Intangible elements

Fourth lesson at MRF. I don't know if it's me or my subconscious, or the milder weather or what, but Katja was completely unlike herself this lesson, antsy, looky and borderline spooky. Michele gave us a few extra minutes at the walk to focus, by having us do three loop serpentines up and down the arena. I made the first loop too large, but soon recalled the proper geometry and soon settled into making my usual mistakes of crookedness and lack of bend (ha).

Katja was occasionally distracted throughout the lesson. At one point I was circling her at the trot down at one end of the arena, and on the open end of the circle I started to lose her shoulders to the outside. Guess what? You got it, my true riding self came out. Off came the leg and boom, I whacked Katja in a mistaken attempt to get her shoulders back on the circle. Michele caught it right away, and called me on it. I came clean, and told her that was my usual m.o.--kick and pull riding. I told her that's why I rode so tentatively and ineffectively, it was either that or the yank, crank, and kick; I hadn't found the middle ground between the two.

Michele had me do bending lines on a circle to gain better control of the horse's shoulders as well as help me refine my aids. She set up cones a visual aids and gradually progressed me through the series of cones to the point of doing the entire bending line exercise. I was skeptical of my ability to manage it, but I did get better and made minor adjustments every time I went through the exercise--until I changed direction. Then it was a matter of adapting to the new direction and bend and going through the process of refining again.



The main point is to get me thinking. I think that's one of my major stumbling blocks on horseback, is that I lack focus and the ability to think on my feet. And what I'm looking for instructors to instill in me is the impossible: they all tell me the same thing: feel, listen to the horse, respond to the horse, think. And those are all intangible elements that can't be taught.