I overcorrect. Bob says to work on this twice a week, to retrain my muscle memory into this new position.
It felt great, except for all my hip muscles started to hurt and it took a few minutes for them to loosen up after I got off. I was feeling really positive and happy with all the progress we've made, and then I made the mistake of going out to Caber Farms to watch part of the recognized show. They were doing training level cross country when I got there, and the jumps were HUGE and all the riders, who all looked about 14 (then I found out it was Junior Training), had the most secure legs and wonderful jumping position. Except the one girl who fell off. I think they called it an "involuntary dismount". I was mortified at how I'm jostling around trying to master the sitting trot at 30 at a jog, and these kids were zipping around jumping these things almost as tall as them. It was a big, fat slice of humble pie.
A long time ago Alice had told me she thought I could go Preliminary if I worked hard and got a good horse, but now I don't know. I just feel like such a bag of noodles all the time.
When I ride now, I try to focus on the 4 "H"'s: head, hands, hips, heels. I run that through my head with the "1-2-3-4" to shortcut my analyzing brain and just feel what I'm doing.
The one other thing Bob said was that he thinks he is a good trainer (and I totally agree; he is the best I have ever had), and he can take someone to the top and then keep them there. I have read that it is extremely hard to stay in the top, and I can believe it because it looked like there were 250 horses at this show. The Beginner Novice scores were in the low 30's. I think you have to have a certain amount of talent, but you also have to work really, really hard (and maybe I am not working hard enough), and then you have to get a good horse with a good heart and a nice, solid body. Bob might be able to ride anything, but I'm going to need someone to help my handicap a little. Mercury is fabulous, but I don't think his legs will ever do training.
The one other thing I asked about was Mercury running around with his head up like a giraffe on the lunge line. Bob had two suggestions: 1) Let him start without the side reins attached. Then put them on and tighten them up. Don't do too much too fast or show off. 2) If I've been working him hard, don't be too heavy with my hands. He could just be protecting his mouth afraid I'm going to yank on him. Bob thinks its the first, but he knows I think it's the 2nd.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Lesson 17 - 8/18/06
Today I had a vigorous jumping lesson. First, the good points: I feel really balanced, secure, and grounded. I feel like my legs are hardly moving, and the big leg concern is when on the left lead, my right knee opens and my toe points out, but I'm getting better at correcting it. I really improved my trot - canter transition from last week by leaning back and sitting up, and I am sitting more solid in the saddle in the canter (less air under my butt).
Now for the bad news: the jump lesson was humiliating. We started with a cross rail, with the worst jump ever. Here's the things I started out needing to work on:
1) Hands forward - I bring them back while we're in the air. I don't sit up, but just bring my hands back, so I'm jerking on his mouth while we're flying.
2) Head up - head up doesn't mean looking between his ears, but really up - chin up. I could feel it when it was right - which meant staring at the wall on the other end of the arena, but couldn't feel it wrong.
3) Don't swing legs - while my seat felt secure and solid, my lower leg would swing way back when I pinched with my knee.
Bob gave me a couple ideas that seemed to work:
On the way to the jump, think dressage seat, half halt, half halt, half halt. Then go over.
Count out loud: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4, 1 - 2 - 3 - 4. This made me ride instead of think. I ride better when I'm not thinking.
Think head up, hands forward, heels down as I approach the jump. Don't worry about where he is taking off from or asking him to go from a spot. Looking at a spot makes you look down.
I am leaping forward - like standing up, instead of bending forward and just riding him over. I am "charging" the jump.
So then we worked on a vertical, and then an oxer, and I got a teensy bit better, but started having problems on the "courses" to get him from a canter back to a trot.
Then we worked a line of three, which was a disaster. So then we did two teeny jumps with a trot pole (24' apart) and it was still pretty bad. After a while, we moved up to 5 trot poles, each 24' apart. Bob said to work on this every other day.
The problem is that I can't feel when I need more leg and when I need more hand, and I let him coast through instead of riding dressage in between. What needs to happen is pole - half halt half halt - pole - half halt half halt - pole, etc. But when he gets tired, a leg goes with the half halt to keep him moving.
Anyway - Mercury was fantastic. He loves to jump, and he is consistent. Bob says he jumps nice and round, but sometimes he takes off from too close (a lot) and sometimes too far. Bob does not recommend my old training styles - riding a lunge line over a fence or riding with my eyes shut.
Other misc from Kevin's watching lesson:
1) Stay seated - especially after the jump (it was easier to not overjump if I sat a few trot steps out, and Bob said that was ok to do)
2) Approach jump straight
3) Don't let him track his back legs on a separate track - use inside leg behind the girth to put him straight
Bob also tested if I could feel what was wrong over each jump - making me say out loud what I felt wrong to make sure we could keep working. It was a great learning lesson, but a lousy me showing that I was a good rider lesson.
Now for the bad news: the jump lesson was humiliating. We started with a cross rail, with the worst jump ever. Here's the things I started out needing to work on:
1) Hands forward - I bring them back while we're in the air. I don't sit up, but just bring my hands back, so I'm jerking on his mouth while we're flying.
