I've made a mistake with Woody today and I am annoyed with myself. I will blame the fact that I was tired after riding for over three hours yesterday and he was ricking my back.
The problem was that he kept doing two strides of walk and then a jog. I wanted him to stop jogging, but when I brought him back he dropped onto his forehand, disengaged his back and was uncomfortable to sit on.
Normally what I do with him in that situation is send him on, so that he does a jog with his back engaged, which is at least comfortable and forward even though it's not the pace I really want.
So why did I not do that this morning? I have no idea! What I did instead was nag him and have an uncomfortable time where he was setting on the left rein and failing to go forwards in a relaxed fashion at all. Stupid me.
I think it's time he went into a metal bit with a joint or two. He is developing a habit of seizing the left rein and refusing to respond to it, which I think is much easier for him in a straight bit which bends. I'm thinking of putting Ace's lozenge JP on and seeing how he responds to that. A search through my bag of bits is in order, I think.
Ace looked disappointed that it was Woody's saddle and not his, and Radar stormed out into the field this morning as happy as a lark. That horse has such vitality!
C
We all "lose the plot" now and then. The blessing is that horses tend to forgive us faster than we forgive ourselves.
ReplyDeleteI use a lozenge bit on both Tucker and Toby, but
Chance seems to prefer a single joint snaffle--full cheek. I'll be interested to hear Woody's preference.
Have to laugh a bit that you too have a collection of bits to choose from. Over the years I have managed to get quite a variety myself.
Yes, I have a full cheek single joint too somewhere in the bag of bits :-)
ReplyDeleteI think Woody dislikes tongue pressure so a single might work better for him. We'll have to try some out.
C
It reminds me that horses really do require concentration, pretty much the whole time. That's why it's never boring, why we are almost always truly engaged in what we are doing. Is a lozenge bit the one with the link in the middle? If so that is what I ride in now, for what it's worth. Also, for what it's worth, I have only three bits, three bridles, two saddles. Tetley hates the Wintec which makes me think it's broken inside so I really only have one useable saddle.
ReplyDeleteOh, Caroline, Maria, who owns the barn we board at has these really nice, totally waterproof, warm gloves. They are called sealskinz and you can only get them in England. She got them from Eric Smilely, an Irish trainer, judge (and probably more). They are friends and he stays at their house. We trail rode together one day and he laughed at me, saying that he thought my horse wasn't big enough for me :-)
I have two pairs of sealskinz. I can't believe you don't have them in the US! They are £37 a pair for the riding version, let me know if you want some and I can buy them and send them to you.
DeleteC
It costs an arm and a leg to mail stuff overseas! Dave has a long trip to Europe, including London, coming up so I am hoping he can get buy them there. From what catalog do you order them? Or do you think there is a store in London that sells them?
ReplyDeleteThey are sold in two of my local tack shops Mary Lou. I am reasonably sure that Harrods has a riding department where he would be able to get them in central London. They are worth every penny - I put my hands right into the trough to test my latest pair and they are totally waterproof.
DeleteIf you need to mail order, derbyhouse.co.uk is big and reputable and they have them in all shapes and sizes. They size a little small, especially the padded ones.
http://www.derbyhouse.co.uk/Search/sealskinz
C.
Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThat's just what Maria did -stuck her hand in a trough to test them.
ReplyDelete