Fun Saturday with Dawn and Try

THE PLAN: After reviewing lesson with MH and reviewing GoC

Film and ask Dawn to watch

Filling Try’s bucket: Treats/dwell/Dawn/attention

Contact/connection/flexion and canter

Walk (briefly to check)

Reins mean go--means use weight and seat aids but not leg aids.

sliding rein

SLOWLY take the contact, smoothly, lovingly, massage

GAME: if you don't take it, I will--Jim Carrey

If I don't want to PLAY, then Try won't either.

Bicep/tricep

check elbows, RESTING hands

Reins mean keep going--check Try on this

Ride forward from the HQ with my body weight/abs etc—1/2 halt to go forward? It’s all intention and phasing.

Trot

pick a pattern

check moving forward in the stretch

sliding rein

SLOWLY take the contact, smoothly, lovingly, massage

GAME: if you don't take it, I will--Jim Carrey

If I don't want to PLAY, then Try won't either.

Bicep/tricep

check elbows, RESTING hands

Reins mean keep going--check Try on this

Ride forward from the HQ with my body weight/abs etc—1/2 halt to go forward? It’s all intention and phasing.

½ halt to warn of change of rein/direction/pattern/gait etc

Canter

Canter on circle, sit on outside seat bone and use inside suspension rein. Canter in my body to ask for the canter--no leg! Shorten reins if on the forehand

Ride forward from the HQ with my body weight/abs etc—1/2 halt to go forward? It’s all intention and phasing.

on my balance point, sitting deep and rocking through the canter with my legs on Try to help her.

Also elastic contact following her motion.

Just a few strides then trot.

BUT when I feel Try changing rhythm and about to break to trot to catch it in time and urge her forward and not make the downward transition to trot until/unless the canter is good and I choose when.

?? Try was coming up and shortening her stride--this was not good and she needed to lengthen??

So what happened:

1. I did play with taking the contact through the sliding rein but could see I did not have true contact until I went to 2 reins. I had success in asking Try to walk off from seat but it would be good to repeat this carefully with treats and be even more clear. Today we expected a lot, accepted a little and rewarded. So yes reins do mean go and Try passed the "test."

2. The walk on contact--we were not getting this or maintaining--I could see that I did not really have contact NOR take the time it takes.

3. Trot was better, especially after stretching and walk better after trotting.

4. FIND resting hands and good contact!!!!

5. Canter: Not good--need to rethink. What would make Try like to canter?

Having said all this, we all had a good time. Dawn played with Try on the ground and added stick to me at walk/halt/back and trot. Also she rode Try and was able to cue from seat alone for go/stop and turn with just a bit of leg added.