Well, it's continued to be crazy with work, and I have had no time to ride (or get normal exercise either). Since my only lesson in December, I only rode twice: pitiful. I keep thinking my schedule will change by the next week, and then it just stays crazy. Despite all that, I decided to go ahead and have a lesson this week, and I'm so glad I did. It was a great lesson!
First we talked about work. Then I had my two measly questions from my two measly rides. (He leans on my hands and pulls me forward; bending)
My inside hand is still moving too much, so I looped my pinky finger through the breast strap (that holds the saddle forward). That made an immediate difference. Bob also tightened Mercury's noseband and flashband, which is probably what made the biggest difference. He said he can see Mercury open his mouth every time I ask him for anything.
So we started working in a circle with him on the bit with his poll as the highest point (instead of flat neck that I did for so long). Then we worked in trot. Then we started doing serpentines, which is where I started to fall apart. Things happen too fast in a serpentine (and sometimes in a circle) and even though I know what I'm supposed to do, I'm too slow, and so by the time I start his new bend, we're already on the other side of the arena (even though Bob's arena is huge). Bob said I just need to practice - as soon as I come off the rail, think bend to the new direction. Because when I'm three steps behind and then tell him what to do, that makes him even more behind.
He started acting up after we started really working, which I totally understand because I was also panting from the exertion. He started hanging on my hands, when that didn't work, tossing his head, then jumping up and down, then holding his head sideways, and when none of that worked, he just worked beautifully. Bob said when he starts the jumping up and down, to let my hands go forward and move him forward so it doesn't enter his mind to start rearing.
Then Bob gave me the highest praise ever - he said that if I kept riding him like that, we could ride Training level this summer. Which is an exaggeration, but was nice to hear. It really was an amazing improvement. Still plenty to work on, but a huge difference from the end of last summer, even with low riding the past couple months.
So I'm supposed to practice doing the hard serpentines and circles to get my reaction time up. Look ahead where I'm going. Hands steady. Same old, same old but with his poll high and moving forward.
And my gloves are just cheap $1 cotton gloves, and the reins slip out. Even with my skin or sticky gloves, the reins still slip, so I need to be faster at adjusting and not wear stupid cotton slippery gloves.
Mercury sees the chiropractor tomorrow. His roof blew up like a burrito in the windstorm last month, and it's been in the 20's, so we've had weird weather. He's actually been quite good though, despite all that.
Charlie with the long sought after cooler
Spring NWEC 2013 Novice
Monday, January 15, 2007
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Lesson on 12/30 - only December lesson
December remained just as hectic as November, and I only had one lesson (today) and very few rides. Mercury's behavior stayed pretty good until this week, then he started to really act up.
However, like usual, Bob explained everything. First, he said that Mercury has also been bucking and acting up when they turn him out - so he's hyper. Second, when he acts up about "mid-way" through my ride, it's because he's gotten tired. I have never heard this before, but when he explained it, it made sense. He said that Mercury usually does his work out in kind of a dull frame of mind (which is my fault - I should be making it interesting by doing a lot of transitions, changes of direction, circles, etc.); and so when he gets tired, he is easily surprised by things - like the wall that has always been there.
He said if I have to keep my riding time low (which I do for the next few weeks), to focus on working with him, just for a shorter period of time. He said in the winter all horses get like this.
So that was huge for me to understand.
Then we worked on putting him on the bit, and my top three things to keep in mind: inside hand short and steady; outside hand half-halts; outside leg pushing whenever I give a half-halt. And Mercury made his neck all round and beautiful and just looked great, until he started getting tired, then he started pulling on my hands and being really hard in his mouth and throwing his head around. Bob said it's because he's had too much time off and he's forgotten he's supposed to work. I definitely don't work him even close to hard enough. I feel guilty that I haven't been out, so I don't make him go on the bit at all anymore. I just ride him around the arena for 45 minutes.
Bob said even with limited time, here's what to work on: bend in his neck; on the bit; crisp transitions; and to work on the bit for 10 minutes, then take 3-4 minutes off (even at the walk); to work him 30 minutes then do 10-15 minutes of walking on the bit; and then gradually, when I can get out more often, increase the 30 minutes.
I asked him about shows, and he said Mercury is a lot better than last summer, and we need to focus on dressage and getting that score up becuase we don't have to worry about Mercury because he loves to jump. I said yes, but it's embarrassing that I can't jump, and he said we'd just tie a hay string around his neck for me to hang onto. He thinks the four unrecognized Lincoln Creek shows will be good for this year (I have limited funds) and that I should plan on Beginner Novice.
Anyway, the other big breakthrough was at the end of the lesson, when I shows him how Mercury is normally "on the bit" when I ride him - with a long, flat neck, instead of the arched, high neck that was during the lesson. It turns out I'm a total idiot, and I've just been teaching him how to stretch his neck low and long because I don't keep my reins short enough.
Then there was a bunch of the repeats: hands still, consistent, don't lurch forward in transitions, adjust my reins more often (Bob said until you reach Grand Prix, for every five minutes you ride, you should be adjusting 4 1/2 minutes), make him work, yell at him when he doesn't work, ride with feeling, not thinking, ...
It was actually a really good lesson, even with him being naughty at the end. Bob said the secret there is to push him forward with my legs. I know it, I just can't get it all together in real time.
I hope my riding gets more regular again. I feel like I've lost a lot of time, and while we're improving, we still have a long way to go before this summer.
Oh yeah, and Bob thinks the chiropractor really helped. And he gave me a bunch of tips for work because he's actually been in more depositions than I have.
However, like usual, Bob explained everything. First, he said that Mercury has also been bucking and acting up when they turn him out - so he's hyper. Second, when he acts up about "mid-way" through my ride, it's because he's gotten tired. I have never heard this before, but when he explained it, it made sense. He said that Mercury usually does his work out in kind of a dull frame of mind (which is my fault - I should be making it interesting by doing a lot of transitions, changes of direction, circles, etc.); and so when he gets tired, he is easily surprised by things - like the wall that has always been there.
He said if I have to keep my riding time low (which I do for the next few weeks), to focus on working with him, just for a shorter period of time. He said in the winter all horses get like this.
So that was huge for me to understand.
Then we worked on putting him on the bit, and my top three things to keep in mind: inside hand short and steady; outside hand half-halts; outside leg pushing whenever I give a half-halt. And Mercury made his neck all round and beautiful and just looked great, until he started getting tired, then he started pulling on my hands and being really hard in his mouth and throwing his head around. Bob said it's because he's had too much time off and he's forgotten he's supposed to work. I definitely don't work him even close to hard enough. I feel guilty that I haven't been out, so I don't make him go on the bit at all anymore. I just ride him around the arena for 45 minutes.
Bob said even with limited time, here's what to work on: bend in his neck; on the bit; crisp transitions; and to work on the bit for 10 minutes, then take 3-4 minutes off (even at the walk); to work him 30 minutes then do 10-15 minutes of walking on the bit; and then gradually, when I can get out more often, increase the 30 minutes.
I asked him about shows, and he said Mercury is a lot better than last summer, and we need to focus on dressage and getting that score up becuase we don't have to worry about Mercury because he loves to jump. I said yes, but it's embarrassing that I can't jump, and he said we'd just tie a hay string around his neck for me to hang onto. He thinks the four unrecognized Lincoln Creek shows will be good for this year (I have limited funds) and that I should plan on Beginner Novice.
Anyway, the other big breakthrough was at the end of the lesson, when I shows him how Mercury is normally "on the bit" when I ride him - with a long, flat neck, instead of the arched, high neck that was during the lesson. It turns out I'm a total idiot, and I've just been teaching him how to stretch his neck low and long because I don't keep my reins short enough.
Then there was a bunch of the repeats: hands still, consistent, don't lurch forward in transitions, adjust my reins more often (Bob said until you reach Grand Prix, for every five minutes you ride, you should be adjusting 4 1/2 minutes), make him work, yell at him when he doesn't work, ride with feeling, not thinking, ...
It was actually a really good lesson, even with him being naughty at the end. Bob said the secret there is to push him forward with my legs. I know it, I just can't get it all together in real time.
