kit279
Well-Known Member
A friend of mine from uni came to ride our horses today - she's from Holland and rode Grand Prix there, was on the Young Riders teams etc. So I was very interested to see what she would make of them - they are full TB ex-racehorses and not especially well-schooled by yours truly (ahem). Unfortunately the grey horse managed to get pus in the foot last night and was hopping around on 3 legs going "OMG my foot hurts so much, I dare not put it on the ground - what do you mean you've got an international rider coming to school me?! Shan't, won't, can't..."
Malingering little toad.
So it was just the fat chestnut ex-polo pony, Pip, and he didn't think very much of having to get up so early and actually *work* either. Nevertheless, Kat managed to get a decent tune out of him - no mean feat as he can get quite tense with anyone new sitting on him. She worked him for me then I got to hop on at the end and that was just fabulous - like having had your old banger (sorry Pip) tuned up by the Formula 1 team...
A few photos:-
She also had a few words of wisdom for me that I thought I'd share.
- Sitting trot shouldn't make any difference to the tenseness of the horse if you're doing it properly, nor should it make their back sore. If it makes them sore, you're not doing it right..
-Most horses that are naturally inclined to hollow are just trying to be very careful of their mouths so the quieter your hands are the better and the more they can settle.
- She believes that you have to work the horse hard and not stop too often to have a breather. She said that she finds that most horses are schooling at about 60% capacity but if you want to really progress you have to start pushing them to at least 90%. Most people are afraid to push a horse and worry about them getting tired but she thinks that they have to get used to working very hard from the moment you get on. Even the warm up in walk should make the horse work otherwise they switch off.
Best quote of the day - "My Grand Prix horse was awful when I got him, like a vacuum cleaner, but it took about 7 days to get him carrying himself properly - you just have to be very firm"
So it was just the fat chestnut ex-polo pony, Pip, and he didn't think very much of having to get up so early and actually *work* either. Nevertheless, Kat managed to get a decent tune out of him - no mean feat as he can get quite tense with anyone new sitting on him. She worked him for me then I got to hop on at the end and that was just fabulous - like having had your old banger (sorry Pip) tuned up by the Formula 1 team...
A few photos:-
She also had a few words of wisdom for me that I thought I'd share.
- Sitting trot shouldn't make any difference to the tenseness of the horse if you're doing it properly, nor should it make their back sore. If it makes them sore, you're not doing it right..
-Most horses that are naturally inclined to hollow are just trying to be very careful of their mouths so the quieter your hands are the better and the more they can settle.
- She believes that you have to work the horse hard and not stop too often to have a breather. She said that she finds that most horses are schooling at about 60% capacity but if you want to really progress you have to start pushing them to at least 90%. Most people are afraid to push a horse and worry about them getting tired but she thinks that they have to get used to working very hard from the moment you get on. Even the warm up in walk should make the horse work otherwise they switch off.
Best quote of the day - "My Grand Prix horse was awful when I got him, like a vacuum cleaner, but it took about 7 days to get him carrying himself properly - you just have to be very firm"
