In today's lesson, I was working on the general stuff I have been all week, namely getting Odin to move in balance, with out me hanging on his mouth, and letting him hang on my hands (we're really good at the dragging each other off balance, making it worse and worse).
One thing L. (my trainer) focused on today, was the fact that he is out of balance and doesn't bend on the circle. One of the reasons for this is that he is not in front of my legs, so he is just slugging around.
We did some exercises like haunches out, leg yields and turn on the forehand, to get him more responsive to my legs. However, L. nailed it when she said that I really don't have the right idea about how he should feel when he is in front of the leg, I am satisfied with a little bit. Like I ask him to go more forward, and maybe he does, a tiny bit, for two steps. I have to demand more.
So the metaphor she used, which I think works for me, is that he should be like a puck on an air hockey table. The very slightest of aid should have him move, and keep moving. He is like an hockey table with no air, I push, he moves, stops, I push again. Turns into nag, nag, nag, and he really isn't in front of my leg. So I have to turn the air on!
A lot of this is really mentally demanding a really good answer from him. He can do all this stuff. He knows what he should do. He just knows he can away with not doing it. Then I tell him no, he has to, and then he gets all huffy and puffy, because he knows that there is a chance I will be intimidated and back off. So I really mentally needs to tell my self that I am doing the right thing, I should be aware of what I ask and get it.
And then he will grunt, say OK, and do it. Wonderful well balanced canter suddenly, isn't it nicer for him to be in balance and bending nicely too? Hmmm....
Anyway, I need to turn the air on for that table, be able to make him respond to the lightest of aids. Maybe then I can rid of this stupid nagging habit I have!
on another note:
- I was riding Sunday, when suddenly there were two coyotes outside the arena. Bigger than one should think. I think I was more startled than Odin (hugs my safe, sane horse)
- Echo tagged me, I will get around to that, I hope.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Some pictures
Well, I emptied my camera...
L. riding Odin. Very fuzzy, but you can see the wonderful big arena I ride in (love it, except on cold days):
Newly pulled mane, looking all groomed:
In the stall:
Horses are silly:
L. riding Odin. Very fuzzy, but you can see the wonderful big arena I ride in (love it, except on cold days):
Balance
this has been the theme for the last couple of lessons. Both mine and Odin's, since we of course influence each other.
L. has been making me aware of the fact that Odin's balance is constantly changing, every time I ask him to do something, like be a little more forward, a little more round. So I am trying to be aware of this, and keep his balance steady. It is so much my ability as a rider that is the problem, it is not that he can't be in balance, but we do pull each other around a lot.
Also, I had a light bulb moment this Wednesday morning in my lesson. Odin likes to lean on the bit a lot, and it is quite hard for me to make him stop, and get him forward enough. However, I managed to get him to be light in the hand (still not steady enough, still have balance issues!), and L. pointed something out to me... I tense up and feel insecure in the saddle, when he doesn't pull at my hands! So basically I lean on him, and he leans on me, and I let it happen because it makes me feel more secure.
That is really, really annoying. I have to encode my brain and body to him being light being a good thing!
At least now I know.
It feels like there is a million things to work with sometimes. Sometimes I feel a bit sorry that Odin has to put up with my faulty riding, but at least it keeps improving. I am sure that every horse I will ride later in life will be grateful to him.
Otherwise, it is really cold (freezing) right now, and that is really annoying in a covered arena. Brrr. Where is that Seattle cloud cover? On the other hand, that means I have had plenty of opportunity to use one of my Christmas gifts, a Rambo Newmarket Quarter Sheet. In goldenrod stripes, it so reminds me of winter back in the stable in Denmark... I feel all nostalgic when I look at us in the mirrors.
L. has been making me aware of the fact that Odin's balance is constantly changing, every time I ask him to do something, like be a little more forward, a little more round. So I am trying to be aware of this, and keep his balance steady. It is so much my ability as a rider that is the problem, it is not that he can't be in balance, but we do pull each other around a lot.
Also, I had a light bulb moment this Wednesday morning in my lesson. Odin likes to lean on the bit a lot, and it is quite hard for me to make him stop, and get him forward enough. However, I managed to get him to be light in the hand (still not steady enough, still have balance issues!), and L. pointed something out to me... I tense up and feel insecure in the saddle, when he doesn't pull at my hands! So basically I lean on him, and he leans on me, and I let it happen because it makes me feel more secure.
That is really, really annoying. I have to encode my brain and body to him being light being a good thing!
