Lesson with Kathy

Liberty games for connection and responsiveness, Groom, dwell, riding warmup, dwell, lesson with Kathy, sponge/treat at the end.

Lesson:

lots of change of direction at the trot--I am thinking about too many things for precise patterns.
Today: lots of 1/2 halts to help Try maintain position--abs then elbows.
Try picks up impulsion going uphill and rounds up when we turn the corner and we can use that.
Try using her HQ/coming up 70% instead of 40% with moments of 80% brilliance.
Canter--we are able to begin learning to canter with contact.

I want to review change of rein steps for next time as I wasn't as clear in my mind as last lesson.

Try is happy, offering things and trusting my leadership more

From Kathy:
"I'm placing a bit more responsibility on EP to feel, assess and react if needed as she rides. I corrected position, but made her focus more on feeling Try. Try was excellent, she gets it! LMAO We focused on rebalancing Try before & after change of rein and when riding up & down the grade changes of the field. On an uphill rebalance Try is offering a canter and sustaining it. She is beginning to offer EP a place to sit the canter! AND, she is beginning to allow EP to direct her - this is huge!!! Try's musculature has developed enough to this point that she can begin to offer EP a place to sit. I can HEAR the change in her gait/stride at the trot and canter, it is so cool."

Me: My primarily motivation is learning how to help Try (and possibly other horses) develop physically so she can be as healthy as possible. This is complicated by the fact that we have both been learned tho Try is farther along than I am. What works is that Kathy is so good at working with Try as LBI so that Try is happy to do this and feels successful. As I learn and my leadership gets better, I can see Try trusting me more and more. I am very pleased--thank you Kathy.