Man oh man do I own a stubborn horse. So I actually got to ride him 3 DAYS out of this past week!!! [basks in glow from heaven] I've been making the focus of our rides being going forward and lateral work. I've been riding him this week out in the dry lot with the other horses (yes, I'm crazy) because the arena has been soup... and surprisingly he's been a rockstar. It helps too that the other horses leave us alone... Anyway, it's super nice having SO MUCH ROOM to ride in... this may become a regular thing even when the arena is dried up, hmmmm.
Well, I've been working a lot on half-passes from the halt. Leg-yeilding wasn't getting us anywhere so I decided to pare it down and eliminate the forward and just work on the sideways. Going to the right away from the left leg he is an old pro at, no muss, no fuss. Cool.
To the left though? Forgettaboutit. The conversation each and every time goes something along these lines...
Me: Sideways please
Cash: Eerr... forward?
Me: Nope, sideways.
Cash: Oh, turn on the forehand
Me: Sideways, now!
Cash: NO, backup?
Me: SIDEWAYS
Cash: .....fine
Oy. Even after doing it 2, 3... 4 times in a row it's still the same thing. Once he actually relents and does it he does it really well. He just simply does not want to. The issue is that he doesn't want to yield at the shoulder, he'll do an awesome turn on the haunches first try, but getting the shoulder over is a fight. Ornery child.
So yup, lots of lateral work. I like to mix up the sidepasses with walking turns on the haunches to help get him moving that shoulder away from pressure, plus it gets his body flexing back and forth in different directions--hooray for suppleing! It's getting there, slowly but surely, it's getting there.
I also dug out my big yellow watch and will be doing some trot sets with him in the near future as the weather and daylight allows for more riding time. Time to get fit buddy. Future trail rides are planed as well. I'm excited!
Last but not least, here are some cute pictures from barn time and our ride this last Tuesday (and oh yeah, I'm back to riding him in a bit. It's a sweet iron full cheek snaffle and so far he's loving it).
Cheers!
Well, I've been working a lot on half-passes from the halt. Leg-yeilding wasn't getting us anywhere so I decided to pare it down and eliminate the forward and just work on the sideways. Going to the right away from the left leg he is an old pro at, no muss, no fuss. Cool.
To the left though? Forgettaboutit. The conversation each and every time goes something along these lines...
Me: Sideways please
Cash: Eerr... forward?
Me: Nope, sideways.
Cash: Oh, turn on the forehand
Me: Sideways, now!
Cash: NO, backup?
Me: SIDEWAYS
Cash: .....fine
Oy. Even after doing it 2, 3... 4 times in a row it's still the same thing. Once he actually relents and does it he does it really well. He just simply does not want to. The issue is that he doesn't want to yield at the shoulder, he'll do an awesome turn on the haunches first try, but getting the shoulder over is a fight. Ornery child.
So yup, lots of lateral work. I like to mix up the sidepasses with walking turns on the haunches to help get him moving that shoulder away from pressure, plus it gets his body flexing back and forth in different directions--hooray for suppleing! It's getting there, slowly but surely, it's getting there.
I also dug out my big yellow watch and will be doing some trot sets with him in the near future as the weather and daylight allows for more riding time. Time to get fit buddy. Future trail rides are planed as well. I'm excited!
Last but not least, here are some cute pictures from barn time and our ride this last Tuesday (and oh yeah, I'm back to riding him in a bit. It's a sweet iron full cheek snaffle and so far he's loving it).
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| Yes, they love each other |
Emily
