10/13/07 - Another great dressage lesson

I had a few questions for Bob to start off the lesson.
First, when I give Mercury a few days off, then ride him, he's all peppy and easy to ride. I wanted to know if this was mental or physical, i.e. if I rode him harder, would he get in shape and then be peppy more often when I ride him, or is it that he needs a longer "mental" break between rides. Bob thinks I should ride him longer and longer, but continue to give him one or two days off a week.
Second, I had a dumb question about switching the whip from side to side and what you do in a show since you can't switch the whip. Bob said you carry it on the side that gives you the most trouble.
Third, this week when I worked on having relaxed, moving hips, I could feel Mercury take big giant swinging steps. Since there was such an immediate, "feelable" response, I figured I must be doing something wrong. Bob said nope, that's how much your hips can put the brakes on your horse.
Fourth, Mercury likes to put his head to the outside, especially when we're going counterclockwise. Bob said to check his teeth, and possibly he needs the chiropractor again. He's due for a teeth floating anyway.
I had a few others, but I've forgotten them now.
Today we continued to improve my position. We worked in a nice frame in the trot, not quite enough impulsion, but a good effort from Mercury. Then Bob had me sit up a little bit more straight and upright (which to me feels like crazy leaning back with my legs out in front of me, but when I looked down, my heels/hips/shoulders were still in line) and wow - what a difference it made. I rode him in sitting trot and canter in this "new" position, and it was so easy to keep my butt down in the saddle. It wasn't an effort at all.
It seems like a little bit, but it's definitely going to take some work to retrain my body for this position. Then again, everything Bob has told me has worked wonders, even when it feels weird to me at first, and after enough time, it starts to feel normal, and my old, comfortable way feels weird.
This one, from the feet up, is, light contact and weight in my heels, toes pointed straight forward. Knees closed, but not gripping so tight it lifts my lower leg. Hips open and moving with Mercury. Shoulders rolled back (straight up and down, not bent over with a rounded belly). Head looking 40' in front of Mercury, not down.
We also talked about hands following Mercury's mouth, because this is one I still can't feel. That's because I'm looking for the wrong thing. By following, I thought it meant backwards and forwards, but it also means up and down, like a piston pumping. And another trick is (now I'm wearing grippy gloves), to close my thumb on the reins, but not clamp down so hard it makes my arm tense (and thus, my shoulders, and then they round, and then I do the round belly again).
My old trainers also taught me to follow the horse's mouth, but I think it is maybe the style of riding. In dressage, you don't want to follow the horse's mouth, though there is a tiny amount of movement in each gait. Jumpers, you need to keep your contact, but you've got some more room. I don't think I give my lessons justice - some of this is really hard to put into words, and "follow the mouth" is one of those examples. Then again, my earlier trainers also taught me to ride with my toes pointed at 45 degrees, which opens my knees and lets my lower leg swing all around.
As always, I learned a lot more that I'll remember when I practice riding, and once again, I am floored by how much Bob knows and how well he conveys it during a lesson.

10/6/07 - Dressage lesson

This lesson started off with Bob asking me what I'm going to do with Mercury. I said I didn't know. I haven't made much of an effort to sell him, and I don't really want to in case things work out with the current boyfriend and I can keep him as my second (trail) horse. Bob offered to get one of his horses ready for me to ride, and then I can keep saving my money for a nice horse until I find one, which is really generous of him.
This lesson we focused on just a few things, but the same old: my position (more on this in a second), keeping my hands still (not following his mouth), and getting him to move right out and respond right away to transitions.
What I'm supposed to practice this week is my position and snappy transitions.
My position needs a lot of work. What I don't do is move my hips - I move my upper body and think I'm moving my hips. But when I do relax and open them and move with Mercury, my upper body goes all crazy. I have to think of it like this: above my waist is a statue, including my hands; below my knee is a statue (and I need to point my toes more straight ahead (90 degrees) and not at an angle (45 degrees).) This alone felt weird enough to be worth a few weeks work, though I could immediately see how it would make a difference because it opens my knees and lets things flop around. It is also yet another repeat of the I need to FEEL it, not rote do it.
Bob said it's a good idea to keep him fit and keep him working and not worry too much about the future right now. He doesn't want me to get in a rush and buy another problem horse, then burn out and get frustrated and stop riding.