I hope my riding gets more regular again. I feel like I've lost a lot of time, and while we're improving, we still have a long way to go before this summer.
Oh yeah, and Bob thinks the chiropractor really helped. And he gave me a bunch of tips for work because he's actually been in more depositions than I have.
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Lesson on 11/24
I had my first and only November lesson yesterday. I wasn't looking forward to it because I only rode about 6 times since my (maybe only) October lesson. It went ok, but Bob might have been going easy on me.
We worked on:
1) Moving hips. Bob says my upper body stays pretty still, but I hold my back too stiff and that's why sometimes there's air between my butt and the saddle during the canter. And it's not leaning back, but making my lower back like a spring that makes it stay in the saddle. I tried riding without stirrups, and he said not to hang on like an Indian (don't wrap my legs around and cling). A practice for moving hips only (not legs or upper body) is to put a book on the edge of a table and push it onto the table with hips only. Bob said to think of that when I'm riding. He also said to practice by putting my hand on my hip and feeling it move - that I hold it totally still which means Mercury can't reach forward and makes me behind the motion in the trot and canter which makes it hard for him to balance. This is the same as the legs swinging exercise - when his left shoulder goes forward, I squeeze with my right leg to make his step longer.
2) Bending. We worked on "voltes" and serpentines and bending Mercury BEFORE we start the turn. Mercury "cuts corners" by not bending and moving his body like a plank around the corner.
3) Not spooking at the stupid door that we have been past about 10,000 times. We tried a bunch of different things for this. Ignoring; pushing him past fast; using my leg and whip like another support wall; going past it over and over. This is just stupid. Bob says sometimes he thinks the horses are just being assholes; sometimes they're not paying attention; sometimes they spook themselves once and then just get in a vicious cycle. He said he had a horse that spooked for ten years in the other corner. Every time.
4) Feelings. He says I have to stop analyzing and start feeling. Some things I seem to be getting better at, but he said to think about work, tell a story, sing a song; keep my brain preoccupied so I can ride. He said to think about it like training myself to feel instead of think.
5) Mercury's teeth need floating. Bob is going to check them and try to do it himself. That explains the head shaking when I put on the bridle, the riding with his head in the air, and the bending his head to the right that he's been doing.
6) It's my responsibility to set everything up and keep it consistent. Mercury doesn't know any better, so he just does exactly what I ask him to do. I have to bend him, and keep him between my legs, and keep his head down. We talked about using the martingale as an aid, not THE tool, and how I'll need to start riding him without it to make sure he is learning to use his own neck, not to lean on it.
7) Mercury's progress. Bob says he is a willing, just untrained horse. And I was thinking about how last year, every time we cantered, he'd race around like a maniac and then he couldn't trot normally afterwards. So he has made some progress. And he does seem to be catching onto the head down thing. He is just LAZY, lazy, LAZY.
8) Half-halt warning before I ask for changes. More half-halts to keep him moving properly.
I think that was about it. I am hoping December I will get regular lessons again, if work will slow down. Jan-March are going to be busy too, but they should not be as crazy busy as November was. Because I need to get moving to be ready to show beginner novice starting in the spring with NWEC. Then I think the next shows I'll go to won't be until July/Aug/Sept at Lincoln Creek. I'm not going to Happ's this year because they don't allow dogs and I don't have the money to board two of them all weekend.
Bob also said Mercury could probably go training level but not preliminary, because prelim really requires pushing off with the back legs and he doesn't think Mercury's legs are strong enough. I'm going to take that as an indirect hint that I, one day, will be able to ride Prelim, even though right now I still feel all over the place. Bob says he thinks that's because I'm feeling better, so I can feel everything that's wrong, it just isn't all fixed yet.
I'm going to have a hard time losing for a few years at low levels though. BN and Novice have TONS of riders, and we'd have to be a lot better than we are now to be in the ribbons. I liked winning stuff last summer.
We worked on:
1) Moving hips. Bob says my upper body stays pretty still, but I hold my back too stiff and that's why sometimes there's air between my butt and the saddle during the canter. And it's not leaning back, but making my lower back like a spring that makes it stay in the saddle. I tried riding without stirrups, and he said not to hang on like an Indian (don't wrap my legs around and cling). A practice for moving hips only (not legs or upper body) is to put a book on the edge of a table and push it onto the table with hips only. Bob said to think of that when I'm riding. He also said to practice by putting my hand on my hip and feeling it move - that I hold it totally still which means Mercury can't reach forward and makes me behind the motion in the trot and canter which makes it hard for him to balance. This is the same as the legs swinging exercise - when his left shoulder goes forward, I squeeze with my right leg to make his step longer.
2) Bending. We worked on "voltes" and serpentines and bending Mercury BEFORE we start the turn. Mercury "cuts corners" by not bending and moving his body like a plank around the corner.
3) Not spooking at the stupid door that we have been past about 10,000 times. We tried a bunch of different things for this. Ignoring; pushing him past fast; using my leg and whip like another support wall; going past it over and over. This is just stupid. Bob says sometimes he thinks the horses are just being assholes; sometimes they're not paying attention; sometimes they spook themselves once and then just get in a vicious cycle. He said he had a horse that spooked for ten years in the other corner. Every time.
4) Feelings. He says I have to stop analyzing and start feeling. Some things I seem to be getting better at, but he said to think about work, tell a story, sing a song; keep my brain preoccupied so I can ride. He said to think about it like training myself to feel instead of think.
5) Mercury's teeth need floating. Bob is going to check them and try to do it himself. That explains the head shaking when I put on the bridle, the riding with his head in the air, and the bending his head to the right that he's been doing.
6) It's my responsibility to set everything up and keep it consistent. Mercury doesn't know any better, so he just does exactly what I ask him to do. I have to bend him, and keep him between my legs, and keep his head down. We talked about using the martingale as an aid, not THE tool, and how I'll need to start riding him without it to make sure he is learning to use his own neck, not to lean on it.
7) Mercury's progress. Bob says he is a willing, just untrained horse. And I was thinking about how last year, every time we cantered, he'd race around like a maniac and then he couldn't trot normally afterwards. So he has made some progress. And he does seem to be catching onto the head down thing. He is just LAZY, lazy, LAZY.
8) Half-halt warning before I ask for changes. More half-halts to keep him moving properly.
I think that was about it. I am hoping December I will get regular lessons again, if work will slow down. Jan-March are going to be busy too, but they should not be as crazy busy as November was. Because I need to get moving to be ready to show beginner novice starting in the spring with NWEC. Then I think the next shows I'll go to won't be until July/Aug/Sept at Lincoln Creek. I'm not going to Happ's this year because they don't allow dogs and I don't have the money to board two of them all weekend.
Bob also said Mercury could probably go training level but not preliminary, because prelim really requires pushing off with the back legs and he doesn't think Mercury's legs are strong enough. I'm going to take that as an indirect hint that I, one day, will be able to ride Prelim, even though right now I still feel all over the place. Bob says he thinks that's because I'm feeling better, so I can feel everything that's wrong, it just isn't all fixed yet.
I'm going to have a hard time losing for a few years at low levels though. BN and Novice have TONS of riders, and we'd have to be a lot better than we are now to be in the ribbons. I liked winning stuff last summer.
Sunday, November 05, 2006
I chose Mercury over the puppies
It became clear really quickly after Kevin moved out that I couldn't actually do it all. "All" consists of working (especially with two big cases in), riding Mercury, going to the gym, and taking care of the animal family. After angst and deliberation and a lot of tears and stress, the puppies are going to new homes and my life is going to be lonely and easier.
I didn't have a lesson this weekend, but when I was riding today I started to make a list of accomplishments and things to work on.
Accomplishments in the last year:
Legs don't swing as much
Body not tilted as far forward (i.e. sitting more upright)
Body doesn't pendulum when change gaits
Smoother transitions for both of us (the canter down to trot has improved; trot to canter today needed work; trot/walk has improved)
Hands are more still, though not still enough
Mercury is more on the bit and moving more forward
I have really increased my awareness of my body - I can't always correct it, but I can feel a lot more things that are wrong. And I FEEL them, not know them.
I can also feel Mercury better - I can feel better how to move him and how he is moving.
