I think I already have three horses. Ace without draw reins. Ace with draw reins. And Radar.
We had a lovely day hunting in spite of limited ground. Plenty of cantering and a few hedges. Nothing huge, but nice, and great fun in the autumn sunshine.
But what a session I had with Ace first this morning. It is as if he drops the mental tension when he is unable to physically express it. He tested popping his head up a couple of times, failed, and seemed to say to himself "well there's nothing I can do about it so I may as well stop worrying about it too". He was more relaxed than I have ever known him.
We did a few circuits of walk trot and canter, a stretch on a long rein, and then trot/walk transitions on a circle. All lovely, swinging, relaxed work. Then canter/trot/canter on a circle. To the right was smashing. To the left he was dropping the bend and then falling onto his forehand. I stopped and thought about it and put the canter onto a large square instead. To my surprise it improved a huge amount. That allowed me to realise just at what point I had been letting him back off the outside rein and drop the bend, and I was able to time half halts back on a perfect canter circle.
I haven't enjoyed riding Ace at home this much for a long, long time. Those draw reins are staying on. As long as they are there, I don't need them :-) !!
C
Years and years ago, I had a horseman suggest I ride my young horse with a martingale. Not because he needed it, but because it just gave him something extra to balance on. Wonder if the extra weight of the draw reins might just help Ace a little as well? Clearly, his simply knowing they are there so he can't get his head up does seem to settle him.
ReplyDeleteGood work on that circle to the left. That outside rein contact is so important and hard to keep when the horse tends to drop it. Good corrective exercise to use the square.
Glad to hear you and Radar were able to hunt. I guess things have dried out a little there. Sounds like a great day out.
I don't think I've ever known a horse canter a square with such ease Jean. The sides were straight, the corners were sharp and the whole thing was in perfect balance. I was a bit stunned after he was less than happy with a circle!
ReplyDeleteThe ground was wet Jean, but most of it belongs to the Hunt masters (Father and son)so they gave themselves permission :-) In fact the father said he gets permission to ride there because he sleeps with the wife of the man who owns it :-) :-) :-)
C
Good for you, keep them on until you're so secure with the new Ace you forget to put them on. I reckon I used them for 6 months, then only when I thought a situation might be a bit "lively". After that they were put in a box and have been there for about 8 years now. I've just backed her daughter, no issues yet, but I will always remember where they are if she's at all like her mum!!!
ReplyDeleteCan Super Hubby come and train my hubby please. I asked for a leg up today (rare event that he's even about when I'm riding). he got it wrong, punted me too high, and too far away from the horse, then when I was flailing in the air, didn't let go of my leg so I landed flat on my back. Very sore, very annoyed, that's a fall I didn't deserve or need but feels like I've been bucked off big style. Ouch.