Dressage clinic with Gigi Nutter!!

..No, Em and I aren't participating. I would've loved to, though. Maybe someday.

The clinic is actually over the entire weekend; today was the first day. I'm lucky in that the barn is <10 minutes from my house. I'm so glad to have this learning opportunity, even as an auditor. Gigi is such a warm and genuine person--the diametric opposite of the stereotype of "stuck up" dressage rider/trainer. It's too bad that stereotype exists. Dressage is for every horse and rider, not just long-legged blond Frauleins with 17H+ Warm bloods (not that there's anything wrong with that... ;-) ) It's just not me. And a lot of people. Anyway, I digress.

One of the horses is a Morgan mare that resembles Emmy a great deal: quite stiff to the right, tends to "run" with quick short steps, and very sensitive. I'll be watching her rides very closely over the next couple of days. Some things I've learned today....

~Not to focus on slowing down first. The horse needs to stretch over the topline first in order to move with longer/slower strides. This stretching is accomplished by massaging the bit with the fingers as well as posting more slowly (in trot) and dropping the weight into the heels. Half-halting a horse who is already tight and hollow in the back will slow the pace, but doesn't fix the root cause, the back.

~Use a leading rein (slightly outside rather than straight back) to encourage the horse to bend its poll. This will take some getting used to for me since I'm used to riding with very quiet hands. Even when bending in a circle, I tend to massage the inside rein for the bend rather than pull back at all. Gigi seems to believe, too, that this "playing" with the bit should be done almost constantly. When I do it, it's only for a few strides. I have this fear of interfering with the mouth too much (silly, huh? quiet hands + snaffle = not much risk of doing any harm.) Still, I prefer to ride the back of the horse than worry too much about the reins. I guess that's better than the other way around...!

There's more, but I'm too pooped to think right now. On top of a full day, I had a very emotional moment earlier. Don't you just wish sometimes that life were less complicated? I sure do. Then, of course I go ride a horse and worry about getting Ms. Princess off her forehand, rhythmic, and supple. At least it takes my mind off the shit in my life. !