Clinic with David and Skills at Arms!

At wednesday and thursday this week I've been attending yet another clinic with David Oliveira. Seems it will be the last one of this year so I'm happy that I managed to attend.

Bosco is still quite young both in his physique and in his mind so we mostly worked at easy exercises for loosening of the neck. The day before the clinic I had asked Pelle to help me a bit with the left side since I've had some troubles with it for the past few weeks. Luckily for me, Pelle had just picked up David from the airport so they were both sitting beside the arena and cooperated on helping me. Win! This "lesson" I was to exaggerate the flexing to the inside on both hands. Keep the flexion until he released, then push forward with seat and legs. This worked really well and we managed to get the left side almost as good as the right side.

During the clinic we worked on the flexibility of the neck, alternating flexing to the outside and the inside. We also worked at mobilization to the outside and to the inside, not as much as we have done before but some to engage his hindlegs a bit more.

Cantering has been a problem for us because of the small round pen, we have just a small space, and Bosco isn't really strong enough to canter as collected as he has to. So while we had an arena we worked a lot on the canter. First we worked on both canters only in the big circles, then during the clinic we proceeded to canter at the circle, then over the diagonal, trot in the corner then new canter. We actually managed to do this quite well, I think we only missed one of the transitions. It was hard to maintain the right rhythm across the diagonal, but this will get better when he gets stronger. The last lesson we could actually do canter serpentines with canter, trot, canter transitions on the center line. They might not be good enough for a dressage test yet, but we're getting there, slow but steady! We also used trot, halt transitions, while at halt I was to collect Bosco and back up a few steps before going forward again. After doing this a couple of times his trot became more collected and I had some really nice rein-backs, which I don't think I've ever managed to do with Bosco. Fun fun!

Cantering is still heavy work, but at least he got his hindlegs with him

David managed to get Bosco a bit worked up and crashed into the other horses who, by coincidence was on the exact same place in the arena. 

Pelle is showing off to the photographer 

(he has got a whip in his hand, but aims quite well so you can't see it :p)

David and Pelle is playing knights with whips as lances

Wednesday was a hot day, Bosco almost changed color 

Flexion to the outside

I just want to finish off with this picture. I have never seen myself sit as correctly as this before. I'm quite amazed actually! Still got things to improve here aswell, but this is a huge step forward!

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures from thursday as it was pouring down all day. There was some pictures taken but the rain was so heavy that the automatic focus, focused on the rain.

After the clinic was finished I stayed for one more night so that I didn't have to drive home the same day. This morning me and a friend wanted to try out skills. Skill at Arms is a competition where you use sword, spear and lance in different exercises. Here is a video of Luke Binks, a knight from Australia who has been at Trollspeilet the last couple of months, riding through the skills course I trained at today. The amazing commentaries is done by Pelle. 

I tried the spear, sword and the lance and Bosco behaved amazingly good. I was quite surprised. Even with me hitting the quintain in full speed canter he didn't even flinch when I hit the metal plate. He might be a good horse for jousting! We also jumped the small jump, and Bosco jumped correctly and didn't even try to run on the outside! I beat my old record of spins on the quintain, the old record was 4 or 6 (don't really remember), now I got 8 and that was the only time we counted. Fun Fun!

And on a side note to this last bit, during the second weekend of july there was an unofficial world championship in jousting, in France. Norway won, out of 10 teams! The Norwegian team consisted of Lisa Holar, Petter Ellingsen and Erik Ryen. Second place went to the Australian team who consisted of one norwegian, Pelle, one from australia, Luke Binks and a german guy. Lisa, Petter, Pelle and Luke are good friends of mine so this was fun for many of us! 

These guys compete in full scale medieval armor and it looks spectacular! Pictures can be seen at this thread (on both pages). Pelle has a green shield with a white horse, Luke is wearing black and yellow, Petter has the brown and white horse and Lisas horse has a green cover. 

