• Leg yield quarter line to the wall. These are getting pretty darn good!
• The square. I have been starting to ask him to walk a square, teaching him how to move off the outside aids a little more and step under himself. Pretty good going to the left, a little sticky to the right yet.
• Foward and back. Half halts are pretty well installed now (well, for a 3 year old), which has allowed me to start some transitions within the trot. I ask for big trot, then little trot, then sharp push back to big trot. He's quick off the leg, but when I half halt to bring him back, he gets behind the vertical sometimes. This could be because I need to add more leg, or just a balance issue or I could be using too much hand? Maybe a combo of all of them? Anyway, something to work on there.
• 2-3 steps of shoulder in at the walk. Check! That'll all I will do for a while, but I thought I would at least introduce the concept to him.
• Trot to canter transitions. The bucking and kicking out is pretty rare these days. Transitions are much MUCH better, and the canter actually feels like I'm riding a young warmblood, and not a out of control, wobbly yack. Progress indeed! Picks up both leads fine, still a little bit falling in to the right but we'll get there. This week I may add a little bit of a straight away at the canter. We have mostly been sticking to large (25+ meter) circles.
• And of course, more transitions. Walk to trot. Trot to walk. Trot to halt. Walk to halt. Blah blah. Boring, but vital.
I'm really hoping by next week I can get back into a normal routine. Because right now there isn't one. Ugh.
Very impressive! I'm a tiny bit jealous... ok, I admit, I'm totally jealous!
ReplyDeleteI'm sort of still making a transition from riding everything like a hunter under saddle horse to sitting up and really riding.
When I get my body to do what its supposed to, ie. sit up tall and get my butt back underneath me, my little project horse does great. The rest of the time we both feel like we're about to fall apart and wondering why we can't get back that great trot and thinking "Oh yeah... right leg back... shoulders turned... when will the pain stop????"
http://mytrainingproject.blogspot.com/
Wow! Love your new pics! Hampton looks bright red and almost glowing in that light. Also, there's nothing like black and white to make a bay horse pop.
ReplyDeleteYou remind me every post of how much I need a dressage trainer after I get back from my broken ankle. I need someone to make me focus on the little things every day. I love that you really focus on transitions (coming from the hunter world, transitions were never that important until the young horses who didn't know them came along).
What is 'the square' and 'the needle' I know I have a copy of that 101 exercises book, but I haven't been able to find it.
Can't wait to see even more pictures!
Thanks guys! Oh, the Needlepoint exercise is Exercise #2 in 101 Dressage Exercises. I think the square is in there, too, but I'll have to go look for it. :-)
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