I have a few rides to catch up on here, but just wanted to quickly report that I had a non-lesson ride on M, and she spooked not once but twice late into the ride. I know some rabbits were hanging out in the grass by the arena. I didn't see them at the time, but I guess she did! Or something!
They weren't HUGE spooks but I felt that adrenaline surge in her body and she sort of half-shied and "zinged" forward in the trot we were in both times. I kept my seat completely, but most importantly, I kept my cool!!
Riding out spooks without freaking out is a big deal to me. As a "re-rider" I haven't had to deal with them much -- thankfully -- but as a result, even the very prospect of spooking has been building up in my brain as a BIG DEAL and a potential CATASTROPHE. Small to moderate spooks like these happening -- and doing nothing whatsoever to unseat me -- is actually amazing for my confidence right now! So between these and a spook on her last week during high winds, I'm feeling a lot better about my ability to cope.
Phewwwwwww!!!
June 21
Two weeks ago: a windy, stormy, rainy-day ride on M, my usual lesson horse. She was unusually spooky, due to the system coming in, so I hopped off, lunged her, got back on and had a really nice ride despite crappy conditions. I rode her very collected, on a small circle, and we worked on many MANY transitions. At one point she gave me a not-intentionally-asked-for walk-to-collected-canter transition that was so delightful despite being unexpected that I laughed out loud. Lovely moment, lovely ride!
A week and a half ago: my best friend, whom I used to take lessons with in my teen riding years, came up to visit and we went for two lessons together. I watched her in a private lesson, during which she rode M. She did spectacularly! Lots of canter work, including flying changes and counter canter. There was visible improvement in her technique within just one lesson, which was super cool! She did brilliantly, and it was hard to believe it was her first time on that horse. It was great, too, to see a full lesson with someone else riding M. I rarely get to SEE her ridden -- just experience it -- so it was very cool to watch! I saddled up Lina afterwards, but she was sore from a trim and I had to abort the lesson and put her away. The next day my friend and I shared a semi-private lesson. I rode Pecan, the cute little paint school-horse, who was quite pleasant for the most part, though I had to get much more aggressive than I would have liked to get a canter out of her. And I really didn't like her canter, though I remembered it as pretty smooth from the first time I rode her, two and a half years before. Also, she would fake me out to avoid the transition, rolling her shoulders in trot, instead. Strange but creative evasion!
A week-ish ago: a non-lesson ride on M, during which I was VERY stiff in canter, but I also had some nasty PMS going on and was about to suffer through several consecutive days of worse-than-usual symptoms and exhaustion, so that may have been a factor. Sitting trot was ON, though! So that was great. She did SPOOK twice at rabbits, but I actually sat both spooks just fine and did NOT panic. Which is HUGE for me, as I often spook worse than the horse!
Earlier this week: I had a lesson on M. I honestly can't remember exactly what we worked on. My week has been so crazy with work that my brain is not retaining a lot of short-term memory. :/ There were trot serpentines, flying changes in the canter, some shortening and lengthening. Canter to walk to canter transition on circles, changing directions and alternating leads. I was a bit stiff and sore still, but again, lady problems. :/ Definitely felt like I had lost some riding fitness lately. And she felt a bit less sensitive to seat aids, which isn't surprising as she has a lot more riders now that the lesson season is well under way. Had another nice compliment from my coach about how I do such a nice job tuning her up when I ride her.
Today: I went out this morning and did a non-lesson ride on Lina. It was SO MUCH BETTER, even though I haven't tried her in weeks (other than that almost-lesson when she was too sore). My seat was better, my leg was better, I kept my stirrups. I started to get a feel for what her transitions and motion are like. Also, for which things are me having problems as a rider, and which things are her having schooling problems. I used bungee reins on her, which helped IMMENSELY with how much she likes to fling her head around. They weren't "holding" her in place by any means, but they did give her some consistent faux-contact that kept her nicely settled and let me worry less about CONSTANTLY adjusting my hands and reins. It was a really nice ride! I rode her until she was a nice, relaxed, pleasant type of tired. She had a workout, I had a workout, and it was a good note to end on. I actually felt less out of shape today, so it's possible my body really was just being awful to me over the previous week! Hooray!
