Ride Notes: 8/11/21

• I switched him out of his fat, hollow mouth loose ring to a thing eggbutt. I thought I had a normal width one, but out of the five hundred eggbutts I own that is somehow not one of them. So that's on its way.
• I started off Tuesday's ride in-hand. Listen, the shoulders can move independent of the rest of the body. Key lesson: the shoulders can move. 
• Right off the bat we got to work on the SI under saddle, too. Moved to the quarter line and the haunches kept trying to shoot out one way or another while the head came up and the shoulders didn't actually move. 
• Tried circling because no outside rein connection and a head tilt, bulging mid-neck muscle. Didn't help. Moved on to the TOH.
• TOH: Slow the fuck down. Put your fucking head down. Slow down more. 
• He was getting confused and kept trying answers--sideways, half pass, backwards, too wide behind, crossing behind. The answer is slow down and put your head down. Process what I'm asking. 
• Had to get tough on him, but his brain was going too quick and the second his feet starting going sideways he would just spin around. slow down slow down slow down. Finally got them both ways and got big pats and a stretch.
• Back to SI. In the trot, did not want to give me the bend or the shoulders. Bracing, hollowing his back, sewing machine trot. Slammed on the brakes when I corrected him and when I booted him he shot into the air. I just carried on like nothing had happened, still asking in kindergarten language. I could tell he was getting flustered because he wasn't slowing down to listen to my A B C cues. Finally got through to him being patient but insistent. These are the aids. There is a correct answer. Got the answer? Best boy ever so many pats! Finally got one down each long side both ways. 
• Long stretchy trot and walk to finish, but not a hurried rushing trot and walk which is what he wanted to default to. Because going fast and dumping yourself onto the forehand is much easier.

• Today we did one million circles of varying sizes all over the ring at the walk until he lost the mid-neck bulge and started actually giving me a true connection. 
• Moved right into the SI from there at walk. Got it both ways. Directly into the trot. Bam, had it both ways there, too. 
• That's good, but it's also frustrating because I know he knows this shit, he just lets tension/laziness get in the way of producing the work and all the evasions that follow blow shit out of proportion when if he just did the work he'd get the reward. 
• A monster windy rain storm blew through right when I picked up the canter and cooled everything right the fuck down for a good twenty minutes so I took advantage and used that time to canter. So. Much. Canter.
• It started off really, really shit. Not going anywhere, tense, falling in, sometimes four beat. Any request for forward just made him run. I finally got the shoulders up with a million square turns, but the gait quality remained gross. 
• Took a break, got his neck reaching out, and picked it up again. Had the forward and the softness, but it was freewheeling around with zero collection and not much control. Half halt after half halt while not letting him break finally got it coming up.
• Holy shit that was hard, and it really highlighted what a lazy, sloppy fucking rider I've become. Sitting in the saddle? Using my back and abs? Clearly has not been happening.
• TOH. Got the slow down part, this time worked on staying straight coming into them. So much better than yesterday! Still probably too large for a great score, but I will ride my 6s to the bank all day. 
• Finished with stretchy trot, working on maintaining the rhythm and balance and not going fast.