Nuno Oliveira's hands
Provided he has been brought to it by the appropriate gentle work (long neck, frequent descentes d'encolure, energetic walk) from his rider at the beginning of the session Pacha is now able to reach the degree of calmness that makes it possible to reveal his 'finesse aux aides' (delicacy of reponse to aids) without it being spoiled and quickly blown up by restlessness and resistances.I apply the 'mains sans jambes, jambes sans mains' principle as a permanent rule, with one exception, viz. when I start teaching him 'effet d'ensemble' at halt, in order to confirm a square halt.
In this post, I will focus on hands to begin with.
Lightness is now easier to obtain. His mouth becomes fresher with a little white lipstick showing almost every time after a sufficient, gentle walk preparation.
Pacha is particularly responsive to the fixed hand. Halts are now obtained trying to apply Nuno Oliveira's recommendations,, i.e. good impulsion, fixed hand, belly button coming forward and fingers closing gently. Conversely upward gait transitions (halt to walk, walk to trot) are obtained with a light touch from the calf followed by a release of the fingers but the thumb/forefinger 'plier'.All this in steady head carriage slightly above horizontal placer (at this stage) on long neck.Reining backs also are smooth, starting from a square halt, and 'bouncing back' gently on a fixed hand.
It feels like we are coming nearer to the first golden gate leading to higher dressage, which is so gratifying.
As an aside, and for the purpose of illustrating the ideal hands, I have inserted a picture of Nuno Oliveira's ones. Some will call beautiful hands 'pianist hands' - what about calling them 'ecuyer's hands'?
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