For you norwegian readers: here is a couple of articles:

http://hest.no/artikkel.html?news.nid=7472

http://www.dressursaklart.no/?p=4792%22

New improvements

After the productive lesson last time, Bosco has mostly been sore so I haven't been able to train very well. I have tried to make the best out of it in the round pen, but somehow I haven't made it work. This thursday, Pelle was at Årungen with all the others who haven't moved yet, and he was so nice to come over to Røed just for me.

The lesson was quite intence for my part. We started out in walk, flexed to the outside. Bosco didn't really want to do it and I usually tense up when doing something "new". Need to remember to relax the legs, be flexible in the hip and follow the movement. After a few rounds on each hand we started working in trot. Pelle told me to change hand, and when I did, he asked me "what did you do when you turned the horse?" to that I answered "hmm, not sure". He asked me to change hand again, and asked the same question, still no good answer from me. After doing the same thing 5 times I noticed what I did, I pulled in the inside rein. *sigh* When I pull back the inside rein, he tenses up and "fall apart".

So next excersise was to change hand with the same work we started last time. When riding alongside the wall: start by looking the direction you want to go, push forward with the outside rein while relaxing the inside leg and step down in the inside stirrup. Sit on the inside seatbone and lift the outside seatbone, support the outside with the outside leg. The horse will then turn, when it has turned "enough", push forward with the inside rein while relaxing both legs, stepping down in both stirrups and sit with both seatbones, the horse will go straight forwards. Go straight for a few steps, then push forwards with the previous inside rein (now outside), step down in the new inside stirrup, relax the leg, and sit with new inside seatbone while lifting the new outside seatbone, support the new outside with the outside leg. I had to do this "a few" times before getting it correct, but it is funny how easily I can manouvre the horse when I do it right!

This lesson I really noticed how much space he needs on the outside, especially on the left hand. The left side is the stong side, while the right side is the flexible side. He gets easily tensed on the left side, right side is alot easier with the flexion and almost no tension, on the right side we lack impulsion.

I have been struggeling with the canter almost since I got him, but it goes up and down. Pelle told me to canter, and I said I don't know how to do it. Every time I try to work at it, we both just tense up and always end up with the left hand canter. First Pelle took the "motivation stick" and poked abit on Boscos hindlegs. He wasn't too pleased with that, but in the end he did what he was asked to: step further with the hindlegs. So after waking up the hindlegs I was supposed to canter. We quickly discovered that I am no way near precise enough for this sensitive little horse. First, I have to ask for canter at the right time. To do this I got Pelle to flick his fingers everytime his hindlegs were at the correct position. Almost everytime I was too slow and Bosco did what I asked of him, I just asked for canter at the wrong time, so he began the left hand canter instead of the right hand. I think I was precise enough two times, and the result was a nice right hand canter.

Now I atleast know what the problem is, then I might be able to do something about it aswell! Poor Bosco was really tired after the lesson, really sweaty too. When I went to let him out into the padock after the lesson he was in a hurry to get "in the shower" and had just passed through the door before he threw himself on to the ground and got his fur all muddy and dusty :D

I wish I had a personal photographer to take pictures during these lessons, but it felt really good and Inga, who was watching said it looked good aswell. So I trust her until I get some picture evidence!

Once more unto the breach, Dear Friends

This weekend I have been attending a workshop for trainees who wants to teach according to the philosophy of Trollspeilet. The philosophy is often mistaken for something that has been invented by Hanne and Pelle (who is Trollspeilet), but this is not exactly true. The main focus is balance between horse and rider, and how important the riders seat is. In my own experience I have learned how important it is to have a balanced and stable seat, and how to use each muscle to get the desired effekt. The theory behind this philosophy is that of Müseler, Guerniere, Belasik, Podhajsky, Kottas, SRS (spanish riding school), the german training scale and the rules of dressage from FEI. Trainers that has contributed to the development of riding skills and knowledge include David Oliveira (portuguese WE world champion and bullfighter), Arthur Kottas (previous first chief rider of SRS), Claire Lilley (student of Arthur Kottas) and Inger Helsing Hansen (educated at Le Cadre Noir de Saumur).

