Video of Canter Half-Pirouettes

Yesterday I almost cried during 3 tempis. My back hurt long before I got on the horse, and Nikita made me work for every tempi. With Nikita, you have to be on the ball, because she tests you every stride. If I go off my game for a moment, she finds a way to stop working. So, I had to use my back more than normal to keep her collected, yet pushing enough to do the changes. Holding the collection with my back was difficult, and required more strength than I cared to exert. Usually I have problems either in the 4 tempis or 2 tempis. But Nikita takes her yahoos where she can get them, and yesterday it was in the 3 tempis.

Video of Canter Half-Pirouettes, a work in progress.



It's hard to find things to write about. In our daily training, the only thing I focus on is making the horse through at the poll from behind and to chew the bit. It's really as simple as that. I don't do exercises to make the horse more collected, I don't use ground poles or any props. Just make the horse through at the poll and chew the bit. Any time the horse is stuck, or the movement isn't right, can be attributed to the horse not being through and chewing. Any time the horse is stuck in the canter pirouettes, the issue is corrected by asking for more forward from behind, which is the alpha and omega of being through at the poll and chewing the bit. There's really not more to our training than that.

April 8, 2010

Started canter pirouettes on Nikita. She feels different than Nicole or Desi.

Getting around a half pirouette is easy. Getting around in 3 steps and without losing rhythm is not so easy.

In Which Nikita Smells Something Funny: March 28, 2010

March 15, 2010

I realized today I both drop my right rein too much and let my reins get too long when doing 2 tempis. Dropping the right rein is a bad habit I have to work on anyway - it's always too loose, and I tend to lose the feeling of riding with one hand to the left. I think this is why it feels like I can't get good 2 time changes unless I "fling" Nikita to the left when changing from right to left (i.e., emphasize through motion that I want her to switch from right to left) - she gets disconnected because my reins are too long and I'm losing the connection on the outside rein.

My collected walk is getting better.

2 & 3 Tempis on Nikita: March 10, 2010

I'm completely tired of barn dogs. Where there's horses there's dogs, and in theory I like dogs, but more and more barn dogs are starting to not do it for me anymore. This sentiment has been brewing for a while, and is unfortunate as I've always considered myself a dog person. The reason? Horse people have little dogs, and those little dogs like to chase cars, dart in front of my vehicle, and generally lose themselves in their joie de vie and out of my line of site. Who wants to ever have the chance of hitting an animal? I certainly don't, but I walk that thin line every day with barn dogs, and the irritation that I could accidentally hit a dog one day is starting to fester.

March 8, 2010

Nicole started in-hand work for piaffe yesterday. We're just focusing on walking into the bridle, which is the first step. She was good and chewed the bit at the appropriate times, but confused about what was being asked of her.

March 6, 2010

I finally have the feeling I want from Nikita in the tempis. And I have it consistently through the whole ride.

You can't see the difference - they always looked fine from the outside - but I certainly feel the difference. She is consistently through at her poll and chewing the bit, and there's no room for monkey business between the changes. My legs and hands are connected enough that when she gets strong or loses her throughness, I just have to ask her for a little more behind, and I get the throughness back. I can sense better, too, when I'm asking for too much or not enough.