My first-ever lunge line lesson

I have never before had a lesson on a lunge line, but I've always thought it would be a great opportunity to focus on my equitation, or just relax and loosen up to be more susceptible to changing how I do things.

I ended up on Colt, our newest lesson pony (who is not officially ready for the lesson program yet), on the lunge line, which still managed to be a bit thrilling. It was easier to focus on how I would ask him to trot, how I would ask him to walk (you just think walk and he does it). I also had to add turning him properly (he doesn't bend well yet) and doing something/anything/god-help-us when he would lose interest and charge at my instructor.

I made the most progress with stopping a habit of pulling too long (my half halts don't reward fast enough for him) - especially when he was charging the lunger.

I wish I could say I've conquered this pony after that lesson, but it's not even remotely true. Maybe in four lessons, or five. And maybe just alone in the ring. Being in a busy ring might take me 10 lessons. Yikes. 

Spontaneous Gallops II: The full ring edition

I failed in this last lesson. I know you arent supposed to declare failure, because you learn something every time. But really, guys, I had to eventually get off the green pony, and get on the veteran pony to finish my lesson.

I couldn't get him to slow down.
I couldn't get him to go straight.

I couldn't get him to stop walking over to his stall, which is in. the. ring. (who designed that?!?!) 

I looked like I didn't know how to ride. It would have been mildly embarrassing, but luckily, I am no longer an adolescent, so instead I just feel myself questioning any abilities I thought I have. 

The only tiny light bulb I got from all of this, was that I was using reins as the first cue, and then leg. Obviously, leg comes first in things like turning, so I need to stop that habit. Or I need to sit deep and back before I give a half halt to slow down (I'm probably leaning forward quite a bit). 

I also read an interesting point on Dressage Daily: If a young horse is excited and inclined to run, it's often best to ride these horses forward and then bring them back when they calm down. This is the opposite of what I do. The pony chose to ignore me, and ran over to his friends, while I got more nervous and pulled on his face. Also, I probably do half halts at the wrong moment (related to that first point), when I should really wait to say something clearer with the half halt.

Sometimes you have to get off the pony to get some clarity. It's a harder lesson to learn, but it's still a valuable lesson.

Powerful transitions

I continuously make the mistake of coming to the first jump without sufficient power and collection to get over it cleanly. I can hardly blame the bored lesson horse for this. We have no rhythm and no clue what the distance is, so it's very unorganized.

So we started by working on transitions to make him more responsive to my leg. We did a forward walk, adding more energy until we trotted, then went back to a walk and did it again. Then we did a forward trot with more and more energy until he broke into a canter, and did it all over again so that I could ask for a trot or canter quite easily.

From there, we went with a forward trot towards a jump, but then halted in front of it, and then asked for the jump (and grabbed mane!). This used the energy on the hind end to launch us forward.

We also worked on 2 jumps with a broken line. I was really bad at that. I'm really bad at fighting the horse to shove over when they know where I want to go and just want to cut corners. Part of it is where I'm looking and part of it is inside leg.

We finished with working on adding and subtracting strides on a straightaway. I need to plan ahead, so that when I go down from 4 strides to 3, I'm not jumping from a long distance.

There's progress in there somewhere, I just don't necessarily feel it, with all the basic things I still need to work on. OH, actually, the progress was me not falling off during an excited buck-turn after a jump. Tiny win.

Fall no. 5

I think this is fall number 5 for me. I could kind of see the train wreck before it happened, and yet somehow, the fall still caught me by surprise.

I was working on jumper turns over very low jumps. Our new indoor is smaller, so all the turns felt somewhat tight, although I in theory had enough time in between to get organized (get back to the track, get balanced and find a rhythm). The problem is, I just don't seem to multitask well with jumps, so as I was heading over a second jump, I was thinking about the third jump, not the turn. We didn't go that nicely over the jump and then Tony cut the corner and swung his head down. He swings his head down when he doesn't like the jump much. That combined with a tight turn throws me off. It's thrown me off before, and by golly, it didn't it again.

This time I landed on my feet, which promptly buckled, so really I landed on one knee. Big bruise, but I was able to get back on. She proceeded to drill the idea into me at the walk, which is a little embarrassing, but I was mentally and physically fatigued at that point into the hour (think - legs actually shaking), so I think the result doesn't show the lesson learned.

Fall no. 5 felt like 5 steps back. On a horse I'm used to. I could think of a million excuses, but really, there's nothing to do but push forward. Naturally, the following weekend I wasn't able to ride because I came home from a work trip on red eye Saturday and ran a 10k on Sunday.

