Ten meter circles: an epiphany.
To ride a clear ten meter circle with the hindquarters engaged and the horse softly on the bit going toward collection: the horse's outside foreleg abducts around the circle to turn the horse. The key is to bring your inside shoulder toward the horse's outside hip to keep the correct bend and engagement. The inside rein creates just enough bend, but DO NOT "hang" continually on the inside rein, rather give the inside rein periodically while keeping the horse in the outside rein, and keeping the horse's neck between the aids.
Thank you, Karen, for the giant light bulb hanging over my head during our lesson today!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Excerpt From "LOSGELASSENHEIT: Calmness, Relaxation, and Suppleness" by Dr. Thomas Ritter
An interesting excerpt detailing a trend that definitely happened to me with Delphi.
"Yet another category of calmness could be labeled "calm before the storm". This is a phenomenon that you can encounter especially in warmbloods. These horses withhold themselves. They "store" their energies, while appearing outwardly calm and downright lazy. Some of them appear quite unresponsive and work less and less, the harder the rider is working at trying to make them go forward. Then, when the unsuspecting rider least expects it, they can explode into a bucking fit, for no reason at all, other than that they cannot contain their slowly but surely mounting energy any more. New horse owners who just bought their first warmblood after riding exclusively Thoroughbreds, Quarter horses, or Arabians all of their life, are often in for a rude awakening, because they don’t understand their new horse’s psychology. Among baroque horses, this is luckily not a very common problem – probably due to the several additional centuries during which the baroque breeds have been selectively bred for dressage and for an outstanding character compared to most other breeds."
However, Dr. Ritter continues:
"the back of a horse who is losgelassen (implying obedience to the aids) is the safest place in the world for his rider, even in situations where something startles the horse, because the horse will remain on the aids, and the rider can re-establish the former calmness quickly and easily."
"Yet another category of calmness could be labeled "calm before the storm". This is a phenomenon that you can encounter especially in warmbloods. These horses withhold themselves. They "store" their energies, while appearing outwardly calm and downright lazy. Some of them appear quite unresponsive and work less and less, the harder the rider is working at trying to make them go forward. Then, when the unsuspecting rider least expects it, they can explode into a bucking fit, for no reason at all, other than that they cannot contain their slowly but surely mounting energy any more. New horse owners who just bought their first warmblood after riding exclusively Thoroughbreds, Quarter horses, or Arabians all of their life, are often in for a rude awakening, because they don’t understand their new horse’s psychology. Among baroque horses, this is luckily not a very common problem – probably due to the several additional centuries during which the baroque breeds have been selectively bred for dressage and for an outstanding character compared to most other breeds."
However, Dr. Ritter continues:
"the back of a horse who is losgelassen (implying obedience to the aids) is the safest place in the world for his rider, even in situations where something startles the horse, because the horse will remain on the aids, and the rider can re-establish the former calmness quickly and easily."
Friday, October 10, 2008
Activate the Inside Leg
By activating the inside hind leg, the horse carries more weight on the inside hind leg and the hock becomes engaged and steps further under the horse, causing the horse to "sit" by lowering it's haunches.
Say you're on a twenty meter circle in trot on the right rein (though this exercise works well within any gate); to activate the inside hind: put your inside leg just behind the girth and give a "kick" to swing the haunches away from your leg. Congruently with the leg aids, keep a steady contact on the outside rein while lowering your inside elbow and bringing the right rein up and out to shift the horse's quarters away and bring the head to the inside. When done properly at first on the green horse, you can feel the horse "jump" away from your inside leg. Then straighten the horse and ride forward, and even allow a bit of stretch by giving the inside rein, thereby also checking the horse's self carriage. This is an excellent exercise for unlocking resistance.
Say you're on a twenty meter circle in trot on the right rein (though this exercise works well within any gate); to activate the inside hind: put your inside leg just behind the girth and give a "kick" to swing the haunches away from your leg. Congruently with the leg aids, keep a steady contact on the outside rein while lowering your inside elbow and bringing the right rein up and out to shift the horse's quarters away and bring the head to the inside. When done properly at first on the green horse, you can feel the horse "jump" away from your inside leg. Then straighten the horse and ride forward, and even allow a bit of stretch by giving the inside rein, thereby also checking the horse's self carriage. This is an excellent exercise for unlocking resistance.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Product Review: Mosquito Halt
Product claim: a repellent that protects against flies and mosquitoes for up to two weeks.
