Where have you been my whole life?

Butterball and I took a lesson with a new dressage trainer (JV) yesterday. And it was amazing. The way I've gone on and on about some rides I need to just focus on his response to my leg in order to keep him sharp to it? Yeah, he called me (us?) out in the first two laps. "You're nagging and he's not responding and is cranky about it." YEP. 

So he explained the 1, 2, 3. 1 is a brush with the calves, what you want them to respond to. 2 is a boot or poke with the spur. 3 is a kick and tap with whip. And the response should be proportionate to the aid ie a 1 should get you a 2 mph increase. A 2 should get you a 3-4 mph increase. And a 3 should get you 4+ mph increase. Jigging is not actually the right response either because it is still not actually forward. Once the forward has happened, then you have to test that you trained - ask with a 1 again. This is how you train them.

JV did a LOT of asking "How's your trot?" And sometimes I would say it was good and he would go "Wellllll I do not agree" LAWLZ. But I never felt picked on or rushed and consequently never transferred those feelings to BB. So by the end, he wasn't chomping on the bit at all, and he was lifting and moving in a way I haven't felt before. The constant questions feel SO USEFUL for working at home. With my prior fave dressage trainer of all time, I always had a hard time replicating the work we did in our lesson at home. But with the constant questions here I actually had to assess myself and then sort out correcting it. Testing, it definitely helps with learning. 

Blurry screen shot of prancy pony

He said that horses should be on cruise control. Whatever pace they're at, they stay at that pace until otherwise directed. The rider is not to aid them (/piss them off?) by pushing each stride. We moved from the walk to the trot fairly early on in the ride. I was told to keep my hands quiet but not throw him away. Initially the roundness wasn't there, but as time went on, it arrived, all on its own, without me having to screw with his face. We played with the same brush with the leg in the trot to get a really lovely trot. And then when we had a really nice trot, moved on to the canter. 

In our canter depart I was told not to: 

- Cluck

- Drive with my seat

- Lean my upper body forward 

A little tight at first

In other words, the canter transition comes from the legs (and I assume eventually the seat, but it sure doesn't come from the list of three things above that I tried/do all the time...). And me doing it from one of the other things listed above meant we cantered 4-6 strides and then rinsed and repeated. A couple of times I had to get to #3 which led to some flailing around on my part and a wrong lead on Butterball's part. But a few attempts later, when I slid my outside leg back and closed my inside leg at the girth, he lifted into the canter. 

The ONLY time I did anything with my hands was tracking right where he wanted to tilt his head to the left. Then I gently closed my fingers on the right rein a couple of times to get him bending properly. 

Half-halts followed the same pattern - quietly close and lift, but if that doesn't work the next one is sharper. If this causes a break to the trot, the trot must also half-halt. But then STOP slowing down. So if the canter is 10 mph and the trot starts as a sprawling 10-11 mph, then half-halt to get the trot to an 8 mph. Then legs are used to tell him to continue at that 8 mph if he tries to slow down beyond that. Then pick the canter back up and try the half-halt again. 

Through all this work, essentially just on responsiveness to the aids, he became softer and more through with more lift in his withers than I've felt before. 

That will do... 

I'm planning on going back once a week for the next few weeks. This was so incredibly useful. And even though it is by far the most I've paid for a lesson, I finally sold both saddles that were not in use. So that can be Operation Stop Nagging dressage lesson money for Butterball and me.