I keep announcing "it was our best lesson yet," but on Tuesday, it was Laura making that statement! Victor performed like a grown up and offered his most relaxed, seated, and balanced canter yet. Let me start from the beginning:
Firstly, Victor had a nice long weekend since I was out of town Saturday and Sunday. Typically this leads to a "bold" day back to work, but with a long lining warm up it seems we can have a normal focused lesson! Oh I should also mention that the grass is being seeded and there are killer white bags and whirring seed distributors around the arena :P
The long lining warm up takes less than 10 minutes and I simply allow Victor time to open his stride and focus on himself in the canter. The trot strides are visibly shorter for the first few circles and he does like to play in the canter a bit for the first few transitions. Once I felt that Victor was responding well and moving freely, I shortened my reins and prepared for some lateral cues. My goal was to check in with Victor's turn on the forehand and for his first step to come from the hind leg. To the left, he first offered to move into the tap of the whip but with reorganization and a second cue he understood and performed the turn from a soft tap on the inside hind leg and a half halt on the outside rein. He got it perfectly both directions!
Once Victor was tacked, we began with trot serpentines with an emphasis on FOLLOW MY SHOULDERS. The idea is that Victor begins to travel in shoulder-in everywhere and that he flows from one direction to the other with just my shoulders and hips to steer! I've really been "practicing" in my thoughts over the weekend to prepare myself to double my half halt frequency in order to half their strength. My hand and leg works only to SUBTLY half halt for re-balancing almost every single stride. Victor is so much more sensitive to my aids now and responds to very slight pressure - such an amazing sensation!
He still loves stretching his nose straight down to the ground in walk an trot and I'm elated that this is his new default but I'm also happy to report that we were also able to evolve how his head is brought back up. At the clinic last weekend, a tap of the whip was necessary to cue Victor that he needs to stop his stretch. It's important to me that my hand not literally lift him up because I want to respect the new connection we've developed. Today, he lifted out of his stretch simply from a squeeze from my upper calf!
We progressed to shoulder-in on straight lines, which we will continue to school as Victor does fall off the line/ lose the position easily... but he is still new to the movement... just needs reinforcement :) We also practiced changing the shoulder-in "direction" on a single line. For example, start in Shoulder-in left, straighten, move to shoulder- in right, straighten, turn left, repeat on quarter line. This felt like wonderful re-balancing work as Victor can "settle" into a movement sometimes and miss the next cue. I loved the feeling that I could pass the bend back and forth.
This "passing the bend" feeling continued into an exercise that is a great introduction to renvers. Start in shoulder in left, then cue Victor from the right leg to pass the bend over to the right and then move in leg yield with a right bend from the right leg.
(diagram on the way)
I loved this exercise because Victor accepted the outside rein beautifully and yielded almost imperceptibly from my seat and leg. This sense was very helpful in our canter work as well as a tool for re-balancing! I previously wrote about "big circle, little circle.." well this has evolved to ~shoulder-in, moving out on a spiraling circle ~ to leg yield back in, on that spiraling circle. I would say my timing was almost every 2 strides.
For example:
Trotting to the left
Pick up Left Lead Canter - feel his ribs with softly supportive upper calves
Immediately half halt with my right sit bone to Yield in on the circle - 2 strides
soften/ release aids - 1 stride
apply inside left sit bone to supportive right rein with left shoulder back - 2 strides
Repeat
With a few circles aiding Victor in this way, I felt his most relaxed neck ever at this gait... at one moment, I even had to lengthen the reins, not because he wanted to reach straight down (as he loves) but rather, his neck reached forward into the connection and lifting his back up MORE!! He felt unbelievably seated in this canter work and perfectly balanced between my seat and leg for a tremendous sense of control. We will be ready to take this balance to counter canter soon!
Victor's lips were wet and foamy at the end of the session. He sweated very well and I didn't feel like we'd reached his energy limit yet. Our biggest success though is disregarding the grass seeding!! Oh, he looked, don't get me wrong... but he didn't react!! My messages continued to get through to him and I felt that I could convey that "I see it too but I'm not worried and I'm taking care of you." Victor focused on me and the exercises without a single negative reaction! What a big, brave boy he is!
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