Skate was such a good boy last night. I hadn't ridden in 4 days due to the "damn shoe", but when I took him out to the outside arena under the lights you would never have known it. He ignored all the things that scare every other horse in the barn and just worked hard for me.
We worked on all the basics...but added in some new exercises. Although his trotwork was much more relaxed than usual, he was still attempting to pick the tempo on his own. I decided to stop politely asking him to quit the motoring off after my half halts - I demanded it! So we worked within the confines of a 20m circle at the sitting trot and every single time he sped up on his own accord he got another reminder(strong half halt) until he quit that nonsense. This is a bit of an epiphany for me because up until now, I have just sort of allowed him to speed up and tried to slow him with circles and other less demanding requests. All that ended up doing was getting him into this awful, hollow, drama llama pose while trucking around with eensy yet incredibly quick steps. I was just getting tense trying to keep up with that so we spiralled further down in trot quality until we just had to stop and walk. This new plan of half halting loudly until he listens seems to work very well. I think he likes being told what to do b/c he actually chilled out and gave me some very nice sitting trot.
I also needed to get his little butt responding better to my canter cue. He is hyper-sensitive to all aids, but we're having a miscommunication in this one area. I am either cueing too strongly or he associates cantering with something bad. Anyway, whatever it is, we gotta get past it. Those little pinned ears and sucking back at my leg won't work. So we did trot to canter to halt to trot to canter and on and on until I got prompt and FORWARD transitions into the canter. We ended on a lovely rhythmic canter into a square halt and called it a night.
So, on another topic - he has been super well-behaved and quiet the last two weeks. I don't know what it is, but I hope he keeps it up. Three things that may be contributing - I switched him to 2 lbs of Alfalfa pellets/meal instead of the 2.5 lbs of Reliance pellets about 3 weeks ago. He wasn't getting anything out of the pellets except junk calories, so I decided to switch to something a little more holistic (plus it may help buffer his tummy against ulcers, which I sometimes suspect with his fussy behavior). Also, he really likes the AP, and is slurping up his dose of Reisport along with it. Before, he was leaving quite a bit at the bottom of the bucket. It could be the influx of good vits/minerals is doing him right. And third, the new saddle might be making him happier with his work - Yay!
We worked on all the basics...but added in some new exercises. Although his trotwork was much more relaxed than usual, he was still attempting to pick the tempo on his own. I decided to stop politely asking him to quit the motoring off after my half halts - I demanded it! So we worked within the confines of a 20m circle at the sitting trot and every single time he sped up on his own accord he got another reminder(strong half halt) until he quit that nonsense. This is a bit of an epiphany for me because up until now, I have just sort of allowed him to speed up and tried to slow him with circles and other less demanding requests. All that ended up doing was getting him into this awful, hollow, drama llama pose while trucking around with eensy yet incredibly quick steps. I was just getting tense trying to keep up with that so we spiralled further down in trot quality until we just had to stop and walk. This new plan of half halting loudly until he listens seems to work very well. I think he likes being told what to do b/c he actually chilled out and gave me some very nice sitting trot.
I also needed to get his little butt responding better to my canter cue. He is hyper-sensitive to all aids, but we're having a miscommunication in this one area. I am either cueing too strongly or he associates cantering with something bad. Anyway, whatever it is, we gotta get past it. Those little pinned ears and sucking back at my leg won't work. So we did trot to canter to halt to trot to canter and on and on until I got prompt and FORWARD transitions into the canter. We ended on a lovely rhythmic canter into a square halt and called it a night.
So, on another topic - he has been super well-behaved and quiet the last two weeks. I don't know what it is, but I hope he keeps it up. Three things that may be contributing - I switched him to 2 lbs of Alfalfa pellets/meal instead of the 2.5 lbs of Reliance pellets about 3 weeks ago. He wasn't getting anything out of the pellets except junk calories, so I decided to switch to something a little more holistic (plus it may help buffer his tummy against ulcers, which I sometimes suspect with his fussy behavior). Also, he really likes the AP, and is slurping up his dose of Reisport along with it. Before, he was leaving quite a bit at the bottom of the bucket. It could be the influx of good vits/minerals is doing him right. And third, the new saddle might be making him happier with his work - Yay!
And - an old blurry pic; I know how we like pics!
6 comments:
Blurry or not it's a cute picture. I'm glad you found a technique that works for both of you with the rushing. And it's awesome that you could just hop on and ride despite a 4 day break.
Glad you found a way to control the tempo! Sounds like you also had some great transition work. Also, that's a great photo :)
Awww, I love Skate pictures!! We have a fondness for chestnuts here on this blog. ;)
Don't you love epiphanies?? And it sounds like a great one! You're dead on with your realization that he likes to be told what to do - Gayle has commented before that so many people seem to be afraid (I'm not saying this is/was you) of punishment but that she can see horses relax when they're given clear boundaries and commands. Just tell Skate that you'll take the hard task of deciding the tempo, and it'll make his life easier. ;)
Great progress!
That's funny you say that, Kate...I was so surprised when he totally relaxed after a few rounds of me "setting the boundary!"
I always battle a tendency to try to be too "soft" with everything I do. I fight the annoying open fingers, thinking its softer, and trying not to sit too hard, yet how can you give seat aids if you're always perching up there? I think my softness tends to just translate into clashing aids and wishy washy cues instead of one clear signal at a time.
It sounds like you had a good ride, and some excellent breakthroughs! YAY! I love the title of your post, too! ;)
Yay for strong half-halts. I think you two are really starting to get it together. I am glad that he is doing so much better. I love the pic!
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