Biting, Over-Biting, Water Jump Problems and Progress
Heart-to-Heart
Sally and I had a heart-to-heart yesterday where we talked about what Leo might be worth on the market and whether or not I should stick with him. Sally took a very realistic and analytical approach to the conversation which I appreciated. She explained that the reality was that I would need a mighty budget to get a horse that was 1) high-quality training level horse ready to go prelim, or 2) a competitive horse with Prelim and/or Intermediate level experience. We're talking $30-40k on the low end and $50-60k on the high-end. Despite his athleticism, Sally said Leo's market value was probably only $12-15k because he's a difficult ride and would have a very narrow pool of interested buyers. Assuming I don't want to do the fresh-off-the-track thoroughbred thing, I would need about $20k to buy a nice, green prospect going beginner novice. This means I would need to sell Leo and kick in some more money, and I still wouldn't know for sure if that new horse would take me to my 1-star goal. The hard reality is I don't have the money for the type of horse with the experience I want.
Ok, so following that logic, selling Leo, the closest thing I have to a 1-star horse, is just not realistic.
Sally said Leo is not too much horse for me, I am a good enough rider for him, and I will only get better the more time I have with him. She said he was a great deal for $4300 and that was money well spent as he has already helped me achieve things I have never done before - like going training. She reminded me for the thousandth time that Leo is a difficult ride which means our progress will always be slow, but he's only 10 now so time is on my side. She also said that though things feel like a mess right now, I could very well be on the verge of a breakthrough.
Ok, so following that logic, I need to hang tight and keep working.
The danger of over-biting
Following Sally's advice, I switched Leo's bit to a D-ring Corkscrew. I should have listened to her to begin with - she recommended the corkscrew back in May! I jumped in it twice before Middleburg and really liked it. Leo jumps into the bit, uses his body well and I am still able to keep his head up. Sally had not seen him go in the bit yet so she had me jump him in the ring to see what was what. She too was really happy with this bit. Leo is more settled in the bridle and I can adjust him without any wild mood swings on his part.
We talked about our stop at the water at Middleburg and reviewed what happened at the waters at Maryland again. She definitely thinks over-biting Leo with the elevator caused our problems at Maryland and Leo is now associating his experience to all waters. We went over to AOPF's water jump and Leo was reluctant just to walk into the water - a clear sign that we now have a water problem.
After crossing the water, Sally had me canter back in, jump a log in the water, 3-strides to a log out of the water. From there we cantered back around to a larger log jump requiring Leo to land in the water. Leo tried to stop at the fence into the water and then jumped huge, but at least he went. Sally had me canter over this fence about 5 times in a row until Leo was jumping it reasonably, but she said I definitely have to deal with a water problem now. Resolving the issue will involve jumping a lot of different types of water jumps and creating a new association / memory in Leo's mind.
Now I know why we all have a deep fear of bits. They play a huge role in the equation. The right one can do wonders; the wrong one can create problems that didn't exist before. Sally said one of her students recently had 3 stops on the intermediate course at Maryland after switching bits. They changed the bit again and the horse went around his next competition, at Advanced, clear.
Flatwork Progress
Leo was a dream in our flat lesson. He was accepting the contact, moving well, relaxed and his canter work was phenomenal. Sally said it was the best she's every seen him go. Sally pointed out that the leg-yielding is really helping to build Leo's back and hind end strength which is why we're seeing such a huge improvement in his canter. Leg-yielding forces the outside of Leo's body to carry his weight, which mirrors weight distribution in the canter. Interestingly, leg-yielding left is easier for Leo - though this forces his weaker side to carry more of the weight. Going to the right he struggles more - this direction requires his weaker left hind to reach and cross over. Hard work for him! He got fussy after a couple of leg-yield attempts, but Sally said just to circle a couple times to quiet him down. He gets fussy when its hard so I have to pay attention so I don't over-whelm him by asking for too many or too much.
Sally pointed out that she is seeing huge improvements in Leo's flatwork every month and eventually this will start to translate to our competitions.
