First Couple Lessons

So sorry that I have not posted sooner! I tried to put something up a couple days, but it never loaded :/

These are some very long days! The barn manager, the other intern, and I feed and hay the horses four times a day, refill their water, clean the buckets, turn out the horses in paddocks, groom horses, tack horses up, clean tack, give the horses baths, do their laundry, pick the stalls, and sweep sweep sweep the aisles! haha so we all stay pretty busy.  Plus Tuesday-Saturday I take lessons with Betsy.

Ok so now for the good stuff...

First lesson:
Betsy wanted to go easy with Webby this first week so we worked mostly on loosening up his body (and mine). The first thing that we worked on is something that Betsy said is a very important concept to grasp- being able to feel Webby's outside hind leg with my hips and then to feel the outside front leg coming around to the inside (almost shoulder fore) using my outside upper leg. It is very important to have strong outside aids to give the horse direction. This also makes them straighter and more stable. Once the outside aids were established, Betsy told me to think about lifting Webby's inside shoulder into the outside reign with my inside leg.
Then we worked on some turns on the forehand, which is done by stopping the outside shoulder with a slight counter bend and move the haunches around. This was really struggle for Webby, but this exercise is great for straightening the shoulders. After a few turns on the forehand, I could feel the difference in the foreward movements. Straightness makes each step feel more powerful.
We also worked on counter flection at both the trot and canter by moving the shoulders in but not allowing the neck to go to the outside. This flection also straightens the shoulders and does not allow them to drift to the outside.

"Shoulders" were kinda the theme of the week. But that's ok because I have always struggled with controlling Webby's shoulders so the exercises are really great for both of us. So far he is responding very well.

Second lesson:
I warmed Webby up with the previous day's lesson in mind- really focusing on suppling his shoulders with inside and outside flection.
During the lesson we continued building on what we started with the day before. This time we did A LOT of haunches in by holding Webby's haunches to the inside of a square and pushing the shoulders out with my inside upper leg. The hardest part was maintaining this around each corner because the haunches had to stay in as I brought the forehand around. We did this exercise at both the trot and canter. I could feel a huge difference in the cater after doing this exercise because I forces Webby's inside hind leg to really step up. Betsy said that this exercise will help improve the half pass and pirouettes.
Betsy commented that to the left I sit much straighter than to the right, and that I need to remember to relax my upper body, especially my shoulders. I have been trouble isolating my body- when I start using my legs in new ways my upper body becomes tense.
This kind of work makes Webby very through in his back and steady in the contact. With this we did some walk and trot transitions in rhythm- trot 1, 2, 3, 4...walk 1, 2, 3... trot again 2, 3, 4... walk 2, 3, 4... counting really helps me with rhythm and consistency. I tend to have sticky transitions so this really smoothed them out.
Betsy commented that Webby looked very serious that day. He gets in the zone! haha

Third lesson:
Web came out very forward! Even a couple spooks in warm up, but he seemed to channel the energy pretty well. I am very happy with how Web's trot is coming along. He is very forward, through, and engaged.
We continued to work on Webby's shoulders. First we started with voltes (very small circles, about 8 meters or less) and then made them smaller until it became a turn on the forehand.
In trot, moving the shoulders is getting much easier. We started with counter flection on the long side, then moved the shoulders in with my outside upper leg, and finally asking for inside fleciton with a little playing on the inside reign- resulting in the should in. I know this seems like a complicated way to ask for shoulder in, but it has made a big difference. I have have worked on this particular concept on the my own, and it makes the movement much stronger and more correct. The shoulders are truly moving on a more inside track instead of just the neck bending inward.
At the canter, moving the shoulders inward while maintaining counter flection in harder... this exercise mostly resulted in flying changes, but I did work on it on my own. It is very difficult for Webby to do. We have been asking him to truly use his body properly, and I think the adjustment is a little tough because he is used to carrying himself a certain way and now I am asking him to do something different. BUT when we do get it, I can feel how it makes Webby more balanced.
Betsy said to be sure and push Web forward if he gets heavy on the reigns. The hind legs need to be quicker if the horse gets heavy in your hands.

Tomorrow is my day off, and my next lesson is on Tuesday. Next Sunday we are all going over to the Olympic Trials to watch! I am so excited! Talk about a BONUS :) Hopefully I will be able to get some good pictures!

PS- the other intern (Alex) and I discussed taking pictures of each other riding so hopefully I will be able to get some pictures up soon!

Please let me know if you have any questions. I do not mind explaining things more in depth.

Funny story- a girl hauled in with her horse for a lesson with Jessie on Friday. After her lesson she was hosing off her horse in the wash stall when Alex walked by with a dog bowl. The horse got all excited and started whinnying very enthusiastically when Alex walked by so Alex went to the mare and I guess the horse was really thirsty because she drank from the dog bowl in Alex's hands! It was quite a funny sight? Definitely not something you see every day....