Oops... sort of forgot to update this over the last few weeks.
Magic and me have had some awful schooling sessions which started after i started using a new style wintec dressage saddle on him. It really looked like it fit him nicely unlike the old style wintecs and the Isabell but cleary he just has something against them and just will not relax in them. I think it's to do with how wide the head of the tree is on them, he only likes trees with a super wide head. That added to not liking bits with a mouth piece bigger than 12mm and only accepting double ended elastic girths i have a very picky pony.
I schooling him in his jumping saddle a few days ago and he went lovely, so much more relaxed and stretched down to take the contact when i had loose reins. The last two days he's been lunged in his pessoa.
12.8.10
22.7.10
Good and bad week
Schooling has been a bit hit and miss lately. Magic works really well with loose draw reins and can be almost as good without but he also has days where he doesn't want to work properly at all. We had two horses being lunged while in the school one day which he found quite distracting but still did some nice work. Another day we had another horse being ridden while he was lunged in his pessoa, he wasn't so distracted that day and worked nicely.
Yesterday we had a terrible session caused by 5 days off and my bad mood. This resulted in a stressed pony that i shouldn't have tried to school in the first place. A better option would have been free schooling or taking him for a hack. Won't be making that mistake again.
Yesterday we had a terrible session caused by 5 days off and my bad mood. This resulted in a stressed pony that i shouldn't have tried to school in the first place. A better option would have been free schooling or taking him for a hack. Won't be making that mistake again.
10.7.10
"I don't want to be a dressage pony!"
After having many good sessions using the pessoa Magic decided today that all he wanted to do was canter round with his head in the air. Rather than argue with him and put him off working in it totally i took it off and let him loose to have a play in the school instead.
The first thing he did was take himself over the two jumps set up along one side of the school. He did this several times on both reins even when i put one of the jumps up. I think someone had swapped him today. Usually when i try to get him to loose jump he'd rather run out then buck giving me a good view of his back feet.
He also let me bath him today. Every other time i've tried i've ended up wetter than him.
The first thing he did was take himself over the two jumps set up along one side of the school. He did this several times on both reins even when i put one of the jumps up. I think someone had swapped him today. Usually when i try to get him to loose jump he'd rather run out then buck giving me a good view of his back feet.
He also let me bath him today. Every other time i've tried i've ended up wetter than him.
9.7.10
History of Magic's schooling...
... or lack of.
When i first bought Magic i was told he'd done pony club activities but soon realised he hadn't even seen a pole on the ground before not that it bothered me, i'd never had a riding lesson before. I'd probably ridden 15 times from the time i was 4 until i bought Magic. Bit silly really but i had the money and i'd spent years reading up on everything i could about horse care so even if i couldn't ride very well at least i knew how to look after one.
After a few months i had a couple of awful, pointless lessons on him which consisted mainly of me trying to pull him away from the gate of the school. I haven't had one since although at some point i would like to have some lessons on him.
I didn't canter him for almost a year and when i was finally brave enough and it was a bit of a disaster at first. I'm pretty sure all four legs were doing anything but canter. He then mastered cantering with his front legs while still trotting with his back legs. It was probably another year and a half before i could actually ask him to canter and get it without having to have another horse in front. At this point he still wouldn't canter while being ridden in a school or while lunged. Even when playing in the field he'd extend his trot rather than canter even when other horses were galloping.
He can canter on the lunge ok now, he's still unbalanced and he's better on the left rein than the right. Ridden is pretty much the same. He struggles with right lead canter too. When lunging in his pessoa he finds it easier to stretch over his back and work low on the right rein but after a long warm up he will relax and work over his back on the left rein too. Since using the pessoa he can work long and low pretty consistantly in walk while ridden, trot is more difficult for him. He's spent the last 4 years with his back tensed and his head in the air supported by the huge muscles that are on the underside of his neck. He's a lot better than he was and has moments where he'll work nicely.
When i first bought Magic i was told he'd done pony club activities but soon realised he hadn't even seen a pole on the ground before not that it bothered me, i'd never had a riding lesson before. I'd probably ridden 15 times from the time i was 4 until i bought Magic. Bit silly really but i had the money and i'd spent years reading up on everything i could about horse care so even if i couldn't ride very well at least i knew how to look after one.
After a few months i had a couple of awful, pointless lessons on him which consisted mainly of me trying to pull him away from the gate of the school. I haven't had one since although at some point i would like to have some lessons on him.
I didn't canter him for almost a year and when i was finally brave enough and it was a bit of a disaster at first. I'm pretty sure all four legs were doing anything but canter. He then mastered cantering with his front legs while still trotting with his back legs. It was probably another year and a half before i could actually ask him to canter and get it without having to have another horse in front. At this point he still wouldn't canter while being ridden in a school or while lunged. Even when playing in the field he'd extend his trot rather than canter even when other horses were galloping.
He can canter on the lunge ok now, he's still unbalanced and he's better on the left rein than the right. Ridden is pretty much the same. He struggles with right lead canter too. When lunging in his pessoa he finds it easier to stretch over his back and work low on the right rein but after a long warm up he will relax and work over his back on the left rein too. Since using the pessoa he can work long and low pretty consistantly in walk while ridden, trot is more difficult for him. He's spent the last 4 years with his back tensed and his head in the air supported by the huge muscles that are on the underside of his neck. He's a lot better than he was and has moments where he'll work nicely.
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