After a bit of time off through the holidays, I finally got on Bailey last night. I probably owed her and Foxie both some time on the lunge (we got a substantial amount of rain that iced over a good portion of the farm - I didn't look in their paddock, but I'm assuming the same is true there) but time was short, and I had hubby along... so we set up a few quick fences and I took the opportunity to try out my new Total Saddle Fit jump girth over fences.
Predictably, Bailey was a hot little chili pepper. And while there was definitely some bucking, head tossing and lots of zooms, it all seemed to be "feel good, must dance" related, rather than naughty. Hubs thinks I'm a bit crazy to differentiate between the two, but it's hard to get mad at a stir crazy horse for being athletic, IMO. Bailey's hard to get mad at in general.
We warmed up quickly and my good intentions of getting her round and listening were kind of side tracked by the fact that I finally had someone there to video, and I probably hurried way too much. As a result, the dragon horse jumped like the dragon she is, and my half halts were not as effective as they usually are. However, I was pleased because Bailey was jumping out of her skin, and was being very happy/bold/forward to the fences rather than chipping to the base like she was the last time.
Seeing the pictures and video made me even happier, because despite not paying any attention to my equitation beyond making sure I was actually releasing (steering and not running over my videographer with my excitedly dancing red horse post fence was my priority, and I was half frozen), my leg was steady and we look pretty good, all things considered!
Now that we've established that we can jump inside, what are your favorite (preferably quick/easy) jump excercises for the indoor arena? We don't have as much space as we did at our previous barn, so I'm going to have to find some new exercises!
Predictably, Bailey was a hot little chili pepper. And while there was definitely some bucking, head tossing and lots of zooms, it all seemed to be "feel good, must dance" related, rather than naughty. Hubs thinks I'm a bit crazy to differentiate between the two, but it's hard to get mad at a stir crazy horse for being athletic, IMO. Bailey's hard to get mad at in general.
We warmed up quickly and my good intentions of getting her round and listening were kind of side tracked by the fact that I finally had someone there to video, and I probably hurried way too much. As a result, the dragon horse jumped like the dragon she is, and my half halts were not as effective as they usually are. However, I was pleased because Bailey was jumping out of her skin, and was being very happy/bold/forward to the fences rather than chipping to the base like she was the last time.
Seeing the pictures and video made me even happier, because despite not paying any attention to my equitation beyond making sure I was actually releasing (steering and not running over my videographer with my excitedly dancing red horse post fence was my priority, and I was half frozen), my leg was steady and we look pretty good, all things considered!
oooh fun! my trainer is a huge fan of 18' one-stride grids. they don't have to be particularly high - but the compressed distance really helps the horse sort its body out without much interference from the rider. i also like bending lines, or a line of angled jumps down centerline so that you can zig and zag and change directions every which way.
ReplyDeleteBoth of those will be going into my play book... the grids sound like a great way to make a certain red dragon slow down and think! XD
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