Riding Out and About

I had a really nice ride on Finn this morning. We rode around on the driveways, incorporating some hill work into our practice refining conversations about energy. I was really pleased because Finn felt noticeably more confident about riding out and about today... I'm pretty sure I had mentioned that I still felt like he was holding tension about being outside the arena, in part because when we would get to the arena it would feel like he let out a big sigh of relief! Not so today. This felt especially good because a couple of the barn employees were digging a ditch near our routes, which once upon a time would have completely blown Finn's brain. Today, he barely looked.

One thing I've been doing differently since re-reading the energy exercises in Dressage, Naturally is letting Finn show me his "neutral" energy level before I decide what to aim for. So, when I start off, I feel what he's thinking, arbitrarily assign that a number out of 10 (it's usually a 3 or a 4) and then see if I can bump it just one or two levels and have him maintain. This causes the whole conversation to feel more like a conversation and less like tyranny. It also helps me to focus on a realistic goal for Finn to meet. Today we sort of blended this exercise with long point-to-points with varied success. The walk got a little less eager with each attempt, but once we progressed to trotting he seemed much more willing.

I really love doing these kind of rides for many reasons. For one thing, it gives me a chance to focus on my posture and focus while we're walking or trotting long, straight lines. For another, I know the hill work is super for Finn's strength and fitness. The other nice benefit of the hills is it encourages Finn to stretch and push from behind, valuable skills which we don't have the refinement to discuss on the flat yet. I'm hopeful that over time it will really build his understanding of following my focus, and his willingness and confidence to go forward.

Today I was thinking quite a bit about how I really expected Finn to have much more natural "go" than he does. After spending so many years playing games with Journey to get her motivated, I kinda wanted to try the other side of the coin and have a horse who wanted to go on their own. I thought Finn would be that horse, but once he calmed down a much less forward-going horse was revealed.

I also accept responsibility for my role in this... I am a pretty low-energy, introverted being myself, so I would certainly deem it likely that more of that than I might have wanted has rubbed off onto Finn. Plus, his tendency to hold tension caused me to spend much of our early riding helping him to relax, which was often accompanied by slowing down. The horse he is today definitely reflects that.

One thing I reminded myself of is that Journey really got more flowing and forward when we started talking about posture and balance and finesse... exactly the stuff I will be embarking on with Finn as we begin our dedicated study of Dressage, Naturally. No doubt as he learns to carry himself better, be more balanced and symmetrical, and be looser through his back, we will find that energy just flows much more than it does now.

In other news, my Tekna jumping saddle is due to arrive tomorrow. Although I've really been enjoying riding in the morning this week, I'll be staying home to meet the UPS man, since UPS won't leave packages outside our house. Hopefully it will come somewhat early, allowing me to head out to the barn in the afternoon/evening to give it a try!