Setting the standard

Part of my problem with Uno is Dutch.  I have a really hard time setting reasonable expectations; I either set the bar too low and we never progress, or I set the bar too high and we piss each other off.  Neither is fair to the horse.  The real issue is that even when he is good, schooling Uno on the flat is rarely fun.

Fun

Not fun

We finally hit another shitty ride, and when I got off and palpated the muscles over his hips he was sore.  So I gave him a few days off and hopped on again Friday using Dutch's hackamore.  It was a short 15-minute ride, but he kept his shoulders straight. He half halted when I asked. He cantered correctly on both leads.  So I called it a day, praised the hell out of him and gave him SO MANY treats.

We hates rain, but loves treats!

And switched tack over to Dutch for the weekend.  Both Magic Trainer and Bad Ass Dressage trainer agree I could not have picked to more different horses.  With Uno we are constantly trying to slow and calm the body to match the speed he can think; with Dutch we are trying to keep the brain active and focused to create positive tension in his body.

My helmet was wet, so I was bad and roade without it. 

I have ridden Dutch for over 15 years. He is like a grumpy old manual transmission. I know all his tricks and 'sticky spots.' When I pulled him out of retirement this winter to give Uno a bit of a break, it really highlighted why I have been struggling with Uno.

Stretch yo neck - for Dutch this is the equivalent of putting his nose in the dirt.

Dutch is a naturally very uphill mover and tends to 'lock up' and the base of his neck right in front of the wither.  Part of that is just biomechanics - when you have a huge honking wither, it is hard to translate energy from the back UP into the neck.  However, Dutch has all the 'buttons' installed to help mitigate this issue, we just have to rebuild his fitness for sitting and carrying.  Uno is stiff because he is built downhill with a HUGE shoulder and lifting it at all is really hard.  Uno also lacks the understanding of what exactly I am asking for with all these 1/2 halts.

Good ponies get cookies?

I had a lesson this weekend to help me figure out what is appropriate for him right now. I really need eyes on the ground, because unlike Uno, Dutch will not protest soreness or muscle fatigue.  He just works until something breaks.  With his already compromised legs, it is really important that I fine tune my feel for what shape he should be making, and how long we should be working there.

The fruitbat in his happiest of places!

The conventional wisdom says long, low, and slow preferably on hills to build up his back and butt - HOWEVER - our hills are under water, the dude doesn't offer 'long' until his topline is pretty strong, and both vet and farrier say that low is a bad idea.  So we have been working on a lot of shoulder fore in walk and trot while encouraging him to push his neck out into the contact.

Everyone knows REAL princesses wear pink! Even if they are geldings.

This means we spend a good bit of time behind the verticle, keeping the base of his neck soft.  Once he is up in his back and soft in his neck, I am supposed to let him float his neck out for a few steps, then gather him back up before he braces, then repeat.

Forgive my rouge right hand... I mean seriously wtf?

We do this walk, trot, and canter mainly in a 30-meter circle with a slight shoulder-fore.  Right now we only work for a max of 30 minutes 3 times a week with LOTS of walk breaks to stretch his neck down and breathe, but he is so happy in the work and excited to play.  He shoves his face in the halter to come get tacked up.

This is his idea of a 'small' trot...

It is very hard to want to ride Uno, when Dutch is so much more enjoyable to ride.  I know Uno will get there, but right now I am failing to see the beauty in the grind.  Since the weather is so crappy and Uno is not going to show until May, I am enjoying my bestest boy and letting Uno chill a bit.  Dutch ends up needing a lot of time off in the summer due to his allergies and COPD, so I am loving the time to get to work with him so regularly.

Uno is 1005 fine with this plan!

We are looking at injections in the next few weeks, and sometime in April we will start jumping again. We have time.