galadriel
23rd Nov 2003, 06:04 PM
Today we trailered the horses to Canterbury (combined training/equestrian showgrounds) and rode around. Didn't do much really, just walked an let the horses look at everything. Was mostly relaxed, aside from Kat trying to make an approach to every jump we came near... (Kat! You are NOT fit enough to be taking the Prelim jumps!)
They had a sketchy sort of dressage arena set up (less sketchy than mine at home!) and we wandered around in there a bit, quite distracted by the family who for some reason was camping out on the grounds; three kids were running around the xc jumps and the field with the arena, lying on the jumps, generally just being about as freaky to the horses as they could be from 20 or 30 yards.
While in the dressage arena, I finally got something that's been pretty elusive since I started bringing the girls back into work. Kat has a gorgeous free walk, but she was just not DOING it. I finally got her to do it today :) and I think I even remember the various sequences of aids I was using.
I also got a much more attentive trot than I've had at home. I think maybe she's finally remembered that she works for a living. I really hope I can keep getting both of these :)
Since she was so good in trot and really very attentive--despite her being a fidgety, spooky, hyper loon--I felt it would be safe to gallop. So we did. Wahoo! Wheeeeeelalalalalalala. She *loves* to gallop. She's so funny; the first couple of gallop strides are usually as much up and down as they are forward. Then she flattens out, and suddenly every stride covers about half a mile (or at least, so it seems).
It was beautiful to have the space for that, and to feel like she was in control despite being so eager. At home I really only have room for a very in-control collected-type canter, and she finds that frustrating.
After going entirely round the field at a gallop to the left, I was way too done in to do any more galloping. I did want to exercise her to the right, though, so I first asked for a collected right canter; I leaned a little forward and asked her to stretch it out; then I sat back and asked her to collect it. Lovely! Oh the lightness and the delight. Man, I wish I had the space to do this every day. She was soooo good.
All the meanwhile, my husband was riding Duchess around and she was being perfect too ;) but I'm going to blither about the mare that I was concentrating on. (grin)
They had a sketchy sort of dressage arena set up (less sketchy than mine at home!) and we wandered around in there a bit, quite distracted by the family who for some reason was camping out on the grounds; three kids were running around the xc jumps and the field with the arena, lying on the jumps, generally just being about as freaky to the horses as they could be from 20 or 30 yards.
While in the dressage arena, I finally got something that's been pretty elusive since I started bringing the girls back into work. Kat has a gorgeous free walk, but she was just not DOING it. I finally got her to do it today :) and I think I even remember the various sequences of aids I was using.
I also got a much more attentive trot than I've had at home. I think maybe she's finally remembered that she works for a living. I really hope I can keep getting both of these :)
Since she was so good in trot and really very attentive--despite her being a fidgety, spooky, hyper loon--I felt it would be safe to gallop. So we did. Wahoo! Wheeeeeelalalalalalala. She *loves* to gallop. She's so funny; the first couple of gallop strides are usually as much up and down as they are forward. Then she flattens out, and suddenly every stride covers about half a mile (or at least, so it seems).
It was beautiful to have the space for that, and to feel like she was in control despite being so eager. At home I really only have room for a very in-control collected-type canter, and she finds that frustrating.
After going entirely round the field at a gallop to the left, I was way too done in to do any more galloping. I did want to exercise her to the right, though, so I first asked for a collected right canter; I leaned a little forward and asked her to stretch it out; then I sat back and asked her to collect it. Lovely! Oh the lightness and the delight. Man, I wish I had the space to do this every day. She was soooo good.
All the meanwhile, my husband was riding Duchess around and she was being perfect too ;) but I'm going to blither about the mare that I was concentrating on. (grin)