Update on the past couple weeks' training

Almost two weeks have just flown past... We have done very varied work each week and that seems to really suit our boy at the moment. He is happy to work in the school, while previously when we were mainly lunging, he had started to slightly resent entering the school... He would work fine, but of course if you do the same day in day out, it eventually gets a wee bit boring. Now we have had one complete day off per week, one day of pole work, a day or two of riding in the school, one day of hacking out, and two or three days of lunging work, some days easier some days with harder cantering exercises.




Pole work:
We do this now with one pole and then two poles. So, first walk over the singular pole, when this goes fine, we trot over it. When that is going fine, we start trotting over the two poles. It has gone really well. By no means perfect all the time, but he is improving. And when the two poles are working ok, and before he is getting tired, we'll trot him over a raised singular pole.
So, trotting him over those three poles a couple weeks ago was really a pole too far... ;) Two is totally enough for him at the moment. And the slightly raised (5-10cm) pole gives just that bit of extra difficulty to the singular pole in the end.
I haven't done any pole work while riding this time. Well, actually I did go over a pole yesterday a few times. It just happened that the people that were in the school earlier had a pole down in the centerline, and I used it in the latter part of the workout. I was surprised that he went over it very nicely a couple times. Mind you, he got tired pretty quick out of it, and I got some not so good work as well... So, I could introduce the singular pole again into my ridden work at some point. I just think that I should definitely not over do it. That is, I think it still is hard work for him to lift his legs higher while working through his topline and carrying me. But easy does it...

Riding work:
Yes, by golly, power is increasing. I don't think I have lunged to warm him up these past week and a bit! We have noticed that he can now be warmed up fine from the saddle. That is, he strides on beautifully in walk straight from the get go. Such a difference in that as well! My short notes on our calendar say almost in every riding day that he has more power... And I mean that he has this lovely powerful walk and then increasingly good trot. It is getting more regular with head position being stable and him staying relaxed. I still need to work at it though, but it is getting easier. Especially on the right hand. Left hand is as I described earlier; very good as well, but tends to fall in and stiffen up in corners and I'm in trouble with my legs and seat.
Last week I noticed that he was stumbling at first in the wet school, but it disappeared as soon as he was properly warmed up! That was such a clear indicator that he was lifting his legs better and had his balance established. When it has still  been light after working him in the school, I have taken him out on a cool down walk around the hayfield as well. Nice to have such a cool down with power walking...

This week Monday I had the most fabulous hacking experience! :D I was planning to just have a relaxing walkabout around the field once or twice for an easy day, but he felt energetic and ready to trot. So I thought, ok, lets trot. And what a trot! Oh my. You know such a trot that just powers on by itself while the horse is on the bit, head low, very slight contact... Yabbadabbadoo... He has never given me such a fine trot outside the school. We didn't even slip or stumble, since he was so balanced. Furthermore, he was so happy and calm, no bother when a car went past beside the track, or the ponios started careering about in canter in the nearby field or when the sheep gave him the look (sheep and cars have been a bit of an issue before this year). We still walked most of our hacking rounds, but there were several happy trotting sessions mixed in. The only backless wired time we had was when the hubby went and called for him from the end of a lane... Ye gods, we wanted to get there asap alright! Head high and back dipped alright... After some of this wired trotting, I decided to call it quits and returned to a proper walk. At least that was fine and he calmed down. Just to test, I then still trotted him away from home and hubby for some couple tens of meters, and by golly, he was perfection again.
And then as I have already written, I had an epiphany yesterday about my legs... And today I started my exercise regime again. If I could just keep it up between work, dogs and so on...
Otherwise we have had a nice and long walk out to the forest in between things. So, it's been harder work and then easier and more relaxing work.

Lunging:
Well, have been actually lunging him about half the weeks. So, a lot more riding going on. I keep the lunging work one day your basic lunge with walk about 5min, then trot about 10min. Concentrating on the forward motion, so that he will over track at least by one hoof length in walk and at least tracking up in trot. Left side I still will do more spiraling to get him yielding with his hind quarters. A couple canters mixed in. Lunge time is generally that 30min in total. And it is pure work, I don't let him slack very much I have to say...
Some days I have done harder work by doing far more canter transitions. But the lunge time would still be the same. And then of course the pole work as I have mentioned earlier.

Very happy in general with the way he is going and how things are progressing. Long may it last! Really fingers crossed that there will not be any setbacks in form of injuries in the paddock or such... It is now such a joy to work with him, since he is so happy and settled and calm.
This is really the huge advantage of working him this way... no fighting at all, and a calm horse. I ask him to do things that he can do and do them well and proper. And then to make the progress, also introducing harder things gradually. It is a long way, but it so is now starting to truly pay off.

I leave you with an apparent quote from the master itself, Nuno Oliveira:"...you must learn the difference between 12 years of learning and one year repeated 12 times..."
(from a comment from someone else in a forum in 2008..)