GinaGeo
Well-Known Member
So ponys most recent acts of Juvenile delinquency in the field (rug breaking, ploughing attempts and downright stupidity) have resulted in me fearing for his safety :redface3: . I never wanted to be that horse owner who feared turning their delinquent out. But alas, he has broken me and in he shall remain, with regular hand grazing, walks and hacks, until I pick up the courage to turn him out again (with my hands firmly over my eyes) or until this mud clears up and the ground is more suitable to defy his attempts at self-harming
Following the heat rash he managed to give himself last week (whilst careering about the field judging by the state of him, his rug and the field) he had a quiet few days of in hand walking/hacking as I didn't want to sweat him up.
I'll admit that I was a little concerned about the fact that I'd booked into two Novice tests - a level up from where he normally competes at - and hadn't been able to practise apart from a quick run through the night before, which involved mainly calming the pony down. Being back in work was a terribly exciting prospect!
After a few plaiting issues, he has a terribly thick, bushy mane which he wont let me pull, so I stupidly thought Id try the tail rake on it. Word of advice dont do it! It doesnt plait at all. :eek3: Cue a slight panic and I took the trimmers to the underside of said mane and removed the uselessly short spikes left by the rake. Ill have to do it every time I want to plait now, but it did do the job without me being pinned against a wall and keeping me there until I promise to stop. So pony is not a bad pony and I wouldnt tolerate bad behaviour from him, but having your mane pulled out by the roots cant be the most pleasant experience, so well find alternatives instead!
The warm up was going well, he was onside, listening and in front of me. We did lots of on and back to keep him on the aids and listening.
Until somebody decided to lunge - now the school is big enough and he is used to being ridden whilst something else is being lunged, but according to bay pony logic it was terrifying prospect (and secretly he wasnt too sure whether it was a horse or a cow, and hes never seen a cow being lunged before) and this happened
Apparently, doing an elevated welsh trot, with ones tail over ones back, eyes bulging and much snorting was warranted. Of course this was also the moment my time was called so we bounced off up to the indoor. The bouncing continued once we were in the ring and I would like to apologise to whomever was doing their test in the other ring; bay pony decided that squealing and bunny hopping across the school was a suitable reaction and I couldnt help but laugh at him. :biggrin3:
Luckily, he came back on side quickly and settled back into his work before we had to enter at A.:rolleyes3:
The first test was Novice 24, which I hadnt found very flowing in the practise the night before, but what can I say, he was brilliant. 100% on side throughout and even the Medium trots were there, a little unbalanced perhaps, but they were there. Ive had them in training for a little while but wasnt quite sure how hed cope without them being set up and prepared miles in advance. He even got an eight for a canter transition, which is something hes been struggling with. :biggrin3:
The second test started off less flamboyantly, without any squealing or bunny hopping at least! But he was still onside, albeit taking a slightly stronger contact than Id have liked. Novice 34, is the test we rode a couple of weeks ago in training and I was keen to improve on it, I knew I had to contain the canter and really keep his attention ready for the trot-canter transitions after the medium canters. As well as keeping the walk more relaxed and flowing sometimes he tries to anticipate a little from it. He did stumble in the free walk, forgot to pick up a hind toe, which resulted in a jog and losing the balance a little so rather ruined that movement, but other than that I was pleased. I could feel that he was a little more tired in this test and he found it harder to get everything back together again after the medium trots. But he does try so hard.
We got 70.7% in the first test and 67.4% in the second which I was very pleased with still scope for improvement. The mediums need tidying up, the rein back needs installing, and the canter work still needs to be more consistent. But sometimes I do make sure I take a look back at pictures from last year, just so I can see the improvements. :smile3:
This was from one of his BD outings at Prelim last March.
My aim for this season is to qualify him for the Novice Regionals and actually go! Now its a long way to go for one test but dont they normally have Freestyle tests too? If we get there, I think Id like to have a play, just for a bit of fun He doesnt really suit the usual music people seem to choose for Freestyle tests, hes not dramatic or particularly impressive but he is a dude of a pony with a serious character and I think hed prefer something a bit more up to date. Is it a very big faux par to use some more modern music (tasteful) with vocals on? :cool3: Im presently thinking Muse or Bastille if I can get it to fit Or possibly Harry Potter themes for a slightly more traditional choice. Well have fun playing with music I think!
He was also very tired after his dressage... Didn't move for over an hour!
