doozy's dressage thunder coat

Doozy and I finally got back to dressage lessons after a little bit of a winter weather break! And it went really really well. So let's dig into details, yes? Yes. 

unrelated but pretty: dusk vignette

Basically, dressage trainer MP is pretty intensely focused on changing my posture and contact, and it's Exciting!! But also, at times, deeply frustrating. In the sense that... Ya know, I feel like I know how to ride, right? 

More than that -- I feel like I can ride. And this process of getting Doozy "going" has felt validating, esp after so many years of riding Charlie almost exclusively.

rosette and monduese --- two ladies who never miss a meal LOL

But ya know, I have a lot of bad habits, generally not fantastic equitation, plus a few holes in my education for good measure. Part of Doozy's role as my new, next horse is therefore to help me continue that education and break through those bad habits. 

trainer MP snapped a nice shot of us out in the beautiful morning sunlight! this mare is blooming!

So it's kinda perfect that MP is so intolerant of some of those habits, and insistent that I prioritize the changes. But ya know, on the flip side, it's really hard to be effective from an insecure, unfamiliar position, ya know? 

And I hate feeling ineffective -- like it sucks feeling like I can't even trot around this horse that I had going wtc + cross rails before ever having a lesson.

feels like i'm starting to see more concrete shifts in my posture -- finally!

And it felt like that frustration was translating through to Doozy too -- that, through the course of a lesson, we'd sometimes become increasingly tense and braced against each other. A feeling I hate. Like I was changing the rules, moving the goal posts, but not quite holding up my end of the bargain in terms of stability or timing in the release. 

this would have been a "great for us" moment a couple weeks ago, but was actually only kinda mediocre for this ride! progress!

So. Back to the little winter weather break from dressage. Recall Doozy went to her first jump lesson with Sally, which was excellent, then we got hit with back to back snowstorms and Doozy ultimately got about a week and a half off from under saddle work. It felt restful. 

And even better -- getting back to business when the weather improved was drama free. Doozy picked right back up where we left off, minus some residual tension. And since then, I've prioritized relaxation in our rides, potentially at the expense of some of the connectedness MP has been coaching us into.

mare can WALK

PLUS. I started riding Charlie again --- more on that later. But the short story is, homeboy trots like a metronome <3 <3 Which helped me realize just how much of Doozy's erratic trot rhythm is really... my fault lol. First bc I just haven't been able to enjoy consistently riding a steady trot rhythm since... before Charlie's catastrophic hoof injury. Secondly, tho, Guys holy shit I'm weak AF right now, and have no muscle memory for strength / balance in this new posture.

It's easy to miss that weakness when I'm feeling braced and defensive with Doozy. But on Charlie, where I'm relaxed and right at home, it's been a bit eye-opening to feel moments of slippage or imbalance.

postural changes still a work in progress obvi -- pictured: me reverting to a defensive stance -- but i'm feeling optimistic

So. Back to this weekend's lesson. I fixed my attitude and perspective to really lean in to MP's directions, while still prioritizing finding moments of softness and release within the correct posture. As in, learn how to give without floating my elbows or pitching my upper body forward or throwing my whole posture away. 

And I also wanted to be more open minded about the erratic moments, recognizing that... as far as Doozy is concerned, *I'm* the erratic one lol. She wants me to be her thunder coat but suddenly I'm all over the place.

i feel like there's gonna be a big moving horse in here when i finally get my shit together

MP had me continue to work on the idea of using lateral suppling to bring Doozy onto the aids, even just a few steps as needed. And it's really starting to click for Doozy too, now that she's better at understanding that my leg means something and is there for her -- not something she needs to bounce off of. 

trying to get a feel for moments of softness and release even as i try to be her "thunder coat"

Bc actually, it feels like Doozy does her absolute best when I use a shit ton of thigh - something I noticed doing spirals in the Sprieser clinic. It was wayyyyy more inseam contact than I've ever needed for Charlie. 

And I don't even know if it's that contact that Doozy appreciates --- or if it's just that the thigh contact helps *me* anchor the rest of my posture? I don't even know. Except that, for now, that seems to be a big ingredient in our primordial ooze / secret sauce.

ok so we need to practice halts on the center line LOL but we got there eventually

And somehow, out of sorta nowhere, we found our trot again in this lesson. Like, not perfectly, not immediately, but then *bang* -- mare shifted gears, got suuuuper round, and actually seemed like she wanted to walk, like I had to add leg. But then she held it! Like she just sorta figured out how to push into round instead of pull onto the forehand. Wowee. 

It felt so good that MP immediately directed me into running through Intro Test B! We actually rode through the test twice --- all photos are from the second run through that MP videoed. By which point we naturally had lost some of the good vibes. And naturally riding a test makes it even likelier that I'm going to sacrifice posture for expediency... 

also unrelated but pretty: full moon!

But even recognizing that the pictures don't reflect our best moments from the lesson... they're still way better pictures than I'd have even thought possible from our pre-break lessons. 

Plus, as usual, the pictures and video are super helpful to study in comparison to the feelings I had in the ride. To help understand what's working, and how to keep pushing. 

So. We're back on the bandwagon, and feeling really good about it. And MP wants us to do a test at our farm's upcoming schooling show haha. Which, obvi, why not, let's give it a go! Wish us luck?