So, just to review: Fall off a horse, next day fly to San Francisco and work long hours at a conference. Come home on a red eye Saturday. Run a 10k Sunday. Then take a breather and reflect on why you fell off the horse when you should be doing work at your desk Monday morning. Learnign to ride as an adult, in a nutshell.

Circles are hard

Drawing a circle is hard, so I don't know why I would assume riding one is easy.

The 10 meter circle is a great example of how pulling the horse's head in the direction you want to go will only get you so far.

First 25%: We're doing it! We're doing a circle!
Second 25%: We're looking a little bulged in the outside shoulder, but if I use some outside leg, we're stay on track!
Third 25%: We are definitely falling out of the circle, I think we might be going the opposite direction now.
Final 25%: Horse has had it with my pulling, will not listen to me for the next 5 minutes.

Linda talked me through the different levels of steering. First, you have a horse you can turn by light half halts of the inside rein and turning your body the direction you want to go.

Then you think about your legs, and add outside leg behidn the girth to keep the hind in, and inside leg at the girth to...I actually don't remember. Just sort of frames them up and balances I guess.

Anyways, then you do proper leg position, half halts of inside rein and the correct with half halts outside rein. This looks like over correction when I do it because I'm still learning. It looks like the horse turns his head in, then straightens it out before he bulges his shoulder too much. The more advanced version of this would look like the horse's head is straight and the body is curving. So there's no bulging at all.

I was barely getting it. But that wasn't even my biggest challenge for the lesson.
I was actually having trouble asking for the canter. I was riding Calvin, who has a very bouncy trot, and I, embarrassingly, couldn't sit the trot in an organized way to give clear aids. I will have to think on this a bit. I love how there is usually a conversation somewhere on the internet that discusses the exact issue I'm having. It makes the time between lessons a bit more productive!

Sticking The Landing (gymnastics part 2)

Continuing with the gymnastics work in the lesson this weekend, I started with the usual issue of not having enough impulsion over the very low jumps. The horse I ride maxes out around 3 ft (especially as he's getting older), but doesn't care to jump over cross rails. He perks up when he sees a gymnastic of verticals, but that's usually a few go's in, anyways.

After we had done the gymnastic pretty well, we had to work on straightness going out of it. Of course, I was so focused on what was going on in the gymnastic, I allowed the horse to get in the habit of turning immediately after. This is an old problem that haunts me when I'm focusing on the jumps. In our next lesson, we're going to work on 10 meter circles to become more intentional in all of that.

Sitting pretty for gymnastics

I had a semi-private lesson after a 2+-month dry spell and could not have felt better about it. Was I flopping around a bit? Absolutely. Never underestimate those weird tiny muscles that control your body as you canter (leg flop) or get in 2-point (torso flop). But some consistency will help me improve those this fall.

We did a small gymnastic - worked up to a 2 stride to a 4-5 stride to a bounce, all over jumps no more than 20 inches. We hit some rails a few times due to lack of impulsion, but once we got going, Tony did it easily. Where I failed was sitting up between jumps. I get so focused on the last jump that I don't think about what I need to do to "sit pretty" for a few strides and keep the balance back. It's something to work on in the next lesson.

We also did a post at the canter - sit a stride, post a stride. I was lucky that my horse will keep cantering so long as you don't overly interfere. I did sit a little too hard, and could feel the rhythm break when I did. Again, it goes back to flopping around a bit.

I was also doing an odd thing that seemed to work. Tony is very bad at halting. He resists quite a bit and your half halts will get bigger until you're doing an uneven rein to get him to listen (I wonder, if he weren't a school horse, and someone more advanced was riding him, if a stronger bit might be better - to be able to subtly ask instead of tugging his mouth. ANYways - to get him to halt I would literally look at the ceiling. Something about tilting my head up, he could feel it, and would halt! If anything, it was a fun experiment. Not something that makes sense in the long run, but maybe there's a more subtle tilting of the body that would also work.

I want to start thinking about what I could work on during a practice ride (if I end up having the time), and one of them is controlled posting (having a softer seat?) . Another is not cutting corners at the canter. And also, not standing in the stirrups when jumping; I do find I am on the horse's neck for a second when we land. 

Shameless Icelandic Horse Post

I was in Iceland for a few days and would have loved to do a trail ride, but will have to wait until next visit!

Loved how rides here include the whole herd!

This fellow had a treat dispenser by his paddock so tourists wouldn't feed him the wrong snacks.

The horses are never in stalls. I have never seen so many healthy horses at peace. Some of them were so relaxed they were sleeping on their side - something they only do if they feel 100% safe.