Next Steps
Sally and I had a heart-to-heart yesterday where we talked about what Leo might be worth on the market and whether or not I should stick with him. Sally took a very realistic and analytical approach to the conversation which I appreciated. She explained that the reality was that I would need a mighty budget to get a horse that was 1) high-quality training level horse ready to go prelim, or 2) a competitive horse with Prelim and/or Intermediate level experience. We're talking $30-40k on the low end and $50-60k on the high-end. Despite his athleticism, Sally said Leo's market value was probably only $12-15k because he's a difficult ride and would have a very narrow pool of interested buyers. Assuming I don't want to do the fresh-off-the-track thoroughbred thing, I would need about $20k to buy a nice, green prospect going beginner novice. This means I would need to sell Leo and kick in some more money, and I still wouldn't know for sure if that new horse would take me to my 1-star goal. The hard reality is I don't have the money for the type of horse with the experience I want.
Ok, so following that logic, selling Leo, the closest thing I have to a 1-star horse, is just not realistic.
Sally said Leo is not too much horse for me, I am a good enough rider for him, and I will only get better the more time I have with him. She said he was a great deal for $4300 and that was money well spent as he has already helped me achieve things I have never done before - like going training. She reminded me for the thousandth time that Leo is a difficult ride which means our progress will always be slow, but he's only 10 now so time is on my side. She also said that though things feel like a mess right now, I could very well be on the verge of a breakthrough.
Ok, so following that logic, I need to hang tight and keep working.
The danger of over-biting
Following Sally's advice, I switched Leo's bit to a D-ring Corkscrew. I should have listened to her to begin with - she recommended the corkscrew back in May! I jumped in it twice before Middleburg and really liked it. Leo jumps into the bit, uses his body well and I am still able to keep his head up. Sally had not seen him go in the bit yet so she had me jump him in the ring to see what was what. She too was really happy with this bit. Leo is more settled in the bridle and I can adjust him without any wild mood swings on his part.
We talked about our stop at the water at Middleburg and reviewed what happened at the waters at Maryland again. She definitely thinks over-biting Leo with the elevator caused our problems at Maryland and Leo is now associating his experience to all waters. We went over to AOPF's water jump and Leo was reluctant just to walk into the water - a clear sign that we now have a water problem.
After crossing the water, Sally had me canter back in, jump a log in the water, 3-strides to a log out of the water. From there we cantered back around to a larger log jump requiring Leo to land in the water. Leo tried to stop at the fence into the water and then jumped huge, but at least he went. Sally had me canter over this fence about 5 times in a row until Leo was jumping it reasonably, but she said I definitely have to deal with a water problem now. Resolving the issue will involve jumping a lot of different types of water jumps and creating a new association / memory in Leo's mind.
Now I know why we all have a deep fear of bits. They play a huge role in the equation. The right one can do wonders; the wrong one can create problems that didn't exist before. Sally said one of her students recently had 3 stops on the intermediate course at Maryland after switching bits. They changed the bit again and the horse went around his next competition, at Advanced, clear.
Leo was a dream in our flat lesson. He was accepting the contact, moving well, relaxed and his canter work was phenomenal. Sally said it was the best she's every seen him go. Sally pointed out that the leg-yielding is really helping to build Leo's back and hind end strength which is why we're seeing such a huge improvement in his canter. Leg-yielding forces the outside of Leo's body to carry his weight, which mirrors weight distribution in the canter. Interestingly, leg-yielding left is easier for Leo - though this forces his weaker side to carry more of the weight. Going to the right he struggles more - this direction requires his weaker left hind to reach and cross over. Hard work for him! He got fussy after a couple of leg-yield attempts, but Sally said just to circle a couple times to quiet him down. He gets fussy when its hard so I have to pay attention so I don't over-whelm him by asking for too many or too much.
Sally pointed out that she is seeing huge improvements in Leo's flatwork every month and eventually this will start to translate to our competitions.
Next Steps
- I have to get Leo out to other cross country venues to school the water before Waredaca
- Sally is actually going to look at her schedule and see if there is a week where I can send him up to her for some extra TLC
- I need to get myself to Aiken this winter. Preferably sending Leo down first so Sally can work with him
- Sally also said she thinks Leo needs to be competing once at least every 3 weeks from Spring through Fall so I need to consider that when planning my season next year. No break from the heat in the summer anymore.
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