Today was our lesson with Liz day!
We did Dan first and then it was Funny's turn. Liz was saying hi to her over the fence while I was untacking Dan so they had already "talked" and Funny got to meet Grace. I got her tacked up and we headed to the arena.
Liz did her thing and said that Funny felt stuck at C5 on the left and just had a BIG personality... Like.. she knew she owned the room. She was very alpha but also sweet. Yep! And add in cunning and calculating. Oh yep.. Liz realized how smart she was. She even said she might be as smart as the smartest horse she's ever known.
So we got started. It was a good ride. We started off with a very loose rein and "what happens when..." games. What happens when I put my left left on? She turns right. What happens when I put my right leg on? She turns left. What happens when I touch the left rein and put my right leg on... etc, etc. She was a little fussy and chompy in the beginning but quickly tuned in trying to figure out what game we were playing today... and the chomping got better. So then we went to a shorter rein with some contact. I did it the same way I did Dan... slowly inching up the contact as she tolerated. And it took a bit longer with her. She wanted to get rooty and pull me back down more than Dan did. But we got it. And honestly, she stayed pretty soft with a very soft contact. So then we picked up the trot and... it started to get a little rowdy but... minimally compared to how it could be. Liz didn't have me "follow her mouth" so much as just ignore her mouth and ride her balance/body. It was very similar to my lesson with Jacel... a little counter bend... a little leg yield in... when she got quick, slow my post. And a helpful way to slow my post was to double sit or double stand the post. It didn't necessarily slow me down but it helped me get "off the hamster wheel" and reset my body instead of just staying with her. And we also talked about how sitting the trot helped too. We didn't want to do a lot of that because her back is still young, but it did help her balance and she didn't mind it. I had to be careful that I always had one door open for her. Usually my inside rein because that gave her a place to go but also kept me from crossing over her neck. Doh! I also had to sink into my outside stirrup, especially in changes of direction. But... stepping into my outside stirrup was enough to let her know I was changing direction and I didn't have to do a ton of other "aids". Oh, and... Liz caught on quickly that Funny was throwing me sideways and twisting me so she also had me turn my shoulders to the inside but keep my eyes facing straight (or slightly to the outside). I also had to quit looking at her head. But it worked! She got straighter and didn't fling me around as much.
We cantered next because I told her things usually fell apart after the canter, although admittedly that was getting MUCH better recently. And she was like "THAT CANTER HOLLY!!!! OH MY GOSH!!". ha ha. yep! I know. But good news.. the walk and canter are lovely. The trot is fixable. :) She was quite good for the canter too. And then she really was quite nice in the trot after. Granted she stood and processed and chilled while Liz and I talked through some things, but still. Oh, and at one point, Jeans' baby horses were flying around the farm and Liz had me keep Funny engaged on me by doing fairly quick changes of directions and gait and moving her body. Every time she looked at them (which was a lot) she had me redirect her energy by asking her to do something else. And... she reminded me that Funny isn't actually that disobedient. She really did everything I asked of her today, even when the baby horses were running and giving her excuses not to. So she does want to please and she is trying. She's just also got to make sure I'm worthy of asking her things and she's a bit sassy about it. We likened it a bit to us... I will "submit" to Mike and do things he wants me to do, and even admit that he's probably right about it, but there may be a little attitude and back talk at times. Ha ha. So she reminded me of that. She also pointed out that I needed to keep telling Funny how good she was because she thrived on that. We also talked about how it's not bad to reward her with treats during the ride. She even said peppermints change neural pathways or help install new neural pathways, so... we'll be chomping peppermints in our rides. She also said that she would very much pop Funny over a few small jumps within every dressage ride. She thought it would help encourage Funny to enjoy dressage again and also... point out ot her that I am right about how she needs to be balanced, and lifting her shoulders, and turn here, and oh look a nice jump.. see that's why you need to listen to me! So we may do that too! But I can't get crazy and tense and tight and plan.. just... if she's lovely and soft and we can get to a fence, great!
We did a bit more work because I was struggling a little with her starting to fall in to the left at the end and I was wanting to leg yield her out. But I was also crossing the neck. So, instead, Liz had me leg yield her IN and open the inside rein and then turn her. This essentially got her square and off her inside shoulder. Okay... noted!
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