Trainer Ride and a Lesson

2/27/2018

On Saturday, Chemaine Hurtado, owner and trainer at Symphony Dressage Stables, made the trek yet again to Bakersfield. Even though I feel really good about the work I've been doing on Izzy, I asked her to hop on him first. I wanted to hear what she thought about our recent progress.

Improving week by week!

Let's just say, she was pretty happy! He wasn't Gumby or anything, but the bolting and spooking that plagued us for so long are distant memories. Sure, he still gets his panties in a wad, but now, he deals with the correction and moves on.

After Chemaine warmed him up, I hopped on. I will say, having a trainer warm your horse up is a luxury that I could get used to. The only problem with it was that right away his stride was longer and his back was more accessible. Weird problem to have, I know, but I felt like I was simply managing what she had given me rather than creating the energy myself.

It took me a while to start actually riding my own horse without worrying about "messing up" what she had created. Once I started riding him like I always do, I became much more effective.

As I worked him, we both agreed that he has loads of potential. The one and only thing holding him back now is getting him to stretch across his top line. This isn't going to happen over-night. He's lived with a tight back for many years. It's going to be a long and slow process to elasticize and reshape his musculature.

The good thing is that someday, I will have a very lovely horse to show for it.

Dom

2/27/2018 03:35:44 pm

I recently had a client ask me to warm her horse up. I did. He went beautifully. She had a great lesson. And then she spent a week super frustrated because she couldn't get the same feeling on her own! She was a pretty new client, and I had to explain to her that she's better off doing it herself *first* and then having me check it for her (like you did in this post!) But yeah, having your trainer warm up can be a luxury, but it comes with a downside! LOL

Bakersfield Dressage link

2/27/2018 05:23:46 pm

Chemaine normally gets on only if I am really having a problem. Or, she gets on to see what the heck I am complaining about. This time, since he's gotten so much better so quickly, she was able to not only work out tension, but then she was able to get him really working over his back. When I got him, it was like riding a totally brand new horse. I didn't quite know what to do with him!

Since we've been working together so long, I know that she's going to get my horses going better than I can. I (usually) like the feeling as it shows me what I might get if I keep working! :0)

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