SaddlePsych'D
Well-Known Member
(Sorry if I've got that song stuck in your head) 
By let 'it' go, I am in fact referring to my seat muscles - I think dear S would appreciate this so she can move!
Back at usual RS today, thinking of switching between the two RS so I'm at each one fortnightly. Last lesson at other RS I'd got in a slight pickle with my canter transition but what was helpful was that there were similarities between B and S which I could think about in my lesson today. I've always been a fan of 'more woah than go' although it is quite nice to ride something that is more forwards, the problem at the moment is my brain is going 'forwards=about to shoot off somewhere at speed' and this is happening so quickly I'm reacting in a not very helpful way before I even know it.
Today we stayed in walk and trot - soooo tempted to give myself crap for this (I think it goes back to some very well meaning but poorly executed, i.e. exasperated/frustrated/critical, encouragement from my dad when I had lessons as a kid which made it a bit of a 'thing'). But! I learned from last time that actually pushing on too far out the comfort zone isn't always helpful; I could feel the fear reaction kicking in even from S picking up her walk pace (I think she had heard 'canter'!) in anticipation - it was a hard 'nope' from my brain and this did not feel like a good starting point for an exercise. So we trotted our circles instead. Not our best work (wobbly!) but actually being able to say 'this is enough' for today (and being genuinely okay with it!) is a valuable take away for me.
The best thing from the lesson was not that it all went great (slightly frustrating as S and I were getting on so well last year - I have some fab videos to show it) but that what my instructor is saying and what I am feeling are lining up fairly well. I can feel when the trot is shuffly, or the turns are wobbly, or we're falling in/out. So instead of getting too frustrated I'm trying to take that as a positive because if you can't feel these things surely you can't correct them?
We did a simple exercise trotting on a straight line between two poles and then playing with getting more or less strides in between. This made me so much more aware of how I must be 'holding' with my seat when I don't mean to be. S is usually fairly forward but I've been finding myself using my legs a lot more recently; this exercise showed me that if I focused more on my seat, S could move more freely forward - easier for both of us! Hence the need to 'let it go'
These report write ups, while probably not that exciting, are immensely helpful for the psychological side of my riding which is my biggest barrier. The automatic response to nerves is to get frustrated with myself which doesn't help and keeps my 'thinking brain' shut off. Instead now I have learning points and things I can actually do to improve - like ask if we can get the Franklin balls out next lesson, do some progressive muscle relaxation at home, maybe some yoga - and holding a positive mindset to carry forwards to the next ride.
By let 'it' go, I am in fact referring to my seat muscles - I think dear S would appreciate this so she can move!
Back at usual RS today, thinking of switching between the two RS so I'm at each one fortnightly. Last lesson at other RS I'd got in a slight pickle with my canter transition but what was helpful was that there were similarities between B and S which I could think about in my lesson today. I've always been a fan of 'more woah than go' although it is quite nice to ride something that is more forwards, the problem at the moment is my brain is going 'forwards=about to shoot off somewhere at speed' and this is happening so quickly I'm reacting in a not very helpful way before I even know it.
Today we stayed in walk and trot - soooo tempted to give myself crap for this (I think it goes back to some very well meaning but poorly executed, i.e. exasperated/frustrated/critical, encouragement from my dad when I had lessons as a kid which made it a bit of a 'thing'). But! I learned from last time that actually pushing on too far out the comfort zone isn't always helpful; I could feel the fear reaction kicking in even from S picking up her walk pace (I think she had heard 'canter'!) in anticipation - it was a hard 'nope' from my brain and this did not feel like a good starting point for an exercise. So we trotted our circles instead. Not our best work (wobbly!) but actually being able to say 'this is enough' for today (and being genuinely okay with it!) is a valuable take away for me.
The best thing from the lesson was not that it all went great (slightly frustrating as S and I were getting on so well last year - I have some fab videos to show it) but that what my instructor is saying and what I am feeling are lining up fairly well. I can feel when the trot is shuffly, or the turns are wobbly, or we're falling in/out. So instead of getting too frustrated I'm trying to take that as a positive because if you can't feel these things surely you can't correct them?
We did a simple exercise trotting on a straight line between two poles and then playing with getting more or less strides in between. This made me so much more aware of how I must be 'holding' with my seat when I don't mean to be. S is usually fairly forward but I've been finding myself using my legs a lot more recently; this exercise showed me that if I focused more on my seat, S could move more freely forward - easier for both of us! Hence the need to 'let it go'
These report write ups, while probably not that exciting, are immensely helpful for the psychological side of my riding which is my biggest barrier. The automatic response to nerves is to get frustrated with myself which doesn't help and keeps my 'thinking brain' shut off. Instead now I have learning points and things I can actually do to improve - like ask if we can get the Franklin balls out next lesson, do some progressive muscle relaxation at home, maybe some yoga - and holding a positive mindset to carry forwards to the next ride.
