A Huge Breakthrough (Part 2)

(Tumbleweed showing off his 5 star pad. This pad has gone up $70 in the year since I purchased it. I'm thinking about getting another in black or natural.)

One observation my trainer had is that Tumbleweed was giving me 60% effort. She understood why I wasn't comfortable with that amount of togetherness, and how it could be unsafe. She wants me to aim for 100%. That doesn't mean they aren't also aware of their surroundings, but it does mean they're putting themselves 100% into the work at hand. When they're engaged at that level, they become more relaxed and confident--it's that magic I saw in part 1.

When I mounted up, Regina again asked me to do what I normally do, which, for me, was bending him around both ways, hands to my pockets, asking him to stand in place. (She noticed an issue with this that she pointed out later.) 

For the first exercise, in saddle, she asked me to get him to walk, but not to direct him. Lots of energy with my legs and seat to keep him moving forward. The rein was to be loose so that he could go anywhere he wanted, and I was to only pick it up if he tried to do something dangerous.

The point of the exercise was for him to take responsibility for himself and his decisions, like he would on a trail, instead of being micro-managed and him not stepping up and under himself.  This was a lot like the work I had already been doing, but even more responsibility was put on Tweed to grow up and learn to walk, instead of being dragged and / or bracing against pressure.

He did a lot of meandering in the round pen, and walking straight into the panels, at which point she told me to kick, kick, kick and not let him stop. After a lot of that, he started staying along the circle for longer, and he was moving with more relaxation, balance, and energy. 

Regina then introduced a little exercise to get vertical flexion. ( I remember doing this same thing with Leah during lessons.) She had me hold the reins to the point of contact and keep his nose in line with his tail. She says that he has a habit of walking with his head too low, which throws off his balance and allows him to root at the bit. She warned me that while I held the contact, he might back up (he did), but I was to hold the light pressure steady until he found the sweet spot and came off the pressure, then balanced his body underneath himself. When he came off the bit and into the sweet spot, I was to give him a big release.

We did that twice, and Tweed was extremely relaxed after he found that spot. He enjoyed resting while we sat and chatted about what was happening. (In the past, he would get antsy when I sat and chatted while still on his back.)

So, it was time to introduce the turn. This is where Regina’s earlier observation came up. She noticed that I sat forward to shorten my reins for a turn, and then supported him too long, and pulled the reins too far sideways. She wanted me to stay seated on my pockets while reaching forward for the same amount of contact we had for the vertical flexion exercise, pick the rein straight up (not out) and toward my armpits (rather than pockets), get the turn, and release it fast. We did this with the same 'walk wherever you want’ exercise, but we added turns to the left and right until Tweed was balancing himself and taking responsibility for the turns (rather than falling in or bracing against them). Lovely!

After that, we did the same work at the trot until Tweed was moving out with a beautiful energy and responsiveness to the turn. The ask for the turn became lighter and lighter. The release came faster and faster.

We were having fun!

I don't know if I've mentioned it, but Tweed's trot has become much more comfortable to sit or post. His body has really matured this year.

Our next lesson won’t be until late July, but this gives me a lot to work on in the meantime. She told me to do this same stuff on the trail.

I asked, What if his head comes up high on the trail and I can’t get him to do this work? (this has happened.)

She said, Then you let it get too far. Something happens before the head comes up and braces, and that’s when you start to do the work, in a safe, open spot. 

It’s going to be interesting to put this to practice, but I’m excited to figure it all out and make a trail partnership. My friends are antsy to get us out on some training rides, but I want to have the basics going strong before I accept the invitations. I should have a few days this week to do our homework.

I've been thinking ahead to winter, and I do not want to let him sit like I did last year, then have to start again. I'm going to talk to Regina about coming to the indoor next to us. She used to train out of one barn, and never travel, but she has changed that now.

A few more photos from around our place:

Notice the dead tree? We keep it there because robins built nests in it and the babies are still young.

They nest in this tree every year, but this year it died, and I need to replace it when they fly away.

The clouds one day. They reminded me of a Mark Maggiori painting.

My daughter and daughter-in-law went with me to this year's FARM CHICKS. It's one of the country's largest vintage fairs. I found a few items for my new tack room project.

This old loveseat. It's cozy.

An solid vintage table that I can use for my coffee bar.

And another table I thought I could cut down and use for a coffee style table, but now I'm thinking I'd rather have it for all the outdoor family parties we host here.

And here they are after we brought them back to store them.

A 'new to us' local winery, called Winescapes. They make delicious, full-bodied reds, like this one. We had a glass at sunset on Thursday.

And lastly, the style of stall fronts we ordered for the barn. The ones I originally shared were from another state, and shipping them here made them cost prohibitive, so we found a local builder. I was able to customize these with black powder coating, and we'll stain the wood more of a mahogany, rather than natural. We also ordered custom feeders from the same people. Getting close now. They say mid-July.