Lessoning!!!

 So... we finally got a lesson with Rana again! I took Funny with us and we worked her first, so Dan hung out in the trailer while we rode. He was a good boy. 

Rana lunged one while I was swapping out horses so I tacked up and did a tiny bit of pillar work and then we warmed up, doing our pillar 1 work at the walk and trot. Which was nice, since he had been standing in the trailer. We started off at the trot and there was a tiny bit of rein lameness. Sigh. And within the first 5 minutes, his tongue came out. What?! Why?! Sigh. But it went back in and then it never came back out. Phew!

We focused on my position to help him. She explained that my right leg was still going too far back. UGH... I think I'm really going to really tie my stirrup to my girth for a bit. I had to REALLY really think about it and even then it was a struggle. We also talked about my hands and the connection. She explained that when I let him go long and low... he tended to tip forward and roll over his front end in his trot. When I sat upright and took a little more connection, he rocked back onto his pelvis and his trot came uphill. Ahhhh... I did feel that! Pillar 2. :) BUT... we also discussed that connection does not equal collection and that also, connection isn't holding him. So,... I'm supporting him and reminding him, but not holding him. We worked on my arms too and my hands. She wants my hands lower and even and closer together. Which, is hard for me because for so long, I thought my elbows were too straight so I was bending them, thus lifting my hands. Nope.. she wants my hands just above the cantle, with my elbows soft but dropped. Which, in my body, feels like my hands are lowered than my elbows. Which they probably are. But it feels wrong. But I did it. And I will keep doing it. I also softened my grip on the reins and softened my forearms. NO POPEYE ARMS! She reiterated that I want a flowing ride... think of it like I'm teasing him with something, keeping it just out of his reach. Like the flag and when I taught him to "target" it. Okay... that clicked in my brain and I felt like I was able to do it better. And also, the reins are there for me to feel what is happening, not to direct. So, if I'm braced or bulding my muscles, how can I feel anything. Following with soft fingers. Okay. I felt like I got it ... or at least closer. I also need to make sure that my left hand doesn't drop. Instead, turn the key. Change the bit in his mouth vs trying to pull his head down. 

I also needed to keep his neck straight and his nose between his shoulders, but with slight flexion. That's a little easier but not necessarily when I'm focusing on all the other things. Gah! But I managed somewhat. Also, tracking right, he tends to throw the left hind out laterally. Which might be because my right hind keeps stabbing him in the gut asking him to throw his left hind out. Doh! So I also focused on riding haunches in to the right. Which, really just put me straight most likely. 

So then I told her about the canter so she wanted to see it. We started with the right so we couldn't say "he was tired'. Oh my... Oh MY! It was awful! It was honestly, probably the worst it's ever been. Even the first canter didn't feel quite that bad. Well, maybe, but... it's not been this bad since that first canter. Ugh. It didn't get better as we kept doing either. He felt like he was on the wrong lead behind... he felt like he was crab walking. It just felt wrong. All sorts of wrong. The look on Rana's face! She was... alarmed! She said it wasn't a four beat.. it was just... wrong. She couldn't even pinpoint why. We tried again and it wasn't much better. So then we went left and it was lovely! Then we went right again and it was a bit better. Rana noticed that my right leg was clamped on so tight and digging into him and back. And that in the upward transition I was pulling down on the right rein. So I was effectively shutting him down. The fact that he was actually cantering was impressive. So I focused really hard on sitting on my right seat bone, putting weight in my right stirrup, and keeping my right leg at the girth. I also had to shift my pelvis a little, almost like a haunches in. Although to be honest, he felt like he was falling super haunches in, but... that was probably partially why my right leg wants to stay where it does. Sigh. So thinking haunches in, helped me. Although I probably should have thought half pass instead to get my weight in my right seat bone. And when I focused on lifting my right rein or not using it, or just not pulling down.. it got much better. MUCH better! Still not as nice as the left, but it was a canter, not some crazy flailing disaster. Rana was relieved and said "We can work with this!". Phew! 

So we quit with that. I've got another lesson next week, so we'll have to work on that in the meantime and work on me a lot!

No videos or photos but I did get some when we got home.