This morning Funny got her coggins pulled and then microchipped. She was a very good girl for it. And now she's legit!
Then this evening we went for a lesson at Barbara's. It was hard! And she was feral! We did some hard lines... angled jumps. Stuff we've not actually really ever done. And not just casual angles.. hard slicing!
She started out pretty feral. We did get in some trotting but she was bucking, propping, going sideways, etc. But, we managed to trot the cross rails! They were set on a circle/large arc. After we did the cross rails on the arc Jacel had us do a course with bendy lines and arcs. And Funny was just running and strung out and taking down almost every single fence. Okay... No ma'am! I finally took a shorter rein and rode her barrel and got her stride shorter and more compacted and then she was better. It was really cool to feel her hind end coming up and under herself. And it takes inside leg to do it, but.. it's hard to put your inside leg on when they feel that feral and fast! But, it works!
Then we did some hard lines. Angling the jumps. Initially Jacel had the jumps fairly big because Funny usually isn't phased by anything. But she was not quite sure of what I was asking. Basically there were three random jumps that Jacel managed to make a line, but it was sharp angles on all three. The first time through Funny jumped them all but mostly because she was surprised and had no idea what I was asking. The second time we tried it, it unraveled super quickly. I don't know if I changed the angle and made it too steep or if she just was confused as to the question or just didn't want to or what, but we had a bunch of run outs. So then we jumped it straight on and it was fine. And then Jacel dropped them and we did more of the angles. We eventually finished with the steep angles at low fence height. And... I have to cut us both some slack. She hasn't been educated in angles. And we threw really hard steep ones at her. Because she's Funny and game and nothing has challenged her yet. Until today. But that made for a not so fun ride. Because... I don't like when we struggle so much. I hate sucking and I felt like I was not riding great. And she was extra feral today. BUT... we ended on a good note. And she became more educated. And now we know some things we have to work on. Including ridability. Because Funny.. you don't always know where we are going and sometimes it's going to be stupid dumb lines that don't make sense and you'll have to rely on me to hold that line! Laura said that she thought the first time we got through it was more luck.. because she thinks Funny wasn't sure what was happening so she didn't have time to "take charge" and then once she realized she was mad and didn't want to follow directions. Maybe.. maybe...
So... we both learned today. She learned about angles and I learned (or was reminded) that I need shorter reins so that I don't let her get so long and strung out and don't have to yank and make big moves to get an effect. I have to keep my hands low and do alternating half halts so she doesn't brace against me. Especially when my reins are shorter. I have to ride her barrel. Yes, it's hard when she's essentially bolting with me, but if I ride her barrel, she gets more supple and soft and jumps better. It brings her hind end up underneath her and gives her power vs just speed. The leg creating bend in the barrel slows her down way more effectively than my rein aids! And then, when we do the angles, just keep her between my aids. So... we'll practice some at home and we'll get it. We've got plenty of time to figure it out. But knowing Funny and me, it won't take long.
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