fun
so i rode beejay today with my AP. he did not have a violent reaction to it and i made sure it was right back off his shoulder & that the girth was off his pectorals (kelli edumacated me on the pecs the other day). played around with saddle blankets too. still not sure about it's fit tho. kelli thinks it's okay (she's not a saddle fitter, but she's done a fitting course as part of her equine massage), but idk. it just doesn't seem *right* to me. i think tomorrow i'll put him in my old barnsby.
we just rode around the property & he was AWESOME. he had one ZOMG moment and scooted very quickly to the left but i managed to stay seated. then we had a bit of a discussion about approaching that area. he had another spook at paul's daughter, Erin, returning from her walk via the back gate & i kept him still & let him watch her. he relaxed once she realised she was a human and not a horse-eating-kanga-dog-monster. she even said, "Bet he feels like a fool now" and it really did feel like he was a bit embarrassed about being scared!
we did quite a number of one rein stops & small circles & flexion & leg yielding and spirals in/out and bends etc etc and so forth. lots of half halts and halts & sighs out and total relax'es' and a whole variation of things. we were just in the back end of the property. last time we rode there 'properly' was a year ago and what a fiasco that was. today, we walked/trotted & cantered. he needed a LOT of encouragement to go towards the back of the property and SUBSTANTIALLY less to come 'home', lol. also, found that he REALLY appreciates the security of a firm-ish rein. he is NOT a loose rein horse AT ALL. i played around with rein lengths & in areas where he was spooky, the difference between firm rein & loose rein was substantial.
then rode down the driveway & kept asking him to stretch out for Long & Low. he would do a few strides of this, but not be consistent - seems much easier to ask on the circle... idk.
anyway. awesome, amazing pony. very blessed. things are definitely looking up.
i was SUPER impressed with myself as well - i was LAUGHING when he was being antsy & i actually *hooted* when he did his big spook & just pushed him forward again. it was exhilirating. i wasn't quite confident enough to push him forward into a canter at MY pace (and not just a jumpy boggly omglookatTHAT canter) because he is still FUCKING fast, so i've got to get used to that. it did feel good to be in the saddle tho & i felt i had a decent centre of balance too.
we just rode around the property & he was AWESOME. he had one ZOMG moment and scooted very quickly to the left but i managed to stay seated. then we had a bit of a discussion about approaching that area. he had another spook at paul's daughter, Erin, returning from her walk via the back gate & i kept him still & let him watch her. he relaxed once she realised she was a human and not a horse-eating-kanga-dog-monster. she even said, "Bet he feels like a fool now" and it really did feel like he was a bit embarrassed about being scared!
we did quite a number of one rein stops & small circles & flexion & leg yielding and spirals in/out and bends etc etc and so forth. lots of half halts and halts & sighs out and total relax'es' and a whole variation of things. we were just in the back end of the property. last time we rode there 'properly' was a year ago and what a fiasco that was. today, we walked/trotted & cantered. he needed a LOT of encouragement to go towards the back of the property and SUBSTANTIALLY less to come 'home', lol. also, found that he REALLY appreciates the security of a firm-ish rein. he is NOT a loose rein horse AT ALL. i played around with rein lengths & in areas where he was spooky, the difference between firm rein & loose rein was substantial.
then rode down the driveway & kept asking him to stretch out for Long & Low. he would do a few strides of this, but not be consistent - seems much easier to ask on the circle... idk.
anyway. awesome, amazing pony. very blessed. things are definitely looking up.
i was SUPER impressed with myself as well - i was LAUGHING when he was being antsy & i actually *hooted* when he did his big spook & just pushed him forward again. it was exhilirating. i wasn't quite confident enough to push him forward into a canter at MY pace (and not just a jumpy boggly omglookatTHAT canter) because he is still FUCKING fast, so i've got to get used to that. it did feel good to be in the saddle tho & i felt i had a decent centre of balance too.