Well, we hacked up to the school for our lesson and everything was absolutely fine, calm as you like. We had a couple of little canters and all was well.
In the school there were a couple of tall blue jump wings made of plastic. My teacher moved them out of the way, beyond the fence. Ziggy STARED at them.
We started working on trot with the intention of doing trot canter transitions. But no! Something had got into Ziggy. His head went up, his back dropped away, he rushed. CANTER! No Zigs, trot. Well OK mum, but only if you ride properly. He speeded up every time down the long side of the school where the jump wings were.
AFter 40 minutes of real effort (he is determined to teach me how to ride, this pony) I finally got a nice controlled trot on both reins. We thought we would ask him to walk over a coloured pole, which he did calmly on the third attempt. Then I tried another trot, in a circle away from the jumps. No! Canter! Rush! Try to bolt! Head down as if to buck! My teacher is saying, "Sit down, get his head up," with her urgent voice that means, "because if you don't there will be hell to pay!"
I got him back to trot at last, finished the circuit, and asked him to walk on both reins. Which he did like a beach donkey.
We can only imagine that it was the jump wings that did it. He thought he would be asked to jump, and it set him off with anxiety and speed and running away.
On the hack home, mind you, he was as good as gold, back to the nice little willing pony I have been riding recently. But full of energy when he got back to the field, he careered about like a mad thing!
I have to remember that I haven't had him a year yet and he was in the show jumping yard for 2 years before I got him. There's a lot still to undo. I think I just need to go on praising him when he gets it right and try not to come a cropper when it all goes t*ts up!!!
Glasso vino for me I think...
In the school there were a couple of tall blue jump wings made of plastic. My teacher moved them out of the way, beyond the fence. Ziggy STARED at them.
We started working on trot with the intention of doing trot canter transitions. But no! Something had got into Ziggy. His head went up, his back dropped away, he rushed. CANTER! No Zigs, trot. Well OK mum, but only if you ride properly. He speeded up every time down the long side of the school where the jump wings were.
AFter 40 minutes of real effort (he is determined to teach me how to ride, this pony) I finally got a nice controlled trot on both reins. We thought we would ask him to walk over a coloured pole, which he did calmly on the third attempt. Then I tried another trot, in a circle away from the jumps. No! Canter! Rush! Try to bolt! Head down as if to buck! My teacher is saying, "Sit down, get his head up," with her urgent voice that means, "because if you don't there will be hell to pay!"
I got him back to trot at last, finished the circuit, and asked him to walk on both reins. Which he did like a beach donkey.
We can only imagine that it was the jump wings that did it. He thought he would be asked to jump, and it set him off with anxiety and speed and running away.
On the hack home, mind you, he was as good as gold, back to the nice little willing pony I have been riding recently. But full of energy when he got back to the field, he careered about like a mad thing!
I have to remember that I haven't had him a year yet and he was in the show jumping yard for 2 years before I got him. There's a lot still to undo. I think I just need to go on praising him when he gets it right and try not to come a cropper when it all goes t*ts up!!!
Glasso vino for me I think...