2) Head up - head up doesn't mean looking between his ears, but really up - chin up. I could feel it when it was right - which meant staring at the wall on the other end of the arena, but couldn't feel it wrong.
3) Don't swing legs - while my seat felt secure and solid, my lower leg would swing way back when I pinched with my knee.
Bob gave me a couple ideas that seemed to work:
On the way to the jump, think dressage seat, half halt, half halt, half halt. Then go over.
Count out loud: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4, 1 - 2 - 3 - 4. This made me ride instead of think. I ride better when I'm not thinking.
Think head up, hands forward, heels down as I approach the jump. Don't worry about where he is taking off from or asking him to go from a spot. Looking at a spot makes you look down.
I am leaping forward - like standing up, instead of bending forward and just riding him over. I am "charging" the jump.
So then we worked on a vertical, and then an oxer, and I got a teensy bit better, but started having problems on the "courses" to get him from a canter back to a trot.
Then we worked a line of three, which was a disaster. So then we did two teeny jumps with a trot pole (24' apart) and it was still pretty bad. After a while, we moved up to 5 trot poles, each 24' apart. Bob said to work on this every other day.
The problem is that I can't feel when I need more leg and when I need more hand, and I let him coast through instead of riding dressage in between. What needs to happen is pole - half halt half halt - pole - half halt half halt - pole, etc. But when he gets tired, a leg goes with the half halt to keep him moving.
Anyway - Mercury was fantastic. He loves to jump, and he is consistent. Bob says he jumps nice and round, but sometimes he takes off from too close (a lot) and sometimes too far. Bob does not recommend my old training styles - riding a lunge line over a fence or riding with my eyes shut.
Other misc from Kevin's watching lesson:
1) Stay seated - especially after the jump (it was easier to not overjump if I sat a few trot steps out, and Bob said that was ok to do)
2) Approach jump straight
3) Don't let him track his back legs on a separate track - use inside leg behind the girth to put him straight
Bob also tested if I could feel what was wrong over each jump - making me say out loud what I felt wrong to make sure we could keep working. It was a great learning lesson, but a lousy me showing that I was a good rider lesson.
Monday, August 14, 2006
One more addition to Lesson 16(ish)
How to jump a bank:
Onto it is like a vertical.
Off of it is lean back, legs next to the girth, arms long but contact with the rein stays so that if his head goes down and he starts to stumble, I can pull his head back up.
He jumps the bank in his pasture like a bird, but the first two times off with me were like a lead weight. The third time we got it just right.
Onto it is like a vertical.
Off of it is lean back, legs next to the girth, arms long but contact with the rein stays so that if his head goes down and he starts to stumble, I can pull his head back up.
He jumps the bank in his pasture like a bird, but the first two times off with me were like a lead weight. The third time we got it just right.
Odds and ends
Bob watched my video tonight while I was doing interval training. Alice said he was impressed with how Mercury did. Then crickets chirped. Finally I said "Yeah, he was excellent and I was like a total beginner." Alice said he can critique me if I want.
I watched the video again when I got home to see what was wrong. My upper body seems to move too much and my hands move too much. Some of the jumps I jump ahead and some I pinch with my knees so my lower leg swings back. But other than that, I can't really see anything horrifying.
Then I watched an old lesson from the winter and a horse show from several years ago. And I got depressed because several years ago I was 10 pounds lighter and it really shows on my legs. So now I'm going to bed depressed because my legs don't look any more solid now than they did then. The only difference is I don't lean so far forward now - the slow transitition from hunt seat to solid dressage seat.
Also, I'm riding a hanoverian who just floats around, unlike Mercury who is frequently like riding a slug.
I watched the video again when I got home to see what was wrong. My upper body seems to move too much and my hands move too much. Some of the jumps I jump ahead and some I pinch with my knees so my lower leg swings back. But other than that, I can't really see anything horrifying.
Then I watched an old lesson from the winter and a horse show from several years ago. And I got depressed because several years ago I was 10 pounds lighter and it really shows on my legs. So now I'm going to bed depressed because my legs don't look any more solid now than they did then. The only difference is I don't lean so far forward now - the slow transitition from hunt seat to solid dressage seat.
Also, I'm riding a hanoverian who just floats around, unlike Mercury who is frequently like riding a slug.
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Nutshell - now that it's up to date
I bought Mercury as an underweight pasture horse who hadn't been ridden in a year and had been ridden for two years by a teenage girl before that. He has a tattoo, and was called an "Appendix QH" when I got him. The woman who sold him to me was a year off about his age. He is 12 this year (2006). We can't read the letter on his tattoo, but we have a good guess which horse he is with Jockey Club because of the numbers, gelding, and color. I haven't paid for his history to find out how he did or how much he raced.
I had him at Griffinwood for several months, and he was happy there, but it was too crowded, so I moved him to Bob's barn, Edelweiss in the winter. I'm much happier because the arenas are huge and I am usually there alone, and there is a cross country course. Griffinwood had trails, and right now I am truckless so he isn't doing any trail riding.
