A is for Trouble

9/14/2012

Okay. I am committed. And no, not that kind of committed. I mean the kind where I now have to put my money where my mouth is. The entry has been sent in, but what makes it even more of a done deal is that I put my plan out on the internet. I hate, HATE, HATE talking about doing something before it's been done. I am much more of a doer than a talker although if you've been a reader for any length of time at all like say 5 minutes, you would disagree and say that I talk ... a lot. But I digress.

I mean I am committed to taking Sydney to a show. We worked on some bending at Wednesday's lesson. I worked on those same concepts on Thursday. I can see where we might have a bit of trouble. It's not a brand new issue, and I have been schooling it, but I can see that entering at A on the right bend might be a bit hard as will tracking right at C. Hence, A is for trouble.

Those two turns, essentially 10-meter turns, are more difficult to control because Sydney wants to pivot on his hind end instead of following his front feet. If I don't use a LOT of leg to push him out, he'll either take out the rail as we enter at A or throw a fit right in front of the judge at C. With that in mind, I worked those 10-meter bends pretty thoroughly on Thursday evening.

One other issue we'll have is stalling out. As I send him sideways, he tends to lose steam and wants to fall back into a walk. I am hoping that he is actually a little perky which might give me some added rev to his engine. Although honestly, stalling out and walking is way, way better than bolting through the corner with his head jacked up into the air with me wailing, sh********t as we careen around the court.

I have a week and a few days to really get those ten-meter turns more fluid and balanced. I really don't want to report back that I yelled sh******t in the middle of a dressage test. That would be pretty unladylike.

Sarah link

9/14/2012 08:04:55 am

Well, its always good to identify the trouble spots and to work on them. But some food for thought: it might make sense to work on your *strengths* right before a show, since that typically would make your horse happier (confidence, etc), and its an alternative strategy for grabbing some extra points. Making your top 2 strengths just a half or 1 point better might be more achievable than getting that improvement from a weakness. Sending you productive vibes!

Karen

9/14/2012 02:53:37 pm

Thanks, Sarah. i am not really sure what our "strengths' are as of yet. So far, not bolting/rearing has been the goal. I am not sure you can count that as a strength. :0)

My plan for the next week is to help Sydney feel calm off the property (more on that in tomorrow's post), keep good control of the outside shoulder, and remember to really ask for "sideways" when we track right. These things will keep Sydney the happiest. Maybe they will become our strengths!

Angela

9/14/2012 01:43:28 pm

Sarah, this is great advice! Thanks for sharing :)

Val link

9/16/2012 10:08:01 pm

Okay, here is some food for thought for you. I think that you should turn him from the hind end and let his front feet follow. Horses are rear wheel drive, so rather than try to shift his balance forward and ask him to pull his hind end around the turn, own those hind feet and figure out to steer him like a motor boat with the engine in the back.

I bet the stalling problem goes away if you try this strategy. The stalling out is a "loss of gait quality" which may be a hint that a "pushing" aid is compromising his balance. No guarantees that you get it by show day though! Good luck and remember to have fun.

9/16/2012 11:08:02 pm

Val, I must not have been clear. We aren't trying to have him pull his hind end around but rather asking him to step under himself rather than "lead" with his hind end. To the right, he can be like a car spinning out of control - the hind end gets loose. I have to really push it back in line so that it tracks along behind the front end. If I always ride him thinking "out, out, out" this doesn't happen. I just have to remember to use a lot of inside leg to push him out, and then use the outside rein to keep him from rushing forward.

I don't know if this is what you mean, or if you have another strategy all together. :0)

Val

9/17/2012 12:32:53 am

I do not think that the technique you describe here is "wrong", but my reasoning is coming from the idea that something is blocking his hind end in the turn, which is making the turn and forwardness difficult. If you can remove the blockage, by say raising the inside rein, raising your inside ribcage, releasing your shoulder blades, or something else, you should not feel like you have to "push" him through anything. The blockage will be gone and he should find the turn much easier. This is the philosophy that my teacher has brought to my riding. I have found it very eye-opening.

9/17/2012 10:40:58 pm

That's an interesting way of looking at it, Val. I had a lesson last night and ran your idea by my trainer. She said that anything we can do to help Sydney is beneficial. She explained his reluctance to bend in this way: He's been "muscle" stiff for so many years that now it is just very difficult for him to bend his ribcage. We did a lot of different suppling exercises last night all in an effort to help him "loosen up."

Now that his brain is more relaxed, I hope that his body can start to relax as well. His 'blockage" has been both mental and physical. One problem at a time ... :0)

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