In order to save Kate the cost of a saddle, Pro had to be a dressage pony this evening. For that matter, he had to be a precise dressage pony. We had a minor set back when Pro discovered that the trot poles he likes had become the dreaded pole-monster under the bunny tree again, but for Pro it was a half-hearted attempt at stupidity at worst.
The hissy fit came when I was doing serpentines through the ring and told him that no, he could not do haunches-in for the straight line. After a brief scuffle over who got to control where his butt went, he was actually really good. His canter to the left was really good, I even got him to do a slightly lengthened canter for a circle and then made him collect back up. His canter to the right was much less balanced. When Tara gave me my groundpole lesson though, I remembered her telling me to give him room to go forward and he went much better. So I extended the reins from the 2nd stop to the 3rd stop and he rounded right up and got balanced. I did 3 strides of half-halts, 4 strides with no correction, 3 strides of half-halts, etc until he felt more balanced and didn't need the half-halts then collected him back up to the second stop.
I used to do long(er) reined warm up, then shorten for the meat of the work-out, then long rein cool down, but last time I rode Gayle had me go straight to short reins. What're peoples opinions on the best way to deal with that? I think in that case it was partly because Pro was paying no attention to me. Since Pro tends to be tight in his shoulders I don't know if it'd be better to warm him up long and low and establish the 'forward' first or if that's just asking for two hissy fits (one at working at all, another at swapping to dressage frame).
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Not the bunny tree again!!! I glad you were able to get his canter balenced to the right!
I have always heard, and thought myself, that forward is the key ingredient that you must have first. I have always been a fan of long and low work to get the muscles warmed up and limber, etc., before going to more collected work, and then end with long and low to cool down. If Pro is tight in his shoulders, or anywhere, that might contribute to his resistance if you move to more collected work before getting him moving and limbered up. I know I would work better that way! JMHO...
Hmmmm...I can see him fussing both ways (starting shorter, or longer) but I guess if I think about it, I usually start long and then shorten gradually. Gayle said most horses freak when you shorten, so maybe he's actually NORMAL in one way, haha! The forward for him (unlike most normal horses) really only seems to work unless he's already paying attention. Otherwise it's just fast, not true forward.
He'd better be up for being a dressage pony today - I have a lesson in an hour! ;)
Aaaaagh! The evil bunny tree! Run away! Run away! (I'd say it's fairly certain that Pro has seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail!! Hehehehe!)
Personally, I'd start all my horses long and low. It's hard for me to give you too much advice though because I've never SEEN him go. With a stiff shoulder though, have you considered counterbending? Lots of horses love it, and done correctly it can help open up the shoulder quite a bit.
Post a Comment