Arizen Lessons 10/29/09

It has been a while since my last lesson with my dressage trainer.  Arizen was finally weaned of the baby, and I’ve been working with my old trainer on behavioral issues to get my horse back into working mode.

When I brought her in a couple of days after being weaned, I attempted it on my own without a trainer to help me.  Her hormones were flying from having just been taken away from her baby, and her natural flight instincts were on red alert as I had just taken her away from the herd with which she had spent the last 6 months.  As you can imagine, it did not go well.  She screamed, reared, and just did not listen overall.  I kept her in her stall for about 5 minutes until she was reasonably settled and brought her straight back to her friends.  I decided I did not want to handle this on my own, so I set up a lesson with my old trainer who bred and raised Arizen.

Of course, the next day when I bring her in for our first lesson she is considerably improved.  No screaming, no rearing, just a little fright in her eyes.  Still, I was glad to have supervision in case she lost control.  Unexpectedly, my trainer decided she was doing so well that we would tack her up and have a riding lesson.  So I brought her in the arena for the first time in 6 months.

My trainer said that we needed to get her out of flight mode so that by the time I move her next year, she is calm and controlled.  Immediately when I got on, we worked on bending her neck at the halt from one side to the other until she calmly gives her head to my hand in both directions.  We did this for about 20 minutes until she would give to the rein without chomping on the bit or resisting in between directions.  At this point, there were two things we were looking for:  we wanted her to either look at me with her eye once she gave to the bit pressure OR wait until she sighed.  Then, I would immediately get off.

My homework was to do this before and after every ride.  Each time I practiced, it got much easier and took less time.  In between, I would reward her by walking around until she got nervous or distracted.  Then, I would stop and practice the neck bending again before moving on.

In my next lesson, we worked on a Jane Savoie exercise called +7/+1.  This was my first time trotting Arizen since I had been back on her.  Now that she was consistently calm at the walk, we moved on to trot.  The goal was to get her to stretch down into contact and also to be straight on a circle.  My trainer said that the more straight and balanced she is, the less flighty she will be.  So we worked on a 10-15 meter circle.  I was to use my inside leg and inside rein to bend her neck 7 inches to the inside, then 1 inch to the inside.   This was to be done “quickly” three times in a row.  By quickly I do NOT mean yanking her head around, but in a smooth consecutive manner.  The inside rein was to be vibrating and not pulling so she could not lean.  After three rounds, I left her face alone for 6-8 strides so she could figure it out.  Then I would repeat the +7/+1 three more times until she stretched down into the bit.  The exercise was very calming for Arizen, and helped me to unlock her poll and get her focused when she became distracted or flighty.

In between the +7/+1′s, the goal was to keep her straight on the circle.  She pops her shoulder out as most horses do, so I needed to focus on keeping my outside rein and thigh contact steady to bring her shoulder in while using my inside leg to push her haunches out.  This was the goal for my most recent lesson, too.  We started by going on a large figure eight and keeping her straight.  Then I asked for a few strides of “slowing her legs” while maintaining the rhythm.  I asked for this by squeezing my legs into a steady hand, and then letting her go.  I increased the number of strides of collection every time I asked.  Once she was straight and moving with “slow legs” in a forward manner,  I asked her to canter.  We went to the right first, since that is her more unbalanced direction.  In the canter, I still focused on getting her straight on the circle.  To the left, it took a little longer to get her straight and balanced in the trot, but I am NOT to move on to the canter until her trot is balanced.  There is no reason to canter her unbalanced.

So I really wanted to start working with my dressage trainer with Arizen, but she needed some initial behavioral work in addition to needing time to get back into shape.  Things have been going really well so far, and I’m not disappointed to be working with my old trainer again.  Once Arizen builds up strength and confidence, I hope to work with my new dressage trainer a little more to fine tune her technical dressage training.

The perfect barn…

Well, after months and months of searching, I have found the perfect barn for Arizen and I.   The only problem is that its about an hour away, and I don’t know how much it is to board there… but I’m sure it’s expensive.  Here it is:

http://www.baythorne.com/

I emailed them to see how much board is, and if it is under $400 a month I would pay it even if it is far away.  I wouldn’t be surprised if it is over $600, though.    Barn searching is impossible.

