Talk with Liz yesterday: you can't close all the doors... need to leave one rein open. Don't block. Give the body space to go into it. Allow it. pyramid... straight isn't the bottom. connection isn't the bottom. Listen to my gut and my ponies.
Got to ashland for dressage lesson and did a short hack first. rode to Xc field and did up and down bank baby and middle. then trotted in fields. still very quick and runny but had some good more balanced moments.
Then had lesson. told jacel my thoughts and we talked theory again. helpful. so helpful.
lesson was sit up straight, don't let Funny pull me down. ride the haunches out. Horses doing lateral work can't buck or rear. Funny was naughty. as soon as we started trotting, she went to do her stop/prop/buck nonsense so I did a 10 meter circle pushing her haunches out. and it eventually worked and she stopped trying. tracking left was harder today. she wanted to fall in with her haunches and shove out with her shoulder. She tosses me so I'm pointing outside the circle. So...if I point my sternum in... push her haunches out, but also have to shift my pelvis a little to straighten her up, she came quite nicely square in her body. she still wants to counter bend a bit but it got way better. Tracking right is better/easier, except that left shoulder kept leaving the arena, so had to hold the outside rein. But other than that, it's not reins... it's ignoring the face and ridign the body/barrel/haunhces. encouraging her to go straighter and then also somewhat lateral. She wants to fight by running forward and bucking/rearing. Front and back movements. I have to fight that with lateral suppleness to not get sucked into the front to back stuff. it worked. Wasn't super easy or fun but worked.
her shoulder is way bigger so she's going to want to use it so I have to teach her to use the hiney. And in the meantime I have to "spot her" because she's not strong enough. I can use my thighs to slow her down and slow her trot. In the canter, I want to use my thighs to lift her withers and back up. But not shut her down. very cool and effective tool.
she's way more ridable off seat and thigh and leg aids than she is rein aids so use them! don't worry about her face. it'll get there. ended with some really nice work. But she's still a sassy pants. Also in raging heat. Very tired pony after.
oh, did let me catch her happily today and didn't try to leave. so.. maybe that was from about to go into heat? but definitely in raging heat today.
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