A sitting trot to make your heart swell

Well, horses being horses, the plans for a longe lesson got cancelled due to horse injuries. So I was back on Radar. I was a bit worried as soon as I got on because my back was really tight and achy. Posting the trot didn't really feel all that good, so I basically went straight into a large circle at the sitting trot. My sitting trot was actually really good, I was able to relax my hips and sit really well. Mia had me working on different ways of opening up my right hip, eventually telling me to visualize my crotch opening up and facing right (a little graphic, but I'll take whatever works!) and that helped to much... I finally was straight! I was able to sustain this on both the circle and going around the entire arena. We tried a few baby leg yields in this position and my right leg (of course, the leg with the problems!) isn't quite strong enough to effect my pony--thankfully I have spurs now--but I will work on that.

As I was untacking, Mia said my sitting trot was enough to make her heart swell -- aww! Occasional validation is always nice, especially for those of us who don't show so don't have the ribbons for "proof" that what we're doing is exciting and important for anyone other than ourselves.

Mixing it up a bit

Today at Xenophon I rode Bandit before all of the students came, it was the first time I had ridden him in about a month (when I was riding Echo instead). Bandit is basically the antithesis of what I've been working on in my dressage lessons: slow, doesn't particularly like contact, basically a western pleasure-type horse. And for what therapeutic riding is, he's excellent. So part of riding him, for me, is working on letting go of my dressage ideals and going with how he wants to be ridden. And once I get past that, his little jog and lope are so cute and comfortable I could definitely get used to them! Tomorrow I have a longe lesson, my first in about two years... should make for an interesting day!

Counterbend, leg-yielding and the canter

So I'm capable of executing fairly decent counter-bends and leg yields at the trot, especially on Radar who likes to hang his head left and drift right. I understand the concept of essentially bending him to enable straightness. After doing some really good sitting trot work (well, once got my right hip and thigh released) I tried some of the same ideas at the canter. Weirdly enough, tracking right was actually slightly easier, I worked on trying to release my hips while still bending him, etc. It was harder tracking left since I needed to keep the slight counter bend to get him straight while still paying attention to my seat... so much to think about! But a great ride overall.

Sitting trot success, now on to the canter...

Had an "extra" lesson today- I'm going to try to lesson twice a week for the next few weeks, since I have no idea how I'm going to be able to ride after I graduate and (hopefully) get a real job. I rode Radar, who was his usual wonderful self. Worked on getting him bending by doing nose-to-the-rail bends down the quarter lines turning into true bend through the short ends. That was very successful so we went into the sitting trot, wow! It has improved so, so much over the past few months! My hips have gotten so much looser in the trot that I can really let myself follow the horse's bounce and still be able to influence the horse. Unfortunately, I also learned that my hip looseness hasn't quite helped me at the canter! I literally completely tighten up my hips in the transition, which definitely doesn't help Radar's so-so canter in the first place. Mia said I need to work on thinking about rounding my back a bit more in the canter (not ideal, but just for now) because that slightly releases the hip angle. That did work, and our last canter was better.

Envy! Maybe not?

I think almost all of us wish something were different about our riding life sometimes. Of course I wish I had access to expensive, high-quality schoolmasters and shows. Perhaps someday I will, but I do have to realize every so often that I am learning and growing immensely as a rider - perhaps more than I would grow in a different riding environment. I like having the horsemanship knowledge and background that makes me confident and knowledgeable, and am continuously amazed when people who are exposed to echelons of the horse world that I will never reach don't know things such as identifying horse breeds that I spent my entire childhood reading and re-reading about. It's just nice to get a bit of perspective every so often. It was ridiculously hot yesterday, so I just walked Echo around a bit before lessons. He was good, as usual, I love older, well-behaved Arabs!

