6 March
Yesterday we tacked up and rode the horses straight from their boxes....today we took the horses to the wash box, tacked them up then untacked them and returned them to their boxes without riding! More education! Willy put Anna on Aromeo bareback in the wash box. She then stood on his back! Wow very impressed! Willy then challenged F to vault on. He made it on the 3rd attempt....voltige is ot so easy!! I would love to learn but with my back not sure it is a good idea!
Willy asked if we thought he had prepared the horses going to Germany well enough. Did we have confidence that they would be ok in their new life. We said yes....Willy had educated the youngsters well....but F said the issue could be with the new owners. We have seen how a horse reacts differently to different people many times.Let's hope they have a good owner.
I took Eric out for his first lone hack. We did a short circuit that took about 20 minutes then I did some canter work in the manege before doing the same circuit mainly in trot. He felt like an unexploded bomb so I was very quiet with my body and concentrated in my mind. He did attempt to take off with me as some horses did the same in the field at the side of the road...a momentary slip in my concentration!! Finally I finished with a cool down without me on board in the manege. A good work out for the boy! Willy checked my saddle for me. It looks like it is bridging. We will get it checked out by the saddler who will be visiting shortly.
In the afternoon I watched 2 young 2 year old stallions have their first experience of being tacked up. Willy uses a treeless saddle as it is supple and moves with the horse. He put on a simple snaffle bridle without reins. And tendon and fetlock boots. With each item Willy let the horse see and smell before attaching. He then walked the horse around in the wash box so he could feel the sensation of the new equipment on his body. Both lifted their hind legs really high like Eric does when I put on long travelling boots! Each horse was then loose schooled in the manege with their new tack. There was a lot of bucking and jumping around to begin with but each eventually settled.
An issue arrived when Anna went to the young chestnut stallion to detach the lead rope from the bit. It was attached through one ring and clipped onto the other ring. Anna faffed about and ended up with the horse pulling back and losing confidence. Afterwards we had a lot of problems catching him and leading him from the bit. Wily succeeded in calming the horse and removing the lead rope by covering the horse's eye.
There were more problems later in the wash box. The horse would not stay "au place" and kept moving. Willy kept putting him back....it was a battle of wills.....Willy did not lose! He said one loss like that could be the end of the horse in future....but the problem was created initially by Anna. Small errors cost dearly with young horses which is why we must go slowly and carefully. If we have made a mistake apologize to the horse, he will understand, and make the correction.
Personally I don't agree with attaching the lead rope to the bit. I know a lot of people do it but why take the risk of damaging the precious mouth? I would prefer to see Willy using a cavesson where the rope can be attached to the nose rather than the mouth. Or I have a Micklem multibridle with a ring to attach the rope to the noseband. I will ask Willy tomorrow.
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