Dressage Lesson 9/9/2009

Today was another awesome lesson!  When I got to the barn, my trainer immediately asked me if I wanted to ride two horses today.  She will most likely be sending Habinero out to a friend’s house to retire next week, so this week was most likely my last time riding him.  She wanted to put me on my “replacement” lesson horse after I rode Habinero “if I had time.”  Do I have time?  Lady, if you’re offering to let me ride two of your horses, I have all the time in the world! 

So I tacked up Habinero and headed out to her backyard.  We used the Pelham since last week was a disaster with the snaffle…. better to get a more productive lesson in this week.  For 45 minutes, I worked on maintaining a steady rhythm and figuring out the size of my circles (I apparently can’t tell a 20m from a 10m).  Then we worked on flying lead changes at the canter.  It was the first time I had ever been taught how to properly perform a flying change.  Here are my notes to myself:

Flying Changes:

• A flying change must be asked for when the horse is straight.  It is a misconception that you need to make a big fuss about throwing your body around to “help” with the change. 
• First, establish a calm and collected canter.  When coming across the diagonal, straighten the horse out.  Without throwing your upper body, think about swinging the new outside leg back to cue ONLY.  This will automatically realign your hips for the cue.  DO NOT THROW AWAY YOUR CONTACT!  This will just cause him to change in front but not behind. 
• Sit up straight.. DO NOT THROW YOUR UPPER BODY to try and “help” the change.  It doesn’t help.
• Then ride STRAIGHT on after the change.  Don’t dive into a turn right away.

My muscles were screaming, but I was having so much fun.  Finally, my trainer told me to hop off Habinero and she’d grab Simon… the new horse I’d be riding. 

When she brought him in the barn, I asked the usual questions:  How old is he?  What’s his breed?  She tells me he’s one of her sale horses and he’s a 4 year old Fresian Sporthorse that was just started this summer.  

I blinked and then asked if I heard her correctly.  She was putting ME on a greenbroke 4 year old that she was looking to sell for a large chunk of money, I’m sure… and she wasn’t afraid of me screwing him up with the way I have been riding?  I know that my leg is getting better, but I am nowhere near quiet enough in my seat to ride a 4 year old, am I? 

She just laughed and nonchalantly helped me tack him up.  “Yep, and we’ll start with a little lesson on lunging.” 

Her confidence in my abilities made the little warning voice in the back of my head slightly more silent.  She showed me how she liked to attach the sidereins (which was nice since I thoroughly researched and bought sidereins for Arizen, but felt better having her show me how to use them in person).  And we lunged for about 5 minutes just to see how Simon was responding today.  He was nice and calm, so we didn’t do much more than that.  Then, I got on him and did a lot of walking before we worked on rhythm and transitions to help Simon get his balance.  This is the kind of stuff I need to work on with Arizen once I get back on her next month, so since I hadn’t been bucked off yet, I was excited of the idea of working with this greenbroke horse.  Here are more notes to myself: 

Rhythm:

• Work on maintaining an even rhythm.  This is the most important thing, and you’re not very good at it.  You will need to work on this with Arizen, so get it together now before you get back on her.
• When you half halt, use more leg and then let the horse go.  Correct when necessary, but allow them the chance to do what you ask.  Don’t just hold them in all the time.
• Use more upper leg to post, which will help steady your rhythm.  Keep the leg long.  Don’t let it creep up when you give cues with your inside leg. 
• With the younger horses, you must allow them to make mistakes.  Ask for what you want, then let them go as if you’re not even there, and then ask again once they lose their balance.
• Patience is a virtue.  You’ll need to be a lot more patient with the younger ones than the old schoolmasters like Habinero.

