Inside leg

During my last couple of rides on Gally it became really obvious to me that the inside leg does a lot more than just sit there. It asks the horse to step under with his hindqurters, it asks the horse to yield and therefore to flex. When the horse flexes, the inside leg can step under more, then more flexion can be achieved, and the horse can carry himself.

Today I test this out on Crownie, in a bid to improve her dressage. Firstly in the halt. I bend her neck with the rein and ask her to move away from my inside leg. The head goes up as she tries to walk forwards. No, this is not what I am asking for, the lowly held rein bending her neck prevents her from rushing off. It does not prevent her from walking forwards - but then she has to follow the tight circle dictated by the rein. This is not exactly what I want, but it's a good effort.

I repeat the exercise multiple times on both reins, until the hind quarters start swinging out.

Then I repeat the exercise in the walk. Walk straight 5 metres, then do a volte. Drive the volte with the inside leg. It is amazing to see that after we leave the volte, Crownie's neck remains flexed and arched for two strides. That's what we're aiming to get all the time.

Then of course I need to take this into the trot and the canter.

Pulling faces

Today we're off to Anna's again.

We're in walk and I am asking for more engagement, but it doesn't seem to be quite happening. I can see the ears are back. "He's pulling faces at you, and you're doing nothing", says Anna. "Come on, get on with it".

Later on we're in trot, it feels sluggish, and the ears are back. "He's pulling faces at you again", Anna calls out, almost amused. "What are you doing about it?"

I jab twice with the spurs, nothing. I apply the dressage whip behind my leg. Gally leaps into the air, all four legs off the ground, then trots on with more forward, ears pricked up.

"When he's not going forward, you need to get tougher", says Anna. "And yes, he will leap into the air. You just need to ride him through that. And next time you won't jab him in the mouth." I gulp. I really appreciate the advice and take it to heart. I just wish that I started learning with Anna when I was 20!

The half halt

The half halt is almost like a legend to horse riders. All coaches swear by it, and request it, while all riders wonder whether it really exists. The aim of the half halt is to slow the horse down instantaneously. It can be followed by a change of gait, or simply to get the horse's attention.

Last weekend's jumping got me thinking. Why wasn't my horse jumping initially? Why was she almost running out and refusing? Well, to cut the long story short, I was riding in a permanent half halt. I feel very sheepish saying this, but all my coaches should feel more sheepish for not picking this up. Or, for not being able to explain it to me. Whichever. I've been thinking about this all week, and today, as we ride out into the forest, I open my body up and ride at the walk in the same manner that I "drive" the horse in canter towards a jump.

By "open my body up" I literally mean feeling like your legs are rotating outwards at the hip, like your knees are rotated outwards, and like you are really sitting on your two seat bones. You heel forms a "claw" like movement together with your buttock. In this position you automatically sit up. If you close up this position, you get the half halt. When you open up again, you get the drive.

Of course I have to verify all this with my coach, Anna. But, as Crownie warms up, I ask for more and more engagement. The head comes up, and I actually feel the legs stepping under. It feels great. And she's not rushing forward. She has the lightest contact on the reins. Can't be too far from "correct".

The drive

I am training Crownie over jumps. Cross rails actually. And it's not going well. Approaching each jump I aim straight for the middle, with my legs around the horse, as opposed to on the horse. And the horse is looking to run out.

I know that Crownie is a brave horse, so why is she looking to run out?

I put my legs on, sit stronger, straighter and further back in the saddle, and come around again. No hesitation, no running out. Pop.

The penny drops. If you just amble towards the jump, the horse is not engaged enough, and they will have trouble jumping. And so they will not want to jump. If you are strong in your seat and leg, but in a "half-halt" position, then your horse will also have trouble jumping. But if you're using a driving seat, and truly engaging the hindquarters then you will get a nice forward jump.

If the horse is looking at the jump and feeling worried about it, you will need a stronger driving seat, to generate more energy, to conquer the fear and get a jump.

Engaging the hindquarters

I bring Crownie for a lesson with Anna. Anna studies the horse intently as I saddle up. Finally she hands me a pair of scissors "Here, if you're going to make her that pretty, then you may as well trim her tail. If it's too long it actually does get in the way."

