It's quite clear that I made a big mistake with Radar. He is simply much happier schooling in a pelham, and when we started with a pelham right from the beginning we have had a good session. He is still nervy and unbalanced at times, but a whole order different from when I ride him in a snaffle. I am not remotely scared of him, so I can only put this down to his own need for security in knowing that I can totally control him. Thankfully, Ace came back on stream as our dressage competitor fast enough to mean that I could give up trying to get a dressage test performance out of Radar, and no harm seems to be done. Today we had some nice walk, trot, canter, walk to canter and canter/trot transitions and he finished without either of us having sweated up.
Ace was very sharp to start with and went for a buck quite a few times. I got the impression it was caused by some wind and the weather front which is fighting its battle right near us today. There is heavy rain in sight on two sides, but it is just being held back. Tetley was always twitchy when the weather was about to change, he was practically a walking barometer.
I walked until he put his back down and relaxed and then we did walk leg yield, walk shoulder in, trot, trot shoulder in, trot lengthening, canter, canter/trot transitions and walk to canter. I tried for the beginnings of canter/walk and he got it with about 3 or 4 jog strides. When he gets canter/walk we can do a simple change and when he has that he can go for a flying change. I am not going to rush him, but he has finally matured enough to do this work just in time to take over from Jazz, which is such a bonus. He finds lateral work as easy as lengthening, which is fantastic because horses tend to be better at one than the other. I suspect collection will only be a matter of strength as well.
Things are going well.
C
Great to hear Ace is stepping up to the mark.. I've often been told that with a nervous / sharp horse it's good to ask lots of different questions in fairly quick succession and not to worry about quality or try and repeat anything until they've settled.. no idea whether this would be true of Radar or radaR.
ReplyDeleteIt was certainly how I cracked Jazz in the end NH. Both Radar and Ace are absolutely dreadful for anticipation so I can't do one exercise more than two or three times with either of them. I don't know about them being sharp, but I certainly have to be to ride either of them!
DeleteC
Radar in the pelham and radaR in the snaffle. Interesting. Perhaps he does need the extra security from you. Maybe you could transition him down to a non jointed snaffle, or an eggbutt....in time.
ReplyDeleteAce will have the changes in no time. Isn't it great that Jazz taught you how to teach them? You sound so confident now about them. True collection does take strength. That's why it's not asked for in the early tests. Ace will do fine given the time to develop.
He was in a straight bar snaffle Jean, but he seems to need both the poll pressure and the curb to make him settle and relax. Odd, isn't it? One day I'll do an Elementary on him, he has huge paces, a very rounded and uphill canter, and I'd like to see what the judges think.
DeleteC
Aww, I love to hear about Tetley.
ReplyDeleteI so wish I could ride in a pelham.
I'm never quite sure whether I should ML, now he's been yours for so long. But he was extraordinarily sensitive to weather fronts, and if there was a change on the way he was sometimes VERY difficult to catch if it had gone dark.
DeleteMaybe you could go up a level and ride in a double bridle? He goes well in one.
C
Trouble is for ML and Tetley, the double bridle is not allowed in the US until 3rd level, and the 3rd level tests have the flying change. A bit more schooling, though, and they will be ready!!
ReplyDelete