Things to work on - macro level:
Sitting trot
Still hands
Jumping (everything)
Holding things together for longer
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Lesson after three weeks off - 10/28/06
I ended up with three weeks off this month, and Mercury got a lot of time off. He also saw the chiropractor again last week, and he seems to be moving a lot better. The bumps in his back are also smaller.
So first Bob and I talked about some of the stuff I've read lately in horse books. He said the thing to keep in mind is that the horses in those books have been professionally trained, while Mercury has not. I asked him if Mercury needed training, and he said the problem would be that he could go into training for three months, and then I could ride him differently for a week and undo all that training. He says what needs to happen is that I ride with lessons only while Mercury is being trained, and that way I learn how to avoid "undoing" the training. But also that basically I'll always need a trainer.
The other thing he said to remember when I ride is that now I am not just exercising Mercury, but I am training him. So I need to be very consistent with him and not slack off and be lazy.
I asked a lot of questions (why is my knee so far forward in the saddle? - turns out the saddle is not cut as long and deep as I thought it was) and then we worked again on getting him on the bit. He was actually pretty good about this - for one thing he had some energy but not spiteful fighting energy, and riding in the martingale is soooo much easier than riding him in just the bridle. (Bob reprimanded me again for not putting the bit stoppers on my reins, and I tried to do it after the lesson but couldn't fit them on.)
Then the big thing we worked on was transitions. He needs to go right into a trot - not drag his feet around for a few steps. To do that involves legs, voice, and then a whip to back up the leg. Bob said always use voice for now to train him what I want. Then to go back into the walk is a few half halts, back straight, and a walk within two steps.
What I have a hard time with is equalizing the hands and legs for what I want, and not being too powerful with one. For example, too much hand and he stops instead of walks. Too much leg and he keeps trotting for a few steps.
And Bob said I need to quit obsessing about being on the right diagnol and just feel it.
We also worked for about two minutes on me trotting smaller - up and down instead of forward and back. Bob said I override, but I can't seem to get this under control. He said I need to just feel it instead of thinking it. That I always want to know why and analyze the steps instead of just feeling what is right.
What I'm working on the next two weeks (I miss another lesson next weekend, then start getting regular again) is transitions. He said I can do all three: walk, trot, canter. Work on being on the bit all the time when we're working. And work on feeling.
Bob said I'm hard to train because I take everything so seriously that if he says "your shoulder dropped to the inside" I'll start focusing on that shoulder and let everything else fall apart.
We also talked a bit about my legs. I tend to ride bow legged and point my toes out. That makes my knees open. Bob suggested riding in blocks of time, thinking "15 minuts of shoulders back" then "15 minutes of toes forward" then "15 minutes of hands still" and that eventually I'll be able to do "15 minutes of toes forward and shoulders back" and then he made some huge list of eventually something like "toes forward, knees closed, hips moving, hands still, upper body still, etc. etc." WAY too much for me right now.
I asked him if we could just start over and he could train me like he learned and he said no, it was too dangerous and second, my muscle memory would remember all my bad habits anyway.
It was an instructive lesson, but I feel like I am plateauting and am going to work on these things forever. If I can ever get past it, I'll really be a much better rider.
Bob also said how fast I improve will depend on how much quality riding I can get in. If I can only ride properly three days a week, it will take 2-3 times as long to improve compared to riding for 5 days a week.
And Mercury tends to be lazy and fall asleep and quit paying attention, which is why after we've done a loose rein walk, he either runs forward when I pick up the reins or goes really slow. Bob said running forward is when I surprise him - like if someone came up behind me and touched me when I was walking, and slowing down is too heavy hands with me anticipating him running forward. He said to talk to him, tell him, we're about to work again, I'm picking up the reins, and be soft about it.
Also he said to stretch in the doorway because the muscles in my chest are not long enough to let me put my shoulders all the way back (from years of bad posture) so that they could stretch out and I could get my shoulders farther and farther back. And to have good posture all the time, not just for an hour while I ride.
So first Bob and I talked about some of the stuff I've read lately in horse books. He said the thing to keep in mind is that the horses in those books have been professionally trained, while Mercury has not. I asked him if Mercury needed training, and he said the problem would be that he could go into training for three months, and then I could ride him differently for a week and undo all that training. He says what needs to happen is that I ride with lessons only while Mercury is being trained, and that way I learn how to avoid "undoing" the training. But also that basically I'll always need a trainer.
The other thing he said to remember when I ride is that now I am not just exercising Mercury, but I am training him. So I need to be very consistent with him and not slack off and be lazy.
I asked a lot of questions (why is my knee so far forward in the saddle? - turns out the saddle is not cut as long and deep as I thought it was) and then we worked again on getting him on the bit. He was actually pretty good about this - for one thing he had some energy but not spiteful fighting energy, and riding in the martingale is soooo much easier than riding him in just the bridle. (Bob reprimanded me again for not putting the bit stoppers on my reins, and I tried to do it after the lesson but couldn't fit them on.)
Then the big thing we worked on was transitions. He needs to go right into a trot - not drag his feet around for a few steps. To do that involves legs, voice, and then a whip to back up the leg. Bob said always use voice for now to train him what I want. Then to go back into the walk is a few half halts, back straight, and a walk within two steps.
What I have a hard time with is equalizing the hands and legs for what I want, and not being too powerful with one. For example, too much hand and he stops instead of walks. Too much leg and he keeps trotting for a few steps.
And Bob said I need to quit obsessing about being on the right diagnol and just feel it.
We also worked for about two minutes on me trotting smaller - up and down instead of forward and back. Bob said I override, but I can't seem to get this under control. He said I need to just feel it instead of thinking it. That I always want to know why and analyze the steps instead of just feeling what is right.
What I'm working on the next two weeks (I miss another lesson next weekend, then start getting regular again) is transitions. He said I can do all three: walk, trot, canter. Work on being on the bit all the time when we're working. And work on feeling.
Bob said I'm hard to train because I take everything so seriously that if he says "your shoulder dropped to the inside" I'll start focusing on that shoulder and let everything else fall apart.
We also talked a bit about my legs. I tend to ride bow legged and point my toes out. That makes my knees open. Bob suggested riding in blocks of time, thinking "15 minuts of shoulders back" then "15 minutes of toes forward" then "15 minutes of hands still" and that eventually I'll be able to do "15 minutes of toes forward and shoulders back" and then he made some huge list of eventually something like "toes forward, knees closed, hips moving, hands still, upper body still, etc. etc." WAY too much for me right now.
I asked him if we could just start over and he could train me like he learned and he said no, it was too dangerous and second, my muscle memory would remember all my bad habits anyway.
It was an instructive lesson, but I feel like I am plateauting and am going to work on these things forever. If I can ever get past it, I'll really be a much better rider.
Bob also said how fast I improve will depend on how much quality riding I can get in. If I can only ride properly three days a week, it will take 2-3 times as long to improve compared to riding for 5 days a week.
And Mercury tends to be lazy and fall asleep and quit paying attention, which is why after we've done a loose rein walk, he either runs forward when I pick up the reins or goes really slow. Bob said running forward is when I surprise him - like if someone came up behind me and touched me when I was walking, and slowing down is too heavy hands with me anticipating him running forward. He said to talk to him, tell him, we're about to work again, I'm picking up the reins, and be soft about it.
Also he said to stretch in the doorway because the muscles in my chest are not long enough to let me put my shoulders all the way back (from years of bad posture) so that they could stretch out and I could get my shoulders farther and farther back. And to have good posture all the time, not just for an hour while I ride.
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Good horse quote
"There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man."
-Winston Churchill
I haven't been riding this week and have missed at least two weeks of lessons. Now it is starting to rain, so poor Mercury will need the exercise.
-Winston Churchill
I haven't been riding this week and have missed at least two weeks of lessons. Now it is starting to rain, so poor Mercury will need the exercise.
Monday, October 02, 2006
Other tips from Alice about fall/winter
Alice said that generally speaking when the weather drops below 50 it is time to get out the blanket and cooler. You want him to grow a little bit of hair but not get totally hairy and disgusting. This year Mercury has a summer fly sheet, a spring/summer light weight sheet (not waterproof), a cooler for the winter when he sweats, a fall/spring waterproof turn-out blanket, and a winter high neck blanket. Wow.
