Milha - february 9, 2009

Following the aggravated problems I reported in my previous post about Milha, we sought advice from S., the gentleman I mentionned who coached me so well with Eole recently. He tried her a week ago, and was extremely successful in diagnosing and in finding 'the right button to push'. To him, Milha's training has got to go back to basics. Perhaps because of a bad fall she had last Summer on fences with a rider not experienced enough, she might have been hurt in the mouth by the bit, hence a clear reluctance to lean on it, and restiveness ensuing when pushed on it with the legs. So, he first replaced her thin articulated steel snaffle with a single, big resin rod. 'She must be ridden like a filly' he said. No draw reins. No attempt to collection, nor two tracks work. Very light legs, rather short stirrups and a single goal: to get her to 'take her bit'. For this, high hands looking for gentle counter-reaction from the mare. Hands mobile, do not hesitate to widen them apart if needed, and to play with them separately. High head carriage is not a worry, as long as it can evolve later into horizontal placer. He taught me a test I never heard of before: taking the two reins in the right hand, with a little tension, try to 'brush' the rein in a swift movement from the left hand, like hitting the strings of a guitar. When there is no more reaction from the horse, his confidence in the rider's hand is confirmed.
Gentle request for light 'cessions' on the inside rein to bring her head down, thereby entailing some stronger contact on the bit. He gave us a masterly demonstration; the mare looked transformed: energetic walk with hind limbs pushing underneath. Smooth trot in horizontal balance, with striking change of speed in the same cadence. Not a single resistance including on the right handside. No more of this flat neck that goes with overloading of the fore. Absolutely splendid!But S. also said that Milha was a delicate, difficult horse that should not be left to the club lessons...
Since then, F. had ridden her with much improvement.
I wanted to test this change today, and was not disappointed. After a good, gentle work with F. during 30', I took her. I immediately felt the delightful sense of forwardness that had been so sadly lost. After a few minutes for adjusting the tact of my aids (actually, almost no legs and light, 'dancing' hands like d'Orgeix advocates), I found the good cadence and we had a truly exciting walk and trot session with lots of figures. A friend was observing the scene and told me that Milha was beautifully forward, concentrated and cadenced.
This is a great fulfilment when you can see such changes, and I am so grateful to S. for his invaluable advice-I learnt since that he is a close relative to Eric Navet -no wonder then!