Scooby is a 9 y.o. Azteca (QH X Andalusian) pony who needs some re-working. He has beautiful groundcovering movement when correct, but hollows his back and skygazes like crazy when not. He's gotten gate-sour and also has gotten into the habit of balking during up transitions, throwing his head down and taking the reins, rounding his back like he's going to buck.
I made sure I had a good saddle fit, as I was suspicious of back problems. I also need to take a good look at his bit--he's in a D ring snaffle that seems too big and seems to be putting pressure on the roof of his mouth. Will try a couple different bits tonight--mullen mouth or a french link snaffle.
The behavior seems to be a learned response. He was JUST starting to learn framework last year when he was off for the winter. His owner is a hunter/jumper and has been riding him occassionally during the winter break. When he's good, he's very good, but when he "acts up" he seems to try to intimidate his rider.
Getting in the saddle, however, I had a different feeling altogether. I felt pain or pressure somewhere. Hocks, back, or teeth. My bet right now (as I made sure of saddle fit) is on the teeth. A bit change/trying without a bit tonight will confirm this. He seems to have gotten into a habit of expecting to be stopped when being asked to trot. I lunged him (and he was very responsive and sound) and then mounted and re-established the cues for framework--head down, then "nose in") He was very heavy on the reins and was locking his jaw against my requests to soften. I worked on him in small circles, breaking him at the poll, and when he was reliably soft again I started working him in straight lines. Once he was working well in the walk, I started working on transitions. He seemed genuinely surprised that I wanted him to continue on when he balked the first time (no tail swishing, just go-STOP!). I only used the shoulder bat I had once (not going to use a long dressage whip on a bucker, thank you very much!). It surprised him into the trot and he dove his head down almost to the ground, trying to pull the reins out of my hands, and then moved on. As he moved, he went from nose on the ground and pulling to inverted and skygazing, running in the trot. He was highly resistant to returning to a frame (or any semblance of a "normal" rein) and we went back down to walk. In walk, he was heavy on the rein again, but softened.
I gave him his head in the trot transitions, only blocking him when he pulled the rein down, and asking him to continue forward through the balk. Once I got a pattern of reliable transitions when asked (with no balking---only took a few repetitions) I started working on getting him to soften at the poll in the trot too. He tended to go from WAY to high, inverted and running, to WAY too deep and round, rounding his back and feeling like he was going to buck, but moving beautifully. I think that feeling of "buckiness" that he gives has been "yanked up" so many times that he really only knows two ways of going now--too deep and round or skygazing with no contact or control. Trusting he would not buck, I started "putting a floor" on how far down his frame was during his "deep" moments and "putting a ceiling" on how far UP his head was during his worst skygazing. I praised him heavily for every trot stride he did correctly and ANY softening of the jaw he gave me, no matter how tiny, in the trot. I basically gave him "parameters" of how to travel and rewarded him heavily by lots of petting, and letting him stop and walk after contigeous steps of correct trot.
I also started reviewing seat command with him, as he gets VERY fast and downhill in his trot, making you feel like you are rocketing around the ring and should have a sulky strapped behind you. He gets very fast going towards the gate, as expected. I rewarded him very heavily for his response to seat commands in walk/halt and then trot/walk transitions. He was starting to be able to stop almost reinless. When I started trying to sit him and get him to shorten his strides (when he trots he TROTS and marches all around the ring in HUGE strides) he got very resistant and unraveled, hollowing his back, inverting his head and chopping up and down in his trot. This could be because he was working his lumbar in ways he's not used to and me sitting on him, no matter how softly, hurt, or that his hocks were bothering him. It seemed to me to be hocks, but it's hard to tell right now. I really get a feeling like he understood what I was asking, but I was asking him to work through discomfort or pain. I haven't ruled his back out yet, but even before I had gotten on him I did muscle tests for back soreness, stretched his lumbar out etc and he didn't show any sensitivity. Still doesn't mean that's not the problem though.
He did "come back" to me after asking him to move forward and trot on. He leg yeilds nicely, moves his shoulders with indirect rein nicely, and was finally working with a lowered head and more relaxation by the end of the session again. I'll be doing more "detective work" tonight, along with correction work, to see what the cause of his back hollowing/sky gazing problem is. I can train him all day to hold himself the way he's supposed to, and if he's willing to do it through pain he will, but it's not fair to ask him to work like this if pain is causing the problem. I did get him to give me really nice trot transitions off of very light leg very consistantly at the end, though. He happily jumped right into impulsive trot strides from the walk, which was nice to see and feel.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Val 3/29
Val got more "beauty treatment" today, getting 3 more braids shampood, conditioned, detangled, braided and wrapped. I also washed etc his tail as well and wrapped it up to keep it from dragging through any mud, sticks etc. He had half his hay in his tail!
His feathers have been holding up great, and he was very well behaved for coming in and leading around. We worked on standing still (yeah, needs more work!!!LOL!) and I taught him a new cue to stop his crowding behavior as he walks. All horses, when I start with them on the ground, learn how to move their hips and shoulders over as necessary. Horses are taught to yeild body parts as they stand and as they walk. His biggest challenge in walking around on a lead is walking AWAY from his handler. He crowds badly and will push his handler over accidentally if he swings his head over to look in one direction or another. If he looks off to the right, his shoulder comes over and he drifts in towards his handler and begins to step on top of them/push them (no perception of a person's space), and if he looks left, his jawbone ends up right in front of your face and is a hazard. Many young horses look to their handler as a "security blanket" and he is no exception (though it would really be nice if he stopped stepping on his blanket....)
He learned quickly to move over, and by then end I was able to lightly lay the leadrope on his left shoulder and say "over" and he would quickly leg yield to the right or turn right. Much like a neck rein. I transferred the command to Vicki this morning as she walked him in and he was responsive after a few repetitions. Makes walking him and making right turns much easier :-)
His feathers have been holding up great, and he was very well behaved for coming in and leading around. We worked on standing still (yeah, needs more work!!!LOL!) and I taught him a new cue to stop his crowding behavior as he walks. All horses, when I start with them on the ground, learn how to move their hips and shoulders over as necessary. Horses are taught to yeild body parts as they stand and as they walk. His biggest challenge in walking around on a lead is walking AWAY from his handler. He crowds badly and will push his handler over accidentally if he swings his head over to look in one direction or another. If he looks off to the right, his shoulder comes over and he drifts in towards his handler and begins to step on top of them/push them (no perception of a person's space), and if he looks left, his jawbone ends up right in front of your face and is a hazard. Many young horses look to their handler as a "security blanket" and he is no exception (though it would really be nice if he stopped stepping on his blanket....)
