Downs and ups
15 July 2013 23:50![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
glenatronOn Saturday I thought I would take Iris for a bit of a wander around the fields. It was hot and there were flies and she was in a bit of a bad mood to start with so it wasn't an ideal setup and she got very emotional about going down along the track I had in mind. I figured it would be easier to let her move a bit and get the anxiety out of her system so we set out for a trot across the field. After about twenty five yards she tried to turn it into a canter but decided to go for a bucking session instead. I don't know how big they were, but not sufficient to be too hard to sit, so I got her bending and back under control. Then we spent the rest of the ride with me just increasingly insisting that she listen and stop mentally wandering off the whole time. After a while we got somewhere better and not wanting to overdo things in the heat we called it there.
Yesterday we worked in the evening a bit later and having had 24 hours to think things over I was way more exacting in what I asked her for. I realised I am still riding her like I was a few weeks ago and I need to up my game so that she has the opportunity to up hers. I can't be too firm with her or too quick to firm up- it just annoys her and makes her less co-operative - but I have maybe not been sufficiently precise and clear in what I request from her. It was a hard ride yesterday but a good one.
Today we had two good things- her sidepull finally arrived in the post ( from these guys who seem to have some nice gear ) and we had a saddler ( the excellent Marie Owens ) come out to visit. She said that the saddle I have been using is a reasonable fit, which is a big relief as I really like it and would prefer to keep using it if possible, but it needs a bit of shimming to make it a good fit. We tried a shimmed pad and Iris immediately felt a little more free, her trot lifting more. Marie showed how it released pressure on Iris' shoulders, but wasn't happy with there being a bit too much of the tree over her loins. We tried a different shimmed pad to lift it off the shoulder and lift the back a little bit too and when I rode for a few strides I could immediately tell that this was the pad we needed to use- she was way more free in her movement and there was a lot more bounce in her stride.
It was, as you might imagine, the expensive pad. Still, relative to the price of a new saddle ( and I may not even have bothered to get a new western saddle ) or the cost in fixing a problem caused by an uncomfortable saddle, it still counts as a bargain.
Iris being snorty at a place where a fire had been.
Some weird kind of gaited passage. I think she was being annoyed by a fly. Or me. Could go either way.
Yesterday we worked in the evening a bit later and having had 24 hours to think things over I was way more exacting in what I asked her for. I realised I am still riding her like I was a few weeks ago and I need to up my game so that she has the opportunity to up hers. I can't be too firm with her or too quick to firm up- it just annoys her and makes her less co-operative - but I have maybe not been sufficiently precise and clear in what I request from her. It was a hard ride yesterday but a good one.
Today we had two good things- her sidepull finally arrived in the post ( from these guys who seem to have some nice gear ) and we had a saddler ( the excellent Marie Owens ) come out to visit. She said that the saddle I have been using is a reasonable fit, which is a big relief as I really like it and would prefer to keep using it if possible, but it needs a bit of shimming to make it a good fit. We tried a shimmed pad and Iris immediately felt a little more free, her trot lifting more. Marie showed how it released pressure on Iris' shoulders, but wasn't happy with there being a bit too much of the tree over her loins. We tried a different shimmed pad to lift it off the shoulder and lift the back a little bit too and when I rode for a few strides I could immediately tell that this was the pad we needed to use- she was way more free in her movement and there was a lot more bounce in her stride.
It was, as you might imagine, the expensive pad. Still, relative to the price of a new saddle ( and I may not even have bothered to get a new western saddle ) or the cost in fixing a problem caused by an uncomfortable saddle, it still counts as a bargain.
Iris being snorty at a place where a fire had been.
Some weird kind of gaited passage. I think she was being annoyed by a fly. Or me. Could go either way.