Fiddle faddle with a saddle
I have ridden George in his new saddle. The saddle isn't actually "new" at all. I had the seat and the panels as my jumping saddle. I have bought second hand GP flaps which have an open front and a moveable kneeblock. It's a shallow seat (same as my dressage seats only a lower cantle) so I can school and jump on it. For jumping I will move the stirrup to the forward one of the two bars that WOW saddles come with. The saddle worked well. George didn't but more of that later.
I have ordered a new event seat for my jumping saddle. It's almost completely flat, so there is no temptation for it to move you forwards and you can keep your feet out in front of you. I have one on loan that I wasn't prepared to buy because I didn't think that the quality of it was good enough, but I tried it on Jazz this morning with jump length leathers and it's definitely the right seat. I've already got the "new" second hand panels so we are just waiting for the new seat. Jigsaw saddles!
Now to George. Cold rainy weather upsets him, I can see the pattern now. And on top of that I turned the other two out, and that made him really nervy. He got shouted at for trying to walk over me to get to the door. And then again for backing up and treading on my foot when I was behind him.
I took him in the barn to ride him but he just would not settle. He tenses up very badly and he simply would not release. I tried all the usual tricks - stop/start, serpentines, trot, jog, send the walk forwards, hold the walk back. He was steaming, he was getting so worked up.
I didn't want to lose my temper with him so I went and made a cup of tea and sat indoors and drank it. I thought out what to try next if the break hadn't done the trick, and about all I had left was lateral work. I came back outside and he was just as tense, so I played around with putting his head slightly into the wall so that it was obvious that he wasn't intended to go running off, or he'd have hit his head. That worked very well, so we did some baby shoulder in and travers stuff. he got a bit huffy puffy a couple of times, but actually he was surprisingly good at it. I think I'll do more lateral stuff with him. He panics about how to hold himself, and where to put his feet, and putting him in lateral work actually seemed to help him figure out which bit of him was going where.
We did a circuit or two of trot on each rein, which I was pleased with. And then we finished on a loose rein, which I wasn't! He just falls forward into a jog and doesn't hold himself up at all. If I didn't pull him up he'd end up cantering just so that he didn't fall on his nose!!
I took the reins back and played him into a longer, lower frame until he was stretching really well. Really, really well! The I got off and now I need lunch :-)
C
posted by cptrayes @ 12:33 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
It always amazes me that people can ride untrained horses and not realize how much better they could be going.
Years ago, when I was riding hunter/jumpers, my Russell used to "clean up" in all the flat (non-jumping) classes. This was not because he was so much better quality than any of the other horses, it was just that he had been trained in basic dressage. He carried himself beautifully and his athletic ability was totally enhanced by his knowing how to stretch into the bit and use his back.
So here's George. Talented to the enth in so many ways and yet totally unsure of his own balance because he never had the basics. It will just take a little longer with him until he learns to use his back, but my experience in retraining older horses tells me once he truly discovers the correct way of going, he is going to blossom.
Thinking that maybe some ground work over poles might also help him figure out where his feet are? Some little grids, challenging him to think about his footwork?
Saddles seem to be working out. A bit to complex for me as I am not that familiar with the WOW. Still, you seem really pleased with them, so that is what is important.
Happy Spring!!
I don't think hunting folk care, Jean. They only want to go fast and jump, and George does both briliantly!
I don't think he ever learnt a "wrong" way of going, thankfully, so he is actually proving quicker to teach than a 3 year old. Poles would be a very good idea.
WOW are five pieces literally bolted together Jean, 2 flaps, 2 panels and 1 seat. So I mix and matched to get the right saddles for all of them. Expensive though :-(((
Mind you, Jazz has gone up two gullet sizes, Zippy has gone up three and George has already, in one month, gone up one. So heaven knows how much I would have had to have paid by now for saddle fittings and part exchanges :-0
C
So that's the WOW. Interesting.
That's why I like my Ansurs. No adjustments needed. However, I also know that the Ansur doesn't work for every horse, rider, or situation.
I am, however, very interested in seeing the new Elite jumping saddle. The Konklusion (cross/counrty event saddle) I have is very much more like a treed saddle. The Elite is similar, but designed for the show ring riders.
As I've said before, years ago, we never worried about whether the saddle actually fit the horse. I was all about rider comfort. Now, at last, we have the options to make both partners comfortable at the same time. The WOW certainly seems to suit that too. I know you've often said how good you feel in it.
They do have drawbacks. They are heavy. And there is no way that you could call them close contact. But I have them principally for the lateral flexion in the front half of the tree (same reason people go treeless, as I did). The adjustability is a bonus. Any comfort for me is just good luck!
C
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