What Linda has learned lately

Linda is doing a great job on Whiz and getting him more broke daily- he is looking pretty finished although she is still ironing out the small details- I asked her to write down what she has learned lately because the horse is looking so good- I thought I would share it, you know, for posterity.

What I learned on Whiz this week:

1) I have to be right on it when it comes to asking him to stop even if we are just loping during warm ups or while working on other things. No matter what, when I ask him to stop he has to be soft in the face. If he pulls in me even a little or sticks his chin out, I have to have good timing and take hold of his face if he is pulling on me at all. I don't have to jerk or be hard, just firm pulling (or bumping) til he give me his face. That is enough reminder for him to stay soft. Usually the next time I stop him, he stays on his hind end and doesn't slam into the ground on all 4's like he tends to do sometimes. OR, I can fence him a time or two, not necessarily fast, and just soften him at the ends. That works too. The big key here is the timing. If I can catch him right when he starts to pull on the bit, it works better then if I try to do it after the fact.

2) always be ready to correct his guiding. He needs tuned up every day on this.

3) When I counter canter, really ask for that hip. If I use inside leg on him, his hip needs to really swing to the outside, not just a little, a lot, like I saw Craig do on that video.

4) When practicing rollbacks, do a 360 or at least more then a 180. (like Shawn did on the video)

5) Make him move his hip pronto. If he doesn't move his feet try a little pop on his butt with the reins. Not enough to scare him, just a little will do the trick.

6) biggest change Whiz made this week was in his fast loping. I asked for a faster lope which usually means he can get stiff in the legs and even stiff in the face a little. I did the drill where I asked for a faster lope and held onto the horn and the back of the saddle to give me some leverage and then just pushed into him with my spurs. At first, he raised his head and sped up, I just kept my spurs in him till he remembered to put his head down. After he started thinking about putting his head down when I pressed with my spurs I let him stop. We rested awhile and then I tried it again. this time, when I pressed with my spurs, he dropped his head immediately and kept it there even when going pretty fast for him. There was a big change in his loping after that.

7) As far as lead change practice goes, ask for the change, if he raises up or drops the shoulder (which he does especially from right to left) stop him and correct him by moving the shoulder way over to the right. If he gets stiff in the face when I am asking him, stop and soften, don't keep going. Practice setting him up for the change and don't change. just practice the set up til he gets really comfortable with that.

THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP WITH WHIZ!!