Looking Forward to 2026

 

Just back from a fabulous trip to Amsterdam.  The canals, the architecture, the museums.  We walked and walked(and ate and ate!) and had the best time.

Now it’s time to think about 2026.  While I’m not going to set hard and fast goals, I have some things I’d love to accomplish in the new year:

*continue training Cruise with LM as often as possible-something like weekly or biweekly 

*start working in LM’s outdoor ring, with all the distractions it offers, in the spring 

*continue exploring The School of Legerete, through LM, but also educating myself from other sources

*clinic Cruise with PIppa Callanan in the spring and fall 

*do some Dressage Show Online tests with Cruise-maybe at Second Level but we’ll see

*improve Cruise’s field lunging and riding

*continue exploring the Legerete in-hand work and flexions with Jet(which he has really taken to)

*possibly lightly ride Jet if he continues to do so well with the Legerete dismounted work

So, I think that will keep me busy!  What plans and goals are on your 2026 list?  Wishing you and your ponies a happiest of New Years!

Flexions and In-Hand the Legerete Way

 

The flexions are integral to The School of Legerete.  This VIDEO is very representative of how I have been taught the flexions and it’s also kind of cool since it is shot from various angles.  Cruise is getting pretty solid on these.  We’re working on being a little higher in lightness, better neck extensions, and having his right flexion match his left.  We’re getting close and it’s been amazing how much this has helped his under saddle work.  From the saddle he is so much more able to bend evenly, lift his shoulders, and rock back-all from static work!

The in-hand work is not static and I would say of lunging, flexions, and in-hand, it’s the one we find most challenging to do correctly.  An excellent video HERE does a really good job of demonstrating how I have been taught.  We’re starting to get the shoulder-in correctly and then we will start more trot work.  Between this and straight line lunging I’m really feeling the burn!

I love how in Legerete the aids and exercises for the lunging, flexions, in-hand, and riding all tie in together.  I’ve been amazed by how little of my lessons with LM are under saddle. Maybe 10 minutes out of 60?  Cruise feels like a different horse for those 10 minutes though, balanced, forward, and light.

Lunging the Legerete Way

 

This VIDEO is pretty representative of how I have recently been taught to lunge the Legerete way.  I am being encouraged however, to always have a contact with the line in the same way you would with a rein during riding.  Using a cavesson, working a lot of straight lines, flowing changes of direction, and being at a distance but still able to move the horse’s body parts around easily, this style of lunging is really a workout, mentally and physically.

Lunging this way has been a revelation about how much influence you can have, at a distance, with just a cavesson, your body position, and energy.  It’s been a really useful way to put Cruise to work and really get his attention.  The keys seem to be a prompt straight halt at a distance and getting him off the inside shoulder.  We can pretty much do everything in the video except the change of direction through the trot-but we’re working on it!

Grateful