Finally, a good ride on Leo!
Since Leo has arrived at the farm, I have struggled with our flatwork. He resists contact with the bit, raises his head to evade the contact, and tenses through his topline with every other step. He is very light in his mouth and he often hits against the bit as he adjusts his head carriage. I know part of this process is him learning where the comfort zone is, but I cringe every time he hits the bit and throws his head into the air. I try to be elastic with my arms, so I can keep a consistent contact with his mouth, but am not always successful. I spend most of our time on the flat working on maintaining a forward and consistent pace and try not thinking too much about where his head is.
Tonight I went back to my roots and dragged out my old long-lining equipment. In my mind, this was the best way to help him work through the idea of rein-to-bit contact without me getting in the way.
I learned how to long-line horses back in college from Charlie Tweedie. He was a farrier with a passion for classical dressage. He trained me to long-line my first horse, Milo. The memories of Charlie jogging along beside Milo as he trotted him all over the farm is still fresh in my mind. Charlie was convinced Milo should have been a combined driving horse! It was fun and challenging, but it had a direct impact on Milo's muscular development and our under saddle results. In hindsight, I should have kept with it beyond Milo's formative years.
Leo adjusted to the long-lines pretty quickly and went to work. The one thing I really like about him is his mind - he is always trying to figure out what you want and tries to go to "work." We spent about 10 minutes walking and trotting around the ring doing circles. There is no escaping my contact from the ground on the long-lines, and I remembered I had to be as soft as possible on the inside rein and focus on maintaining most of the contact on the outside rein. Just like riding but from the ground - inside rein to bend, steady outside rein. Man, I'm rusty at this!
I took Leo back to the barn to put on his saddle and we went back out to the ring. He was a completely different horse under saddle this time - so much steadier in the bridle! Both the contact and the rhythm. I was wondering if my first ride on him was just a fluke, but now I know he has it in him. Time and training will bring it out.
Apollo meanwhile is lame. He came up lame with I was riding him last Saturday - in the middle of a great ride. The farrier came out on Wednesday and said he had tweaked his shoe and was sore under it; essentially he bruised his sole. The farrier anticipated that he would be fine in a couple of days, but as of today, he is still pretty lame. We've been turning him out all week, and now I'm starting to think he may need stall rest too. I'm bummed and worried - no owner looks forward to any lameness issues, particular with a horse that is on the market! Plus, I was looking forward to competing him. We've been working diligently on leg-yields and trot / canter extensions in the hopes of doing some First level dressage tests this fall.
Tonight I went back to my roots and dragged out my old long-lining equipment. In my mind, this was the best way to help him work through the idea of rein-to-bit contact without me getting in the way.
I learned how to long-line horses back in college from Charlie Tweedie. He was a farrier with a passion for classical dressage. He trained me to long-line my first horse, Milo. The memories of Charlie jogging along beside Milo as he trotted him all over the farm is still fresh in my mind. Charlie was convinced Milo should have been a combined driving horse! It was fun and challenging, but it had a direct impact on Milo's muscular development and our under saddle results. In hindsight, I should have kept with it beyond Milo's formative years.
Leo adjusted to the long-lines pretty quickly and went to work. The one thing I really like about him is his mind - he is always trying to figure out what you want and tries to go to "work." We spent about 10 minutes walking and trotting around the ring doing circles. There is no escaping my contact from the ground on the long-lines, and I remembered I had to be as soft as possible on the inside rein and focus on maintaining most of the contact on the outside rein. Just like riding but from the ground - inside rein to bend, steady outside rein. Man, I'm rusty at this!
I took Leo back to the barn to put on his saddle and we went back out to the ring. He was a completely different horse under saddle this time - so much steadier in the bridle! Both the contact and the rhythm. I was wondering if my first ride on him was just a fluke, but now I know he has it in him. Time and training will bring it out.
Apollo meanwhile is lame. He came up lame with I was riding him last Saturday - in the middle of a great ride. The farrier came out on Wednesday and said he had tweaked his shoe and was sore under it; essentially he bruised his sole. The farrier anticipated that he would be fine in a couple of days, but as of today, he is still pretty lame. We've been turning him out all week, and now I'm starting to think he may need stall rest too. I'm bummed and worried - no owner looks forward to any lameness issues, particular with a horse that is on the market! Plus, I was looking forward to competing him. We've been working diligently on leg-yields and trot / canter extensions in the hopes of doing some First level dressage tests this fall.
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