Getting Back to Dressage

I've always kept a training journal, so it was a tiny step to move from that to a blog. This Blog will be focused on training my Curlies, although it may deviate to other topics now and then.

First, I've made a huge (for me) decision to move away from breeding this year. Hannah has been on Maternity Leave and it felt SO GREAT to get back in the saddle again. I love the babies, but my heart is really with training and dressage.

I also have come to see that if I can give anything to horses, it is be taking horses like Hannah who have been treated less than ideally and show her that humans aren't so bad. Seeing her work with me and try so hard to get what I'm asking for just makes me day every time I ride her. She's come so far, she started out as a sometimes aggressive & emotionally distant horse who bit me that first time I tried to clean out a front hoof. Over time and with the diligent use of operant conditioning (clicker training) she has morphed into a soft and supple riding horse, schooling some second level dressage movements.

My focus with Hannah is always keeping her soft, relaxed and supple as the top priority. I've learned over the years that if I lose sight of the horse's back - keeping it soft and swinging, then I have no foundation for any other training. Yes, I can train "tricks" without a soft and supple back, but they will not be correctly executed from a "classical dressage" perspective.

Sometimes, regardless of what I have in my training sights for the day, I have to drop back and focus purely on the basics to ensure that Hannah is properly stretched over her topline, soft and light, and in self carriage.

So far, without going into too much detail, I am thrilled with our progress since putting Hannah back to work. She has picked up canter from the walk like it was child's play. Her lateral work is becoming quite good, and we set up the video camera every weekend so that I can verify that it looks as good as it feels. We've started schooling shoulder-in to a few steps of lengthening, and once again, I'm impressed by how fast she caught on to this new 'ask' of mine. Every try showed improvement and what more could I really ask for?

This mare is amazing. She comes with her how challenges, most notably an apparently negative past that has her a bit prickly with humans on occasion. But if I keep my expectations clear, she's more than willing to give as much as she can give. I had a wonderful chestnut mare named Holly, when I was a child, never marish and an amazing athlete. Since that time, I've always favored male horses, but Hannah brings back thoughts of Holly. There is nothing more amazing than a mare that gives you her heart and soul in her work.