A few weeks later, all that had changed. He felt like he didn't want to move, and I had to work for a long time to get him forward and on my aids. So I gave him some time off, and then my lesson last night was my first ride in a while. Once again, that first ride back after a break was incredible, as it always is. On a micro level, sometimes I wonder if he doesn't like Dressage, or if it's his hocks, or if buying more Back on Track will help (lol), but on a macro level, a pattern is appearing.
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| Not drilling things |
So what's going on here? Well, when I got home from California I wanted to drill my new position and REALLY ingrain it. I also was only able to ride in the indoor for a long stretch, and lost touch with where I was heading in my rides.
Combine that with the feeling I've gotten for a long time that Connor gets progressively worse the more Dressage rides I pack into a week, AND the fact that his breeder has always told me you especially can't drill a Welsh Cob, and I'm starting to realize he's expressing a preference here that I've been ignoring.
Maybe he's telling me, hey lady, it's not that I don't like Dressage, it's that I don't like doing it over and over. And you're not the most creative at putting rides together. So when it's new and exciting and we haven't done it in a few days, I like it, but by day 2 or 3 of that, I'm expressing my displeasure in the only way I know how - by being obedient, but not really into it.
I've felt stupid for a long time for thinking we progress faster the less I ride, even though it really feels that way. I've tried to schedule my weeks to where he has one jump ride, a couple of stretchy/lateral work rides, and a couple of collected rides. But maybe he's telling me that in order to be a willing participant in this stuff, this isn't the right schedule for him. And even if something sounds crazy to me because that's how other, more experienced people do it, it's not right for him.
I don't have any firm ideas on this but...this is where my brain is heading.
This is something I struggle with constantly. What the right schedule is physically and mentally, for both of us. I'll be interested to read your ongoing thoughts on how you manage it for Connor!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'll admit I really do not know what I'm doing, but I've been experimenting with it for a while now.
Deletei know that i, personally, do better with more variety. i need some rides where i can be really really focused, but also some where i can turn off and just enjoy it. my horse seems to do best with a varied schedule too (i think a lot of them do, tbh), tho obvi this is challenging when we're stuck inside the indoor all winter. even doing different styles of rides can feel monotonous when surrounded by the same four walls forever....
ReplyDeletean ideal week for us includes one outdoor hack, and maybe another plain cardio day (in nice weather this would be out in the fields and trails too), 2-3 flat schools, and a jump day. obvi it's all flexible, but the general feel is one of variety.
Yeah, I hear ya on the variety. I thought I had added enough in, but it's not enough. Really can't wait til the ground dries up enough to go outside!
DeleteI actually bought Levi because I realized - after too long a time - that Nilla really only wants to be ridden 2-3 days a week and not 5-7. She progresses faster and is more enjoyable when she gets time off. Of course, then Nilla decided to injure herself and Levi has become my main ride, but he was always meant to be a way for Nilla to have more time off.
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting! I never knew that.
DeleteI recently read something about horses learning well off of 2 (or possibly) 3 schools per with with 1-2 break in between, and that they retain the lessons well with up to a 3 day pause I think. I'll have to hunt down the source material but it definitely made me feel better on me only riding Ramone a couple days a week and that we really can sprinkle in different kinds of rides and work in between schooling sessions.
ReplyDeleteHere's the article: https://equitationscience.com/media/are-we-training-our-horses-more-than-necessary
DeleteInteresting read! What I struggle with is understanding the mental vs physical aspect of this - clearly they mentally retain the lessons, but how do you balance that with fitness development too?
DeleteAgreed. And then add in the fact that our bodies also need training and depending on our personal fitness and experience we might need more than 2-3 rides a week... but it makes me feel better too because it's rare for me to be able to ride 5 days a week. Although from doing CF I know all to well the amount of work and muscle effort you can fit into a short amount of time!
DeleteI struggle a lot with this with Katai as well especially since some of the places I’ve boarded don’t have great options for spaces to ride outside of the indoor arena. Katai does seem to do better with fewer rides but balancing that with what I need to progress is tough. Ultimately maybe having two horses to swap between would be ideal but I’m definitely not in a place to do that right now.
ReplyDeleteLol, that is a big hammer solution to this problem! Haha. I could never do two, but I do wish I had like, a mechanical horse I could practice position on while giving Connor a break.
DeleteI've found that Gavin gets pretty rank unless I throw at least one fun day in a week. Fun = just a walk ride or a loose day with his gelding bro love. I also don't ride more than 5 days a week (and typically it's 4 days a week). He does better when I don't drill him, but man it's hard not to. I feel your pain!!!
ReplyDeleteBridget is pretty much the same. One or two days of dressage a week is more than enough for her...multi day shows were a problem. One year we hacked the horses to a neighbouring xc course mid dressage show. We let them run around and pop over little jumps in our dressage tack and show apparel and the looks we got were pretty memorable. But, the horses were happy again :)
ReplyDeleteWe need spring to arrive so we can get out for a trail ride!!!
ReplyDeletehave you read any of the work on 'latent learning' that's been done in dogs? (I will try and dig up some links when I get home; I'm at a hotel today on my travel tablet). I used to do competition obedience with my dogs andhaving huskies, I have learned that 5 minutes of focused work on the 'hard/boring/really core skills' (aka heeling) and then STOPPING is WAY more effective than 20 minutes of begging my dog to keep paying attention. It's just a mental thing- I can provide whatever type of reward she normally will go crazy for, but once she is done mentally? I'm just introducing bad habits to keep working. And if i want our working period to get longer for competition, I need to make sure that we stop BEFORE she gets to that point at least 90% of the time so that she doesn't burn out.
ReplyDeleteThat's definitely something I think about. I can always go out and just have an exercise but working on a certain aspect can be frustrating. Since my horse is also older, I want to make sure I'm not stressing his body too much. The weather doesn't help with variety at this point but we do what we can. :)
ReplyDelete