SESSION 21 (00:28:54)Kirstin and George return after the first lockdown in the UK. Neither horse, nor rider is particularly fit so they have a reasonably short session working on getting Kirstin straight on the left rein where she tends to slide off right, and improving leg yield in trot.
George is being a bit of a tourist, but isn’t dramatic, initially. Ali reminds Kirstin not to let her breathing change when George pricks his ears.
George has a moment of exuberance, and what’s noticeable is that it no longer unsettles Kirstin when this happens. The training with Ali has helped her to cope with it and not get involved, which means the rest of the session can continue without incident.
George finds going right easier than going left, so he wants to go more sideways to the right, and wants to speed up going to the left in leg yield, in walk. Keeping George’s neck straight is the next part of the puzzle.
In trot Kirstin approaches too fast on the first line, George trips on the turn, then has a rather extreme reaction at the top of the school. They re-establish the rhythm and George listens to Kirstin’s leg better, making going left easier.
Ali reminds Kirstin to keep the trot more ‘little’ in to the leg yield. In leg yield right Kirstin tends to disappear right. She manages to stay more straight on the last leg yield.
Note - Session 7 is the latest video to be released. The video from Session 8 was accidentally released under the title of Session 7 but this has now been corrected.
Note - Session 7 is the latest video to be released. The video from Session 8 was accidentally released under the title of Session 7 but this has now been corrected.
SESSION 13 A session that starts with a very tense and reactive George (and Kirstin!), and ends with some good leg yield and some great trot. Ali encourages Kirstin to focus on what she should be doing, rather than what's going wrong and might be about to happen.
SESSION 14 (00:39:45)This session looks again at leg yield. Kirstin and George have been working on this whilst hacking, but they have been getting a little frustrated with lack of time and facilities, and Kirstin finds George tricky to work with in the yard (drive of the house). It is an enlightening session in which Ali highlights George's nature, which is to get cross when he perceives something to be wrong. George reacts in quite explosive ways in canter and Ali helps Kirstin to begin to work through this, and to understand George's reactions.
SESSION 15 (00:39:45)George has had some time off over summer following the discovery that he had a slab fracture that needed attention, and was likely to have been the cause of his reactive nature in the last session with Ali. In this session Ali suggests introducing poles to groundwork to get George thinking about his legs and really test the accuracy of the groundwork.
SESSION 16 (00:37:35)It’s George’s second time back after having his teeth sorted out, so this session begins with some groundwork. One of the beauties of groundwork is using it to train as well as getting a horse settled to an environment and get in to a trainable state, as demonstrated by George here. In the ridden section Ali has Kirstin focus on the rythm of George’s legs, while really being ‘there’ for George with her body - specifically the outside leg on both reins, in a way that makes him feel less anxious. Ali reminds Kirstin not get ‘involved’ in the slowing down that happens when George lifts his head and becomes distracted. ‘Make sure you’re channeling the energy, not trying to shut it down’. This session is enlightening for Kirstin as Ali reveals the sequence of events when something gets George’s attention off her. George looks, Kirstin lets go of her tummy, and gets her hands involved. Ali reinforces that she has to keep her tummy wall back towards her spine, and not let her hands get involved in the situation. Kirstin is reminded that George only knows that she has ‘vacated’ when something scary happens, he doesn’t know that what he did caused her to vacate, so her actions serve only to confirm to George that there is something scary, and inflame the situation further. Canter demonstrates again that Kirstin needs to get herself more narrow, especially on the right rein where George puts his rib cage right and she ‘slides off’ left. Ali reiterates the importance of her using the outside to steer and provide a ‘hug’ around George to help make him feel secure. If she lets go of her tummy she’ll go to grab the rein, so the focus must be on core engagement.
SESSION 17 (00:33:15)This session focuses on some transitions, leg yield, and canter work - which is always interesting with George!
The nerves are evident in Kirstin’s voice at certain points during the session, especially when there are some distractions on the yard which George is keen to be involved with. Ali gives Kirstin some great tips to prevent her getting involved when George’s excitement levels increase, which really help them to work through the panic, and ‘get back in the bubble’. Looking through George’s ears is a really significant part of this, along with ‘plunger down’.
Slingshot, plunger down, plug in to hind legs are what Kirstin has to think in canter on the left rein, on the right rein it’s harder for Kirstin to keep George straight. When she can, George slows his pace because he finds it harder, but it’s a definite progress from the explosive reactions he’s given in the past.
SESSION 18 (00:00:00)
Kirstin and George continue their training with Ali. Although Kirstin is frustrated by limitations of winter weather and expecting some sharpness from George as the storm continues to blow outside the arena, George arrives in a more 'whoa' than 'go' state, and presents Kirstin with a different set of challenges.
Kirstin feels like she’s falling off right, so she needs to think about a higher up place for her right seat bone, not pull on the left rein and keep the 'gym ball' underneath her. She naturally wants to rotate left and fall off right, and George bends too much left.