Also, today when I rode him - I only rode for about half an hour because he totally got it from the lesson yesterday and remembered. We worked on the walk then on the trot with the proper head position, and while he wasn't perfect, he didn't hang on my hands, and he really tried. It was really cool.
Also, today when I rode him - I only rode for about half an hour because he totally got it from the lesson yesterday and remembered. We worked on the walk then on the trot with the proper head position, and while he wasn't perfect, he didn't hang on my hands, and he really tried. It was really cool.
Lesson on 10/1 - working on the bit
This lesson started with a discussion of my goals (posted a few posts ago), and Bob had a few comments. He said that some of the dressage goals, like the transitions, bend, and impulsion, are more Mercury than me; that he needs to improve his balance before he can do those. He said that Mercury probably physically can't score in the 7's & 8's all the way through a test. In the video of the test (aside from me being on the wrong diagnol which is humiliating), he says while he started looking great, Bob could even see some of the gimp by the time he was near the end.
He also added that I need to have as goals "Be happy." and "Have fun." that it is supposed to be fun for me and relaxing, not work.
I'm making a new goal for October:
Work on maintaining three things: 1) head position (feel the bubble); 2) impulsion; and 3) bend - in two laps around the arena and in circles, and hopefully in serpentines. (I have a much harder time with serpentines because too much happens too fast.)
So then I started the lesson, and Bob first said that I post too forward and back, like I'm launching out of the saddle, and I should post small up and down. So as soon as I tried to do that, my legs started swinging and he said to keep them still.
Then we started working on Mercury's head position, but we weren't sure how much we could do because he appears to have broken his nose in the one day I didn't go check on him. There's a big hard lump on one side, with a smaller lump down where the caveson goes. So he was working in a loose caveson and flash during the lesson which makes him fight more (he opens his mouth, so instead of 1", I have to move 3").
Anyway, Bob had to ride him. He rode for about 10 minutes and made Mercury look fabulous, even though he fought Bob a lot. Then when it was my turn again, I couldn't get him to do it. It is a steady inside hand with some bend, and then half halts on the outside hand. And I wasn't making them strong enough or frequent enough.
As the lesson went on, I got it, and every once in a while we'd have one step where he lifted his back and pushed from behind, and it was really easy to feel the difference. It felt like we were floating and going slower. It was soft. That's the "bubble" I said above.
So we worked on going around for two laps, making circles, and serpentines and that was about it. Bob said not to canter this week because it'll mess up the head set, and that from now on, unless he is being relaxed on a loose rein, he always has the head-set - for walk or trot.
It's hard because it is constant work from me. If my fingers slip or I don't pay attention, his head shoots right back up and it takes several steps to get it back down. He just tests and tests and tests. And I'm not very fast at taking up the reins, so I have to pull my hand back to make the bend, and then adjust my fingers after the bend is finished.
Mercury also hangs on my hands really bad, and Bob said to get him off my hands by strong half halts. The test is (aside from feeling the weight), if I let the inside rein go loose, does his head shoot up or go down? If it goes up, that means he was hanging it on me. If it goes down, it means he is carrying himself.
Also Bob said to yell at him if he ignores me, but I'm not good at that. He also says to talk to him, to keep him calm and relaxed because he feels like he's going to fall when he's got his head down (I think the prior owners rode him heavily in draw reins), and to tell him to put his head down. Mercury is pretty smart about words, and so when I said "down" he figured out to drop his head.
Also, he wasn't doing this in the lesson, but if he goes behind the bit to escape, just push him forward.
Bob said to do one ride a week where we do nothing but walk on the head set for an hour. Do 15 minutes, take a break, 15 minutes, take a break ...
At the very end of the lesson, Bob gave me three goods. A "good job today, kiddo" and a couple other goods. He and Alice must have talked about praising me. It worked.
What's amazing is how much there is going on. Not only controlling my own body, but the constant corrections and then we have to go around a corner.
Oh right, and extra half halts coming into the corners WITH leg to keep him moving forward.
Another side effect of this was that his back legs didn't do the wobbly thing the entire lesson! Bob says not only was he using them more, but he had to focus instead of being lazy.
Bob is a GREAT trainer.
He also added that I need to have as goals "Be happy." and "Have fun." that it is supposed to be fun for me and relaxing, not work.
I'm making a new goal for October:
Work on maintaining three things: 1) head position (feel the bubble); 2) impulsion; and 3) bend - in two laps around the arena and in circles, and hopefully in serpentines. (I have a much harder time with serpentines because too much happens too fast.)
So then I started the lesson, and Bob first said that I post too forward and back, like I'm launching out of the saddle, and I should post small up and down. So as soon as I tried to do that, my legs started swinging and he said to keep them still.
Then we started working on Mercury's head position, but we weren't sure how much we could do because he appears to have broken his nose in the one day I didn't go check on him. There's a big hard lump on one side, with a smaller lump down where the caveson goes. So he was working in a loose caveson and flash during the lesson which makes him fight more (he opens his mouth, so instead of 1", I have to move 3").
Anyway, Bob had to ride him. He rode for about 10 minutes and made Mercury look fabulous, even though he fought Bob a lot. Then when it was my turn again, I couldn't get him to do it. It is a steady inside hand with some bend, and then half halts on the outside hand. And I wasn't making them strong enough or frequent enough.
As the lesson went on, I got it, and every once in a while we'd have one step where he lifted his back and pushed from behind, and it was really easy to feel the difference. It felt like we were floating and going slower. It was soft. That's the "bubble" I said above.
So we worked on going around for two laps, making circles, and serpentines and that was about it. Bob said not to canter this week because it'll mess up the head set, and that from now on, unless he is being relaxed on a loose rein, he always has the head-set - for walk or trot.
It's hard because it is constant work from me. If my fingers slip or I don't pay attention, his head shoots right back up and it takes several steps to get it back down. He just tests and tests and tests. And I'm not very fast at taking up the reins, so I have to pull my hand back to make the bend, and then adjust my fingers after the bend is finished.
Mercury also hangs on my hands really bad, and Bob said to get him off my hands by strong half halts. The test is (aside from feeling the weight), if I let the inside rein go loose, does his head shoot up or go down? If it goes up, that means he was hanging it on me. If it goes down, it means he is carrying himself.
Also Bob said to yell at him if he ignores me, but I'm not good at that. He also says to talk to him, to keep him calm and relaxed because he feels like he's going to fall when he's got his head down (I think the prior owners rode him heavily in draw reins), and to tell him to put his head down. Mercury is pretty smart about words, and so when I said "down" he figured out to drop his head.
Also, he wasn't doing this in the lesson, but if he goes behind the bit to escape, just push him forward.
Bob said to do one ride a week where we do nothing but walk on the head set for an hour. Do 15 minutes, take a break, 15 minutes, take a break ...
At the very end of the lesson, Bob gave me three goods. A "good job today, kiddo" and a couple other goods. He and Alice must have talked about praising me. It worked.
What's amazing is how much there is going on. Not only controlling my own body, but the constant corrections and then we have to go around a corner.
Oh right, and extra half halts coming into the corners WITH leg to keep him moving forward.
Another side effect of this was that his back legs didn't do the wobbly thing the entire lesson! Bob says not only was he using them more, but he had to focus instead of being lazy.
Bob is a GREAT trainer.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Lesson on 9/23 and show tidbit
I either forgot to write this in the show summary, or I like it so much I want to write it again. When Bob and I were driving the course (except for we were on the wrong course), he asked, in his typical Bob way, if he could ask me something without making me mad. I said it depends, and he said that he talked to Alice after my last lesson about whether he was doing something wrong and why I got so upset during lessons. I said "oh, it's not you, it's ..." and he said "good." He said that he wondered if he expected too much from me and pushed me too hard because he expected more from me than his other students. I took that as praise and glowed in it.
Then of course, I rode like I've never jumped a horse in my life. It actually didn't look so bad on video, but that's because Debbie did an excellent job taping, but I'm so far away in everything that you can't see me noodling around.
