Bright days

[glenatron]

Is it Sunday? Has it been a bright sunny weekend? Does that mean you get a bunch of excessive picspam?

Yesterday we went off and did a bit of schooling with the ponies- I was trying to pick up on some of the straightening work we got so much out of last week, keeping that straightness and asking Zorro to quit poking his nose a little without losing speed.

A work in progress, but we're at a place where this is useful to develop I think.


Yesterday we were a bit worried that we had missed a chance to go hacking out in the dry but actually this morning arrived very bright and sunny. So much so that Zorro's mane and chest wig were illuminated...


Just sittin' on the trail. Posin'.

It was a lovely ride- Small is so much more himself than he has been in a long time and it is such a great chance to show them some of the trails that Zorro and I have explored over the last year or so.


Schooling Xefira continues to be an absolute pleasure. She is so comfortable and easy to ride and she remembers stuff really well. She's still learning about the lesson about bending and going straight on the circle rather than leaning in like a harley. Today we had one of the other ponies on the yard go charging about with her tack on before her ride while I was with Xefira and she got very excited, but I kept her with me by relentlessly giving her things to do until she settled again.

I was still wearing my chinks from our trail ride as we were running a tiny bit late when we got home...


I asked sleepsy_mouse to ride her after me just to see how she felt Xefira is doing. Got some nice pictures of the young lusitano looking a little like a proper dressage horse.



A charming cob in his field enjoying the January sun.

Comments

[serennig]

Snow's gone, already?

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, it doesn't tend to last beyond a week or two here. We've been above zero for the last week or so- some heavy rain but no snow for a while, which is more typical British winter weather.

We'll quite possibly get more before the winter is out, if the jet streams start redirecting air down from Siberia again.

[jacketeer.livejournal.com]

Hey, I found your journal from equestrian :) Mind if I add you?

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

New friends always welcome.

[puddleshark.livejournal.com]

Hope it's okay if I add you too? Those magnificent hairy cob pictures make my day!

[harnessphoto.livejournal.com]

He'll have you laughing until your sides hurt. You've been warned.

[jacketeer.livejournal.com]

Oh my D:

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

Now Dom has set the bar so high, I can only disappoint. Which is probably worse...

[joycemocha.livejournal.com]

Pictures look really good! I like the way Xefira was moving in both pix. Tracking up quite nicely.

The Z-man looks good there. One tip I would give (probably harder to do with your rope reins rather than flat leather, which is why I like the flat leather) is that I'd focus on closing the rein between your index finger and thumb, and bringing the hand more vertical. I learned this one both from my trainer and from a friend who rode with Jean-Claude Racinet. It allows for more subtle and softer communication than focusing on that ring finger and putting more weight on that. Ring fingers then can be used for fluttering and light vibrations, but rein length and placement gets focused on index finger and thumb (which also carries over nicely to neck-rein curb work in either split rein or romal). It also allows you to ride with a more open hand, which can be helpful with an opinionated beastie who wants to Have Discussions about contact at times.

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

I have been called often enough on the opposite - Julian makes the point that you hold the reins as much between third and fourth finger as between finger and thumb - that it seems to be fairly academic. On the whole I will hold the reins quite lightly through my hand but I was trying to work more on being correct in more of a dressidge kind of a way. If you look at the picture with Xefira I've not even got my reins running over my third finger- if I need to be able to change my presentation quickly I revert to riding on a bridge and changing hands as needed.

[joycemocha.livejournal.com]

Who is Julian?

I'd disagree with him about the focus on third and fourth fingers, especially if you have any inclination to transfer toward riding one-handed in a curb. Vertical hands are more correct for any particular style whether it's Western, hunt seat or dressage, and Racinet was pretty much correct in the world of dressage (though a Baucherist through and through).

And if you look at the pictures of top Western performance exhibitors (particularly Bob Avila, who my trainer cites as one of his mentors), you'll see that their hands are even lighter on the rein in the snaffle, even during training sessions. I find the more effective bridge comes from riding with Western split reins in the snaffle. Cross the splits over the neck, pick up the connected reins, and you can have the strength of a bridge with very light fingering.

I really recommend you look at Avila's hands if you can find some pix of him riding snaffle.

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

I saw him ride at the Worlds Greatest a couple of years ago. He seemed passing competent at sitting on a horse. I didn't notice his hands in particular, but then the whole thing was so new to me then that I would have had no idea what I was looking out without Jennifer and Martin to point things out.

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

Julian Marczak is our riding instructor- Charles Harris was his mentor and he rode a lot with Oliviera and Danny Pevsner. Very much Spanish Riding School influenced, but as deep in the classical tradition as anybody you will find. When it comes to dressage I trust his word absolutely, but that doesn't necessarily mean that I'm understanding the things he says in the way he would hope for me to.

The idea I have got from him ( given that I've only had the reins in a few lessons over the last few years ) is that the rein is really a line from the bit to the rider's elbow and that you want don't want your hand to be too involved in that. I suspect using the snaffle this way opens the door for correct use of the double bridle later on. Of course, when you're working with a younger horse or one who needs more active participation with the rein then that is likely to change, but I'm experimenting with trying to work that way with Zorro a little as he starts to be more steady in other respects.

[http://users.livejournal.com/blitzen_/]

oooh, xefira looks GORGEOUS. what a nice horse!

was thinking it seems lovely and green there now. how much daylight do you get to play with?

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

She's lovely and she's really starting to grow into herself.

It's getting brighter now since the winter solstice- yesterday I noticed it wasn't quite dark by 4:30, which it was a few weeks ago. This time of year you wouldn't want to be riding out much after 4:00 though if you hoped to be visible.

[penella22.livejournal.com]

Love the pic of Zorro's illuminated mane.

Ahh, so different from the weather I rode in today...

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

We have a lot more colours. It has actually been back to zero the last few nights and cold during the days, but just frost- no snow for a while.

Zorro was absolutely loving stomping through the ice- he would put his nose right down to an inch above it then crunch his way through puddles.

[joycemocha.livejournal.com]

Somehow I can see Mr. Cob liking to stomp through ice puddles! Miss Mocha is only now starting to pick up on that, but then again, she's a princess and finicky about her footing. Still kind of strange to me, considering all my other horses have been more of a par with Zorro about stomping through the ice.

[skiesfirepaved.livejournal.com]

I adore that 'posing on the trail' photo that you shared on Facebook; I would happily buy a print and frame it if it ever became available...

Also, the matching expressions from you and Xefira induced many lulz.

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

I uploaded it at a fair size so I could use it as my backdrop on my PC at work ( lame, I know ) so if you go to "all sizes" on Flickr there it's a fair size...