moments in time (aka more 'before' pictures)

So the last we saw of our brave bay hero, Charlie, he was out and about winning his first dressage show in .... style lol. And then shortly after, he went to his first actual dressage lesson with trainer C at TM, wherein I declared him a very good boy (but without any photographic evidence).

well. there's always photographic evidence of his extreme handsomeness, at least lol

That lesson acted as a somewhat watershed moment for me tho. Exactly as I had hoped it would.

See. It's kind of a funny thing with me and riding. I enjoy riding. I think about it often and study it. I want to be better at it. And I spend untold hours documenting all that I learn here on the blog for the purposes of remembering and growing from my experiences.

run, charlie, Run!

But like. Sometimes even despite all that, I just really need someone** to sit me down and tell me how to ride. Even if they're telling me things I already know.

(**a paid professional of my choosing - this attitude does NOT extend to internet strangers or well-intentioned would-be bestowers of wisdom and advice, thankyouverymuch lol).

"i'm going, i'm going, christ woman!" - charlie
worth noting: this might not be the most elegant picture, but charlie's moving out now in a way that he absolutely could not and would not in our earliest rides together. he is finally becoming freer in his back and shoulders. one step at a time!

Because. Let's be real. Some lessons I need to re-learn again and again. Most recently, with Charlie, it was the lesson of "You must ride the horse forward from the hind end."

That was basically the entirety of the dressage lesson. Or, as trainer P has said in our lessons at OF, it's all about sending and bending the horse.

bend? lol

So in every ride since then, that's basically all I've been thinking about. Going forward. And inside bend. Just that and only that. Not trying to fuss with the contact. Not trying to be fancy about footwork. Just forward, dammit. And bend.

If he's very low and heavy up front, or very high and braced, or shuffling and tripping... all of these are symptoms of not pushing enough from his hind end, not moving forward enough. And my answer for each is the same: use inside leg to ask him to step more under with that hind. More power forward. And bend.

c'mon emma, use that core girlfriend!!

And whadya know. Charlie's been going pretty well. He's started experimenting on his own with balance. Which I guess is the point, rather than me trying to put him in a place and carry him there.

He's figuring out that speed isn't an evasion any more and that I'm not going to argue with him about it (something I'd subconsciously started after riding around h/j students on lesson ponies lately.... it's kinda embarrassing to constantly lap everyone so I'd just slowed my long-legged horse down to match them instead. Um. Probably not a winning horse training strategy, emma!).

a fleeting, imperfect moment but a moment none the less!!

And as Charlie experiments with changing his balance, he's finding these brief but pleasant moments more and more often. It never lasts - bc he's typically bobbing up and down and all around the contact. And also bc let's be real, I need to fix a couple things in my own riding to help him have an easier time holding that good balance.

It's worth noting that in these pictures, I sought to capture the full spectrum of how we typically go right now. None of the shots could be considered 'correct' or whatever, but that's not the point. Rather, they all demonstrate that Charlie is changing. Developing. Thinking about what I'm asking and trying different answers. And I like it!!

a less fleeting and even more imperfect moment haha. but hey look - apparently i *do* have a core in there! but only use it when death-by-face-planting seems imminent lol

Frankly it's going to take time to develop the strength he needs to carry himself in a more 'correct' frame. But all the same, it feels like we're finally going somewhere. Literally and figuratively haha. Changes are happening now, and more visibly too.

Interestingly enough (and perhaps not surprising), now that I'm making 'forward' our #1 priority, some of Charlie's balky behavior has returned. I guess now that it's not an evasion any more, speed is less fun?

<3 this canter. even if he makes me work for it

My general impression of this erstwhile racehorse is that he just plain old does not like being driven forward. So I'm trying to be sensitive about 'work' becoming a punishment while still getting the desired effects. I don't want him to be sour. But we also haven't really gotten far along enough yet for him to see why we work on all this. It hasn't gotten to be really fun for him yet.

horse remains unconvinced lol

Tho in our earliest rides when he'd sometimes get stuck and not want to move forward, we could get past it with strategic use of ground pole exercises. Charlie likes the ground poles, and they served to change the conversation from 'driving him forward' to 'giving him somewhere to go.'

My current thoughts are that he'll be quite happy to keep moving out when more jumping is involved!

so handsome tho

For now tho, we just keep working on these little details. Interspersed with other types of activities to avoid the horse feeling like all we ever do is trot like the dickens in circles around the indoor. Bc that sounds mind numbingly boring even to me haha.

I'm excited tho. It feels like we've cracked the code in beginning to influence how Charlie carries himself. And every time he momentarily finds that balance of moving forward into a light contact while being soft over his topline? It's an addictive feeling haha, I want MOAR!!