Leg-yield lessons - CLOSED

[dari]

Lyris walked into the arena again.

I don't know your skill level... How far have you and Duke gotten, and what do you need to work on? She scuffed out a weed with the toe of her boot and tossed it aside.

[femalefred]

Ella had to think about that one for a second as she walked Duke into the arena, stopping him just short of the centre and drawing down the stirrups. "Well.. I've never competed in an actual dressage test outside of an event myself, but the last event I competed in was training level. Duke on the other hand hasn't done so much. Most of the groundwork I do with him is just schooling and trying to get his head down," she said, mounting up quickly once she'd finished and checking the gelding's girth before they started.

"Just recently I've been trying a bit more with him, and he collects or extends his gaits nicely enough, but when I've tried to teach him to leg yield he just doesn't seem to understand me."

[dari]

All right, that's fine. She walked to the center of the ring. We'll start with his head. Once you've warmed him up, take your contact and sit up, on your seatbones as much as you can. Bring your leg under you a bit more, so that you can just see the toes of your boots. Keep your hands soft, and do a little "sponging" on his mouth. Just wiggle your fingers a little bit, back and forth. He should bring his head down a little.

[femalefred]

"Ok, thanks," Ella replied, nudging Duke to a walk. Responsive as ever, he began at a fairly quick pace but responded to a half halt and settled down into a more even rhythm as they came around the corner of the long side and went past C. Ella asked for a trot, and took him in a 20m circle out to the centre of the ring, and kept up the trot until they reached A, at which point she asked him to walk. As she continued to warm him up, it was clear that he had no intention of putting his head down, and once they'd completed a few more circles and changed rein, Ella began to do as Lyris had asked.

She sat up more even than usually, forcing herself right onto her seatbones and brought her legs more under, though she didn't glance down to see if the toes of her boots were all she could see. When she began the 'sponging', Duke did respond a little, but his head still stayed well outside a proper outline, even if it was at a more helpful level now.

[dari]

Lyris got out of their way and went to stand by the light post again. That's better, she said when Duke brought his head down a little. Keep your hands soft, and drive him forward with your seat. He's starting to listen to you. She watched the gelding's head critically for a few seconds. Don't forget to bend him a little to the inside. He should be bent around your leg so that you can just see the bulge of his inside eye.

[femalefred]

Ella had forgotten about the bend and mentally chastised herself. She gently increased the pressure with her inside calf and shortened the inside rein a fraction and was pleased to see Duke respond well to the instruction. He might not have a great deal of focus sometimes but he was a supple young horse and would usually respond to those instructions.
"Is this better?" she asked, glancing over to Lyris. She was always keen to have the expert's response on these matters. Even if she thought Duke was doing well didn't actually mean that he was. Focussing again on what Lyris had said before she continued to 'sponge' the gelding's mouth and deepened her seat a little.

[dari]

Much better, Lyris said as Ella bent Duke around her leg. See how much of a difference that made? He's starting to come down a little more for you. Good. She watched as they made another pass around the ring.

See how he's come down like that? That's what you want. Give him a pat with your inside rein, but don't lose your outside. The outside rein's like a wall to him; it tells him 'don't go any farther out, just stay here.' Good. As they trotted around the ring, Lyris could see the difference in his head carriage. He was a very supple horse, she thought.

[femalefred]

At the praise, Ella grinned. It was silly, she reflected, to never have thought of this before. Of course if she got him using a proper inside bend he would be more likely to listen to her aids, it just made sense now. "Like this?" she asked, gently twitching the inside rein and keeping the outside hand as still as she could.

[dari]

That's fine, Lyris said with a smile. She flicked an errant lock of her long auburn hair behind her shoulder again and appraised the pair's form.

He's looking much better. Much more relaxed. Just remember, don't try too hard; that'll make him tense up, which in turn'll make him hollow his back and lose the head carriage and bend he has.

All right, she said after a minute, let's work on your yields. Go ahead and come down to a walk, and we'll start from there. Once you get to A, turn up the quarterline and straighten him out. Then I want you to put your weight into your outside stirrup and nudge him over with your inside leg. Don't forget to keep him straight and round. He should cross over with his inside hind leg, all the way to the rail.

[femalefred]

Ella nodded, and silently drew the gelding down from the fairly collected trot to a working walk. His head was still nice and low, and after this work he'd almost got himself into an acceptable dressage outline, but his rider was still mildly worried that straightening him out for the leg yield might lose some of the contact they'd gained so far over the course of the lesson.

Coming round to A, she forced herself to releax. Ella could feel Duke beginning to hollow his back a little, and she knew that Lyris was right when she'd said that would happen if she was tensed up. Trying to be comfortable, the relaxed rider that she usually was, seemed to help a little but his head had already crept up from where it had been only moments earlier. Turning up the quarterline, she did as she was asked and put pressure in the inside while maintaining weight on the outside, and almost to her surprise she felt the gelding take a crossing step towards the rail. It was almost so wonderful that the young woman nearly lost her position entirely from happiness, and as such she did lose the good contact she'd had with Duke's mouth and his head crept further up. It wasn't back to his original carriage, but it was still much higher than the lesson work had brought it. All the same, he was continuing to respond to the leg yielding commands and moved over to the fence - albeit it fairly steadily - before H.

[dari]

Very good, Lyris said with a smile. Don't forget to keep the bend... when I say "straighten him," I mean keep the bend but make sure he's traveling on one track. I should have explained that better.

She appraised the pair for a minute as they moved to the rail. That was good for your first try. He does have his head in the air, which means that he won't be able to cross under himself as well, but he did get over for you nicely. Try it again on the long side here. This time keep the bend and get that head down before you even ask him to move over.

[femalefred]

"Ah, right. Misunderstood you there," Ella said with a slightly embarrassed grin. She'd settled her seat back again and applied pressure with her calf, getting back the inside bend. By then they'd reached the quarterline and she turned down towards A.

Concentrating, she sponged Duke's mouth a little with the reins and put a little more weight into her seat to encourage him to carry on the forward motion. His head had come down again, and this time she wasn't going to lose position if he actually yielded. Placing the weight into her outside stirrup, she asked him to move over, and this time he did much more easily. The steps were a little stilted and ungainly, but he seemed to be getting the idea, and he was out at the rail a good distance before he had been on the last time.

[dari]

Excellent, Lyris said with a smile. It's not the best, but you're both still learning. Very good.

I don't think we're going to try that at a trot today, let's go ahead and end on a good note. Otherwise he'll get frustrated and you'll get frustrated, and that leads to disaster. she pulled a weed and tossed it off to the side.

[femalefred]

Ella grinned and nodded, taking the reins into her outside hand and giving the gelding an appreciative pat on the neck. He'd done so well today, but she supposed that was probably because they'd had a good teacher this time round rather than trying to do it themselves. "Thankyou so much for this Lyris, it's been really helpful. I mean, I knew the basics of what to do before but I just wasn't thinking about it so neither of us were getting it right. This gives me hope that we will actually make a decent event pair!"