My lesson this week was on the lunge line. We were supposed to talk about my goals, but I forgot them at home, so we talked in general about goals. Bob said I can't have a goal of "winning at beginner novice" because it is too variable. He said my goals need to be like "In 60 days, be able to do two laps in the sitting trot with Mercury on the bit." So I said next week I'd bring my goals and he could help me modify them.
He also said, again, that it is Mercury who needs work now, and we need to bring him up to my level. I rode him bareback yesterday (well, with a saddle pad because I'm old now), and his back is so bony. I wonder if he needs more muscling before he can move better.
The problem is, I don't know how to train Mercury, and Bob said just to be consistent, which I've tried so hard at, but clearly isn't working miracles.
It's not going to help with Kevin moving out, because I have to cut back on my lessons and the number of nights I ride. And I can't afford a truck. Or a second horse. Or more lessons. Or more shows.
Anyway, once we started working in the lesson, we worked on long legs (heels to the ground), not pinching with my knee, not dropping my inside shoulder, and still seat. We did some two steps sitting, two steps rising; and then two steps sitting, two steps rising while twisting back and forth. That was hard because my brain couldn't do everything at once. We also worked on picking up the canter and then going back down to trot without me leaning forward. I have to think "sit back" before I ask for the down transition, but when it is smooth, it feels really good.
We need to focus mostly on dressage, but Bob said every few lessons we'll do a jump lesson to keep things interesting because dressage can be boring.
I've taken it pretty easy with Mercury last week and this week. I was giving him some time off after the show, and this week I'm feeling pretty down, so I'm just having a hard time getting motivated to go work him. Hopefully the chiropractor is coming tomorrow, but I'm not sure.
Then of course, I rode like I've never jumped a horse in my life. It actually didn't look so bad on video, but that's because Debbie did an excellent job taping, but I'm so far away in everything that you can't see me noodling around.
My lesson this week was on the lunge line. We were supposed to talk about my goals, but I forgot them at home, so we talked in general about goals. Bob said I can't have a goal of "winning at beginner novice" because it is too variable. He said my goals need to be like "In 60 days, be able to do two laps in the sitting trot with Mercury on the bit." So I said next week I'd bring my goals and he could help me modify them.
He also said, again, that it is Mercury who needs work now, and we need to bring him up to my level. I rode him bareback yesterday (well, with a saddle pad because I'm old now), and his back is so bony. I wonder if he needs more muscling before he can move better.
The problem is, I don't know how to train Mercury, and Bob said just to be consistent, which I've tried so hard at, but clearly isn't working miracles.
It's not going to help with Kevin moving out, because I have to cut back on my lessons and the number of nights I ride. And I can't afford a truck. Or a second horse. Or more lessons. Or more shows.
Anyway, once we started working in the lesson, we worked on long legs (heels to the ground), not pinching with my knee, not dropping my inside shoulder, and still seat. We did some two steps sitting, two steps rising; and then two steps sitting, two steps rising while twisting back and forth. That was hard because my brain couldn't do everything at once. We also worked on picking up the canter and then going back down to trot without me leaning forward. I have to think "sit back" before I ask for the down transition, but when it is smooth, it feels really good.
We need to focus mostly on dressage, but Bob said every few lessons we'll do a jump lesson to keep things interesting because dressage can be boring.
I've taken it pretty easy with Mercury last week and this week. I was giving him some time off after the show, and this week I'm feeling pretty down, so I'm just having a hard time getting motivated to go work him. Hopefully the chiropractor is coming tomorrow, but I'm not sure.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Goals for this winter
Dressage:
1. Still hands
2. Smooth, crisp transitions
3. Bend
4. On the bit
5. Impulsion
6. BN & N tests - 7's & 8's
7. Round circles
8. Straight lines
9. Posture
10. Sitting trot
Jumping:
1. Still legs
2. No overjumping (superman)
3. No mouth jerking - keep hands forward
4. Increase height and spread of jumps
5. Jump at canter
6. Correct lead when landing
7. Multiple jumps in a row
8. Head up
9. Heels down - no pinching with knee/lower leg swinging
10. Begin counting strides (5 to 8)
General:
1. Increase fitness
2. Increase speed
3. Balance for Mercury
4. Learn to braid mane
5. Increase leg health & condition
6. Bravery - less herd bound
We'll see what Bob says this weekend, how much he modifies these.
I'd like to ride Beginner Novice next year. If he places in the top 3 in three consecutive shows, then maybe move to Novice or start doing recognized shows. I think I need some new clothes for recognized though.
Odds are I will lose for a while, because there's a lot more competitors in Beginner Novice, and the winning dressage scores tend to be in the low 30's. So I need to work on all 7's with some 8's in my scored tests.
I think one reason I only got 3rd in this last show was because the caliber of the competitors was higher. It wasn't as many people out schooling their 4 year olds. Even though Mercury is 12, he acts like a 6 year old and he has gotten a little set in his ways.
What I really hope is next year (2007) BN; (2008) N; (2009) N rec & unrec; (2010) big maybe Training. Then Mercury will be 16 - if he could go to 18 that'd be fabulous, but I hope I can lease him (keep him at Edelweiss) and get a new horse to start. Maybe a horse who is already Novice, though if I work him up and he is good, that's ok too because there's more to learn.
The beginning novice course looked like so much fun, although intimidating. I was both relieved and disappointed when it turned out Hopeful was smaller and shorter.
1. Still hands
2. Smooth, crisp transitions
3. Bend
4. On the bit
5. Impulsion
6. BN & N tests - 7's & 8's
7. Round circles
8. Straight lines
9. Posture
10. Sitting trot
Jumping:
1. Still legs
2. No overjumping (superman)
3. No mouth jerking - keep hands forward
4. Increase height and spread of jumps
5. Jump at canter
6. Correct lead when landing
7. Multiple jumps in a row
8. Head up
9. Heels down - no pinching with knee/lower leg swinging
10. Begin counting strides (5 to 8)
General:
1. Increase fitness
2. Increase speed
3. Balance for Mercury
4. Learn to braid mane
5. Increase leg health & condition
6. Bravery - less herd bound
We'll see what Bob says this weekend, how much he modifies these.
I'd like to ride Beginner Novice next year. If he places in the top 3 in three consecutive shows, then maybe move to Novice or start doing recognized shows. I think I need some new clothes for recognized though.
Odds are I will lose for a while, because there's a lot more competitors in Beginner Novice, and the winning dressage scores tend to be in the low 30's. So I need to work on all 7's with some 8's in my scored tests.
I think one reason I only got 3rd in this last show was because the caliber of the competitors was higher. It wasn't as many people out schooling their 4 year olds. Even though Mercury is 12, he acts like a 6 year old and he has gotten a little set in his ways.
What I really hope is next year (2007) BN; (2008) N; (2009) N rec & unrec; (2010) big maybe Training. Then Mercury will be 16 - if he could go to 18 that'd be fabulous, but I hope I can lease him (keep him at Edelweiss) and get a new horse to start. Maybe a horse who is already Novice, though if I work him up and he is good, that's ok too because there's more to learn.
The beginning novice course looked like so much fun, although intimidating. I was both relieved and disappointed when it turned out Hopeful was smaller and shorter.
Modified 2-day Event - unrecognized - Lincoln Creek
This weekend (9/16 & 17) was the modified 2 day. It had a lot more complexity than the derby.
Friday started with a heavy downpour. I had planned to drive back and forth, but changed my mind, drove home, and drove back down and slept in the car the first night. I had tried to walk Roads & Tracks before dark, but I somehow got into a pasture with cows, which started following me, which made my already present fear of cows much more intense, so I tried to get away, only to find the next pasture over didn't have an exit and I had to go back through the cows.
Saturday was a nice day while I watched Prelim and Training level do dressage and show jumping. When I got Mercury out to groom him, I got 1/2 of him curried before it started to rain. Then I put him back in the stall, cleaned up all the stuff, and finished getting him ready in the stall. After I worked up a good sweat in my raincoat warming up, it quit raining. Mercury was excellent in the warm-up, but some things fell apart during the test. It was a longer test than last time, but in some ways easier. His transitions weren't very smooth, and a lot of the judge's comments were about him being lazy, even though he was on the bit better, bent better, and more responsive. We got more 7's than last time, but also 4's, which we didn't get last time, and some 6's & 5's. My score was a 41.5.
