TopTotty
Well-Known Member
Monday, 31 January 2011
This is Mez and I waiting for our lesson with Stephen Clarke to start this morning. We were first to go and they were just harrowing the school for us. When Stephen arrived hw made himself comfortable in the corner of the school with his heated plug in rug! We had a chat about where Mez and I were up to and what we wanted from our lesson and Stephen asked me to work in and do walk, trot and canter on both reins so he could have a look at us.
He then told me that in his opinion she looked ready to go. He said the trot was lovely and in a good rhythm, has got good ground covering strides and she was on the bit but could be a bit more supple laterally, the canter was ok and she looks in front of the leg and accepts the bit. He said first of all that he did not want to change anything and we had a good basis going already that we could now develop from. He said we now need to develop reactions through frequent transitions which will bring the hind leg forward and help the balance and put the weight back onto her hind legs and then start the lateral work.
He then explained that he like horses to be round and down or properly up and together like I had just worked her, he said that too many horses these days were too low at the poll and behind the vertical and not really carrying their selves but it is the fashion - which is wrong!!
So I then rode her round in trot and asked her to go long, deep, round and loose. She does have her limits here and this is one area I need to work on.
After this exercise he told me that he thinks she is very trainable and that I could take her quite a long way in dressage!
We then worked on transitions, starting with walk trot, walk and then moving onto to direct transitions from trot to halt and trot again. These really improved the quality of my trot and began to engage her hindquarters and I will use this exercise in future when I am working in before a competition.
Then we moved onto leg yield from the quarter line to the track. At first she tried to go through her shoulder so I had to work hard especially on the right rein to keep her straight but again once she understood what I wanted this really improved.
From this we went straight into 'gear changes' within the trot and he told me not to worry about it being perfect but when I ask her to go she has to respond immediately and likewise when I ask her to slow down.
He thinks she will be good at lengthening as she has the scope but he feels that she is just a little unsure of herself at the moment.
He told me to continue chipping away at her with these exercises. In the canter he told me to do straight lines with ten metre circles but not to let her slow on the circles but if anything to speed up her hindlegs to encourage her balance and this will bring more collection to the canter.
We tried this exercise which she found hard to begin with but again improved as I practiced and her straightness got better on the circles. He told me to hold out for what I needed to hold out for but when she accepted it then to give and be soft.
To finish I then used my lovely active trot and asked her to be long and loose before returning to walk and a summing up!
Stephen says Mez has the right paces and a really good attitude and the basics are there but when I ask her a question I need a slightly quicker answer. He was impressed that I had done everything myself and told me I had done a good job. He told me to make sure I do not let things get complicated and just make sure the exercises are straight forward and simple.
One of the biggest plus's for me was that he said my position was good too. He told me that I did not need to go rushing off to Germany to buy a fancy horse as I had a good one here! He said he loved the way she flexed her hind legs and bent her joints. When I later watched the video (taken very kindly by Danni) I heard him commenting on what a smashing little horse she was! So overall a fantastic lesson and lots to practice and I am very proud of my little horse. Big smiles all round!!
This is Mez and I waiting for our lesson with Stephen Clarke to start this morning. We were first to go and they were just harrowing the school for us. When Stephen arrived hw made himself comfortable in the corner of the school with his heated plug in rug! We had a chat about where Mez and I were up to and what we wanted from our lesson and Stephen asked me to work in and do walk, trot and canter on both reins so he could have a look at us.
He then told me that in his opinion she looked ready to go. He said the trot was lovely and in a good rhythm, has got good ground covering strides and she was on the bit but could be a bit more supple laterally, the canter was ok and she looks in front of the leg and accepts the bit. He said first of all that he did not want to change anything and we had a good basis going already that we could now develop from. He said we now need to develop reactions through frequent transitions which will bring the hind leg forward and help the balance and put the weight back onto her hind legs and then start the lateral work.
He then explained that he like horses to be round and down or properly up and together like I had just worked her, he said that too many horses these days were too low at the poll and behind the vertical and not really carrying their selves but it is the fashion - which is wrong!!
So I then rode her round in trot and asked her to go long, deep, round and loose. She does have her limits here and this is one area I need to work on.
After this exercise he told me that he thinks she is very trainable and that I could take her quite a long way in dressage!
We then worked on transitions, starting with walk trot, walk and then moving onto to direct transitions from trot to halt and trot again. These really improved the quality of my trot and began to engage her hindquarters and I will use this exercise in future when I am working in before a competition.
Then we moved onto leg yield from the quarter line to the track. At first she tried to go through her shoulder so I had to work hard especially on the right rein to keep her straight but again once she understood what I wanted this really improved.
From this we went straight into 'gear changes' within the trot and he told me not to worry about it being perfect but when I ask her to go she has to respond immediately and likewise when I ask her to slow down.
He thinks she will be good at lengthening as she has the scope but he feels that she is just a little unsure of herself at the moment.
He told me to continue chipping away at her with these exercises. In the canter he told me to do straight lines with ten metre circles but not to let her slow on the circles but if anything to speed up her hindlegs to encourage her balance and this will bring more collection to the canter.
To finish I then used my lovely active trot and asked her to be long and loose before returning to walk and a summing up!
Stephen says Mez has the right paces and a really good attitude and the basics are there but when I ask her a question I need a slightly quicker answer. He was impressed that I had done everything myself and told me I had done a good job. He told me to make sure I do not let things get complicated and just make sure the exercises are straight forward and simple.
One of the biggest plus's for me was that he said my position was good too. He told me that I did not need to go rushing off to Germany to buy a fancy horse as I had a good one here! He said he loved the way she flexed her hind legs and bent her joints. When I later watched the video (taken very kindly by Danni) I heard him commenting on what a smashing little horse she was! So overall a fantastic lesson and lots to practice and I am very proud of my little horse. Big smiles all round!!
