The good news is that Hampton is quite fit and he bounced right back! Prancing around and full of energy the next day. I rode him today and he was full of it - in a good way - and no hints of soreness.
But ...
Our first full day of camp did not go as I expected.
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| Friday morning selfie. Mirrors in the arena! Oh how I miss you! |
Our first lesson was ok. We worked quite a bit on cleaning up our half passes, lateral energy and adjustability. But Hampton was snarky and anytime I would tickle him with the whip he could pig root and offer to buck. This is not unusual for him, especially since we haven't been off the property for several months.
We focused on opening up his shoulders through leg yields, and making him super obedient to my legs. I wouldn't say he was bad, but there was some tension there.
Several hours later we had our afternoon lesson. I chose to ride him in the double bridle this time. As soon as I got on I knew he was in a mood. When we started trotting I said "oh shit" to myself because he was SOOOOOOOOOOOO behind the leg and so uptight. He was behind the contact, fussy, tight in the back. When I asked him to go forward, he would pull his "hop up and down and threaten to launch" antic. I tried getting a little mad and booting him around, leg yielding on the circle (anything to keep his feet moving). He just kept getting nastier. He was totally unrideable, My coach suggested it might be the double bridle. I'm not so sure, but I guess it's a possibility. Eventually I got him to trot somewhat civil and we ended the lesson. We could not canter a circle without bucking, threatening to launch. At one point I thought he was going to do one of his mega bucks and I was grabbing mane. We would not have been able to complete a training level test. I started to wonder if he was in pain.
I'll admit I had a mild meltdown on the walk back to his stall. What if he was trying to tell me that he has reached a limit? Was he in pain? Maybe he is not mentally capable of the work? Did he strain something in the morning lesson? Maybe it's too much and I need to sell him. Hampton can be snarky and cop an attitude, but this was beyond his normal antics.
So I gave him some bute that night and some time in a paddock hoping he would feel better the next day.
If not, this was going to be a rough weekend.
I am thinking the weekend got better for you and Hamps! Even though I hate that this happened on your first day of camp, it is good to know this kind of thing happens to everyone and not just me. So thank you for your honesty! Looking forward to hearing about day 2 & 3!
ReplyDeletedon't freak out at a single event. He could have been a bit sore and got cranky with you. Wait and see how he does.
ReplyDeleteI'll keep my finger crossed that tomorrow goes well.
Oh man, that's so frustrating! Hoping things got a lot better.
ReplyDeleteWhy i love your blog and you of course. You don't feel the need to pretend everything is always perfect. I am actually over most blog reading for that reason. It's always the same story. My horse is perfect, I am perfect a we are perfect at life. All that to say you're awesome and I know that feeling of everything falling apart but I know there is more to chine in this story. Looking forward to it.
ReplyDeleteoh no! snarky ponies are no good - hopefully things improved quickly!
ReplyDeleteUm, well... don't take this the wrong way, but it's mice to know real dressage people like you have these problems too. I'm obviously not at your level, but like... sometimes I think first level is attainable and other days we CAN.NOT. trot a circle.
ReplyDeleteHorses, man.
Btw, can I just say Hampy is looking FABULOUS? Because he is.