12-12-17 Riding Update

Finally on a semi normal riding schedule again! Finals are over I know I made an A in at least two of my classes. Its amazing how someone can go from being a B - C student in regular memorization seminar classes and as soon as they enter classes that are problem solving based suddenly I've turned into an A student. Go figure it's like people think differently and have different strengths. Although I have to admit my high school answers to test questions where I said I would approach a problem differently than the teacher wanted all makes much more sense now! 

Anyways, riding updates,

 Rave has spent a bit of time in some draw reins, she's currently going through a phase where during canter transitions shes using her head and neck to launch into the canter, which really doesn't bother me that much because it means shes not falling into canter. The part that does bother me is when her skull collides with my face, hence the draw reins. I've already had my face glued together once in the past two months I really don't want to go to the emergency room again. Note to self don't put your face in front of your horse's knee while clipping their legs. Not Smart. Mostly with Rave I've been working on relaxation through all the gaits and transitions. Coming from a racing background OTTB's have a tendency to overreact to any "go aids" Rave is no exception. Learning that she can relax and stretch has been a test of patience. Her trainer on the track is one of those guys that you watch breeze the babies and it kind of makes you nauseated to witness. However, she makes progress everyday and learns stuff very quickly! We just need to relax WHILE we do all the cool new stuff she's learned!

India has been doing GREAT. Mostly because I figured out I had been asking for halt wrong... So I've been really learning and researching Andrew Mclean's methods of training horses, and oh my god it is the most common sense, relaxed, easy to understand, wonderful method I have ever learned. Growing up riding with Mary Wanless and good rider biomechanics (not demonstrated in the pictures in this post because currently I am a flabby mushy human) I grew up with "what is stronger? your abdominals? or the hold on your reins?" Which good yes, more core strength than pull on the reins, makes sense. Except when Merideth's brain translates that into "don't put pressure on the reins ever" So for years I've been asking for half halts, down transitions, everything with only my core and seat, and never backing it up with my rein aids. *cue trainer asking me if I am literate* Answer? Mostly literate, sometimes it's iffy. Mary has for years told us that to halt you engage your core and upper thighs and close your hand on the rein like squeezing a lemon to ask for a halt. Body asks for the halt, reins back it up. You are now asking yourself, how then did I misinterpret the halt aid when everyone I ride with was saying the same thing? Excellent question.

 I somehow missed the part where you have to teach the horse to halt just using rein aids first, as a back up emergency stop in case your core and seat doesn't work one day. I skipped steps A B C and went straight to steps J K L. So to remedy this I've been doing Andrew's ground work. The premise is that you ask the horse for movements with only the reins / leadrope. The point is that the horse does not follow your body movements, they follow clear signals given for specific behaviors. If I want my horse to back up I take my reins and push them gently back toward the horse's chest. That's it. You don't move your feet, or push them or anything, they react just from the pressure in their mouth. When this is translated into the saddle it means that pressure on the bit means stop, continued pressure means backup and shift your weight onto the hind end. That's the part I was missing and since this discovery and working on it, India has completely changed. Look back through this blog every problem I've had with her is all about hauling on the bit, dumping on the bit, grabbing the bit. She didn't know what pressure on the bit actually meant, but now she's light, soft, and so so so sensitive to everything. Part of the sensitivity is just who she is, she's never been an easy kid ride. She's the definition of schoolmaster, if you don't ask correctly she will give you nothing but if you ask correctly she will act like "well stupid human why didn't you just ask? sure thing!" I can't even describe how lucky I am to have ridden her for this long, she has taught me more than any trainer or professional. I seriously doubt whether I would learn more from Charlotte Dujardin than I do from India. Next Dressage Today will have India on the cover with the title "Dressage Goddess explains how to train your very own unruly human"