June 21
Oh, now I remember! We did a bunch of lateral work in trot in my recent lesson on Elle, too. Lots of leg yielding and shoulder-in. Finally getting the hang of them. Sort of. Except I was getting the hang of shoulder-in TOO much apparently because I was making the angle a little... toooo dramatic. Definitely four-tracking. Whoops. So we toned that down and the horse and I didn't work quite so hard! Reversing is getting better, too, and I'm starting to feel which leg to ask for based on how she's standing. Much smoother. Much straighter. Sweeet.
June 24
I went out for another ride on Elle the other morning. It was just a quick one as the horses were being moved that morning and I didn't want to hold anything up. So I made it count by doing lots and lots and LOTS and lots of transitions.
It was a decent ride but things weren't totally clicking as much as they were earlier in the year. She's gotten a lot heavier in the bridle again. This used to be a thing with her, but she got a LOT better over the winter as her fitness increased, and as I got a lot better adjusting her speed and motion with my seat. I was her only rider for most of six months, so I got a lot fitter too, and we got very synced up and I could get a downwards transition out of her just by a very slight blocking with the backs of my thighs. However, as she IS a school horse, with the spring and summer getting rolling she's had more riders on her and she's not as sensitive off the seat aids. A little disappointing, as they were like BUTTER there for a while, but she isn't my personal horse and she has a very important job to do! It's flattering to be the designated tune-up rider for her now, at least, so I'm taking the role seriously and it's good for me too. I've discovered that early morning rides are the perfect way to get around my stupidly busy schedule, so I should be able to get out there a lot more often now, and hopefully I can get back some of the riding fitness I've lost this year.
Maybe it's a weird thing to say, but it's almost.... a mark of progress that in some ways my riding is getting WORSE? Hear me out. Because I was SO rusty as a re-rider, when I started three years ago, my improvement has been very very steady. Sure, there's been some got-it-lost-it, but over all, better and better. The fact that I was riding better this spring, and am now not quite as good... shows that, perhaps, that initially HUGE learning/fitness curve isn't so steep at this point. And that the title of this blog is true: I'm not a "re-rider" anymore, but a fairly competent and reasonably fit *current* rider whose fitness and technique is going to have little ups and downs over time. There's a lot more to learn and I'm sure I'll keep improving year over year, but in some ways I feel like I've finally "arrived."
July 1
Back on Tuesday, I spontaneously hit up a local friend, whom I do not see often enough at all anymore, and we went out for a mid-day trail ride on her lovely, bombproof little trail horses. She has lots of woods and trails on her property, and some nearby fields she has permission to cut through, too. It was a perfect sunny day, hot but not too hot, not too humid. She rode her little paint gelding who is an ex-reiner, and I rode the mare she bought a year and a bit ago, whom I've been dying to try out. This mare reminds me a lot of my old horse. Similar build -- not big, but long and low, and rides "bigger" than her size in a really nice way. Great personality in this horse and a very good brain. Nice movement, too, with a big step in her hind legs and a nice swing in her body. I suspected she'd be a joy to ride and she was even better than I had hoped!
Haha, if her horse goes missing, I'm sure I'll be the first door she'll come knocking on.
The trails were a bit challenging, with some steep parts and some downed trees across the trail in a LOT of places. The horses didn't care whatsoever, and stepped quietly over everything. Neither one put a foot wrong the entire time, and it was nice to just take deep breaths and RELAX on the trail! I normally ride English, but we had Western saddles on and I was glad we did. I probably could have stuck it all in an English saddle but having the high pommel in front was nice security on the downhill parts -- especially when the little mare decided that mid-way down a steep incline was a great time to suddenly drop her head and have a snack!!!
The horses got poked by a lot of branches and twigs, and at one point her horse got a huge stick stuck in his tail, flipping and dragging along behind him. Did. Not. Care. Just... wow!!! While the horses I ride in my lessons, and in the ring, are *pretty* good at keeping their cool, I can't imagine any of them having NO reaction to being scraped and jabbed by branches... or peacefully dragging a hunk of tree along!! She really does have lovely, solid horses, and I'm impressed and a bit jealous!
My body mostly handled the ride well despite not being used to the varied terrain anymore. The only thing that was bothering me was, when I first got on, the saddle did shift a bit to the left and even though I shifted it back and it *seemed* centred the whole ride, it's like my body wanted to keep trying to shift it back to the right anyhow, and my right leg got stiff and uncomfortable. This is occasionally a "thing" with me but it wasn't dramatic or anything. All in all I rode quite balanced and relaxed, and the whole thing just felt wonderful! Usually I'm at least a BIT nervous on the trail, especially on horses I don't know really well or in challenging brush like this, but I was fine. So nice to have a lot of my riding anxiety getting better.
