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Looking up
Jul. 23rd, 2007 07:47 amTrudi gave me a great present on Saturday and was fabulous in our lesson. I was kind of stiff and uncoordinated at first, but Jessica had me flexing and stretching Trudi a lot in our warmup and it really helped both of us. It was interesting for me to note that when going to the right Trudi was having trouble bending right because of tension in her left side- and having figured that out, I was able to loosen her up and get her much straighter and more through. The canter work is still hard but I think it's just a strength issue and once Trudi's built up it should get really nice. Had a reminder about going from elementary hand position (hands low and resting on the saddle) to a more refined position- hands up a bit and over the withers- but Trudi liked it. We did some shoulder in and haunches in on a 20m circle at walk and trot- not much bend yet, but sometimes even a couple of inches seems to make a difference. It was a real eye opener for me, because I want to try and muscle the lateral work and make it happen, and I felt like with the haunches in on a circle you really can't- you just have to ask and that's it. It was all about release- flex, then release, ask, then relax. I was finally convinced to release my inside rein and try using my seat and legs to get the bend, and the surprising result was that we had a few moments of perfect connection- it was so fun, we felt beautiful.
Sunday was more of a struggle- I think we were both tired and everything was harder, but still had a good workout. Trudi likes to get stuck just at the base of her neck- she doesn't want to give and I can really feel it in our transitions, especially trot to walk. When I try to insist that she stay stretched there she gets irritated- she wants to hollow and collapse into the walk. She'd like to go hollow into the trot too, but usually walk to trot is better - I think because more of the energy can go forward and she doesn't have to shift the weight back as much. Something else to work on, but I know if I get those transitions really good it's going to help her a lot.
Gave Trudi a nice bath afterward- she'll be dirty again soon, I'm sure, but I think she really enjoys the spa treatment. I scrubbed her socks and put conditioner on her hooves, and shampooed and conditioned her mane and tail and combed them out. She is looking really good now, she seems to have filled out some and has such a nice shape. The muscles in her hindquarters have gotten really solid and her neck is getting more muscled.
Sunday was more of a struggle- I think we were both tired and everything was harder, but still had a good workout. Trudi likes to get stuck just at the base of her neck- she doesn't want to give and I can really feel it in our transitions, especially trot to walk. When I try to insist that she stay stretched there she gets irritated- she wants to hollow and collapse into the walk. She'd like to go hollow into the trot too, but usually walk to trot is better - I think because more of the energy can go forward and she doesn't have to shift the weight back as much. Something else to work on, but I know if I get those transitions really good it's going to help her a lot.
Gave Trudi a nice bath afterward- she'll be dirty again soon, I'm sure, but I think she really enjoys the spa treatment. I scrubbed her socks and put conditioner on her hooves, and shampooed and conditioned her mane and tail and combed them out. She is looking really good now, she seems to have filled out some and has such a nice shape. The muscles in her hindquarters have gotten really solid and her neck is getting more muscled.
