Back-to-back awesome lessons

After our incredible jump lesson Sunday, I had to work (14 hours!) Monday and didn't get to try out Shannon's suggestions about steering from the outside rein, so my first order of business was telling Mike about how confusing it was to me.
Mike, like the wise Jedi he is, suggested all in good time, given the things I've thrown at him to work with so far. (Like the 3" of clearance that used to be between my butt and the saddle at both the canter and "sitting" trot. Har.)
Anyway, I was late getting to the barn, so I didn't have time to warm Willig up. It was actually interesting though, to have a "lesson warm up" to see how Mike would do it differently than I do. A lot like what I'm seeing with Shannon - when I'm left on my own I kind of putter around and make excuses - which is probably why when I have lessons, my glasses steam up, which never happens when I'm riding on my own.
Note to self: ride harder.
This was a lesson that was a great ride (although I almost started to cry at the end because my feeble leg muscles could hardly take it), but it was a whole bunch of new stuff and a whole lot of that was based on feeling, so I'm not sure how well I can capture it.
We started with circles and then the arena, keeping him bent to the inside, and noticing what my body is doing, which is, incredibly, my right hand is always almost back on my thigh while my left hand kind of flaps uselessly. Even when I put both hands on exactly the same spot on the reins, my right hand sneaks back.
Mike had two suggestions for this:
- Hold my right hand like I am holding a coffee cup - up a bit and in a slightly formal position. When I think about holding it like this, it gets out of my way, and I can then use my left hand to give inside bend aids.
- Touch my fingers together (or bridge the reins 5" wide) so that my right hand can't escape. This was the same as Shannon's suggestion - when I'm in my jump saddle I have the martingale on, and I can loop a finger on it so my hand can't go off in it's own direction.
I pointed out that Willig has been doing that motorcyle bend a bit at the canter. Mike suggested I look at myself, and sure enough, my body was doing the same thing, and Willig was just a reflection (albeit a big, easy to see one) of my weirdness. Always the human. Never the horse.
We worked on thinking "straight" and equal between my aids - a straight line on all the lines, evenly between me on the corners, and then Mike took it up a notch by suggesting I lift my butt on the left side - then lift it on the right side - and then feel the "even" place in the middle. This was pretty cool.
It was the same feeling as bending Willig inside, then bending Willig outside, and feeling the "even" in between the two.
Then he took away my stirrups and we worked on the sitting trot.
There is just the tiniest shift back - it is "plugging in" my seat bones, but also my torso just a bit further back (I almost always, left to my own devices, lean forward on my pubic bones and in the torso, like an equitation jumper), and then the heavens open up, angels sing, and I can COMFORTABLY sit the trot - even when we make it a bit bigger. Ok, this isn't flawless and it still needs a ton of work and the details are kind of crazy overwhelming, but THIS. IS. SO. COOL. Last year, sitting the trot was this teeth-jarring slam-slam-slam that left me wilted. This year, it's like "could you get some more elevation in his front please?" all fancy pants.
So that's what we did next - thinking "popping the wheelie" which is actually asking him to go forward but channeling it into the reins - something I've always read about but never been able to do. Mike describes it like squeezing the toothpaste from the end but you have control over the cap and can channel it up. And it just feels - amazing.
But it is all feeling. I barely grasp the sequence of steps, so Mike has said (for what must be the hundreth time) to work more without stirrups in between lessons.
Then we did stirrupless canter work. This one was the same popping the wheelie (although it is easier to do and feel at the canter) and then popping it, slowing the canter down with my seat, and then easing him into trot instead of him dive-bombing (on the forehand) into trot.
This was the point where I was about to cry from my leg muscles (and ok, my abs too).
Finally, Mike did a bit showing me steering from the outside rein. This actually isn't as hard as it first seemed in the lesson with Shannon. I think it helps I've had a few days to think about it, but I actually do it a little bit. My mistake was that I thought the rein should never touch the horse's neck (god knows why I thought that), and so I wouldn't leave it there. I do tend to overdo it (not a surprise to anyone who knows me or who has been reading this blog or who even sees the length of the postings), and so when I overdo it, it feels wrong (surprise) because he's bent to the outside around the corners. I just need to tone it down.
Anyway, even though Mr. Willig had yesterday off (I was a bit sore from the jump lesson, so maybe he was too - although probably not) and not much riding last week, he was just as willing and sweet as could be. I have been so happy with him the last month. And it is so satisfying to be doing so much new stuff. Really fun.
One more exercise is to sort of leg yield him halfway over down a long side, and then leg yield him back the other way on the second half. That will also help me find the "even" bend in between.
Also, after my lesson, two women who can ride Intermediare (sp?) did a Pas de deux (sp again?) to music. It was REALLY cool to watch.