Dancing hippos

Sof and I after schooling the other night

Spring has sprung, the evenings are now light enough for riding and Sof and I are eagerly awaiting an active summer – OK I am eagerly awaiting an active Summer, Sof might prefer an eating summer. Never-the-less we can finally crack on with some proper work.

Up until now I have given Sofie a fairly easy ride. The first summer was about getting to know each other, introducing this concept of ‘hacking’, and working on ground training.

Winter is a rubbish time of year for riding, especially when your horse does not come with a stable. As I get older I have become an increasingly fair-weather rider. Gone are the days where I would happily spend all day at the yard in freezing conditions developing frost bite (my doctor was impressed that I had managed to get frost bite in the UK – it took wildly inappropriate footware and an extreme lack of common sense – the ice in my socks should have probably been a warning sign that I should go home and seek warmth but hey-ho). Last winter deep mud, rain, high winds, and cold dark evenings sort of halted progress. We were limited to a few early morning short rides and a Saturday hack.

In any case, Sofie has needed a bit of time to get back into full fitness. Last summer her weight was a huge issue. She was a bit lame but I could not find the cause. She had a physio session but she was so fat that the physio could not find the muscles to tell if they were sore. In her words Sof was a ‘sausage roll’ pony. She literally could not move for the casing of fat around her body. The only option was to rider her gently until the weight came off, then assess the lameness.



Sofie showing me her square halt



Finally Sofie is a healthy weight and the last physio visit confirmed she was fit to do some proper work. We have some stretch exercises to do to help her with her back flexion and tone up her belly. These involve me waving a treat under her belly so that she stretches round to eat it, effectively making her do a ‘sit up’. Sofie is a fan of anything that involves treats so does not mind one bit, though she is a dirty cheat and often avoids doing the full stretch by picking up a back foot.





an idiot & a confused Sof

Anywhos with a healthy Sof and longer evenings I am finally in a position where we can do some schooling. The only problem is the last time I schooled was back in 2009 on Mr T. Since then all I have really been doing is flopping about on-top of the horse. I have entirely forgotten how to ride properly. I pride myself at being a good horsewoman with a reasonable seat, but I am aware I am not a good rider. My limbs have always seemed to have a mind of their own. As soon as I get my hands under some form of control my legs seem to run a mock. The net result is I ignore my extremities and ride almost entirely from my seat. I try and keep my hands as still as possible so not to annoy the horse and the legs do their own thing. I don’t pay them much attention, neither do my horses - who are thankfully forward going so don’t need much leg. This unique style was fine with Mr T as he knew what I meant, we had our own little language, but it does not always translate to Sofie who seems a bit bemused by my wriggling about.

 

Unlike myself, Sofie clearly does know what she is doing. When she was still fat, I experimented in the school with her I was pleased to find that she did know some dressage. The dancing hippo from fantasia came to mind. Sof just needed the pink tutu. Now she is healthy she can do more. Sometimes in my wiggling I stumble across a correct aid and she flashes into a beautiful little dressage horse. She really tries her hardest, I am very much the weakest link atm.

So I have gone to seek instruction. I miss my old instructor terribly; he was fantastically fun and really got the best out of me. Unfortunately he is now at another yard and too busy to travel. Instead I have gone for a chap who others use at my yard. His initial conclusions on Sof and I are:

• will make a great little team,
• the horse is cracking,
• my riding style is currently ‘very relaxed’ (meaning entirely wrong).

I find myself being quite slow with following the instructions as I have to de-code what he is trying to tell me. I am not sure if this is my rustiness or just because I am so used to my last instructor I’m finding it hard to adapt.

But when I do finally work out what I am meant to be doing Sofie responds beautifully. She is surprisingly light and sensitive to her rider. A mild shift in your seat and she will move her hind quarters for you. A small nudge on her side and she instantly springs into a transition. It feels far more like riding a posh Warmblood than a little Haflinger. I wonder if she was professionally schooled in Belgium. She is doing very well to remember it all after so many years off. Never underestimate a haffy. Who knows by the end of the summer we might even get some rosettes, providing I remember how to sit properly.