From lazy oaf to racehorse!!!

[pottamus]

I have been doing pleasure/endurance rides just about every week throughout the summer with my Sec D (first season). When I first started doing them this year he was a bit of a slow slug who needed pushing all the time to keep going in trot at a decent pace...and I would be more tired than him at the end of it!!!!

But the last 6 or so, he has gone the opposite way now and wants to trot the whole thing really fast and steam train round it!

Now this is great from a timing point of view and he is obviously fit enough to do it or he would slow up.
But we have got to the stage now where I have to get on and go, go, go or he gets silly, joggy and bouncy and won't walk at all!

I don't really want him to become difficult in this way because it can lead to bucking and him getting frustrated...but sometimes you need to walk!!!!

What's going on then...is he just very fit...have I taught him in directly to bowl on regardless, is he just enjoying them or is he stressed???? I would love to know as I don't want to have to keep reminding him to slow up all the time and can't let him 'go' because it could be a bit dicey at times with people and trees around!

 

[riotgirl]

Bless him! I should get your boy to talk to my girl. As it is winter she has gone into her hibernation mode. I swear I could hear her feet dragging as we were hacking out yesterday.

 

[the watcher]

sounds like every other endurance horse I know..they good ones just want to keep bowling one and don't like slowing down. Maybe you have reached the stage where you have to decide if you want to do endurance seriously, it is quite acheivable with a section D as long as you keep him light and fit and feed accordingly, or whether you would prefer to detune and just have fun without the fights, in which case you need to give him a complete break for 2-4 weeks to rough off and wind down, and then start again at a lower level