Slow it Down

I went to check out a new dog park with Veggie.
This one has a really cool view of the St. Paul skyline.

I've had a great weekend for rides mainly because I feel like Katai and I are really figuring out what we need to do at the canter.

Friday my amazing new farrier was there so I worked from home but only got to the barn just as he was getting done. I was able to pay him, important :-), and then spent some time with her in her pen sort of doing some free lunging but mainly just pushing her away when she got a crabby expression.

Not sure if that stuck or if she just has been thinking about things on her days off but Katai was doing her very best slow, relaxed canter on Saturday and was really working to figure out what I was asking. It was so amazing and, honesty, out of character for her that after one canter in each direction I did a bit of trot and then ended.

Using my Apple Watch to take this picture.
I just wish I could use it to start video!

Today I planned to do some lateral work after the canter to really mix things up. To start I did a bit more trot and then cued for the canter to the right. She did so great! The previous day I had gone right from one direction to the next via some trot across the diagonal but today I took her down to a walk to let her catch her breath and give her a bit of a break.

When I asked for the trot again to the left she was having none of it. I was excited though because I found a hole. As long as I keep trotting she didn't resist but when I walk after canter she thinks she's done. Now that I know I can work on it! However, after a bit of resistance I got her into a trot, got a good trot, and then with just a slight leap forward she went right into canter when I cued.

Monthly tack cleaning time.
This time the movie was Love Actually :)

Because of some of the remaining tension she was more resistant going that way but we still had some REALLY good moments which was really encouraging. I got her back to trot after a bit of work and then kept the trot for awhile on some large 20 meter circles and finally did some lateral work. She was so good the first time I asked for a leg yield off the centerline that I called it right there and she got to be done.

You mean not everyone sets their saddle on their bed
while they're getting ready to clean it?
Also, Where's Veggie ;)

I feel like recently my biggest takeaway is that with my incredibly intelligent mare I just need to mix things up every ride. I just can't do the same thing, the same way more than once in a row or she'll figure it out and then be resistant. Of course we're going to work on getting her to understand that sometimes she just needs to do these things but for now variety will be really important. It is totally on me that I was doing a very similar ride format for months and months and now that I'm asking for something different it makes perfect sense that she thinks I'm nuts. I'm just really proud that she's figuring things out as quickly as she is!

Generous: Lesson Recap 9/5

Gotta make sure that the other horses haven't forgotten about their princess

So if you're confused about why I'm writing a lesson recap post about a lesson on Labor Day when its a holiday and I mentioned that I'm taking lessons on Tuesdays I was pretty surprised as well. People who knew Jane mentioned that she likes to give feedback when you're riding and that the extra advice is nice but that's pretty common. I'm used to instructors stopping by if I'm riding and giving some suggestions and moving on. I figured this would be the same.

However, today while I was grooming Katai Jane showed up and I was incredibly impressed when she came to me, told me that she'd been thinking about some of the things I'd mentioned about Katai and she had a couple of ideas. First, the fact that she trusted my opinion about my horse and didn't just think "oh this girl doesn't know anything about dressage, I'll just see what they actually need to work on in our lesson" meant a lot. The fact that she'd been spending time making a plan and then talked it through with me meant even more.

We chatted about both Katai's reluctance to give to aids and not just be extremely resistant and then about her weight. I think that Jane thought that I would be offended that she thinks that Katai is heavier than she should be but I was just very thankful and happy that she sees it as well. She wants Katai to lose 50 pounds or so and I'm completely on the same page. We agreed that it's both diet and exercise so I've got an additional reason to be motivated to ride/work her at least 5 days per week.

Then she followed me to the arena. I figured she'd stick around for a few minutes and then go back to doing barn chores but instead she sat down on the mounting block and proceeded to give me a 30-45 minute lesson. It was so amazing that I actually lost track of the time.

Oh, and Jane really likes the new saddle! Both how it fits Katai and where it puts me
Ignore the saddle pad, I'd put it back too far, it's not the saddle's fault

We're going back to basics for both me and Katai and I'm really, really happy and impressed with how Jane was systematically adjusting and fixing things that I had no idea I was doing wrong. I had a few big light bulb moments when she explained thing including how to actually, properly do a downward transition. It's not that L hadn't, she just explained it the way that you would to someone who already understands the concept but the last time I had an instructor actually teach me how to do a downward transition, back when I first started riding, the explanation was to basically pull on the reins.

My favorite thing that we worked on, besides just identifying a few more things that I'm doing incorrectly with my body, were walk/trot transitions. They've been ugly so I've been avoiding them and just had absolutely no idea how to "fix" them. Jane gave us a good start today!

Basically she wants me to slow everything down, no more pushing Kati forward, just ask her to be in the gait that I'm looking for and then let her figure out her rhythm and speed. We also worked on having leg contact and having Katai just accept it. She told me to feel like that, as well as the contact on the reins is a nice hug. If Katai pulls against my hands I shouldn't let her but as soon as she's soft again I should go back to the hug. It was a good description and meant a lot to have her really get me and Katai and figure out where we struggle with our partnership and to start working on that right away.

I thanked her profusely after and asked if she still wanted to have a lesson tomorrow and she sort of laughed and said of course! She said that all of her students get lots of extra lessons. Still, I couldn't believe that she took all of that extra time, on a holiday to sit and help me. I'm so happy to be here! I'll recap my lesson tomorrow as well although I suspect it will be similar.