Sometimes I feel like I'm living in a storybookYesterday Tricia took some video of my work with Patrik. Our relationship is still very much a work in progress. I'm happy with Patrik's enthusiasm for the process.
working on a crunch
progress towards pesade, spanish walk (rough)
miscellaneous work
The ending of the octave
Today a friend read something from Carlos Castaneda. Here's how I remember it. Don Juan was telling Carlos that people in the past had a more accurate view of things because they were closer to nature and therefore, had a better perspective of our place within the rest of creation. Modern people base their perspective on the society that they are part of, which has been created by human-centered thinking.
By coming into relationship with parts of nature that are not human-centered, and certainly not human-created, we come closer to what has been created by an intelligence far beyond our own.
Stormy,
ReplyDeleteWhat a helpful thing to post these videos! What I most appreciate is that you so clearly demonstrate that when there is a pleasing connection between the horse and human, one can merge play into work--even out in the open field--and know that the human and horse can focus on each other without worry that their concentration will suffer for lack of a formalized manége setting--and this all at liberty! Wonderful!!
Patrick has such a desire to please!
Mixing in a lot more "stationary" exercises such as:
--step by step turns around the shoulders
--step by step turns around the haunches
--ramener and mobility in place
also,
--backing to the hand on the straight and on circles
these will all help a big, long-bodied horse like Patrick unite himself better over the topline and strenghten his abdominal muscles, so that his torso lifts between the shoulder blades and his pelvis and hindquarters engage. His Thoraco-lumbar and lumbo-sacral flexion appears to be stiff he cannot move with light, springiness.
He will amaze you with his greater control for airs when he can flex better...and the freedom gained in his shoulders through the lateral exercises will really help him with his Spanish walk, so that he feels he can hold his leg out with more grace and not have to set it down so quickly and heavily. He just isn't sufficiently supple and balanced quite yet.
Think of the poised position of collection, think position precedes action...and when you feel like Patrick is strong enough to poise himself in collected balance, then go for the forward trot sequences, otherwise he cannot move as upward and light as would be best for him.
Do you get much opportunity to play the "wild games" with him? Reprises of these with the more focused, stationary suppling exercises will sure have him truly dancing soon.
I write all this, from my own perspective. Its quite possible there are things you are working on in these videos that are aiming to achieve something different than light, supple, springy collection--if so, I apologize for the unsolicited suggestions and look forward to your explanation of the exercises you have demonstrated.
And, again...thank you for showing what "togetherness" between a horse and human can achieve!
Thank you for posting these videos - lovely to watch!
ReplyDeleteDo you use treats much when you work?
My 2-year old, Bridget, delights in reaching out at me with her "paws." Do you think I might turn this into a Spanish Walk? Or maybe something else - what might she mean when she does it? At the moment I pick up the proffered leg and scratch her knees, in order to show some kind of interest and enthusiasm for what she's offering, but I'm sure she doesn't do it in order to get her knee scratched.
Yes ... thank you so much for posting these videos, Stormy! They are wonderful to watch and truly inspiring.
ReplyDelete