The Little Things

It's amazing how the little things can drastically change your ride and your horse's performance. I was having a perfectly fine lesson today, I was getting the job done... but I was crooked. Actually, more like torqued oddly to the left. So, for the rest of my lesson I worked on moving my left hip forward and upward... and it was amazing what this little change did! Suddenly, bending and flexing to the right became so much easier, we could leg yield both directions with minimal effort, and were generally working very well together. Have I said I love this pony?

Aren't horses amazing?

We all know that horses are wonderful animals, but every so often something happens that makes me think about it. I volunteer at a therapeutic riding center, where children with a multitude of disabilities receive therapeutic riding and hippotherapy. This year I started leading a young girl who is nonverbal, and was very afraid to get on the first lesson... once she was on, however, she didn't want to get off! I love doing her lessons because she's so happy to be there and conveys that happiness even without being able to tell us. Another girl I lead has an ASD and becomes easily overwhelmed and confused by directions and stimulation, but the mare she rides seems to sense this and compensates for her. These horses and ponies are simply incredible in their patience, their calmness, and their ability to sense what their rider is capable of and adapt to it.

I think as a rider, and especially as a dressage rider, I've become attuned to every little part of my body and my position that needs to be better, or that will never be as good as I want it to be. I guess it is good to step back every so often and realize how fortunate I am to be able to ride and to have had access to horses in my life.

Now THIS is why I ride...

So I'm tired, slightly blistered and very dusty, but so happy with my ride today! I didn't get a lesson last week so I was a little worried about how I would feel, but everything is coming together so nicely that I had a wonderful ride! We were forward, bending (well, as much as a very stiff draft pony ever bends...), and connected. Towards the end of the ride, even our canter came together well - I'm finally at the point where I'm both comfortable and effective at the faster gait. Had a good collected sitting trot into the canter, too. Can I say it enough that I love riding this pony?

Had a talk with my instructor about figuring out how to get an extra lesson or ride in for the next few months... it's hard figuring out what horses I can ride and how I can afford it - but I hope I can make it work for the next few months, since I have no idea what I'll be able to do horse-wise once I finish grad school and start working.

Knowing versus doing...

Dressage is cerebral, I think that is part of what I love about it. But, alas, you also have to be able to do what you're thinking about. For a good year or so, I understood the theoretical aspects of what I wanted: inside leg to outside rein isn't that much of a stretch, is it? But my body just would. not. cooperate with that idea. No matter how well I conceptualized what I wanted to happen, I couldn't get it to translate to my riding.

Over the past year, as my instructor has pointed out to me, I finally started to get the concept of feel. I can actually sense what I'm doing and am beginning to make the changes necessary for my pony to go so much better. It's just so nice to finally be able to think about doing something, do it, and get the desired result! Hopefully more breakthroughs are eminent...

Why Write? Why Blog?

Actually these two sentiments are fairly intertwined, and things I ask myself (repeatedly!) when things aren’t going so well on either front. The simple answer, of course, is that it makes me happy and fulfills me in some way. This blog is perhaps mostly for myself, for me to chronicle my journey as I learn, struggle, and enjoy the horses I am so lucky to have in my life.

And who, exactly, am I? Grad student (almost done!), hopeless academic, theater-loving city girl who fell in love with horses at summer camp and never looked back, life-time lesson student who has yet to own a horse of her own, dressage aficionado, a rider who sometimes struggles to ride with a neurological impairment, and ultimately a (shameless) wanna-be competitive rider…. someday in the future. When I have time. And money. And talent.

I have ridden both school horses and privately-owned horses over the years, and the horse I currently ride is a privately-owned Fjord pony. We struggle with the same things many amateur dressage riders face: impulsion, straightness, forwardness (how many times do I hear “more forward!” each lesson? Quite a few!), and believing in ourselves. Recently we have become more “connected” with each other–well, that mostly amounts to me actually having a clue what my body is telling the poor pony to do!–and have begun to work on collection and rhythm.

No new horse blog would be complete without shameless pony pictures. Here is my poor, long-suffering pony dressed up as a hot dog last Halloween… posted because the expression of utter indifference is so hilarious:

So, more dressage blogging is to come soon!