Lower your hands!
I think the next time I have a lesson, it should be either flatwork or jumping, not half-and-half. Janet's lessons are so intensive, that I feel like we rush through the flatwork in order to get some gymnastics in.
We needed to work more on the canter. Tony came along and taped the lesson (the last half, at least), so I got to see how the canter work looked. Not as bad as it feels, that's for sure! Janet said that mares tend to have a more difficult canter to ride. Also that Clover had a tendency to devolve into an almost 4 beat canter when I didn't ride her up from the leg. Not enough jumping through, especially from the left hind.
At the start of the lesson, Janet said Clover's musculature had improved since the last time we lessoned, a month or so ago—her neck muscles had filled out some more. I was glad to hear that we did have some improvement—I've been riding only 3-4 days/week (up from the 2-3 days I'd been managing in the spring). And, even better, she also said that Clover had more range of motion in her shoulders—she's using herself better!
Some more points:
So, how do I get Clover more interested? She's a willing enough worker, but her expression … hmmm. Mare issues? Muscle issues? Just plain old that's who Clover is?
We needed to work more on the canter. Tony came along and taped the lesson (the last half, at least), so I got to see how the canter work looked. Not as bad as it feels, that's for sure! Janet said that mares tend to have a more difficult canter to ride. Also that Clover had a tendency to devolve into an almost 4 beat canter when I didn't ride her up from the leg. Not enough jumping through, especially from the left hind.
At the start of the lesson, Janet said Clover's musculature had improved since the last time we lessoned, a month or so ago—her neck muscles had filled out some more. I was glad to hear that we did have some improvement—I've been riding only 3-4 days/week (up from the 2-3 days I'd been managing in the spring). And, even better, she also said that Clover had more range of motion in her shoulders—she's using herself better!
Some more points:
—We need work going longer and lower. Janet said that the trot should not change, no matter the length of the horse's frame. More work over ground rails and cavaletti. “Leg tells the head to go down.”
—But at the same time, when we're schooling in the regular working gaits, Don't let her get her head too low. I saw on the tape that Janet said this over and over during the lesson.
—When Clover gets inconsistent in the contact, it's because she needs to be ridden from behind—always.
—Clover needs to be more interested in her job over fences, especially the lower ones. Not sure how to achieve that yet.
—Keep my hands low, especially when jumping. This was the other phrase Janet kept repeating. It helps with the release over jumps that I've been lacking—and solves the hands floating above the neck over a fence. I know the automatic release is the ideal, but I'm barely an advanced beginner over fences, for all that I've gone Novice (2'11”) and schooled Training height (3'3”).
So, how do I get Clover more interested? She's a willing enough worker, but her expression … hmmm. Mare issues? Muscle issues? Just plain old that's who Clover is?
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