(no subject)
hrm, horse was a bit funny in the head yesterday.
first, i got on & plinked around VERY CALMLY on a LONG REIN at a walk, doing lots of bending & walk/halt transitions & then we just sat & stood & watched kelli ride for a while.
then, when ben left the arena all hell broke loose.
so - separation anxiety??????? could it be????? idk.
horse tried same tricks as the other day - jig jogging, then refusal to move forward, locking through the neck & wanting to go UP if i urged him forward. fucker. it felt EXACTLY like when he first got my number back at the start of 2007 & i had no idea how to ride or deal with him.
i was completely like, "WHAT THE EVERLOVING FUCK IS THIS BULLSHIT?"
Kelli came in & put the jumps down & she mentioned that she wanted to put them up even higher & i was like, "can i make a suggestion? ben needs to be confidently cantering over those jumps without cat leaping before i'd think about going up higher. that's what i'd do anyway. he lacks confidence which is why he leaps over them."
i felt really scared saying it out loud (cos we all know i hate confrontation) but ive had a bad feeling about her jumping for a while. she jumps in her London Dressage (treeless saddle) with VERY long stirrups & she jabs him in the mouth every time she jumps. he cat leaps over things or jumps like a fucking deer - SPROING - four legs up and over and landing all simultaneously. he IS improving as she's been jumping him more often, but i don't think increasing the height of the jump will help him out just yet.
she leans forward as she jumps (and it was good to see her take her stirrups up a bit last night, or at least they looked up), which is good, but her hands are very stationary so as he straightens out upon landing, he is grabbed in the mouth. sometimes very bad, sometimes not at all. plus, he goes so.fucking.slow. she needs to get him a lot more forward! i'm surprised he makes it over them at all!
she said she was bored & i suggested a different style of grid, so hopefully she takes that to mind.
anyway, back to beejay. so whilst kelli was fixing the jumps i was making him go around & flex & yield out. every single time we faced the gate he would do this antsy bullshit & want to go up. it was GREAT having kelli on the ground to talk me through it. i wasn't getting emotional, but i was INCREDULOUS.
so. FORWARD. pushed him into canter, but the fucker was making ME work cos he was just doing this hideous boing boing boing cranked in, rocket-in-first-gear sort of canter and would want to heave his way over to the gate when we faced it and then suck back like a dirty little bitch when we were going away from it. fuck.
REALLY worked at pushing him the fuck ON & did a couple of big (and fast) half laps of the arena.
then back to trot.
and WOW. best trot in fucking ages! forward, there, *present*.
did a couple of laps & left it at that. didn't want to push my luck, the little shit.
it's just another fucking evasion that FORWARD will fix. feels a bit like a dirty carnival ride in 3-day-old underwear when you're actually riding it, but still....
i don't think his brain is broken & i don't think he's fucking allergic to anything. i think he's just a clever (manipulative) horse & the reason we ride so well in lessons is that i have someone there to talk me through the bullshit & not allow me to give up & freak out. Kelli did hardly any talking, but just having here THERE was enough for me to feel light hearted & confident about myself & to get after him. idk why the fuck this bullshit has all started NOW, but i don't give a shit. he's always been VERY GOOD at finding evasion tactics and is quick to throw things at me. I've grown pretty used to the bolting & shying strategies, plus the bulging & then when he comes behind the vertical. so now it's time for a new one.
he's had 6 weeks off & i've spent thousands of dollars on getting him physically happier, so screw it. he needs to earn a living.
i'm onto you now beejay, you fucker! watch out!
first, i got on & plinked around VERY CALMLY on a LONG REIN at a walk, doing lots of bending & walk/halt transitions & then we just sat & stood & watched kelli ride for a while.
then, when ben left the arena all hell broke loose.
so - separation anxiety??????? could it be????? idk.
horse tried same tricks as the other day - jig jogging, then refusal to move forward, locking through the neck & wanting to go UP if i urged him forward. fucker. it felt EXACTLY like when he first got my number back at the start of 2007 & i had no idea how to ride or deal with him.
i was completely like, "WHAT THE EVERLOVING FUCK IS THIS BULLSHIT?"
Kelli came in & put the jumps down & she mentioned that she wanted to put them up even higher & i was like, "can i make a suggestion? ben needs to be confidently cantering over those jumps without cat leaping before i'd think about going up higher. that's what i'd do anyway. he lacks confidence which is why he leaps over them."
i felt really scared saying it out loud (cos we all know i hate confrontation) but ive had a bad feeling about her jumping for a while. she jumps in her London Dressage (treeless saddle) with VERY long stirrups & she jabs him in the mouth every time she jumps. he cat leaps over things or jumps like a fucking deer - SPROING - four legs up and over and landing all simultaneously. he IS improving as she's been jumping him more often, but i don't think increasing the height of the jump will help him out just yet.
she leans forward as she jumps (and it was good to see her take her stirrups up a bit last night, or at least they looked up), which is good, but her hands are very stationary so as he straightens out upon landing, he is grabbed in the mouth. sometimes very bad, sometimes not at all. plus, he goes so.fucking.slow. she needs to get him a lot more forward! i'm surprised he makes it over them at all!
she said she was bored & i suggested a different style of grid, so hopefully she takes that to mind.
anyway, back to beejay. so whilst kelli was fixing the jumps i was making him go around & flex & yield out. every single time we faced the gate he would do this antsy bullshit & want to go up. it was GREAT having kelli on the ground to talk me through it. i wasn't getting emotional, but i was INCREDULOUS.
so. FORWARD. pushed him into canter, but the fucker was making ME work cos he was just doing this hideous boing boing boing cranked in, rocket-in-first-gear sort of canter and would want to heave his way over to the gate when we faced it and then suck back like a dirty little bitch when we were going away from it. fuck.
REALLY worked at pushing him the fuck ON & did a couple of big (and fast) half laps of the arena.
then back to trot.
and WOW. best trot in fucking ages! forward, there, *present*.
did a couple of laps & left it at that. didn't want to push my luck, the little shit.
it's just another fucking evasion that FORWARD will fix. feels a bit like a dirty carnival ride in 3-day-old underwear when you're actually riding it, but still....
i don't think his brain is broken & i don't think he's fucking allergic to anything. i think he's just a clever (manipulative) horse & the reason we ride so well in lessons is that i have someone there to talk me through the bullshit & not allow me to give up & freak out. Kelli did hardly any talking, but just having here THERE was enough for me to feel light hearted & confident about myself & to get after him. idk why the fuck this bullshit has all started NOW, but i don't give a shit. he's always been VERY GOOD at finding evasion tactics and is quick to throw things at me. I've grown pretty used to the bolting & shying strategies, plus the bulging & then when he comes behind the vertical. so now it's time for a new one.
he's had 6 weeks off & i've spent thousands of dollars on getting him physically happier, so screw it. he needs to earn a living.
i'm onto you now beejay, you fucker! watch out!