One of my targets this year is to be able to ride Ziggy in the school in good form, with his hind end engaged and without his nose poking out.
My RI can achieve this at all paces through her seat, by getting him to lift his back up. I'm getting better - I can now get him to work long and low - but I can't seem to get him to go without the pokey out nose yet.
I thought it might help if he responded more quickly to contact and decided to give in hand work a try today after our schooling session. Standing next to him and holding the reins I asked him to soften to the bit (gentle oscillating pressure from both hands). His ears oscillated too - he was thinking - but he didn't know what to do.
In clicker training I have taught him to drop his head when I touch his crest or withers. So as I oscillated, I touched his neck. No clicker required - bingo! He dropped his head, accepted the contact and made a lovely shape, poll the highest point, nose just in front of the vertical, gently working the bit. I released at once and made much of him.
He is such a clever ponio. I swear after only two repetitions he had this nailed. I even tried standing on his right, to make sure he wasn't one-sided, and he did just as well. Now I need to be able to ask him to soften as well as moving forward... That will be a test for my skills!
It defeats me how Ziggy can have failed as a RS pony, failed as a showjumper and failed as a Safecob when all he does for me is try.
I :inlove: my pony.
My RI can achieve this at all paces through her seat, by getting him to lift his back up. I'm getting better - I can now get him to work long and low - but I can't seem to get him to go without the pokey out nose yet.
I thought it might help if he responded more quickly to contact and decided to give in hand work a try today after our schooling session. Standing next to him and holding the reins I asked him to soften to the bit (gentle oscillating pressure from both hands). His ears oscillated too - he was thinking - but he didn't know what to do.
In clicker training I have taught him to drop his head when I touch his crest or withers. So as I oscillated, I touched his neck. No clicker required - bingo! He dropped his head, accepted the contact and made a lovely shape, poll the highest point, nose just in front of the vertical, gently working the bit. I released at once and made much of him.
He is such a clever ponio. I swear after only two repetitions he had this nailed. I even tried standing on his right, to make sure he wasn't one-sided, and he did just as well. Now I need to be able to ask him to soften as well as moving forward... That will be a test for my skills!
It defeats me how Ziggy can have failed as a RS pony, failed as a showjumper and failed as a Safecob when all he does for me is try.
I :inlove: my pony.