Day 2 with Major Beale

Day 1 with Major Beale

Major Beale made just a few tiny changes that turned Charlie from a downhill slug to an uphill collected, balanced cloud.
First - when Charlie is being a slug, just quit whatever I am working on and gallop him, two or three times.  Then go back to work.  Then if he gets sluggish again, gallop again.  Charlie wasn't a slug today, but I've been struggling with how to get him going forward.
But ...
It's hard for Charlie to go forward, or use his left hind leg, because I am riding way over to the left.  Way, way over. 
Second - I stand up in my stirrups, stomp hard to the right, and sit down on the right side.  It feels insane, but when I look down, the zipper on my pants is lined up with his withers.  The other part of this exercise is, during warm up, to drop my left stirrup and trot around.  The difference between going right and going left is amazing.  Going left, it's just totally normal.  Going right is excruciating and close to impossible.  I didn't believe him when he told me how different it was going to be because the first way was so easy.
Third - Push my right hip forward and put the weight down in my right leg.  My right leg looks shorter than my left leg, and my left leg is ineffective because it is always reaching for the stirrup.
As soon as I made these little adjustments, Charlie could straighten out and come up underneath himself and actually move forward.
Finally - don't overbend to the right, and counterbend to the left.  Charlie is too bent going right, and then still bent right when we go left.  So if I counterflex for a bit to the left, it helps us get straight.  I also think of moving his shoulders to the left (when we are going right) instead of trying to put his haunches underneath him, because he is still in a C shape when we go to the right.
We worked on "double" up transitions (halt to trot, walk to canter), and head to the wall down the long side to trot or canter.  We also worked on halting and then flexing at the poll and jaw instead of Charlie grabbing the bit and rooting his head down.  Major Beale said Charlie never needs to lower his poll lower than his withers because it puts him too much on the forehand.
We did a bit of single loop at the trot, working on changing the bend but not starting it too early.
We had one absolutely incredible collected canter from the walk, but then I freaked out because it was so perfect and goosed Charlie forward.  At the canter, I can keep a bit more contact, so he doesn't fall forward and fast.
And when I finally got the bend and balance all figured out, Charlie was so confused he tried to do a flying change.
It felt divine.  And I could feel the difference and I understood the exercises, so they will definitely give me something to work on before Major Beale comes back.  He says tomorrow we'll work on counter canter.

Charlie's Inaugural Ride in His New Rig