He gained a lot of weight and we got his feet fixed up so he could move better. He's working on balance now, and has started to trust me and move better (Bob says because my balance is better too). Bob has completely changed my riding style from hunter/jumper to a nice, solid deep seat. I feel a lot more secure and comfortable, and can even sit a slow trot! (A miracle!) I consistently have problems keeping my hands still, and we are still working on Mercury's health. He is getting Missing Link and an herb blend right now (from Chamisa Ridge, called "Rest Easy" for nervous horses), and biotin, because his hooves got weak a couple months ago, and when the farrier was a week late, he finally pulled a shoe. We think his hooves were weak from the "starvation" period - when he arrived skinny, his hooves were malnourished that year, and finally grew to the point that the nails were in the thin part. Now I moisturize twice a week.
He went to his first show, a derby, last weekend. We rode "Beginner Novice Intro" because I had no idea how he'd act at a show. I thought he'd be nervous and strung out and not listen. I took him a half day early and rode him around about an hour and a half on Friday, and he was really nervous - ears looking, jumping around, prancing. Saturday and Sunday we had a dressage test, about an hour break, and then a combined stadium/xc course. He did excellent! He got a 3rd place on Saturday (Dressage test was a 40) and a 1st place on Sunday (dressage test was a 39.5). Debbie's husband videoed the show and made me a tape.
Today's lesson was the first post to this blog. I missed a few lessons and there was a period of about a month where Bob rode because we were having problems with him. He might have an injury to his sacroiliac. His hocks wobble (it feels like he's about to sit down - he stumbles when I'm riding sometimes); and he tends to get stiff and have trouble pushing off from the hind legs. When I work him on the bit, he gets lame. We've had the chiropractor out twice, and we're planning a third visit. She got rid of the bulge, and he does better for about a month, but with work starts to get stiff again.
I hope he can go up to novice, because I'd like to keep him a few more years, but I'm not sure how his back and hind legs will do. I'm working on strengthening him right now. He loves to jump, and is doing really well. He goes through water without any hesitation, and he doesn't always know where to take off (and I don't always tell him the right spot), but he tries and doesn't do anything bad (no rushing, running out, hesitating).
Bob said in today's lesson that one thing I do is get lazy - once he is going well, I quit asking, so that's a problem jumping (I expect him to do all the work) and in the canter, when we plummet to the trot, usually I've quit pushing with my leg.
Mercury is kind of lazy, and I'm used to riding horses with more spunk. He's a funny mix though, of being lazy yet nervous. We don't want to start using spurs because of the nervous side.
I need to do one more post - the last lesson Bob told me to write out in detail what my hands are doing in the trot, to help me visualize all the details to work on holding them more steady. Today's lesson he gave me a lot more details, and the problem I've had is keeping it all in my head at once. It turns out I can only do about 15 things, then I start losing them, so I've been slowly working from the macro to the micro.
Bob has improved my riding enormously. I haven't even been riding with him a year and I feel like I'm at least 100x better than when I started. He is really, really good at explaining what's going on and why, so I can feel it to fix it when he's not there.
It's been very frustrating that I can't feel all of it by myself.
I had him at Griffinwood for several months, and he was happy there, but it was too crowded, so I moved him to Bob's barn, Edelweiss in the winter. I'm much happier because the arenas are huge and I am usually there alone, and there is a cross country course. Griffinwood had trails, and right now I am truckless so he isn't doing any trail riding.
He gained a lot of weight and we got his feet fixed up so he could move better. He's working on balance now, and has started to trust me and move better (Bob says because my balance is better too). Bob has completely changed my riding style from hunter/jumper to a nice, solid deep seat. I feel a lot more secure and comfortable, and can even sit a slow trot! (A miracle!) I consistently have problems keeping my hands still, and we are still working on Mercury's health. He is getting Missing Link and an herb blend right now (from Chamisa Ridge, called "Rest Easy" for nervous horses), and biotin, because his hooves got weak a couple months ago, and when the farrier was a week late, he finally pulled a shoe. We think his hooves were weak from the "starvation" period - when he arrived skinny, his hooves were malnourished that year, and finally grew to the point that the nails were in the thin part. Now I moisturize twice a week.
He went to his first show, a derby, last weekend. We rode "Beginner Novice Intro" because I had no idea how he'd act at a show. I thought he'd be nervous and strung out and not listen. I took him a half day early and rode him around about an hour and a half on Friday, and he was really nervous - ears looking, jumping around, prancing. Saturday and Sunday we had a dressage test, about an hour break, and then a combined stadium/xc course. He did excellent! He got a 3rd place on Saturday (Dressage test was a 40) and a 1st place on Sunday (dressage test was a 39.5). Debbie's husband videoed the show and made me a tape.
Today's lesson was the first post to this blog. I missed a few lessons and there was a period of about a month where Bob rode because we were having problems with him. He might have an injury to his sacroiliac. His hocks wobble (it feels like he's about to sit down - he stumbles when I'm riding sometimes); and he tends to get stiff and have trouble pushing off from the hind legs. When I work him on the bit, he gets lame. We've had the chiropractor out twice, and we're planning a third visit. She got rid of the bulge, and he does better for about a month, but with work starts to get stiff again.
