Falling off the Tracks

If I'm lucky, I'm going to actually finish typing all of this up on the day I start. I'll let you know at the end how that goes.

So, first is first, I always have to do a little blurb at the beginning about something that usually isn't really significant at all. I've taken to tricking Grimsey onto the trailer (if you don't know about my trailer woes, see the June clinic), and so Grim and I showed up rough and ready for our ride with Sherry. I was a little (okay, a lot) appalled with myself for not having a proper turnout. In my defense, it's been averaging 103 degrees (yes, that's fareinheight) and the only good time to ride is in the morning. Well, I work in the morning. As such, I've been desperately trying to squeeze in rides at dusk whilst simultaneously trying to not melt. Add to that my back injury turning me into all but a useless blob and you have a recipe for disaster.

All right, so that's a little dramatic. All the same, Grimsey had had, at this point, three weeks off (mostly credited to my farrier who was too busy to drive down and put a lost shoe back on). In the past month, I'd ridden him a grand total of three times. Two of the three times, he broke into two at the canter depart. For those of you who can't read between those horribly subtle lines: He bucked. Big.

As always, Sherry's comments are bold and my additions are in italics.

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07 - 25 - 2012
Grimsey

Spiral in to 10m CircleOn its face, this is a simple exercise, but there are many nuances. It's a yield in and out of a circle, so you cannot just let your horse fall into the circle.
Start on 20m circle.
1 & 2 aidsThis is in referance to the 1-2-3-4 aids, from the April clinic. To make it easy on you, 1 = inside rein, 2 = inside leg.
Use inside rein, bend nose to inside, use inside weight to turn onto 10cm circle.Inside weight, again, goes back to a previous clinic; however, I can't be arsed to go find which one it was (probably April), so I'll just do a quick overview. A while ago, Sherry taught me the Drunken Line (ahh, yes, it was April) in which she enouraged me to push him over with my thigh whilst simultaneously putting a small bit of weight in the opposite stirrup. It's a momentary push, and not consistant - like a pulsating feeling. So, putting that theory to this exercise, were you to spiral in to a 10m circle, you would weight your inside stirrup (another way of thinking about it would be to "drop the inside knee") and push him over with the outside thigh - all of this while maintaining the bend with the inside leg and still asking him to step over. When he sticks his nose in the air, bend him to the inside, not asking him to put his head down.
Aside from the obvious, her reasoning for not asking him to put his head down is because simply bending him around the leg will encourage him to release at the withers on his own - this, however, does not mean he "gets out of" bending (the whole "look, ma, I'm putting my head down!" should not distract you from the ultimate goal of the exercise - an inside bend and a yield).
Work on the hard side more frequently, not for longer periods of time.
Go straight, bend to inside and then push him out with leg.This is typically easier. You'll keep the inside bend and use your Outside Weight to ask him to move out - either by weighting the outside stirrup or by dropping the outside knee - and push with your inside calf as the inside hind is coming forward to ask him for that step over.

Three Ways to "Round"
1.) Do exercises that develop muscle that make it easy.Bow Ties, for example.2.) Repetition of aids - Communication.
3.) ContractIt's been a while since the clinic, so I'll see if I can remember every detail she told me (probably not) about this so-called "contract."
The Contract (from here on out will always be capitalized, so remember that if it comes up in later posts, but I'm pretty sure I'll just link back to it anyways...) is kind of like "if you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours." Or, if I use my inside leg and close my inside hand on the rein, you soften in the jaw and bend, and I'll not fuss at you - and to top it off, I'll ride better and it'll be easier for you.
Sherry wants the ultimate goal of this exercise to be to teach that the inside rein means soften and give. To top that off, it's great for the horse.

Here, Grim and I worked on the Nose to Rail Leg Yield (from the June clinic)Walk helps loosen his back and hips

ALL TRANSITIONS ARE THROUGH LEG YIELD for now.
Yes ma'am!! (yes, she really did capitalize all of that)

360* Turn on the ForehandIrrefutably my least favourite exercises she's ever taught me.Small circle into turn on the forehand. Half halts make the difference AND the knee pulling down in the direction you want to go.So, again, a reference to the weight. One thing she was sure to beat into me is that the knee doesn't drop and stay down, it drops for just a second and becomes neutral again (I feel it's important to note I did not say "comes up"). The knee dropping will have the same effect as weight in the stirrup and encourage the horse to come into the circle (whereas if I were to push with my thigh he would yield out). At the same time, I am using my inside leg to push him over and keep the motor running.
About at this point, Grimsey was completely out of gas and the whole exercise felt as though it were being executed in three feet of mud. Note were were only walking whilst doing this.
This exercise, for me, was a little hard to grasp. I wasn't quite getting the timing/feeling of it, and for me this is not unusual. It takes me a while to feel something new and in fact took me a week or two to start using my leg in time with his hind leg properly and automatically. I've not been able to work on it, so there have been no stunning revelations concerning it, but I'll share if I suddenly have a brain wave.