July 3
This morning I went out to ride, finally, after nearly a week off. Work was absolutely insane, and the massive wave of heat and humidity did not make riding an appealing prospect for man or beast. And even though it's a scorcher here still, this morning wasn't too bad so off I went.
Now, last night I had texted my coach about coming out this morning, and she told me M was already booked for some lessons today, so I should ride Lina instead. Totally fine. I still want more miles on horses that I'm not as used to, and the more variety I'm getting, the less it's weirding me out when I do have to switch things up.
Got out there, my coach was gone for the morning so I grabbed Lina from the VERY back of the field, dragged her into the barn with her sloooowwww-walking behind me, and tacked her up. Now, I noticed that M was in a stall for some reason even though most of the other horses were out. I thought that was weird but assumed there must be some reason, and I went ahead and tacked up.
Well, JUST as I was done and leading Lina out, I noticed a note on the whiteboard saying things had changed and that I could ride M instead this morning, and that's why she was inside. You know -- to save me from having to go catch her from the back of the field. *MASSIVE FACEPALM* I didn't have time at that point to switch horses, as I had to get to work after my ride, so I went ahead and rode Lina while M stewed in her stall, wondering what in the heck she was doing inside on a beautiful day. (Sorry M!)
I've been using bungee reins over the poll and through the bit on Lina. MASSIVE improvement. I know some people don't like them as a training tool, but man oh man, what a different on this little mare. She has a short neck, high head, and will often dart and wing her head around all over the place when you ride her. It's almost impossible to keep a steady contact, and the more she moves around the worse it gets -- so then she moves MORE. Augh! With the bungee reins... peace and quiet. They provide a steady elastic contact, and as she can't evade it she doesn't try, and we're both MUCH happier. She goes rounded and quiet and stays focused.
We did lots of walk and trot transitions to get us both warmed up and paying attention. She was in a much better mood than the last time I rode her, when she was getting cranky and pinning her ears at time. She did have a little bit of muscle soreness (just normal "post-workout" soreness) the previous time and was not appreciating it when I sat the trot. Today, though, sitting her trot was lovely and she didn't seem to mind a bit.
Transitions today where better too, and she didn't try to reef on the reins coming back down out of canter. Not at all. So that was awesome. She has quite a SPROING going from walk to trot, that surprised me a few times today, but her trot to canter actually felt a lot smoother this time. Whether they were better today, or I'm just getting used to them, I'm not sure. Her canter was a lot easier to get and stay with today and quite pleasant. I'm still riding it in a half seat for the most part, but I did sit a little deeper with it at times today.
She has different sensitivity levels to certain aids, and I'm still getting used to that. When I'm turning and I lift my inside rein and push her ribs over with my inside leg to get bend, she'll actually move right over, so our turns were a bit more dramatic than necessary, hahaha, but it's nice that she was so responsive.
Another cool things today: got all the leads right! Her right lead can be tricky to get, but today, correct every time!
She did start to wing her head around at walk near the very end of the ride, I think as her way of saying "Okay I'm tired let's pack it in." I was mean and made her trot every time she did that. Would come back down when she relaxed. Then trot again the next time... Did this a LOT. Ugh. Eventually picked a nice quiet walk moment to hop off and call it a day.
Brought her back in, untacked her, and let her and poor impatient M back out for the day.
July 5
Well, I guess not every ride is going to be sparkles and fairy dust.
This morning I rode M for the first time in over a week. There's still a pretty bad heatwave hanging around here, but I rode early enough that it was "normal" levels of summer heat, and had not yet become "constant dripping sweat and death" levels of heat and humidity.
I went into the ride with the intention of doing some no-stirrups work somewhere in the last half... but M went from her usually agreeable-ish self to a massive crankypants not quite half way through the ride. I don't know if she was tired, or having a problem with the heat, or if she was just having a "day." But she threw one of her favourite tantrums for most of the ride, which she hasn't done with me since last year! She leeeeeeeaaaannnns heavily on the bit, gets her weight down on the forehand, and BARGES around, strong and fast. Still more or less doing what you ask -- if you want trot, for examples, she BARGES AROUND in trot. If you want canter, she BARGES AROUND in a fast, heavy, choppy canter. Blows off any of the smaller leg aids and reins aids and you have no choice but to yank her back very impolitely.
