By Laura Klecker

Great Lesson with the Red Headed Mare on Monday.  Tilly is coming along well in her training.  We pushed the limits today and once again have demonstrated that commitment to good basics is endlessly rewarding. Although Catherine and Tilly have not schooled half pass is quite some time, the quality of the movement has improved substantially thanks to Catherine's coordination of her aids, and commitment to helping the mare get stronger in her new uphill balance.   Catherine's hard work with this mare is really paying off.  They are moving along nicely and Catherine and Tilly's communication is developing well.

Clear communication is the key to a solid connection.  Without an elastic and consistent connection, it is very difficult to make a horse more beautiful and fluid under saddle, and that is the purpose of dressage, and hopefully the result of my teaching.  There is little more rewarding than confident communication between horse and rider.

To open up those channels with Catherine and Tilly today I had them ride an exercise of change of bend.  From one side to the other, passing the connection from one outside rein to another.  If you begin tracking left on a 20 meter circle in a working trot, take care to be sure the horse is connected to the outside (or right) rein, as you come off the outside track of the circle, begin a leg yield from your new inside (or right) leg towards the left rein, as the horse goes into the left rein, be ready to receive the energy and move both hands to the right and put both legs on to encourage and send the horse through the channel you have created with your reins.

As you repeat the exercise back and forth, just take care to be fostering the connection you are establishing and able to move it from one side to the other and back to center.

This exercise is what allowed us to move on to our half pass schooling.  Always remember when you move on to something new, old bad habits return, stay patient, and do your best to keep what you have established previously in your ride, if you lose it, step back, reestablish, and try again.  Patience, Practice, and Persistence are necessary to find that feel you are looking for!

Thanks for Including me in this blog Catherine! I'm looking forward to contributing more!