This is a bit of an overdue post but if you read my last post you'll notice the theme of "lacking motivation" sort of carrying through...
This post will cover my last productive ride on my horse before her feet became too terrible and her feet too sore to expect a good effort. I did attempt a dressage lesson a few days after in the hopes that amazing footing would make it feasible but she was still quite unhappy, SO...shes been having some days off with some therapy on her feet to help her out :)
packing those feetsies
I am super happy with this new farrier and confident shell be back at it in a few days. She was already wayyyy better immediately following her trim yesterday just slightly tender on her left front which required more foot to be taken off than ideal with how shelly her foot was.
Anyway, before that started, I have been really focused on building my position over fences so its stronger and where it needs to be so Tillie can jump the best she can.
I convinced a good friend of mine to set up the infamous one stride grid for us which is not only beneficial for me, but Tillie too.
My form on the front side of the fence isnt bad!!
Grabbing mane on this one - hence the tenser shoulder
It was supremely beneficial for me and it was nice to have someone there to talk me through new ways to manipulate my body. I know I tend to grip with my thighs and I also realized I hunch terribly on the landing side:
like so
So off to work we went!! There were some break throughs, a lot of noise making on my part and Tillie was feeling quite good about herself through this whole thing.
What do you find helps you with your bad habits over fences? Do you do anything you want to fix?
Its been a few days since this at-home jump school so I am hoping I don't miss anything...I also realized too that its been quite a while since schooling at home on my own outside of a lesson or a show. What is interesting about that, is obviously things are a bit different...you dont have to get it done like you do at a show and you dont have someone coaching you when in a lesson.
One of the better moments/fences with nicer position
So definitely more room for error, but also more room to experiment. Which I am trying to do in the hopes of refining my position over fences.
In addition to this, I am also going to be trying to take lessons on other horses in the hopes I can shake things up and see if that helps at all as well. I am pretty fortunate Tillie is pretty game and tolerant of this stuff. She has her moments, dont get me wrong where she tells me I messed up, but she really seems to be ok even when I royally mess up...she doesnt miss a beat and she comes right back around to the jump all business and confident. I am extremely grateful for that since I know some other horses are trickier rides in instances like that and would back off or lose confidence.
Definitely not lacking and confidence here!
I jacked up my stirrups one more hole to the top hole per Dom's suggestion. I was a bit worried at first that they would be too short/uncomfortable, but after the initial getting used to it, I didnt really notice.
I notice that when I get too forward with my upper body before take off, my lower leg does come back, but for the most part I think that has gotten better. My main issue remains being too grippy with my knee and thigh once Tillie's hind feet leave the ground. So I need to do some serious homework in hunter land and channel equitation-like form.
Trying to fold more so I can release more...but not lay on Tillies neck either
The gripping is something I also do when cantering in dressage, so I have been working hard with C on that as well. Unfortunately the last few lessons I havent been able to convince anyone to come to be able to video...which bums me out because C lessons ALWAYS end up being so packed with knowledge I know I miss that I like re-watching. Its almost like getting my lesson all over again. I also am positive there would be noticeable change in Tillie and I really would love to be able to see it and see what it looks like compared to what I am feeling.
Anyway, thats an entirely different post ;)
Dressage makes Tillie sleepy...arent her big ears just the cutest?!
So here are the videos of us jumping...some misses, but overall I think pretty good! Any misses were totally rider error on my part and I am super please with how well Tillie is jumping. I also am excited shes getting better about getting that left lead!! Not 100% yet but definitely improving now that Dom helped us with straightness.
To wrap it all up, Tillie has been getting massages from my sponsor, Ashley Lynn Moorhouse Equine Services and I couldnt be happier with how Tillie feels. Its a clear difference and our recent dressage lesson the day after was by far the loosest in Tillie's back ever...to the point sitting trot on my part was back to being laughable.
She got one Monday after our derby and she was definitely sore...but Wednesday she was much improved!
