Spiralling out of shitland
Another lesson on Michele's Dutch mare, Katja. Before we started I asked Michele if she'd evaluate me on Clover and Mico for the next couple of lessons; now that I'm getting my bearings back I need to start applying what I'm gaining to the horses I ride regularly. I have an extremely tentative plan to campaign Clover again by the end of this season, and if I have to start taking two lessons a week to get back there again so be it. One on Michele's school horses for my form, and on on my own for training me with Clover.
The lesson was good; I'm getting used to Katja, so I'm riding less tentatively. Unlike the last lesson where Katja was spooky and I needed work refining the aids, this lesson we did canter in the warm up. To prepare, I got on a 20 meter circle at the trot and spiralled in and back out again, this time doing a much better job of focusing to follow the line and maintain the bend. I'm starting to ride more like myself, but I still need a lot of mileage to get the correct feel. I've spent so many years hunched over trying to hustle Clover along, I never learned how to sit up with a long leg and follow with my upper body. Also, I need a lot of work with the outside aids.
Speaking of. Michele had me ride much of the lesson with my hands touching; I'm so used to overusing my inside rein and overusing the rein aids and just plain balancing on my hands in general, that that particular technique is forcing me to develop my seat and leg aids to compensate. And I'm realizing just how weak I am in those areas. In one sense I'm hopeful that I can develop with time and practice, but more typical of my catastrophic thought process I'm terrified that I'll be stuck at this shit plateau forever and I've never make it to being a thinking, feeling rider.
Oh, yeah. Loss of confidence. I was getting it, once upon a time.
The rest of the lesson was spent riding quarter lines at the trot, going to accurate turns at the quarter line, not overshooting it, riding straight down, and circling or counter bending down the opposite long side of the arena. I completely blew the first one because of brain fade--I was focused on riding forward, I forgot to ride the exercise. Once I'd demonstrated that I could ride that exercise reasonably well, Michele had me ride up the quarterline, ride a 15 meter circle at E or B and finish back on the quarter line, again going for accuracy, down the opposite quarter line, another circle, and then sometimes a circle on the short end of the arena as well. All while keeping my hands together and trying to use seat and leg aids for making the turns.
I prefer to have a lot thrown at me during a lesson, I do like to be kept thinking and reacting, because that's exactly what I need for schooling outside of lessons, to think and respond to the horse instead of going on autopilot and getting stuck. And picking up little things, like slowing or halting a forward horse like Katja, don't just pull on the rein, do changes of bend, half halts. Michele said that I was freezing less during lessons and making more of my own corrections, so that's encouraging. But I still have this overwhelming fear that I'm stuck in shitland forever.
The lesson was good; I'm getting used to Katja, so I'm riding less tentatively. Unlike the last lesson where Katja was spooky and I needed work refining the aids, this lesson we did canter in the warm up. To prepare, I got on a 20 meter circle at the trot and spiralled in and back out again, this time doing a much better job of focusing to follow the line and maintain the bend. I'm starting to ride more like myself, but I still need a lot of mileage to get the correct feel. I've spent so many years hunched over trying to hustle Clover along, I never learned how to sit up with a long leg and follow with my upper body. Also, I need a lot of work with the outside aids.
Speaking of. Michele had me ride much of the lesson with my hands touching; I'm so used to overusing my inside rein and overusing the rein aids and just plain balancing on my hands in general, that that particular technique is forcing me to develop my seat and leg aids to compensate. And I'm realizing just how weak I am in those areas. In one sense I'm hopeful that I can develop with time and practice, but more typical of my catastrophic thought process I'm terrified that I'll be stuck at this shit plateau forever and I've never make it to being a thinking, feeling rider.
Oh, yeah. Loss of confidence. I was getting it, once upon a time.
The rest of the lesson was spent riding quarter lines at the trot, going to accurate turns at the quarter line, not overshooting it, riding straight down, and circling or counter bending down the opposite long side of the arena. I completely blew the first one because of brain fade--I was focused on riding forward, I forgot to ride the exercise. Once I'd demonstrated that I could ride that exercise reasonably well, Michele had me ride up the quarterline, ride a 15 meter circle at E or B and finish back on the quarter line, again going for accuracy, down the opposite quarter line, another circle, and then sometimes a circle on the short end of the arena as well. All while keeping my hands together and trying to use seat and leg aids for making the turns.
I prefer to have a lot thrown at me during a lesson, I do like to be kept thinking and reacting, because that's exactly what I need for schooling outside of lessons, to think and respond to the horse instead of going on autopilot and getting stuck. And picking up little things, like slowing or halting a forward horse like Katja, don't just pull on the rein, do changes of bend, half halts. Michele said that I was freezing less during lessons and making more of my own corrections, so that's encouraging. But I still have this overwhelming fear that I'm stuck in shitland forever.
Comments
Post a Comment