Riding Reflections
Jun. 11th, 2006 09:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dancinghorseProofs for Shattered Dance are done--a remarkably clean set; just a few oopses and a couple of ohgods (as in, "Oh god, this doesn't make sense, how the hell did I let that get through to this stage?"). Nothing major or unfixable. Book holds up OK to the reread; I'm too close to it to evaluate it but it seems to flow well and l'editrice maintains that it's a satisfying end to the trilogy. (And yes, there is a book four in the works).
On Friday![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
casacorona and I went to visit da Pooklet. I got video, but don't have the right cable to get it transferred to the computer. That's on the list for this week. He's grown and filled out very nicely and is a very bright, alert, and lively baby. As yet he doesn't really have a name; we're waiting for Certain Interested Parties to decide if they're going to buy him. If so, they get to name him. S calls him Little Pooka. Works for me at this stage.
While I was up there, by way of encouraging S to get back to riding her horse, I hopped up on Carrma. She was very glad indeed to go back to work again, and it was a lot of fun to try out The New Seat on a horse I haven't ridden in years. She thought it was pretty nice, and felt solid, sound, and strong.
Came home to work, and then the parentals showed up with a cooler full of lobsters for my dad's birthday. Tenshi truly is a Maine Coon cat: he went gaga over the lobster. We were fairly enthralled with it ourselves.
In through all of this proofreading, baby-visiting, and lobster-devouring, I've been ridng a Lot. After the miserable lesson of the week before, my Pooka lesson energized me to the point that I ended up working everybody else as well, then through the weekend I've been keeping up with it. Rode Pandora yesterday, Pook and Capria today. Thought for the Day has been, Don't try so hard to get softness that you lock up solid. It's been a useful thought. Pandora actually did get soft in walk; not so much in trot but she had some give to her, and the tug of war wasn't anywhere near as bad as it can be. She's getting much more relaxed over the topline and supple through the body, and also much stronger--it's all good.
Pook was absolutely thrilled to get a ride this morning. He did want a free longe, but mostly he wanted to walk around the whole arena and loosen up. When I mounted, he didn't fuss much; we did wiggly bits and covered the arena with hoofprints (actually big round Boa Boot prints), and I asked him to give me a long neck and a free, relaxed walk. After a while I asked for trot--his first since last year. We recapitulated his early training there, first with headshaking and llama-necking and borderline crowhopping, then a sort of upward leap into the next trot, then a hovertrot (natural passage without true collection). Finally he relaxed and allowed as how, yes, he did remember how to trot under saddle. We'll reinforce that in the next ride and work our way back to real trot work.
Final ride of the evening was a trail ride with Capria. That was interesting. Every ride lately, I've tried to find the spine and plug into the back, while sitting tall in the torso and deep in the tailbone. The result on the trail, including some serious hills and a lot of motor traffic, dogs, and the local donkey, was a very atypical Capria performance. Every time she tried to get jiggy, instead of disappearing her back and llama-ing her neck, her back would raise and squoodge under my seatbones, I'd slide my tailbone down and keep my midsection stable, and whatever she had in mind would turn into a long, engaged walk that stayed level no matter how hilly the terrain was. Her back was beautiful when we got home: up and round and pumped. And she looked the happiest I've ever seen her. She really likes being ridden with a deep seat. You'd think not--she can drop her back truly horribly and turn it into an empty hammock--but the more plugged in the seat, the happier and more balanced she is.
Or, Dressage: It's Not Just for Show.
It's all been interesting in light of using the clinic lessons with a variety of horses. I'm getting very fit, too, which I will need in Dallas: I'll be riding horses I've never ridden before, for someone who thinks collected work is default mode and Grand Prix is for everybody.
Next week I'll take a lesson on keed, to remind me about riding a smaller-barreled horse (since one of the horses being offered is pretty small-framed for a Lipp). That's the one thing I haven't had here, what with Pandora and all. And Pook though short is a quite substantial horse.
On Friday
casacorona and I went to visit da Pooklet. I got video, but don't have the right cable to get it transferred to the computer. That's on the list for this week. He's grown and filled out very nicely and is a very bright, alert, and lively baby. As yet he doesn't really have a name; we're waiting for Certain Interested Parties to decide if they're going to buy him. If so, they get to name him. S calls him Little Pooka. Works for me at this stage.While I was up there, by way of encouraging S to get back to riding her horse, I hopped up on Carrma. She was very glad indeed to go back to work again, and it was a lot of fun to try out The New Seat on a horse I haven't ridden in years. She thought it was pretty nice, and felt solid, sound, and strong.
Came home to work, and then the parentals showed up with a cooler full of lobsters for my dad's birthday. Tenshi truly is a Maine Coon cat: he went gaga over the lobster. We were fairly enthralled with it ourselves.
