13th September 2011

Another good session, still a little tense when we start out but relaxing very quickly. A little leg yield and baby shoulder fore and an old exercise I haven't used in a while, basically designed around Kyra Kyrklund's stopping/starting and turning on a square principal (she designed her's from the same place I guess as Udo Burger and others....). Fundamentally you ride a line until you feel the horse trying to control the line (a shoulder leaning, a hind wavering...) at which point you change the line in an equal and opposite way to that which the horse is trying to take. Take as an example the horse throwing his 1/4's to the right, I would change the line by bringing the left shoulder around to the right and thus changing direction by 90° in the process and taking a new line across the school. We ended with some reinback which was improved after yesterday's session. Then we tootled off down the hill and had a trot back up, about half way up I voice cued canter and he didn't even hesitate.....he has such a lovely canter and I think it's nearly time to ride it in the school.