Another Day, Another JW Lesson

My trainer, her working student, another boarder and I all traveled down to JW's barn Monday and Tuesday to take lessons (and the boarder was trying out one of her ponies). It was my first outing with Lines since I brought him home in September. When we went to pick him up the first time, it took 45 minutes and 5 people to get him into the trailer, so we left plenty of time to coax him in if needed. I was prepared with lots of treats and a stud chain. It took him one step up and one pull back, and then he hopped onto the trailer with just a little pressure on the chain, and two people behind him with brooms making a back barrier. On the way home, it was just me and trainer loading him, and he hopped immediately in. Good boy! He's learning trailer rides mean I stuff his face with treats.

Getting ready to kick some loading butt in our fancy pink wraps! Under the wraps, he is wearing homemade pillow wraps- navy blue with pink anchors. A man's gotta have nice things!

We were a little nervous heading out as there had been snow over ice down south, but it was supposed to heat up to a balmy 40* by the time we went down there, so we ventured out. The drive down was thankfully not too bad. We took it slow as there were some slushy areas, but we made it in just over 5 hours. On the way home, it took us nearly seven as we hit Seattle rush hour traffic at just the wrong time. And let me tell you- city drivers do not realize that trucks pulling horse trailers cannot stop fast. They just pull right in front of you. We will squish you like a bug!

Anyway, onto our lessons... Because I am not always super good at organizing my thoughts, I'm bullet pointing my highlights. Sadly, we didn't get any canter video and it was some of our best work! The video I got is super helpful to me, but not super pretty...so I'll use screen-shots instead ;)

• Keeping "drag"on the reins. Not dragging on the reins. I struggle with connection on Lines. He is a funny dude. Too much pressure and he'll curl behind the bit, too little and he'll giraffe his neck up into the rafters. The feel in my hands should be as if I was dragging a fishing line through the water. Just enough to keep a consistent feel, and allowing my elbows to be the "end of the reins" or that the reins are an extension of my arms. Connection is the name of the game right now. If I can't keep it, I don't have Lines where he should be. 

  

  Trying to keep consistent contact and have him reach for the bit. Not so easy.

• Get your effing right leg back. Pretttty much the theme of both lessons. I finally started to get it at the end of the second day. There's so much drilling on "heels down" in the equestrian world (especially hunters, where I started), that I tend to jam my heels down and push my leg forward, which makes my leg (especially my right leg) stick out like a sore thumb. I can see it in almost every picture of me riding. JW had me swing my legs back and forth to loosen up my hip, and keep my right leg back as if I was asking for canter or a haunches-in. It finally clicked in when she had me do nose-to-the-wall leg yield and then slowly change that to renvers. Finally, my right leg was on and where it was supposed to be for appropriate bend. I am now sore today as I actually had to use my leg effectively. 

  

  Yikes. Those legs. Not cool.

• Put your effing hands down. JW is not shy about using strong language. I need to invest in a bucking strap so I can hold my hands down. Some of my best steps of canter came when JW told me to keep my hands on my saddle pad and bend Lines with my legs. Apparently she knows what she's talking about or something... 

  

  Lower than that. But getting better...

• "Rear up" in canter/walk and walk/canter. I need to feel as if Lines is rearing up in both the upward and downward. It puts me in the backseat and then I can set him down (or pick him up) nicely. Also more leg. No really, MORE leg. That's not enough leg. Canter to walk or halt uses the most leg of anything. 
• "Could you turn right?" in half pass. I tend to hear "half pass" and get frantic and drop my outside rein. I need to keep enough of a feel on the outside rein that I could turn the opposite direction in counter canter. We had our very best half pass at the end of our first lesson. I was getting frantic, as I do. We were going to the right, and broke gait. JW had me pick up the left lead on the long side, turn in counter canter up the quarter line and then flow to the wall in half pass. Boom. Perfect. She was like "Walk, you're done. That's it." We both had big smiles on our faces. She said "That's not just a good half pass for Emily and Lines, that's a good half pass." Success! I'm still super green at the level, and Lines is NOT an easy horse (he has so many little evasions and quirks that are hard to figure out), so that was a HUGE compliment. So happy! 

It was a pretty exhausting two days! We made it back and my poor old man was pretty stiff. I let him run around in the arena. Lets just say that Lines at liberty isn't exactly the picture of elegance. Ahem. What can I say? He's an awkward dude! I've got a video, but I need to wait until it's backed up. Tomorrow will be video day :)