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| Natalie and Don with Patrick |
This weekend Lincoln and I were fortunate enough to clinic with
Patrick King at
Pearl Equestrian, where I board. Patrick has focused on in-hand work and classical dressage principles with Pearl horses before, and I have been following him on social media for some time now. I really appreciated that his posts could always be applied to almost any situation, and it was broken down to apply to the average horse person. I've been intimidated by classical dressage, and specifically in-hand work, before training with Natalie, because it is so incredibly difficult to find someone competent to get you started on this journey. There are plenty of trainers who offer clinics, but they never seem to come remotely close to my location and they, more often than not, fill before I can even inquire. I was feeling quite fortunate that I was able to get into this clinic at all, and I was really looking forward to a great weekend of learning with Patrick!
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Here you see the whip moving towards Lincoln's hip, indicating we are
preparing to halt. My body position has started to change as well.
Not perfect, but slowly improving! |
Day one was a bit of a whirlwind. For an hour lesson, we crammed in a lot of new information and experiences. Lincoln is a very friendly horse, and of course walked right up to Patrick to say hi. We briefly went over Lincoln's history with me, what we had been working on with Natalie, and Natalie chimed in with her thoughts on where I needed to improve, and her general impression of Lincoln. After that, Patrick asked us to show him what Lincoln and I had been working on. We have only taken a handful of lessons with in-hand work, so the basics were not truly established yet. We established a better position for me, and briefly discussed less is more, especially with a horse as sensitive as Lincoln. With
Lincoln, a slight wave of the whip in his direction is still too much, so we did work on generating forward energy without any physical cues. Patrick likened it to dancing with a partner: there's no pushing or pulling, but you move together regardless. That seamless communication with Lincoln was something we worked on throughout the weekend, and when I was able to "lead" without any physical cues, that moment of togetherness was so rewarding for both Lincoln and I. We spent some time teaching Lincoln that the consistent feel of the whip on his hip or shoulder means halt, and we only removed the touch of the whip after he fully relaxed (when he lowered his head, mainly, but Lincoln usually goes the extra mile here and throws in a big release in the form of a yawn.) Patrick mentioned that this would be very helpful in competitive dressage as well, because when you come down center-line for a halt, the whip resting on the shoulder will help generate a prompt halt. Lincoln picked that up so quickly, and it meant that he was halting in balance and off the forehand. Next we moved on to a really interesting exercise that I look forward to incorporating into our daily in-hand sessions. we schooled shoulder in for a few steps, then counter shoulder in, then back to shoulder in. It definitely wasn't perfect-when Lincoln became off-balanced, he rushed and wanted to push through me. It was an adjustment for me as well, as this is the most complex exercise I have ever attempted in-hand, and it's a steep learning curve, but Patrick was very welcoming with all of my questions and clarifications, and often offered other analogies or explanations to aid my understanding, and he definitely kept a good sense of humor through it all, which absolutely aided my own relaxation, which in turn caused Lincoln to relax even more. I don't think I've ever been challenged so much in a lesson, but I definitely feel like Lincoln and I genuinely enjoyed it. Lincoln and I have such similar personalities that the same things rattle us, but that also means the same things also inspire us. Throughout the weekend, Patrick also explained how movements build on each other and prepare for other aspects of riding/training, which I appreciated (ie reinbacks build for piaffe which builds for the levade). I need to see the long term picture, not just what is going on in a particular moment, and Patrick was more than happy to offer more information.
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Here's a crooked reinback, where you can see the added tap of the whip
on the top of the hindquarters. So, I could have prepared him more
appropriately from a balance perspective. We will be working on this! |
Day two we focused almost entirely on rein-backs. We did start with the shoulder in/counter shoulder in exercise, but balance again became an issue. Patrick took over for a few minutes, demonstrating both technique and timing of the rein-back, before passing the reins back. During that time, Patrick made an interesting aside that reinbacks are categorized as a movement, but should be treated and improved upon like a gait. Lincoln and I had briefly worked on rein-backs in our most recent lessons, so the basic understanding was already there, but we really established our understanding on day two. It was fascinating to watch Lincoln begin to tuck his pelvis and move the diagonal legs with more precision and intent. We added a rhythmic tapping of the whip to the top of his hindquarters, and I just couldn't stop smiling after that. I have NEVER seen Lincoln engage his hindquarters like that. The instant his hindquarters sat, and there was flexion through his hocks, his front end came up in the same movement. Patrick explained that that occurs concurrently, not consecutively like most people teach. Physiologically speaking, it is impossible to have one without the other. So we would walk forward several steps, and the second Lincoln began to rush, we halted, waited for the release, and then proceeded to rein-back. Sometimes we walked three steps, sometimes six, but the rein-back was always at least four. This was also where straightness became an issue, and I've been taught previously that straightness needs to be corrected immediately, but Patrick wasn't concerned with straightness at all. He explained straightness is a direct result of balance, so when the horse is balanced, the rein-back will be straight. That will
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Forward movement in decent balance- no rushing yet!
Whip in neutral position. |
happen naturally. At this point I was so fascinated. Clearly I have been educated incorrectly in the past, but I truly didn't realize to what extent until this clinic. Patrick was so complimentary of Lincoln as well, positively remarking on his build and temperament, as well as his confidence and personality. He seemed to think piaffe in-hand will be very easy for Lincoln, and that we should be able to start that in 6-12 months. (I should note, at this point I was internally squealing. How COOL is that?! I've never ridden or schooled piaffe in-hand, so until this point, it has just seemed unattainable.)
So, long story long, it was a fantastic weekend. Lincoln greatly enjoyed the work, and I am so impressed with him! Patrick was an encouraging, funny, and relaxed instructor who made all the knowledge and information he was passing along both digestible and attainable. The confidence I gained in the in-hand work over the course of the weekend was vital for our path forward. And although we only schooled a handful of movements and exercises, it never felt like we were drilling ourselves into the ground, and I think a huge reason for that is the energy you should be generating when working in-hand. Basically, if you have the chance to clinic with Patrick, I highly recommend. 10/10 would recommend. He's coming back to Pearl in May, and I've already secured my spot!
