A Different Kind of Lesson

I know its been a while.  Due to shows, weather, pregnancies (mine and my trainers), lessons have been few and far between.  By now I know while I can still ride - a little, I know I can't handle a full lesson (I'm 6 months pregnant).  But I don't want to put Dexter in training, I have a thing about doing all the work, and I don't want to lease him out so I can't see him, and I don't want him to sit around and regress until I can ride again.

So what do we do.... enter lunging classes.  Yes, I know how to lunge a horse, what I wanted to do with my trainer was to see what tools and techniques to use to keep him in the frame we have been working on.  Originally I was hoping for long line classes, as I don't know how to do that.  But she hesitated thinking it may be too much and if Dexter freaked out I could get dragged around.  And being he has the habit of bucking and being an idiot every time I ask for a canter on the lunge line, I agree.

Despite my disappointment of not getting to work on the long lining, it ended up being a pretty productive lesson.  I learned how to use the side reins to keep a consistent feel on the outside, when I lunge him with nothing on he pops out his shoulder, counter bends and avoids any particular frame possible.  I leaned how to half halt using the whip and line and in general how to use the whip and line as my inside aides.

But I think the most value I got out of it was finally getting to see what he's supposed to look like.  When Trainer would say he looks great, instead of just agreeing I'd say " I think he looks good too but what specifically are you looking at??"  And she's point out the muscles on his back and sides contracting and his feet tracking up.  i thought about all the times I rode at home thinking he was going great just to get to the lesson and find out he wasn't.  I wasn't asking enough questions to get down to the specifics of what we were looking for.  Trainer would tell us when we did well, but I would focus on what his head looked like instead of his butt or something like that.  Since we would be working from the ground for a while I wanted to make sure I knew what I was looking for. 

I think we will have some good things to work on for a while on the ground.  Dexter is getting to learn how to carry himself and I'm getting to see what a good frame should look like.  Hopefully this will help us both in the end.

Yeah! A Lesson

After what seems like forever (in reality maybe 6 weeks) I had my first lesson.  I was a little excited and scared.  First, I thought we have been doing really well, I feel like his canter is calmer and better and he is holding his head more consistently.  But I had this ultimate fear that since I had been un-checked for so long that it was all in my head and that we weren't as fabulous as I was imagining.

Unfortunately the latter was more correct.  We weren't awful and she did comment on on my frame being better.  But we didn't get off the 20 meter circle the entire time!! Bummer, I was hoping to run through at least one test since I have a show this weekend.

What I had been feeling as forward with his head in place was him running around on his forehand.  So we worked the entire lesson on half halting, getting him under me and getting his tempo to a manageable speed.  I also thought he was finally bending nicely to the right, nope... just popping his shoulder out.  And the great thing about a lesson is once she points something out it's so obvious, but I slowly forget it over time.  Shucks.

Still we did some good work that I think will help me in the show.  Getting him to listen and rock back with half halts will help me keep him focused during the tests.  She didn't use the words (she never comes right out and says what we are working on) but I know we were working on self carriage.  No more fiddling with my hands, he needs to drive into them.  I know, I sound like a broken record I talk about this every lesson.

We even worked on a lot of walk work, which I'm glad because we usually blow through it and it's obvious when he walks around with his head in the air during the tests.  Our canter work was, to be honest .... scary.  Not scary bad, just scary.  He was still popping his shoulder out to the right, and to fix it Trainer had me counter flex him on the circle.  Problem was, Dexter didn't understand and would start to head straight towards the wall.  Eeep!  But we never ran into it so all is good.  And all of a sudden my nice calm canter was out the window, we were barreling around the arena again trying to push him into the contact and get his hind end under him.  I'm thinking it will be a while before we get the nice collected lope I so enjoy.

Positives from the lesson - by the end Dexter was listening to my half halts and I felt a nice slow rhythm.  I feel I kept my position and body relaxed 90% of the time, which is much better than before.  Dexter is starting to get really nice walk-trot transitions without throwing his head.

Things to work on - Keeping him underneath me, if I feel like I need to lean forward he is pulling and falling on his forehand.  No more easy fixes, when he isn't paying attention or his head isn't where it should be start with my seat and work forward.

