Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Mixing It Up

Lest it sound like I'm complaining, Courage and I have been busting our butts doing dressage stuff, and for the most part, it's going really well. The other night I had a (perfectly good) ride. It even included some of the best leg yields I've ever done, bar none.
plus so attractive
But.

Courage and I were both just ON EDGE. The whole time. At one point, he blew a gasket randomly just to point out the problem. And it's not even that I'm riding with a lot of tension or asking for hard things or, well, anything. It's just that we've been so focused on Dressage and Goals and Important Stuff and even with our toodle-hacks around the indoor, things just weren't working for us.

I mean, I literally got off from a perfectly fine ride and wanted to have a melt down complete with tears, and I'm not a crying person.

So that's obviously productive.
totes a hunter get up LULZ
But then Saturday and Sunday, I rode with a fellow boarder who does the hunters at a proper barn most of the time and competes on the A circuit. I threw on jump tack and we pretended to be hunters with her. It certainly didn't hurt that our boarder friend was like "omg this horse needs to be a hunter". (I dunno how she looked past our sparkles and colors and clip job, but thanks boarder friend!)

I hadn't sat in my jump saddle in months and I'd forgotten how much fun it can be. We didn't even go over a pole, but I just really worked on staying balanced over Courage, pushing my hands forward and not worrying about the contact, and keeping my eyes very disciplined.
right lead!
We even got our first ride in the outdoor arena of the year on Sunday. Courage was SUPER. Our boarder-friend talked to us about some hunter flat work and we did some simple exercises and just rolled forward. Courage still had some extravagant airs, but neither of us got worked up about it.

It isn't a magic cure-all, but it was a great way for both of us to de-stress for a few days.

14 comments:

  1. So fun! Sometimes you need to just let go of the serious stuff and ride forward. Go for a gallop, forget the dressage, and enjoy your horse!

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  2. I love mixing it up! And getting outside always helps.

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  3. So fun! And good to mix it up! I think their brain needs a break some time. And so super jealous you are riding outside. It's like winter wonderland up here!

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    1. Yeah this is why we live in the valley and look at the mountains, not the other way around. ;-)

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  4. It's funny that you mention this. When the WB mare and I get all worked up and things start to take a turn in a different direction, I know it's time to throw on the jump tack, put a cross rail up and let her rip. We get back to trusting each other and things change immensely. Riding is fun again, being ridden is fun for her again and it's an easy-peasy, no problems, no worries workout. I'm thinking maybe we should just stick to that? But our flat work needs serious hella help....

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  5. Mixing it up is great for you and the pony. I wish I had a dressage saddle (or western maybe??) so I could also mix things up!

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  6. That sounds like the perfect cure. Dressage is full of pressure so it's nice to change it up!

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  7. Too much is the same is hard on pony brains. I'm doing the opposite switch as you ;)

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  8. Schoolwork is hard. Sometimes you just need some recess :)

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  9. Sometimes I get in the mode of "MUST BE PRODUCTIVE" and sometimes I think we just need a break. Like last night I trotted my horse on a loose rein. And that was it. It was nice, haha

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  10. Doing the same thing over and over always gets boring

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  11. i'm a big believe in 'different tack = different attitudes and styles.' it helps when there's a variety of tack combos to try ;)

    also super jealous of your outdoor riding!

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