He's entered for two Novice tests and BD next weekend so we'll see how that goes.
Well done for getting to the end - I went shopping yesterday so can offer chocolate on a first come first served basis... Although you'd better be quick or I'll eat it all :wink3:
Following the heat rash he managed to give himself last week (whilst careering about the field judging by the state of him, his rug and the field) he had a quiet few days of in hand walking/hacking as I didn't want to sweat him up.
I'll admit that I was a little concerned about the fact that I'd booked into two Novice tests - a level up from where he normally competes at - and hadn't been able to practise apart from a quick run through the night before, which involved mainly calming the pony down. Being back in work was a terribly exciting prospect!
After a few plaiting issues, he has a terribly thick, bushy mane which he wont let me pull, so I stupidly thought Id try the tail rake on it. Word of advice dont do it! It doesnt plait at all. :eek3: Cue a slight panic and I took the trimmers to the underside of said mane and removed the uselessly short spikes left by the rake. Ill have to do it every time I want to plait now, but it did do the job without me being pinned against a wall and keeping me there until I promise to stop. So pony is not a bad pony and I wouldnt tolerate bad behaviour from him, but having your mane pulled out by the roots cant be the most pleasant experience, so well find alternatives instead!
The warm up was going well, he was onside, listening and in front of me. We did lots of on and back to keep him on the aids and listening.
Until somebody decided to lunge - now the school is big enough and he is used to being ridden whilst something else is being lunged, but according to bay pony logic it was terrifying prospect (and secretly he wasnt too sure whether it was a horse or a cow, and hes never seen a cow being lunged before) and this happened
Apparently, doing an elevated welsh trot, with ones tail over ones back, eyes bulging and much snorting was warranted. Of course this was also the moment my time was called so we bounced off up to the indoor. The bouncing continued once we were in the ring and I would like to apologise to whomever was doing their test in the other ring; bay pony decided that squealing and bunny hopping across the school was a suitable reaction and I couldnt help but laugh at him. :biggrin3:
Luckily, he came back on side quickly and settled back into his work before we had to enter at A.:rolleyes3:
The first test was Novice 24, which I hadnt found very flowing in the practise the night before, but what can I say, he was brilliant. 100% on side throughout and even the Medium trots were there, a little unbalanced perhaps, but they were there. Ive had them in training for a little while but wasnt quite sure how hed cope without them being set up and prepared miles in advance. He even got an eight for a canter transition, which is something hes been struggling with. :biggrin3:
The second test started off less flamboyantly, without any squealing or bunny hopping at least! But he was still onside, albeit taking a slightly stronger contact than Id have liked. Novice 34, is the test we rode a couple of weeks ago in training and I was keen to improve on it, I knew I had to contain the canter and really keep his attention ready for the trot-canter transitions after the medium canters. As well as keeping the walk more relaxed and flowing sometimes he tries to anticipate a little from it. He did stumble in the free walk, forgot to pick up a hind toe, which resulted in a jog and losing the balance a little so rather ruined that movement, but other than that I was pleased. I could feel that he was a little more tired in this test and he found it harder to get everything back together again after the medium trots. But he does try so hard.
We got 70.7% in the first test and 67.4% in the second which I was very pleased with still scope for improvement. The mediums need tidying up, the rein back needs installing, and the canter work still needs to be more consistent. But sometimes I do make sure I take a look back at pictures from last year, just so I can see the improvements. :smile3:
This was from one of his BD outings at Prelim last March.
My aim for this season is to qualify him for the Novice Regionals and actually go! Now its a long way to go for one test but dont they normally have Freestyle tests too? If we get there, I think Id like to have a play, just for a bit of fun He doesnt really suit the usual music people seem to choose for Freestyle tests, hes not dramatic or particularly impressive but he is a dude of a pony with a serious character and I think hed prefer something a bit more up to date. Is it a very big faux par to use some more modern music (tasteful) with vocals on? :cool3: Im presently thinking Muse or Bastille if I can get it to fit Or possibly Harry Potter themes for a slightly more traditional choice. Well have fun playing with music I think!
He was also very tired after his dressage... Didn't move for over an hour!
He's entered for two Novice tests and BD next weekend so we'll see how that goes.
Well done for getting to the end - I went shopping yesterday so can offer chocolate on a first come first served basis... Although you'd better be quick or I'll eat it all :wink3:
