alexomahony
Well-Known Member
I treat myself this week to a mid-week 'weekend' with Tuesday and Wednesday off work. On Tuesday I took my pride and joy who takes the form of a fiery chestnut Welsh Cob called Maldwyn (Wynny for short) to some workers course hire as he's been feeling better than ever on a new joint supplement and I have just start doing some jumping with him again! Plus he LOVES trips out, so it was just an excuse to head out in the new trailer
Maldwyn struggles with confidence over fences and as is so common with horses with a more upwards action than forward, he jumps 'up and down' rather than 'up and over' so can sometimes knock his own confidence. I've spent a lot of time working with small fences, no bigger than 70cm, but wider spreads to encourage him to open up his jump a little more and spent A LOT of time improving the quality of his canter so I can move him on into a more forward canter whilst knowing he can remain in balance and not go flat. I also need to bloody look UP!
We went up to Cottingham Equestrian Center on Tuesday. Their surface is like shredded rubber which makes Wynny seem even bouncier than usual - i'm not sure if it was this making him feel so good we popped the fences up to about 85cm which is bigger than Wynny has jumped in over a year, it's a huge achievement for him to still feel brave and pulling me into the fences at this height I could cry because I feel so glad that he is feeling so well and happy again! See some photos below plus Maldwyn's complimentary 'photoshoot' style photos that he loves to offer!
Maldwyn struggles with confidence over fences and as is so common with horses with a more upwards action than forward, he jumps 'up and down' rather than 'up and over' so can sometimes knock his own confidence. I've spent a lot of time working with small fences, no bigger than 70cm, but wider spreads to encourage him to open up his jump a little more and spent A LOT of time improving the quality of his canter so I can move him on into a more forward canter whilst knowing he can remain in balance and not go flat. I also need to bloody look UP!
We went up to Cottingham Equestrian Center on Tuesday. Their surface is like shredded rubber which makes Wynny seem even bouncier than usual - i'm not sure if it was this making him feel so good we popped the fences up to about 85cm which is bigger than Wynny has jumped in over a year, it's a huge achievement for him to still feel brave and pulling me into the fences at this height I could cry because I feel so glad that he is feeling so well and happy again! See some photos below plus Maldwyn's complimentary 'photoshoot' style photos that he loves to offer!