Show jumping was clear. It turned out it was timed, so I got a little panicked about being late, and I cantered some of the fences. My position was not good. I kept asking him to jump long and throwing my body forward. But he was good and didn't get too excited. We trotted some too.
At the end of dressage we were in 4th place, but actually 5th because a woman with a broken finger rode Hopeful instead of Beginner Novice. Out of 9, I think. Then I think I moved up to 3rd or 2nd in show jumping.
Saturday started with Mercury busting through his stall guard and taking a tour of the property with me chasing him.
Sunday drizzled most of the day. I didn't ride until 1:18, so I watched Prelim (only 1 rider by now), Training (also several scratches), and some of Novice. Their courses looked fun.
Phase A of Roads & Tracks was mostly trotting. Mercury got nervous about all the horses going different directions and being so far away. Phase B was steeplechase without the jumps, and he started making himself spook at things. Phase C was supposed to be a walk, but we had to trot almost all of it to finish in time. He passed his vet check after 7 minutes.
I warmed him up, then cross country was only 9 fences, no water, and flew past. He jumped well, and I think I did ok too. He got a little spooky at some grass, and he was eyeballing some huge jumps like "you've got to be kidding me". He did everything clear, but we were a little slow because I made him trot all but the last jump. The huge hill (for us) we cantered up but walked down because of his weak back legs, and then I pushed him really hard to the end. We did the last jump at a slightly awkward canter, and then I asked him to run for the finish line, and like a little angel, he did. It was great.
At the end of Sunday, we were in 3rd place. I had been in 2nd for a long time, but then someone complained about their time, and they went into 1st. Broken finger got 2nd. 4th was pretty far below me. I had 3 time penalties for being late in xc.
I think next year we'll move to Beginner Novice, but we have a lot to work on. That's the next blog. I had a really good time.
Friday started with a heavy downpour. I had planned to drive back and forth, but changed my mind, drove home, and drove back down and slept in the car the first night. I had tried to walk Roads & Tracks before dark, but I somehow got into a pasture with cows, which started following me, which made my already present fear of cows much more intense, so I tried to get away, only to find the next pasture over didn't have an exit and I had to go back through the cows.
Saturday was a nice day while I watched Prelim and Training level do dressage and show jumping. When I got Mercury out to groom him, I got 1/2 of him curried before it started to rain. Then I put him back in the stall, cleaned up all the stuff, and finished getting him ready in the stall. After I worked up a good sweat in my raincoat warming up, it quit raining. Mercury was excellent in the warm-up, but some things fell apart during the test. It was a longer test than last time, but in some ways easier. His transitions weren't very smooth, and a lot of the judge's comments were about him being lazy, even though he was on the bit better, bent better, and more responsive. We got more 7's than last time, but also 4's, which we didn't get last time, and some 6's & 5's. My score was a 41.5.
Show jumping was clear. It turned out it was timed, so I got a little panicked about being late, and I cantered some of the fences. My position was not good. I kept asking him to jump long and throwing my body forward. But he was good and didn't get too excited. We trotted some too.
At the end of dressage we were in 4th place, but actually 5th because a woman with a broken finger rode Hopeful instead of Beginner Novice. Out of 9, I think. Then I think I moved up to 3rd or 2nd in show jumping.
Saturday started with Mercury busting through his stall guard and taking a tour of the property with me chasing him.
Sunday drizzled most of the day. I didn't ride until 1:18, so I watched Prelim (only 1 rider by now), Training (also several scratches), and some of Novice. Their courses looked fun.
Phase A of Roads & Tracks was mostly trotting. Mercury got nervous about all the horses going different directions and being so far away. Phase B was steeplechase without the jumps, and he started making himself spook at things. Phase C was supposed to be a walk, but we had to trot almost all of it to finish in time. He passed his vet check after 7 minutes.
I warmed him up, then cross country was only 9 fences, no water, and flew past. He jumped well, and I think I did ok too. He got a little spooky at some grass, and he was eyeballing some huge jumps like "you've got to be kidding me". He did everything clear, but we were a little slow because I made him trot all but the last jump. The huge hill (for us) we cantered up but walked down because of his weak back legs, and then I pushed him really hard to the end. We did the last jump at a slightly awkward canter, and then I asked him to run for the finish line, and like a little angel, he did. It was great.
At the end of Sunday, we were in 3rd place. I had been in 2nd for a long time, but then someone complained about their time, and they went into 1st. Broken finger got 2nd. 4th was pretty far below me. I had 3 time penalties for being late in xc.
I think next year we'll move to Beginner Novice, but we have a lot to work on. That's the next blog. I had a really good time.
Lesson on 9/10 - another bad jump lesson, on video
1. Reins shorter in 2-point, so I don't lose contact
2. My head up!
3. When approaching a jump, think (and do): half-halt, half-halt, squeeze
4. Mercury isn't respecting the poles. He ran right through one set about 6" above ground.
5. I need to work on not bringing my hands back too fast.
6. I got really frustrated (and started to cry at the end) because I couldn't even do 2 out of original 5 poles on hte ground
7. Bob said not to work on poles or fences except in lessons for a little while
8. After I got frustrated, he said to think about how far I've come since I started, and Mercury's good qualities - that he never refuses at a fence.
9. In the combinations, we worked on a different approach (with the squeeze and half halt), which is lots more set-up than I've been doing on my own.
Leftover from the last dressage lesson:
1. I need to keep the noseband tighter (flash & nose)
2. I need to work on wiggling my fingers up and down the reins to adjust.
3. I need to switch my whip so it's on the inside for corrections.
4. I wish I was Bob's star student.
2. My head up!
3. When approaching a jump, think (and do): half-halt, half-halt, squeeze
4. Mercury isn't respecting the poles. He ran right through one set about 6" above ground.
5. I need to work on not bringing my hands back too fast.
6. I got really frustrated (and started to cry at the end) because I couldn't even do 2 out of original 5 poles on hte ground
7. Bob said not to work on poles or fences except in lessons for a little while
8. After I got frustrated, he said to think about how far I've come since I started, and Mercury's good qualities - that he never refuses at a fence.
9. In the combinations, we worked on a different approach (with the squeeze and half halt), which is lots more set-up than I've been doing on my own.
Leftover from the last dressage lesson:
1. I need to keep the noseband tighter (flash & nose)
2. I need to work on wiggling my fingers up and down the reins to adjust.
3. I need to switch my whip so it's on the inside for corrections.
4. I wish I was Bob's star student.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Kevin's attempts to jog my memory from last lesson
One thing Bob said was that now I've gotten above what Mercury knows, so I have to train him up.
Bob thinks Mercury might be physically limited to novice level.
Bob thinks Mercury might be physically limited to novice level.
Lesson on 9/2/06 - Bending
I spent the end of this lesson talking about the training level jumps at the show from last weekend, and only the first part riding. I wanted to ride outside because Mercury has been spooking at the gate every time we go past it and driving me crazy. All the things I normally try to do (talk to him, make him do something, go past 100 times in a row) don't make him consistently stop shying. So Bob watched me ride and his very first observation was that it's not Mercury - it's me - that Bob is my security blanket, and when he's there, the reason Mercury is better is because I'm relaxed because he's there.
Later, when Mercury finally acted up, Bob said to be more gentle with my hands, to give him space and push him past, and to talk quietly. He said definitely don't make a big deal out of it, because it just gets Mercury's tiny little brain more wound up.
We worked a lot on bending - on seeing the inside of Mercury's eye in the direction I want him to bend. I need to hold the reins a little shorter - between "2" and "3" on the inside rein and between "3" and "4" on the outside rein. I don't give enough outside rein for him to bend his neck. I also need to practice scooting my fingers up and down the reins.
Bob said I'm still making things too boring for Mercury by just going around the outside of the arena (he's said this one enough now that it's like a broken record, and it's such an easy thing to change). He said make more circles, serpentines, change of direction, and change of speed. The reason I can't is because I'm so busy thinking of the other 50 things, moving him around is just beyond my grasp. Bob said it will get easier with time - the new things will become habits, opening up room for the other new things.