I hope he can go up to novice, because I'd like to keep him a few more years, but I'm not sure how his back and hind legs will do. I'm working on strengthening him right now. He loves to jump, and is doing really well. He goes through water without any hesitation, and he doesn't always know where to take off (and I don't always tell him the right spot), but he tries and doesn't do anything bad (no rushing, running out, hesitating).
Bob said in today's lesson that one thing I do is get lazy - once he is going well, I quit asking, so that's a problem jumping (I expect him to do all the work) and in the canter, when we plummet to the trot, usually I've quit pushing with my leg.
Mercury is kind of lazy, and I'm used to riding horses with more spunk. He's a funny mix though, of being lazy yet nervous. We don't want to start using spurs because of the nervous side.
I need to do one more post - the last lesson Bob told me to write out in detail what my hands are doing in the trot, to help me visualize all the details to work on holding them more steady. Today's lesson he gave me a lot more details, and the problem I've had is keeping it all in my head at once. It turns out I can only do about 15 things, then I start losing them, so I've been slowly working from the macro to the micro.
Bob has improved my riding enormously. I haven't even been riding with him a year and I feel like I'm at least 100x better than when I started. He is really, really good at explaining what's going on and why, so I can feel it to fix it when he's not there.
It's been very frustrating that I can't feel all of it by myself.
Lessons 13, 14, & 15 - 6/3, 6/10, & 6/14/06
13: Short lesson
1) Hands steady
2) But not stiff & rigid
3) Disconnect upper body
4) Don't push with seat at canter
14 & 15 combined notes:
1) Count # of steps between posts on each side to have consistent gait (14 is good)
2) When he is heavy on my hands, give him a couple inches. Use half halts if he zips around.
3) Don't surprise him; before asking for something, one tap.
4) Use whip more than leg. Tap going into corners.
5) Make him go from walk to trot at speed I want. Use leg, voice, and whip.
6) Bute 2 days before show. He's stiff & moving bad. Stifle buckles sometimes. He needs to work through it.
7) Most important right now is me being consistent & in control. Don't give him an opportunity to take advantage.
8) Don't let whip flop around.
9) Lean back in canter. Legs ok (feels like skiing). Left is more floppy because I'm right-handed.
10) Move hips forward and back - not side to side.
11) Give him two chances, then yell/smack.
12) Don't lean in on corners.
13) He's stretching his neck down because I hold my hands too tight
1) Hands steady
2) But not stiff & rigid
3) Disconnect upper body
4) Don't push with seat at canter
14 & 15 combined notes:
1) Count # of steps between posts on each side to have consistent gait (14 is good)
2) When he is heavy on my hands, give him a couple inches. Use half halts if he zips around.
3) Don't surprise him; before asking for something, one tap.
4) Use whip more than leg. Tap going into corners.
5) Make him go from walk to trot at speed I want. Use leg, voice, and whip.
6) Bute 2 days before show. He's stiff & moving bad. Stifle buckles sometimes. He needs to work through it.
7) Most important right now is me being consistent & in control. Don't give him an opportunity to take advantage.
8) Don't let whip flop around.
9) Lean back in canter. Legs ok (feels like skiing). Left is more floppy because I'm right-handed.
10) Move hips forward and back - not side to side.
11) Give him two chances, then yell/smack.
12) Don't lean in on corners.
13) He's stretching his neck down because I hold my hands too tight
Lesson #12: 5/29/06 - LUNGE LINE
Things to remember when riding:
1) Shoulders back
2) Arms glued to waist, elbows rest on hips (hold something - like a glove - under arm)
3) Post up and down (not towards front)
4) Ears, shoulders, hips, heels - one line
5) Hands steady
6) Don't look down
7) Breathe
8) Don't tilt shoulder in (Alice's tip was wear a loose bra strap so you can feel it fall)
9) Paper/kleenex under knees/feet
10) Lean way back - feels like sitting in chair
Bob says sitting trot isn't ever comfortable, but feels correct. It did feel a lot better by the end of the lesson.
Two days earlier I rode Sonny, and had similar problems as on Mercury - my legs swing back; I tilt forward. The big difference was Sonny ignored me mostly (i.e. didn't get anxious).
1) Shoulders back
2) Arms glued to waist, elbows rest on hips (hold something - like a glove - under arm)
3) Post up and down (not towards front)
4) Ears, shoulders, hips, heels - one line
5) Hands steady
6) Don't look down
7) Breathe
8) Don't tilt shoulder in (Alice's tip was wear a loose bra strap so you can feel it fall)
9) Paper/kleenex under knees/feet
10) Lean way back - feels like sitting in chair
Bob says sitting trot isn't ever comfortable, but feels correct. It did feel a lot better by the end of the lesson.
Two days earlier I rode Sonny, and had similar problems as on Mercury - my legs swing back; I tilt forward. The big difference was Sonny ignored me mostly (i.e. didn't get anxious).
