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For those interested in transition work...

It's Friday, it's -10, the forecast is calling for another 5" of snow, and I've officially spent more time digging through moldy books from the 1600's than riding my horse over the last week.
These are not as organized as they look... 
Related: I have developed a vendetta against unqualified archivists. (Losing a rare book? Not okay.)
"Remember, Remember, the dark of the library, the bookshelves, must, and rot.
I know of no reason why the loss of a book should ever be forgot."
... what do you mean that's not how it goes? What do you mean "too much time in photoshop?"
So, let's take a minute to relax with a cup of tea and do some good reading? Yeah? I swear to god this has something to do with horses...
Or read with wine. Whatever. I don't judge.
This article popped up in my feed recently, and I thought now would be a great time to share. It's called The Five Stages of the Transition and it's by Horse Listening, a fantastic training blog.

TIL?

  1. I need to do more half halts. Way more. Before and after.
  2. Some of this stuff comes out of order for different horses. On Pig I need to whisper before I can work on throughness. 
Epic half halt gif. Thanks Wikipedia.
This article was on Horse & Hound, and was geared towards photographers, but actually has some interesting tidbits about gaits themselves. It's called Photographing dressage horses: what to look for.

TIL? 
  1. Advanced horses hit the ground first with the diagonal FRONT leg in the diagonal phase of the canter. To support the lifted shoulder? Now that I look for it, it seems to be totally true. Mind = Blown. I've been thinking that was a fault!
  2. HOLY SHIT Valegro!
Srsly. Wtf. Have you ever seen a hind leg do that?
And finally, 7 Essential Aids for An Epic Canter Transition, also by Horse Listening. (I told you this blog is awesome). This is an incredibly detailed post chronicling every step of a canter transition. 

TIL?
  1. Again. Need moar half haltz.
  2. My inside leg needs to be on more consistently.
  3. Love the "windshield wiper" comparison!
More Wikipedia action. Because, canter.
Okay. Go forth those of you residing in places with weather that is conducive to life. I demand you practice these things. I'll just be here. Watching my huskies complain that the ground is too cold to go into the yard to pee...
"The floor is the extreme opposite of lava!" -- Sonka, dog.
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Comments

  1. CaraFebruary 20, 2015 at 12:32 PM

    Lol. Good tidbits, even better pictures :)

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  2. NicoleFebruary 20, 2015 at 2:56 PM

    Ok so at first I was all damnit I have to read MORE articles to learn about this?! But then the picture one was awesome and then I read the canter transition article. And I had this neato revelation!! When I'm prepping Murray for a canter transition I have to sit really tall (I have to think about this otherwise I'm inclined to throw myself forward) and I steady the outside rein, tiny squeeze on the inside, and then squeeze with my legs while thinking "up". In the next stride I ask for the canter with my outside leg and the depart is usually beautiful.

    So I'm thinking about this elaborate dance I do and I was like OMG I independently developed a half halt! That's exactly the half halt Murray needs to think about stepping under with his inside hind and kicking off with the outside for a calm, uphill transition!

    Then I became extremely proud of myself. ;) I'm having such fun reading your blog!

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    Replies
    1. AustenFebruary 20, 2015 at 3:15 PM

      Yesssssss! :) The photo one was super awesome, wasn't it?!

      Delete
  3. Codex DressageFebruary 21, 2015 at 2:15 AM

    I definitely need to half halt more too. And very interesting about the front foot in the diagonal pair thing - I also thought it was a fault!

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    Replies
    1. AustenFebruary 21, 2015 at 9:27 AM

      So weird, right? It goes against everything you think. But it makes sense...

      Delete
  4. Codex DressageFebruary 21, 2015 at 2:19 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  5. AnonymousFebruary 21, 2015 at 9:02 AM

    Thanks for sharing the articles, going to read them on the days it is too cold to ride- which are a lot unfortunately!

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  6. Wilbur, Ellie, and EmilyFebruary 22, 2015 at 10:45 PM

    Reading with tea? Please ;). Great articles! I noted the horse listening blog so I can follow up at a time when I am not drinking wine. Great resource!

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    Replies
    1. AustenFebruary 23, 2015 at 8:21 AM

      Wine drinkers unite! ;)

      So glad you like the shares! I'm usually behind on reading that blog because I like to really sit down and digest the articles. :)

      Delete
  7. emmaFebruary 23, 2015 at 12:07 PM

    ooh love these!! i'm also relegated to the life of drinking wine while reading... (and my reading is limited to actual physical books at the moment bc of the murder my cats wrought on my laptop. boo!)

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  8. Dressage HaflFebruary 23, 2015 at 4:21 PM

    Good reads! :)

    ReplyDelete

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