Crownie works well in walk and trot. Anna gets me to do these tiny circles on her, for ever engaging the hind quarters more and more.

Then in the canter it all falls apart. On the left canter she just falls out and the circles become huge oblongs. I work really hard at trying to contain it all. In the end both the horse and I come back to walk in a puffing mess.

On the right canter she's stiff. She can hold the circle, but it's a battle to keep her going, and there's no softness. Once she comes back to trot, I can't seem to get another canter.

"You're still trying to get the horse collected from your hand, not from your leg", says Anna with impatience. "You need to be like the horse. You need to use your legs to engage the horse's legs."

Spot on. Plus physical intelligence and strength.

I think about the way I push a wheelbarrow, the way I carry a backpack while hiking, and the way I run down a steep hill with my daughter. A year ago I used to do these tasks relying purely on the strength of my shoulders. (Correction. A year ago I didn't run down the hill.) The bones provided the supportive structure, like one wooden block piled on top of another. But the muscles did relatively little. They stopped the structure from falling apart. That's all.

Now, thanks to a year of training with Anna, and three months of pilates (once per week) the muscles do a lot more. When I push the wheelbarrow I actually feel the strength coming from my torso. From my legs. I can actually run down the hill with my daughter. It's a great feeling to be able to run down the hill, feeling every muscle in your leg providing support, while your joints bend and flex without pressure.

But. It's not enough. Not yet. It's a long road. Enjoy the journey.

Seat to pommel at home

Time to apply my new formula to work at home, and to different horses.

I put Princess in the round yard and hop on. (The benefit of working in the round yard is that I don't have to worry about the reins at all, except possibly to slow down or stop). Seat to pommel, shoulders back, open the chest. It feels great. I test this out in both walk and trot and the horse goes better than ever, even though I am not holding a contact on the reins.

I test the formula on Crownie. The change in her is amazing. She's like a totally new horse. She feels very engaged in the hind quarters and much happier in her work.

Seat to pommel

I have a lesson with Anna. Due to the fires I had to skip last month, and now I am lesson hungry.

I breathe in every word she says. "Try and get your seat bones closer to the pommel", she says. I tuck my seat in. "Closer to the pommel", she repeats. My brain screams "rediculous!", but somehow I manage to assume this yoga type pose. "And streighten your legs, down and back", she comments. I get a cramp that's killing me, but I don't tell her. I grind my teeth together and ride on. "Seatbones to pommel", she repeats. I shift again. "And straighten in the shoulders, feel like you're opening your chest up, like you're taking a huge breath." I follow the instructions, including actually taking the big breath. For good measure.

"Seat to pommel", she repeats again. Obviously, the big breath has shifted me out of position. "Straighten up". "Seat to pommel". "Seat to pommel". "Straighten up". "Seat to pommel". "And now, ...drive." I feel it. The interconnectedness of my back, my seat, my elbows and my hands with the horse. And I drive. And the horse responds with a tremendous walk. She chomps on the bit, she steps under, she arches her neck, and I'm in control.

Inside my mind, my brain triumphantly waves a piece of paper with the secret formula. Eureka!

(I also note that my "tuck the seat in" was the first step of this process, and I give myself a little pat on the back.)

Shorten and lengthen the rein

When I am preparing to transition from trot to canter, I shorten my reins. At that point, Princess tends to rush forward into a fast trot. This is not what I want, so I thought I would spend some time just in trot, shortening and lengthening my reins. The aim of the exercise is for her to realise that shorter rein does not always mean canter, and she should stay relaxed.

I am trotting. I shorten the rein. Princess rushes forward. I ask her to slow back down to the trot we had a second ago. And here, the use of the reins becomes clear. Outside rein to control rhythm and tempo, inside rein to ask for flexion. Outside rein acts first, and continues acting, saying slow down. Inside rein acts second and intermittently asks "look inside the circle". Outside leg determines the size of the circle, inside leg says "bring the hind leg underneath". The outside aids are constant. The inside aids are intermittent.

