GoPro!

First off, I am disappointed to report that my Tekna arrived broken! Everything was in perfect condition except one of the clips that fastens the interchangeable gullet system. I did take the opportunity to set it on Finn's back and the fit wasn't great either. Potentially workable, but not great, primarily because the panels are too steeply angled at the back of the saddle, and it rocks on him. I am so bummed, but figure there's nothing for it but to move on.

Today I took a GoPro to the barn with me to see if I could get useful footage without a camera operator. I clipped it on the arena fence and captured about 15 minutes of video before it ran out of battery. (It was not fully charged when I started.) Here are a few highlights:



It's already late here, but I want to point out a few things about the video... First off, I put that part in the beginning in on purpose, because I thought it was kinda funny.

On a more serious note... The next two clips are showing what Finn offered as a "default" walk and then what I got when I tried to bump him up one "notch." So, if the first walk was a four, I tried to bring my intention to a 5 and have him match and sustain that. It was VERY helpful for me to see the difference I was feeling. Also helpful to be reminded that Finn offers his bigger walk in the form of a longer stride and more "swing," instead of a quicker tempo.

Next up, the HQ/FQ exercise. I only included the last of several that we did. While I see a lot that could be improved, both in my position and Finn's footwork, this is notably improved over the last time I took video. Finn's commitment to the turn on the HQ is much stronger. In this example, he actually does pivot on the outside hind. In others from today, he pivoted on the inside hind, but at least he is pivoting! That's something.

I feel I need to work at getting the HQ part of the move sharper, because I am getting too many steps before I feel ready to ask for the FQ. Maybe if the initiation of the HQ was more clear, this wouldn't be such an issue?

I included a bit of short serpentine that felt really nice to me. Finn really nailed that one from the get go today, at least so far as I know.

On the trot poles, the first go is what Finn was offering as a "default" trot, while in the second I have bumped him up a number on the energy scale. It is an interesting contrast to see... in the second clip he is definitely quicker, where if he was more relaxed with the energy I thing he would lengthen his stride more. Interestingly, after the camera ran out of battery, I ended our ride working on getting Finn to commit to maintaining a more active trot... I'd say maybe a 5 or 6 out of 10... and he actually started stretching through his top line much more than he had been at the 3 trot he was offering. While it took a bit to feel like he really committed to 100% the energy I was asking for, he was certainly not resistant... it MUST have felt better to him to push from behind and lift me on his back instead of plodding along letting everything be hollow!

Finally, I did canter the line of poles today. While you see a 3.5 stride line in the video, I did get off and shorten the distance to better match his natural pace. We got several neat 3 strides after that. I tried to put together a little course of canter poles, but that proved challenging because Finn told me we had no precedent for needing such sharp turns at the canter. He's right, really, so I just took note and we'll work on getting that better as we go.

That's pretty much all there is to it. Overall Finn felt really willing today; I was so pleased with him! And in the end I think the GoPro footage is useful, even if it is somewhat frustrating at times to watch myself be sooooo tiny! I'll keep experimenting to see what it can do.