BunnyDog
Well-Known Member
Hi Everyone!!!
My apologies for going so long between updates but I am not sure that 12 weeks of "It's cold and frozen, everyone is bundled and enjoying their vacation" would have been so interesting to read.
So now that it's finally not raining or snowing every few days we have finally made it to the point of having jumps in the ring and our first jump school since December was this past Sunday.
Videos are included at the bottom.
Chad: Went first since he's the newbie. And realistically I only had 7 weeks of getting to know him before 12 (or so) weeks of time off. So though the ring was set the same for both of them, we kind of built for Chad and made Cudo suffer over the simple and low stuff that Chad needed. Given that we have had a lot of mud in their field we have worked to try to get their soft tissue and joints back in the mode of walking and working on better/ harder footing so there isn't a constant pulling going on from the suction. They each did a week and change of walking on the lovely short private road I have by the barn and so far are legs are good and cold and life has progressed.
In the ring I set up a double bounce that started with poles and one raised rail in the middle and eventually graduated to a (roughly) 1' high rail on each side. After that we worked on jumping two bales of hay between to little filler gates that made it sort of a narrower jump face. We then worked on a line of 3 trot rail into a vertical, 60' to a small 2'6" oxer. Painfully low but a good exercise coming out of winter. Lastly we did a fake liverpool/open water against the outside rail that was 2 yoga mats (GREAT tip from a friend as we can use them in the warm ups here) and it was maybe 4' wide or so.
It's not an understatement to say that Chad did everything very well. I am rusty and it would only be odd if I wasn't. 3 months off for me showed but it wasn't too bad. Chad's mind remains his hallmark feature and I am hopeful that this will keep us moving forward as the shows emerge on the calendar either in April or May.
Cudo: Was the wild fireball. He was opinionated, stubborn and looking around for his own personal assistant who could be beckoned to raise this filthy amateur course from the sorrid ranks of backstreet ponies to the true heights that only he as the future champion of the world could show his true talent over. And I promise I was rolling my eyes and laughing at him as he kept on acting like a prima donna. He had an absolute heart attack looking at the yoga mats (that he's easily jumped 100 times) and true to form, he grabbed the bit, spun and ran towards the barn bucking while squealing. Oh Cudo. Now the plus side of this pretty lackluster video is that he's currently being ridden in a regular thin mouth snaffle instead of the slow twist or waterford that he went in last year. He feels like he's growing up and being more adjustable. So there's a bit of light as we make our way through the tunnel.
Last night I rode them both in the ring again and Cudo worked on trotting over all the poles (lowered from the jumps they were to be on the ground) and I took off the martingale and kept working on asking him to reach down to the fences and not have the feeling of holding his head up and high on approach. THAT skill may take a while but we should try at least. Chad worked on flatting not over the poles since it was dark. But he was quite good as well.
I'm tentatively aiming for a show on April 28th to be the first show for Cudo. Chad might go to schooling show sooner. But I really want to ensure that they're legs are solid before going out. Hills are in the forecast as soon as I can find someone to ride with or who can come with me so I don't die. Ha ha ha.
Chad Flatwork video:
Chad Jump video:
Cudo Jump video:
Goals for the year.... God I'm almost afraid to type these.
Chad: Young Jumpers for 5 yr olds (1.10-1.20 later in the year)
Cudo: Get more solid at 1.25. If we can move past those random stops then the next level. But I want to get lots of rounds without the glitches first.
That's the update from here. Hope you're all doing well!!!!
Emily
My apologies for going so long between updates but I am not sure that 12 weeks of "It's cold and frozen, everyone is bundled and enjoying their vacation" would have been so interesting to read.
So now that it's finally not raining or snowing every few days we have finally made it to the point of having jumps in the ring and our first jump school since December was this past Sunday.
Videos are included at the bottom.
Chad: Went first since he's the newbie. And realistically I only had 7 weeks of getting to know him before 12 (or so) weeks of time off. So though the ring was set the same for both of them, we kind of built for Chad and made Cudo suffer over the simple and low stuff that Chad needed. Given that we have had a lot of mud in their field we have worked to try to get their soft tissue and joints back in the mode of walking and working on better/ harder footing so there isn't a constant pulling going on from the suction. They each did a week and change of walking on the lovely short private road I have by the barn and so far are legs are good and cold and life has progressed.
In the ring I set up a double bounce that started with poles and one raised rail in the middle and eventually graduated to a (roughly) 1' high rail on each side. After that we worked on jumping two bales of hay between to little filler gates that made it sort of a narrower jump face. We then worked on a line of 3 trot rail into a vertical, 60' to a small 2'6" oxer. Painfully low but a good exercise coming out of winter. Lastly we did a fake liverpool/open water against the outside rail that was 2 yoga mats (GREAT tip from a friend as we can use them in the warm ups here) and it was maybe 4' wide or so.
It's not an understatement to say that Chad did everything very well. I am rusty and it would only be odd if I wasn't. 3 months off for me showed but it wasn't too bad. Chad's mind remains his hallmark feature and I am hopeful that this will keep us moving forward as the shows emerge on the calendar either in April or May.
Cudo: Was the wild fireball. He was opinionated, stubborn and looking around for his own personal assistant who could be beckoned to raise this filthy amateur course from the sorrid ranks of backstreet ponies to the true heights that only he as the future champion of the world could show his true talent over. And I promise I was rolling my eyes and laughing at him as he kept on acting like a prima donna. He had an absolute heart attack looking at the yoga mats (that he's easily jumped 100 times) and true to form, he grabbed the bit, spun and ran towards the barn bucking while squealing. Oh Cudo. Now the plus side of this pretty lackluster video is that he's currently being ridden in a regular thin mouth snaffle instead of the slow twist or waterford that he went in last year. He feels like he's growing up and being more adjustable. So there's a bit of light as we make our way through the tunnel.
Last night I rode them both in the ring again and Cudo worked on trotting over all the poles (lowered from the jumps they were to be on the ground) and I took off the martingale and kept working on asking him to reach down to the fences and not have the feeling of holding his head up and high on approach. THAT skill may take a while but we should try at least. Chad worked on flatting not over the poles since it was dark. But he was quite good as well.
I'm tentatively aiming for a show on April 28th to be the first show for Cudo. Chad might go to schooling show sooner. But I really want to ensure that they're legs are solid before going out. Hills are in the forecast as soon as I can find someone to ride with or who can come with me so I don't die. Ha ha ha.
Chad Flatwork video:
Chad Jump video:
Cudo Jump video:
Goals for the year.... God I'm almost afraid to type these.
Chad: Young Jumpers for 5 yr olds (1.10-1.20 later in the year)
Cudo: Get more solid at 1.25. If we can move past those random stops then the next level. But I want to get lots of rounds without the glitches first.
That's the update from here. Hope you're all doing well!!!!
Emily
