Riding Chi

Video

Sat, 20 Oct 2012 09:12:22 -0400

http://www.sustainabledressage.net/

Thu, 04 Oct 2012 08:14:23 -0400

http://www.sustainabledressage.net/:

I have been incredibly busy rebuilding fence lines and getting everything ready for the winter before the temperature drops and working outside becomes misery.

However, I’ve just been rooting through an old folder of mine full of reference websites, and I rediscovered this gem. I don’t think she’s updated it in a few years, but what’s left up is still fantastic.

All very good points.

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 11:38:48 -0400

All very good points.

Took Chevy out yesterday night for the first time in a few days. We went after dark, which really...

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 10:27:13 -0400

Took Chevy out yesterday night for the first time in a few days. We went after dark, which really confused him at first. I figure with daylight hours getting so short he’d best get used to it, because it’s likely I wont get many chances to ride during the days once winter hits.

We started with some light lunging and action-reaction mouth work on the ground, and then continued it under saddle. He’s been picking up on this concept super quickly. It paid off, too - he was going forward into a light but steady contact and able to maintain a long and low head position for much longer and with more consistency than during last weeks rides. Taking the time to show them exactly what each aid means is so invaluable.

We were joined during this training session by my sister and her 7 yr old Trekhanner/QH mare, Boost. They’re coming off of a long layoff, so the work they were doing wasn’t much different from what Chev and I were working on. They were doing more shoulder in work than we were, but with that mare - since she’s so forward and sensitive, the timing of the aids has to be absolutely perfect or else you run into resistance. Not a complicated mare, but one that demands attention - a good horse for an intermediate level rider to learn on.

I’m struck again by how sweet and intelligent Chevy is. I bred him for this and worked with him since day one, but still. It’s so nice to have a smart horse that trusts you and follows your lead without a whole lot of resistance. Makes the training almost effortless.

Had enough time to get in a quick ride on Chi after work today. It was so gorgeous outside that I...

Sun, 16 Sep 2012 18:45:00 -0400

Had enough time to get in a quick ride on Chi after work today. It was so gorgeous outside that I tacked him up and took him out to his 6 acre pasture to do some basic long and low work on the gentle hills.

He was super distracted by the horses in the next paddock throughout most of the ride. Had a few minor moments of resistance, but I was very patient and firm and he settled down.

He’s been out of work for a few weeks, so I didn’t ask for much. Our downwards transitions need a little polishing, so we worked on that, varied the work between large circles and voltes, transitions throughout. Shoulder in up and down hills was easy peasy today, and renvers on a 20m was almost effortless.

He was losing patience with the work and his muscles were starting to tire, so I got a few decent trot halfpass zigzags where he didn’t try to fall over his left shoulder, and halted and dismounted, untacked him right there, gave him a carrot, and carried my tack back to the tack room myself.

He followed me all the way to the gate, sour puss. Hopefully next time he isn’t as resistant to the idea of working outside, it’s perfect weather out there.

With luck, I’ll have time to take Chevy out tomorrow morning before work.

Earlier this year. Chi’s canter still needs a lot of...

Sun, 16 Sep 2012 10:53:52 -0400

Earlier this year. Chi’s canter still needs a lot of work, but it’s coming along.

Travers to Renvers on a figure 8. Chi tends to give too much...

Sat, 15 Sep 2012 18:11:12 -0400

Travers to Renvers on a figure 8. Chi tends to give too much and/or evade by doing 4 track… we’re working on it.

This is Chi from a few months ago. Lost him a little bit on the...

Sat, 15 Sep 2012 18:08:16 -0400

This is Chi from a few months ago. Lost him a little bit on the end there, he still has problems going to his blind side on occasion. Decided to bail out and reinback rather than push him through. Kept him light and trusting, and the next one was better.

Shoulder in to counter shoulder in on a figure 8. As a general rule I start my warm up using these exercises, because it targets almost everything.

grand-prix-dreams: Sure! The way that I’ve been taught to...

Sat, 15 Sep 2012 12:10:43 -0400

grand-prix-dreams:

Sure! The way that I’ve been taught to steer my horse is to use my seat bones/hips. My body should remain entirely aligned. So, for a left turn, as my right shoulder advances around the turn, my right hip should do the same so that it is slightly in front of my left hip. Inside thigh/leg influences the bend of the horse (keeping the inside hind stepping up). It’s helped me a lot with things such as leg yields - I can effectively set up the bend with my seat by keeping my hips twisted left (for a leg yield right, for example) and use my inside upper thigh/seat to push the horse over, lower calf used if I need the horse to go more forward.

What’s happening with me is in a left turn, my left hip is slightly forward, advancing to the right. That’s making my horse try and counterbend.

Not sure if I effectively communicated this, but let me know if you have more questions about what I mean. I have never heard of Eckhart Meyners, but I did try and look some stuff up - couldn’t find anything about the rider’s hips in particular, but I would really like to hear about the reasoning behind it.

EDIT: I’ve also been taught “Rider’s shoulder influences the horse’s shoulder, riders hips influence the horse’s hips” - so if my shoulders are going left my horse will carry his shoulders left. If my hips are going right, my horse will carry his hips right.

