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Monday, December 12, 2016

Who Is Training Whom?

This weekend my favorite dressage judge was in town and as usual it was a very productive weekend.  One of the big themes of the weekend was I can not let Stinker just cruise around.  When he was over reactive and not in a good mental place I needed to stay very still and soft and let him figure things out.  Now that is not the case.

The one with the hat is in charge...

Stinker is in a very good place now, both mentally and physically.  He trusts me and even when I put the pressure on he may get frazzled but it is different now.  Now that he is in a different place I need to change my mindset too.  Unfortunately, he has done a good job of training me.  I am too soft and too willing to let things be good enough.

When he gets tense and frazzled I need to immediately get him to stretch down and access his back.  When he is good, I need to put the pressure on and try new things.  I also need to keep him in my elbow at all times.  Right now I tend to give too much and leave him to his own devices too much.

He has me well trained with this face

I'll get into the nitty gritty details later, but for now I need to remember I am supposed to be training him instead of him training me.
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10 comments:

  1. emmaDecember 12, 2016 at 6:36 AM

    Omg I know that feel tho!!! Especially with Isabel.

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    1. EventingSaddlebredStyleDecember 12, 2016 at 6:51 PM

      The hot ones are so sneaky in their ability to train you...

      Delete
  2. Purple MeganDecember 12, 2016 at 7:47 AM

    it's hard to make the jump from the status quo to start asking more. that's why I think it's good to ride with a bunch of different people! I had a couple lessons with a different trainer and she was like "he's not green anymore. stop riding him as if he's green"

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    1. EventingSaddlebredStyleDecember 12, 2016 at 6:53 PM

      I get stuck in the past which is why this trainer is so good for me because she sees us every couple of months so the changes are super obvious to her.

      Delete
  3. TrainwreckInTealDecember 12, 2016 at 8:11 AM

    I'm sure you'll be able to find a good balance between asking him to step outside his comfort zone and learn new things, without pushing too hard and frazzling him. Especially since you've put in the work to build his trust!

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  4. TeresaADecember 12, 2016 at 8:30 AM

    I hear you- I am so guilty of being happy that Carmen is happy that I don't rock the boat....

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    1. EventingSaddlebredStyleDecember 12, 2016 at 6:53 PM

      It's an easy trap to fall into. Especially when they have a history of over reacting.

      Delete
  5. AutonomousDressageDecember 13, 2016 at 11:20 AM

    The story of dressage: as soon as you get good at one concept you have to change it completely to match with the new place you're at. I'm working on this right now too.

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