Eole - december 18, 2008

Today I resumed riding after three weeks of interruption. Cold and wet weather. Worked in outdoor (yet roofed) arena, this time under the coaching of J-Ch, a qualified instructor at the centre. Started with 15' walk, where besides the usual suppling and bending movements I described in the previous post, I tried an interesting sequence suggested by an experienced horseman and a 'web friend' to me as well. On the middle line, alternate leg-yield and half-pass in zig-zag of a few meters each along the middle-line. For example, leg yield on the right leg followed by half-pass to the right and again. It is very interesting because I find it a soft and subtle limbering exercise, quite appropriate in the warm-up stage of a training session. Eole responded very well to it, and got quite light through it. Here is an example of the great value of Internet, when one is fortunate enough to find such skilled and experienced 'colleagues' in your own activity/passion!
Then, the trot session took 15' again. After a good energetic posting trot, we worked half-pass during the sitting phase: for example, start from the beginning of the large side in HP to the left towards X, then somewhere before reaching it, trot straight on a few strides and come back in HP to the right towards the other corner of the large side. Eole was as usual a very good student, and did quite well. Slightly more difficult to him on the HP to the right (no surprise, since his 'natural bend' is on the left), which translated in some instability in tempo, but no restiveness. Also, I had to be careful to preventing him lowering his head, and a few, delicate half-halts did the job of keeping his neck elevated to our satisfaction. I then put him straight and asked for a few extensions at trot on the diagonal, to which Eole responded generously.
Then , the canter session came and was great. We worked on spiralling circles, down to very small circles (smaller indeed than in the previous post) which came very near passade as I understand it: hind quarters inside with outside leg, hind limbs drawing a smaller circle than front limbs. Eole was brilliant at that: light with no tension on inside rein, regular and not rushing. I only lost him at trot once in the whole suite of circles. I got a flavour of what pirouette at canter could be, a more powerful and fantastic feeling than in any previous attempts of such movement I had ever known before!
We left Eole on that, and I walked him quietly until he was completely dry, with a lot of pats for such a good job done.