Another first today. The first poo after I had started riding when I did not get the 'oh no this is going to hurt' feeling from Ace. And he was quiet and easy for the whole session. When I say easy, I mean that when he does go tense or have to be corrected because he is not doing a movement correctly, he can be asked to work properly easily and he does it without a fight. A couple of tail swishes, maybe, but very little else.
He is now trying to make a thing out of the weeds blowing in the wind where the blue barrels used to be, but it's terribly half hearted and unconvincing, so I am just laughing at him and leg yielding or shoulder-fore to keep him on the track.
We did basic circle work and forward/back changes of length within the pace. Then some walk/canter/walk - not bad at all. And finished on some leg yield - good to the right, half hearted to the left. I stopped to consider what was not happening with the move to the left and decided that he simply was no moving away from my right leg aid. That left me two choices - increase the leg aid or move his body over another way. I decided that I did not want to upset my own balance by booting him over with my leg, even if that would have worked. So instead, I used an indirect rein aid against his neck on the right, with his head bent to the right, which made his shoulders move to the left. By keeping him straight behind with my seat and legs, his whole body went left. It was inelegant, but it achieved exactly what I wanted. Next time round, over he went with the slightest of leg aid - he just needed to understand that the leg meant 'move away and move away now, not tomorrow'.
He is delightful right now. Soft in the body and the head. Cuddly and very loving even when there is no possibility of food being involved. In fact he will leave haylage to stay with me. Yet again, fingers crossed that this is a permanent change.
C
Since the change is so dramatic and so obvious after his injections, I would think it's well on its way to being permanent--and constantly improving. The more confidence he gains in his back the better he will be. And, as I've said, his pain memory is longstanding.
ReplyDeleteJust as an example, I have a new stability in my replaced knees but my body and brain are both conditioned to thinking they are going to collapse with certain kinds of movements. I still find myself acting as if they are my old weakened knees even after well over a year with the new ones.
What a neat example Jean :-)
ReplyDeleteC