Our lessons

Magic and I went first.

I explained my list...

* Knee up
* Buffer on
* Shin pushed against resistance
* Sit vertical
*SIT
* Relax, long thin underneath.

As we trotted round it was clear that I've still got a soggy bit in the middle! So we discussed the following to help:

*carousel pole
*deep down core strength that has to get to carousel pole at top of rise.
* bigger rise doesn't = him shooting off so get braver
* more upright front, so carousel pole again.
*seat bones - what are they doing? Outside tends to fall off, and left tends to lift higher when I try to strength rebellious left thigh.
* Open my front!
*NARROW BACK
* inner rod extending from knee, through thigh, out back.... where do they meet? As close to me as possible, not in next county!
* Thumbs OUT to help narrow back and wide long front - otherwise shoulders curl round and its a long wide back, doh!

So on circle I need outside seatbone BACK yet IN so seatbones are narrow, but am still relaxed underneath. This really helped keep the trot back with me.

Plus bigger rise to enable bigger metronome swing to keep him. When it all goes wrong I remember to "crash" but forget to get to top, so must keep rise as big when its going wrong but also keep the crash. Much easier when focus on seatbones.

The BIGGEST light bulb today was that when I don't have his attention, I chase him forwardforwardforward... which just makes him go "what, what's wrong, what do I need to be careful of?" all the more! Think of awareness level, ie like for jumping.... I put his awareness on to external by chasing him, by slowing him and making him concentrate on my seat I get his awareness on me. HUGE revelation, but very difficult as it appears I've been programmed to do the "forwardsforwards" thing whenever things aren't going my way!

But, looking back, he was always wiggly and crooked wasn't he? And now he NEVER uses the wiggle to evade me.... how amazing is that?? :-)))) And it used to be our downfall. So that's a huge huge revelation too! Sometimes you really do have to look back to see how far you've come!

Simon - had a very bouncy school horse, but got the rising mechanism on him, although will report back if it still works on Aero now!

P & Dan - had a very cross Magic screaming and banging from the lorry! But they had a great session, P did really well with the oddities and weirdness of it all, and Dan helped by being cool as a cucumber, being very round and long necked when P did it right, and being obsessed with beautiful horse in the mirror!

So all in all a good day. P and I were shattered, the boys were glad to be home and legged it straight up the field when we let them go, and Si didn't feel it much at all. Arrgh. Men. How very unfair!