Lesson At Last

Flyboy and I had a fabulous lesson this afternoon down at the indoor barn with Marleen Bradford (thanks, Marleen, if you are reading this!) It was great to actually have expert eyes on the ground as I rode. I really needed a few reminders about some basic things on the ground and under saddle.

1. Don't tighten the girth too much too quickly. In other words, tighten it gradually as I finish tacking him up and warm him up with a bit of ground work, then tighten it the rest of the way. (I actually know this already, but need to be more gradual.) Fly actually had a distinct opinion about that today, and Marleen pointed it out to me.

2. I need to get him yielding his front end immediately when I ask. He is slow to respond because I have not been clear enough with my requests. One, two, THREE, FOUR--not one, one, one, two. (Maybe you had to be there to understand that, but suffice it to say that Fly will now understand that I mean what I say, and I'm not waiting till Christmas to get a response!)

3. Ok. Under saddle. Marleen totally fixed the lack of softness I've been struggling with while going to the left on a circle. I have to do what I want him to mirror : i.e. stretch my right rib cage and follow the circle with my hip and shoulders. And eyes! A supporting inside leg helps him stay out on the circle so he doesn't spiral down to the middle. Lifting the inside rein a bit helps, too. We worked a lot on this and made great progress. I hope I can follow through with a repeat tomorrow. It will help me solidify the concept in my mind if I can repeat these exercises on my own.

4. Rein back a couple of steps every time I bring him to a halt.

We worked in walk, trot, and canter for a hour. That hour was tougher for Flyboy than climbing up the Red Rock Pasture trail because he definitely broke a sweat today! So did I! I felt like I had done a big yoga workout! It felt great, to be honest, and Fly worked hard and tried to do what I asked. (He also played a few dominance games!) So we have some things to work on for sure, but Marleen liked the way he moves and said he could look like "a fancy dressage horse." She also said this is a very smart horse and I better work to stay on top of things with him. That might have just been a kind way of saying that this horse might be smarter than I am! (But the fact that I know when to call in reinforcements counts for something, too!)

I know this picture is blurred, but take my word for it. Fly was soft, forward, and round. He blew out lots of tension during this lesson and really got soft in his back. I am in my Longreach endurance saddle and endurance stirrups, which are not really ideal for arena work so I will switch them out for webbers and regular irons for future dressage work. I need to really reach with my heel, which I am not doing here.