Part of why I just talked the last half of the lesson was because I felt like I had enough to work on for a week, and I wasn't going to absorb more anyway. It doesn't sound like it - typing it out, but it really felt like a lot to handle - wiggling my fingers, keeping him bent, keeping him moving forward, not letting him spook at the gate.
We had the same conversation we always do when I'm feeling insecure. Bob pointed out that the kids riding Training Level probably take 3-4 lessons a week (he named a couple names who do most of the lessons). He said some people benefit from that, and that while I don't need more than one lesson a week, I might benefit from it because what I tend to do is focus so hard on the one thing we worked on that I forget to work on other things. For example, at this lesson I concentrated so hard on bending that I would forget to move him forward.
What I really want Bob to tell me is how good I could be. I know he won't, and I understand why, but I still want to know if my talent combined with hard work is going to get me to Novice and keep me there, or if I can work above that.
I'm writing this too late to capture as many details as I'd like. Some of the stand-out points were:
Don't look down.
Ugh. Hopefully I'll remember when I ride next. Unfortunately Mercury got three days off with the show coming up because we were in Oregon, on the road for 13 hours instead of 8, and then tonight I completely forgot the locker combination and couldn't get in. It makes me want to tear my hair out. I spent a long time today trying to get organized and planning out how to juggle horses and levels and time and lessons and money, so it is frustrating to not remember more of my lesson to get it written down.
Later, when Mercury finally acted up, Bob said to be more gentle with my hands, to give him space and push him past, and to talk quietly. He said definitely don't make a big deal out of it, because it just gets Mercury's tiny little brain more wound up.
We worked a lot on bending - on seeing the inside of Mercury's eye in the direction I want him to bend. I need to hold the reins a little shorter - between "2" and "3" on the inside rein and between "3" and "4" on the outside rein. I don't give enough outside rein for him to bend his neck. I also need to practice scooting my fingers up and down the reins.
Bob said I'm still making things too boring for Mercury by just going around the outside of the arena (he's said this one enough now that it's like a broken record, and it's such an easy thing to change). He said make more circles, serpentines, change of direction, and change of speed. The reason I can't is because I'm so busy thinking of the other 50 things, moving him around is just beyond my grasp. Bob said it will get easier with time - the new things will become habits, opening up room for the other new things.
Part of why I just talked the last half of the lesson was because I felt like I had enough to work on for a week, and I wasn't going to absorb more anyway. It doesn't sound like it - typing it out, but it really felt like a lot to handle - wiggling my fingers, keeping him bent, keeping him moving forward, not letting him spook at the gate.
We had the same conversation we always do when I'm feeling insecure. Bob pointed out that the kids riding Training Level probably take 3-4 lessons a week (he named a couple names who do most of the lessons). He said some people benefit from that, and that while I don't need more than one lesson a week, I might benefit from it because what I tend to do is focus so hard on the one thing we worked on that I forget to work on other things. For example, at this lesson I concentrated so hard on bending that I would forget to move him forward.
What I really want Bob to tell me is how good I could be. I know he won't, and I understand why, but I still want to know if my talent combined with hard work is going to get me to Novice and keep me there, or if I can work above that.
I'm writing this too late to capture as many details as I'd like. Some of the stand-out points were:
Don't look down.
Ugh. Hopefully I'll remember when I ride next. Unfortunately Mercury got three days off with the show coming up because we were in Oregon, on the road for 13 hours instead of 8, and then tonight I completely forgot the locker combination and couldn't get in. It makes me want to tear my hair out. I spent a long time today trying to get organized and planning out how to juggle horses and levels and time and lessons and money, so it is frustrating to not remember more of my lesson to get it written down.
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Lesson 18 - 8/26/06 - Sitting Trot
Bob asked me what I wanted to work on today, and I said I wanted to work on dressage and all the messy things that need to be fixed before I can really do well at jumping. So we went out and I started making my warm up circles, and we started talking about hands, arms, shoulders, and hips, and how they are all interconnected. It resulted in a lesson that had the most improvement, easiest, and left me totally in pain and hardly able to walk. Bob is a genius.
We started at the walk, and Bob helped me stop holding my hips so tight and letting Mercury do the moving. Once I finally got it, it felt all weird and rolling. A HUGE amount of movement compared to what I had been doing.
Next I started sitting the trot (something that thankfully I have been working on a few months, because I've spent my entire riding life (15 years) not able to do it at all until Bob told me how a few lessons back). What Bob wanted was for my belly button to go up and down, not forward and back, and for my hips to absorb all the bumping. He says that you can't really ride a horse until you can sit because you can't really train until you can keep your butt planted in the saddle (my words).
It felt pretty good, and then Bob asked if I felt secure on Mercury, and I said yes, and then he took my dressage whip and put it behind my elbows behind my back. And it was like a miracle. Suddenly I had this deep, secure, planted seat that felt so smooth and soft. It was amazing. I sat and sat and sat, and then we flipped my stirrups to work on lengthening my legs, and then I started rotating my shoulders (look to the left, look to the right, but with shoulders, not just head), to separate my upper body from my hips. It was incredible. I could ride around, looking around, and my hips and legs just did everything.
What it felt like was a spring in my tailbone, that compressed and released on the steps. I could also really feel Mercury's legs, and as we went on, he started to relax and lengthen his stride a little (though he was going really slow, baby steps Bob says). It also felt a little like leaning back, but Bob says it was straight up and down.
So what Bob says is that in order to have steady hands, your hips have to be absorbing the motion. It is like the egg in the spoon race in 4-H. And I could see how nice my hands were when my hips were doing everything.
My toes tend to point out (especially the left one), which opens my knee, but when I try to make them go straight, I overcorrect. Bob says to work on this twice a week, to retrain my muscle memory into this new position.
It felt great, except for all my hip muscles started to hurt and it took a few minutes for them to loosen up after I got off. I was feeling really positive and happy with all the progress we've made, and then I made the mistake of going out to Caber Farms to watch part of the recognized show. They were doing training level cross country when I got there, and the jumps were HUGE and all the riders, who all looked about 14 (then I found out it was Junior Training), had the most secure legs and wonderful jumping position. Except the one girl who fell off. I think they called it an "involuntary dismount". I was mortified at how I'm jostling around trying to master the sitting trot at 30 at a jog, and these kids were zipping around jumping these things almost as tall as them. It was a big, fat slice of humble pie.
A long time ago Alice had told me she thought I could go Preliminary if I worked hard and got a good horse, but now I don't know. I just feel like such a bag of noodles all the time.
When I ride now, I try to focus on the 4 "H"'s: head, hands, hips, heels. I run that through my head with the "1-2-3-4" to shortcut my analyzing brain and just feel what I'm doing.
The one other thing Bob said was that he thinks he is a good trainer (and I totally agree; he is the best I have ever had), and he can take someone to the top and then keep them there. I have read that it is extremely hard to stay in the top, and I can believe it because it looked like there were 250 horses at this show. The Beginner Novice scores were in the low 30's. I think you have to have a certain amount of talent, but you also have to work really, really hard (and maybe I am not working hard enough), and then you have to get a good horse with a good heart and a nice, solid body. Bob might be able to ride anything, but I'm going to need someone to help my handicap a little. Mercury is fabulous, but I don't think his legs will ever do training.
The one other thing I asked about was Mercury running around with his head up like a giraffe on the lunge line. Bob had two suggestions: 1) Let him start without the side reins attached. Then put them on and tighten them up. Don't do too much too fast or show off. 2) If I've been working him hard, don't be too heavy with my hands. He could just be protecting his mouth afraid I'm going to yank on him. Bob thinks its the first, but he knows I think it's the 2nd.
We started at the walk, and Bob helped me stop holding my hips so tight and letting Mercury do the moving. Once I finally got it, it felt all weird and rolling. A HUGE amount of movement compared to what I had been doing.
Next I started sitting the trot (something that thankfully I have been working on a few months, because I've spent my entire riding life (15 years) not able to do it at all until Bob told me how a few lessons back). What Bob wanted was for my belly button to go up and down, not forward and back, and for my hips to absorb all the bumping. He says that you can't really ride a horse until you can sit because you can't really train until you can keep your butt planted in the saddle (my words).
