Kate & Pro - lesson

Of all the lessons NOT to have a photographer/videographer...*sigh*. Pro was fantastic!!!

I hadn't had a lesson with Gayle in exactly five weeks and one day, I sure was missing it! Pro had some time off in between, which wasn't exactly a huge deal because Gayle said it helps him "think" about what he's learned and process it. Right now he's been on the MSM for about two weeks and Gayle said she could notice a difference. Before I hadn't felt anything different, but today I did!

The first thing she had me do once I got on was get my seatbones plugged in and stop his rushing walk. Within a few strides I "had" him, and she said to be sure to make that a priority from now on, from the second I sit in the saddle. Alright then. Immediately, when I plugged in, he stopped rushing. Took more measured, deliberate steps. I shared what Andrea and I have started noticing - that his "default" neck-set is more down. It used to be that even if he was being a good boy, his neck was set higher. Now, unless he actively lifts his neck/head up to be naughty, it's down!!! This change, while subtle, is so mind-blowingly phenomenal for him. He's finally a real horse. :)

Gayle then decided to attack my position. Wonderful. She did explain that we couldn't do much about my position when we first started with her, since how was she going to help me sit better when Pro gave me nowhere to sit? He was all over the place, and throwing me all over the place. She said we had to deal with his "monkey-man behavior" before we could fix me. Now that he's giving me somewhere to sit, she showed me how to sit better. A few minute changes and WOW!! First of all, she lifted my thigh off the saddle, took what she calls "the generous part of my thigh" (haha, everyone has this) and pulled it back underneath my thigh, if that makes sense. (She explained that men have flat inner thighs, meaning that this is easy for them..%*#@!!) From there, my lower leg naturally lifted OFF his sides. My core ab muscles tightened and he instantly "poofed" underneath me. "Boxing" him with my lower legs became much more easy!! I no longer had to pull my legs off and THEN box him, I just boxed him and they sprang lightly back to their lifted-off position.

Magically, this also somehow did a wonderful thing for my upper body. I felt TALLER, without having to actively sit up straight. Even though I moved my lower leg back so that my ankle was right under my hip, my legs naturally felt LONGER. Gayle had me "stretch my leg down" artificially to feel the difference....yuck! When I pushed my leg down, my seatbones popped up and I was no longer effective on his back, I just floated above his back, totally unable to influence his movement. When I artificially "sat up straight", my legs stiffened and Pro sucked back. But just by sinking deeper into the saddle and lifting my legs off his side, I felt taller, felt longer, felt truly elegant. Gayle said it looked as it should, elegant. Graceful. And Pro was LOVING it...chewing the bit, poofing out in front of my leg, stretching and reaching for the bit, working the middle neck muscles. Fantastic!

Then we worked on answering the question - "Where do you tigthten/brace when you apply your aids?" Seriously - TRY asking this!!! It should be that you apply an aid and then remove it, and nothing else braces or tightens inadvertently. Yet when I was applying the inside rein aid, my inside lower leg was bracing and my ankle was tightening, which made my toe turn out. By calling attention to this, I got my homework assignment: work on consciously RELAXING my tight points when I apply aids. Gayle had me wiggle my toes/ankle around when I applied the inside rein aid, just to keep that joint loose. It was working!

Turns out that I also collapse my inside seatbone when I turn, and that makes my inside hip flexor close. Gayle talked about how our seatbones should move when we ride. Instead of forward and backward, forward and backward...it should be forward, forward, forward, alternating. Like sitting on the ground and "walking" your butt forward. Neither seatbone ever goes backward. Neat, huh? So I tried that. Suddenly, I hit upon the right movement and Pro just POOFED and started stretching more, chewing the bit more, lifting his back more. It felt like my seat was moving more, but Gayle said I looked more still (funny how that works), so that I wasn't moving around. I tried to describe it - balanced. Wherever he moved, I was there, directly over his center. He also felt "there" and "ready" - so that he was there, and I was "here". So very zen-like!! But really, it was amazing.

Then we moved on to the trot, and focused on even posting. Not tilting my seatbones or pelvis out of alignment. Gayle did say that my posting has improved by leaps and bounds, so that was encouraging. It's pushing, lots of pushing forward with my core - as if "the middle of you moves before the rest of you". My legs "hung" down long, my posting was even, suddenly my hands steadied, and Pro just hammed it up. His tail was lifted, his neck was arched forward as he reached toward the bit, he tracked up and he was just floating. Whenever his attention started to waver, instead of using my inside rein to briefly redirect him, I just lightly tapped on his side with the whip, then quickly reassured him with an inside rein pat so he wouldn't get OVERLY worried by the whip. ;) We also worked a little on getting him to move outside, off the circle, without using my inside rein. GIVING the inside rein instead, and just thinking "come over here with me" and gently opening the outside rein for him to fill it. So the "inside leg to outside rein" isn't referring to MY inside leg, but to HIS inside leg. Aha!

Just as a testament to his wonderful goodness...the two dogs who live across the pond showed up, bounding out of his pasture by the arena. He barely lifted his head, and then returned to his working attitude. At one point sirens screamed by on the road...no response from him! Gayle said that I didn't even hear the gunshot close by that was probably the reason for the sirens (followed by people shouting), and neither did Pro. Nor did he/we hear or see Big Horse's owner drive in, back her truck around, throw hay to Big Horse right by the arena, etc. He was just wonderfully elastic and free. Gayle congratulated us - we've graduated from "Pre-sage" to real Dressage!!!! :) :) :)