The weather has at last broken over here and the rain has stopped. All the horses have been turned back out and so they are all happy. Sunday Echo and I hit the arena. Now this is not this curlies favourite thing, you see he knows this is where the work is done. He has also started to anticipate this as when you lead him in to the area, he stops before you get to the mounting block and decides to try and nip you when you ask him to walk on. I have a friend coming today to help me sort this problem who is Monty Roberts trained so fingers cross by the end of the session that issue should of improved. So back to the arena work..... After a good ten minutes working in on a long rein, I've started asking for more of an outline in trot, Echo does try and evade the aids and hollows, but in the end we had a good 5 mins work in a super outline. ( if anyone can give me some good tips on evading the aids, please feedback) .
Yesterday the weather was amazing, it was a real spring like day, and i think Echo was rather tired from him 20min work out from the day before, so a few of us from the yard tacked up and went off for a tootle.
I'm not great at positioning pictures on the blog yet so please bare with me. We have a real mixture of breeds of horses on our yard, from TB's to shire crosses, to childres ponies, and of course the curly.
I shall try and post some pictures tomorrow of todays sessions, have a nice day............
Sarah, what kind of work are you doing in the arena with Echo? Is this on a lunge line or ridden?
ReplyDeleteShelly
Wow, Sarah, it almost looks like you have buds on the trees! Let us know how you make out with your 'Monty Roberts' friend.
ReplyDeleteWow I am curious! Please share!
ReplyDeleteShelly, its ridden work, i try to only do about 20min otherwise i think he would go sour. He comes round in walk nicely, its just in trot, he hollows. I think he finds it hard work, so i do only ask for a few minutes at a time. I have spent the last year working on forwardness with him and getting him off my leg, he has a very soft mouth.
ReplyDeleteWell my friend came yesterday, and we went back to basics on the ground with the dually headcollar. We did'nt lead him off the reins only from the dually with the a lunge line. Echo is very backward thinking, and very slow, so everything you do has to be at double quick time, the complete oppersite to if you owned at tb. As soon as the dually goes on he knows it means business, and to be honest he was foot perfect. He walked nicely to the mountian block stood foot perfect, and did'nt move when i got on. We repeated this a couple of times and then left it there. We have decided to go back to wearing the dually under his bridle and lead him from that for the next few days and then go back to leading fromt he bridle. I need to take more care when leading from the reins as he is ridden in a myler and I think maybe when i take up the reins the port is maybe raising, and catching the roof of his mounth. When went for a little ride out and she was really amazed at how different he was. Its been a while since she has been over to ride, and thought he was much more forward and light. So all in all a really good day