Videos and pics of both the bay boys

nikkimariet

nikkimariet

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By request, videos (and pictures) of both boys working this weekend :cool:

Fig has been working on staying soft in the transitions, and keeping the frame consistent this week. Also started some work on counter canter, which seems to be a no brainer for him - so won't work too much more on that, with changes in mind for the future. Whilst he has a lovely walk - tracks up well and a good rhythm - he much prefers a lower, deeper outline and can be a bit 'fussy' when I pick him up. So I've been doing free walk to medium walk to free walk etc with him, has definitely helped as PS commented that he seems a lot more settled than last week :)

Today, just an easy stretchy session as he worked quite hard yesterday. At the end I introduced the concept of rein back, whilst PS guided him back with a hand on the chest and keeping him straight against the fence! He seemed 100% unbothered by this latest request, so I left it at that and took him for a pootle down the road. Thinking that if he carries on progressing at this rate, he might be ready for his debut a little earlier :D:p

Pics:
P1190637.jpg

P1190736.jpg

P1190690.jpg

P1190711.jpg

P1190781.jpg


Videos:
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10151346559040195
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10151346612770195
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10151347344160195
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10151346655875195
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10151347394215195
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10151347474450195
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10151347530955195
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10151347678050195

CS and PS have been working on, as ever, staying in front of the leg and collecting off the seat for the pirouette and passage work. They have also been doing shoulder in and half pass in a slightly more collected trot to really push the hind leg under and over, which has improved the quality of the half pass - esp to the left - in terms of straightness and scope. PS aware that CS needs to be taking her more forwards in following videos, but with CS it is very much a case of asking for more little by little :) His attitude this week has been super, and he even gave a lunge lesson to a 9 year old budding dressager today :p

Pics:
P1190510.jpg

P1190512.jpg

P1190577.jpg

P1190592.jpg


Videos:
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10151347713710257
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10151347756375257
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10151349278860257
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10151349302270257
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10151349374030257
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10151349710365257
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10151349765265257
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10151349802940257

CC if you want - although we're both well aware of our faults ;)
 
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Thanks all!!

BLY - Glad it's noticeable :D I'm shoving calories down his throat like no ones business! He does still look like a hat rack with tack and rider on though :o

floradora - Thanks :) Fig ridden 5/6 times a week. Anywhere between 30-60 mins. One session will be short, sweet stretchy. Trying to get him out for a wander down the road at the weekend too. CS ridden 5/6 times a week too, but is obviously in much harder work. CS doesn't hack but will do polework and/or a canter round the field once a week :)
 
Both boys looking good :) CS makes it all look so easy and I cant believe you have only had fig such a short time. Do I spy a new shiny noseband for Fig?
 
Looking fab as always :)

What make is your saddle please? Your leg moulds to it so well and it looks really comfortable. I have an Ideal Jessica and don't get on well with it at all.
 
Both boys are looking fab. I love Fig, he's already looking like a dressage diva. CS is amazing, really lovely boy. I love the vid of the passagey steps, clever boy
 
I love both these horses. Such smart boys. Fig seems to be progressing nicely & CS is so grown up. I love a good TB!

You both look so smart every time you post pictures. I wish I had such long legs, its hard being effective with short legs like mine. :-(
 
Great videos, I enjoyed them, thank you for taking the time to post them. As the aim of a forum is to learn I think the ultimate purpose of posting videos is to CC them, discuss, and generally come to some conclusions. Especially for the less experienced riders here who may become blinded by the visual trimmings so don't get down to essence of the actual training. So from a trainer’s point of view, here are my thoughts:

NM
- I like the relaxed frame you ride him in and he looks really well and happy. Plenty of work in a light, forwards seat as opposed to a dressage seat will help him as he is still weak, and strength is going to be his main issue due to his type.
- You sit nice and quietly, but perhaps some improved upper body tension would help, especially for later on. But overall, quite a nice picture at this stage of training.

PS
- CS is looking much more muscled now, well done!
- The same body tension thoughts with you too. Your arms and legs will become much more still and refined if you develop more strength in your upper body. If your seat was stronger your legs would then be able to just hang effortlessly and you would be able to keep your toes in. Also you would then be able to carry your hands correctly with thumbs on top and hence not block the contact. Be careful as you sit to the outside (and hence against him) in the half pass and canter pirouette work. And remember how important the head is due to its weight, so always look in the direction of travel.
- He has a lack of suppleness generally which is related to the lack of impulsion and unsteady contact. I find it helpful to go back to easier work often and just to establish basics like forwardness and rhythm. I would want him to be really going forwards into the contact a lot more, especially as you’ve said previously he has a tendency to come behind the contact and even rear. If he was truly taking the contact there would be a lot less danger of this (I’ve had exactly the same with my own horse).
- The lack of suppleness is especially evident in the medium trot in both of you. Again, by improving your own body tension and suppleness you will be able to hold yourself better, absorb the movement and hence lose the nodding head, which is a sign of stiffness. Vital to remember: YOU need to be in self carriage yourself for him to achieve the same.
- The collected work is giving the impression of slowing down rather than of maintaining and transferring the energy to the hindend. The canter needs a lot more energy and impulsion as its starting to give the feeling of nearly tending towards 4 beat...

