Target Practice

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It’s been rough on the trails these last few days, so after our slippery defeat on Saturday where Q for the first time decided we best turn back and go home we have been shut-ins. The good news is that it was the motivation I needed to show up for the weekly drill practice and tidy up my transitions and lines.

I have missed drill practice for a few months now, either preferring sleep, breakfast with my husband, or trail rides with my buddy B. So the core group of ladies haven gotten really good since last I joined them. I stayed at the back of the line and followed everyones cue. Easy enough as I am directionally talented, and Q is both a quick study and a precise sensitive partner. But boy did he try to bully everyone around him with his flattened ears and tight expression. He finally settled in to work after 20 minutes without all the opinions.



On top of practicing open and closed formations at a walk and trot, we also practiced simultaneous teardrop turns, thread the needle, and partner formations (in groups of twos). Then our fearless leader chose to challenge us even more and added poles and boxes that we went through the long line, short line and diagonal. And then we went through as a single line, in pairs, in suicide, and we even did a do-si-do in the box (at a walk). One hour later our horses were quiet, we were smiling, and it was time for coffee.

Boarding barns can be lots of fun.


I chose to practice the next few days and brought back the box to use as target practice. Qs transitions from canter to trot to jog were amazing, and off the seat. We are also working on our contact (mostly
at the walk with the occasional trot slipped in) and it is coming along. All the work with the long reins is paying off.

This is probably doing us both the most good. We have been lacking in refinement and practice because the trails are just so awesome. But this level of precision and control will translate well when we are back on the wooded path. So it’s a good thing we have this constraint. It encourages us to do more target practice.

Comments

  1. TeresaADecember 2, 2019 at 7:39 PM

    Drill practice sounds like so much fun. I suspect that Carmen would have opinions too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nat DDecember 4, 2019 at 9:50 AM

      I appreciate the opinions as it speaks to the partnership. But I still try to channel them productively, albeit not always successfully. :-)

      Delete

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