Double header

Poor Dan had to pull a double header today. :) We had a lesson with Liz this morning to start. We worked without stirrups to help me get the balance and hang of my new saddle. It was hard but not as hard as I was thinking it would be when she first asked me to do it. Then when I picked my stirrups back up, I dropped them a half hole. I'm starting to get the hang of it. We also had the best canter ever!!! It was so uphill! But I have to help support him with my core. I can't just let him flop around. That's when he falls on his forehand and trips. Literally. So if I support him, he can carry himself better. And when I make him straight and more corect in the canter, it's harder for him to hold himself up. So I have to add a little more leg and be a bit more supportive. BUT, he can do it. For a few steps. And, he also lopes off a smooch now. :) Neat!! We also had some nice trotting. I need to keep my post much smaller. Almost like I'm sitting it. But still lift my core. And that helps his trot and lope be smoother and more poweful and engaged. Also... like with the trot, don't do too much with my aids. Think shorter, softer, quieter, and longer asks between aids. Ask... give him time to respond... I keep throwing too many aids at him and making him ping pong around. I also need to sit on my outside seat bone and sink into the outside stirrup. But I still need to ask for bend around my inside leg but also allow the stretch on the outside. 

 

   

We also chatted about how he seemed very happy in this saddle. We suspect it might be because it does seem to put me farther back on his back. So, maybe his center of balance is a bit farther back than I thought, and not perched right up on his withers. Hmmm. That's helping him be more uphill hopefully. We had such good work and knowing that he was doing another lesson tonight, we didn't do a ton. GOOD BOY!

    

So then tonight, we loaded up and headed to Linda's for an Ease of Handling lesson. We met Judy and Teller there and did a group lesson. It was helpful and fun. Dan did pretty well. Although he did try to eat her gate once and he did try to knock over a barrel. And he was messing with Teller some. And then he was bored at the bridge.. and tried to take charge and went full speed ahead at it. No sir!! Nope!! We are NOT running over the bridge. I liked Linda a lot. She was very helpful and gave us lots of advice. I definitely need to read the rules too. Apparently when we do the coursewalk we have to be "in dress". She was also helpful for dressage in general. She had both me and Judy working on our "small" walk. Like Rana's calculated walks. Manage each foot step. It's like a walking half halt almost. Very cool. I'll have to do this with the other ponies too. She also suggested getting a metronome app on my phone and playing it while I ride. She said it helps to keep their gaits pure. But back to the obstacles.. I need to just mostly keep him small. When he gets big, he gets strung out and fast and I lose control of him. If I keep him small, I can help him balance his body better and fine tune our obstacles better. So yay! It was a lot of fun. The obstacles sound so easy on paper, but actually doing them and doing them well is hard! Really hard.