The weather today was fairly decent for tonight's lesson. It wasn't too hot (although it was in direct sun) and there was some breeze, so I was more comfortable than previous lessons.
We warmed up quickly today, doing S-curves and walk-halt transitions to help Captain loosen up and get ready, and then we did some half-halts into a trot. That's when you are walking and you almost halt completely but then you go right into a forward trot. It took a while (as usual) to get Captain to actually move faster than a slow walk, but I was able to get him into a decent trot after a little while.
After that we worked on cantering. I tried a few walk-canter transitions but I wasn't really ready for those yet so we just did trot-canter transitions. It was very frustrating because Captain kept cutting off every corner so we were making very small circles. It was tough to get him to go deep in the corner, especially at the trot and canter. The transitions were okay, and my instructor told me to get Captain in the biggest canter I could. She wanted to see if I could get him to go to the next level (galloping?), but I couldn't. It's hard enough, just because Captain's old, but throw some heat into that mix and it's even worse. And tonight wasn't nearly as hot as some other days this week have been!
Before I go on, I'll explain what two-point is. You've probably seen it when show jumpers go over a jump, although I wasn't taught to lean over that far - it's when your butt is off the saddle and your back is flattened out and stretched over the horse's neck (see picture). This is a good position to do to learn to keep your heels heavy, which of course is something I need to focus on. It's helpful for me to do it in the trot because it let's me know if my feet are in the correct position on the stirrup. If they are, I will feel grounded and balanced. If they're not, I feel pretty wobbly and insecure.
Anyway, usually I go into two-point in my warm up, but tonight my instructor told me to try it in a canter. I've seen people do it before but I myself have never attempted to do it. The first time I tried it, I felt like I couldn't really control Captain's speed, but once I tried again I was able to keep him going at a canter. It felt very strange to be in a canter without doing that rocking chair motion that I'm used to doing, but it got a little more comfortable after I'd done it a little more. It was actually a great way for me to learn to keep my heels down in the canter, which is something I've had a lot of trouble with before. I also did feel really grounded, even though it was difficult at first, almost like I had more of a support block than before.
Tonight's lesson was fun. I feel like I'm learning a lot, and definitely improving in some areas (even thought I'm still struggling in others). And I'm really excited for pony camp in July! I'll write a blog post about that later. :)
We warmed up quickly today, doing S-curves and walk-halt transitions to help Captain loosen up and get ready, and then we did some half-halts into a trot. That's when you are walking and you almost halt completely but then you go right into a forward trot. It took a while (as usual) to get Captain to actually move faster than a slow walk, but I was able to get him into a decent trot after a little while.
After that we worked on cantering. I tried a few walk-canter transitions but I wasn't really ready for those yet so we just did trot-canter transitions. It was very frustrating because Captain kept cutting off every corner so we were making very small circles. It was tough to get him to go deep in the corner, especially at the trot and canter. The transitions were okay, and my instructor told me to get Captain in the biggest canter I could. She wanted to see if I could get him to go to the next level (galloping?), but I couldn't. It's hard enough, just because Captain's old, but throw some heat into that mix and it's even worse. And tonight wasn't nearly as hot as some other days this week have been!
Before I go on, I'll explain what two-point is. You've probably seen it when show jumpers go over a jump, although I wasn't taught to lean over that far - it's when your butt is off the saddle and your back is flattened out and stretched over the horse's neck (see picture). This is a good position to do to learn to keep your heels heavy, which of course is something I need to focus on. It's helpful for me to do it in the trot because it let's me know if my feet are in the correct position on the stirrup. If they are, I will feel grounded and balanced. If they're not, I feel pretty wobbly and insecure.
Anyway, usually I go into two-point in my warm up, but tonight my instructor told me to try it in a canter. I've seen people do it before but I myself have never attempted to do it. The first time I tried it, I felt like I couldn't really control Captain's speed, but once I tried again I was able to keep him going at a canter. It felt very strange to be in a canter without doing that rocking chair motion that I'm used to doing, but it got a little more comfortable after I'd done it a little more. It was actually a great way for me to learn to keep my heels down in the canter, which is something I've had a lot of trouble with before. I also did feel really grounded, even though it was difficult at first, almost like I had more of a support block than before.
Tonight's lesson was fun. I feel like I'm learning a lot, and definitely improving in some areas (even thought I'm still struggling in others). And I'm really excited for pony camp in July! I'll write a blog post about that later. :)
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