Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

You'd think after trailriding  him around here for 2 years plus I'd get used 
to his gaits and rhythms!Being compact,14.2 and wears a 68' blanket.You can 
sit his slow trot(if you can keep him in it). His working trot, post quick 
and low. We are usually going on rough ground, hills, rocky  washed out 
trails with only a few sections level enough for speed(well forget that, he 
can travel fast over anything). Our neighbors finally put a gate up down the 
road, and cut off the huge flow of mudders, 4 wheelers, dirt bikes that were 
getting heavier and heavier on our private road,and making trailriding a 
little too exciting some days.("no, can't trailride today, 39 mudder trucks 
just went back there").
So I only had an hour to ride Fri. and after doing some arena work, mostly 
transitions and actually making him back under saddle, 2 steps, (well it 
used to be a miracle to get one!) I thought , hmmm , no traffic now , the 
road is spongey hard, maybe a little road work?I usually handwalk this 1/4 
mile section , so I can get off it fast, if the local guys come tearing down 
it, on  bikes, 4wh, mudders.So we did some walking , then trotting (hey, 
mom, what ya mean we aren't turning in the driveway?) and stopping, 
alternating trotting/walking. We did canter a bit(too much excitment, needed 
to slow that, after he altered it to a full out gallop)(runaway training not 
needed here).
When suddenly he did what I think was an extended trot. He could have 
bounced me off the ceiling!It was not just fast, it was up in the 
air.Reminded me of the dressage horse I rode in lessons, amazed me to no 
end.He is much too "short" for that kind of movement. Course now I have to 
figure out how to "stay with it". And I'd just figured out at his "fullspeed 
ahead, no survivors trot"that was so fast I literally don't have "time to 
post" that I could actually sit/stand it as if he was a gaited horse, the 
movement gets so fast, I found myself shimmieing side to side, almost level. 
Now I have to deal with this "suspended, ceiling trot".Amazing, didn't think 
he had any "dressage horse " in him.(
So now we have walk, then "pick up" walk, then we have "easy trot" you can 
sit  to, then we have 'working trot', then we have "full lspeed ahead, no 
survivors trot", now we have , "suspended ceiling "trot.
I guess it was because we actually had a level place  that was safe to do 
it.
Now I just got to experiment with how to "ride it".Posting seemed to "fling 
me higher"(gulp, where's the trampoline?) or at least I was "behing" the 
movement(I was so surprised, my brain froze).So maybe I'll try 2 pt. if all 
else fails.
And  we were just getting our canter rhythm in sync.
Ah, life is interesting on an Arab.... Laurie and the "many gaited Rascal"





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