This week I have been at Trollspeilet, I've been working for food, housing and training. I was so happy to be able to work at an arena again and Bosco (and I) has improved from day to day.
During the week we went out for a midnight hack in the forrest. This made me think about Marias blog "reckless riding". We were three girls and the horses was one cold-blooded trot horse, a knabstrupper and a huge old eventing horse. It was twilight and a bit of rain, so we could see the road a head of us. It was really fun, and it has been a long time since I've been riding in that tempo through the forrest :D
The training this week has been about adjusting the aids, and I've started working with lateral movements. Which means more adjusting of my seat since everything gets screwed up during lateral movements.
My back is almost straight! Still tense up in my legs and I need to sit more forward in the saddle.
The weekend we had the walking clinic it was so dry and dusty that Bertie danced a little rain dance every night before going to bed. The rain waited for a week, and started pouring down when David arrived in norway. It was everything from heavy rain to light rain during the weekend, and when the last horses were let out after the last lesson on sunday, the sun peeked out from behind a cloud.
This picture: Trollspeilet
Almost every time David has a clinic its raining, this one was no exception.
This picture: Trollspeilet
Lovely weather
This picture: Trollspeilet
David and Bosco
My back is straight, but my legs are tense.
Need more contact
This is from the first lesson on sunday. Bosco had a lot of energy and got easily tensed up, which led to me getting tense and fall back into my old habits. Need to use my abdominal muscles more to get my pelvis in the right position and relax my legs.
This picture: Trollspeilet
One of Boscos small explotions.
As David put it "perhaps (he has) a little more energy" hah! That's a huge understatement.
"sometimes little fight, no problem"
Bosco didn't want to go correct and started fighting against Davids aids.
But when he realized what he was supposed to do he behaved.
Unfortunately I don't have any pictures from the last lesson, it seemed that Bosco had some time to think about the previous lesson and figured out what was expected of him. David rode him a little while this lesson as well and Bosco behaved really well and did almost everything he asked without fighting. Even canter transitions from halt, walk and trot. Good boy!
Through out the clinic I worked with transitions in big and small circles. I was to stay off the wall, only work inside the arena so he would lean on wall of the arena. During the last week I have just started getting the right contact and use different exercises as shoulder-in and different kinds of lateral work. This means I have to start almost all over again with my seat because while doing lateral work i tense up all the way from my ankles up to the pelvis. I notice this on most of the pictures taken from the clinic and the previous week.
I have gone from quite loose contact to an a lot more supporting contact in a short while, and my hands have to get softer! David talked about using elastics so that I could use these as a support and it would be easier on Boscos mouth. The problem with the elastics is that they wont solve my problem. I talked to Pelle about this and he agreed with me, so we are going to work at being softer in the hands.
David also installed some sort of power recharger on the outside flank, it's like you can almost hear him powering up when using the outside leg. And if you just power up and don't use the energy for something you will get some sort of explosion. Luckily he never bucks or do any big movements when he explode he just do weird stuff.
I have had quite a few problems with the canter and the last week I have been using shoulder-in and made the transition out of that exercise. This has been working nicely, but now I got some new aids to work with. In preparing for canter, open outside rein, move inside rein forward and use outside leg for the transition. Works perfectly as long as I do it correctly. Fun! Canter transition version 1.2 :D
David said that Bosco has improved a lot since last clinic, he also looked at his pedigree and says its quite good. Now we have sent all the papers on Bosco, Bilro and Brasil with David, he is going to help us with the passports and get the papers right. Good to know someone that knows how the system works, especially in a country where I don't know the language or how these things are done. Hopefully the passports will be finished until next clinic.
Things to work at until the next clinic:
*softer in the hands
*canter
*canter to improove the trot
*Mobilisation to the inside and outside. A few steps inside, a few steps forward, a few steps outside, a few steps forward and repeat.
*contact
*shoulders back (the unique problem with the norwegians)
Funny thing this weekend, we had horses doing piaffe, passage, flying changes, (on purpose) capriole, levade and courbette (not on purpose) all done by 4 year old lusitanos. Fantastic horses! (and just to clarify, this is not the daily training routine.)
Pelle helped me get Bosco Lillestrøm where I could drive him the rest of the way home. But before we left Lillestrøm he got a nice pedicure by Lisa, Tank you! He walked straight on to the new transport and stood completely still the whole way home. When we arrived home there was noone there so I had to take him out all by myself, but he behaves when he has to so I had no problems unloading him myself. Good to know!
Little sweet Bosco
