Oooooops, I've been slack again haven't I? I'll have to do my best to fill in the gaps.
I missed the second mid-week rally due to the crappy weather. Nicole and I decided we weren't interested in getting soaked, even if the lessons are really good value!
Also missed the May rally, partly due to the poor weather forecast, but also because I really wasn't in the mood for riding because dad had been admitted to hospital due to his pesky brain tumours. I think I need to be in pretty good emotional and physical state to venture out on a young horse.
Nicole and I had also taken the horses to see Don Hoffmann again the day before. It was Tallic's 3rd visit, so he would've been able to be ridden, but it was Joe's 2nd turn and he was meant to have a few days off. At least I wasn't letting Nicole down by not going, even if I had mis-led her thinking she'd be able to ride him.
The visit to the horse chiro was an interesting one. Tal did pretty well with his loading and picking up Joe, but there was no sign of Don when we arrived. Turned out he was running pretty late (one rude woman had brought him 5 horses to work on when she'd booked-in one!), so it was an almost 2 hour wait for him to arrive. We decided to walk the horses down to the arena and do some ground work rather than just leave them tied to the float. They were both a bit silly about it all; there's a bit to see there, bit of a spooky arena really, and horses running around. Lots of jumps for them to look at and work around too, and both boys thought the cypress trees were yummy. tal's breath smelt pretty good after a few chomps!
When we finally got home, many hours later, Tallic was trying to get off the float, shoving his arse backwards into the breeching doors. So glad I don't have to rely on chains! He got plenty of slaps on the rump, but he didn't particularly seem to care. When I got home he was doing the same thing. I decided to make him load and un-load multiple times. I have been getting someone to stand in the float with him so I can shut him in, which I know is cheating, but I thought it would be ok until he got used to the whole floating thing. Anyway, I was able to put him in and out of the float by myself, so that was really good.
hmmmm, since then?? Well, I can recall riding him in the arena while Nicole was riding in the ry, and Jenny was there. Back track a little bit...I'd been lunging him in side-reins a bit, getting him going forward properly and doing nice transitions into trot, not grumpy resentful ones. Back to the riding, he was doing ok, but still getting stuck and not going forward or turning when he wanted to stop or get to Joe. Pretty typical young horse behaviour I suppose, but not very productive or obedient!!!! I discovered that when he is refusing to turn, if I put the whip onto the offending shoulder, he went back onto the track and got on with business - so friggin obvious when i stopped to think about it, that's what he'd been taught to do - derrrrrrr. I'm a bit thick sometimes, but it is all a bit new to me, been a looooong time since i've had to train a completely green horse. He also needs a damned good kicking when he stops and bucks/pigroots. It helps if I'm ready for it and he doesn't actually get to stop, I think my timing is getting better and his obedience is improving. We just need to do more of it all.
In this last week I've managed to ride him Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Sunday Nicole and Joe were here and I started by lunging him in the arena (I'd shortened the side-reins and had the proper lunge whip as Jenny had suggested previously). He hadn't been worked for a while, so I thought it'd be a good idea to lunge over the poles in the area I wanted to ride him. He was pretty spooky at the neighbour's end, due to the friggin crazy mutt that likes to jump out or nowhere and rush them at the fenceline. Greg was working on a car there, and his re-appearing had Tallic a bit worried. Anyway, at one point he too off on me and got all the way down the other end before going onto the grass and falling down on his haunches. At least that made him stop, I'd been just about to lose him. Silly bugger. I did a bit more work then decided to ride him. Nicole and I rode at the other end, and I managed to ride circles around and away from Joe without too much resistance, so not a bad result in the end.
I then hopped off him and gave Nicole a mini-lesson, she's still finding she gets stuck when she doesn't have someone to tell her what to do. It was the best session they've ever done!! I think Don has helped Joe heaps, he's really softened and seems able to stretch out and move so much better.
During the week I rode Tallic in the round yard (T and W) after doing some AEBC style ground work. I didn't want to have to lunge him, I just wanted a short session. The stupid mutt was next door, that's why I opted for staying in the ry. We worked on smooth snappy transitions, preferably without him trying to bite me (little spoilt shit - by the way, Don announced to me he was spoilt, think he might be right! how did I manage to muck that up so grandly - geeeesh) Rode him after about 10 mins (I really do have to work on my fitness, I was pretty tired from the running). Had a couple of bouts of pigrooting when I asked him to go forward, but I growled at him and did some repeated short sharp kicks, seems to work. He surprised me with one where he was actually trotting and did it, that was new!
Thursday Nicole and I rode together again. Did ground work in the arena, even though mad-mutt-Major was there, I just stayed up the other end while brave Joe used the whole space! Mary came home not long after I'd got on, so I hopped off and had a little chat and checked out her cute puppy, then got back on to do some trot work (Nicole made me!) I'm really pleased I did, we need to just keep doing this stuff.
Gave Nicole a lesson after this, and they were pure superstars! Best work ever, looked like a level 3 combination at some points - look out world!
Oh yeah, Tallic is still teething, so I think some of his munching (on reins, lunge reins, whips and me) could well be to do with that.
