We're freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
We got dug out at nine o'clock this morning, so that's a relief. Not that it's a problem being snowed in, but it's a mental thing - if you can't go anywhere, then you always want to!
Tia and Zip got an hour without their coats on, to let their skin breath and release the pressure points, while I got Jazz ready and rode him. Is hasn't been warm enough to do it the last few days, but today was much warmer.
Jazz was interesting. I put the French link back on him, I think he's softer in it than the Jeffries/Mylerlike bit. I was thinking things were going so well that I'd only be in there 10 minutes and I'd be back inside, bored, when he decided to object to travers left. By the time I'd cured that, and half pass left, I got some fantastic stuff. The cure on half pass was again to put him on a straight line along the diagonal and then to add travers to that. Super, he understands completely. The cure for the travers had been to get him working "through". He has the most amazing back muscles. Have you ever adjusted one of those seats in a car which has a knob you can turn to push the centre of the back of the seat more into the small of your back? Well, when Jazz brings his back muscles into action, that's exactly the feet I get under my seat! So it's pretty easy to tell when he's got it right.
I tried some walk to canter to the right then. He normally finds that rein easy, so it was a surprise to find him very resistant. In the end, I got a good two steps of walk, and released the reins as I asked for the canter, to let him totally find his own balance. From chucking his head up and running forwards, he suddenly rounded up and did it suuu-perbly. I stopped then, I wasn't risking finishing on a worse note than that one :-) !
C.
posted by cptrayes @ 3:12 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
we both had a good day then...although it'll be a long while till we're up to doing that...
You noticed on the food comment I wasn't worried about you, but rather the horses? Was I that obvious? Somehow I always figure the people will manage to take care of themselves. The horses can't.
I just stocked up on more grain in case. We generally don't get snowed in for more than a day or so around here, but you never know. They had over 110 inches in New York State, northwest of me. My trainer is in Massachusetts, not too far from upper NY. Wonder if he got hit?
I consider being well prepared "snow insurance." Usually, if I am all ready for it, it doesn't come. Still watching the forecast, though.
Jazz is in an interesting training mode. I wonder if that will continue throughout his career. Russell R. would hit "plateaus" in his training and just not get an exercise. We'd have a battle about it a few times and then, one day, he'd just go out and do it forever as if he'd never had an issue with it at all.
Haven't had that yet with Tucker and not so much with Toby. Personality trait? H-m-m-m-m-m.
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