Disclaimer: I'm going to try to document my ride from yesterday, a good school, on Sasha, but I am just now drinking my first cup of coffee, so work with me please,......
Work with Sasha yesterday consisted of warming up with her long and deep, encouraging her to reach instead of block. Did lots of walk, just a little trot and then straight to canter. The canter really encourages her to step through and is easier for her to warm up from. From there, I feel we can move on with our work from that, and I feel that it sets her up to have a better trot warm up afterward. I am doing lots of longer rein, deep and low work in her warm-up. She has to get the reach and relaxation and swung (swing) through her back first. In talking with S, it does or has, rather, almost always taken Sasha a longer warmup than first expected perhaps, to get her where she needs to be for the work.
In the warm-up, I am also incorporating lots of counter-canter to true-canter, which really helps to straighten and strengthen her, but it is hard for her I think. Yesterday, especially, she was really blocking my outside rein half-halts, especially when I was turning onto a diagonal ( true-canter to counter-canter ) and then in the short-sides of the counter-canter. Perhaps, though too, thinking back on it now, I was asking for the counter-canter too early. I needed to perhaps get her more forward and do some shallow loops, introducing a little counter-canter, testing her on the outside rein, as well as do more work on the circle.
She is trying to back off of the leg and block the outside rein during the half-halt. I remember Nattie used to do that a little, and it's just pushing her through it and insisting she listen. I don't think Sasha is trying to do it as a 'bad behaviour', but I think it is her saying that what I am asking of her is hard. Mmmmmmm, I am going to work more on the circles and doing more suppleness work with her before the counter-canter and we'll see how it goes. It's just figuring it out, what works, why, and then being able to apply it to her and then also to learn that to apply it towards others. We'll get it.
In our work as well, we schooled the walk-canter transition and the set-up for it. (going into it, the transition, and going out of it sort of thing ). Because she was wanting to block my outside rein half-halt, the transition was not as clear b/c she did not want to step into that outside half-halt and come into the transition thoroughly. So, that is what we worked on and got it in the end, but it was not necessarily great to begin with. Ended with some walk-pirouettes that are coming along really great. She is good about them, b/c I have to really be disciplined about them for her to do them (the way it should be, ay? ;) ). I have to keep the inside leg on, instead of take it away as I will sometimes do, and keep the walk with that. As well, I have to just 'let her do it'. I think I have always just kept in my mind the little every step mantra in my head, when really it just makes me get in her side and face unnecessarily and confuse what was a clear communication and request for her to do. Instead, I have to be much calmer and just ask for her to do it and keep my own cool. I think I have tried to 'rush' it before, when really the walk and the walk work is at the walk pace, it is not supposed to be quick or 'over and done with' in a test at all. It's very important. ;)
I also dropped my stirrups, or rather, crossed them, for doing our work with. I really think highly of riding without stirrrups, and I KNOW I NEED TO DO IT MORE OFTEN. You do too. Ha. There. It is sooooo very good for you. I love it, especially b/c I know I am working and my leg feels so much longer. Also, my seat is deeper. It is a good thing.
Today I am going to work on a better warm up as we have been getting better and better, making sure she is through and supple before asking anything demanding. She has to be soft, through, and pushing first. In the work, I would really like to school the counter-canter and more shoulder-in in the canter with walk-canter transitions to change direction and to walk I think, just to reinforce yesterday's work. So, working on counter-canter with shoulder-fore/in canter work as well as using the walk-canters as my transitions and change of directions to reinforce yesterday's work. ( I know I just repeated myself,..........oh well.)
Also, I need to wear spurs with her. Yesterday, I did not, and I think that I need to when I am schooling her, and I think that will definitely help back up my leg and be able to be sharper with my corrections, when/if needed.
Happy Riding,
-Em
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