Pedro
5th Feb 2001, 03:32 PM
Wednesday, 31 January
The day's first good news was Francisco telling me to go get Mefisto for the lesson. I went get his saddle and bridle and proceeded to tack him up. He is a gentle horse on the ground, gives you space to work around him without even needing to be asked, stands calmly as you put saddle and bridle. Outside he follows you willingly, without lagging behind or dragging you (like Pipas), shows no resentment in leaving his box for work or entering the arena. He waits calmly for you to check stirrups and girth and for you to mount. I still don't like his saddle, but - Surprise! Surprise! - I found that some of the problems I have with it are my own doing. I have found myself a new passion! It's nothing against Juby, Mefisto is also gentle and patient, but he does like to actually move! The fact that he is almost as tall as Juby doesn't hurt either :).
The only "problem" with Mefisto is his very sensitive mouth. Considering that every other school horse goes on some form or other of jointed bit, seeing his bridle sport a vulcanite mullen mouth snaffle, was enough for me to realise that, even before ridding him for the first time. Up on Mefisto the rider must be concerned with keeping the lightest of contacts, going with his mouth and go to pains to avoid jabbing him in the mouth. All that is not just a matter of correct horsemanship... it's a question of self-preservation! The last heavy-handed student to abuse Mefisto's mouth found himself on the ground in less than five seconds (Mefisto must have heard about the "three seconds" rule and wanted to be sure the rider got the message :D). I know this from first hand account - the student himself - who, to his credit, accepted full responsibility for the situation and held no grudges with Mefisto. I don't know how common that commendable attitude is, specially when the horse rears to the point of unseating a secure rider, but I'd guess not nearly enough!
On the beginning of the lesson Francisco made sure I was aware of Mefisto's mouth. My major objective over the course of the lesson was exactly being as comfortable to Mefisto as I could. I drove him around with barely nothing more than my ring fingers. A little pressure from those was all that was needed to check him. A gentle motion sideways with the hand was more than enough to curve him. Whenever I was unable to be as light as I'd like (and he'd like!), he made his discomfort know by shaking his head or snatching at the reins. A great lesson at lightness!
Once more there's not much to be said about the lesson. With Mefisto's high action posting is a breeze, while sitting the motion is not particularly difficult because of his slow elastic motion. Cantering on the other hand posed more of a problem. His suspension phase is stronger than that of the other horses I've ridden, so any failure to absorb the motion properly became obvious. At first I was having difficulty not as much in keeping myself on the saddle, as in keeping my leg on his side and getting him to extend the pace. Soon Francisco told me to stop and go to the centre. He explained to me that I was throwing my feet forward and leaning back - his words were something akin to "You're horse ridding, not water skiing!". He positioned me correctly and exemplified with my back what I should be doing. I tried again and the surprising thing was that it was not that hard to keep straight! I was just doing it so wrongly for little or no reason. Now I could seat easier, relax better and keep my leg glued to Mefisto (it was the proximity of the knee roll that was keeping my leg away), on his part he was steadier and more obedient and was now able to understand better what I wanted of him and extended the gait promptly. We concluded the lesson with some trot to canter transitions, with Francisco insisting on prompt response obtained from gentle aids and an overall smooth transition - not that I could exactly boast of having achieved this goal!
While the other lesson took place I entertained myself by mucking out some of the boxes under André's supervision. He has a lot more experience around horses than I have, so I was more than willing to do his biddings and learn something in the process.
But how! Oh! How can I ever hope to make someone see the pleasure to be found in hauling manure!? How to make them see if they don't know it already!? :D
Pedro Fortunato
Lisbon, Portugal
The day's first good news was Francisco telling me to go get Mefisto for the lesson. I went get his saddle and bridle and proceeded to tack him up. He is a gentle horse on the ground, gives you space to work around him without even needing to be asked, stands calmly as you put saddle and bridle. Outside he follows you willingly, without lagging behind or dragging you (like Pipas), shows no resentment in leaving his box for work or entering the arena. He waits calmly for you to check stirrups and girth and for you to mount. I still don't like his saddle, but - Surprise! Surprise! - I found that some of the problems I have with it are my own doing. I have found myself a new passion! It's nothing against Juby, Mefisto is also gentle and patient, but he does like to actually move! The fact that he is almost as tall as Juby doesn't hurt either :).
The only "problem" with Mefisto is his very sensitive mouth. Considering that every other school horse goes on some form or other of jointed bit, seeing his bridle sport a vulcanite mullen mouth snaffle, was enough for me to realise that, even before ridding him for the first time. Up on Mefisto the rider must be concerned with keeping the lightest of contacts, going with his mouth and go to pains to avoid jabbing him in the mouth. All that is not just a matter of correct horsemanship... it's a question of self-preservation! The last heavy-handed student to abuse Mefisto's mouth found himself on the ground in less than five seconds (Mefisto must have heard about the "three seconds" rule and wanted to be sure the rider got the message :D). I know this from first hand account - the student himself - who, to his credit, accepted full responsibility for the situation and held no grudges with Mefisto. I don't know how common that commendable attitude is, specially when the horse rears to the point of unseating a secure rider, but I'd guess not nearly enough!
On the beginning of the lesson Francisco made sure I was aware of Mefisto's mouth. My major objective over the course of the lesson was exactly being as comfortable to Mefisto as I could. I drove him around with barely nothing more than my ring fingers. A little pressure from those was all that was needed to check him. A gentle motion sideways with the hand was more than enough to curve him. Whenever I was unable to be as light as I'd like (and he'd like!), he made his discomfort know by shaking his head or snatching at the reins. A great lesson at lightness!
Once more there's not much to be said about the lesson. With Mefisto's high action posting is a breeze, while sitting the motion is not particularly difficult because of his slow elastic motion. Cantering on the other hand posed more of a problem. His suspension phase is stronger than that of the other horses I've ridden, so any failure to absorb the motion properly became obvious. At first I was having difficulty not as much in keeping myself on the saddle, as in keeping my leg on his side and getting him to extend the pace. Soon Francisco told me to stop and go to the centre. He explained to me that I was throwing my feet forward and leaning back - his words were something akin to "You're horse ridding, not water skiing!". He positioned me correctly and exemplified with my back what I should be doing. I tried again and the surprising thing was that it was not that hard to keep straight! I was just doing it so wrongly for little or no reason. Now I could seat easier, relax better and keep my leg glued to Mefisto (it was the proximity of the knee roll that was keeping my leg away), on his part he was steadier and more obedient and was now able to understand better what I wanted of him and extended the gait promptly. We concluded the lesson with some trot to canter transitions, with Francisco insisting on prompt response obtained from gentle aids and an overall smooth transition - not that I could exactly boast of having achieved this goal!
While the other lesson took place I entertained myself by mucking out some of the boxes under André's supervision. He has a lot more experience around horses than I have, so I was more than willing to do his biddings and learn something in the process.
But how! Oh! How can I ever hope to make someone see the pleasure to be found in hauling manure!? How to make them see if they don't know it already!? :D
Pedro Fortunato
Lisbon, Portugal