As projected, Encore and I did indeed meet with David on Saturday; Encore's first stadium jumping lesson and his introduction to David's "death circles" of warmup (they only make the rider want to die, not the horse). My tired brain will attempt to share it with you. I offer no guarantees of lucidity.
The wind was icy cold, the high temperature of the day was 42 degrees, and the Canada geese next door splashed in the pond at the end of the arena. Encore took all this as an invitation to try out his new "I iz STRONG pony" routine on a very tired me. Thanks, buddy. Nothing impresses your trainer quite like panting like an asthmatic grandmother on a stairmaster.
Despite his antics, David seemed to remain thrilled with my little brown boy and reinforced that I had been working in the right direction. Establishing a steady contact on the outside rein on the warmup circle, we used inside flexion, moving the bit in his mouth to soften his jaw, at which Encore obligingly (at least most of the time) came round at the trot. If he starts cocking his head, don't forget to use your outside rein to straighten his head on his neck, keeping it all in line, even counterbending a little so that he can't brace against your hand.
Walk/trot/walk/trot transitions in quick succession, which we have begun to introduce at home recently, making sure he stayed soft through the transition, prepared us for canter.
David made the observation that I really needed to stay off his back at the canter and to focus on working that way for a while, as Encore learns to lift his back at that gait. He reassured me that it is very normal for the racehorses to remain uneven behind for quite some time, which put my mind at rest a bit on that count.
Once we began jumping, Encore got much stronger than I am accostomed to! Whether it was weather or excitement or both, my shoulders got tired in a hurry! But it was gratifying to see my work at home paying off -- he felt comfortable finding his distances on his own and he skipped through a mini gymnastic without a hiccup.
Because Encore was getting heavy in the bridle, perhaps because his young muscles were beginning to tire, David had me just lift the inside corner of the bit on the long side for one step to lift his shoulder and then half-halt and then lift his poll and release as we turned to the jump. Result: immediate shift in balance, bringing him up in front of my leg, where I could then soften and wait for the jump to come to us.
Both David and I had a smile at the end; there were some lovely sections of rhythm and nice jumps. Encore came calmly forward to every fence and jumped well up to about 2'9". He is not as naturally round a jumper as Solo, but he feels already like he will be much more comfortable with height than Mr. Shiny ever was.
Now, if anyone has suggestions on how to convince Encore that he no longer needs to transition to canter as if he is leaping from the starting gate, I am ALL ears...
The wind was icy cold, the high temperature of the day was 42 degrees, and the Canada geese next door splashed in the pond at the end of the arena. Encore took all this as an invitation to try out his new "I iz STRONG pony" routine on a very tired me. Thanks, buddy. Nothing impresses your trainer quite like panting like an asthmatic grandmother on a stairmaster.
Encore's big brother demonstrates bend. |
Walk/trot/walk/trot transitions in quick succession, which we have begun to introduce at home recently, making sure he stayed soft through the transition, prepared us for canter.
David made the observation that I really needed to stay off his back at the canter and to focus on working that way for a while, as Encore learns to lift his back at that gait. He reassured me that it is very normal for the racehorses to remain uneven behind for quite some time, which put my mind at rest a bit on that count.
Once we began jumping, Encore got much stronger than I am accostomed to! Whether it was weather or excitement or both, my shoulders got tired in a hurry! But it was gratifying to see my work at home paying off -- he felt comfortable finding his distances on his own and he skipped through a mini gymnastic without a hiccup.
Because Encore was getting heavy in the bridle, perhaps because his young muscles were beginning to tire, David had me just lift the inside corner of the bit on the long side for one step to lift his shoulder and then half-halt and then lift his poll and release as we turned to the jump. Result: immediate shift in balance, bringing him up in front of my leg, where I could then soften and wait for the jump to come to us.
Both David and I had a smile at the end; there were some lovely sections of rhythm and nice jumps. Encore came calmly forward to every fence and jumped well up to about 2'9". He is not as naturally round a jumper as Solo, but he feels already like he will be much more comfortable with height than Mr. Shiny ever was.
Now, if anyone has suggestions on how to convince Encore that he no longer needs to transition to canter as if he is leaping from the starting gate, I am ALL ears...