He learned quickly to move over, and by then end I was able to lightly lay the leadrope on his left shoulder and say "over" and he would quickly leg yield to the right or turn right. Much like a neck rein. I transferred the command to Vicki this morning as she walked him in and he was responsive after a few repetitions. Makes walking him and making right turns much easier :-)
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Lyric 3/28
Good day for Lyric! I saddled up and we worked inhand for a few minutes, warming up and reviewing his lateral cues. His trotwork was much better, and we got our FIRST trotting shoulder-ins. He tried to trot a travers, but just has trouble with it right now. But, he tried, stretched NICELY across the left side, and is responding MUCH better to the left leg. If he forgets, a simple tap reminder on the hip with the whip sends that hip RIGHT over. He pulled off a trotting half-pass to the left. To the right is still a challenge, (yet in hand, he's better!!!!!). Overall, he was light and did excellent. Moving the lateral work up to trot is a big deal for him, as this will REALLY begin to help build his stifles even more.
As for cantering, we started playing with the transitions. He has a very hard time rounding in the canter and putting his weight on his hindquarters. HILLS would help this (can I order a hill?!?!?!). He gets SO active in the hind that it almost feels like he is pacing in his canter (inside front and hind are slightly out of sequence and are coming forward at the same time). His inside hind is hanging in the air and his front is coming down too soon in the canter sequence, giving him the downhill feeling. It's the opposite problem I'm used to ("bunny hopping" in the hind). The "fix" (besides all the obvious conditioning work to fix the hind end problems) is LOTS of transitions (half-halting to keep his weight on his hind) while keeping his forehand raised to delay the premature strike and subsequent downhill "fall" of the canter.
He was handy in his canter, though, handling corners ok when supported with inside leg, rein and seat. The only other issue I had was in his mind :-) Once he was doing canter transitions, he got heavy and fast and needed to re-focus back to the lateral work.
As for cantering, we started playing with the transitions. He has a very hard time rounding in the canter and putting his weight on his hindquarters. HILLS would help this (can I order a hill?!?!?!). He gets SO active in the hind that it almost feels like he is pacing in his canter (inside front and hind are slightly out of sequence and are coming forward at the same time). His inside hind is hanging in the air and his front is coming down too soon in the canter sequence, giving him the downhill feeling. It's the opposite problem I'm used to ("bunny hopping" in the hind). The "fix" (besides all the obvious conditioning work to fix the hind end problems) is LOTS of transitions (half-halting to keep his weight on his hind) while keeping his forehand raised to delay the premature strike and subsequent downhill "fall" of the canter.
He was handy in his canter, though, handling corners ok when supported with inside leg, rein and seat. The only other issue I had was in his mind :-) Once he was doing canter transitions, he got heavy and fast and needed to re-focus back to the lateral work.
Gaby 3/28
Gaby is a coming 6 y.o. friesian mare who has the basics of w/t/sometimes canter. She has the impulsion of a snail, but when motivated, can REALLY move. She has trouble getting her left lead and has weak stifles. Her owner has not been able to get a left lead on her for some time and has since stopped asking for the canter. Her left stifle locks during extended gaits or when it gets "left behind". Because of this, she is protective of it and loathe to step fully on it or stretch across the left side. She also drops her left shoulder in many of her gaits and puts her balance heavily on the left side.
We worked on a LOT of things. I have not ridden Gaby in a training environment for a couple years (pretty much rode her for her first canter at 4). Jill has been her "person", and is also pregnant and will need some on-the-ground things to work on with Gaby soon. To that end, and because Gaby desperately needs some hind end conditioning, I started by working her in hand and introducing lateral movement to her. We started with turns on the fore, and moved to shoulder-in, renvers and a little playing with leg yield and half pass. Knowing Gaby has been off for the winter, (and knowing that aggrivates her stifle condition) I took it easy on the in-hand portion of her warmup and just introduced the concepts to her.
Her owner has not done much lateral work at all with her, but has educated her well to the use of the outside rein. So, the concept of lateral work came easily to Gaby. Jill's current problems are the lack of ability to canter on the left lead and Gaby's raising of her head in walk/trot transitions.
After playing with Gaby and feeling her out, I deduced that her coming up out of frame in her walk-trot transition was coming from tension/apprehension/anticipation of movement/rebalancing on her back on her part. I broke the "frame" cue down into smaller parts, asking her to JUST put her head down (on a long rein, long and low work) and also figured out that the rider's lack of balance/adjustment of balance on the first post of a posting trot was throwing Gaby off. By sitting her trot and keeping a more consistant seat, along with giving her a positive reward of "throwing the rein away" if she kept her head low and level during the transition, Gaby's tension/apprehension disappeared. Then, to get her back on the vertical, I slowly began to take up the rein and gave her a different cue for "nose in", while giving her leg to ask her hindquarter to step under (so it's not just a headset, but a whole body frame). I asked on circles, as it's easier to get frame there. Breaking it down to two different signals made the transitions happy and tension-free. I was able to more quickly ask for her return to frame once she was trotting after she was warmed up as well. (note: need to double-check saddle fit) I also began to teach her how to pick up her shoulder and support herself while circling by applying flexion to the inside rein.
I introduced the idea of shoulder-in under saddle, and then travers. I schooled a little bit of leg yield and introduced the IDEA of half-pass as well and she was really responsive to the idea. Lastly, after I had her reliably moving her shoulders and hindquarters where I wanted her to and had really warmed up her hind and got her bearing more weight on it, I set her up in travers on the left rein, half-halted the inside rein, asked her to leg yield a step to the outside and asked for a walk/canter transition on the left lead and got it. Not that I want her to have her hindquarters to the inside when she does her canter transition, but it helped to "hold" her left shoulder and transfer the weight to the outside hind easier.
Overall, a BIG learning day for Gaby with lots of "firsts". She'd never been worked in hand before, she never had done a shoulder-in, renver, travers, or a half-pass before.
We worked on a LOT of things. I have not ridden Gaby in a training environment for a couple years (pretty much rode her for her first canter at 4). Jill has been her "person", and is also pregnant and will need some on-the-ground things to work on with Gaby soon. To that end, and because Gaby desperately needs some hind end conditioning, I started by working her in hand and introducing lateral movement to her. We started with turns on the fore, and moved to shoulder-in, renvers and a little playing with leg yield and half pass. Knowing Gaby has been off for the winter, (and knowing that aggrivates her stifle condition) I took it easy on the in-hand portion of her warmup and just introduced the concepts to her.
Her owner has not done much lateral work at all with her, but has educated her well to the use of the outside rein. So, the concept of lateral work came easily to Gaby. Jill's current problems are the lack of ability to canter on the left lead and Gaby's raising of her head in walk/trot transitions.
After playing with Gaby and feeling her out, I deduced that her coming up out of frame in her walk-trot transition was coming from tension/apprehension/anticipation of movement/rebalancing on her back on her part. I broke the "frame" cue down into smaller parts, asking her to JUST put her head down (on a long rein, long and low work) and also figured out that the rider's lack of balance/adjustment of balance on the first post of a posting trot was throwing Gaby off. By sitting her trot and keeping a more consistant seat, along with giving her a positive reward of "throwing the rein away" if she kept her head low and level during the transition, Gaby's tension/apprehension disappeared. Then, to get her back on the vertical, I slowly began to take up the rein and gave her a different cue for "nose in", while giving her leg to ask her hindquarter to step under (so it's not just a headset, but a whole body frame). I asked on circles, as it's easier to get frame there. Breaking it down to two different signals made the transitions happy and tension-free. I was able to more quickly ask for her return to frame once she was trotting after she was warmed up as well. (note: need to double-check saddle fit) I also began to teach her how to pick up her shoulder and support herself while circling by applying flexion to the inside rein.