At least now I know.
It feels like there is a million things to work with sometimes. Sometimes I feel a bit sorry that Odin has to put up with my faulty riding, but at least it keeps improving. I am sure that every horse I will ride later in life will be grateful to him.
Otherwise, it is really cold (freezing) right now, and that is really annoying in a covered arena. Brrr. Where is that Seattle cloud cover? On the other hand, that means I have had plenty of opportunity to use one of my Christmas gifts, a Rambo Newmarket Quarter Sheet. In goldenrod stripes, it so reminds me of winter back in the stable in Denmark... I feel all nostalgic when I look at us in the mirrors.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Sensitivity to the aids
Odin's coat is getting really thin right now (because of the changing weather?). He had rubs from the girth on both sides this week, the hair had rubbed off (so now I have put socks on the girth, hope it helps. Luckily the skin wasn't broken at all).
This also meant that I could suddenly see a slight spur rub appearing... oooops, bad, bad rider.
So, I got to work on aid sesitivity these last two lessons. Odin is really bad about not reacting, or giving a half answer, and I just let him do it, and then keep nagging every stride.
A lot of it is mental for me. I have to recognize that he gives me a bad or barely there answer to an aid (fx doing legyields), and then correct him. When I manage to wrap my head around it, it is great. I give a small leg aid, he doesnt do anything. I use the whip he moves forward. I then use a small leg aid again, and he moves forward. So I need of course to reach a point where I don't have to correct him, but he is reluctant. I need to be really consistent, so I hope I will manage to do so. It is a lot faster working on the lateral aids such as the leg yields than the forward ones, probalby because moving forward he has to move into the bit nicely as well. I also think he has not been trained to be very sensitive to the forward moving aids, so we have some work. But no more nagging, hopefully!
A great lightbulb moment that came from this, was in the canter. I have had trouble to keep him in the canter without him breaking, so my nagging gets bad here. We also worked on the half-halt (again, making him listen to it), so I had some trouble figuring out half-halting vs downwards transistion in the canter, espcially without the nag.
L. told me to keep him in the canter by keeping my inside seatbone forward, and use me seat to tell him that he should keep moving. And wow! that helped, when I figured it out. It was one of those great moments, where I felt I could really communicate with Odin, when we finally figured each other out! I was also very pleased that using my seatbone like that even worked, I think my longe lessons really paid off!
Another thing we worked on these last two lessons was counter canter, where I seem to have less trouble keeping him in the canter, probably because I concentrate on having him bend and having the inside aids on (including my seatbone) so he doesn't swap leads (going across the diagonal in canter? You must want a change!). It was some really nice counter-canter I got, I was pleased :)
This also meant that I could suddenly see a slight spur rub appearing... oooops, bad, bad rider.
So, I got to work on aid sesitivity these last two lessons. Odin is really bad about not reacting, or giving a half answer, and I just let him do it, and then keep nagging every stride.
A lot of it is mental for me. I have to recognize that he gives me a bad or barely there answer to an aid (fx doing legyields), and then correct him. When I manage to wrap my head around it, it is great. I give a small leg aid, he doesnt do anything. I use the whip he moves forward. I then use a small leg aid again, and he moves forward. So I need of course to reach a point where I don't have to correct him, but he is reluctant. I need to be really consistent, so I hope I will manage to do so. It is a lot faster working on the lateral aids such as the leg yields than the forward ones, probalby because moving forward he has to move into the bit nicely as well. I also think he has not been trained to be very sensitive to the forward moving aids, so we have some work. But no more nagging, hopefully!
A great lightbulb moment that came from this, was in the canter. I have had trouble to keep him in the canter without him breaking, so my nagging gets bad here. We also worked on the half-halt (again, making him listen to it), so I had some trouble figuring out half-halting vs downwards transistion in the canter, espcially without the nag.
L. told me to keep him in the canter by keeping my inside seatbone forward, and use me seat to tell him that he should keep moving. And wow! that helped, when I figured it out. It was one of those great moments, where I felt I could really communicate with Odin, when we finally figured each other out! I was also very pleased that using my seatbone like that even worked, I think my longe lessons really paid off!
Another thing we worked on these last two lessons was counter canter, where I seem to have less trouble keeping him in the canter, probably because I concentrate on having him bend and having the inside aids on (including my seatbone) so he doesn't swap leads (going across the diagonal in canter? You must want a change!). It was some really nice counter-canter I got, I was pleased :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
