khalswitz
Well-Known Member
After the disappointing cancellation of both of our events, after a very dramatic shoe-related disaster, we got a note from our local venue that this Wednesday would be the last evening SJ before the winter. Determined to make the most of it and have fun, we entered the 70 and 80 classes.
Arrived, running a bit late, to find Geoff at the top of the field, standing at attention, staring into the distance. His friends from the field next door had been taken in, and he WAS NOT HAPPY. He was pretty sweaty too so must have been galloping about. He looked up as I got out the car. "Come on then," I shouted, as I do every day, which often does trigger him to meander down towards the gate to meet me. Not today. Today he GALLOPED down the field SCREAMING at me.
He then proceeded to canter sideways along the track as I led him in. He wouldn't stand still to tack up, and after mourning he tried to spin round and head home. On being told very firmly that we WERE going out, he proceeded to spook sideways dramatically at every branch, stone, noise and shaft of light over the 2 mile-ish hack to the venue.
Arrived at 6.30 - normally the 70 would have started by now, so was feeling a bit rushed. However, we arrived to find the 60 only just starting. Hmm. We ended up mulling round for AN HOUR before our first class started, and I made the call to withdraw the 80, as we had to hack home again and I didn't want to do so in pitch dark!
Geoff, who is usually a pro at standing and going to sleep whilst we wait at comps, proceeded to nip, push, bite my ponytail, chew my sleeves and hems, bully passers by for food, and just generally be a PAIN. He was definitely not in a good mood.
Finally got on him to warm up, and he felt a bit wired. Really powerful and forwards, but was working reasonably nicely in the trot, if very forwards. Then asked for a canter, where he proceeded to throw a few humpy bucks at me (hasn't done this for MONTHS. As in, like, January). I growled at him, and put him over a few fences which settled him down a bit, but he was fairly rocket launching the jumps and giving them tons of air, which is very unlike him!
Into the ring, and as usually he knew we would be off in a minute, felt the tension building, then when I asked for canter he exploded. Not as bad as he used to be when he was trying to throw me off, but fairly large bucks. Lots of gasping going on. I growled (and possibly swore), booted him on and set him off. He was tanking round, swapping leads and bouncing and trying to generally tell me he was annoyed, but he jumped the first four with TONS of air and feeling keen. I checked him again coming to the double at 5, where he jumped the first lovely and did a sharp run out of the second part.
Now. Geoff has been prone to slamming on the brakes and things in the past, but run-outs are NOT something he usually does. I was a bit shocked, and promptly forgot I was show jumping and instead o representing at 5a, spun him tight, booted him and jumped 5b. Elimination.
Knowing we were tight for light and couldn't do the 80, I asked if we could nip in again HC to the 70, just to prove a point. Rode back ingot he warmup, where Geoff promptly decided to rodeo going into canter, seemed to settle with a canter round, the exploded dramatically at the top end of the arena for no apparent reason. I managed to stay on, but decided to leave the warm up ring after that (he used to have real problems in the warm up with tension and exploding, so when he was feeling like that I decided the ring was ht best place to have it out). Went into the car park where I made him do SI/LY?walk to trot transitions just to get him vaguely listening (didn't really work).
Back into the ring, and I decided to trot him into the first fence, rather than have an explosion when I asked for the trans. He trotted into the fence, LEAPED it, then promptly threw a massive buck on landing. I put my leg on, sat up, and rode him through it to the next fence, which again he LEAPED. He was on the wrong leg round the corner to three, but I didn't care - he could stay on that leg. He bounced,, bounced, tried to change then bucked again before locking on to three. After this, he seemed to settle, and whilst he was tabbing with me, he was listening to my leg and locking on. he kept jumping really weirdly - either HUGE, or very flat and head in the air, almost deer leaping. He did seem to settle the more we jumped, and came back to me a bit and jumped a bit better, and he did in fact do the fastest double clear of the horse section, so would have won.
Not really sure what was going on. Normally, when he starts stopping I know something's not quite right with him - it's my first warning. The only times he's really bucked with me (and including his old days of rodeo auditions, when I look back with hindsight) have been when he is very annoyed or fed up, or his brain has blown. He wasn't trying to get me off at all, and he has been going FABULOUSLY lately, so I think it was just that he had been very unsettled (and I found out later that svn the stabled horses had been fussing yesterday on the yard, so something was in the air) combined with hanging around at the venue for ages in that mood.
However we rode through it, which in the past I would never have done.
I'm going to see what he's like today, and if he's settled again then I'm hoping it was just a bad day...