I introduced the idea of shoulder-in under saddle, and then travers. I schooled a little bit of leg yield and introduced the IDEA of half-pass as well and she was really responsive to the idea. Lastly, after I had her reliably moving her shoulders and hindquarters where I wanted her to and had really warmed up her hind and got her bearing more weight on it, I set her up in travers on the left rein, half-halted the inside rein, asked her to leg yield a step to the outside and asked for a walk/canter transition on the left lead and got it. Not that I want her to have her hindquarters to the inside when she does her canter transition, but it helped to "hold" her left shoulder and transfer the weight to the outside hind easier.
Overall, a BIG learning day for Gaby with lots of "firsts". She'd never been worked in hand before, she never had done a shoulder-in, renver, travers, or a half-pass before.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Val 3/27 PM The Brain Fairy Has Landed
Val's "training session" consisted of ground manners 101 and he showed a HUGE improvement. 180 degree turnaround. He seems MUCH more settled in his new environment now and is handling haltering and leading much better. He stays out of your space (most of the time) and I just need to convince him that when we're haltering him I SWEAR we're not trying to give his itchy, hairy ears a bunch of nice scritchies!
He was a complete angel tonight, standing in the wash stall cross ties for an hour getting unbraided and rebraided while mares got walked right in front of his nose. He didn't even blink. Stood like a champ, even as I was washing his mane, rinsing it by throwing buckets of water on it (so I didn't spray him in the face when I was doing his forelock), conditioning it, and then BLOW DRYING it. Yup, you heard that right. I was dying laughing as, just like at the Hair Cuttery, I'm there giving him a rinse and a blow dry. Never done this before, but he took it like a champ. Brianne was there and helped scrape the dried mud off the REST of him while I did the hair styling. I wrap braids up with vetwrap to keep them clean, and I got 3 braids done in the hour he was worked on. Pictures of some of the process are below.
Val doing his best Fabio impression......
He was so patient as I carefully sorted through his forelock and dried it. We kept calling him "Cousin It" during his hairstyling.
Lyric 3/27
Lyric's work today consisted of lots of in-hand conditioning and strenthening work. I put the surcingle on him, sidereins, and we attacked the cavelettis in style. He was handier lunging over them than last time, clearing the poles with his hindquarters pretty easily. He trotted and cantered them, and was better at his canter striding this time. He was shortening and lengthening his canter stride as necessary vs having to take off and JUMP the raised poles. I worked him in both directions, with a few walk breaks. I raised 2 of the poles to 1 foot high and took him around again. He tired quickly with that challenge and even with encouragement just didn't have the strength/endurance to really pick the hinds up to get over 1 foot poles. I put them back down to get his confidence back and let him have a couple more walk breaks.
Even though he was tired, I went ahead and asked for just a LITTLE more to see what he could do over the jumps. One technique I like to use is in-hand jumping with sidereins. It's a little unorthodox, but for horses like Lyric who need to really learn to "sit" on their hind and push off, plus need the added side-to-side support for balance, it's a great tool. The sidereins are somewhat loose so that the horse can reasonably stretch over a jump in a bascule and not get punished in the mouth, but at the same time maintain enough contact so they have to come up under an obstacle, half-halt and PUSH from the hind. I don't do this for long, but it gives amazing targeted conditioning work. He jumped the barrels, railroad ties, Cat Hazard jump, the evergreen gate, and couple other obstacles. He was willing to try being lunged over these jumps and was bold when set up properly for a nice centered take-off.
Lyric was one seriously tuckered boy when I was done with him, but did great conditioning work that will carry with him into the next lesson.
Even though he was tired, I went ahead and asked for just a LITTLE more to see what he could do over the jumps. One technique I like to use is in-hand jumping with sidereins. It's a little unorthodox, but for horses like Lyric who need to really learn to "sit" on their hind and push off, plus need the added side-to-side support for balance, it's a great tool. The sidereins are somewhat loose so that the horse can reasonably stretch over a jump in a bascule and not get punished in the mouth, but at the same time maintain enough contact so they have to come up under an obstacle, half-halt and PUSH from the hind. I don't do this for long, but it gives amazing targeted conditioning work. He jumped the barrels, railroad ties, Cat Hazard jump, the evergreen gate, and couple other obstacles. He was willing to try being lunged over these jumps and was bold when set up properly for a nice centered take-off.
Lyric was one seriously tuckered boy when I was done with him, but did great conditioning work that will carry with him into the next lesson.
Orion 3/27
Orion worked on collection and extension within the gaits and strengthening his hindquarters in general. Unfortunately, he had moved back a little bit regarding lightness on the left rein. I used lateral work to really fire up his hindquarters and was able to do most of my work in a gentle sitting trot (thanks Jean Paul!!!!). He was very good at keeping the tempo in the trot and not continually insisting on "powering on" and actually had to be ASKED to trot "bigger", which was a pleasant change. We worked on trot/canter shoulder-in in both directions, trot and canter half-passing (his half pass to the left improved closer to the end, less "falling" on the left leg). In his 20m trot shoulder-in circle on the right rein, he actually offered a few steps of passage when he felt the restriction of the left rein! I rewarded him heavily, and also asked for "higher collection" closer to piaffe and he complied very well. After each period of shortening, I asked for lengthening to stretch his lumbar and get his forward swinging energy back in the trot.
His canter half-passes were really improved and a real pleasure to ride. As he warmed up, his canter got lighter, slower, and had a LOT of lift, so I started asking him for more advanced movement. He was able to trot pirhouette easily (more a volte, but hey! He turned a nice trot half-pass into a 180 degree ~3-4m volte and kept on going!) and once he was cantering well I ran him through canter shoulder in up the long side to canter half pass across the diagonal, then moved to 1/4 turn pirhouettes in the canter and eventually got a very nice 6m canter volte on his right lead. He leaned into it, but the hindquarter was still supportive and he understood the concept well. I also asked for a couple flying lead changes and got his "good" right lead to his "bad" left lead in a change. I could feel he was late behind and cross cantering for about 2-3 strides and he self-corrected. He was fast in his left lead canter for a few strides and then he calmed nicely and continued on.
Now, if I could only sit his HUGE canter-trot transitions :-)
His canter half-passes were really improved and a real pleasure to ride. As he warmed up, his canter got lighter, slower, and had a LOT of lift, so I started asking him for more advanced movement. He was able to trot pirhouette easily (more a volte, but hey! He turned a nice trot half-pass into a 180 degree ~3-4m volte and kept on going!) and once he was cantering well I ran him through canter shoulder in up the long side to canter half pass across the diagonal, then moved to 1/4 turn pirhouettes in the canter and eventually got a very nice 6m canter volte on his right lead. He leaned into it, but the hindquarter was still supportive and he understood the concept well. I also asked for a couple flying lead changes and got his "good" right lead to his "bad" left lead in a change. I could feel he was late behind and cross cantering for about 2-3 strides and he self-corrected. He was fast in his left lead canter for a few strides and then he calmed nicely and continued on.
