Before asking for the alignment in lateral exercises, be sure that the horse is good in the ribcage first by riding him straight, then getting the inside flexion while he is still straight and then adding the alignment last, keeping his shoulder from falling in and keeping his ribcage in a good position from your inside leg. Be able to separate it, that you can get flexion without aligning him right away, which makes him better in the ribcage. For Jazzy, ride him less low, with his ears up at the end of his long neck. It is more important to get the flexion without him getting low in the neck. Sometimes you can ride him rounder, deeper as an exercise but I need to work on the lateral suppleness so he doesn't think everything to do with the bit has to do with only being deeper. As he warms up, Jazzy gets cruising so use that to keep him more uphill, otherwise he'll be really forward but still a little on the forehand, so be sure that all the time you're working to get him off the forehand more and more. One way of doing this is to stay taller in your position, squeeze the outside rein and make him wait on you a bit.
If you get a not-perfect walk to canter transition, freshen the canter and make it better first, then go back and improve the walk to canter transition. For canter to walk, step down into a deep inside leg, freshen the canter, then make the canter shorter, shorter, shorter, walk. For walk to canter: keep your inside leg deep, take it off a couple times and bump bump down a little to wake him up, squeeze on the outside rein and keep the outside rein in the transition, take your outside leg off, bring it back and then ask for the canter with your inside heel down (bring your outside leg back without it being on him and then your inside leg). If you slide your outside leg back, then you push the haunches in. Remember he has to be prompt and pay attention to your leg.
An exercise to improve rideability for the canter: ride half pass toward the centerline and then change the flexion, stay cantering on the same line then change the flexion back to the true lead then turn in that direction without doing a change. So half pass from the longside toward the centerline, keeping his shoulders on the line, then counter flex him but keep his shoulders in the same positioning then flex him back to the true canter lead flexion then track in the direction of the canter lead. So you can play around with the flexion without doing the change. So that you can control the shoulders and that you can flex him without him thinking about doing the change. It helps to half pass directly out of the corner because you can really bend him and put his haunches to the inside and make the point that his ears and his shoulders lead slightly because you already have control of the haunches. On the short side, get the haunches more to the inside so that you know they'll be available when you start the half pass. You need to be able to keep the haunches caught up (for Jazzy, especially the right huanches when cantering on the left lead). If he gets too strong and won't let you half pass, walk and do the half pass at the walk, almost halting and really bringing the haunches with the half pass, then canter and do the half pass in canter. Remember to keep the outside rein, outside leg control, keeping him on your outside elbow.
Note: when you counter-flex him (let's say to the right while cantering on the left lead) don't turn him right, he has to keep turning left and you flex him right, using both reins. The new outside rein (the counterflexion rein) yields him over and the left rein keeps him and is supported by your deep, weighted inside leg keeping him really cantering on the left lead. When cantering on the right lead, keep his shoulders right but be able to flex him left. Keep him in shoulder fore right, and your left rein can flex him left but the right rein has to lead him right. Looking left, but turning right, even on a straight line. On a circle, the line in the middle of his chest stays on the circle, and you can flex his poll right or left your choice, but his shoulders and chest stay turning on the circle in shoulder fore.
No comments:
Post a Comment