There are ways to school her through this (or at least improve it) but I didn't push her too hard as it really was getting a lot hotter as we rode and, I suppose, she was allowed to have an opinion in those conditions. Plus we had a bit of a vicious cycle going in canter, where her angry, stiff, heavy, choppy canter was making me bounce in the saddle like a jackhammer, which surely made her canter actually worse. Blurgh. Needless to say, we at no point did any no-stirrups work.
I still enjoyed myself, and it was in many ways a good and productive ride... Even practiced some shoulder-in before she got really mad... but poetry it most definitely was NOT!
July 7
I had a fun night last night, although my riding was really not where I wanted it to be.
M was booked for a lesson already, and was in fact being ridden when I got there, so I had a lesson on Lina. I'm feeling a lot more comfortable on her for the most part.
However... I skipped dinner. I was held up trying to get there by, first, my partner leaving me with NO gas in the car and us having to scramble to put some in there using the gas cans normally reserved for our generator. Then I had to wait for a train. Then I got stuck behind a delivery truck that was doing 10-15 km below the speed limit (in an area where most people do 15-20 above). So, no time to eat or even stop for a quick drive-through bite somewhere. And I realized my entire diet that day, to that point, had consisted of 1/3 of a bag of fresh cherries, two portobello mushroom caps with cheese and pizza sauce, a few pieces of chocolate, and a lot of coffee. So, my car wasn't the only thing running on fumes by the time I got to my lesson.
We did some pretty straightforward WTC stuff and some trotting poles. Lina is extremely nimble and even when I didn't set her up right for the poles, she still managed to pick and bounce her way across them, and make up for the direction she lacked from me.
Early in the lesson we did quite a bit of walk to canter transitions, most of which went pretty well. We got a lot more wrong leads than we did the other day -- the other day I think we got them all correct -- but it wasn't too bad. I find her a little too easy to catch in the mouth unfortunately, but in my defense she has a habit of catching herself in the mouth a lot, so sometimes it's hard to say who's at fault.
Once we started trying to integrate a stretch of canter on the loop back to the beginning of the trotting poles, however, things got VERY sloppy. She decided she'd had enough cantering and got stiff and resistant and did the "screw you" trot instead of giving me a canter transition, and I lost some confidence in asking for the transition which made things worse. Ugh. There was a lot of running around in a big mess and losing our steering and breaking out of canter. And wrong leads all over the place. Not pretty. The lesson ended a bit early because I think it was pretty obvious that Lina and I were both frustrated and tired and there would be diminishing returns from that point on.
I hung out at the barn chatting with my coach and one of the boarders for about the next hour, then a student called to ask for an impromptu jumping lesson, so my coach's plan to ride her own horse weren't going to work out. Would I like to ride him instead, while she taught the lesson?
So, I did! I'd tried him twice before and was an absolute mess at the time. I hoped that this ride, after all the extra saddle time I'd put in over the winter, I'd be a lot more competent and confident. Welllllllllllll.... Walk and trot were fine. We had some abrupt unintentional downwards transitions as he tried to figure me out. My coach rides him 99% of the time so he's not exactly used to a change of rider. But we started to get a groove. And I didn't freak out when he got looky about stuff, which is big for me.
However...... cantering was a TOTAL bust. I think, at most, I got three consecutive strides before he would peter out again. His hip action in the canter was completely different than I'm used to, and I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I kept getting so unbalanced by the transition -- his big hip THROWING me out of the saddle and off-balance with the hind leg stepping under -- that just staying ON through it was a feat for me, never mind actually pushing him to STAY in it. I had actually cantered him a little bit in two lessons in the fall, but it was a pretty huge fail then too. Last night's was even worse.
By then, though, I was exhausted, STARRRRRVING, and my back was getting sore and tense, so it wasn't helping matters.
It's so odd. Some horses I have no problems in cantering in my first rides on them, while on others, it's like I'm riding a completely different animal. Some rides I feel like, yeahhhhh, I'm good at this! And other times I feel totally stunned by my lack of ability to do basic things. Siiiiiiiiiigghhhh.
