Longing, or lunging, or longeing
Lunged Keane today. I have been lunging him several times a week for the past 3 weeks, just not logging it. I get out of the logging groove. I scored a single-link full cheek fulmer snaffle from the consignment room at Double G. It's an old-school bit, made from a metal similar to but paler in color than Herm Sprenger's aurigan, with "never-rust" stamped in tiny letters on one side of the mouth piece. They don't make bits like that any more. The Spanish Riding School uses them in training; the full cheek pieces help steer a young horse, and the loose ring aspect has more play than an egg butt. I switched out the Myler egg butt wide barrel comfort snaffle I'd been using with some success, and gave the fulmer a whirl.
I also bought a Cashel riding fly mask; it isn't heavy duty like the pasture models, it's got light mesh for better vision. The black flies have been vicious and the mask worked well. The bit seemed to be fine; it even caused Keane to salivate more than the Myler.
Keane's been doing pretty well on the lunge; with the clouds of black flies he wants to keep moving, so I have to be consistent and persistent with requests for down transitions. He settles and becomes more obedient as the session goes on--I'm not going to let him become a princess about bugs, they're a fact of life around here from April until October. And the fly mask helped a lot.
I want him to develop a little more strength, a little more muscle over his top line; he's doing well but I'd like to see him more consistently through before I get on him. His balance is pretty good. I'm going to start lunging him over trot poles once a week, which should help, but in reality, I'll just get on him once the conditions seem right, if it's pretty quiet around the ring.
I also bought a Cashel riding fly mask; it isn't heavy duty like the pasture models, it's got light mesh for better vision. The black flies have been vicious and the mask worked well. The bit seemed to be fine; it even caused Keane to salivate more than the Myler.
Keane's been doing pretty well on the lunge; with the clouds of black flies he wants to keep moving, so I have to be consistent and persistent with requests for down transitions. He settles and becomes more obedient as the session goes on--I'm not going to let him become a princess about bugs, they're a fact of life around here from April until October. And the fly mask helped a lot.
I want him to develop a little more strength, a little more muscle over his top line; he's doing well but I'd like to see him more consistently through before I get on him. His balance is pretty good. I'm going to start lunging him over trot poles once a week, which should help, but in reality, I'll just get on him once the conditions seem right, if it's pretty quiet around the ring.
Comments
Post a Comment