When I thought about this, and how Rose likes to pull against my hands at the canter, I realized that she was trying to converse with me but didn't know why I was still pulling back against her. So she would try to go faster because she thought there was something to be found if she sped up. Once I let go and didn't try to hold her back - literally let go of the reins - she realized there was nothing so extraordinary about going super fast, and that she didn't actually feel like going at that speed. So she slowed down because I LET her speed up. I gave her the option to go faster, and because of this she chose to relax. What intricate beings horses are!
In our ride today, I tried letting go with no idea how it would turn out. I remembered the logic of the strategy I had come up with and hoped it would work. I'm pleased to say how well it worked out for Rose and me. I'm also very proud of myself because the horse's mind is becoming more clear to me, and I know or can guess how a horse will react to something I do, and therefore how to approach a new situation or teach something new to the horse in a way that the horse will understand calmly and happily.
We started the ride at the walk, focusing on steering from my seat, legs, and torso only. I did not touch the reins. After practicing some leg yields and collecting the walk without using the reins, I asked Rose for a nice, relaxed trot by voice. My main goal was to keep my body as still and relaxed as possible. She responded by trotting nice and smoothly, her head calmly resting at a height comfortable for her. We did come circles, serpentines, and changes across the diagonal, all the while using the reins to a bare minimum. We also practiced trot-walk transitions using my voice as the primary cue, but also my seat to slow her down. I think she was having fun trying to decipher my gentle, light cues.
After about ten minutes of trotting exercises, I decided to move on and asked for the left lead canter in a corner. I gently moved my outside leg back and held it there, preparing her for the canter cue. Then in the corner, I pressed my inside leg into her side lightly and let the reins go. Rose picked up a wonderful, slow canter right away! I was blown away, as all our canter transitions from past rides had been spastic. I guess in the two days of no riding (I've been sick) I had time to stew over and try to solve her canter transition problem. Well, letting go was what I came up with, and it worked beautifully!
Throughout the rest of our ride, Rose offered four or five more calm transitions both directions. When she'd pick up the wrong lead, I'd let her keep going for a few more strides and then ask her to come back to trot so that we could fix it and pick up the correct lead. This was so that she wouldn't ever get frazzled because I was asking for transitions too quickly.
At the end of the ride, I even got two very nice WALK-canter transitions on the right rein. I'm so proud of my champion girl. I tell her she's a champion every day, so that is what she believes. I think a horse will only try their hardest for their human if they are made to think highly of themselves - so I always make sure to shower Rose with praise and reassurances when she does the right thing.
Also I forgot to mention that I had to ride Rose in a dress today! It was what I had worn to school and I had forgotten to pack a change of clothes for the barn, so I just hopped in the saddle with a dress fanning out around me. It was great. Here's a photo from the foggy ride, dress included: