DefinitelyDressage.com

Hi guys,

I was not going to post this, but have changed my mind after reading capstone's 'more punch' thread because I think what this video shows may be relevant to that discussion. Bliss and I have been plugging along - we're also working on more punch among other things. I've started taking lessons from a mostly western coach who has a fabulous eye and she has been doing wonders. She's a stickler for the basics and I feel that with her input, we've corrected a few things that have been issues from the beginning which has put us that much further ahead. I've been riding 4 to 5 times a week. Since I don't have an indoor and have no lights in my outdoor, this means riding in the dark with a headlamp, which is actually working fine.

We've been working a lot on the basics and since things have been going well have also started playing with some baby laterals (SI, Tr, HP). The day this video was from was SUPER windy and about 5 degrees C. Bliss was forward and felt great for the most part although there was some silliness that has been edited out. I think the last video I posted of us schooling at home was from June, so I'm interested to hear what you guys think. C&C welcome!

Here's the video from this weekend:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdoKJxJV9Kk

And from June:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KizTzNhlrw

Wow! Bliss seems a lot more powerful in this newer video. I need to watch the older one to compare properly. Glad you are finding good inspiration and support. Bliss and you are very talented!

What a lovely open canter!

Well done! I know how hard it is to ride without mirrors, but it will make you much more aware of feel, so in the long run it's ok. Just be aware that you sometimes are being pushed a little too much onto the outside seat bone, especially in smaller turns and lateral work. It's fine to weight your outside seatbone when you need to, but never at the expense of losing the inside seatbone. It's subtle but vital as you enter the stage with him where you need to be able to influence each hind leg with a seatbone. I would spend the walking part of the warm up just focusing on the feel in each seatbone. If you are obsessive, you can isolate one seatbone, then identify when it is being pushed forward and falling back. Then the other seatbone.

Prepare for the walk canter transitions with a few walk/trot transitions to engage him. Use the energy from those transitions. I believe this will help him lower his haunches and make him quicker behind so he doesn't have to lift his head so much and lurch into the transition. It's hard to engage the walk on its own right now to predictably nail the transition, but it will come with strength and timing. You are doing a very nice job.

You are doing a beautiful job with Bliss, Rosie. I love how much more open and jumping his canter is now. keep working on keeping your hips swinging with the canter, imagine you have a seat belt pushing back against your abdomen so that you have to swing your hips and pelvis instead of pumping your shoulders. The stronger he gets, the easier it will be for you. I agree with Kathy, he's throwing you to the outside when you try to do smaller circles or turns, but I love how you stay upright. So many of us tend to compensate by leaning in as though riding a motorcycle.

Thank you so much for sharing your video. I just love how you and he work together.

I agree, you are doing so nicely. Look great

Thanks guys. Kathy - good catch. I never noticed that before but I could feel it today. I think it's because I lose the deep connection with my seat bones and then I get tossed around a bit. I focused today on keeping my seat bones plugged in and we had moments of the Best Canter Ever. I also mixed up the walk/canter/walk transitions with some W/T/W and that *really* helped the canter transitions. I did an exercise where I did a couple W/T/W transitions on a 10m circle, then as I was approaching the rail asked for canter in a SF position, went down the rail a ways, then did a 10m canter circle, transition to walk, do the W/T/W transitions on the same circle, then canter SF, rinse repeat. Also I felt a huge different in the leg yields with my seat bones plugged in.

Thanks again!

Well..I am going to be a little counter from everyone else re: the canter. In the most recent video, you look like you are rigid in your arms and upper body and are blocking him and he still wants to curl. It may be less than June but he just isn't strong enough yet to maintain a more compressed frame. The canter is like the walk in that the neck must be allowed to telescope...more so in the young horse because of lack of strength. You can also see he is not yet balanced in the smaller circles which may have to do with what Kathy said about weighting the outside seatbone too much.
I would work on allowing him to use his balancing rod (neck) more naturally.

That said, his trot looks pretty dreamy.

Nice work. So good you are getting to ride consistently. Things will come around in no time with that schedule.

Susan

Kyra's Mom - thank-you for that. You were 100% right in that I was blocking him in the canter and trying to compress him too much. Your comments made me realize that he NEEDS to use his neck in canter to balance himself. So over the past three weeks I've been focusing on being softer and letting him use himself the way he needs to. Within a week of doing this, I started to have moments of what I've been calling the Best Canter Ever, where he felt soft, straight, connected, and balanced. Over the past few weeks, the duration and frequency of the moments of BCE have been increasing, and yesterday we had the BCE for most of my ride. AND I got video evidence!!

https://youtu.be/r-4BnRtXvg0

I notice I'm still off to the outside at times, but I'm working away at that.

Yes...much softer (as in relaxed looking) in the canter and more uphill. I like the walk to canter departs. Really gets them using the tush more.

Thanks for the update.

Susan