So, this weekend 12 trainees, 2 trainers and lots of different horses gathered to learn, discuss and put it all into practice when we taught eachother. It was a weekend packed with theory and practice in a lovely mixture!

Theory
The first theory lesson started at 9 am, so it was an early start since you had to plan how to avoid the queue to the bathroom! Anyway, Pelle talked about what Trollspeilet is all about and what we have to look for and correct while teaching others.

Some people who attended the workshop work as instructurs on a weekly basis, but others, like myself, has never or only a few times tried to teach others. I don't know about the others, but I was afraid to be the one at this workshop who didn't really know what to do when trying to correct the other participants. This was adressed by Pelle during the first theory lesson. Nobody is perfect, and there will always be something to change or enhance in every rider. Even those who have been teaching for a long time will be nervous about new students because you never know what to expect.

The trust between rider, trainer and horse is one of the most important aspects of instruction. If the rider doesn't trust the instructor, he will not try his best. If the rider does not trust the horse, he will not relax. If the instructor does not trust the rider, he will not be able to get the best out of him.

Trollspeilet works on a daily basis with horses that has picked up bad habits or has an unhealthy pattern of movement, and most of the riders we will encounter at the beginning will be both riders and horses who has a bad seat, or the horse moves in a way that will be harmfull over time.

To quote Müseler:
"A rider often complains that his horse:
* has a hard, dead mouth
*is stiff at the poll (in the case of highly strung horse)
*gets above the bit
*leans on the bit
*jigs/jogs
*has a wrong bend in the neck (behind the third vertebra)
*throws its head about
*is ewe-necked
*gets behind the bit
*draws itself in at the poll
*hollows its back (in the case of highly strung horses with weak backs)
*makes one or both hind legs stiff, takes short over-hasty steps (in the case of highly strung horses)
*goes crookedly
*lets its tounge hang out
*throws itself against the leg
*loses its pace and impulsion
All these bad habits disappear immediately when the horse is obedient to the aids." (Müseler, p 69, 2007)

So to change this pattern of bad movement, Müseler has a small "recipie":

"*The horse must first learn to go forward in response to the driving influences.
 *When it succeeds in this, it should be taught to bend towards the inside.
 *When that has been learned, it should be taught to stretch its head downwards.
 *From this position, it must be encouraged to accept the bit.
 *When it has freely accepted the bit, its is given collection by half-halts."

(Müseler, p72, 2007)

"Many riders are puzzeled by the necessit of obtaining a low head and neck carriage when the aim of the horse's schooling is to make it higher in front and lower behind. Raisning the forehand is of value only when it is the result of achieving a lowering of the hindquarters (relative head raising). (...) Teaching the horse to lower and stretch its neck is essential in encouraging it to loosen up in the back, in giving it collection and making it bring its hind legs further forward." (Müseler, p 74, 2007)

Therefore one of our goals for the weekend was to get different horses to stretch its neck down and forward. This is not to be mistaken for Long-Deep-Round, the nose of the horse is to go forward. It was fun to see that by following the "recipie" that Müseler has written down, all the horses stretched their neck and engaged their backs. Now, it might not be as easy as it sounds. This will work, if the rider has a good seat that can follow the horse's movements. And the problem with many riders is that they actually don't follow the horses movements. You are supposed to controll the backmovement with your own movement of your hip, not the other way around. So if your hip joint is stiff you will actually stop the swinging of the horses back. If this is the case you can stand in the stirrups or just do light trot, this will make it easier for the horse to get movement in the back, without you interfering with your weight.