One thing I found interesting watching the training at Hubertus Schmidt’s yard (of a variety of different horses working at either PSG or even below) was how there was always the feeling of forwards tendency and immense yet contained energy no matter what work they were doing, all maintaining a supple, back free from blockages. It always looked like the rider was just being carried effortlessly, simply needing to absorb what was given to them and always directing the energy up and forwards. Its good to have a mental image such as this when you are working towards increasing levels of collection as its easy to become too focused and forget the bigger picture.

But these are just my opinions, what do others think? I am open to educated discussion and try to leave my ego at the door when dealing with horses, so I don't bite :D
 
CL- i think you are bang on re CS and actually i was really annoyed with myself when i saw these vids as was instantly thinking he needs to be more forward etc and will then stay more connected. i seem to have lost the way a bit this week, he is susually very rock solid and steady up front but i think iv let him dawdle a bit behind and thats why he's not steady.
tried to really think of keeping him out to the hand and pushing the hind leg under yesterday, instead of being so complacent, and he felt better, but NMT wasnt there to watch/comment.

with fig-light seat canter is out, he's too racey still. he's improved massively over last 10 days with regard to not thinking every canter=standing start so for time being NMT needs to stay sat down in the saddle to reinforce that he isnt galloping. agree he is weak, but he's gradually forgetting to lean and pull,and learnign to stay under her seat, and we wont risk ruining that at this point :)
 
I’m exactly the same, I watch videos of myself and think is that all the forwardness I had, really?! You’re lucky you’ve got eyes on the ground so often and someone to video you, it really is the best tool.

That’s interesting to hear with Fig as I haven’t read many of your recent posts. He looks amazingly chilled out considering which is fantastic, and he looks like he will be fun to train.

Well done to both of you for your dedication and I look forwards to following your progress.

To Befney3 – having long legs isn’t a prerequisite to being an effective rider at all. Most of how you ride starts first and foremost with your seat (pelvis, hips and thighs), upper body and back. There are many successful riders with long torso/short leg combos. The most important thing is being aware of how your own body shape functions, where you carry tension, which are the weaker areas and which exercises can specifically help. But yes, PS and NM do have enviably long legs!
 
Thanks everyone!

DH - Yes! Super shiny noseband for Fig... He *needed* it ;)

martha - Bates Innova, standard blocks. It's so comfy but def a saddle for riders of the same build as me and PS from what I've heard!

Booboos - Aw thanks, he is lovely to work with. Makes my job a lot easier! And yes, when you think of what issues some riders have to overcome, my excuses are somewhat pitiful.

Clear Light - Thanks for CC, am glad that you can tell how relaxed and happy he is :) Re: upper body tension - yes!! So annoyed that my shoulders are all about the place :mad: Plan is to try and relax my hips more (left one, fine. Right one, bit of an issue), so I can carry the tension more over my shoulder blades? Does that make sense/sound like the right thing to do? Whilst Fig is weak in terms of muscle and weight, he is fully grown, so fingers crossed on that muscle memory theory ;) As PS has said, he is very 'racey' (!!!) in his attitude, so I don't want him to slide back into running on the forehand and tugging me off the contact/motorbiking round corners. Once he is more settled, light seat work will feature as part of his training as I do think it is beneficial for horse and rider.
 
Just a quick message (am at work!) to say that I agree 100% with what Clear Light has said (beautifully put!!). From looking at the videos, to me it doesn't look like CS is quite ready to work on pirouette canter yet.. I know you want to prepare for working pirouettes but he's not strong enough yet, the purity of the canter must be the priority. Already in the collected/forward canter clip you can see he has a tendency to slow down & become earthbound rather than become more active & more uphill when you collect. In the other video, when you ask for travers canter at points he becomes almost four beat. I feel I can say this, because I had exactly the same problem with Rauti -- down to the four-beat tendency!! -- which was ultimately solved by making him stronger / more uphill / quicker off the leg. Maybe quick taps with the whip would also help. Having said this, he is very willing and submissive, which is a big plus!

The beginning of passage was nice, have you tried to have someone on the floor alongside you tapping him lightly with a whip?
 
we tried it in the half step work at the end of last summer and he was a bit prone to lashing out at them, then standing up (at me). i think he feels ganged up on? (and is possibly a throw back to racing as i know he was a turd to get in the stalls ..............oh and to get out of them lol!!!!)

dont feel the P canter is our best in these vids, the canter overall felt a bit bleh and flat so will try and improve things and get some better ones this weekend maybe.do know what you are saying and yes picking up a whip helps, dont even have to use it.

ive had a crappy week and havent eaten particularly well so have been very very tired all the time and i think my lack of get up and go rubbed off on him a bit, although im pleased he hasnt taken advantage and played up :)
 
Don't worry PS, you're off-days are still better than my on-days! I liked the medium trot video, perhaps because he was taking you forwards a bit more. Overall it is impressive how much muscle he's put on since the end of last year.

NM, I love how relaxed Fig is looking - hasn't his bottom grown?! :)
 
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