Gia - session 130 - started over trot poles!
When I hopped on Gia today and started walking, I thought she felt a little funny.
I had seen her in a kicking match with another horse yesterday, and I was worried that she was a little sore, despite not seeing any wounds while grooming.
I was starting to feel disappointed, since I was looking forward to starting over trot poles, when I hopped off and asked Danielle to lunge her for me so I could watch her.
However, she moved off just fine in all three gaits, so back on I went!
She felt perfectly fine for the rest of the ride too!
We went through our usual paces - circles to stretch at the walk, shoulder-in at the walk, bending and counterbending on circles at the walk and trot, diagonal lines at the walk and trot, centerlines at the walk and trot. Everything went pretty well, except she did need a few more circles to the right in the corners. I don't think I did any circles to the left though. And, her shoulder-in felt a little steeper today too!
Then, the part we've all been waiting for! At least the beginning of the part we've all been waiting for - trot poles!
I took a couple of videos today. In the first video, you will see that we are just working over two poles, about 12' apart, at the walk and trot. These poles served two purposes. One was to get her comfortable at going over two poles that were closer together than what she has done in the past (probably about 60' apart). The second purpose was to help determine Gia's stride length at the trot.
When a horse trots over 2 poles that are roughly 12-15' apart (smaller if it's a pony), they should step over the first pole, then go two more steps before going over the second pole comfortably, meaning without having to take a short or long step at the end. If needed, you can adjust the distance between the two poles in order to achieve the most comfortable distance. Eventually, the horse will need to be able to make a set, typical distance work (13'6""-14'3" between poles), but it's ok to start with whatever is comfortable at first and work up (or down) to the correct distance.
The distance I set for Gia this morning was actually very comfortable for her, so I just had her trot over it in both directions a few times. She was a little hesitant at first. It didn't feel like she was nervous, but rather slowing down to figure out what she was supposed to do. I just tried to stay out of her way, but kept encouraging her to be forward, and praised her each time she got over each pole, even if it wasn't a perfect step. Once she got it, she was much more forward and confident.
In the second video, you will see that I added 2 more poles, spaced evenly in the middle, and asked her to trot back and forth over those as well. We did not walk over these poles, because the distance between them would have been awkward at the walk. She was slightly hesitant, but not as much as the first couple of times over just the two poles. As she she got more comfortable, she did start to feel like she was stepping up a little close to the top of the space between each pole, so I will probably make the distance a little larger next time. She definitely felt like she understood what she was supposed to do by the end!
I had seen her in a kicking match with another horse yesterday, and I was worried that she was a little sore, despite not seeing any wounds while grooming.
I was starting to feel disappointed, since I was looking forward to starting over trot poles, when I hopped off and asked Danielle to lunge her for me so I could watch her.
However, she moved off just fine in all three gaits, so back on I went!
She felt perfectly fine for the rest of the ride too!
We went through our usual paces - circles to stretch at the walk, shoulder-in at the walk, bending and counterbending on circles at the walk and trot, diagonal lines at the walk and trot, centerlines at the walk and trot. Everything went pretty well, except she did need a few more circles to the right in the corners. I don't think I did any circles to the left though. And, her shoulder-in felt a little steeper today too!
Then, the part we've all been waiting for! At least the beginning of the part we've all been waiting for - trot poles!
I took a couple of videos today. In the first video, you will see that we are just working over two poles, about 12' apart, at the walk and trot. These poles served two purposes. One was to get her comfortable at going over two poles that were closer together than what she has done in the past (probably about 60' apart). The second purpose was to help determine Gia's stride length at the trot.
When a horse trots over 2 poles that are roughly 12-15' apart (smaller if it's a pony), they should step over the first pole, then go two more steps before going over the second pole comfortably, meaning without having to take a short or long step at the end. If needed, you can adjust the distance between the two poles in order to achieve the most comfortable distance. Eventually, the horse will need to be able to make a set, typical distance work (13'6""-14'3" between poles), but it's ok to start with whatever is comfortable at first and work up (or down) to the correct distance.
The distance I set for Gia this morning was actually very comfortable for her, so I just had her trot over it in both directions a few times. She was a little hesitant at first. It didn't feel like she was nervous, but rather slowing down to figure out what she was supposed to do. I just tried to stay out of her way, but kept encouraging her to be forward, and praised her each time she got over each pole, even if it wasn't a perfect step. Once she got it, she was much more forward and confident.
In the second video, you will see that I added 2 more poles, spaced evenly in the middle, and asked her to trot back and forth over those as well. We did not walk over these poles, because the distance between them would have been awkward at the walk. She was slightly hesitant, but not as much as the first couple of times over just the two poles. As she she got more comfortable, she did start to feel like she was stepping up a little close to the top of the space between each pole, so I will probably make the distance a little larger next time. She definitely felt like she understood what she was supposed to do by the end!
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