It is what it is and I won't let it get me down -- riding is also about learning and improving -- but it's so strange, and so HARD, sometimes. I get to beating myself up for not being where I think I should be after three years back in the saddle. And sometimes I get better at something but there's this backsliding in my skills that'll happen and I'll lose it again.
Oh well. I'll try to at least eat dinner first, next time!
July 11
Last night I went out to ride a horse I was riding regularly two seasons ago. He's a nice slightly older gelding, built like a tank. His background is primarily Western, but he's kind of had a little bit of vaguely everything done with him.
That season, I rode him English. I'm more used to it, it's the tack I had, and he went much, much better in contact and on a direct rein, with a bit, and with me in my own saddle.
Last night's ride was my first ride on him since last year, and his owner had switched him back to western tack and a VERY loosely fitted hackamore.
Well, he hadn't been ridden, except for a couple quick bareback rides, since last year. He was a very good boy from a safety standpoint. Wasn't hot, didn't do anything wacky. But he kept pulling me towards the other horse, towards the gate, towards the corner, etc., and he's never been great off leg aids for turning. And he doesn't really neck rein. And the hackamore... well, it did pretty much nothing. So I was a passenger of his whims.
I still managed to enjoy myself at walk, jog, and trot, but cantering with no steering and questionable brakes, in a saddle I wasn't used to and that was far too large in the seat, did not go well. A few strides of me getting thrown around all over while he careening in some random direction. Or, on my last try, him suddenly accelerating because I couldn't rate his speed at all with the reins. I couldn't slow him, just stop him because the hackamore was all-or-nothing. And its "all" wasn't much.
He's always been tricky to canter well, but after my major canter fail on my last ride, too, I'm worried I'm going to develop a complex. However. Tonight I have a lesson scheduled on M, I think, so that will hopefully help me check back in with myself. Hopefully she's in good form tonight!
July 11
So, tonight began by being hilariously... magical?
Earlier today I thought to myself, maybe I should text my coach and confirm that we're still on for tonight. And then I thought, nahhhhhhhh, I wrote it on the whiteboard right in front of her and I'm sure everything's fine or she would have told me. I'll just go.
So as I pull into the driveway after my 40 minute drive, I see that M is already tacked up and being ridden in a lesson by her other regular student. So, I'm immediately somewhat irritated because I thought I had booked her specifically for this ride. (I don't usually care if I ride someone else, but it had been a long time and we had specifically discussed reserving her for me for that lesson.) I shrug it off and figure something must have changed, and walk into the barn and see that I had actually booked her for myself for TOMORROW night. Oh boy. Shoulda sent that text. Oh well, I get my gear on and figure I'll go grab Lina and just ride since I'm there anyhow.
I walk out of the barn and... am immediately handed M, fully tacked and warmed up ready to go. I WAS there on the wrong night, and the other woman had absolutely booked her lesson then... BUT at almost the exact time I pulled in, she was in the middle of deciding that her twisted ankle was too much and she was going to have to stop her lesson just 10 minutes in.
WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT???
Best mistake ever or WHAT?
We worked on half halts and flexion. Unfortunately my reaction time is NOT great. So when my coach said outside rein, I was still shortening my reins. When she said inside rein, I was still just engaging the outside rein. When she said to back off the inside rein and straighten, I was still just starting to apply the inside rein. Oh boy. I am not exactly renowned for coordination or reaction time, but we sort of stumbled through it. We did start to get some roundness and flexion but M, who was already irritated because she thought her trip back to the barn to meet me was the end of her night, was NOT happy. Given her preference, she'd rather go around with her nose poked out as far as possible and your hands holding her head up for her. So she didn't appreciate the insistence on giving and softening. But we started to get moments of it, so that was a good feeling.
My sitting trot was decent though not quite as consistent as I like, but I was able to sit and follow quite well. My canter, however, was VERY stiff. Not surprising given the semi-humiliating canter fails in my last two rides. I was more or less expecting it. But I got the job done.
Funniest moment of the night: me saying "After last night, it's so nice to ride a horse with a good canter ag--!" and M IMMEDIATELY had a huge stumble.
Most unintentionally impressive moment of the night: M was getting annoyed and trying different evasions, and when I asked for a right-lead working canter on a right circle at one point... I got super collected left lead canter with a true right bend. "You just got THE hardest type of canter to get!!" LOL, go me??
