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Not-So-Speedy Dressage

From Endurance to Dressage

A-n-t-i-c-i-p-a-t-i-o-n

6/3/2014

 
Not mine, although there is some of that, I am talking about Sydney's. 

I mentioned yesterday that I am starting twice-a-week lessons now that I am on summer vacation. They could not have come at a better time. 

I had one of those ow! my head is hurting kind of lessons yesterday. You know the kind; a big idea that doesn't quite fit in your head, but you struggle and grab on and keep shoving it in until your head is so full of idea that it feels as though it is going to simply burst.

The idea was this - Sydney is not anxious anymore. He is anticipating. This might seem like a teeny tiny little idea, but for a horse who is an over-achiever with a very sensitive ego, the nuance is huge. With an anxious horse, the rider needs to soothe and reassure while providing leadership. With a horse that is anticipating, the rider needs to provide correction while being the leader.

For so long, it was okay that Sydney anticipated. At least he was in the conversation. Because before that, he couldn't a hear a word I said. This horse did not trust me at all to make decisions. He simply took matters into his own hands and careened around doing what he thought he was supposed to do.

At some point, he realized that I was up there, so he started to try and figure out what it was that I was asking. My aids were obviously very unclear so he simply guessed, also known as anticipating. This was good. 

But now, the anticipation is causing problems. For a horse who prefers structure and a strong leader, this iffiness is confusing. He would rather not have to choose what comes next, but since I haven't been making the decisions in a clear and obvious way, he's been helping me out. Until now.

So that was the big idea; Sydney no longer gets to hurry into the trot and he never gets to race off into the canter. He must now wait for me to tell him when. In order to achieve this though, several things need to happen. First, he needs to respect the outside rein. Second, his shoulders need to be in front of his rear end.

Waiting for me wasn't hurting my head; it was understanding the implication of a hind end fishtailing behind me that caused the headache. So here is how we worked on it:
  • Walk … halt with the outside rein, repeat, repeat, repeat.
  • Trot … halt with the outside rein, repeat, repeat, repeat.
  • Halt with the outside rein, and add outside leg to keep his hindquarters from falling out.
  • Walk forward while opening the outside rein and at the same time  using the outside leg to push the hindquarters behind the shoulders while giving the shoulders room to essentially come over.

For classical dressage instruction, this probably seems so backwards. We are taught shoulder in and inside leg to outside hand. But to the right, Sydney does not want to weight the outside hind which means that in the right lead canter, the inside leg is not free to step deeply beneath him because he wants to carry his weight on the inside hip and shoulder. In essence, he carries all of his weight on the inside hind and fore which creates a rolling-over effect. Does that make sense?

After working on these exercises for a while, Sydney's head came down and it was so obvious that he was finally working back to front without the need to fiddle with his mouth. Once he was straight, his back came up and he began to work honestly.

My homework for today's ride will be to do lots of walk/halt and trot/halt transitions where I do not allow his hind end to fall out. Keeping him straight is the key to getting lovely right lead canter transitions.

As a little hmm, that's interesting, JL pointed out that it has only been in the last few weeks that Sydney has seemed to take note of her in the ring. For the past two and a half years, he has basically ignored her. Lately, she has noticed him looking at her, flicking his ears in her direction, and trying to walk in towards her as the lesson comes to an end. It's as though he has finally realized that she is there helping.

And like the other day, Sydney was so relaxed and happy by the end of the lesson. His relief at not having to "run the show" was so obvious. His whole demeanor just exuded love and gratitude. It's really the darndest thing to watch.

Here's to happy horses!
Katharine link
6/2/2014 11:07:55 pm

How interesting!! I have some similar issues with Lady, but not quite the same. She gets anxious and from there goes into anticipating and doing way more than I ask for. I really like your thoughts! :D

Bakersfield Dressage link
6/4/2014 05:27:10 am

It was funny how as soon as I looked at the issue differently, I had the right tools with which to help me fix it all! Today's lesson (Wednesday) lasted about 15 minutes; that's how easy it was to "fix" the issue. :0)

Austen link
6/3/2014 01:35:24 am

Yay happy horse! How interesting it is to hear Sydney come out of his shell. :)

The straightness work is totally on par with dressage work. ;) A shoulder in is essentially the aids you're discussing, the only difference is that you aren't asking for any flexion. A shoulder-in should lighten the inside shoulder, and require the inside hind to step up further (weighting the outside hind). So, you see, you are in keeping with "real" dressage. (Not surprising, since you're a wonderful "real" dressage rider!)

Some horses feel trapped when you ask them to go straight (Guinness is one). I find doing that opening outside rein thing to be very helpful to teach them that they need to fill up the outside rein, but not be afraid of being hemmed in by the contact there. You might try doing this on the quarter line to make sure he's really coming into your rein, not leaning on the wall.

One thing to be very sure of if this continues to be an issue? Are you sitting straight? Some horses (ahem, TBs) can be extremely sensitive to your seat aids. I find that keeping just an ounce or two of extra weight on my inside seatbone, or forgetting to put my inside hip forward when asking my horse to step up will cause him to keep too much weight on his inside hind.

