Today I decided to give Max the day off and to work with some of the other horses in my life. :-)
I first worked Max for about two hours, doing various dressage moves for the first hour and then doing sword work (talk about having a sore arm and shoulder after I was done!). I also practiced various dressage moves while working the sword- the goal is to be able side-pass, leg yield, transition, half-pass, etc. while not really having to think too much about it. Overall, it worked out well although I need to work on keeping my hand more quiet on the reins. Max's back was also fine after having been ridden for two hours and it appears that some of the hair coming back.
Next there was Lenny...talk about a horse with a "spring in his step"! It's been strange riding him- he's got such a springy step that I find it hard to maintain a decent seat while at the trot. The walk is no problem (it should be!) and the canter isn't so bad too but the with the trot, it feels like I'm going to get launched out of the saddle. I've taken measures to reinforce proper placement of the legs and ensure that my body remains in the vertical. At this point, I think the key is to also use my calves to keep a firm, constant contact- bascially a light grip.
I worked Lenny at the walk, trot, and canter and did a lot of transitions (the transitions were more for me than for Lenny). I found that as time went on, he became more responsive to my aids and especially my half-halts. I even tried some collection. At the canter, he fell into it once I figured out how to ask him and it took very little to get him to frame up. At the trot was another matter...it seems that the slow trot is not his strong point and with the springy step, it's more difficult to set him up and maintain it. Perhaps this will improve with time. :-)
After about an hour or so, I simply walked Lenny around on a loose rein. What's very interesting is that outside of the arena, he tends to fix on various things and stare at them until I remind him to pay attention to me- no doubt this is due to his being a show horse and I seriously doubt that he ever got out much except to work or show and this belief was confirmed when I decided to walk him down to the wash and have him check out the stream.
WIth a little urging, I managed to walk Lenny down into the wash but he was definately on high alert and uneasy. I decided not to rush things and simply walked him up to the stream as close as I could. Lenny was definately not up for this so I wound up circling him many times, driving him closer to the water's edge. I didnt' really push him too hard and while we didn't make into the water, we ended on a good note and I figured that there was no rush- we can work up to it gradually.
After unsaddling Lenny and putting him back in his stall, I then rode Kisses. Talk about a contrast! Kisses is a Standardbred Pacer who started life as a harness racing horse. In more recent years, she's been primarily used for trail riding and some driving and she hasn't really been ridden or worked in about six months. She's got a nice trot but her pacing is simply horrible (talk about being thrown from side to side). I mostly worked her at the trot with an emphasis on her keeping the trot- Kisses' tendency is to speed up (no doubt from her racing days) into the pace (while occassionally you can get her to canter, it's never for very long). At the trot, she actually has a nice carriage. I mostly worked her at the walk/trot.
I finished by walking Kisses in the wash. She's normally OK on the trail but sometimes she can get excited by other horses (but not all the time) and starts spinning. Hopefully I can take the edge off of this over time.
By the time I was through riding, I was pretty beat and it was definately time for a beer. :-)
I first worked Max for about two hours, doing various dressage moves for the first hour and then doing sword work (talk about having a sore arm and shoulder after I was done!). I also practiced various dressage moves while working the sword- the goal is to be able side-pass, leg yield, transition, half-pass, etc. while not really having to think too much about it. Overall, it worked out well although I need to work on keeping my hand more quiet on the reins. Max's back was also fine after having been ridden for two hours and it appears that some of the hair coming back.
Next there was Lenny...talk about a horse with a "spring in his step"! It's been strange riding him- he's got such a springy step that I find it hard to maintain a decent seat while at the trot. The walk is no problem (it should be!) and the canter isn't so bad too but the with the trot, it feels like I'm going to get launched out of the saddle. I've taken measures to reinforce proper placement of the legs and ensure that my body remains in the vertical. At this point, I think the key is to also use my calves to keep a firm, constant contact- bascially a light grip.
I worked Lenny at the walk, trot, and canter and did a lot of transitions (the transitions were more for me than for Lenny). I found that as time went on, he became more responsive to my aids and especially my half-halts. I even tried some collection. At the canter, he fell into it once I figured out how to ask him and it took very little to get him to frame up. At the trot was another matter...it seems that the slow trot is not his strong point and with the springy step, it's more difficult to set him up and maintain it. Perhaps this will improve with time. :-)
After about an hour or so, I simply walked Lenny around on a loose rein. What's very interesting is that outside of the arena, he tends to fix on various things and stare at them until I remind him to pay attention to me- no doubt this is due to his being a show horse and I seriously doubt that he ever got out much except to work or show and this belief was confirmed when I decided to walk him down to the wash and have him check out the stream.
WIth a little urging, I managed to walk Lenny down into the wash but he was definately on high alert and uneasy. I decided not to rush things and simply walked him up to the stream as close as I could. Lenny was definately not up for this so I wound up circling him many times, driving him closer to the water's edge. I didnt' really push him too hard and while we didn't make into the water, we ended on a good note and I figured that there was no rush- we can work up to it gradually.
After unsaddling Lenny and putting him back in his stall, I then rode Kisses. Talk about a contrast! Kisses is a Standardbred Pacer who started life as a harness racing horse. In more recent years, she's been primarily used for trail riding and some driving and she hasn't really been ridden or worked in about six months. She's got a nice trot but her pacing is simply horrible (talk about being thrown from side to side). I mostly worked her at the trot with an emphasis on her keeping the trot- Kisses' tendency is to speed up (no doubt from her racing days) into the pace (while occassionally you can get her to canter, it's never for very long). At the trot, she actually has a nice carriage. I mostly worked her at the walk/trot.
I finished by walking Kisses in the wash. She's normally OK on the trail but sometimes she can get excited by other horses (but not all the time) and starts spinning. Hopefully I can take the edge off of this over time.
By the time I was through riding, I was pretty beat and it was definately time for a beer. :-)
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