I would have loved to bring a couple of these beautiful horses home! But then, how could I take them from this amazing habitat??

Spontaneous Gallops

I have been having lessons on a greener horse who is very talented, but does not like mixed signals or pulling on the reins. Obviously, this is a great way for me to fine tune my steering. I've been thinking "Leg first, then reins" more than I used to, and it has helped quite a bit. I've also been better about my half halts, but this is still a work in progress.

I am less afraid when he runs to his friends (re: spontaneously gallops away) and sit it better, pull him up, and regroup. He really hasn't bucked or reared, and the gallop always has a clear end goal - getting to his friends. So now that I've realized that, I can keep my head clear and figure out how to improve.

Half halts seem like such a simple thing, but here I am, struggling with my hands. At first, I thought I was supposed to tug. Then I thought, just squeeze. Then I realized sometimes it required more than one half halt to get a job done. Even when I thought I was being gentle, if I became nervous (the horse likes to catch up with his friends, as in, run up to their butts and stay in that safe zone), I would stiffen up and not realize how tight I was being with the reins. But I noticed after we go over a jump, that I can get him to a halt nicely by just slightly wiggling my shoulders. By thinking less about my hands and thinking about my shoulders, I was more subtle and not overthinking anything. I probably look funny, but I figure you have to do something awkward at first to eventually get it right.

He has really nice movements and a great jump. I could sit his trot all day, or go over the higher jumps (those are 2'9" for me) without a worry. So it is rewarding when I successfully get him to do what I want, even if it's just a neat and tidy turn.

I can't imagine riding him in a ring full of horses - just one horse is still a variable for me. But I do think there is progress and I only wish (as ever) I had more time to have lessons. This summer I will only get to 3-4 between travel and the barn being closed on weekends.

Thankfully, I have the barn I volunteer at to get some quality time. This morning I was mucking, sweeping, watering and really just spending time doing something humans around the world have been doing for thousands of years. There's something great about doing that before heading into the office.

Barn Chores in the AM

I started volunteering down the street from my office at a therapeutic riding barn. Once a week, 7-9am I do whatever they need:

• Bring horses out to paddocks
• Collect and re-fill hay nets
• Top off water buckets, sift out any hay
• Soak hay, beet pulp, alfalfa for those who need it
• Muck paddocks and stalls
• Turn on outdoor ring's sprinklers and water flower beds
• Wash out one horse's mouth
• Clean up aisle
• Take recycling to curb

It's funny that, were I younger, I'd be doing this at a barn as a working student, to pay of rides. As it is, I'm fully employed and don't really need to earn my way. It's so important to give back to barns like this that I know have very thin operating margins, and need all the help they can get. We're very careful about how we muck stalls and clean water buckets (don't dump them every day) because water is so expensive in the town the barn is in.

My supervisor retired around age 50 from managing barns of some pretty famous riders, as well as a successful career in Sales. You have never seen someone muck a stall with such efficiency and precision!

It would be great to actually be around during the riding lessons to help out, I've heard it's pretty magical.

At around 8:55, I cruise to the office, use the shower in the gym (lucky to have those!) and get to my desk by 9:30. I feel pretty great from the manual labor and time with animals - the feeling lasts pretty much the rest of the day!

I would be honored to ride the pony

One thing I love about my instructor is her ability to challenge students with different abilities in a group lesson. My friend who is a beginner to riding at 32, joined myself and a high-school aged student who has been riding for 3-4 years. The two of them were on Tony and Calvin, who are considered school masters.

I was on a 13hh 5-year-old pony with loads of natural talent and a former propensity to do the dirty-stop-and-spin. He has been under extensive training after other students have refused to get on him. I can't say he scares me. I wrap my legs around him and I'm not going anywhere.

He did teach me to stop bad behavior faster, though. The minute I could feel him starting to back up instead of go forward, I had to turn him out of it before he backed right into one of his friends. I wasn't able to get him to stay straight heading towards the first jump. He was so wiggly! But once we popped over a cross rail I could tell he would be fun to jump higher. And heading to the second jump I noticed the impulsion straightened him out. I'm not sure if that's cheating - I should be able to keep his body straight at any point, but it certainly made the jump nicer. Though he's got a narrow barrel, he's pretty solidly built, so I don't feel too big for him.

I'm excited to get on him again and work on my steering challenges. It's fun to be contributing to the saddle time to get him ready for the younger riders. Naturally, before I had even gotten on him my instructor had cantered him around the ring a solid amount of time to make him tired to make him ready for me. But I still feel like I'm moving up the chain!

Turn on the haunches

"Did you feel his legs cross over under you?!"

