This week Pyro and I did our homework from the prior lesson, building balance and bend through corners. After the theatrics during that lesson, I was very pleasantly surprised that he accepted my ask quietly when we revisited it. He eventually understood the exercise well enough to rise to the challenge of cantering through a corner with much better bend and balance than we've every had before.
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| Happily doing our homework |
When this week's lesson rolled around, I felt excited and ready to build on our new skills. It was as hot and humid a day as I'll "comfortably" ride in before I start thinking about cancelling, but my hope was it would keep Pyro from "working HARDER, not smarter".
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| It was roasty-toasty and muggy, with barely a breeze. (Photo credit: Barnmate Jen) |
My barnmate Jen was back to filming for my virtual lesson, and I got the benefit of being her test subject as she tried out her new camera gear during my warm up (oh noooooo~). Our only lament was that she can't juggle her DSLR and my phone simultaneously.
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| Pyro working on his Blue Steel. (Photo: Jen) |
This is an exciting development for my blog Jen, as the photo quality right out of the box is lovely.
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| Seriously, this is in a dark corner of our indoor arena! (Photo: Jen) |
As we warmed up, touching base on riding corners in all three gaits, I was pleased with how responsive and non-dramatic Pyro was. We ended up conserving energy and switching gears to practicing walking on a loose rein, gathering up the walk, halting square, backing with clear diagonal pairs and without dropping his chest, and continuing to think forward. No, we didn't get all those pieces together in every repetition, but it was good practice.
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| I love seeing those pricked "morgan" ears. (Photo: Jen) |
Once Coach JT logged on, she commented that Pyro was moving the bit around a lot, pushing my hands out, then curling back in, then taking it left or right.
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| Exhibit A: pushing his nose out and taking my hands with (Photo: Jen) |
I needed to set clear, consistent boundaries for where the bit could be, and he needed to sort out how to move without pushing, pulling, or bracing while respecting those boundaries. Tracking left (typically his "better" direction), I used my "oh shit" handle attached to the pommel of his saddle to "set" my hands, anchoring them in one position. Coach JT encouraged me to pay attention to how I engaged my core when resisting him taking my hands from that spot. The first direction was a STUGGLE. Pyro started his way through the shock/denial/anger/acceptance (SDAA) cycle.
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| Pyro: "Mom, this is BULL$#@!"... spoken like a true 5-year-old. (Photo: Jen) |
He worked through being startled by the change in my hands, trying multiple times to move the bit like he was used to, and pinning his ears at me when it didn't work (hello shock/denial/anger). While he never really stopped leaning on me in that first attempt, he DID become much steadier in my anchored hands. I thanked him for his effort, let him catch his breath, and prepared myself to try again the other direction. (Reminder, it was HOT, and we were both a little gassed out after that first attempt.) When we switched to tracking right (usually his more difficult direction as he likes to throw his shoulders right), it was like I was riding a whole new horse.
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| While I don't have photos from DURING my lesson, I can tell you I was VERY happy with his breakthrough. (Photo: Jen) |
Suddenly, he just "got it", staying soft, balancing, bending, and letting me set the clear parameters of where the bit would be. Hooray for making it to acceptance! I blame our homework for his improved ability to stand up his right shoulder. We tested his understanding by going back the other direction, and it held! He gave me some lovely trot/canter/trot transitions, maintaining a level balance and carrying himself without bouncing around in the contact.
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| These photos from warmup show how he typically canters by going croup-high... |
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| ...then head high, rocking like a rocking horse rather than maintaining a steady level balance. (Photos: Jen) |
As an additional bonus, as things started clicking for Pyro, my own balance improved. Rather than being dragged forward by his tugs on the bit, I could sit up with shoulders over hips and sit DEEP in the saddle.
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| It was evident during warm up that I struggled with tipping my shoulders forward. (Photo: Jen) |
We were both hot, sweaty messes by the end, but after his hard work we cut the lesson short by about 5 minutes, ending on that exciting level-up in our understanding of how to move together.
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| Melting into puddles, but happy. |
As Pyro is maturing in both body and mind, it's interesting to observe how he learns. This isn't our first, nor last, trip together on the SDAA merry-go-round. If I pay attention, hopefully I can make decisions that will get him to acceptance sooner. We were assigned the homework of a weekly lunging session, using side reins and transitions to allow him to sort out his body without my inconsistencies. I'll be sure to report back on whether we run through the SDAA cycle with that exercise too, or if it translates from this lesson.
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