iknowmyvalue
Well-Known Member
So camp was amazing. Ended up on a high, jumping the biggest fence I’ve ever done. Not officially measured but worked out it must have been 1.15-1.20ish. Not going to lie, looking at it before jumping it made me feel a bit sick, and I almost weed myself, but we did it! Considering I’ve not jumped bigger than 95cm in over 5 years, and even then was only doing absolute max 1.05-1.10. I love this horse so much I could cry. He gives me so much confidence, I’m starting to remember what I felt like before the accident on Rosie.
Full detailed report below…
First win was that he actually settled pretty well in the stable! Little bit of anxiety when lots of horses coming or going at the same time, but nothing too bad and settled quickly afterwards. Much better than last camp he wouldn’t settle at all in the stable and was weaving/box walking/throwing himself about… Luckily last time they had turnout, so he didn’t have to be stabled, but here they had to stay in. One less thing to stress about for me.
XC was first which I was slightly worried about. But actually Pepsi was awesome. Very keen (but when is he not ?) but totally game for whatever I pointed him at. Didn’t jump anything particularly big as the jumps they had were limited, but a few 80cm things. But he felt so bold and confident, which he’s lacked a little bit XC before because he’s not done much. And as a bonus we had almost none of the sideways nonsense we’ve had problems with XC schooling.
Flatwork is his weakest point. He can do it, but he gets very stressed about it all. Instructor and I think a lot of it is that he wants to do it right and if he thinks he’s got it wrong or he doesn’t understand then he panics that something bad is going to happen. But actually, between the stressy moments, he produced some lovely stuff. Even had very nice and calm canter work. We’re a long way from the finished product, but it’s a work in progress. Luckily this instructor lives locally to me, so we’re coming up with a plan to try and get regular lessons set up to really try and nail the dressage over the winter. She’s a really sympathetic instructor and I think will be good for both of us. He’s so sensitive that I think the wrong approach would just make things worse, but fingers crossed she seems a good fit.
SJ was last. This is the thing he’s done most we think. He loves it a little bit too much, so got slightly wild at times ? but I have to say that actually his brakes were pretty spot on in between fences, and we even had steering (mostly!). The instructor was great and gave me a few helpful tips to try and settle him. Have to try and keep my seat light for now, and also trust that he’s going to jump and stop throwing him at the fences. He’s fired up and committed enough without any help from me ?
I’m still not 100% happy with his bitting situation, but I’ve finally managed to get an appointment with a bit fitter in a couple of weeks, so hoping we can find something better for him then!
Full detailed report below…
First win was that he actually settled pretty well in the stable! Little bit of anxiety when lots of horses coming or going at the same time, but nothing too bad and settled quickly afterwards. Much better than last camp he wouldn’t settle at all in the stable and was weaving/box walking/throwing himself about… Luckily last time they had turnout, so he didn’t have to be stabled, but here they had to stay in. One less thing to stress about for me.
XC was first which I was slightly worried about. But actually Pepsi was awesome. Very keen (but when is he not ?) but totally game for whatever I pointed him at. Didn’t jump anything particularly big as the jumps they had were limited, but a few 80cm things. But he felt so bold and confident, which he’s lacked a little bit XC before because he’s not done much. And as a bonus we had almost none of the sideways nonsense we’ve had problems with XC schooling.
Flatwork is his weakest point. He can do it, but he gets very stressed about it all. Instructor and I think a lot of it is that he wants to do it right and if he thinks he’s got it wrong or he doesn’t understand then he panics that something bad is going to happen. But actually, between the stressy moments, he produced some lovely stuff. Even had very nice and calm canter work. We’re a long way from the finished product, but it’s a work in progress. Luckily this instructor lives locally to me, so we’re coming up with a plan to try and get regular lessons set up to really try and nail the dressage over the winter. She’s a really sympathetic instructor and I think will be good for both of us. He’s so sensitive that I think the wrong approach would just make things worse, but fingers crossed she seems a good fit.
SJ was last. This is the thing he’s done most we think. He loves it a little bit too much, so got slightly wild at times ? but I have to say that actually his brakes were pretty spot on in between fences, and we even had steering (mostly!). The instructor was great and gave me a few helpful tips to try and settle him. Have to try and keep my seat light for now, and also trust that he’s going to jump and stop throwing him at the fences. He’s fired up and committed enough without any help from me ?
I’m still not 100% happy with his bitting situation, but I’ve finally managed to get an appointment with a bit fitter in a couple of weeks, so hoping we can find something better for him then!
