AJ the back-breaker: Lessons 3 and 4

Last Thursday, I rode AJ for the first time. He's an OTTB, bay with a wide blaze and about 16hh. He's got some sort of skin condition that they've had checked out by multiple vets and college research programs -- all of them have been left shaking their heads, but he isn't bothered by it. It's just kind of unsightly.

AJ also has a stereotypical lesson horse attitude and once we were in the ring, he began testing me right off the bat...seriously, he swung his butt away from the mounting block! I got after him and he stopped moving so I could get on, but then once we walked off, I had to really kick him to keep him going. We'd done a couple of laps at the walk and I was already getting tired!

Finally, L handed me a crop and then asked me to start trotting. As I kicked him forward, she said, btw, he's very uncomfortable. She was NOT kidding. 

I've been spoiled, Promise was very comfortable and had long, even gaits that were pretty to look at and very nice to ride. The first horse L put me on, Knight, was also pretty comfortable, despite being a bit wonky in one direction.

AJ...is a back-breaker. The trot isn't as bad as the canter, but it's very flat and since I switched to hunter many years ago, I've been taught to let the horse post for you, allowing the stride to give you some impulsion on the up beat. It's hard to post to him, with very little "up"! And, his canter is kind of side to side and front to back. 

Ouch. I could barely walk when I got off of him and for a few days afterwards! But, it was a great ab workout!

Anyway, we went around for a while and she didn't have me doing the UUD/DDU exercises, but had me do some 2-point to stretch a bit, and then we started cantering ground poles, set about 6 strides apart, on the 2 long sides of the arena. 

She commented this week on my lack of stamina, in comparison to last week. She said, you just kept going and going and I commented to C that you were going to be sore! I told her that when he broke the canter in the corner a few times coming out of the line of poles, I knew it was my fault and I got mad at myself and wanted to make him do it right. 

This week, she had me doing UUD again and that lack of upward motion really affected my ability to do it. It is hard to begin with! She ended up having me do 2-point at the trot for a bit before letting me go back to posting trot.

And then she had me canter some poles a few times and then had me do a pole to an 18" cross rail, and finally, had me do a different 18" cross rail to a little 18" vertical. 

The first time over the pole-cross rail combo, I definitely got too far ahead of him and even with his flat style of jumping, it felt like he almost jumped me out of the tack. Second time around was better, when L told me to stay up and back and that I did not need to jump in 2-point with AJ. She said just give with my hands and wait a little longer to come out of the saddle, and a little longer to come back into it after the jump. Each round got better, and the only trouble I had with the cross rail to vertical was the distance. 

AJ has this uncanny ability to stay at the same speed, yet lengthen or shorten his stride. I was kicking him on, trying to get 6, and he did it in 7. :-| I appreciate that he's a lesson horse and is saving his own butt (and will likely save mine, too!) but, it's still kind of annoying! LOL

Lesson #2

This week's lesson was very similar to last week's. I did quite a bit of trotting and cantering around, and some ground poles at the trot and canter, as well. 

The main difference was she had me doing some strengthening stuff at the trot...like down-down-up (DDU) posting or up-up-down (UUD) posting. Ouch! DDU is currently much easier than UUD. But, I was a hurtin' puppy when I dismounted. I especially noticed the difference in my hips...I felt a little bow-legged for a couple of hours after, but this morning, I'm about half as sore as I was last week. (As a side note, I've got to get back to yoga and get some of my flexibility back!)

She wants to switch me to a different horse next week, since Knight technically doesn't jump. His gaits are little wonky heading to the right, so I don't know if he's arthritic or what. But, she seems to think that moving to the next lesson horse in line won't be a problem, so next week, I'll be riding AJ. Apparently he can be either sassy or lazy, depending on his mood, so it should be interesting! :)

I saw this on Facebook this morning, and it's pretty accurate, other than the cowboy hat:

First lesson in over a year

Last Thursday, I busted my butt all day at work to be sure I could leave at 5 to head over to the barn for my lesson. (Leaving at 5 has not been the norm lately!) 

I ran downstairs, changed and then headed that way and I was pleasantly surprised that it only took me about 45 minutes. The map said 35 minutes from my office, but you never know. Florida traffic is pretty bad.

I got there a few minutes before 6, and walked around looking at the horses, to see if I recognized anyone. Then, I went to stand by the arena to watch the lesson going on. Let's call the instructor L. She apparently recognized me from when I boarded Promise there, and said hi, then asked me if I'd been doing any jumping lately. I laughed and said, "I haven't even been on a horse in over a year." She said, "Ok, so no jumping tonight."

She sent a woman (C) over to show me which horse to get and what tack to use. They put me on a chubby little bay gelding named Knight. As I brushed him and tacked him up, I chatted with C a little bit, and then we walked back to the arena, where she opened the gate for us and then helped me adjust my stirrups once I was on.

I walked around while L finished up with the lesson and then she had me start trotting. Good thing I've been keeping up with my cardio! My calves were burning but I wasn't having any trouble breathing or answering her questions as we buzzed around! She said she really loved my position, which is something I'm not used to hearing lately. 

I definitely start to tip forward as I get tired, but I've been working out 3-4 times a week and doing cardio most of those days as well, trying to keep whatever strength up that I can, as well as trying to slim down. It's definitely made a difference.

But, when I was riding with S, I felt like she was really nit-picking my position, and that I was at the stage where my lessons should have been mostly about getting on the horse and riding and getting my endurance and strength back (and let's face it, my confidence too, since I'd been out of it for so long) and then about tweaking my position little by little as I started to get stronger.

Anyway, L told me I could walk for a bit because she wanted me to canter in both directions before I got too tired. So, we kept chatting as I walked around and then she had me gather my reins and canter to the left. Knight is pretty comfortable for a lesson horse, although he's lazy, so required a lot of leg to keep him going. 

We cantered in both directions and then she wanted me to go through some ground poles at the trot and canter.

I was so excited to do so much in my first lesson! I felt really secure on the horse and my position felt pretty solid, especially considering it's been so long. I was really sore, and I am still a little ouchy even now -- but I was really impressed with myself. Especially because I kept thinking back to my first lesson with S, and she only had me doing walk trot. And, several months had passed before she had me doing ground poles. 

So, I have my next lesson this Thursday, and hopefully will be able to stick with the day and time, since it works for both of us. I couldn't stop smiling afterwards and I'm actually excited about going back, whereas I was really starting to dread going to S's and riding, that's one of several reasons why I stopped calling her. 

Yay!