Training Indeed

A while back a student videoed me on her horse during a lesson…

It’s best if you see it on my other blog, the dressage process. In fact, it’s probably best if you subscribe to that blog since I’m having some difficulty with this one.

mike

http://thedressageprocess.wordpress.com/?p=373&preview=true

Oh – part of the difficulty is I can’t get this blog to accept comments – so you you would use the dressage process to leave a message, I’d like to hear from you.

It appears the reason no one was commenting is that the program isn’t allowing them….

let me think about this.

Quick note: There are over 600 subscribers to this blog, but I never hear from any of you. If any of you are actually following it, please post a comment to let me know if I should keep it going or delete it forever and ever….

With all the details and rules, arguments and schools of thought, it’s easy to forget that training your horse is supposed to be fun. I’ll go one more and say if you’re not having fun with it, neither is your horse and chances are there is no progress being made. Well, I’m having fun with my horse and with my new video camera, software, and computer upgrade. This video shows all 3 in action.

First you can see how nicely my horse is warming up in the long unedited stretch at the beginning. Putting up a “warm-up” is unusual to say the least, but the absence of good warm-up videos has resulted in an absence of good warm-up strategies. That’s really a shame as the science of the warm-up is key to being able to get on to the training. Now I understand that many people will say I warm up my horse all wrong – well that’s great! Let’s see how they go about it and everybody benefits in the end.

You also see what the camera “sees” in the first minute or so. After that, you see what I’m doing with the new software and why I needed a computer upgrade (and hi-def camera) to render the final video I put up on youtube – it’s pretty awesome since the ability to pan and zoom after the fact means I can set up the camera on a tripod on any day and time I want, ride in front of it and make it what you see later that night, at home in front of the computer. I’ve been wanting a system like this for 35 years or so – however long it’s been since I bought my first shoebox size VCR and realized that now all I needed was someone to operate it while I rode in front of it. Now the wait is over, I have the ultimate mirror and I get to set it to music of my choice – cool.

In the first section you see my horse working long and “low” in frame and energy, although it looks more energetic on the screen than it felt when riding – very useful to be able to see that. The second part is the 2nd stage of warm-up, more energy but not all the pieces are there yet. Looking at it, I sometimes see moments of an increase in tension along with the increase in energy, and I also see moments of brilliance – especially in the shoulder-in at the 4:50 mark. It’s wonderful to be able to see this, it tells me I have to continue to ask for the relaxation and the energy in ways that don’t make him lazy or tight. This is the challenge we all face all the time with all the elements of making our horses.

Enjoy,

http://youtu.be/C8MdmLcZzGg

I had a very relaxing ride on Deedles today – no video, no training schedule,
just got a ride in before the rain. So, there we were, up to the ring plopping
around for a while when it hit me – we were just plopping around.

I realize that sounds so ordinary – what’s the big deal? Well, with Indeed,
getting to the point where we could just plop around is a milestone. He didn’t
come with a “plop around” gear. He didn’t come with a “relaxed ride” mind set.
He came with a “life is a continuous struggle” outlook.

However, in looking back at the more recent videos I just put up (making
excellent use of new camera, software, and computer upgrade to produce them
primarily as a mirror for me and training aid for any who wish to look in) I
realized that at some point Indeed stopped arguing and trying to figure a way
out, and now he’s just trying to figure me out. About bloody time! Usually it
takes days or weeks, he took years!

All the same, I think it’s obvious that although much of the work is still far
from perfect, it has all become fun and easy for him and me. So, in a head
slapping isn’t it obvious moment it has occurred to me that a primary goal and
test of training is that the horse becomes easier to ride. Well, duh!

Here’s the latest from a couple of days ago – in this tape I’m just checking out
his new “up” frame – he doesn’t look too bad if I say so myself. I’m also
looking at his change from left to right which is improved from the last video.

AAAAA

You see, the work isn’t perfect by any means but it’s all fairly easy.

In this tape from a few days before that, I just look at the changes in a
variety of different ways. I used the software to zoom in on the action and put
everything in slow motion (ya know, sometimes being geek IS cool!) See if you
can see what I learned by watching this tape and put to use in the video from
the 18′th above.