... wow. I wrote a novel. Whoops! :)

Bakersfield Dressage link
6/3/2014 06:32:58 am

Thank you so much for the info, Austen! I never mind lengthy explanations as I usually need them. :0)

Interestingly, as soon as I got Sydney straight, he got all soft and dopey. His head dropped, and all of the tension just melted right out of him.

This doesn't feel like shoulder in. In fact, it feels a lot more like shoulders out! Not riding with a dressage trainer definitely has some draw backs when it domes to the language of dressage. She uses other vocabulary and images than what I am used to so I usually just go with the flow. if it works, who cares what I call it? :0)

And yeah, I am not asking for any flexion … yet! First, I need to get his hind end where it needs to be. I have a feeling we'll add a little flexion tomorrow. When I rode today, I was super excited about how straight I was able to get him with just one lesson. He got soft super quick and picked up the right lead canter twice without any fussing.

You mentioned not using the wall for straightness. I had to laugh. My "court" consists of some poles on the ground in a HUGE arena. We never ever even get close to a fence. Sometimes I wish I had a court with rails, but at other times I realize how helpful it can be to not have the "wall" as a crutch. When I work at my trainer's place, I actually work in a rounded end of the arena which makes it even more difficult to work on straightness as there is nothing "straight" to use as a gauge. I even whined a little bit about not having a good reference point for straightness. LOL!!!!

Regarding my seat: this is actually one of my strengths. I may lean forward and screw around with my hands, but I do ride pretty balanced. I also pay close attention to my seat bones in an effort to weight the correct one. Not saying that I don't cause all kinds of balance issues for my horse, but his failure to pick up a right lead canter is probably not due to my lack of balance. :0)

Austen link
6/3/2014 06:54:20 am

Sounds like you've got it down! I tried to hit on all the things that have hindered Guinness' straightness, but they obviously don't apply to every horse. Interestingly, Guinness does the same softening when I can get him truly straight. He tends to pop his inside hip to the inside and lean on his outside shoulder, so sort of the opposite of Sydney.

As for the shoulder-in, the aids are pretty similar because in both cases you're moving the shoulder. As my instructor keeps harping on me, you have to be able to control and direct the shoulders. Bah. If only things were so easy! ;)

Bakersfield Dressage link
6/3/2014 07:30:21 am

I definitely need some lessons that just focus on the shoulders. I have such a difficult time moving Speedy's because he is such a noodle. Sydney is a bit easier as he is stiff so I have something to push on; Speedy just goes limp in my arms. Passive aggressive maybe? :0)

lytha
6/3/2014 08:18:12 pm

Hi Karen, I have a (stupid) question for you. They say that dressage horses' tails should swing rhythmically, especially if their backs are loose. I do not have a clear image in my mind of what this proper swing looks like. I think it's cuz my Arabian Baasha held his tail up like a banner, minimizing this swing. I made some videos of my new horse and the lower half of her tail swings left and right, kind of curling up on itself at the top of the swing. Is this a good swing? I tried searching on the internet but found nothing. Maybe you can help me.

I giggled to myself yestserday that I'm gonna change the name of my blog to Wermelskirchen Dressage: Slow Dressage for Training Level and Under: )

Bakersfield Dressage link
6/4/2014 04:33:11 am

Neer a stupid question, Lytha. If so, I would be the world's largest idiot. How are we ever to learn if we don't ask? I think most people just sit around in ignorance praying that someone will ask their question for them.

With that said, take this with a grain of salt as I am the one who should be asking questions, not answering them!

Speedy may not be a very advanced dressage horse, but the thing he does have is swing. That boy is a noodle which means riding him is like trying to gather up a handful of spaghetti and trying to make it straight. He just gets limp and loose and hula-hoops his way around the ring.

The last video I posted actually does show Speedy's nice, swinging back. Here is the link: http://www.bakersfielddressage.com/home---karens-blog/first-show-in-a-long-while-tmc-spring-mountain-dressage

You only need to watch the first 15 seconds as we enter the alley around the outside of the court. Watch as he passes by my photographer. You can see his whole hind end rocking from side to side. If you watch videos of really good horses they will almost look like they are rocking out.

Imagine yourself listening to a good song, swaying to the beat. That's what I imagine when I think of a swinging back in a horses.

And feel free to to become Wermelskirchen Dressage; I'll be in good company as we are definitely Not-so-Speedy ourselves! :0)

Tracy link
6/4/2014 02:19:29 am

Miles anticipates my cue to canter -- where he differs from Sydney is that he gets grumpy. So I have to be careful to relax him, and rebalance before asking very, very politely when I feel him anticipating!

Bakersfield Dressage link
6/4/2014 05:36:48 am

Speedy gets grumpy too. My on-the-coast trainer calls it resentful. That's an accurate description. In order to alleviate his resentment, I have to be very diplomatic and soft with my aids. If I ask quietly (and correctly), he's more willing. So yes, I totally get what Miles is thinking! :0)


Comments are closed.

    About the Writer and Rider

    ​I am a lifelong rider. 
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