Bending
In my lesson yesterday all we worked on with Leo was bending. During the week, all I worked on was trot - walk/trot transitions, then walk-halt transitions. After that bending seemed pretty exciting.
I've been worried about Leo's tendency to curl behind the vertical when I try to get him to take contact with the reins. I've been struggling with getting him to seek any contact on the outside rein, and he is always falling in on his inside shoulder. I focus on pushing him forward, not worrying too much about the position of his head - sometimes I even get him to stretch a little. One day is crap and the next day we seem to make a little progress.
Becca wasn't worried about Leo curling around the vertical. She said first I need to be able to control his neck and then I can worry about the placement of his head. When I asked Leo to bend, he stopped bending about halfway down his neck. You can see a big bulge in his neck right in the middle = he wasn't bending from the base of his neck. Becca called this out and we focused on correcting this. Working on a 20 meter circle, Becca had me over exaggerate the inside bend until Leo had no option but to bend through his whole neck in order to follow the rein. At first all he did was fall in over his shoulder, but we eventually started making progress and then he actually started using his back! Shocking!
When I ride by myself I never go all the way with the bending - I never ask enough. That's the great thing about having an instructor - they tell you what to do. Becca told me when to bend more, and when to release the bend. Also, since Leo struggles bending right, she had me alternate between an opening inside rein and an indirect rein.
Today, I did trot sets with Leo in the big field behind the barn. He liked it! We did 4 laps around the field at a trot, the field is on a big hill so one side of the loop was uphill and the other downhill. We rested and then repeated. Leo settled right into the trot and actually did a bit of stretching as he made his laps. I used the time to really concentrate on my right leg - and keeping that right heel down and in front of me. Now my leg is throbbing - I need to spend more time doing yoga and stretching that ankle.
Apollo is about 98% sound. I rode him today for 5 minutes at the walk and trot. It's been 4 weeks now that his foot bruise has kept him out of work. Even when he's lame, he's still a blast to ride!
I've been worried about Leo's tendency to curl behind the vertical when I try to get him to take contact with the reins. I've been struggling with getting him to seek any contact on the outside rein, and he is always falling in on his inside shoulder. I focus on pushing him forward, not worrying too much about the position of his head - sometimes I even get him to stretch a little. One day is crap and the next day we seem to make a little progress.
Becca wasn't worried about Leo curling around the vertical. She said first I need to be able to control his neck and then I can worry about the placement of his head. When I asked Leo to bend, he stopped bending about halfway down his neck. You can see a big bulge in his neck right in the middle = he wasn't bending from the base of his neck. Becca called this out and we focused on correcting this. Working on a 20 meter circle, Becca had me over exaggerate the inside bend until Leo had no option but to bend through his whole neck in order to follow the rein. At first all he did was fall in over his shoulder, but we eventually started making progress and then he actually started using his back! Shocking!
When I ride by myself I never go all the way with the bending - I never ask enough. That's the great thing about having an instructor - they tell you what to do. Becca told me when to bend more, and when to release the bend. Also, since Leo struggles bending right, she had me alternate between an opening inside rein and an indirect rein.
Today, I did trot sets with Leo in the big field behind the barn. He liked it! We did 4 laps around the field at a trot, the field is on a big hill so one side of the loop was uphill and the other downhill. We rested and then repeated. Leo settled right into the trot and actually did a bit of stretching as he made his laps. I used the time to really concentrate on my right leg - and keeping that right heel down and in front of me. Now my leg is throbbing - I need to spend more time doing yoga and stretching that ankle.
Apollo is about 98% sound. I rode him today for 5 minutes at the walk and trot. It's been 4 weeks now that his foot bruise has kept him out of work. Even when he's lame, he's still a blast to ride!
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