Post by racaille on Sept 16, 2011 5:21:44 GMT
..... well, in about two years, not counting the abortive couple of trips last autumn.
In my new spirit of 'I am invincible' - another story - I started on my list of New Year resolutions and signed up at the teenager's club and booked a lesson with a a lady I bumped into there who I knew a bit from way back. She has a very nice Irish TB and is into dressage so I was a bit nervous of how ol' me 'n' Paco would manage .....
Well, he hasn't loaded for months and he started off a bit ornery. After four or five attempts (remember I have to do it alone) I suddenly realised he was just taking the pee so I picked up my dressage stick and gave him a smart tap on his bum. My word he was surprised. Needless to say, he then went straight in like an angel.
The club is only 15 minutes away but it was very very hot and P was absolutely drenched - there was a pool of sweat underneath him. I hadn't thought to take a bucket with me, it being a club, but the girls I asked were not very forthcoming so I could not give him a drink. But he was snorting and eyeing everything up so I doubt he would have drunk anyway.
My chum F and I went into the manege (oh the bliss of the shade in there) and warmed up before the YO (E) arrived. She noticed straight away that P is bitless (F hadn't) and was quite fascinated. We started work in trot and P surprised me by being magnificent! He went round and active and was utterly wonderful. We worked hard on shoulder in and (not sure this is the correct English term) bum in
and E kept saying how you'd never know P was bitless and how good he was. I was a very proud mummy!
It all went wrong in canter though. He has always found it difficult to give a collected canter - he tends to just charge around. He slipped in one corner and almost fell over - eeek! - so we moved to the big jumping arena where there was more space and deep sand. P tried his very best and was very god at doing canter from walk, considering it's been about two years , and even on his bugbear left rein he got it right four times out of five. (I think that's largely due to Maxi's tip so thank you for that Maxi!)
E later commented on the fact that he finds trot work easier than canter (the reverse of F's Tb whose trot work was untidy) and said that this is common in Spanish horses - are you finding this Zara?
All in all, I was thrilled with the little boy who tried his heart out with some hard work, quite a lot after two years of pootling around. I am going again on Tuesday. Oh the bliss of being mobile ! ;D
Glass of rosé if you got this far ....
In my new spirit of 'I am invincible' - another story - I started on my list of New Year resolutions and signed up at the teenager's club and booked a lesson with a a lady I bumped into there who I knew a bit from way back. She has a very nice Irish TB and is into dressage so I was a bit nervous of how ol' me 'n' Paco would manage .....
Well, he hasn't loaded for months and he started off a bit ornery. After four or five attempts (remember I have to do it alone) I suddenly realised he was just taking the pee so I picked up my dressage stick and gave him a smart tap on his bum. My word he was surprised. Needless to say, he then went straight in like an angel.
The club is only 15 minutes away but it was very very hot and P was absolutely drenched - there was a pool of sweat underneath him. I hadn't thought to take a bucket with me, it being a club, but the girls I asked were not very forthcoming so I could not give him a drink. But he was snorting and eyeing everything up so I doubt he would have drunk anyway.
My chum F and I went into the manege (oh the bliss of the shade in there) and warmed up before the YO (E) arrived. She noticed straight away that P is bitless (F hadn't) and was quite fascinated. We started work in trot and P surprised me by being magnificent! He went round and active and was utterly wonderful. We worked hard on shoulder in and (not sure this is the correct English term) bum in
and E kept saying how you'd never know P was bitless and how good he was. I was a very proud mummy!It all went wrong in canter though. He has always found it difficult to give a collected canter - he tends to just charge around. He slipped in one corner and almost fell over - eeek! - so we moved to the big jumping arena where there was more space and deep sand. P tried his very best and was very god at doing canter from walk, considering it's been about two years , and even on his bugbear left rein he got it right four times out of five. (I think that's largely due to Maxi's tip so thank you for that Maxi!)
E later commented on the fact that he finds trot work easier than canter (the reverse of F's Tb whose trot work was untidy) and said that this is common in Spanish horses - are you finding this Zara?
All in all, I was thrilled with the little boy who tried his heart out with some hard work, quite a lot after two years of pootling around. I am going again on Tuesday. Oh the bliss of being mobile ! ;D
Glass of rosé if you got this far ....
