'pelham too harsh for canter'?

[NickeringNotions]

I had a lesson yesterday just to have somebody on the ground as I havent had a lesson since August and Woody's Auntie Luc is out of action!  :'( Just grabbed a space on a clinic with an eventer that comes here quite often.


Well er...when I said that Woody had just been given the go-ahead to start cantering (gentle cantering, and only on straight lines) she then asked me to go on a circle and trot, leg yield, then canter?

I then panicked and so she got on him and started cantering him on the circle, he became really unbalanced and got himself in a tizz (i think, by his behaviour, he is scared to canter incorrectly, but doesnt know quite where to put his legs, that and the fact it used to hurt) and then she said that my pelham (even though i only ride him off the snaffle rein) was too harsh for canter? does this sound right?  He normally sticks his head on his chest when he gets worried even if your reins are baggy! So I had to change back to the snaffle 

She also said that Woody was like a 4 year old (thatll teach the people who say he must be easy to ride  ) and that he's too sensitive to the leg?  When I got him he was just dead and strong, and I put him in the pelham and started schooling him differently and I thought that it was alot better surely? 


so could a snaffle, for the meantime, be a better idea for canter, until he figures out where his legs are (even if he's giraffing around  )? She said to bring him back to trot when he gets unbalanced, tell him he's fab for cantering even if it was crap, which it mostly was  (he was really trying bless his heart  ) and then ask again once he has sorted himself out. 


(oh and by the end of it, i was still too petrified to canter  , which was basically the point of the lesson!!

Thanks in advance

[Foxfold]

Oh dear, you and Woody had a rough day, didn't you

Lesson number one, don't ride on clinics when you've not had chance to think
I'ts much better to spectate

I think if you continue the way you're going with your walk,trot, halt, plenty of transitions, Woody will offer you the canter before long. And when he does it will be because he feels right about it, he'll be balanced and calm and it will probably only be a few steps but they will feel great.

A lot of us have done what you did, let someone else who we 'think' is more knowledgeable get on our horses, only to find it's not what we wanted after all.

Keep him in the pelham if that's what's working for you and him, foget about the 'experts', except on here of course, and keep doing what you're doing 
And don't forget to keep us all updated, we love reading about you and the Woodster

[Heather]

Jess,

If he isnt sound, is it fair to expect him to cope with a clinic and a rider who was clearly less than sensitive to his needs?

And I bet you a pound to a fiver, this instructor didnt know how to use the pelham properly either.

Do please, wait until Lucie is able to teach you again. Can you imagine her ever having done anything like this? No way!!

Heather

[NickeringNotions]

thanks both of you

i feel so guilty today    :'( its just im so so closed minded when it comes to stuff like this that i thought it wouldnt do any harm to try it, as I had heard good things about her lessons from people who are a similar mindset to me. I explained to her at the beginning that he must do straight lines and he has lameness issues and so he has to go gently and steadily, but when she asked me to canter i freaked out and so she got on him (and i was too bl**dy stupid to say no to her  ) i thought i would be able to just say if it was getting too much for him but how stupid was i 



ive definitely learnt my lesson and will go back to doing it my own way with my ned who i know better than anyone 



going back to being stubborn it is then!


hopefully im forgiven 

[Heather]

Jess we have all done things in the past with our horses that we regret. Sadly for both us and the horse!!- it is part of the learning curve that we all have to go through.

You know and trust Lucie, and she would never, ever ask you to do anything that would over tax Woody. Stick with ol' Luce, you cant go far wrong with her!!

(And I bet she jumps on here later and says 'oy, less of the old' )


Heather

[lmevans]

Crusty old hag signing in 

you mustn't have got my email Jess, I'm fit and ready when you are honey! went back to school to day for first time, my god I HAVEN'T missed that!

Don't beat yourself up petal, its all part of the learning curve as the others have said. Woody won't hold it against you, promise! Don't think much of your clinician though to totally ignore the clear and simple veterinary / rehab advice on an older horse! :( like to see her doing ballet after a bad back!

Stick to what you're comfy with and what you know works, and I'll come up anytime you need (it's half term next week! )

Big hugs and one for Woodz too 
L x

[Heather]

Good to see you back on form, Lucie!! Still cant believe what a close brush with death you had, and the world would be a poorer place without your wicked sense of humour!!


Heather

[NickeringNotions]

  thanks to both of you for making me smile!!


But the very good news is he wasnt stiff or sore tonight after yesterday 


I did some pole work on the ground with him and he was so so good i did a maze of poles where he would have to turn on the forehand and on his bum and then halt which he finds difficult to step under and we managed to do it without him being attached to anything in the end  we also did raised poles on the straight and in a fan shape, and silly ned stepped over the fan himself without being asked on the hardest and highest end! to him! he then stood in front of me afterwards (i was using the clicker) and basically said 'ahem, where are my treats mum?  '


im so lucky to have such a lovely boy! 



Auntie Luc i didnt get your email  i will see whether i have any spare cash for a lesson in half term 

[Mandeigh]

Never heard of a bit that was too harsh for a pace before 

Oh Jess you fairly have a time of it don't you!  I think the real crux of the matter is that you are the one who has done all the work with him and you know him better than anyone.  Trouble is sometimes instructors need to feel they are giving value for money and have to 'put you through your paces'...quite often I'll take a whole lesson in walk, not because the rider isn't capable of anything else, but to establish the horse and ensure that both horse and rider are actually working together.....

anyway there's an old adage that I like to use...

When the pupil is ready....the teacher will appear.

oops I forgot, Lucie did 

[lmevans]

..the teacher will appear.

oops I forgot, Lucie did   

in a big puff of green smoke accompanied by thunder and music in a minor key

[NickeringNotions]

and a dracula cloak? 

[lmevans]

I believe the phrase I'm looking for is...


..."Mwaa, haaa, haaa, haaaaaaa"