Saturday, January 10, 2009

mixed bag






Well it was a mixed day yesterday but it ended well. It was the most gorgeous sunny day and got to about 8 degrees which felt tropical by comparison to the last few days. I was so excited to ride outdoors and finally try out some of the successes of the last week. I was so lucky to have Lydia take some vid on the camera, not very good quality but bless her she managed to get us in shot all the time. This at least gives me a moment in time to compare with later. I want to see a big improvement in his grass/hay belly as we continue his new work regime, I'm strapping his bum and neck so I'm already seeing a big improvement there, the belly will improve with work, I hope!!





Having had a good lunge session the day before I decided to lunge before riding. Got a really nice stretchy trot after just a few minutes so decided to get on.







You will see from below that he was a good boy for mounting but you will also see his typical head roll/twist after I'm on and he does this unmounted and even hanging around in the field...just another Moo *thang*.




















Sorry the vids don't run sequentially....I'm not that clever yet!!


So after mounting he was HORRIBLE, boo, cry.....he felt like he wasn't settled, eyes on stalks (unusual for him) and I almost got straight off because I was so disappointed. However, I'm not about to give up that easily so I just focused on the work, turning from seat, halts without hands, giravolta and suddenly he came to me. Light and listening and managed the BEST leg yield he's ever offered me. In for a penny.... forwards to trot, OK on the left but awful on the right. Changed reins, transitions, little sitting and then back to walk. OMG what had happened? This final walk work was incredibly light and relaxed, didn't want to get off but as the sun had dropped down the sky it was getting cold. At least we finished with a smile on our faces.

5 comments:

Claire said...

i can't work out how to get videos in the right order, either. photos, easy - i upload them, then cut/paste them to where i want them in the post, AFTER having written the text.

video - i think it's better to put them on photobucket and then paste the link into the blog.

what is a giravolta? i googled it, and wondered if you mean a turn on the forehand or a 1/2 6 metre circle & back to the long side....

well done Lydia camerawoman! How's her riding coming on?

trudi said...

Yep, moving turn on the forehand; stepping laterally under the body is one of the things that the Iberian School use from the early in-hand work but I love it ridden too...it's, for me, invaluable although not everyone agrees!!

Lydia is riding a 14.2hh pony at the club now, doesn't make my nerves any better but she's a decent little rider even if the French have different ideas about seats to me!!

Claire said...

ah, moving! like a walk pirouette?

molly does a nice turn on the forehand all by herself - usually a sign of stress! - so i'm developing strategies to turn that to advantage.

trudi said...

No it's the opposite way round in a pirouette, the haunches describe the smaller circle and the forehand moves around them whereas in the giravolta the forehand describes the smaller circle and the haunches move around it.

Claire said...

yes - a few hours after i'd written my comment, i thought, no i was thinking about it wrong way round!