Post by fimacg on Feb 21, 2009 14:26:41 GMT
I am trying to make the most of the time left in my arena before it goes, so decided to play wih Brave over some jumps today, despite the howling gale 
Bearing in mind he had never jumped before I bought he he did brilliantly. We have been playing about over small cross poles and the odd little upright to get confident together, but with time pressing I decided to put the fences up and make it more challenging.
He jumped brilliantly. At the start he was looking into all the spreads and leaping over them with plenty of room to spare so up went the fences again until everything was 2'6" and one scary 2'9" I set up a couple of spread fences and a skinny 2'6" stile fence. He did them all.
OK we had the odd pole down but he seemed to really enjoy it and there were loads of distractions with the owners of the house next to the arena filling a skip and the wind blowing the odd pole down too.
We nearly hit the deck at one point though he leaped one of the spreads with so much room to spare that I lost a stirrup and had to let the reins slide so as not to sock him in the mouth.
We got to the arena fence before I sorted myself out and as I was thinking we would go right, he thought left, he then realised I want right and started to turn right at which point I was heading left, then he went left as I was going right...
How we stayed together I dont know but he was started to panic a little at my lack of balance but somehow we stayed together and he quickly calmed down once everything was back to normal
He is doing so well at the moment and I really feel that the trust is really starting to build now.
Bearing in mind he had never jumped before I bought he he did brilliantly. We have been playing about over small cross poles and the odd little upright to get confident together, but with time pressing I decided to put the fences up and make it more challenging.
He jumped brilliantly. At the start he was looking into all the spreads and leaping over them with plenty of room to spare so up went the fences again until everything was 2'6" and one scary 2'9" I set up a couple of spread fences and a skinny 2'6" stile fence. He did them all.
OK we had the odd pole down but he seemed to really enjoy it and there were loads of distractions with the owners of the house next to the arena filling a skip and the wind blowing the odd pole down too.
We nearly hit the deck at one point though he leaped one of the spreads with so much room to spare that I lost a stirrup and had to let the reins slide so as not to sock him in the mouth.
We got to the arena fence before I sorted myself out and as I was thinking we would go right, he thought left, he then realised I want right and started to turn right at which point I was heading left, then he went left as I was going right...
How we stayed together I dont know but he was started to panic a little at my lack of balance but somehow we stayed together and he quickly calmed down once everything was back to normal
He is doing so well at the moment and I really feel that the trust is really starting to build now.
