Pooka and the K.I.S.S. Effect
Apr. 15th, 2009 05:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dancinghorseYesterday we had a much-postponed lesson. First S. flipped the wrong page and put the scheduled lesson a week later than it was, then we had the kind of windstorm that rocks your full-sized pickup at stoplights, and snaps the paddock shelter off its legs and flips it upside down into the drive, taking part of the fence with it. We're having another one of those today (the hay shelter so far is hanging in, but...), but yesterday was merely determinedly breezy.
Wind doesn't seriously disturb Pooka, though during the warmup on lead he had his worst spook in years. Actually bolted forward. Astonishing. His usual idea of a spook is the slant of an ear and a disinclination to get too close to whatever perturbs him. Once S. had arrived, he was all business.
The icon? Two lessons ago. His back is much higher now, and he has a much rounder and fitter profile in general.
We started with a deceptively simple exercise. I had to do it first. Ground one foot and then simply bounce the other foot forward and back. It took a little balancing at first, to be able to do it lightly and without tipping. Had to soften the knee and keep the hips quite open and flexible. The effect was to move a fair amount of balance into the small of my back. One side was easier than other, which is a manifestation of sidedness.
Interesting.
Then Pooka had to do it. S. showed him first. He wanted to do his legyielding thing, because he knows that one. He tried to swing his butt. He had objections. He didn't see how he could slightly flex through the jaw toward the hand, then do ONE step forward and ONE step back, straight, no veering.
Straight is hard.
So is relaxation. And accepting that yes, you really do have a back end back there, and it really does have this engine that has all sorts of warp capability, and you can actually use it to zip around the galaxy.
He's having a little bit of trouble with the idea of this back end following him around and having all this horsepower. It's stalking him. He's convinced.
Eventually however did both succeed in doing this exercise together, first with me facing him so I could see his feet, then at his shoulder where I was supposed to feel it (a definite work in progress). Then came the inevitable upping of the ante. I had to do it under saddle.
At first we both tried too hard. We weren't supposed to be setting up for a levade. Once that was made clear, we relaxed and managed, eventually, to do the simple step back/step forward, one, two, one, two. We moved into a walk, did more of same, making sure to keep the bend and keep his back up and keep the connection. I had to make sure I kept that outside rein as a clear barrier, and didn't let him slither out and/or substitute his beloved sideways exercise.
When shifting from one side to the other on the circle, we tried a turn on the haunches, which turned into an exercise in walk pirouette. It worked better for the time being if he did one step around, one forward, then one more around. He's still, after all, learning that he has a back end.
After some circle work, we tested it all by moving into trot. The exercise was: walk, halt, step back, step forward twice, then right into trot. Lots of impulsion available there. Steadily improving bend and engagement, too. And more connection from end to end. And, always, going for balance and straightness.
We are under orders to accept no substitutes. Keep the bend, keep the connection, stay straight, stay relaxed, take our time. I like to go too fast. Need to let each step happen, not rush through it. I have to accept that I have an engine, too, and that I don't need to wimp out any more than he does.
As always when we have a session with S., Pooka was a blinky-eyed puddle at the end. He was square behind and his hindlegs were under him, his back was up, and we played, with reins on his neck, with me asking him to bend his neck or lower his head just by flexing a muscle here and there. That was fun. He added to it by experimenting on his own, and discovering for himself that he can, with his body completely stable and me on his back, do anything he wants with his neck, including lower his nose to the ground. That was cool, Mom, he said. Lessons for him are an extended massage session, and he comes out of them in a state of utter Zen--totally focused inward, soft all over, and so full of the thinky that he needs an hour with a flake of hay to process it all.
Next lesson is the 24th, a mini-clinic with horse campers. That should be fun.
Wind doesn't seriously disturb Pooka, though during the warmup on lead he had his worst spook in years. Actually bolted forward. Astonishing. His usual idea of a spook is the slant of an ear and a disinclination to get too close to whatever perturbs him. Once S. had arrived, he was all business.
The icon? Two lessons ago. His back is much higher now, and he has a much rounder and fitter profile in general.
We started with a deceptively simple exercise. I had to do it first. Ground one foot and then simply bounce the other foot forward and back. It took a little balancing at first, to be able to do it lightly and without tipping. Had to soften the knee and keep the hips quite open and flexible. The effect was to move a fair amount of balance into the small of my back. One side was easier than other, which is a manifestation of sidedness.
Interesting.
Then Pooka had to do it. S. showed him first. He wanted to do his legyielding thing, because he knows that one. He tried to swing his butt. He had objections. He didn't see how he could slightly flex through the jaw toward the hand, then do ONE step forward and ONE step back, straight, no veering.
Straight is hard.
So is relaxation. And accepting that yes, you really do have a back end back there, and it really does have this engine that has all sorts of warp capability, and you can actually use it to zip around the galaxy.
He's having a little bit of trouble with the idea of this back end following him around and having all this horsepower. It's stalking him. He's convinced.
Eventually however did both succeed in doing this exercise together, first with me facing him so I could see his feet, then at his shoulder where I was supposed to feel it (a definite work in progress). Then came the inevitable upping of the ante. I had to do it under saddle.
At first we both tried too hard. We weren't supposed to be setting up for a levade. Once that was made clear, we relaxed and managed, eventually, to do the simple step back/step forward, one, two, one, two. We moved into a walk, did more of same, making sure to keep the bend and keep his back up and keep the connection. I had to make sure I kept that outside rein as a clear barrier, and didn't let him slither out and/or substitute his beloved sideways exercise.
When shifting from one side to the other on the circle, we tried a turn on the haunches, which turned into an exercise in walk pirouette. It worked better for the time being if he did one step around, one forward, then one more around. He's still, after all, learning that he has a back end.
After some circle work, we tested it all by moving into trot. The exercise was: walk, halt, step back, step forward twice, then right into trot. Lots of impulsion available there. Steadily improving bend and engagement, too. And more connection from end to end. And, always, going for balance and straightness.
We are under orders to accept no substitutes. Keep the bend, keep the connection, stay straight, stay relaxed, take our time. I like to go too fast. Need to let each step happen, not rush through it. I have to accept that I have an engine, too, and that I don't need to wimp out any more than he does.
As always when we have a session with S., Pooka was a blinky-eyed puddle at the end. He was square behind and his hindlegs were under him, his back was up, and we played, with reins on his neck, with me asking him to bend his neck or lower his head just by flexing a muscle here and there. That was fun. He added to it by experimenting on his own, and discovering for himself that he can, with his body completely stable and me on his back, do anything he wants with his neck, including lower his nose to the ground. That was cool, Mom, he said. Lessons for him are an extended massage session, and he comes out of them in a state of utter Zen--totally focused inward, soft all over, and so full of the thinky that he needs an hour with a flake of hay to process it all.
Next lesson is the 24th, a mini-clinic with horse campers. That should be fun.
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no subject
Date: 2009-04-16 01:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-16 02:28 am (UTC)I just love reading the neep.
no subject
Date: 2009-04-16 05:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-16 02:53 am (UTC)Gotta love my golden boy. He's so stoic. That's a Haflinger trait, for sure.
Sounds like an interesting riding exercise.
no subject
Date: 2009-04-16 06:00 pm (UTC)Those Austrians sure are solid, aren't they? 8)
no subject
Date: 2009-04-16 02:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-16 05:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-16 06:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-16 11:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-16 06:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-16 10:16 pm (UTC)