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Monday, June 22, 2009
Roode’s back to work and he’s loaded with energy to burn. After six weeks off, he has started back stronger than I expected. I only started trotting and a little bit of canter for Herr Schmidt to have a look. After 10 minutes Herr Schmidt said he looked very good and to slowly now bring him back up to his work level. That permission granted nearly made me want to cry minor tears of joy. I was so happy! I can tell Roode feels happy too. Standing in a box is no fun. The best part is that he does not feel below where we left off. He certainly feels unfit. He’s winded after five minutes and a little unbalanced. But, the best part is that he was so nicely over the back from the beginning with this incredible feeling of engagement and natural swinging. I could feel it and then also see it in the mirror. What I could see in the mirror (trot) was both hind legs engaging with a short moment of suspension in the air before touching the ground again for the next stride. It is such a wonderful feeling. When you experience a trot like this, I think it proves the saying, “To be one with the horse”. I can feel it in my back as Roode just pounds out the rhythm. To me it feels as though the horse is lifting me and I’m lifting the horse off the ground every stride. I’m surprised at how thru my half halts were today also. I was able to control the amount of swinging and impulsion that kept coming. The important part of today is that I was not asking for impulsion anyway. It was just there. I came to realize that within the first trot around the ring, my thinking was wrong. What I was originally thinking was ‘As I pick up the next gait, keep in mind not push too hard. Just let him jog it out and see how it feels.’ Then feeling took over and I was suddenly thinking, ‘well he’s great! He’s really pumping a rhythm here, what I need is a half halt without losing the throughness and impulsion.’ Maybe the first time, I gave a half halt a little too strong and he suddenly found it as a good time to walk again. But with quick and subtle correction we were back on track without difficulty. I really love the way he felt today.
What exercises have you found helpful to improving your horses canter? Any one or two aspects in your approach that have made the most difference?
The exercises that I find most helpful for improving the canter are:
a) On a twenty meter circle and on the straight lines from the beginning, I must have control over the height of the neck. I must get the feeling at all times that the horse wants to go down. And if not, then that is all I can work on before moving on. With a horse that does not want to put the head down and come over the back, I believe then it needs to be exaggerated to put the head more down. It’s not the best feeling. Most horses have an issue finding the balance down there. It feels like they want to break the canter. The tempo can get hectic and the rhythm fast. It feels like there’s a lack in the ability to half halt and to steady the line of flexion. In Roode’s case, he shuffles to ease the work load it requires. I find that if it gets a little jarring, it is important to feel how to push beyond that, because at that point they are cheating the way of becoming thru and they are just running. With time and just experiencing the feeling, the horse quickly finds the balance and gains strength. The rider does also. It’s really just a matter of days and only 5- 10 minutes. Keep the gait 3 beat, whether it’s too slow or too hectic. I had the problem with Roode becoming too hectic when I first came. Herr Schmidt told me it does not matter in the beginning that the horse gets hectic as long as he is round and wants to go down. He told me that once this was accomplished then I could work on half halting to balance him more behind and bring the neck up, as long as the feeling that the horse wants to go down maintained. I think it creates a truly wonderful feeling after taking the time to push thru what challenges it seems can come with doing this exercise. And then give a good walk break before moving on. With Roode, I have found a greater degree of steadiness has come from this exercise. Attachment- I feel an incredible amount of positive attachment has come from this exercise. I get the feeling that my legs lie more closely and evenly to his sides and that I can sit in more without disturbing the throughness but to make it better. I get the feeling that I can feel how the mouth, hand, and hind leg attachment move together in balance. I then get the feeling that I can control whatever I may ask for as I work up the level of difficulty in the canter exercises. It creates a feeling of partnership.
