Brady’s Blog August ’11

If there ever was such a horse as picky about the rider’s position as Hammie, I would be dumbfounded. Hammie is an expressive horse. If you don’t do something right with your position, he shows his disappointment in you. I am used to Punky’s small flat trot, whereas, Hammie has this huge trot, relatively speaking. Compared to Punky, Hammie’s trot to me is like a “bouncy house”, those things kids go in. Hammie is progressing by leaps and bounds, literally, sometimes when I don’t want him to. Hammie still requires some work but not as much as he did. If you remember, some of the issues were bucking in the canter, being resistant to getting the bit in, and throwing his head  up when I was riding him with contact.

Hammie is a very good teacher. These days, he occasionally bucks at the canter but not nearly as much. He doesn’t mind the bit at all now and throws his head only once in a while.  Hammie is a new horse. He went from a horse that hated the bit, resisting my every movement to a horse that now accepts the canter, seeming to enjoy it and listens to me without question, essentially.  He is a good teacher because he expresses his dislike when you are doing something wrong with your legs or your hands. He expresses it by tossing his head or pinning his ears and occasionally bucking. It is teaching me to be better with my hands by being quieter, not yanking and I’m starting to soften my elbows. I’m also improving at steering with my seat and legs. I’m keeping my legs quieter too, much of the time. When I do what he likes his ears are straight forward and he doesn’t resist me at all.

Hammie has been great on the trails and I think he has the potential to be a great jumper. I started taking baby steps with Hammie, jumping cross rails, etc. Now, at home, we are jumping barrels with a rail and practicing roll backs. That helps me focus on steering with my legs because when I use my hands too much, he will stop; nothing like quick feedback. We are still progressing, but it is a lot better than where we started. What was a rough sketch is now a prototype with the ultimate goal in reach. My goal is to do a schooling dressage show and complete an event this year if we can get ready. Unfortunately, Hammie managed to injure himself and has had almost a week off but hopefully we can make up the lost time. I’ll keep you posted.

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