As a Team AD protege I send weekly video clips to Al Dunning to be critiqued which is really helpful. The first helpful thing is that I have to edit 20-60 minutes of footage down to one or two minutes I want to send so I get to watch myself like I'm coaching and see what things I already know how to improve and make sure I work on them. Then I get Al's take on the video I sent which confirms what I need to work on and points out things I may not have noticed.
My horses are making improvements daily from various reasons.
Firstly they are getting consistent work. It's hard to expect improvement with hit and miss training, especially as I need to use them for the odd lesson still. I make sure that I ride them 5 times a week and definitely for at least 15 minutes after a student has been on them.
Second, they are getting fitter so they are able to do the job I'm asking of them. A horse has to be both physically fit and mentally fit. If a horse isn't physically fit his body can't handle the stress of reining training and yet you can have a horse who's physically fit from trail riding in the mountains all day every day and still have trouble because he's not mentally fit. Just like a person, a horse has to be ready to go to school and this takes time.
Third we are getting regular coaching both from Tom and Al. At the very least a person should be video taped to assess their position. A horse can not perform correctly if you're not in the right place doing the right thing. You may be able to assess yourself or you may need a coach or friend to help you.
Fourth, I also make sure to ride them for the right length of time. I can't tell you how long that is, sometimes it's only 15 minutes. It depends on the horse, the lesson, the day... Yesterday I rode Boomer in the field working on loping in an open area. First we had to work on steering at the trot, one handed. Then we worked on loping but then I discovered that we needed to work on rating the speed as he increased going towards the barn. Rather than pull on him I used his body to convince his mind that waiting for me was in his best interest. I loped circles at the far end of the field, not asking him to go or to slow, just relaxing, breathing out and waiting for him to come down to a trot. When he did we went towards the barn but as soon as he sped up I guided him away from the barn, put him in a lope and went back to the far end of the field and loped circles till he slowed himself down again. Altogether it was 1 1/2 hours for him to figure it out and come to the barn, turn away in trot and come at it again, with no speed increase. He wasn't exhausted, when I turned him away to lope he was quite willing and could have done another 1/2 hour, but it would not be in his best interest. The lesson was, wait for me, he did, we're done. I dismounted and led him back to the barn.
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