Yesterday I had another lesson with C. We didnt tackle any new movements, but we did push the boundaries on ones we have been working on. I have more media I am working on uploading, so will hopefully be able to add all of it, but for now only have a handful of videos.
I was a bit nervous at first because it was my first real ride back since the fall. It was also the first day Tillie did not get bute, so I was eager to see how she felt (her leg looks totally fine!). You can hear me when the lesson starts asking C how she looks to reassure she looked as good as it felt.
Some bullet points that stick out to me from the start of lesson:
Bigger trot needs to happen more...I tend to want to ride her trot a bit too slow
Leg yields need to be straight and off the outside rein half halt, not the inside rein
Dont let the reins bounce, be sure to hold them, have more weight/shorten the reins. Use the right side to soften her but then be quiet.
Dont nag her with any aids
Dont let her fall in or push into the right side when tracking right
The whip, put thumb on top and point it at her ears
BEND my elbows...shorter reins, longer arms
Next we talked a bit about the walk and leg aids...mostly keeping the leg relaxed and if you squeeze too much it changes the way my seat moves (not for the better):
Sitting trot portion and leg yielding:
Tighter stomach in sitting trot, chin up
My arms look weird lol Ill have to play with this
Be quicker in my aids in the lag yields to get away from the wall faster
Ride straight after the leg yield
Dont be afraid to make it ugly...have a conversation to be able to correct it
I am still figuring out how to use my upper leg and thigh more without contorting my body in these movements. Especially when we leg yield off the left leg to the right, she needs more right leg to keep her straighter...but boy is it hard for me.
Im sure it will come with time, and will make shoulder in and shoulder fore easier too.
We rode through 1st level test 3 but it was taken on a different phone, so Ill be sure to share it once I get it!
As you all know, Tillie and I are competing a ton this year and doing alllll the events. After the last 2 years of being sidelined, I made it my goal this year to do all the things (obviously gauging Tillie and how she is doing). With all the events we have been doing, I have entered in a new world of learning...
The difference in test riding versus schooling and also the effect shows have on your horse.
Got our ribbon from Plantation HT!!
Test riding you basically have to get it done and right in that moment. There is no oh wait, lets circle and get a better trot before I ask for canter...there is only ok well this is the trot I have and we have to canter now. It also means sometimes helping your horse out when you normally wouldnt at home in a training ride to quite literally squeak by on a movement.
How not to squeak in a movement
I had a dressage lesson with C yesterday...thank god!! and was telling her how I feel like our flat work has regressed lately and I am a bit frustrated by it. Our canter work is improving, but it seems like our walk and trot work has slipped back to some of her antics and generally just not feeling as consistent there.
C laughed and said not to worry!! What I was feeling is basically a result from all the showing and that "get it done" riding that happens there can sometimes mean training may take a few hits. Basically we are trying to teach our horse to do more self carriage and schooling at home doing all different levels, even harder, but we get in the dressage ring and we may have to help our horse out more or do some things we otherwise wouldnt do at home.
Makes sense...and my next questions was, well should I back off the shows then?
Going all the places
C said no...based on what she was seeing in our lesson it was nothing to stress or worry about. She actually felt the more we show, the more it will help us A) work through show day stresses and B) Get better at improvising in test riding for more correct and accurate riding - basically start trying to ride more correctly at shows and stop helping the damn horse.
Which she laughed and said Tillie is telling you she doesnt need it! I am still riding her like a green horse when she no longer is.
Yea mom, I got this!
So we started out warming up just showing her some of the inconsistencies I was feeling...surprise surprise (NOT) they are due to me over riding her and riding her like a baby when she doesnt need all that. Leg asks for the bend, my hands need to be suppling and that is IT - no more using my reins as much for bend. I need to keep my hands lower and closer together. No more high/wide hands which also makes her look way more downhill.
C then said she wants us to try to break through the cycle of me helping her soooo much and we did that by doing transitions within the gaits in the walk and trot. C was super excited with how large her trot extensions got and said they were definitely the best shes seen in her shoulder to date!
Not current, but yay lengthenings!
We also did the same in canter, really focusing on my seat and finding a happy medium (I either lean too far back or perch and sit too forward on my pelvis). C had me think about my knees coming on and off and using my seat more over my hands to control the tempo.
We also established a stronger outside rein half halt to help back Tillie off when she starts to bogg down and get too low/heavy but then following her when she does soften. KEY: Bend the elbows!
What happens when im too straight in my arms...stiff!!!
C then said she wanted us practicing more sitting trot and that would be the key to helping Tillie get more up hill since it would force me to work on my seat and opening my hip angle properly. So that we did and her canter transitions from sitting trot were on point (when I go with her that is and not get left behind!).
Again in canter, she wants me to think still in my hands and keep them low and together with BENT elbows.
