Tuesday 14 October 2014

Transition Tuesday

I started with Kika today as she is hairier so sweats more & needs more time to dry off after work. We really concentrated on walk/trot transitions this evening, with the main aim being to get cleaner/crisp transitions without her hollowing her back and tossing up her head. It was sketchy at best, but the fact we got it right sometimes gives me hope that with a bit more practice and actually proper effort to ride the transitions on my part we will get there...I hope anyway. Baby steps!

#motivated & #pamperedpony
Nancy was next, we also worked on transitions although I concentrated more on walk/halt transitions with her as our walk is atrocious and our halt worse. I kept trot work as our reward/break from walk/halt. Trot is deff the easiest gait for us, she is really sluggish in the walk and either drags herself along on the forehand or curls in on herself still avoiding walking properly. It's a serious work in progress and our halt isn't much better to be honest. It is like trying to stop a freight train that then stands like an offended giraffe - both need a lot of work and some eyes on the ground to help guide me out of my terrible habits which i'm sure aren't helping our cause. Again baby steps mixed with some consistency and a teacher & hopefully we'll get there ☺

#WinterWollies

20 comments:

  1. After a year of work, Vallu's walk is now at a stage where we can go to a competition without having to hang our heads in shame, and our halts are good. It took a long time, but it is possible! Good luck with improving the walk, it's the most difficult to one to improve but I'm sure you guys will get there :) (And yay for you blogging more! <3 )

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    1. *hugs* thanks!
      Her walk isn't actually bad she is just lazy or actually it is probably me impeding her in some way. Hopefully eyes on the ground soon will help us work towards improvement ☺

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  2. All three of mine are on the transition train right now too! Prisoner is in need of a shave as well, so wooly for a straight TB. Glad to see pics of you out at the barn again:)

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    1. Please share transition tips to keep them guessing. I needs to learn moar things!!!
      I can't wait for Nov & clipper time!

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    1. I do love fuzzy snuggles ♡
      But as I typically ride in the evenings during the week I hate trying to dry K after our spins.
      Bring on November + clipping time ☺

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  4. Wow it seems like everyone's horses are getting their winter coats so early! Chrome barely has any at all! I'm glad it's going well with the girls. You will get there. Hopefully you'll be able to get some eyes on the ground soon to help you pinpoint what needs changed to improve your transitions. I wish I could be of help, but I'm clueless LOL!

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    1. When I can organise myself & schedule some lessons I will share as many tips as i can remember.
      Nancy gets a lot less winter fuzz than Kika - maybe friesian crosses (or even full friesian - i don't know) get less hair as they are "coldblooded" vs Kika's "warmblood" connections. She is quite the hot head compared to zen Nancy lolz

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    2. Maybe it is a Friesian cross thing. I assumed it was the Arabian in him. He has the shortest summer coat of any horse I've ever met. He also gets cold quicker then a lot of horses I know. Who knows?

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    3. Experiments...I think we need to buy more Friesians & FriesianXs ☺
      Mwuahahaha

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    4. That is a BRILLIANT idea!!!! Let's do it!

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  5. Love how velvety pony's coats feel at the beginning of winter. :)
    Gavin has the same issue with the walk - he's like a slug! I think dedicated marching walk time is a big help to their overall walk work ethic.

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    1. Sadly mine went through velvety baby winter wollies last month and (K in particular) is now at the nasty bedraggled wither woollies stage. I should have taken pics of the pair of them when I hauled them in...talk about muck monsters. I breathed in so much dirt brushing them last night lol. Autumnal turnout ftw

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  6. Baby steps are still steps in the right direction. Keep at it!

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  7. I've always heard that getting them to walk correctly is the hardest thing to do and I think it's true. Perfect transitions would be the second hardest, in my opinion :)

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    1. I've heard similar things, hopefully we can rise to the challenge. *hugs*

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  8. Replies
    1. Nice & soft alright. Great for snuggles.

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