Sunday lessons, grey days, and various
Nov. 7th, 2004 01:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dancinghorseJust so you know, my county went blue, and we are all blue. Which this is a politics-free zone but I had to say it. It's been a hard week for that side of the emotional compass.
However there have been bright spots. Monday featured a photo shoot with the amazing![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lynnesite, one of the results of which is the latest icon. Girlz and Carrma got their innings, too, but da Pook was the star of the show. And did he know it. Shrieky fits unless the attention--and camera lens--was entirely on him. That boy loves his photo shoots.
Tuesday...well. Eeeeehhhhh.
Wednesday's highlight was a lot of work done and then the reward: dinner at El Charro with a big group of Tucson writers includingjanni, lnhammer, casacorona, and many more. I had carne seca. They make the best. Yummers. Also a chocolate tamale for dessert--more interesting than "this is so wonderful I have to have it again," but it was a good kind of interesting. The chocolate cheesecake burrito at Macayo's last week was more of a keeper for me. And that ultimate in Fusion Mex: the apple cheesecake chimichanga at, of all places, Applebees--now that is a dessert. (And very Tucsonian since the chimi is, we're told, a Tucson invention.)
Thursday da Pook had a lovely ride with a good amount of trot. Which is good because then he went on, overnight, to intricately weave one front shoe in the fence. And no more riding until the shoer gets here, which I hope is tomorrow. He's quite snorked about the not-riding part, but hey. Not my fault.
Friday I just sort of, like, you know, crashed. Saturday, too, apart from some obsessive housecleaning of the "Ye gods, this mess has been here for years and it's ungodly" variety. Still lots more of that to do. The office...you don't even want to know. That's Project Prime for after I finish the MiP.
Lesson day today. It's very grey and sleepy and sometimes sprinkly--not normal for the region at all. Pook is out of play (and not a happy pooka about it, but hey, his fault), so keed got his weekly Teacher Torture and Capria got to be Designated Lesson Pony. Keed was lovely and cooperative, had one hissy, realized he did the same thing last month and went splat, and sorted himself right out. He's finally getting through hatrack city--still not the hunka-chunka he'll be next year, but his neck is filling out in the right directions for his training, and his topline is very nice. He has a lovely attitude when he works, which is a continuing thing and we are glad. When Joni comes, he gets all perky and happy. If he were a dog instead of a Space Alien, he'd wag his tail like crazy.
Capria's lesson consolidated the breakthroughs of the last one, which was mostly about seat. This was about completing the rest of the aids with the rein aids. Very interesting to contemplate this in context, as so much standard dressage training addresses the hand, then the leg, but leaves out everything in the middle (because no one understands it). Natural riders who are born with feel for the horse are sort of OK, but riders like me who are both unathletic and body-stupid end up riding this kick-and-crank style that never really gets anywhere. Pull a lot, boot a lot, hope and pray some of it gets somewhere.
I was having body-stupid problems this morning, between Weather coming in, exhaustion, and overall life-in-general. Sometimes I just can't feel what's going on in the middle. Since that's where the horse is...well... But Joni being Joni, we just kept working on it until I broke through the sensation of being not really there. We did walk poles till my left hip asked could we please stop, and Capria had a longer spacing so she would use herself more and that was a challenge for me being body-stupid and her being inclined to drop her inside shoulder and not keep a steady rhythm. My wonky left hip finally said could we please not walk any more, so we did trot poles and that went better. More momentum. And Joni kept asking me to keep the outside aids, raise the outside hand (heavy elbow, light hand), keep her balanced, keep her in between the knees, keep the back end in gear and the front end up and--toward the end of that part--add just a smitch of inside rein to all the other aids notably inside thigh so she could balance exactly and not squirt out the inside hand.
Then we did walk-trot-walk transitions--talk about your Absolutely Basic Basics--and that was about pulling it all together. Abdominals first, then open up the hips, then lower shoulderblades, then make sure hands are light (elbows heavy, see re. shoulderblades), all of which feels like wearing armor or being a SRS Bereiter and causes the horse to sort of sit down behind and float up the withers and get all round and soft and light.
