Dressage lesson

Wow... dressage lesson number 3 in a row!!! How exciting that Fleck is back to work and doing well. :) I'm still thanking God every ride that I get to enjoy again.

Anyways... Fleck and I are still having fun though... still taking it day by day. But... and while I hate to jinx it... so far so good :)

We had some good lessons this month. And I learned some good stuff from Liz too. So to sum it all up...

• long and low... close the leg and that means he should go long and low. Which helps with the free to medium walk and also with the stretchy trot
• don't hold him up.. he wants me to hold his shoulders up and "trap" him and instead...I need to make him hold himself up and then it works
• close my calf (Cindy's been telling me this for years, but the new saddle finally let it sink in). This solidifies my foot and prevents it from swinging but also helps open up my hips. This is hard for me, but I'm getting there.
• counter bend then correct bend to get him upright on his shoulders
• if I don't bend my hips and shoulders, how can he bend his?
• don't nag.. the goal is soft quiet aids and immediate response and then take my aids away. If he doesn't respond, turn on the forehand, and then soften.
• don't lean forward into the transitions... he'll do it!

So yep.. that's the gist of it. We've been riding at Ashland farm a lot and going trail riding before and after our rides. It's been great.