clairebearnz
Well-Known Member
My OTTB had a crashing fall in the paddock in April (playing silly ******* with the tape fence!) and damaged a nerve in his back. He was ataxic in both hind legs and was very close to being PTS. However, he recovered fully and we've been slowly working back up to his previous work level since he came back into work in July. I have no real goals or ambitions for him in terms of jumping any longer. I don't think he wants to be an eventer, and he, quite weirdly, adores doing dressage so that's where he's being pointed. Surprisingly, for Fready, he's actually been pretty trouble free (and now respects tape a hell of a lot more....) and is hacking out alone quite contentedly and generally not being too much of a moron.
I took him to a local dressage day last weekend to have our first bash at Level 2. I've had a mental block about Level 2 for years as it is "real dressage" in my mind but decided it can't be more embarrassing than Tally bucking violently through an eventing dressage test last year.
Or so I thought....
Fready has many many quirks but one of his major ones is his first warm up habits. He'll stand politely tied to the float and be tacked up. He will begin to warm up happy as anything. About 10 minutes in, he suddenly looks around and realises he is in a Strange Place and there are Other Horses. We then usually proceed sideways in spectacular set of leaps, all performed with a rather mortifying pig-like grunting (him not me). Once he begins circling around the arena, the Other Horses are suddenly not scary (even if they're right beside the arena) and he then does nice dressage. The second test? He doesn't do it at all.
Unfortunately, a combination of his lack of recent competition experience, and the layout of the facility, meant we circled the arena doing something like this:
An audience lined up along the banks to watch and the judge held on as long as possible to see if he'd settle (he didn't), then rang the bell. Fready and I then entered the arena at a wild sideways leaping canter (complete with elegant grunting) and slammed on the brakes for our first halt somewhere near the quarter line. I then made eye contact with the judge who looked like he was about to ring an ambulance. Everyone was braced for the explosion when I went to move off.....
Fready proceeded at working trot and did one of the best tests he's ever done to get third on 64.5% to the great amusement of everyone. He did score a 1 for the first movement.
His second test wasn't quite as spectacular in either way, but he still was a respectable 5th on 61.3% even with a course error.
Fready's favourite movement, the wannabe Western Pleasure horse.
Lengthened canter
And a truly lovely shot of him warming up, marred only by the fact I seem to be surprised my hands are still attached to my body.
The Tiny Wild (aka Poppy) has had a couple of weeks off with a respiratory infection, but pre-break, she was starting to discover her scope....
Unfortunately, everyone's favourite furry troublemaker has an abscess at the moment, probably stemming from his bout of laminitis earlier in the year. He is being his usual dastardly self and can't understand why he's not being taken out even when he lines up at the gate and whinnies when he sees his float.
Fready is off to dressage again on October 2nd, and I'm also taking my dressage instructor's young horse to an ODE on the 9th as he's shown he definitely wants to be an eventer rather than a dressage horse.
I took him to a local dressage day last weekend to have our first bash at Level 2. I've had a mental block about Level 2 for years as it is "real dressage" in my mind but decided it can't be more embarrassing than Tally bucking violently through an eventing dressage test last year.
Or so I thought....
Fready has many many quirks but one of his major ones is his first warm up habits. He'll stand politely tied to the float and be tacked up. He will begin to warm up happy as anything. About 10 minutes in, he suddenly looks around and realises he is in a Strange Place and there are Other Horses. We then usually proceed sideways in spectacular set of leaps, all performed with a rather mortifying pig-like grunting (him not me). Once he begins circling around the arena, the Other Horses are suddenly not scary (even if they're right beside the arena) and he then does nice dressage. The second test? He doesn't do it at all.
Unfortunately, a combination of his lack of recent competition experience, and the layout of the facility, meant we circled the arena doing something like this:
An audience lined up along the banks to watch and the judge held on as long as possible to see if he'd settle (he didn't), then rang the bell. Fready and I then entered the arena at a wild sideways leaping canter (complete with elegant grunting) and slammed on the brakes for our first halt somewhere near the quarter line. I then made eye contact with the judge who looked like he was about to ring an ambulance. Everyone was braced for the explosion when I went to move off.....
Fready proceeded at working trot and did one of the best tests he's ever done to get third on 64.5% to the great amusement of everyone. He did score a 1 for the first movement.
His second test wasn't quite as spectacular in either way, but he still was a respectable 5th on 61.3% even with a course error.
Fready's favourite movement, the wannabe Western Pleasure horse.
Lengthened canter
And a truly lovely shot of him warming up, marred only by the fact I seem to be surprised my hands are still attached to my body.
The Tiny Wild (aka Poppy) has had a couple of weeks off with a respiratory infection, but pre-break, she was starting to discover her scope....
Unfortunately, everyone's favourite furry troublemaker has an abscess at the moment, probably stemming from his bout of laminitis earlier in the year. He is being his usual dastardly self and can't understand why he's not being taken out even when he lines up at the gate and whinnies when he sees his float.
Fready is off to dressage again on October 2nd, and I'm also taking my dressage instructor's young horse to an ODE on the 9th as he's shown he definitely wants to be an eventer rather than a dressage horse.
Well done and he is gorgeous as are the others.
