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Using the Long Sides

7/10/2014

6 Comments

 
Now that Sydney and I can walk, trot, and canter with rhythm and relaxation, my trainer started us on a new exercise that includes some work down the long sides.

I am sure you're horrified to think that we've been stuck at A, but the truth is, we sort of have been. In my own arena, I utilize the whole "court." I do a walk warm up around the outside and then do a variety of figures that include circles at A or C, serpentines, shallow loops, and changes across the diagonal.
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My arena with the "court" laid out with poles.
Over the last three years, I've used all of the space in JL's arena too, but at different times. Her arena is a large oval with room to do flat work at either end. The middle portion is filled with an array of fences. For the most part, we work at the end closest to the barn. It's set back from the road, and other horses are comfortably close. It's also wider than a 20 x 60 dressage court which means that I can do figure eights (two, 15-meter circles?) with an opportunity to also ride some straight lines.
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A partial view of the barn end of JL's arena - Photo by Lillian.
For Wednesday's lesson, we decided that I had the necessary skills to start working on longer lines into a turn, like you would do in a full length court. The exercise doesn't focus on a specific gait, but rather on maintaining control of the outside shoulder so that the horse makes the turn without a loss of rhythm.

On an OTTB who doesn't like any lapses in my application of the rules, this turned out to be quite the challenge. We tried it twice at the canter, but since I wasn't quite prepared, Sydney was allowed to get too fast which made him think that everything was going to hell in a hand basket. We ended up doing it at the trot for this lesson so that I understood the purpose more clearly.

Here's how it went: we picked up the trot and did a 20-meter circle at the barn end of the arena. Tracking left, I then made the turn down the long side through a narrow "chute" that had jumps to our left and the rail to our right. As we approached the other working end of the arena, we were to make a left turn (not using the rail) and come back down the other long side through another narrow chute created by fences and the rail.

JL told me to be prepared for a horse that was going to race through the chute and then lose the ability to make the left turn at the end. She was right. The exercise showed how heavy he can be on the outside rein and how much I have to work to get him to lighten up.

This exercise really worried Sydney. JL explained that he knew we were doing something different and wasn't sure that the rules were going to be the same. Our number one rule is no rushing. Slow and thoughtful is what we're trying to teach him. So when we started down the long side and I let him pick up speed, it freaked him out.  JL had me stop him with the outside rein to remind him that nothing had changed.

We worked for a while on halting in the chute at both the walk and trot to remind Sydney that none of this work required rushing. By the end of the lesson, his ears were once again Eeyore floppy and his stride opened back up. We rode the open ends in a nice rhythmic trot that we were able to hold and carry through the chute. Sydney was so light on the outside rein that I was able to send him sideways so that he could bend around my inside leg as he made the turns.

It seems silly to be excited about using the long sides, but even Christian Schacht, the German clinician with whom I've been riding this last year or so, would recognize how difficult this exercise was for Sydney. I hope that we'll be doing it at the canter next week, but I won't be disappointed if we have to do it at the trot for a while. To ride it successfully, Sydney needs to be able to trust that I will be able to help him stay balanced and safe. That means I better get it together ASAP so that I can actually do that!
6 Comments
Austen link
7/10/2014 12:17:28 am

'an OTTB who doesn't like any lapses in my application of the rules" NAILED IT! :)

Sounds like a great ride! You guys are really understanding each other!

Reply
Bakersfield Dressage link
7/10/2014 06:17:27 am

We're getting there. I am so lucky to have found a trainer who understands TBs. Everything we do now is focused on his mind. It is only when my aids are crystal clear that he is happy. JL focuses a LOT of time and energy on explaining things to the horse in a way that they can understand.

With Speedy, I am can be a bit wishy-washy or inconsistent. It won't fry his brain. With Sydney, everything has to be just so. Any time something is unclear, we simply step back and break it down into very simple parts. Once he understands the rule, he expects me to follow the rule every single time.

Realizing this has been a huge step forward for us. I've never had a horse so dependent on consistency. All of my Arabs have thrived on new and different. Now that I am really getting how this horse thinks, we are making faster and faster progress. :0)

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Calm, Forward, Straight link
7/10/2014 04:52:25 am

'an OTTB who doesn't like any lapses in my application of the rules'

Holy cow that totally cracked me up. Our dear ottbs do have their quirks, which generally result in our having to be become better, fairer riders.

So nice to read all of these really positive posts about you and Sydney. :D

Reply
Bakersfield Dressage link
7/10/2014 06:22:05 am

Thanks, CFS. I wish I had known about "following the rules" three years ago! :0)

And I hate to bore everyone, but I am simply overwhelmed with gratitude at the change that has come over this horse (and obviously over me too!).

I don't know if I have truly conveyed how scary he was to ride. And it wasn't just me who thought he was a bit much. My trainer felt like it would have been okay to send him on as well. She had doubts as to whether we could/would ever get through to him. Even the German trainer with whom I ride described Sydney as a horse with a destroyed mind.

I have definitely learned more in these past three years than in the 30 years I rode before him. :0)

Reply
Lauren link
7/10/2014 05:04:30 am

Can I steal your arena please? :)

Reply
Bakersfield Dressage link
7/10/2014 06:24:44 am

It is nice, isn't it? We work hard to keep it that way though. It gets watered every day (we drag the sprinklers around) and my BO drags it as needed to keep the little whoop-de-dos level. It's also REALLY big, at least 40-meters wide (enough for two dressage courts). It's not quite long enough, but I have enough space to set up a 20 x 50 court with a lot of room around the outside for lunging, etc.

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    About the 
    Writer & Rider

    I am a lifetime rider. 
    I began endurance riding in 1996 where I ultimately completed five, one-day 100 mile races, the 200-mile Death Valley Encounter, and numerous other 50, 65, and 75 mile races. I began showing dressage in 2010.
    ​Welcome to my dressage journey.

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    About Speedy G

    Speedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse and occasional trail horse. He is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.

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    About Izzy

    Izzy was started as a four-year old and then spent the next 18 months in pasture growing up. I bought him as a six-year old, and together, we are schooling the dressage basics. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand Zweibrücker gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.
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