He's so athletic it's tempting to push him too hard too fast, but I'm staying slow and careful with his training progression so we preserve his thinking and his confidence. These types of exercises also teach him how to find the best distance (or takeoff point) for each jump. You never know when you'll need your horse to save your butt when you mess up a distance, and it's great when they can make up for your mistakes and are comfortable doing it. You can see Silver thinking and improving just in the progression of these three videos.
I've also been teaching this gymnastic grid during riding lessons this week. Joan and Rain had a blast, you'd never know that this sweet mare is 20!
Alice and Beauty did a great job being steady through the grid as well. I'm super proud of the progress they've made this spring!
The last one to work through the grid was Sara and Dewey. Not too shabby for a horse who prefers to eat and nap and a rider who hasn't done much jumping in years!
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