Casey76
Well-Known Member
I'm still recovering from my weekend away last week. Getting older is the pits, and my dodgy hips are seriously painful at the moment.
So I clambered aboard Tartine yesterday for a "short, easy" lesson.
Our school is a bog at the moment (as it's been wet), so we eventually find an area about the size of a 20m circle to work in, which isn't sodden and sloppy.
First of all we tested the manoeuverability of T's HQs: haunches out on a circle, followed by haunches in, then swapping between the two *check*
Secondly tested bend, be increasing inside bend, then switching to counter bend, then swapping between the two *check*
Go on, have a trot round... for Tartine to decompress...
Do the bending exercises in trot
Then (still in trot), shoulder in on the circle, then shoulder out, then swap between the two... *check* - though I'm giving sideways eyes right now.
OK, we'll just do a bit of walk-canter-walk to get her haunches under her and call it a day.
On and on and on we went! Direct transitions make T really sparky and after a couple of times she really starts to anticipate; plus with the hunters shooting in the area I felt like I was sitting on a time bomb!
I certainly can't argue with the efficacy of the training though. The walk to canter is doing wonders for T's canter (which has always been problematic), and she is really starting to take the weight back and jump up into the transition, as well as showing some really nice strides of canter.
I just need to man up and trust in my pony that she isn't going to buck me off or bog off with me (both of which are a possibility!)
Finished on a good note, with a really nice canter circle, but my hips aren't half talking to me today!
So I clambered aboard Tartine yesterday for a "short, easy" lesson.
Our school is a bog at the moment (as it's been wet), so we eventually find an area about the size of a 20m circle to work in, which isn't sodden and sloppy.
First of all we tested the manoeuverability of T's HQs: haunches out on a circle, followed by haunches in, then swapping between the two *check*
Secondly tested bend, be increasing inside bend, then switching to counter bend, then swapping between the two *check*
Go on, have a trot round... for Tartine to decompress...
Do the bending exercises in trot
Then (still in trot), shoulder in on the circle, then shoulder out, then swap between the two... *check* - though I'm giving sideways eyes right now.
OK, we'll just do a bit of walk-canter-walk to get her haunches under her and call it a day.
On and on and on we went! Direct transitions make T really sparky and after a couple of times she really starts to anticipate; plus with the hunters shooting in the area I felt like I was sitting on a time bomb!
I certainly can't argue with the efficacy of the training though. The walk to canter is doing wonders for T's canter (which has always been problematic), and she is really starting to take the weight back and jump up into the transition, as well as showing some really nice strides of canter.
I just need to man up and trust in my pony that she isn't going to buck me off or bog off with me (both of which are a possibility!)
Finished on a good note, with a really nice canter circle, but my hips aren't half talking to me today!
