First Ace, who was very sweet, very quiet and very responsive, in fact a lovely boy. In less than half an hour we did leg yield and shoulder in in walk, then in trot, then lengthened strides in trot, then walk to canter. None of them were brilliant, but all of them except the first walk to canter were better than he has managed before. I was very pleased with him. I am weaning him off the ulcer medication that he's been on for several months now, and we'll see how it goes. For now, he is quieter each day, so I don't think there is a problem with his stomach any more now the arena build is finished and life has settled down to a routine.
Then Jazz, more medium trot, some flying changes and some half pass. He got the half pass much quicker than yesterday, which was really good news. I am improving the accuracy of the half pass, making him wait and then asking for it at a particular point, instead of just waiting until he was balanced enough to do it. He is improving his ability to sit in a straight line canter and wait for the instruction. I have shifted the medium trot across the diagonal, which is 50 metres. Again, it is much harder work for him to maintain rythmn and balance across that distance and he is doing really well with it.
I remembered with a grin today those dreadful lessons that I had with Jo Graham, where she accused me of causing Jazz's problem with left bend. First because today he was so much better than yesterday. Second because both Radar and Ace have more problem bending right. I don't think it's me do you???
Such fun again today. How much longer is this weather going to let me carry on and on riding outside day after day?
C
Sometimes Jazz just takes a little longer to figure things out. Good going with the half pass!
ReplyDeleteProbably not your riding at all that makes Jazz left bend challenged. Most horses are either right or left hoofed anyhow, so we must spend a good part of our training trying to make them even. Some are just more left or right dominated than others.
I like Ace's general attitude. He really seems willing to work when he's not uncomfortable about something.
I am liking Ace more and more. I have never had a nervous introvert before, this is new territory for me.
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The nice thing about him is that when he does "come out of his shell" he really shines. He's going to get a lot of his confidence from you and will be the kind of horse who really bonds with his rider because of it. Be sure to keep telling him how wonderful he is when he does something well. He'll thrive on praise.
ReplyDeleteHe likes to hear me talk to him, I can feel him relax as we are riding round.
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