Thanks for getting back to me on this. It’s hard to find indepth details on the Meyners approach online, I know. My clinician does the seat symposiums and work with the balimo chair, and I have some firsthand experience with most of the techniques, so I’ll give the explanation a shot.

A lot of this has to do with horse and rider and the way they balance together. The way that the pelvis and seatbones interact with the saddle and the horses natural inclinations to mirror or flow through the barriers that the rider sets up for it.

I think a lot of the difference in the way we were taught is that word, “Influence”. That’s a weird word, kind of too vague for me. If you change that word to mirror, you’ll get a better idea of how I’ve been instructed to interpret that saying. Rider’s shoulders mirrors the horse’s shoulders, riders hips mirror the horse’s hips.

So on a left bend, the horses shoulders will turn left but his hips will stay slightly towards the right, left (inside hind) advancing more than the right hind. The consequences of allowing the riders outside hip to drop back slightly are that first of all, it’s far more natural for the rider to allow the leg to then drape down and back so that they can contain the quarters to the bend, and secondly, the rider will be sitting softly but with slightly more weight to the inside, with the inside leg as a pillar to bend the horse around. Because the horse is turning left, you want him to feel that you are going with him in the balance, so you sit with him like this with a clear weight aid to the left, you block him as needed from going right with the outside rein and outside hip/thigh/lower leg, and you support him as needed with the inside aids.

I’ve seen both horses that were sluggish and flat improve bascule and horses that rushed forward and needed strong half halts settle dramatically in a matter of a few minutes just by instructing this simple change. You can really see the difference in canter work, but it shows in rising trot and walk too. It seems like the horses are relieved by the solidification of the rider’s balance and the ability for the rider to both soften and yet secure their seat so they can flow through the turn with the horse. brings to mind the old adage about getting out of the horses way. :)

To each their own of course, but you might find it interesting to play with this a bit. I’ve played with a lot of different ways of influencing the horse with my seat over the years, and I find that this one works the best for me.

Video

Fri, 14 Sep 2012 08:57:17 -0400

"The rider has to want to learn, truly and honestly, without making excuses, without blaming the..."

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 08:04:05 -0400

“The rider has to want to learn, truly and honestly, without making excuses, without blaming the horse, the saddle, the bit, the footing, the boots, the breeches, the farrier, the vet, or whatever. The desire to learn must be greater than anything else, pride, vanity, ego, everything. It comes down to the question of how important it is to the rider to really learn to ride, and how far he or she wants to go in his or her riding.”

- Thomas Ritter (via equitationstation)

Equitation Station: Assess Your Leg! (Advice for Calf Gripping/Toe Turning Out)

Sun, 09 Sep 2012 19:05:44 -0400

Equitation Station: Assess Your Leg! (Advice for Calf Gripping/Toe Turning Out):

equitationstation:

This was a question I got and I wanted to share my answer with you all incase you have the same problem!

First you should try and figure out why you’re gripping with the backs of your calves. It could be because you’re used to riding a slower, more leg-dead mount and have to have your forward…

Halt and reinback with a high head and a relaxed mouth is an...

Sun, 09 Sep 2012 12:19:00 -0400

Halt and reinback with a high head and a relaxed mouth is an exercise that I use very often in all of my horses. It’s purpose is to both relax and rebalance the horse, so that he learns to shift his weight over his quarters and elevate his front end right off the bat. The horse starts to connect the idea that a raised rein means he should relax his mouth, lift his withers from the base of his neck, and tilt his pelvis in preparation for the shift of weight. At that stage we start to refine this exercise until it becomes anything from a canter-halt transition to a simple half-halt wherein the horse remains (more or less, depending on his conformation) in a ‘frame’. The advantage that we gain from teaching it this way is that you never get the horse that dives onto the bit heavily and uses the riders hand as a support during downwards transitions. The transitions will come from behind and be executed in a very balanced way, maintaining lightess.

To sum up: Developing the downwards transitions from high head reinback means that not only are you being very clear on what you want the horse to do, but you are also never giving him the opportunity to lean on the hand and become heavy.

Oddly enough, I will not be doing this exercise with Chevy as often as I would with most other horses that I ride/train. The reason for that is that he has both a very soft and relaxed mouth already and also very little impulsion, you can see in these videos that he resists by backing up quite often. He doesn’t want to go forward, and he either resists the leg aids or doesn’t quite understand them. He does this under saddle as well, and it is an issue that will be addressed very soon. I hope to get some footage of it.

So this vlogging is not going to be terribly sophisticated, at...

Sat, 08 Sep 2012 20:56:36 -0400

So this vlogging is not going to be terribly sophisticated, at least not at this stage. My process throughout this experiment is likely to be very organic. For now I’m just going to have someone film me every once in a while while I work with some horses in various states of training, and explain what I’m doing as I go.

I’ll also post anything I find that is relevant to classical training, inspiring videos, things of that nature.

We’re starting with the very first mouth work I use to introduce a young horse to the bit. Thanks for watching!