George likes to fall through the right shoulder, which is exasperated by Kirstin’s rotation to the left.
Kirstin’s right thigh is struggling in this session which is causing it to move away from the saddle. Ali explains thinking of the thigh as a spiral muscle (which obviously isn’t anatomically correct), which is a visual way of thinking about the thigh muscle rotating to keep close to the saddle. Her right leg also likes to move forward during transitions.
Ali reminds Kirstin to make a frame, and if George tries to pull he must not be able to pull you out of your frame. He must stretch on your terms, not his. You give him the stretch, he must not take the stretch.
They have a quick look at leg yield where Kirstin’s right leg comes forward again or turns out she creates a gap for his right shoulder to dive in to. As soon as Kirstin goes to the right, her left hand pulls left and she slides right. Ali reminds her to think 'advance the whole left side of you'.
They analyse what George finds hard in leg yield to allow Kirstin to work on this at home on the road.
In the canter Kirstin has to still keep thinking of keeping the right leg rotated in. On the left rein she needs to look at his right ear, turn his shoulders right.
The straighter he is, the easier it is for him to canter. Kirstin notices that she really needs to focus her core being engaged in canter. On the right rein she needs to turn a bit more looking towards his right ear, and think almost leg yielding left, with more core so that she’s not pulled forward.
SESSION 19 (00:46:36)George has been having a bit of a quieter time recently, so this session focuses on groundwork to deal with 'fear' of puddles, followed by a continuation from the last groundwork with a pole session George and Kirstin did. They progress from stepping front legs over the pole one at a time so they straddle the pole, to moving one hind leg over the pole at a time to straddle the pole with the hind legs.
Stepping one hind leg over the pole highlights the essence of an issue that is evident in ridden canter right, which is George's reluctance to weight the right hind leg. He trials lots of different behaviours including side-stepping, barging forward and rearing in order to avoid putting his weight on to his right hind to step the left leg back over the pole, but eventually manages to figure it out.
SESSION 20 (00:00:00)
George and Kirstin’s last session before lockdown, during which they return to working with a single pole on the ground, then ridden, and the challenge of placing a single front leg, then hind leg over a single pole.
George isn’t keen to put all his weight on his right hind, so putting the left hind leg over a single pole is a bit of a challenge initially.
This is a fascinating lesson for Kirstin in the feel of where the horse’s weight is and how to influence the step by encouraging distribution of weight from one leg to another, and a great exercise for horses who are coming back to fitness after time off.
SESSION 21 (00:28:54)Kirstin and George return after the first lockdown in the UK. Neither horse, nor rider is particularly fit so they have a reasonably short session working on getting Kirstin straight on the left rein where she tends to slide off right, and improving leg yield in trot.
George is being a bit of a tourist, but isn’t dramatic, initially. Ali reminds Kirstin not to let her breathing change when George pricks his ears.
George has a moment of exuberance, and what’s noticeable is that it no longer unsettles Kirstin when this happens. The training with Ali has helped her to cope with it and not get involved, which means the rest of the session can continue without incident.
George finds going right easier than going left, so he wants to go more sideways to the right, and wants to speed up going to the left in leg yield, in walk. Keeping George’s neck straight is the next part of the puzzle.
In trot Kirstin approaches too fast on the first line, George trips on the turn, then has a rather extreme reaction at the top of the school. They re-establish the rhythm and George listens to Kirstin’s leg better, making going left easier.
Ali reminds Kirstin to keep the trot more ‘little’ in to the leg yield. In leg yield right Kirstin tends to disappear right. She manages to stay more straight on the last leg yield.
ABOUT KIRSTIN & GEORGE
KIRSTIN
Kirstin has ridden since a child, predominantly at a riding school where she eventually worked, part time. She trained to BHS Stage Three switching to NVQ 3 while working at a livery and training yard in her late 20's, and enjoyed working towards PTT.
Kirstin had to wait until her thirties to loan her first horse, an OTT TB who competed at Riding Club dressage, and schooled XC, but who was very sadly hampered by intermittent lameness caused by suspensory desmitis. George arrived with Kirstin as a four year old, after losing her much loved TB.
GEORGE
George was bought by Kirstin as a four year old. His training was a little stop/start due to Kirstin having a young family and work commitments, as well as hiccups such as a supernumerary incisor which caused great discomfort to George, and therefore quite erratic behaviour!
At home George has been the perfect horse to hack, and to lead Kirstin's daughter on her 12hh pony from, and keeps both children's ponies fit with ride & lead each winter. He appeared in the 'On the Bit, The Seeking Reflexes' course with Mary Wanless on Dressage Training TV in 2016. Since having the supernumerary tooth removed in 2017, George has been more consistent and his training is starting to progress nicely, however he does have the occasional exuberant outburst!
