Productivity
Feb. 12th, 2006 04:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dancinghorseConsidering last week was all about teh flu, the weekend has been awfully productive. Lots of riding. Much work done. I'm tired today--small wonder.
Things done include finishing and sending in the revision of the new Tor book (also a new moniker attached for sales purposes), The Serpent and the Rose, coming next spring; starting book II of the series including outlining it in hopes of getting it done nice and fast and linear instead of a la Celtic knot like the last one; doing various freelancing-type thangs; running many errands; and riding and taking two lessons today.
Excitement on the riding front included Capria getting the whees on the road while ponying keed on Friday (when she sees strange horses cantering away from her, she tends to Take Umbrage) and offering a levade that wanted to become a capriole but I said no, then doing a great deal of sidepassing and caracoling until she settled down. Keed, throughout, was Mr. Poifect. He has his moments, but he's an excellent good pony when he has to be. Then today, lessons took place in a wild gale with dust devils and sandblasting, which led Pandora to execute a maneuver that made Teacher blanch. It didn't feel all that bad (though we were Really High Up), but there was a twist and a good amount of pawing the air at high altitude. We then however settled down, rode through a lot of jiggies and We Are Not Going There, Thank You, and ended up with a really good trot on the aids. Teacher was in Killer Mode, not letting me melt down or wuss out when Pandora tried to bulldoze me. She apologized profusely afterwards, but if I'm going to clinic with an SRS rider, the gloves do have to come off. No more wussing out or taking the easy way out. We must suffer for our art.
It was a milestone for Pandora and me. This kind of lesson under combat conditions is a real test of the trust between horse and rider, and it lets the teacher see the horse at her worst and correct the rider on the fly--literally at times. I wouldn't have dared do it with this horse before (she's very large, very strong-willed, and very rusty after all those years in the pasture), but we've developed a good working partnership. Today we learned to trust each other under tough conditions. All but one big bad spook were soft spooks--keeping me with her when she got out of Dodge--and I was able to ride her through the big one without getting into too much trouble. Then we got the ante upped and had to ride a real trot on the aids, which she hasn't done in probably 10 years. It felt beautiful--light and balanced, as if we were flying.
I did say to Teacher that some of her reactions indicate her previous rider must have tended to be nervous. Days like today, I can see where that might happen. She can be intimidating when she's got a mood on. Doesn't scare me but I can appreciate the effect of 1500lbs of hurtling, sentient torpedo. With warp engines.
Further notes: She's much straighter and because I am. Must not let go outside rein. Keep hands UP, soft, together. Must keep elbows soft but rein ON. Leg much more effective if I turn heels out rather than think of turning toes in. (Horse is wide behind and narrow in front. Most riders clamp the lower leg and cut off the energy from the back to the front. Solution is to open the heels and give the horse room. This on Pandora, who is Huge, is a bit of a challenge.) Remember to keep upper body toned and quiet (shoulders, abs) while lower body is open and balanced. Left hip up and to the right (i.e. I tend to ride in a twist; this makes me straight). Sensation of hanging over cliff by left seatbone is getting less acute. Pandora will not go comfortably forward unless I do this, but also spends a lot of time trying to bump me back into my old crooked posture because she's crooked in that direction, too. Halt is a forward movement--think "wait" rather than "stop" and the horse curves up in front and is [a] square and [b] ready for transition to walk or whatever again. If she gets heavy on the rein, it's not me pulling--stop apologizing by dropping rein, ride her up with the abs and get the hind end back in gear. For halt to walk, as![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
casacorona put it, "Let the walkness come through." Works a treat, that does, along with last week's comment from the same source: Feel the haunches sliding under your seatbones. Keep wide behind (heels out) and up and open in front (shoulderblades pushing toward chest). Always feel where her spine is and follow it wherever it goes--if it bulges, keep it in the middle and mold it (with thigh/seatbone not lower leg) back in the direction you want it to go. Oh my does that work with greenish horses who like to grab control.
After all that, Camilla demanded and got her own lesson. She loves her new bit. It's rather heavy and a bit roomy but she likes that. Gets all soft when she wears it. Teacher did flexions to soften her neck and jaw, then in-hand work that was very forward and focused--they mirrored each other exactly, and Camilla was willing to stride on out. Big deal for her. She was so good in spite of the gale that Teacher said let's have a pony ride, so I got on and actually rode her a bit, with reins and contact and all, before she got uncertain and Teacher went back to in-hand position. And she was striding out, a little uncertain about me up there but moving better under me than she ever has. Teacher pushed her a little bit past her comfort zone but I didn't feel the volcano getting ready to erupt, and she had soft eyes and relaxed body language afterwards. And that was good.
