All went accordingly, except one tiny little detail, which is that my left foot has to be secured in my stirrup because I'm not coordinated enough to weight my heel on that side to keep the foot in the stirrup. We use a rubber band that is figure 8'd underneath the stirrup and back over my toes, and it works great. Extra incentive to not fall off! (Although I'm quite sure the rubber band would break should I fall). Anyway, the woman who helps groom for Brendan, Ana, is a wonderful help but English is her second language, and I utterly failed at communicating with her clearly on how to secure my foot. So no sooner had I begun to warm up than my foot came out of the stirrup and there I was with no way to regroup. Therefore, I decided to work on my sitting trot.
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| When sitting trot, your body position must be perfectly balanced on the horse's back |
Funny how circumstance often dictates the game plan in my sport. I removed my right foot and focused on short trot/walk transitions at the sitting trot. I improved quickly, and as soon as I became unstable I'd down-tran. I initially planned on focusing mostly on transitions, as I really felt the difference in ride ability when Brendan has me work those. The one-stirrup fiasco only helped up the ante. So, sit trot it was, and I honestly felt pretty tight in the saddle after about 20 minutes of it. Still keeping in mind I also incorporate many circles of different sizes and changes in direction. I'm really starting to feel Ringo submit his toppline. He's far more limber and supple, and less braced in the neck. He's starting to carry himself and stay straight and balanced.
The first canter set was really good. I started to the left lead, with one stirrup, and it was as nice as yesterday's. The second transition was crap. So I decided it was time for an intervention. The next time Ringo grabbed the bit from me and ignored my half-halt and decided to run, things got a bit ugly. I had to let him know it wasn't acceptable to me that he pull my arm out, so I gave an abrupt and sharp yank (only one), which made him toss his head, but ultimately sit on his butt. I felt bad afterward because obviously this maneuver is not pleasant for the horse. However, I made sure to immediately back off when he reacted, and reward him with a 0pat and a "good boy" when he then sharpened his transition to trot and walk. I only had to do that about 3 times before he got the message and quit pulling through me. Then we revisited the canter in both directions and he was successful in staying balanced and off his forehand for longer.
The key here is that these tough lessons will help the horse in the long run. It is far better to make one quick point and then forgive/forget so the horse can be saved from a lifetime of hands constantly pulling on their mouth and ultimately becoming dull or hard-mouthed.
Riding sometimes isn't pretty!
I always have the gut reaction of guilt when I cause the animal discomfort, but the trick is to be fair, which means to release immediately, and then reassure when they give the correct answer.
Brendan asked about my ride later on, and I told him about the "discussion we had, to which he agreed that I did the right thing.
You gotta do what you gotta do.
I aso noticed that after my ride, Ringo seemed much more respectful of me and as though he was looking for guidance from me. Standing in the wash rack he neither tried to bite me, nor cocked a hoof in my direction. I also caught him gazing after me when I went out the door to return my tack. I think he's starting to bond with me!
After B finished his day we all (the barn crew) went to a local bar to celebrate his birthday. great company and many laughs concluded this productive Tuesday. Tomorrow Brian will ride the thoroughbred, his first ride since being gone for a week, so, although I'll miss my ride, I look forward to watching the improvements from the ground!
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