Dressage Lessons: Unicorn Yoga (this was supposed to be before the vet visit post...)

whoops! not sure why this didn't get posted where it belongs (Prior to the vet visit post)

We had a good lesson today. I wore my new unicorn shirt that Peri got me. I LOVE it. Unicorn Yoga!!! hee hee. Anyways.... we had a good ride. I got there and did a tiny bit of pillar work before I got on. Right as I was about to get on... two fighter jets flew over and they were crazy loud! Dan got all freaked out and was shaking. Luckily I saw them before I started to get on and was able to soothe him. Eventually the noise dissipated and then he was fine. :) 

We worked on me using my calf and not my spur. She pointed out that when he doesn't respond to my right leg I resort to my spur, which moves my leg in such a way that it comes back. So my aids are now off because I'm essentially asking him to move his haunches instead of go forward or bend around my leg. OHHHHHH...... So, my leg needs to stay at the girth, which means I have to use my calf, not my heel. If he doesn't respond, whomp him with my leg... at the girth. Then I'll get the desired response. 

Then we worked on shoulder in. It has to come from bending around my leg, not from me directing his shoulders or moving his haunches. Again though... if he doesn't respond to my leg and I resort to spur, I'm asking his haunches to move out. Which he does. But that's not a shoulder in and that's why our shoulder ins end up being fishtaily. OHhhhhhhhhh. And sure enough, when I use my leg/calf and not my heel, he actually does a true shoulder in. Neato! Going to have to work hard on that to fight my habit. 

We also talked about how I need to shape my body in the way I want his body to go. Ie... my shoulders should be positioned how I want his shoulders and my hips and pelvis positioned how I want his pelvis. And I can also imagine it in my brain... picture it. And send it to him. And this fits in nicely with the whole mirror neuron theory that I'm rabbit hole diving down into with the thoracic sling and nerve impingement work. Aha! It's so cool how it all fits together.