Lesson with Rosie Jones - it was today!

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I've got Rosie coming out to see me and the pony on Monday!! I'm SO excited! ;D

I was originally planning on getting her help with bringing him on. I've backed him and he's pretty comfortable with me riding but I feel I could do with some guidance to make our schooling sessions a bit more productive (as well as improving my riding).

But since he bronced me off again on Sunday, and clearly has saddle and girthing issues that I haven't got to the bottom of, I'm thinking her help would be best focussed on helping me to work out what is actually causing that. My best guess at the moment is a memory of pain but I'm not sure that quite explains it all, I can't wait to hear Rosie's view, although knowing my pony he'll behave impeccably on Monday and then bronc me off on Tuesday!!

[Lorraine L]

Good luck Michelle. I hope we are going to get a full report and photos !??

[BJMM]

How exciting! Make sure you've got your 'cr*p' strap on! Hope you have a fab lesson. xx

[Deleted]

Lol! Yes, I'm not sure what Rosie is going to think of my daisy rein! And I certainly won't be asking him to do any long and low work!!

I will of course update you, I'll no doubt be bursting to tell someone all about it!

[Deleted]

So I had my lesson today ;D It was brilliant!! Rosie is so damn good! The first and most important bit of news was that she thinks my horse's bucking/ broncing is quite normal baby behaviour and not a major issue

She said that the fact that he carried on broncing for ages after I fell off the first time is a good thing because it means me falling off wasn't his aim and he didn't get any reward for the broncing.

She thought his sensitivity to the girth is just that, him being a very sensitive horse. I've been keeping grooming his belly to a minimum because he doesn't like it but Rosie suggested I do lots of it so he becomes desenitised. She thought it's that sensitivity that is making him walk around tense and on the verge of bucking the whole time and then it's only taking one little extra trigger to start him off (like me doing up his girth or putting my leg on harder than he's used to).

She showed me lots of exercises to move his forehand across in the school (in-hand) and then ridden as she said he's carrying a lot of tension and I need to get him to release that before getting on board, and lateral work is great for relieving tension in the forehand. When she first asked him to step across he did but then his shoulder did a big twitch, like a ripple, and she said that's the visible sign of the tension in his shoulders that I need to get him stepping across without that before I get on him.

Then when on board I was asking him to walk small figures of eight bending alternately to the inside then the outside. Funnily enough I would never have thought to ask him to bend to the outside but he found that easier. We also walked a tiny circle pushing him out with my inside leg to get him stepping across. We then did a sort of rein back into turn on the haunches. all these were designed to get him to lighten his forehand and listen to me more and so moving him further away from his 'ready to buck' state.

Rosie was very polite in saying I'm a very light sensitive rider but maybe I need to be less light and a bit more firm with him. She said I'm starting to fall into plodding around without much aim (yep, guilty!) because I'm trying not to provoke broncing. She said it's a very fine line between backing off completely and not getting anywhere in his training, and pushing him too hard so he broncs. Doing the exercises she showed me will hopefully mean I can start asking more without just getting broncing as the answer!

She praised me for taking things very slow and steady and keeping him inside his comfort zone but that now I need to deliberately and carefully start to take him outside his confort zone so he learns to trust himself and me when he's not confortable. She said I should think of him as a client's horse instead of my own so it focuses me more on specific targets.

She also said when he does buck to lift my inside hand right up high and keep my feet forward and sit right down! She also was happy for me to keep my beloved daisy rein, lol!

So all in all very positive and I'm really chuffed, it was great to see Rosie working with him as he does have a tendency to get his knickers in a twist if he doesn't understand but is so quick to learn, Rosie agreed with me that he's very clever which is nice to hear! ;D

[Lorraine L]

That is a great report Michelle. You really sound as if you had a very relaxed session for you and your lovely pone. I laughed when you said that you were allowed to carry on with your daisy rein !! I don't suppose you had any photos taken, did you ? Do let us know how progress goes when you ' go it alone' again won't you ?

[BJMM]

Well done Michelle! Sounds like a great lesson! I have got Suzanne Marshall RA coming out today to give me a lesson on Jas, she has been backed 8 weeks ago and is going really well, especially out hacking where she is brilliant alone and in company. Her head carriage is very high though and I am going to work on this with Suzanne.