And what all that meant was for the first time in our mutual career, we had no rushy parts at all. There was one split second when it could have started, but I did the checklist and raised the outside hand slightly and she kept the tempo without taking off. Balance, Joni said. She needs your help to balance at all points. I did have some corrections, natch--was doh-ing out on her throwing her shoulder, and needed to watch that I didn't lower the hands and lock the elbows and freak her out--but we never got to the faster-than-a-speeding-bullet routine. I'm so happy. So's she--she didn't poop out at all. She felt Lovely when she had it together. She is not a perfect dressage machine, her back is really long and she can go seriously hollow. And if you're stiff in the hips, she is, too. She's a tough ride and a really fine teacher.
Note to self: Heavy on rein means activate hindleg on that side. (Important for Pook, who is in the Lean On Hands stage.)(If he never gets that dadblanged shoe back on. Grumpfmle.)
And now the rain has moved in. It's a warm storm--no blankets, thank goodness--and since we always need the rain, I'll take the wrapped-in-pipe-sheathing fibro effect and the clogged sinuses and be glad of it.
Work Now. I have much, much, much book to write between now and the end of the month.
However there have been bright spots. Monday featured a photo shoot with the amazing
lynnesite, one of the results of which is the latest icon. Girlz and Carrma got their innings, too, but da Pook was the star of the show. And did he know it. Shrieky fits unless the attention--and camera lens--was entirely on him. That boy loves his photo shoots. Tuesday...well. Eeeeehhhhh.
Wednesday's highlight was a lot of work done and then the reward: dinner at El Charro with a big group of Tucson writers including
janni, lnhammer, casacorona, and many more. I had carne seca. They make the best. Yummers. Also a chocolate tamale for dessert--more interesting than "this is so wonderful I have to have it again," but it was a good kind of interesting. The chocolate cheesecake burrito at Macayo's last week was more of a keeper for me. And that ultimate in Fusion Mex: the apple cheesecake chimichanga at, of all places, Applebees--now that is a dessert. (And very Tucsonian since the chimi is, we're told, a Tucson invention.)Thursday da Pook had a lovely ride with a good amount of trot. Which is good because then he went on, overnight, to intricately weave one front shoe in the fence. And no more riding until the shoer gets here, which I hope is tomorrow. He's quite snorked about the not-riding part, but hey. Not my fault.
Friday I just sort of, like, you know, crashed. Saturday, too, apart from some obsessive housecleaning of the "Ye gods, this mess has been here for years and it's ungodly" variety. Still lots more of that to do. The office...you don't even want to know. That's Project Prime for after I finish the MiP.
Lesson day today. It's very grey and sleepy and sometimes sprinkly--not normal for the region at all. Pook is out of play (and not a happy pooka about it, but hey, his fault), so keed got his weekly Teacher Torture and Capria got to be Designated Lesson Pony. Keed was lovely and cooperative, had one hissy, realized he did the same thing last month and went splat, and sorted himself right out. He's finally getting through hatrack city--still not the hunka-chunka he'll be next year, but his neck is filling out in the right directions for his training, and his topline is very nice. He has a lovely attitude when he works, which is a continuing thing and we are glad. When Joni comes, he gets all perky and happy. If he were a dog instead of a Space Alien, he'd wag his tail like crazy.
Capria's lesson consolidated the breakthroughs of the last one, which was mostly about seat. This was about completing the rest of the aids with the rein aids. Very interesting to contemplate this in context, as so much standard dressage training addresses the hand, then the leg, but leaves out everything in the middle (because no one understands it). Natural riders who are born with feel for the horse are sort of OK, but riders like me who are both unathletic and body-stupid end up riding this kick-and-crank style that never really gets anywhere. Pull a lot, boot a lot, hope and pray some of it gets somewhere.
I was having body-stupid problems this morning, between Weather coming in, exhaustion, and overall life-in-general. Sometimes I just can't feel what's going on in the middle. Since that's where the horse is...well... But Joni being Joni, we just kept working on it until I broke through the sensation of being not really there. We did walk poles till my left hip asked could we please stop, and Capria had a longer spacing so she would use herself more and that was a challenge for me being body-stupid and her being inclined to drop her inside shoulder and not keep a steady rhythm. My wonky left hip finally said could we please not walk any more, so we did trot poles and that went better. More momentum. And Joni kept asking me to keep the outside aids, raise the outside hand (heavy elbow, light hand), keep her balanced, keep her in between the knees, keep the back end in gear and the front end up and--toward the end of that part--add just a smitch of inside rein to all the other aids notably inside thigh so she could balance exactly and not squirt out the inside hand.
