Sorry I didn't have time to post last week. I've been a little busy with school, and we just got back from a school canoe trip last Friday.
Last week's lesson (5/16/11) I was taught by the lady who owns the barn, so I was a little intimidated at first. But once we got started, I felt a little more comfortable. We first worked on bending (having the horse's body move in a curve around a turn, sort of), and then she taught me how to switch diagonals a different way than I normally do. When you post, you rise with one pair of legs (either front left and back right or front right and back left), and ideally you want to be rising out of the saddle when the front outside leg is moving forward (a little complicated, I know). Usually when I am on the wrong diagonal and need to switch, I sit for two beats and start to post again. This time though, I was taught to switch diagonals while standing up, so to speak. I tried it and after a while, I sort of got the hang of it. It was really cool to feel the difference, and not as bouncy!
Tonight I was back with my regular instructor, and we worked on leg flexibility and movement. It's very easy for me to tighten up when I ride, especially in the ankles and legs, so my instructor but a board under my foot and moved it around to help me loosen up - it sounds strange, but it really worked. After that, I felt much more connected and grounded. Then we started to work on walk canter transitions, which I only did a little last week. I was told to loosen up my legs (I did a lot of leg shaking out tonight) and then ask for a canter. It was frustrating at first, but after a bunch of tries I finally got it, and everything kind of clicked. Captain and I got a few perfect (or near to it) walk to canter transitions, and my instructor was very pleased. She even said at the end my lesson, "That's the first time I've ever seen you really ride!" I was very statisfied as well. Overall, it was a great lesson and I really learned a lot!
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