The problem is, the horse I ride now is not the same horse that I went to try. And I'm pretty sure it's my fault. Before Chloe I spent 4 years riding and training a Warmblood/TB cross that under saddle was very much a warmblood in that she took a lot of leg and needed me to be heavier in my hands than my current, sensitive fire-breathing dragon/giraffe Thoroughbred.
See how she used to go calmly and quietly on a longish rein? Now she goes on a rather short rein and very anxious.
So, how exactly do you turn your giraffe back into a horse? Folks, we've been working on this for a year and a half now. Chloe thinks that any sort of leg pressure means OHMYGOD! MUST BOLT FORWARD! WHAT IS THAT THING ON MY SIDE?!! MAYBE I CAN OUT RUN IT. IT'S FOLLOWING MEEEE! THERE'S NO ESCAPE!!! AHHH! And in my experience, those are the horses that need more leg than you think. Plus, it's so counter-intuitive to put leg on a horse that is already trotting it's legs off and wants to go even faster when that scary leg touches their side.
We had sort of an AHA! moment this last week. I have a tendency to tense up on the reins and take my leg off when Chloe decides to hollow her back and rush in whatever gait we are in. Not only does Chloe not like to be held, my right arm gets super tired because she is stiff on that side. This last week I finally figured out that if I LET GO OF HER FACE (still support, but UNLOCK THOSE ELBOWS) and support with the hands as I squeeze with the leg that she actually goes like a horse instead of a giraffe. We still have a long way to go, but there is definite improvement and I feel a little less guilty about ruining my horse.
Have you had any AHA! moments with your pony lately?
This is the Wonder Pony that I rode on trial.
And here is the Wonder Pony a few weeks ago (note: Chloe was VERY fresh that day!)
See how she used to go calmly and quietly on a longish rein? Now she goes on a rather short rein and very anxious.
So, how exactly do you turn your giraffe back into a horse? Folks, we've been working on this for a year and a half now. Chloe thinks that any sort of leg pressure means OHMYGOD! MUST BOLT FORWARD! WHAT IS THAT THING ON MY SIDE?!! MAYBE I CAN OUT RUN IT. IT'S FOLLOWING MEEEE! THERE'S NO ESCAPE!!! AHHH! And in my experience, those are the horses that need more leg than you think. Plus, it's so counter-intuitive to put leg on a horse that is already trotting it's legs off and wants to go even faster when that scary leg touches their side.
We had sort of an AHA! moment this last week. I have a tendency to tense up on the reins and take my leg off when Chloe decides to hollow her back and rush in whatever gait we are in. Not only does Chloe not like to be held, my right arm gets super tired because she is stiff on that side. This last week I finally figured out that if I LET GO OF HER FACE (still support, but UNLOCK THOSE ELBOWS) and support with the hands as I squeeze with the leg that she actually goes like a horse instead of a giraffe. We still have a long way to go, but there is definite improvement and I feel a little less guilty about ruining my horse.
Have you had any AHA! moments with your pony lately?
My aha moment lately has been riding with less hand,more seat. It's been a huge improvement for us!
ReplyDeleteI came across an interesting article on Facebook yesterday about contact and it described contact like a handshake:
Delete"Developing contact with your horse is very much like shaking hands with a person. You reach for the person’s hand and the other person reaches for yours. You close fingers relatively gently (we are not considering those strong shake-your-shoulder-off aggressive shakes!) around each other’s hand and you mutually lift and drop your hands in the shake.
In general, it feels nice to shake someone’s hand. You both show a willingness to meet in the middle and share a physical bond that connects you together."
Totally made sense to me when I read it and subsequently had a great lesson last night.
Love watching Simon's videos, he looks like a lot of fun to ride! :-)