Out of order - my December lesson with Mike

December was not my greatest month for riding. At the beginning we were still working on the hives, and then work and the holidays actually resulted in less riding, rather than more, like I hoped for.
So I am about to do something novel, and compare a lesson with Mike to the Biggest Loser. But trust me, it makes sense.
So this lesson, what I heard Mike say during the lesson was: "Do not make me tell you one more time to put your heels down. I know you can do it." This is in a very mild, slightly reproachful tone of voice. One that I know *I* wouldn't be able to keep if I was telling someone something obvious for the oh, 200th time in 5 months.
So the way I remembered it was like this:
http://vodpod.com/watch/1302442-trainer-bob-harpers-meltdown-biggest-loser-joelle
Now, I apologize, the link is very long, but two minutes in you have the full impact of every single time I got on Willig and I thought "put those f**&*ing heels down" (to myself).
What else was this lesson about? Well, that was all I really walked away with. But it turns out, I'm capable of working on one thing at a time.
Mike agreed that the alfalfa diet may be helping Willig, although most of the stuff I read said "no alfalfa-only diets".
He also said to think of Willig as an introvert, who needs me to be assertive about what we're doing. This was hugely helpful for me, instead of thinking of him like an asshole who is willfully disobedient.
I spent the two really cold weeks and another hivey week teaching Willig on the lunge line not to sproing his head up like a giraffe every time we went past the door to the outside. While it was interesting how quickly Willig learned (and applied his new knowledge), especially with the simple addition of treats, my error in this was that I ... taught Willig to run around on his forehand. So thankfully, Mike saw me lunging and corrected that too.
We also "graduated" from draw reins all the time to draw reins when he's having a bobbly head-idiot day. Mike pointed out when it's cold and rainy, sometimes they need that 20 minutes to be an idiot and get it out, then get down to work. (This was also a huge success for the rest of the month before my next lesson.)
We continued to work on a "20 meter" size arena - off the rail instead of going right along the wall.
Mike also suggested that we continue to work our way down to the scary zone, not just shoot right down there, but wait until I've got Willig controlled and bending and working properly, then get a little closer and a little closer. Again, who knows what it is, but most horses develop a fear of it, and Mike said he's been here 10 years and sees them scared of it all the time. It's actually, I can't believe my negative personality is saying this, kind of a good thing, because it is helping me know what to do and how to react, how big to react, how to feel a reaction coming, etc., which will apply really well in a scary show situation. Willig is learning to trust me too. Amazingly, every time I have asked him to go past it, nothing has killed him. It may yet, but he's getting a tiny, tiny bit more comfortable.
Did I mention lots of this lesson was about my heels? Go back to the basics and focus on this because it's very important.
We worked a bit on his eye to the inside and momentum, and me asking for it, not just waiting for him to offer it, and bending and looking ahead and me just ignoring the scary side. (Me looking ahead was also a huge success. Another one from my more recent lesson that I forgot to write about in that post was punish (smack with whip) but REWARD (!!!) when he responds. I am a terrible rewarder.
Finally, at the canter, keep thinking about that bike wheelie. I throw the contact away, which was true. I feel the slight lean forward, and I need to think lean back.
My take away message was more consistency, assertiveness, and back to focusing on some basics. I was happy though that I got permission to graduate from the draw reins.