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Jan. 11th, 2010 08:14 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
diaryofariderLesson yesterday- my back was a little sore but not too bad. I was kind of a wuss about getting tired though. We worked on shoulder-in and haunches-in in trot, and trainer really got after me to keep the bend no matter what, and to half halt with my tummy (ack, so hard, but when it works, SO COOL). We talked about when I'm having trouble getting the bend and what to do about it- order of operations was basically inside leg first to insist on the bend, being quicker and more attentive with the outside rein to catch the shoulder, and then the outside leg to engage the outside hind. I asked about rein length as I have been worried about her getting too short in the neck, but if my reins are too long she just gets too off track and it takes a long time to fix it. Trainer said it's ok to shorten them some so long as I am really vigilant about the leg and allowing her to stretch whenever possible.
In the lateral work Trudi was generally honest but still resistant now and then- sometimes getting quick, lurching forward (this is the time when I have to pull my bellybutton in...ayeeeeee) or stopping. To the right, shoulder-in was more of a struggle than usual- trainer had us do haunches in and she amazed me by doing some really super haunches in. Back to shoulder-in and it was easier. Crazy. To the left, haunches-in was nowhere to be found, but the shoulder-in was good. Again, the new problem of a floating LEFT seatbone appeared, which again, is totally the same but opposite problem as before, but it's good to know, even if it is not fun to fix. Must learn to pay attention to BOTH seatbones now.
Overall I think Trudi was much better in her back and during the attempts to do haunches in on the left she really took the bit in a way she almost never does. I think she was struggling enough that she was looking for support, or maybe she was just really through. In any case, it was a nice change. It was espeically nice that she did not start out stiff on this ride, or at least not nearly as stiff as she has been starting out. Spooks were ignored for the most part, although the snow melting outside the ring caused a puddle to form at the far end. The puddle kept growing each time we made a circuit, till it extended halfway down the center line. So we went from shying around it to eventually forcing her to go through it, which was pretty entertaining (and challenging). The first time she was trotting along, she paused, and then did like one step of piaffe, and then trotted on. It wasn't even a halt, just this like exaggerated pause- so bizarre. The next time around, she jumped it and covered about 4 feet with her leap. It was a very nice jump but I wasn't really ready for it, so it was old-fashioned hunter-print style on my part. As we were cooling out, we finally walked up to it, and she stopped, and snorted at it, tentatively put out a foot, pulled it back, snorted some more, and finally just walked through it. Good job, silly pony.
In the lateral work Trudi was generally honest but still resistant now and then- sometimes getting quick, lurching forward (this is the time when I have to pull my bellybutton in...ayeeeeee) or stopping. To the right, shoulder-in was more of a struggle than usual- trainer had us do haunches in and she amazed me by doing some really super haunches in. Back to shoulder-in and it was easier. Crazy. To the left, haunches-in was nowhere to be found, but the shoulder-in was good. Again, the new problem of a floating LEFT seatbone appeared, which again, is totally the same but opposite problem as before, but it's good to know, even if it is not fun to fix. Must learn to pay attention to BOTH seatbones now.
Overall I think Trudi was much better in her back and during the attempts to do haunches in on the left she really took the bit in a way she almost never does. I think she was struggling enough that she was looking for support, or maybe she was just really through. In any case, it was a nice change. It was espeically nice that she did not start out stiff on this ride, or at least not nearly as stiff as she has been starting out. Spooks were ignored for the most part, although the snow melting outside the ring caused a puddle to form at the far end. The puddle kept growing each time we made a circuit, till it extended halfway down the center line. So we went from shying around it to eventually forcing her to go through it, which was pretty entertaining (and challenging). The first time she was trotting along, she paused, and then did like one step of piaffe, and then trotted on. It wasn't even a halt, just this like exaggerated pause- so bizarre. The next time around, she jumped it and covered about 4 feet with her leap. It was a very nice jump but I wasn't really ready for it, so it was old-fashioned hunter-print style on my part. As we were cooling out, we finally walked up to it, and she stopped, and snorted at it, tentatively put out a foot, pulled it back, snorted some more, and finally just walked through it. Good job, silly pony.
