Reevaluation and Transitions

Ben was a little feisty when I rode him this afternoon. I have really started to see what a difference 2 days a week of riding vs. 3 is doing to him. Last year thought 3 wasn't enough but was glad to be able to do it, but 2 just really isn't working for him. It almost seems like a waste of time, at least as far as his training goes. There are so many days in between his rides I have to refresh everything and spend so much time in his warm-up so that he will get over his stubbornness in the beginning of each ride. Maybe I just need to lower my expectation of him, I don't know. It's just really hard because I ride to train. I want to see progress. I want to obtain a true balanced connection with him. I've had glimpses of this with him and so I know he has the potential, but it's just not going to get there with such infrequent riding. The next time I have a riding lesson, I think I am going to discuss this with my trainer and reevaluate some things.

This being said, today when I rode, I was getting frustrated and Ben's lack of progress and unwillingness to cooperate. I tried to keep calm and just keep asking him for what I wanted him to do until he submitted. Eventually he complied, but I felt like we were just fighting the whole time and that's not how I want to ride.

Once I had him working forward and willing I worked on lots and lots of transitions:

Walk - Halt - Walk - Halt.

Walk - Trot - Walk -Trot.

Trot - Canter - Trot - Canter.

Walk - Canter - Walk - Canter.

In between each transition I would only allow him to move 3-5 strides in the new gait. This kept him very alert so that he would anticipate what I was asking of him. It also allowed me to diminish my aides so at times all I would have to do was to think about the transition and it would occur. This is how a well-trained horse is supposed to preform. Horse and rider and in such great communication with each other that to an on-looker it would seem that the rider is doing nothing, but in actuality what they are doing is a culmination of many many patient days in the saddle schooling the horse to become sensitive to the aides. All of this take a great deal of time and effort on both parts. But I guess, that is what I love about riding. There is always room for improvement when aiming for perfection!