So, here in this photo and video, you can see Emily working with Violet in such a soft quiet loving manner. She's helping Violet get softer and more supple. And she's helping me learn how to ride with a more active seat. Anyway, in May or June, I can't quite remember which one now, I told Emily that I was worried that maybe Violet was stiff with me not only because of my heavy unforgiving hands, but also because she had something going on in her neck or poll region. So, Emily gave her a really long quiet schooling session where she helped Violet wrap around her leg, lift up her belly, get soft soft soft. Emily and Kelsey both reported back to me that by the end of the long session, mostly done at the walk, Violet was practically a wet noodle and would bend any direction with ease.
So, then Emily gave me a lesson about how to get that from her. How to get her truly straight. How to get her soft and give her the reward. How to use my legs first. How to really feel her with just enough contact and not an ounce more. And then I got to ride her bareback and feel the same thing. It was an amazing session and one of Em's and Kelsey's friend who was visiting from college said that she could see the difference. I was pretty proud of our hard work.
And then just recently, I talked Kelsey into a half-and-half lesson to show me how to do a polite effective warm-up. It was awesome! We had a cool evening in late May and she got on Violet who behaved beautifully and calmly and sweetly. And then I was able to get on and do the same thing -- light soft hands, active legs, wrapping Violet around my leg, rounding her through the barrel. Violet loved it. It has made a big difference in her willingness to connect with me, her attentiveness, and our ability to set communication for our other tasks. And her softness!!! I'm learning a lot from my many teachers!!! Violet, Em, Kelsey, Stacey...the list goes on and on!