His dressage is coming along nicely. He's developed enough strength in his core and haunches to start a little jumping! We're doing all this in the good footing in the arena and we stop before he gets fatigued. This ensures we quit while he's still enjoying himself and before he gets frustrated. He knows what he's supposed to do now, and you can tell he's trying really hard to do it right and he's a little stronger every day.
Yesterday I added a little bit of jumping to his workout. He's been going over cavalletti since he arrived, so we started with a series of poles to trot over. Once he was thoroughly warmed up I raised the center poles to a crossrail and we trotted over that. Rizzo was in her element, she ran around barking and cheering in excitement, racing over the poles and crossrail in front of us to show Jimmy what to do. As soon as she had landed after the crossrail she would spin around to watch Jimmy take his turn.
We only went over the poles and crossrail a few times each direction, and we did it all on a very loose rein. That lets Jimmy use his neck for balance over the jump and keeps him calm on the approach and landing. Because he raced for so long and was so good at it, he's well versed in going heavy on the forehand and using the rider for balance by leaning on the reins. In transitioning him to sporthorse riding it's important to ride him on a loose rein so that he has nothing to brace against. Without the crutch of leaning on the reins he will use his own body for balance.
Jimmy has such a nice mind that I think he'll be game to try anything in his after-the-racetrack life. His training has been steady and he's progressed at a pace which allows him to gradually gain the strength he'll need for his job. I am eager to see what he's able to do as he continues to build strength and takes on new tasks!
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