Whooo, today was a long but fun day! I had Kim coming to do saddle fittings but I opted to ride both ponies this am anyways, because I wasn't sure how much riding I would get to do. So, I rode Dan first. We practiced the test. It wasn't a bad ride.. just not a great ride. I can't quite figure out where we're stuck but he's leaning into my right leg and twisting at the poll a tiny bit. He feels like he wants to stay bent to the left and not go straight. I tried to focus on maintaining a soft and even contact in the reins, with a giving hand. And it got a little better, but it's still not quite how I want it. We did run through the test about 2 times. He was falling out of the canter before I wanted though. Well, not falling out of it... but he was using my slight half halt as an excuse to drop out of the canter. We did manage to get through it without him breaking before I was really asking but I still feel like I'm missing something. We can do better than this, and have been better than this. But... we had some good moments too and I didn't want to overdo it, so we finished with that.
After his ride I gave him a bath in hope that he would stay semi clean for the show Saturday. Or at least I could take some of the orange out as he had been rolling in the leftover arena sand. Then I put the bemer on him and let him chill while I groomed Lyric and tacked her up. He seemed to enjoy his bemer and as a thank you, when I turned him out, instead of rolling, he walked up to the arena with us. Of course he rolled up there, but thankfully it was in the grass and not in the red sand! He stayed mostly clean actually as the grass is a bit dried out and crispy. Phew! I know I'll have to give him another bath anyways, but..still. Good boy. And actually, come to think of it... he was almost snuggly today. Snuggly like a trex, but snuggly. :) Maybe this is becoming a trend!! He was playful and cheeky and was nosing me around a bit and grabbed my shirt a few times but in a very sweet and playful way.
Anyways.. he got to chill a bit while I had a quick ride on Lyric and then lunged Funny and even ate lunch. Then Kim came. She checked his PH saddle and other than the wool just getting compressed from use, she said it looked great. So she fluffed it up for me. She said it worked well for Lyric too. We decided to use the Thorowgood on Funny as she joked that if I started Funny in the PH she would become a princess and the pea and refuse to work in anything else. Ha! But still.. probably a good choice to use the thorowgood on her. Now I just have to order a girth that fits her!
So then Kim and I tried two other saddles on Dan. I tried another jump saddle and... really, I couldn't tell much difference when jumping. I had told her that I was a little worried mine was too small. She watched me ride and said she had thoughts but we would get to that. So then we tried the dressage saddle. She only had one for me to try - well, she also had a classique, which I think she said was basically their jump saddle tree/seat with a forward dressage flap. Which, at first, sounded intriguing as I LOVE my balance in the jump saddle. BUT... she showed it to me and it just... looks like a general purpose saddle in the brown. And... it kind of turned me off. I feel snobby, but.. meh. Not really what I want. So anyways... I tried the dressage saddle. The kitzbuhel. And it was awkward! I felt so sloppy and all over the place. Like, my thigh felt so loose, and I was on my tiptoes unless I shortened my stirrups dramatically. So I rode pretty short. And granted, it didn't have the blocks so we had to use my jump ones, so.. it was much smaller thigh blocks. But yeah.. I'm not quite sure if I like it. I want to like it. It's comfortable. And Dan felt good in it, but... gah! I wonder if I just need to learn how to ride without being "strapped" in. So anyways... she offered to leave it with me and said that I could put a few rides in it and see if I settled into it or if I still felt loose. She said if I could settle into it, great. But if not, then it may just not be right for me.
So then we went back to the jump saddle for my lesson. Oh, earlier too.. I forgot.. she did some bodywork on him. She helped loosen up his traps and longissimus mid back. She worked on his sternum again a bit too but mostly it was his back. She and I talked and I told her that I felt like his muscling has gone backwards again. She agreed that it was probably a combination of a few things... me resorting back to some bad habits now that we're doing more than just trotting around on the buckle, him resorting back to some muscle memory for the same reason, and maybe even going back to his old saddle for a few weeks. She got some good releases from him and his "side boob" got softer as she worked on it. Yay!
