Coquin - april 28, 2009

I have been away for some time, and could only ride Pacha and Milha now and then over the past month. Both are progressing well, with nothing special to report.
Today, I rode Coquin, and I want to record the wonderful session I had with him.
Conditions were ideal: cool weather and large arena for us alone!
Started with a long walk session, looking for cession de machoire via descente d'encolure and lateral flexions on a low head carriage. Nothing else during 10'. I could feel the yielding of his jaws in my fingers on a light contact. Then, drawing on my past experiences and searching for the right' buttons', I put him forward on a posting trot session, with speed variations but not faster than 'trot moyen'. Placer became high and mouth mellow. I then went back to walk, looking for collection via shoulder-ins, travers, renvers, leg-yield with inside bend, half-pass. Each time I felt resistance in the mouth or at poll, I ceased the exercise and asked for lightness either on straight line or at halt. I came to the sitting trot work, which had been so difficult sometimes in the past, with resistances against the hand via head movements. I had some of these again at first. I worked on small circles, with low head carriage. Some improvement, but not enough. So I decided to work on forwardness again, at posting trot, and middle range canter. Both gaits were good. I came back to sitting trot, and the miracle occurred at last: high, steady placer, soft contact on the bit with lipstick (quite rare with Coquin). He had surrendered and accepted to give me 'tout le brillant que comporte son ensemble'! I could move him in all directions, like sitting on an elastic, soft and strong ball. The communication with the mouth passed through 'adjusted' reins, with the thumb/forefinger 'pliers' vigilant and ready to squeeze the leather, without adding any tension. With Coquin, the correct degree of tension is crucial: minute and steady, with a gentle torque on the curb. He dislikes both tautness and looseness. We did stunning half-passes across the whole diagonal, regular, relaxed and cadenced. Speed variations from trot moyen to very slow trot and again, like practising scales on the piano. Lovely shoulder-ins. Smooth changes in placer from horizontal to high up and back again. Kind of a dream! No more head movements, back up and smooth, ribbon-like reins.
Well, a revelation which I enjoyed thoroughly following the hard thinking about the problems I had previously reported. This time I hit the right combination between forwardness and calm.
One learning about this lovely afternoon was that each rider has to find his own way, after a lot of observation and thinking. Mimicking B. was not the solution. But drawing on his manner to get inspired had been extremely useful in building my own way.
After all, as in all arts, creation is an essential process in Equestrian Art. But creation that stems from learnings, observation and hard thinking, as indeed it is the case in the other arts. Incidentally, I remember one of my teachers who used to say the horseman should sculpt his horse. He meant, as a Baucherist, that one should put in place each part of the horse towards the best position. This is what I felt today.
We went back to stables, relaxed and happy. Coquin was dry and tranquil.