Thursday, June 1, 2023

Reaping the Sprinkler Benefits

 Ha ha!! So, Dan loaded right up despite the fact that I tried to get him killed by the sprinklers yesterday. :) We went with Lyric back for lessons with Kelly E. :) 

He hung out in the trailer while I rode her and then it was his turn. He was a bit more animated today and sassy! He either really liked the double dose of previcox I gave him last night (I took pity... lots of XC, barefoot, tension) or he is just feeling the aftereffects from the sprinklers and is still jazzed up! I told Kelly about it and his power trot and she reminded me of the lesson at Silver thorn where the tractor scared the tar out of Dan and he was magnificent! Hee hee.. Oh, I do remember that!! :) It made my heart happy that she did too! 

We just focused on more of the same today. He was super! We worked on me not nagging or cheerleading too much! In other words.. don't let Dan train me! I'm supposedly the smarter one. I need to remember to use my aids very specifically. And very lightly. Don't keep asking harder because he goads me into it. And it was pretty cool. He got very responsive to my aids and was trotting off the lightest of touches. He even got a bit lurchy because I wasn't expecting him to be so reactive. :) But once I quieted, he did too. We had some really lovely up and downward transitions! He stayed soft and lovely in the contact. So yes... I ask light as a feather and see what happens. If he's not responsive... that bump him. Then ask again softly. If he doesn't respond well enough, then whack him. BUT... allow him to go forward after I whack him. It's not a punishment.. it's an educational tool. So he must go forward for at least 8 strides or so. It doesn't matter if it's not pretty. That's not the purpose. And then go back to light as a feather asking. Same whether it's within the gait or through a gait change. It was pretty cool though how responsive he got! Kelly mentioned something about how eventually the goal is to get it to look almost invisible. And then she also mentioned that there can be some finessing done too and that will depend on each horse. She said that there are secrets between the horse and the rider. Yes, it looks like a flawless harmonious fluid transition, but there's a secret communication going on. It was a nice thought! And that made me think of how they can get so light to the aids that you just think trot and they trot. And we almost got there!! :) I mean... at least once. It was so cool!

We also worked on keeping my hands low. My pinkies need to be able to touch his withers or shoulders at any point. For some reason I want to lift my hands too much. Kelly thinks it's because I'm trying to lift him up. I don't know why I do it. But maybe I am trying to elevate him. But nope.. that comes from him elevating himself. Like the whole pillar stuff... I just keep a nice soft even connection in the reins and when he's strong enough, he'll start elevating and then my hands can follow. And as he elevates, in order to keep the connection, I'll have to shorten the reins. But it has to come from him. :) 

While we were working on me not nagging and him being responsive we also played with transitions within the trot. He was much better with the slower trot today and didn't root. But he felt a bit more crooked today. I kept having to ride his outside and was using my leg. Kelly wanted me to bring both hands to the inside instead. (or the outside, depending). But then I had to release it. Ahhh.... classical dressage! The reward comes in the release! So yes... I can use my body to move him, but once he makes even a tiny step in the right direction, release the aids. Then I'm not holding him and he can build his strength. And sure, I may have to ask again, and again, and again, and again, but... better than holding! And it worked!

So yep. Pretty cool! We did some canter stuff too and we got decent canters. Our upwards are getting much better! We finished with a legit stretchy trot. On the contact. And holy cow he was moving! He was legitimately through his back and topline and I could feel his hind end coming up underneath me. And he was forward! Kelly said that's what it should eventually feel like in his working trot! Wowza! 

She did mention that there were times today that he seemed to struggle with his straightness. She was super pleased at his contact - how even it was and how steady. She was pleased with his head position and warned me not to let him get too huntery now. Now he can be a dressage horse and carry himself but still with a long neck. Just not necessarily long and low and nose poked out. She was pleased with his gaits and didn't see any unsoundness. She just saw... some crookedness and some slight worry. But she felt like we had hit a plateau. Which, fair enough. He's progressed pretty rapidly this past month, so... that's legit. And she felt like we kept at it for the next 4 weeks or so and didn't really push any farther, but kept at this level... then in 4 weeks, we try for a bit more. And if he's happy to do it, great. If not, then we need to discuss. So... hopefully she's just being paranoid and not foreseeing anything. He feels good to me, but... he was a bit fussier today with the whole biting at his shoulder. But I didn't feel any of his usual rein lameness. So... fingers crossed!! We'll get back to doing more pillar work and more bemer too. 

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