Clinic Rock the Second
Jul. 24th, 2006 11:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dancinghorseAfter dinner on Wednesday, I went over to PM to ride the boy again--needed to get the connection solid before the next morning's lesson. S had ridden with H while I was working, and had had a Revelation about rein aids, which added up to her trying them with DS before I got on. Basically it added up to, I could ride him in contact, which made the ride much better. I felt, if not ready for a lesson, at least semi-competent.
Lesson time was bright and early and even bloody hotter than the day before. I watched S ride her lovely stallion first thing. He's new to her, has a slew of competition awards, and has been ridden in a certain style: very active behind, cranked in in front, and nothing in the middle. When she got him, his back was like a Nike swoop. It has been improving. With H to help, it achieved wonders.
For my lesson we had agreed that because of the language thing and the hearing thing, S would be in the arena with us. She would relay the instructions and translate where needed, and stand at an angle that would let me watch both of them at once. Like so:
That worked really well. With H's body language and expressions and S's relaying of the words, we made a team. Plus S got to share the lesson, so she could take it home and ride her horse.
It was an interesting experience. I worked. my. butt. off. The horse is very green, was started last year (he won't even be 6 until next month) and then purchased and then not ridden until this past May. That made him the greenest horse in the clinic, but he had a good start and a great attitude. That was good because he worked harder than ever had in his life. We have a tendency to slouch and flop around and not really focus, and that is not the SRS way. That way is focus. And Forward in a very specific way--through the whole body, rhythmic and engaged and with bounce and brio in the stride. This takes all the aids you've got, and in my case meant I had to add a lot more hand than I've been allowed to (because I'm still getting that reinstalled). I don't think I really got it in three days, though I have some ideas and Teacher will help. It's a matter of putting everythying together and then keeping the bit alive--"work the bit" or "slide the bit" or "keep moving the bit," but it's not seesawing or push-pulling or "putting him on the bit" using just hands. You have to have your entire Torture-Lady complex of seat aids in place, and then you get to tell him to move up and forward and through into the light squeeze-massage that says, "Now use your whole topline and round and lighten and find the bounce in your steps." With the most conformationally challenged horse in the clinic, a QH-Warmblood cross who did not get the best of both worlds, this transformed her (after a ride with H) from a stiff, short-strided, tense horse into a long, flowing, lovely mover with a soft and happy eye.
In DS's case, this was his native environment, but not mine; so we had some discussion about how to make it work. When it did work, he floated.
I also had to get my hands down--I was carrying them too high, H said. While also keeping the elbows relaxed and bent. Bit of a challenge. I did best when he said "leg" if I was using abs and sliding my tailbone; "forward" meant lower leg; the hands were self-explanatory.
We did all three gaits. DS apparently cantered under saddle initially but S had never done so. And here I was, nominated to do it. The first canter was ug-leee, heavy and wallowing, but we did manage to get decent work after that. Major workout for me. By the time we were done, I was just about able to croak, "Gatorade," and glugged half a bottle.
With all the struggles and the gaps in my education, I still rode a high that day. The auditors wanted to know where I got that seat--"I Want It!" said one of the riders. Teacher and Torture Lady, take a bow. And that was good--I didn't shame my teachers.
That was the hottest day we had. A cool front came through that evening and made things much more bearable for the rest of the clinic. I adjourned to the a/c again for more work, which was a huge relief--I was wringing wet.
Day three, I had the first lesson, which meant getting up at oh-dark-thirty and being awake and in the arena by 6:30. I hadn't slept wonderfully the night before, but I was more or less functional. But after the previous day's high, poor boy was almost too sore to move. He wouldn't reach down on the longe and he was stiff and resistant under saddle. That activated my bad habit of meeting resistance with resistance. Not pretty. My hands were especially dire, but we did manage five minutes of decent work at the end. Then DS got walkies and hosing and easy stretches and a rest, which he needed.
On day four, I had my last lesson, since day five I had to leave early to make my flight home. By then the weather was quite bearable, and we were more or less adapted. Plus the a/c was back on in the lounge, giving us an escape when we started to boil. We had discussed the saddle situation, and one of the other board members had one for sale that was basically the same saddle I have for my mares. The seat was a size smaller but the width was the same.
We tried this on DS and it was Much Much Much better. He could move through the back and wasn't being pinched when he tried to round up. This did have the side effect of making him a little "cheeky" as H said--he started arguing and wanting to go his own way--but that was so Pooka-like it was invaluable as a lesson. I did better with the hands, needed less correction there, but the canter was still a struggle: he wanted to careen off to the left. We worked on that (and me) and got some more or less acceptable circles. Still not pretty, but better. I got a big smile from H and "You're so gutsy!" from the gallery. Not gutsy, he's a Lipizzan--he won't hurt me even when he's taking off. I'm not fearless, either, though I got that rep--green Lipps aren't in the same danger category as green anything else. They care what happens to their rider.
Lesson time was bright and early and even bloody hotter than the day before. I watched S ride her lovely stallion first thing. He's new to her, has a slew of competition awards, and has been ridden in a certain style: very active behind, cranked in in front, and nothing in the middle. When she got him, his back was like a Nike swoop. It has been improving. With H to help, it achieved wonders.
