Jumping the Jumps

One week later, I'm finally sitting down to write about Spring's first jumping lesson with me in the irons! (It's been another busy week)

cutest face.

Spring, we have discovered, can get a little tense when multiple other horses are sharing her space - that was the main motivation behind a private lesson. Even with one other horse in the ring, she was a little tense, but it was definitely an improvement over her previous lesson experiences, when there are 4-5 other horses in the ring with her at the same time. Our warmup was uneventful at the walk and trot, and became mildly interesting when we introduced the canter.

she gets excited

Spring is nothing if not opinionated. Canter circles began as conversations about where her body was and what direction we were going in; if we were at the far end of the ring, she tried very hard to drift towards the barn. Trainer talked us through it, having me focus on visuals within the path of our circle (random patches of grass, for example) to try and keep Spring where she needed to be. Once I let go of my inside rein and started ~actually~ using my outside leg, the issues mostly cleared up, although she was still pretty speedy. We spent a decent amount of time explaining to her that yes, she really does need to stay on a circle, and that yes, I need to trust her a little more. Once both of those things were established, we moved on to the fun stuff! (all videos courtesy of Trainer K -- perks of a semi private include having her video!)

bounce bounce bounce

Trainer had bounces set up along one side of the arena. We started with a crossrail, then added a vertical, then a one stride to the cavaletto (did you know that cavaletti is actually plural?), then a second bounce. Spring figured the exercise out pretty quickly, and was very enthusiastic about it; she was very forward, rushing through the jumps as they were added.

sorry for the long format on this one

She would trot in tense, head up (although when you're used to a saddlebred that is actually a giraffe, head up is a relative term), do the first bounce, and then run. We tried cantering in to see if starting with more momentum would help her get over the jumps more smoothly, and quickly determined that more impulsion was not the issue - that one canter line was FAST. Thankfully, the more times we went through the exercise, the more she relaxed - she was still forward, but she eventually did stop running.

modeling game is growing strong

Spring was willing and brave throughout the exercise; she never hesitated - even when I thought she would. She never once lost her brain, which was refreshing; she is a million times more forgiving than Leo. Even when moving fast and drifting sideways, she was never out of control. Inexperienced and green though she is, she seems to be a fast learner and she's figuring her new job out pretty quickly. Trainer and I were both very happy with her.

pony friend <3

She had Sunday off, and I worked her on the flat on Monday. On Tuesday night, Trainer ran out of lesson horses (thanks, camp with two groups of students who jump!) and I suggested that she let one of the more experienced high schoolers try Spring in a small group lesson that night. A was with us when we went to try Spring out and had adored her, and she loves Jordyn as much as I do. Trainer agreed that this was not a terrible idea, as A has very soft hands and is a really talented young rider. I was unable to watch the lesson (thanks, work -_-), but by all accounts it went extremely well! A was a little intimidated by Spring at first - although she's smaller than Jordyn and doesn't have a legitimate head shaking issue, she moves a lot faster (or at least she feels faster) and will fling her head around if she feels that your hands are invading her personal space. Despite starting off with a tense rider, Spring was apparently a complete saint, doing her job perfectly and really impressing Trainer with her levelheadedness. A was eventually able to relax, and it sounds like in the end they had a great ride, which makes me super happy.

my friends are over there, Ma!

Wednesday was another day off for Spring, followed by flatwork on Thursday and Friday. Thursday we rode outside alone for the first time ever, and she was very chill - another huge difference when compared to Leo, who gets prettyyyy barn sour when working alone. We practiced ground poles, and she learned that they aren't actually 3' jumps. Today we rode inside with one other horse in the ring, and she was the most relaxed that I've felt since bringing her home.

Feral pony says hai (and demands that you bring him treats)

I'm planning to do groundwork with her tomorrow and ride again on Sunday - although this may change depending on the weather, as I want to ride outside. I already feel like I need to do updated conformation shots; she legitimately seems to have gained a significant amount of weight since last week!