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Horse Neep Triumphant
Apr. 18th, 2004 01:31 pmOr--LESSON REPORT!
Yes, boys and girls. It's that time of week.
Today was a return to normal scheduling after trainer break, me break, trainer so jetlagged she put in a short lesson day, followed by me being too back-spazzed to ride for a week. With that in mind, we went easy on everybody, but Joni rode ze keed as usual, then I had my regular torture session.
Joni has been riding keed for a couple of months now--taking on the challenge of a highly opinionated, talented, Evil horse who has a lot of trail miles but not much dressage under his girth. Middle-kid syndrome: I concentrate on his mom because she's older and schooled and needs to be kept in shape, and on da Pook because he's green and unschooled and is my Hot Show Prospect. Keed ends up being my trail bud. He's my best bud anyway, has been since his mother dumped him at my feet and said, "You wanted him. You take care of him." It's really natural to throw the Big Horn on him and head for the trails.
At any rate, he decided a few months ago that he wanted to get in touch with his Lipizzaner half and start doing dressage. Joni volunteered to give him the trainer experience once a week. She likes him--thinks he's fun. Which he is. Today, because he hadn't been ridden consistently in about three weeks, we opted to put his Western saddle on him. The dressage saddle gives him more room to round his back, but the Big Horn is familiar and comfortable and puts less mental pressure on him--it's his regular saddle, it's home base. She started off in a walk, asking him to relax and stretch over the topline, encouraging him to reach into the bridle. (Dressage bridle. Sprenger French link. We are dressage cross-dressers, yes we are.) Progressed to trot, same exercise; then canter on a very loose rein, balancing with her seat and legs as he tends to suck back if he's not sure what else to do with his head and neck. He was a little tense to start, a little rust on the mental joints, but he settled down fairly quickly and let his ears get all happy. Keed loves his Teacher Torture. He's a happy silvery puddle out there now--post-lesson aaahhhhhs.
He's really shaping up. Good topline development, lovely balance and engagement, very light, pretty, free and limber gaits. His movement is big-Arab rather than Lipp, but there's a hum of power there that comes from the Lipp. He sits down very easily and lifts his front end, which is the basic definition of classical collection. And, he can bend like nobody's business. Joni's favorite trick is to hold a sugar cube out at arm's length, at shoulder height. He'll pretzel right around and up, and take the sugar. No sweat, he says. He can take one off his hip, too, with a rider in the middle.
And he's having a ball. That's the best part.
For my torture, er, lesson I decided to ride Capria. I've been focusing on Pook, but with a dicey back and very little riding for a few weeks, along with Pook's full spate of spring whees, I opted for the "home horse." I asked for a longe lesson. Joni can teach the Spanish Riding School longe lessons, which is a vanishingly rare skill, and highly prized. Every so often it's a good idea to ask for a course of these, to correct wobbles in the seat and position, tune up the body awareness, and improve the precision of the aids. Also, today, I wanted some stretches for the back, and some stress management and tension release. Capria is an experienced longe horse (also very rare in this hemisphere)and I've had her since 1992, so there's a definite sense of comfort and familiiarity there.
First, stretches at a stand. With me sitting in the saddle, I was asked to curl up "like a piece of parchment paper," then slowly uncurl, feeling each vertebra stack into the place. First with arms at sides, then with arms and shoulders curling in and forward, so the opening up encompassed the whole torso. That did a nice job of smoothing out the lingering lower-back spasm. Then, we tried leg lifts--owie, I have spasms in the hip joints, too--and quad stretches (double owie). Then off in motion, repeating some exercises in walk. In trot we worked more on maintaining a toned and steady midsection and a correct leg (upper leg for expansion or contraction of circle, lower leg for forward including canter depart). In canter, it was about a quiet upper body (chest up) and a supple lower, no rocking with the gait.
By this time I was feeling fairly OK, and Capria was thinking, gee, we can stop now, and kept trying to sneak in and slip herself into Joni's pocket. So we worked on maintaining the size of the circle, then on increasing and decreasing by means of expansion of one side or the other of the ribcage in synch with the swing of the barrel (expand ribs in direction of barrel swing and horse automatically moves outward with it). I tend to clamp and push, and this is a breathe-with-one-lung sort of horse, so I got my usual combat instruction in Turning Down The Volume and Once She Complies, STOP PUSHING!
And by the way I was doing this without reins. She was connected to Joni with a 35-foot line, but I was doing all the directional stuff with my legs, seatbones, abdominals, and (to a much smaller extent)upper body. Capria was being a tough teacher, too--she wasn't taking any overstatement of the aids. She used to, but now she's decided to up the ante on me. Which is good, because da Pook is even tougher about being yelled at (he bucks and says bad words)and he's a bigger, scarier mover as well. Capria either gives me a no-can-hear-you message or drops her back and gets rushy.
So, a good lesson. Capria is happy . I'm a whipped puppy. Next lesson day is Friday, and the grand overarching plan is for me to have a longe on Capria, then grab da Pook and do a lesson on him. We'll see how that works. He'll love the part where I'm all warmed up and in tune.
Goal for this week: Practice the ribcage thing. Get all three ridin' hosses back on their regular schedules. And start easing Camilla back onto the roster. Now her TMJ is fixed, she's ready to be a Dressage Pony.
