Right from day 1 of owning him we had good days and bad days. Some days he would be an absolute darling for me, others it seemed he had devil horns rather than ears. I went through instructors like they were going out of fashion, none of them seemed to listen to me that he wasn't "naughty", he just needed to do something that kept his brain ticking all the time. Every time I tried a new instructor we ended up doing the same thing of trotting around the arena, doing the occasional circle and then going large. I knew it wasn't enough to keep his mind busy. If I incoporated changes of reins, some leg yield, lots of halts and transitions then he behaved. It's almost as if he didn't have time to even think about being naughty because he was too 'busy'. If I schooled at home he could be a nightmare, if I went out and did a competition he was perfect. Why? Because he had to be focused. Before moving to Lincolnshire an old riding instructor told me he was a horse trapped in a ponies body and when riding him I should be more sensitive towards him, like many would be when riding a big fizzy 16.2h rather than a 14.1h pony - okay so that made sense.
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| Last winter |
So, when someone suggested I try Amy I was looking forward to finally seeing if there was someone local that could help and give me weekly tasks to keep him focused. When Amy first met him he did an impressive show of bucking and spooking a few times, but as soon as we got working he stopped. She told me she didn't think he was naughty, but I always needed to be one step ahead of him and keep his mind on work rather than what is going on the other side of the arena fence. If he spooked or tried to buck she told me to simply do nothing but kick on and keep him going forward. For the first time in quite a long time my lesson was filled with lots of different things to focus and work on. Maybe mentally I was kept occupied as well, so it took my mind off the attitude that "was he going to behave or not?".
Amy commented that he appeared stiffer on one rein quite a lot compared to the other which could be why he bucked so much, so recommended I get him checked out by a physio. She said there was lots to like about him but we just needed to keep him busy rather than allow him to get bored.
Slowly, but surely after a few lessons I began to notice improvements. If Ceaser tried to misbehave I kicked on and changed what we were doing so he didn't have time to think. Before long the bucking almost stopped and for the first time in 6 months I was able to use the whole of the arena without having to worry that he would get to the top end and bolt back down because he had noticed something out the corner of his eye.
I like that at the beginning of a lesson we give ourselves objectives and if I tell Amy there is something I want to get right she addresses this. I have noticed a small improvement in our dressage scores and up to now they are a lot more consistent than last year.
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This week was the first lesson I had since going to the BD clinic. I spent a few minutes telling Amy what we had gone through and once again we looked at my aims for the spring time and what level I want to qualify at and what for.
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| A much happier pony! |
We worked on the counter canter a little more ready for my first BD novice test next week and although we
had a buck initially due to dad working on some fencing in the next field, he was fabulous. Amy feels the counter canter really helps lift our correct canter lead and makes it more bouncy.
Next we worked on some traver and shoulder in, flipping between the two. Initially we struggled to get either correct and I got a little annoyed that last week we had got it first time. Amy suggested using my arena mirrors to help and working towards them to do the lateral work rather up the long side. Funnily enough upon doing this we did shoulder in and traver first time, so she then said try using the quarter line to do the lateral work as he may pin himself against the arena fence and struggle to bend correctly. Again, this worked perfect and he did some lovely work. It's funny how a simple change of where you ask for something can make all the difference. Of course we will go back to doing this on the track, but for now if it all feels easier on the quarter line then that is not a problem. We worked on some of the movements that may come up in my Novice test next week and before long it was time to finish again.
Looking back at the videos Mark took I can see a huge difference in our way of going if we compare back to June time. Mark also agrees every thing seems to look more fluent and 100 times better. This week I will be hacking him twice and then schooling Friday and Saturday before our two tests on Sunday. Can we get our first BD point? I'll let you know!
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