Sunday, April 7, 2013

4/7/2013 Harley

 I warmed him up quickly to see if the camera was in the right spot.  The entire ride is on video above. 

Things I know.. 

Shoulders back!  Sit Up! 
Heels down!  How ugly are they?  Ew... That's definitely something that needs improving.  I need to start stretching them down on stairs and things, get those muscles back in shape.

His canters were nice.  See where I shortened the reins?  Nicer movements!

I also need to wear spurs in this saddle, now that he's adjusted to it.  Before today, I was hesitant, since he was still bucking and throwing mini-fits.  Now, after four days straight riding both horses, my legs are calling me all kinds of nasty names.  

The good things?  His trot is pretty - even when he's not collected, his legs are a-movin'. 

Enjoy the video.. Feel free to critique.  We can take it.  However, if you're one of those nasty bloggers that steals video for others' pleasure?  You suck!  If picking on a young horse in a saddle he's barely been exposed to makes you smile, I hope the fleas of a thousand camels infest your armpits. :)

3 comments:

SunnySD said...

Camel fleas, yikes! Don't want any of those :) Hope this reads as constructive, 'cause it's sure meant to be.

What caught my eye mostly was how soft and easy the pair of you look. Like you say, he's young and still building topline muscle and getting used to collecting and rounding, but he's definitely getting the idea.

You're getting a nice break at the poll, and when you do ask him to collect more he doesn't look as if he's resisting so much as he's just not quite able to carry himself for long periods of time yet. New saddle might be part of that, too. There are some nice moments, though. But you're right, you do look like you're having to push him some. Relaxed is good, though :)

His transitions are really pretty - in fact the whole ride is.

Glad to see I'm not the only one who spends a fair amount of time looking down and leaning forward, but I've seen a LOT worse, and it's really hard not to do it when you're riding solo and focusing on what your horse is doing. For whatever it's worth, the one other thing that struck me rider-wise is your arm position - you reach forward with your whole arm, which contributes to making it look like you're leaning forward, even when you're not. Keeping your upper arm in and back against your sides would do a couple of things: it's harder to round your shoulders and back when your arms are straight against your sides, and it also helps stabilize your lower arms and hands and reduces the risk of bouncing the bit around in his mouth (and it gives you a nicer line, but that's cosmetic). And I'm guessing your hands are pretty stable, because Harley doesn't look like he's too concerned about the bit bouncing during transitions and such, so....

I enjoyed watching. Hopefully I'll get some video up one of these days - thanks for sharing!

Jennifer said...

Thanks!!! I giggled some, because that's what Barb has said in some lessons - my hands are too soft. Now, with the reins shorter, I guess my subconscious is determined to "go easy", thus the arms reaching forward.

Definitely something to work on, now that I have read it / seen it. Thank you again!

SunnySD said...

I hear you - funny, how we're supposed to have "soft" hands, but yet firm contact... I do the same thing :)