i'll take ya to school!

Just over a month into ownership, Charlie and I finally got to ride in our first lesson together. We rode with the farm's program director, trainer M (whom you may remember from lessons with Casanova).

Obvi his expertise lies primarily in h/j land - but solid fundamentals and concepts supersede discipline, imho. Good horsemanship and riding are good horsemanship and riding, period. So I was eager for M's input.

alternative title for this post could be "It's called ART, okayyy?" lol... anyway pics are unrelated. i wedged my phone into a standard to catch video (below) of a few passes over a teensy cross rail one night. but i can't help myself so in addition to the video you also get ridiculously blurry screen shots. sorry not sorry!

Two big takeaways:

1: I am on the right path with Charlie. The work I've been doing on my own is moving him in the right direction and I just need to keep on keepin on. Perhaps with slightly more firmness in asking for shorter response times, or being proactive instead of waiting for things to crop up (think: race horse power mode down the long side - slow that shit down before it even starts, Emma!).

But.

2: Trainer M put us through our paces in a very effective manner, setting us up nicely for success through strategic use of exercises and figures, while actively managing the mistakes I know I'm making but haven't been able to resolve. And as a direct result, I simply rode better and with more confidence, prompting a very nice response from Charlie.

Funny how that works, no?

EAGER TB IS EAGER!! also mostly navigating the trot pole pretty well!

Anyway. Specifics:

• When the trot is happening in a nice, balanced, soft fashion, add in three loop serpentines through the arena. Look for steady pace, straightness between loops, and balanced changes in bend.
• Don't constantly circle, and don't constantly go straight. Use both to their advantages for helping balance the horse, as well as letting the horse find his own balance.
• Be firmer and quicker with the rein aids when asking for slowing down or transitioning down. My goal must be to avoid teaching Charlie to lean on me. 
• Use half circle turns back to the rail for our canter departs. Charlie responded beautifully to this, esp re: leads. (He has both leads but we occasionally struggle with picking up the correct one).
• Furthermore with canter: focus on encouraging Charlie to have a mobile head and neck in the canter. Don't lock my elbows or hold my hands too low - encourage him to stretch and be soft and use his head and neck, rather than holding himself stiffly.

almost not losing that left shoulder out of the turn! almost!!

• Basically just be softer with my arms all around - and probably hold my hands higher than I want. And probably shorter reins too, ahem. 
• Use more opening inside rein to help show Charlie the bend, while occasionally "bumping" on the outside rein to help with balance.
• Widely held hands are good hands for green beans.
• Re: the horse leaning on me, Charlie isn't very sophisticated or subtle yet. He's (very slowly) learning to lower his head and soften his topline, but he's bobbling between high and braced, and low and leaning. The telltale sign of leaning is if his rhythm changes tho. As I encourage him to soften his topline without penalty, look for a consistent tempo. If his tempo changes as he goes low tho.... get him back up off my hands. He's too big to carry!

So a very basic lesson, but one I was very happy to have. Charlie behaved very nicely for the ride and is clearly emotionally prepared to handle the lesson format. He was happy to walk calmly and relaxed while M and I discussed and reviewed etc, and happy to go back to work when asked. Good boy!

officially adorable. at least what you can see of it ;)

Plus. This horse, guys. He really doesn't seem to care about ANYTHING. It was stupidly windy out, but we braved the outdoor all by our lonesome anyway. Complete with random odds and ends occasionally blowing across the ground as we went, and a few jump standards that had been knocked down over night. Charlie noticed but cared not. I can live with this!

silly but oddly endearing video of us power trotting around the arena and occasionally jumping the cross rail. 

Anyways. After finishing up the ride (but not the chat), we talked a bit more about how to use certain exercises to keep setting Charlie up for success. The horse is a thinker and learner, so that can be used to my advantage. Trainer M gave me the following test sheet, which looks remarkably like an h/j version of a (prix caprilli) dressage test lol. Just replace "ordinary" with "working." 

His purpose was to give me exercise ideas (see: half turns to canter departs) as well as a 'proficiency checklist,' and it was a good reminder to think back over all the dressage tests I've done lol. Especially with this horse's weak hind end I've been trying to integrate some early lateral-type stuff at the walk. Mostly just playing around but Charlie seems to catch on quickly.

So I've been thinking back to the lesson ever since - and basically recreated it in its entirety for our next ride (with equal success!). And am just super happy to have that affirmation.

Charlie has made it pretty easy for me so far. It obviously won't always be like this, but I'm going to enjoy it while I can! (And I continue to count down the days until we can make it out for lessons with the rest of my coaches soon - can't come soon enough!!)