Picking Up the Shoulder - Delayed

Sorry! I've been pretty busy so this post is actually for my lesson last week.  I really really wanted to ride outside in the dressage arena to prepare for my upcoming show, but no such luck. 

We didn't do a whole lot of new exercises, just trying to fine tune what we have going on right now.  Dexter is still having some balance issues, rhythm is good now he just needs to hold himself up.  Dexter likes to dive in when going to the right and pop out when going to the left.  He always has and it's gotten a lot better but he still has some tendencies.  So we spent a lot of time on a 15 meter circle to the right trying to get him balanced.  He is good for the first 3/4s of the circle then loses it as we head back to the rail.  Trainer had to constantly remind me to ride from the back to front, I think I finally got it near the end of the lesson.

We did the same work at the canter, at least Dexter is consistent with his flaws.  We also practiced cantering down the long side and not barreling down the long side.  He is getting much better, he still gets strong but doesn't completely loose it.  We even made it down the whole long side, I know it doesn't sound like much but before we could only do half at a time before he would fall apart.  And I am finally able to relax at the canter.  For so long I would get stiff and push him every stride, now that he is getting it, I can sit back and make minor adjustments.  Now that I can enjoy it, he has a super comfortable canter.

We ran through Training Level Test 1 in prep for the show.  It wasn't a total disaster.  Things we obviously don't practice much - traveling down the center line, the stretch circle (although we do stretch quite a bit it takes more than a circle to get there), diagonals, and the working walk. So before ending we practiced some stretch circles.  It's interesting to see how far me and Dexter have come and what still holds us back.  He used to avoid the bit like the plague and now he leans on it comfortably.  But when we go into the stretch and I ask him to follow the bit down he gets confused and curls his neck avoiding it again.  Like I said, he finally figures it out after a while but I have to be super soft because any correction brings him right back up.  Not sure why he defaults to this, but we are working on it. 

We still need to work on his center line, he goes down it anticipating a turn somewhere. So it's more of a center wiggle than a center line.  But he was pretty pooped after all the canter work so we will save that for the next time. 

Sit Back.... Relax.

Ok, so there was snow on Sunday, but I was proactive enough to change my lesson to Saturday so we still got to ride.  It was a short lesson and we seemed to focus mostly me this time.  Oooh! and we got to leg yield.

So my new mantra is "Lean back and relax".  Trainer told me this about 100 times.  It seems I lean forward and try to hold onto Dexter with my thighs.  As soon as trainer says "Relax your back, bring your shoulders back"  I can feel Dexter relax his back and move more elevated.  So I know I'm hindering him, plus the sitting trot is way easier when I don't have every muscle rigid and I'm aligned right for the shock absorption.  I dont' know where I got the habit of leaning forward, but I know its been hard to break.  I swear I feel like this when she says I'm finally perpendicular.

So Dexter may have some easy rides this week where we just trot around while I remember to lean back and relax. 

We also worked on transitions within the canter... oh boy.  Poor Dexter, we have been working so hard on keeping him forward at the canter, that the thought of collection or slowing down is completely foreign to him. So most of our transitions within the gait ended up being canter-longer canter-trot-canter-longer canter-trot.  But that's ok, trainer swears we got one or 2 strides of a shorter canter just before he broke into the trot.  I'm not sure I believe her, but it gives us something to work on.

To finish up we worked on some leg yielding.  I was having trouble at the posting trot so we did it at the sitting trot.  This was good because it made me focus on a lot of things at once, also not letting me obsess with one or the other.

Dexter did really well at the leg yielding, we weren't crossing any arenas or anything, but we were getting a few consistent half steps over, without popping shoulders or just turning his head.  I think that was what we  were doing when I first got him and thought we were leg yielding great. 

One main lesson I got from this session was that Dexter is doing well enough that I really need to focus on myself now.  I'm holding him back and that's never good.  And the other main lesson was to accept small victories.  A lot of what we've done so far were the basics so I could see a major change, more forward, more rhythm, more contact, etc.  Now that the basics are set and we are getting to the more specialized things the changes will be sublte, we won't be able to go from an extended canter to a collected canter in 3 strides and leg yield from the center line to B.  I have to take it a stride at a time.

Dec 5th - Relax Your Hips - Don't Work So Hard!