The minute I have a nice soft horse on this really short rein, I lengthen the rein again. The trot largely stays the same, although possibly more engaged. This proves to be a superb exercise. We repeat it three or four times. It actually feels like fun! By the third or fourth time, the horse no longer rushes forward when I take up the rein. I ask for canter and get a very responsive transition, and a superb quality canter.

Introduction to Impulsion

Overview

The entry is about what I have learnt at Anna Auer's over the past 7 or 8 months, which I believe to be the "Introduction to Impulsion". It is aimed at the rider who can ride, but who is not getting optimum performance from their horse. Some of the problems the horse can exhibit are - rushing, not stopping, being tense in the jaw, leaning on the bit, head tossing, working above the bit, bucking, plus many others.

The key to Impulsion is that it comes from behind. It is energy that starts at the back of the horse. Then it moves forwards, and as riders we can either block it, or channel it. We need to learn to channel it. To shape it as it moves forwards.

The Hind Leg

The horse moves from halt to walk by first moving one of the hind legs. The hind leg needs to come underneath the horse. The horse, under the guidance of the rider, needs to learn to do this, one leg at a time.

Bringing the leg underneath is actually hard for the horse, and its initial reaction is either to run away from it (go faster), or to get rid of the cause (buck). The key is not to ask too much, to not allow the horse to run away, and to make the horse comfortable when it does the correct thing.

The exercises for the novice horse are: shoulder in on the circle, shoulder in and quarters in.

The Back

Once the leg comes underneath, the horse needs to arch and use his back. The horse's back needs to arch in a similar way a cat arches his back. The horse cannot do this if the rider is sitting in the wrong spot, or in the wrong way.

The Rider

The rider needs to feel like they are perched on the wither. When looking at the rider, there will be a straight line from ear to hip to heel, and this line will be perpendicular to the ground. However, to the rider, this is totally irrelevant as it doesn't describe how it feels! Your leg feels like you're kneeling. And your body feels more like you're standing rather than sitting. You are suspended in the saddle by a strong thigh, and a strong calf. Your heels are down, but only in a dressage kind of way. If you compare it to showjumping, they heels actually feel like they are up. Most importantly, your body is close to the pommel, and far away from the cantle. Simple. Just do it. Walk, trot AND canter!

Hands and Reins

Hands must be soft. Arms must be soft. If the horse is correctly stepping under with the inside leg, then he should seek contact with the outside rein. That rein must support the horse and not let him fall out. It must control the speed. But there must still be softness in the hand and through the entire arm. The inside rein just asks for more or less flexion (bend). The smaller the circle, the more bend is required. This hand and arm is very soft, and the touch on the rein very slight.

The Neck

When the horse's hind leg comes underneath itself, AND he learns to accept this, the neck will arch. Period. Job done. That simple. You're not quite getting this result? If the horse hasn't been using itself correctly, and all of a sudden you ask for this, and you actually get it right, your horse will probably start head tossing in protest. (Or it may buck, or run, or something else nasty). "Ouch! I'm not used to this. It hurts!" If the horse isn't used to this way of moving, then it just doesn't have the muscle to do it. If you get head tossing, persist. You're asking at the right level. But persist for 10 minutes at a time. If you get bucking, then you're asking too much. Do the same thing, but ask for half that. Aim for the head tossing level. Then train at this level.

Time

Once you start working your horse correctly, it still takes time for the horse to build up the right muscles. If you ride your horse twice a week (like I do), and are still learning what to do and how to do it (like me), it takes probably about three or four months. A lot depends on how troubled your horse is to start off with.

Impulsion

I arrive for my lesson with Anna Auer. Anna corrects my position, then we work on impulsion - on getting the hindquarters underneath the horse.

Anna gives me my tools - the volte, the shoulder in and the quarters in. Use one at a time, or combine all three within a single long side of an arena. On each rein some of these tools will work better than others. Work out which are the right tools for which rein. Work out when to switch from one tool to the next. Work out when to just go straight.

I obviously do a half-baked job, because at the end Anna jumps on my horse. Princess almost has a hissy fit - for about 20 minutes! Eventually she does what is being asked. I think there is some good impulsion there, but I am not sure Anna is fully happy.

Anna also suggests that a long canter in the park, in forward seat, might be a good idea. The aim of it would be to strenghten her back, which is required to achieve impulsion.