Highboy USEF Training Test B

Raven was kicked last night by a pasture mate (they usually get along really well over the fence, but apparently some horses just don't play well with others).  Since Raven has a swollen forearm and is a big gimpy, while she recovers  I am preparing Highboy for the mini trial this weekend in case Raven can't go.  Highboy can jump anything and loves cross country, so no worries there, but I wanted to go over the dressage test with him so he knew that he was responsible for that portion of the event as well.

I took out the Pivo and set it in a new location in the arena.  Here it seemed to track us fairly well, the only place it lost us was when I cantered past the pivo too closely and it couldn't keep up.  Having a video of me and Highboy riding the test is immensely helpful, because sometimes what I think I feel going on and what is actually happening are two different things.  Additionally, having a video of us schooling the test at home is great for training purposes because I can critique our riding, make some changes, then do it again tomorrow and see if it improves.

Highboy is a master of the free walk and stretchy trot. I assume it's because of all the many many miles of trail riding, he feels completely comfortable with his nose stretched out and taking long steps.

His canter is definitely a work in progress.  He has no problem lengthening his stride, it's returning to a working canter that is challenging for him without breaking to the trot.  It's challenging for me to ride as well, since he is just so darn big and to make that stride more compact is a LOT of core work for me.

Another thing I noticed in the video is that he definitely has a shorter stride with his RH than his LH.  He's always had this tendency to some extent, likely from having (undiagnosed) a broken pelvis when he was a youngster.  When I first got him as a four year old and he was in such extensive rehab with me we worked a lot on getting that RH hamstring to loosen up and the RH quadriceps muscle to engage further.  I may try taping him for the next ride and see what that does.  Because he hasn't been in regular work (only riding once or twice a week) he has reverted so some old ways of moving that tend to go away when he's truly fit.  

As I write this I chuckle at how high maintenance my horses are.  It's very common for a horse to only get ridden a couple times a week and that's sufficient for many animals.  The fact that Highboy (and certain others...!) need 5-6 rides a week to function at their best is definitely a sign that I have some high maintenance animals.  

Here is the video of the test we rode today, USEF Training Level B