I rode Brooke again :) [and there's a video...]

This lesson was amazing! It was cold so Brooke wasn't so sluggish (though I did use the crop a few times when she was being snotty).

We worked on serpentines at the canter, with simple lead changes. My first one was HORRIBLE (and totally my fault) but then after that it was fun because I was keeping Brooke slow and somewhat off her forehand and she was making the tighter turns easily.

We also worked on flying changes - it went great. Again! I dunno why, but Brooke always does fantastic lead changes with me! I'm a little weakling, so I doubt I'm doing anything special, haha. My dad got a video of two, but it's hard to see with the jumps and the ponies in the way.

Jumping...we didn't do much. We jumped one course then focused on two jumps, kind of doing rollbacks from one to another to work on getting into our corners and getting our leads (it was a very lead focused day). I really enjoyed that, I felt so smart when Brooke actually got her lead change! She refused a jump which lead to a smack with the crop which lead to a temper tantrum and baby buck, but nothing severe.

I did end up opening my outside rein over the jump to inch her towards the outside of the arena...dunno if that was correct but it works! I was also proud that even when I did that, I was able to stay off her back in midair without completely relying on her neck for support :]

Oh, and if you read the entire novel, here's a quick video of the lesson. My dad took it from up in the observation room, so sorry it's not the best.

Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38oEMi6NK50

I still think she's the cutest thing ever, even though she bit me on my thigh while I was picking out her hooves. -_-

Sounds like things went well. Brooke is a beauty!:)

Aah I love Brooke. She reminds me very much of a horse at the stables at which I ride, so long in the back and stride! I know from personal experience how hard they can be to balance and straighten sometimes, so well done to you! :D

I love doing flying changes, but I always feel like they're sloppy unless I have a really collected canter. I ride a thoroughbred type horse a lot of the time, so she often rushes her strides and the flying change becomes a leg scrabble. :p I couldn't really see the actual change in the video but I did see that Brooke's legs had changed. You must have done it very smoothly!

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Originally Posted by chocolatepuppy

Sounds like things went well. Brooke is a beauty!:)

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thanks :)

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Originally Posted by Miss Z

Aah I love Brooke. She reminds me very much of a horse at the stables at which I ride, so long in the back and stride! I know from personal experience how hard they can be to balance and straighten sometimes, so well done to you! :D

I love doing flying changes, but I always feel like they're sloppy unless I have a really collected canter. I ride a thoroughbred type horse a lot of the time, so she often rushes her strides and the flying change becomes a leg scrabble. :p I couldn't really see the actual change in the video but I did see that Brooke's legs had changed. You must have done it very smoothly!

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UGH i know her stride is insanely long - I often have issues sitting her canter if I'm not actively doing something else (lead changes, serpentine, jumping) because I get so focused on how long her stride is and then things go downhill bahah.

It's hard to tell in the video...but it always feels like Brooke LEAPS into the lead change (versus the smooth little ones I did on Junior lol) and I'm never 100% sure whether she changed her lead or bucked -_- cause she tends to do both.

Thanks :) She is LOADS of fun to ride.