He suggested two things for this ride, that turned out fantastic! One, try loping Koda off like I used to (before the 360 circle-off's) just because, and two, try putting cones in random order, instead of in a pattern - say what?
I tried, but every single cone I randomly placed ended up in a pattern regardless of where I placed them - I am hopeless! So, I moved those darn cones and re-re-placed them until they were patternless, or at least as well as possible!! I also set up some trot poles...
Surprise surprise, with the freshly raked sand Koda loped off a corner on the first try - and yes, on the correct lead! Hmmmm? Truth be told, Koda offered the wrong left lead on a similar lope-off later in our ride (never ever has he given the wrong lead on his much preferred right side) but, we re-tried and got it - sans circle. I am getting sooo much closer to feeling his lead 100% either way on his tricky left side, and that my friends is a huge thing (in my world).
The specialness about freshly raked sand is the way you can SEE your horses footprints. I was giddy to see when Koda did TRUE side-passes, the writing was in the sand!!
As for those random cones, simply genius! Hubby said he read a recent article, counter to what you hear on the TV/Internet where you don't want to believe everything you hear/read, but instead try what makes sense - these suggestions made sense.
With cones placed all over, multi-patterns were left up to horse and rider to create on the fly, and yes it was so much more interesting then cones in a row! Of course, we had a ton of fun playing follow the leader around and occasionally through (oops!) the random cones, towards the end of our ride - did you have any doubt?!!
As for our horses, they also had snow much fun inside & outside!!
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| Koda, Nemo, Cierra (L-R) |
7 comments:
Sounds like a great ride. I can see how the random cones would help, neither of you could anticipate, forcing both to ride ahead. Sometimes, it's the little things that make a big difference.
Great ride! I'm glad you're sorting out the canter lead issue. I love riding on a freshly raked surface, too. I can see how straight (or not) my straight lines are and how circular (or oval!) my circles are!
The random cones thing is great - I use it a lot. You really have to focus, which means your attention is fully on your horse and where you are going - and a focussed rider equals a focussed horse!
I'm with you, I really like a freshly raked arena. Makes it so easy to see if things are going as you thought they were. The cones are a great idea.
So glad you're enjoying your time with your horses! And I love that "playing in the snow" picture!! Beautiful. Merry Christmas my friend.
Sounds like a great ride! Merry Christmas!
Thanks all, I am sure we will be enjoying randomness (in more ways then one) more often!
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