AAAAAAA

(Oh – and they’re in hi-def if you can handle it)

Mike

Hi All,

I guess people are actually visiting this blog – sorry I haven’t been paying much attention. I’ve recently put up a new video of Indeed on you tube – here’s the link. If anyone gets this message, please post a comment so I know this blog is worth keeping – in that case I’ll get more active with it.

Mike

Oh, here’s the link

So Indeed had the weekend off as I was away doing a clinic. Today was really cold! But I got on him and we were continuing with the lateral suppling, etc I mentioned in the last post. Basically, I’m doing the lateral engaging step in the trot on the circle with him. I do it with him in a “normal” way, over bent to the inside of the circle, and in the counter bend – overbent to the outside. I didn’t bother with changes at all today, but what I did notice is that he was much more “through” as a result of this work. So my thoughts to pass on to all today are, “improving anything improves everything.” This is just another example of it. I was looking for a blockage that was messing with his flying change, I got him more through than I’ve ever felt him before. At one point I gently touched him with the stick to ask for a little more, and it felt like 2 more cylinder in his engine kicked in. Very nice, very soft, just a whole lot more there, there!

The other thought is that, within reason, you’re always better off to just press on and move on to the next training level rather than trying to make the lowest level stuff perfect. This is a typical example of what I mean. I thought I did have Indeed supple and through, and had I not pushed on to the changes I wouldn’t have known what I was missing.

Mike

In case you’re wondering what your horse wants this Christmas…

Check here

Years ago I tried videoing my rides by setting up the camera (VHS “camcorder” the size of a shoe box!) and trying to ride in front of it. In all honesty the square, fuzzy analogue picture that was the technology then was more aggravating than useful. There wasn’t much to see but a fuzzy dot off in the distance or two to three strides of clarity that came into the picture and immediately went off screen again.

A few weeks ago I decided to try using my little JVC mini-dv wide screen digital camera. Turns out, because of the wider screen and digital clarity, you can set it up so about 2/3′rds of a standard dressage arena is visible and very useful. It’s also easy to play back by just plugging it into the TV. If I want a closer look at something I can capture that section of the tape to my computer, and then use my video editing software to zoom in and see it in slow motion.

So now I’ve been taping my rides several times a week. It is a very cool thing to do – I get to be teacher and student. I get to see my horse objectively and to see patterns that weren’t obvious from in the saddle.

For instance, the first thing I noticed was that I was taking too long to get Indeed through the wall and into the program everyday. My impression when looking at it on screen was that I was teaching him TO argue with me at the start of the ride rather than ending the argument immediately in way that was clear, effective, and over with.

The next thing I noticed was that he would stop and pick a fight based on where we were in the ring. It wasn’t about what I was asking, it was about where I was asking. So I would ask him to change on a particular diagonal and he would get to a point, stop and block. I would get him past that, circle back and he would stop and block again, but it would take considerably less effort and time on my part to get him going again. By the third time he would only be thinking about stopping, but I could usually ride him through it – until the next day when the same 3 phase battles at the same spots would reoccur.

So, I changed strategy and started picking and winning the fight with him before he could pick one with me. That sounds terrible and isn’t the way we want it to be, but it’s working way better and we’re doing a lot less fighting and a lot more rewarding. Now I look at the tapes of my rides and see him warming up and getting through the BS easier and sooner every day. Having eyes on the ground is a big help.

Mike

For those of you just wandering in, please be sure to check out my new E-book, “Riding in the Moment -The Hidden Language of Dressage.” This book explains how you and your horse can have some fun doing dressage today – not years from now when something mysterious is supposed to happen. For more information click Here

Just wanted to let you know that there is now a forum available to discuss ideas, questions, and successes related to posts on this blog, and the content from my books and DVD. Membership in the forum will also allow you to stay updated on the latest news and events related to clinics and get together. In fact, it’s quite possible that this blog will be moved or joined with that forum, so joining that will be the most certain way to keep up with Indeed’s progress.

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