One of the things Sherry did not mention in the notes (and why should she, it wasn't a huge part of the lesson), is that Grimsey and I cantered for her for the first time. Of course it was all a spectacular failure. We started to the right (his poor lead), missed the lead, and then broke a chip off of one of the poles Marti uses for the dressage arena (whoops). To the left, Sherry described it to me as "He broke into three pieces." Grim dropped his withers, picked up his head and his butt, and promptly fell apart at the canter. When I say promptly, I mean, we got approximately five steps of canter work.

We didn't canter again.

She did suggest to me, however, that lunging would be a good thing for him, and so it's too bad that lunging on a line turns Grimsey into a complete lunatic (no matter what I said in my post Philippe Karl's School of Legrete).

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And so that's it. We actually got quite a lot accomplished, I thought. The next clinic is August 29th, and with luck Grimsey will load once again. Although, I've been considering taking Faun instead to see if Sherry can help me with his canter.


And for those of you who are wondering: Yes, I did finish this in one sitting.

Okay, okay. I know this is late (all of my entries are, so I suppose it doesn't really matter), but as they say, better late than never.
These are my notes from the June clinic, and before I begin, a little background is required for this particular day. Grimsey refused to load into the trailer. Given that he kicks like a cow on steroids, it's difficult to load him by myself without potentially sustaining a life-threatening injury, and so when coaxing him on fails and time has dwindled down to get-on-now-or-we'll-be-late, it's better for my physical safety to call it quits. As such, instead of getting myself killed, I loaded up Friday and took him instead.

Since I don't think I've covered this before, Friday has navicular - according to the vet it's "not very advanced," so he's still sound for light riding. This will be important later because of one or two comments in the notes, which I won't deign to edit out.

So, without further ado, my notes from the June 2012 Sherry Guess clinic. As usual, her comments in bold, my additions in italics.

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6 - 20 - 2012
JS Friday Impression
Think of knees pointing toward ground; line along top of thigh causes hamstring at top to engage.This goes back to the April clinic, so see that post to get a better description of this.

Does his flat back get livelier? Not yet.
This is in reference to Friday's posture; he naturally carrier himself well and with a flat back (not necesserily lifted, but not inverted like a hammock). As we walked, Sherry wanted to see if I could get a little more swing in his back, which we do eventually achieve, so read on! :)

Right hind short today. Reference to Friday stepping short behind; his left front is more affected by the navicular.

Nose to Rail Leg Yield
- Check if neck is bent, or if it is a true leg yield (35-45 degree angle). You want the hindquarters to move in a fraction, you don't just want the neck to bend.
- Look over outside (rail) shoulder to feel the muscles you should be using. Be sure to use all muscles properly - you're not just turning your neck, your using your shoulder and back as well. Don't crane your neck to look down at the dock, per-se, otherwise you'll only be accessing the musclesin your neck, so be sure to utilize all of the muscles on that side.
- Push on the "up" Or, push as the outside hind leg is coming forward.
- Take half-halt with both reins if needed.
Once you get the feel for it, start adding a small circle right haflway down the arena before continuing on in the leg yield. Sherry never specified, but I like to do these circles as I would do a Bow Tie, using my inside calf as the horse's inside hind is coming forward in order to ask the horse to take a larger step and move under himself. Again, careful not to block with your seatbone.

Timing of leg use - The horse lifts its back while foot is on ground; use your leg as it swings in onto their side. This goes back to the May clinic when Sherry  talked about feeling the thigh swinging in and out against the horse's barrel.

Leg yield patterns:
These are very basic concepts, and I will list them in order from easiest to most difficult.
3-quarter Line, Yielding to the Rail:My previous instructor used to tell us to "turn early," and that's pretty much what you're doing (she also called it the "quarter" line, instead of the 3/4 line). Instead of following the rail through the turn, turn early so that you are basically in the middle of the centre-line of the arena and the rail. Position yourself for a yield, and pulsate your calf to ask for the horse to move to the rail. This is the easiest of the yeilds, since the horse naturally wants to gravitate to the rail - plus, it gives you a focal point.
Yield Off the Rail:The exact opposite of what is above. You will follow the rail through the turn, prepare for the yield, and ask the horse to move over until you reach the quarter line. Once you reach your mark, don't just abandon the horse, straighten him properly.
Yield Off, Then to the Rail:Here, you will combine the two exercises above, yielding off of, and then to, the rail. If your arena is large enough, you can add more yields in-between. I prefer to always be yielding through the corner.

Three Hinges:
1.) Jaw/Poll - Hand/Fingers
2.) Shoulder & Ribcage - Knee/Thigh/Panty line (lol)3.) Hindquarters - Calf, hip muscle
It's basically as it sounds, describing which of the rider's body parts affect each part (or "hinge") of the horse.

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That's it. It was pretty basic stuff, and really just a review since Friday is unsound. Friday didn't know any of it, as he didn't stay sound long enough to learn all the lateral work, and I'm pretty sure that by the end he was flipping me the bird (if horses had middle fingers). Hey, an old guy shouldn't have to come out of retirement to work!!! He is, now, happily turned back out with Bonc and once again enjoying the retired life. Although, and one of my former instructors would argue with me on this point, Friday always did enjoy having a job.