Retraining Apollo: It starts with the leg aid
Tonight I had my first cross country lesson on Apollo. To date, I have been working him in the fields - especially when there are horses being worked in the ring or elsewhere on the property. This has really helped him get used to being alone in a big field, despite visible activity on the farm. I also started walking him over the really small xc fences - basically all the poles and logs. I wanted to reintroduce him to xc in the most non-threatening way possible.
In our lessons, Lesley has reinforced that both my horses do not respect my leg - a major flaw in my training. For Leo it manifests itself in his lack of acceptance to the bit. For Apollo, the disrespect for my leg can be seen by the simple fact that when I put my leg on, he fails to move forward. Lesley quoted Jane Savoie: A rider should whisper a command and the horse should yell a response. In the case of Apollo, I yell with my commands and he whispers a response. It is impossible to combat a refusal or tantrum if Apollo doesn't respond to my leg aide.
On the flat, we've worked to retrain Apollo's appreciation for my leg by backing up my leg with my whip aide. At any time, Lesley wants me to be able to apply a light leg and get an immediate forward response from the horse. Apollo is quite shocked by the introduction of the whip aide, but he is respect my leg much more in just a few short rides. At the trot, I practice trotting 4 miles/hr (slow trot), 6 m/hr (normal trot) and 8m/hr (fast trot). The changing pace gets him "hot to my leg", as Lesley says. We also practice turn on the forehand frequently so that he respects moving off my leg (and into the outside rein).
Today, we practiced adjustability in the canter. Same exercise as trot: going from a normal canter to a gallop, when I apply my leg - Apollo needs to immediately go forward or my leg aide needs to be reinforced with the whip. Lesley is also a huge advocate for rewarding the horse with excessive praise and pets. I have found this rather hard to do, since I get to serious and focused. But clearly the results will be better if the horse feels good about what they are doing.
We practiced getting Apollo "hot to my leg" before we introduced any jumping. Lesley instructed me that in the approach to the fence, my hands had to be down and forward. Twenty feet out from the fence I had to sit back, put my leg on and widen my reins to control the channel. We started by walking back and forth over a log, then trotting the same log. Lesley drilled me not to touch his mouth at all in the approach. While I felt like I needed contact with his mouth, it is the wrong instinct (and a flaw in my riding in general). Contact and connection comes from the leg first - not the hand. If I feel the need for connection, I need more leg - not more hand (especially when approaching a fence).
We progressed to a bigger log, then a natural cross rail, then a palisades. Then we moved onto a stone wall. Here the old Apollo showed up. He stopped, threw his head, and started to bulge sideways like he wanted to turn away from the fence. But he was listening to my leg because he moved forward after he stopped. I continued forward and he forgot his fight and jumped the fence. Yay! After that, he was all business.
We landed from the wall and went on and jumped the coop. We did that a couple of times then jumped both fences going the other direction (in which the face of the jump was in shadow). No problem. Then we jumped some spooky barrels, also in shadow - no problem. Then we jumped a small 2 stride combination with the first fence covered in a shiny, white material. Then we cantered a cord wood pile. Apollo was fantastic!
I don't want to get my hopes up to high, but Apollo may have an eventing career yet! How exciting would that be!?
In our lessons, Lesley has reinforced that both my horses do not respect my leg - a major flaw in my training. For Leo it manifests itself in his lack of acceptance to the bit. For Apollo, the disrespect for my leg can be seen by the simple fact that when I put my leg on, he fails to move forward. Lesley quoted Jane Savoie: A rider should whisper a command and the horse should yell a response. In the case of Apollo, I yell with my commands and he whispers a response. It is impossible to combat a refusal or tantrum if Apollo doesn't respond to my leg aide.
On the flat, we've worked to retrain Apollo's appreciation for my leg by backing up my leg with my whip aide. At any time, Lesley wants me to be able to apply a light leg and get an immediate forward response from the horse. Apollo is quite shocked by the introduction of the whip aide, but he is respect my leg much more in just a few short rides. At the trot, I practice trotting 4 miles/hr (slow trot), 6 m/hr (normal trot) and 8m/hr (fast trot). The changing pace gets him "hot to my leg", as Lesley says. We also practice turn on the forehand frequently so that he respects moving off my leg (and into the outside rein).
Today, we practiced adjustability in the canter. Same exercise as trot: going from a normal canter to a gallop, when I apply my leg - Apollo needs to immediately go forward or my leg aide needs to be reinforced with the whip. Lesley is also a huge advocate for rewarding the horse with excessive praise and pets. I have found this rather hard to do, since I get to serious and focused. But clearly the results will be better if the horse feels good about what they are doing.
We practiced getting Apollo "hot to my leg" before we introduced any jumping. Lesley instructed me that in the approach to the fence, my hands had to be down and forward. Twenty feet out from the fence I had to sit back, put my leg on and widen my reins to control the channel. We started by walking back and forth over a log, then trotting the same log. Lesley drilled me not to touch his mouth at all in the approach. While I felt like I needed contact with his mouth, it is the wrong instinct (and a flaw in my riding in general). Contact and connection comes from the leg first - not the hand. If I feel the need for connection, I need more leg - not more hand (especially when approaching a fence).
We progressed to a bigger log, then a natural cross rail, then a palisades. Then we moved onto a stone wall. Here the old Apollo showed up. He stopped, threw his head, and started to bulge sideways like he wanted to turn away from the fence. But he was listening to my leg because he moved forward after he stopped. I continued forward and he forgot his fight and jumped the fence. Yay! After that, he was all business.
We landed from the wall and went on and jumped the coop. We did that a couple of times then jumped both fences going the other direction (in which the face of the jump was in shadow). No problem. Then we jumped some spooky barrels, also in shadow - no problem. Then we jumped a small 2 stride combination with the first fence covered in a shiny, white material. Then we cantered a cord wood pile. Apollo was fantastic!
I don't want to get my hopes up to high, but Apollo may have an eventing career yet! How exciting would that be!?
Related Posts on Training Apollo:
- Apollo is back to Form (August 2011)
- Reflections on this fall (December 2011)
- How we got here (May 2010)
Comments
Post a Comment