This last Saturday, I got to try out some tent pegging with Max. Tent pegging is basically where you attempt to strike and pull out a tent peg with either a lance or a sword. Apparently this got going back when the British ruled India as a past-time for cavalry soldiers. The tent pegs are not the small ones you see today but rather much larger, similar to long 2x2s (we had these for the larger GP tents when I was in the Army). As a practical matter, the "tent pegs" used today appear to be more along the lines of board made of some sort of soft wood (as far as what I can tell from the videos). We used old dish towels as our targets so it was a bit more tricky hitting them.
Max was excellent and he didn't have any issues with the lances or the swords, he just trotted or walked the way I pointed him and he cooperated all the way. My coordination, on the other hand, wasn't the greatest so I kept missing although I was able to make a few strikes. The technique is everything and I need to work on that a lot! But it was good fun for both Max and I and we really had to think a lot.
We also tried out mounted charges at the canter. This was interesting- he was a lot slower than the other horses (they're all Arabs, pretty much) but he tried to get into it and perhaps I was holding him back a bit- it was the first time he'd done that with other horses (we're talking about 20) and naturally I was a bit nervious about what he'd do. I kept him on the end of the line just for safety. No issues developed and overall it was fun.
I may pursue the tent pegging more- it seems like something that both Max and I can handle and it's great training. Plus, it would help for the National Cavalry Competition (if I ever can organize the logistics to take Max AND if he's ready).
Boy am I going to feel sore on Monday...More later!
Max was excellent and he didn't have any issues with the lances or the swords, he just trotted or walked the way I pointed him and he cooperated all the way. My coordination, on the other hand, wasn't the greatest so I kept missing although I was able to make a few strikes. The technique is everything and I need to work on that a lot! But it was good fun for both Max and I and we really had to think a lot.
We also tried out mounted charges at the canter. This was interesting- he was a lot slower than the other horses (they're all Arabs, pretty much) but he tried to get into it and perhaps I was holding him back a bit- it was the first time he'd done that with other horses (we're talking about 20) and naturally I was a bit nervious about what he'd do. I kept him on the end of the line just for safety. No issues developed and overall it was fun.
I may pursue the tent pegging more- it seems like something that both Max and I can handle and it's great training. Plus, it would help for the National Cavalry Competition (if I ever can organize the logistics to take Max AND if he's ready).
Boy am I going to feel sore on Monday...More later!
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