Indoors again.... a brisk 35 outside, unfortunately for Dexter he is ready for winter so the indoor makes him sweat quite a bit.... even if it is only slightly above 40F.

So it was back to the basics this lesson.  No cadence, no shoulder-fore, no sitting trot.  Just re-training Dexter to go when I say go, and keep going until I say stop.  I say re-training because when I got Dexter he was very sensitive to the leg, and now, due to my bad habits of thinking I have to push him, he has let me take the lead.  Meaning, the minute I stop asking for the canter means its time to trot.  Which results in me getting very very tired and him finding every excuse to break or not go forward.  Like I said its my fault, but fixable.

So we spent the fist part of the lesson going around in circles at the trot, asking him to bend without me holding (in my hands).  And Trainer reminding me to relax my legs, hips and thighs every 5th stride or so.  I think its every time I half halt I forget to release all the way.  Plus I was trained a long time ago to use my hips and butt to maintain my seat so learning to relax those muscles is a subconscious battle.  I have a new mantra - (being that trainer said it 50 times) "Relax your hips!".

The second part of the lesson was working at the canter, again... no fancy stuff, just keeping him going without me pushing him every stride.  It wasn't the prettiest canter, but it was forward without being out of control.  He even went down the long side a few times without picking up speed.  I really concentrated on loosening my hips and legs and flowing with him.  It made it much more comfortable for me and it seemed like he was able to swing up and under better.  But, he thinks no leg means stop, so it was a fine balance of taking my leg off for as many strides as I could, but catching him before he broke into the trot.  I think the max was 4 strides, but its better than it was last lesson.

And finally we worked on serpentines, like I said the basics.  Keeping him forward and bending without me holding him.  I also noticed during our walk to trot transitions after each break that I really have been getting soft with Dexter.  I try to bring him back to work easy after a short break, but this has translated into having to convince him to trot.  It was very apparent in this last lesson when I'd have to squeeze really hard and still no trot.  I had to wake him up with the whip before he believed me that it was time to go back to work.  So I'm going to have to remember to be more deliberate with my aides.  Not, beat him if he doesn't respond in an instant, but if we are going to get anywhere he needs to understand that every time I move my hands or legs I am asking and expecting a very specific response.

I seem to have let him trap me into working too hard.  Being a perfectionist I keep trying to fix every little thing at once and end up holding him in position, with my seat, legs, hands, everything.  Its exhausting :) and not the purpose of dressage.  So we are going back a few steps. I will get Dexter to understand self carriage, I will not position him every stride, I will be consistent and deliberate with my aides, and I will remember to keep my seat fluid.  These are my goals, Dexter has no homework this week.  He is a smart hard-working horse.  His only fault has been to follow my lead, at this point if I can fix my tendencies, I have no doubt Dexter will respond well and follow suit.

Lesson 9 - Canter up, not out

Another lovely day outside, I know they will be coming to an end soon.  Today we practiced transitions within the gait, at the trot.  We rode a large circle and pushed him out then spiraled in and as the circle got smaller I asked him for a more collected trot.  The tempo changed a bit with both transitions but he was definitely shortening and lengthening his stride.  We are asking for more than we did in the last lesson, asking him to hold the collection and lengthening longer, until his holds it himself.  He is accepting the bit really well and has almost stopped chewing on it.  He now saves that for when he is really irritated, or tired, or irritated because he's tired.

The canter work made a big breakthrough in this lesson.  We have been working on tempo and impulsion for so long we finally were ready to start some collection work.  In the past Dexter was so stressed by the canter that as soon as I softened and asked him to come back he would break, he is finally moving well enough that we can bring him back, which is super exciting as it was driving me crazy letting him canter around with his nose sticking out.  We did the collection work on the circle, pushing him on then working his head to bring it in and giving him half halts with the outside rein.  He seemed to get it better going to the left.  But all of a sudden I could feel the difference, he was jumping up instead of reaching out with his front legs.  We did the same going to the right, a little more difficult as he is still unbalanced and doesn't want to turn.

Then one of our more awesome moments (in my option anyway) happened.  We went to work on the canter on the straight away, and coming back down the long side going to the left I did a teeny tiny bit of shoulder-fore and he just cantered along, not speeding up not lenghtening, not falling on his forehand, it was amazing.  Granted we didn't hold if for long but I was so proud of him.