In through all of this proofreading, baby-visiting, and lobster-devouring, I've been ridng a Lot. After the miserable lesson of the week before, my Pooka lesson energized me to the point that I ended up working everybody else as well, then through the weekend I've been keeping up with it. Rode Pandora yesterday, Pook and Capria today. Thought for the Day has been, Don't try so hard to get softness that you lock up solid. It's been a useful thought. Pandora actually did get soft in walk; not so much in trot but she had some give to her, and the tug of war wasn't anywhere near as bad as it can be. She's getting much more relaxed over the topline and supple through the body, and also much stronger--it's all good.
Pook was absolutely thrilled to get a ride this morning. He did want a free longe, but mostly he wanted to walk around the whole arena and loosen up. When I mounted, he didn't fuss much; we did wiggly bits and covered the arena with hoofprints (actually big round Boa Boot prints), and I asked him to give me a long neck and a free, relaxed walk. After a while I asked for trot--his first since last year. We recapitulated his early training there, first with headshaking and llama-necking and borderline crowhopping, then a sort of upward leap into the next trot, then a hovertrot (natural passage without true collection). Finally he relaxed and allowed as how, yes, he did remember how to trot under saddle. We'll reinforce that in the next ride and work our way back to real trot work.
Final ride of the evening was a trail ride with Capria. That was interesting. Every ride lately, I've tried to find the spine and plug into the back, while sitting tall in the torso and deep in the tailbone. The result on the trail, including some serious hills and a lot of motor traffic, dogs, and the local donkey, was a very atypical Capria performance. Every time she tried to get jiggy, instead of disappearing her back and llama-ing her neck, her back would raise and squoodge under my seatbones, I'd slide my tailbone down and keep my midsection stable, and whatever she had in mind would turn into a long, engaged walk that stayed level no matter how hilly the terrain was. Her back was beautiful when we got home: up and round and pumped. And she looked the happiest I've ever seen her. She really likes being ridden with a deep seat. You'd think not--she can drop her back truly horribly and turn it into an empty hammock--but the more plugged in the seat, the happier and more balanced she is.
Or, Dressage: It's Not Just for Show.
It's all been interesting in light of using the clinic lessons with a variety of horses. I'm getting very fit, too, which I will need in Dallas: I'll be riding horses I've never ridden before, for someone who thinks collected work is default mode and Grand Prix is for everybody.
Next week I'll take a lesson on keed, to remind me about riding a smaller-barreled horse (since one of the horses being offered is pretty small-framed for a Lipp). That's the one thing I haven't had here, what with Pandora and all. And Pook though short is a quite substantial horse.
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no subject
Date: 2006-06-12 05:20 am (UTC)A friend of ours is going to Maine next weekend and we have a preliminary plan for her to bring some back for us ... I really hope that works out! :)
dressage for the trail horse
Date: 2006-06-12 05:21 am (UTC)AKA: Hope that Joy and I may someday get back out on the trail! Yay for inspiration and fitness and fun. Glad to hear things are going so well!
I rode Shaughns yesterday, but barely handled Joy this weekend. I am a Bad. Mom. But we have fence posts! And Indy had socialization! And I had Naps!
and you have a Maine Coone? Coolness. There is speculation Miss Mew is Maine Coone.... ;)
also: Shattered Dance *squee*
(White Mare's Daughter threatens to suck me away from life any second now. But Must. Fold. Laundry. First. And possibly sleep ;).
Re: dressage for the trail horse
Date: 2006-06-12 12:18 pm (UTC)Re: dressage for the trail horse
Date: 2006-06-12 01:41 pm (UTC)Big, fluffy, frighteningly smart, with Those Eyes.
Re: dressage for the trail horse
Date: 2006-06-12 03:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-12 12:41 pm (UTC)Mmm, lobster ....
no subject
Date: 2006-06-12 03:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-12 05:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-12 03:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-12 07:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-12 07:56 pm (UTC)And yay for a solstice baby!
And tell Em I am learning much from her in absentia - her pics in the groundwork book are In.Valuable ;).
no subject
Date: 2006-06-12 08:45 pm (UTC)We eagerly await news of TwixII. Sending scritchies to Ember.
no subject
Date: 2006-06-12 08:26 pm (UTC)Random Author Link..
Date: 2006-06-14 03:38 am (UTC)The mention of the Shattered Dance proofs reminded me of an author i read and i went to check out her website - which linked backed to yours. Anyone know anything about Joanne Bertin? She did 2 fantasy books (the last dragonlord, and dragon and phoenix) like six years ago and was supposed to produce her third one shortly there after -- but even her site hasnt been updated in like a year and a half. Anyone know anything?
- Sean