catembi
Well-Known Member
Off we went to The College today. Was feeling slightly doubtful - we did a jumping lesson at home yesterday doing grids, a treble of canter bounces etc, & I couldn't generate any enthusiasm from Adrian. No refusals, no more down than usual
, but the second he'd landed over the last jump, he kind of died to a halt.
So stuck him in the British Novice to see what would happen. He warmed up nicely & following a recent thread on here, I only did half a dozen jumps, then took him in. He was really rideable & up for it, & I could put him exactly where I wanted him, so we were clear & went straight onto the jump off. It was quite competitive, & the person before me turned inside a jump, so I did the same. Sooooooo nearly made it... but at the last second, Adrian locked on & jumped it instead of going inside.
He was so quick & determined that there was nothing I could do. Even with the 'extra' jump, we'd still have been 5th on time. I'm just incredibly disappointed cos I *so* much wanted some more money on his card & I messed it up.
Decided to press on while the going was good & put him in the 95 cm. Jumped a *huge* jump in the warmup with miles to spare, then took him in without over-doing it. He jumped the first few nicely, then got very strong & on his forehand & there was nothing I could do with him. 3 down. As it was single phase, we could go onto the jump-off, which was 1 m 05, even tho we had faults, & he found it all very easy. I made a total pig's ear of it as he was running through my hand & there wasn't really much I could do about it.
On the video, it doesn't look as bad as it felt, cos it felt AWFUL.
Okay, some questions...
1. Is it normal for a horse to be dead as a dodo in a lesson, then go bananas at a comp?
2. Should I try him in a martingale & see what happens?
3. Is the running off likely to improve with more gridwork & as his flatwork improves? I can't stick anything stronger in his mouth (currently in a Myler combi) cos he won't play *at all*.
4. Any other cc, but be nice (ish) cos I'm a little bit fed up & feeling useless.
http://s154.photobucket.com/albums/s258/catembi/?action=view&current=VIDEO_005-1.flv
http://s154.photobucket.com/albums/s258/catembi/?action=view&current=VIDEO_006.flv
Was hoping to go to Manor Farm on Sat & jolly well do it properly, but the lorry has kindly sprung an oil leak on the way home, so unless I can get it fixed before Sat, I'm grounded.
So stuck him in the British Novice to see what would happen. He warmed up nicely & following a recent thread on here, I only did half a dozen jumps, then took him in. He was really rideable & up for it, & I could put him exactly where I wanted him, so we were clear & went straight onto the jump off. It was quite competitive, & the person before me turned inside a jump, so I did the same. Sooooooo nearly made it... but at the last second, Adrian locked on & jumped it instead of going inside.
Decided to press on while the going was good & put him in the 95 cm. Jumped a *huge* jump in the warmup with miles to spare, then took him in without over-doing it. He jumped the first few nicely, then got very strong & on his forehand & there was nothing I could do with him. 3 down. As it was single phase, we could go onto the jump-off, which was 1 m 05, even tho we had faults, & he found it all very easy. I made a total pig's ear of it as he was running through my hand & there wasn't really much I could do about it.
On the video, it doesn't look as bad as it felt, cos it felt AWFUL.
Okay, some questions...
1. Is it normal for a horse to be dead as a dodo in a lesson, then go bananas at a comp?
2. Should I try him in a martingale & see what happens?
3. Is the running off likely to improve with more gridwork & as his flatwork improves? I can't stick anything stronger in his mouth (currently in a Myler combi) cos he won't play *at all*.
4. Any other cc, but be nice (ish) cos I'm a little bit fed up & feeling useless.
http://s154.photobucket.com/albums/s258/catembi/?action=view&current=VIDEO_005-1.flv
http://s154.photobucket.com/albums/s258/catembi/?action=view&current=VIDEO_006.flv
Was hoping to go to Manor Farm on Sat & jolly well do it properly, but the lorry has kindly sprung an oil leak on the way home, so unless I can get it fixed before Sat, I'm grounded.