Kathleen Lindley clinic #2

Day One:

key words:consistency. applying the aid until you get the response you
need. sticky spots - move off the corner. patterns - need to break the ones we don't want.

The first session was about gathering information and trying some things out. Rosie was more forward going than she can be at home, but still displayed the "can't/shan't/won't" that I'd wanted to work on at the clinic. I had explained Rosie's background to Kathleen - that she had been with us for 3 years, that we had been improving the issue but slowly. That it was better lunging or long reining but still an issue under saddle.

When I first asked Rosie to move off, Kathleen asked me if that was the response I wanted. At that stage I was just happy to get anything vaguely forward - but in reality it was quite a sluggish response. Kathleen reminded me that I need to always get the response I asked for and not accept anything less.

When Rosie did decide not to go, Kathleen commented that when you apply an aid you need to keep applying it until you get the response you wanted. If not you are teaching the horse that the response they gave (not what you asked for) is acceptable. i.e. if I apply a "go forward" cue, she has to go forward. Until she does I need to keep applying the aid.

At one point Rosie was getting "stuck" in the corner of the school near the audience.K encouraged me to cut across the school above there so as not to give her the chance to get stuck.

We also did some work on reinback. Rosie was quite bracey so it took a while to get some softer steps.

She (Rosie) also started offering canter (as an evasion) at one point and K just told me to ask her forward at that stage. The result was probably some of the longest canters we've had in an arena for some time !

K commented today was about gathering info. One thing we could try if she really gets stuck is moving the front feet via turns. (In the end we didn't use this).

We worked in reinback a bit. There was a bigger brace on left side - which also showed up in turns. (This also shows up on change of rein - there is more objection when we change from right to left rein).

When working on the reinback, K also did some turning - the hind legs were not crossing over, lots of movement at the front, not really connecting through the body.

The initial reinback was more like a walk backwards (i.e. four-time) rather than diagonal pairs. The later work started to get a more coherent two-time reinback.

Rosie had worked hard by the end of the lesson.

As a cool-down we did some slower work with Amanda. Amanda talked to me about my centre. She asked me to describe what it felt/looked like, and where it was. I felt my energy was lifting upwards rather than staying lower where it should be. Amanda commented on how that changes the feel in the reins (and hence for Rosie).

General conversation: if it takes 10 units of energy to get the job done, and the horse/pony only brings 2 - the rider needs to bring 8. If less than that, the job doesn't get done. Or you can add energy from elsewhere - the audience, another horse etc

this idea/concept can also be applied e.g. to knowledge, confidence etc (if it takes 10 units....)

Day Two:

key words: patterns

Rosie came in prepared to work (turn on forehand, trot) and only after a few minutes started to object. The pattern had changed. K commented the pattern changing is a good thing - we've got it on the run.

I worked to keep my centre low (after the conversation with Amanda)

When she was resisting, she started to add backwards and sideways. (K had commented that if we "taught" new stuff, like turn on forehand, it would appear in the repetoire.. and it did !). She was also being more persistent (my arm got tired and I had to swap sides). Once we used energy from the audience to unstick her - her next stop was the far end of the school away from the audience ! She then also tried dictating direction. mainly on the left rein where she drifted inwards towards Kathleen. Kathleen used a whip to waggle and keep her away.

But after we had worked through all that, she did some good "business-like" work. The energy level felt lower (not sluggish, just lower) and I could start to feel some ability to place the feet.

I did 5-10 mins work with Amanda in the outdoor arena afterwards as a cool down. It was quite breezy and Rosie was doing turn on forehand then happily trotting away, so we stopped on a good note.

Day three: checking in on previous days work. Rosie was responding well with less sticking points. K put out some trot poles. A double pole on one diagonal and single on the other. Worked over them in figure 8. Rosie stopped worrying about the turn on to the left rein and worked well. Then I started varying it so that she didn't always go over the poles. Rather than objecting (as she has done before at home) she really started listening and responding and the turns started to get softer (less brace in them).

Kathleen made the double pole into a V - by chosing where I went over it I could ask Rosie to trot over it, to put a foot between the two poles, or to jump it.

We ended the session starting to work on asking for the transition to canter over the pole. There was one way and direction that Rosie found this a bit hard but otherwise she had a go at it.