By the end of the lesson it was soooo much better...and exactly the ride I needed to feel like our dressage is getting back on track.
Lately our state has decided it wants to be Alaska because Saturday and Sunday (Valentine's Day) the temperatures dropped to below 20...Sunday, my truck said it was 12 degrees as I loaded up to go for a dressage lesson. Because what else can you do when all your lesson cancelled / the show is cancelled and cant ride on the rock hard footing?
I was also really excited to haul with my new truck for the first time.
Oh so excited!
Backing up to hitch up was easy peasy with the back up camera and now I am officially spoiled (I am sorry...I dont mean to brag!!! I have been driving beater cars my whole adult life - this is my first all out new with all the gadgets!!!)
I was really bummed the dressage show got cancelled...but decided to sneak in one with C to feel a littler better...
I chose to get there early again to give us some time to walk around to warm up since it worked so well the day before. Tillie was a bit more up here...the indoor is MUCH larger and the light was so strong coming in the windows from the snow reflecting it would blind Tillie and then cause her to be a bit jumpy. She finally figured out how to close her eyes going through those patches and settled in ok.
She kept being really rude about any contact with the bit and would root or dive her head down...even in really small short bursts. I worked on addressing that so by the time C said she was ready it wasnt as much of an issue.
Here is our warm up trot:
She started off really stuck and pulled a few whip nae naes when I started asking for bend with some leg. C had us do things realllllly gradually and try to get her warmed up with both inside bending and counter bending before asking for more trot...rather let her offer the bigger trot when she felt warm enough.
She lost a left hind shoe at the end of the week so I was a bit worried if she was being inconsistent from being sore on that....
Here is our warm up trot tracking left:
She still felt way too light and not confirmed in the contact so C had me start having more of an outside rein conversation and think almost mini leg yield into it so we would spiral out gradually to a large circle, then smaller into a smaller circle and back out.
Then C wanted to use some changing rein exercises to help soften her more and partially through this is when I had a nicer contact and could start manipulating how high or low I wanted her rather then her dictating that herself:
Youll notice pretty early in this video, C instructs me to gently add leg as I set to push her away and encourage lifting her back. Keyword being gently to which Tillie thought my gentle was not gentle enough.
After a few turns, we started having more conversation about softening.
See we can soften despite the cold
We did some leg yielding each way and leg yielding from right to left was really nice and easy. Seeing it in the mirror was really cool and exciting. The left to right she was having a harder time staying straight, but C had us take a walk break and promised we'd get back to it later in the lesson...she had other plans for us - AKA sitting trot AKA the human blender.
A still of stilling trot...not as bad as it felt
First sitting it was just all over the place. I really did feel like I was in a blender and might bounce right out of the tack. The key is to still have a good working trot from Tillie, but sit it without asking for her to slow down too much. Her trot got really elastic here and watching this footage makes me really excited.
So C wanted me to ask for canter from the sitting trot...and my muscle memory was really making it hard for me. You can hear her scold me a few times because when I started thinking about other things I accidentally post...hehe "weenie" moves she said.
I cherish these photos of my smiling while riding...this used to be so rare, and now I have found the happy place again!
Unfortunately my phone died before we really got to improving :( but it was really cool how sitting the trot and canter sort of help one another improve. This first right lead canter was the first canter of the lesson and it already felt way more solid and balanced then usual with using sitting trot.
After this round, we changed direction and I was able to start relaxing a bit more. C noted my sitting trot was MUCH better this direction and I wasnt gripping as much...my knees were open and leg was much longer. Left lead canter was just as nice which was a huge shock considering how unbalanced and weak it has been.
So we walked after this a bit to mostly let me catch my breath and stretch out my hip flexors which were on fire. Who knew sitting trot was soooo much work?!
Miss fancy pants
When we picked up sitting trot again, I immediately felt better about it was was able to rock back and engage my core without tensing my upper body or gripping as much with my legs. It took a reminder to breath here and there, but it felt better even with Tillie working in the forward trot she needed to be in.
From here we did more leg yielding this time coming down the center line, leg yielding staying straighter and asking for canter through the turn. It produced a really nice canter! Tillie did this very well leg yielding right to left into right lead canter.
We had to practice a few more leg yields left to right, but sitting trot allowed my to close my thigh more to keep her straighter. I notice I tend to tighten my left side this way which is part of the issue in her over bending and leading with the shoulder...I simply am not riding the right side enough and letting go enough with the left side.
All in all Tillie tried really hard and C was impressed with her work ethic and by the fact she stayed as calm as she did despite the cold and a loose horse.
The remote start for the truck was really nice to have warm and ready by the time we were done...and I topped off the Valentine's day with lunch with the barn girls and then dinner with the hubby.
