The bad news first. Jazz has gone subtlely unsound on the worse of his spavined hocks. We got away with it for three whole years, but he is feeling it now. It's very, very slight, but too much for me to ignore even if most people wouldn't even notice it . He is on glucosamine from today, MSM from as soon as it arrives and I have booked him in for steroid injections into his hocks next week. If that lot does not bring him sound we will have to review his future, because as an ulcer-prone horse, he cannot live permanently on bute.
It's such bad timing, isn't it? He was a doddle of a hack today, not bothering to look at anything, just pootling along so happy you would never believe it was him. We've had three or four months of a completely grown-up and willing Jazz, and now he's unsound.
The good news is that Ace and I found a trainer. Close to home. Cheap! She used to run a big riding school, and competed herself up to medium dressage, I think, though she might have gone a little higher. She is well known as an owner/teacher of a big riding school until a few years ago, but she isn't well known as a "trainer" of any repute. Because she is local and I quite liked her, and she owns a 20x60 covered arena where I used to take Ace in the winter and she admired him, I booked a session.
She had me start off - in walk. Surprise number one. Then she just watched for a while. Surprise number two. Then she asked me lots of questions about him. Lots of brownie points building up now! We worked on relaxing the walk and getting it to swing, which is not one of Ace's strong points. She had a little trick up her sleeve - every time he went to curl his head down and in, she clapped her hands. He brought his head out where we wanted it, and I could move the walk out. It was a neat trick!
Then we trotted. She focussed a lot on me, just as much as on him. I find that trainers in this country tend to train the horse, not the rider, so I was REALLY pleased about this. Her instructions for positioning my shoulders and turning Ace with weight aids were really useful, and not something anyone else has ever taught me. I think I can illustrate best how good she was with one comment. I have a terrible habit of looking down. She did not say "stop looking down". She did not say "look up!" She said "where are you looking, Caroline?". In other words her whole approach was to get me to think about what I was doing, not just tell me what to do.
It is a long, long time since I got so much out of a lesson and I will definitely be carrying on going to her.
C
Sounds good about the lesson!
ReplyDeleteShame about Jazz though...hope that it is fixable soon.
Upsetting about Jazz. Hopefully the injections will help. He has become such a nice horse it would be a shame if he could not work for you anymore.
ReplyDeleteGreat news about the lesson. I like her approach of watching and listening to you before making any judgments. And good too about working on your position. It will influence the horse tremendously. That's why all the dressage masters spend so much time with riders on the lunge, working on position.
Welcome back! I think spavined hocks are pretty common and many, many horses here have been treated for them with injections, routinely. So best of luck on that front.
ReplyDeleteI have found that lessons here focus on, #1, sending the horse forward and #2, rider position and #3, half halts. This is just the positive environment you need while you sort out Jazz.
Well hi there, glad you've plucked your head out!
ReplyDeleteSorry that Jazz is feeling his hock a wee bit, I hope the MSM does the trick, but if not steroids are magic for some horses eh? Hey if anyone can resolve it for him you can, just keep trusting your instincts on his care.
Your new trainer sounds very much like the new trainer I've found who's working wonders on me. And she is also the first trainer for ages to take my position apart and put it back together. I feel so much more elegant in the saddle now (which for someone as short as me is tough to achieve) and both my horses are going so much more freely forward underneath me.
My trainer is following the classical German principles,
1. Rhythm
2. Suppleness
3. Contact
4. Impulsion
5. Straightness
6. Collection
Like you describe we started with a lot of walk (which I thought would be boring) but of course I had so much to learn. Its been really enlightening and enjoyable for both me and my horses.
Said you'd become a dressage diva didn't I?
:-) Tracey
Interesting Tracey. She was bemoaning the fact that some workmen had taken out the electricity supply so that she could not play me a CD whe has where you pick a tune that matches your horse's natural rythmn, so that you can recreate it any time by remembering the music. So rythmn was her number one as well. I would say "impulsion" was some way down her list, behind contact and bend (suppleness) too. They sound very similar.
ReplyDeleteBetter news on Jazz today everyone!
C
walk is good......she sounds like an excellent instructor!
ReplyDelete