win all around
Oct. 17th, 2008 06:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dancing_crowWho knew that the up side of riding a really difficult horse was that the return to an easier horse was BRILLIANT?
Kaboose and I turned in a series of sterling canter departs, after some suppling and bending exercises I had used on the lesson horse. It was that feeling of holding between my should blades, and sitting harder or softer, that made a huge difference, plus the fact that I wasn't being propelled from the saddle by the size of her movement. I used less hand (thank you midnightsjane, you are completely correct - the worst part about Tuesday was yielding in the face of what felt like uncontrolled acceleration) and thought about buymeaclue's image of having horse in front of me. Whatever it was, it worked, and we got a series of soft, sweet, forward canter departs, with a good deal of much nicer, balanced canter, and even some non-rushing, non-falling-on-our-forehand down transitions. She was so light and I was so together, we tried a handful of walk-canter transitions, and she was so awesome I stopped.
Then I rode baby Ruby, and she was great too - we walked and trotted and halted, steering around in circles and experimenting with light contact. Then I tried to get her to move away from just one leg. A tiny, baby turn on the forehand. After some thought she got it figured out off my right leg, so I tried moving her off my left leg. I cracked up when she offered to move right into it - she'd figured out sideways, but forgot she had another side. Or something. We got that straightened out after a couple tries, and she was done. We went for an amble down the road to explore a little, and got brought home by the rain. I was pleased I'd thrown over my yoga/pilates for riding, because the riding days are feeling increasingly precious as the winter comes barrelling towards us.
In circus, I still remember and can still do my routine on the trapeze. I ran through it twice and then stated feeling wobbly. I hated the trapeze I was using - the ropes were too short and for one move I had my hands on the straps holding it to the ceiling. Which was vile. And handstands and headstands, and poor Al was practicing cartwheels. He bends at the waist, on the wrong way, so Bronwyn had him cartwheeling between two upright mats. It looked claustrophobic, but both girls could do it. Well, the older one cartwheels like breathing. The little one still has to fling herself at things.
Kaboose and I turned in a series of sterling canter departs, after some suppling and bending exercises I had used on the lesson horse. It was that feeling of holding between my should blades, and sitting harder or softer, that made a huge difference, plus the fact that I wasn't being propelled from the saddle by the size of her movement. I used less hand (thank you midnightsjane, you are completely correct - the worst part about Tuesday was yielding in the face of what felt like uncontrolled acceleration) and thought about buymeaclue's image of having horse in front of me. Whatever it was, it worked, and we got a series of soft, sweet, forward canter departs, with a good deal of much nicer, balanced canter, and even some non-rushing, non-falling-on-our-forehand down transitions. She was so light and I was so together, we tried a handful of walk-canter transitions, and she was so awesome I stopped.
Then I rode baby Ruby, and she was great too - we walked and trotted and halted, steering around in circles and experimenting with light contact. Then I tried to get her to move away from just one leg. A tiny, baby turn on the forehand. After some thought she got it figured out off my right leg, so I tried moving her off my left leg. I cracked up when she offered to move right into it - she'd figured out sideways, but forgot she had another side. Or something. We got that straightened out after a couple tries, and she was done. We went for an amble down the road to explore a little, and got brought home by the rain. I was pleased I'd thrown over my yoga/pilates for riding, because the riding days are feeling increasingly precious as the winter comes barrelling towards us.
In circus, I still remember and can still do my routine on the trapeze. I ran through it twice and then stated feeling wobbly. I hated the trapeze I was using - the ropes were too short and for one move I had my hands on the straps holding it to the ceiling. Which was vile. And handstands and headstands, and poor Al was practicing cartwheels. He bends at the waist, on the wrong way, so Bronwyn had him cartwheeling between two upright mats. It looked claustrophobic, but both girls could do it. Well, the older one cartwheels like breathing. The little one still has to fling herself at things.