Lessons 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 - 4/8, 4/15, 4/23, 5/7, 5/13
7: - on video - jumping with Marcie
1) Give him his head over trot poles
2) Don't overjump
3) Don't let him rush
8: - dressage with Marcie
1) Look down center line from corner - so don't pass center line and have to go back
2) Don't cut corners - use all of arena
3) Same tempo at end as start
4) Look relaxed - don't ride all stiff
5) Don't halt/salute too rapidly. Pause for a second.
6) Bob practices a dressage test every ride (but switches A & C). Doesn't mind horse anticipating.
9: - only rode about 5 minutes - Mercury needs an adjustment
1) Bob says not to ride so planned - to feel what Mercury can do on each day
2) If ride him injured, he'll build defenses that will take longer to correct
3) Chiro next week - give him a few days, then start really riding him hard
4) I need weekly lessons - Bob should ride some too (to see if attitude, physical, or me)
Misc:
Alice - lower expectations, no perfect, don't repeat
Small, discrete goas
Focus on positive
Bob says I can learn to feel it, too controlling now.
Bob syas when he's in shape, he'll let me ride Cormoran - to feel an Olympic level horse.
10 & 11:
Mercury falls apart
Bit - teeth - bute - no turn out
Walk only - lunge with ties
Even Bob is struggling.
1) Give him his head over trot poles
2) Don't overjump
3) Don't let him rush
8: - dressage with Marcie
1) Look down center line from corner - so don't pass center line and have to go back
2) Don't cut corners - use all of arena
3) Same tempo at end as start
4) Look relaxed - don't ride all stiff
5) Don't halt/salute too rapidly. Pause for a second.
6) Bob practices a dressage test every ride (but switches A & C). Doesn't mind horse anticipating.
9: - only rode about 5 minutes - Mercury needs an adjustment
1) Bob says not to ride so planned - to feel what Mercury can do on each day
2) If ride him injured, he'll build defenses that will take longer to correct
3) Chiro next week - give him a few days, then start really riding him hard
4) I need weekly lessons - Bob should ride some too (to see if attitude, physical, or me)
Misc:
Alice - lower expectations, no perfect, don't repeat
Small, discrete goas
Focus on positive
Bob says I can learn to feel it, too controlling now.
Bob syas when he's in shape, he'll let me ride Cormoran - to feel an Olympic level horse.
10 & 11:
Mercury falls apart
Bit - teeth - bute - no turn out
Walk only - lunge with ties
Even Bob is struggling.
Lesson # 6 - 2/28/06
- on tape -
1) This was the "relax" lesson. Bob says I'm too nervous and make Mercury nervous. I need to breathe, talk, loosen up.
2) Started by checking the canter.
3) Bob said to warm up for about five minutes on loose rein. Let Merc move out.
4) At canter - move inside hand in.
5) Next cavaletti. Give him his head, loose rein. At end it was easier for me to drop, because I was pulling even when I couldn't feel it. Mercury thrashed around and kept leaping them.
6) Then jumping:
- Eyes forward, head up, looking ahead (not down)
- Enough crest release
- Don't anticipate (don't jump ahead or fall behind)
- Don't jerk back on reins too soon - don't punish for jumping
7) Then I started crying & discussion about how each horse is trained differently and I should think of Mercury as green and my expectations are too high.
1) This was the "relax" lesson. Bob says I'm too nervous and make Mercury nervous. I need to breathe, talk, loosen up.
2) Started by checking the canter.
3) Bob said to warm up for about five minutes on loose rein. Let Merc move out.
4) At canter - move inside hand in.
5) Next cavaletti. Give him his head, loose rein. At end it was easier for me to drop, because I was pulling even when I couldn't feel it. Mercury thrashed around and kept leaping them.
6) Then jumping:
- Eyes forward, head up, looking ahead (not down)
- Enough crest release
- Don't anticipate (don't jump ahead or fall behind)
- Don't jerk back on reins too soon - don't punish for jumping
7) Then I started crying & discussion about how each horse is trained differently and I should think of Mercury as green and my expectations are too high.
