March 19, 2022

Sugar, Sweet Pea and Half Calf on this foggy morning

A lovely lesson today, Karl is beginning to carry himself and stretch through the body. Shoulder-in is developing in the groundwork, remember shoulder “up” and keep the lift through the chest. Haunches in was quite good to the left, but we struggled to the right so we broke it back down with me giving a whip aid from behind to step inside with the hind legs and Meg in front.

In riding shoulder in, just the ever so slightest turn of the pubic bone. Inside leg stays at the girth because the inside hip of the horse comes more forward naturally in this movement. Pubic bone turning slightly from 12 to 11 or 12 to 1 moves my inside shoulder back just enough to align with his inside shoulder which comes back slightly. I had a feeling of how light and also how not holding achieves the movement. Less is more!

I also did some trot work - we were in the bareback pad, and in the last piece I felt able to follow his movement and not left behind, and my psoas were engaged but loose and soft at the same time.

Got to work with Mama Nell a bit on the ground and felt how soft I could be in my hand to shape the flexion, and how to use my energy to block her from pushing with her chest and falling on the shoulders.