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| "I was a good boy, right? I get a cookie, right?" Yes, and yes! |
This morning I had the best ride on Horton to date! As always, the better I ride, the better the horse moves.... Seeing my sloppy position on Lance in the photos the trainer took of us awoke me to the bad habits I've fallen into while riding green/rusty horses; since then I've been mentally coaching myself as I ride. I also read something somewhere that reminded me of how useful leg-yields can be. I have been implementing leg-yields in Horton's schooling sessions from the git-go, but only as a simple supplying exercise and not as a tool in improve his contact, self-carriage and canter departs. Today I added trot "snails" (spiraling in from 20m to 10m circles, then leg-yielding back out to 20m) to our work, and they did wonders – that, and riding 20m circles in a leg-yield frame of mind. When I asked for canter, Horton picked it up so sweetly that I almost whooped – and he stayed much softer and rounder in canter than ever before. Yep, he's a star....
8 comments:
Yea for Horton!!
Yay for Michelle, as well. You go, girlfriend!
So wonderful that it's coming together in his mind! Congrats to you both.
Woo Hoo!!!
Hey! New to your blog. Horton, love the name!!
I look forward to reading more1
Welcome, Allison! You'll find that this blog has been quite the journey, from the last horse who owned me, through two training horses (Horton is the second), and then, hopefully in the near future, my experiences with my newest horse.
My horseback riding was mostly just trying to keep us both upright as I rode the West Virginia hills, though I DID train my first one to change leads when clued with my knee. Got rid of my last one 30-some years ago, but I still love 'em!
I need horses in my life as much as I need dogs, Gorges. Thanks for visiting!
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