Continued

In that moment - the first time I got to pat Promise (Expression) - I swear the world stopped moving. It was just us. It was kind of like true love...when it is just you and that other person, and nothing else matters. I am lucky enough to have found it twice, once in horse form, and once in human form...but that is another story for another day.

A few weeks later, my trainer left that barn after having a big falling out with the owner. Something to do with the horse I was leasing at the time, but I don't know the specifics. That horse, Keough, was not hers. Expression and 5 others, were. She took them all with her. It took me a month to get ahold of her...we literally played phone tag for a month. Finally, one of us caught the other, directions, information, some details, were exchanged, and my mom and I headed out for a lesson the following weekend. 

It was a cute farm. They bred minis and llamas. What a dreadful combination. But, had a 10 stall barn which they generously let her house her 6 in. They also had a really nice outdoor arena for flat work, and a paddock/arena that was pretty hilly, that we eventually would use for jumping and conditioning. My trainer loved doing hill work in 2-point with no stirrups. Not fun if you're out of shape or even remotely unbalanced. Luckily, I'd been riding with her for about 2 years at that point, so my seat was pretty strong from her drills.

Anyway. We arrived on Saturday and she told me to go get Promise. I looked at her blankly. Who? She laughed, realizing she hadn't mentioned she'd changed the little mare's name. She had turned three by that point, and was getting big. So, my trainer had put her under saddle. She'd been ridden once. 

I was excited. I loved a challenge, and I knew I already had a special relationship with this horse. I went to get her. She was very shy, very timid...I imagine, still terrified of being beaten. But, she'd been started gently, and the work I'd done with her, however minor, had definitely helped. After I tacked her up, I walked her to the arena, was handed a lunge line, and designated half of the arena to use. Off we went.

I was immediately unhappy with her lunging ability and made a quick resolution to work on that as we went. Her transitions were rushed, she didn't respond well to voice, etc. because she hadn't been taught to. But, she was a baby, and for a few minutes, I'm sure I had to remind myself she hadn't come knowing the things my mounts up until then had already known. This was going to be fun. 

As time passed, I was the only one that worked with Promise. (I was the second person on her, and to this day, I'm one of about 6 to ever ride her at all, counting my mom walking, and my grandmother doing w-t-c a couple of times. Interestingly, my grandmother loves to ride her -- but again, that's another story!) Anyway...I was able to get her to respond to verbal cues by reinforcing them under saddle and on the lunge line. It took hardly any time at all. She's incredibly smart. It wasn't long before I could eliminate the words walk, trot, canter entirely, and use a cluck system I developed on the spot when I made that resolution earlier. One for walk, two for trot, three for canter (I HATE that kissing sound, and I ride hunter, not western). 

I still use it to this day with her. I only use words for downward transitions, since clucking has been taught to mean speed up or give more impulsion. 

This is going to cause me to wander for a moment here, and probably into my next post, too, which is what I was hoping for when I started writing this blog. I want to trick my brain into remembering all of the amazing things I know about training my horse, and about my horse herself. Because, as soon as we stop hitting 90* every day, I want to put her back to work. She's had an enormously long vacation and it needs to end :) Anyway -

For more impulsion, I use a soft cluck as each foot is leaving the ground. I was taught that in that moment of push, asking for more, enables the horse to instantly respond. My trainer spent a lot of time focusing on the feet and when you FELT a foot touch, roll, push. 

Drills for entire lessons to FEEL the horse beneath you. "Tell me when you think you feel the left front leave the ground." Now. Now. Now. Or tell me which hind leg is on the ground, by feeling which hip is moving forward.

Ask for a trot and start posting on the first beat on the correct diagonal without looking. 

It's amazing. I never ever ever had to look for a diagonal because of her teaching. I always felt it. I knew if it was wrong because it FELT wrong. I still feel it. But I'm rusty. Sometimes I have to peek to make sure my instinct was right.

You ask for a canter by waiting until the outside hind leg is getting ready to push off the ground. Cue just before it pushes, and you're guaranteed the correct lead. 

Back to work. I'll push myself more later.