The next thing we wanted to focus on, was the hind legs. If you control the hind legs, you control the horse. The power of the horse mainly comes from the hindquarters, either as a propelling role with the racehorses or a carrying role as with the dressage horse. The horses centre of gravity is, from natures side, just behind the front legs. "A dressage horse, and most certantly one that is to do Haute Ecole work, has to do rather more carrying than propulsion with its hind legs and has to get them well forward and under the center of gravity. This is called collection. (...) Collection is achieved partly by training, such as bending the haunches and sideways movements, particulary shoulder in, and partly, if more indirectly, by the overall training program; and of course, by every single half-halt that is asked for generally." (Müseler, p 65, 2007)

There are different exercises you can use to engage the hindlegs, one of the most common is the shoulder in and the one we use frequently, the giravolta. This is an exercise you work in-hand and the movement should circle around the trainer in a kind of turn on the forehand. The inside legs step forward and across the outside leg. If you are the instructor and want the horse to bend the joints more, you can use the whip and gently tap the joint you want it to bend. This is an exercise you need to use with caution, since each horse react very differently to the whip. For example, the horse i had this summer, you could just point at the leg you wanted him to lift, perhaps just barely touch him. On the other end you got Hugo, Pelles horse. He needs alot more stimuli to bother move his legs. 

Practice

The trainees instructed each other in pairs, two hours saturday and two hours sunday. I have instructed others before, but then mostly jumping, so this was my first time and I was quite nervous. After talking to some of the other trainees I discovered that most of the others, even tho they had more or less expreience, was some what nervous about the lessons. On saturday our only focus was to find the riders weakness and try to help them improove their weakness. We were 6 riders and 6 instructors at the arena at the same time, in other words almost total chaos! Luckily, no accidents!

We started out each lesson by instruction on our own, while Hanne and/or Pelle observed. After some time, Pelle went around the arena, talking to the instructors and gave us tips on what to look for and correct in the riders. This gave us the opportunity to discuss what we thought might be the issue and what to do about it. 

First lesson on sunday we were focusing on getting the horse to use the back and seek the support of the reins. Hanne and Pelle chose horses for everyone so that both the riders and instructors were given a challenge. This lesson I was instructing another of the trainees on Chico, a big hanoverian who was given to Trollspeilet because he was lame in the frontlegs and the vet didn't know what to do or what caused it. He is usually very tense through the back and really needs to stretch his neck forward and down. We worked him on a circle, inside leg to outside rein, while leading in with the inside rein. The rider wasn't able to be loose enough in the hip to do seated trot so I got her to ride light trot and focus on contact on the reins. The horse is easily spooked and I think she might have been abit afraid to let go of the rein and make him stretch his neck. But when she did it, the horse responed really well and at the end of the lesson he was relaxed and through the back. I wish we had photos at the beginning and at the end of the lesson, would have been fun to see. 

The last lesson on sunday we were focusing on the hind legs, we wanted the horse to shift the weight backwards and really use the hind legs. This lesson we both (me and my partner) rode young lusitanos. I was riding Bosco and the other one was riding Brasil, they are are half brothers and 3,5 years old. Since they are so young we didn't demand too much of them, other than go correctly and use their back and hindlegs. The fun thing about young horses is that if you sit in balance and use the aids correctly, the horse responds so quickly, they almost surprise you! The last lesson we were laughing half the time, because every time I corrected the rider, the horse responded so well we just had to laugh.  

The rider I was instructing was struggeling with almost the exact same problems as I do, and it was fun to see them from "outside" and find solutions to them. At the same time getting instructions from someone who knows what I struggle with and who is able to use other words to describe certain feelings. 

I learned ALOT this weekend, most imporantly to trust myself, my own skills and knowledge and that I can instruct others and actually help them! I believe everyone who attended the workshop had a great time and learned alot, it was a great group of people and we all look forward to next time!

So, once more unto the breach, Dear Friends!

Unfortunatly I don't have any photos from this weekend, but if you follow this link there is alot of pictures from the different lessons. Remember, this is in a training situation, it's not always picture perfect ;) 

One-day-course with Pelle, and tryouts round two!

