A Doctor calls

[glenatron]

So Dr Dave was late. They were supposed to be coming at ten or thereabouts, but there was no sign of them until midday, so we had basically given up by the time they arrived. It wasn't his fault at all, but we were a little perturbed with the person who had organised things- by all means arrive at midday, but don't tell us you'll arrive at ten so we take the morning off rather than the afternoon. As it was, after a couple of hours standing round in the cold and rain I had put Zorro out, taken my yard jacket off and was just getting into the car to go back to work when they rolled up. And this morning we had opened up the side of the field so Zorro was out on the most fresh grass he has seen in months. As you might imagine, he was a little reluctant to come in but he was well behaved and stood around calmly while Dave showed me various ways in which he had a bit less movement in some parts than others. He is really good at explanations and I would love to attend one of his lectures. Then he sat on his barrel and did a few manipulations which Zorro found interesting and didn't try to wander off during ( which is unusual in itself ) then showed how much movement he had got in the places he had been stiffer. We took him around for a little circuit and the energy I was getting down the rope was very light and instantly responsive- it felt almost like he was held in position on a stick rather than a loose lead rope.

Having been treated I took him back out while the others focussed on Small. Now I don't know if it was the treatment or the fact he was returning to the field, but Zorro trotted beside me to the first gate towards the field, then bucked/pounced through the gate and set off to leave without me. We had a little conversation about that idea and ended up doing most of the next fifty yards to the field in a kind of high-energy falling-leaf pattern. I'm pretty confident on the ground, but I freely admit I was close to the limit of being in control with him there, he had a lot of life. In the field I asked him to face me while I took his halter off, which was hard cos he'd pulled the knot quite tight, and finally let him go.

He went off faster than I have ever seen him go- he dropped straight into a flat out gallop and was about a hundred yards away before he even started bucking. He then proceeded to gallop a big circuit of the end of the field, interspersing it with huge bucks, slowing to an amazing Fresian-style trot full of float and elevation back to the top and then he was off again. Second time round he trotted a little further round and stopped snarping great puffs of steamy breath in the cold air. After bucking a couple more times on the spot, he set to grazing as hard as he could.

His stallionesque magnificence was only slightly compromised by the fact he was wearing a powder blue rainsheet with a pink burberry-style pattern on it.

I'm not entirely sure what he meant by all that, but he certainly seemed to be moving very freely...

Comments

[harnessphoto.livejournal.com]

amazing what an adjustment can do for them. Ozzy is due to have one... as soon as i have the money.

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

I'll be very interested to see how he feels next time I ride...

[skiesfirepaved.livejournal.com]

Oh wow! That sounds like a beautiful sight ... shame you had to endure the falling leaf (I like that metaphor XD) on a leadrope first in order to see it. :P

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

It's not just a metaphor in this case- it's also a type of pattern that we tend to use sometimes where you send the horse across to the end of the line and you move the hindquarters then the shoulder to bring them around and then send them forward diagonally the other way in front of you until they reach the end of the line on the other side and so on. It's hard to explain, but if you drew the line you aim for the outcome would be a kind of zig-zag with loops on the end.

If you've got a punchy horse and you don't want the hindquarters too close to you it can be a very useful way of establishing a bit of control...

[penella22.livejournal.com]

ahhh, those moments where you're barely in control can be very interesting huh??

Neat to hear the treatment had such an effect on Zorro. Beautiful that he felt so free and was galloping around like that. Dr. Dave clearly needs to come visit us too...I've never seen Sage move that freely.

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

If he's in the area it's a very worthwhile investment- he really is as good as people say he is...

[ownedbyhorses.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear Zorro got adjusted - unfortunately, his feel good antics may have thrown him back out again! Hopefully, he just had a bit of fun without damage.

Would love to hear about Small's work too. And definitely would like to know how they both go next time you ride. :)