Just do the homework

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Just do your homework….right? It’s been a long hard year. I’m sure some of you have been really organised and managed to do lots of riding and training?!

I decided one winter that I would just be kind to myself: I gave the horses January off to concentrate on eating and keeping warm out in their field. Rocky, our 5 year old Hanoverian, did some extra growing, which wasn’t quite in the plan. Then the rain came.

What I did do that winter was lots of studying. Just do the homework. Riding is a purely physical activity but the art of training your horse correctly for longevity requires not only physical skills but

theoretical knowledge as well 

I read and re-read a few of the Classical Dressage texts: Charles de Kunffy is a perennial favourite: his concise prose is so clear and the illustrations chosen are always completely inspirational.

 

His little but perfect book “The Ethics and Passion of Dressage” should be in every equestrian’s library, in my humble opinion. I feel very fortunate to have audited several of Charles’ clinics, at Dovecote Stables and at the now defunct TTT, as well as riding with him for a couple of lessons.

Use on-line resources

I did quite a lot of Facebook discussing- on sites such as Classical Horsemanship. Contrary to the modern defensive dressage divas, I find these sites incredibly informative. Once you start to learn who to listen to, that is: there are some gems who really know their theory, and there are others who just spout catchphrases without really understanding the nuts and bolts of correct training. And those who do know their stuff will always answer questions, really helpful and unfailingly polite, while those just spouting politically correct jargon but not actually doing the do cannot explain themselves and get defensive or offensive when questioned.

Just do the homework.

Facebook and online discussion are a fascinating exercise in communication too- do I understand my problem or the horse’s dilemma well enough to phrase a question that will lead to a useful answer?

Thomas Ritter has done a fabulous series of “Facebook lives” over the winter- these are still available online as a really generous free resource, and some of the mini challenges have been great, even if I didn’t manage to do the physical manege work yet to make the most of the exercises shared. I will be doing more of that homework when we have some light nights to enjoy.

work on your own body

I’ve found a yoga teacher I like, and that teaches just around the corner, which is great. I will have functional, unlocked hip flexors one day before I die…

But the main thing I did was to just do the homework, to make sure every ride counted. I didn’t have an arena, so a lot of the winter riding I did was hacking in the forest, between snow and rain and hail.

I didn’t just slop around on a loose rein, enjoying life. Nor did I didn’t ride my horse around in an artificial outline, stifling his urge to go forward.

I made sure every step was taken with the longest possible forward and out neck that he could balance, with a relaxed jaw and poll, and I thought about my equitation absolutely every step that I could. Are my buttocks soft, have I got one on each side of the horse, are my knees level, are my legs rotated so I have thigh bones not fat in contact with the saddle, are my elbows pointy, are my upper arms a vertical part of my back, is my back flat not hollow, are my thumbs holding the reins, not fingers, are my fingers folded not grabbing….and most of all, can I stretch my lower leg back so it feels like my heels are collecting the hocks of the horse, I get a slight kneeling in church feeling and the angle behind my knee opens up??

None of these are positions to be held- the magic happens in the movement of change, the transition, so it is replace, replace replace, on a loop like a computer programme, round and round my body.

the magic is in the moment of change

I made sure Cal was straight from tail to poll, no funky kinky stuff, and I tried to think about him stepping with even weight through both forelegs, and I did a little bit of shoulder in, haunches in, half pass as we walked and trotted around, but mostly I just worked on me.

And a big change occurred, suddenly over a long winter.

A soft, inflated lifted top-line developed. His neck and lumbar back look amazing. The contact became incredibly consistent, although he still head shakes on windy days. His stride has got longer, he has cadence and suspension developing.

And he is absolutely just a pleasure to ride. Keen, alert, fun, sensitive, self motivated, jumping all sorts of awkward crazy logs off a one stride turn, just for fun.

Just do your homework folks- it’s worth it.

But do the right homework- practise only makes perfect if the practise is correct.

You are either improving your horse or breaking him down.

and there is no try, only do or don’t.

Your horse will tell you when you are doing enough.

Enough is always much more than you think- if it ain’t changing, you ain’t doing it.

And don’t bullshit yourself, you are doing yourself and your horse a massive disservice if you do anything less than your best.

Just do the homework with a big massive smile 🙂