"Take all the backward out of him, and take all the forward out of you"

The reason I was out at the barn early enough last night to catch these 4:00 lesson people feeding and petting my horse (horrors!) was that I had a lesson at 5:30. Before we even started, I asked my trainer if there was anything I could be doing with my position that was making it harder for Henry to get those darn leg-yields down. She pointed out that he's just not that great at them yet, but said she'd watch for it. We ended up working a lot on getting me to sit up and keep my hands forward, which would help him be able to come higher in his withers (he's a little "butt high") and on keeping him forward, even when I was asking for down transitions and halts.

I love that in just 3 lessons, this trainer has already got a good feel on what's going on with me and my horse. I have sometimes felt like instructors or trainers just take a shot in the dark or spout basics over and over, without getting to the heart of real training issues. She also uses Centered Riding-like phrases and images that help me a lot. I'm definitely a visual learner, so things like "try to get his hind feet up into the rings of his bit" and "you want to make him short behind you and long in front of you, so you have more horse to work with" make a lot more sense to me than it would seem they should ;)

I also love having homework, cheesy as it may be. I want to be the best I can be, and Henry to have all the right tools and information he needs to be a great mount. I hate feeling unmotivated to ride because I'm not sure what I should be working on. I don't want to work him too hard, but I do want to continually work on improving various aspects of our partnership and our ride time. I also realize and am REALLY looking forward to the fact that "improving various aspects" will include copious trail riding this spring. None of the barns I have been at in the past have had access to the awesome trails that this one does. I know them well, having ridden them quite a bit from ages 10-18, and I know there are lots of people at the barn who make it a point to ride those trails every week, if not more often. I can't wait!

Until then, though, it's homework!

• keeping my shoulders back
  
• keeping my butt in the saddle (seat bones, here I come)
• keeping my hands forward ("it should feel like he's taking you by the hands - your hands are his, you say nothing with your hands"
• keeping my legs on
• keeping his forward momentum, even in down transitions and halts
• keeping my left rein when cantering to the right
• transitions, transitions, transitions
• some shoulder-in, leg-yield, shoulder-fore to make sure I can put him where I want him

It sounds like a lot, but most of it is making sure I am sitting correctly. My trainer noticed that I'm scared to upset Henry in any way, so I perch on his back with my legs off, hands towards my stomach, and shoulders tipped forward. When I actually sat up last night and put my legs on and my hands forward, it was like he said "THANK you, jeez!" and gave me a real connection. So cool!

I asked her at the end of my lesson if she thought I should keep him. Not in so many words; I was trying to sound casual about it. She sort of looked at me and said that I should definitely keep him, unless I couldn't (half asking, but not being too blunt about it). I mentioned that I had put him up for sale in the summer, when the plan was to go to grad school, but that since I had a job I was making ends meet. I mentioned that I had gotten a couple of offers on him, but that those who came to try him were put off by his sensitivity.

My trainer agreed that he's "not for the average amateur" and that he's too sensitive for many riders. It would be a fight for both Henry and rider to be happy together. She also said that if it were her, she would hold on to him, because once things start to click with him (i.e. once I get my position straightened out and he realizes he can go forward in a connection and I'll only help him out) then I'll be able to get what I'm asking for with a simple shift of the hips. His sensitivity used to be a bit of a curse (and yes, I've chewed him out in my mind a few times), but more and more I know that it's a blessing and gives him the edge he needs to be a great dressage horse.

I emailed the woman from CT to let her know what my decision was, and finally felt the courage to pull his ad from the web, knowing I'll never be considered rich in the eyes of most people, but that with hard work and some luck (and maybe a green Christmas), I'll always be able to find a way to make ends meet. More importantly, though, as long as I have this wonderful horse, I will always feel like a millionaire.