Mid afternoon I went to the stables to spend a bit of time with Remy. Just intending to groom him, but the drizzle had stopped and it was much brighter so I took him up to the school.
We started off with a short lunge session, walk and trot on each rein and then in-hand, sharpening up his hind legs. We get good movement, but in his own time, which is not quick enough.
After this, I got on and I gave him a long rein and let him stretch down and out. He felt soft and receptive and we did lots of changes of rein using small circles. I took the rein up a little and he remained soft and I concentrated on asking him to move his quarters while keeping the softness. It was good. I asked him to halt and then asked him to move his quarters first one way then the other, requiring a quick reaction.
I then moved him around the arena moving shoulders and quarters. He remained soft throughout this work, so I asked for a few trot transitions, again requiring a quick reaction. I'm in the habit of trying to trot for him, in my head at least, so today I took a step back mentally and let him make the effort. Some good, some not so good, but after a few attempts we were getting soft, quick transitions. I need to get a balance between too little and too much effort, but when it's right, we get a lovely rhythmic, balanced trot. Now we have more consistent softness in the mouth, it really is about activating those hind legs.
A pic of Rem in the snow, just because he's such a cutie!
1 comment:
poser! he knows he's good!
Post a Comment