Can you...
Do a Freestyle "corkscrew" pattern?
While following the rail, do a 180° turn on the forehand and stop.
Then do a 180° turn on the haunches and stop.
Then a 180° turn on the forehand and stop.
Repeat the turns to move down the rail in a fun, twisty, corkscrew fashion.
Start slowly and work up to doing it in flow with no stop in between.
This can also be done online.
Ok, this is something I've been playing with, and wanted to share it but wasn't quite sure how to put it into words. If it doesn't make sense, let me know!
ReplyDeleteCool one, Tina. I think I get it, but I might need Brownie to demonstrate. I'm not visualizing which direction you're heading in. How many steps are you taking after each 180? More after one of the turns? Mary
ReplyDeleteMary,
ReplyDeleteDoesn't matter which direction you go or which direction you turn, just so you keep making progress in the same direction. they key to that is to alternate FH/HQ/FH/HQ. It will kind of look something like this:
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The spaces between are where the pivot point is.
Ideally, you're taking no extra steps after each turn, but you might have to work up to that.
You practice it with a pencil...just assign the lead end to be the head (FH) and the eraser end to be the tail (HQ) and try it!
I tried this again today at a walk with flow and it was great! This is how I did it:
ReplyDeleteI started out on the rail to the left (for me it was on the right-hand shoulder of the road!). Go forward at a walk and gently swing the hindquarters to the left (to the inside) as in a leg-yield. Do not loose the forward motion. Keep swinging the HQ until you're facing the rail and, without loosing rhythm, go sideways to the left a bit. Continue to swing the HQ to the left until you're facing backwards. Again without loosing rhythm (this is TOUGH!) go backwards a bit, then start swinging the forehand to the right, without loosing the backwards motion (so you need to keep traveling down the rail as you swing around, not just plant a pivot foot and turn). As you get to 90° and your Z5 is facing the fence, go sideways to the right a bit, then continue to swing the FH to the right until you're facing forwards again. Rinse, repeat!!
You may have practiced the HQ/FH yields before in sequence, and this is the same, they're just stretched out because you keep moving down the rail as you do them. Karen Rohlf teaches the "yields in motion" in her Developing Mobility DVD and this is very similar.
This was super fun, and Dixie actually got several revolutions that were almost perfect - light, soft and with rhythm maintained while moving down the rail. The key is definitely to start slow enough that they CAN maintain the rhythm and flow. Once they understand the pattern and aren't getting their feet tangled up, you could probably even do it at a trot, although that will be much more difficult. Make sure you do it both directions, too!
A side bonus was that it leaves really neat tracks in the dirt, they are all loopy like a stretched out spring. ;)
Definitely give it a try - it was fun, and once we both got the hang of it, it was actually quite easy, and was a great way to gain even better control over her feet.