Monday, 9 March 2015

11 weeks post Rockley and 1st Ashen Course

Eager has now been home from Rockley for 11 weeks and I can honestly say she is 'sound'.  Her stride has opened up so much in the last 3/4 weeks.  My little pony hacking buddies can no longer keep up.  Which is as it should be when your riding a 16.2 warmblood and your friends are on 12.2 ponies :-)

It was Becky's 10 year anniversary of have Ashen EC open this weekend.  This is when I had Eager booked in to make her debut return.  Which she did with much aplomb!!  In fact a little too much.  I had a sneaking suspicion this week that she was in season.  Plus, I haven't ridden her in an arena, at all.  So I guessed it may be interesting.... so much so that I actually took and put on my air jacket.

So after an example of how she could rodeo and stand on her back legs (So high I thought she was going over backwards) we kept her schooling on the lunge for about 1/2 an hour.  I had bad thoughts that this was going to be a complete waste of money.  There was no way, I was getting on her!  To which Becky agreed.  Becky arrived with a schooling whip with a bag on the end.  We needed to teach her to keep her flailing limbs away from us!  So B proceeded to school on the lunge with changes of movement and direction frequently.  She is Bossy and you need to fill her brain, before she does.  Any loss of attentiveness and the bag chased her a little.  Always wanting the shoulders and head pointing at me (in the middle) instead of the back end.  She twigged very, very quickly.

So I got on.... for about 1 minute and then I got off again.  We established I get very uncomfortable when I lose her shoulders.  Eager has taken control of her shoulders and I need to make sure I have them on lunge, in hand and ridden.

So we did in hand work.  Getting her to bend around me but, getting the shoulders to move away.  So if on the 3/4 line, get her to bend around me but leg vield to the track.  The aim is to get the front inside leg to cross over on front of the outside leg.  She needs to move forward and away. 

So I then got on again......  Yay!!!  Eager (finally in control of herself)  Doing constant shoulder movement, change of direction and movement.  Don't have a floor plan.  Just keep her moving and thinking!!  Do not allow her to take control!


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