We talked about my stiffness. I wasn't able to sit the canter the nice way I had been in the winter, with loose hips and a following lower back. In fact, my lower back has been incredibly locked up lately, and seems to be getting worse every ride instead of better. So I brought up the fact that I hadn't actually done any no-stirrups work since April, and that I *had* been doing it almost every ride then, when my seat was so much deeper and better.
So this was the BEST part of the night. I crossed my stirrups in front of the pommel and did some sitting trot where M stretched down and lifted her back and we just CRUISED around the arena. She was super, super into it. I don't know what it is about my sitting trot when it clicks, but many of the horses I ride seem to love it and go into this awesome mode where they really click with me and seek contact and round themselves. Even when it was bad. Even when I felt like I was bouncing like crazy. I don't know what it is. Anyhow... I definitely was NOT bouncing like crazy. All the tension on my back and hips and thighs unlocked, and I think all that muscle memory from me practicing so much over the winter and spring just suddenly clicked right back on. IT. WAS. AWESOME. We moved up into working trot, and into medium trot, and I still stayed with it all and had no bounce and no balance problems. My coach was carefully watching me for tension and would call out whenever one or both of my lower legs started to tense or clench in any way, and I'd immediately stop the problem before it got worse.
After a few laps and serpentines of this, I went back to walk to cool out and the benefits were immediately obvious, as my back and hips were unconsciously moving and rolling to follow every step. And I felt SO GOOD.
So I know what's on the menu for me now: no stirrups trot work any time and every time I can fit it into a ride!!!
July 13
After the other night's breakthrough with my return to relaxed no-stirrups work, I was eager to get back out for a ride on M while I was still feeling that high and relaxation again.
This morning was quiet and beautiful, with a bit of cloud cover and a slight breeze, so much better weather for exertion. M was extremely relaxed, and stood completely still to be brushed and tacked -- except when I got at those mosquito bites on her neck with the soft curry glove I was using. Then she made happy faces and stretched her head and neck out and leaned into the scratches. I was happy to find my rubber curry glove again. I greatly prefer them to a standard curry comb. I think they do a much better job, and give the horse more of a massage. Plus having just the thin rubber between my hand and her skin means I can feel every bump and have a much better sense of whether a problem or change has popped up somewhere.
I started the ride just doing a bit of flexion left and right at the walk. I did it a lot more soft and relaxed than I did in the lesson, but also found she was much more willing today anyhow, so I didn't need to be as firm about it.
On the drive out there this morning, I had turned the seat heat on high in my car, even though it's pretty hot here and my AC isn't working. Why? Because it did seem to help to warm up and loosen up my lower back, which has been VERY very tight and tense lately. Whether or not this was the reason I couldn't say for sure, but my canter was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better today. I felt softer in my back and legs and could follow along. I had been riding like that for ages before the last month or so. I think that switching around to different horses kind of got me off my game, even though I think it's been extremely beneficial for other reasons.
We worked on lots of transitions within the trot, randomly changing between BIIIIIIIIIIIG trot and little itty bitty trot without breaking gait. She did wonderfully. We also did lots of transitions in and out of canter on a circle, with a flying change to change direction and work the other side. She broke from canter into trot a couple of times on me when I didn't ask for it. However, I had been trying to collect her a bit so in a way I did sort of ask for it -- just not for that! We'll get it figured out.
I wound up the ride with a nice loooooonnnng session of no-stirrups trot. My initial sitting trot wasn't quite the magical, smooth-as-butter experience that it was the other night, but still felt pretty great. I did have to keep her to a slower trot, and my balance was a little wonky right off, but we both settled into it. I also did a couple bigs laps each way, including a couple times crossing the diagonal, in no-stirrups rising trot. Definitely going to be feeling the burn later!!
So nice to have my lower back finally unclenching. I definitely need to keep up the relaxed no-stirrups work. When I was doing it every ride this past winter, I don't think I realized just how much it was contributing to the rest of my riding. Well, now I know!!
July 17
Today was a really nice, solo, relaxed ride. The sun was out but it wasn't too hot yet. No biting insects -- just the odd lazy fly hanging around. I put on bug spray as I tacked up, more out of habit than necessity. Elle stood very quietly, so relaxed her lower lip was dangling and she had floppy donkey ears. Once again, currying her neck got a big happy reaction as it scratched all her bug bites for her.
