So after last weeks eureka moment I was very keen to get cracking on today’s lesson as I knew jumping would be involved!
We started on the flat, and all week I have been working on his canter, and in all paces the need to ‘keep my hands active’ to encourage him to stay soft and supple in his jaw. On the flat he still needs to work in a more uphill shorter frame in the canter but it’s coming, and in the trot I need to remember to keep those hands active (not huge gestures just little and often to move the bit in his mouth and keep his jaw soft). On his right rein canter, I need to concentrate on keeping him working over his body, and not let him drift to the outside a little, and also to try and ‘sit him back on his hocks, and bring him up in the shoulder’. On the left rein I need to work on give and retaking the inside rein to soften off his neck, and not to encourage him to lean by ‘holding onto him’
We then progressed to some trot poles prior to jumping a small cross pole, and a cross pole spread from both directions. At home this week we need to work on trot poles, with the aim to have his neck nice and long and low and stretching over the poles. Over a fence he shows promise, but atm he’s not using his neck as much as we would like so poles will help with this. I’m so pleased at his attitude to fences, he seems keen, brave, and careful and long may it continue! Below is a vid, some flat work and then each fence the first time he jumped it.