Lesson #5 - 2/12/06
1) Leaning too far forward
2) More precise, consistent aids - always use voice
3) Ask twice - then yell or smack
4) When "bad" - go down to something else, change direction, ask again
5) Me balance/hands/relax --> Mercury balance --> Mercury fit (too anxious to get fit)
6) Need to be more patient, less insecure
7) Lunge line: with bridle & tighter side reins
8) Wobbly hocks - wrap back legs
9) Cooler & flash bridle needed
10) 3-6 years get show horse
11) When I'm tired, lean more on hands - BAD
12) I move around a lot at canter, which throws him off balance
13) A lot of my problems stem from hunt seat
14) Talk/sing to relax me which makes him more confident
15) Changing leads, rushing & breaking are all him off balance & being nervous
16) Let him walk around for a couple hours just being a horse
17) Video me riding to see flaws (butt high at canter - air)
18) Wiggle fingers up & down reins
2) More precise, consistent aids - always use voice
3) Ask twice - then yell or smack
4) When "bad" - go down to something else, change direction, ask again
5) Me balance/hands/relax --> Mercury balance --> Mercury fit (too anxious to get fit)
6) Need to be more patient, less insecure
7) Lunge line: with bridle & tighter side reins
8) Wobbly hocks - wrap back legs
9) Cooler & flash bridle needed
10) 3-6 years get show horse
11) When I'm tired, lean more on hands - BAD
12) I move around a lot at canter, which throws him off balance
13) A lot of my problems stem from hunt seat
14) Talk/sing to relax me which makes him more confident
15) Changing leads, rushing & breaking are all him off balance & being nervous
16) Let him walk around for a couple hours just being a horse
17) Video me riding to see flaws (butt high at canter - air)
18) Wiggle fingers up & down reins
Lesson #4 - 1/29/06
1) Inside hand constant, outside hand take & release.
2) Keep my hands still! He can't go on bit if I am moving my hands all around.
3) Canter: - bend to inside (harder to bend him to left)
- inside leg at girth
- outside leg back
- use voice command
- Don't let him run out - start over
- only go 5-6 nice strides, then regroup
- Sit straight & deep
- Keep head aligned - no nose poking out
- work in circles
- I need to be in better shape to keep him all together (turns out I was holding my breath)
- I need to be real consistent
- No following with hand!
4) Worked with Marcie on German martingale
5) Mercury needs to gain weight -people will talk
6) When he throws tantrums, ignore and keep going. Yell if he is very bad.
7) Leg position: constant pressure, but have to figure out how much. Boots should have worn spot at top and ankle.
8) Mercury's breastplate needs to be tightened.
9) His right hind leg is off (Bob said can feel at slow trot, not as much at regular trot). But he needs to work through it.
10) Noseband on 3rd hole.
11) Get D rings for saddle.
12) Keep him moving in corners and bent. Work on bend.
13) Bob thinks Mercury is spoiled. Make him work harder. (Rode him & fought.)
14) Get USEF tests.
15) Saddle: put on, walk, tighten, walk, tighten. His saddle doesn't fit - needs more padding - riser or padded pad.
16) Pinkie on bucking straps (Janis' idea)
17) Lift inside hip for canter.
18) Breathing
2) Keep my hands still! He can't go on bit if I am moving my hands all around.
3) Canter: - bend to inside (harder to bend him to left)
- inside leg at girth
- outside leg back
- use voice command
- Don't let him run out - start over
- only go 5-6 nice strides, then regroup
- Sit straight & deep
- Keep head aligned - no nose poking out
- work in circles
- I need to be in better shape to keep him all together (turns out I was holding my breath)
- I need to be real consistent
- No following with hand!
4) Worked with Marcie on German martingale
5) Mercury needs to gain weight -people will talk
6) When he throws tantrums, ignore and keep going. Yell if he is very bad.
7) Leg position: constant pressure, but have to figure out how much. Boots should have worn spot at top and ankle.
8) Mercury's breastplate needs to be tightened.
9) His right hind leg is off (Bob said can feel at slow trot, not as much at regular trot). But he needs to work through it.
10) Noseband on 3rd hole.
11) Get D rings for saddle.
12) Keep him moving in corners and bent. Work on bend.
13) Bob thinks Mercury is spoiled. Make him work harder. (Rode him & fought.)
14) Get USEF tests.
15) Saddle: put on, walk, tighten, walk, tighten. His saddle doesn't fit - needs more padding - riser or padded pad.
16) Pinkie on bucking straps (Janis' idea)
17) Lift inside hip for canter.
18) Breathing
Lesson #3 - 12/31/05
Head position
1) Keep head in position - especially around corners. Do 5-6 half halts before and after corners. Keep up impulsion.
2) Constant pressure on inside. Squeeze and release on outside.
3) Less coddling of Mercury. He won't do it unless he is asked to.
4) Praise him when he is correct. Talk sharply when he's not listening.
5) Bob rode Mercury in this lesson.
6) Conditioning is trot. Bob says walk, 10 min. trot, 5 min. walk, 5 min. trot, 2-3 min. walk, 2 min. walk, canter, tort, walk, canter, etc. Limited canter because it doesn't condition.
7) Use lunge line to load him in the trailer.
8) Don't let saddle hang loose (to air out).
9) Use lighter for back lifts and to do tummy sit-ups.
10) No hand movement.
11) Get training level tests.
1) Keep head in position - especially around corners. Do 5-6 half halts before and after corners. Keep up impulsion.
2) Constant pressure on inside. Squeeze and release on outside.
3) Less coddling of Mercury. He won't do it unless he is asked to.
4) Praise him when he is correct. Talk sharply when he's not listening.
5) Bob rode Mercury in this lesson.
6) Conditioning is trot. Bob says walk, 10 min. trot, 5 min. walk, 5 min. trot, 2-3 min. walk, 2 min. walk, canter, tort, walk, canter, etc. Limited canter because it doesn't condition.
