I've got the wrong body
Taking advantage of my unplanned day here at home I rode Zippy. He really does feel like he doesn't quite understand what to do with this bigger body he has now. It is exactly one year to the day since he arrived (Friday after New Year last year) and without being a different horse altogether he could hardly look more different than he does now. Photos next week I promise, when we go for his flu jab.
He was cold backed to get on, but all he did was move away as I was swinging my leg over. I got straight off and mounted again and he was a lot better, though I did stand in the one stirrup and hold him still until he stood and I could swing my leg over and sit down. Most highly strung three year olds would chuck you on the floor if you did that to them!
His walk was good very quickly, just by holding the rein firmly when he tried to run through. But the trot was a nightmare of tension. The transitions were fine, good even, but within a few strides he was chucking up his head and running. I kept having to put him back in the walk serpentine to release his back. He got it after a while, then did exactly the same performance on the other rein.
I'm not happy with what I am having to do to get the trot relaxed, but I'm very short of options because I'm very short of space. Outdoors, I would send him on and let him find his own balance. Indoors, with only 10 metres to play with, he just frightens himself or kicks himself, neither of them what we want at this stage. Tomorrow I will try halting him and getting the transition again, because the transitions were really very good.
Superhubby is desperate to see whether Zippy can jump next week, but I have told him that he is too young to do much and he will have to be patient!
Jazz is not sound. He has a raised pulse in one leg, and the coronet band is warmer than the other foot. I suspect a bruise from treading on the big ruts out in the field while they were frozen as hard as concrete yesterday. If not that, then an abscess. If it's an abscess, then I hope that it is related to a mushy, smelly hole in the side of his frog which I found when I checked. I stuffed it full of thin bleach, and we'll see later on and tomorrow.
Meanwhile, he is proudly wearing his new ultra-stretchy vest that I have bought to try to prevent his shoulders from rubbing. I don't know if it will work any better than the loose shiny one I tried last year, but we can see. Zippy doesn't rub at all, but Jazz has two small bald patches that he would look prettier without !
C.
posted by cptrayes @ 2:55 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
Working a young horse in a small space is definitely a challenge. Maybe just some small circling at the walk as suppling before the trot?? I used to do that with PJ. Circle right, little leg yield with the right hind stepping into the left shoulder as you change the bend to circle left. Repeat as you change bend back. Out of that, a few strides of trot starting off with a little "feel" of leg yield in the transition.
Hope Jazz is OK soon. You surely don't want a long layoff with him at this point.
Hard to find blankets that don't rub. And even the ones with the gullets never seem to have the darts in the right places. The tighter fitting "slinky" will help but do watch out for rubbing at the wither area and behind the front legs.
Had some great thinsulate blankets that were nice and warm and so light they never rubbed. They are not made anymore. *sigh*
Zippy's new upsize reminds me of when my boys were 13 and kept tripping on their newly huge feet.
Tetley too has two very bare shoulders and he now has an antirub vest so we will see if that works.
ML
Strange I dont have any problems with rubbing,never have with Polo and none with Ali, up to now, dont use vest either?
Maybe its the type of rug?I use Horseware Amigo's and Rambo's always found them cracking rugs,worth paying that bit extra for imo..well as long as you dont have a little so&so who trashes them!Polo's heavyweight Rambo is onto its 4th winter and still looks new after a clean.Did have major problems with Fal's rubbing.
I ended up buying a cheaper Weatherbeater HW for Ali it seems to weight a ton compared to Polo's (even thought its 350g filling and the Rambos 370g)but not a bad rug really..Im a bit of a rug snob arent I:)))
Bummer about Jazz always seems to happen when your making progress! Polo's been a bit footier lately sure its all the wet muddy ground ive put his boots on a couple of times lately.
Thinking about bringing them in for a couple of nights this weekend to give the feet a chance to dry out while its so wet but dont want to cock up their routine so not really sure what to do!
i was thinking about vests. i ring the changes on the rug front, but don't have one that's right on molly at the front. but we need new rugs like we need a hole in the head...
pelham?
I think it's the type of horse Nicola, rather than the type of rug :-) Zip doesn't rub at all no matter what kind of rug he has on, and Jazz ditto in the other direction. I love the cheaper Weatherbeetas. I don't think you can beat them as value for money.
Thinsulate was great wasn't it Jean, I had a couple. I wonder why you can't get them any more?
I do a lot of walk before I trot and never trot before the walk is nice. Haven't tried a leg yield into it, but yesterday it wasn't the transition it was the straight bits causing problems. Better today though :-)
Claire, Zip is definitely not a candidate for a pelham. He is incredibly soft in the mouth and responsive to the bit, with pronounced flexion in his neck. A pelham would almost certainly make him overbend and overreact.
ML it took me a while to realise that you meant your SONS :-) ! I think the comparison with an awkward teenager is a good one.
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