Getting crossed
I have spent HOURS shovelling gravel to clear the arena of too much surface on the two diagonals. The guy who specified it said I needed at least half as much again as I did. I went to buy 100 tons, which would have been perhaps a tad short. He persuaded me that I needed 180 tons, which cost another £1000 more than it is now clear I really needed. So I am clearing up to 6 inches off to the corners in piles. It's heavy work! On the plus side, I'll never need to buy a top-up and never have the fuss of dismantling the fenceline to get it into the arena. Also, the chap who overspecced it didn't gain by it, since when it came to the day it was dry enough to put it down, he had failed to order it and couldn't get hold of it. So I not only bought it from another supplier but the original one never billed me for 5 tons of limestone chippings that I used to level some pits out first.
Anyway, I decided that Zip should christen the new diagonals. I did it for him because he was finding the surface so difficult in the middle. It was good, though you could tell immediately that he was totally unused to changing reins like that. He was particularly wobbly heading for the opposite side after x :-) He was also very unbalanced at first in trot, but he got the hang of it. He's turning out to be SO quiet! He gets unbalanced and cross/worried, but all he does is go stiff. He doesn't fight and he certainly doesn't want to get rid of me.
I tried him in a French Link today because he does sometimes set his jaw and neck. He did it just as much in the French, so I think that it is simply when he loses his balance, and that's just a matter of a little more experience carrying a lump like me on his back :-) I borrowed Jazz's and I think I'll just carry on with the single joint for Zip. I am not riding him more than I feel essential because he is still growing so much. Three times a week seems to be plenty and I won't be shy of dropping it to two if I'm busy, since he is no different in his behaviour if he's ridden or not.
He is now reliably coming to the mounting block and standing for me to get on, so there are no more ridden lessons that a three year old really needs to know, are there? Stand, start, stop, turn. Seems like a full house to me, what do you reckon?
Jazz is having the day off because he gave himself a hard time physically yesterday and I don't like to overwork him either. He may look like a middlewieght boxer with all his muscles but he is still only 5 years old :-) Just to tell you how much trouble he put himselt too yesterday - he was going to throw an enormous jump over a spread 3ft high and 3ft 3 wide. I held on to his mouth a bit to stop it becoming too wild, so he took off from his hind feet ............................... and hopped the entire fence, landing only on his hind feet with his forehand still well in the air. Not terribly conventional as a jumping style :-) - but he left the darned thing up!!!
I am more and more coming to the conclusion that actually he is a pretty smart horse mentally. In human terms I made the mistake of thinking that a child of two was thick and slow because it wasn't reading and writing! He's such a baby emotionally and I mistook a lot of it for being stupid. I'm going to give him more credit for knowing what he's doing - and hold faith that when he's grown up in his head his natural physical ability will come to the fore. It's not hard, he's such a gorgeous boy!
C
posted by cptrayes @ 5:01 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
Have to laugh a bit WITH you about the gravel. When I did my arena in sand, they insisted I needed more tonnage than I had calculated. They laid it and my guys spread it and in less than a week it was way too deep to really ride in.
I called it "expandasand." I had to hire someone else with a front end loader to take it out. We spread some in the paddock and made a pile outside at the end of the arena which still serves me well, some 10 years later, with enough sand to refresh when I need it.
Sounds like a good program for Zip, especially since he is progressing so well with the basics and standing for you to mount.
That is an interesting jumping technique Jazz invented. Kind of a courbette over the fence? Might come in handy some day when you are doing and uphill combination cross country. He will not have to worry about lifting himself over the next fence. *G*
Think of one of those bright juveniles you see in court, always trying to figure and angle around the law and you have Jazz's current mentality. You are using your same courtroom skills: firm, fair, and consistent--with him to succeed. The best part is, he will be smart enough about learning his lessons not to wind up in jail! *G*
Both boys seem right on target with their training. As they say, "Sounds like a plan to me." Was that from the TV show "The A Team?"
wish someone would take some of our arena away - have to put long boots on to do ground work or i get a bootful of arena, is how deep it is...
can't believe you sat that jump, or that jazz did it!!!
Expandasand and growgravel - surfaces for the 21st century?
The incredible thing is that he left it up Claire! I'm allergic to falling off :-) As long as he stays straight, so there's a horse there when you finally come out of orbit, it's not so hard to stay on.
C.
AhAhAh Caroline!!! You came to your senses. As you know, I do not know anything about TB, but I grew up and rode, and now owned warmblood. IMO, They are the most intelligent breed.
I have always found The TB "stoopid", b/c they will loose when a WB won't think much of it, and get on with their work.
Yes, they mature SLOWLY .... LOL I cannot help laughting, we told you so many times. But I am glad you found out by yourself.
yes they are very immature. My mare is 6 yrs old, but my trainer still calls her "puledra" which means young horse. She won't be an adult before 8-9 yrs old.
My trainer's horse (by JaliscoB) has been the most cahllenging horse he trained ( he was used to TB). A training session will be a hack, then back in his arena, where the jumps (1m30 to 1m50) will be already set up. They will jump everything then get off straight away. Otherwise his horse gets BORED.
The same in competition, he will let his horse see the warm-up arena, then back in his box, then jumped, then back in his box ...
If I remember well, one of the main horse of the French show-jumping team refused to work in the arena. He was mainly hacking in the forest ... no technical work :-)
That must be the breed LOL
Nice acrobatie of Jazz, he must be very powerfull !
Keep laughing at me Muriel, it serves me right :-)
Jazz is extremely powerful. He is a bundle of hard, fit muscle from one end to the other. His neck is solid right up to the crest and his backside is like a bulls! It's all muscle, hardly any fat. What he will be like when he is finished maturing is anyone's guess.
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