Thursday 6 November 2014

Lesson III

Today was Kika's turn to lesson again, also known as my first time on her back since clipping. Hardly ideal, when today was the coldest morning we've had this week. Can we say typical lolz.
K was a little spookier than she has been the last few months, but she also wasn't turned out Tuesday or yesterday, so really i only have myself to blame.

Little Miss Bedhead
We warmed up with walk/trot transitions before getting hooked up with the headset.

I'm a big meaney who woke K up for our lesson @ midday - the lazy bones

Takeaways from this lesson include:

- Inside heel sneaks up too much and leg goes backwards. Left leg worse than right

- Watch right hand that it doesn't get too low, especially when transitioning up and down to canter i need to support her better with my seat and keep my hands steady & balanced.

- Transitions, again I need to watch my hands and push Kika forwards so she doesn't fall onto her forehand.

- Work on halt from walk & trot.
I held my hand up and admitted to not having particularly worked on our halt (or walk for that matter - teacher laughed and said a lot of people forget to work the basics). K has a habit of stretching her neck when we halt, so S (teacher) had me focus on playing with the reins to have her give with her neck and not stretch against me. Teacher said halting square can be sorted later, K needs to learn that halt doesn't mean she can stop working and stretch her neck out.


Trainer said that it went better than our previous lesson, so baby steps towards improvement. ☺
I was still trying to process all the things she had told me, but looking back on it now it was a very productive lesson. Fingers crossed we can schedule some more and keep this Upward curve of improvement.


Kika then got her mane pulled, she hates it but was mollify ed by my stuffing her face with treats. I remember being told before that it's easier on them if we pull their manes after work as their pores/hair follicles are more open. I'm not sure Kika would agree, but she was a very good girl.

Nancy was up next for a quick spin & was a very good girl. I tried to keep my hands and contact steady while also making sure I kept my inside hand in check. We worked on all three gaits, circling, serpentining as we transitioned between w/t/c. The three of us then went out to the winter turnout, where the girls were much calmer than the previous two outings. They called a couple times, but were generally happier with being out in the afternoon sunshine. I made the final fixes to the fencing & checked it all to make sure electricity was traveling all around the area and left the girls alone for a few hours while i went home to warm up some before going back in the evening to bring them in.

12 comments:

  1. Your ponies are always so adorable! That's a heck of a lot of mane pulling in one evening! I love a nicely pulled mane, though, good job!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I weirdly enjoy pulling manes, although Kika is considerably less enamoured with it. In creating the above mashup of three photos, I noticed that her mane is a little uneven. Shall have to try and fix it tomorrow - its a slippery slope though when pulling manes. There's always going to be just that one little bit that keeps you pulling...

      Delete
  2. I have the same problem with my hands and don't understand why the damn things don't just stay where they're supposed to. I'm glad that you're getting so many lessons in! Also, your quarter sheets and cooler are fantastic :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Limbs eh?! Who'd have thought they have such a mind of their own? *eyeroll*
      Might have to do a review of the sheets as so many have commented on them ☺

      Delete
  3. Sounds like a good lesson, and sounds like you are getting back into the swing of riding regularly again! The girls are totally adorable!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fingers crossed i can carry this
      upswing over when I go back to work on Monday!

      Delete
  4. I love your mirror photos. They are both so gorgeous! I think you picked the perfect color quarter sheets for their coats. I'm glad the lessons are going so well. I hope you can keep having them. It helps sooo much for staying on track!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Got lucky with the quarter sheets & if it wasn't for mirror selfies I'd have no "riding" photos from this week lol
      I hope I can keep getting lessons too as Nancy is no longer a baby horse, we need to start working now & I could use all the help I can get ☺

      Delete
  5. I've never had opp to use quarter sheets, but always thought they look lovely.

    Yay for baby steps! They totally count too

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Every little helps, I am so lucky my girls are super forgiving of my cranky riding. Hopefully we can learn to be better together ☺
      I'd relinquish the use of cute quarter sheets for warmer weather to make their use futile lolz

      Delete
  6. sounds like a great lesson! and the girls look adorable as always :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It has been a great week of lessons, since buying & furnishing a flat means fewer (if any) exotic holidays are on the cards for me in the near future. I think i have found a fab way to use up my vacation time! ☺
      Must take all the lessons!!!

      Delete

I love to hear from readers, thank you for your comment :-)