Yay, evidently the dressage-pony version of Pro was waiting in his stall for me, not the demonic brat who's been stealing Pro's food for the past few days. So evidently the key to a good ride on Pro is one of the following: leaving work in a great mood, taking him away from his dinner, forgetting his fly bonnet, or Kate being out of town with no internet access ;).
Got on and he was being very "looky" but Elvis was turned out by himself right next to the ring and running around being stupid, so for once he had a reason to look. Asked for a couple neck yields and slapped him a couple times with my legs to get him going forward and that was... pretty much the end of the looking? I did avoid the bench problem by working more in the middle of the ring, so that probably helped. Instead of fussing with him as much I fussed at myself. Tried to keep my thigh back further on the saddle so I wasn't sitting in the chair-seat position, my butt clenched but following, abs tight, shoulders pulled down to anchor everything... It's amazing how much better the horse goes when you're actually in the right position. When my thighs started to creep up and I pushed them back down (sort of the same feeling you get when you lock your knees, but without the super-straightness?) his back would shoot up under me and his neck would arch. He was still sort of sticky, instead of his normal run-through-the aids he felt very march-y. Like he couldn't hurry because each foot had to be set down JUST SO. It's progress, it's just funny progress. So we worked on keeping that but also keeping some sort of impulsion, too.
He was good at the trot as well and so then as a 'treat' we moved down by the bench to tackle the spooks to finish out the ride. He looked at it pretty hard the first time, but the second time I opened my hands wide and slapped my legs on him a couple times and he went by better. By the end of the ride we could trot by it without needing to do more than open the reins a little and shift my legs like I was about to kick.
So I give him an 8 for today. :)
4 comments:
Its so amazing how Pro can have great days, and then terrible days. Its like he isnt the same horse. Im glad he is "back", and that you had a good ride
Awesome! Glad you had a good ride! :)
Good Pro! Sounds like a good, educational ride!
Apparently he improves when Mommy leaves. Watch him become a complete superstar by the week's end. ;)
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