b) To improve the canter more, I have learned that the next exercise is to do 12, 10, or 8 meter circles on the long side, preferably at E or B but wherever need be. I have felt and watched how this simple exercise can make horses so much stronger and improve the quality of the canter. I find it helps to build the uphill strength that Dressage requires and it’s a necessary set up for the bend that is required in the canter half passes and the pirouettes. It is important to merely just experience tons of small circles in the canter. It is important to NOT train them to exhaustion. It is too hard on the joints. The purpose is that you use them as a method to gymnasticise the horse’s body to make it stronger so that it will be easy to move on to the difficult movements. The reason to do them on the long side wall is because it provides support with space. It is important to know your line and the geography of the circle. I see Herr Schmidt ride 8 and 10 meter circles everyday right before he moves on to the half passes and pirouettes. Sometimes, he’ll only do one, and then he moves on to the movement because it was good enough. Sometimes he’ll do more. It simply depends on the feeling. And as simple as it sounds, I love this exercise. I have found with more practice that it confirms the end feeling that I described in part A. It is more difficult. It requires more awareness to feeling and a quicker effectiveness in the riding. With Roode, I find that I suddenly need more outside rein to make him through, to keep the neck low and turning on my line. The inside rein keeps the jaw soft and sideways (flexion), as H.S. says.
c) The third is moving more forward and collection on the straight line or the bent line. This is where I get a bit hectic. I find H.S. always saying, “Relax, relax, relax….ruhig (calm)” as his head is cocked funny and he’s watching my tension fade. When I actually understand the feeling, it’s very simple to train. I’m still learning, but I think I’ve about nailed it. It requires a feeling of sitting in a bit more and coming with a relaxed half halt at the same moment. It is the same to me for as much forward as you push and for as much collection as you push. When the feeling is correct, I feel I can do anything. I can finally even count the strides in the pirouettes. Before, it was always like an undercurrent pulling me (not a good feeling). I get the feeling now that I have gained more control merely by once again just experiencing the pirouette. I can now number my half halts and they are effective. I can almost control how many strides to take to get around. I can just feel more. On the other hand there is much update to be desired for further information and learning on this matter. The point is, Roode has a very good canter now and this, I feel, has also improved it.
Roode’s back to work and he’s loaded with energy to burn. After six weeks off, he has started back stronger than I expected. I only started trotting and a little bit of canter for Herr Schmidt to have a look. After 10 minutes Herr Schmidt said he looked very good and to slowly now bring him back up to his work level. That permission granted nearly made me want to cry minor tears of joy. I was so happy! I can tell Roode feels happy too. Standing in a box is no fun. The best part is that he does not feel below where we left off. He certainly feels unfit. He’s winded after five minutes and a little unbalanced. But, the best part is that he was so nicely over the back from the beginning with this incredible feeling of engagement and natural swinging. I could feel it and then also see it in the mirror. What I could see in the mirror (trot) was both hind legs engaging with a short moment of suspension in the air before touching the ground again for the next stride. It is such a wonderful feeling. When you experience a trot like this, I think it proves the saying, “To be one with the horse”. I can feel it in my back as Roode just pounds out the rhythm. To me it feels as though the horse is lifting me and I’m lifting the horse off the ground every stride. I’m surprised at how thru my half halts were today also. I was able to control the amount of swinging and impulsion that kept coming. The important part of today is that I was not asking for impulsion anyway. It was just there. I came to realize that within the first trot around the ring, my thinking was wrong. What I was originally thinking was ‘As I pick up the next gait, keep in mind not push too hard. Just let him jog it out and see how it feels.’ Then feeling took over and I was suddenly thinking, ‘well he’s great! He’s really pumping a rhythm here, what I need is a half halt without losing the throughness and impulsion.’ Maybe the first time, I gave a half halt a little too strong and he suddenly found it as a good time to walk again. But with quick and subtle correction we were back on track without difficulty. I really love the way he felt today.
What exercises have you found helpful to improving your horses canter? Any one or two aspects in your approach that have made the most difference?
