Kate's a slacker...7/23

SO anyway, I've been in "girlfriend crisis mode" the past few days and am just now getting to post about my lesson on Wednesday. And it was a really good lesson!!!

Gayle brought her working student again, which is cool because she really likes Pro. :) Gayle started by doing some bodywork on Pro - fixing some tight muscle bands in his hips that she said are normal when a horse is in routine work and developing new musculature. Pro seemed a little confused at first but then really started to lean into her hands and got very relaxed. She worked his hock joints around his hip and said his hocks felt great, and she also stretched his spine through his tail (it was funny to watch his face as she leaned backwards, pulling his tail).

So while the last lesson's theme was Giving the Inside Rein, the new theme from Wednesday was True Outside Rein Contact. Now, Pro is not the only horse I've ever owned. I catch-rode all the way through high school and did intercollegiate dressage, the whole deal. I know the whole contact in your outside rein, outside rein as an anchor, etc. thing. But when we yielded Pro and then stepped over into the outside rein, I actually looked at Gayle with this amazement on my face and said, "Holy %*#@$, that's my outside rein!!!" She had to laugh at me, and said even she has these "outside rein epiphanies" at times where it's a whole new level of outside rein understanding. He was so truly engaged and *through* that it was just incredible. We reviewed the roles of each rein - outside stays STABLE. Which is not hard and rigid, but a flowing stable. Inside is malleable and able to give and also to correct through a quick "inside rein pull reminder", but then it gets put right back. But outside rein is home, a steady constant. Which I'd always known, but never 100% truly felt until Wednesday.

He did have a small meltdown by the poles where he tried to fling himself sideways at 90mph by busting through my outside aids. Ah yes, the Pro we all know so well. Nope - pulled his head to my knee, and then presented him with the option of going ahead and returning to good boy behavior. He accepted. Gayle and I talked about the difference between proactive riding and defensive riding, especially mentally. So it shouldn't be "oh don't spook, let me prevent you from spooking" but "You will go straight, and be forward." We practiced this on some trot figure eights where I focused on doing the figure correctly rather than preventing him from spooking. Just a big change mentally...it was really effective.

He was really coming over his back at the trot and at the end, we had this "big horse" trot where he felt like he was 17hh. He was really powering over his back but staying soft and light up front. The foam was pouring out of his mouth and both Gayle and her student said he looked so pleased with himself and his work. We ended on that.

Before I cooled out, Gayle had me jump down and look at how his whole neck looked differently, just from the lesson. We were admiring his conformation and his progress...she said it's a huge testament to his "horsey soul" that he was able to go from Arab western pleasure (cranking draw reins that actually popped a ligament in his neck, taught to totally back away and suck back from any contact, jig along at a slow trot, etc.) to a real, honest dressage horse. Gayle even got a little emotional about his progress and teared up. :) And all of this in less than a year! Her student reminded me that rapid progress like that is really rare.

<3 my Pro! :)