We had to go through some strands of temporary electric fencing to get out to the ring, and every time I stopped to undo a piece to get through, she took the opportunity to shamelessly snatch some bites of grass. More snatches of grass as I got things ready at the mounting block. She doesn't normally try for this, so I wasn't really on my game to stop her. It was sort of cute and funny as it was so out of character, really. And she just seemed so chill and happy that I was a bit indulgent about it, though I didn't let her grab and grass when it was time to DO something. Like, you know, actually get ON her. LOL.
I started by just walking her around with my feet out of the stirrups, swinging my legs a bit to loosen myself up. She perked up under saddle but was still a relaxed sort of "active" as we moved around. She seemed like she was just in a great mood the whole ride, which made me feel happy as well. I've been going early to ride lately, before work, and this was such a lovely start to my day. Life and work have been extremely stressful lately, so it was a much-needed cheer-up at the perfect time.
We moved from walk into a big rising trot on a fairly loose rein, letting her pick her pace and move without much interference from me. She was nice and forward and felt great. After warming up a bit this way we started on a lot of transitions. Rising trot, walk, sitting trot, walk, halt, back, etc., in a totally random order at random places. She was lighter in my hands today and also a bit better about doing downwards transitions from my thighs and seat. Still a long way from how responsive she was a few months ago, but again, she has more riders of different levels now so some loss of that kind of sensitivity isn't too surprising.
Canter was decent today. My seat wasn't as awesome as it was when I was riding 5 times a week, but it's still better than the jackhammering I was doing just over a week ago. Weirdly, I was better on the right lead and stiffer on the left lead. Normally I follow better to the left, so that was a change. Whatever. Bodies are weird. I'm just glad I'm getting softer with it again.
She was being so good and so pleasant that I did a bit of canter on a slightly longer rein. Hands low and wide and following softly. It was really nice. She gets so, so heavy in the bridle at times in the canter that I worry that I'm inadvertently relying on the pressure in the reins to keep my seat. Not what I want. So to be in the perfect kind of mood and relaxation to have a more relaxed contact was a very important opportunity on her. I'm happy to report that I kept my seat and balance juuuuust fine. I know myself well enough to know that I CAN do that, but due to bad experiences with horses taking off with me in the past, having a short and ready contact in the canter is like a security blanket for me a lot of the time. I still have a sensitive hand but I don't have a trusting hand, typically, so this was good mental as well as physical exercise.
I wound things up with even more no-stirrups work, again. Some rising trot for a lap or two both directions, then some sitting trot all over the place. I tried to do lots of little exercises to keep my brain distracted so my body had to relax. We did a tight four-loop serpentine that only went as far as centre line, a couple of times. Some loop-backs. Some changes across the half-diagonal. Etc. Once I felt nice and in sync with the motion we stayed on the rail, I loosened the reins a little and let her stretch while I concentrated on reeeeally opening my hips and lifting the front of my pelvic bone with my lower abs.
I got this absolutely wonderful sensation of my thighs hanging down in this extremely open way, like they were these huge weights that were holding me on and pulling me down either side of the horse, like they were so heavy and so secure that I couldn't possibly ever tip off. But not in a locked up way -- I was really moving with the motion. And M was moving into that openness, her trot getting bigger and more forward and I actually had to get a little LESS open a few times to slow her down. It was a really awesome feeling, one of the best I've felt in any sitting trot. Relaxed but strong. Really grooving along together. Love those times in riding where something really clicks and you can be fully present and revel in the moment.
Who would have known even a year ago that sitting trot with no stirrups would become one of my favourite and most transcendental parts of my riding???
July 27
I haven't ridden since last Thursday. When I did, I dragged my partner out and had him shoot some video for me. I hadn't seen much video of myself, except for the odd short clip, in about a year, so it was nice to see some really comprehensive video of my lesson.
What I liked:
-Lower leg is steady and strong, with the right amount of give and motion, and my toes are at good angle. Turned out a natural amount but definitely not duck feet. Given that I used to ride off the back of my leg with toes out almost completely sideways, things have definitely improved!!