We finished the lesson working on the sitting trot... why do we always have to finish with that?  This time she made me focus on swinging my hips with his back, it helped a little.  I still have to stick out my tongue to really concentrate on everything and I know I'm still trying to hold on with my thighs.  I just hate the bouncing, I feel like I'm not helping him at all, but he does do a really nice trot at the sitting trot so I must not look as bad as it feels.  Still we will work on it, I used to love the sitting trot, I hate posting, so I'm so glad I'm allowed to now.

Lessons 4ish-8ish

As the weather started to cool we started to ride out in a larger arena (I failed to mention we were in a smaller indoor before).  This allowed Dexter to move more and get more impulsion without having to worry about hitting walls.  It also allowed us to get distracted by mules (Dexter thinks they are weird) and other horses running in the field, but its good because it gave me the opportunity to keep him paying attention to me. 

We have also made some adjustments to the bit and my saddle (getting a new one) that has allowed him to be more comfortable on the bit and allowed me to be more balanced on him.  In the outdoor arena we continue to work on the canter, he is now rhythmic and able to hold it through the curves and straight lines but is still very flat and moves very forward when going straight.  But by being able to stay at it longer I have been able to adjust what I am doing with my seat and see that I have been constricting with my thighs and seat.  As I relax his canter gets more fluid, and sometimes so much it becomes a trot.  But that's OK, Dexter is crazy sensitive to the seat and will be very helpful as we learn more. I also tend to lean on his mouth at the canter.   We have kept the canter work pretty simple, large circles with short runs on the straight away.  Focusing on keeping him balanced and discouraging him from either diving in or popping out on the circle.

The trot work has moved on to the proper connection with the hands.  As the bit is more comfortable, he is now leaning on the bit and I can start to bring him back.  He tends to lean more on the left than right.  we spend a lot of time on the circle to the left getting him on the outside rein.  And a lot of time going to the right keeping him straighter.  We are doing figure eights to keep his attention and to clearly define the difference between the expected inside and outside rein contact. 

We have also started the collection work at the trot, asking him to move out and come back at the same tempo.  Trainer has shown me that if I ask him to move out and extend his trot without him being in the proper frame he will avoid the work and go faster and pull on the reins without getting that extra length.  Once he "melts" into the contact, if I ask him to move on he does so without changing his tempo, its really quite cool.  Same with the collection, wait for him to get settled into his trot and frame then start to half halt him back into collection.  My difficulty is that I seem to ask to hard and he walks, or slows down.  I haven't gotten the collection with elevation yet. 

We are also getting into sitting trot.  Its a little difficult on a 17 hand horse but with his trot more collected its is getting easier.  I am also having to re-learn it.  When I rode years ago I was taught to hold on with my thighs and seat to get a good sitting trot.  Trainer constantly reminds me to lean back and "open" my hip, and melting my legs on instead of squeezing.  It makes me feel like I have no control but I can feel I am balanced and Dexter moves well so I must be doing OK.

Our First Lesson

After a bust on the first trainer we went looking for a new one.  We found one that was a little more younger, a little less experienced and a whole lot nicer.  She was more patient with Dexter and me and was willing to teach me, not just him,...sold.

Our first lesson consisted of us trotting in circles getting more impulsion.  We learned something new the very first lesson.  I had been holding him back, all my transitions had killed his engine, the opposite I was going for.  The more I pushed him forward in the lesson the more he reached for the bit, not perfect but better.  We practiced keeping a even tempo.

The canter work was short, being that he and I were terribly out of shape.  Because his back end wasn't engaged at all he could only canter for a short while before he left it behind completely.  Trainer(that's what we will call her) had us push forward and focus on the rhythm, not the speed or collection.  She said when we feel a even 1,2,3 beat to reward him and let him rest.

I now know she was starting us at the bottom of the dressage training pyramid - rhythm.

Our first homework assignment - GO!  Go forward and push, I had been pulling Dexter back because when he went forward I felt out of control, but I was just unaccustomed to such a large gate.  So we went forward and we cantered fast and loose.  It was a little unnerving because it felt quite out of control but I trusted my trainer, even though I had just met her.