little bit of trot from patentlybay on Vimeo.
You have to make a lot of mistakes and try a lot of new things if you want to learn anything, right? Screwing up paves the road to success. However, you don’t want to keep making the same mistakes — that would be self-defeating or insane or both. I read a lot to find out what to try next, what things I should be working on with Eli to improve us overall as a team. I don’t want every ride to be the same old story, whatever may be said of routines. This means I try new things and do them very, very badly at first and Eli responds with justified resistance. But we keep at it, and eventually get better, maybe even get all the way to correctness. I am so fortunate that Eli picks up on things quickly and is very communicative (how ever annoying that may be at times). He is my best teacher when I try new stuff.
The thing we’ve been trying lately is more work at the walk. This is one of those things that I’ve read over and over, and you probably have too, if you follow equestrian media at all. Articles, books, clinicians’ advice … so many voices have echoed the same thing: riders and their mounts need to work more at the walk and canter. We spend a majority of our riding time in the trot, and not enough time at the walk or at the canter, working on these gaits.
So Eli and I are spending more time at the walk during our rides (still as much time at the trot and canter as usual for the most part, so our rides have gotten slightly longer). We work on many things at the walk, but one of them that is a bit of a struggle for is, especially for a forward-thinking thoroughbred and permissive rider as far as that goes, the rein back.
It’s difficult, to put it mildly. Currently, we suck at it.
we are not perfect from patentlybay on Vimeo.
“Perfect practice makes perfect” is an admirable goal, and it’s advice I willingly take, for if you are not trying to work on new things the correct way, you are causing more problems for yourself. Does this mean the first time we try a new thing it is absolutely correct? Nooooo. But does failure stop us?
It hasn’t yet.
“Sucking at something is the first step towards not sucking at something.” Words I live by 😉
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Yep. It’s a real thing.
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I cannot relate more. I am about to post about my Sunday lesson where I was trying something new, and it probably could not have been worse. It’s so bad it’s actually really funny. Glad to see I’m not the only one going through the occasional rough patch lol!
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It’s kind of like lots of little rough patches in a relatively nice field of sunflowers, lol
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Haha that’s a great metaphor!
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I feel you! Good news is, NOBODY is perfect. We are all working towards being the best we can be. Riding, or life, does not have to be perfect to be wonderful. Sounds like a motivational poster.
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It’s the kind of day that calls for a motivational poster, though. And maybe a motivational desk calendar, and then a motivational venti chai latte …
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Haha yes! All the things. Do you want to know what I like to do? Write one (or post one) on my bathroom mirror in a washable marker. Kinda hard to miss.
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My “rein backs” are more like rein-half-turn-back-on-the-haunches. But I keep trying! I know rein backs are good for pony muscles and minds, so I, like you, keep trying to make new mistakes with it.
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“Keep trying to make new mistakes” is the most tee-shirt-worthy thing I have read all day.
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This is actually my mantra at shows: “go make new mistakes.” Best shift in mindset that’s ever happened to me.
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It’s a good one!
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I secretly love walk work because it allows me to focus more since I’m not trying so hard to catch my breath (I’m over being out of shape)
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I wish I could say that but I don’t have the patience for it
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