Obermeister is Back!

Three questions.  Three simple answers.  At THE BARN today with Karen Brown. *Cheers of joy!*

Q: Concerning canter pirouette, what should a correct pirouette feel like, and should one attempt to school it alone on a trained horse?

A: A canter pirouette feels like the horse, from a haunches in position, jumps in very collected canter strides around a very small circle described by the horse's hind legs.  The sensation of each canter stride is "canter in place" but the jump must be maintained in the gait.  Only when one has sufficient mastery of riding full canter pirouette (by understanding completely the process through having mastered it by repetition preferably over an acceptable amount of time on multiple horses in front of a knowledgeable trainer) should one attempt to school it alone.  In my case it is best for me to school quarter pirouettes in collected canter while riding a square, as previously learned with Delphi: canter a very straight line, then bring the outside leg back only slightly and and have the horse carry the shoulders around the haunches-- one stride, two strides-- of canter pirouette, then canter straight ahead again and repeat the process while describing, for example, a 20 meter diamond configured square. 

Q: What's an exercise that will help improve canter half pass?

A: Do NOT school endless lines of half pass and think this will somehow improve-- it won't and has the potential to make things worse.  Rather practice moving the shoulders and the haunches around a large circle (as described earlier).  For canter, school haunches in along the wall: in collected canter keep the horse's haunches bent around your inside leg with the haunches in.  If you were to nail an imaginary yardstick to the star on your horse's forehead, the yardstick would be directly perpendicular to the arena wall with the horse's body bent around your inside leg in a C shape.  Balance the exercise by returning to an absolutely straight canter (by allowing a return to straightness by softening the inside rein), then ride shoulder fore in canter, then straighten, then haunches in and so on.  Guard against whipping back and forth speedily from haunches in to shoulder fore; rather intentionally school a phase of straight canter between each. 

Q: Transitions!  Help me for the love of all that's holy! 

A: In canter, think of riding with a dot painted on the outside of your hip, just below your belt and straight up from your stirrup.  The dot will move in a circular motion in canter.  For a transition to collected canter, cause the dot to move more up and down in a vertical oval shape.  For a transition to trot/walk/halt spring up, up, up in the saddle drawing the horse's withers up to your seat into a soft transition to the gait (or halt) into which you ride forward.  Guard against stiffness by allowing elasticity and softening in your forearms and by being quick to give in the reins.

Victory

Our first off campus date together at Belle Terre Farm was a success.  Rijkens and I learned together at our two day mini clinic with Lurena Bell, then followed up by doing well at third level in the schooling show on the final day.  We now feel confident to go out and conquer at the bigger rated shows!

 Rijkens was relaxed and happy.

The take home message?  I must be "busy" at staying relaxed and supple in my own body.

Tough

Training horses is easy.

Learning to train horses is VERY hard.

The things I know that I know how to train a horse to do, such as trailer loading, in-hand work, or shoulder-in for example, come simply and seemingly effortlessly for horses I've worked with.  The struggle for me is learning to teach a horse the things that I haven't yet taught multiple horses to do.  Yes I could write a lecture on how to get a horse to do these things but I'm finding in the actual lab of the arena it is sometimes tough to create and maintain the alchemy of balance and harmony.

However I persist in my study of the art and science of training, and my horses continue to instruct me how to best educate them.  Of course the diligent and intentional instruction from competent horsemen/women who have multiple years on multiple horses of experience is indispensable.

Shoulders and Haunches

...are what we focused on in our lesson with Karen Brown today.  Specifically intended to sharpen Rijkens' half pass, the exercise of moving the shoulders over then activating the (in the case of half pass) outside hind to bring the haunches in.

It works like this: develop good impulsion and self-carriage in trot on a circle.  Then counter flex to the outside of the circle and carry the shoulders toward toward the inside of the circle ("in").  When that is crisp ask for steps of haunches in (toward the outside of, or away from, the circle); this is like half pass around a circle.  If/when Rijkens "falls" on his shoulder I again ask him to carry his shoulders in.

Key for me is absolutely insisting that Rijkens maintains energy and impulsion, thus maintaining through-ness and self-carriage on his part.

The gleam in my eye:

The Back as a Sensory Organ

Especially important in transitions, cultivating the back as a sensory organ is necessary for me to ride Rijkens, Tiede, and indeed all horses in harmony and with finesse.  Today during our lesson with Karen Brown we worked on "pushing into the glass wall" with my half halts-- that is using my back and pressing my elbows down.  For transitions I use my seat to spring up up up into the transition which allows me to fluidly go with the horse, and communicates to the horse through his back to make the transition (rather than using the reins).  A simple, and elegant lesson. 

Baby Boy

What a treat it was to get these precious baby photos in the mail from Rijkens' birth mom who still owns Rijkens' dam Ladybug.  Here they are together when Rijkens was about four months old.

Excellent conformation even as a baby: 

 Adorable face:

 Nice neck, even then; Rijkens still rocks the punk mane look:

 Cuteness defined:

Though these photos show he does look a lot like his mom Ladybug, there is no denying Rijkens is a true son of his sire Rantares.  Here is Rantares with Cheryl Kellerman, Rijkens' breeder and first trainer:

Peace

Mondays are becoming my favorite days of the week.  Typically the day off for horses and horse-folk, Monday 'round the barn is very peaceful.  No trainers, almost never any boarders, only Rijkens' quiet grooms are around and we have the whole place to ourselves and we can move at whatever pace we choose.  Today I rode Rijkens in the outdoor dressage court during an unexpected but luxurious overcast and breezy several minutes of cool-ish weather before it rained.  Among other things we schooled canter transitions, counter canter, and collected and extended canter.  Once we established maintaining the same canter lead, we progressed to changes of lead on straight lines.  I did not count strides as in the tempis, rather changed leads three times on each straight line when the canter was sufficiently balanced, uphill, and collected.  Rijkens and I really communicated today and were able to achieve harmony.

 

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."  John 14:27

Allowing Lightness

Rijkens is definitely uphill, light and springy.  My job is to keep the engagement and and continue to lift and lighten with my aids.  Snapshots from our lesson today:

Video clip of Karen Brown schooling Rijkens:

Fiver

Each of the five horses I schooled today were absolute pumpkins.  Here's a one-word description of every pony today:

Rose: intelligent
Apashia: easy
Rijkens: advance
Juno: flying
Rocky: through

As my trainer Karen would say, it's been a red letter day.

Bonus: we had a good break in the rain and all the horses enjoyed their paddock time today.

Snapshots for the Scrapbook

Rijkens schooling in Florida:

Medium trot:

 Jump in canter?

 Collection:

 Piaffe:

Bending the hocks:

 Lest we begin to think he is a unicorn, yes he does have the occasional opinion:

 But oh how I love, love, love him!