Radar is back to form.
Yesterday evening I was following the boys around and around the barn waiting for them to be prepared to have their rugs put on (if they won't let me they go out without them!) and Jazz did something wonderful - instead of breaking into canter I saw him extend his trot for the first time ever. It wasn't brilliant extension, but it was natural and he did it "because he could". He has never realised that he could before, so it was really exciting to see that the penny had dropped.
So today I schooled for it and there is no doubt at all that he is stretching his frame. He is leaning heavily on me at the moment, but Sonia says that he is just finding his balance. He should stop doing that in time, and in fact he is already beginning to lighten. He tried really hard to understand and to deliver what I wanted.
Unlike the half pass in trot to the left. He seemed totally incapable of delivering that at first today. I tried and failed with:
1. 10m half circle and ask for half pass just like to the right
2. shoulder in up the centre line and then add travers (worked at Sonia's)
3. taking the diagonal and then adding travers to that (worked until he worked out what I'd done!)
4. swearing :-)
None of them worked. He just was not prepared to swing his backside over. I did shoulder in and then travers in trot up the long side. No problem. Half pass in walk. Lovely. But half pass left in trot - no, no and no again. Eventually I forced him to remain in the bend (which he was dropping, hence the inability to get half pass) by holding the inside rein. It was all I could do, he was escaping every other means of persuasion. That did it, and having got it once he agreed to do it again without the inside rein aid.
I wonder what his problem was? Sometimes he doesn't use his left hind leg as much as the right, maybe it was that, because it would be that leg taking the pressure as he crossed. (But why no issue in walk???) If so (Jean?) suggestions for avoiding this problem next time?
Good news on Radar. He is sound on the arena with the surface going up inside his foot, so hopefully the frog infection is all cured. He schooled, for him, very nicely. Although we spent a good proportion of our time on the right rein bent left, because otherwise he drops his right shoulder backwards, he was fairly relaxed and soft in the mouth. Nice work for a tense horse who hasn't done any schooling for a week.
I'm going to give Radar another day and then hopefully go jumping at the weekend.
C
posted by cptrayes @ 8:12 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Ack, good question. I would suggest some suppling on the long side first. Shoulder in, ten meter circle, then haunches in. Or, haunches in, ten meter circle, shoulder in. This to get him laterally supple. Then try asking for a leg yield instead of half pass...less bend or even bend to the opposite direction of your movement. Gradually straighted the leg yield until it becomes a shallow half pass. Don't ask for too much at the start. Just see if you can go to the quarter line.
Usually horses are easier to half pass one one side and harder on the other, so your experience is not uncommon. Sounds as if Jazz is a bit weaker on that left hind, although Tucker had a problem with his right hind and so did not want to half pass left.
Also, you need to be sure you are supporting him on the right rein and thinking about moving the shoulder over first but in a balanced way so all his weight is not falling to the left. If he is overbent and falling out on the right shoulder, he cannot carry his weight to the left.
That is where doing a leg yield first might help as it will get the shoulder over sooner.
I can feel what you are experiencing as I've had it happen with every horse I have taught to half pass. Like us, they are right or left "handed" and find one direction easier than another. Think how hard it would be for you to write with your non-dominant hand, and it helps you develop some better strategy and tolerance of a horse's efforts to use his non-dominant side.
Another thought. Your seat and weight. Are you pushing him over in the half pass or taking your seat over for him to carry you to that side? Ideally, you need to ask him to step under your seat, so if you are sitting to the right in order to push his hind end to the left, that might also contribute.
I'll think some more.
Good going for Radar. Hope he will be sound to jump. He should be fun!
Ooh, another thing. I see you wrote, "not prepared to swing his backside over." Maybe if you think of it as more a forward movement than a sideways movement it will help.
The left shoulder goes first and the hind end follows in a foward stride to the left shoulder. I make the mistake myself of thinking too "laterally" and then ends up losing the impulsion which then makes it harder for the horse to actually step "up" into the direction of the half pass.
I will be interested to see if any of my suggestions help. If not, it's back to the drawing board. I'll have to go out and ride a few half passes to figure out some more suggestions.
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