Monday 3 April 2017

Progression Plan - March Update

I made a progression plan in December to try and keep up the forward progress we were making. I'm finding that this is a great tool to keep my rides focused so I'm going to give regular updates on where we're falling on the list from month to month:

Legend:
Grey - achieved previously
Green - achieved last month
Yellow - working on currently

Definitions:
Good = relaxed + rounded topline + even rhythm + slow tempo (not overly slow, but not running) + correct bend in neck and body + acceptance of bit (eventually this definition will expand to include more, but this is what it means right now)
Consistently = means the movement is confirmed enough that we can achieve it every ride, even when it's a "bad" day, it doesn't have to happen on the first attempt though 

  • Good walk work - achieved in 2015
  • One good 10-15m trot circle - achieved in late 2015
  • One good 20m trot circle - achieved in spring/summer 2016
  • Consistently (every ride) able to get one good 10-15m trot circle - achieved in December 2016
  • Consistently able to get one good 20m trot circle - achieved in December 2016
  • Multiple good 20m trot circles - achieved December 2016
  • Consistently able to get multiple good 10-15m trot circles - achieved December 2016
  • Good trot circles with good walk-trot and trot-walk transitions - achieved December 2016
  • Consistently able to get multiple good 20m trot circles - achieved January 2017
  • Consistently able to get good trot circles with good walk-trot/trot-walk transitions - achieved January 2017
  • Good Walk/Trot test patterns (circles, large arena, diagonals, transitions, direction changes, etc) - achieved February 2017
  • Consistently good Walk/Trot test patterns - achieved March 2017
  • Good stretchy trot circle - achieved January 2017
  • Consistently good stretchy trot circle with transitions in/out - working on it, this is mostly on me because I don't want to give up all my rein on tense days
  • Good trot circle with a few strides of lengthen/added impulsion - achieved January 2017
  • Consistently good transitions within trot - working on it, when it's good it's really good, but still has tendency to race and counter-bend some days. 
  • Good canter circle - achieved February 2017
  • Consistently good canter circle - working on it, we've been doing a lot more cantering but I still don't canter every ride. 
  • Good trot-canter/canter-trot transitions - working on it, still has a ways to go though
  • Consistently good trot-canter/canter-trot transitions
  • Good Training test patterns
  • Consistently good Training test patterns
  • Add more strides of lengthened trot - achieved February 2017
  • Consistently good lengthened trot diagonals
  • Good trot leg yields - achieved February 2017
  • Consistently good trot leg yields
  • Good canter circle with a few strides of lengthen/added impulsion
  • Consistently good transitions within canter
  • Good long side of lengthened canter
  • Consistently good long side of lengthened canter
  • Good First 1 & 2 test patterns
  • Consistently good  First 1 & 2 test patterns.

There's only one green highlighted item on the list for March, but I'm still happy. It takes a lot longer to confirm a step than it does to achieve something once. Also, the "bad" days are getting fewer and farther between, which is a great thing, but it means it sometimes takes a while for me to see whether we can do something on a bad day or not (requirement to check off the "consistently..." list items). On my last ride, I test rode walk/trot patterns on my third outside ride of the year, in an absolutely insane wind, and with the neighbour's horses galloping up to the nearby fenceline. I am so proud of Kachina for keeping her mind on me and giving me such good work in those conditions. She is really turning into such a great horse and my heart swells with pride.

As always, I'm not going to rush anything because correct basics are so important. However, if I could complete all of the four yellow items in April that would be amazing. 

2 comments:

  1. I think the hardest thing about steady consistent progress is that the increments and intermediary steps steadily become smaller and more nuanced, and, by definition, sometimes harder to see and recognize. Like "Be able to Trot" is a nice big obvious goal. "Be able to transition within trot" is the natural next step, but somehow so much harder for a much less obvious outcome. Ain't that always the way tho haha. Glad that things continue to feel better and better tho!!

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    1. That's true for sure. I feel like at least at this stage I know what I'm looking for so I will know when I feel it. Future steps will be even tougher to measure if I don't know what it feels like when it's "right".

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