For my lesson we had agreed that because of the language thing and the hearing thing, S would be in the arena with us. She would relay the instructions and translate where needed, and stand at an angle that would let me watch both of them at once. Like so:
That worked really well. With H's body language and expressions and S's relaying of the words, we made a team. Plus S got to share the lesson, so she could take it home and ride her horse.
It was an interesting experience. I worked. my. butt. off. The horse is very green, was started last year (he won't even be 6 until next month) and then purchased and then not ridden until this past May. That made him the greenest horse in the clinic, but he had a good start and a great attitude. That was good because he worked harder than ever had in his life. We have a tendency to slouch and flop around and not really focus, and that is not the SRS way. That way is focus. And Forward in a very specific way--through the whole body, rhythmic and engaged and with bounce and brio in the stride. This takes all the aids you've got, and in my case meant I had to add a lot more hand than I've been allowed to (because I'm still getting that reinstalled). I don't think I really got it in three days, though I have some ideas and Teacher will help. It's a matter of putting everythying together and then keeping the bit alive--"work the bit" or "slide the bit" or "keep moving the bit," but it's not seesawing or push-pulling or "putting him on the bit" using just hands. You have to have your entire Torture-Lady complex of seat aids in place, and then you get to tell him to move up and forward and through into the light squeeze-massage that says, "Now use your whole topline and round and lighten and find the bounce in your steps." With the most conformationally challenged horse in the clinic, a QH-Warmblood cross who did not get the best of both worlds, this transformed her (after a ride with H) from a stiff, short-strided, tense horse into a long, flowing, lovely mover with a soft and happy eye.
In DS's case, this was his native environment, but not mine; so we had some discussion about how to make it work. When it did work, he floated.
I also had to get my hands down--I was carrying them too high, H said. While also keeping the elbows relaxed and bent. Bit of a challenge. I did best when he said "leg" if I was using abs and sliding my tailbone; "forward" meant lower leg; the hands were self-explanatory.
We did all three gaits. DS apparently cantered under saddle initially but S had never done so. And here I was, nominated to do it. The first canter was ug-leee, heavy and wallowing, but we did manage to get decent work after that. Major workout for me. By the time we were done, I was just about able to croak, "Gatorade," and glugged half a bottle.
With all the struggles and the gaps in my education, I still rode a high that day. The auditors wanted to know where I got that seat--"I Want It!" said one of the riders. Teacher and Torture Lady, take a bow. And that was good--I didn't shame my teachers.
That was the hottest day we had. A cool front came through that evening and made things much more bearable for the rest of the clinic. I adjourned to the a/c again for more work, which was a huge relief--I was wringing wet.
Day three, I had the first lesson, which meant getting up at oh-dark-thirty and being awake and in the arena by 6:30. I hadn't slept wonderfully the night before, but I was more or less functional. But after the previous day's high, poor boy was almost too sore to move. He wouldn't reach down on the longe and he was stiff and resistant under saddle. That activated my bad habit of meeting resistance with resistance. Not pretty. My hands were especially dire, but we did manage five minutes of decent work at the end. Then DS got walkies and hosing and easy stretches and a rest, which he needed.
On day four, I had my last lesson, since day five I had to leave early to make my flight home. By then the weather was quite bearable, and we were more or less adapted. Plus the a/c was back on in the lounge, giving us an escape when we started to boil. We had discussed the saddle situation, and one of the other board members had one for sale that was basically the same saddle I have for my mares. The seat was a size smaller but the width was the same.
We tried this on DS and it was Much Much Much better. He could move through the back and wasn't being pinched when he tried to round up. This did have the side effect of making him a little "cheeky" as H said--he started arguing and wanting to go his own way--but that was so Pooka-like it was invaluable as a lesson. I did better with the hands, needed less correction there, but the canter was still a struggle: he wanted to careen off to the left. We worked on that (and me) and got some more or less acceptable circles. Still not pretty, but better. I got a big smile from H and "You're so gutsy!" from the gallery. Not gutsy, he's a Lipizzan--he won't hurt me even when he's taking off. I'm not fearless, either, though I got that rep--green Lipps aren't in the same danger category as green anything else. They care what happens to their rider.
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no subject
Date: 2006-07-24 07:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-24 08:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-24 08:38 pm (UTC)curious, cause I'm a geek -- what saddle brand/maker?
no subject
Date: 2006-07-24 08:48 pm (UTC)huh what? YOU! hands too high! WHOOO! (obviously J has shot them full of too much helium ;) Seriously, this is better than too low, isn't it?
and you are being fairly clear, but when and if you have the time and energy I am interested in the intracacies of It's a matter of putting everythying together and then keeping the bit alive--"work the bit" or "slide the bit" or "keep moving the bit," but it's not seesawing or push-pulling or "putting him on the bit" using just hands. You have to have your entire Torture-Lady complex of seat aids in place, and then you get to tell him to move up and forward and through into the light squeeze-massage that says, "Now use your whole topline and round and lighten and find the bounce in your steps. Specifically working/sliding the bit, and the squeeze massage. I THINK I understand, but I am trying to fit it into my learning paradigm. Also, could you parse "sliding the tailbone" for me.
danka!
oh, for the record I was cursing "middles" this weekend. And we are closing in on the end now, and understand whyfore the middle. But we still do NOT like middles. ;)
no subject
Date: 2006-07-24 09:52 pm (UTC)