Pelle from Trollspeilet had a one-day-course at the stable today, he brought Bosco so I could "test drive" some more. I have to say, I really like that horse! 

My assignment for today was to get the right movement in my hip. The movement is the same as when you are doing "squats", and apperantly I didn't know how to perform them. Luckily for me, Pelle is also experienced with training people, not only horses. The trick is not to just collapse in the knees, but to push the bum back and pretend to have a weightbar across the shoulders and lift it up. Lift the horse, through the back, and up in each step. 

It's funny how well you can feel Bosco's back when he works correctly, and almost everytime i manage to get the aids correct he "prustet" (horse blows through his nose, relaxing sound). He gives good feedback on whats right and whats wrong. We did mostly walk and trot, some canter but not to much. 

pictars!

Pelle having fun, running infront of the camera

A big thanks to Sissel, for being my photographer for the day!

budgeting, work and training

Not much training these days... Been trying to get over a lung infection I've had since November, the antibiotics does not seem to take care of it:/

Still riding North Peak two days a week, allthough just until February. After that I'll concentrate on making the economy to go around with all the expences I get with my own horse.

The past week I've been budgeting to see how my outcome vs income will trun out with a horse involved. My problem is that I have a different salary every month and I haven't worked enough to be able to see the average salary. So I have to work with the amount I know I'm going to get. Right now I overestimate the outcome and underestimate the income and hope for the best :D  My mum and dad have said they would sponsor me with the starting amount, meaning, buying the horse. Going to have a meeting with them on thursday, after that I'll probably have a more realistic veiw on how much longer I have to save up money. Scary! And on top of all the saving, I work as many extrashifts as they'll give me. Preferably working nightshifts, that means longer shifts and more money! yay!

Last weekend I have been trainig Elins (Marias daughter) pony, Charlie. What I quickly realised is that my seat is alot more effective than before, and when I really focus I can make him do almost whatever i ask of him. The problem is me. Since I got sick in November I haven't been training anything other than the few times a week I'm at the stable. Peak is a young horse and most of the training is in a light seat so some of my muscles haven't been properly used in a while. *sigh* I have a gym membership but since I've been sick and most people are so scared of the swineflu I haven't been there in a while, but this week I'll go back! I need to strengthen especially my core and leg muscles.

Goals for the next few weeks, train more! Need more strength and stamina!

Sad message from the stable yesterday :( Tia Maria, the TB brood mare at our stable gave birth to her foal, 4 months before she was due. This was what they found in her stall =(

Development

Sometimes when I ride horses i feel like I'm just banging my head against a wall and not getting anywhere. A post on a forum gave me the idea to look back at old photos and se how far I¨'ve come with my riding skills. I started looking through my old photos and learned that i haven't got that many pictures before 2009 of me riding anything else than jumping fences. Oh well, this past year I have learned ALOT so there is much improovement! Most of the improvement is in my head, but still you can see some of it in the photos.

Søndervang's Unik, Aug '04

Herkules feb 09

Herkules march 09

Herkules march 09, weekend course with Trollspeilet at our stable.

First clinic with David Oliveira. Licero, july 09

Clinic with Kristina Berggren, aug 09

Course with Trollspeilet, sept 09

Sept 09

Oliveira clinic sept 09

Sept 09

Trollspeilet, dec 09

Will be fun to see if there is any improovement from now until summer. I guess it depends on how often I'll be able to train and if I find a horse by then!

Så var det på'n igjen

A new year, new beginnings!

The past year has been great in many ways. I have, after 19 years in the saddle, realised what I want out of my life with horses. I know how I want to train, and more importantly, I know how i don't want to train. I have a job which I like and feel that i manage to do it well.

