On the Bit

Last night we had a dressage lesson with Ann. I absolutely LOVE my trainer. Every ride we have with her feels like the best ride we've ever had, and I feel like we have a breakthrough each time. I had mentioned I wanted to start off longeing, so she took me through her process. She warmed him up at the walk, trot, a little canter on both sides and then again wtc with side reins. Because he hasn't developed all of the muscles necessary to maintain a steady rhythm at the canter, he tends to get ahead of the rhythm and then loses his balance. Kwik is a horse that absolutely despises feeling discombobulated, and when this happens, he usually throws a tantrum (read: bucking and carrying on like a doofus). Ann showed me how to give him little half halts with the longe line in the spots where he tends to lose his balance (brilliant!), and I was so impressed by the quality of his canter towards the end as a result.

Next we moved on to some flat work. She had me imagine my arms were the side reins- steady but giving, elbows bent and against the sides of my torso. We moved on to the trot, and she had me shorten my stirrups. Apparently my inability to sit up in my saddle isn't completely my fault. When Kwik gets strung out, the motion pulls me forward out of the tack. The shorter stirrup length really allowed me to sit up and hold him beneath me. The extra control felt wonderful, and for the first time, I was truly able to ask him to come on to the bit and trot along at my pace. It was a wonderful feeling. Once we figured that out, Ann was insistent he remain on the bit. She made up a little dressage test and called it out to us, calling out "1,2, on-the-bit. 1, 2,  on-the-bit" to help me maintain a steady rhythm. It certainly wasn't perfect, and he doesn't have the strength yet to maintain the connection for long periods of time, but there were definitely some dressage horse moments which Ann would point out with "Enjoy him a little right there!" or "Beautiful!" It truly was a breakthrough ride!

 Now, I can't use the excuse "he doesn't quite understand connection yet." He does, and it's time to ride him like he does. I know there are people who think I'm crazy for trying to bring along an OTTB. I think I'm crazy sometimes, but these are the moments that make this whole process something I wouldn't trade for the world. I'm sure we'll have setbacks and things we need to re-visit, but we are making progress!