Now, if I could only sit his HUGE canter-trot transitions :-)
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Val 3/27 (AM)
Val (Valentino) arrived this past weekend with some fanfare. He's taken the last two days to settle in, and in typical young colt fashion (he's 2 1/2 ) is trying to jump stall doors, run people over, knock people out who go into his stall (unintentionally--he simply doesn't acknowledge you exist). He has MAJOR space issues and crowds you, steps on you, mugs you for food, and generally doesn't acknowledge the fact he needs to respect a person's space at all, pinning them against stall walls/doors etc. He's so distracted by what's around him and so focused on what HE wants that you're just not in the equation. Tied, he's wonderful. Loose in his stall, he's a nightmare to get a halter on or handle without nipping, back up, get his attention, or generally try to work with until he's tied. Walking with him (leading) he's got a habit of surging forward and just circling to have his handler catch up (fixed that quick! He stops on a dime now :-) with a "whoa...." and a soft/loose lead line. Standing patiently in hand will be another hurdle :-)
In his defense, his owner has always tied him to work with him, so he simply doesn't know any different/better. He also has NEVER traveled away from home for this long and is generally stressed out and completely out of his element. He also was stallkept for 2 days prior to arrival due to his extreme feathering and the deluge of rain we got during that time. Lastly, he's YOUNG and full of testosterone and has also never been around mares before and (even though he's in quarantine) has to walk down the driveway to the quarantine paddock past pregnant mares and is across the driveway from the Filly Field. So, he has LOTS of challenges to deal with and reasons for a complete lack of focus. There also isn't a BIT of malice in his behavior. He's just being a teenage kid with a complete lack of respect for a person's space, with an occassional head-toss thrown in for good measure. He doesn't try to pin you to be mean---he doesn't even TRY to pin you. He just wants to stick his head out of the stall door and you're in the way. So sorry for you. It's not that he has any aggression (lots of play with the nipping, but it's not aggressive--just playful), he simply DOESN'T acknowledge that a person in the way is something to step around or away from .
The first couple days after arrival, especially with a young horse, we let them settle into a routine. Unfortunately, he's used to much more turnout than he got due to the wet pasture and the heavy feathering. The pasture is now starting to dry out (and we have to hose him after bringing him in daily! WOW that's some feather!) but he was only able to get out for an hour Saturday and 4 hours Sunday. Needless to say, he's a handful because of it.
This morning was a great difference. He's slowly settled in over Mon (no longer crying for friends, eating quietly in his stall, no pacing, etc) but was still rushing the stall door and pinning people trying to get out/get to food.
I went to halter him to go out and he actually STEPPED AWAY from the door. He backed up when I told him to. I almost fell over. I praised him heavily (and then he got all excited like a labrador retriever and got pushy....LOL!) I put the halter on him and he was a little better, but trying to put the halter over his ears he nearly knocks you over by trying to rub his ears on your hand. He's a very itchy creature and thinks people are scratching machines to serve him. So, (as expected) I worked with him for a few minutes on taking the halter off and putting it on bunches of times. He stayed AWAY from me (didn't try to walk on top of me, crush me against the door etc) for the first time. He did get a bit excited when Lyric walked by to switch quarantine pastures with him and lost his focus, trying to run to the stall door and see what was going on, but I kept him away, blocked him at every avenue and he actually stayed his distance (repeatedly trying to cross the invisible line I gave him in his stall, but listened when I told him "back"). As a reward, I let him walk up and he didn't press against the door too badly and backed away again when I asked.
Seems like small progress, but it's a 100% difference from his behavior in the first couple days. His goal for this week is to learn the gaps in his "non-tied" ground manners and to start working on some very basic handling. His first official training session is tonight, but he's been getting worked on constantly since he arrived :-) Tonight will likely be the beginning of standing/grooming/braid wrapping, along with some general leadline manners all around the farm.
In his defense, his owner has always tied him to work with him, so he simply doesn't know any different/better. He also has NEVER traveled away from home for this long and is generally stressed out and completely out of his element. He also was stallkept for 2 days prior to arrival due to his extreme feathering and the deluge of rain we got during that time. Lastly, he's YOUNG and full of testosterone and has also never been around mares before and (even though he's in quarantine) has to walk down the driveway to the quarantine paddock past pregnant mares and is across the driveway from the Filly Field. So, he has LOTS of challenges to deal with and reasons for a complete lack of focus. There also isn't a BIT of malice in his behavior. He's just being a teenage kid with a complete lack of respect for a person's space, with an occassional head-toss thrown in for good measure. He doesn't try to pin you to be mean---he doesn't even TRY to pin you. He just wants to stick his head out of the stall door and you're in the way. So sorry for you. It's not that he has any aggression (lots of play with the nipping, but it's not aggressive--just playful), he simply DOESN'T acknowledge that a person in the way is something to step around or away from .
The first couple days after arrival, especially with a young horse, we let them settle into a routine. Unfortunately, he's used to much more turnout than he got due to the wet pasture and the heavy feathering. The pasture is now starting to dry out (and we have to hose him after bringing him in daily! WOW that's some feather!) but he was only able to get out for an hour Saturday and 4 hours Sunday. Needless to say, he's a handful because of it.
This morning was a great difference. He's slowly settled in over Mon (no longer crying for friends, eating quietly in his stall, no pacing, etc) but was still rushing the stall door and pinning people trying to get out/get to food.
I went to halter him to go out and he actually STEPPED AWAY from the door. He backed up when I told him to. I almost fell over. I praised him heavily (and then he got all excited like a labrador retriever and got pushy....LOL!) I put the halter on him and he was a little better, but trying to put the halter over his ears he nearly knocks you over by trying to rub his ears on your hand. He's a very itchy creature and thinks people are scratching machines to serve him. So, (as expected) I worked with him for a few minutes on taking the halter off and putting it on bunches of times. He stayed AWAY from me (didn't try to walk on top of me, crush me against the door etc) for the first time. He did get a bit excited when Lyric walked by to switch quarantine pastures with him and lost his focus, trying to run to the stall door and see what was going on, but I kept him away, blocked him at every avenue and he actually stayed his distance (repeatedly trying to cross the invisible line I gave him in his stall, but listened when I told him "back"). As a reward, I let him walk up and he didn't press against the door too badly and backed away again when I asked.
Seems like small progress, but it's a 100% difference from his behavior in the first couple days. His goal for this week is to learn the gaps in his "non-tied" ground manners and to start working on some very basic handling. His first official training session is tonight, but he's been getting worked on constantly since he arrived :-) Tonight will likely be the beginning of standing/grooming/braid wrapping, along with some general leadline manners all around the farm.