Yes, boys and girls. It's that time of week.
Today was a return to normal scheduling after trainer break, me break, trainer so jetlagged she put in a short lesson day, followed by me being too back-spazzed to ride for a week. With that in mind, we went easy on everybody, but Joni rode ze keed as usual, then I had my regular torture session.
Joni has been riding keed for a couple of months now--taking on the challenge of a highly opinionated, talented, Evil horse who has a lot of trail miles but not much dressage under his girth. Middle-kid syndrome: I concentrate on his mom because she's older and schooled and needs to be kept in shape, and on da Pook because he's green and unschooled and is my Hot Show Prospect. Keed ends up being my trail bud. He's my best bud anyway, has been since his mother dumped him at my feet and said, "You wanted him. You take care of him." It's really natural to throw the Big Horn on him and head for the trails.
At any rate, he decided a few months ago that he wanted to get in touch with his Lipizzaner half and start doing dressage. Joni volunteered to give him the trainer experience once a week. She likes him--thinks he's fun. Which he is. Today, because he hadn't been ridden consistently in about three weeks, we opted to put his Western saddle on him. The dressage saddle gives him more room to round his back, but the Big Horn is familiar and comfortable and puts less mental pressure on him--it's his regular saddle, it's home base. She started off in a walk, asking him to relax and stretch over the topline, encouraging him to reach into the bridle. (Dressage bridle. Sprenger French link. We are dressage cross-dressers, yes we are.) Progressed to trot, same exercise; then canter on a very loose rein, balancing with her seat and legs as he tends to suck back if he's not sure what else to do with his head and neck. He was a little tense to start, a little rust on the mental joints, but he settled down fairly quickly and let his ears get all happy. Keed loves his Teacher Torture. He's a happy silvery puddle out there now--post-lesson aaahhhhhs.
He's really shaping up. Good topline development, lovely balance and engagement, very light, pretty, free and limber gaits. His movement is big-Arab rather than Lipp, but there's a hum of power there that comes from the Lipp. He sits down very easily and lifts his front end, which is the basic definition of classical collection. And, he can bend like nobody's business. Joni's favorite trick is to hold a sugar cube out at arm's length, at shoulder height. He'll pretzel right around and up, and take the sugar. No sweat, he says. He can take one off his hip, too, with a rider in the middle.
And he's having a ball. That's the best part.
For my torture, er, lesson I decided to ride Capria. I've been focusing on Pook, but with a dicey back and very little riding for a few weeks, along with Pook's full spate of spring whees, I opted for the "home horse." I asked for a longe lesson. Joni can teach the Spanish Riding School longe lessons, which is a vanishingly rare skill, and highly prized. Every so often it's a good idea to ask for a course of these, to correct wobbles in the seat and position, tune up the body awareness, and improve the precision of the aids. Also, today, I wanted some stretches for the back, and some stress management and tension release. Capria is an experienced longe horse (also very rare in this hemisphere)and I've had her since 1992, so there's a definite sense of comfort and familiiarity there.
First, stretches at a stand. With me sitting in the saddle, I was asked to curl up "like a piece of parchment paper," then slowly uncurl, feeling each vertebra stack into the place. First with arms at sides, then with arms and shoulders curling in and forward, so the opening up encompassed the whole torso. That did a nice job of smoothing out the lingering lower-back spasm. Then, we tried leg lifts--owie, I have spasms in the hip joints, too--and quad stretches (double owie). Then off in motion, repeating some exercises in walk. In trot we worked more on maintaining a toned and steady midsection and a correct leg (upper leg for expansion or contraction of circle, lower leg for forward including canter depart). In canter, it was about a quiet upper body (chest up) and a supple lower, no rocking with the gait.
By this time I was feeling fairly OK, and Capria was thinking, gee, we can stop now, and kept trying to sneak in and slip herself into Joni's pocket. So we worked on maintaining the size of the circle, then on increasing and decreasing by means of expansion of one side or the other of the ribcage in synch with the swing of the barrel (expand ribs in direction of barrel swing and horse automatically moves outward with it). I tend to clamp and push, and this is a breathe-with-one-lung sort of horse, so I got my usual combat instruction in Turning Down The Volume and Once She Complies, STOP PUSHING!
And by the way I was doing this without reins. She was connected to Joni with a 35-foot line, but I was doing all the directional stuff with my legs, seatbones, abdominals, and (to a much smaller extent)upper body. Capria was being a tough teacher, too--she wasn't taking any overstatement of the aids. She used to, but now she's decided to up the ante on me. Which is good, because da Pook is even tougher about being yelled at (he bucks and says bad words)and he's a bigger, scarier mover as well. Capria either gives me a no-can-hear-you message or drops her back and gets rushy.
So, a good lesson. Capria is happy . I'm a whipped puppy. Next lesson day is Friday, and the grand overarching plan is for me to have a longe on Capria, then grab da Pook and do a lesson on him. We'll see how that works. He'll love the part where I'm all warmed up and in tune.
Goal for this week: Practice the ribcage thing. Get all three ridin' hosses back on their regular schedules. And start easing Camilla back onto the roster. Now her TMJ is fixed, she's ready to be a Dressage Pony.
