Balancing my Dressage Whip

 

So today I learned why I have so much trouble using my whip effectively.  See the explanation HERE.

The short version is that every dressage whip has a balance point and mine was about at the lash.  By weighting the top of the whip(with electrical tape) I changed the balance point so it is much easier to hold in position and use efficiently for tapping purposes in hand and under saddle.  Who knew?  Not me.

This all came about after my first lesson after the clinic.  LM gave a thumbs up to my work on Pillar 2, mouth/bit conditioning exercises, and rider position changes but posited that our root problem is that he doesn't stay with me.  He rolls at about 50-60% for everything in hand and under saddle.  Hence the need for effective use of the whip to tap him if his responses aren't immediate and to have him match my energy.

So we had a lesson full of immediate responses to my energy during leading, in hand, and under saddle.  Huge difference.  He is a bit offended but by emphasizing it on the ground first, we worked out a lot of the "feelings".  I still struggled though, to quickly tap him.  Enter Google and the realization that it was actually the unbalanced tool making things more difficult, not just me.  Who would have thought such a small thing could make such a huge difference?

Pippa Callanan Clinic

 

We did a two day clinic with Pippa Callanan this weekend and it went so well.  Pippa is calm, concise, and so knowledgeable in all the French Classical riding techniques and practical applications.  It was a delight and privilege to clinic with her and also to audit one full morning.

Key takeaways from the clinic:

*the posture you are doing the exercise in matters just as much as the exercise

*I need to be much more conscious of my posture and use it to sit tall before using the hand

*I tend to ride with my shoulder blades curled around to the front-instead draw my shoulder blades towards each other and then down towards my tailbone, lean back, THEN bring my energy up

*Cruise needs to switch to a single jointed bit-possibly a Fulmer

*Cruise needs more mouth exercises to loosen his jaw, hyoid, and TMJ 

*Cruise benefits from doing some Pillar 2 from BTMM before the in hand work -it gets his front legs vertical and thoracic sling engaged so we do the in hand in better posture 

*all the lateral work needs to be done in the taller posture-are you sensing a theme?

*all downward transitions in a taller posture not in neck extension 

*use walk halt rein backs in a taller posture to get his haunches to bend a bit 

*when he gets balled up/stuck go to a very forward trot in neck extension to free him up then bring him taller and back to work 

*everything starts with picking up the reins correctly(buckle in one hand, running the other hand to set the length), then correcting my shoulder blades and sitting back a bit, then raising my energy to walk off

There were many more details but these were the things that really stood out.  Cruise was quite well behaved with horses screaming and some commotion.  Distracted sometimes, but I was able to bring him back to me.  Such a good boy!  I'm planning on taking him to LM's for the week for the next 3 day Pippa clinic in July.  Until then we have tons of homework and lessons with LM to fill in the gaps.  So much fun!

Almost Spring Update

 

This about sums up current events.  Happy but muddy and hairy.  We've had one of the coldest winters in a while with some extended periods of sub zero temps.  Mixed in with some warmer days and quite a bit of rain.  Needless to say, the farm is a mess and Jet is very muddy, but oh so pleased that the grass is turning green.

Both boys are doing well and I'm really happy with how Jet is holding up at 23.  The flexions and in hand work 3 or so times a week seem to suit him and (knock on wood!) his TMJ seems to be doing well.  I've also added in a bit of Legerete lunging and will continue to increase this as the weather allows.  Lots of tricks and treats for him since he is the best boy and loves that stuff.  He is particularly fond of smiling!

I don't have any current shots of Cruise in work but he is going just super.  We've been back to weekly lessons for about a month and I'm really pleased with how much he has progressed with hit and miss training and riding around the horrible weather and questionable footing.  LM commented on our first lesson back after a couple of months off, that he was more flexible on his harder side and basically, that we'd improved during the heart of winter, which surprised her.  I give all the credit to the School of Legerete system.  Just adding in the flexions and in hand work on days too nasty to ride, plus lunging in the Legerete way has added so much to my training possibilities.

In a couple of weekends we're riding in a 2 day clinic with Pippa Callanan at LM's facility.  Excited to learn and refine techniques and hopefully I'll have some media to share.

Stay dry and enjoy almost Spring!

A Little Gem on a Wintery Day

I can’t remember where or on what account I found the following.  Just a random screen shot I found scrolling my photos.  Facebook I think, but I couldn’t find the attribution.  

Stop trying to calm your horse, instead let your horse train you to become calm.

Every time your horse offers a try, a soften, or a willing response, that is your cue.  Not to ask for more.  Not to correct.  Not to push on.

It is your cue to regulate yourself.

You breathe out.  

You drop your shoulders.

You let your body soften.

In that moment your horse is teaching you how to settle your own nervous system.

Over time, your horse learns that when he offers calm, a calm nervous system comes back to him.  That feedback matters as much as pressure or reward.

It becomes a loop.

Your horse offers calm.

You respond by settling.

That settling feeds back to him.

Round and round it goes like a wonderful infinity loop.

I’ve been playing with this.  It’s harder than it seems but the results are kind of amazing.