Lyric 3/24
Lyric went out on a training trail ride for conditioning and balance work, along with some de-spooking too. I trailered him to Fair Hill to ride on the Blue Diamond trail, as we had just been hit with a deluge of rain and any other (closer) trail would have been pure mud. Slippery, dangerous, and destructive of the trail too.
He tied at the trailer quiet for tacking up. He had lots of traffic going in and out behind him, bikes, hikers, dogs etc and he was alert but fine. He did really focus on people, though. After getting up on him, if he saw people a distance away, he would plant 4 feet, crane his head up in the air and STARE at them, snorting. He got over it and focused. At no time did he feel like he was going to run, bolt etc.
He spent the ride working on STRAIGHT, keeping off my right leg, left rein. He spent a lot of his time with his hindquarters drifting off to the right and getting heavy on the left rein. He had to stay in frame for the whole ride and BALANCE uphill and down. The slopes were not extreme, but overall he did well on the hills. Sitting up, half-halting, raising the forehand and "setting" him on his hinquarters downhill helped to keep him from pacing. You do have to keep both legs on steady during that downhill, though, to keep him from duckwalking in the back. He loves to SWAY that hindend back and forth (essentially disengaging it) as he's walking downhill instead of supporting the weight on his hindquarters. I'd like to see more dropping of the croup and true engagement. That will simply take time and lots of repitition/conditioning. Most importantly, if he felt like he was really evading with his hindquarters and getting too extreme of a swing/duckwalk, I simply stopped him on the downhill, collected him up and asked him to walk again.
We went over bridges and even a covered bridge! He dealt with traffic going by him fine. He was scared of guardrails, but I walked him up to them and had him sniff them and he was better. Still suspicious of them, but better :-) He really has issues with people on the ground that he doesn't understand. There was a group of kids hanging by a bridge entrance and I asked them to step away from the bridge. They didn't really move very far (and they also had cameras on very large/tall poles they were swinging around too) and I had to ask them again to move, since he was PLANTED to the ground, alert and not ABOUT to take a step forward without them moving further away. Dolly walked first (she didn't care) and he followed, nervous but ok. Later, when we approached the Covered Bridge, I had Lyric go first and he was braver and went ok. 2nd time we went past the group of kids with cameras on sticks, he was alert but better. By the 3rd time, he didn't care.
We did some great trotwork, conditioning up and down hills, and just "getting out" in general. Had a couple nice accidental canter transitions. Overall, he did excellent and was a very reliable trail horse. He walked through a 30-40 foot long deep puddle of water with no problem. Sniffed it and walked right in, stayed in it down an entire road.
I will likely take him out again this weekend for another conditioning/training run to see how he does, hopefully for longer this time!
He tied at the trailer quiet for tacking up. He had lots of traffic going in and out behind him, bikes, hikers, dogs etc and he was alert but fine. He did really focus on people, though. After getting up on him, if he saw people a distance away, he would plant 4 feet, crane his head up in the air and STARE at them, snorting. He got over it and focused. At no time did he feel like he was going to run, bolt etc.
He spent the ride working on STRAIGHT, keeping off my right leg, left rein. He spent a lot of his time with his hindquarters drifting off to the right and getting heavy on the left rein. He had to stay in frame for the whole ride and BALANCE uphill and down. The slopes were not extreme, but overall he did well on the hills. Sitting up, half-halting, raising the forehand and "setting" him on his hinquarters downhill helped to keep him from pacing. You do have to keep both legs on steady during that downhill, though, to keep him from duckwalking in the back. He loves to SWAY that hindend back and forth (essentially disengaging it) as he's walking downhill instead of supporting the weight on his hindquarters. I'd like to see more dropping of the croup and true engagement. That will simply take time and lots of repitition/conditioning. Most importantly, if he felt like he was really evading with his hindquarters and getting too extreme of a swing/duckwalk, I simply stopped him on the downhill, collected him up and asked him to walk again.
We went over bridges and even a covered bridge! He dealt with traffic going by him fine. He was scared of guardrails, but I walked him up to them and had him sniff them and he was better. Still suspicious of them, but better :-) He really has issues with people on the ground that he doesn't understand. There was a group of kids hanging by a bridge entrance and I asked them to step away from the bridge. They didn't really move very far (and they also had cameras on very large/tall poles they were swinging around too) and I had to ask them again to move, since he was PLANTED to the ground, alert and not ABOUT to take a step forward without them moving further away. Dolly walked first (she didn't care) and he followed, nervous but ok. Later, when we approached the Covered Bridge, I had Lyric go first and he was braver and went ok. 2nd time we went past the group of kids with cameras on sticks, he was alert but better. By the 3rd time, he didn't care.
We did some great trotwork, conditioning up and down hills, and just "getting out" in general. Had a couple nice accidental canter transitions. Overall, he did excellent and was a very reliable trail horse. He walked through a 30-40 foot long deep puddle of water with no problem. Sniffed it and walked right in, stayed in it down an entire road.
I will likely take him out again this weekend for another conditioning/training run to see how he does, hopefully for longer this time!
Friday, March 23, 2007
Lyric 3/22
Amy was able to come watch training today to see what we were working on, so we did more of the same from the day before. He was better on every count--his lunging was more coordinated with better transitions, his in-hand work was MUCH MUCH improved. He was taking less halting steps in his 45 degree head to the wall exercise and was just a little better about stretching across the left side and attempting renver on the left rein. I let him take his time, and he was really starting to be able to change his bend in his shoulder in to renvers and back.
Under saddle he was much better. He's still resistant to the left leg overall, but he is starting to grasp the concepts I'm teaching him (he's never DONE any of these movements, he's just maleable enough to try when I ask, but has never schooled any of this before now). He was handier in his half passing, but was "over achieving" by trying to go more lateral than forward, so I switched the exercise to zig-zags from half pass to leg yeild to half pass to keep his forward impulsion and proper bend. I finished with tons of trotwork and started asking for lateral work in the trot as well.
He was quite tired by the end--his muscles get fatigued from the lateral walk work I ask him to do, but in hand and under saddle. He was still forward overall, and willing to give more, but I called it a day for him. He'll be sore tomorrow :-)
Under saddle he was much better. He's still resistant to the left leg overall, but he is starting to grasp the concepts I'm teaching him (he's never DONE any of these movements, he's just maleable enough to try when I ask, but has never schooled any of this before now). He was handier in his half passing, but was "over achieving" by trying to go more lateral than forward, so I switched the exercise to zig-zags from half pass to leg yeild to half pass to keep his forward impulsion and proper bend. I finished with tons of trotwork and started asking for lateral work in the trot as well.
He was quite tired by the end--his muscles get fatigued from the lateral walk work I ask him to do, but in hand and under saddle. He was still forward overall, and willing to give more, but I called it a day for him. He'll be sore tomorrow :-)
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Lyric 3/21
Lyric got a couple days off to rest his hindquarters and mentally "unfurl". He was worked with on Saturday doing more pedestal work to show Amy what he was working on and he was able to get all 4 feet up on the pedestal and balance! Also stopped "falling off" to the left quite as much. He was much more balanced overall--great thing to see!
