Last night we hauled the boys up to the riding club. Darling was getting anxious to start going over fences again with Steve Holt!, so while she was warming him up in the round pen, I set up a vertical in the arena. I didn't have a tape measure, so called out to Darling if it was too tall. She didn't think so.
Unfortunately, Steve Holt! disagreed. Darling came trotting up to it and he slowed right down, nearly stopping, before lifting his daddy long legs slowly over the top. Except...they didn't go over. They went through. Or at least the first one went over, the second one got caught, and before I knew it he was using his nose to balance himself so the rest of his body didn't crash to the ground like the rails and jump standards were doing beneath him.
Darling, somehow..miraculously...stayed aboard, but her face was a bit paler than usual when he came up. Her eyes met mine and she began to laugh. "Guess he thought it was a bit high," she said, and I climbed off to make it a bit lower.
Steve Holt!, however, was having a bad night, and it didn't matter how hard he tried, he simply struggled with each request. He'd never refused a jump prior to tonight, but it obviously scared him when he became tangled, so we went back to a 6" trot over...though even that had him worried. Darling was frustrated that even the smallest of rails was causing the big boy to dive off and refuse, but eventually they managed to work their way back up to 12", and as soon as they met with success, I suggested she call it good. Today she's got a lesson, and hopefully Steve Holt!'s confidence level will have bounced back up a bit. And if not, Barb can help her overcome the set back.
On the Wadatika front...we've not done much since Friday. Early Sunday morning I hauled her up to the riding club to introduce her to new sights, and she did very well. Even climbed back into the trailer without much fuss. Yesterday was pretty full, so I didn't work with her. Fed a bit early this morning so that once it's light out I can haul her back up for a bit more work. The video is from Friday, and again a thank you to Teresa for the music!
4 comments:
Jumping- wow! That is so great. Steve Holt might make himself a jumper yet! I'm glad Darling was able to stay on during his little refusal. Hopefully they can work through it.
I was asking PG yesterday about the Mustang training....like how long Tika had been in training since she was "wild." I'm so impressed with what you have done with her, but even more so, how well these Mustangs train!
I had to chuckle at Paint Girls comment about rethinking her goals...we'll get her into a makeover event, yet!
I didn't really begin working Tika until earlier this month. Accumulative, since she's been here, I think you could say 3-4 weeks. If I'd been working her consistently, I'm sure I'd be on her.
Steve Holt was just having a bad day but good for Darling for sticking him out and knowing to listen to you when to stop. Stopping at a "good place" is so huge in my book but I think it's hard for the kids to see that. They get to that good place and want to just keep going because it's GOOD!
Tika is going to have a great side pass when she gets to that point - did you catch that near the beginning when she was doing those cross overs? And there went that lip again when you tried leading her!! That kills me every time!
I think you will be riding Tika very soon! She looks like she is doing really well.
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