Goals and poles

I'm apprehensive about setting any goals as something always seems to happen, but I always think it's good to have something to work towards.  I rode Wolfie in the school for around twenty minutes yesterday.  It was a bit of a train wreck.  Only to be expected, I can count on one hand the number of times he's been schooled since last year.  There were horse eating goblins in every corner of the school, walk to trot transitions were more like walk to gallop, the downwards weren't much better.  It was all a bit rushed and unbalanced but it's a start.  Wolfie's not keen on the surface in the school, he prefers a grass surface.  He doesn't really see the point in endless circles, he may have the conformation of a dressage horse, but he certainly doesn't have the warmblood mentality for endless circles.  This all means that I have to make things much more interesting for him.  Really we are still only working on the basics of relaxation, rhythm, contact and impulsion, but my aim is to utilise Wolfie's natural athleticism and make him more gymnastic and supple through progressive exercises using basic flatwork and pole work, eventually, hopefully this will help him to bend, straighten and move with impulsion and freedom through his back whilst keeping his attention and making it fun.  I have seen these pole pods which raise the poles, I like the look of them, but they would be expensive to buy as I would probably want about 8.  I think I am going to make something which will do the same thing, like the old style cavalletti.  I felt weak riding yesterday, my lower leg felt weak.  There are no short cuts and you only get out of horses what you put into them, but hopefully now we will be able to maintain some consistent work and progress Wolfie's training.  I also hope to have a few centered riding lessons which I think will really help me.

I will continue to hack and at the moment will keep the schooling sessions short.  I still want to know what sort of distance we are covering.  My dad found something called a horseometer which is a horse pedometer and straps to a breast plate.  You can only get them in the States, but I think I will eventually get one, it will also be a helpful for fittening work.

When I turned Wolfie out tonight, he went straight over to C. and was turning his hindquarters on him, just forcing C. to move.  He didn't lift a leg, but his body language was very dominant.  There didn't seem to be any real reason for it and C. just got out of the way.  The dynamics of the herd have certainly shifted.  Wolfie followed me down the fence line as I walked down to my car.  I got in and was driving along the road when I glanced out the window and there was Wolfie galloping alongside the car (in the field of course), I was going around 25mph and he was keeping pace.  I burst out laughing, he's such a strange little horse.  As he reached the end of the field I saw him in my mirror galloping and bucking up the field.