New years resolutions

• Be more positive! think before i speak and don't be to eager to judge people, there is usually a reason why people do what they do.
• Be myself and don't take it personally if other people judge me or don't like the choices I make in life. It's my life and I'm going to live it the way I want to!
• Buy a horse!
• Improve my riding skills
• Get a job! (not only the deputyship I've got now)
• Eat healthier, which means more planning from day to day. This also means; money saved!
• Exercise more. (not only riding)

That was all i could think of for now. Head goes empty while working nightshift!

Weekend course at Trollspeilet dec 09 (translation numero dos)

Day 1, december 18th.
Of course, i managed to choose the coldest weekend of the year to attend a new weekend course! Friday afternoon it was -17 centigrades/1 farenheit, lovely!

I had two lessons on day 1, it was cold and quite slippery so we used one of the fields for arena. First lesson was with Pelle and i rode Vitesse. Pelle had just returned home from a clinic with Claire Lilly and had learned a new thing, which meant I had to learn it aswell! This lesson we worked with the upper and lower leg aid, means squeeze with my thighs and calvesn and keep the knees firm agains the saddle. At the same time, relax in the buttocks and let go of my hip, difficult? Uhu! After riding for a bit, i had to get of the horse to try and find the right muscles in my calves and how to feel them work the right way. I stood on the ground, raised up on my toes and felt the muscles in my calves work. This was the feeling i was supposed to be searching for while riding. Exept that i was not supposed to stand on my toes in the stirrups, the power from the muscle was supposed to go against the side of the horse instead of pushing up.  Easier said than done, but I got it sometimes, and when i did, the horse worked so much better! We also worked on walk-halt transitions with only squeezing with my knees, when we managed to do this, we worked on walk-halt-walk back.

Halt – squeeze with my knees, keep the elbows fixed by using latissimus dorsi and frame the horse between the aids by using upper and lower leg, seat and latissimus dorsi. While in halt, be able to correct one of the hindlegs without everything falling apart by walking forward or backward.

Back – First transition to halt as described above. Squeeze with knees and calves to create energy, then lift the seat and lean a cm forward which will release the energy backwards and the horse backs up.

Some pinpoints to remember
Weight in the stirrups, weight down and use the muscle in towards the side of the horse, keep the heel down!
Think about holding a 1000 kr (120 €/170$) bill with my knees, one on each side. Do not loose the money!
Let go of the hip, active seat, make the horse move forward with seat and leg, frame the horse with the elbowes (tight latissimus dorsi)
The rein should never be used backwards!

I rode Faustino on the other lesson that day, Hanne was the instructor. Faustino was quite worked up, bucking and tried to be tough, but he had to give in eventually. We worked on the same stuff as with Pelle, but now we also focused on my upperbody. I tend to sway in my upper back, which means that my sternum «opens up» and points out. To correct this i have to think sternum down and inwards, at the same time stretching upwards with my head and use latissimus dorsi to keep my elbows and shoulders down. I managed to get everything together quite well in the end and my hip is much better than last time! Improvement! :D

Day 2, december 19th.
Two lessons today aswell, first one was abit delayed since one of the foals here broke out and ran into the big herd and was impossible to catch again. After a while Hanne and Pelle came to the conclution that the foal had it better in the big herd and let him stay there, he imidiatly gained to uncles, Bilro (3 yo Lusitano) and Viplan (20 yo Trakhener) looked after him.

First lesson with Hanne, I rode Vitesse. Same work as yesterday, legs and seat. If the horse is above the bit = stronger seat. If it is behind the bit = more leg. After the warm up we worked on one of the David exercises «mobilisation to the inside» and «mobiliation to the outside» on both hands. Vitesse wasn't really cooperating since this was heavy and she'd rather not use her hindlegs. But after working for a while she loosened up and worked nicely. After a while with theses exercises we made a transition to trot and worked on «lifting» the horse with the help of seat, upper leg and lower leg. At times we worked quite well, and Vitesse balanced great even tho it was icy and slippery on the field.

