(Not) Winning the Lesson

This is a lesson recap without any relevant media. But it was a lesson full of important lessons, so I felt the need to write it down. And when I mush two lesson recaps together I really can't make them flow well. Sorry, not sorry, if this isn't the best blog content. 

At our weekly lesson Wednesday, I distinctly did NOT win. We worked on the supportive and spritely flat work first, including a focus on NOT holding him up and driving the canter. This does not, however, mean dropping the contact. It DOES mean not driving with my seat and legs every stride, capisce? 

Once that was sorted, we started with a crossrail, left hand turn to a vertical, loop back left to an oxer, right hand turn to my fave pink rolltop. And I missed at EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. of those jumps (excepting the crossrail, which we trotted, so how could I miss to that...) Ooookay, try again, went a lot smoother except to the pink rolltop. It's not a Butterball problem, he could care less at this point even though I make him sniff it at the start just to prove it. But he is deeply unconcerned. Honestly, I don't think I'm concerned either, but I just kept screwing it up. I was not getting the canter I wanted before the jump and wasn't looking early enough. We did a few chip strides to it, including one that I completely botched. I was shaking my head about it and subsequently screwed up the five to the two that followed. JT got a bit up me for that one, completely fair. 

FINALLY, my brain clicked in, and we got it by me looking early and creating a bouncy canter with his butt engaged and hind leg moving. We we still got an awkward distance but I supported him to it and kept riding. During all this, we were also sorting out my riding in between and during the four to the three stride line that followed the five to the two. I was letting him dive right on landing from the two and then he was flat, and we were struggling with the change. I then kept letting him get long and flat (themes, we got 'em) and a bit under the base of the out fence in the four to the three. I woahed with my voice the first couple of times through, but finally half-halted effectively in the line and got him almost too stood off the base. But because he was back on his butt, he jumped powerfully off the ground from the slightly gappy spot. 

The three main takeaways: 

- Making him hold himself in the canter means not driving every stride, but continuing to keep a soft, communicative contact

- Half-halt until he has come back onto his butt. Thinking you've half-halted isn't enough. 

- If your canter isn't one you could jump out of RIGHT NOW, do something about it and make it one that you could 

When I told JT that danged pink rolltop was gonna be the death of me in one form or another, she said "If you're winning the lesson all the time, you aren't learning and making progress." 

So here's to not winning the lesson! 

For putting up with all my shit, he got a nice looooong barnyard grazing session while I mowed and pulled weeds. He's SO GOLDEN right now. 

Side note: it is SO NICE to have a horse who GETS OVER things. Goggles was NOT spooky, but once he decided he didn't like something, he was GOING TO DIE ON THAT DAMN HILL. You cannot imagine the hours spent with the liverpool (or tarp) for him to still default to FUCK NO when he saw it. So Butterball's ability to initially think the rolltop was pretty suspicious and then progress to not giving a damn is so beautiful. I love this horse so much.