Instincts are Not Training

Saturday I had a really excellent ride on the young horse. He was cleared immediately after his shots and teeth and sheath cleaning on Friday to go back to work, which was excellent news for both of us. Having to ride without a bit in his mouth (or not at all) is tough.

Recently after reading some stuff Carl Hester had talked about at his LA clinic, I had an "oh fuck" realization about my riding. I love these realizations because they often come at a point where I'm starting to feel confident and they kick me down and then I build back up higher after seeing the change. And that's how I'm feeling now, that TC and I are on an even better track. No trainer needed, just quotes from arguably the best trainer in the world.

His point don't confuse lightness in a young horse for self carriage changed the way I was riding TC completely. The thing about TC is that his instincts are pretty good. I've gotten a bunch of clean changes out of him, he picked up shoulder-in pretty immediately, he installed his own canter to walk transition at one point. But instincts are not training. Him going around looking and feeling like a Second level horse doesn't mean he is. Him throwing clean changes in when I feel like asking or when he goes to kick a pigeon doesn't mean he's ready to start Third level. His canter to walk transition broke down when I started riding the quality of the canter better. Who cares, we don't need it any time soon.

Curly hairs from his braids

And one of the things that TC gives me is a connection that's so much better than even Rico's at GP. He's so light and most of the time I need to let go even more. But lightness in this case is NOT the lightness that Rico had- Rico's lightness was developed over time and was due to his strength and self carriage. TC's lightness is because TC is a super light ride. Well, TC is the ride you want him to be. You can ride him light (I do) or you can ride him heavy (I don't, I learned that lesson real quick with Rico).

Fortunately for my shoulders but unfortunately for his training, I've been riding TC too light. Sure I love not feeling tired after riding, since I have no biceps, but it really doesn't pay off when the horse can drop the contact really easily, say at a show.

I really felt the wrath of this come out at the horse show, when TC got nervous and I put my leg on and... nothing. Because he's been taught to connect to the bridle, not to be driven into it. And you can't force a connection when there's nothing there. So I really need to start pushing him INTO the bridle and then teaching him to lighten from that, not just riding him light all the time.

Those instincts were coming back to bite us in new places! Damnit.

Too light. Thanks to Kate's kid (no idea which one, I get them all
mixed up) for giving me more pictures! There was so much media
between this one, Olivia, and my own camera. I love shows
with friends!

So all week, not that I rode a lot because he saw so many people who took my money away, we worked on this. And it actually made him feel better too. A lot of the time when I have an "oh fuck" realization, the horse also has an "oh fuck" moment when they realize that shit just got real and they can't get away with something anymore. TC's moment was more like "thank god" because while it isn't his instinct, he quickly realized that staying more connected meant that he was safer from all the stuff he claims he's afraid of and that he could power off in his big trot now that he had more support.

My main exercises have been to do walk trot transitions. He needs to stay up into the bridle in the downward and he needs to step forward and take me into the upward. I also played with it in the trot to lengthened trot transitions too. We've done tons of them since this realization and things have been so much better.

The connection at the canter has gotten better, he's using his back better, I feel like I can push him over the ground without him losing balance or dropping his shoulder down. It's been pretty magical.

Caught a moment of shoulder-in where I'm trying desperately
to shove his brain back in his head

Saturday we had a really great day. The canter was finally feeling really good, the transitions were as good as they've been for a long time. He was really staying up in the bridle at the trot too.

I played with a couple things that day- first was maintaining the new heavier connection in the stretch circle, which is really hard. I do one of the things that I hate it when my students do- drop the reins and pray. NO. Stay connected down there. So that was huge, to be able to get that connection in different places.

The other big thing I worked on was me- I'm real crooked these days. I really want a lesson, but my on and off again dressage trainer is out sick, and I want to take a lesson with a trainer Kate has been riding with a bit, but I haven't emailed her yet. But I kinda looked at myself in the mirror and made some minor adjustments that seem to be paying off.

Basically I need to get my right seat bone down and on, but when I do that, I tend to curl my body inward in a C position, and my hips sit too far to the outside. So I've been imagining there's an outlet in the middle of my saddle and trying to get my outside seat bone to plug in there. Then I've been getting my damn shoulders over my right hip rather than over my left. And shit, stop pulling on the left rein! It's been really paying off with how he's going to the left, and that for me is what counts. I really want to feel like I can ride him in either direction, even if it's not perfect yet. Then a trainer can come in and make adjustments.

Revealing our lack of throughness to the left, oops

I've been so happy with how he's going now, even if I get a little more tired after our rides with the increased work on my position and the connection. It's good for me, and to add even more to it, I've been making myself sit the trot more. He's six now and it's time to really start getting us both comfortable with that. We're buckling down a bit.