Against all odds.
This week I had a lesson with Mike, and it was a really great one. It was one of those ones that was just jammed full of interesting stuff - way too much for me to be able to write it all down afterwards - but a few easy homework assignments:
- When Willig dives down from the canter to the trot (without me asking, or hell, even when I ask but I don't ask for a dive onto the forehand), sit back, sit up, plug my seat bones into the saddle, and ask him to trot up into my hand.
- Before the canter transitions, do some "half-steps" and then walk (half-steps = think piaffe) - just a few steps of each, just to get him listening and also I think he rocks back a bit on his hindquarters with these.
- Don't accept less than what he can do.
- For the 1st level canter serpentine - I had the geometry wrong in my head. You don't leg yield over and back, it's just two diaganol lines. You point his head from K to X, and then when you get to X, you swing his hindquarters around (counter-clockwise in this example) and then his head is pointing at H and you just ride another straight line to H. I've been making this way more complicated than it needs to be.
- The funny little "hop" Willig does sometimes when I whip him while we're cantering is his preparation for a flying lead change. That snot-nose DOES know more than he's letting onto.
- We worked on ... I forget the name, but the shoulder-in and then when you turn his neck the opposite way (travers?). So now we can do shoulder-in, haunches-in, and travers. I think we just need to learn renvers.
- Willig did more excellent canter work and excellent leg yielding. This is not due to anything I am doing on purpose, which is kind of frustrating. It's wonderful and fun, but I wish I knew what I was doing differently to be making these things stick.
It was a great lesson! I am so excited about how much we're learning, although I have a tsunami wave of work heading at me, and I am just trying to figure out how I can keep some semblance of riding and the rest of my life together with the limited hours there are in a week.
Charlie with the long sought after cooler
Spring NWEC 2013 Novice
2 comments:
happy may! hope you find that perfect balance between work and riding (if such a balance exists!). I liked what you said, 'don't accept less than his best,' though I find that having patience with what "best" means each day can be tough!
Corinna
I know what you mean about work being so exhausting and full that you don't have time for your horse. Sometimes you really have to squeeze in that time - but even a half-hour hack is better than nothing! I have to drag myself out to the barn sometimes during the week, when I've been up since 5 AM and staring at the computer all day, but when I get out there - ahhhhh - it is SO worth it! Willig is a smart and talented horse, so don't let him be a slacker. :) Hope to see you at another show soon!
Post a Comment