Weekend Update Part II - I worked Echo
Mar. 7th, 2005 01:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blueeowynPeter has been working with Echo for a month or so and arrangements were made for me to GoBarn on Sunday at noon.
I got Echo from the field (A took Pooh in) and got her mostly cleaned up and tacked up. I didn't get all the (wet) mud off her hooves and pasterns ... I also didn't get the shavings out of her tail. I was roundly scolded for this so next time, the ShowSheen will be applied as soon as I get the beastie.
She is being quite good about getting her feet done ... now we need to work on 'down' so that I can put the boots on ... it is MUCH easier to get them on correctly when the leg is down and still.
Once I thought she was ready, Peter checked my work and adjusted 2 things (noseband was still a little too lose and he didn't want the reins through the throatlatch but through the stirrups). The reason the reins go through one or the other is so that they can stay on the bridle but not fall where the horse can step on or through them.
Off we went to the ring and he started having her work at the trot. After she was warmed up, on went the sidereins and I could see how much better she moved with them on. I was paying a lot of attention to the commands he was using and he pointed out what he was looking for from her. When she is moving too fast, she pulls herself along with her forelegs instead of pushing from her hind legs, she also will move her rump out or sometimes have her inside hind land outside the inside fore. When she is moving correctly and using her body properly, the hinds will be on the same track as the fores and will be landing close to the print (or overlap or full overstep), the weight carrying phase will be when the leg is under the body (not behind it) and the withers will come slightly higher than her rump. This is WORK.
After working her some both ways, he swapped her around to her 'good' side, looked at me and said "Here the keys". So, I went and got the line and the whip and sent her out to do her work. He stressed to me that I must NEVER let her run on the line (even running at the trot) because that is how she could really hurt herself and doesn't do a thing for her training. Slowing her down will help her balance herself and give her time to stay out of her own way.
Things that I need to do/remember:
1) I don't need to preceed the command with her name, it will only confuse her ... this will be the hardest thing for me to remember. I'm used to thinking that you use the animal's name to get their attention and tell them that you are talking to them and not someone else. Peter says that she will need to listen to whomever is on the line and only that person. She does listen to me on the line but if he says a command, she follows it.
2) "Slower" is the slow down command. Slow sounds too much like Whoa
3) She knows walk and trot. However, telling her to walk tells her what she will be doing next but does not tell her to execute the command. Walk, ho will get her to do it.
4) If she runs, tell her slower, if she ignores me, a slight wiggle on the line will probably be enough. If I get too harsh with the line, she isn't going to react well.
5) Raising the hand closest to the head means speed up ... this is going to be the 2nd hardest thing for me because with Dancer, I taught her that the hand near the head up meant slow down and the hand near the rump up meant speed up.
6) Tails must be clean
7) Riding boots are NOT good for walking Echo out after a work.
The problem with riding boots (even the short ones) is that they are designed for having your foot level or better yet with the heel lower than the ball of the foot. When you are walking at full extension, your calves get an impressive amount of stretch if you can't pick your heel up before picking up the ball of your foot.
Peter said I did good. Dede said I did good. They both said (and I agree) that Echo went splendidly for me.
WOOT
I got Echo from the field (A took Pooh in) and got her mostly cleaned up and tacked up. I didn't get all the (wet) mud off her hooves and pasterns ... I also didn't get the shavings out of her tail. I was roundly scolded for this so next time, the ShowSheen will be applied as soon as I get the beastie.
She is being quite good about getting her feet done ... now we need to work on 'down' so that I can put the boots on ... it is MUCH easier to get them on correctly when the leg is down and still.
Once I thought she was ready, Peter checked my work and adjusted 2 things (noseband was still a little too lose and he didn't want the reins through the throatlatch but through the stirrups). The reason the reins go through one or the other is so that they can stay on the bridle but not fall where the horse can step on or through them.
Off we went to the ring and he started having her work at the trot. After she was warmed up, on went the sidereins and I could see how much better she moved with them on. I was paying a lot of attention to the commands he was using and he pointed out what he was looking for from her. When she is moving too fast, she pulls herself along with her forelegs instead of pushing from her hind legs, she also will move her rump out or sometimes have her inside hind land outside the inside fore. When she is moving correctly and using her body properly, the hinds will be on the same track as the fores and will be landing close to the print (or overlap or full overstep), the weight carrying phase will be when the leg is under the body (not behind it) and the withers will come slightly higher than her rump. This is WORK.
After working her some both ways, he swapped her around to her 'good' side, looked at me and said "Here the keys". So, I went and got the line and the whip and sent her out to do her work. He stressed to me that I must NEVER let her run on the line (even running at the trot) because that is how she could really hurt herself and doesn't do a thing for her training. Slowing her down will help her balance herself and give her time to stay out of her own way.
Things that I need to do/remember:
1) I don't need to preceed the command with her name, it will only confuse her ... this will be the hardest thing for me to remember. I'm used to thinking that you use the animal's name to get their attention and tell them that you are talking to them and not someone else. Peter says that she will need to listen to whomever is on the line and only that person. She does listen to me on the line but if he says a command, she follows it.
2) "Slower" is the slow down command. Slow sounds too much like Whoa
3) She knows walk and trot. However, telling her to walk tells her what she will be doing next but does not tell her to execute the command. Walk, ho will get her to do it.
4) If she runs, tell her slower, if she ignores me, a slight wiggle on the line will probably be enough. If I get too harsh with the line, she isn't going to react well.
5) Raising the hand closest to the head means speed up ... this is going to be the 2nd hardest thing for me because with Dancer, I taught her that the hand near the head up meant slow down and the hand near the rump up meant speed up.
6) Tails must be clean
7) Riding boots are NOT good for walking Echo out after a work.
The problem with riding boots (even the short ones) is that they are designed for having your foot level or better yet with the heel lower than the ball of the foot. When you are walking at full extension, your calves get an impressive amount of stretch if you can't pick your heel up before picking up the ball of your foot.
Peter said I did good. Dede said I did good. They both said (and I agree) that Echo went splendidly for me.
WOOT