Happy!
Oh, how the emotional pendulum swings with horses....
Leo got his shoe back on yesterday and today we had a jump lesson with Sally. I jumped him Sunday not knowing he had pulled a shoe while we were doing trot sets. He was foot perfect despite the fact that we were riding in a steady rain and missing a shoe.
Sally saw me before my lesson and she said I should compete at New Jersey and ride the full event. The main thing is not to overwork Leo this week and make him sore before the event. She explained that I won't be able to change his fitness in a week. I just need to plan my rides accordingly on Saturday knowing Leo will be progressively more tired throughout the day.
Less than perfect jump schools
In our lesson, Leo jumped the first few fences really well and Sally complimented us on our canter. Sally previously told me to canter lots of poles for homework and despite our lack of consistent work, it seems to have paid off.
Then Leo started putting on the brakes. He refused this wave jump that we've jumped a million times; twice. We didn't make a big deal over it; Sally just had me change my ride and he went on the third try. Then we cantered to the next fence, a rainbow oxer which Leo has also jumped a million times, and he refused that too. That's when Sally had me really get after him with the crop. He didn't refuse anything after that.
Sometimes Leo just gets like that. Sally said not to read into it. In general, she thinks horses just get silly and rusty with inconsistent work. Obviously, I would rather have had a session without refusals, especially leading into an event, but if its going to happen, I'd rather clear up that conversation at home versus in the competition ring.
Elevator bit experimentation
We experimented a lot more with the elevator bit. After I disciplined him, he was quite strong so we put the reins on the second ring and tighten his noseband and flash. But at the second ring, he stopped jumping into the bridle and kept knocking his fences behind. So then we went back to the main snaffle ring and he cleared his fences behind. Sally said on Saturday at New Jersey I should ride stadium in the snaffle and move the reins to the second ring for xc.
Final Prep
Like I mentioned, Sally said the biggest mistake I can make is overworking Leo in an attempt to get him fitter before Saturday. She said keep it light. Knock on wood nothing else happens!
Leo got his shoe back on yesterday and today we had a jump lesson with Sally. I jumped him Sunday not knowing he had pulled a shoe while we were doing trot sets. He was foot perfect despite the fact that we were riding in a steady rain and missing a shoe.
Sally saw me before my lesson and she said I should compete at New Jersey and ride the full event. The main thing is not to overwork Leo this week and make him sore before the event. She explained that I won't be able to change his fitness in a week. I just need to plan my rides accordingly on Saturday knowing Leo will be progressively more tired throughout the day.
Less than perfect jump schools
In our lesson, Leo jumped the first few fences really well and Sally complimented us on our canter. Sally previously told me to canter lots of poles for homework and despite our lack of consistent work, it seems to have paid off.
Then Leo started putting on the brakes. He refused this wave jump that we've jumped a million times; twice. We didn't make a big deal over it; Sally just had me change my ride and he went on the third try. Then we cantered to the next fence, a rainbow oxer which Leo has also jumped a million times, and he refused that too. That's when Sally had me really get after him with the crop. He didn't refuse anything after that.
Sometimes Leo just gets like that. Sally said not to read into it. In general, she thinks horses just get silly and rusty with inconsistent work. Obviously, I would rather have had a session without refusals, especially leading into an event, but if its going to happen, I'd rather clear up that conversation at home versus in the competition ring.
Elevator bit experimentation
We experimented a lot more with the elevator bit. After I disciplined him, he was quite strong so we put the reins on the second ring and tighten his noseband and flash. But at the second ring, he stopped jumping into the bridle and kept knocking his fences behind. So then we went back to the main snaffle ring and he cleared his fences behind. Sally said on Saturday at New Jersey I should ride stadium in the snaffle and move the reins to the second ring for xc.
Final Prep
Like I mentioned, Sally said the biggest mistake I can make is overworking Leo in an attempt to get him fitter before Saturday. She said keep it light. Knock on wood nothing else happens!
 |
| Leo begging for turnout time |
Comments
Post a Comment