Let's get serious

Big day yesterday. Mum took me for my now fortnightly lesson with Helen Cole where we have flatwork and pole work lessons with Kennet Vale Riding Club.  Last night was pole work, it needed serious concentration. It was a busy lesson and I'm so pleased Mum and I have being doing a lot of canter work because the whole lesson was pretty much in canter, though I had a plan to sort that out.....

We work in a lovely large school and I was sharing the lesson with 4 other horses, 3 of whom looked like Zippy and the 4th was a huge dapple grey. We all did our warm up ok. Helen had set out three poles in a curve at each end of the arena. Helen is very nice and adjusted the lesson for my little legs I mean how can I be expected to canter 2 strides between the poles when the huge big horses were struggling - so I was allowed to do 3 strides instead - phew. 

It all got a bit exciting with five horses cantering around, I started doing canter pirouettes, the big dapple grey started bucking, so Helen called a halt to the proceedings and decided it was safest if some stood and watch while just two of us cantered around and did the exercise. Phew our tactics worked as it meant I didn't have to canter for the whole hour, thank you dapple grey friend!

It was quite a tricky exercise we had to canter on the inside of the curve cantering over the poles, not falling off the end and doing two strides between the poles which was quite a stretch for my little legs and then we had to canter on the outside edge of the poles which meant they were further apart and I had to do that in three strides. After a bit of practise we managed that quite well. 

Then it got even trickier!  One end of the poles was raised up so they sloped to the ground and we started by just cantering over the last pole - easy it's turning into a jumping lesson, I went up a gear - evidently not good, so back under a controlled canter we then joined two of the slopey poles together.  Then round for a third time this time cantering over all three poles.  Now this exercise had been set up for the big horses to do one canter stride between the poles.  Mum aimed me at the middle and I had to do a super dales mega stretch to make the distance - I did it just, phew. Mum was very pleased I tried so hard, but her smile soon got wiped off her face when Helen said that while I was very good, Mum was bad and should have made it easier for me by taking the lower end of the poles so I could make the one canter stride more easily.  

So I took Mum round one more time at the right place to show her how much easier it was.  Job done, Mum was very chuffed with my efforts.  Hopefully she has also learnt that my little legs need slightly shorter distances.

When I got home I got a big tea for being so good, yummy.  Zippy was pleased to see me as she had been shut on the concrete again and my return meant a little tea for her with her medicine and then freedom out into the field.

What a fab day, enjoying my lessons and meeting new horsey friends, even if this schooling stuff is starting to get serious!