Echo & Xi Solo
Sep. 20th, 2002 11:10 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blueeowynXi got back from vacation on Monday. Tuesday she went to the barn and made up with Stoney who was annoyed at being ignored by his personal slave. So today was her first day working with Echo since leaving for vacation.
Ms. Echo wasn't overly interested in working again, she wanted to play. She is also not the most patient of horses (and probably had her proverbial panties in a bit of a wad because she had 2 different boots put on her hind legs).
Anyway, once![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
xpioti got her in the ring and asked her to move, she wanted to RUN! Unfortunately for her the footing isn't the best for doing the leaning into the turn that she thought she wanted to do (and isn't what *WE* want her to do either.
So, she scurried in a trot, and Xi said she could canter and the launched herself into the canter, and started "pronging" around. Not a true buck, but definitely some seriously humped back action and bouncing not quite in place but close. Then she started going again and leaned a bit too far into a turn and went down. Bounced to her feet indignantly and tried to run away from the evil ground. This failed miserable. *sigh* Someday she will need to learn that slowing down is her best bet, not rushing.
Going to her bad side, she was slightly worse and when she went down once in that direction she nearly pulled the splint boot off one foot (as in it was wadded up around the top of her hoof with almost all of it below the fetlock). So, I went and played nice scritchy face to get her distracted and calm while Xi reset the boot.
Eventually Peter came in and started kibbitzing as well ("slow her down, you don't want her moving like that") and then decided it was time for Xi to ride. They used the mounting block (2nd time for Echo on THAT trick) and went to lunging in the circle with Xi doing most of the cues and Peter keeping the horse on the circle and telling Xi what to do.
After a bit to the left (Echo's good side), Peter coached Xi through turning around in the circle (she didn't get what he was after the 1st time and Echo didn't get it the 2nd try, but third time's a charm) and went to the right. She is doing much better to the right than she was for a bit. Back to the left, she went a bit faster than Xi was expecting leading to a minor yelp, but she calmed down and settled fairly quickly (both of them actually). Echo reacts better to an inadvertent tug on the reins than her dam does.
Then Peter took the line off Echo and she continued on the circle since that is What You Do. Then he asked Xi to do figure 8s which involve turning away from What You Do (and away from Peter). This hasn't happened before and Echo was a bit confused. Xi would try to turn her, get her a bit turned then run out of room and Echo would reach the wall and (very sensibly) stop before running into it. She still needs to learn what Xi wants with turns.
We ended by Heino, Mom & I teasing the Xi while she walked Echo out. All in all a good barn day. Dancer & Rooh got some grass, helped out by turning the broodmares out, teased Xi, and gave her some goodies for Stoney (and got some burdock out of his mane & tail).
Ms. Echo wasn't overly interested in working again, she wanted to play. She is also not the most patient of horses (and probably had her proverbial panties in a bit of a wad because she had 2 different boots put on her hind legs).
Anyway, once
xpioti got her in the ring and asked her to move, she wanted to RUN! Unfortunately for her the footing isn't the best for doing the leaning into the turn that she thought she wanted to do (and isn't what *WE* want her to do either.So, she scurried in a trot, and Xi said she could canter and the launched herself into the canter, and started "pronging" around. Not a true buck, but definitely some seriously humped back action and bouncing not quite in place but close. Then she started going again and leaned a bit too far into a turn and went down. Bounced to her feet indignantly and tried to run away from the evil ground. This failed miserable. *sigh* Someday she will need to learn that slowing down is her best bet, not rushing.
Going to her bad side, she was slightly worse and when she went down once in that direction she nearly pulled the splint boot off one foot (as in it was wadded up around the top of her hoof with almost all of it below the fetlock). So, I went and played nice scritchy face to get her distracted and calm while Xi reset the boot.
Eventually Peter came in and started kibbitzing as well ("slow her down, you don't want her moving like that") and then decided it was time for Xi to ride. They used the mounting block (2nd time for Echo on THAT trick) and went to lunging in the circle with Xi doing most of the cues and Peter keeping the horse on the circle and telling Xi what to do.
After a bit to the left (Echo's good side), Peter coached Xi through turning around in the circle (she didn't get what he was after the 1st time and Echo didn't get it the 2nd try, but third time's a charm) and went to the right. She is doing much better to the right than she was for a bit. Back to the left, she went a bit faster than Xi was expecting leading to a minor yelp, but she calmed down and settled fairly quickly (both of them actually). Echo reacts better to an inadvertent tug on the reins than her dam does.
Then Peter took the line off Echo and she continued on the circle since that is What You Do. Then he asked Xi to do figure 8s which involve turning away from What You Do (and away from Peter). This hasn't happened before and Echo was a bit confused. Xi would try to turn her, get her a bit turned then run out of room and Echo would reach the wall and (very sensibly) stop before running into it. She still needs to learn what Xi wants with turns.
We ended by Heino, Mom & I teasing the Xi while she walked Echo out. All in all a good barn day. Dancer & Rooh got some grass, helped out by turning the broodmares out, teased Xi, and gave her some goodies for Stoney (and got some burdock out of his mane & tail).
