With New Year's having passed by, it's definately time to get back into the normal flow of things so today Max and I attended Warhorse practice at Gabriellano Park.
I arrived at the arena with more than enough time to get Max warmed up. The weather was clear and warm and Max was definately a bit sluggish- he definately wasn't motivated. After about a half hour's worth of work, Max began to get the idea that I meant business and that it was time to work.
It was a small group today, no more than eight people, and when we were all assembled, we began to practice. The practice was pretty much the usual combination of individual movements and group movements, first at a walk and then at a trot. What's nice about these is that Max tends to perk up when working with "his herd" so by the end of the practice session, he's a lot more energenic and "ready for anything".
One interesting twist we did was that we practiced cantering, first individually and then in pairs and finally in fours. Also, each of us cantered individually while the others watched and critiqued. Naturally, Max decided to act like a brat and at first he refused to transition into a trot from a walk- basically he would balked. It definately wasn't due to soreness or being scared, it was just because he didn't feel like working anymore. We solved this pretty quickly by growling at him, spinning him in a circle and then kicking him up into a canter. What was funny about the whole episode is that Max somehow thought that I wanted him to do a collected canter and he'd tuck his head and attempt to collect- I actually wanted an extended canter. I fixed this but it was kind of amusing.
Max got much better as we progressed and he loves to canter in line. Of course, the one problem is that most of the group is made up of Arabians and Throughbreds and they move out a lot faster than Max so Max struggles to keep up. He definately THINKS he's an Arabian although the reality is different. When cantering in line, Max does a lot better when he's either in the middle or the inside. Cantering on the outside a tough and that's where he was most of the time during this traning session (I think it's good for him nonetheless).
What's also nice about the formation work we do is that gradually Max has learned a lot of the movements to the point where he will do them with little direction on my part. The one element that's interesting is that whereas you want to align the line of horses with the riders legs lined up (for uniformity and safety since each horse varies in length), Max attempted to line up so his head is next to the other horses. He's definately trying to do the right thing but from his perspective. :-)
Afterwards, we decided to go on a trail ride so we followed a circuit leading through and around the Ponds. This area sometimes makes me nervious because of the narrow trails and the heavy vegetation (this is where Max blew up during the trail trials). However, Max seemed to be allright and we rode a lot of these trails at a trot- there were times that Max would become anxious about keeping up with the other horses but it was very manageable.
The one challenging thing about riding at the trot along these trails is that because of my height, I had to constantly duck low-lying branches and at some points I had to flatten myself on Max's back and do it quickly. Also, being able to keep a two-point stance is essential because of all the twists and turns in the trial. My seat was definately firm but I can see where someone with a weaker seat could get messed up quickly.
We trail rode for about an hour and then headed home. What was interesting here was that Max moved with an extended walk (no surprise there since we were headed back to the barn) but what was interesting was that he attempted to maintain pace with my friend's Arabian.
Max and I definately worked up a sweat on this ride and Max got a nice bucket of A&M, Omolene and carrots. Wheew! :-)
I arrived at the arena with more than enough time to get Max warmed up. The weather was clear and warm and Max was definately a bit sluggish- he definately wasn't motivated. After about a half hour's worth of work, Max began to get the idea that I meant business and that it was time to work.
It was a small group today, no more than eight people, and when we were all assembled, we began to practice. The practice was pretty much the usual combination of individual movements and group movements, first at a walk and then at a trot. What's nice about these is that Max tends to perk up when working with "his herd" so by the end of the practice session, he's a lot more energenic and "ready for anything".
One interesting twist we did was that we practiced cantering, first individually and then in pairs and finally in fours. Also, each of us cantered individually while the others watched and critiqued. Naturally, Max decided to act like a brat and at first he refused to transition into a trot from a walk- basically he would balked. It definately wasn't due to soreness or being scared, it was just because he didn't feel like working anymore. We solved this pretty quickly by growling at him, spinning him in a circle and then kicking him up into a canter. What was funny about the whole episode is that Max somehow thought that I wanted him to do a collected canter and he'd tuck his head and attempt to collect- I actually wanted an extended canter. I fixed this but it was kind of amusing.
Max got much better as we progressed and he loves to canter in line. Of course, the one problem is that most of the group is made up of Arabians and Throughbreds and they move out a lot faster than Max so Max struggles to keep up. He definately THINKS he's an Arabian although the reality is different. When cantering in line, Max does a lot better when he's either in the middle or the inside. Cantering on the outside a tough and that's where he was most of the time during this traning session (I think it's good for him nonetheless).
What's also nice about the formation work we do is that gradually Max has learned a lot of the movements to the point where he will do them with little direction on my part. The one element that's interesting is that whereas you want to align the line of horses with the riders legs lined up (for uniformity and safety since each horse varies in length), Max attempted to line up so his head is next to the other horses. He's definately trying to do the right thing but from his perspective. :-)
Afterwards, we decided to go on a trail ride so we followed a circuit leading through and around the Ponds. This area sometimes makes me nervious because of the narrow trails and the heavy vegetation (this is where Max blew up during the trail trials). However, Max seemed to be allright and we rode a lot of these trails at a trot- there were times that Max would become anxious about keeping up with the other horses but it was very manageable.
The one challenging thing about riding at the trot along these trails is that because of my height, I had to constantly duck low-lying branches and at some points I had to flatten myself on Max's back and do it quickly. Also, being able to keep a two-point stance is essential because of all the twists and turns in the trial. My seat was definately firm but I can see where someone with a weaker seat could get messed up quickly.
We trail rode for about an hour and then headed home. What was interesting here was that Max moved with an extended walk (no surprise there since we were headed back to the barn) but what was interesting was that he attempted to maintain pace with my friend's Arabian.
Max and I definately worked up a sweat on this ride and Max got a nice bucket of A&M, Omolene and carrots. Wheew! :-)
1 comment:
Ohhh, there's some memories! Not that I ever did any group cantering of ANY kind, but I used to trot Champ down narrow twisty trails through the trees. You're right, ducking and staying centered is HARD. It always made me so glad that I had a saddle without a horn.
I am totally fascinated by your crazy horse sport! It sounds like so much fun.
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