I've been working on timing my cues to Filly's feet for a while now and finally it's beginning to come. Well, for the front feet anyway !
I've always known that this desirable but having watched the Buck Brannaman DVDs the idea has taken on a whole new level of importance for me. Buck does say that learning the skill is demanding and frustrating but also states that once acquired it will change the way you ride forever. So I figured "what's a few months of hard work compared to being a better rider for the rest of my life" ?
And yes it has been frustrating and hard and... did I mention frustrating ? To start with I would feel the magic for just a few strides and cues and the feeling was worth striving for. Today I suddenly found I could really really feel that inside front foot and it happened is the most unlikely of situations.
Filly and I had been having fun in the school doing some nice trot circles getting her to turn the forehand with leg aids. It had been going pretty well so I decided we needed a change of scene. We left the school and headed out down the track. I haven't been doing much hacking out recently so the aim was pretty modest. Just to the end of the dirt track leading to the yard and back. On the way out she was good and we played with sideways from one side of the track to the other. With timing of course :). At the end of the track there is a very small loop we can make which involves going down a tiny slope onto another track and then back around onto the original track. She was finding the few steps down a bit worrying and was rushing them. I thought "no problem, we've just been working circles in the school so we'll just work them here". After three or four circles she settled and took time and care as she stepped down.
I decided to head back to the yard. She was getting a bit tense and too forwards so I circled her in small circles on the track. Filly kept pushing into my hand as we turned away from home.
Then suddenly I could feel her feet and my timing on the rein got way way better. After another few circles she started to really settle down. We rode back along the track doing circles and figures of 8 with the emphasis on the timing. She became more and more relaxed. The circles were no longer a battle but we sort of drifted around them. I'm not saying they were pretty dressage circles, they weren't but 90% of her resistance to them had gone. I actually felt in real harmony with her feet for the first time for an extended period. I can't help but think that this better feel I could give her now helped her to find confidence in me as a leader and thus relaxation in herself.
Such a magical feeling I can't wait to experience it again.
I've always known that this desirable but having watched the Buck Brannaman DVDs the idea has taken on a whole new level of importance for me. Buck does say that learning the skill is demanding and frustrating but also states that once acquired it will change the way you ride forever. So I figured "what's a few months of hard work compared to being a better rider for the rest of my life" ?
And yes it has been frustrating and hard and... did I mention frustrating ? To start with I would feel the magic for just a few strides and cues and the feeling was worth striving for. Today I suddenly found I could really really feel that inside front foot and it happened is the most unlikely of situations.
Filly and I had been having fun in the school doing some nice trot circles getting her to turn the forehand with leg aids. It had been going pretty well so I decided we needed a change of scene. We left the school and headed out down the track. I haven't been doing much hacking out recently so the aim was pretty modest. Just to the end of the dirt track leading to the yard and back. On the way out she was good and we played with sideways from one side of the track to the other. With timing of course :). At the end of the track there is a very small loop we can make which involves going down a tiny slope onto another track and then back around onto the original track. She was finding the few steps down a bit worrying and was rushing them. I thought "no problem, we've just been working circles in the school so we'll just work them here". After three or four circles she settled and took time and care as she stepped down.
I decided to head back to the yard. She was getting a bit tense and too forwards so I circled her in small circles on the track. Filly kept pushing into my hand as we turned away from home.
Then suddenly I could feel her feet and my timing on the rein got way way better. After another few circles she started to really settle down. We rode back along the track doing circles and figures of 8 with the emphasis on the timing. She became more and more relaxed. The circles were no longer a battle but we sort of drifted around them. I'm not saying they were pretty dressage circles, they weren't but 90% of her resistance to them had gone. I actually felt in real harmony with her feet for the first time for an extended period. I can't help but think that this better feel I could give her now helped her to find confidence in me as a leader and thus relaxation in herself.
Such a magical feeling I can't wait to experience it again.
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