Um yes...kind of?

In a private on Saturday I worked on turn on the haunches. We trotted on the rail and then changed reins by turning towards the wall. If I didn't pulse properly with my leg and half halts, we lost momentum or got stuck. I got it some what, but we need to keep trying to smooth it out. And maybe more importantly, I need to recognize what the right movement feels like: The horse's hind legs crossing under him.

We also worked on spiraling in at the trot. The focus here was on not leaning. I don't intentionally lean in, the horse does, so I have to overcompensate by leaning out to keep our balance. It feels like I'm overdoing it but I'm assured it looks correct. And I'm beginning to feel it's correct.

Angelina's first dressage eureka - feel is everything.

After that half of the lesson, we worked on collection in front of jumps. We always work on this. Perhaps we always will. Linda, my instructor likes to point out what I've probably said here many times, in different ways:

When I am on a straight path to the jump...

...and the horse is straight...

...and I half-halt to collect him and have a good rhythm...

...and I hold him off until I squeeze at the base of the jump...

...and I don't fall on top of him, or get ahead or behind...

...and sit up after...

...he does a beautiful jump that he could do over a cross-rail or over 3'3" AND he lands on the correct lead.

Building up the course

My lessons for the past few months have been focused on the very basics of jumping:

Path: Straightening the horse out once you're on your line to the jump (Path)

Pace & Power: Getting the rhythm right - not letting the horse get strung out on speed, between or after jumps. This means I'm still very often heading to a jump at the trot, then regulating the canter, or even going back down to a trot between jumps. Sometimes I'm supposed to do this and still mess up a bit

Position: I think I am more able than every to have the right position over jumps, but with all the other things going, I flop around a bit. For example, I can be focused on half-halts to get the horse under control between jumps so he doesn't take the long distance, but then my body ends up behind the motion when he does take off at the base.

All these things aren't quite there (maybe they'll never be perfect), but yesterday I realized how much progress I've made when we started building up to a course.

I was with the advanced students who can jump 3ft up, but we focused on what was basically an 18" course with a couple 2ft jumps as the final line. The course had a lot of turns, but my horse was a bit more of a school master than than theirs, so it was a level playing field. One had to ask a younger horse for flying changes clearly, while another was moving a horse up a level from the baby jumps.

I was surprised that I survived doing the course. One time I goofed a bit and the horse got strung out on the last jump, but all in all I pulled it off. There were turns I wouldn't have gotten in the past, and I felt less flustered in between jumps, like I actually had time to re-organize. 

Adventures in automatic release

In my lesson this weekend we worked on the automatic release by over-exaggerating it: Opening up the reins while pushing them forward. Over-exaggeration should be a general part of learning anything new in riding, or breaking habits, because it ALWAYS works for me. It makes doing things the right way feel in the realm of 'normal'.

I was getting pretty good at this auto release business and then I surprised myself by having another thing click: Keeping my leg on over jumps. It's hard! It works muscles I don't usually work. I should know this by now, but the body works in mysterious ways.

We also practiced having a tiny opening in the rein over the jump to clue the horse into where we were going next. But with Tony, if you give him an inch, he'll take a mile (and a hard right) so it was more valuable to focus on being straight and then asking for the turn after all 4 feet are on the ground. Some day I will have a strong enough leg to control all that, since I know jumper turns can require planning ahead.

Keeping my leg on over the jump made me feel organized upon landing, so my horse didn't do a sharp turn like he normally does. He waited until I gave him an opening by easing leg pressure. Actually, I eased leg pressure and opened the rein a centimeter and he took it. So now I just have to 'think' about turning, and he'll do a smoother turn.

My hope is that this leg on and auto release combo sticks as the jumps go up. We got up to 2'9", but it took a lot of concentration and I think if there was another jump to turn to, it would have been a wee bit messy.

That being said, I still get a little excited when I see the jump go up to 2'9" but it doesn't fully phase me any more. Because I'm so focused on working on different things, I don't notice if it feels different from 2' any more.

Straight Up

Haven't posted in a while, but that's because it feels like I've been trying to learn the same things lately.

Get a good rhythm before the jumps through half-halts.

Give good release all the way through landing.

Sit up, leg on to keep him straight after the jump.

That last one still eludes me. I guess I'm just not organized after a jump yet to pull it off.

And I've been riding a horse with a hard mouth so when I got on a horse who was opposite, I was pulling too much on his mouth. He was feeling good and breaking into a canter and I wasn't gently enough bringing him back. It was bad. I ended up switching with another student who had more experience with him.

Maybe winter is all about shaking out those lingering issues.