I worked with Lyric tonight lunging with sidereins (this time at "proper" length so he really started to work his lumbar and keep his hindquarters engaged during lunging). He was lunged in the dressage ring with a large pole he had to negotiate in all 3 gaits. We worked mostly with trot-canter-trot transitions and he was a squealy-bucky thing during warmup. It was funny to watch this 18 hand (? haven't measured him, just guessing) Shire cross wringing his head like and Arab and squealy-bucking with attitude. Overall, he remained soft on the lunge line and rarely pulled--usually the only reason he put any pressure on the line was from rebalancing himself after having to adjust his stride to go over the ground pole. He was out of breath after his lunging, though it was only about 15 minutes.
I worked in hand with him in depth, teaching him shoulder-in, renvers, half-pass and leg yield in both directions. Also worked on 45 degree head to the wall. As expected, he really struggles during these exercises, but he earnestly tries and I see small improvements every time. Interestingly enough, even though his left hind is the one that comes under his body too centered and tends to cause a left hip dip, he's surprisingly supple and able to step OUT with it better with the in-hand work. Half-pass to the left in hand is very difficult for him, as expected.
I found his true weakness when I got in the saddle--he's concave on the left side. I found it fascinating that even though he has the most trouble stepping forward and straight with his left hind, he was resistant under saddle half-passing to the right. It should be child's play to step under with his left hind and GO. In hand, he performs better and that's his easier half pass, but under saddle it was a problem. Once I felt it, it all made sense. One the lunge, you can see his RIGHT LEAD canter, even though the right hind is to the inside, is the less balanced one. Now, this would normally make sense that he would have trouble catching the right lead as the strikeoff comes from his weak left hind, and trouble sustaining it as the LH has to work to keep it going, but it makes even more sense that he has trouble with it because it requires more of a stretch across the left side. His left lead canter is more balanced, but because his left hind steps under the center of his body instead of supporting it in a straight track, his hindquarters slip out from underneath him. So, it explains why both of his canter leads have "issues".
But his TRUE problem is that he is concave to the left. The more I asked the left hindquarter to move away from my left leg, the more problems he had with his balance and the more he tried to LEAN on my left leg instead and fall on his right shoulder. Travers on the right rein was extremely difficult for him. Half pass to the right was extremely difficult, and he responded by swinging his left hind against my left leg and falling on the right rein. He tried to compensate by offering me right flexion, but it was just flexion at the jaw and poll with the base of the neck and shoulder still falling hard to the inside of the bend. To the left, he happily stretched across his right side and offered small steps to the left. He needs this, as he needs to strengthen the targeted muscle set that control s the range of motion that allows the LH to step out and away from his body.
One of the most basic skills he was missing was the understanding of indirect rein--can't control the shoulders if you apply rein and the horse says "huh?". So, my main work was connecting the reins cues to the shoulders and the leg cues to the hindquarters. I also worked on teaching him that the tap of the whip on his left hip meant move AWAY, not into! He really was frustrated at first as I manipulated his body in strange ways, changing from shoulder-in to renvers to travers to leg yeild to half pass (all in the walk). We did quarter line work where the wiggly horse had to stay STRAIGHT between my aids as well (still the same idea of connecting the reins and legs to the shoulders and hindquarters when he wiggled back and forth). We did shoulder in work as well, and he tends to stretch WAY across the right side and collapse his inside on the left rein (as expected). He easily tracks under his body with the left hind (boo, hiss) but has a hard time straightening the left side and keeping his hindquarter in place during the movement. He basically "cheats" and just disengages the hind and walks straght forward with it instead. Shoulder-in on the right rein is very difficult for him, as again he has to stretch across the left side. We'll be doing a lot of shoulder in and travers on the right rein and renvers on the left rein :-)
Any time he moved a body part accordingly, he was greatly praised, scratched, and released from all seat and rein pressure for a split second and he really started to catch on. He's a quick learner, but just gets frustrated as I'm asking him to do VERY difficult things for his body right now. The more he supples up and strengthens, though, the better and better he will be. He started out a bit heavy on my hands, but ended very light. My goal is to get him to evenly use his body, and the canter will come.
I worked with Lyric tonight lunging with sidereins (this time at "proper" length so he really started to work his lumbar and keep his hindquarters engaged during lunging). He was lunged in the dressage ring with a large pole he had to negotiate in all 3 gaits. We worked mostly with trot-canter-trot transitions and he was a squealy-bucky thing during warmup. It was funny to watch this 18 hand (? haven't measured him, just guessing) Shire cross wringing his head like and Arab and squealy-bucking with attitude. Overall, he remained soft on the lunge line and rarely pulled--usually the only reason he put any pressure on the line was from rebalancing himself after having to adjust his stride to go over the ground pole. He was out of breath after his lunging, though it was only about 15 minutes.
I worked in hand with him in depth, teaching him shoulder-in, renvers, half-pass and leg yield in both directions. Also worked on 45 degree head to the wall. As expected, he really struggles during these exercises, but he earnestly tries and I see small improvements every time. Interestingly enough, even though his left hind is the one that comes under his body too centered and tends to cause a left hip dip, he's surprisingly supple and able to step OUT with it better with the in-hand work. Half-pass to the left in hand is very difficult for him, as expected.
I found his true weakness when I got in the saddle--he's concave on the left side. I found it fascinating that even though he has the most trouble stepping forward and straight with his left hind, he was resistant under saddle half-passing to the right. It should be child's play to step under with his left hind and GO. In hand, he performs better and that's his easier half pass, but under saddle it was a problem. Once I felt it, it all made sense. One the lunge, you can see his RIGHT LEAD canter, even though the right hind is to the inside, is the less balanced one. Now, this would normally make sense that he would have trouble catching the right lead as the strikeoff comes from his weak left hind, and trouble sustaining it as the LH has to work to keep it going, but it makes even more sense that he has trouble with it because it requires more of a stretch across the left side. His left lead canter is more balanced, but because his left hind steps under the center of his body instead of supporting it in a straight track, his hindquarters slip out from underneath him. So, it explains why both of his canter leads have "issues".
But his TRUE problem is that he is concave to the left. The more I asked the left hindquarter to move away from my left leg, the more problems he had with his balance and the more he tried to LEAN on my left leg instead and fall on his right shoulder. Travers on the right rein was extremely difficult for him. Half pass to the right was extremely difficult, and he responded by swinging his left hind against my left leg and falling on the right rein. He tried to compensate by offering me right flexion, but it was just flexion at the jaw and poll with the base of the neck and shoulder still falling hard to the inside of the bend. To the left, he happily stretched across his right side and offered small steps to the left. He needs this, as he needs to strengthen the targeted muscle set that control s the range of motion that allows the LH to step out and away from his body.
