Quick Aeres update before I start this post: She ate and swallowed food yesterday! Slowly, and she still can't drink water, but it's progress enough for us to have hope that the nerves are coming back. They put her back on the feeding tube overnight to get her hydrated and will leave it out again all day today. More to come!
On Friday I had my first ever virtual lesson with my trainer, who is still in Florida until next week. This is not only my first ever virtual lesson with her, it was my first time doing a virtual lesson at all.
Because my new phone is still not compatible with Pivo (but will be soon), my barnmate graciously agreed to video my lesson for me using Google Duo. She wore one of my Bluetooth wireless earbuds, and I wore the other, so that we could both hear CGP.
I don't know what I was expecting, but guys, this virtual lesson thing is a game changer. CGP has been teaching virtual lessons for a long time and was just as effective virtually as she is in real life. I ended the lesson having accomplished just as much, gotten pushed just as hard, and gotten just as much valuable information as I do when I go visit her.
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| Totally forgot to screen record the lesson so there are no pics or vids. Next time! |
The only "technical difficulty" I had is that there was a minuscule delay, maybe a half second or less, between when I did something and when she saw it and responded, or when she saw something and then told me to do something. That wasn't a dealbreaker though, and we didn't even discuss it, it just changed the cadence of the lesson slightly and made me quick to anticipate what she was going to ask me to do.
(And I should say, my lesson on Friday was primarily on quick and rapid fire transitions, so in a less intense lesson, you wouldn't notice the delay at all.)
On a macro level, I find myself getting really excited about this virtual lesson thing, as someone who has always felt disenfranchised (from a horse perspective) by living in the Midwest. If Indiana residents have access to the same quality of instruction as someone on the East Coast or in the Bay Area, that levels the playing field in ways that have never been possible before.
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| You mean I can have my $80,000 3700sqft fixer upper AND access to the top trainers in the country? Sign me the f*** up. (My house, six years ago!) |
On a micro level, I find myself thinking about situations that were impossible before, like, oh my gosh I can conceivably lesson with CGP every single week now without taking PTO, spending thousands in gas and ulcer treatments, and putting the wear and tear on my truck. And wow, I could forgo the cost of Florida but keep riding with her all winter and not lose a step.
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| As much as I weirdly enjoy hauling, I cannot deny it's expensive and time-consuming |
Now, are there downsides or things that aren't as good over video? Sure. Biomechanics-focused lessons are just naturally going to be better in person - especially for someone with a slow brain-body connection like me, it's a downside that she can't reach up and grab my leg and put it where it needs to be. She can't get on the horse herself if things are going sideways. If your barn doesn't have WiFi, it does use data - (an hour lesson used 0.49GB of data on my phone). And at least with Duo, we had to stay on a 20m circle because it can't zoom in and out.
All that said, virtual lessons are here to stay for me. I signed up for a standing weekly 5:45pm virtual lesson, and hope to visit her in person once a month to augment what I'm able to get virtually. I'm excited to have weekly lessons once again!
That is so great about Aeres!
ReplyDeleteGreat post about virtual lessons! Have not tried it yet myself, but as someone who also lives in BFE (Ohio) it is getting more and more intriguing. I use a couple of different online learning tools like Dressage Naturally and the TRT Method and love them. You're inspiring me to start thinking about the logistics of virtual lessons and adding them to my resources.
It was intimidating to think through the logistics, but doing them with someone who has taught so many of them really helped. I got the feeling no matter what technical difficulties arose, she was prepared to handle them with grace.
DeleteThat's awesome news on Aeres!! Hooray!
ReplyDeleteAlso very interesting on the virtual lessons. Right now I am spoiled and live 30 minutes from Ocala so can reach a ton of trainers in less than an hour, but I can see the huge benefit in other locations.
For sure! It's a different ballgame in the underserved parts of the country.
DeleteSO glad to hear Aeres has a fighting chance now! you're so detail oriented - thanks for the info on how much data is used
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! My GP trainer's virtual lessons are typically 30 minutes long (in-person is 45) but we had a lot to catch up on so it ran long. 0.25GB of data once a week or especially once a month should be manageable on most plans I would think.
DeleteOh I'm SO glad to hear some good news about Aeres. I hope it's just the beginning for her.