Then we did walk-trot-walk transitions--talk about your Absolutely Basic Basics--and that was about pulling it all together. Abdominals first, then open up the hips, then lower shoulderblades, then make sure hands are light (elbows heavy, see re. shoulderblades), all of which feels like wearing armor or being a SRS Bereiter and causes the horse to sort of sit down behind and float up the withers and get all round and soft and light.
And what all that meant was for the first time in our mutual career, we had no rushy parts at all. There was one split second when it could have started, but I did the checklist and raised the outside hand slightly and she kept the tempo without taking off. Balance, Joni said. She needs your help to balance at all points. I did have some corrections, natch--was doh-ing out on her throwing her shoulder, and needed to watch that I didn't lower the hands and lock the elbows and freak her out--but we never got to the faster-than-a-speeding-bullet routine. I'm so happy. So's she--she didn't poop out at all. She felt Lovely when she had it together. She is not a perfect dressage machine, her back is really long and she can go seriously hollow. And if you're stiff in the hips, she is, too. She's a tough ride and a really fine teacher.
Note to self: Heavy on rein means activate hindleg on that side. (Important for Pook, who is in the Lean On Hands stage.)(If he never gets that dadblanged shoe back on. Grumpfmle.)
And now the rain has moved in. It's a warm storm--no blankets, thank goodness--and since we always need the rain, I'll take the wrapped-in-pipe-sheathing fibro effect and the clogged sinuses and be glad of it.
Work Now. I have much, much, much book to write between now and the end of the month.
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no subject
Date: 2004-11-07 09:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-09 01:53 am (UTC)"the middle"
Date: 2004-11-07 11:04 pm (UTC)I can so relate to what you are saying about understanding what is going on "in the middle" of the horse. I ride Tennessee Walking Horses, and for them to actually achieve their signature gait, the rider really needs to have a feel for the middle of the horse. Helping my mounts to engage and do a true run walk is a real challenge for me, as I share your tendency to be non-athletic by nature. Proprioception is not my strong suit, I am afraid.
However, I have been lucky enough to find an instructor who is incredibly good at getting me out of my head, and into my body. She too is analytical and can help me understand what I need to be doing (open the hips, connect the transverse abdominals with the horse's impulsion etc) in any given situation. But she is also fantastic about then ensuring I do not overthink the matter, and just feel what is going on with the horse. She is truly amazing! Sadly, she lives in a different city, so lessons are not terribly frequent, but they *are* terribly productive!
Re: "the middle"
Date: 2004-11-09 01:49 am (UTC)I love TWH's--they have that rep for abuse, but the ones I knew back when were backyard horses and they were beautiful.
Re: "the middle"
Date: 2004-11-09 04:18 am (UTC)It is a shame that so many wonderful TWHs have suffered abuse -- they are lovely sensitive sweet beautiful horses that do NOT deserve the systemic abuse. Our babies are back yard horses who are shod just like any other horse -- according to THEIR biomechanic needs -- by our wonderful farrier. And I am working hard on MY riding so that I can teach them to do a beautiful running walk without artificial aids. JJ runwalks beautifully in the field, after all.
FOSH is doing some wonderful work promoting natural gaits.
Oh, speaking of farriers, did your boy get his shoe back yet? My preferred TWH riding mare, Joey, tends to overreach and we spent a LOT of time this year waiting on the farrier to reset a shoe she pulled, so I empathize.
no subject
Date: 2004-11-08 12:44 am (UTC)even though I know I did the right thing for my horse. So for now I will continue to envy others with horses, read all the horse books I've bought over the years but never had time to read, and save my money for a new horse in the spring.
no subject
Date: 2004-11-09 01:51 am (UTC)I know what it's like to be horseless--it's tough.
no subject
Date: 2004-11-08 04:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-09 01:54 am (UTC)