Just curious, would anyone be interested in seeing training videos? I’m thinking of doing...

Sat, 08 Sep 2012 10:53:44 -0400

Just curious, would anyone be interested in seeing training videos? I’m thinking of doing more of a video blog, focusing on classical dressage and highlighting videos that show the actual training.

Life Lessons Continue

Sun, 13 May 2012 12:02:15 -0400

Chi is 18 now, and despite a few grey hairs he doesn’t seem inclined to stop learning. If we continue at the rate we’re going it’s possible we’ll be riding around 3rd level by the time he’s 20. Flying changes seem like a ~~fun~~ ~~frustrating~~ challenge.

Occassionally I hear that he’s improved greatly but that I should get another horse. That another horse would be less effort and would be able to go so much farther in the training. I kind of think these people miss the point. I’m not interested in the destination, it’s the journey we’re taking together, Chi and I, and the lessons I’ve taken from it that are important to me.

I am riding other horses. There’s a very talented sport horse mare, that I’m slowly bringing along to whom the dressage work is almost effortless to teach. I’m starting a young appendix who is incredibly nimble and has a ton of personality. I have a saddlebred I’m developing muscle on who is fully trained, a delight to ride and enjoys all the canter work and jumping we do together. But I keep returning to my powerful, one-eyed Canadian gelding with his dinner plate feet and his utterly gentle nature. Everything with him is tricky tricky to keep light and balanced, but it allows me to develop a habit of working with horses that is at once both firm and also incredibly soft and gentle.

I could not be more grateful for the lessons Chi continues to teach me, and he in turn appreciates that my pockets are always full of apple treats.

Nifty

Sat, 12 May 2012 12:03:47 -0400

On impulse two years ago, and because Chi has been so delightful, I had a bout of insanity and bought a package deal of two young Canadian mares and a broodmare who dropped a healthy little colt. The oldest filly is just coming old enough to ride now, and having turned 4 this spring we’ve started her under saddle. I’m taking everything I learn from Chi and putting it towards training the new guys, and so far “Nifty” has taken to everything like a duck to water. I gifted her to Gab last year when she decided to get back into riding again, and they’ve developed a bond that is swiftly becoming as solid as anything I’ve ever seen. The first time I swung a leg over her back she put her head down with a soft eye and was happy to be led around like she’d done it all her life. Gab said she looked like she was about to fall asleep. This is what they talk about when they call Canadians docile!

Less is More

Fri, 11 May 2012 12:01:07 -0400

It is an amazing experience to ride a horse that seems to be able to read your mind, to respond to your energy. Anyone who knows this feeling must be familiar with it’s addictive quality. Not only does Chi now respond to the lightest aids, he does so charged with an incredible amount of controlled power. He is turning into a finely tuned, “push button” type horse (provided you ride with quiet energy, feel and lightness). He teaches me everyday that less is more, and I am gradually learning how to get out of the way and let him dance. We still have issues, but they’re all minor and bit by bit we’re handling them. (I’m relatively certain at least 75% of them are my fault)

Right now we are working on trot renvers on a circle, which still sometimes presents some difficulties. The trot halfpass is coming. Canterwork isn’t yet effortless, but it no longer inspires in us the dread it once did. Earlier last week we practiced various forms of canter transitions for over half an hour and the only place there was sweat after the ride was on his flanks. No nervousness at all. I was preening like a proud mama.

That only took three years...

Thu, 10 May 2012 12:00:00 -0400

Training continued, but I was having an issue with it. Because of Chi’s heavyset stallion-thick neck and his propensity to go on the vertical so easily and his natural power, I wasn’t noticing that he was locked in his spine and giving me false collection. I knew something was going on that wasn’t right, but I was at a loss for what to do. Jo discovered the issue and its cause, and basically fixed it for me. I was to ride long, low and forward for a while. Low and behold, not only did Chi have a TON of power that I was gradually learning to unlock, but his balance improved to the point where he has good self carriage w/t now and goes round in the canter with minimal help- something I was unsure that he could accomplish.

Chi’s anatomy has changed as well. He carries himself more uphill now, even without a rider. He canters on a whim and often at liberty, something he didn’t have a hope of doing before. His pie plate sized feet no longer stomp the ground, instead he steps lightly. When I ride him it’s hard to hear his footfalls. His mouth is like butter.

He almost never spooks anymore, and when he does he’s easily calmed. When startled outside he sometimes pulls up and looks, but rarely does anything silly. I am both grateful and relieved, and I trust him almost totally now. We’ve experimented with riding bridleless, but he is more comfortable with me directing him - I assume because he doesn’t always trust himself. I feel confident now that were he to start to go blind in the other eye we would be able to manage just fine. I finally have his trust.

He tolerates being flysprayed now.

Okay, you can stop now

Wed, 09 May 2012 12:01:26 -0400

Then, of course, I couldn’t get him to quit doing it. Word to the wise - ALWAYS teach shoulder in before travers. That way you have the tools in place to strighten them out again. Thank god I had sense not to rush the lateral work, and to do it in the right order.