When the grooms came into the barn this morning they said his hind legs were stocked up, but by the time I got there had had been turned out for a awhile and the fluid had gone down almost completely. We hacked inside today, the outdoor footing was not good to ride in after the rain we got yesterday. Werther was very good at the walk and trot, even a little bit fresh. However, I am still having trouble getting the upward canter transition. I think it is combination of his tendency towards laziness, my signalling and his Dressage background. My CP causes all the muscles in my left leg to be constantly contracted, so when I ride my heel is either level or slightly up, I cannot get it down. The muscles in my left arm are also slightly tight, and it makes the fine motor skills of contact with the bit with my left hand and using the stick on his left side difficult, but not impossible. This also makes balance difficult, so I am not at my best in those initial first steps of moving up to that faster gait. Right now, most of the times I ask for a canter, he think I want an extended trot. I've tried moving my leg back to an exaggerated position like a Dressage rider would have it for the transition, but that makes it more difficult for me to stay with him when he does go faster. I am having a lesson with my trainer tomorrow,we primarily jump in our lessons but I think she will be able to help me with this flat work piece too. I want to look into maybe having a dressage trainer come out and help me with him on the flat. Dr. Sarah came to the barn as I was leaving, she left a magnesium supplement for Werther. When we did the blood test for his pre-purchase exam we found him to be slightly deficient in Magnesium and Iron. So now he is on two new supplements, Red Cell and Magnesium 3000. We think these deficiencies are due to his lack of turn out when he lived in Colorado, and our good Minnesota grass will help with this as well.
3 comments:
I can't believe this. I can't remember where I found the link to your site. I have MS and ride. My horse and I do trails a lot and just started dressage lessons. My left side is affected too and I'm working on having more control over it. I had a lunge lesson and that helped. I'm in MN also. E-mail me anytime planetlisa@hotmail.com
Hey Lisa!
Great to meet a fellow Minnesotan, where do you ride? I am at a private farm west of Minneapolis.
I'm at a large farm west of Minneapolis. We should chat!
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