Do you have the "equestrian intuition" yet?

Today was lesson day again. Never too early if you want my opinion. 

I finally investigated the infamous riding gloves. I have been told that the best ones to protect my hands against a strong horse that yanks on the reins are the bright yellow roper's gloves by SSG. Me...Bright yellow. I think not. But it seems that they now come in black, I guess I was not the only one with style issues here. I already own a pair of these; unfortunately they are way too large. I now use them to tack-up whenever my hands are cold, they are so comfortable. I guess I'll have to go shopping (girls, don't you hate when that happens to you?). 

If you want to test the size of your glove, have someone pull on the pinkie and the thumb fingers at the same time, if the pinkie loosens, they're too large, will slip on your hands and will be hindering your control on the reins when you ride. Just try to canter with your little fingers frantically poking inside your gloves to find the proper whole... 

In the meantime, it seems that nothing will be better that taped fingers under my regular gloves to help ease the pain and help with the blistering. And that's what I did today. Worked like a charm. 

Today we worked on the circle to put Meeka on the bit, then in serpentines. The main difficulty, as you may know, is to trace nice & even semi-circles, while keeping a good rhythm, alternating the aids (when inside becomes outside and the other way around), staying on the right diagonal and, last but not least, without losing collection! Piece of cake right? Absolutely not. 

Still, I find my riding has improved quite a lot since some of the moves have now become second nature: balance and stability in the stirrups, some of the more complex rein aids (especially the indirect rein behind the withers, when you move your inside hand towards the outside hip - extra useful for taking Meeka back on the track when she starts cutting the corners) and what seems like a budding "equestrian instinct". Finally, it seems that my patience and hard work is paying off. 

Nevertheless, when my coach asks me "did you feel that Meeka was popping her shoulder?". Almost 100% of the times, my answer is a humble "No..." invariably followed by a long sigh (that's when I'm not busy panting, of course). It seems that riders who develop a feel for their horse usually make progress in leaps and bounds (no pun intended here), as if something had unlocked from inside. I'll let you know if it turns out to be true, provided that eventually, I do develop that invaluable 6th sense!

What about you? How long did it take you to be able to tell if your horse was popping a shoulder, or over bending to avoid making an effort? Can you instinctively anticipate and correct a bad movement or are you still waiting for this elusive "equestrian intuition" to kick in?

Troubles in the barn & trials on the bit

It was a radiant day today to finally get to see my Meeka again. She's not mine per say, but I ride her every week and treat her just like she was. She's a tall 16 hands mare, strong and a bit pigheaded, but as sweet as can be.

For the first time today, she ran away when I opened her box. Without a halter, or at least a bit in her mouth, she suddenly seemed twice as big and twice as strong. I had no control whatsoever, neither on her nor on the situation. It felt as awkward (and as scary) as if I was running behind a very tall zebra to try and catch it with my bare hands. I guess I just could sense the wilderness that still remains in her even if she is usually your basic calm (sometimes too calm) school horse. But with the help of a stable girl, we cornered her in an empty box, and putting on my most assertive face and attitude (a.k.a a front), I entered and finally put her on a lead chain. Pfew!

Today's lesson was mostly dressage. We worked on the circle to put her on the bit, which seems pretty easy but, as you may know, is an intense workout for both horse and rider. I now have calluses on my fingers from holding the reins so tight and vibrating like there's no tomorrow. That's why I will need to investigate riding gloves. I used to think "the classier the better" but it is becoming obvious that I'm wrong (and vain). My teacher recommended a variety that has padding on the inside of the fingers. I'll let you know if they look good too, but I doubt it. In the meantime, I'm sporting a bright yellow band-aid on my right hand ring finger, thanks to I'll-pull-those-reins-outta-your-hands-if-I-have-to-die-doing-it Meeka.

For those of you who don't know, the vibrating in the reins is supposed to relax the horse's jaw until it "gives-in". Not in terms of submission, but more in terms of accepting to work with you, obey you aids (hands and legs) and build impulsion. Most of the times I succeed at putting Meeka on the bit, but never for long. It's very demanding physically to have to always support your horse, even in the down transitions, so that it remains collected even at full stop. But one day, or so my teacher says, I'll be able to keep her collected throughout the lesson. Let's keep in touch, maybe in a year or two...

Then back to my favourite (read "dreaded") exercise: the leg yield. I guess there's something about this I just don't get. One time I'm the next dressage half-pass champion, the next, Meeka just about does anything she likes and I have no idea what I've done different. The thing is, this exercise does make you work on your independence of the aids - just like a piano player playing the melody with one hand and the accompaniment with the other. I guess I need to work on independence between hands and legs, and pay more attention to the how the horse "feels" underneath me while we merrily move sideways (or so we try).

I'd like to read your comments on this exercise, is it just me or is it really as difficult as I think it is?