7) Use lunge line to load him in the trailer.
8) Don't let saddle hang loose (to air out).
9) Use lighter for back lifts and to do tummy sit-ups.
10) No hand movement.
11) Get training level tests.
Lesson #2 - 12/10/05
1) Sitting trot is up and down (hand on belly), not forward and back
2) 2 point with bridged reins
3) Work on lunge line (or loose rein) for balance: arms out
4) Post the walk: up & down, no leg movement
5) Post the walk without stirrups
6) Post the trot without stirrups
7) "Race" at trot for big movement
8) Start and end at forward walk
9) Make walk more forward by squeezing with opposite leg (left shoulder- right leg)
10) Lunge line with crop behind arms
11) Bending (over) in turns to warm up - when doing serpentines start 2nd bend half way through
12) Feet: Frog needs to be trimmed and shoe straightened
13) Short stirrups until steady legs
14) Magnets for trailering (and lavender)
15) Order herbs, chiropractor
16) Side reins tighter: start loose, 2 notches in far side, inside tighter
17) Speed up and slow down trot
2) 2 point with bridged reins
3) Work on lunge line (or loose rein) for balance: arms out
4) Post the walk: up & down, no leg movement
5) Post the walk without stirrups
6) Post the trot without stirrups
7) "Race" at trot for big movement
8) Start and end at forward walk
9) Make walk more forward by squeezing with opposite leg (left shoulder- right leg)
10) Lunge line with crop behind arms
11) Bending (over) in turns to warm up - when doing serpentines start 2nd bend half way through
12) Feet: Frog needs to be trimmed and shoe straightened
13) Short stirrups until steady legs
14) Magnets for trailering (and lavender)
15) Order herbs, chiropractor
16) Side reins tighter: start loose, 2 notches in far side, inside tighter
17) Speed up and slow down trot
Lesson 1 with Bob - 11/19/05
1) My balance: legs forward, lean back
2) Knees tight: piece of paper
3) Legs swinging: rubber band
4) Side reins: Merucry lunge 3x/week
5) Head set: half halts on outside rein (inside constant pressure)
6) Serpentines & circles (don't just go around the arena - he gets bored)
7) Lunge line: me ride (think broom behind arms)
8) Mercury needs: noseband adjusted; back feet fixed with farrier (inside lowered, outside pad raising); frog to center of shoe; shoe offset/outside; chiropractor
9) Going forward: Yell at him!
10) Relax: Sing or talk
11) Carrot stretches; leg stretches; and situps
2) Knees tight: piece of paper
3) Legs swinging: rubber band
4) Side reins: Merucry lunge 3x/week
5) Head set: half halts on outside rein (inside constant pressure)
6) Serpentines & circles (don't just go around the arena - he gets bored)
7) Lunge line: me ride (think broom behind arms)
8) Mercury needs: noseband adjusted; back feet fixed with farrier (inside lowered, outside pad raising); frog to center of shoe; shoe offset/outside; chiropractor
9) Going forward: Yell at him!
10) Relax: Sing or talk
11) Carrot stretches; leg stretches; and situps
My new blog about riding
Here's the first post to the new blog. This blog is going to be about training Mercury (my horse) and me to do three day eventing. I am going to include what my trainer (who is fabulous) tells me to work on in my lessons, problems I encounter working on my own, tips and hints I pick up, exciting stories, horse show news, and other odds and ends.
I started keeping track of what my trainer told me back with my first lesson, last fall. I got lazy lately and missed a few lessons, but I had one today so I'm going to enter it while it is fresh in my head. Then I'll work on adding the old ones back and putting in the odds and ends.
Today's lesson:
We worked on dressage and my seat. Mercury got a 40 and a 39.5 on his dressage tests (Beginner Novice A from the USEF) at the last show, and so I need to improve those before the next show.
What Bob told me to work on:
1. Riding with my seat. I move with him, but I can sit down to make him step further underneath him, or sit still to make him slow down. But I keep my upper body still when I'm doing this.
2. When I'm walking, my leg swings naturally at the same time as the opposite front leg (so my right leg swings when his left front leg is in the air). To get him to lengthen, I squeeze with that leg while his leg is in the air. (I saw the same thing in a David O'Connor video today.)
3. When I ask for the canter, I need to use more of both legs, and use them at the same time. He goes off track because I ask too much with the outside and not enough with the inside.
4. If he doesn't pick up the canter, immediately bring him back down and start back up again. Don't let him get away with trotting faster and taking his sweet time.
5. We worked a lot on the trot transitions. Sit a few strides, work on making him step right out, and then pick up the correct diagnol. Don't pick it up, then switch. When going down, do a few half halts and then sit back and still and ask for the walk. Don't lurch forward.
6. In the canter transitions, I lean forward to ask (and frequently squeeze my knees and pick up my heels). Stay leaning back and up and ask all at once with the heels down.
7. When I canter, and the outside toe points out, it is because I am not balanced. I need to correct my upper body, keeping it centered above him, all the time. I can "cheat" by lifting my outside shoulder on corners.
