I went for a lesson at Osberton last Wednesday in preparation for my next event. I got her off the box and she was quite tense warming up - she was a bit rushy and not really accepting the bit. When I started jumping she was rushing a lot, so Mark had us go back to trot and just work on getting her to come a bit lower and relax into my hands. After she was good in trot, we went back into canter and did the same, using a lot of yeilding. Mark is very good at getting me to ride more off my seat and use my legs and seat to move her around, so he had me doing plenty of that.
As you can see in the photos she does have quite a high and short neck carriage. She finds it quite difficult to stretch out and go low, which is probably related to her spinal issues.
After some more flat work she started to go much better, although she was still chomping and grinding on the bit. We did a couple of fences and then went straight into a course. Well, the first round was awful! She hit nearly everything. Mark had left me to my own devices and when I finished he told me to do it again, but in a much more forward rhythm. I tend to get a bit backwards thinking in showjumping rounds, so I needed that encouragement to let her jump out of a bigger stride.
The second round was much improved and she jumped fantastically.
After that we did a bit of work on riding a dog leg to a 1m5 upright, as uprights are definitely our weakness in competition. I rode a line from a double to the upright in the first of those three photos. It took a couple of attempts to get it right, but we got there (eventually!) We then did a big oxer to finish, which I jumped a few times, trying to just work on my approach and position, and having her really stretch out and use her back. He put a V up to encourage Emmie to jump straight, as she does sometimes list to the left a bit. The effect was instant!
You can really see in this one how she has dropped her neck and lifted her shoulders and back up! Mark's opinion of Emmie is that all the talent is there, we just need to learn how to channel the power that she has a bit more productively, as I tend to try and shut her down at competitions, which is bad!!
We are going for another lesson on Thursday, and will hopefully see more of an improvement from the beginning.
Unfortunately after the lesson I checked her mouth and she was very sore :( I had borrowed a happy mouth bit from a friend to try, and it had pinched her mouth on one side and also rubbed her lips quite badly. I think this was why she was so tense and rushy to begin with, as she was not happy with the bit. I feel really bad and have taken it off her bridle immediately. She had a few days without a bit in her mouth, or just being ridden bitless or on a very long rein. I put her old bit in yesterday (a sprenger duo straight bar) and she was back to old Emmie. She had started getting strong and pulling down in it, which is why I was trying different things, but she was obviously just so much happier in it. I am going to keep her in the sprenger or her Beris bit which she also likes, and just persevere if she gets strong.
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