Thursday, April 26, 2018

Lead Up to Another Show

I was very happy with how my prep went before the last show and am following a similar schedule this week:

Saturday - day off
Sunday - lesson (outdoor), focusing mainly on my hands and getting our training level frame
Monday - light ride including a walk around the property and about 15 minutes mostly trot work in the dressage court (no cantering)
Tuesday - lesson (outdoor), continuing with hands and training level frame
Wednesday - day off, with massage for Cupid
Thursday - lesson (covered because it was very foggy and I wanted to focus on practicing and not deal with any spooking), more of same
Friday - w/t/c and incorporate some poles
Saturday - light ride, including walk around the property and bit of trot work in the court
Sunday - show!

I asked my trainer to video me on Sunday and two things stuck out to me: 1) my heels (especially the left) are way up most of the time; and 2) even though I thought my elbows were bent they are still pretty straight and it looks like I'm giving away the reins much of the time.

My left heel is horrid

My trainer says I'm showing some improvement, but admittedly progress feels slow.  Even though I need to ride more off my outside rein, I also let my inside rein get too long and then try to use it anyways which results in me moving my hand way out in a leading rein or twisting my wrist by my leg.  It's not pretty.

Cupid seemed to enjoy his massage, though it was a long time for him to stand still.  The areas that needed the most attention were the neck, especially the right side; the left side of his chest and shoulder; and the left side of his back.  The body worker said he seemed a bit better overall then when she last saw him in January.  My trainer said he seemed looser and was moving a bit better the next day, so I'll keep doing it for periodic maintenance.
Happy horse, and I swear his body is not this puny compared to his head


3 comments:

  1. Ugh I'm also going through some position woes, though it's my right leg that wants to climb in my lap. Slow progress is still progress! Or at least that's what I keep having to tell myself with this stuff.

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    1. Lol good point! Some days it feels like no progress is being made though...or I'm even getting worse!!

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  2. Hey any progress is good progress in my book, even if it feels slow! Fixing positional things is the worst....

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