Previous horse riding lesson at the club showed a gradual shift towards practicing routes.
I had been away from riding for nearly a year.
It was due to a deterioration in health, but a year has passed since I resumed riding lessons.
This year might bring some changes...
The instructor seems to have a plan, so I'll just practice according to their guidance.
(In my heart, I want to practice routes, but my physical condition and skills aren't back to their former levels yet,
as the instructor seems to think.
The lessons last year focused on slowly restoring my previous condition with walk, trot, canter, and gallop.)
In the last practice, the horse I rode tended to turn its head left,
So, considering that,
We started with a left gallop, which is naturally easier due to its inner stance. With the correct riding posture and grasping the key points,
The horse would start galloping as soon as I signaled.
(When starting a gallop, beginners might lean back or lose to the horse's power, resulting in leaning forward or pulling on the reins.
This should improve with practice, making gallop starts much easier.)
After the left gallop, I changed direction on the central line to a right gallop. The horse naturally faces left,
So it's challenging to make it face right and start galloping while maintaining an inner stance.
This time, I recorded a video to observe my riding posture, and it was clear I struggled with the right gallop.
I'm not yet in perfect harmony with the horse.
In my case, for the right gallop, I should push my right sit bone more diagonally forward and my left sit bone back.
This is because my left leg is stronger, and the right doesn't have the same strength.
This imbalance seems to be affecting the horse.
During the gallop, I managed to maintain it well.
When I noticed the horse slowing down or seeming strained,
I tried pushing the reins forward several times (not just loosening them), and it effectively communicated with the horse.
Perhaps I'm gradually getting the feel of riding back...