Ample Prosecco
Still wittering on
I have posted in the weekend thread but actually I thought I'd start a thread on this in case anyone else in interested.Lottie's sharer has been working with Joe for years and raves about him. I was already doing stuff with Guy Robertson and Tik Maynard. And I also had the eventing specific training so I have resisted her suggestion we have regular sessions with him. But in June she persuaded me to let her have a groundwork lesson which I watched and it was very good.
Key takeaways from June:
He said pressure has been applied to her head historically in ways that have been really unhelpful to her and so in all the exercises he asked very gently for her to follow a feel by picking up the rein or rope, but if she didn't (and she didn't at first) he would then drive with the flag rather than increase any pressure. So feel then drive was the message. She now follows a feel very nicely like that.
I had been struggling for months with her flexing to the outside and falling in. My RI has been telling me to flex to the inside and put inside leg on to get her bending round the inside leg.
Joe on the ground also noted that she tipped her nose to the outisde and fell in but he described it very subtly differently: he said to shorten up on the rope and tip her nose in while asking her to lift the inside shoulder and step across to the outside. Asking her to step across with the inside shoulder made much more sense to me and gave me a clear picture of what I was after. When I next rode the issue with falling in was much better.
She thinks leg = forward. Whereas she needs to think leg = move. Coud be backwards or laterally. But she was always pushing forward with any leg aid. So lots of lateral work and backing up.
First with the flag putting pressure where the leg would be then ridden, with the leg.
He came back this weekend and said she was a different horse! Lateral work and back up are now much softer and lighter. Leg now means all sorts of things not just forward. Falling in not an issue.
Key takeaways this time on the ground: A bit sticky laterally to the left on the right rein. Much better on the left rein, moving right. This looks like a physical issue which is what my physio says too but she is evening up all the time.
Then ridden - We now need more energy in the back up and to start backing circles.
She often braces in downward transitions which has been an issue ever since I have had her. And I had a real lightbulb moment when she was hard against the hand in downward transitions and I said 'I don't understand how she comes back to me immediately at a forward canter on XC but blows through the bridle in trot'. He said it was because she was bracing in the trot when I tried to slow her down and if I ask for a transition when she is braced it won't mean anything to her because her mind is bracing too. Whereas on XC she might be galloping but still 'with me' and therefore immediately responsive. So get her soft THEN ask her to slow down or change gait. It's a vicious cycle because she rushes if she braces so I ask her to slow at the wrong time so she braces more and we end up fighting. Today it was utterly transformed just by makng sure she was on the aids with no tension before I asked her for change. And to get her soft it was just more leg into a firmer hand and soften the INSTANT she relaxes. Ie before she actually slows down because the firmer hand is the request to soften not to slow and when she is softer, ask for the slower trot or walk with body aids. Exhale, slow rise, sit, walk. All with a super soft hand. Which worked amazingly well! A year of struggling with this and the issue melted away. I almost darenlt hope it's that simple but I am defineitely on the right track with a solution to this, Ithink.
Joe is so good. He just gets the 'holes' immediately and is so skilled at fixing/filling them. So I have decided to have a lesson every 6-8 weeks and to really address these gaps and issues. They are unlike any other lessons because they are more him leaving me with a list of things I need to deal with in practice. I don't actually do the practice in the lesson as that wastes time! He works her, finds a sticky spot, tells me why it's there, shows me how to address it, watches me till I more or less get it, then we move on because I can then practice that in my own time before the next lesson. Same under saddle - he gets on, sees where there is confusion or bracing. Re-educates her then tells me how he did it. Then watches while I try. As soon as I get the feel for what I am after, we move on.
Next lesson 21st Jan. Super excited.
Key takeaways from June:
He said pressure has been applied to her head historically in ways that have been really unhelpful to her and so in all the exercises he asked very gently for her to follow a feel by picking up the rein or rope, but if she didn't (and she didn't at first) he would then drive with the flag rather than increase any pressure. So feel then drive was the message. She now follows a feel very nicely like that.
I had been struggling for months with her flexing to the outside and falling in. My RI has been telling me to flex to the inside and put inside leg on to get her bending round the inside leg.
Joe on the ground also noted that she tipped her nose to the outisde and fell in but he described it very subtly differently: he said to shorten up on the rope and tip her nose in while asking her to lift the inside shoulder and step across to the outside. Asking her to step across with the inside shoulder made much more sense to me and gave me a clear picture of what I was after. When I next rode the issue with falling in was much better.
She thinks leg = forward. Whereas she needs to think leg = move. Coud be backwards or laterally. But she was always pushing forward with any leg aid. So lots of lateral work and backing up.
First with the flag putting pressure where the leg would be then ridden, with the leg.
He came back this weekend and said she was a different horse! Lateral work and back up are now much softer and lighter. Leg now means all sorts of things not just forward. Falling in not an issue.
Key takeaways this time on the ground: A bit sticky laterally to the left on the right rein. Much better on the left rein, moving right. This looks like a physical issue which is what my physio says too but she is evening up all the time.
Then ridden - We now need more energy in the back up and to start backing circles.
She often braces in downward transitions which has been an issue ever since I have had her. And I had a real lightbulb moment when she was hard against the hand in downward transitions and I said 'I don't understand how she comes back to me immediately at a forward canter on XC but blows through the bridle in trot'. He said it was because she was bracing in the trot when I tried to slow her down and if I ask for a transition when she is braced it won't mean anything to her because her mind is bracing too. Whereas on XC she might be galloping but still 'with me' and therefore immediately responsive. So get her soft THEN ask her to slow down or change gait. It's a vicious cycle because she rushes if she braces so I ask her to slow at the wrong time so she braces more and we end up fighting. Today it was utterly transformed just by makng sure she was on the aids with no tension before I asked her for change. And to get her soft it was just more leg into a firmer hand and soften the INSTANT she relaxes. Ie before she actually slows down because the firmer hand is the request to soften not to slow and when she is softer, ask for the slower trot or walk with body aids. Exhale, slow rise, sit, walk. All with a super soft hand. Which worked amazingly well! A year of struggling with this and the issue melted away. I almost darenlt hope it's that simple but I am defineitely on the right track with a solution to this, Ithink.
Joe is so good. He just gets the 'holes' immediately and is so skilled at fixing/filling them. So I have decided to have a lesson every 6-8 weeks and to really address these gaps and issues. They are unlike any other lessons because they are more him leaving me with a list of things I need to deal with in practice. I don't actually do the practice in the lesson as that wastes time! He works her, finds a sticky spot, tells me why it's there, shows me how to address it, watches me till I more or less get it, then we move on because I can then practice that in my own time before the next lesson. Same under saddle - he gets on, sees where there is confusion or bracing. Re-educates her then tells me how he did it. Then watches while I try. As soon as I get the feel for what I am after, we move on.
Next lesson 21st Jan. Super excited.
