Simple Change on a Figure 8 with Working Walk Pirouettes

Great ride on Tilly today and I'm especially pleased that she came together so nicely after ending last week with such light work.  I always aim to do what is best for the horse and it feels great when I get it right.

My ride with Laura on Wednesday was a success.  Tilly was bit weak in the canter which felt strange since our canter work had been so powerful.  Our earnest travail of developing the authentic bend in the canter remains the culprit and the focus!

Working Pirouette to the Left

During the lesson, we worked towards riding a working pirouette at the walk on a small circle, stepping up into the canter while maintaining a feeling of haunches in - mostly to retain the bend around my inside leg.  Then we'd step back down to walk immediately resuming the working walk pirouette.  IT WAS HARD!  Tilly really tried to do the exercise, though I can't say we were buck free :)

I had to continuously remind myself to activate my inside leg and keep the shoulder coming around.  Visualizing the imaginary ball next to my inside leg helped me to keep her wrapped around and bending, as well as connected to the outside rein.

Funny how you may know the objective and you can hear the cues from your trainer but it doesn't quite click until a certain moment.  Thankfully, last Wednesday, I felt the moment when Tilly swings away from my inside leg instead of wrapping around it... as I always say, "if you can feel it, you can fix it."

Sometimes she swings away to avoid applying more weight to her hind legs in a canter/walk transition.  So I worked on a new exercise today (Sunday).  It was sort of a stretched out version of what Laura asked us to do on Wednesday... with the simple change incorporated.

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The diagram might not be clear as I indicated two directions of working walk pirouette on 1 circle at the center of the figure 8.  I'll do my best to explain.  This was a difficult diagram.

Exercise:
I began working simple changes on a figure 8 so that the change occurred when Tilly's body straightened onto the line.  The transition takes place right at the X in the middle.

Let's say we pick up the left lead first and we are traveling along the lower part of the 8 in the diagram.

While riding section of the X leading into the lower arch I begin developing the bend and wrapping Tilly around my left leg.

Through the arching section of the lower part of the 8, I ride Tilly in Haunches in, asking her to carry more weight behind and maintain a strong cadence and jump in the canter stride.

As we approach the line leading towards the center X,  I apply my right leg to straighten Tilly's body in preparation for the walk transition.

The moment we walk, Tilly's body is straight.

In the next moment, I ask Tilly to now wrap around my Right leg and perform a working walk pirouette all the way around until I rejoin the line headed towards the top part of the 8.  Pick up the right lead canter.

Foster the bend (bending right in the right lead canter) on the straight line and again haunches in on the arch of the circle, this time with the horse bending around the rider's right leg.  Begin straightening the body on the line nearing the X.  Walk transition at X.  Working Walk Pirouette to the left.  Pick up left lead canter as you rejoin the line.  Haunches In left on the lower arch of the figure 8..... repeat exercise :)



Clear as mud?  Great!  Go get dirty!

I loved the exercise as it helped me to feel a loftier stride in the canter.  Tilly accepted more weight behind thereby improving our simple change and strengthening the canter itself.