Arrived, running a bit late, to find Geoff at the top of the field, standing at attention, staring into the distance. His friends from the field next door had been taken in, and he WAS NOT HAPPY. He was pretty sweaty too so must have been galloping about. He looked up as I got out the car. "Come on then," I shouted, as I do every day, which often does trigger him to meander down towards the gate to meet me. Not today. Today he GALLOPED down the field SCREAMING at me.
He then proceeded to canter sideways along the track as I led him in. He wouldn't stand still to tack up, and after mourning he tried to spin round and head home. On being told very firmly that we WERE going out, he proceeded to spook sideways dramatically at every branch, stone, noise and shaft of light over the 2 mile-ish hack to the venue.
Arrived at 6.30 - normally the 70 would have started by now, so was feeling a bit rushed. However, we arrived to find the 60 only just starting. Hmm. We ended up mulling round for AN HOUR before our first class started, and I made the call to withdraw the 80, as we had to hack home again and I didn't want to do so in pitch dark!
Geoff, who is usually a pro at standing and going to sleep whilst we wait at comps, proceeded to nip, push, bite my ponytail, chew my sleeves and hems, bully passers by for food, and just generally be a PAIN. He was definitely not in a good mood.
Finally got on him to warm up, and he felt a bit wired. Really powerful and forwards, but was working reasonably nicely in the trot, if very forwards. Then asked for a canter, where he proceeded to throw a few humpy bucks at me (hasn't done this for MONTHS. As in, like, January). I growled at him, and put him over a few fences which settled him down a bit, but he was fairly rocket launching the jumps and giving them tons of air, which is very unlike him!
Into the ring, and as usually he knew we would be off in a minute, felt the tension building, then when I asked for canter he exploded. Not as bad as he used to be when he was trying to throw me off, but fairly large bucks. Lots of gasping going on. I growled (and possibly swore), booted him on and set him off. He was tanking round, swapping leads and bouncing and trying to generally tell me he was annoyed, but he jumped the first four with TONS of air and feeling keen. I checked him again coming to the double at 5, where he jumped the first lovely and did a sharp run out of the second part.
Now. Geoff has been prone to slamming on the brakes and things in the past, but run-outs are NOT something he usually does. I was a bit shocked, and promptly forgot I was show jumping and instead o representing at 5a, spun him tight, booted him and jumped 5b. Elimination.
Knowing we were tight for light and couldn't do the 80, I asked if we could nip in again HC to the 70, just to prove a point. Rode back ingot he warmup, where Geoff promptly decided to rodeo going into canter, seemed to settle with a canter round, the exploded dramatically at the top end of the arena for no apparent reason. I managed to stay on, but decided to leave the warm up ring after that (he used to have real problems in the warm up with tension and exploding, so when he was feeling like that I decided the ring was ht best place to have it out). Went into the car park where I made him do SI/LY?walk to trot transitions just to get him vaguely listening (didn't really work).
Back into the ring, and I decided to trot him into the first fence, rather than have an explosion when I asked for the trans. He trotted into the fence, LEAPED it, then promptly threw a massive buck on landing. I put my leg on, sat up, and rode him through it to the next fence, which again he LEAPED. He was on the wrong leg round the corner to three, but I didn't care - he could stay on that leg. He bounced,, bounced, tried to change then bucked again before locking on to three. After this, he seemed to settle, and whilst he was tabbing with me, he was listening to my leg and locking on. he kept jumping really weirdly - either HUGE, or very flat and head in the air, almost deer leaping. He did seem to settle the more we jumped, and came back to me a bit and jumped a bit better, and he did in fact do the fastest double clear of the horse section, so would have won.
Not really sure what was going on. Normally, when he starts stopping I know something's not quite right with him - it's my first warning. The only times he's really bucked with me (and including his old days of rodeo auditions, when I look back with hindsight) have been when he is very annoyed or fed up, or his brain has blown. He wasn't trying to get me off at all, and he has been going FABULOUSLY lately, so I think it was just that he had been very unsettled (and I found out later that svn the stabled horses had been fussing yesterday on the yard, so something was in the air) combined with hanging around at the venue for ages in that mood.
However we rode through it, which in the past I would never have done.
I'm going to see what he's like today, and if he's settled again then I'm hoping it was just a bad day...
If it's any consolation, Saf was being a total tit to handle at our last dressage test. We couldn't work out what had got into her, but in the end we thought it was probably the grass as it had just had a growth spurt. It's such a nightmare as they make everything such hard work! Hopefully it's just a blip!