Things done include finishing and sending in the revision of the new Tor book (also a new moniker attached for sales purposes), The Serpent and the Rose, coming next spring; starting book II of the series including outlining it in hopes of getting it done nice and fast and linear instead of a la Celtic knot like the last one; doing various freelancing-type thangs; running many errands; and riding and taking two lessons today.
Excitement on the riding front included Capria getting the whees on the road while ponying keed on Friday (when she sees strange horses cantering away from her, she tends to Take Umbrage) and offering a levade that wanted to become a capriole but I said no, then doing a great deal of sidepassing and caracoling until she settled down. Keed, throughout, was Mr. Poifect. He has his moments, but he's an excellent good pony when he has to be. Then today, lessons took place in a wild gale with dust devils and sandblasting, which led Pandora to execute a maneuver that made Teacher blanch. It didn't feel all that bad (though we were Really High Up), but there was a twist and a good amount of pawing the air at high altitude. We then however settled down, rode through a lot of jiggies and We Are Not Going There, Thank You, and ended up with a really good trot on the aids. Teacher was in Killer Mode, not letting me melt down or wuss out when Pandora tried to bulldoze me. She apologized profusely afterwards, but if I'm going to clinic with an SRS rider, the gloves do have to come off. No more wussing out or taking the easy way out. We must suffer for our art.
It was a milestone for Pandora and me. This kind of lesson under combat conditions is a real test of the trust between horse and rider, and it lets the teacher see the horse at her worst and correct the rider on the fly--literally at times. I wouldn't have dared do it with this horse before (she's very large, very strong-willed, and very rusty after all those years in the pasture), but we've developed a good working partnership. Today we learned to trust each other under tough conditions. All but one big bad spook were soft spooks--keeping me with her when she got out of Dodge--and I was able to ride her through the big one without getting into too much trouble. Then we got the ante upped and had to ride a real trot on the aids, which she hasn't done in probably 10 years. It felt beautiful--light and balanced, as if we were flying.
I did say to Teacher that some of her reactions indicate her previous rider must have tended to be nervous. Days like today, I can see where that might happen. She can be intimidating when she's got a mood on. Doesn't scare me but I can appreciate the effect of 1500lbs of hurtling, sentient torpedo. With warp engines.
Further notes: She's much straighter and because I am. Must not let go outside rein. Keep hands UP, soft, together. Must keep elbows soft but rein ON. Leg much more effective if I turn heels out rather than think of turning toes in. (Horse is wide behind and narrow in front. Most riders clamp the lower leg and cut off the energy from the back to the front. Solution is to open the heels and give the horse room. This on Pandora, who is Huge, is a bit of a challenge.) Remember to keep upper body toned and quiet (shoulders, abs) while lower body is open and balanced. Left hip up and to the right (i.e. I tend to ride in a twist; this makes me straight). Sensation of hanging over cliff by left seatbone is getting less acute. Pandora will not go comfortably forward unless I do this, but also spends a lot of time trying to bump me back into my old crooked posture because she's crooked in that direction, too. Halt is a forward movement--think "wait" rather than "stop" and the horse curves up in front and is [a] square and [b] ready for transition to walk or whatever again. If she gets heavy on the rein, it's not me pulling--stop apologizing by dropping rein, ride her up with the abs and get the hind end back in gear. For halt to walk, as
casacorona put it, "Let the walkness come through." Works a treat, that does, along with last week's comment from the same source: Feel the haunches sliding under your seatbones. Keep wide behind (heels out) and up and open in front (shoulderblades pushing toward chest). Always feel where her spine is and follow it wherever it goes--if it bulges, keep it in the middle and mold it (with thigh/seatbone not lower leg) back in the direction you want it to go. Oh my does that work with greenish horses who like to grab control.After all that, Camilla demanded and got her own lesson. She loves her new bit. It's rather heavy and a bit roomy but she likes that. Gets all soft when she wears it. Teacher did flexions to soften her neck and jaw, then in-hand work that was very forward and focused--they mirrored each other exactly, and Camilla was willing to stride on out. Big deal for her. She was so good in spite of the gale that Teacher said let's have a pony ride, so I got on and actually rode her a bit, with reins and contact and all, before she got uncertain and Teacher went back to in-hand position. And she was striding out, a little uncertain about me up there but moving better under me than she ever has. Teacher pushed her a little bit past her comfort zone but I didn't feel the volcano getting ready to erupt, and she had soft eyes and relaxed body language afterwards. And that was good.
