Playing with the big boy

JP is coming down to the yard today; I’ve got a session with him this afternoon.

The last time he came he gave us a revised set of canter strike-off exercises. In fact that’s pretty much what we concentrated on – he hardly touched my position, which is obviously massively gratifying.

Over the last fortnight I’ve been working on the canter strike-off and Vin has softened on the right rein. But his left rein canter lead remains stubbornly unimproved.

Vin’s a big strong boy and when he takes hold of the bridle on that right canter rein he really does tank off with it. Flexing the rein has no effect whatsoever and a ‘give’ just flattens his pace whilst a ‘take’ collects his shape but doesn’t alter his ‘I’m going now, you can come along if you want to but I’m really really going’ speed.

JP said he thought it was a mental thing; that Vin thinks he can’t balance himself on a left rein canter and therefore he grabs the bit in an attempt to keep himself from motorbiking around a 20m circle.

I think JP is right. Vin can quite easily balance himself nicely on the left rein, he does it at slower paces on a 10m and even 8m circle, so a 20m canter circle should be child’s play to him.

But Vin thinks otherwise.

Ironically he does soften after being worked on a variety of exercises (i.e. when his head has been switched on and he’s thinking with his forebrain not his hindbrain) and he performs a very soft, flowing 20m left rein canter circle.

So I’m thinking that today I should give up my place. As JP obviously has no beef with my position or with anything else to do with me, I’m going to let JP sit in the hot seat. I think it would be helpful for JP to feel the resistance that Vin generates when he’s asked for a left rein canter.

I was talking to Soph about this the other night. Vin has always had a problem with his left rein canter. Even when we competed dressage at various venues, we’d always get marked down heavily for our left rein movements. And by marked down heavily I mean we’d score a 3 or a 4 for the left, against a 7 or an 8 (or once – a 9!) for the right rein canter.

Obviously we need to get this fixed, not least because without a good left and right rein canter the showjumping falls to bits but also because the dressage marks are so influential on the later phases of eventing.

Ho hum. We’ll see what JP finds.

In other equine-related news…

The riding club that I’ve joined has pushed out a preliminary schedule for the new year. There’s RC dressage in early February which we’ll have a go at. They probably haven’t seen a comedy dressage pair like us before. And in April there’s an Area Hunter Trial and that would be a perfect (venue and timing) warm-up for the eventing season.

Yesterday we went for a hack, our first serious look at the world outside the new yard. We were out for about an hour and a half and had a good look around the village and surrounding countryside.

There’s a two mile long fattening hill which looks very handy but we have to cross a railway line to get to it.

Vin put his nose down and had a good look at the tracks but apart from that he was a very good boy. He’s had his second clip and he looks very smart.  He’s also regained the weight that he lost (partly because of the move and partly because of that thoroughbred thing when the winter season starts), and he looks even more handsome than usual.

We’ll be starting training with Stephen Simon Lawrence soon. I’ve heard good reports about him. I would have started sooner but because my lorry was having a new cab floor fitted I couldn’t travel up to him. Now there’s nothing to stop us.

So I guess that’s it. We’ll see what JP can come up with today and see where we go from here.

Have a nice one!

B.