Post by Elaine on Jan 5, 2009 13:17:02 GMT
(sounds corney but bear with me!)
I had a moment with Oz over the weekend which kinda confirmed to me that all horses are brilliant and can do pretty much everything we want, AND more! and it's us that take a while to come up to their level and figure out what we need to do to allow them to move well and not get in their way or confuse them.
Here's an Ozzie update that touches on this a little .......... found out he can do the most incredible trot to canter transitions if I ask just using energy...........
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
(the colour is a bit funny in the pic, think my brother has put it through photoshop)
Back at the end of Nov Ozzie had done about two months of daily work so we were doing nice walk, trot and canters out about in the big fields. He's been out doing nothing since then so I was going to do a bit for the week I was home over christmas, so it was so "blinking" cold plus I was lazy and ate too much I didn't fo much.......
Anyway, I was getting some slight electronic grief a few days ago from Tom W about why I wasn't out doing something horsey so out I hopped (not literally though I did walk quietly to avoid the dog) caught the Ozmeister to do 10 mins groundwork before it got dark to see where his head at was these days.
Asked for a nice walk & trot on left rein (his slightly beter rein). Lovely. Asked for same on right rein. Walk good, when asked to trot went into canter. Did a one minor unscheduled canter to halt. I ignored all that and just asked him gently to trot on again, and then he did no worries. Then back on left rein, did nice canter, not once was there any weight on the rein from him.
Was then going to just do a better walk and trot on right rein (not as good) and leave it at that as was getting dark, and it'd be a good start anyway....
So did walk, lovely, just as good as the good rein.
Did trot, again lovely, relaxed, easy rhythm etc.
I practised physically 'upping' my energy to get him to change gaits, not going faster or slower really, just buildling energy instead.
It was a bit cold so I was doing a nice trot myself along with the Oz.... there was a little hill (up and down) going along the center of where we were working, so as I trotted along myself (not fast or anything) I must having been increasing my energy Oz did THE MOST PERFECT relaxed trot to relaxed canter transition - it was one of those true 'change gait don't change speed' things...
He did the lightest softest few steps of canter, he looked about 17 hands... my jaw dropped and I tried not to fall over. All the time still nothing in my hand.......
He came back down to a trot himself, so I let him do a few more steps in trot, then asked him back to walk, then halt, then whipped the halter off him ASAP.
If I could now only do all that energy stuff in the saddle I'd have some ridden transitions........ I just have to remember when I want Oz to canter (ground or riden)
- I don't try to make him canter by squeezing and willing him to go on faster
- imagine and feel in your body that you're already cantering and then you'll find you are........ (i'm sure it'll take a while though to sink into my head..and longer to sink into my bones...)
He can do all this stuff AMAZINGLY if I ask him in a way which is easy & logical for him, so I just need to do the same in the saddle for some breathtaking transitions!! I suspect it won't be quite that simple for me but it is possible ...
I had a moment with Oz over the weekend which kinda confirmed to me that all horses are brilliant and can do pretty much everything we want, AND more! and it's us that take a while to come up to their level and figure out what we need to do to allow them to move well and not get in their way or confuse them.
Here's an Ozzie update that touches on this a little .......... found out he can do the most incredible trot to canter transitions if I ask just using energy...........
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
(the colour is a bit funny in the pic, think my brother has put it through photoshop)
Back at the end of Nov Ozzie had done about two months of daily work so we were doing nice walk, trot and canters out about in the big fields. He's been out doing nothing since then so I was going to do a bit for the week I was home over christmas, so it was so "blinking" cold plus I was lazy and ate too much I didn't fo much.......
Anyway, I was getting some slight electronic grief a few days ago from Tom W about why I wasn't out doing something horsey so out I hopped (not literally though I did walk quietly to avoid the dog) caught the Ozmeister to do 10 mins groundwork before it got dark to see where his head at was these days.
Asked for a nice walk & trot on left rein (his slightly beter rein). Lovely. Asked for same on right rein. Walk good, when asked to trot went into canter. Did a one minor unscheduled canter to halt. I ignored all that and just asked him gently to trot on again, and then he did no worries. Then back on left rein, did nice canter, not once was there any weight on the rein from him.
Was then going to just do a better walk and trot on right rein (not as good) and leave it at that as was getting dark, and it'd be a good start anyway....
So did walk, lovely, just as good as the good rein.
Did trot, again lovely, relaxed, easy rhythm etc.
I practised physically 'upping' my energy to get him to change gaits, not going faster or slower really, just buildling energy instead.
It was a bit cold so I was doing a nice trot myself along with the Oz.... there was a little hill (up and down) going along the center of where we were working, so as I trotted along myself (not fast or anything) I must having been increasing my energy Oz did THE MOST PERFECT relaxed trot to relaxed canter transition - it was one of those true 'change gait don't change speed' things...
He did the lightest softest few steps of canter, he looked about 17 hands... my jaw dropped and I tried not to fall over. All the time still nothing in my hand.......
He came back down to a trot himself, so I let him do a few more steps in trot, then asked him back to walk, then halt, then whipped the halter off him ASAP.
If I could now only do all that energy stuff in the saddle I'd have some ridden transitions........ I just have to remember when I want Oz to canter (ground or riden)
- I don't try to make him canter by squeezing and willing him to go on faster
- imagine and feel in your body that you're already cantering and then you'll find you are........ (i'm sure it'll take a while though to sink into my head..and longer to sink into my bones...)
He can do all this stuff AMAZINGLY if I ask him in a way which is easy & logical for him, so I just need to do the same in the saddle for some breathtaking transitions!! I suspect it won't be quite that simple for me but it is possible ...