It seems Socks has run out of good behaviour and obviously has been keeping her alter ego bottled up but she definitely released some tension at Summerhouse on Friday!
After lots of training recently we have been going really well and Socks is starting to use her back end and come up a little in front. This is always an issue as she is built downhill so requires extra effort and although she is getting better she still struggles to maintain a good frame for long periods of time therefore becomes inconsistent but it is an area we are working on and needs to be developed slowly as she is not a horse you can rush as gets easily upset and stops trying.
I thought it was time to get out to a competition and see where we are at so booked in at Summerhouse for one prelim and thought we'd have a go at an easy novice test. Well, let's start with the good news, the first test went OK and we achieved our last percentage to allow us to qualify for the area festivals. The best news of the day was that I think I may have solved Socks' game of climbing on the tack locker when travelling, result!
Now for the not so good news... The disobedience's have returned!!! Considering how hot the weather was and the fact Socks had already completed one test, I think I don't need to worry about her stamina any longer. The warm up was very tense and Socks was a bit spooky so I spent time trying to relax her which I thought went well, however coming down the centre line I felt like I was sat on an unexploded bomb, she was however not on her forehand, so I kept positive thoughts as I continued the test. The first canter she kicked out against my leg and then continued to threaten humping as we went round our 20m circle, having managed to contain her we got to the walk and she stretched down very relaxed with regular steps, thankful she'd started to settle I prepared for the upwards transition to trot followed by canter, it then went a bit wrong! The walk was obviously the lull before the storm and the bottled up energy I felt earlier all exploded as she leaped into the air showing off her acrobatics, thankfully remaining a passenger we got back under control and redeemed ourselves with some good canter work and a beautiful square halt to finish!
So it seems we have a little more arena practise to do but I think I might start including some jumping outings soon to mix things up a bit and hope that helps her concentration and consistency and reduce those costly disobedience's!!! I am however still feeling very positive as in the grand scheme of things we have come a really long way from the days when we couldn't even stay on the same rein or complete a 20m circle without disappearing down the opposite end or at worst out the arena! It might take us a little longer to achieve our goals and I might need to keep tweaking them as things don't go to plan but we are on the right track and thoroughly enjoying ourselves in the process.
Here's a few photos of our progress from the good to the bad 😀
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