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16 March 2008 23:07![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
glenatronYesterday we had a lesson with Silversand associate instructor Karen French, having a session each with our horses.
Zorro and I were first out and as we went into the school the heavens opened so we did some pretty damp groundwork. My objective was to work on getting us really going forward- Zorro is very good at backwards and vertically upwards, but he can be a little reluctant to really drive forwards - surely something that comes from me - so we started working on that.
Me working from a bit further behind Zorro to help drive him on a bit and create a really positive forward movement. You will notice that he looks quite damp and so does the saddle. It stopped raining before I started riding, having done a good job of making the saddle really wet.
Working on forwardness. Karen is indicating which way forward is.
I think at this point she was actually getting me to use things right on the horizon as my targets to keep us from petering out as we approach the side of the school.
This was just after I asked us to move onwards into trot. You'll notice that Zorro looks a bit stroppy here, but that is not entirely accurate- he was actually very stroppy. This picture was between bucks. The nice thing about him is that he bucks to indicate that he is furious rather than with any serious intention to unseat me- I've seen what he can do when he is really throwing himself around and it's a lot more hectic than that...
By the end of the lesson we were getting a lot more momentum in walk and trot, with me really trying to create the feeling of him almost moving out from under me and making sure that we always have direction and meaning in what we are doing. It will take a bit of work, but this is going to need to be my real work for the next few months.
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sleepsy_mouse and Small pony were next up, continuing to work on helping him to feel confident in the school and to get away from the idea that any time he is asked for anything in that environment he should take it as a request to go forward.
Working to get a bit of lateral movement on the ground, with the aim of getting Small to understand that this is something he can do without needing to run away. With a little work wheresleepsy_mouse was just walking out behind him if he got ahead he quickly started to realise that he could just stay with her and try some different things when she asked for something he didn't understand. That in itself is a big change for him.
Under saddle he is starting to realise that he can relax and reach a bit, he doesn't have to drop his back away, pick his head up and go along in a banana kind of outline. He still tends to do that in trot, but in walk he is getting better.
Karen used some of her Alexander Technique to helpsleepsy_mouse get her seat more relaxed so that Small could relax more with her- the outcome was very interesting with his eyes actually starting to close and his head coming down as they worked on it.
He was really starting to understand a bit of the sideways movement, particularly on this rein.
On the other rein he was finding it harder so Karen was helping everyone involved find the best position to make it easy for him.
I just like this picture, very positive.
Until recently I would have had to pick out one or two pictures from a whole session to get ones where Small was looking this comfortable and focussed on his work rather than worrying about things. That in itself is a big step forward.
Sorry,evil_c, I forgot to ask whether she would be able to help with you and Piceur (though I'm sure she would ) - I kept meaning to then suddenly realised I had forgotten after Karen left. Bad glenatron :( - I suggest giving her a call on 01233 631101 and talking it through with her.
This evening when we brought the ponies in Zorro had Opinions which mean't I basically brought in a firework display. Mostly he was keeping a couple of feet on the floor, but which ones varied quite a lot. I think the combination of bad weather, excitement about dinner and the beginnings of spring grass went to his head a little. It was quite hectic for a little while, but there was a lot of energy there and had it been less of a swamp I might have been tempted to take him down to the school and just have a bit of a play.
Zorro and I were first out and as we went into the school the heavens opened so we did some pretty damp groundwork. My objective was to work on getting us really going forward- Zorro is very good at backwards and vertically upwards, but he can be a little reluctant to really drive forwards - surely something that comes from me - so we started working on that.
Me working from a bit further behind Zorro to help drive him on a bit and create a really positive forward movement. You will notice that he looks quite damp and so does the saddle. It stopped raining before I started riding, having done a good job of making the saddle really wet.
Working on forwardness. Karen is indicating which way forward is.
I think at this point she was actually getting me to use things right on the horizon as my targets to keep us from petering out as we approach the side of the school.
This was just after I asked us to move onwards into trot. You'll notice that Zorro looks a bit stroppy here, but that is not entirely accurate- he was actually very stroppy. This picture was between bucks. The nice thing about him is that he bucks to indicate that he is furious rather than with any serious intention to unseat me- I've seen what he can do when he is really throwing himself around and it's a lot more hectic than that...
By the end of the lesson we were getting a lot more momentum in walk and trot, with me really trying to create the feeling of him almost moving out from under me and making sure that we always have direction and meaning in what we are doing. It will take a bit of work, but this is going to need to be my real work for the next few months.
sleepsy_mouse and Small pony were next up, continuing to work on helping him to feel confident in the school and to get away from the idea that any time he is asked for anything in that environment he should take it as a request to go forward.Working to get a bit of lateral movement on the ground, with the aim of getting Small to understand that this is something he can do without needing to run away. With a little work where
sleepsy_mouse was just walking out behind him if he got ahead he quickly started to realise that he could just stay with her and try some different things when she asked for something he didn't understand. That in itself is a big change for him.Under saddle he is starting to realise that he can relax and reach a bit, he doesn't have to drop his back away, pick his head up and go along in a banana kind of outline. He still tends to do that in trot, but in walk he is getting better.
Karen used some of her Alexander Technique to help
sleepsy_mouse get her seat more relaxed so that Small could relax more with her- the outcome was very interesting with his eyes actually starting to close and his head coming down as they worked on it.He was really starting to understand a bit of the sideways movement, particularly on this rein.
On the other rein he was finding it harder so Karen was helping everyone involved find the best position to make it easy for him.
I just like this picture, very positive.
Until recently I would have had to pick out one or two pictures from a whole session to get ones where Small was looking this comfortable and focussed on his work rather than worrying about things. That in itself is a big step forward.
Sorry,
evil_c, I forgot to ask whether she would be able to help with you and Piceur (though I'm sure she would ) - I kept meaning to then suddenly realised I had forgotten after Karen left. Bad glenatron :( - I suggest giving her a call on 01233 631101 and talking it through with her.This evening when we brought the ponies in Zorro had Opinions which mean't I basically brought in a firework display. Mostly he was keeping a couple of feet on the floor, but which ones varied quite a lot. I think the combination of bad weather, excitement about dinner and the beginnings of spring grass went to his head a little. It was quite hectic for a little while, but there was a lot of energy there and had it been less of a swamp I might have been tempted to take him down to the school and just have a bit of a play.
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Date: 17 Mar 2008 00:58 (UTC)HAY THAR, KEN. I BE POINTIN' AT YUU.
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Date: 17 Mar 2008 12:11 (UTC)no subject
Date: 17 Mar 2008 22:50 (UTC)For the record, I don't know what I was doing.