Post by fleabitten on Nov 16, 2011 21:19:03 GMT
i was lucky enough to be able to ride a young pony this evening who is a lovely wee mare but just doesnt really know. i think shes about 4 or 5.
Shes got a long stride for a pony and is comfortable to sit to. Shes pretty sensitive and well schooled in that she responds well to leg aids to go forwards and she will also bend into the corners and on circles when you ask. I tried steering her in and around the jumps with my legs only at the end of the session and she was brilliant, instant response and turned tighter etc when i asked for more.
however she doesnt know sideways yet and would tend to go faster when you squeeze one leg firmly.
brakes are fairly good, the quieter you are with your hands the better she goes.
she tends to get tense and excited and then holds her head quite high
a problem i found was in canter, she goes too fast - whilst this doesnt bother me, i couldnt figure out why she wouldnt slow. i put her onto a 20m circle to try canter and i got the trot settled and steady and then i cantered, i wanted to see whether she would settle on her own after a few laps of the circle but she kept at the same pace.
so after that didnt work i tried a different tactic. i stuck her on a 20m circle again and tried doing transitions to see if she would listen to me and maybe this would help her to balance herself if she isnt getting the time to get going in canter if you know what i mean. and it worked quite well, i wouldnt let her go back to canter unless her trot was settled and not rushing and however many circles or circles inside the 20m circle that took to achieve that.
then on the other rein she anticipated it and after trying one canter transition she just wouldnt settle in trot so i just worked on getting the trot good and then finished.
the canter is fast whether she be cantering large or on a circle, schooling on her own or cantering to the back of the ride in a lesson.
one problem in the lesson is that she anticipates canter and gets excited - she starts throwing her head about when you check her and rushing in trot and then she goes fast to the back of the ride.
I think the first thing you would deal with if you were schooling this pony to work correctly is getting all the paces steadied up and going forwards - walk and trot isnt too bad but canter is the problem.
So, my question is - how would you go about getting the canter right and why is she doing it? Was i doing the right thing with my exercises etc?
Shes got a long stride for a pony and is comfortable to sit to. Shes pretty sensitive and well schooled in that she responds well to leg aids to go forwards and she will also bend into the corners and on circles when you ask. I tried steering her in and around the jumps with my legs only at the end of the session and she was brilliant, instant response and turned tighter etc when i asked for more.
however she doesnt know sideways yet and would tend to go faster when you squeeze one leg firmly.
brakes are fairly good, the quieter you are with your hands the better she goes.
she tends to get tense and excited and then holds her head quite high
a problem i found was in canter, she goes too fast - whilst this doesnt bother me, i couldnt figure out why she wouldnt slow. i put her onto a 20m circle to try canter and i got the trot settled and steady and then i cantered, i wanted to see whether she would settle on her own after a few laps of the circle but she kept at the same pace.
so after that didnt work i tried a different tactic. i stuck her on a 20m circle again and tried doing transitions to see if she would listen to me and maybe this would help her to balance herself if she isnt getting the time to get going in canter if you know what i mean. and it worked quite well, i wouldnt let her go back to canter unless her trot was settled and not rushing and however many circles or circles inside the 20m circle that took to achieve that.
then on the other rein she anticipated it and after trying one canter transition she just wouldnt settle in trot so i just worked on getting the trot good and then finished.
the canter is fast whether she be cantering large or on a circle, schooling on her own or cantering to the back of the ride in a lesson.
one problem in the lesson is that she anticipates canter and gets excited - she starts throwing her head about when you check her and rushing in trot and then she goes fast to the back of the ride.
I think the first thing you would deal with if you were schooling this pony to work correctly is getting all the paces steadied up and going forwards - walk and trot isnt too bad but canter is the problem.
So, my question is - how would you go about getting the canter right and why is she doing it? Was i doing the right thing with my exercises etc?
for so much hard work we thank ye!!