After a few rough canter transitions, I could tell that my muscles couldn’t take much more.  I had been riding for nearly an hour and a half, and HARD.  I finally got a nice circle at the canter and we called it quits.  But my trainer commented on how nicely Simon and I got along together from the start.  She said he usually starts out pretty strung out and rushing and then calms down, but today he did the opposite.  But we also ended the lesson very nicely with a nice, easy canter and some stretching. 

So I have a whole new set of challenges ahead of me, but I’m excited.  I am constantly amazed by my lessons with my new trainer, and I just wish she wasn’t so far away.  I’m determined to keep working with her once I am permanently in Chicago, though, because I get along with her so well and I feel like I’m improving by leaps and bounds.  For the first time in years, I feel secure in the saddle and confident in my abilities.

Dressage Lesson 9/2/2009

I had a great lesson today! Habinero was full of himself, so most of the time was a muscle battle between the two of us, but I worked hard and worked on leg yielding and shoulder-in’s some more.

My leg is getting better. I went from keeping my leg too far back to keeping it too far in front of me, but my trainer said that it was much improved today.

Other than that, I performed a piaffe for the first time! Well, I didn’t really do anything; my trainer cued Habinero from the ground while I was in the saddle, but it was the coolest feeling. I also did a Spanish walk and bowed. What a fun lesson!

Dressage Lesson 8/2/2009

It has been a while since my last lesson.  The weather has been rainy and things have been so busy with school.  Today was my first lesson in 3 weeks, and I rode Habinero again.  This time, I was off the lunge line and on my own.

It helps that I’ve been riding once or twice a week outside of my lessons, but I’m still struggling with my leg position.  I am letting my lower leg come out in front of me, so I need to focus on putting more bend in my knee.  I also learned how to properly leg yield and shoulder-in.  Here are my notes:

General:

• Sit up tall through my core.
• Chin up!  Look where you’re going, don’t look at the ground or the horse.
• Thumbs on top.  No motorcycle hands.
• Get more bend in my knee so I can bring my lower leg back.
• Relax and breathe.  Don’t tense up.

Leg yield:

• Shoulders lead, haunches follow.
• Always go straight first and keep the rhythm and forward in the gait before leg yielding.
• Establish the bend to the inside by tug and releasing the inside rein and keeping the outside rein steady.
• Then use inside leg behind the girth to push the haunches over.
• Use an opening outside rein to hold the shoulders in. 
• Weight the outside seatbone slightly (the seatbone of the direction you are traveling)
• Keep the outside leg passive, but keep it on the horse!  It keeps the horse moving forward.

Shoulder-in:

• Shoulder-in is simply a leg yield going down the straight line.
• Same rules apply from the leg yield.  Think about keeping the haunches on the straight line.
• Should be about a 30 degree angle from the straight away.
• Don’t forget to keep the bend!!!!

Canter:

• Leg yield out to establish inside leg to outside rein before asking for the canter.
• Establish the bend with the inside rein, move the haunches with the inside leg.  Keeping the inside leg on, cue with the outside leg back.  DO NOT CHANGE ANYTHING WHEN ASKING FOR THE CANTER!!!  Keep your body the same, just move the outside leg back.
• Use the outside aids to turn, use the inside aids to maintain the bend.
• Vibrating inside rein, steady outside rein.

Today was a very productive lesson, and I think I did pretty well for not having a lesson in so long.  I need to build up my stamina, though.  Still, I love my new lessons!

Dressage Lunge Lesson 6/28/09

I had my second lesson today with my new trainer.  She was sick last week and had to cancel our lesson, but she had offered me to come to her house to ride her Grand Prix Andalusian gelding.  His name was Habinero, and he’s an old schoolmaster.  I was so excited because I’ve never ridden a Grand Prix horse before!  My trainer thought that I would learn faster on him than I would on the bouncy TB, Elliot, and I agreed.  

I got to her house, and we tack up Habinero.  He already seemed like such a good natured horse.  I mounted him and she then told me that we would be doing a no-stirrup lunge lesson today!  I had never done a lunge lesson in all the years I’ve been riding, so I was excited!  She said she had thought about making me do a bareback lunge lesson, but decided to be nice and just let me lose my stirrups.  Next week we’ll be going bareback.  Gee, thanks!  Haha!  In all truthfulness, I was very excited to do a lunge lesson to focus on my position.  I really needed it.