One of the most basic skills he was missing was the understanding of indirect rein--can't control the shoulders if you apply rein and the horse says "huh?". So, my main work was connecting the reins cues to the shoulders and the leg cues to the hindquarters. I also worked on teaching him that the tap of the whip on his left hip meant move AWAY, not into! He really was frustrated at first as I manipulated his body in strange ways, changing from shoulder-in to renvers to travers to leg yeild to half pass (all in the walk). We did quarter line work where the wiggly horse had to stay STRAIGHT between my aids as well (still the same idea of connecting the reins and legs to the shoulders and hindquarters when he wiggled back and forth). We did shoulder in work as well, and he tends to stretch WAY across the right side and collapse his inside on the left rein (as expected). He easily tracks under his body with the left hind (boo, hiss) but has a hard time straightening the left side and keeping his hindquarter in place during the movement. He basically "cheats" and just disengages the hind and walks straght forward with it instead. Shoulder-in on the right rein is very difficult for him, as again he has to stretch across the left side. We'll be doing a lot of shoulder in and travers on the right rein and renvers on the left rein :-)
Any time he moved a body part accordingly, he was greatly praised, scratched, and released from all seat and rein pressure for a split second and he really started to catch on. He's a quick learner, but just gets frustrated as I'm asking him to do VERY difficult things for his body right now. The more he supples up and strengthens, though, the better and better he will be. He started out a bit heavy on my hands, but ended very light. My goal is to get him to evenly use his body, and the canter will come.
Friday, March 16, 2007
Lyric 3/15
Well, the weather is supposed to be crappy tomorrow (and isn't all that hot today either) so I decided to do some "inside the barn" work today. Lyric got officially introduced to the pedestal and he did SPLENDID. Again, a conformation that the horse knows EXACTLY where his feet are, he just leans to the left and doesn't have a lot of motor control to keep him from doing so. At first, he would consistantly "fall" off the pedestal to the left. While this remained a possibility, I watched him learn to compensate, figure out where to put his feet, and self-correct when he became really off balance. He can put two feet on fine, and he can put all 4 feet on the long pedestal fine. The smaller pedestal is JUST out of his comfort/balance zone to stand on with all 4, but I'm determined to make that a goal. First time I put Dolly or Eddie up there there was NO way they could get all 4 up there. Now they happily stand up there and pose like little statues. The great part is that it builds the stifle muscle, stretches the lumbar, and just generally gives them the gymnastic ability and balance needed for trail, dressage etc when trained for that purpose. It also gives them the ability to learn their own balance and learn ways of compensation if they're deficient (i.e. Dolly leans on the wall a bit when mouting the pedestal from one way and falls off to the right, but is getting better and better at holding her own)
I was able to school him getting up on it at "liberty" on cue, starting to cue the back legs individually (a pre-piaffe exercise), having him thoughtfully put his weight on his hindquarters and try to step down and leave the hindquarters up on the pedestal, WAITING when told to stay still and hold a pose, and taking his time and thinking where to put his feet in general. He became very successful at choosing where to step up, bowing when asked on cue (and WOW---he can practically do a "face plant" when he "says his prayers"!) and was really learning to rock back and support his weight on his hind to navigate the pedestal, bow, dismount from the pedestal and WAIT etc. He actually got 3 feet up there several times. He was SO close to putting all 4 up! And he was SO good at holding the bow--that's VERY difficult for a horse to grasp, but he happily "held" the pose until released.
I also started teaching him "Smile", which many trainers use as a "release" cue and horses tend to offer when they think they've done a good job and are proud of themselves. Lastly, I finally have our ball together and had him pushing it on cue around the stall. He did great, and I could easily see him "playing soccer" all on his own. He catches on LIGHTNING QUICK when he understands what his human wants and offers it over and over for reinforcement. He never seems to tire from repeated asking, unlike most horses that get bored and want to move on. And he definitely has the intelligence necessary to make decisions about the ball--again something that seperates the intelligent horse from the obedient horse. Intelligent horses start to realize and predict where a ball will go and make decisions to push it where they want, or quickly react to redirect it. I saw glimmers of that in him--very cool to see!
So, we got some great hindquarter work done, balance training done, and didn't have to get too sopping wet!
I was able to school him getting up on it at "liberty" on cue, starting to cue the back legs individually (a pre-piaffe exercise), having him thoughtfully put his weight on his hindquarters and try to step down and leave the hindquarters up on the pedestal, WAITING when told to stay still and hold a pose, and taking his time and thinking where to put his feet in general. He became very successful at choosing where to step up, bowing when asked on cue (and WOW---he can practically do a "face plant" when he "says his prayers"!) and was really learning to rock back and support his weight on his hind to navigate the pedestal, bow, dismount from the pedestal and WAIT etc. He actually got 3 feet up there several times. He was SO close to putting all 4 up! And he was SO good at holding the bow--that's VERY difficult for a horse to grasp, but he happily "held" the pose until released.
I also started teaching him "Smile", which many trainers use as a "release" cue and horses tend to offer when they think they've done a good job and are proud of themselves. Lastly, I finally have our ball together and had him pushing it on cue around the stall. He did great, and I could easily see him "playing soccer" all on his own. He catches on LIGHTNING QUICK when he understands what his human wants and offers it over and over for reinforcement. He never seems to tire from repeated asking, unlike most horses that get bored and want to move on. And he definitely has the intelligence necessary to make decisions about the ball--again something that seperates the intelligent horse from the obedient horse. Intelligent horses start to realize and predict where a ball will go and make decisions to push it where they want, or quickly react to redirect it. I saw glimmers of that in him--very cool to see!
So, we got some great hindquarter work done, balance training done, and didn't have to get too sopping wet!
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Lyric 3/14
Lyric worked on in-hand, on-the-flat lunging, and lateral work today. He was introduced to the dressage ring, worked on the lunge in both directions, with sidereins and a surcingle. The emphasis was on transitions and balance in the left lead canter. I introduced the idea of using a lunge cavesson with a nosering versus "regular" lunging attached to the bit. He was very receptive to "giving" to the nose pressure. I worked him in hand with 45 degree head to the wall, making him step OUT with that left hind, and also worked on turn on the forehand as well, having him step laterally in LARGE steps with the hind. Lastly, I hooked up his reins to the bridle and did half-passing in hand with him and he was extremely receptive to it. He performed it with ease (YEA!!!!) and we'll be practicing this ALOT in walk and trot both in hand and under saddle.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Lyric 3/13
Well, Lyric officially started his training at Legacy. Today's session was just a "getting to know you" session and intro and fitting of equipment. Thank God for girth extenders! LOL! I set him up in a surcingle, fitted sidereins, double-checked his bridle fit and off we went to the cavellettis!
Make no mistake--that horse knows EXACTLY where his feet are. EXACTLY. He doesn't always have control of his left hind, but he knows EXACTLY where they are at all times. We only lunged briefly so I could get a feel for his cues, balance, reaction to equipment etc. He was a SWEET boy and very, very obedient. A little reactive to things going on around him (i.e. attention span of a cricket when something distracting was going on like feeding field board) but I was able to get his focus back and he listened. He was "looky" without being disobedient. He does react to sounds behind him and things in his peripheral vision, but overall relaxes nicely with a head down command in hand.