The second lesson was together with Berit and Petter up at the tournament arena. Some icy parts, but the arena was better than the field! This time Pelle was the instructor. I started the lesson by working with transitions walk-halt-walk. After a while i really got the hang of the aids. I managed to relax the buttocks at the same time as using upper and lower leg. In the transitions i usually sway in the back and by doing that i think that im shifting the weight, but im not. The trick for me was to push forward with the seatbones, inwards and down with the sternum, easy peasy transitions after that!

After this i got a new assignment. Transistions walk-trot. We managed to get a fair few nice transitions, Vitesse moved forward by leg and seat aid, i felt i could «squeeze» her between my legs, up and forward and lift her with my seat! Talk about getting the connection and being as one with the horse! Fun! New assignment, walk – prepare transition to halt, but instead do a half pirouette. After practicing «tale between my legs» for quite some time i remember it in halt, walk, trot and canter but when i want the horse to move sideways or do anything else i suddenly forget. So about half the times the half pirouettes were quite bad, because i just forgot to ad the seat. But when i do remember all the aids, it usually goes ok. I also have a tendency to loose my balance and get the weight on the wrong side, which doesn't really make it easier for the horse. We also worked with HTTW (head to the wall), so Tessa really had to use her hindlegs, and at the end of the last one she let go a big snort! Hah!

At the end of the lesson, we worked in trot at the circle. On the upper half of the circle I was going to extend her trot a bit. We managed to do it once! Pelle said it was close to medium trot, Tessa followed my hand, stretched her neck and extended her step nicely. After this we called it a day! Tired horse, and tired rider!

Day 3, december 20th.
New day, new possiblities.

New lesson with Hanne, rode Vitesse today aswell. Berit and McNiell joined us up at the tournament arena. We worked on the same stuff as the rest of the weekend, but this time i got Hanne to take a few pictures, so here goes!

Berit and Mc'ern

Light trot

Light trot

Light trot

Light trot

Light trot, Vitesse would like to say; "glærghp"

Sitting trot, I have a tendency to pull my heels up. Need to remember to keep the weight in the stirrups and the power of the muscle towards the horse.

A bit beter, but still need to keep the weight in the stirrups and more power in the seat. You can also see Vitesse has a broken neckline, about the 3rd vertebrae, which means more leg and power from the hindlegs.

Picture series: Vitesse doesnt want to work, pull forward, the result is I tense up, pull up my heel, hard contact and a passive seat.

This leads to: Tension in the horse, gets above the bit and rushes forward. This makes me try to keep still but you can see i twist my elbowes and my whole seat collapses.

I then straighten out my thoughts, seat, legs and elbows are almost where they should be, and miraculously the horse loosens up as well.

Here you can see i still poke my toes out if i don't concentrate.

Kip!

Once again it has been an educational weekend. I have figured out more about my body and managed to detatch parts and use them as seperate aids.  Feks squeeze with upper and lower leg, and at the same time keep a loose hip and an active seat. I have also discovered why I often fail to make the transitions down, I sway my upper back and by doing that i counteract my own aids. So when doing transitions I need to think; sternu down and inwards before using the seatbones. When I do this, it actually feels like I'm leaning forward, but I don't. That's what makes this so hard! It is a different feeling for each rider, so I have to find the feeling that is right for me and train after that feeling. No matter how wrong it feels the first time!

Who said riding a horse was easy?!

Weekend course at Trollspeilet nov 09 (translation numero uno)

This weekend I have been at Trollspeilet and have learned loads of new stuff! Or perhaps its more correct to say, I have taken another small step forward in my equestrian educaution. For the first time I have managed to «let go of my hip», which means I was able to correctly follow the horse with my seat without tension in the hipmuscles.

