From: Ruth Vale <rmvale@watnow.waterloo.edu>
Subject: I'm so proud of my horse!
Originator: rmvale@watnow.waterloo.edu
Organization: University of Waterloo
Date: Mon, 6 Apr 1992 00:55:33 GMT



Hi folks,


I've just had a wonderful riding session with Springtwist and since
we get so many problems coming across the net, I figured it was
time for some good news.  This is a formerly-roughly-handled, TB\STB
cross, 12 yrs. and we've spent the last two years teaching
her things she should have learned at 3yrs (like human legs can
mean more than run and human hands don't have to hurt.....)   

Some may remember that she started doing a dirty quit
at the smallest of jumps.  She also tended to go into even the
smallest cross poles like a dragon lady, snorting, cantering
on the spot, collection in the extreme like she was going to
rush at it -- then stop and duck to the side at the absolute last
moment.  After a couple of months of this last spring, I stopped
jumping altogether and went back to basic flatwork, doing well
enough that we took a Veteran's Equitation Hi-Point trophy by
the end of the season.  In the fall, I changed the bit to a 
mullen mouth and she's got her head down, going onto the bit and her
paces have improved dramatically over the winter so that I'm regularly
riding without stirrups.  In the last few days, I'm also working
her regularly over poles scattered around the riding area at both
trot and canter - seems to really help with her confidence.

During the winter, I left the smallest jumps up and I took advantage
of her love of bouncing through snowdrifts to point her over
cavaletti, which looked easy after bouncing through a 3ft snowdrift!
Over the last month, as the snow is now melted and the ground is
hard enough, I could set out some more daunting jumps - still working
under 24 inches but they look solid enough.  She normally is ok over
cross-poles - it is the solid ones that stop her.  Stopping
her rushing habit without scaring her back into quitting is
going to take quite a bit more time.  We _might_ do beginner
cavaletti au concour or something, but she's not ready for more.

I was so proud of her today!  For the first jump of the day, I
pointed her at a row of strawbales with logs mixed in between the
bales.  Not very high, but wide enough and with a couple of poles
on top of it too (no ground rail, going downhill).  It was, for her,
a new jump and one that always stopped her in shows.  She hesitated, 
took a look and then popped right over it, no dirty quit, no rushing
and no dragon-lady act!  On top of it all, she came quietly to
a balanced stop as soon as I said whoa.  She then took a
whole series of three jumps in succession and only started
rushing at the last one (crosspole on top of a small bank, going uphill).
And, as proud as she was of herself, she remembered not to throw
in that little "look-at-me" buck that tends to unseat me if I'm
not ready for it :-)!

I know it is a small thing, but this mare has come such a long way.
Just thought you might want in on some of what I'm feeling right now.
Y'know, I'm gonna make a hunter out of this lady yet!

Ruth 
(and Springtwist)

-- 
=============================================================================
  I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I am
    not sure you realize that what you understand is not what I meant.
=========================== rmvale@watnow.uwaterloo.ca ======================
Newsgroups: rec.equestrian