spookypony
Well-Known Member
Had an exciting lesson today---pony was going really quite well, giving me some nice shoulder-in on both reins (a new thing! He used to buck if you asked for it on right rein!
) and palpably relaxing more in trot and finally starting to round again...
...and then came the canter transition. First we got a karate kick out to the side with one hoof, and then he was off like a Derby contender. I somehow managed to get it together and ride him through it, but then, I was supposed to ask him again...so I did...
...and he did it again. My goodness, those little pony legs can move fast! I felt like I was sitting on a centipede! The arena was zooming around me quite a bit faster than I was comfortable with, so I got a bit, er, a lot too strong with my inside rein, and he stopped suddenly and started bucking...and...SPLAT.
Cue swearing
, and following the pony, who ran out of the arena. Thankfully, someone caught him!
My instructor was quite philosophical about it: at least, he said, I didn't land on my head this time, but on the pony's head (on my way to the ground).
Conclusion: I remarked that I knew what I'd done wrong after he pi$$ed off with me, but didn't really understand why he'd done it in the first place, since it all happened so fast
. It seems that the anticipation of that canter transition had got him so bottled up that he found it physically difficult to give me what I wanted, so his panicky, spooky little pony brain decided to explode instead...so now I'm supposed to ask for canter lots on hacks, and in the school ask for the first few transitions coming out of the corner onto the long side, so at least he can go in a straight line if he does explode.
I anticipate being very very sore tomorrow!
...and then came the canter transition. First we got a karate kick out to the side with one hoof, and then he was off like a Derby contender. I somehow managed to get it together and ride him through it, but then, I was supposed to ask him again...so I did...
...and he did it again. My goodness, those little pony legs can move fast! I felt like I was sitting on a centipede! The arena was zooming around me quite a bit faster than I was comfortable with, so I got a bit, er, a lot too strong with my inside rein, and he stopped suddenly and started bucking...and...SPLAT.
Cue swearing
My instructor was quite philosophical about it: at least, he said, I didn't land on my head this time, but on the pony's head (on my way to the ground).
Conclusion: I remarked that I knew what I'd done wrong after he pi$$ed off with me, but didn't really understand why he'd done it in the first place, since it all happened so fast
I anticipate being very very sore tomorrow!