-Geez I've gained muscle! Before I started riding again three years ago, I had gone through major stress from a move and starting a new business, and in that process I lost a ton of fitness and gained about 20 lbs, a lot of which was just belly and hip flab. While the number on the scale hasn't actually changed, my shape certainly has. I have way less paunch and I'm thicker in the major muscle groups. I didn't even know it was happening! Although the gaping waistband on my jeans today should be a clue.
-My back and core are visibly stronger. While I'd like to be following the motion even better than I am currently, it's obvious that I've gained a lot more strength in these areas and, while the motion could be more fluid, I'm definitely capable of holding and carrying myself instead of being smacked on the butt by the saddle while I thump around in trot and especially canter.
-My heels are naturally deep, but maybe even..... tooooo deep? I'm in a dressage saddle now but I've got some hunterish heels happening. I don't feel like I'm bracing into my stirrups. They don't feel too short. And my ankle flexion is really good with the motion dropping down the back of my leg when I rise in trot, drop in canter, etc. So... maybe that's just what works for me? I do have BIG feet so maybe the angle looks more dramatic because of that.
-For the most part I look pretty straight and symmetrical, aside from a few things I'll mention below.
What I didn't like:
-Ugh, my hands are bobbing a LOT more than I would like. I worked on it for a while and it got better, but I've been less attentive about it lately because I took it for granted that they were better now. Sigh. Back to working on that now, I guess.
-I still have a tendency to tip forward in my transitions, at times. Depends how distracted and/or tense I am at a given time. Again, the old hunter brain is kicking in, I think, and it's like I want to get into a forward seat whenever it's "action" time. Not so useful when the "action" is a seated collected canter.
-My left elbow likes to show off. It's like "Hey, look at me! Here I am! I'm an elbow!!!" My right elbow prefers subtlety and stays nice and close to my side.
-My shoulders are *pretty* good, and not rounding forward, but I could really stand to lift my chest more and that would improve my upper body carriage in several ways.
-At times I'm dropping my left hip more than my right hip when I should be straight and level. By way of some kind of diagonal compensation, my right shoulder wants to push out to the right. This is not ideal. It's not DRAMATIC, but I should be balancing, not counterbalancing with my upper body as ballast.
So, for tonight's lesson, I'm going to try to remember tooooo...
-Lower, steadier hands!
-Flex my left elbow BACK, not out
-Try to notice if I'm bearing down on my left hip and pushing my right shoulder out to compensate. Try to do a bit of the opposite to correct it and then find centre.
-LIFT MY CHEST!
-And sit up straight and further back during transitions.
Because THAT'S all totally doable in ONE ride. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
July 28
Wow, that was a WEIRD lesson, but a productive one.
We did all walk trot and worked on getting flexion from M and getting her in front of my leg. Her chiropractor has prescribed flexion and softening to deal with muscle stiffness in her neck, so like it or not it's for her own good. She's in absolutely wonderful physical shape right now and has made steady improvements over the eight months or so. Even though she's now approaching senior status she's practically aging in reverse!
However, she has a tendency to lock her neck up and brace against the bit and will fight her rider rather than give. Hence the "physio". So, last night's lesson was a schooling one...
Lots of half halts, flexion of her neck and poll, anything to get her to soften even a little. The more I asked, the more she would lock up and refuse to move forward. She's often ridden in mild spurs by her regular, advanced riders, but I hadn't had a pair of spurs on since I was 13. Well! My coach popped some on me to see if that would help keep her impulsion up, if necessary, while we worked on her front end... but I was so nervous about accidentally poking her that I kept my leg too much off of her. So, opposite of the desired effect...
My coach hopped on for a few minutes instead and had her flexing and moving forward almost immediately. That's why she's the one in charge, haha. She did say it was NOT easy, though, and M looked pretty unimpressed even though she actually did everything she was asking. She did settle into it after a few minutes. When I hopped back on I tried some side to side flexion of her neck and poll at a standstill and she gave quite easily. After that the ride was MUCH more productive.
It's hard to develop feel for something you've never had to do before, but I started to get the hang of timing things to ask for flexion on the sit of the trot, while also using my inside leg and seatbone to encourage her to bend and fill out the outside rein. I'm not sure which one of us actually worked harder.
However, the feeling when it all clicked was very rewarding. She was very forward and felt powerful without feeling at all like she was running off. Every part of my body felt engaged and so did hers. Looking forward to this process feeling better and easier as we both improve at it!! I expect I'm going to feel quite sore very soon...
