Long and low

The theory is: slow feet, slow brain.

In order to get my horse to concentrate, and not to spook and bugger off, I need to get her to walk s l o w l y... Here was me, thinking "well, it's fitness work, so if she marches out, it's all good" and we thunder around the 7 km block in record time. Turns out this was just making her spookier and more stupid. No wonder we experienced ghosts the other day!

So our goal is to do slow walk, and get her head down below her wither. Not too easy, when your horse's natural inclination is to be a giraffe. Okay, so she's a short 154 cm giraffe, but the neck extension can be pretty darn impressive. This of course, makes her back go hollow and then she drags along on her forehand, and I've got a great photo of us doing this but I'm too embarassed to post it here.

We made some good progress towards this in our lesson. Our attempts to do some work towards our dressage test were foiled by a hot and puffy hock. Probably from Monday's thundering around the block, and attempting to canter on the road! So we kept it short and simple, all at the walk, concentrating on getting that head lower and the back higher so she is using it more correctly. I had some observers (the other grazers) who mentioned that I didn't get much of a lesson. In actual fact, it was a great lesson, and I learned a lot - having one of those A ha! moments. We made some progress in getting both of us to understand how to search for the contact. I, of course, stuff it up by dropping my outside rein and then she pings back up. But slowly, slowly, slowly we will get there.

PS got a pep talk from my coach. Not so depressed about my riding now but MAN! this takes a long time to get anywhere. And we are entered for the Intro class at the ODE, aiming to do a great dressage test and rebuild our confidence.

Log: Tues 17th Lesson with H, but hot hock so only walking, long & low stretching. Some massage after, and 10 mins cold hosing on hock and feet.