Necessary skills
Got the optimum time watch in the mail!
Took Clover out on a conditioning hack, down over the bridge and to the sandpit. The snow and ice patches are all melted, and there's only a couple of mucky spots on the trail. I started out in the back pasture, because my trainer wanted me to check out the footing there. It's looking very good, dry and solid except on the right side by the tree line.
I did some dressage at the walk while heading to the bridge, getting Clover to focus: moving her shoulders, leg yielding and some half pass at the walk. At first she was resistant, because she wasn't paying attention and wanted to turn around and go back, but I just stayed quiet and she began to pay attention. I felt like I was getting it, leg a little in front of the girth to move the shoulders, leg at the girth (just behind) to move her whole body or bend around my leg, and leg behind the girth to move the haunches. And she was responding! It worked! We can do this in the ring! I thought, there's no reason we can't do Training level. Maybe even a Prelim dressage test, if not combined test. I dunno about the speed and height for Prelim horse trials.
Eventually, we got to the good footing after the bridge, and we trotted and cantered. I worked on getting Clover to pick up the left lead canter, but she kept hopping into the right lead. Finally I got her shoulder off of my left leg, and got her to bend to the left while asking for the canter trans, and she picked it up! It's harder than it seems on a straight track.
I rode to the sand pit, turned around, and picked up the trot back to the bridge, and alternated it with canter again. I practiced positioning her body on the track, to the left and right while cantering that's going to be a necessary skill over x-c courses. I brought her back down to the trot, to encourage her over a large puddle on the trail that she had nearly stopped to look at, and went through very slowly on the way to the sandpit. She trotted to it without hesitation, but jumped over it. I wasn't too concerned. She will go through water, I just can't force her at it just yet, because she backs off to look at it. As long as she keeps going foreward into it at this point, that's what I'm happy about. Jumping into and out of water will come later on.
I brought Clover back to a walk to go over the bridge, and alternated letting her have a loose and long rein all the way back, with a couple of trots on the grassy areas. She was very good, no jigging or trying to break into the trot. She seemed very relaxed and content. A good point for me to remember don't accept the status quo if the horse is being inattentive, just get its attention and go from there.
Took Clover out on a conditioning hack, down over the bridge and to the sandpit. The snow and ice patches are all melted, and there's only a couple of mucky spots on the trail. I started out in the back pasture, because my trainer wanted me to check out the footing there. It's looking very good, dry and solid except on the right side by the tree line.
I did some dressage at the walk while heading to the bridge, getting Clover to focus: moving her shoulders, leg yielding and some half pass at the walk. At first she was resistant, because she wasn't paying attention and wanted to turn around and go back, but I just stayed quiet and she began to pay attention. I felt like I was getting it, leg a little in front of the girth to move the shoulders, leg at the girth (just behind) to move her whole body or bend around my leg, and leg behind the girth to move the haunches. And she was responding! It worked! We can do this in the ring! I thought, there's no reason we can't do Training level. Maybe even a Prelim dressage test, if not combined test. I dunno about the speed and height for Prelim horse trials.
Eventually, we got to the good footing after the bridge, and we trotted and cantered. I worked on getting Clover to pick up the left lead canter, but she kept hopping into the right lead. Finally I got her shoulder off of my left leg, and got her to bend to the left while asking for the canter trans, and she picked it up! It's harder than it seems on a straight track.
I rode to the sand pit, turned around, and picked up the trot back to the bridge, and alternated it with canter again. I practiced positioning her body on the track, to the left and right while cantering that's going to be a necessary skill over x-c courses. I brought her back down to the trot, to encourage her over a large puddle on the trail that she had nearly stopped to look at, and went through very slowly on the way to the sandpit. She trotted to it without hesitation, but jumped over it. I wasn't too concerned. She will go through water, I just can't force her at it just yet, because she backs off to look at it. As long as she keeps going foreward into it at this point, that's what I'm happy about. Jumping into and out of water will come later on.
I brought Clover back to a walk to go over the bridge, and alternated letting her have a loose and long rein all the way back, with a couple of trots on the grassy areas. She was very good, no jigging or trying to break into the trot. She seemed very relaxed and content. A good point for me to remember don't accept the status quo if the horse is being inattentive, just get its attention and go from there.
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