Summer????
Rain and wind again here today, so we are back in the barn in the middle of August. This is certainly a record. They have rugs on again too, I've never had a year like it!
Zip was fine. Absolutely insistent that he could not maintain the bend in trot to the left. Yesterday he was insistent that he could not do it to the right, so that was a nice change :-) No serious problems for a horse of his age though. He pokes his nose if he gets unbalanced, but other than that he is bending and flexing like the natural that he is.
Jazz has done some super walk work. I do love the feel of riding him, he is so powerful and yet so fluid at the same time (if we get it right :-) I've never ridden a horse like him, including my friend's warmbloods that cost more than he did by a long shot. Zip is superb, but doesn't give that feeling either. He did try to back off behind my leg on the last bit of work, but I was pleased how he responded to being sent forward without too much of a struggle. Staying strait was slightly more difficult but we managed that too. A good session for us both!
C
posted by cptrayes @ 4:55 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
Rugs in August? More like sweat sheets here.
When I was working Chance he became really good on one rein and then was resistant on the other.
I found the best thing to do was to constantly keep changing rein. My theory was that since learning to be flexible and soft was new to him, he would soften on the right (for example) and, in the process, kind of "lock" the left side in the right bend. Then, when I'd switch sides, the left side couldn't figure out how to bend to the left.
So, I'd work to the right maybe one or two circles, then go to to the left, etc. It really worked well. I've just been on him once since he's finishing up his long layoff for the hind end lameness, and both sides were pretty even.
When I just worked one side at a time, it never mattered which rein I started on because the second rein was always worse. Think that might help Zipster?
Tell me about the weather...I don't usually rug till november.....Roh's had his rug on for most of the summer too...even my pony had one on last night, it was really chilly here, and then I woke up to blazing sunshine......
Its lucky you have got the barn to work in this year eh.
You're right of course Jean, it's second reinitis again! It's very clear now that Zip's big evasion is going to be to set rigid along his length - and he's so clever at it that it's quite difficult to unlock him. He can hold it even if you keep changing the bend, clever boy!
Mandeigh I always bless the barn. It may be tiny but it makes the difference between living here on this exposed hillside and not living here.
C.
A great little warm up exercise I used to use for a stiff horse--
At the walk, make a circle to the right, maybe ten meters because you want in fairly small. In the circle, think about a slight leg yield out, displacing the hind end a bit to the outside, pushing the inside hind leg to the outside rein. Then, Begin a leg yield in pushing the outside hind leg towards the inside rein and, as you get a reaction begin to change the bend into a cirle on the left. Keep repeating this making little figure 8 movements, but keep the circle until you get the hind end displaced, right/left/right/left, etc.
Another good exercise for the laterally stiff horse is circle in, circle out going around the arena. Again, think about pushing the inside hind leg to the outside rein. And again, keep the circles fairly small so the horse has to work his hind end under his body to make the turns.
Also, sometimes, square turns off the outside rein can help. This lightens the forehand a bit and gets the shoulder to move out of the way.
These exercises are OK for a green horse instead of the shoulder-in, haunches-in you might ask for later to increase lateral suppleness.
Good ideas Jean :-)
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