November Clinic with Ryan Part 2 -- Iggy!
The last two clinics, I have lunged Iggy before hopping on him as that was my practice at home. In early November I did away with the lunging before getting on him. It seemed that he really didn't need it and I would rather influence his balance while on him as opposed to letting him play on the lunge. So I walk Iggy into the arena and Ryan holds him while I get on and remarks that it seems like he has grown again. Ryan said this at the last clinic as well. I laughed and said he is growing like a weed. He was around 16.2 when I tried him in Holland and he is around 17 hands now. I love his size currently, but I'm hoping he is about done growing!
Anyway, we got to work with a bit of free walk to let him acclimate to the arena. Then moved into a medium walk with contact. Ryan wants him to feel the reins in the walk, but not to back him off from the rhythm or contact. Iggy goes nicely forward in the walk now and is happy in the bridle.
We moved into trot and I mentioned to Ryan that I have been riding in small spurs but no whip with Iggy. Ryan said he is a forward horse and to make sure that I keep that forward attitude in him without nagging. He thought he was going fine without the whip. Iggy started out stretching in the trot and he would honestly stay in a very low frame the whole ride if I let him. Ryan emphasized that his reaching for the bit is wonderful, but we want to start teaching him to carry himself even as a youngster. So he said that periodic stretching is great, but then think of getting him into a work trot frame where he is a bit more balanced over his hindquarters. With the right rhythm (not too forward), Iggy can stay in a nice balance with no problem. Ryan explained that Iggy loses his balance a bit in the bigger trot and goes more on the forehand. We rode some circles and then some leg yields from quarter line and center line. Iggy still trails his hindquarters a bit in the legyields, but they have a better flow and rhythm now. I'm excited about the progress. We moved to canter, and it was really Iggy's best day canter yet! We started to the right and it was lovely. He is beginning to feel a bit more adjustable to the right in the canter. And we did the downward transition on the diagonal. Before cantering to the left, Ryan had me trot to the left on a circle around him and counter flex Iggy a bit to get the right leg engaged. It was a bit of a renver feel. Then he asked us to canter from this position. We struggled a bit with the transition from that position. But ultimately, I keep a bit of that feel in the left canter to keep Iggy's right hind reaching under him and not swinging out. Miraculously, we had no lead changes during this whole ride and multiple canter transitions! We finished with some of the forward and back work in the trot. Ryan said let's teach him to have a quick hindleg from the beginning.
On the second day, we did a lot of the same work. Iggy again worked like a complete champ. I am so impressed with cool head and work ethic. And when he jumps into the canter each time, I can't help but smile. Such an incredible feeling and I feel so lucky to have him! Ryan during this ride said he would have me start doing little bits of shoulder fore toward shoulder-in. From those movements, ride immediately straight and forward so he continues to push. He also said to begin finding the same adjustability in the canter as we do in the trot.
During a long walk break, Ryan and I talked about the general philosophy of bringing along a young horse. I told Ryan that because everything feels good to me, I don't really know when to ask for more. Ryan suggested that I find the video by Isabell Werth and her mentor Uwe Schulten Baumer about training young horses. He said for horses that are forward and elastic naturally, this is a good system. I've ordered the video from Germany, so hopefully it will help! I also told Ryan that my goal is not to be the champion at training level with Iggy; I want to train him with the goal of Grand Prix. Ryan said he completely agreed and that is how he views his young horses. However, he cautioned me not to just get caught up in the training that I forget to develop him as a competition horse. He said that getting him out to shows and learning how he reacts, how he warms up, and how he handles pressure is very important too. He also said that he feels that young horses mature a bit after each show, so it can really help the training process. It was such a great conversation and I felt really glad that we were able to talk about the plan for Iggy.
Iggy was very good both days of the clinic, and I again thanked Ryan for helping me find my dream horse. Now, hopefully I can manage to not screw him up over the winter without Ryan!
The last two clinics, I have lunged Iggy before hopping on him as that was my practice at home. In early November I did away with the lunging before getting on him. It seemed that he really didn't need it and I would rather influence his balance while on him as opposed to letting him play on the lunge. So I walk Iggy into the arena and Ryan holds him while I get on and remarks that it seems like he has grown again. Ryan said this at the last clinic as well. I laughed and said he is growing like a weed. He was around 16.2 when I tried him in Holland and he is around 17 hands now. I love his size currently, but I'm hoping he is about done growing!
Anyway, we got to work with a bit of free walk to let him acclimate to the arena. Then moved into a medium walk with contact. Ryan wants him to feel the reins in the walk, but not to back him off from the rhythm or contact. Iggy goes nicely forward in the walk now and is happy in the bridle.
We moved into trot and I mentioned to Ryan that I have been riding in small spurs but no whip with Iggy. Ryan said he is a forward horse and to make sure that I keep that forward attitude in him without nagging. He thought he was going fine without the whip. Iggy started out stretching in the trot and he would honestly stay in a very low frame the whole ride if I let him. Ryan emphasized that his reaching for the bit is wonderful, but we want to start teaching him to carry himself even as a youngster. So he said that periodic stretching is great, but then think of getting him into a work trot frame where he is a bit more balanced over his hindquarters. With the right rhythm (not too forward), Iggy can stay in a nice balance with no problem. Ryan explained that Iggy loses his balance a bit in the bigger trot and goes more on the forehand. We rode some circles and then some leg yields from quarter line and center line. Iggy still trails his hindquarters a bit in the legyields, but they have a better flow and rhythm now. I'm excited about the progress. We moved to canter, and it was really Iggy's best day canter yet! We started to the right and it was lovely. He is beginning to feel a bit more adjustable to the right in the canter. And we did the downward transition on the diagonal. Before cantering to the left, Ryan had me trot to the left on a circle around him and counter flex Iggy a bit to get the right leg engaged. It was a bit of a renver feel. Then he asked us to canter from this position. We struggled a bit with the transition from that position. But ultimately, I keep a bit of that feel in the left canter to keep Iggy's right hind reaching under him and not swinging out. Miraculously, we had no lead changes during this whole ride and multiple canter transitions! We finished with some of the forward and back work in the trot. Ryan said let's teach him to have a quick hindleg from the beginning.
On the second day, we did a lot of the same work. Iggy again worked like a complete champ. I am so impressed with cool head and work ethic. And when he jumps into the canter each time, I can't help but smile. Such an incredible feeling and I feel so lucky to have him! Ryan during this ride said he would have me start doing little bits of shoulder fore toward shoulder-in. From those movements, ride immediately straight and forward so he continues to push. He also said to begin finding the same adjustability in the canter as we do in the trot.
During a long walk break, Ryan and I talked about the general philosophy of bringing along a young horse. I told Ryan that because everything feels good to me, I don't really know when to ask for more. Ryan suggested that I find the video by Isabell Werth and her mentor Uwe Schulten Baumer about training young horses. He said for horses that are forward and elastic naturally, this is a good system. I've ordered the video from Germany, so hopefully it will help! I also told Ryan that my goal is not to be the champion at training level with Iggy; I want to train him with the goal of Grand Prix. Ryan said he completely agreed and that is how he views his young horses. However, he cautioned me not to just get caught up in the training that I forget to develop him as a competition horse. He said that getting him out to shows and learning how he reacts, how he warms up, and how he handles pressure is very important too. He also said that he feels that young horses mature a bit after each show, so it can really help the training process. It was such a great conversation and I felt really glad that we were able to talk about the plan for Iggy.
Iggy was very good both days of the clinic, and I again thanked Ryan for helping me find my dream horse. Now, hopefully I can manage to not screw him up over the winter without Ryan!
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