Yet again, Pyro had me grinning from ear to ear... in a DRESSAGE LESSON.
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| Is that even legal?? |
Going into this lesson with Coach JT, I said I wanted to improve Pyro's ability to carry himself, especially in the canter. Her response was the first step to building self carriage was true collection.
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| Starting in walk, then building to trot and canter. |
Pyro and I are still struggling with me setting clear boundaries of where the bit can go and him respecting and softening to those boundaries. I had an "aha!" moment when Jen described that in collected work, while I can firm up and soften in my hands, my arms shouldn't follow. His head should stay in one place through the entire stride, no matter the gait.
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| You can see how he naturally wants to take bigger steps with his front legs than his hinds, dumping into his chest, rather than sitting. |
Once I set clear boundaries, Pyro inevitably went through the SDAA (shock, denial, anger, acceptance) cycle until he finally found the answer of shaping himself to accommodate me.
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| We still have a long way to go as far as sitting and lifting his back, but he starting picking his feet up, flexing through his joints, and carrying himself lightly into my contact. Baby steps! |
I had to be diligent about making sure I didn't lean forward, loosen my boundaries, or simply accept whatever he offered though transitions. In downward transitions especially, I tend to automatically give my hands and let him become a llama, rather than encouraging him to stay balanced. Though JT's coaching and encouragement to build my own awareness, Pyro gave me some really lovely moments of his first true collection.
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| Starting to lift his withers and lumbar spine and get his hind end under himself. |
Obviously, this requires the next level of strength from him as well as consistent riding on my part, but I'm loving every step of this journey with my boy. Good boy, Pyro!
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