Well after we had our now familiar hop, skip, and buck, he settled down to some super 10m trot circles, 15m canter circles, canter/trot 1 horse length/canter changes across the diagonal and some very nice lengthening where I was most impressed with the toe flick that I was seeing in his shadow! When he lengthens, he doesn't just stretch his stride. What he is doing completely naturally is to push himself up into the air with a pronounced punch from the back. It feels as if every step is a jump from behind and as if passage is going to be a piece of cake for him.
Just for fun I played with some attempts at a flying change with a pronounced change of direction. I circled towards the boards and approaching the boards bent him to the other side, then close to the boards asked for the change. He got them each time, late but easily once he understood. He's going to have them properly in a tenth of the time Jazz took to get there. I also asked for his first ever canter to walk and he almost got that too! Just two trot steps then walk.
I just can't believe how easy he is finding all this stuff physically. Mentally he is still challenged and constantly on the lookout for something to be silly about, but physically he is learning faster than any other horse I have taught by a huge, huge margin. I will be careful not to push him too fast, but at the moment that doesn't look like any sort of a problem, the ease with which he is picking it all up.
C
No problem with taking him along at a fast pace, as long as he's finding it all easy. I have always believed that if indeed all the exercises are natural to horses, then there really is no big deal in teaching them under saddle. They do not particularly need tons and tone of muscle development to produce the exercises.
ReplyDeleteHowever, producing the exercises with the quality and consistency needed to really compete, then you do need to develop muscle, as well as physical and mental strength.
So go ahead and play with all the movements with your talented boy. Don't neglect his body building and stamina by asking too much of anything too soon, but no reason to avoid asking.