Truth be told, Thunder has done hardly anything since we rode EM 1 and 2 at a small local show in the beginning of March. Let's not get into the chaos my life had become by then. My new routine started this week, once SANESA Q3 was behind us, and so Thunder found himself back in a real schedule for the first time in ages.
Our new routine is lovely. After morning stables -- I check everyone and sort out 2 sets of manes and tails each day, while the guys feed -- I have coffee with my parents and then I bring Thunder out from his stable and take my time giving him a nice long grooming. Then we work, and after work he gets a good shower, fly spray, all his fly gear put on and turned out in the field. His field is roomy with a big tree in it and lots of grass, and it's right in front of my house and next to the arena, so I watch him all day while writing and teaching. Then he gets nose kisses at evening check.
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| so glad I could finally get Shaila's hair under control bc she has SO MUCH OF IT wow |
Of course, the big guy is thoroughly unfit, so we started slow. True to his Friesian blood, Thunder has a real tendency to hold his muscular strength and tone well, but loses cardio fitness and stamina extremely fast. (Lancey is the carbon opposite -- his base level of cardio fitness is high and he loses it very slowly, while muscle simply melts off him within a couple of weeks off). Practically, this means that Thunder is able to perform all of his movements almost immediately after coming back to work, but only once or twice, then he's tuckered out. So we started on Monday with what was supposed to be a nice gentle lunge and became a complete rodeo for the first 10 minutes or so during which I was dragged hither and thither across the arena by my usually sweet and sane horse. Thanks for nothing, bro. Nonetheless, he settled perfectly after getting the bucks out, and we made it through 5 minutes trot and 3 minutes canter on each rein without further incident. He was pretty puffed afterwards but seemed happy to have exercised.
Tuesday we schooled a little. I was still sort of sick after a bout of dreadful pharyngitis (still on pills for it, ugh) and we kept it very short. We just played with my position and did a few changes, practicing that change from left to right, which can be late behind. He gave me a few really good ones and then I called it a day. I really wanted to keep playing with the pirouettes, but that will all have to wait until he's back to full strength. We did one picture-perfect line of 4-tempis so that was nice.
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| I put videos on Instagram with epic music @ridingonwater |
I was supposed to have a lesson on Wednesday, but completely failed to read the times properly when Coach W's helper sent them to me. Instead of reading "12:00 to 12:45, Firn" I read "12:45, Firn". So the beloved, Thunder and I merrily pitched up to the Friesians' home a few minutes before my lesson was due to end. Major facepalm on my part. Coach W was so sweet about it but obviously had other things to do so we missed out on that one. Instead, I saddled TBird up anyway and we rode around with K who was on Miss Sassy. They'd set up some cavalettis in the arena -- one line of 4 trot poles on the ground, and then another line of 5 trot poles, alternating ends raised on the flat side of cavalettis -- so we played with those.
For the first time in a REALLY long time, Thunder was sort of difficult to ride, but it wasn't his fault. A bunch of baboons had come down from the Suikerbosrand and were arguing and shrieking up and down the hillside. Miss Sassy grew up with them and was totally unperturbed, but Thunder was SIGNIFICANTLY perturbed. That is to say, he threw his head up to stare at them, stopped a few times to look, and once felt like he might scoot but didn't. I joked with K that this was exactly why I switched to the army life -- my horse was being unbelievably spooky for him and K didn't even notice he was being spooky at all. Of course, he's a good big grownup boy, so we worked through it. I did compromise by staying away from the baboon corner. They freak me out too honestly and I was still a bit flat, sickly and tired and not in the mood to spend our entire ride learning to like baboons up close.
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| my position has a long way to go but look how perfect he's being |
We had fun playing with the cavalettis instead. He tired quickly over these, so we finished up with a little canter work to show off our tempis to K, but he was tired by then and only managed a couple of good ones before he started to get late behind. We promptly cooled off, enjoying chatting with K, and with Miss Sassy's chill influence we did walk past the baboons nice and calmly. Good boy.
As an aside, he was AMAZING to load both times on Wednesday. He has been sort of a pain to load for a long time, and the beloved has grown rather tired of putting a lunge line behind him. One can tell he's not fearful, though -- he just knows he's allowed to stand on the ramp and make his dad shove his bum. I used a dressage whip a couple of times, which I never like, but just to reinforce the thought that we walk directly into the box without making any fuss. I only actually used it on him once, after that he's been totally divine, and the whole thing is more pleasant and less stressful for all of us. Again: clarity. Never roughness, just clarity of expectation. Once he knew exactly what was asked of him, he was happy to do it.
Thursday we lunged again, 5 minutes trot and 3 minutes canter on each rein. I keep it quite easy with a minimum of transitions at the moment, and all on a big circle, 18-20m. Next week I won't add more time but I'll do slightly more intensity with more transitions and spirals in trot and canter. He was his usual exemplary self for the lungeing.
I expected him to be tired on Friday, but he actually felt pretty awesome, although he felt just the tiniest bit stiff at first and didn't stretch nicely in trot until we were a few minutes in. Truth be told I was a bit stiff too so we warmed up slowly and did a bunch of stretchy canter as well until we both felt nice and loose. Then we schooled the lateral work for the first time in a while. I'm working on making my aids smaller and softer especially for shoulder-in, loosening my seat and using it more than my supporting inside leg. Thunder responds well to the smaller aids, I'm just... really bad at giving them lol. But it's getting better.
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| he likes to have a good look around at the world as I get ready to mount so it's a photo op every morning |
We also did some travers and half-passes and I could feel he was getting tired towards the end of the half-passes, losing his quarters and stiffening a little on the outside rein. So, after a long walk break, we finished up with a few canter half-passes. Advanced has brutal canter half-passes -- H-B all the way across the arena -- and he impressed me by making it easily H-P even though he's unfit. We did a couple of those and then started to get late behind in his changes, so I knew we were done and he had a nice long stretchy walk before his shower.
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| I need to post pics of my amazing new reins which came in a big bag of hand-me-downs and is a gift from Heaven honestly |
It was so good to be able to enjoy the big guy every day and just be together again the way we've always been. Our journey so far has been really special and I love that we can enjoy it together again.
God is good!
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