Week 39: Bending is a Part of Breaking

                The last two weeks have been nice and quiet. After competing every other weekend for the last two months, a nice break is coming as a great surprise. I use the word break casually, as Finn and I have continued to work hard. The last two weeks Finn and I have spent a ton of time hacking out and working in the dressage ring. From day one Finn has been a little weaker behind on his right side and up until now, the movements that we have been doing have been more focused on straightness and pace than anything else. This last week we decided to push the issue.

                Before I delve into the deep and endless world of dressage lingo I thought I would take some time to talk about Finn’s jump lesson with Sally Cousins. We decided on Wednesday that Sally would get on Finn and jump him around a bit and we are glad that we did. Sally got on and warmed Finn up; asking him to move forward and come back. After jumping him over some single jumps she started weaving around and adding things together. Sally’s soft hand and good eye for distances made it all look so easy. Finn jumped the jumps out of stride and got all of his lead changes when asked. Watching Sally ride has pushed me to pursue a fitness routine that focuses on balance and core strength. If I expect great movement from my horse, he should expect great riding from me.

                 I tacked up Finn like usual and took him into the indoor on day one of his “Dressage Boot Camp” with a dressage whip in hand. Before mounting I stood in front of Finn and asked him to yield his hind quarters out. I repeated this a few times before deciding that he understood the concept and was ready to try some of it under saddle.When I got on him, the first thing that I did was turn him to the right and put my reins on the buckle. I used Finn to speed up, slow down, turn and stop using only my legs. I really like this exercise because not only does it get the horse thinking about leg aids, it also gets our human legs moving! I strongly believe that our legs work as an extension of our horses legs. When we want to move the hind end, lateral or forward, it is necessary that the rider use their leg and seat and not depend on their hands to “create” a frame. Finn responded well at this exercise at the walk and the trot so I decided to pick up the reins a bit. His first instinct was to lean on my inside leg and move off quickly. Although I respect his desire to go forward, I made a move to slow his tempo with my seat and hold the tip of my dressage whip against his hindquarters. I then turned him down the quarter line and had him leg yield over. I must confess, these were no leg yields of grace and beauty, but they were Finn moving his hind end away from the inside leg and the whip aid. For the rest of the ride I worked Finn on a menagerie of rein lengths; asking him for the same frame and the same willingness to yield the hindquarters at all lengths of rein.

                In my next ride I worked on the same exercises, adding canter work. Finn has an amazing canter. Yes I am bragging but it IS true. Finn easily picked up the exercises at the canter and he began to use his back and hind end fairly nicely. In my lesson the next day my trainer worked me through a bunch of circles and changes of direction to get him really focusing on me and relaxing. He was AMAZING. His walk was fluid, the trot was balanced and the canter was soft and comfortable.

                For those of you that have followed this blog from the beginning, you probably know by now that I am a goals oriented person. I have decided that next year Finn and I will be aiming for the American Eventing Championships as well as Dressage at Devon. These two shows have been in my dreams since I was 11 years old and I firmly believe that Finn can take me the distance.