Lunging over the cavelettis he offered me all 3 gaits, would happily walk, trot, trot and jump when cued, and canter over them in a gymnastic circle. His lunging manners were perfect--no pulling etc, and his work ethic was VERY good. He didn't tire out as quickly as I expected (not at all, really), nor did he get as bored as I expected. He just kept going, doing what I asked, even though it was boring and repetitive. I did change things up, to test all the configurations I need for gymnastic circle poles. I introduced them slowly at first, leading him over each pole at a walk. Then picked up the pace trotting, and then he took it upon himself to just skip a step and go straight to lunging over them. (no sidereins). He was easy to place EXACTLY where I wanted him (i.e. to the inside of the poles, outside of the poles, centered over them etc) and HE adjusted his stride accordingly to clear each one without tripping and using his stifle and hock. This is KEY. This was a TEST that he passed with flying colors. HE was able to look down, surmise the distance, and adjust his stride ON HIS OWN in walk, trot AND canter. He compacted and extended his stride ON HIS OWN to make it over each pole if his approach was not ideal. THIS HORSE KNOWS EXACTLY WHERE HIS FEET ARE AND CAN CONTROL THEM. He's just missing some strength and some coordination/timing with his left hind. More strength than coordination. His left hind did slip out from underneath him while circling counterclockwise in the canter, and he lost his confidence after that and did not want to canter again (nor was I going to push him). I asked him to just trot to get his confidence and balance back and he did. But I definitely saw his problem in the canter. He needs more muscling on the outside of his hindquarter to help "pull" the left hind forward and track straighter. The reason why he is so unconfident/unbalanced on it is because it tracks under his body like a tripod, which gives his body/hindquarters an opening to just tip over to the left, which it does, and then his hindquarters just SWEEP out from underneath of him. He's not supporting his weight on the left hind the way he needs to. So, he has to develop the muscle set and range of motion to step (to the left) a bit on his LH and track it straight underneath his body. This is why he catches his right lead fine--comes from the LH and he can step UNDER his body fine--a little TOO fine! But the left lead is a problem b/c the LH comes underneath his center and makes it difficult to balance for the RH strikeoff. I assume half-passing to the left will be interesting at best, but good therapy for him to learn how to put the LH out and away from his center and STEP. In-hand and lateral work at walk/trot will be key to getting him the strength and muscle memory he needs.
I hooked up the sidereins VERY loosely and he was happy enough to try the poles again at w/t/c both directions. He was soft at the poll and had a wonderful back, in a very loose frame, well in front of the vertical. He was clearing the cavellettis at 6-8" fine, clearing them with NO problem and jumping them easily too. His hock engagement/lift underneath his body was even and fine. At 1', since he tends to overachieve and lift higher than he needs to already to clear the poles, he tried even harder and was having trouble--we'll be working on getting that lift and condition.
Leading back down to his pasture, he was a little pacey. Half-halting him and putting him "in frame" in his halter, while asking for hind end engagement and keeping him from falling on his forehand as he walked was key in getting him to correct himself to a 4-beat gait. Even walking on the lead, I could see the obvious deficiency and tracking to the center of the LH. So, that will be the focus of his training! Once he has control of that, everything else will fall into place.
Make no mistake--that horse knows EXACTLY where his feet are. EXACTLY. He doesn't always have control of his left hind, but he knows EXACTLY where they are at all times. We only lunged briefly so I could get a feel for his cues, balance, reaction to equipment etc. He was a SWEET boy and very, very obedient. A little reactive to things going on around him (i.e. attention span of a cricket when something distracting was going on like feeding field board) but I was able to get his focus back and he listened. He was "looky" without being disobedient. He does react to sounds behind him and things in his peripheral vision, but overall relaxes nicely with a head down command in hand.
Lunging over the cavelettis he offered me all 3 gaits, would happily walk, trot, trot and jump when cued, and canter over them in a gymnastic circle. His lunging manners were perfect--no pulling etc, and his work ethic was VERY good. He didn't tire out as quickly as I expected (not at all, really), nor did he get as bored as I expected. He just kept going, doing what I asked, even though it was boring and repetitive. I did change things up, to test all the configurations I need for gymnastic circle poles. I introduced them slowly at first, leading him over each pole at a walk. Then picked up the pace trotting, and then he took it upon himself to just skip a step and go straight to lunging over them. (no sidereins). He was easy to place EXACTLY where I wanted him (i.e. to the inside of the poles, outside of the poles, centered over them etc) and HE adjusted his stride accordingly to clear each one without tripping and using his stifle and hock. This is KEY. This was a TEST that he passed with flying colors. HE was able to look down, surmise the distance, and adjust his stride ON HIS OWN in walk, trot AND canter. He compacted and extended his stride ON HIS OWN to make it over each pole if his approach was not ideal. THIS HORSE KNOWS EXACTLY WHERE HIS FEET ARE AND CAN CONTROL THEM. He's just missing some strength and some coordination/timing with his left hind. More strength than coordination. His left hind did slip out from underneath him while circling counterclockwise in the canter, and he lost his confidence after that and did not want to canter again (nor was I going to push him). I asked him to just trot to get his confidence and balance back and he did. But I definitely saw his problem in the canter. He needs more muscling on the outside of his hindquarter to help "pull" the left hind forward and track straighter. The reason why he is so unconfident/unbalanced on it is because it tracks under his body like a tripod, which gives his body/hindquarters an opening to just tip over to the left, which it does, and then his hindquarters just SWEEP out from underneath of him. He's not supporting his weight on the left hind the way he needs to. So, he has to develop the muscle set and range of motion to step (to the left) a bit on his LH and track it straight underneath his body. This is why he catches his right lead fine--comes from the LH and he can step UNDER his body fine--a little TOO fine! But the left lead is a problem b/c the LH comes underneath his center and makes it difficult to balance for the RH strikeoff. I assume half-passing to the left will be interesting at best, but good therapy for him to learn how to put the LH out and away from his center and STEP. In-hand and lateral work at walk/trot will be key to getting him the strength and muscle memory he needs.
I hooked up the sidereins VERY loosely and he was happy enough to try the poles again at w/t/c both directions. He was soft at the poll and had a wonderful back, in a very loose frame, well in front of the vertical. He was clearing the cavellettis at 6-8" fine, clearing them with NO problem and jumping them easily too. His hock engagement/lift underneath his body was even and fine. At 1', since he tends to overachieve and lift higher than he needs to already to clear the poles, he tried even harder and was having trouble--we'll be working on getting that lift and condition.
Leading back down to his pasture, he was a little pacey. Half-halting him and putting him "in frame" in his halter, while asking for hind end engagement and keeping him from falling on his forehand as he walked was key in getting him to correct himself to a 4-beat gait. Even walking on the lead, I could see the obvious deficiency and tracking to the center of the LH. So, that will be the focus of his training! Once he has control of that, everything else will fall into place.
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