So anyways... she ended up getting on him first for our lesson. He looked good. We talked about him needing to respond to my aids but keeping my aids quiet. We talked about how I needed to be much more fluid in my contact and how I should be feeding the reins forward and back alot. She also mentioned that riders often need to relax their forearms. Wait... what?!? But oh.... oh.. that makes sense. It's easy to end up bracing in your forearm without realizing it. I wonder a little bit if that's what Kelly Eaton was getting at when she told me to relax my shoulders. Kim also jumped him and pointed out that when the canter wasn't "there", he tended to jump with his hind end out behind. And that she noticed me sticking my hind end out behind me too, thus encouragin him even more to do the same. This then allowed him to collapse at the base, so in an effort to counteract that, I would stick my butt out behind even more. Hmmmm... I kept making excuses for what I was doing, because... honestly, I kind of thought that in order to get that pretty question mark shape that not only looks good, but keeps us safe... I needed to stick my butt out behind me over the fence. She said no... I really only needed to just... maintain my position, and maybe "stand up" a little, and let Dan come to me. Which... yeah.. actually, okay. She said she thought that some of my jump saddle fitting woes weren't because it was the wrong size but because of how I was riding. Doh! Okay. So.. for now, we'll just keep riding in it and see how it pans out.
So then it was my turn. I got on and he felt really good. She had fixed the head tilt and him leaning on my right leg. We worked on so many things!! I mean... so many things to do at once, not... like so many things on Dan's end. She felt like I had gone a little backwards in my rein contact and got sucked back into focusing on his head position. I needed to be much more aware of my hands and constantly seek to have him reach for the contact. So I need to play the reins much more... feed them out, slightly bring them in. I always need to keep my hands in front of me and never have my elbows go behind my back, so... play the reins shorter... then let them back out as needed. We walked about how I can encourage him to lift his ribcage/thorax by thinking about lifting my foot arch into his ribcage. And then squeeze with the rhythm of his barrel. And when that happens on the inside leg, it encourages him to reach more with that inside hind. It was cool! I could feel it! We talked about my seat... how I need to sit heavy, like a sack of potatoes, but don't drive. She said to open my buttcheeks. Which totally made me laugh as there was that facebook post about that and no one knew if it was supposed to be our butt cheeks or the horses or what! It's ours. Basically, unclench your butt! Sit on your horse, but sit softly and supply. Drape your leg, open your thigh a little, close my calf, and lift my foot arch into his ribs. She talked about how with me, she wants me to roll my shoulders actually... to sit like a crescent moon. Because Dan and I both travel VERY much with our hind end out behind us. If I tuck my tailbone then he can tuck his tailbone. The whole mirroring theory. So when I tuck my tailbone and do all those things, it gets much better. And then... she made the biggest difference for us by adding one thing. She told me to still pull my belly button to my spine and to lift my sternum, but... to allow myself to stick out my beer gut. That somehow translated to me being able to breathe and relax and unclench my cheeks! And then I could sit. And then we cantered and HOLY COW!!!! That is the most amazing canter we've ever had I think. He was super forward and happy and free. And I could sit quietly. I almost had to not think about it... go into a zen like state about it.. just allow it. And I'd get it. And then I'd lose it, but if I tried too hard I couldn't get it back.. not until I sort of gave in. It was soooo cool!! So then we added a slight bit of tension in my core and a slight squeezing/closing of my fingers and slowing my seat and wow!!! Add in the "riding the hocks" by closing my calves and lifting my foot arch and... that canter just got amazing!! That's what a real half halt is!!! His canter slowed and got bigger and springier. I could actually feel his hind end reaching up and under... kicking me in the butt! And he was lifting his back into my seat. He was truly being ridden off my seat!!!! And his front end was wonderful too without me having to do anything. It was soooo cool. Dan and I were both having a blast! We ended up stopping with that as we knew he was going to get fatigued soon and I was mentally (and a bit physically) tired too! But wow!!! I'm so bummed now that I'm going to maybe get one ride tomorrow, then show... then go away for a week. I hope I don't forget what that feels like! I want to get that feel every ride!
Good pony! I love you so much!
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