Hemirjtm
Well-Known Member
After my posts about 'seeing a stride' and being told not to think about seeing a stride I think we have finally cracked it.
I had another lesson yesterday (no.4 this the week!), and it went really really well. We worked again on getting our canter really really bouncy, and then lengthening the stride but not losing the rythm.
To get his hind end engaged we did some leg yielding in walk and trot. Some shoulder in again in walk and trot and then we concerntrated on canter. To start off with we just cantered on a circle, then we lengthened and shortened around the outside. And before we started doing any poles we did some shoulder in, in canter. Wow what a difference this made, I actually felt as though he was sitting on his back end!
We then did some pole work, on a circle to start with, then 2 poles a very short one stride apart so I had to really collect him to get that one stride in. We hit it the first time, so cam round again and we didn't hit it this time. Did it about 4 times and didn't hit either poles. So RI put a 'grid' of poles out so that we could canter through it, this went well. She put the last pole up a bit so it was about 1ft off the ground and told me not to change anything. So I came round, in a good rythm, nice strong canter with him really sitting on his back end
and 'popped' throught it as though the 1ft was still a pole on the ground!
Then we had the 1st part and the last part to 'jump' still tiny but we came round keeping the same rythm and the first one was fine, but I let him run on to the last part and although he went over it if it had been bigger he would have gone through it. So went round and did the poles again to make myself keep him together again. Did it again and went well, I held him together over the 1st and didn't let him get too long for the last bit. Did this OK twice and then changed it.
This time we had all 3 up. The first was about 60cm, 2nd was about 90cm/95cm and last part was about 1m05/1m10. I didn't change anything from when I came round to when they were tiny and we popped through it in a good rythm, and under control and jumped the last part very smoothly and he picked his legs up, rather than over jumping it and leaving his legs dangling! We stopped after this as it was getting very hot and didn't want to push it and over do it.
Thanks for all your help I know things can't change in a short space of time, but I feel we are really going in the right direction. No SJ comps for a little while as want to be able to jump a course in a rythm and sensibly before we go out again!
I had another lesson yesterday (no.4 this the week!), and it went really really well. We worked again on getting our canter really really bouncy, and then lengthening the stride but not losing the rythm.
To get his hind end engaged we did some leg yielding in walk and trot. Some shoulder in again in walk and trot and then we concerntrated on canter. To start off with we just cantered on a circle, then we lengthened and shortened around the outside. And before we started doing any poles we did some shoulder in, in canter. Wow what a difference this made, I actually felt as though he was sitting on his back end!
We then did some pole work, on a circle to start with, then 2 poles a very short one stride apart so I had to really collect him to get that one stride in. We hit it the first time, so cam round again and we didn't hit it this time. Did it about 4 times and didn't hit either poles. So RI put a 'grid' of poles out so that we could canter through it, this went well. She put the last pole up a bit so it was about 1ft off the ground and told me not to change anything. So I came round, in a good rythm, nice strong canter with him really sitting on his back end
and 'popped' throught it as though the 1ft was still a pole on the ground!Then we had the 1st part and the last part to 'jump' still tiny but we came round keeping the same rythm and the first one was fine, but I let him run on to the last part and although he went over it if it had been bigger he would have gone through it. So went round and did the poles again to make myself keep him together again. Did it again and went well, I held him together over the 1st and didn't let him get too long for the last bit. Did this OK twice and then changed it.
This time we had all 3 up. The first was about 60cm, 2nd was about 90cm/95cm and last part was about 1m05/1m10. I didn't change anything from when I came round to when they were tiny and we popped through it in a good rythm, and under control and jumped the last part very smoothly and he picked his legs up, rather than over jumping it and leaving his legs dangling! We stopped after this as it was getting very hot and didn't want to push it and over do it.
Thanks for all your help
I know things can't change in a short space of time, but I feel we are really going in the right direction. No SJ comps for a little while as want to be able to jump a course in a rythm and sensibly before we go out again!