I honestly haven't had the time I need for adequate blogging, hence the large gap in dates. I've been so busy riding and doing schoolwork, that I hardly have time to breathe! But here is my most recent and utd update you'll probably get. So we'll start off in the beginning.
I believe I left off with Princess and I not able to find quite the focus we need for the Stadium jumping because of rushing/spooking/excitement etc. But I found that it's just a lack of dressage that makes the little girl's brain ache. It's like going around training for a marathon, as muscular as you can be without any strategic flexibility around your head. It is very intimidating. First, we start with circulation, I've done my research via Google and found that if any horse is fit to run three to five miles with twelve to sixteen obstacles they must be able to have accurate circulation to keep their legs pumping. Now that I say it, it sounds very obvious and a tad obnoxious, but let me tell you that it is flexibility that keeps those legs eating at the ground. A horse can not have speed and endurance without collection. That's why it's always important to stretch out your horse before serious rides or events. When they are 'flexible' they are less likely to have the stinging burn in their muscles called lactic acid fermentation. If you were out of shape it would make sense not to run a mile without proper conditioning. But even experienced athletes must know how that stinging/burning sensation feels. I'm saying that once your horse builds up the ability to regain balance and focus solely on stretching themselves in freewalk, extended trot, and even slower more rounded canters they will run better in the end on that course.
I have learned not only flexibility is an important factor but as is endurance, and it had not occurred to me that dressage and endurance met hand in hand. Princess is a little crooked. And by this I mean that she tends to lean more on that right shoulder, which makes the right lead less comfortable because it is harder to balance. If she can throw her right shoulder out it is easier for her to bulge and move away from my hands. We are correcting this by turn on the haunches and turn on the forehand. I've found that her right lead is now easier to pick up than the left which means we've over corrected! This is great! No really - it is. I've not seen such progress in a pony. She's figured out how to place her hind legs under her at the right time so the canter transition is nearly spot on. But now the problem is that left lead which has completely flip-floped into the same situation as before with the right. Now her left shoulder tends to bulge and the right lead is iffy on steering. So here we are again trying to perfect this lead when she will only carry herself on the right. Now I'm trying different things, like throwing poles into corners, running her way close to the fence and turning out like a mad-women. Right now this is a mess because I'm so worried about the show next weekend. Our dressage needs to improve fast.
The jumping is spot on. She has been chipping a couple, but she mostly likes to take the big spot. We've still been experiencing problems with the excitement levels but it has cooled off a bit. We've been low on refusals, still some in the stadium and none in the cross country. She loves that stuff.
At her first hunter-pace show a couple weeks back, we went perfectly clear with one point deduction in time faults. I'm thinking that was when we got slowed back a second because I had to pull her back into trot and regain a stirrup. We did have quite a few awkward jumps that she dismantled me with, but hopefully we're all good with it now. She placed fourth as the only pony at the show. There were about nine in her class, people were allowed to go again. The first place winner placed first and second as she went twice so technically Princess made third! I'm so excited for what's in store next week!
No comments:
Post a Comment