Review: A chemically strong fly repellent, this spray does indeed seem to keep mosquitoes at bay. After hurricane Ike the mosquitoes in the Gulf South have become a real issue, as they always are this time of year, only slightly worse. This spray repels them and does stay on as long as you don't rinse, shampoo, or sweat it off.
Pros: The product does indeed repel mosquitoes and flies, and sticks to the horse until it is washed (or sweated) off.
Cons: It is heavy on chemicals and has an unpleasant perfume-like odor that clings to the horse's coat and even your hands after application. At $17 a bottle, it's a bit expensive.
Bottom line: Yes, it does what it says; it's strong stuff. If you can get past the chemical and perfume smell (which bothers me more than it does my horse) then it's a good product. I recommend it.
Review: A chemically strong fly repellent, this spray does indeed seem to keep mosquitoes at bay. After hurricane Ike the mosquitoes in the Gulf South have become a real issue, as they always are this time of year, only slightly worse. This spray repels them and does stay on as long as you don't rinse, shampoo, or sweat it off.
Pros: The product does indeed repel mosquitoes and flies, and sticks to the horse until it is washed (or sweated) off.
Cons: It is heavy on chemicals and has an unpleasant perfume-like odor that clings to the horse's coat and even your hands after application. At $17 a bottle, it's a bit expensive.
Bottom line: Yes, it does what it says; it's strong stuff. If you can get past the chemical and perfume smell (which bothers me more than it does my horse) then it's a good product. I recommend it.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Counter Canter
Short periods of counter canter, such as the shallow counter canter loop in first level test four are best when teaching a horse counter canter. A more advanced exercise that Karen Brown taught me with Delphi is as follows:
Say you're in left canter. Make a smallish (fifteen meter) circle to the left in the left canter lead while doing left flexions to the inside and right counter flexions to the outside to establish a soft, obedient connection. Once the flexions are established and the horse is obedient they can be small: as you half halt with your seat, lower your elbow on the side you're flexing toward and "raise" the rein "out" to create the flexion. (I use quatation marks here because the movement should be obvious to the horse but through training eventually become so subtle that they are invisible to the casual observer on the ground.) Especially on a green horse, be sure to maintain a clear left canter aid with your seat and legs by sitting into the saddle with the normal swing and jump of the canter and keeping your left leg at the girth to create left bend and impulsion and keeping your right leg behind the girth to maintain the hindquarters and impulsion. (Emphasis on "impulsion!") As you cross the centerline, keep the well defined left canter cues with your seat and legs, all the while maintaining your flexions and counter flexions as you turn to the right. Turn and look to the right (but keep your left lead aids) as you begin a larger (20 meter) circle to the right in left lead counter canter. Be sure to continue the flexions during the entire movement to keep the poll and jaw soft and the horse obedient. As you again cross the centerline, straighten the horse and then ride forward back into the smaller circle to the left in left lead canter. You basically make a figure of eight in canter. This also allows you to practice the three loop serpentine in second level test one if you only have a small twenty by forty meter arena for schooling!
Say you're in left canter. Make a smallish (fifteen meter) circle to the left in the left canter lead while doing left flexions to the inside and right counter flexions to the outside to establish a soft, obedient connection. Once the flexions are established and the horse is obedient they can be small: as you half halt with your seat, lower your elbow on the side you're flexing toward and "raise" the rein "out" to create the flexion. (I use quatation marks here because the movement should be obvious to the horse but through training eventually become so subtle that they are invisible to the casual observer on the ground.) Especially on a green horse, be sure to maintain a clear left canter aid with your seat and legs by sitting into the saddle with the normal swing and jump of the canter and keeping your left leg at the girth to create left bend and impulsion and keeping your right leg behind the girth to maintain the hindquarters and impulsion. (Emphasis on "impulsion!") As you cross the centerline, keep the well defined left canter cues with your seat and legs, all the while maintaining your flexions and counter flexions as you turn to the right. Turn and look to the right (but keep your left lead aids) as you begin a larger (20 meter) circle to the right in left lead counter canter. Be sure to continue the flexions during the entire movement to keep the poll and jaw soft and the horse obedient. As you again cross the centerline, straighten the horse and then ride forward back into the smaller circle to the left in left lead canter. You basically make a figure of eight in canter. This also allows you to practice the three loop serpentine in second level test one if you only have a small twenty by forty meter arena for schooling!
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