Early ride

It was a super busy week, but I managed to sneak in a second ride... Friday morning. Ugh. But it was nice.

Dan has been grumpy recently when being tacked up and doesn't want to take the bit, so I wondered a little bit if he's just getting a little burned out with the increased work load. So today was HIS day. He got to pick what we did and where we went and at what pace. Within reason. ;)

It was a fun day. We started out on a nice long walk and did some power trotting. I decided that no stirrup November was not the best choice for the athletic 5 year old, especially as I don't want him to be back sore and more unhappy working. BUT... I thought that I could do two point at least. But turns out, it was actually easier than posting his massive trot today. :) 

We did some cantering too but no real galloping. :) I gave him the option, but... he was tired by the time we got to the gallop part. 

We got home and he was tired. It was nap time. :) Him and Fleck were snoozing in the sand. :) 

 

Lesson Aha's

Now that I'm aware of the twist in my body, it's much easier to get my blasted right leg to stay forward. Or at least somewhat. And if I think about squeezing my saddle flaps, I can almost make my toes not point out too. :) Now to just get to keeping my leg long at the same time.... ;) 

Today was a good ride. Danny was pretty soft and supple from the get go and we had some really nice work. We worked on the shallow serpentine at the trot and canter and Cindy pointed out that I was turning my head too much. She reminded me to keep my chin in line with my sternum. If my chin was past, then Dan wasn't following me. Then after my ride we talked a bit more and she reminded me that my upper body should stay straight and not collapse. I need to think of keeping my chin in line with my sternum in line with my belly button. And my shoulders should be square, not collapsing. And when I turn, my elbows should stay at my side and my hands should stay evenly apart, not crossing over his neck. Think about having a belt around my elbows keeping them at my sides.

And... when I thought about that.. I realized that i like to let my right hand go forward and soften, which makes his right shoulder be wild and reckless, and sadly somehow helps my right leg creep back. But if I think about keeping my right elbow at my side, it keeps him connected on the right.

So then we had to work on my seat and not getting out of the saddle in his canter. Ugh... That's hard. It's hard to fight the muscle memory and relax. Abs. Lots more abs! I may have to see about doing some no stirrup November work to see if that helps me out there.

So yep.. pretty cool.  It was a good ride.

Although Danny is getting grumpy about being tacked up. Not sure why. I  think I will check his adjustment tomorrow and then see if I can get Cindy out to check his saddles. He seems to be working well enough and having fun once I'm on that I am wondering if it's just him being rebellious about having to really work. (Rather than just hacking and galloping!). :)

Full Gallop XC School

Super horse
baby green moments to rolex horse
water yay
ditch boo
golf cart spook

soooo much fun!

Add VIDEOS

Double Adustments equal happy pony and rider

Adjusted Danny and I was also adjusted....

Next morning... lovely soft supple ride. He wasn't hanging on my right leg... or leaning on my right leg.... He was soft in the poll. It was lovely!! We went for a quick hack too.

Day... Made....

Hee hee.... I was working all day today and got this text from the hubs...

 

Jumping Lesson

Hee hee. After my lesson today with Kelly, she mentioned that she likes teaching smart people but we tend to overthink. She said that because we like things linear it might be a good idea to go home and write down how he was and what the circumstances were. Hee hee... I think I can do that. :) 
 
So yep... Here goes. We had a fun jump lesson today. I figured out what the problem was. When we lope around the little stuff, like even BN lately, he's lovely. Because he's just loping around with no impulsion. But because he's so big and they are so little, it's okay. It's easy. However, when the jumps get bigger, I panic. Kelly raised them and it fell apart. Basically we get to a spot and we either have to chip and end up practically underneath the fence or we have to take this huge long flyer. We had multiple bad fences in a row and Kelly said she saw what the problem was. And not to panic, because it was a non-issue! Ha! Easy for her to say. But she pointed out that basically, we lacked impulsion. And that once we got the impulsion, the problem would resolve itself. And she was right. :) 

So... basically... when he's going nicely but without impulsion, we get to those icky spots because of the lack of impulsion but also because I tend to let him get a little longer and flatter right before the fence. However, if I have him going with energy and impulsion, we either get to the perfect spot, OR... I see the slightly longer spot but I have an engine and we can then move up to it. Without impulsion the move up doesn't/can't happen. Ohhhhhhhhh.... BUT... I need to be careful that I don't create speed instead of impulsion. 

So... we had a repeat of previous lessons, but it's okay because it's a good lesson. We started out with a nice lovely BN/Nov canter. Then I closed my legs onto my saddle flaps. And if I didn't get a response, smack with the whip behind my leg. Then he goes forward in response. So fine, but now I've just got speed. So the trick is to let him surge forward but into my connection. Aha! The other trick is to test my canter through out the ride. Because... ha ha... Kelly pointed out that Dan can go from lovely lopey hunter to Rolex speed demon to behind my leg and putzing in one round. :) So.. when I walk my course, and when I'm riding, when I have a long stretch of canter, test it. Test the canter. Close my leg lightly and if I don't get a response, smack him with the whip. :) 

So we did 3 or 4 little courses with the new thought and it was great! I created the canter in our courtesy circle and then off we went. And sure enough... I could see my distances now and ask for the move up if needed. Of course there were a few bobbles, some my fault, some just bad math distances no matter what we had done, but... it was way better. 

The other thing we worked on was closing my legs (not just my heels) around him. Kelly told me to think of squeezing the saddle flaps with my thighs and calves. And... interestingly, it feels very similar to how I'm trying to ride my dressage. I need to put my leg at the girth and keep it there! And it wasn't that hard to do in my jump saddle today. Although I'm feeling it now!! Literally! And I have to work really hard to hold two point for a long time, so... winter goals....  But.. that thought process in my brain seemed to really help with my landing gear. Mostly, every once in awhile I'd fall back to pinching with my knee, but in general it was better. Yay!

Oh, and... going back to the speed thing. I was getting a little too carried away and let him get a little quicker than I needed. Impulsion is SLOW! 

So.. my takeaways...

* Squeeze my saddle flaps and keep my legs at the girth
*Test the canter throughout the course
*Go for impulsion, not speed. Impulsion is slow!

 

Quickie at home

My lesson with Beth didn't happen today, which was fine, as I needed to catch up on work stuff. But I also really wanted to ride. So I tried to do both. Which didn't really work. I decided to make the time and ride at home, but I managed to only leave myself an hour to tack up, ride, untack, turn out, change clothes, and grab food. Doh! But better to have a 20 minute ride than no ride. :)

Danny was a wild hooligan again! The neighbors were working on cleaning up the trash (yay!!!) but that meant that Danny was jumpy. And Fleck kept calling for him, as I had left him in the barn. But.. we coped. We managed to get some nice work and some slight hill work. So... better than nothing. :)