Monday, February 09, 2009

Roode was very good for a Monday. He gave me a good feeling from the start as we warmed up. He wanted to stay long in the neck and was very relaxed. The best part is that he kept a good rhythm and was better moving over his back which is not so typical with him. I made it a certain practice to concentrate on my hands that they were a little quieter but still effective. I think this helped him tremendously so that the warm up did not have to be so long. I was determined to leave my hands out of it today. What I mean was that I wanted to not have my hands be of any big discussion with Herr Schmidt. He never says much about them but when he does it seems as if the topic becomes about them and I feel that they come to interfere with the bigger and better things. And it worked! Something about this small focus helped with the training today. Most of what I kept in mind and more like monitored about my hands from the beginning was thinking, ‘Okay, I keep my thumbs up at all times with my hands together (Check). I keep them both on the same level (check). I need to keep both of my hands a little lower (check). Also, try to keep both hands the same length from the center of his neck or spine (check). Then, I check to make sure I make him loose and keep him loose to the inside rein by feeling him in the contact there. If it feels like he should yield more than I give a soft flexion with the inside hand. Sometimes, the flexion aid is so sensitive with him that I need nothing more than to feel his mouth with two fingers. Then at another time, he can be so stiff that I must feel to shorten the rein and flexion my entire wrist. Then when he yields I must try to make him long in the neck again. I maintain the contact on the outside rein at all times and ascertain how much forward and backward balance we have. It is such a fine line. The more I feel in my hands the more I push to develop an even better working gait. When all of these basics give me a good feeling, I move on to shoulder in, half passes, and the upper level work.

Today we only did two trot and canter half passes in each direction because Roode did them so well. Then we moved on to the pirouettes where Herr Schmidt complemented my beginning to gain a good feeling for how they should be. Roode did two nice trot mediums. We only did one trot to halt transition which Roode and I nailed it today after having a bit of a run in with a problem with these last week. Last week I was too abrupt and Roode stopped too much on the fore hand. We worked on a few of these last week but today was perfect. I loved it. I was right by mirror and I just looked to the side and I could feel my preparation and how Roode was feeling my aid to halt. He came right to it with his haunches engaged and BOOM! Perfectly square and his head was right on vertical…for like two seconds. Ha-ha I hoped everyone just saw that. It was awesome. I love halting my horse. He looked so prestigious in that moment too. I felt like doing a little dance.

Anyway, we did some four tempis. The first attempt was very flat and not straight. So we tried them again. They were good. They were big and uphill but still not straight. So I guarded him more with my new outside rein and inside leg (especially, because it is the haunches that he wants to swing in). One last attempt at the fours and they were very good. Then we did the threes, they were good too. Herr Schmidt said to finish with that, but then I asked if I could do a line of twos. He said yes of course. He said, “When the threes are good enough like that than do some two changes”. So I did two 2’s, then a three, then two 2’s again. But they weren’t straight so Herr Schmidt said to do them again on the second track by the wall and watch in the mirror. I totally butchered them. They were all over the place and off count. Herr Schmidt yelled at me about not giving the leg aids at the right time (story of my life). Then we did a diagonal again and they were straight but I missed count again and so I lost feeling of when to move my legs again. Ugghh. So, one last diagonal, and BANG! They were perfection in my eyes. Herr Schmidt counted to me and my legs were there never missing a beat. And Roode was right on top of it! He hit all seven! And the great part was that everybody else was walking with their horses and watching us! It was such a boost of confidence. Herr Schmidt kept saying how good they were and endeavoring into some more theory to me about how to keep them like this every time. That was kind of in one ear and out the other as I was so impressed with what we had just done. But, boy they were straight, uphill, and huge. I loved it! I love my horse! I cannot wait until tomorrow.