Organising the tackroom + lesson progress :D

Yesterday I put some time into reorganising and tidying up the tackroom, which felt great. While I still need to put up my saddle rack and purchase and place bridle racks, I have things tidily in place for the moment.

The feed store will be delivering 2 drums for the lucerne and oaten chaff tomorrow - the pelleted mix is already in a clean steel trash can. I'm excited as it's one step closer to being finished :)

I've had a few lessons now - each is better and better.

In the first we worked on my leg position which fortunately has mostly stayed where it should since then. She also gave me some stretches to do to relax my wonky hip.

After that we worked on bend and getting him to stop leaning on the bit and dropping into the circle. It's been great, I feel much more confident with him and we're able to work through things that would have sent either of us off in the past (birds whooping past, a car zooming down the gravely driveway past the arena etc) and have given me a better understanding os his acting out (he does a weird 'lollopy' jump/pigroot/buck movement when he's had enough in the arena. I don't feel overhorsed! I do need to work on our bravery outside the arena but given our progress in it I feel we're in a better position to move forward :D

First lesson on Kadey!

Today was my first lesson with K, a girl who also agists at the property Kadey is currently agisted on.

It was - great. Mixed.

Kadey leaned like a train and ran - but it was good to have a second pair of eyes to say 'sit here, do that' as he responded well and really my pushing him to work correct was the reason for his poor behaviour as he tried to evade contact and actually having to use his muscles.

At one point he ran into canter - while it wasn't what I was asking, it was beautiful to sit his flowing, rocking horse canter which I haven't ridden since I trialled him in April.

He opened his mouth to evade the bit and ran, so after the lesson we fitted his new bridle with a crank/hanovarian/flash noseband. Hopefully that will help next time I'm on him.

It was great to feel a bit of direction, rather than feeling a bit lost and alone and unsure what to do or how to resolve certain things. K and another agistee also offered to take me out on a trailride so hopefully I can get Kadey accustomed to being outside and not freaking out :)

I finished the day with a full bath, including his grotty, greasy mane and tail. Kadey was quickly bored and started playing with his leadrope and pawing at the concrete/water. He also let me know in no uncertain terms that bafftime is not his favourite thing in the world, particularly if I want to wash his face!

Lesson points to remember

1. Three hip stretches
a/ point toes in towards each other
b/ flex foot and put leg out sideways with knee locked straight. Rest on highest point i can manage and push to go higher over time.
c/ bend knee and pull ankle high over thigh of other leg.

2. Tilt pelvis forward and don't hollow back

3. Keep shoulders down and relaxed

First lesson: Susan Marshall

 image source: Crown Lodge Equestrian

Yesterday I covered off my second ride on Mister E, the lovely OTTB I'm looking to buy (pending vet check for some stiffness issues).

What I didn't really go into was the lovely instructor I booked to go with me for a second opinion.

The owner's representative had booked a local instructor to ride the horse for me (she appears in the YouTube video a few posts down). And apparently the owner's rep is also a (retired) instructor. So in all, I had three instructors watching me ride on the day. I'm not sure if I felt pampered or pressured!

Even with both the owner's rep and the instructor she booked, I wanted to take along an impartial second opinion to assess the horse, the stiffness I saw in his movement, our suitability and to give me a mini-lesson to help work out if this is the horse for me.

After doing some research on an Australia forum - www.dressageit.com - I booked Susan Marshall, who is located close to the where the horse is agisted.

And... she was LOVELY. Honestly, the confidence boost I received after a quick 20 minute lesson with her was invaluable - even if I don't end up with this horse, how she made me feel and the confidence she instilled was amazing. As it turns out, this particularl horse is quite well trained (up to a certain level) but only responds to the EXACT command he was taught for that movement. So an issue I'd had with asking him to canter during my short and very wet first ride was quickly resolved when she pointed out that I was leaning forward a little at departure. As soon as I adjusted my weight to sit back in the saddle, he rolled into one of the most beautifully balanced, smooth canters I've ever ridden. Gorgeous.

Another thing she pointed out (that I noticed after my first ride) was that I let my reins run too long. So again I need to work on keeping on top of that. This horse comes with a few bits of equipment, including a bridle with continental web reins with little leather billets every 4 inches for grip. If I do get him I might ride with those reins for the first few weeks as an easy way to watch that my grip isn't slipping. It might also help me in managing his desire to go well behind the bit and leaaannnnnnn until his nose is virtually running through the sand of the arena!

She really focused on building my confidence back up. She knew that my last canter experience with him didn't go well, so she had me do three in either direction (asking if I felt ok to) so that I no longer cling to that memory. She explained that most people will grip to the bad experiences and forget the good ones, so the point of the exercise was to remove that bad memory. It seems so silly to have an issue with a simple canter transition but I think I'm a little doubtful of my skill, fitness and strength to stay on a horse that decides to throw in a bucking fit. So I've been a little on edge, and Susan really resolved that for me.

She did a really extensive consultation with me to work out what I'd done, what I wanted to do and where my riding and confidence were at right now. She went through the horse's experiences, conformation and temperament to ensure we matched up. On top of that she gave great advice and was open and honest about both the horse's faults and benefits. Anyone seeking support, advice, a confidence boost or just riding instruction to improve their skills I ABSOLUTELY recommend Susan. She can be contacted via her website - www.crownlodge.com.au. Thank you Susan!

Lesson Points to remember:
1. Keep the reins shorter/correct length
2. Don't lean forward when asking for/during canter
3. Keep him moving forward as a means of encouraging him to not go behind the bit or lean
4. To encourage him to soften, squeeze with the inside rein in a squeeze, squeeze (she described it as gently squeezing a sponge with the bottom finger in the rein until he gives, then immediately reward him by softening .