Gia - session 102 - Down transitions on centerline
I warmed Gia up with work on the lunge line. She started out so stretchy, so I decided to ask for more impulsion. She gave it to me, but was a bit grumpy about it. She hasn't pinned her ears at me while lunging the last few times, but she did a lot of that today, and once, tried to slightly charge at me. I got after her for that one by making her work harder on the circle, and she didn't try it again.
Under saddle, we started with bending at the walk on circles, figure 8's and down centerline. We repeated the same work at the trot. Since all that was going so well, I decided to add down transitions on centerline.
Most dressage tests will start and end with the rider entering the arena at letter A (see picture of dressage arenas here), then coming down centerline, and halting at X. A lot of riders don't put enough emphasis on these two movements, but to me, it's where you make your first and last impressions on the judge!
Up to now, I've asked Gia to walk and trot on centerline, and to make down transitions along the rail (where she has more support and is more comfortable). Today, I asked her to combine the two.
When I post this blog on Facebook, I will also be posting a few videos. The first video shows what happens when a rider pulls on the reins when asking for a down transition - the way we are all originally taught to stop a horse. As compared to the other two videos, there is a lot of fussiness in Gia's head and neck and mouth.
In the second video, you can see the difference it makes when a rider uses their seat to slow a horse down rather than their hands. This takes a lot of practice, and I definitely do not teach beginner riders how to do this. It also takes a lot of practice for Gia to learn to respond to, but her response, even on her first try, is still much softer and less fussy than when I used just my reins to stop her.
In the third video, you can see the difference between her first time transitioning from my seat and her final time. I probably schooled the transitions on centerline about 10 times before I got this last video. It's not exactly what I want in the end, but it was a definite improvement. In the second video, she is still a bit against my hands, even though I'm using my seat, and she stops somewhere between letters I and G. In the third video, her whole body is much softer and less tense, and she stops much closer to letter I.
I do think I pushed for a little too much today though. A little bit during the ride, and then a lot after the ride as we were cooling down, she was shaking her head. This is Gia's way of telling me that she was very frustrated with what we were doing. Some frustration is ok. Aren't we all frustrated when we are learning something new? But she did a lot more head shaking than she has in the past when she was frustrated. In hindsight, I should have only focused on the trot to walk OR walk to halt transitions on centerline, and not tried to do both at once. I will probably go back the next time and work on the trot to walk transitions. I can add the walk to halt transitions at a later time.
Under saddle, we started with bending at the walk on circles, figure 8's and down centerline. We repeated the same work at the trot. Since all that was going so well, I decided to add down transitions on centerline.
Most dressage tests will start and end with the rider entering the arena at letter A (see picture of dressage arenas here), then coming down centerline, and halting at X. A lot of riders don't put enough emphasis on these two movements, but to me, it's where you make your first and last impressions on the judge!
Up to now, I've asked Gia to walk and trot on centerline, and to make down transitions along the rail (where she has more support and is more comfortable). Today, I asked her to combine the two.
When I post this blog on Facebook, I will also be posting a few videos. The first video shows what happens when a rider pulls on the reins when asking for a down transition - the way we are all originally taught to stop a horse. As compared to the other two videos, there is a lot of fussiness in Gia's head and neck and mouth.
In the second video, you can see the difference it makes when a rider uses their seat to slow a horse down rather than their hands. This takes a lot of practice, and I definitely do not teach beginner riders how to do this. It also takes a lot of practice for Gia to learn to respond to, but her response, even on her first try, is still much softer and less fussy than when I used just my reins to stop her.
In the third video, you can see the difference between her first time transitioning from my seat and her final time. I probably schooled the transitions on centerline about 10 times before I got this last video. It's not exactly what I want in the end, but it was a definite improvement. In the second video, she is still a bit against my hands, even though I'm using my seat, and she stops somewhere between letters I and G. In the third video, her whole body is much softer and less tense, and she stops much closer to letter I.
I do think I pushed for a little too much today though. A little bit during the ride, and then a lot after the ride as we were cooling down, she was shaking her head. This is Gia's way of telling me that she was very frustrated with what we were doing. Some frustration is ok. Aren't we all frustrated when we are learning something new? But she did a lot more head shaking than she has in the past when she was frustrated. In hindsight, I should have only focused on the trot to walk OR walk to halt transitions on centerline, and not tried to do both at once. I will probably go back the next time and work on the trot to walk transitions. I can add the walk to halt transitions at a later time.
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