So I haven’t been working on changes too much or getting too terribly stressed out about it. There are far more wacky things to get stressed out about lately. Hah! I’ve sorta been trying to have the western rider or jumper mentality of flipping the change instead of the dressage rider, spending the horses entire life to get that single flawless, straight, over two feet thru change. Again, I can only laugh. But today! Today!! Did I type TODAY???? Well, today all our changes were clean and pretty through and to the dressage classics relief pretty darn straight too! Of course they were all forward but there wasn’t that jumping through the change and speeding up or going on the forehand immediately. It was, dare i say, brilliant for where we are at in this training time? Ok. So I’m not saying I was brilliant, perhaps it was part me but perhaps it was part luck. Never the less, she changed, it was comfy and as one of the photo will attest, she was also thru!
Now and again we work on the halt trot transitions and sharpening the transitions. Perhaps you’ve read an earlier post which shows a darn good thrust coming from Miss C’s hind end. This day, and again I’m making no claims of miracles, I was able to do our walk to halt transitions with ONLY (yes I am 100% dead serious) core muscle. This was no pokey walk. This was a working walk and I would used my core to ask for the halt and she would halt! Wow! The trot halts are still with more of the entire body and sadly still a good bit of hand but we’re working on it. But, I digress. Back to the halt, trot transitions. In working these and when she feels like there’s some consistent give and lift I will ask for a wee bit of an extension to see if she’ll carry herself in it. Well she does carry. Her tall yet narrow withers lift like a car jack and she will carry. There’s not a super duper picture that expresses this as the extensions were too few but there is this pretty artistic shot of a working trot!
I am getting so excited to train with Anky. I wish I had more and more time to get better and better but wait, that’s what I’m going for so bring it on!