It felt pretty good, and then Bob asked if I felt secure on Mercury, and I said yes, and then he took my dressage whip and put it behind my elbows behind my back. And it was like a miracle. Suddenly I had this deep, secure, planted seat that felt so smooth and soft. It was amazing. I sat and sat and sat, and then we flipped my stirrups to work on lengthening my legs, and then I started rotating my shoulders (look to the left, look to the right, but with shoulders, not just head), to separate my upper body from my hips. It was incredible. I could ride around, looking around, and my hips and legs just did everything.
What it felt like was a spring in my tailbone, that compressed and released on the steps. I could also really feel Mercury's legs, and as we went on, he started to relax and lengthen his stride a little (though he was going really slow, baby steps Bob says). It also felt a little like leaning back, but Bob says it was straight up and down.
So what Bob says is that in order to have steady hands, your hips have to be absorbing the motion. It is like the egg in the spoon race in 4-H. And I could see how nice my hands were when my hips were doing everything.
My toes tend to point out (especially the left one), which opens my knee, but when I try to make them go straight, I overcorrect. Bob says to work on this twice a week, to retrain my muscle memory into this new position.
It felt great, except for all my hip muscles started to hurt and it took a few minutes for them to loosen up after I got off. I was feeling really positive and happy with all the progress we've made, and then I made the mistake of going out to Caber Farms to watch part of the recognized show. They were doing training level cross country when I got there, and the jumps were HUGE and all the riders, who all looked about 14 (then I found out it was Junior Training), had the most secure legs and wonderful jumping position. Except the one girl who fell off. I think they called it an "involuntary dismount". I was mortified at how I'm jostling around trying to master the sitting trot at 30 at a jog, and these kids were zipping around jumping these things almost as tall as them. It was a big, fat slice of humble pie.
A long time ago Alice had told me she thought I could go Preliminary if I worked hard and got a good horse, but now I don't know. I just feel like such a bag of noodles all the time.
When I ride now, I try to focus on the 4 "H"'s: head, hands, hips, heels. I run that through my head with the "1-2-3-4" to shortcut my analyzing brain and just feel what I'm doing.
The one other thing Bob said was that he thinks he is a good trainer (and I totally agree; he is the best I have ever had), and he can take someone to the top and then keep them there. I have read that it is extremely hard to stay in the top, and I can believe it because it looked like there were 250 horses at this show. The Beginner Novice scores were in the low 30's. I think you have to have a certain amount of talent, but you also have to work really, really hard (and maybe I am not working hard enough), and then you have to get a good horse with a good heart and a nice, solid body. Bob might be able to ride anything, but I'm going to need someone to help my handicap a little. Mercury is fabulous, but I don't think his legs will ever do training.
The one other thing I asked about was Mercury running around with his head up like a giraffe on the lunge line. Bob had two suggestions: 1) Let him start without the side reins attached. Then put them on and tighten them up. Don't do too much too fast or show off. 2) If I've been working him hard, don't be too heavy with my hands. He could just be protecting his mouth afraid I'm going to yank on him. Bob thinks its the first, but he knows I think it's the 2nd.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Lesson 17 - 8/18/06
Today I had a vigorous jumping lesson. First, the good points: I feel really balanced, secure, and grounded. I feel like my legs are hardly moving, and the big leg concern is when on the left lead, my right knee opens and my toe points out, but I'm getting better at correcting it. I really improved my trot - canter transition from last week by leaning back and sitting up, and I am sitting more solid in the saddle in the canter (less air under my butt).
Now for the bad news: the jump lesson was humiliating. We started with a cross rail, with the worst jump ever. Here's the things I started out needing to work on:
1) Hands forward - I bring them back while we're in the air. I don't sit up, but just bring my hands back, so I'm jerking on his mouth while we're flying.
2) Head up - head up doesn't mean looking between his ears, but really up - chin up. I could feel it when it was right - which meant staring at the wall on the other end of the arena, but couldn't feel it wrong.
3) Don't swing legs - while my seat felt secure and solid, my lower leg would swing way back when I pinched with my knee.
Bob gave me a couple ideas that seemed to work:
On the way to the jump, think dressage seat, half halt, half halt, half halt. Then go over.
Count out loud: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4, 1 - 2 - 3 - 4. This made me ride instead of think. I ride better when I'm not thinking.
Think head up, hands forward, heels down as I approach the jump. Don't worry about where he is taking off from or asking him to go from a spot. Looking at a spot makes you look down.
I am leaping forward - like standing up, instead of bending forward and just riding him over. I am "charging" the jump.
So then we worked on a vertical, and then an oxer, and I got a teensy bit better, but started having problems on the "courses" to get him from a canter back to a trot.
Then we worked a line of three, which was a disaster. So then we did two teeny jumps with a trot pole (24' apart) and it was still pretty bad. After a while, we moved up to 5 trot poles, each 24' apart. Bob said to work on this every other day.
The problem is that I can't feel when I need more leg and when I need more hand, and I let him coast through instead of riding dressage in between. What needs to happen is pole - half halt half halt - pole - half halt half halt - pole, etc. But when he gets tired, a leg goes with the half halt to keep him moving.
Anyway - Mercury was fantastic. He loves to jump, and he is consistent. Bob says he jumps nice and round, but sometimes he takes off from too close (a lot) and sometimes too far. Bob does not recommend my old training styles - riding a lunge line over a fence or riding with my eyes shut.
Other misc from Kevin's watching lesson:
1) Stay seated - especially after the jump (it was easier to not overjump if I sat a few trot steps out, and Bob said that was ok to do)
2) Approach jump straight
3) Don't let him track his back legs on a separate track - use inside leg behind the girth to put him straight
Bob also tested if I could feel what was wrong over each jump - making me say out loud what I felt wrong to make sure we could keep working. It was a great learning lesson, but a lousy me showing that I was a good rider lesson.
Now for the bad news: the jump lesson was humiliating. We started with a cross rail, with the worst jump ever. Here's the things I started out needing to work on:
1) Hands forward - I bring them back while we're in the air. I don't sit up, but just bring my hands back, so I'm jerking on his mouth while we're flying.
2) Head up - head up doesn't mean looking between his ears, but really up - chin up. I could feel it when it was right - which meant staring at the wall on the other end of the arena, but couldn't feel it wrong.
3) Don't swing legs - while my seat felt secure and solid, my lower leg would swing way back when I pinched with my knee.
Bob gave me a couple ideas that seemed to work:
On the way to the jump, think dressage seat, half halt, half halt, half halt. Then go over.
Count out loud: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4, 1 - 2 - 3 - 4. This made me ride instead of think. I ride better when I'm not thinking.
Think head up, hands forward, heels down as I approach the jump. Don't worry about where he is taking off from or asking him to go from a spot. Looking at a spot makes you look down.
I am leaping forward - like standing up, instead of bending forward and just riding him over. I am "charging" the jump.
So then we worked on a vertical, and then an oxer, and I got a teensy bit better, but started having problems on the "courses" to get him from a canter back to a trot.
Then we worked a line of three, which was a disaster. So then we did two teeny jumps with a trot pole (24' apart) and it was still pretty bad. After a while, we moved up to 5 trot poles, each 24' apart. Bob said to work on this every other day.
The problem is that I can't feel when I need more leg and when I need more hand, and I let him coast through instead of riding dressage in between. What needs to happen is pole - half halt half halt - pole - half halt half halt - pole, etc. But when he gets tired, a leg goes with the half halt to keep him moving.
Anyway - Mercury was fantastic. He loves to jump, and he is consistent. Bob says he jumps nice and round, but sometimes he takes off from too close (a lot) and sometimes too far. Bob does not recommend my old training styles - riding a lunge line over a fence or riding with my eyes shut.
Other misc from Kevin's watching lesson:
1) Stay seated - especially after the jump (it was easier to not overjump if I sat a few trot steps out, and Bob said that was ok to do)
2) Approach jump straight
3) Don't let him track his back legs on a separate track - use inside leg behind the girth to put him straight
Bob also tested if I could feel what was wrong over each jump - making me say out loud what I felt wrong to make sure we could keep working. It was a great learning lesson, but a lousy me showing that I was a good rider lesson.
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