Just a quick update on Trouble's progress...we have had and keep having quite a bit of rain here so turnout has been sporadic at best. We had a few days where I felt like he wanted to lose it, so I got off and lunged and he proceeded to buck and canter as fast as he could! I think he is feeling more like a TB now that he's gained some fitness :)
We rode with Robin Walker last weekend and he was different from anyone I've ever ridden with! He is very no nonsense and emphasizes the rider making the correct decisions for the horse. He had some good bending lines and exercises set up, and he told me to be a bit firmer about making Trouble stop/slow down after the fences if I don't like the canter he's in. He stressed that it is "my canter" and the horse is not allowed to take it away. This helped us a ton and I felt a lot more confident and in control through the exercises after I got my point across to Trouble a few times. We jumped through some lines, including a liverpool, and he was great. I should mention that I've been jumping him in a 2-ring Duo with 2 reins and I really like it. He respects the bit without hiding from it, and the only thing I may add is a running martingale for the times he resists.
The next day we went for Trouble's first XC school at the Barrington Riding Center with Jenna & Grace. I rode him around the facility and had him hop over the ditch in the main jumping field, which he did quietly. It was very windy, so that was a bit distracting, but overall I was very happy with how he behaved. I think he wasn't quite sure what the XC jumps were at first, and he had a few rookie stops to start with until he gained confidence. After that, he was unstoppable and jumped everything on the small course in the front, including the house, rolltop, stone wall, red barn, and bench. I felt like he started to get the hang of things but still has a little bit of suspicion about scary fences so I need to work on getting him in front of my leg without rushing. He did the best at the down banks, softly stepping off and landing quietly. He went through the water, trotting and cantering in and out, and he jumped several bank combinations well. I think his confidence will only continue to grow with the more types of fences he sees but it was a great start for a horse who's never done XC before! I am hoping we can get out to school at least once more before the mini event on May 22.
Jenn Fritz massaged him this week because I thought he could use some bodywork with all the hard work he's been doing since I got him. Her comments were that his muscling is very even, and he was a bit tight in his neck but worked out of it well. She said that his back was tight on the right side along his spine at the thoracic lumbar junction but it also worked out well. She found a large "crunchy" knot behind his right scapula/shoulder and said it has probably been there for a while from ill fitting saddles. She tried my saddle on him and said it fit well but to be careful about right side/point of tree since he's a little asymmetrical right now. She said I can work on massaging the knot and that the Back on Track blanket should help. I feel a lot better knowing that his back isn't too bad and I will be very careful in the future about his scapulas! I'm sure this wasn't addressed in the past since he is hard to fit a saddle on, but I'm relieved that both of mine fit him well now and we can move forward. I will probably have her work on him again before the mini or Indiana just to see where he's at physically.
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