ReplyDeleteAlso yay for virtual lessons! (And good friends that will video for you!) Sounds like it will be a game changer for you guys, so exciting!
Yeah! Obviously would be more difficult (but not impossible I wouldn't think) for jump lessons. I'm looking forward to finding the edges of what's possible with it.
DeleteI am definitely interested in the virtual lesson thing, in my own area of BFE MO lol. I don't have any handy barnmates to video (and I think Myles might draw the line there lol) but maybe if Pivo gets more of the bugs worked out of Pivo Meet that will be an option for me! :)
ReplyDeleteAlso YAY on the Aeres front! Continuing to cross all my crossables.
According to GP trainer, Pivo Meet is now "there" enough to be usable if that's your only option. It's not flawless and if you have a second set of hands she prefers Duo or any of the other video conferencing options, but she's fine with it if that's all you can do.
DeleteGreat news on Aeres!! I wish more h/j trainers would explore virtual lessons. It doesn't seem to be picking up here. But glad you loved it!
ReplyDeleteYeah, there's no denying it would be more difficult for jump lessons. I would think the instructor would need to share the course or gymnastics out ahead of time (maybe one per week and she sends it to all her students on Sunday night?) and then the student would have to be advanced enough that they could ride it in advance and double check the striding. Then if you were by yourself adjusting fences mid-lesson would be hard. But I still think you could get some value out of it, at least for like, eq and flatwork.
DeleteI am so excited to hear about Aeres. That is great news.
ReplyDeleteI did a couple virtual lessons last year and they were great. Although there were technical challenges I think I could have worked through it.
Yeah, it can be a challenge for sure, especially depending on your setup, but I think it's worth working through.
DeleteI feel the same way!! They’ve been a game changer for me. The only issue I’ve had is that my current barn has very busy arenas so sometimes that’s been tough and the indoor isn’t heated or insulated so my phone didn’t do well when it was super cold. Otherwise they’ve been easy and it didn’t feel like there was any sort of barrier. Glad you had similar success!
ReplyDeleteThat would be hard. My barn is small enough that I think I could request that others don't ride during my lesson time. We'll see.
DeleteGlad for the positive news about Aeres!!
ReplyDeleteVal and I have been taking some virtual classes with a trainer I've always wanted to work with, but could never make it to one of her clinics on the east coast - she's in CO. I couldn't be happier with the situation. So far we've just been uploading video, but I'm looking into getting a Pivo so we can start taking individual lessons live after the group classes end. How does strength of wifi affect your setup? As with everything else here on the island, signal strength can be spotty...
We don't have WiFi at my barn, but my cell service is decent. When I did the flapless saddle fitting in November 2019-January 2020, my signal strength wasn't good enough to do a video call from the indoor, but since then I've gotten a new phone with a better antenna and my signal strength was just fine for the call on Friday.
DeleteThanks Jen - just placed my Pivo order!!
DeleteWell, Jen, you did hit the jackpot! Low cost of living, quality instruction, and a great place to board within minutes of your house. I know this didn't line up for you overnight–it took a long time to pull together. But it's awesome that you're in this position now.
ReplyDeleteI also love the fact that the lessons are 30 minutes. I always found 45 or 60-minute lessons too long for my ponies. Things can unravel after 30 minutes and then we end up fixing things that really wouldn't be issues if it wasn't for mental or physical fatigue. We have a Pixio so this will be on my radar this spring. Sadly, we don't have any instructors that offer solid biomechanical instruction in our area.
And I am so happy to read the news about Aeres. I'll keep sending the positive energy her way.
I really considered doing virtual lessons with Irene - but she is sooooo technically inept it would be a struggle. I'm so glad that many instructors are able to get with technological advances!
ReplyDeleteThanks for mentioning how much data was used for your lesson. I've been wondering if virtual lessons would be something I could do, but data is more expensive in Canada compared to most of the rest of the world, and although there is supposedly wifi in the arena, the password has not been made public so I don't know if it would be good enough to stream video. I thought it would use more data than you quoted, so it might just be doable!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear Aeres us doing so much better!
How cool!! I haven't needed to look into virtual lessons yet since I thankfully have plenty of trainers in the area and I'm not at the level to need anyone super advanced, but I love the idea of virtual lessons making trainers across the country accessible to everyone!
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