Postby demi » Fri Apr 24, 2020 9:42 pm
I was disappointed after yesterday’s ride but I shouldn’t have been. Things had been going very nicely since the applying some of the tips on riding with a shorter rein. But yesterday she started right out with a little heaviness on the bit, and decidedly not marching. Tapping her up with the whip got her marching but she was still heavy on the bit. When we started trot, she got even heavier in my hands and she resisted the downward transitions. I had been doing strong (and I should say “strong” by old lady amateur standards) thigh halfhalts to walk for 2-3 steps and quickly back up to trot. Well, yesterday she just wouldn’t cooperate with that anymore. I powered through and by the end of the ride I was sore. Not my quads, or hamstrings, or core, but the area where the upper thigh connects to the hips. Felt like tendons or ligaments or something.
I wasn’t mad at her or anything like that, but I was thinking maybe I was unfairly trying to make her a dressage horse when she wasn’t purpose bred for it. Then later, saw Kelo’s post and after taking it to heart, and mulling it over, I had a very different attitude,and a new plan when I rode her today. And we had a very nice ride!
Today I did my usual warmup, short rein right from the start, and she was too heavy and not marching. Right away I stopped her with a thigh halfhalt, and waited till she lightened on the bit. As soon as she lightened, I relaxed my hands (but didn’t lengthen the reins even by a frog’s hair), and schooched her forward with my seat until she started walking on light bit contact. We had to do this several times, but she got the idea and it was nice.
When we started to trot, she charged forward into the bit and resisted coming back to a walk even with strong thigh halfhalts. So instead of coming back to a few steps of walk, I just did some quick, pulsey thigh half halts, asking for just a softening, not a walk transition. After just a few of these she got very cooperative and the trot became nice and balanced.
I wanted to reward her cooperation so I only did left lead canter (right lead is the hard one).
I think the whole issue was that the corrections I was making for the problems I was having with shorter rein, were just too strong and to much for her. She needed me to anchor myself with my thighs, but she didnt need to come back to a walk, even for just a few steps. The quick, strong thigh halfhalts got her attention but coming back to a walk felt like punishment to her naturally forward inclination. And tapping her up with the whip was somehow insulting because all she needed was a little scootch forward from my seat. She still needs lots and lots of thigh half halts, but she doesn’t need really strong corrections. I was insensitively shouting at her when all I needed to do was ask clearly and help her understand what I wanted. Mea culpa. Of course.
Sorry this is so long, but I needed to write it out for my own review, and clarification.