Training Update - Dressage

If you ride for any amount of time you're going to end up with some emotional baggage.


In the beginning riding is about learning how to do things. After a few years, a couple hundred lessons and a dozen or so falls, you learn how to do things. Then riding becomes about learning how to overcome your emotional baggage and crap habits to do things right.

I know how to deal with a horse that's stuck behind my leg. Drop everything and make it all about forward. I don't care where the horse's head is, or their balance, or their steering. Go straight and go forward. Stickiness is in the horse's natural repertoire of evasions; going fast didn't work so maybe going slow will work. It was one of Runkle's favorites. When the horse isn't moving off my leg, the natural escalation ends at a touch of encouragement with the whip. That's when I feel the brunt of my emotional baggage.


When Runkle refused to move off my leg I had to smack him, and I knew he would buck. He would buck like a sandy towel being snapped to shake it off. Eventually I got used to it, and he would be 100% perfect after, but I dreaded it.

Fast forward to Indy. He gets the same grumpy, labored trot. I have to use my stick to get him to respect my leg but I'm scared. I put both reins in one hand, take my stick behind my leg, and freeze. What if he bucks, the chicken in me whispers. He's almost 18 hands, you'll bash your head on the rafters even if you stay on. This horse has bucked with me ONE time, and never from being smacked. Despite that, fear would win. I'd back away from the ledge and let him stay stuck behind my leg.

While I was on break for Christmas he went into boot camp with my trainer, who said he didn't lag behind her leg. I came home and he knew it was me on his back again. He knew I was reluctant and slowed to a crawl. So I reached behind my leg and smacked him.


He jumped into a nice forward trot. That was it. He didn't buck. He pinned his ears for a second, gave up and trotted off. I felt like a total mug. At least my horse is kind to me.

Now that I've gotten over my (totally irrational) fear that my horse is going to rodeo dump me, dressage has progressed brilliantly. I've spent the past few rides working on coaxing him forward and into the outside aids. I started with no contact on the outside rein at all, letting him have as much space as he wanted so long as he came off my inside leg as requested.

I didn't pick up the outside rein again until he did. He found it one day, waiting for him, and relaxed into it. Suddenly I reached that nirvana of connection. He was strong and steady in both reins but I wasn't holding up his front end at all. He was coming with such steady, even power from behind that I could feel each footfall as clearly as if I were walking. His hind end marched and the energy travelled straight from his hind feet over his topline and into my hands.

It's not a feeling I've gotten very often. And never with a horse so young. It makes me excited for every dressage ride.


And there you have it, the Kinder surprise to today's post. Me, excited. About dressage. What a world we live in!!




Comments

  1. Replies
    1. if devil wears prada were a horse movie, it'd be about DQs.

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  2. Yessssss! Be excited about dressage. The dark side welcomes you! 😜

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    1. maybe some... MEDALS?? IN OUR FUTURE??

      do they have USDF tests in big rings always because that'll only help me...

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  3. Dressage is cool and stuff but I'm really excited that you made a Kinder reference. God I'd give my right nut for a Kinder Bueno right now.

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    1. it is delicious even if they sell small children choking hazards :P

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  4. I know how you feel!!! I jokingly said I was suffering from PTSD from being bucked off so many times in the early days of Chimi that I freeze when I think he’s about to buck and then he doesn’t… it’s a hard thing to overcome!!!! But so excited for you guys and Indy’s lovely dressage moments :) they’ll just get better from here!!!

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    1. right?? and then I feel bad for projecting my fears when they weren't even going to do it. I'm excited for that 'throughness' to translate into the canter! AND THEN JUMPING!

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  5. sometimes dressage is pretty cool, even tho i kinda suck at it. sometimes tho, i think i just tell myself that it's cool so i won't be so annoyed that the world is still kinda frozen but will soon be muddy and all that fun galloping and jumping outside over hill and dale has just got to wait a while longer...

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    1. i feel like its already been winter FOREVERRRRRRRRRR. I just want to go xc schooling...

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  6. Isn't that moment when all the parts do the right thing the most amazing? I had a brief fraction of a second of that with Badger when I was in FL, and trainer actually looked over at the right time and saw it! Talk about a miracle. I'm not sure it'll ever happen again, but it was, as you said, Nirvana.
    Indy really sounds like a great guy, I'm so glad things are going to well for you guys!
    (PS: I hope you don't think I was picking on you for riding in the cold on your last post. I absolutely was not. Your horse is young and healthy and you did what was best for the two of you. My horses are ancient with one foot in the grave, much different situation! Plus no indoor!)

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    1. thanks!! and i wish someone - anyone had seen it but until i get a pixio it seems most of my miracles will be kept to myself

      (and no I didn't think that :P i won't lie, indy did way better in the cold than I did. I got a nasty cough... wheres the study for me lol)

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    2. When I was less of a useless sloth I used to run in the cold and it always left me with a gross cough. I use that now as one of my many excuses not to do it... Hope you feel better soon!

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  7. Dressage can be so addictive. Emotional baggage too. Good for you for dealing with it.

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  8. I wish I could get that excited about dressage. But I can’t. Maybe because we can’t go right. But that last picture of Indy looks amazing! You’re doing a great job with him

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  9. Funny how fear settles into our deepest nooks and crannies and refuses to be budged easily. I love that you've moved past this bit and have found some excitement for the future. Can't wait to hear how your next rides go!

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  10. Omg the struggle is real. My favorite is when my inverted baby horse inverts a little and I'm like OMFG DEATH BOLT.

    And she's like "wait what where?" and stops.

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  11. He is so elegant when he is together I look forward to watching you guys keep on improving (And yes I would be scared of bucking too on a 17 hand plus horse, damn giraffe you have)!

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  12. I have so much baggage, le sigh. It's hard to overcome, and I just have to keep forcing myself out of my comfort zone slowly but surely.

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