The exercises that I find most helpful for improving the canter are:
a) On a twenty meter circle and on the straight lines from the beginning, I must have control over the height of the neck. I must get the feeling at all times that the horse wants to go down. And if not, then that is all I can work on before moving on. With a horse that does not want to put the head down and come over the back, I believe then it needs to be exaggerated to put the head more down. It’s not the best feeling. Most horses have an issue finding the balance down there. It feels like they want to break the canter. The tempo can get hectic and the rhythm fast. It feels like there’s a lack in the ability to half halt and to steady the line of flexion. In Roode’s case, he shuffles to ease the work load it requires. I find that if it gets a little jarring, it is important to feel how to push beyond that, because at that point they are cheating the way of becoming thru and they are just running. With time and just experiencing the feeling, the horse quickly finds the balance and gains strength. The rider does also. It’s really just a matter of days and only 5- 10 minutes. Keep the gait 3 beat, whether it’s too slow or too hectic. I had the problem with Roode becoming too hectic when I first came. Herr Schmidt told me it does not matter in the beginning that the horse gets hectic as long as he is round and wants to go down. He told me that once this was accomplished then I could work on half halting to balance him more behind and bring the neck up, as long as the feeling that the horse wants to go down maintained. I think it creates a truly wonderful feeling after taking the time to push thru what challenges it seems can come with doing this exercise. And then give a good walk break before moving on. With Roode, I have found a greater degree of steadiness has come from this exercise. Attachment- I feel an incredible amount of positive attachment has come from this exercise. I get the feeling that my legs lie more closely and evenly to his sides and that I can sit in more without disturbing the throughness but to make it better. I get the feeling that I can feel how the mouth, hand, and hind leg attachment move together in balance. I then get the feeling that I can control whatever I may ask for as I work up the level of difficulty in the canter exercises. It creates a feeling of partnership.
b) To improve the canter more, I have learned that the next exercise is to do 12, 10, or 8 meter circles on the long side, preferably at E or B but wherever need be. I have felt and watched how this simple exercise can make horses so much stronger and improve the quality of the canter. I find it helps to build the uphill strength that Dressage requires and it’s a necessary set up for the bend that is required in the canter half passes and the pirouettes. It is important to merely just experience tons of small circles in the canter. It is important to NOT train them to exhaustion. It is too hard on the joints. The purpose is that you use them as a method to gymnasticise the horse’s body to make it stronger so that it will be easy to move on to the difficult movements. The reason to do them on the long side wall is because it provides support with space. It is important to know your line and the geography of the circle. I see Herr Schmidt ride 8 and 10 meter circles everyday right before he moves on to the half passes and pirouettes. Sometimes, he’ll only do one, and then he moves on to the movement because it was good enough. Sometimes he’ll do more. It simply depends on the feeling. And as simple as it sounds, I love this exercise. I have found with more practice that it confirms the end feeling that I described in part A. It is more difficult. It requires more awareness to feeling and a quicker effectiveness in the riding. With Roode, I find that I suddenly need more outside rein to make him through, to keep the neck low and turning on my line. The inside rein keeps the jaw soft and sideways (flexion), as H.S. says.
c) The third is moving more forward and collection on the straight line or the bent line. This is where I get a bit hectic. I find H.S. always saying, “Relax, relax, relax….ruhig (calm)” as his head is cocked funny and he’s watching my tension fade. When I actually understand the feeling, it’s very simple to train. I’m still learning, but I think I’ve about nailed it. It requires a feeling of sitting in a bit more and coming with a relaxed half halt at the same moment. It is the same to me for as much forward as you push and for as much collection as you push. When the feeling is correct, I feel I can do anything. I can finally even count the strides in the pirouettes. Before, it was always like an undercurrent pulling me (not a good feeling). I get the feeling now that I have gained more control merely by once again just experiencing the pirouette. I can now number my half halts and they are effective. I can almost control how many strides to take to get around. I can just feel more. On the other hand there is much update to be desired for further information and learning on this matter. The point is, Roode has a very good canter now and this, I feel, has also improved it.
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