The Five Rein Aids

One of the first bits of education I ever had in a lesson with Jim was about the five rein aids. 

• Direct rein (also called opening or leading)
• Indirect rein (also called neck rein or bearing rein)
• Indirect in front of withers
• Indirect behind withers
• Direct rein of opposition

Tonight's lesson was both a reeducation and reminding about the five, but also key in how they shaped my riding. 

 I was once again the first one to arrive. While we still had clouds, they weren't low like last week and Mount Si was visible from the arena.

The previous week the tops of these hills were cloud covered

 Cortney had mangled her foot (but not broken it!) while helping to load a friend's horse at the endurance ride last weekend. She was in a boot and was thus on the ground for media! (and basic ground pole adjusting) Jim was riding Amira, who while is a great 50 mile endurance arabian, sometimes just needs to have her 'yoga', as Cortney calls it, lol. She mostly walked and had to stand still, something she has some trouble doing. This mare is like the hyper part of ADHD as an equine.

I had been focusing all week on my posture and holding tone in my core without raising my shoulders. I'd also been reading a book by Charles de Kunffy that was almost philosophical in nature on the art of riding. I'm about a third through. I've really been trying to saturate myself in education as much as I can, including watching youtube videos of clinics. I'm bound and determined to actually make forward progress.

The footing was a lot softer thanks to a drenching rain but not baking sun. Gwyn was much happier to work in the arena.

 We focused a lot on maintaining a bend in her body and not letting her go straight. I also need to keep my elbows bent and loose and moving with her. I'd adjust one bit and the other thing I had been concentrating on would be lost. Getting it all together at one time is coming in moments. But it's coming. I worked in lots of circles and big loopy serpentines. I LOVE working in a giant arena with this horse. It really helps you stay off the rail and use geometry to benefit the dressage.

This is where the rein aids come in. My indirect in front of withers rein was the key to really helping create this bend in Gwyn where she was reaching down and relaxing into the contact. And I realize now that what he was having me do was steer with my shoulders, which is like what de Kunffy is saying when he talks about the shoulders of the rider should be what the shoulders of the horse do, while the rider's pelvis mimics the horse's pelvis. Sorry, that's a lightbulb that JUST went off as I wrote up this entry.

A touch behind the vertical here but WAY better than giraffing!

 There were some barrels set up and we used those quite a bit to have shallow and quicker serpentines to really drive home switching the bend up. I went through at a walk and then at a trot and did that back and forth several times then came out into a larger circle and haunches in'd and made the circle larger, then as I really had this gorgeous steady trot we went down over some ground poles.

 Cortney observed that in one direction Gwyn was really able to keep a steady trot over the poles but not in the other direction, which was (not coincidentally) the direction that we always have issues. Going to the left.

 We ended with a brief bit of canter in her good direction, I think so Jim could see what he was working with and have a baseline. To his eye, it looks like our issues are a lot of weakness, which was my suspicion. But if we have more lessons and rides like tonight, that will not last long.

 By the time I was basically done, Gwyn felt like her back was springy, like I was sitting on a diving board instead of a 2x4. It was the strangest feeling, but I'm pretty sure it was a good thing. She felt amazing and really really tried her hardest. And it felt like I was riding as optimally as I could. I want to capture that feeling.

 I need to improve my leg aid though. Right now I do a weird thing where I bend my foot to give a leg cue rather than using my whole calf. So that's something to think about. And remembering thumbs up, hands high like a serving platter, elbows bent and loose. I also should relax my face, apparently, haha. I hold tension there too.

And yes, those are my ground poles. I made the movers pack them up.

Just a little bit of lipstick! 

So, overall it was an incredibly productive lesson. Gwyn was great for loading and I move her to her permanent boarding facility on Monday! Eeek! I found pasture board with minimal facilities for SUPER cheap. Even though they're charging me half again as much to store the trailer it's still a better deal than any other place. We can do rough board, that's fine by me if it saves me money for now. It means weekly lessons! And a YMCA membership to work on my own fitness.