In my lesson two weeks ago, we had a bit of a coming-to-Jesus about...turning. Yes, my almost-third horse is still working on turning, lol. Connor had started out the lesson just blah - not wanting to give me any part of his body - and GP trainer asked me to take my inside hand to the inside and ask his body to follow his nose around a circle with very direct aids, like a baby horse.
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| Did someone say 'baby horse'? Disco is the megachonk on the right, lol |
Connor responded by, well, not responding for a couple seconds, then turning his nose to the inside while blowing through my outside aids to make the circle bigger with his body while also falling onto the inside fore, plowing onto his forehand and speeding up.
"He's making this way too complicated. You have too much to manage, he needs to become simpler to ride. You ask him to turn, he should turn, you shouldn't have to manage all of his body parts all the time," - GP trainer (who, sidenote, rode 4-2, 4-3, 4-3 again and the FEI 7 Y/O Prelim and FEI 7 Y/O Final tests on her young horse last weekend and scored over 70% on 4 out of 5 tests! And her only score under 70% was a 68%. Scores aren't everything in a coach, but it's still great to see that USDF judges think she's going in the right direction.)
We spent the rest of that lesson refining that turning response, and toward the end, I came to realize that the point of the turning exercise wasn't turning, it was getting him to accept weight on his hindquarters and activate the inside hind. "So...this is the same fundamental problem we have in ToH only on trot circles?" "Yes!" she said, clearly excited that I puzzled that out on my own.
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| H, pictured, will also be competing at Waterloo later this month with her 1/2 Welsh 1/2 WB Castleberry mare! Disco is again on the right. |
But it wasn't until I was working on this on my own later that I realized what the true problem is: me. If I engaged my core a la Mary Wanless and shifted my own weight back in the saddle, suddenly he also shifted his weight back and almost all of his evasions went away.
So...my horse is dumping onto his forehand and refusing to shift his weight back because...my body is putting him onto his forehand and making it hard for him to shift his weight back. Seems so obvious when you put it like that...
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| Connor to Jen: duh lady |
I've continued to explore this, and it's making a huge difference in my rides, especially in movements where I'm like "I know I'm asking correctly, why is this hard for him?" If my body isn't tipping forward, suddenly the movements are a lot more effortless for him, like I've removed a roadblock.
This feels like a real Second Level line in the sand all of a sudden. A lot of what I'm asking him to do in Second requires him to shift his weight back, and the way I'm sitting is either not helping him or worse, actively working against him. It's the first time that anything has felt impossible when I'm sitting poorly and possible when I'm sitting well.
This also might be the first moment where riding in a jump saddle is actively making it harder for me...ugh...
This was a good "food for thought" post. I have a horse in training who is currently pretty heavy on the forehand when his owner rides him (but not when I do). We've been doing a lot of "longer rein, simpler steering" work. She's doesn't necessarily perch when she rides, but I wonder if really getting her weight into her seat bones and her core engaged would make a bigger difference than anything I've suggested thus far.....
ReplyDeleteThat's another sentence I thought about putting into this post and didn't, which is that this might explain why he has gone so much better in a Dressage sense for Austen, for my former trainer and for my current trainer than for me. And similarly, I don't think I'm perching, and it's a very subtle degree of difference between what's forward and what's centered (I say back, but it's not like I'm sitting like a western rider all of a sudden). But many people have pointed out how ultra-sensitive Connor is to the rider's torso position and thighs in the saddle, so that tracks. I will be curious to find out if that makes a difference for you!
DeleteThings like that are why I have not made the move to 2nd or put the money down for a recognized show. We can do the movements, but there are holes to fill. Mostly with me.
ReplyDeleteWell you've seen me stop showing and work exclusively on holes the past few years before finally showing rated second, so you know I support that plan! It's hard. At some point you do just need to take the plunge because you'll keep learning these little lessons throughout your career, but there is a lot to be said for making sure the fundamentals are there before Second. I couldn't be doing any of this with the horse I had before full training.
DeleteI'm really feeling this post. Some days I've been easily able to get correct harder work (for us) like TOH, walk canter walk, and quality lateral work. Other days not so much. I finally figured out the problem is me(thank you Pivo for pointing it out) and have been on a Mary Wanless deep dive to figure out what I am doing with my body. Finding The New Anatomy of Rider Connection super helpful and more comprehensible than some of her other books. The free YouTube videos are great as well.
ReplyDeleteI really like that one too, I find it a lot more my speed than her other book that I have. This stuff is so hard without a ground person (and for me without having ridden with Mary in almost two years) but the Pivo definitely makes it easier to spot.
DeleteI worked on a similar thing re turning this weekend. And shockingly enough, the problem is also me LOL (I drop my inside shoulder just for funsies)
ReplyDeletei love when making things "simpler" actually works in riding. so often i'm always trying to over complicate everything LOL
ReplyDeleteLove all your lightbulb moments!
ReplyDeleteAnother one of those things that's way more apparent on a pony I think. If it makes you feel any better, I spent a full hour trotting circles on Shiny on Friday for similar reasons. And now I think the problem is likely me... So thanks for the tip! I'll explore this today!
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