Level 3 Clinic 5/13/06

I am pretty sure that this was a Nita Jo clinic in Lindstrom, MN

In L3 we should be thinking about getting more control of zone 3.

To start teaching a bend on the circle, walk a small circle and

• bend my ribs first -- P1
• Use G2 to ask the horse's ribs to bend --P2 through P4
• Accept total sideways at first

For Fluidity with riding

• Mirror the front feet when riding
• Lean back before asking for an upward transition to help the horse use his HQ's
• Adding rhythm or speeding up your rhythm is P1 for an upward transition
• Adding rhythm is relaxing for horses
• Exercise of walk, trot, stop, back-up five steps, and then trot off
• For a downward transition from a trot--relax your seat and if the horse doesn't walk, then intentionally bounce to the walk.
• Rhythm in the legs is for backing up but not for stopping

Sugar Foot Jog

• Start by walking forward slowly and even leaning forward a bit to exaggerate and then to stop, take your feet off and get a stop and backup using reins and rhythm as needed, but progressing towards doing without reins eventually.
• Progress to fast walk--slow walk--stop and back up
• For the transition, change your rhythm and take you feet off your horse about 2".
  
• You will lose your go button, then you just fix it with your phases.
• Then progress to fast trot--slow trot--fast trot--slow trot

Walk to Canter Transitions

• Use a soft touch rein position and point to point
• If they go to a fast trot, come down to a walk and try again
• Use a suspension rein for the downward transition
• To start, walk and have a suspension rein --sit back and add a canter rhythm, canter six strides and then transition down to a walk by using seat then rein

Fast Walk

• Increase the rhythm in your hands. If the horse doesn't respond, spank
• If the horse trots, emphasize the walk rhythm in a big way to annoy the horse until they go back to a walk
• Create disharmony to help the horse find harmony