The weekend course is build up by 4 1hr lessons and there is supposed to be an hour theory a day, but in this house, the theory behind riding is discussed from the moment we get up, until we sleepwalk to bed :) I rode Faustino, a 5 year old TB gelding in all the lessons. He was given to trollspeilet for free because he was a «lost cause», trained wrong from the beginning, only muscles on one side, lots of pain and just not friendly with people. They've had him since April and he has come a long way since then!
These courses are first and formost a course in gaining a correctly balanced seat, so I mostly work with myself and when i get my act together i can start to demand the horse to work. Faustino likes to keep his head high and tensed so we worked on long and low the whole time.


Hanne (one of the ridning instructors) used the first lesson to correct the seat. Every rider has his or her own problem with theire seat, and as each problem is individual, every solution is individual. I have to sit more forward in the saddle and think «tale between my legs». While doing this, keep my leg further back and twist my femuralbone so that my heel feels like it's pointing outwards. Hanne pulled my legs abit and showed me where they were supposed to be and how that felt. To be honest it hurt like hell in gluteus medius, and my abdominal muscles had to work real hard!

I need to think up, up, up while i ride, often use the image of a tree growing upwards on the top, and the roots pulling themselfes to the ground (thanks Sally Swift). We worked on this for a while, in walk without the stirrups, before we made the transition to trot and tried to keep the same seat. Faustion worked quite well after a while, but I could really feel how uneven he is in his muscles. On the right hand he fell inwards in the circle, and on the left hand his right shoulder didn't really want to keep in place. Tried some transistions to canter this lesson, but my hip was too stiff so the canter was not efficient and really bumpy.

Second lesson: continuation of the work we had started with on the first lesson. We started out by trying to correct our own seat with Hanne for support if we needed it. I thought it went quite well, allthough i still need to be reminded to keep my heels down and in place, but it's getting there! During this lesson i felt i managed to let go of my hip quite well in trot, the horse responded quicker and i felt i could actually use my seat to lift the horse up and forward, and controll the tempo with my seat! Fun!

Third lesson: same word ;) It is funny how the things you work with, gets so much easier after a while. Today it was alot easier to keep my leg in place, and at the same time, relax my leg. I have a tendency to tighten my leg when i have to keep it in a place that feels unnatural and weird. This lesson i worked with transitions trot-canter-trot, with main focus on the transitions. Faustino likes to just speed up and fall into canter, and the transitions from canter to trot usuallu leeds to Faustino falling completely apart. After a while we got the hand on the trot-canter transitions, I wish I could say the same for the caner-trot transitions, but oh well, we worked hard on them! :p The big new improvement was that i managed to let go of my hip in canter! For the first time! I have never felt it before, and it was weird how easy it was to sit correctly. I must say i only managed to keep it for a few steps at a time, but little is more than nothing!

Forth lesson: my seatbones and coccyx were so sore i had a hard time just sitting in the saddle, funny enough i manage to «forget it» during the lesson (get a hard reminder afterwards tho). Last lesson, worked on same stuff as earlier, tale between my legs, let go of the hip, half halts and loong and loow. At the end i rode light trot so Faustino got the chance to really stretch his neck long and low, this is quite hard for him, and he doesn't really want to do it, but we managed it in the end! He worked well through the back and he almost even made a sound! Faustino usually keep his «prust» (can't find the english word for it) inside, so it came out in the form of sigh and moans, but we take what we can get! :)

Looking back at the course i feel that I have taken a few steps forward in my riding. I have, for the first time, really understood what it means to let go of the hip. Which means training, training, trainig!
I think I'm going to take a new course in december, perhaps a few more lessons since i got the time for some intensive workout! Hopefully I will find a solution to my coccyx problem, which was really annoying! The problem might have been the saddle this time, not the most comfertable thing i have ridden in...

Anyhow, a list of what to remember and practice on, until next time

• tale between my legs, all the time, not just when i remember it.
• The leg in its place
• twist the femur, heels out!
• Shoulders in their place
• head on top of the shoulders, not in front of them!
• Look forward, don't tilt the head!

Go me!

No photos this time, only three of us in the course and the last person on the farm had to babysit the kids, perhaps next time.