"Lodge Ropes Day" part 2
so where was I...
right. Today I was riding Fi in an enduro bitless from Lodge Ropes. Less so than last time, she did still want to lean in to it a little and again I used turns to help her with that. But my main theme today was to work on straightness.
I had been tidying up some of my old magazines and had found a US one I had bought, with an exercise on counter canter. They started off with some straightening work and used an interesting exercise to do so, asking the horse to work off the fence. Basically you ride a half diagonal from A or C, ride a small arc and then another half diagonal. In our school I turned this into riding straight down the first half of the lond side, than strike out at the B/E marker to ride diagonally to A or C, then join the track again.
It is an interesting exercise for rider accuracy as well as straightness.
The magazine exercise is in canter, but I started in walk and then trot. I actually didn't do it in canter this time around.
It is Fi's near hock that we know has DJD, and this affects her right canter. And I know she tends to find it harder work to soften on the right rein. But the exercise really showed up how it affects her on turns. I had to ask for her quarters to move across, or ride as if asking for a slight shoulder fore, to get something I felt was straight on the short diagonal on the right rein. On the left rein the quarters were still going the same way, i.e. to the right.
I guess this is her adaptation to the DJD, to help her move the hind leg under. But I wonder whether I would have felt it so clearly if I had not been bitless... and whether as a rider I'd have used the bit too much to straighten her, where being bitless stopped me trying to do that. (Not so much from a physical limit as mental approach).
Another interesting session.
Well after that it was time to ride Duds while mum rode Rosie. And I was on a roll by then so bunged the bitless on under his bridle as well. Duds has a tendency to try and walk through you, and struggles with backing up. A different lesson from the experience with Fi - it felt as if he really did not want to give me his face via the nose pressure of the bitless. But I again I used lateral flexion to ask for softness. In his case I finished off switching back to the main bridle reins and he was going like a dream :)
Given he gets dragged out of the field every couple of weeks for 30 mins while mum works Rosie, and is 19 himself, he does very well :)
right. Today I was riding Fi in an enduro bitless from Lodge Ropes. Less so than last time, she did still want to lean in to it a little and again I used turns to help her with that. But my main theme today was to work on straightness.
I had been tidying up some of my old magazines and had found a US one I had bought, with an exercise on counter canter. They started off with some straightening work and used an interesting exercise to do so, asking the horse to work off the fence. Basically you ride a half diagonal from A or C, ride a small arc and then another half diagonal. In our school I turned this into riding straight down the first half of the lond side, than strike out at the B/E marker to ride diagonally to A or C, then join the track again.
It is an interesting exercise for rider accuracy as well as straightness.
The magazine exercise is in canter, but I started in walk and then trot. I actually didn't do it in canter this time around.
It is Fi's near hock that we know has DJD, and this affects her right canter. And I know she tends to find it harder work to soften on the right rein. But the exercise really showed up how it affects her on turns. I had to ask for her quarters to move across, or ride as if asking for a slight shoulder fore, to get something I felt was straight on the short diagonal on the right rein. On the left rein the quarters were still going the same way, i.e. to the right.
I guess this is her adaptation to the DJD, to help her move the hind leg under. But I wonder whether I would have felt it so clearly if I had not been bitless... and whether as a rider I'd have used the bit too much to straighten her, where being bitless stopped me trying to do that. (Not so much from a physical limit as mental approach).
Another interesting session.
Well after that it was time to ride Duds while mum rode Rosie. And I was on a roll by then so bunged the bitless on under his bridle as well. Duds has a tendency to try and walk through you, and struggles with backing up. A different lesson from the experience with Fi - it felt as if he really did not want to give me his face via the nose pressure of the bitless. But I again I used lateral flexion to ask for softness. In his case I finished off switching back to the main bridle reins and he was going like a dream :)
Given he gets dragged out of the field every couple of weeks for 30 mins while mum works Rosie, and is 19 himself, he does very well :)
posted by seahorse | 3:15 PM
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