23rd Dec
After some procrastination, I got on with it, and what a great session, amazing how these little changes start adding up!
Spent some time working on getting one foot to move at a time from a fair distance away doing as little as possible, all checked out pretty well, I am definitely getting a bit clearer in my communication now and she is more attentive
Sent her back to check out our circling game, and she was anticipating, so played with some yo-yos for a bit to settle her, even then, when I sent her, she bounced on the spot a few times, and switched really quickly between left and right and then eventually went left as I asked
Did some nice trots to start, then asked for a canter and stopped her a couple of times after just a few strides and before she decided to stop; the transitions were much smoother and quicker than they have been, asked her again, she stayed in canter, and then almost right on a full circle she bucked about 7 or 8 times but stayed in the canter and then carried on, so I stopped her, brought her in and gave her a long dwell time. Sent her out again and she did 2 full circles not a buck in sight and I managed to disengage just in time as could see her thinking about dropping to a trot. This is a massive improvement, not sure we have ever had two full circles on the 22ft without bucking, snorting and general signs of not wanting to do it!!
So called it a day there and popped on to ride, she was most happy to have the bit in, another big improvement, I am still leaving the halter on for times when we have a "discussion" so I can stay out of her mouth, all was good, much softer through the neck and body, and then there it was that determined drifting left again and we both got really bracey, so rather than fighting, got to a standstill in the middle and went back to flexing and small disengagements, I think one of the problems here is that our disengage on the right side is really quite sticky, so slowed it all up and tried to get this better before walking a bit again on a nice soft contact which she was happy with
All in all, a fab session and feeling pretty positive that we are making good progress; the traditional riding lessons over the past couple of months have done wonders for my confidence and really help me to stay focused and not get frustrated with her!!
Spent some time working on getting one foot to move at a time from a fair distance away doing as little as possible, all checked out pretty well, I am definitely getting a bit clearer in my communication now and she is more attentive
Sent her back to check out our circling game, and she was anticipating, so played with some yo-yos for a bit to settle her, even then, when I sent her, she bounced on the spot a few times, and switched really quickly between left and right and then eventually went left as I asked
Did some nice trots to start, then asked for a canter and stopped her a couple of times after just a few strides and before she decided to stop; the transitions were much smoother and quicker than they have been, asked her again, she stayed in canter, and then almost right on a full circle she bucked about 7 or 8 times but stayed in the canter and then carried on, so I stopped her, brought her in and gave her a long dwell time. Sent her out again and she did 2 full circles not a buck in sight and I managed to disengage just in time as could see her thinking about dropping to a trot. This is a massive improvement, not sure we have ever had two full circles on the 22ft without bucking, snorting and general signs of not wanting to do it!!
So called it a day there and popped on to ride, she was most happy to have the bit in, another big improvement, I am still leaving the halter on for times when we have a "discussion" so I can stay out of her mouth, all was good, much softer through the neck and body, and then there it was that determined drifting left again and we both got really bracey, so rather than fighting, got to a standstill in the middle and went back to flexing and small disengagements, I think one of the problems here is that our disengage on the right side is really quite sticky, so slowed it all up and tried to get this better before walking a bit again on a nice soft contact which she was happy with
All in all, a fab session and feeling pretty positive that we are making good progress; the traditional riding lessons over the past couple of months have done wonders for my confidence and really help me to stay focused and not get frustrated with her!!
posted by Fleur @ 5:48 AM
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