Weds 19th May 2010
On board at last! Walked out and D was full of the joys. He was trotting down hills and pulling out in front going up to Shepherds Grove. He was good to get on and very good on the ride but boy was he stiff!
Duncs' back felt like a plank of wood which I think was because he's wasn't stepping through from behind. He felt very crooked too with a tendency to lean on the left rein. Thinking back, he was like this when I first started riding him and I wasn't sure if it was a suppleness problem or emotional tension. I'm now sure it's a suppleness problem but I'm sure it can be overcome. He was going very nicely before the lay off but of course only in walk and intermittently well in trot. True to expectation from the walk, D's trot was back to the choppy head-up style. This is why he is reluctant to canter I'm sure, both on-line and ridden. Same as Ollie, another little bit of history repeating!
On the way back, I did not go on the lead rein for the road and was ahead when a HUGE car transporter came past within an inch of our nose. I thought "keep calm, keep calm!" and kept D's nose pointing towards it as it came. He shied but not too far (fence in the way but if he'd been totally RB I'm sure that wouldn't have stopped him). After that, he was rather keen to get back and my brakes and steering were not the best. We wandered into the road into oncoming traffic but luckily all was well - the fleuros helped!
No comments:
Post a Comment