8. Keep my shoulder blades pinched and chest open. Rounding forward is what lifts my butt out of the saddle at the canter.
9. Work on circles. When he makes a "square" instead of a circle, it's because I'm using too much inside leg to try to make him round. I need to use my outside leg to keep him in the circle. I also need to ask a few strides ahead for what I want to do.
10. Don't look down!
11. To work on correct leg position (I pinch with my knees then my heel swings back) over fences, put a hair rubber band on the stirrup and the girth so I can't swing it very far. This is frowned upon for legal reasons, but it trains your leg to stay in place.
12. Before the modified two day, I need to do interval training. There is a 1 km post-to-post in the cross country course, so I will go out and: 1) walk it; 2) trot it; 3) walk; 4) trot; 5) walk; 6) trot; 7) walk; 8) canter; 9) walk; 10) canter; 11) walk; 12 )canter; and 13) two walks and stop. If he is huffing and puffing, slow it down and do fewer intervals.
The modified two day (I think) has dressage test Sat am; show jumping Sat pm. Then Sunday is roads and tracks (2000 m at trot); walk; steeplechase (BNI doesn't have jumps, but is a hand gallop for 1000 m); walk; 10 minutes in vet box; cross country (2500 m at slow canter for BNI).
What we need to improve right now is:
1) Proper takeoff for jump (him & me)
2) Not jumping ahead (me)
3) No lower leg swinging in jump (me)
4) Strengthening hind legs (him: trot poles, transitions)
5) Impulsion (him, but me)
6) On the bit (him, but me)
7) Hands STILL (Me!)
8) Sit down in canter, smooth transitions (me)
9) Bending (him, but me)
10) Fitness (both of us)
I started keeping track of what my trainer told me back with my first lesson, last fall. I got lazy lately and missed a few lessons, but I had one today so I'm going to enter it while it is fresh in my head. Then I'll work on adding the old ones back and putting in the odds and ends.
Today's lesson:
We worked on dressage and my seat. Mercury got a 40 and a 39.5 on his dressage tests (Beginner Novice A from the USEF) at the last show, and so I need to improve those before the next show.
What Bob told me to work on:
1. Riding with my seat. I move with him, but I can sit down to make him step further underneath him, or sit still to make him slow down. But I keep my upper body still when I'm doing this.
2. When I'm walking, my leg swings naturally at the same time as the opposite front leg (so my right leg swings when his left front leg is in the air). To get him to lengthen, I squeeze with that leg while his leg is in the air. (I saw the same thing in a David O'Connor video today.)
3. When I ask for the canter, I need to use more of both legs, and use them at the same time. He goes off track because I ask too much with the outside and not enough with the inside.
4. If he doesn't pick up the canter, immediately bring him back down and start back up again. Don't let him get away with trotting faster and taking his sweet time.
5. We worked a lot on the trot transitions. Sit a few strides, work on making him step right out, and then pick up the correct diagnol. Don't pick it up, then switch. When going down, do a few half halts and then sit back and still and ask for the walk. Don't lurch forward.
6. In the canter transitions, I lean forward to ask (and frequently squeeze my knees and pick up my heels). Stay leaning back and up and ask all at once with the heels down.
7. When I canter, and the outside toe points out, it is because I am not balanced. I need to correct my upper body, keeping it centered above him, all the time. I can "cheat" by lifting my outside shoulder on corners.
8. Keep my shoulder blades pinched and chest open. Rounding forward is what lifts my butt out of the saddle at the canter.
9. Work on circles. When he makes a "square" instead of a circle, it's because I'm using too much inside leg to try to make him round. I need to use my outside leg to keep him in the circle. I also need to ask a few strides ahead for what I want to do.
10. Don't look down!
11. To work on correct leg position (I pinch with my knees then my heel swings back) over fences, put a hair rubber band on the stirrup and the girth so I can't swing it very far. This is frowned upon for legal reasons, but it trains your leg to stay in place.
12. Before the modified two day, I need to do interval training. There is a 1 km post-to-post in the cross country course, so I will go out and: 1) walk it; 2) trot it; 3) walk; 4) trot; 5) walk; 6) trot; 7) walk; 8) canter; 9) walk; 10) canter; 11) walk; 12 )canter; and 13) two walks and stop. If he is huffing and puffing, slow it down and do fewer intervals.
The modified two day (I think) has dressage test Sat am; show jumping Sat pm. Then Sunday is roads and tracks (2000 m at trot); walk; steeplechase (BNI doesn't have jumps, but is a hand gallop for 1000 m); walk; 10 minutes in vet box; cross country (2500 m at slow canter for BNI).
What we need to improve right now is:
1) Proper takeoff for jump (him & me)
2) Not jumping ahead (me)
3) No lower leg swinging in jump (me)
4) Strengthening hind legs (him: trot poles, transitions)
5) Impulsion (him, but me)
6) On the bit (him, but me)
7) Hands STILL (Me!)
8) Sit down in canter, smooth transitions (me)
9) Bending (him, but me)
10) Fitness (both of us)
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