Casey76
Well-Known Member
Sorry, just had to share. I had such a fbab lesson yesterday, and at long last I actually feel I'm getting somewhere!
...
Had another fabulous lesson on Tartine today. We both worked really hard!
Warmed up with lots of figure-8s, first keeping straight, with a lot of stretch over the neck and back, followed by adding true bend, still maintaining the stretch over the back and neck.
Once we were equally bendy on both reins we moved up into canter, firstly maintaining the canter with the stretch (and no nose poking), then working on our downward transition. Tartine is very obedient to the downward transition - I only have to close my fingers around the rein, but it often means she will drop straight onto her shoulders; so we worked on me using my core and seat to ask and almost letting Tartine figure out the transition on her own. To do this I really had to connect my seat to the saddle correctly (oops! I have a tendency to sit too lightly, so this was also a really good exercise for me
)
We managed some fairly good transitions with her haunches properly under her, and it mad a huge difference to the quality of the trot immediately after the transition - no hollowing.
Change of pace and back into walk to start working on travers, then quickly back up into trot once the aids were established (definitely more for me than for T!!!) Right rein much easier than left - but that is how it often is with T - I won't touch travers again until next week, but I bet T is 100% better! She learns things so fast, but often appreciates a break between to cogitate a bit
Last exercise was back up into canter and trying to maintain the low and deep position we can achieve in trot - faired only OK with this one, but to be honest, it was only a few weeks ago when getting a transition into canter was hit and miss, and T was so long and flat (with nose right out) that even just a few strides of a more correct/shortened/collected frame is a big step forwards.
We were both knackered by the end of the hour, and I'm really going to feel my muscles tomorrow. I do love my Saturday lessons!
...
Had another fabulous lesson on Tartine today. We both worked really hard!
Warmed up with lots of figure-8s, first keeping straight, with a lot of stretch over the neck and back, followed by adding true bend, still maintaining the stretch over the back and neck.
Once we were equally bendy on both reins we moved up into canter, firstly maintaining the canter with the stretch (and no nose poking), then working on our downward transition. Tartine is very obedient to the downward transition - I only have to close my fingers around the rein, but it often means she will drop straight onto her shoulders; so we worked on me using my core and seat to ask and almost letting Tartine figure out the transition on her own. To do this I really had to connect my seat to the saddle correctly (oops! I have a tendency to sit too lightly, so this was also a really good exercise for me
)We managed some fairly good transitions with her haunches properly under her, and it mad a huge difference to the quality of the trot immediately after the transition - no hollowing.
Change of pace and back into walk to start working on travers, then quickly back up into trot once the aids were established (definitely more for me than for T!!!) Right rein much easier than left - but that is how it often is with T - I won't touch travers again until next week, but I bet T is 100% better! She learns things so fast, but often appreciates a break between to cogitate a bit
Last exercise was back up into canter and trying to maintain the low and deep position we can achieve in trot - faired only OK with this one, but to be honest, it was only a few weeks ago when getting a transition into canter was hit and miss, and T was so long and flat (with nose right out) that even just a few strides of a more correct/shortened/collected frame is a big step forwards.
We were both knackered by the end of the hour, and I'm really going to feel my muscles tomorrow. I do love my Saturday lessons!
