So things have been pretty hectic- I took a last minute trip to Minnesota with Tawney to a reining show were she did awesome! It also gave me a chance to watch the "green" reining classes to see what I could expect at our (hopefully) first reining show in May at Gordyville. I was very surprised with what I saw- not a lot of fast spins and most of the riders using two reins- it definitely made me less nervous to show so quickly! I just have to get a sliding stop and we will be ready to go! Fortunately Radar is getting his slider plates "installed" in a couple weeks, so I'll have about three weeks to practice before our show. I've got to get a few items before the show- a cowboy hat, show shirts, a blingy belt and boots. I ordered a really cute shirt today- I can't wait to see it in person!
So J had a couple days off due to me attending the show and I was able to ride him last night. First off, he is doing so great at this barn. He is now off his ulcer supplements and calming supplement and just getting adequan joint supplement (as a preventative) and raw apple cider vinegar (natural anti-inflammatory, insect repellent, probiotic, etc.). He gets one cup of Safechoice per day- spread into three feedings. And he gets loads and loads of beautiful mixed hay. He looks better than he ever has in his life- he has gained weight (and "finish" as Tawney calls it), has a gorgeous golden and shiny coat, hooves are strong (has not lost one shoe since being at this barn) and is generally happy and calm! I'm so happy to see him thriving!
So last night J was a little "looky" at the back door, not sure what he was looking at, but he was a good boy and worked through it, never spooking or acting naughty. I have been making sure to start off on a long rein, going two laps each direction being super relaxed and letting J settle in, this seems to really help him get focused in our warm-up and not make him defensive. Then we worked on lots of halt/walk transitions with some rein-backs thrown in there if he got to heavy on the bridle. I made sure to keep him light in the front and ask him to move off quickly and strongly off his hind end. Then we added in some trot work- doing transitions between the gait, and transitions between the walk/trot and halt. I added some lateral work- some sweeping leg yields that got him more responsive off my lateral leg.
Then I started to work on some of the trot work from the 1-3 test- which includes a leg yield away from the wall, a 10 meter volte in each direction at X and then a leg yield back to the wall. J was responsive but seemed to be really lagging and not trying hard. I debated two thoughts- that 1) he has not been ridden in a few days and may need to be gently brought back or 2) he is just being lazy and can do it despite being off. So I went with the latter- I sat up, took better contact on my outside rein and asked him to give me more effort. He was resistant at first- trying to ignore my request, but when I made it impossible for him to ignore, he went with it and did some great work. I felt that he was really pushing off his inside hind and giving me some swing. We worked a little more on the trot work from 1-3 and then did some trot and canter lengthenings and some changes through the trot. I'm going to have to work on J anticipating the changes because he is starting to throw flying changes when I ask for the downward transition. We also worked on some bending lines in the canter. I was very happy with his work and especially his effort after I got on his case about it. J is definitely the type of horse that you have to ride- he is not going to exert more energy than is being asked. I haven't had a lesson in a few weeks and will hopefully have one this weekend! I need some focus! :)
And as for my ride on Radar, it was great as well. This horse has just as much heart as J and seems to really love to work. I've been working on collecting him and making him work off his hind end instead of running around on the forehand. It is tough for him, but he is getting better and better with each ride. He is the king of anticipation and that is something that I've been working very hard on- making sure that I am the pilot and I don't let him take charge simply because he knows what to do. We did lots of transitions, between gaits and within the gait, than worked on some very small trot circles that eventually became spins and then some flying changes. I did a couple of rollbacks, but the arena was pretty busy and I didn't want to run anyone down. I can't wait to get his sliders on so I can learn how to do a sliding stop and have that last piece of the puzzle at our disposal. I have my first lesson with Tawney scheduled for tomorrow night and I can't wait!
No comments:
Post a Comment