Thursday we rode up to the livery yard again to use the school and I ended up having a lesson. It was great really because id not got time to worry about any problems that 'might' arise, we just got on with it.
Going and coming home through the road works was fine, in fact he never looked at a thing. We went bootless
he even offered to get up off his behind and consider a trot!.
Anyhow the lesson was really good, he didn't fall out onto the wall, or into the inside, and although the circles we did were not quite circular, he did try really hard to please. Mainly we kept to a nice regular trot on the circles with me holding him more with my thighs, I find this way of riding him really hard, ive always had him going gently between my legs, mainly because if id touched him with any kind of pressure he'd be gone.
This was why he's been so hard to suss, he's so super sensitive to any sort of touch.
Its a fine line with a horse like him, to give a signal but not too much that he over reacts.....[hard to explain, but I think owners of iberian horses will understand]
He never forgets anything so I cant make a mistake, he is totally unforgiving!.
I dare not be unbalanced, must not turn my body 'unless I really do want to go somewhere else'
He seems to be listening with every nerve and fibre of his being, if I loosen my legs he slows, too much we stop!.
I know that in dressage we cant speak, but im finding that he is responding to the spoken commands ie with a singing ''trot on'' [ sharp] gooood boy yehhhh trot on''[ soft]
and ''one two three aaaand canter''.
I have combined the spoken words with the leg 'control' so that hopefully soon ill be able to speak less.
Because he is so clever and quick, if I think it, we do it..
He's the border collie of the horse world.
My trainer asked me to come across the school and ask for medium trot ten strides, as soon as we were straight he was away..
what a feeling, after three months, and we had only just started medium, he's remembered it so well. ..
The only thing that he finds difficult are the small circles, spiraling in and out, in trot then canter. Pre accident we could canter almost his length with a wonderful lifting of his forelegs, now he's finding this a little hard, and so we will go bigger until he's happy again.
I have found no difference going either way, no one would know that he couldn't see one side.
If anyone told me three months ago that we would be here now where we are id never have dared believe. It just goes to show that these horses are wonderful trusting creatures, which is why we love em of course.