She had me close my eyes while I rode and also played the “I Spy” game with me.  It really helped me focus less on myself and the horse and let my position come naturally.  She also had me put my arms out to the sides and twist my torso while trotting to get me to learn to keep my balance.  It was hard!  Here are some of the notes from my lesson today:

- Thighs get too loose; Bring knees to the kneeroll on the saddle and use your legs to anchor your seat. 
- Toes forward and up.  Keep calves at the girth.  When you don’t feel the kneeroll, your leg is too far back.
- The entire leg must be in contact with the horse;  Not gripping, but anchoring.  Use the leg to steady the seat.
- Use the abdominal muscles to hold yourself; Feel the upper abs, too.
- Sit back on your pockets; Don’t revert back to hunter-mode.
- If possible, close your eyes and feel the movement of the horse; Be able to feel the back legs and tell which one is coming forward at any given time.
- Do not rush transitions; Always focus on one gait at a time.
- Three different seats:  Following seat, Driving seat, Stilled seat.  Following seat is tall with self-carriage, Driving seat is the “belly dance” seat, and Stilled seat is against the motion of the horse. 

I have a lot to work on, but I already feel improved since my last lesson.  And Habinero is a saint.  I really think that things are going to progress quickly now, and for the first time in a long time I feel excited about my lessons and very much look forward to them!  I just wish this trainer didn’t live so far away.  Once I move back into the city, it will be even farther for me to drive.  Still, I am so excited for her to work with me and Arizen.  Only 3 more months until I can ride her again!

Next week: bareback.  I better get some practice time in!

Dressage Lesson 6/15/09

Today, I had my first lesson since November with a new trainer.  The new trainer is the woman who owned Killian (the ISH I considered purchasing earlier this year).  I was impressed with her horses and agreed with her training philosophies from what I could tell, so I decided to give her a try. 

I rode a school horse named Elliot.  He is a 17 year old TB that has competed in either Pre-Novice or Novice eventing. I can’t remember which she said.  Either way, he’s an old pro.  But man, did he need a lot of leg!  More leg than I’m used to.  And he had much bigger, bouncier trot than Arizen, which is no surprise since Arizen just floats around with no suspension. 

I didn’t realize just how out of shape I was.  My hands turn in, my fingers are open, I carry them too low, my knees creep up, I grip with my calves, I collapse my torso… It’s horrible.  I mean, I haven’t ridden more than about 3 times in 7 months… omg, when I put it that way I’m just appalled.  And those three times were not much more than walking around on a pregnant horse.   I feel like I’m starting from square one!  I mean, I tried to straighten up, but I just tensed up and bounced like a beginning 10 year old when they first try to sit the trot!  I’m way too active in my upper body… I compensate for my poor seat by swinging my shoulders…. It was a train wreck.  Here are my notes from the lesson:

- Straighten back.  Don’t tuck butt.  Open shoulders.
- Use tray table hands.  Close fists, thumbs on top!  Bring hands forward toward the mane for a straight line from bit to elbow.
- 50% seat, 50% thighs.  Don’t grip with calves!
- Put weight into heels.
- Leg is the most important aid. Use it!
- When posting, bring hips forward, not upper body!
- In sitting trot, don’t collapse torso.  Use abs to grow tall and stablize hips.
- In canter, don’t use upper body in transition.  Keep contact with mouth and use your HIPS!
- KEEP THE RHYTHM!!!!

Well, I think I will really benefit from training with this trainer.  I told her I needed someone to nitpick at me about the little stuff.  Man, did I realize today how much my position has gone downhill because of my focus on ”training” rather than “riding” in the past few years.

While I’m ecstatic that I’ve found some new direction in my riding career so I can hopefully bring out Arizen’s full talent, I’m also horrified at the way I rode today.  And without consistent riding time, I don’t know how I’ll be able to fix it.  

That’s all.  I don’t know whether I need advice or comfort or just a good kick in the butt.