Friday, August 5, 2016

Transition Clarity

Don't forget to get your entries in for the Olympic contest!  It closes tonight at midnight (pacific time) so get them in!

Now back to the actual horse stuff.  Unlocking the small trot has created a new problem.  I have worked very hard to eliminate the jig from Stinker's walk and we were doing really well until he discovered it is really easy to slip from the small trot into a jig instead of just walking.  Part of the problem is a lack of clarity on my part during the transition.

The mini with the Irish Draught crack me up!

I am really good at following with my hips, I am not so good at setting the rhythm.  Stinker needs more direction because when left to his own devices he doesn't look like a dressage horse.  At first I tried just walking until he settled then going back to the trot in hopes that it would become clear to him that walk meant walk not anticipate trotting.  That failed, the horse isn't stupid and he kept going trot now trot now trot now.

I tried using changes of directions to settle him like I did at first, but he would take the slightest change as a cue to trot.  That is when it clicked that I needed to make my cues for transitions be very concise.  Right now I barely do anything and he trots off because faster equals better in Stinker's mind.  I have to actually cue for the down, but even then I am being unclear and leaving him to his own devices too much.

Such a fancy pants!

Yesterday, I really focused on him waiting until I asked for the trot and then making sure I didn't totally drop him after the down transition.  We did have some problems where he was excited and wanted to go forward.  I let him trot as long as he respected the half halt and didn't just try to curl and plow through my aids.

He really surprised me in two ways.  One he was super good and was happy to trot along in the small trot extend into the larger trot and then come back.  Two, he has way more fitness than I realized.  We are so freaking hot (mid to upper 80s with 80% humidity that pushes the feels like temp into the mid 90s at 8 am) and I haven't been doing a ton of trotting with him.  He gets worked about 30-45 min 5 or 6 days a week with I would say 90% of that at the walk.  I would say that at least 50% of the ride was at the trot and he was working hard, but he kept trucking along.

Walking for 30 min (calmly)

I am really happy with where he is at right now, and hopefully we can keep on improving.  I am getting excited about working on the canter since his trot has been much more consistent.  That small trot is total magic because he can be forward but he stays balanced and doesn't get to running.

14 comments:

  1. Oh how they twist what we teach them! Teach them something new and something else they learned before falls right out their ears. I'm glad you were able to solve the problem!!

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    1. Exactly! Sometimes it feels like one thing improves and two others fall off the bus.

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  2. You two are improving! The smaller trot is hard...stinker jigging is just him saying, "hey mom this is hard!" You both will get it!

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    1. So hard but he really seems to like it now that he is getting it.

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  3. Having a very forward horse makes it easy to forget how clear we need to be in upward transition aids -- I feel your pain! I am loving all these posts, I'm simultaneously feeling guilty for not riding enough and inspired to actually get back in the saddle for some work! ☺

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    1. Don't feel guilty. Riding is what makes me turn off my brain and stop stressing. Plus enough is all relative. Stinker is boarded and I have zero animals at him and no SO so my responsibilities are work and pony.

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    2. I do miss the days of being a normal boarder (aka not working off board so my husband doesn't kill me for boarding when we have our own barn haha). You're right, "enough" is relative. My plate is perpetually overflowing -- dealing with some vet stuff that I'm sure will make it to the blog next week. But in the meantime, I'm living vicariously through everyone else's riding posts ☺

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  4. ughhhh i hate jigging haha. glad to hear the small trot continues to help him really push forward from the hind end tho!

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    1. I'm so excited to see what his muscling looks like after a month of the baby trot. And jigging is the worst.

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  5. Love that lunging pic! Apollo loves to jig....arg, I feel you. I'm so sad I didn't get my olympic entry in in time :(

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    1. You still have time! It hasn't closed yet.
      I am so obsessed with that picture. I struggle not to use it every post.

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