Tuck on a Line

Silly Boy

I just longlined Tucker tonight, taking a break as I had to go to a meeting later on.

What a silly boy he was. His pace, attitude, and frame varied from "baby horse on the forehand," to "lazy horse in a jog," all the way to "stunning dressage horse in an elegant, elevated frame." Add to that an occasional "buck off" and you have the gist of the session.

Towards the end, I asked for some close in work trying to introduce the idea of stepping towards the piaffe in hand. Tucker is too quick to react to the whip by bolting forward. Not that I've ever hit him, but he just responds by trying to run.

This time, though, I just tapped his hind end at the walk and when he took a big trot step under, I eased him back and told him he was wonderful. After about four tries, he took one trot stride almost in place and I stopped him praised him to the ultimate and ended the school.

My knees will never carry me through too much close up work in hand with him as I simply cannot run or maneuver myself alongside him to help him understand what I want. I will have to see if Gabriel has worked horses from the ground like that and perhaps at our next lesson we can do a bit of in-hand work. I think it would be good as it will help Tuck understand about bending his hind legs and, if done in extreme moderation without a rider will help his stifle build up while at the same time not putting too much stress on his joints.

Too much of this work is very hard on a horse, but a few steps here and there, now and then, should be a plus for him.

It is supposed to rain tomorrow. That's OK as I have choir rehearsal and before that a photo to be taken for the church directory.