I'm running out of ways to introduce these blogs, so I've gone back to the old standard. We had our first lesson with Christan today. He's really getting good about loading into the trailer - pretty soon, he'll be walking in without a thought like Sam. He hauls beautifully, no scrambling or pawing, so that's a relief. You'd never guess that he's only been in a trailer three times (two of which are with me).
Today was HOT. In the upper 90s, I think. Luckily, there was a good breeze blowing occasionally, which kept us from overheating. Oliver unloaded from the trailer and had his worried face on, but was very good, considering this was his second trip away from home and he'd never been to Denny's before. For a horse that's never been tied before, he was standing like a champ. He even let me saddle him without doing our little two-step dance we go through at the barn - maybe he's getting used to it? I can't tell if he doesn't like the saddle and is anticipating pain/discomfort, or he's spooky about the saddle pad flapping around. Who knows. Anyway, I hand walked him down to the arena because he has never been on the "trail" before, and other than some wide-eyed looks around and a couple of reminders not to get ahead of me, he was golden. We got down to the arena and walked around a bit. Last time at Holly's, he snorted and looked cross eyed at some jumps - today, he hardly glanced at them. He did spook once at something rustling around in the bushes beside the arena, but I can't blame him for that. We walked around in the field by the bank complex and then over the pile of poles that served as an entrance to the arena - he looked, but went very carefully, and on the way out of the arena, LAUNCHED himself over it, which took me by surprise. Since he had never been "trail riding" before, this was a huge accomplishment for him.
Christan was a bit late getting to the arena, so I walked him up to the barn. I was stupid and started to wipe out his eyes, letting go of the reins (which were over his head, as he had his running martingale on), and he spooked big-time at something and got away from me, cantering down into the field by the dressage arena. Stupid me. He got distracted by a horse in the nearly field and they played piggy-squealy games, which gave me ample time to walk up and catch him - piece of cake. I was a bit red-faced when one of Christan's working students came up to see if I needed help. He's a good boy, though.
Once Christan got down to the arena, we trotted around and concentrated on slowing down the tempo and getting him to stretch down and go to the end of the reins. Christan commented on how uphill he was, and how Oliver was tracking up even though he was still a bit tight behind, and that once he gave through his back and stopped being "hesitant" behind (which will come with balance), he's going to be a lovely mover. She thought he was very cute and told me that if I wanted to leave him there, I could :^). It was good to hear nice things about him, as I'm falling more and more in love with the little red-head each day.
She set up a simple gymnastic, starting off with trot poles all on the ground. We walked through them and really encouraged him to stretch his head down for a look. I then picked up the trot, and the first time through, he trotted the first three great, and then got a little quick and cantered over the last few (which were set up for a canter stride anyway). Christan told me to give him a little half halt after the three trotting poles and then get out of his way. A couple of more times through it, and Oliver was a champ. Christan told me that he was very catty, and looked to have a nice jump.
She then set up a cross rail after the first three trot poles, and told me to come and just stay out of his way. I was anticipating a stop, as he tends to be looky over the first jump.Of course, he proved me a liar. He just trotted up to it, and then popped over it like a pro, and then quietly cantered over the remaining poles. Wow. Good boy. She put up a little vertical after the crossrail, which he fumbled over, because he had no idea where his body or legs were. I've never jumped him over a combination that was anything less than four strides away, so this wasn't a surprise. I was also getting a little too far ahead with my upper body in an effort to grab mane, and Christan said that Oliver didn't know how to lift his shoulders when I was putting my weight onto him, so she said to stay back and press him ahead of my leg - to "send him ahead of me". Easier said than done - it still felt like there were legs going every which way. Christan said it was important not to chase him or drive him to the fence, as we don't want to start causing him to rush - she said she would rather have them stop and look than rush blindly on. Interesting, but it makes sense. Oliver steadily got more and more relaxed over the exercise, until we were doing the crossrail, one stride to a vertical, and then another stride over another crossrail, and then cantering over the two remaining poles. He is really starting to learn where to put his feet, and he was getting very relaxed over it, which is a huge bonus. She then had me end with trotting little individual jumps with placing poles in front (to help him with his take-off stride and keep me out of his mouth), and he even jumped a purple plank without a peek. I was thrilled.
Christan said he was very fancy, and was going to be a super mover once he learned to let go of his back, and said that he was very brave - just a little clueless over where his body needs to be. she said there was nothing to worry about bravery-wise, which is a bit of a relief to have my gut confirmed - I have always thought he was very obedient and tried hard to please, but it's nice to have someone confirm that for me.
All in all, it was a very successful day.
I think he's grown! Maybe standing next to him when his eyes are out on stalks makes him look bigger, but he's definitely taller than I remembered, and he's more filled out. He's such a good-looking boy.
No comments:
Post a Comment